Edit: Thank you to WebMistressGina for pointing out some much needed corrections with this story! haha, suppose that's Karma for not having a beta reader. Thank you again ;) Edit: lol. Thanks, Mikell, for another correction!
Turtle tot stories are probably my absolute favorite stories to read. I adore each and every time I can read them in fanfiction or see them on the television. They're just too CUTE! I never write about them, though, because I'm just…uninspired by cuteness I suppose. So imagine my surprise when I discover that I actually have an idea for one for once!
I kind of got this idea when I was doing some research on Japanese mythology for an upcoming story, The Warrior's Way. I read about the folklore hero Momotarō and could NOT shake this tot tale from my mind. So I gave up and decided to write this one on my own. Hope you guys like it as much as I did!
TMNT, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, Donatello, Splinter © Mirage Studios
Momotarō, Momotarō's Song © Japan
story © Turtlefreak121
Momotarō Michelangelo
"Hey, hey, hey!" the man protested with a disgusted expression as he looked over his stand to see the fruit stand being set beside him. "What you think yar doin'!? I'm tryin' ta sell some magazines ova' here! Yar takin' up my space!"
"I have been set up here for weeks!" the fruit barterer protested almost immediately as he kicked in the legs of his table and stood up, marveling over the makeshift stand. "Your customers can get an apple while they're buying your brainless tabloids!"
"No way! You're taking up all the space they need to get over here now move!" the magazine salesman argued angrily. "Don't make me call the cops!"
"I'm not breaking any laws – where's your permit!" the fruit man accused before throwing a sack of fruit onto the stand, causing a large thud and further presenting the point that he was unhappy with his fellow merchant.
As the verbal disagreement arose once more, it was neither of the two men's main concern to notice that upon the throwing of the sack, four delicious fruits had tragically fallen from the sack and rolled toward edge of the sidewalk, looming dangerously near the oncoming traffic.
Fortunately before the succulent fruit, the silent observer beneath the city's surface took notice of their peril and with a cautious, silent movement, pulled the food down through the opened storm drain with his gnarled, furry hand.
Master Splinter could not have been more content with today's scavenge as he placed the delectable peaches into an indenture of his robe and climbed down from the trash pile he had been using as a step ladder. It was very rare for the mutated rat to come across such delicious, fresh food that was still in condition for being eaten by his precious sons.
And no less any food but fruit! Delicious, healthy fruit such as these samples! The master could not wait to return home with the juicy fruits. He would not even have to divide any of these fruits for there were enough to give each of his children one.
He headed home and looked down to the yummy peaches. They reminded him of legends his own master used to share with him on his long voyage to America.
"Master Splinter's home!" was the exclamation which met opening the door to their hidden sewer lair.
The fatherly rodent chuckled in amusement as his sons clustered around him excitedly as they had done upon his arrival almost every day since their sentient mutation nearly seven years ago.
"Indeed," the master nodded graciously toward the hugs he received. "I have returned, my sons, and with more food!"
"Gimmie gimmie!" the orange banded Michelangelo immediately reached.
"No! Mine!" Raphael protested and attempted to climb over his blue and purple masked brothers.
As it happened many other times over the years, the four turtle children began to fight over one another, attempting to receive the first portions. After all, it was common knowledge among the family that usually the first portion was the largest under the restraints of such a short supply.
Shaking his head, Master Splinter stepped away from the altercation and drew his sons' attention to him by the absence of his immediate presence. They immediately became concerned over his direct disapproval and straightened themselves before him.
"There is no cause for bickering, my sons," Master Splinter warned warmly before revealing the contents of his indented robe with a flicker of a smile. "For there is enough food for all of you to share this day."
"WOW!" their immediate reactions became as they gathered around their father, reaching for their choice fruit.
Donatello grew a confused look and turned his head toward his father. He had never seen such a strange looking food before. "Master Splinter," he spoke up confoundedly, drawing his brothers' attentions away from their own sustenance. "I never seen food like this. What is it?"
"Yeah," Leonardo nodded. "It looks funny."
"'N it's furry!" Raphael argued.
"Yuk!" Michelangelo whined as he looked down at the food, now noticing all the things he had not noted in his ravished state.
"Ah, yes," Master Splinter agreed with a stroke of his chin. Quietly, he made his way in deep thought toward the seating area and sat upon the mat on the ground. His sons followed and took their places in a row, holding the fruits. "I had forgotten that you had not seen the likes of peaches before, my sons."
"Peaches?" they all questioned at once before each taking turns looking at his own peach.
"Yes, my sons," the rat nodded gently. "What you have received is a type of fruit known as a peach. They are very delicious and, yes, fuzzy. It may tickle you as you eat it." They all giggled at this notion and caused the father to smile contently. "I am certain that you will all like your peaches. My master was fond of them and used to tell me old Japanese stories about a peach."
The brothers hesitated in their eating of the fruit and lowered the peaches into their laps again, now more confused even than before. How could there be stories about fruit? But if there was, and their father liked it, it must be a very good story!
"What's the story, Master Splinter?" Leonardo questioned.
"Yeah! I wanna hear a story!" Raphael spoke up excitedly.
"Me, too!" Donatello agreed as he clutched the food happily.
"Me, too, too, Master Splinter!" Michelangelo squeaked.
Laughing, the master nodded his head. "Very well then, my sons," he promised with a smile. "I shall share the story of Momotarō, the Peach Boy, with you all."
They all gasped and brought their full attentions to their father, waiting anxiously for the following tale. It would be the best they ever heard! They were sure of it! Master Splinter's stories were always good and this one sounded like the BEST!
Holding up a hand in his common gestures as he began the story, Splinter started to reveal the ancient tale of the Peach Boy to his sons as his master had done before him. "Once in a small village in Japan there was an old couple who were very pious and faithful workers of their lands. They had done all that was asked of people to do yet they had never been able to have a child of their own which caused them much grief in their old age."
"They could adopt me!" Michelangelo gleamed.
"Shuddup, Mikey!" Raphael shushed his brother.
"Shh!" Leonardo and Donatello quickly responded to their red masked brother's exclamation.
Waiting for the children to finish, Master Splinter paused until all four pairs of eyes were on his visage once more. He continued. "One day they prayed that they would have a son of their own and they spent all day praying. When no child came they continued their diligent work, accepting that it was simply not meant to be."
"Aw," the boys hummed in unison.
"Finally, one day, the old woman was by the river when she saw to her surprise that a giant peach was floating down the currents." At this all four glanced to their selected fruits. "It was the largest of any peach she had ever seen. She thought that it was a prize from the gods and jumped into the river, fishing out her peach, and immediately brought it back to her home for she and her husband to eat."
"YUM!" Mike stated with glee.
Chuckling, Splinter struggled to compose himself before proceeding. "When the Old Woman began to cut open the peach she and her husband were greatly surprised to find inside the core of the peach was a baby boy! The gods had answered their prayers and they rejoiced and named the boy Momotarō, the Peach Boy."
"Wow," Leonardo giggled. He struggled to imagine a baby boy being contained in his own tiny peach.
"That's all?" Raphael whined. He had expected so much more to come from one of Master Splinter's stories.
"Not all, but most of what the peaches accomplished pertaining to the tales of Momotarō," Splinter admitted as he watched Donatello be the first to test out his peach, being mindful of any baby boys which may be contained in it.
"What did Momotarō do that was so good, Master Splinter?" Michelangelo demanded, inwardly refusing to eat his peach until he received a thorough description.
"Momotarō grew up to become a great and seasoned warrior, my sons," Master Splinter explained as Leonardo and Raphael simultaneously joined Donatello in feasting. "He steadfast became one of the most accomplished swordsmen throughout all of ancient Japan and his fame was heard of far and wide, especially by the demons of Onigashima."
At the mere sound of this place, the feasting turtles joined Michelangelo in gulping and looked wide eyed to their father. This Onigashima did not sound like such a friendly place! In fact, it sounded like quite the opposite!
"On-igam-shena?" Raphael asked hesitantly.
"What is that place, Master Splinter?" Leonardo asked.
"Onigashima is an island on which Oni live, my sons," Master Splinter explained with a mystifying twinkle of a storyteller in his eyes, "Demon and Ogre."
"Like Shrek?" Michelangelo asked.
"No, Mikey!" Donatello rolled his eyes. "Shrek isn't really real!"
"Yeah, Mikey!" Raphael retorted.
"Let Master Splinter finish, guys!" Leonardo encouraged before looking back to his father with great interest. "What did Momotarō do about the demons, Master Splinter?"
"Did he kick their butt?" Raphael asked hopefully.
"Indeed he did, Raphael," Master Splinter laughed with a shake of his head and his son's bluntness. "You see, Momotarō heard of how terrible the Oni of Onigashima were and knew that he could end their terrifying reign. He set off from home, befriending a talking dog, pheasant, and monkey, and searched for Onigashima."
The boys leaned forward, entranced.
"Once on the island, Momotarō's animal friends helped the Peach Boy enter the fortress of the Oni and slain many monsters. Because of young Momotarō's bravery and the aid of his new friends, the children of Japan were same from the monsters of Onigashima forever and the old couple was very proud of their Peach Boy."
Aghast, the four boys released a collective "Wow!" at the story.
"I bet Momotarō could beat Superman!" Leonardo piped up.
"No way! Superman can't even beat Spider-Man!" Raphael protested.
As the fight continued, Master Splinter shook his head and gently broke apart the feuding boys. He reminded them that it was already a long day and they would soon have to be in bed. Finishing the last of their peaches, all the boys complimented on how delicious the fruits were, except for Michelangelo. Young Michelangelo was not ready to eat his peach just yet and rested it on the nightstand by his bed as Master Splinter tucked him in later that night to the sound of Momotarō's song.
"Momotarō-san no uta
Momotarō-san, momotarō-san
Okoshi ni tsuketa kibidango
Hitotsu watashi ni kudasai na?
Agemashou, agemashou
Ima kara oni no seibatsu ni
Tsuite kuru nara agemashou
Momotarō's Song
Momotarō, Momotarō
Those millet dumplings on your waist
Won't you give me one?
I'll give you one, I'll give you one
From now, on a quest to conquer the ogres
If you come with me, I'll give one to you."
Upon being certain that his sons were well asleep, Master Splinter contently moved to his room and began to fall into his own sleep, happy to share some more of his own heritage with his curious young sons and even more content that they were all in bed full tonight.
Michelangelo, however, was not content just yet as he grabbed his peach from its rested spot on the nightstand and he made his way quietly out of the room under the cover of his brothers' snores. He looked back and grinned.
"Momotarō took care of the demons in Japan," Michelangelo explained to the sleeping bodies. "But he must have forgotten about New York 'cuz Master Splinter's always scared about us going into the sewers! But the peach boy in my peach's gonna take care of that!"
And with that, the young turtle made his escape into the dark corridors of the sewers...
...
"Wake up, Donatello!" Leo pleaded with his brother as he stood by his end of the bed, stirring the purple masked brother into a confused bliss.
"What?" he struggled as he sat up. It did not take long, however, after rubbing his tired eyes for Don to discover just what issue was at hand: there was only Raphael and Leonardo looking back at him. There was no sign of Mike in the room!
"Mikey's disappeared!" Raph exclaimed.
They were all shocked and scared. The first thought to cross all of their minds was that Michelangelo had met one of the dreaded Oni which Master Splinter had referred to in his story of the young warrior Momotarō. If that was true they would not have stayed in the lair long because everyone knows that monsters are scared of Master Splinter. But was it not possible that they entered only long enough to steal away their beloved brother?
"What we gonna do?" Donatello asked worriedly. He had never had to deal with demons before and it was going to be hard to do this. "Should we get Master Splinter?"
A sour look came across Leo's face at this suggestion and he crossed his arms across his tiny plastron in a sour pout. "I tried all readies," he muttered before looking accusingly to Raphael.
"What if Michelangelo isn't with demons, though!" Raph protested immediately. "He can get in big trouble!"
Both points made sense but Donny knew one thing that was the deciding factor. He did not want Mikey to get in trouble if he was not really in trouble. No one ever really wants to get their family in trouble if they do not deserve it. And in this particular moment, Mike did not seem to deserve it!
"Let's try to find him," Don nodded.
"Yeah, I'll lead us through the sewers," Raphael boasted, directing his thumb to his chest proudly. "I get in trouble for goin' into the sewers all the time!"
Not happy but not wanting to stay alone in the room where Michelangelo was stolen by the Oni, Leo sighed and reluctantly nodded. "Okay," he muttered. "But if we run into any of those Oni we needa come straight back to Master Splinter!"
Almost immediately, the turtles began their voyage into the sewers, trailing behind the suddenly shrivel-prided Raphael and keeping a keen eye in alert for any strange movements in the sewers' shadows around them.
This was too scary almost! But they had to find Michelangelo!
"You're goin' the wrong way!" Leonardo argued as Raph attempted to make a left.
"No! You are!" Raph argued immediately before stepping up to his blue clad brother and facing him eye to eye. "That's the way we came!"
"No, THAT'S the way we came!" Leonardo protested simultaneously.
"How do we know where the Oni took Mike?" Don asked, growing ever more concerned that they were lost and unable to find the brother they had set out to rescue. That would be a situation too bad to think of almost!
Raph growled and placed his hands on his hips, leaning forward in a huff. "If Leo'd back off I'd be able to find Mikey in a minute!" he retorted.
"Oh, yea-" Leo began to protest when a glowing light shone through the left tunnel Raph had chosen, catching the three younglings like deer in headlight. They were completely horrified to face an actual Oni before them!
"Hey! Who's there!?" a deep voice demanded behind the light. It sounded ANGRY!
"Fe Fi Fo Let's Get Out Of Here!" Raphael choked out before taking off down the original tunnel that Leo had directed them toward originally. Without much surprise, he found himself being followed by his yelling brothers who he joined in a yelping, terrified harmony.
Oni must not have been able to run very fast for it was not long into the frantic turtles' run that they were bathed in darkness yet again. It must have been just as scared of them as they were of it because, after they began running, they could hear "Were...those talking animals?"
Out of breath, the turtles came to a halt in the sewer tunnel and panted, greedily taking in all the air they could get from around them. Leo rested his shell against the sewer wall and leaned back his head, trying to take in the fact that they had just ran into an Oni. Raphael grabbed onto his knees and leaned forward, panting so hard he coughed up most of the air he took in. Don merely held his hands over his head just like he had read to do in the text book Master Splinter brought home last week.
"That was probably...the Oni...that has...Mikey!" Leo gasped as he collected his thoughts.
"It...sounds mean!" Don added with great concern.
"I...can take 'im..." Raphael smugly remarked between breaths. "Juss...lemme...catch my...breath..."
"Momotarō's Song
Momotarō, Momotarō..."
Gasping in shock, the three brothers gathered together once more in the darkness of the sewers, looking fearfully around for the source of the singing. It most certainly was not any of them. They dared not make a noise to attract another Oni to them.
"Share...uh...dumplings...peaches... Momotarō!!!"
All together the three brothers grew sour looks and pulled apart from their embrace, glaring crossly toward where the sound was coming. They knew that song from Splinter's bedtime story! And they knew that voice most of all!
"Waitasecond!" Raph snapped as he stepped farther away from his brothers.
"Come out, Mikey!" Leo added with equal detestation.
"Stop scaring us!" Don growled.
There was a frantic, high-pitched squeal after their exclamations. Suddenly the turtle in orange emerged close enough to his brothers to be seen and he grew an exceedingly relieved expression. He was not being summoned by Oni after all!
Gently, he stroked his peach.
"Hey, guys!" he grinned. "I was scarin' you?"
"NO!" they all three responded at once.
They once more began to grow nervous as they recollected what had scared them, though. Leonardo tugged at his mask tails shakily. "It was the Oni we saw that scared us!"
"Oni!?" Michelangelo gasped.
"Yeah!" Raph nodded.
"It had a HUGE shiny eye that lit up the whole sewer!" Don explained.
"And it growled at us in a deep voice!" Leo continued the description.
"Then it called us talkin' animals!" Raph added, rather offended as he thought more of it.
To this Mike laughed childishly. He had never heard himself or his brothers called animals before and it reminded him of the story of Momotarō. "Well I'm lookin' for the Oni," Mike said enthusiastically, showing his brothers the spared peach. "I gotta peach like Momotarō and I'm gonna beat up the Oni!"
"Momo-Michelangelo?" Don asked.
"Nuh-uh, Mikey!" Raph snapped. "Momotarō was too cool to be you! I should be Momotarō!"
"No way!" Leo argued. "Momotarō used swords 'n Master Splinter's been teaching me to use the bokken! I should be Momotarō!"
"You guys already ate the peaches!" Mike reminded them with a satisfied grin. "I still got a whole peach 'n my name already starts with an 'M'!" He shook his hand at them further. "'N you guys are the talkin' animals anyway!"
"Nuh-uh!" the three protested immediately.
"The Oni said so!" Mike reminded them. He looked over his brothers. "Donny can be the puppy, Leo can be the monkey, 'n Raph can be the peasant!"
Raphael screwed his face at this announcement. "I don't wanna be the peasant!" he growled.
"Okay," Mike reasoned. "You be the monkey and Leo be the peasant!"
"I wanna be the dog," Leo fought back.
"Then Don be the peasant!" Mike groaned. "I just wanna be Momotarō!"
Don frowned. "What's a peasant anyway?"
"A cat or something," Raph shrugged. He then looked back to Mike. "'N never mind, Mike! I wanna be Momotarō now!"
Immediately the four boys began to argue in each other's faces over who would be the triumphant warrior hero Momotarō or why or why not they should be the pheasant which, they came to decide, must have been a pig because it started with the letter 'p', too.
It was only as the great, bright light shone down into their tunnel that the four froze up and glanced before them. They were absolutely horrified to find that the dreaded Oni had come across them yet again, particularly the self proclaimed hero.
"They're there again, Morty!" the deep voice growled from behind the ominous light.
"AHH!" the brothers screeched in unison before Raph pushed Mike in front of them.
"Do something, Momotarō!" Raph demanded.
With an even greater fear than he had had at his brothers' sides, Michelangelo almost completely blanked and he desperately began to search within his mind to decide what to do. They were facing the horrible Oni, after all!
At last, the idea came to his mind and he glanced to the peach in his hand and immediately chucked it at the Oni behind the bright light, smacking him straight on the head. The monster let out a yell of its own and the bright light suddenly drooped to the ground, releasing the turtles from its hypnotizing might.
Screaming as loud as they could, the four brothers took off on a fast paced trek through the sewers in a desperate search for their safety house, their precious lair, and the warm arms of their dear father. They only hoped that the Oni would not follow them!
Of course, that soon became the least of their worries as the four brothers smacked into a soft yet firm surface in front of them and found themselves back on their bottoms in the sewer water stream.
Looking up, they did not even have to look into the master's face to realize how angry he must have been at them: VERY angry.
"Uh-oh," Raph summed it up.
"What have you been doing out here, my sons!?" Master Splinter demanded, giving them all a firm smack on their rears with his walking stick once rising to their feet. "You have been out of our home nearly all of this night and now I find you running about screaming without much sense!"
"But we were fighting an Oni, Master Splinter!" Leo explained, worried of his tarnished image.
"Like Momotarō," Michelangelo added with a gentle rub of his reddened backside. "We defeated him 'n everything! We were like super heroes..."
"Cooler!" Don chimed in.
"Yeah, Oni are LOT scarier than Lex Luthor," Raph agreed.
"Or Green Goblin," Mike nodded.
Raising a brow, Splinter took in what his sons said before shaking his head and herding them back toward their home, taking notice of how each rubbed his tender rear end. He at last shook his head with a sigh.
"My Momokame," he murmured before taking them home.
...
The man paid his seventy-five cents and picked up the National Inquirer, overlooking the selection on newest U.F.O. conspiracies around New York. Some drainage worker was convinced he had come across something during the night shift that was either little green men or mutant animals that could talk.
It was reading these kinds of tabloids that relieved some of the seriousness of the rest of the day and he joyfully flipped the pages as he stood in wait for the next bus.
"Hey hey hey!" the news stand owner rose up in alarm, though the business man took little notice of it. "What are ya doin'!? Settin' up on my turf?"
"I'm just selling fruit!" the fruit stand owner protested as he dumped his foods onto the makeshift stand.
The man looked over and shrugged the scene off as the bus pulled in. Shoving the tabloid under his arm, the man got onto the bus and found himself a proper seat. Looking out the window he glanced at the stand quietly mused that he should have bought one of those ripe looking peaches.
...
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! And just for some reference "Momotarō" is translated as Peach Boy but "momo" means peach and "Tarō" is simply a common Japanese name for boys. "Kame" means turtle or turtles so "Momokame" can be taken either as "Peach Turtle" or "Peach Turtles."
That's all :)