I own nothing! "Water, water everywhere" quote from "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Usagi watched the swordsmith study the steel nuggets. Finally, the bear nodded with a grin and said, "These are great steel."
Usagi blew out a breath in relief despite the one who forged them saying the same earlier. He had not thought the old hound would lie knowing the swordsmith was barely a few streets down waiting to judge the nuggets for himself. But it was a relief just the same to hear it confirmed.
Noriyuki gave yet more money to those who'd worked under the hound's instructions and also awaited this bear's pronouncement. Then they went back to their teacher with the money and news of the swordsmith's approval of their steel nuggets. Usagi admired them now himself. They were nearly as bright as silver.
Usagi watched the bear himself rise to his feet and look back down upon Tomoe Ame, Noriyuki, Gennesuke, and all the Samurai with them, as well as himself. As most bears were, he was taller than all of them, and likely stronger than all of them too. The swordsmith gave a skeptical look over their large group, but still motioned for them to follow with one humongous, brown paw. "Come."
As they followed the giant bear into the building, Usagi dared to speak up in both concern and curiosity. "How long will it be before what we brought you will be a sword?"
The bear spoke in a firm, but calm voice. Yet, his words froze Usagi's heart. "Three months …"
. . .
Leonardo lay on the couch trying to quiet his mind letting what was happening flow over him, which wasn't a lot, because the others had gone out into the tunnels to skateboard. Usually, he'd go with them to have some fun, keep an eye on everything, and carry someone home if they got a concussion. Donnie, however, had seen the confliction on his face as they departed and had laid a hand upon his shoulder. "Leo, you stay here, relax and let inspiration find you while we're gone. I'll keep Mikey in line and Raph in a good mood."
Raph's voice had cut in then, "I heard that!" Mikey had just laughed.
So, here he was, trying to think about something to write about and not his brothers being out there unsupervised, or Raph and Mikey just being "Donnie-supervised." He "thought" he could trust Donnie with them ...
Master Splinter seemed to realize his need for quiet and was remaining silent in his own room himself. So, things Leo didn't usually notice off in the distance were just noticeable now mostly the sound of running water. Oddly enough, since the quiet itself hadn't gripped his imagination thus far, he got off the couch and went out into the sewers. He strolled through the man-made network of rivers, or streams, really, in the smaller pipes. So much water, currents of it crisscrossing over and under each other, going so many different directions, making so many different sounds … Huh …
"Water, water everywhere …"
Nope. Been done. Hmmmm … Surroundings, what I see. What I hear.
He closed his eyes. Water … two syllables … Water through the small pipes? Nope, six syllables, not five, not seven. Flow? Flow through the small pipe … No. Really, water goes faster through the … Hey!
Water run through small pipe. Nope, still six syllables. Run through the small pipe. Flow through the long and wide tunnel … No, the next line is eight syllables. Okay, think. Flow through the wide tunnel …
That's six again. What's with that?! Flow through the "Wider" tunnel … Hah, got it. Okay. Run through the small pipe, flow through the wide tunnel … water … has a long way to go. (sigh) Lame and too long. Okay, water had two I need three more syllables what more can be meaningfully said with three syllables? Water …
He looked at the tunnels the pipes. They ran for miles under the city … Water goes far … Too short. Water …
He had scribbled a lot now … In April's journal, or rather the journal she had given him. (sigh) Oh well, it seemed this part of the "project" as Donnie called it, took more page space anyway. He tried again. Water travels … Wait.
He paused and stared. Technically while English haiku were often counted in syllables Japanese were counted in sounds and "tra-vel-s" three? Could that work?
He put it together.
Run through the small pipe
Flow through the wide tunnel
Water travels
Eh …
He messed with it a little more. Next he got ...
Rush through the small pipe
Flow through the wide tunnel
Water travel far
It sounded more like a series of commands that way than observations. He sighed and tried again.
It rushes through the pipe … six again.
Rushing through the pipe
Flowing through the tunnel … Only six again. Flowing through the wider tunnel?
Water … does … what?
Water traveling … Wait, did that sound … kinda poetic?
. . .
A white rabbit walks
Across his homeland alone
Or with a rhino
Rushing through the pipe
Flowing through the wider tunnel
Water traveling
Dripping over there
A gushing from far away
Laughter coming near
Rice paper for last
A notebook to begin with
A journal between
Leo laid his pencil down and sighed. Four down, if he kept that first one. Splinter was encouraging him too, but the twitching in the corners of his mouth and sparkle in his eyes made Leonardo suspicious of his advice.
Mikey leaned over the back of the couch and breathed on his right shoulder. "How's it going, bro?" Leo jerked his head up.
"Ummm … It's going Mikey." Leo reached up with his elbow and slowly pushed Mikey out of his personal space with it. Mikey stood straighter and stared at the page. "Heeeeey … some of those last ones look pretty good. Of course, 'I' could do better!"
Leo looked down at the journal and started to write something on the page opposite with the one he actually had his first haiku written on hoping Mikey would suppose him deep in concentration and artistry of some kind and go away. "Yeah! I mean I could probably write a whole boatload just about the awesome board shredding you missed out on!"
Leo paused in his fake writing and raised an eyebrow. A "boatload" of haiku? Leo suddenly tried to actually write something tuning Mikey out.
Brother brags behind me … Nope, too long.
Behind me bragging
Is my brother Michelangelo … Too many syllables in that second line.
Is my little brother who
Says he can write a boatload of haiku … Man I wish haiku actually had to do with rhymes.
Behind me bragging
Is my little brother who
Wants to write haiku … Too long … Says he wants to write haiku … Longer … Won't leave … Too short. Will write haiku
Leonardo raised the journal in front of his brother's face which was now staring at the ceiling even as he leaned on the back of the couch still bragging. Leo cut in, "Here ya go."
Mikey's chin snapped back down to look at what was being held out in front of him. "What?"
"You said you wanted to write haiku now."
"I … uh …"
Leo tapped the pencil against the page. Mikey stared at it. "Umm … I … d … don't want to get you in trouble with the Ancient One, bye!"
He zipped off. Leonardo grinned and put the journal back in his lap writing on the page "Maybe not." He gave a brief sigh. Too bad that won't fit the form.
. . .
Usagi stared open-mouthed. "That won't be in time!" Immediately, he was ashamed to have said that in that tone out loud. The bear smith turned around and stared at him.
Noriyuki, however, took up his lament. "Is there not a way to do it faster?"
The bear raised his eyebrows. "Excellence takes time. A shorter timespan will not result in good work."
Usagi bowed his head and sighed. The bear stared at him for a moment and then said, "The dimensions of the blade you asked for, however, do match another I have on hand, I already finished."
Usagi raised his head his eyes alight. He had wanted a sword "made" for Leonardo … but … He looked toward Lord Noriyuki. The panda cub asked. "May we see it?"
What do you think?
God Bless
ScribeofHeroes