Splinter in this story looks exactly like Splinter in the 2012 series, same color, design, everything.

NOTE: There will probably be grammar mistakes which I will fix later.

"Please," Splinter's cheeks flushed from embarrassment as the Turtle named Yoshi continued to wash him in a wooden tub of hot water. "You don't have to do this. You've already done more than enough for me."

Yoshi smiled and said nothing as he scrubbed the young rat's back. The child was so modest and quite mature for his age.

Splinter sighed and relented, winching and hissing in pain when the brush hit a particularly raw spot on his shoulder.

Yoshi noticed his reaction and stopped scrubbing to inspect the particular area. There was a wound that looked infected. "How'd you get this?"

The rat looked down at the water in shame. "A homeless badger bit me on the shoulder two days ago while we were fighting over a carrot. It fell out of someone's basket and we...we both wanted it, but he refused to share it."

Yoshi felt even more pity for the child and carefully washed the wound. "So do you fight for food often?"

Splinter faintly nodded. "Every day."

"When was the last time you ate? Before I took you to my home and fed you rice, I mean."

"Two days ago."

"So you won that fight with the badger then?"

"Yes," Splinter's voice was even lower. "I bit his left ear off."

Yoshi's green eyes widened and he stopped washing Splinter. "You did? Really?"

Splinter closed his eyes and nodded again. The Turtle must've been appalled by his animalistic behavior.

"Well, I'm impressed."

Splinter looked up at him in surprise. "Huh?"

Yoshi was smiling. "I've fought badgers before. They're quite vicious, especially when they're hungry. You're quite the fighter, kid."

Despite himself, Splinter smiled at little. Hearing Yoshi praise him made his chest feel warm and fuzzy.

...

Clunk...Clunk...

He traced his finger over the bandages that were wrapped around his shoulder. The Turtle treated him with such kindness that nobody except his mother had ever shown him before.

As he sat on the porch leading to the garden, he watched the bamboo of the sozu tilt back and forth as it filled up with water and then clanked against the stone.

Clunk...Clunk...Clunk...Bang! Bang! Bang!

He could not help but be reminded of the Rhinos pounding on the front door of his old house. His eyes clenched shut and he covered his ears as he remembered the sickening crack of his sister's neck breaking and the mournful wails of his distraught mother. He ran out of the house and left his family behind like a coward. He should've stayed and fought back, even if he had no chance of winning against the bigger, stronger Rhinos.

His mother's last words continued to haunt him. "Run, Splinter! Run!"

He felt so weak and useless. Hot tears leaked from out of his eyes as he began to weep for his mother and siblings.

"Why are you crying?"

He whipped his head round to see Yoshi standing behind him with a plate of sushi in his hands. He quickly dried his tears. "Forgive me if I disturbed you, Yoshi-sama," he croaked.

"No, no, you're fine," Yoshi softly assured him as he sat down on the porch next to him, offering him the plate. "Here. The best tasting sushi in our village."

Splinter smiled and bowed his head gratefully to the Turtle as he accepted the plate. Again he was shown kidness that he did absolutely nothing to deserve.

"So I just realized that I never got your name," Yoshi said as he leaned against a support beam.

"Splinter," the young rat said muffled, savoring the taste of the shrimp in his mouth.

Yoshi raised an eye ridge. "Really? Why were you named that?"

Splinter smiled fondly as he remembered the story behind his birth that his mother would tell him. "My mother said that while she was giving birth to me on the wooden floor of our house, she caught a splinter. It just stuck with her and she decided to name me 'Splinter'."

For a moment, Yoshi just stared at him, searching for any indication that the kid was merely joking. But when he saw that he was being serious, he laughed a little, more in disbelief than humor. "Really?"

The rat blushed a little and grinned sheepishly. "Heh, yeah, it's a strange name, I know. But it's the name Mother chose for me and I wouldn't change it for anything in the world."

"So," Yoshi cleared his throat, "where is your mother?"

The grin instantly dropped into a frown and Splinter slumped his shoulders and flattened his ears in a depressed manner. "I'm not sure," he softly admitted.

Realization flashed across Yoshi's face and was soon replaced with a grim expression. "I see. So you were separated from her?"

The boy nodded and set his plate down, having lost his appetite. "The Rhinos invaded our village and took my family prisoner. I escaped, but...I abandoned them. I should've stayed and fought back."

"Whoa, hold on," Yoshi placed a hand on Splinter's shoulder. "How old are you?"

"Eight."

"Eight. You're just a child. Even if you had fought back, you wouldn't have won against a mob of Rhinos on your own. You would've been killed or taken prisoner, and I know that that's not what your mother would've wanted. Fate brought you here for a reason and you must be grateful that you're still alive."

"But why did fate bring me here?" Splinter questioned.

Yoshi grinned and shrugged. "Well, that's something you'll need to find out for yourself."

Splinter smiled and nodded, feeling a little bit comforted by Yoshi's words. "Yes, I suppose." He stopped smiling and looked up at Yoshi. "Yoshi-sama, are you sure it's alright for me to stay in your home? I am a street rodent, after all."

"You can stay here for as long as you want, Splinter," Yoshi softly said, patting him on the back before he stood up and walked back into the house, leaving Splinter alone on the porch.

The rat poked at his sushi in thought. He was grateful to Yoshi for his kindness and hospitality, but he could never stay here and continue to be a burden to the Turtle.

The next morning, Splinter ventured the rest of the village that he couldn't before. Word spread that Hamato Yoshi took in the orphan rat and it was now forbidden to touch or do any harm to him. But that didn't stop the other villagers from giving him nasty, disgusted looks as he passed by.

In their eyes, he was a lowly rodent, even if he was a guest in the Hamato household. Splinter already knew that he didn't belonged here, and their glares made him feel even more unwelcomed. It was even worse than it was back in his old village.

His ears picked up the sound of fighting, and he followed them to a stone wall that surrounded a great temple. Curious, he ran to the nearest tree and climbed to the top, from which he had a great view of the front yard.

He was surprised to see Yoshi in hand-to-hand combat with the other Turtle from yesterday, Oroku Nagi. He knew that Yoshi was a ninja, but he had never seen anyone move with such speed and ferocity. It was amazing.

Watching them from the porch of the temple were a group of five elderly Turtles, the ruling Council. The one in the middle was the eldest, the Jonin of the Foot Clan, himself, Master Katashi.

At some point during the battle, Yoshi got the upper hand and kicked Nagi into a training post. He pinned his rival with one hand while raising the other in the form of a fist, preparing to deliver the final blow. But he paused, thinking that he had Nagi beat and the training was over.

But Nagi suddenly knocked him to the floor with a sweep kick and pinned him down with his right elbow while hitting him the carapace of his shell with his left without hesitation. From the tree, Splinter winced as Yoshi cried out in pain.

"Yame!" Master Katashi yelled, and Nagi instantly got off Yoshi and faced the Council, kneeling and bowing in respect. Yoshi groaned and hissed in pain as he slowly sat back up and crawled to the spot next to Nagi.

The eldest Turtle looked directly at Yoshi with disapproving eyes and shook his head. "You hesitate too much, Yoshi. If you were in the battlefield, you'd be dead. Hesitation is not tolerated in the Foot Clan. You will do well to remember that."

Yoshi sighed softly and bowed his head low to the ground in apology. "Hai, Sensei."

Nagi smiled smugly at his rival's humiliation.

Splinter felt sorry for his friend and climbed back down from the tree. As soon as his feet touched the ground, someone spoke to him from behind the tree.

"I knew my brother would win."

He peeked around the tree and a young Turtle, who looked to be around his age, was casually leaning against trunk and munching on an apple. He took another bite and glanced over at Splinter with his yellow-green eyes. "He always does," he spoke with his mouth full and swallowed his food down. "Yoshi is too soft and merciful. You're his new pet, right?"

Splinter flinched at the word "pet" and cleared his throat. "I'm a guest in his home," he calmly corrected him.

The Turtle blinked once before he threw his head back and laughed. "Ha! 'Guest'! Sure! So what's your name, rodent?"

The rat fought so hard not to lose his temper and lash out at him. "My name is Splinter," he said through gritted teeth.

This made the Turtle laugh even more. "Splinter?! What kind of dumb name is that? Your parents must've hated you or something."

Now Splinter's tail was lashing back and forth in anger. He was getting so close to lunging at the Turtle and ripping his crude tongue right out his mouth.

"You do know that he's just letting you stay because he feels sorry for you, right?" the Turtle asked him.

The anger cooled away and was replaced with shame as he looked down at the ground crestfallen. "I know," he mumbled.

The Turtle quickly finished the rest of his apple before he spoke to Splinter again. "Listen, Splinter, do everyone a favor and leave the village. We don't need any more rodents on our streets. It's not like you'll ever belong in the Foot anyway." He tossed away the apple core as he left.

As soon as it hit the ground, a hungry homeless mouse appeared from behind a bush and ran up to it. She reached for it but froze when she noticed Yoshi staring at her. Curling her lips back in a snarl, she glared at him and made a threatening growling sound before she snatched the core and dashed away.

Splinter's ears flattened and his shoulders slumped as he heart grew heavy. Seeing that mouse reminded him of what he truly was and would always be: a lowly rodent.

He never returned to the Hamato house that night.

After hearing that Turtle's words, he decided to leave the village so that he wouldn't disgrace Yoshi any further with his presence. He hated to leave without saying goodbye and thanking him for all his kindness, but he suspected that Yoshi would try to talk him into staying if he knew. Maybe he could find a new village where rats and other lowly were more welcomed and he wouldn't have to live on the streets.

The crickets chirped and the fireflies danced about as he walked through the marshes, shivering in the cold water. He nearly tripped several times as the mud sucked in his bare feet.

"No! Stop!"

Splinter whipped his head in the direction of the distressed female voice and hurried toward it. He pushed his way through the tall plants and as he got closer, he could hear some men laughing cruelly and a child crying. Peeking his head through the weeds, he saw a group of Boars harassing a sheep and her young lamb, who was clutching his mother's kimono as he sobbed. The brutes surrounded the two and poked at them with their spears, feeding on their fear.

Boars were just as barbaric and cruel as the Rhinos, always preying on the weak, ransacking villages and causing carnage. Seeing those Boars abuse the mother and her child reminded him of the Rhinos' invasion.

Well, he wasn't going to run away this time.

He snuck up behind the nearest Boar and bit on his hand with all his might, drawing blood. The Boar squealed in pain and temporarily loosened his grip on the spear. Splinter used the opportunity to snatch the weapon out of his hand and pointed it at all of them.

"Let the woman and her child go!" he shouted with a brave, determined look, yet his hands shook from fear.

The Boars looked at one another before they laughed mockingly at him. One of them started to march toward him with a sadistic grin on his face, but instead of turning back and making a run for it, Splinter charged right at him with the spear.

Before the tip of the weapon could hit him, the Board dodged out of the way in time and grabbed Splinter in a chokehold. The rat struggled and kicked and gasped for air, dropping the spear in the process. Another Boar walked up to him and leaned in so close to his face that his snout nearly touched his little pink nose.

"You wanna be a hero, eh?" he sneered. "Think you can save them? Watch this." He turned back to the sheep and the lamb, who instantly hugged each other, and slowly raised his spear.

Splinter's brown eyes widened in horror. "N-No! NO! N-!"

In one swift thrust, both the woman and her child were impaled together. They slumped to the ground, still embracing each other. The Boar pulled his spear out of their bodies and glanced over at Splinter with a smirk.

"Some hero you are," he chuckled darkly, proudly showing off the blood on his spear.

Tears slid down Splinter's cheeks and he looked away from the bodies. He had failed once again. Why couldn't he be stronger? He was too caught up in his grief and remorse to notice the Boar walking toward him with bloodlust eyes and pointing the spear at him.

Whsshh-Shhkk!

A shuriken came flying out of nowhere and embedded itself deep in the Boar's neck. He gasped and gurgled as blood spilt down his chin and had desperately grabbed his bleeding neck, stumbling backwards. The others watched in horror as he finally fell to the ground, dead within seconds.

Something leapt from behind the tall plants and appeared before the group. It was a Turtle wearing a black ninja mask, a black hakama, and armor that covered his arms and legs. He glared at the Boars with predatory white eyes and unsheathed his twin katanas.

"A ninja!" one of the Boars gasped.

"Kill him!" another shouted as he charged at the Turtle. The Boar that had a hold of Splinter dropped him and attacked the intruder as well. But before they could even reach him, the ninja dashed right at them and slashed their waists within a matter of seconds. The two Boars instantly dropped to the ground, the water turning red with their blood.

Only two Boars remained standing, and they both could stand where they were and stare at the mysterious Turtle with their knees shaking.

The ninja smirked and simply said, "boo."

Immediately, the Boars dropped their spears and ran away squealing.

During the entire fight, Splinter focused only on the dead mother and child that lay face-down in the water with wide blank eyes, horrified and distraught over what happened. He never noticed the Turtle walking up to him and jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder. When he saw the masked stranger looking down at him, he started to back away in fear.

"Hey," the Turtle said in a gentle tone as he knelt down, his eyes no longer white. "Splinter, it's me."

Splinter looked into the familiar green orbs that held so much kindness and compassion. "Y...Yoshi...sama?" he whispered.

Yoshi nodded and picked up the rat in an embrace. "Yes. You're safe now."

Splinter couldn't hold back the tears and his shoulders shook at his cried in the Turtle's plastron. He could feel strong yet gentle hands soothingly rub his back.

"Let's get you back home," Yoshi whispered as he got back on his feet and carried Splinter away.

Although he wanted to protest, Splinter was too exhausted and eventually fell asleep in the Turtle's protecting arms.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Can you guess who the young Turtle was? The brother of Nagi?