Hi again! I honestly have no explanation for this one. An idea that would not let me go resulted in this. Thanks to Mikell for beta-reading and showing me where it needed improved. Your critique has been invaluable and I appreciate it.
Disclaimer: I could tie a bandanna around the turtle that sits on my computer, but that still would not make him a teenage mutant ninja turtle. Bet he'd look cute, though...Anyway, none of the characters in this story are mine.
Hamato Yoshi allowed his body to slip into the memorized movements of the kata he was practicing, though his thoughts were far from his actions. As his muscles worked through the familiar patterns of the exercises, performing each motion precisely, his mind had wandered back to the events that had forced him to flee from Japan to New York, with only a rat for a companion. He had not come for the reasons many came to this "land of opportunity;" the foreign soil held no promise of a better life for him. With the retreat of the Utroms at the rise of their enemy, the Shredder, he as a loyal Guardian Prime had had no choice but to follow them to their new base. He could not risk the Shredder and his Foot ninja using him as a means to get to the Utroms he guarded. But, though he felt no joy in leaving Japan, he knew in his heart that there was no tie that truly bound him to his homeland anymore. It had been severed with the murder of Tang Shen. Her death, at the hands of one whom he had once considered a brother, was a memory that overshadowed all recent events that had led him to this point.
His actions faltered as the anguish over the loss of the woman he had loved with all his being came back to him full force. Her life and his happiness had ended in one moment in time, a moment that overlaid the rich fragrances of the garden she loved, with the metallic tang of her life's blood. He could no longer even see her delicate features in his mind, could not imagine the scent of her hair or the feel of her body, without the memory of them stained by the image of her broken form lying on the rain-soaked ground. He cursed his memory for tainting all his precious remembrances of her life, with the one of her death.
With these thoughts also came the sense of betrayal and desire for retribution he had then felt towards her murderer Mashimi, at one time his dearest friend, and so recently his most bitter rival. Though he had avenged Tang Shen, defeating Mashimi had not killed those feelings within him. They poisoned all of the good memories he had of his former friend, and even now the pain of both losses still contracted in his chest and threatened to drive him to his knees. He needed a calm moment not to think.
Breaking his rhythm for a moment, he glanced over at the rat Splinter, which was peering at him curiously from behind the wooden framework that formed its cage. The small rodent was standing on its hind-legs, with its front paws leaning up against the cage door. Yoshi could not be sure where the thought came from, but from the way Splinter was standing, it almost seemed to him as though his pet was attempting to copy the same movements that he had just been doing.
Yoshi shook his head in quiet amusement at the idea of the rat attempting to practice ninjitsu, momentarily distracted from his grief by Splinter's behavior. In a way, Hamato Yoshi considered Splinter as a living connection to Tang Shen; he looked upon the small animal as a remembrance of her compassion and mercy. It was she who had fed the rat when they had still lived in the home of the Ancient One; it was she who had adopted and defended it when Mashimi had wanted to kill it as a pest. Yoshi now was truly grateful that she in her kindness had spared the rodent. He would be friendless in this strange city had she not cared for Splinter then.
"Splinter," he said with much fondness for the little creature, "your stance is incorrect. This is how you must position yourself, little oonezumi."
With a gentle smile on his face he demonstrated the correct stance for the rat, knowing that Splinter did not understand, of course. But it felt good to lose himself in the fluidity of the moves, and to teach what he knew to another being, even though he realized that the other being was incapable of performing the kata and that his lessons would be for naught. Yoshi made each movement slowly so that Splinter could clearly see how he positioned his body and limbs, and he oddly felt a warm sense of accomplishment once he had finished. Almost as though he had just done something that would make a difference in the world.
Throughout the demonstration, the intelligent gaze of his pet had never left him, watching his every action with great interest. Splinter's whiskers would twitch every so often as though in reaction to a thought, but other than that the rat remained motionless, only its eyes alert as they followed Master Yoshi. It almost seemed as though Splinter was able to understand what he was doing…almost. At times like these, the rat's expression seemed so—human-like. Yoshi smiled again as he sank to the floor for his meditation, glancing over once more at the rodent. Splinter himself had curled up in a furry ball, joining his master in the moment of serenity. Yoshi's eyes closed, and he gave himself over to clearing his mind of thought.
Hamato Yoshi would never know just how closely his "student" had been paying attention, nor would he ever see how those lessons would one day be employed.
Four eager pupils stood before him, each displaying various levels of dedication to the art of ninjitsu. Master Splinter felt a surge of pride as they demonstrated how far they had progressed. He was learning what each of his small charges needed to bring out their best efforts, and he guided the little turtles in their lessons with a firm but loving hand. Of course, some days were easier than others, he thought as one of the students swayed a bit, his heavy shell causing him to overbalance before he caught himself.
As Splinter watched them gradually turn their sparring session into a competition for his praise, he was reminded of the "lessons" his own Master had taught him so long ago, that he now passed on to them. The wise rat knew that one day his young sons would do honor to Master Yoshi and his teachings. He swore it to himself upon the memory of Hamato Yoshi. He would not allow the gift that his Master had given him to go to waste.