Friends in time of need
The young girl was making her way thru the forest. She had to meet her aunt at the old well. Trouble had made it's way to the village. The girl saw a backpack being flung out of the well. Then a woman's head appeared.
"Aunt Natsumi!"
The woman looked surprised. "Sakura! What are doing here? Shippo was to meet me here."
"Some invaders from Norinaga's castle. Father and the rest have gone to meet them. Mother sent me here to meet you. We have one of the guards imprisoned."
Natsumi smiled. Her sister in law, Rin thought of everything. Including a very welcomed face when she returned from her mother's world beyond the well.
"Well, then, my little ball of sunshine. Let's go find your mother."
As the two walked back to the village, Natsumi thought of her life. She was the daughter of the village protector, Inuyasha, a half demon, and the village priestess, Kagome. She had inherited her father's fangs and temperament. However, her ears, skin and black hair were her mother's. Her brother Naro was just the opposite. His appearance was identical to his father. Silver hair, dog ears, but his attitude was his mother's. Her other brother, Shippo, was a fox demon whom Inuyasha and Kagome took in as their own son years ago when they'd stood before the shrine and were married by Kaide, the priestess at that time. Now, times were more turbulent. Norinaga, the self proclaimed lord of the region, had wreaked havoc upon all those that opposed him. He claimed that the powerful half demon, Naraku, was his father. There was some truth to his claim as he controlled Sanyosho, Naraku's poison insects.
Coming into the village, Natsumi met up with Rin.
"thank you Rin, for my welcoming committee."
Rin smiled. "I thought Sakura would be the best person to greet you…"
Natsumi interrupted her. "Do you smell that? It smells like pizza and garbage."
Natsumi followed the smell to the isolated hut designed to keep prisoners. "Who is he?"
"One of the imperial guards."
Natsumi couldn't place it, but the smell was familiar. She entered the hut and drew the dagger she always kept with her. She placed the knife at the back of the guard. "Turn around slowly and remove your helmet and mask. Know that I have a dagger at your back."
The guard turned around, and removed the helmet and the face mask. What was revealed was a green bald looking creature with an orange bandanna around his face.
"Natty?"
"Mike?"
She hugged this stranger, pleased that she did know him. "Michelangelo, how did you get here? Where are Raph, Leo, and Donny?"
"I'm not sure, Natty. I was hit over the head and woke up here. Someone said something about fighting the rest beyond the western ridge. Donny will have to explain."
"Is your Sensei here as well?"
"No. Master Splinter is still back in New York."
"C'mon. Let's go see if we can find your brothers."
When the two finally made it to the western ridge, they found a fight. Natsumi's parents, her brothers, and Miroku and Sango, fighting Mike's brothers. Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael with April in tow.
Natsumi put two fingers to her lips and gave a shrill whistle. "Donny, Leo, Raph! Up here. Mike is right here!"
Inuyasha looked up at his daughter. "You released the demon?"
"They're not demons, Dad! They're friends."
Leo looked at Inuyasha and placed his katanas on the ground.
"Natty speaks the truth. We're friends. We need to find a way back home."
Inuyasha looked cynical. However, if his Natsumi said it, then that was good enough for him. He looked to his wife. "Kagome! You and you alone can grant safe passage."
Natsumi looked at her mother with pleading eyes.
"Very well, safe passage is granted to all of them."
Natsumi walked down to where everyone was standing. "Everyone but this man."
April replied, "Whit? He saved us. Why wouldn't he be granted safe passage?"
"April," Natsumi replied, "Whit isn't welcomed in the village. I'll explain later. Right now we need to get you all back to the village."
Later that evening, Natsumi had changed into a traditional robe for a priestess in training. She helped Rin, Sango, and her mother serve dinner to the men and their guests.
Kagome noticed with interest that Natsumi sat on the left side of the one called Raphael.
Inuyasha broke the silence. "Who are you? How did you get here? Where are you from?"
Leonardo spoke up. "We are mutant turtles. We are from New York. I'm not sure how we came to be here."
"Mutant? What is that?"
Natsumi spoke up. "Think of it as a liquid form of the Shikon jewel, Dad. Sixteen years ago, they were just ordinary turtles. Now, they are ninjas."
"How do you know them?"
"We first met in Tokyo. We all fought side by side. We became friends for life. They would never betray us. It goes against everything they were taught by their master."
"Okay, how did you get here."
This time, Donny, the one with the purple bandanna spoke up. "It all started when April found this thing in the Little Tokyo. She thought it would make a fine birthday present for Splinter. It began glowing, and that's all I remember."
Miroku spoke up. "Can you describe it?"
"Yes. It had a handle that was maybe a foot in length. On top was this ornate piece that began glowing. I really didn't have time to examine it. April disappeared first, then the four of us."
Natsumi was interested in the staff. "Are you referring to the staff of Hakure?" She pulled out one of her school text books. "Did it look like this?"
The turtle brothers leaned in to get a better look.
Raph, the turtle wearing the red bandanna replied, "Yes. But Natty, how did you know?"
"I was hoping it was pure myth. The legend says that a powerful demon forged two staffs. He had the power to travel from dimension to dimension. He sent one to the 20th century. The other was buried beneath Hakure. Years ago, long before I was born, Mount Hakure was destroyed. It was rumored that the son of Naraku had come in possession of that staff. If Norinaga has the staff, we have to find it and get you guys safely home."
Raph asked, "Let us go with you, Natty. We'll fight alongside you as we did in Tokyo."
"Out of the question, Raph. I'm already responsible for two deaths. Don't make it a third." With that, Natsumi got up and walked outside to clear her head.
Her walk lead her to two graves. She picked flowers to place on them. She sat down beside them and closed her eyes, trying to forget the past.
"Hello, Raph."
"How did you know it was me?"
"Pizza and garbage. Besides, there's no one else who I would have with me."
"What's going on, Natty? Two deaths? Tell me your story."
Natsumi sighed. "Two years ago, Whit came to our village looking for safe passage across the river. My parents and my brothers were busy elsewhere. Whit told me his story. He was a sailor for the pirate captain Julius Walker. Walker was a trader who traded guns for silk and spices. Whit didn't like the way that Walker captured women from the region and made them slaves. I took pity on him and granted safe passage. That was the night of a wedding and the new moon. Under the cover of darkness, Whit hiked back to Norrinaga's castle. He informed the arrogant lord that those who had destroyed his father, Naraku, were hiding in a village. Whit led them here where they raided the village. Two people were killed. Our high priestess, Kiade. And a young man named Kazuo. Kazuo was the son of Miroku and Sango, who you met earlier. Kazuo had just stood before the shrine, pledging to be a good husband to his bride. That is the day that life as I knew it died. The day I became Kazuo's wife, I became his widow." She began crying, leaning into Raph's shoulder.
"You can't blame yourself, Natty. You couldn't have known this would happen. What of this Naraku? Do you live in fear of his son?"
"No. We live in fear of what he may do to our priestess. Naraku, directly or indirectly, is responsible for the deaths of two priestesses. I'll be damned if I'm going to sit back and watch as my mother is number three."
Raph brushed a calloused had across Natsumi's cheek. "I'll talk to the others. We will help you protect the village."
Natsumi kissed Raph's cheek. "Thank you."