I was taking advantage of netflix streaming and flipping through my favorite episodes of Jackie Chan Adventures and I was reminded of a previous observation of mine: the Shadowkhan seemed more child-like when Jade was their liege lady. When Jackie said she couldn't keep them, all of the Shadowkhan got this sad look. It was like they were mimicking Jade or being affected by her child's innocence. (Well, I say innocent but Jade is hardly innocent...)

So on to the story!

One-Shot

Posted: 9-25-2012

Ojou-Sama*

The Shadowkhan never spoke while they were in the human realm under the command of the dragon demon sorcerer. The humans saw them only as enemy foot soldiers and they rather preferred it that way. Besides, it wasn't as if they could ever die – they were simply banished back to their realm proper.

When they were summoned it was always the same – a group of the 1st Shadowkhan Tribe would gather at the town square and done their shadow garb before reappearing in the mortal world. And when they were summoned, the burn of demon's magic tugged at them until they arrived – malevolent, full of greed and rage. Truly, they had much preferred Tarakudo's reign and the rule of their creator demon, Hitoshi. This new demon whom they had served for many years after the sealing of their original master was far less...approved of among the Hitoshi Shadowkhan but they were bound to serve.

Kage watched his father working from his sitting place on the shelf, sharpening the blades of the shuriken and holding it up to the shadowy twilight to watch it gleam. New shadows were born all the time, reflecting the personality of the person she or he had been born from but the taking on the shape of their Oni Creator when they were summoned into the Mortal Plain. They existed alongside their human counterparts in their seperate world unbeknownst to the humans and at the mercy of sorcerers.

"I was hoping that Shendu had been sealed again,"

"We cannot have everything we wish for. Nonetheless, Shendu is ignorant to the full extent of our mental capacity and we need not make an effort to keep it that way. All we need do is remain silent and take orders."

Help! Anybody!

Kage's father straightened suddenly, surprised etched on his blue features.

"Otou-sama?" Kage asked.

"Tarakudo-sama?" his father whispered. But...it is a child's voice...a child's plea.

"Otou-sama?"

"We will return," the older shadowkhan promised, tucking away the shuriken into his belt and pulling his cowl over his face. He crossed over to the black mirror and disappeared, appearing on the other side.

The Shadowkhan appeared in an alley, surrounding the human called Hak Foo. He was cornering a cringing human girl clutching a large book – the kin of the master's enemy.

"Shadowkhan," she breathed in horror.

It is the child! Kage's father said silently to his brethren.

The child called Jade, another agreed.

Hak Foo seemed swell with confidence; Jade's eyes grew huge as she whispered; "Oh no, oh no, oh no..." and ducked behind their true master's demon archive of magick, trembling.

She bears the mark of the master. One of the Shadowkhan said as Hak Foo strode forward and his passage was blocked by the hands of the shadowkhan. She will not be harmed.

Hak Foo stepped back in confusion as the Shadowkhan just looked at him over their shoulders and one of their brethren on the rooftop descended, dealing a blow directly to Hak Foo's face.

He really didn't stand a chance.

"Bunny flees from vicious jackals. Ahhh!" Satisfied that the bearer of their master's mark was safe, the shadowkhan returned to their shadowy realm.

Jade paused and looked up, eyes curious. "I'm...still alive?" She looked at the book as if it would grant her answers. "Weird," She didn't notice that her ankle tattoo faded from shimmering gold and red back to outlined blue.

"I feel lighter already,"

Kage jumped back to his stool away from the forge flames as his father's re-entered the forge, accompanied by several other warriors.

"Eager to become a great forgesmith like your father?" one of the older shinobi teased.

Kage nodded eagerly and his father patted him fondly on the head.

"What do you mean, you feel lighter?" Kage asked curiously.

"We appear to have a new master," another shinobi said. "The kin of Shendu's mortal enemy,"

"The old man?"

"No, the girl," Kage's father explained. Kage looked at him curiously and peered out of the windows of the shop into the shadow realm where several moons provided the meager light. More of the children were playing outside, tossing the ball around while their parents and siblings sparred outside to keep an eye on them.

"It does seem happier," Kage said, smiling.

"Under Tarakudo-sama all of the Shadow tribes lived in harmony and together. But now we are separated and we, the First Tribe are held under sway by the dragon sorcerer Shen Du."

"Do the other tribes look down upon us?"

"We have not had contact with them in many centuries." Kage's father said. "But yes, I think they would."

"I do think it is in our best interest to see that Jade remains as our master," the first shinobi said. "See how her personality already affects our world?"

"But I thought humans were susceptible to darkness," Kage said. "Won't it go away after awhile, change her?"

The older warriors mused over the child's words for a moment.

"This is a good point, little Kage," said one of the warriors. "But on that front, there is really nothing we can do,"

"We must conceal ourselves from her kin," Kage's father said. "If she keeps us secret, it will maintain her child humanity. They enjoy having a secret to themselves – keeps them young, gives them rebellious nature,"

"It is possible. For now, we will serve her loyally as we once served Hitoshi-sama,"

Tch, I wish I had time for breakfast.

By silent consensus, it was agreed that they would gain the favor of the child – they had fought against her and her family many times before – what if she felt repulsed by them?

And so, they appeared silently in her bathroom – Kage's father gave him permission to alter his shadow form and join the group. Everyone wanted a look at the new master.

At first she didn't notice them; she closed the mirror, rinsing out her mouth then looked back into the mirror, spitting out the water in surprise.

"Gah!" Jade whirled around on her stool, pointing the empty glass at the crowd of Shadowkhan in her bathroom. The Shadowkhan just looked back at her passively, careful not to make any sudden movements.

She glanced towards the door, hoping for an escape but one of the Shadowkhan – Kage – wisely held up a carton of orange juice. Jade's fear was replaced by confusion and her eyes darted to the other Shadowkhan, one of whom held up a bowl of hot cereal and the other a toaster which popped two slices of toast – a remarkable feat considering it wasn't even plugged in.

Jade lowered her glass. "Breakfast?" and sat down in the sink full of water. The Shadowkhan all bowed, bearing their offerings of food.

She seemed stunned for a moment. "Whoa, the tattoo!" she said, glancing at it. "That's what happened last night! I called for help and you guys came!"

Unlike the sorcerer and demon masters before her, Jade Chan was a simple girl – a child with simple, bursting full of adventure and eager to get in on the action.

Unlike Shen Du, and like Hitoshi - their Oni General creator -she talked to them as if they could speak back and while they could understand humans being from the realm where their shadows resided they could not speak to humans. But it didn't seem to matter to her.

"I feel like I'm demeaning your ninja awesomeness by making you clean my room," Jade admitted from her Shadowkhan stool. She had picked out black clothes to wear that day while the Shadowkhan poked around her room. "I mean I could sit in a chair..." The Shadowkhan brushing her hair just patted her shoulder reassuringly. One of the other Shadowkhan held up the bowl of hot cereal. "Oh, yes please," she said and hummed happily after swallowing the spoonful that was fed to her. "How did you know I liked with milk and honey? Oh, you're ninjas of course you know."

Another Shadowkhan offered a pair of shoes for her inspection. "Black shoes, good choice!" A bottle of black nail polish was dangled in front of her. "I have nail polish? Throw it on. Hey, orange juice please?" She was handed a glass and took a long gulp. The hair-brushing Shadowkhan went back to brushing hair. "Thank you,"

"Now this has to be our little secret," she explained to them as the manicuring Shadowkhan bowed. "If Jackie won't let me have a tattoo, there's no way he'd let me have my own ninjas!"

And the doorknob turned as if on cue; the Shadowkhan eyes widened, Jade gasped and before she could blink they were gone, balancing awkwardly on top of the doorframe, leaving Jade standing in the middle of the room with lunchbox and backpack.

"Forgot my wallet," Jackie explained sheepishly as he opened the door and took the missing item off the dresser in front of the door. "Are you ready for -" Jackie stopped mid-sentence and peered at his niece curiously.

"Under control."

"Why are you wearing black?"

"I'm in a dark mood."

Jackie just raised an eyebrow before closing the door as he went. Jade waited for several moments before giving the shadowkhan a thumbs' up. "Nice reflexes but...couldn't you have just disappeared into the shadows?"

The shadowkhan jumped down at once and exchanged looks.

I can't believe that didn't occur to us.

Jade laughed. "I'm not scolding you; it was cool!"

One of the shadowkhan held out his arms.

"Nah, I'll walk - don't want Jackie getting suspicious. I need some air anyway, maybe another time," The shadowkhan bowed respectfully and faded away until only Kage was left.

"Something wrong?" she asked. Kage just shook his head slowly; Jade frowned then it dawned on her.

"The tattoo! Jackie and Uncle wanna remove it after school!" Kage looked horrified. "Don't worry - we won't let 'em will we?"Kage shook his head. "I think I have an idea for it but go on now. I'm gonna be late!" Jade ran out the door and Kage disappeared into the shadows.

I am 98% sure this is all and this is a one-shot. I just wanted to show something from the Shadowkhan's point of view/explore their reactions but I think I did something totally different...

Please review.

Otou-sama - is a respectful term of address for 'Father'. There's also 'Otou-san' which is less formal.

Ojou-sama is japanese for 'milady' or something to that affect.