Hey guys! Sorry it's taken me so long to get the first chapter going, it's been crazy busy at college, but spring break is next week, so I should be able to update at least a little bit. Anyways, I know I promised more stories with the girls and the TMNT, well you're in luck, they are in this story as well. However I'm in a bit of an Usagi Yojimbo fix, so this short little miniseries of chapters is a story about him I've been meaning to do for years. Now seemed an appropriate time to do it. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it,
Disclaimer: I d not own TMNT nor do I own Usagi Yojimbo.
Why does a wanderer do just that? With no permanence tying them down to one place, no security, no assurance that they will sleep in a warm safe place every night, or even if they will eat every day. What makes them live the life they lead? Was it the sheer excitement of exploring the world they were born into, finding a new place, with new faces each and every day. Is it because they are looking for something? Or perhaps running away from something? Both? These are questions the samurai ronin, Usagi Miyamoto, and the wayward traveler with the golden eyes asked themselves every day.
They have yet to give themselves a straight answer.
Usagi, after tracing the strange symbols that would transport him to the battle nexus, smiled to himself as he placed his palms together to recite the chant. It would be good to see his friends again. He also took a moment to hope that for once, the battle nexus would take part peacefully, with an absence of a megalomaniac on the loose. And also, to see a friend that had been missing for some time now.
His ears swayed in the wind, the trees and grass making a calming sort of "siiiiissshhh" sound. He placed a hand readily on his swords, knowing he would be needing them very soon, and jumped through the swirling blue portal. It disappeared shortly after, as if the rift between time and space had not just been torn even the tiniest bit in the peaceful Japanese meadow.
Elsewhere, a hooded figure stood on a similar plane, letting the long tendrils of the green and yellow grass brush their legs as a small wind stirred it. The traveler with the golden eyes looked out at the vast kingdom of sorts, the battle nexus. It stood proudly, yet welcoming, as if greeting the travelers arrival.
A hand reached up to push the hood back from the travelers head, and the girl hidden underneath enjoyed the feel of the wind blowing her inky black hair to the side, tickling her face as she smiled fondly at the sight of the grand place.
"I am home..." she commented softly to herself.
In the lair
"I can't believe we're really going! This is gonna be so so so so so cooool!" Beccy shouted at the top of her lungs, jumping up and down on the couch. Everybody else was busy either packing a small travel pack for the trip, or cleaning and preparing the layer for the week they would not be there. Mikey grinned and soon joined her bouncing around like a little kid even though they both were close to eighteen years old.
Tawni, setting her bag on the couch, rolled her eyes.
"Are you both packed up? We're leaving In like ten minutes."
Beccy crossed her legs mid bounce and landed on her butt on the couch, bouncing one last time before coming to a stop, while Mikey flipped around the back of it, "Yes mommy!" they chorused teasingly
Beccy grinned as Tawni glared at her for a moment. Over the past2 years all four girls had grown into beautiful young women, curves developing along with…other parts of their anatomy. But I won't get into all that, I will tell you what they look like nowadays however.
Beccy's sense of style was whacked, as always, but had gained a sort of limited sophistication. She no longer looked mismatched and clashing, but meshed together in a sort of contemporary way. Today her outfit of choice was a black miniskirt with pink leggings and purple leg warmers. She had a white tank with a red corset type of top, accentuating her growing chest. She wore several jangling bracelets, sparkling and glowing in their neon colors like they were radioactive. Her shoulder length brown hair was still around the same length it had been when she had first met the turtles, but had been styled to flair out slightly, she also had some bright orange highlights in them, as a tribute to her favorite turtle. She still sported a pair of aviator goggles as a makeshift hairband.
To Mikey she was perfect, as always. He let her know this by giving her a swift kiss on her temple.
It was Beccy's turn to roll her eyes when Tawni opened her bag to double check she had everything for the umpteenth time. She bounded to her feet and stretched, opening her mouth to say something, when she noticed the blue banded turtle approaching. She figured if anyone could handle a worrywart Tawni, it was him. So she and Mikey went to discuss just who was going to be the battle nexus champion this year.
"Toothbrush, daggers, toothpaste, clothes, pajamas…"Tawni listed to herself quietly as she rummaged through her bag, only to jump slightly when she felt an arm slide around her waist,
"Tawni, relax. At this point, everybody in the lair can recite what you packed from memory." Leo stated bemusedly, coaxing the girl to lower her bag from her eyesight.
Tawni smiled wryly and leaned into his hold "A good warrior needs to be prepared, as you should know."
Leo smiled down at Tawni, his treasure. Her orange hair still shown in the lair's dim light, making her like a welcoming beacon whenever he returned home from a midnight run. Instead of being shoulder length, it now travel down her back, and the black strands still told of the tiger spirit within her. Her outfit was reasonably plain compared to Beccy's (then again, what outfit couldn't look plain next to Beccy's) She was wearing a pair of jeans, faded and ripped as par the style of today. Along with a blue sleeveless mandarin Chinese tunic, symbols for the words "tiger lily" embroidered along the side where the buttons fastened the shirt together. It made her look refined, and confident as it held her shoulders back.
Tawni rose an eyebrow with a small smile, silently asking why he was staring at her. He shook his head, and tucked a runaway strand of hair behind her ear.
Meanwhile, in the kitchen,
Ella was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Trying to get all of the dishes clean, dry and put away after Mikey had decided to make a major breakfast buffet. It had been the orange banded turtle's idea to just leave the dishes until they got back, but everyone quickly nixed that idea. Unfortunately, everyone was too busy getting packed to clean it, all except for Ella, who had packed hers early in her excitement.
"Really Miss Ella," Splinter said trying to keep the girl from burning herself out before the tournament even began, "Let me call Michelangelo in here, he should be responsible for his own mess."
Ella huffed a little as she was finally able to lift a heavy stack of plates into a cabinet, then shook her head, "N-no, it's okay Master splinter. I truly don't mind cleaning...truth be told sensei, it's keeping my mind occupied at the moment."
The shyest of the four girls folded her hands in front of her, embarrassed. It had taken a vast amount of convincing, and puppy eyes on both Mikey and Beccy's parts, to get her to participate in the tournament. After the fight with Chicobo, she had taken on a more pacifistic outlook, much like Donatello. She would only fight if she absolutely had to. Willingly entering a tournament where all you did was beat the crud out of your opponent until hey were zapped away did not appeal to her in the least. Nor did getting into a stage of sorts where she would be watched by hundreds of eyes as she fought for the honor of being a champion. The mere thought of being the center of attention made her stomach twist. Master Splinter however assured her that everyone was always transported away before any serious harm could be done. That did nothing for her stage fright though
Splinter's ears twitched when he heard Donatello come from behind him,
"It's okay master splinter, I'm all packed so I can help her now."
"Very well my son," Splinter went to check on everyone else, and also prepare the portal for the battle nexus.
After putting away the last of the dishes, Donny reached to rub the back of Ella's neck, trying to ease away the tension that was gathering back there.
"It's okay Ellie, you're ready for this. I know you are."
Ella gave him a warm smile, nodding though unconvinced. Though all the girls had blossomed in the past few years, it was hard to compare to Ella. Her whole way of carrying herself had changed, she now walked with her shoulders back in confidence instead of hunched over, as if afraid. Her lilac eyes were still gentle, but they did not hold that twinge of fear and unease that they did before. Her wide rimmed glasses had been traded in for a more stylish pair. Her hair was still long, but she wore it down a lot more than she did before, and it cascaded down her back in graceful waves. She had a white baby doll shirt on, with a small purple heart sewn just where the breast pocket would be, and a denim jacket over that. She wore a ruffly plaid skirt instead of the plain one she used to, with white lace on the bottom, and red and black stockings, a pair of shiny black mary janes completing the look. The whole over look made her look innocent, but also much happier than her past clothing did.
Both of them jumped when they heard a door slam from upstairs,
"Tawni! Yo! Ya seen my toothbrush!" Cam shouted throughout the lair.
Tawni slapped her forehead. Clearly Cam would never learn common courtesy no matter how old she'd get.
"Quite yelling, I handed it to you this morning remember?"
Cam frowned and checked her pack, a bit disgruntled. She could hear Raph snickering behind her and she shot him a glare.
"Nervous babe?" He asked making sure no one could hear him as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
Cam snorted, waving a hand passively, "Not a chance, I've been looking forward to this for months."
"Then why so forgetful?"
He grunted when she elbowed him in the side, but he noted that it was not nearly as powerful a blow as it could be. She was playing, and so was he.
The red banded turtle leaned against the wall as he let his eyes travel up and down Cam. The years had been generous to her too, her hips growing wider and her...ahem, other assets growing as well. Her choice of dress had also gotten (slightly) more feminine as well. Instead of oversized men's cargo pants ,she was wearing a pair of dark grey skinny jeans, rips on the knee caps and just one on her left thigh. She had a pair of black combat boots, big silver buckles wrapping leather around her ankles to secure the blocky shoes to her feet. She had a red tank on, as well as a veil like black shirt that you could see right through going over it She had black gloves on, that made small little 'grimp' noises when ever she clenched and unclenched her hands.
Raph smirked, whatever she said, he could tell she was at least a little nervous. Fighting street thugs was ne thing, but fighting for approval to be a champion was totally different.
Coming up behind her, he reached up to stroke her hair. He noticed her tense for a moment, then slowly relax. He had learned to do this shortly after they started dating. If he rubbed the back of her head, it would have an instant calming effect on her.
'like scratching a dog behind the ears' he thought with a smirk. Cam hated it when he said that, she had a wolf darnit, not some puppy.
"Yer hair's growing out again, " He murmured more to himself that anyone else, and she made a short noise of acknowledgment, but it was clear she didn't really care. One day, Cam had surprised everyone when she showed up to the layer with all of her beautiful long silky hair hacked off into a short pixie cut. Raph sort of missed the feeling of the long hair, but he had to admit, the new hairdo made Cam look…sexy.
"My son's, it is time!" the both looked up as Splinter called. They slung their packs over their shoulders and went to meet everyone at the brick wall facing the front door. The portal already shimmering into life.
"Battle nexus here we come!" Beccy shouted, tugging on Ella's arm excitedly. Ella smiled and nodded.
Master Splinter turned to them, "This year we have been given a special opportunity. The Daimyo has invited everyone two days before the competition begins to attend a celebration. A festival as well as a ball will take place. I trust you all to do your best to act respectfully of your fellow warriors at all times." He gave Beccy and Mikey a wary look. Mikey shrugged while Beccy merely giggled at the accusation in his voice.
Leo looked confused for a moment though, "Err, master splinter, there's something I've been wondering about. Why is the Daimyo having this celebration all of a sudden?"
"I do not know Leonardo, the Daimyo can be as mysterious as he is powerful. I suppose we shall see when we get there."
With that, the old rat turned and walked straight through the portal. Beccy and Mikey were not far behind, and finally the last six went through.
This would be a battle nexus like no other, that they were sure of.
Yeah, it's short, I know, but necessary. I want to add a little mystery in there before I get to the real story. It just occurred to me I should probably have made it it's own story instead of including it in the 100 series…oh well. I'm an artist, I do strange things. Is anyone complaining? No? good :)
Beccy: (terminator voice) read and review if you want to live!
Cam: (smack)