A/N: Sorry it took so long to update this, guys. I know you were probably waiting for it and I apologize. My life has been kind of crazy lately. Heh.
Chapter Three: A Little Progress
Deep within the sewers of New York City, hidden in an abandoned subway tunnel, Tang Shen watched the four turtles play together. Her husband was inside the room across from the children, meditating. He was still having trouble accepting the turtles as his sons.
Shen released a quiet sigh. She had tried to talk to him about the matter but there was nothing she could do. The loss of Miwa had created a great emptiness inside of him - the same emptiness that Shen herself had felt before the turtles had entered her life.
But the tots had managed to heal the darkness within her heart. Even if they could not change the past and save Miwa's life, they had given Shen a reason to smile. A reason to live.
She just wished that Yoshi could feel the same way.
Fortunately, the cat-woman had much to distract herself with. Between caring for her adopted sons and scavenging during the night, there was quite a bit to occupy her time. Shen had found many useful items when she was scavenging - just two nights ago, she found old comic books and brought them home to the turtles, thinking that they might be able to learn how to read from them.
She had also located a fabric shop on the surface. The shop housed some of the most beautiful fabric - and there was a bonus. Anything that the shop deemed "unusable" was thrown in the dumpster out back. But the things that they threw away were blessings for Shen. With the fabric, she could make clothing for herself and Yoshi. Maybe she would make kimonos for him, so he might feel a bit more at home.
That night, when it was time for Shen to go scavenging once again, Yoshi returned to the dojo. He was trying to create some doors and walls for the room in order to separate it from the rest of the "house" - and give him some peace and quiet, because the turtle tots were very loud when they wanted to be.
The mutant rat sighed as he began working on his project again. He wished to have a family, yes. But he couldn't see that happening with the turtles.
Part of him didn't want it to happen.
He shook his head and kept working. As he moved, he could feel the children watching him. Their attention soon drifted, however, and it wasn't long before two of them started to wrestle with each other. The third turtle, the one who Shen supposed was the eldest, tried in vain to separate his siblings. But the fourth ignored them all and joined Yoshi.
The ninja master stared down at the tot and raised a brow. All the turtle did in return was smile, revealing a gap between his front teeth. And then, as Yoshi watched, the turtle moved his hands across the rice paper and wood...mimicking Yoshi's own movements.
In surprise, the rat slowed his work and watched the child do his best to help build the door. When the smaller mutant noticed that Yoshi had stopped working, he looked up at him with wide brown eyes.
"Go ahead," Yoshi said quietly.
At the words, the turtle beamed and continued working. Yoshi sighed again, but he couldn't help the smile that appeared on his lips.
It continued like that every night that Shen left the turtles with her husband and went scavenging. The brown-eyed turtle with a gap in his teeth would help Yoshi build until the doors and walls were complete.
One night, the green-eyed turtle was chasing the freckled turtle and accidentally tore part of the wall. Yoshi just shook his head and began repairing the damage.
Another time, the youngest of the four interrupted his meditation session. He ran in, crying, and threw himself into Yoshi's arms. There was a certain look in his eyes - the look he got when he did something that Shen told them specifically not to do. Such as run into the dojo and disturb his meditating.
As if on cue, the cause of his wailing appeared. The green-eyed turtle darted into the room with the eldest not far on his heels. "Mom said no running in the dojo!" the eldest one called out.
His words made Yoshi freeze in place. Then, quick as a serpent, the ninja master reached out and caught the oldest turtle. He stared at him for a moment, searching his face. The turtle started to shake a little in fear, for Yoshi had never touched him before.
After a long moment, Yoshi let go of the child, instructing all three turtles to leave the dojo. His mind was spinning as they quickly exited the room.
"Mom said no running in the dojo!"
The turtles saw Shen as their mother.
Early the next morning, Shen returned to their home. She brought food and some fabric with her. The turtles rushed forward, throwing their arms around her in a hug. She smiled, shaking her head and hugging them back. "Come, eat your dinner."
Once the tots were sitting and eating, Shen headed over to her husband, who sat there watching the four of them. She handed him the fabric she'd managed to find. "I thought we could make some kimonos," the cat-woman explained, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.
Yoshi stared at the cloth in his hands. Two large bolts, one a maroon color and one a dark blue. There were other, smaller pieces of fabric in red, orange, royal blue, and purple. He looked up at his wife and smiled.
The couple spent the night creating kimonos for each other. Shen made her husband's with Sakura blossoms on one side, like the symbol the Hamato Clan used. Yoshi tried his best to make a beautiful kimono for her, but he had never been good at sewing - let alone making clothes from scratch. Shen just laughed a little and helped him until the kimono was finished.
As Yoshi donned his new kimono, he could feel it. His humanity and dignity was slowly returning to him.
There was a smile on his face that day.
Because finally, he was beginning to feel like himself again.
