TMNT: New Horizons
Chapter 1: Double Edged Sword
A/N: I remember talking to AlexHamato about her story "Ninja Turtles" and how I liked her spin on it. She asked me if I'd ever consider creating my own incarnation of the Turtles, and I remember telling her that I wouldn't because I enjoyed writing in the Nickelodeon universe so much. But after a discussion on The Technodrome Forums about creating your own incarnation of TMNT, I gave the idea some thought, and this is what I've come up with. This incarnation will take elements from some of the different incarnations and blend them together. I hope that you enjoy what I've come up with.
Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. I only own the plot of the story.
Summary: There is no great loss without some gain. Both Oroku Saki and Hamato Yoshi have lost many things, but what they gain will change them forever and will change the course of their friendship and brotherhood. My own version of TMNT and how I think the story would go.
The sounds of fighting were sharp and loud. Oroku Saki watched it all from his living room window as his father went out to fight. He didn't understand the nature of the fighting, but his father explained that war was a natural thing and was bound to happen sometimes. He had trained Saki to be a ninja, and it was going well so far. Saki was proud of his father and what he had accomplished, and one day he wanted to be just like him. But why did they have to be in a war with the Hamato clan? From what Saki knew, the Hamato clan was a very nice group of people. Saki had once met Hamato Yoshi while at school and had even sat at lunch with him. When his father asked him about his day, Saki had replied," I sat with Yoshi at lunch today."
"You sat with Hamato Yoshi?" his father asked.
Saki nodded. "Yes. He's a very nice boy. I think we could be friends."
His father's face clouded with anger, and he slapped Saki's face. "You are never to associate with that boy again!" he shouted. "He is the enemy!"
"He didn't seem like an enemy!" Saki protested. "He even let me borrow a pencil."
His father shook his head. "Ah, Saki, you will never understand the way of the world," he said. "Of course Yoshi was nice to you. That is his way of tricking you into thinking you can become friends. Once he gains your trust, he will betray you in the worst way possible. That is the way it has been for many years, my son. The only way to avoid it is to not associate with any of them."
Saki nodded and made no mention of Hamato Yoshi again. But over time, he really wondered why his father hated the Hamato clan so much. Was it because of their nature of being honorable, or was it something much deeper than that?
He snapped out of his thoughts and continued to watch the fight. He had lost sight of his father, but he wasn't worried. Father was a great fighter and would come out of this unscathed as he always did. Suddenly, the doors to his home burst open, and two men came in carrying swords. Saki whirled around and noticed that they wore the robe with the Hamato crest on it. Why were they here? Had they come to make peace?
"It is Oroku Saito's son," one of them said. "We should get rid of him before he grows up to become head of the Foot." He raised his sword, preparing to kill the boy, but the other man stopped him.
"No!" he yelled. "We cannot harm an innocent child."
The other man snorted. "He is not innocent, Kenzo," he replied. "He has been trained in the ways of the Foot."
"Then perhaps we can train him differently," answered Kenzo. "We cannot let him stay here alone. I am going to take him in and raise him as my own."
"Do as you wish, but do not blame me if it goes wrong."
Saki listened to all of this and didn't know what to think. Was this man really going to take him in and raise him? Had Father had a change of heart and decided that perhaps Saki was better off with Yoshi's father than with him?
"Where's Father?" he asked.
"Your father is missing," Kenzo replied. "We cannot find him, and so I am going to take you in."
The other man looked as though he wanted to say something, but a look from Kenzo silenced him.
Saki gathered his belongings and followed Kenzo to his home where Hamato Yoshi was waiting for them. His eyes lit up as he spotted Saki.
"Are you coming to live here?" he asked.
Saki nodded. "Yes, I suppose so," he answered. "I hope we can find my father. I miss him."
Yoshi hugged Saki tightly. "I'm sure my father will find him," he reassured him. "But in the meantime, you and I are going to have a lot of fun. I've always wanted to have a brother of my own."
"So have I," Saki replied. He remembered his father telling a story about how he'd had a brother once before but the child had died. Saki never knew how his brother had died and only knew that his name had been Oroku Nagi.
"Then this will be fun," Yoshi promised him. "We will always stick together and never leave each other."
Saki nodded and was happy that Kenzo and Yoshi had taken him in. He was sad about his father, but maybe things would turn out okay for him. He knew Kenzo would do all he could to find Father and return him to him. In the meantime, Saki decided to just make himself at home and become part of the Hamato clan.
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As the years went on, Saki and Yoshi became close and called themselves brothers. They did everything together and were rarely seen without one another. They played pranks on other children and often got in trouble, though Saki was the one who often instigated the pranks while Yoshi went along with them. It wasn't long before someone else came into their lives, a girl by the name of Tang Shen. She was very pretty and became drawn to both boys. Saki pretended not to like her at first, but as time went on, those feelings changed.
One day while in their room, Saki turned to Yoshi. "Yoshi, I have to tell you something," he said.
"What is it?" Yoshi asked.
"I really like Tang Shen and want to ask her out," Saki told him. "I just don't know if I should do it. What if she turns me down?"
Yoshi laughed. "Brother, you worry too much," he said. "If you don't ask her out, you'll never know how it will turn out. Just ask her and see. If she turns you down, then at least you made an effort to try."
Saki knew Yoshi was right, and so he went to Shen who was sitting under a cherry blossom tree. He was nervous, but he took some deep breaths and steeled himself to ask her.
Shen looked up at him and smiled. "Saki, it's nice to see you," she said. "What brings you out here?"
"Shen, I wanted to ask you if you would do me the honor of accompanying me on a date tonight," Saki replied.
Shen smiled at him. "Well, of course, I will," she answered.
Saki bowed to her. "Thank you," he said. He walked away, but his heart was doing somersaults of joy. She had said yes! He hurried home and told Yoshi the news.
"That's wonderful, Brother!" Yoshi exclaimed. "I am so happy for you!"
That night, Saki took Shen to a nice restaurant in the city. The food was good, and the two of them talked of many things. Saki found himself becoming a different person when he was around Shen, and he began to see that his life could take a different turn. When dinner was over, Saki walked Shen to her door. She was so beautiful, and Saki was stunned by that beauty. He leaned in to give her a kiss, but she pushed him away.
"Saki, no," she said. "I can't do this."
"What do you mean?" Saki asked her.
"I'm sorry, Saki, but I don't feel for you the way you want me to," she answered.
"But you came with me on this date!" protested Saki. "How can you not feel any love for me?"
"Because I love someone else, and I did not know it," she replied. "I am truly sorry, Saki."
"I understand," Saki said as he bowed to her. It was a lie because he didn't understand how things could have gone so wrong. He thought Shen loved him as much as he loved her. He was going to confess his love for her after he kissed her, but she pushed him away. Rage consumed him as he thought of the man she really loved. He obviously wasn't worthy of Shen's love, and Saki felt the burning desire to demand of Shen who she loved so he could go to that man and let him know just what he thought of him. But he knew that would do no good, so he kept it out of his mind and left for home.
Yoshi was waiting up for him. "So how did it go?" he asked.
Saki's face was clouded with sadness. "It was going fine until I tried to kiss her," he answered.
"What did she do?"
"She pushed me away and said that she loved someone else," he answered.
Yoshi's face filled with sympathy. "I'm so sorry, Saki," he said. "I know how much you were looking forward to this date. Did she say who she loved?"
Saki shook his head. "I never asked, and she never told me. Maybe it's for the best. I would probably want to kill the idiot anyway."
"No, you aren't that heartless, Brother," said Yoshi. "This will pass in time. At least you still have me."
Saki nodded, but it didn't make him feel any better as he changed for bed. He just wished he could be the man Tang Shen wanted him to be. It wasn't fair, but that was the way life was sometimes. He closed his eyes, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.
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Yoshi came running up to Saki, his eyes filled with joy. "Saki, you are not going to believe this!" he exclaimed.
"Father is going to let us go on missions?" Saki guessed.
"No, even better. Tang Shen just confessed that she loves me!"
"She did what?" Saki gasped.
"I never would have believed it, but she just came up to me and told me she loved me. I knew I felt that way about her, but I had no idea she felt that way about me."
Once again, the rage Saki had felt before reared its head like a cobra as he processed Yoshi's words. Shen had never loved Saki but had loved Yoshi instead. That meant Shen had gone on the date to play with his feelings and make him think she loved him when it was really Yoshi she had loved all along. A desire came over him to strike Yoshi, but Saki held himself back. There was a good chance that this relationship wouldn't last and perhaps Shen would see that she really did love Saki after all. Buoyed by that thought, Saki smiled at his friend.
"I'm happy for you, Brother," he said. "I hope that it will work out."
"Thank you, Saki," Yoshi replied. "You are not mad at me?"
"Of course not," Saki answered. "I understand why Shen feels the way she does, and she deserves someone as good as you." Once again, it was a lie. Saki was angry and felt that Yoshi and Shen had been playing him all along. He remembered his father's words about how Yoshi would gain his trust and betray him. Now it had come, and Saki felt both anger and heartache for he hadn't wanted to believe his father's words at the time. Now he had to face the truth that his father had been right. Yoshi never cared about him at all. He was not Saki's friend, and Saki was going to make sure he paid for his betrayal. It felt like a double-edged sword was gnawing at him. Saki turned and walked away, not wanting to talk to Yoshi anymore.
As he stormed away, he saw two other members talking together and pricked his ears up when he heard his father's name mentioned.
"Saito had it coming," one of them said. "He's been nothing but a menace to our clan, and I'm glad that we were able to get rid of him before he destroyed us."
"It's sad that his son doesn't know about any of it," the other said. "I wonder why Kenzo made up that story about Saito being missing."
"He probably didn't want to distress the boy," the first man said. "But I hope that in time, Kenzo will tell him the truth."
It felt like a punch to the gut. His father had been killed by the Hamato clan? Then why had they taken him in if that was the case? Had they thought that by integrating him into their clan that he would become one of them and forget his father's ways? This wasn't right! Yoshi's father was a killer! He wanted nothing to do with them anymore! He ran back to the home he thought had been his and gathered his things. He wasn't going to stay here any longer.
Yoshi caught up to him as he saw Saki leaving. "Saki, where are you going?" he asked.
"I'm leaving this clan forever!" Saki spat. "Your father killed my father in cold blood. He was nothing but a murderer! I cannot stay here any longer!"
"You're wrong!" Yoshi retorted. "It was your father who was the murderer! He killed dozens in my clan and never cared. He was training you to be just like him!"
"You're lying!" Saki yelled. "You're a liar and a traitor! Mark my words, Hamato Yoshi, you will pay for all that you and your clan have done!" And with that, Saki fled back to his original home and his original clan.
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Oroku Saki became the new leader of the Foot Clan and rebuilt the army his father had created. He became a respected leader, and all who knew him respected him. He continued to keep tabs on Yoshi and his clan and soon learned that Shen and Yoshi were married and had given birth to a baby daughter they had named Miwa. Rage continued to consume him at the thought of that. Miwa should have been his just as Shen should have been his wife.
One night, he confronted Yoshi in his home with his wife and daughter. Saki's eyes were filled with rage as he looked at the man he had once considered to be a brother to him.
"Saki, what are you doing here?" Yoshi demanded.
"I have come to seek my vengeance on you and your family," Saki replied. "You have betrayed me, Yoshi. You have taken everything that I have held dear in my life, and you must pay for your crimes."
"You will not harm me or my family!" retorted Yoshi. "I will not let you!"
With a roar of rage, Saki lunged at Yoshi and a fight ensued. Both men traded blows, desperation in their movements. Saki was desperate to see Yoshi suffer for all he had done to him, while Yoshi was desperate to protect his wife and daughter form harm. Saki knocked Yoshi to the ground and smiled. Now was the time to take back what was his. Just as his katana was poised to strike, a petite form leapt in between them, but it was too late. Saki's blow rang true and struck the woman he had loved. Shen fell to the floor in a heap, blood pooling in a puddle around her. Both men yelled her name in unison, but it was too late. Shen was gone.
"You did this, Yoshi!" Saki screamed. "It is your fault!" He knocked over a candle, causing the house to burst into flames. Yoshi tried to come for him, but a wall of flame prevented him from reaching the man who had taken his wife from him. Saki started to escape when he heard a tiny cry of a baby. He turned and saw Miwa on the floor, crying her eyes out. Saki knew he couldn't leave her and scooped her up in his arms. Even though he had lost the woman he loved, perhaps he could keep a part of her with him. He escaped the house with the child, Yoshi's screams of rage ringing in his ears.
Nothing mattered now. He had gotten his revenge, and Yoshi would probably die alongside his wife. He looked down at the child in his arms and smiled. She was just like her mother and would probably grow up to be just like Shen had been. No, he could make her into a better warrior and make her forget she ever had a family with Yoshi and Shen.
"Do not worry, little one," he reassured her. "I will take care of you." He entered his home and looked in the mirror. His face was disfigured from the fire. How could he not have felt the burns? Maybe it was the adrenaline. Deciding not to worry about that, he tucked the child in his bed and decided to name her Karai since Miwa was the name Yoshi had chosen. He felt that Karai was a true kunoichi's name and that she would carry on his legacy long after he was gone.
Despite everything that had happened, Oroku Saki felt a sense of satisfaction. He had gotten his vengeance on Hamato Yoshi and had taken his wife and daughter from him. He had finally defeated his enemy and had won. He had avenged his father's death, and he knew his father would be so proud of him. With that last thought in his head, Saki went to sleep, cradling Karai near him.
A/N: So that's the first chapter. What did you think? I know I used some of the Nickelodeon version of the triangle, but I did my best to try to make it a bit of my own. Don't worry, the Turtles will be featured in the next chapter, and their origin will be very unique. I won't say more now. You'll just have to read and find out. In the meantime, feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.