Chapter Six: Furry Fury

After their confrontation with Jei, Master Splinter and the Daimyo decided it would be best to get the turtles away from the wolf for the time being. Ue-sama had left shortly after to take care of some business of his own. Realizing that the family had not eaten anything since their arrival, the Daimyo led Splinter and his sons to the dining hall, which was filled with more warriors than there were outside in the arena. There were long, black marble tables all across the hall and the chairs were made of mahogany. The old man settled the turtles and their father at a table near the front.

"Gyoji will be here shortly. He shall provide you with any dishes you wish. Please, eat to your heart's content."

Splinter bowed his head to the Daimyo.

"Thank you. Your honor us with your hospitality."

"Think nothing of it. I wish I could join you, but I have important matters to attend to. Please excuse me."

The man bowed and turned to leave, but he glanced over his shoulder to speak with the turtles once more.

"Do be careful, young ones. Jei's magic is strong if he was able to enter the nexus on his own. My guards and I will keep a watchful eye on him in case he tries anything."

With that, the Daimyo left the turtles and Master Splinter alone. While Donatello and Michelangelo began to talk with their father, Leonardo noticed how Raphael was staying particularly quiet. The second-eldest son had his hands tightly clasped together and his eyes were glued to the table. Leo reached out to his brother.

"Raph? You okay?"

Raph let out a deep sigh in response.

"I just feel so useless. Here he is, the guy who broke into our home and almost murdered my brother, and we can't even touch him! This isn't right, Leo."

Nodding his head, Leo laid his hand on the younger turtle's shell and patted it a few times.

"I know. We'll find a way to get him. Jei won't get away with this."

"Do take care not to go against my lord's wishes though."

Leonardo and Raphael jumped in surprise, but they quickly got over it once they recognized who had spoken to them. Raph rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Not you again."

Floating behind the two turtles, Gyoji chuckled at Raphael's attitude.

"It is nice to see you too, young ones. Now then, what is it you wish to eat? I am sure you are absolutely famished."

Michelangelo immediately his hand up to get Gyoji's attention.

"Me first, me first! Can I get two-no THREE large pepperoni and sardine pizzas with extra hot sauce and-!"

"Wait, wait, wait."

Holding his hand up to stop his younger brother, Donatello frowned.

"Pepperoni and sardines?"

"Oh, and some pickles too!"

"Pickles!? Mikey, you sure have an interesting palate."

"Is that good or bad?"

Donnie scratched his head.

"I'm not exactly sure how to answer that. But if we're getting pizza, then I guess I'll get pepperoni. No sardines or pickles please."

The genius then looked over to Raphael and Leonardo.

"What about you guys?"

Raph shrugged.

"I'll take a meat lover's pizza. NO sardines or pickles."

Hearing his brothers' orders, Mikey stuck his tongue out at them and crossed his arms.

"Don't hate guys. You don't know what you're missing."

Raphael and Donatello shared a look before turning back to Michelangelo.

"We'll take our chances."

The two turtles answered their younger brother simultaneously. Seeing as he was not getting anywhere with them, Mikey looked to Leo for some support.

"Come on, bro. Try it. Sardines and pickles are a combination from heaven!"

Leonardo chuckled.

"Maybe another time, Mikey. I'll take a meat lover's too, please."

Michelangelo pouted, but he could not help but smile when Leonardo reached across the table to rub the little turtle on his head. Mikey loved it when his older brothers showed affection towards him like that. Smiling as well, Leo sat back down in his seat and looked around at the other occupants of the hall.

"Gyoji, are any of these contestants from Earth?"

Gyoji fiddled with his war paddle for a bit before answering the turtle.

"Well, that entirely depends on which Earth you are referring to, Leonardo."

"Which "Earth"?"

"Indeed, Leonardo-san. Remember-"

Leo felt a hand on his shoulder, which he knew immediately who it belonged to. He turned around in his seat and was face-to-face with Usagi.

"I, too, am from another Earth."

"Usagi!"

Leonardo was surprised about how excited he was to see the samurai rabbit, even though they have only known each other for a short amount of time. But it felt like the two have been friends for years. Unknown to him, Usagi felt the same way about the eldest turtle.

"It is good to see that you are all well. Gen and I feared the worst after encountering the Daimyo's son."

"We were wondering where you two had gone off to. And so quickly. We jumped into the portal right after you guys, yet you both had vanished by the time we arrived here."

Usagi nodded his head.

"Time moves differently here than it does in your world. It seems that it moves a bit faster, but not too much to make such a big difference. That is fortunate."

Hearing the rabbit's words, Donatello became worried.

"So, wouldn't our presence here disrupt the flow of time in both this world and ours?"

A pepperoni pizza had suddenly appeared in front of Donnie, surprising the young turtle. Chuckling again, Gyoji now floated behind the genius.

"Do not worry, Donatello. Once you return to your world, it will be as though no time has passed. The Daimyo has everything handled."

"Mm Mm Mmmm!"

Everyone then looked at Michelangelo, who was busy devouring his pizzas as if he has not eaten anything in days. Both Raphael and Donatello turned away in disgust, pushing their food back as they did so.

"Raph, I'm not the only one who lost my appetite, correct?"

"Yeah."

Leonardo laughed when he saw his brothers' faces. Seeing his family eating together like this reminded him of the first time they had eaten pizza. Master Splinter had snuck out that night in search of the delicacy as a treat for his sons. Afterwards, Leo asked his father about the surface and when he and his brothers would be allowed to explore the city above. And everytime, Splinter would tell him to be patient and he would let the turtles go when they were ready.

"But Master Splinter never intended to let us go, did he? He was going to keep us locked away in the sewers until we withered and died."

Leonardo's eyes grew wide. Where did that thought even come from? Of course, Leo did not believe that. Master Splinter would never do such a thing. Right? The turtle was so caught up in his own thoughts that he did not feel a presence behind him until something furry rubbed across Leo's shell. It was a long, striped tail.

"Turtle."

Leonardo instantly turned around and saw that it was a giant mutant tiger that had addressed him. The tiger had a deep, Japanese accent, and he wore an outfit similar to of a western cowboy with a sword strapped on his hip.

"Those are quite the katanas you possess."

Leo glanced back at his weapons, which were still strapped to the back of his shell.

"Um…thank you? I got them from my father."

"I see. Did he make them himself?"

"No, um…I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rude, but…I don't know you and-"

The tiger slammed his paw onto Leonardo's shoulder and smirked.

"You do now. I am your new sparring partner."

"Excuse me?"

"Meet me in the arena. Five minutes."

"Wait, what? Hey!"

But the tiger had already left the room as Leo called out to him. The teen scratched his head and looked at his family, who were just as confused about the situation as he was.

"Okay, what just happened?"

Raphael only shrugged.

"Beats me. The guy didn't even bother to tell you his name."

"He said for me to meet him in the arena. You think I should go?"

"Heck no! He can find someone else to fight."

"Well, I should've known you'd say that, Raph. Sensei, what do you think I should do?"

Master Splinter ran his hand down his beard and closed his eyes in thought.

"It seems that this man chose to meet with you for a reason, my son. I am curious as to what that reason is."

"So, should I go?"

"Leonardo, that is your decision. If you do not feel comfortable with it, no one is forcing you to go."

Leo nodded his head, and it only took him a moment to reach a decision. He slowly rose from his seat while grabbing a slice of pizza.

"I want to see what's up. I'm gonna go."

Splinter nodded.

"Alright. But please be careful, my son."

Michelangelo suddenly stood up from his seat and went to his eldest brother's side.

"You want us to go with you? I don't want you going there alone, dude."

Leonardo smiled.

"Don't worry, Mikey. I got this."

"Well, if you do need us-"

Donatello threw something to Leonardo, who caught it with ease. The elder brother looked at the object curiously seeing that it was a small phone that looked very much like a turtle shell.

"What's this, Don?"

"It's a phone, of course. The design I created on my own. I call it the "shell cell." Pretty neat, huh?"

"Yeah. Pretty neat."

Leonardo tucked the phone away in his pants pocket and proceeded out of the dining hall. Not like he would have to use it, after all.

The clanging and banging of weapons greeted Leonardo as he entered the arena. The turtle took a moment to watch other warriors spar with each other. His peace was interrupted by a voice shouting at him from a couple of feet away.

"Turtle! Over here!"

Leo turned around and sighed. He jogged over to his new "sparring partner" and folded his arms across his chest.

"Look, I do have a name, you know. It's Leonardo."

The tiger grunted.

"Fine then. Leonardo it is."

Reaching for his gun, the tiger turned away from Leonardo, making the turtle frown.

"And your name is?"

"My name, you ask?"

Without warning, the tiger pulled his weapon from its holster and aimed it at Leo. And pulled the trigger. Immediately, Leonardo took one of his katanas and just before the bullet could hit him, the teen cut it in half. The two halves flew into opposites sides of the wall behind Leo.

"What the hell was that!?"

The tiger then lowered his gun and placed it back in its holster.

"Good reflexes."

"Good refle-? What if I hadn't reacted in time!?"

"Then I suppose you would be dead."

The way the tiger stated that fact made Leonardo angry. How could he be so nonchalant about someone dying? But he quickly calmed down when his chest began to burn. That was really beginning to be a pain to the turtle. The tiger saw Leo wince, but he chose to ignore it.

"I am called Tigerclaw."

"Tigerclaw? Kinda lazy, you think?"

Tigerclaw growled in response while showing off his fangs. Leonardo shook his head.

"Yeah, right. Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude or anything."

"Hmph."

"Anyway, why did you want to train with me? I'm sure you could've found someone else to spar with."

"…Maybe."

The tiger then pulled out his own sword, which was much bigger than Leonardo's in comparison.

"But I wish to fight with a fellow swordsman. And after seeing your confrontation with Gyoji earlier, I wanted to see your skills in action."

"You saw that, huh?"

Leo rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He felt a little embarrassed about how he and Raphael had been defeated with such ease by Gyoji. And to top it off, the teen was sure that Gyoji had been holding back. Imagine if he had used his full power.

"Indeed, I did. I must say, that was not exactly a fair fight."

"Tell me about it."

"Then allow me to even the odds."

Tigerclaw slowly got into a fighting stance.

"I have lived a longer life than you, Leonardo. I have won many battles and fought many formidable opponents."

Leonardo, seeing that the tiger was preparing for a fight, took a stance of his own.

"As have I."

"Yes. But have you ever fought alone? Without your family by your side?"

Leo did not answer, but he did not have to. Tigerclaw already knew the answer to his own question.

"Then just how formidable are you on your own!?"

With a roar, Tigerclaw charged at Leonardo. Leo did the same and their swords met with a loud clang.

"Do not worry. I shall hold back. THIS time."

"Gee, I'm sooooo grateful."

"Watch your tongue, boy."

Tigerclaw pulled his sword away from his opponent's and unleashed a downward strike, which Leo blocked. The two continued to parry and dodge each other's attacks for some time, the clashing of swords and their heartbeats in their ears the only sounds they could hear. Leonardo ducked under Tigerclaw's blade and attempted to sweep his adversary off his feet, but the tiger performed a backflip to avoid the turtle. He landed on his feet and raised his sword to Leo, who was smirking.

"Don't cats always land on all fours?"

"Cats land on their feet, which I did. While it was not on all fours as you say, it was feet nonetheless."

"Point taken."

Leonardo was first to rush towards Tigerclaw this time. The teen made a horizontal strike, causing his opponent to jump back to dodge it, and again they began to exchange blows. Unbeknownst to the two warriors, Usagi was watching them from the shadows, and he had a deep frown on his face. He was worried about his friend's well-being and after seeing the way Tigerclaw approached Leonardo before, Usagi did not trust him. First impressions were important, after all.

The rabbit continued to watch Leo and Tigerclaw spar, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. After a while, Usagi decided that everything seemed to be alright and he turned to leave, but a sudden shout made the samurai look back to the arena. He saw that Tigerclaw had disarmed Leonardo and as the turtle was reaching for his other katana, his opponent took the opportunity to kick him in his chest. Leo was sent flying back and he crashed into the wall, bits of brick falling to the ground as he did so. The teen pulled himself out of most of the rubble and he slowly lifted his head up, but as soon as he did, he was face to face with the tip of Tigerclaw's blade.

"You weren't holding back, were you?"

"Of course not."

Tigerclaw lowered his blade and held out his hand to Leonardo.

"Lesson #1: Never hold back. Your enemy surely will not. I thought a fighter such as yourself would know that."

Leo looked at the tiger's paw reluctantly at first, but he eventually accepted it and allowed Tigerclaw to help him onto his feet. The turtle took a moment to catch his breath before speaking again.

"What are you, my teacher now?"

"I can offer you my assistance if you wish. You certainly have room for improvement."

"Thanks for the offer, but I already have a master."

"And who ever said you cannot have more than one master?"

Leo thought about that for a moment. He has only known Tigerclaw for a short time, but he feels that he can learn a lot from the tiger. Maybe this whole sparring thing would not be so bad.

"…What exactly do you plan on teaching me?"

"Well first, let me ask you a question. Why were YOU holding back?"

"What are you talking about? I gave my all during our fight."

Tigerclaw shook his head.

"Then you disappoint me, boy."

The tiger then pointed his finger at Leo's chest.

"Leonardo, you have potential. You do. You just do not have the will to reach it. The motivation."

Grabbing the turtle's shoulder, Tigerclaw looked Leonardo dead in his eyes and spoke in a firm, yet gentle tone.

"Why do you fight, Leonardo?"

"I…I fight to protect those I care about."

"Of course. And?"

"And to make the world a better and safer place to live in."

"And?"

"And…um…"

Leo shrugged.

"That's about it, I guess."

"No, no."

Tigerclaw's grip tightened on Leonardo's shoulder.

"You also fight because…it is your passion. You breath ninjutsu, you read ninjutsu, your life IS ninjutsu. You fight because you enjoy it."

"…Yeah."

Leonardo nodded, agreeing with the tiger's words.

"I don't know who I would be if not a fighter."

"Exactly."

Kneeling to the ground, Tigerclaw picked up Leonardo's katana and handed it to him.

"And now that you have realized that, you can do better. You can BE better. Do not limit yourself."

Leonardo reached for his katana, but Tigerclaw did not let go.

"And do not be afraid to do what is needed to win your battles. Even if it means killing your enemies when you are given the chance."

Leo froze. The low tone of Tigerclaw's voice when he mentioned killing unsettled the teen. Leonardo could tell that the tiger has been through a lot, and he was curious about Tigerclaw's life and his past deeds. But in the back of his mind, Leo was not sure whether he wanted to know any of that. Unable to say anything to the tiger, Leonardo simply nodded, and Tigerclaw finally let go of his weapon. Tigerclaw sighed.

"That is enough for today. Return to your family, Leonardo."

Tigerclaw returned his own sword back into its sheath and turned to leave.

"And I expect to see you here tomorrow, ready for training. Understood?"

Leonardo immediately nodded.

"Yes…sensei."

Tigerclaw smiled, but he had his back turned to Leo, so the turtle could not see him.

"Good."

"And sensei?"

"Yes, Leonardo?"

"I just wanted to know if you were participating in the Battle Nexus tournament as well."

"Yes, I am. Are you?"

"No, but…I am seriously considering it."