A delectable aroma filled the room as Splinter poured the steaming water over the dehydrated meal. Considering some of the food he'd been forced to consume for sustenance over the past decade, the pot of instant ramen could be considered decadent. Yet, compared to the flavours of the lovingly prepared meals that Tang Shen had once made for him, he might as well have picked up a handful of sewer sludge.
Moving over to sit beside the improvised table within the lair's kitchen, Splinter curled his hands around the plastic coated, cardboard pot as he waited for the contents to cool enough to consume. A day had not yet gone by where he did not miss his beloved wife.
Over the years that had passed, the raw edges of pain had been eroded. Yet it still left a cavern of loneliness that he knew now would never be filled. Tang Shen had passed away, leaving him to walk without her at his side. But, even though she had been gone now for so many years, he still saw evidence of her everywhere.
A wistful smile settled on the old rat's face as he gazed down into his cooling meal. As a young man, he would have carelessly tossed aside the lids of his instant ramen pots, until the level of clutter in the room reached a height that demanded cleaning. It had been Tang Shen's look of disapproval when she had first stepped foot into his kitchen that had prompted the change to his ways, and since then the lid had always gone straight into the recycling.
Her stern expression was one he must have appropriated for his own use during their time together. After his life began anew beneath New York City, it seemed that he had used it on his sons throughout their childhood and teenage years. For now, as they approached the transition to young adults, he had begun to see it reflected between them as they used it upon one another.
The tragedy that once tainted his memories of Tang Shen had long since faded. Now, traces of the happiness he'd once felt were allowed to shine through. Like a day of showers and sunshine, such were his recollections of his late wife.
"Settle down!"
Splinter's ears twitched as he heard Leonardo's voice floating through from the living area, battling to get his brothers and friends to pay attention. The inflection of the words sparked a ripple of amusement in the old rat. It seemed that it wasn't just Tang Shen's mannerisms his sons had inherited, but his own as well.
In a way, it was comforting to think that, although he would die someday, he would exist beyond his own lifetime in the thoughts and actions of those he loved. Provided, of course, that they outlived him. That they might not had always been a cause of fear, but ever since Donatello's accident it plucked at the master with increasing regularity.
Splinter knew why Leonardo had called for silence. Though his sons thought their sensei oblivious to their comings and goings, he monitored them with greater care than they gave him credit for. They could not ignore the threat that Shredder had created to their home, nor the damage he was causing to the city. Something had to be done.
Evidently the words uttered by his eldest had worked, as the muddled chatter and distant hum of the television from the other room had fallen into silence. With his sensitive hearing, Splinter could hear quite clearly as the conversation between his sons and their friends unfolded.
"Our mission is two pronged." the leader was officiously explaining. "We are to halt Shredder in his attempts to unearth our sanctum, and we—"
"Sanctum? Really?"
Raphael's jibe was ignored as Leonardo pointedly continued. "AND, we are to prevent further contamination of the environment. This is a quest not only to strike out against our nemesis, but also to protect the planet for future generations!"
Splinter shook his head in amusement. Leonardo, ever the hero, was fond of such dramatic proclamations. Such valour and dedication to the battle for the greater good was to be commended, but there were times that it needed tempering.
There was a rustle of paperwork before Leonardo continued. "We have two targets. The first is to expose the group that are polluting the sewer network. The second is to take down the warehouse and safely get those chemicals away from Shredder."
"So, lets hit the warehouse tonight. Then on Saturday, they've got nothin' to pollute with." Raphael suggested.
"If we do that, we won't be able to expose what they're doing and the environmental agency will keep searching the sewers," Leonardo pointed out. "We need to deal with both simultaneously. They won't know we're coming, and their foot soldiers will be divided between the two locations."
Casey's confident voice carried easily. "Just leave one to Casey Jones!"
"By yourself?" Raphael pointed out, incredulously.
"You wanna be my backup?"
A snort of derision escaped Raph's nose. "You're the backup!"
"I know how we can deal with the polluters, but I'm gonna need some backup," April suddenly stated.
"I'll be your b-backup!"
Lifting the pot before himself, Splinter used chopsticks in his other hand to lift some of the noodles to his lips and cautiously test the temperature. Still hot, but not so much as to burn.
Easing the food around his mouth to cool it enough to safely swallow, the old rat continued to idly listen to his children and their friends as they discussed their plans. It was Raphael's brusque voice that now floated through.
"So, April and Donnie bring the polluters to light, while the rest of us take down the warehouse. Easy as pie."
"Pie?" Michelangelo's excited tone betrayed the fact that he'd clearly not been paying attention until the mention of food.
"It's not that simple. We need a plan, Raph. We can't just march in there unprepared. That's how things get wrong and people get, uh…"
"Hurt. Just say it, Leo."
Splinter's fingers tightened around his chopsticks and he allowed himself a moment of grief. Donatello seemed to have come to terms with and accepted what had happened. However, his brothers were still finding things hard to become accustomed to.
"Well, I have a plan!" April chipped in. "Donnie, we're gonna want some things from your lab."
"Sure April. Whatever you need."
"I have a plan too!"
Splinter could well imagine the sceptical looks the others were giving one another at Michelangelo's proclamation. Though it wasn't worn upon his face, he too harboured a degree of incredulity. His youngest son was many things, and talented in his own areas, but was possessing of a mind that worked in ways unfathomable.
There was reluctance in Leonardo's voice as he spoke, but nevertheless he encouraged the contribution. "All right. Let's hear it, Mikey."
"Well, it's gonna need Casey as backup…"
"Dude! I'm not the backup!"
Splinter chuckled as he ate. Teenagers; so unintentionally hilarious to those who had navigated that awkward age and now looked back with the wisdom and experience afforded.
"See, I was thinking about what you guys said before…" Michelangelo continued, enthusiasm in his voice.
"Mikey was thinking?" Raphael retorted. "What's next? Bebop grows wings?"
"That would be sick!"
"Casey, Raph, hush!"
Leonardo was trying to wrest the discussion under control, with limited success. Perhaps he needed to be taught a few more techniques for that purpose, Splinter thought to himself as he chewed and swallowed another mouthful of his meal. Then again, as their sensei he had demonstrated how to take command time and again within the dojo. If his eldest son was not paying attention to anything beyond the martial arts, that was his own difficulty to overcome.
Finishing his meal, Splinter stood and headed over to rinse out the container before depositing it in the pile of recyclable material. Then his chopsticks were washed with greater care and placed within a pocket to be taken back to his room. It kept them safe from the mistreatment that utensils left within the kitchen frequently suffered.
Putting the kettle back onto the stove, Splinter began to heat the water in preparation for taking it back to his chamber for making himself some tea. As he waited for it to return to the boil, he pushed the curtain aside so he could silently watch his sons and their human friends.
Only April, sitting facing in the right direction and gifted with the telepathic gifts of her unusual heritage, noticed his presence. She gave him a brief glance and smile, before leaning back over the map that had been unrolled over the floor.
They were engrossed in planning their assault against Shredder, to stop him from filling the sewers with dangerous chemicals in his obsessive efforts to find them and put an end to the Hamato clan forever. They had come so far from the early days of freedom, when they would have leapt straight into the fray with no preparation beyond the training he had bestowed upon them.
Every success, every setback, preceded an endless stream of changes as the teenagers continued their journey through life. They might not see how much they had been transformed by their experiences, but Splinter certainly did.
Leonardo, gifted with both talent and the drive for excellence, had found the overconfidence of his earliest days subdued by the experience of failure. Robbed of naivety, instead he had learned caution. Although not yet honed to perfection, he walked steadily along the difficult path of leadership; the task of getting the best from his team and supporting his brothers through their struggles.
It was made no easier by Raphael, Splinter thought with a wry smile. Yet in challenging his brother, it strengthened them both. It forced them to have confidence in their own decisions, yet also ensured that they stopped to consider the alternative. For Raphael, he was gifted in battle but found the fight against his own impatience difficult. Yet, more and more, he was able to triumph.
Splinter had seen it in the way that his son had been helping Donatello with his recovery. Knowing when to act and when to wait was a tricky skill that could only be honed by experience. For Donatello, it was also necessary for him to regain a new familiarity with the differences he faced. There was fear in facing the unknown, made more terrible when the unknown was yourself.
Yet if that fear was terrible, then there was not the word to describe the dread of harm befalling someone you adore. Michelangelo's heart was filled with love for his friends and family, and the immobilising terror of losing them had threatened to overwhelm him. However, strengthened by the support of those he cared for, that same love was also a weapon deadlier than any foe could wield.
"That's a great idea, Mikey," Leonardo was saying, almost managing to mask the surprise in his voice.
"You know it!"
"While we're d-d-dis…d-discussing ideas," Donatello started, stumbling slightly over the longer words with his now all too familiar stutter. He pushed a pad of paper onto the growing pile in the midst of the huddle. "I had some thoughts for an i-i-inven-vention."
Splinter saw the other three turtles share a glance amongst themselves. His heart warmed at the surprise but also the happiness that crossed silently between them. Ever since Donatello had been young, he had provided a constant stream of inventions for his family. Some more successful than others. Yet it was something that had seemed to stop since he had been so traumatically injured. To see it returning, that was something to celebrate.
Donatello, frowning at the scribbles on the paper, missed the look that had passed above his head. "Ah, it's a bit messy…"
"It's great, Donnie," Leonardo said, encouragingly. "So, what does it do?"
"Well…"
The whistle of the kettle brought Splinter's attention back into the kitchen. Taking the pot from the heat, he fetched the teapot from the cupboard and transferred the hot water from one to the other. The braided bamboo handle was beginning to fray from use, it was something he would need to replace soon.
With the teapot in hand, the turtles' sensei pushed his way out of the kitchen and started quietly padding his way back towards the privacy of his own room beside the dojo.
"—to the t-phones," he heard Donatello concluding. "B-but I'll need your help to make it, April. And…yours too, Mikey."
Michelangelo, initially surprised, quickly blossomed with happiness. "Me? You want me to help?"
With a simple nod from Donatello, there followed a smile that passed between the two of them with an unspoken layer of communication. What it related to was something beyond Splinter's awareness. An apology, a reconciliation? Whatever it was, his two youngest sons bumped fists together before turning back to the paperwork.
"Ok, so, we have a plan," Leonardo summarised. "We've got until Saturday to get everything ready."
As the leader started to dole out tasks and jobs that needed to be completed, Splinter silently took his leave to return to the sanctity of his own room and prepare the green tea.
Once, he had been so worried about his sons leaving the sewers. So frightened for their safety, in the dangerous world above ground where they were not so easily protected from harm. It was not unjustified, as they had faced dangers he had expected, as well as many that he had not.
They had grown from their experiences and overcome the trials they had faced. No longer did he have so many concerns for their safety. No longer did he listen so anxiously for their safe return. They were mature young adults now, and he could be confident that they—
A crash from the living area, followed by the unmistakable roar from Raphael and giggle from Michelangelo cut the sensei's thoughts off in their tracks.
Well, perhaps they were not quite grown up yet, he admitted to himself with a smile.
