"Splinter's Tail"—a TMNT 2012 Fan Fiction
Summary: here is a cute little story of how Splinter's appendage is used in more ways than one, especially with curious sons and a little infant. Lots of fluff and cuteness ahead.
TMNT 2012 © Mirage Studios
Joey © Me
~Splinter's Tail~
Hamato Yoshi remembered the day he was transformed into his new appearance. He could see it vividly behind closed eyes—when the mutagen splashed onto his skin, and he mutated into the last thing he came into contact with, which was merely unintentionally stepping on a sewer rat's tail. He could recall the horrid sensation of his flesh growing a thick coat of fur, his nails extending into claws, hands and feet becoming paws, his mouth and nose elongating and fusing to form a snout, his ears rising and growing large, and a naked tail sprouting from his lower back. At the same time, the four turtles he bought turned into humanoid infants.
It took him for what seemed like ages to adjust to his new life, raising four turtles as his sons and learning to adapt to the sewers. He thought he would never grow accustomed to being part rat, having to scour for food in order for him and his sons to survive, avoiding contact with people. He struggled to cope with his tail because he often tripped over it. He imagined it would be the most difficult challenge he'd ever had to face, but his reason to keep going was those four little turtles who depended on him. They gave him the strength to continue on, especially after the tragedy he suffered back in Japan. And nearly six years later he discovered an infant in a box, outside of a burning apartment while searching for gifts for his sons' Mutation Day, and he raised her as his daughter. At first, he thought the child would be frightened of him because of his appearance, but she actually grew to love him, which made him feel at ease about raising a human in a family of mutants. He may have had a rough past and a challenging presence, but with his new family of mutant and a tiny human, he felt happy, and that he could take on any obstacle. Besides, his rat side also had a few...benefits.
Yoshi, or as his sons called him Splinter, awoke one early morning to the sound of a baby wailing next to him. The sound first came softly to his ears since he was still half asleep, but when the distress came clear, he was instantly alert and sat up, turning towards the red-cheeked infant girl. "Josephine," he cooed, "Daijōbu? Are you alright? What is wrong?" He carefully scooped up little Josephine, trying to see what was the matter. No awful odor came to Splinter's sensitive nose, so she clearly did not need changing. Her little tummy wasn't growling, so she wasn't hungry. Perhaps she woke up and became scared of being in the dark, unable to see her humanoid father.
He cradled her against his chest, petting her tender head. "There, there," he whispered. "Nakanaide. Don't cry, little one." Josephine continued to wail, hot tears streaming down her face. His ears lowered sadly; he did not like seeing his adopted daughter so upset. That was when he got a bit of an idea. He raised his naked rat tail and waved it over her face. "Mite. Look, Josephine," he said.
Baby Josephine peeked open her teary eyes and saw the long, fuzzy pink worm. She became a bit curious and slowly reached up to the worm. Splinter smiled and waved it around, wriggling the tip the way a worm buried itself in the ground. Josephine started to giggle, which made Splinter smile. "Is the worm being silly?" he cooed to her.
He wriggled the tip into her belly, causing her to erupt into a fit of giggles. He stroked her cheeks and tickled her nose with his tail, making her sneeze. "Odaijini. Bless you, little one," he said with a light chuckle. He smiled and allowed Josephine to play with his tail, her tiny fingers carefully touching the lightly-fuzzed skin. "Kusugurimasu! That tickles," he giggled, his tail twitching with each light touch.
Little Josephine then put the tip into her mouth and began gnawing on it. Splinter had to press a hand over his mouth in order not to squeal and frighten his daughter. "No biting," he said once he got his tail free from Josephine's mouth. She looked ready to cry again. Before she could burst into tears, he wrapped his tail around her and cradled her in it, gently shushing her to lull her back asleep.
"Nemuru. Sleep, my daughter," he whispered repeatedly, until Josephine's heavy eyes closed and she fell back asleep, sucking her thumb. Splinter smiled, then laid back down and slept, keeping Josephine close to his chest.
"SENSEI! MIKEY AND RAPH ARE FIGHTING AGAIN!"
"DADDY! RAPH HIT ME!"
"MIKEY SPILLED JUICE ON ME!"
Splinter was in the kitchen preparing lunch for his five children when he heard the arguing; Josephine sat nearby in her high chair, playing with her feeding spoon. He sighed and stopped stirring the soup, maneuvering the spoon with his tail, and ceased chopping onions he found still fresh in the garbage not too long ago. His ears twitched when he heard what sounded like chasing; in a matter of seconds, a frightened Michelangelo and an angered Raphael raced passed him, around the counter, under the table.
"YAME!" Splinter exclaimed to silence them and they froze, then stood straight with their hands behind their backs. Leo and Donnie entered not long after. "Now, would one of you please explain what happened?"
"Mikey poured his juice all over me!" Raph pouted.
"It was an accident!" Mikey whined.
"It was!" Donnie added. "I saw him trip!"
"I tried to stop them from fighting, Splinter," Leo said.
"Raphie hit me really hard on my arm!" Mikey sniffled.
"I did not, he's lying!" Raph retorted.
"You're the liar!" Leo stated, defending Mikey.
"YAME!" Splinter said again and his sons fell silent. The shouting made Josephine whimper and he went to comfort her. "Michelangelo, was it truly accidental that you spilled your drink on your brother?"
"Yes, Sensei," Mikey nodded.
"And Raphael, did you hit Michelangelo?"
"Yes..." Raphael grumbled.
"Then you will apologize to each other."
Mikey and Raph both mumbled, "Sorry."
"And Raphael, for lying to me, you will receive an extra thirty minutes of training all this week," Splinter declared.
"But Sensei!" Raph began to protest, but was silenced when Splinter swatted his arm with his tail. "OW!"
"No buts, my son!" Splinter scolded; he truly did not enjoy using his tail as a way of straightening his sons, but as their father he had to keep them in line because he loved them. "If you argue with me again, I will make it an hour." Raphael glared harshly, but tears brimmed his eyes and he looked away.
Splinter sighed lightly, then wore a smile. "Now, everyone wash up and take your seats at the table. Your lunch is nearly ready." The four brothers went to the bathroom to wash up, then returned and sat in their seats where they were handed each a bowl of soup and some crackers.
Splinter and his sons bowed their heads and said in unison, "Itadakimasu."
"Ba, ba, ba!" baby Josephine cooed, waving her spoon. The others chuckled then began eating.
But while they ate, Raph constantly sulked and picked at his food, an angered pout stuck on his face. Splinter then had an idea to cheer him up; he remained casual and continued eating while snaking his tail over to Raph's chair and tickling his feet.
Raph at first merely kicked his feet away, but as it carried on he started to smile and giggle. When the others started to see him laugh they wondered what was going on. Suddenly Mikey began giggling as he felt something tickle his feet, too; along with Leo and Donnie. He pulled his tail away quickly as they looked under the table to see what was the cause of their giggles, only to find nothing.
Josephine reached for her sippy cup but it fell from her hands; with quick thinking, Splinter caught it by wrapping his tail around it and placing it back on her tray. Josephine cooed a 'thank you' and drank from it. Splinter smiled and petted her head, and the Hamato family resumed with their lunch.
That afternoon during training, Splinter sat under the tree with Josephine in his lap, letting her play with his tail, while he observed his sons.
"Move swiftly, Leonardo. Stand up straighter, Donatello. Kick higher, Raphael. Michelangelo, stop picking your nose."
He switched his attention from his sons to Josephine to make sure she was alright, and to make sure his tail was being treated properly. After an hour or so, their training period ended for the day; Leo, Donnie, and Mikey left, taking their baby human sister with them, but Raph had to stay with Splinter because of his punishment.
Raph sat with his legs crossed and folded his arms over his chest, still unhappy with this sentence. "For your extra training," Splinter explained, "you will continue working on your kata, Raphael. You will give me thirty back flips whenever I say so, along with anything else. Understand?"
"Hai, Sensei..." Raph grumbled.
"Good. We will start with your kata. Hajime!"
Raph got started and performed his kata, unable to stop until he had it perfected. But he constantly got frustrated and angry whenever he slipped up and had to start all over again.
Spinning back kick. Roundhouse. Sweep the leg. Leap, then chop. Roundhouse again.
And when Raph seemed he would complete it perfectly, he kicked a little too powerfully and fell hard on his shell. Splinter rose quickly and went to his aid. "My son! Are you hurt?" he asked, helping him sit up.
Raph replied with a sniffle. "I'll never get it right," he grumbled, then let a tear slip down his burning cheeks. All his frustration had been replaced with concealed disappointment.
Splinter smiled kindly and wiped away Raph's tears with his thumb. "It takes time, Raphael," he said. "If you do not let frustration control you and you relax, you might get it. Now, try again. One last time." He helped him up and sat under the tree once again. Raph nodded meekly and got up, doing as his Sensei told and calming himself before continuing with the kata. Sure enough, he succeeded, and showed it clearly by pumping his fist.
"Very good, my son. Now, thirty back flips! No cheating!"
"I don't cheat," Raph retaliated. "That's Mikey!"
"No talking! Now, flip! Hajime!"
Raph quickly got into gear and started back-flipping. "One...Two...Three...Four..." By the time he reached thirty, he was dizzy and his stomach ached. Splinter allowed him to rest for a few minutes before moving on. He told him to see how long he could do a hand stand, but Splinter had something else in mind. Raphael got on his hands and hoisted his legs up, tightening his arms and keeping his legs still in order to remain balanced. He squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced, as if concentrating.
Splinter waited a moment before kneeling beside Raph, a smile faintly creeping on his face. He slithered his soft, naked tail to Raph and wiggled the tip into his underarm. Raph slightly snickered but kept balanced. Splinter tried again for a longer period of time. A smile appeared on Raph's face, and not before long he started laughing and giggling.
"S-Splinter! Stop it!" he begged. "I-I'm gonna fall!"
"Oh, don't fall, my son," Splinter said playfully, "or else you will have to start all over."
He stroked his tail over his neck, along his arm and up to his feet, leaving Raph in a swaying, trembling and giggling mess. He couldn't bear much more and toppled over, curling up and laughing.
"Oh, Raphael, you've fallen over," Splinter crooned, wriggling his tail against Raph's sides.
Raph laughed and rolled away. "Because of your stupid tail!" he tried to say angrily. "I'm gonna rip it off!" He leapt for the tail, but it quickly eluded him. He tried again, but Splinter was too quick for him. It soon became a game of cat and mouse—or turtle and tail, to be precise. Splinter teased him with his tail and swiftly pulled away when he lunged. After a while, the tail relaxed and sat on the floor, giving Raph the chance to grab it. He leapt and got a hold of it.
"Gotcha!" he said proudly; then the tail rose up high, with Raph still attached. "Whoa!" He was hoisted up to Splinter's face until gravity worked its charms. He slipped but Splinter quickly caught him.
"Now I've got you," Splinter said and nuzzled him with his snout. "Ah, it has been a half hour already. You may go now."
Raph smiled, bowed, then left the dojo to join his siblings in the living room.
"I'M NOT TIRED!"
"I DON'T WANNA GO TO BED, DADDY!"
"CAN WE STAY UP JUST A LITTLE LONGER?"
"No, my sons," Splinter said, "I have already let you stay up an hour passed your bedtime. Any later, and you will not want to get up for training." He held a fussing Mikey and a wriggling Raph under each of his arms, Donnie sat on his shoulders, and Leo followed while carrying baby Joey as they headed to the room the brothers shared.
Splinter wrestled to put Mikey to bed, Raph kicked off his covers constantly, Donnie complained of his pillow not being the right temperature, and Leo tried to keep Joey still. Mikey attempted to escape by lunging off the bed, but Splinter caught him with his tail, tucking him under the covers. "Get out of bed again, and you will have early training," he threatened. Mikey pouted with a small whine, but remained in bed. Jo started to cry, and Leo looked like he didn't know what to do. Splinter took her off his hands, cradling her in his tail while tucking Leonardo into bed.
"Can we have a story, Sensei?" Donnie pleaded.
"Yeah, story!" Raph said.
"If I tell you a story, will you all go to sleep?"
"Yes, Sensei," the boys agreed.
"Very well," Splinter said as he sat down, cradling the yawning baby and entertaining her with his tail, and he told them an old Japanese tale he heard as a boy. When he finished the story, the boys were all fast asleep, and he returned to his room with baby Josephine.
Unfortunately she had woken up and began crying crankily.
"Oh, no, little one," Splinter cooed. "Nakanaide. Nemuru." He sat on his cot and tried calming her down; when she continued crying, he resorted to using his rat appendage again. He stroked her teary face with his tail to get her attention. When her cries dwindled and she had her focus on the tail, he wriggled it like a snake or a worm, waving it around and adding silly noises. She giggled and cooed, reaching up to touch the tail. He smiled and let her hold it; he chuckled when her tiny fingers tickled his tail and winced in pain when she gnawed on it. While he felt a bit uncomfortable with his tail resting in an infant's hands, he was happy if Josephine was happy.
Soon after, Josephine grew tired once more and started yawning. Splinter lulled her to sleep by softly humming a Japanese melody. She fell fast asleep with his tail in her mouth, suckling lightly on the very tip as though it was the teat of a bottle. Not what he was expecting. He had no choice to let her have it, for if he tried to remove it, she whimpered and nearly woke up again. He sighed softly, laid baby Josephine on his chest, and closed his eyes with a faint smile on his face.
Six years ago, Hamato Yoshi never would have imagined his new form would have some advantages, such as soothing his daughter or keeping his sons under control, even cheering them up. It took him the longest time to accept his new life, but his new family helped him through it as they depended on him, and loved him as he did them.
A/N: a tribute to Master Splinter. For those of you who saw that season finale...QnQ I just had to write this to remember him by. We love you, Splinter!