So, here's a oneshot I wrote. I'm still trying to get over writers block. And I would like to tell everyone that I have no idea how accurate this is regarding Japanese culture. I did my best though. :P To anyone who actually knows about Japanese culture, I apologize for my ignorance. Anyways, enjoy!
I do not own TMNT.
Words with a * next to them are in Japanese. Translations are as follows:
Kōgeki! Tettai. Kikku! Tettai = Hit! Retreat. Kick! Retreat.
Ya-me = Stop
Karategi = martial art training outfit
Hajime = Begin
Sēji = Sage
Kasa = asian conical hat
Ohayō gozaimasu = good morning (formal)
Ohayō = good morning (informal)
Genki = how are you? (informal)
Hai = Yes
"Kōgeki! Tettai. Kikku! Tettai."*
Karai paced in front of a group of men and women wearing karategi's.* At her commands, they would strike forward, then retreat back. The teenage ninja barked out the words in a sharp, clipped tone that was distinctive of Japanese people. Her amber eyes were constantly scanning the ranks, looking for slackers and bad form. Quite a few of the people listening to her commands were older than her, but she had quickly gained their respect. She was what one might call a prodigy.
"Ya-me!"*
The students immediately straightened their backs and as a whole, lifted up their chins. Normally Karai would have been pleased by their uniform movement, but today she was in a foul mood. Her gaze was unforgiving passed through the ranks, hitting anybody squirming or slouching on the back of their knees with her tonfa. Those who buckled and fell got an extra whack with the wooden weapon. She could see the fear creeping into their eyes every time she drew near, and it only made her mood darken. They were ninjas, they should not even know fear.
"Again!" she barked, putting her hands behind her back and glaring. "And this time strike with more precision, but don't slow down. Quick and precise, like a snake. Hajime!"* The students immediately began , punching and kicking at Karai's command.
"Kōgeki! Tettai."
A slight mechanical whirring drifted into the room, faint but discernable. Karai's frown quickly deepened. She knew that sound; it meant that the fish was coming, clunking along on his robotic feet. Any chance at that thing being stealthy had disappeared the moment Baxter had presented Xever's new legs. Now he was just a clumsy excuse of a foot clan ninja, although she had to admit the legs held a lot of power behind them.
"Ya-me!"
The students quickly resumed their straight-backed position, and Karai turned to the paper sliding door just as Xever was coming in. His magenta scales were covered in a wet sheen; he had been in the water recently. The two teeth sticking out his bottom lip were starting to turn yellow, and Karai's nose scrunched in disgust.
"Don't you brush your teeth, Fishface?" Karai asked. Fishface just laughed, his voice retaining the smooth-talking quality that was distinctively his own.
"Oh, aren't your students going to bow for me?" he replied mockingly. "Isn't that some sort of thing you Asian people do?"
"They only bow to those they respect," Karai replied coldly. She wasn't in the mood to deal with this joke. Fishface sneered, and Karai noted with a slight glow of satisfaction that he seemed irritated at her comment.
"The Sēji* wants to see you," Fishface growled, his cockiness dissipating.
Karai motioned her students that they could be at ease. The students quickly loosened their shoulders and began to quietly converse with each other. Karai turned back to Xever. "I wasn't aware that you were demoted to an errand boy, Xever."
"You'd better watch your mouth girl," Xever hissed.
"Or what?" Karai backsassed, pivoting her hips. "You'll go cry about it and make me feel bad?"
"Or I'll show you what my teeth are capable of," Xever said with a slight chuckle. "I am five times stronger than you, great kunoichi." Xever enunciated his point by poking her collarbone to push her back.
"You're underestimating my skill," Karai said, smacking his hand away. Her amber eyes were blazing.
"You are blind," he laughed. "The age of swords and honor is long past. This is a time of machines and technology. All your ninja skill would be useless against a gun."
"Try me," Karai snapped. "I think you're forgetting that a single group of ninjas took down an entire alien spaceship, loaded full of guns."
"You mean those turtles?" Xever's lip curled. "Why are you using them as your defense?"
"I'm only giving them their due respect," Karai whipped out her blade and rested it on the bottom of Xever's chin. "The worst thing you can do in battle is underestimate your opponent."
"Bah! I don't have time for you," Xever said, turning to leave.
"Do you have some more messages to deliver? Maybe a few groceries to pick up, errand boy?" Karai taunted.
"Watch yourself!" Xever warned one last time, before he slipped out the doors. Karai watched him with a satisfied smirk. She knew when she had won. Her foul mood had slipped away somewhere during the conversation with the walking sushi.
"You're dismissed," Karai said, turning to her students. They all gave her a short bow as they left the room, and then Karai gathered up her weapons, putting them all back in the various pockets on her being. After scanning over the dojo one last time, she left, heading for her room to change out of her training outfit. The Sēji had flown from Japan and had been staying here for a week at Saki's request. The encounter with Yoshi, who was now reduced to the rat he truly was, had been troubling both his and Karai's conscience it seemed. Saki had even called in the Sēji, the consultant for the Foot clan. The Sēji was always held in high respect; the entire garden and hut in the back of the church had been designed for their visits. Even the mighty Oroku Saki was required to step down from his powerful throne when talking to the Sēji. The Sēji was even above her father, which made her wary. Any person with more power than the Shredder was someone she'd rather not get tangled up with. But now it seemed that the sage wanted something do with her; what it was she couldn't guess.
By the time she was done contemplating, her feet had already carried her to her room. Quickly she stripped the karategi off and picked out a red and gray kimono that she saved for occasions such as this; you did not approach someone in that high of a rank without wearing your best. Anything less than that would be considered an insult. She paused in front of the mirror, looking at the sleeves of her kimono and then at her arms. She had recently gotten short-sleeved tattoos on her arm and she was fairly sure her father hadn't realized it yet. Personally she liked it that way, but the skin was turning red and she didn't want it to get infected. She might have to tell Saki about her little adventure if things got worse-
She didn't have time for this; it would be rude to keep the Sēji waiting.
Praying that she would remember all the manners she had been taught, Karai slipped the kimono on and tied it at the waist, sticking a flower pin in her hair and making a face in the mirror. Girly clothes weren't her thing. A dab of blush and a quick reapplication of red lipstick, and then the kunoichi was flying out the door and down the hall. The realization struck her that she had never actually even seen the Sēji, and her nervousness bubbled up again. Maybe the Sēji was insulted that the second-in-command hadn't even bothered to give a proper greeting, and that's why she was being called to their presence. Japanese mannerisms had never quite settled themselves into her memory. No time to contemplate Karai, just move!
A few more turns and a staircase later, she had arrived at the gardens. It was sunny outside; she took it as a good sign. The entire garden was oriental-based; a small pond in the corner was sporting water lilies and bamboo had been carefully cultivated along the shore. A large cherry tree bloomed in the center of the garden and hedges blocked any outsiders from looking inside. Off on the far left corner a small wooden hut had been constructed exactly to the Sēji's liking. Saki had offered him rooming in their grandest guest room, with a stunning view and at least ten servants always ready, but the sage had politely refused. The Sēji wanted a small wooden hut in a garden, and would have nothing else. Karai wondered if the act had been real or a just a statement trying to prove humbleness. Outside the hut right now the Sēji was wearing a straw kasa* hat and watering a cactus that was blatantly not Asian. Just getting in touch with nature, she supposed, and probably a bit of western culture.
"Ohayō gozaimasu,"* Karai said, taking a few quick steps forward and then lowering her entire top half downwards, the knuckles of one hand pressed against the palm of the other. She heard the Sēji stop watering the plant and waited patiently for her cue to stop the bow.
"Ohayō,"* the Sēji replied almost casually, and it caught Karai off guard.
"You're a woman?" Karai blurted out, rising up to take in the Sēji's face. She tilted her head up to reveal a soft face underneath the kasa hat. The Sēji was wearing a gardener's outfit, a billowy white shirt and capri-length pants.. Her eyeshadow was a bright blue and she smiled.
"Surprised?" she asked. "I thought women had equal rights in the western world."
"Yes, but, I mean, I've never heard of a woman Sēji before," Karai blubbered out. Great, now she had wrecked the entire thing.
"It's fine, most people are surprised," the Sēji laughed, setting down her watering can with an elegant flair. "I am not a wise, old man like the majority of Sēji's seem to be. I'm part of the next generation of Sēji's. The old men will not be around forever you know."
"That's...really cool," Karai said with a bright smile. Quickly she regretted it. There went her manners. The Sēji only smiled sweetly and put a hand on Karai's shoulder.
"You are a bold woman," she said. "The world needs more people like you."
This was the person the Shredder himself stepped down from his throne to speak to?
"I do not demand respect with fear like your father, but it doesn't mean I don't get it," the Sēji continued, as if she had read Karai's thoughts. "I can manipulate things in ways that nobody else can. I see things nobody else can, and I have knowledge that nobody else will know. But enough about me, genki?*"
"I'm doing well," Karai replied, shaking off her uneasy feelings. Obviously manners weren't of the utmost importance with this particular Sēji, so slipping up here and there wouldn't mean the end of the world.
"Good, good. But enough of this, I didn't call you here for small talk," the Sēji motioned for Karai to follow her into the hut. "Sit down and I'll grab some tea." Karai walked in, looking around. A small round table with two chairs was at the window, and on the other side of the room was two small living chairs and an old television set. The room was tight and filled to the brim, but not messy. Shelves displayed an array of dolls and china that had Japanese origins. As Karai sat down, the Sēji came into the room with a teapot and two delicate cups.
"There is much we need to discuss," she said, her voice darkening. All her casual demeanor was long gone and her voice had taken a very serious tone. She placed the teacup in front of Karai, then filled it and sprinkled a few mint leaves in, repeating the process for herself and sitting down across from the teenager.
"You sound serious," Karai replied, sipping on the tea. The sleeves of her kimono kept slipping up and down every time she moved her hands; it was infuriating. This was exactly why she hated dresses.
"It's about your father, and his plans," the Sēji closed her eyes and breathed out slowly. "This conversation is to be kept between you and I, understood?"
"Hai,"* Karai nodded. She knew how to keep secrets. Lying was a second nature for her at this point. The Sēji's eyes narrowed and her gaze darted out the window, where two Foot servants were tending to the gardens. In one quick motion she had snapped the shades shut and the room grew dark.
"One must always be wary," she explained. "Spies are everywhere." With that, she pulled a manilla folder that had been cleverly hidden in the sleeve of her white gardener shirt. Without a word, she pushed it towards Karai. Karai glanced from the Sēji to the folder curiously, then flipped it open.
"Plans," the Sēji elaborated. Karai lifted up a paper that showed the dimensions of a circular saw and frowned.
"Plans for what?" she asked. "A new saw?" Is this the 'great secret' that she had to keep? Saki is building a electric saw, it must be the end of the world! Maybe this woman was off her rocker.
The Sēji shook her head. "Keep looking," she replied darkly. Karai set aside the saw dimensions and began to flip through the rest of the file. There were various weapons, sketched out and measured to a 'T'. Maces, blades, gliding wings, scanners. Nothing was of any particular interest until she reached the end of the file. There a Foot soldier had been sketched, with several extra arms. There were a few areas where gears had been drawn in, showing how the arms would come out of the robot.
"Foot robots?" Karai held up the drawing. "Why didn't I know about this?"
"It's confidential at the moment," the Sēji said. "The plans still need work. But I don't think you realize what this means. The robots will replace the humans. What's worse is that they're being created with the help of Kraang technology. That puts the Foot down as an ally to the aliens."
"Not necessarily. Saki could be backstabbing them. It's what he does," Karai was quick to point out. "And I don't see why you're telling me this."
The Sēji sighed, closing the folder. "Ninjutsu is diminishing, Karai. By and by, technology is replacing the ninja. Spies are replaced with drones. Swords are replaced with guns. It is disappearing, and now even the organizations devoted to preserving and utilizing the skills passed from father to son, such at the Foot, are turning to robots to do the job of people. It is a crime. It's pure blasphemy. Your father will not listen to me. That is why I turn to you."
Karai studied the picture of the Foot robot carefully. "If the robots are stronger, faster and more adaptable than the humans, what's wrong about using them?" she retorted. "It gives us an advantage."
"If there is a robot that is stronger and faster than you Karai, should we replace you?" the Sēji replied coldly. "If all robots are stronger and faster than humans, should we replace them?" There was a moment of silence as her words sunk in. "A robot can be created any day; a ninja is the work of years of practice and refinement. The robots don't have the same independence and reasoning that make ninjas so successful."
"Why should I care?" Karai said, looking up at the Sēji. "The robots are going win us more battles now. The ninjas will take years to become able bodied fighters. It's a tactical move."
"But it's not all about tactics, is it?" the Sēji said quietly. "The robots will be able to fight, true, but they won't pass it on to their children and they won't know the culture and the history behind their moves. Most importantly, they will never be able to harness the spiritual and mystic side of ninjutsu. Our culture will not be preserved in these machines. Do you find culture to be of value?"
"Of course," Karai replied warily.
"Then would you stand idle as ninjitsu is destroyed by these machines?" the Sēji was almost trembling with fury now as she looked at the sketch of the Foot robot.
"Ninjitsu is my life," Karai snapped back.
"Good. Then you need to help me," the Sēji leaned forwards. "Together, we will prove your father wrong. He thinks that the old ways have no place in the new world, that ninjutsu is a dying art. But we can, and we will keep it alive. Are you in?" Karai smirked, flipping out a knife concealed in her sleeve and stabbing it through the picture of the Foot robot.
"Let's do this."