Disclaimer: I do NOt own TMNT (teenage mutant ninja turtles)!
One Purpose
Chapter 4
She could sense it, hear it move and though she could not see it lurking in the darkness, she knew it was a creature that would do so. Which would be to her advantage.
Her blindness was the reason why she could never be a ninja, making her unable to pursue the shadows to cloak her from sight, at least at night.
So she stood firm and not in hiding, simply waiting for the creature to launch. If she were to fight this thing, it would only present a single problem - that it was nothing she had ever dealt with.
Mostly, when fighting people or animals, Mai could spare their lives, for she knew where and where not to slice them to pieces.
But this creature was not a regular animal, it was a deformed monster spawned from a world that was beyond her imagination. So her only option was to kill the creature.
Not that she felt any guilt or doubt with the idea of taking its life since Toxic-Stinger quite literally almost ended hers.
Mai waited, she could almost feel its paws move slowly on the dirty ground with precision and consideration, before ever so slightly putting its weight on them to move into a better crouching position. Its breath was shallow, low, as it concentrated on its prey.
Her free hand had slowly began to move and clasp around the leather handle of the knife on her back.
The alley was too narrow for her to actually use her katana, Mai would have to lure the beast into the park on the other side of the road.
With that goal in mind, her grip tightened and the creature finally launched out of hiding, planning on biting her head clean of her shoulders.
When his giant teeth minced only air as its jaws loudly slapped together, the creature suddenly felt tremendous pain shoot through the left side of its face and roared.
Mai backed away, feeling blood seep onto her hand from the blade, slightly grinning satisfied when she realized she must have hit its eye.
That should be enough to entice the creature to follow her out of the alley…
It was then she heard the silent, but hasty, footfall of large feet coming down the alley walls.
"Mai!" Raphael exclaimed when he saw Toxic-Stinger prepare for another attack. He and his brother moving fast to help her out.
Mai would have told them to back off if the creature hadn't pinned her to the ground. Mai groaned under the weight and managed to stab the hissing Toxic-Stinger unbeknownst in its chest, unable to pull it back out.
A fierce howl escaped the creature's throat and he tossed Mai away from under him, leaving the blade stuck in its chest.
The pain sent Toxic-Stinger into a frenzy, shooting its spines from its tail through the alley. The turtles managed to avoid them, distracting the creature from its main target. It was somewhat easier to fight it now, having lost at least half its sight and being hurt.
Raphael was quick to go stand protectively in front of Mai as she got to her feet "I thought" She breathed, her voice growing in fierceness "I made it clear this is a matter of Honor, that you should leave me to handle this on my own" Mai almost growled angrily.
Raphael might not have been an expert when it came to talking to girls he liked, but oh, he was an expert in having heated arguments.
His temper boiled thick and fierce as he got in her face with his feisty attitude "Now you listen, Mai!" He growled, poking his finger into her collarbone "The heck with your honor! It's stupid to think you should die for stuff like that! What use does it have if it gets you killed?! I don't give two shells whether I have your permission or not to save your butt! You understand?!"
Mai didn't say a word.
She never actually had much contact with the outside world and the little she had so far was with old men and women set in a time period where tradition reigned and honor was bound. And so, hearing what another part of the outside world thought of her ideologies truly shocked her.
To have it viewed upon by a teenager trained to also follow his line of tradition and honor and then calling it dumb and not respecting it, simply made her head twirl.
"Finally" Michelangelo sighed with relief while avoiding another round of spines being shot at them "Raph is acting like himself again"
"You noticed?" Donatello questioned incredulously, jumping over the creatures tail as it swung and hit the wall, a couple of bricks falling down to the ground.
"Well yeah, he hasn't yelled at any one for hours!" Michelangelo replied, swinging his nun-chucks at the creature.
"Guys, can you please focus?" Leo demanded, annoyed while holding back a claw with both his katana's.
"I…I,-" Mai stuttered.
Raphael's tone softened somewhat and he laid his hand on her shoulder as he continued "So if it isn't too much to ask of your Honor, come help us out"
Mai didn't respond.
To not follow tradition, to not follow the way of the sword, it made her head hurt just thinking about it. Her honor was all she had left and once she fulfilled her last duty as a samurai, that would be it for her.
There was a loud explosive sound, the creature howled and Raphael's brothers made a collective groan.
Raphael and Mai turned their attention towards the back of the alley, where the three turtles lay on the filthy ground, groaning and beaten. They had been still too wounded to actually take on the creature.
Toxic-Stinger stood on its hind legs ready to give them the final blow.
"Guys!" Raphael shouted and bolted forward to stop the creature. Raphael braced himself for the impact as he jumped in front of his brothers, not sure if he would survive it.
Mai was completely stunned by how weird that boy was. One moment he was shouting that honor was nothing and yet he stood there, protecting his brothers nobly, even if it cost him his own life in doing so.
Mai gritted her teeth angrily.
How would a mere boy ever understand that her Honor was everything she had and yet, jump in front of his brethren to sacrifice himself? She wouldn't be able to figure that out now.
That feeling of sacrifice awakened something deep down inside of Mai.
Even without her sight to aim, the creature was large enough and so was her katana, so she thrown with a strength that reopened the wounds in her right arm.
It hit Toxic-Stinger in the chest, right next to the sore wound, making the creature miss its target. The creature stumbled backwards as Mai propelled herself forward to grab her Katana and pulled it out again, more blood staining the already filthy ground.
They were still young – though it might only be a few years – they still had to learn how cruel the world was to those who were still innocent.
"Mai" Raphael breathed as she stood before him.
"Get your brothers out of the way" She demanded, her voice indicating that any further discussion was not an option.
Grumbling, he complied, using Michelangelo's Kusarigama to drag his brothers behind a garbage container while Mai stood ready to run and lure the creature with her to the park.
Recognizing her now for who she was and what she had done to him, the creature roared furiously, spinning around itself with incredible speed to fire off the spines on its tail.
Mai dodged, summersaulting backwards, reaching the end of the alley as the creature followed her with thundering steps.
Toxic-Stinger followed her over the road and into the park - people who were walking or in their cars driving by, simply stood still for a moment before they either screamed or yelled, running or driving away in utter fear.
Raphael was about to run after her when Leo grabbed his hand "Raph…wait" Leonardo muttered and groaned while getting to his feet "Where are you going?"
"I'm going after her! That stupid samurai nonsense is going to get her killed!" Raphael bit out the words and growled angrily as the rest of his brothers got to their feet – if not somewhat unsteadily.
"Yeah, Toxic-Stinger is just too powerful for her alone" Michelangelo agreed weakly.
Donatello who was supporting Michelangelo's weight by holding his younger brother's arm over his shoulder looked at his eldest sibling with great concern "What should we do, Leo?"
Leonardo looked over his shoulder at the park, hearing trees and bushes quiver and shake as they were trampled over by the creature Mai was fighting on her own.
He considered his brothers, the girl, the city and weighed them while Raphael glared at him for taking his sweet time.
Sighing, Leonardo got his katana's off the ground "I don't see how we have a choice, Toxic-Stinger needs to be stopped regardless if Mai wants our help or not" He told his brothers and turned to grin at them "This is not just her fight"
"Finally" Raphael grinned, smashing his fist into his hand, cracking his knuckles.
Donatello and Michelangelo getting their own weapons and they were off to fight alongside the samurai, whether she approved or not.
The creature followed her, deeper and deeper into the park, until Mai had him where she wanted him.
She denied the pain in her arm to affect her speed, and landed swiftly on an open grass field. People who were walking their dogs soon scattered and ran a way in fear when Toxic-Stinger burst from the trees and bushes.
Skittering to a halt and skinning the grass from the ground, Toxic-Stingers began to drool like a wild dog with rabies as its mad eyes refocused on Mai.
"Finally" Mai murmured crouching slightly and placing her Katana behind her, her right hand clutching the handle tightly, preparing herself to finish this in one swift strike. She considered her right arm, she truly had only one chance to do this right, because a second strike wouldn't be possible after that.
The moment tensed, the creature felt the change and decided that he might as well try and eat her face again.
Crouching first, Toxic-Stinger launched itself from the ground, dirt flying from underneath its feet. Mai waited until she was sure the creature would be sliced in half by her blade and with a power that came from years and years of brutal training, she swung her sword over her head with lightning speed.
Her blow was sure to land on the creature, if it was not kicked aside by four mutant turtles jumping out of the bushes, one of them shouting an enthusiastic "Booyakasha!"
To prevent from slicing the turtles in half, Mai had to bend her arm - breaking it - so she would swing her sword the other way.
The girl held back a scream of pain and settled for a load groan escaping her lips as her hand let go of the handle, sending the sword flying. Mai momentarily lost her balance, falling to her knees. Her huge katana had swung round in the air and was now firmly standing upright in the ground as the turtles landed by her side.
Toxic-Stinger had fallen onto its side and slowly stood up while shaking its head, confused as to what had happened, making it even more furious.
"Mai, are you alright?" Raphael asked, looking over his shell to see her stand up slowly, holding her croaked looking right arm with her left hand. The blood literally drained from his face when he realized their mistake.
"You got in the way" Mai's low silent tones send chills down their shells.
"Mai, I'm sorry, we didn't mean to,-" Raphael began hastily, but was pushed aside by the samurai, who grabbed her katana with her left hand and angrily pulled it from the dirt.
"You want to help?" Mai quiestoned, turning her head as if to look over her shoulder and actually lowering her sunglasses to freak the teens out as her ghostly stare looked where they stood. Michelangelo gulped.
"THEN STAY OUTTA MYWAY!" She screamed furiously at the same time the creature roared, launching to them, making the ground tremble.
As Toxic-Stinger jumped to trample them beneath its large body, the turtles jumped out of the way. Mai turned, her body twisting fast into position. Now that she was more familiar with the size of the creature then she was before, she put her leg out and kicked the creature in the chest, coincidently hitting the blade that was still stuck there and pushing it deeper into its body.
The creature shrieked and backed away, growling fiercely.
Even if she wasn't as skilled with her left hand to fight with her katana, it had to do. Mai dragged her sword across the ground to intimidate the creature, to make it aware of its coming demise.
"Wooow," Michelangelo muttered in awe "Remind me never to get on Mai's bad side guys"
"Mikey, I'm not so sure we aren't already on her 'bad side'…" Donatello informed his younger brother worriedly.
"I think we better back up guys" Leonardo ordered, while Raphael simply stared, not hearing any of this. He felt like any chance he had with Mai, if there had been a chance at all, was just obliterated to a million little pieces.
"C'mon Raph!" Michelangelo groaned as he dragged him away to the bushes, trying snap his older brother out of his daze "We need to get out of here"
Acting more on autopilot than anything else, Raphael's body complied while his eyes were glued to the slim figure wielding a huge black blade facing a monster ten times her own size and not being allowed to do anything to protect her.
Mai prepared herself, there was only a slight chance she could end it now – and not trying to think of the reason behind it – settled herself into position as the creature started circling her.
Mai realized he had learned to be cautious around her and was actually trying to figure out when and where the turtles would appear – which would work to her advantage.
Acting on instinct when Mai moved loudly on purpose, the creature focused on her again. Very warily, it circled her one more time before deciding the turtles weren't there anymore at all.
It jumped, attacking her from behind, Mai turned around and jumped underneath it swinging her katana as the creature flew over her.
The blade struck flesh, slicing through bone with incredible power. But it wasn't the clean cut Mai could've made if both her arms had worked, instead the cut was crooked, slicing it in a jagged manner.
With an earsplitting scream of pain, Toxic-Stinger landed unbalanced on the ground behind Mai, its tail in front of her.
Having seen this, knowing what she could've done if she could use both her arms, made the turtles realize something crucial; much like the Shredder, this girl wouldn't hesitate to kill given the chance and, more importantly, that they actually had gotten in her way.
Raphael had trouble processing this. He didn't know how he felt about this realization, whether it was in the difference in their strengths or the difference in their beliefs.
Blood seeped from both the tail and the creature, who tried to jump her again. Mai was able to dodge its large form more easily than before, without its tail to balance the large body out, it was rather clumsy. It tried to swing its large sharp paw at her, but missed, before deciding to run off.
Mai didn't pursue it, not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't fight the beast anymore then it could fight her.
Her body trembled and her knees were shaking, but she was satisfied in knowing that at least now the creature wouldn't be able to hurt anyone anymore with shooting spines from its tail.
"If you are going to ask me to come along to your home" Mai began while she set down and painfully squeezed out of her jacket "Then I must decline"
The Turtles had appeared next to her with exactly that proposal.
"Why not?" Raphael demanded. Since their argument earlier he had regained his attitude.
Mai used her katana that was embedded in to the ground for half its length to rip her favorite jacket to pieces and continued on without saying a word while correcting her broken right arm, using the strips of cloth.
The sound of bones being erected was more powerful than anything Mai could've told them. Using the sheath that was attached to her backpack for the smaller knife that was still stuck in Toxic-Stingers chest, Mai placed it around her arm and began binding it.
Raphael growled angrily at her silence, clenching his teeth together as something in him snapped "What? We aren't good enough for you or something?! Simply because you have to follow that stupid code of honor of yours?!" No reaction "You are so STUBBORN!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, exploding.
Mai was placing the last knot in her bind, when he yelled that at her, making her tie it too tightly. She would have to redo it later.
"Excuse me?" Mai all but spat back, her accent thick in anger and stood up walking toward him "How dare you call me stubborn! When you kept persisting I do things your way! Disrespecting me and all I stand for!" She growled back, standing so close she was shouting the words in his face.
"Okay, everybody calm down" Leonardo said, holding his hands up defensively and standing between the two.
"I am CALM!" The two yelled at him in unison and proceeded to growl at each other.
Leonardo backed off, seeing he would get burned if he intervened any longer.
Realizing how childish she was acting, Mai inhaled deeply to truly calm herself and stepped back a little "The point is I need to figure out what to do at the moment and I do not belief I can do so at your home…"
She said the last bit more towards Raphael then to the others, which angered him more than he thought it would.
Oh, so it was all his fault for saving her ass? For caring whether or not she died? He was about to fire those words at her when Michelangelo jumped in to save the day. Or rather, he thought he was doing so.
"That's not true!" Michelangelo burst out excitedly demonstrating everything what he was saying with his arms "Our home is the ultimate place to chillax and think about problems! Besides, we can help you and you can help us with the whole Shredder problem, right? Oh! And don't forget you need a good place to stay for the time being, so just come with us!"
"Is he always like this?" Mai questioned the other brothers.
They nodded in defeat.
Mai was going to get her sheath when Leonardo gave it a try, since Raphael was still fuming, grumbling incoherent words to himself with his back toward the girl "Mai, we" Raphael glared over his shell to his brother for using 'we' at the moment. Leonardo choose to ignore the glare and continued "are sorry for shaming your honor. We didn't mean to so and we" another fierce glare "would really want you to reconsider our offer"
"Besides, do you even have a safe place to sleep and rest your arm?" Donatello asked, thinking how unlikely that must be.
Mai had by then grabbed her katana less elegantly then she normally would have and sighed deeply, her eyebrows mushed together slightly as she thought.
It was silent for several moments.
Raphael had by now calmed down enough to realize that he was an idiot for talking to her the way he did. Yet he still had to figure out a way to talk to her without the heat of an argument.
"A safe place to stay," Mai suddenly repeated quietly and if they didn't know she was blind, they would have sworn she had been staring at the night sky "To rest, to think, to eat and sleep" Mai sighed again and turned around to face them, her signature smile on her lips, though it didn't hold any amusement like it did before. Now it seemed more bitter "What you have is a home and that is a place where I do not belong…"
And with that said, she turned on her heel again and started walking in the direction of the building they had jumped off moments ago - her slim weakened figure slowly fading in the distance.
"So I guess that means she isn't going to come with us, huh?" Michelangelo wondered aloud, looking at his brothers.
"Well, that was weird" Donatello commented, deep in thought, trying to figure out what she might have meant.
"Either way, we better get going" Leonardo said, turning around to get going when he suddenly saw that Raphael hadn't moved a muscle.
He stood with his hands clenched into fist and grinding his teeth together in anger, grumbling incoherent words again.
"Raph," Michelangelo asked cautiously "You okay dude?"
Donatello put a hand on Michelangelo's shoulder guiding him away from the bomb that was about to explode "I think he needs to be alone for now, Mikey" He muttered.
Having his two younger brothers leave, Leonardo glanced one last time before following them to head back to the lair and leave Raphael alone.
Author Comments:
Yellow my lovely's!
UPDATE: Now if you are reading (or rereading the story because of me taking too long to post a new chapter - so, so, sorry) this, it means you are reading my rewritten version of the story (well, rewritten is a big word, more like 'corrected' version) One Purpose.
I am at a stage where I am going to TRY and correct all my mistakes and horrible grammar/spelling in the story, so bear with me for a little while...^^;
So I am busy cleaning the story, if you will, all the way to chapter 12 - after that, I will upload chapter 13 ;)
Anyway, as always, I hope you have enjoyed this chapter so far, let me know what you think and I hope you will also enjoy the rest.
Lots of love,
Siaanna