There are no accidents. Only some purpose we haven't yet understood. That was what Hamato Yoshi always told his sons, even if it had only been a week or so since their mutation.
Hamato Yoshi, now Splinter, as his infant sons had nicknamed him, had barely been in his new body for a fortnight. A little clumsy on his feet, and suffering from odd cravings and habits he hadn't had as a human, Yoshi knew it would be quite a while before he could practice Ninjutsu again. That was why he was completely unprepared for the attack.
One night, just after Splinter had shared a good meal of algae and worms with his sons, they came from the darkness. Dozens upon dozens of ninjas clothes in black, fighting identically, with masks that stripped them of any identity. The only thing that defined them was the symbol on their uniforms. Looking at that symbol, Splinter knew, he'd been found by his old enemy, Oroku Saki, the Shredder.
Splinter immediately rushed his young reptilian sons into the new dojo, where he'd planted his tree sprout and set up a small little shrine to his deceased wife, Tang Shen, and his daughter, Miwa. He slid closed the crude wooden board that substituted for his future idea to add a Japanese screen, safely sealing his sons within. If he could fight off the Foot Clan ninjas charging at him now, he could get his sons away safely. But then a voice called through the pack, and Hamato Yoshi knew he had lost.
"Hamato Yoshi." The crowd of faceless ninjas parted to reveal Splinter's old enemy, clad from head to foot in gleaming armor. He looked Splinter over with disdain. "Once a noble warrior, now a pitiful sewer rat. Pathetic."
"You are the pathetic one, Saki." Splinter quipped back, readying himself in a defensive pose. "You hold onto your hatred all these years. You think it gives you strength, but it will only destroy you."
Oroku Saki chuckled, extending his battle claws from his gauntlet. "I will make this quick."
Saki lunged forward with his claws, but Splinter dodged under his arm and gave a strong kick to Saki's back, slamming him into the wall.
"You will never take me, Oroku Saki." Splinter said calmly. "Nor will you ever take my sons."
Yoshi could hear a growl of anger and readied himself for his enemy's next move, but on his attempt to dodge, Splinter's new mutation's clumsiness kicked in, causing him to trip over his own feet.
Hamato Yoshi landed on the ground with his hands already beneath him to rise again, but suddenly, an armored foot stomped down on his tail, pinning him in place.
Barely a second later, Something tightly grabbed Splinter's wrist. He looked to see it was a long, thick white wire attached to a whip wielded by one of the Foot Ninjas. It wasn't long before another wire wrapped around his other wrist, then his right foot, and his left. He hadn't even noticed Saki had taken his foot off of his tail. It didn't matter anyway. He had been bound by the wires. And then he heard the sparks.
Countless volts of electricity shot through Yoshi, turning his eyes white with pain. Then it stopped. It could have been for a minute or an hour, but once it was over, Yoshi was left panting and drained.
A foot had appeared before Splinter's face. Splinter's eyes narrowed. What a dishonorable way to defeat your opponent! But, dishonorable or not, it had worked. The fight had been over before it began.
"Pitiful," Saki said once more.
Splinter growled up at his enemy. From his memory, he pulled up something his old teachers had always said to him in Japan. "He who lives without honor will die without honor."
Saki simply snorted a laugh, and the pain began again.
After fifteen agonizing seconds, Splinter was allowed a reprise. But the moment he was released from the agony, he heard the sound of a wood door sliding open.
Seconds later, he found himself watching helplessly as the Foot Ninjas pulled his sons out.
"Bring them back to the lair," Saki commanded with a cold, remorseless tone, retracting his battle claws. "I will finish them there."
Splinter was dragged to his feet and forced to walk alongside his sons towards their certain doom. Looking at the little turtles, only two words came to mind.
"I'm sorry."
Splinter had never felt despair to compare with this. With himself immobilized and weaponless, he and his sons were at the mercy of the Shredder.
This same despair ate away at him tenfold when he was pulled forth in the throne room for execution. Before him, on the stairs to a grand throne, stood Oroku Saki, cold and silent.
Splinter looked back at his sons, his expression twisted in anguish. "You must spare my sons," Yoshi whispered, turning his head back to Saki. "Please."
Shredder laughed. "This is the great Hamato Yoshi? Begging at his enemy's feet, for these turtles?" He broke into a malicious fit of laughter.
Splinter shook his head with dread. "They have nothing to do with this," he said. "I am the one you want. Do not harm my sons."
Shredder shook his head. "You took Tang Shen from me." He said, continuing before Splinter could interrupt. "Your father disgraced my clan and lied to me." With one hand, he motioned towards the right side of his face. Even beneath the mask, Splinter could see the bloodshot eye, the shining red burn marks marring half of his visage. "You scarred me in battle and let Tang Shen die." He said, taking the final step down the staircase, and extending his blade. "You have taken so much from me. This will be only one more thing I take in vengeance." He said, pointing the blade towards the rat. "The Hamato bloodline ends here."
Splinter shut his eyes tightly, feeling tears brimming in the corners. He could not protect his sons. he was truly a failure. He heard the sound of metal slicing through the air, and braced himself for the blow.
Suddenly, the sound of a door being thrown open to his left made Splinter jump. He opened his eyes to see the Shredder, frozen mid-swing. His eyes followed Saki's gaze to the door, where stood a small, little girl.
Saki quickly retracted his blade and stepped away from Splinter, clearly not wanting the girl to see what had been about to happen. Splinter stared as the girl entered.
She was small, about three years at most, with black hair cut short but for two decorative strands that hung framing her face. Her eyes were a wide, innocent brown, and her skin was a dull, yellow-tinged, pale brown that reflected Japanese heritage. Her nose was rounded at the end, and her lips were well-formed and bared a lovely shade of rose. She was elegant for one so young.
"Father!" She exclaimed, running forth to Saki and hugged him profusely, despite the tall man's armor.
Splinter blinked. Father? This little girl was Shredder's daughter? It appeared, perhaps he did not love Tang Shen as much as he claimed.
"Karai," Saki gasped in surprise, putting a hand on her shoulder as she hugged him tightly. "I told you to stay in your room, musume." He scolded her gently.
The girl, Karai, looked up at him with big eyes. "I was bored and lonely!" She said, her eyes sparkling with sadness.
Saki shook his head. "I will come to your room after I am done here, daughter." He said, casting a glance at Hamato Yoshi and his turtle sons who still knelt behind him.
Karai followed the Shredder's vision to the group of captives, but, instead of looking horrified, her face lit up like the summer sky at dawn.
"Are those turtles?" She exclaimed, running towards the creatures, but Saki caught her by the back of the shirt. Karai clapped two hands to her face, tilting her head in awe. "They're so cute!" She suddenly grabbed a hold of Saki's tunic from beneath his armor plating. "Can I keep them, father? Please!"
Saki shook his head. "Karai, go back to your room now."
Karai sniffled. "Please!" She shouted, tears collecting in her big brown eyes. "Please, father!"
Saki watched in horror as his daughter sank down, wailing and screaming, crying tears like a river. In times like these, Saki would be harsh and exercise discipline, but he didn't have the time and seeing Karai this upset had always made him choke up.
Saki nodded quickly, kneeling down in front of Karai. "Alright, daughter." He said, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly as she wiped away tears. "You can keep them."
Karai blinked. "R-really?" She gasped. She hugged him quickly once more. "Thank you, father!"
Saki made a quick motion to the guards, who brought the young turtles to the front of the throne room. Karai squealed with excitement at the sight of her new pets.
Shredder looked behind the turtles at Splinter with a harsh glare. "What are their names?"
Splinter's glare matched Saki's own. He kept his mouth shut, refusing to speak.
Saki growled, but Karai stepped up to the turtles. She leaned over, putting her hands on her knees, observing the little creatures. "What are your names?" She asked.
The turtles were rather young, but if they could say anything, it was their names.
The one in the blue mask spoke first. "Leonardo."
Next was the orange-masked turtle. "Michelangelo."
The purple-masked one spoke third. "Donatello."
And finally, the red-masked one finally. "Raphael."
Saki smirked down at the turtles. "I believe we can come up with better names than those-" He began, preparing to, once again take something precious from Yoshi."
"No, I like them!" Karai interrupted with a grin. "They sound nice."
The Shredder sighed silently but nodded. "Very well, daughter. Take them with you. I must finish things here first."
Karai nodded obliviously as she led the turtles away from the throne room, ignoring the rat who stared after them, with a look that could either be pain or conflicted relief.
The last thing Leonardo saw of Hamato Yoshi was the tall, armored Shredder raising his blade once more, before the guards within shut the doors, cutting off the horrific sight before Leonardo could see the finishing blow.
The turtles followed Karai into her chamber, a modest, sparsely decorated room with a small futon unrolled at the back wall. A traditional Japanese bedroom. The only excessive furnishing was a full-length mirror along one wall.
"This is my room." She announced, gesturing with wide arms for the turtles. She turned around to face them. "My name is Karai."
The orange one, Michelangelo, crawled forward. He lifted his arms enthusiastically. "Up! Up!"
Karai smiled, lifting the turtle up in her arms. He was a little weighty, but with all the training she did on a regular basis, she could handle it.
The turtle reached out with both hands and touched her face, mesmerized. "Pretty!" he exclaimed.
Karai chuckled, kneeling down with Michelangelo. From her left approached the purple-masked turtle with a fascinated expression. He lifted up her arm and studied the metal gauntlets on her forearms with profound interest.
Karai smiled. "Father recently had me fitted for those." She said explained as the purple-masked turtle brought himself even closer to the reflective surface.
A second later, the red-masked one broke through, pushing both of his brothers out of the way. He grabbed Karai's wrist and pulled her forward before proceeding to jump onto her back enthusiastically, trying to tussle with her.
Karai laughed and played along. These three were so enthusiastic! Their energy was contagious; she couldn't help herself. But something felt off.
Karai looked up at the one turtle who hadn't approached, nor moved an inch since they had entered. Leonardo. That was his name, wasn't it? He stared at her, stoically, without emotion.
"Hi, there," She said hesitantly.
Leonardo didn't speak. The room had become uncomfortably silent. He approached slowly and sat down before her on his knees. He watched her with a thoughtful, studying expression as if he wasn't sure whether to trust her or not.
"Oneesan."
Karai stared in wonderment for a moment. He'd just called her... her face broke into a gleeful smile as the small turtle threw his arms around her waist, snuggling his head down beneath her arm.
Soon, the other turtles followed, all hugging from different sides affectionately. Karai smiled, lightly stroking Leonardo's head with a soft smile.
"Welcome home kyōdai-tachi."
If you've seen the 2003 Ninja Turtles, you'll recognize how I alluded to Hamato Yoshi's torture with the wires. Also, damn, I'm good at writing for Shredder. I'm sorry I killed Splinter! Sorta. And, smol Mikey is so cute! Anyway, this is my first TMNT fic. Thanks for reading, see you in the next chapter.