Tail Of Black Cat, The

Tail Of Black Cat, The

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    Name: The Tail Of Black Cat
    Author: Eikichi
    Rating: PG-13
    Genre: Action/Adventure/Romance
    Chapters: 5
    Words: 6517
    Published: 11/16/01
    Updated: 1/23/02
    Complete: Yes

    Description: Wham-bam-slam! The story is complete! Mwahahahaha!!! O_O; Oops, sorry about that. Anyhoo, this is a fic about a girl named Black Cat who works for Sinobin the Ninja and has secret feelings for Jam. Takes place in SK1, not SK2.

    Disclaimer (By Author):

    Story

    Chapter 1: The Mission Unfolds

    Snowflakes fall like little white dots against the dark gray sky.
    Suddenly a hand in a black glove darts out to catch one of them. The hand
    opens to reveal two - that look exactly alike.
    "How strange..." the owner of the hand whispers, "no two snowflakes
    can be alike. Oh well, maybe Mother Nature isn't paying attention to her
    work." She smiles and, knowing that the flakes might melt, she breathes a
    wisp of ice cold breath on them and puts them in a small jar which she sets
    in her pocket. "That should keep them cold for a nice long time."
    "Black Cat!" A voice calls. "I need to speak with you NOW!"
    Black Cat sighed and, with a few catlike leaps from tree branch to
    the japanese palace in the middle of Ninja Land she is in front of her caller,
    a ninja also dressed im black with a shogun sword on his back.
    "Where have you been....we have things to do!" He snaps.
    "Oh, Sinobin..." Black Cat sighs. "Our usual errands aren't fun
    anymore. I need variety. I need something NEW! Something NOVEL and
    EXCITING!"
    Sinobin scoffs. "Hmph. Fun and games aren't my type. I need to
    talk with you about a very important mission."
    "Is it assigned to me?" Black Cat asks.
    "Yes." Sinobin replies.
    "Is it a fun mission?"
    "It involves a lot of activity...I guess."
    "Yes! I'm assigned on a FUN mission for once!" Black Cat cheers.
    "Right." The ninja sighs tiredly. "Now listen. This mission is
    important to our future and requires the achievement and receiving of an
    honorable title."
    "So I have to train hard for it?" Black Cat asks.
    "No, not much. You already have enough skill I guess. Now listen.
    Here is what I need you to do. Listen up."
    Black Cat's ears on her costume pricked up.
    "I need you to get ALL the information on the one who defeated me at
    this course. His name is Jam and he - "
    "Jam?!? What kind of a name is 'Jam'?!?" Black Cat screeched.
    Sinobin sighed. "It's his nickname. Now listen - "
    "What's his real name?" She mewed.
    "LET ME FINISH, BLACK CAT!!!" Sinobin shouted.
    She was silent.
    "Argh....now listen. Jam is as old as you - ten years old - and he
    has great capabilities if he managed to beat me. That's all I know, and that
    isn't enough. I need more information than that in order to beat him a
    second time when they come back here for the finals. Can you do me a favor
    and get as much info on him as possible?"
    "Sure, but how do I do that when I don't even know what he looks
    like?" She asked.
    "He has dark skin and brown hair done in dreadlocks. His snowboarding
    outfit is white with a blue trim. With that explained, you shouldn't have
    any trouble finding him." Sinobin explained to her.
    "Okay. I got that in my memory. When should I start?" She asked.
    "Right now if you want. The sooner, the better." Sinobin said.
    "All right. See ya soon!" Black Cat meowed, and swung up into the
    tree above her.
    "What am I going to do with that girl..." Sinobin sighed.

    * * *

    "Aaaaahhhh! My snowboard! It's ruined!!!!" A saucy voice rises
    above the silence of the other four stunned kids around him.
    "I said I was sorry." Linda responds.
    "You broke it in half! 'Sorry' can't make up for that!"
    The one complaining about his snowboard, which was Jam, was angry
    at Linda for landing a trick on the tail of his snowboard and busting it
    in the process. Due to the board's injury, the race had to be cancelled.
    "Well, look on the bright side..." Nancy replies. "At least we don't
    have to race in sub-zero weather."
    "I don't care about the weather!" Jam shouts. "I was having a great
    time until this poor excuse for a snowboarder landed one of her tricks on
    MY board and broke it!!!"
    As this argument continued on, Black Cat was perched in a nearby tree
    getting nearer and nearer to the kids. She couldn't see them - she could
    only hear them - and she was already taking down mental notes on the subject.
    'Time for some visual conformation.' Black Cat thought, and inched
    nearer to the group of kids, perched in a pine tree and peered through the
    branches. She saw a boy dressed in green, a girl in a pink bunny suit, a
    boy wearing black and red, a girl with a red top and pigtails, and -
    She gasped. As soon as she laid eyes on the last one she froze, eyes
    wide open and mouth listless. Her heart pounded in her chest and she was
    unable to speak.
    'Is......that.......Jam?'
    She studied him closely. Dark skin, hair in dreadlocks, white suit
    with blue trim.......
    'It......IS...Jam!'
    She trembled where she sat perched. Her heart still pounded.
    'He's.....he's.....gorgeous!'
    She collapsed on the branch, arms and legs limp. She couldn't even
    believe it. He was like an angel to her.
    'This is the one I'm supposed to be after.....?' She wondered.
    'He's so....handsome......so lovely......so beautiful......'
    She purred as she watched him and the others walk away toward the
    houses. She grinned to herself and absent-mindedly sharpened her claws on
    the branch.
    'I've fallen in love with my target.........'
    She snickered.
    '.......and I like it!'

    Chapter 2: Thinking Of The Target

    "Where is she?" Sinobin pondered. "She should have been back five
    hours ago! Now it's getting dark and I need that valuable information before
    it gets too late and I fall asleep right here!" He was obviously angry.
    His arms were crossed tight against his chest and he grumbled to himself.
    After a while, he even got out his sword and practiced fighting and fencing
    with it to pass the time.
    Finally, half an hour before curfew (which even Sinobin obeyed),
    Black Cat finally arrived at the temple.
    "Where were you?" He asked furiously.
    "I'm sorry.....it's just that I needed some time to gather lots of
    information since you told me you needed a lot." Black Cat stuttered.
    "All right, if you got so much information then give it to me."
    He got out a sheet of paper and a pen. "Go on."
    "Well, his full name is James Michael Kuehnemund, he's about four
    foot nine in height, has about 16% body composition, was born on March 28th,
    1988 at 3:58 a.m., has dark brown eyes, has interests in guitar lessons and
    breakdancing, and is a very skilled artist." Black Cat managed to say in one
    very long breath.
    "Pretty impressive!" Sinobin praised. "How did you get all of this
    information, anyway?"
    "I searched his home when they were away out at dinner. I had to
    flip through a few photo albums but I managed to steal a peek at his birth
    certificate. Very interesting." Black Cat reported.
    "Well done!" Sinobin congratulated her. "I believe I'll cook your
    favorite for dinner tonight."
    "You mean..." Black Cat's eyes lit up.
    "Sushi and egg rolls!" Sinobin laughed. (something he rarely did)
    "Yay! Thank you so much!!!" Black Cat mewed and hugged him.
    "All right, that's enough. I'm not one of your boyfriends." Sinobin
    muttered through her sleeve, which blocked his mouth.
    "Oh. Sorry." She apologized.
    "It's nothing. Let's start on dinner!" He replied.
    "Right!" The two headed inside the pagoda.
    'I forgot to tell him I reeeeally like Jam.' Black Cat thought.

    * * *

    The next morning Black Cat had gone out scouting again. Jam was on
    her mind 24/7 and she was destined to find a way to get to know him......and
    get the both of them romantically involved. One interesting thought along
    the way made her purr with delight, driving her to become even more destined
    to win his heart.
    She slinked from treetop to treetop, hiding behind rocks and various
    other landscape items as she followed a group of five shadows up Big Snowman
    Mountain. She knew it was the five kids, and she was trying to get closer so
    she could tell which of the shadows was her crush. Finally she sped up the
    stealthy moves a bit long enough to get a closer look at the group. Jam was
    second from the left, talking to Slash about his new snowboard that he got
    after Linda damaged his old one.
    When the five arrived at the top, Black Cat was right behind them,
    hiding behind one of the numerous snowmen on the mountain. She watched,
    tail swishing, whiskers fluttering, claws making little line-prints in the
    snow. She could see the hot-air balloon drift down and Mr. Dog shooting the
    gun to start the race. Even though there was no audience, the kids always
    asked Mr. Dog to give their races a good start. And he was always happy to.
    Black Cat got out her own snowboard and skidded down the mountain on
    it, on the sideline so as not to be seen by the others. She watched the race
    go on through both laps - Nancy had been in the lead for a while but then
    Tommy managed to steal 1st, then he was beat by Slash when Mr. Dog was almost
    about to call it a tie race. Poor Jam had been in fourth the whole time.
    Black Cat skidded to a halt and got out her pencil and notepad.
    "Sweetie was in last place most of the time" she wrote. "The poor thing
    didn't get much farther than third place. I hope he does better next time."
    She put the writing utensils away in her pocket and studied the four kids.
    Tommy looked happy, Nancy looked pleased, Slash looked disappointed and Jam
    had just about the same expression as Slash.
    The group of kids split into two groups then - Linda, Nancy and Tommy
    and Jam and Slash - and they headed up the mountain, each group on a
    different route. She followed Jam and Slash up their side of the mountain
    and listened to their conversation as she crept from treetop to treetop.
    "Man, how did I get in last place?" Jam muttered.
    "I don't know. You usually always take home the gold at Big Snowman."
    Slash commented.
    "I know...sorta disappointing, huh?" Jam replied. He looked to his
    side at the woods, then forward, then back at the woods. Black Cat watched
    him from her treetop perch.
    "Hey, um, Slash?" Jam asked, looking straight into the woods area,
    "I gotta take a pit stop. Wait here for me."
    "Okay." Slash replied, and sat down in the snow facing the opposite
    way.
    "Pit....stop?" Black Cat asked herself.
    She watched Jam enter the forest and look about, then he started
    toward Black Cat's tree that she was perched atop. He stood at the foot of
    it, undid his pants....
    "Oh my.....if he's going to do what I think he is..." She whispered.
    Sure enough, he answered nature's call as he stood there.
    "He looks cute even when he's going to the bathroom." She giggled to
    herself. Unfortunately, her giggles were a bit too loud, and Jam overheard.
    He looked up at the top of the tree where Black Cat was.
    "Oh no! He's looking right at me! What do I do, what do I do?" She
    meowed frantically. She crouched into a little ball and darted out of the
    tree into another tree to her left.
    Jam watched the little black shape go flying from one tree to the
    other. He stood stunned for a moment, then as he finished buisness he zipped
    up his pants and muttered, "Damn owls."
    Slash sat waiting at the edge of the woods and turned around to face
    Jam when he walked out.
    "What took ya?" Slash asked.
    "I was standing in front of this tree that I think had an owl in it,
    'cause when I was almost done something flew out." Jam explained.
    "Oh. Musta been one of those screech owls. Don't worry about it."
    Slash said with a shrug, and the two continued down the mountainside.
    Black Cat was still hidden in the other tree. She was frightened,
    wondering if her one in pursuit had seen her.
    She didn't return to Ninja Land until an hour later.

    Chapter 3: Drastic Measures

    That night, before Black Cat and Sinobin got to sleep (after Black
    Cat's return home), Sinobin asked her a question.
    " 'Cat?" He asked. "You wouldn't happen to know where my sword is,
    would you?"
    "Why? I haven't been playing with it." Black Cat replied.
    "Because, you see, I need it for later on." He answered.
    "For what?" Black Cat asked.
    "Oh, nothing." Sinobin said, and walked out of the room.

    'I wonder what that was all about?' Black Cat wondered.

    * * *

    " - yawn - I'm tired." Tommy grumbled, and fell face first on the
    couch. "Is it bedtime yet, guys?"
    The Snowboard Kids were having a sleepover party at Jam's house
    because Jam's parents were away and he decided to throw a party while his
    parents were out. Since they wouldn't be back until 8:00 the next morning,
    he decided it would be a great time for a get-together.
    "Well, it's 9:50....." Nancy yawned. "I guess it is bedtime."
    "For once, I agree with Nancy. Let's hit the hay." Jam said, and all
    the kids headed upstairs. The others slept in the guest bedroom while Jam
    slept in his own room, which gave Jam a little time to himself. He took his
    time getting ready for bed and miscellanous other things. Finally, after a
    little getting prepared, he finally said goodnight to the others and got
    into his own bed. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

    * * *

    Black Cat couldn't sleep that night. Her mind was filled with dreams
    and thoughts of her secret crush. She had no idea what she would have to do
    in order to get his attention and somehow win his heart. Something would
    have to be done. He had to meet her!
    She got up and silently crept out of the palace entrance, carrying
    her whip with her in case anybody -maybe even Sinobin- caught her in action.
    She slinked toward the town silently, being sure not to make a single sound.
    She crept between houses and landmarks and buildings, scouting for Jam's
    house. After a while of searching, she finally spotted it. It wasn't too
    hard - she had been there before when she was gathering information on his
    birth certificate - so she was familiar with it. Using her claws, she
    climbed up the vinyl siding of the house, trying not to wake anyone up,
    and clambered up on toward the window of his bedroom. It took a while, but
    she finally reached the window within the right time. She peered in and
    sighed when she saw him, sleeping peacefully in his bed. Reaching up, she
    unhooked the window lock with a claw and opened the window. Climbing in
    softly, she slowly made her way inside.
    She gazed at him for a minute or two, just to look at his dark brown
    eyes closed in sleep, his silky hair ruffled on his pillow, his lovely shape.
    'Time he got to know me.' She decided in thought.
    She unwound her whip from around her middle and gave it a sharp crack.
    Jam woke up with a start and looked around like there was a war going on while
    he was asleep. After a moment's glancing around, his eyes fell on Black Cat.
    He didn't scream, he didn't throw things at her and he didn't order her to
    get out. He just sat and looked at her, wondering who she was and why she
    was there.
    "Who.....are you?" He asked, stunned and drowsy.
    Black Cat merely smiled.
    "You might call me a spirit - " She began to nimbly dance around
    " - you might call me a ghost - " she moved dancing toward his bedside
    " - or you might call me a cat in a former life." She climbed up on his bed
    and sat in front of him.
    "WHAT are you?" Jam thought aloud. "Why are you here?"
    "Just came to tell you something very important." She said, smiling.
    "I'm here to inform you that I've been watching you in races and competitions
    when you snowboard. I've been taking notes of your performance. I've been
    watching your every move. And I've learned that you had the ability - and
    still have - to defeat Sinobin in the past and are capable of defeating him
    again in the finals."
    "And......" Jam wondered.
    "You're the champion." Black Cat said. "Defeating Sinobin makes you
    the best snowboarder in Snow Town."
    Jam looked stunned again.
    "I'm the champion? Of the village?"
    "Yes. But you musn't tell any of your friends. That will come later.
    They'll find out soon enough."
    "So that means...."
    "You ARE the Master Trickster. Your bragging wasn't false after all."
    Silence as the two stared at each other. Jam took the information that
    Black Cat had just given him into deep thought, and couldn't believe it. So
    he was the best after all? He was right about himself after all......he WAS
    the best.....
    His thoughts were interrupted as Black Cat closed in for a kiss. He
    was shocked at first and almost struggled to get away, but remained where he
    was and let her kiss him. He felt her furry tail curl around his wrist and
    heard her purring.
    He had no idea who this girl was or what she wanted, but there was
    one thing that Jam definitely DID know....Black Cat sure was something else.
    Her glistening black eyes seemed to catch his reflection in them, her feline
    ways were absolutely adorable and she was darn pretty. Jam let himself fall
    victim to Black Cat's embrace and they fell back on the pillow, lost in a
    tsunami of love. They let themselves do whatever they wanted in this free-
    love time space - their hands wandered anywhere they wanted, their eyes met
    whenever they desired and anything simply went along.
    After ten lusty minutes of this, the two finally seperated, breathless
    and exhausted. They gazed into each other's eyes one last long moment before
    Black Cat got up, dusted herself off, and sighed.
    "I'm sorry I have to be leaving now," she explained, "but even the
    leisurely lifestyle of a cat-girl has it's limits."
    Jam smiled. "It's okay...."
    Black Cat was about to climb out the window when Jam stopped her.
    "Will I ever see you again?" He asked, his voice hopeful.
    Black Cat smiled. "What does your heart tell you?"
    "Maybe......Yes." Jam responded.
    Black Cat grinned. "Then we WILL see each other again."
    "Yeah." Jam said dreamily.
    Black Cat suddenly did a backflip out of the window. Jam got up
    quickly and looked out of the open window to see if she was alright.

    She was nowhere to be seen.

    Chapter 4: The Deadly Secret

    Black Cat crept silently back to Ninja Land after the previous ordeal. She
    didn't feel like dealing with anymore of the freezing cold weather, so she began
    to run so the warmth and unseasonal summertime weather would come faster. It wore
    her out, so she stopped to catch her breath. When she entered the gates of the
    magic Japanese land, she was greeted by two things - one good and one bad. The
    good thing was the wonderful warm weather. The bad thing was......
    "Where have you been all this time? And out in the middle of the night!"
    Black Cat looked up, and saw Sinobin standing there. He looked pretty ticked
    off and she decided not to try and snap back at him otherwise something bad might
    happen. She decided to apologize instead.
    "I.....I'm sorry. Isn't there anything I can do to make up for it?" She
    mewed innocently.
    "Well, I don't know about THAT." Sinobin hissed. "You've been a bad cat
    lately....what with sneaking out at midnight and all, without my permission or
    anything! I'll see to it that you are punished....you can't get too many freebies,
    I think." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside their main temple where they
    ate and slept and basically stayed. Once there, he shoved her inside her bedroom
    and frowned at the cowering half-cat-half-girl.
    "You're going to stay in there until you learn your lesson." He growled, and
    slammed the door. Pulling a heavy lock off of a nearby shelf, he hooked it onto the
    door handle and locked it. Muttering to himself, he walked away.
    Inside her room, Black Cat purrowed and meowed and showered herself in self-
    pity. Why had she gone and run away just to have a love-fest with Jam? Oh, how
    silly and crazy she was, what had she been thinking? She mewed and mewed, disgusted
    with herself. Infact, the mere fact that Sinobin didn't even know what she did was
    even more unbearable. This thought alone made her meow a loud pitiful meow that
    Sinobin heard.
    "Shut your noise, you!" He yelled. "Stop feeling so sorry for yourself and
    go to sleep! I know I can't when you're meowing so incessantly like that!!!"
    Black Cat let out one last mewl of a sigh before she slinked under her
    bed quilts and buried her face in her paws. She was a pitiful sight indeed - her
    ears drooping, her whiskers twitching, her eyes all red and tired from crying.
    She was close to falling asleep when she overheard Sinobin talking.
    "That nine-lived girl can't do anything right so I guess I might as well
    do this myself. Sheesh, for the sake of the gods, can't I ever pick a RIGHT choice
    for an assassin?"
    'Assassin?' Black Cat thought. 'I thought I was a servant...'
    "I may as well have to move on to plan B." He muttered. Walking over to a
    small table, he grabbed the sword that lay in it's cover and pulled it out with
    a 'ssssshhhhhhhhhing' sound. He examined it and laughed his mischevious laugh.
    "When tomorrow night falls....." -he made a stabbing motion with his sword-
    "The one who defeated me, the one they call Jam, will be dead!"
    Black Cat heard this and panicked. Suddenly becoming wide awake, she sprang
    up out of bed and listened for more.
    "At midnight tomorrow, while his parents sleep and his friends slumber, I
    shall enter the house of that wretched boy. One quick move of my katana here and
    -hyah!- His heart will be stabbed."
    Upon hearing this, Black Cat's eyes jolted open in fear. Her mouth hung open
    listlessly as she repeated the words in her head....

    -the one they call Jam will be dead...-

    She replayed it over and over in her head and became less and less afraid as
    she slowly put two and two together. 'That's why he had asked where his sword was
    the other day, and that's why he wanted me to get all the information on him, and
    that's why he wants to kill him!' She thought, unbelieving. She growled and peered
    through the bars of the window, searching for some sign of daylight yet. There was
    a slight band of it at the horizon, just enough to hide her from plain daylight.
    She would escape tomorrow night, she thought, after she realized that she couldn't
    run off now when Sinobin was about and awake.
    "I'll escape tomorrow...just before midnight...and warn Jam...SAVE Jam...
    and tell Sinobin I don't want to serve him anymore." Black Cat decided aloud, but
    not so loud as to let Sinobin hear. "I must save Jam from him....and the only way I
    can do that is if I take action tomorrow night!" She slinked back to bed, giggling
    at the thought of foiling her commander's plans.
    Before she drifted off, the last thought in her mind was -

    "Jam.......I WILL save you...."

    Chapter 5: The Grand Finale

    BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEE-
    "Shut up!!!" Jam growled drowsily and slammed his hand on top of his alarm
    clock. He sat up and shook the sleepiness off, and recalled what happened last
    night. He took some time to think about the occurence - what happened and all of
    that - and he smiled. He remembered feeling her furry tail curling around his
    wrist, her purring, and the way she just seemed to disappear when he looked out the
    window to look for her after she left. He began to recall the most intimate moment
    of the incident, and he closed his eyes and smiled as he relived it in his mind.
    He let out a long sigh and -
    "Jam! Your cat ran out the front door when I opened it! I'm so sorry, I
    really didn't mean to-"
    He snapped out of his trance and looked towards the bedroom door. There
    stood a very panicky-looking Slash, waiting for Jam to reply.
    "Huh? What? Oh, sorry, what about the cat?" He asked.
    "I accidentally let her out! I'm sorry!" Slash repeated frantically.
    Jam put his bathrobe on and ran down the stairs after Slash. The two ran
    out into the snow outside just in time to see Jam's cat Midnight bounding across
    the street.
    "Midnight! Get back here!" The two ran across the street after the way-
    ward cat and didn't catch her until she suddenly stopped and sat down.
    "Gotcha!" Slash cried out, scooping up Midnight and hugging her. "Oh you
    naughty kitty, you shouldn't run out like that anymore..."
    'Naughty kitty...' Jam thought, remembering Black Cat, and smiled.
    "Jam? What are you thinking about?" Slash asked.
    "Oh, nothin'. Let's get back in the house before Midnight tries to pull
    another Harry Houdini on us." Jam replied. Slash laughed in response and they
    made their way inside. Their cat bounded in once they shut the door behind them,
    and that's when Tommy told them.
    "My mom just called. She says that me and all the rest of you guys have to
    go back home now 'cuz your parents just said so."
    "Awww.....already?" Slash groaned.
    "'Fraid so." Tommy muttered.
    Jam shrugged and smiled. "Well, the sleepover was fun, guys, but I'm sorry
    you have to go so soon. Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"
    "Because you were asleep." Nancy said.
    "Well, in other words, you didn't want to disturb me?" Jam asked.
    "You would've yelled at me." Nancy squeaked.
    "That's okay, because if I sleep in too late I don't have enough time to
    hang out with you guys!" Jam explained.
    "Ya mean it? Aww, you're so nice!" Nancy exclaimed, and ran forward to give
    Jam a hug. Jam was surprised at first, but for some reason as he was holding Nancy
    he imagined it was Black Cat, and he closed his eyes and returned the hug. He heard
    Linda giggle.
    "You know, for always telling us she's your rival, you sure do know how to act
    like you love her!" She said with a grin.
    Jam heard this and quickly snapped out of it, letting Nancy go. "I....I just
    got carried away, you know. It's not like I have a crush on her or anything."
    "Yeah. Suuuuuuure." Linda sneered.
    "Someone's gonna die today if she doesn't shut up!" Jam scolded.
    Linda was quiet.
    "We'd better get going." Tommy muttered, dragging his sleeping bag and clothes
    case to the door.
    "Yeah. Well, see ya later, Jam." Slash said.
    "Same to you." Jam replied.

    * * *

    "All right, this is the plan." Sinobin said to himself. "At just before
    midnight, I follow the description of the route to the house that Black Cat left a
    when she looked at his birth certificate, and afterwards, I get inside through the
    window, sneak into his bedroom and he's GONE!" He laughed a cruel laugh and rolled up
    the plan sheet. Picking up his sword and tucking the plan into the satchel on his
    back, he looked at the clock. It was one hour until midnight. He had enough time to
    get to the house using the old directions Cat once had, and sneak into the house in
    order to carry out his evil plan. He opened the front door to the pagoda, stepped
    outside, got on his sword-shaped snowboard, and headed out of the Ninja Land gateway.
    Black Cat had already left earlier. She had spent quite a long time prying
    open the latch on the barred window in order to open up the steel pane, and when she
    finally managed to get it open, most of her claws were broken or chipped. She
    sharpened them before she set out. She ran with all of her might, not caring if she
    might just freeze, just so long as she could save Jam's life. She ran and ran until
    she was in the middle of Snow Town, and it was there that she saw Sinobin in the
    distance. Panicking, she took off at top speed, making a bee-line for Jam's house,
    and practically leaping at the side of the house underneath Jam's bedroom window.
    Her newly sharpened claws caught onto it, and she worked her way up the side of the
    house, looking over her shoulder to make sure Sinobin wasn't approaching, and pressing
    on until her claws found the outside shelf of the window pane. She clambered in and
    paused. She took awhile to look at Jam - he was fast asleep, just like when she
    had just met him, and he was breathing softly. Just looking at him gave her the
    terrible urge to give him a kiss right there, but she knew that Sinobin was quickly
    on the way and decided that now was not the time. She got out the whip and lashed it
    in the air, setting off a loud crack. Jam woke up with a start, sat up, saw her, and
    grinned.
    "Well, hello.........good to see you again, hmmmm?" Jam said mischeviously.
    "Yes indeed." Black Cat replied, thrown off for a moment.
    "What do you say we get started right away...." Jam said in a seducing voice,
    and stood up, the bedsheets wrapped around him. He let them slide off of him and -
    "MEEEOW!!!" Black Cat exclaimed at the sight. She couldn't believe her eyes,
    and she was so stunned that she totally forgot about Sinobin.
    Jam was standing there completely naked.
    "Well......what do you think?" He said in a hushed tone of voice.
    Black Cat was speechless. "I-I don't kn-know....I mean, y-you have a very
    l=l=lovely body and-and-and..." She regained her speech. "Jam, I honestly would love
    to right now, and infact, I would get started with you right here if there wasn't
    trouble on the way - you see, I work for Sinobin, and he's mad because you beat him
    a long time ago and he's still mad so he has a plan to make sure that you don't win
    against him again and he's going to do that by killing you! He's on his way right
    now to assassinate you and he's gonna do that by stabbing you in the heart!"
    Jam was shocked. He pulled the sheets around him again and spoke up.
    "He....he's gonna kill me?!?!" He stuttered. Then and there their talk was
    interrupted when they heard the voice.
    "AAGH, I HATE IT WHEN SOMEONE SPOILS A GOOD SURPRISE!!!!" Black Cat whirled
    around and came face to face with Sinobin, who had just leaped into the window.
    "Black Cat, I knew somehow that you would be here, trying to stop me! I just so
    happen to have figured it out. You like him, don't you? You snuck out last night
    to go have fun with him, didn't you?!? Well, all that's going to change! I'm going
    to kill BOTH of you!!!"
    "No!!! Don't you touch her, Sinobin!!!" Jam screamed at the ninja. "She
    doesn't work for you anymore! She's not like you, a reckless tyrant who gets all
    upset over losing a silly race and decides to kill so it won't happen again! She
    has a good heart and knows right from wrong!"
    Sinobin stared at Jam with a steely gaze. Jam continued.
    "Besides, what kind of a coward would kill someone in their sleep just because
    they lost a snowboarding tournament? A coward like YOU, Sinobin!"
    That did it. Sinobin reached behind him and lashed out his sword, glaring at
    Jam.
    "HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO ME THIS WAY!!!!!" Sinobin roared, and ran forward at
    Jam, eyes locked, sword out, screaming -
    "No! Don't you hurt him!!!!" Black Cat yelled and stepped in front of Jam.
    "Don't, Sinobin, no - MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!"
    "NOOOOOOOOOO!!! BLACK CAAAAAAAT!!!" Jam screamed in horror. The scene in
    front of him was too much to bear. Black Cat stood there, gasping, as Sinobin stood
    in a fighting stance - with his sword driven into her chest. Sinobin let go of the
    sword's handle, and Black Cat crumpled and fell to the floor. There was silence as
    Sinobin advanced forward, pulled the sword free from within Black Cat, and slid the
    blood-stained blade back into it's covering on his back.
    Jam fell to his knees beside Black Cat, gazing at her eyes one last time.
    It was too late. The eyes were lifeless and unseeing.
    "YOU CRIMINAL!!!!!" Jam screamed, ran aside Sinobin, ducked a flying kick by
    the ninja, pulled the sword from Sinobin's back and, with a single lunge, sent it
    through the ninja's stomach. Sinobin didn't do so much as cry out - he stood silent
    for a moment, then mustered up the strength to look Jam in the eye.
    "It looks like I've lost anyway....." Sinobin gasped, and fell limp.
    Jam retrieved the sword, threw it aside, and returned to Black Cat's side.
    Not even a second passed in time before Jam burst into loud, racking sobs.
    "Why?!? Why-why-why-why-WHY-Y-Y?!?" He bawled, and collapsed on Black Cat's
    chest, crying his heart out. He cried so hard that by a while later he didn't have an
    iota of strength left and all he could do was whimper. It was then that a bright
    light filled the room. Jam looked up with tearful eyes. There stood a lady dressed
    in silver with large white feathery angel wings and long white hair.
    "Do not cry, little one. Your friend has done a great thing - sacrificing her
    life for another loved one - and this deed shall be rewarded. As a gift, I will bring
    her back to life as a completely normal human girl." She raised her hands, and a huge
    flash of light blinded and covered the whole room. It stayed like this for quite a
    while before Jam could see again. He rubbed the spots out of his eyes and looked down.
    There lay Black Cat - but what was this? She was no longer wearing the cat outfit, her
    whiskers had gone, the claws had vanished, the ears were missing, and the tail was
    absent. In her place lay a girl with light skin and raven-black hair, and a nose and
    eyes like Linda's.....and she was breathing!
    Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at Jam. She passed a hand over her
    chest, where the sword and bleeding hole once was....now there was nothing there, not
    even a scratch.
    "Oh Jam, I....I had the most wonderful dream!" She laughed.
    "Black Cat!!!!" Jam cried, and gave her a great big hug. The girl simply
    laughed.
    "I'm not Black Cat anymore......you can call me Kitty." She said with a smile.
    "Kitty...." Jam said through tears of joy. "I'm so glad you're alright....."
    "It's okay. What I'M happy for is that YOU'RE alright. When Sinobin ran at
    you like that I thought you were done for!" She laughed.
    Jam remembered what he had done to Sinobin. "Um...Kitty..." He pointed to
    where Sinobin was......but he was gone.
    "Hey....where did he go?" Jam wondered aloud.
    Kitty smiled. "I forgot to tell you. Sinobin isn't even really a person. He's
    a mortal spirit, they call them. There's a lot of them in Ninja Land, most of them are
    good...but there's a few bad ones. All the spirits live in Ninja Land, and Sinobin was
    their prize snowboarder that represented the place. Unfortunately, I guess he took
    snowboarding a little too seriously. That's when we knew that it was time to do
    something about him, and that's when he got mad........." She paused. "He's in heaven
    now, probably getting lectured by the big guy up there."
    They both laughed.

    * * *

    "Hooray! Pizza and cake and soda and goodies!!!" Tommy exclaimed. They were
    all at Ninja Land, celebrating Black Cat's revival and the exile of Sinobin. All the
    good spirits who lived there, including the three girls who had treated Slash and Jam
    and Tommy like royalty the last time they were there, were celebrating and dancing and
    had a huge buffet table out that Tommy just couldn't take his eyes off of. But the
    main attraction going on right now was taking place in the giant pagoda in the center
    of the land, where an important ceremony was taking place. It was an early marriage,
    not a real one but one for fun, and the priest, another good spirit, was about to
    get Jam and Kitty hitched. Jam was dressed in a white tuxedo and Kitty was wearing a
    long and fancy bridal gown with a long trail that Slash was holding onto.
    "Do you, Jam, take Kitty to be your loyal wedded girlfriend to love and cherish
    till death do you part?" The priest asked.
    "I do." Jam said, smiling at Kitty. Kitty smiled back.
    "And do you, Kitty, take Jam to be your loyal wedded boyfriend to love and
    cherish till death do you part?" The priest asked again.
    "I do." Kitty replied shyly.
    The priest smiled. "Then with the power granted within me I pronounce you....
    .....snowboarder and wife!"
    Jam and Kitty smiled and gave the priest a hinting glance.
    The priest got the message. "You may now kiss the bride."
    Jam gave Kitty a big and loving......french kiss.
    "EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW!!! He's got his tounge in her mouth!!! Yuck!!!" Slash yelled
    and made a whole bunch of gagging, barfing noises.
    All the Snowboard Kids and the attendants of the marriage - including their
    parents and a lot of the spirits - laughed at Slash's comment, stood up and applauded.

    * * *

    A week later, Kitty told Linda that she was pregnant with 'kittens'.


    Do you believe her?