I don't know why, but I had SO MUCH trouble writing this next arc...I've lost count with how many times I've rewritten the next two or three chapters...

Ninja Tales

Volume 1 - Snowfall

Chapter 9

Sachi, now wearing a blue, kimono-like tunic, blue form fitting pants, leather boots and her hair up in braids, was crouched down in the middle of a forest, scowling at the surrounding trees. Not too far from her was Kaimana, poking at the forest floor.

The girls looked up as a shadowy void appeared out of seemingly thin air, and a hooded figure stepped out.

"Alex, can you explain how the 'Knight of Time' is ALWAYS late?" Sachi asked in an annoyed tone.

The hooded figure laughed nervously, meekly holding his hand up.

"Crétin." Kaimana rolled her eyes. [1]

"That he is." Sachi sighed irritably.

Alex felt his eyebrow twitch at the insult, but decided not to push his luck, "What do you have?"

"Tashi's energy signature is really strong right here." Shachi explained as she pointed at one of the trees, "Most definitely a dimension hop."

"To or from here?"

"From, by the looks of it." came the answer, "However…"

"Yes?"

"Kohaku's energy." she frowned, "It feels... off ."

"How so?" Alex inquired.

"Different..." she scowled in concentration, "...almost diluted."

"I...see..." Alex frowned, the worry now evident, "But it's there?"

"Yeah." Kaimana nodded.

"Think you can find the destination of the hop?" Alex asked.

"I can try." Sachi shrugged.

"Do or do n-"

"ALEX!" she snapped, making him jump in a comical fashion, "SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP."

Donatello leaned back, massaging his temples as he glared at a few scrolls littering his desk.

Why was this so damn frustrating?

He heard a shuffle behind him, and turned to find a yawning Mikey.

"Let me guess, you've been up all night doing...whatever that is?"

"Research on Yuki's chakra ability." Donnie explained, "I'm trying to figure out why we're struggling to learn it."

"Oh." Mikey nodded, "Any luck so far?"

"Sortof." Donnie sighed, "I found some info, but it just left more questions than answers."

"Why do you say that?" Mikey asked with intrigued as he took a seat next to his brother.

"Both chi and chakra make use of the keirakukei," [2] Donnie grumbled, "This means that even if it's a different type of energy, there has to be something fundamentally similar."

"Uhm...keirawhat?" Mikey frowned.

"Keirakukei." Donnie repeated, "Also called the Meridian system."

Mikey stared with glazed eyes, clearly unable to grasp what his brother had said.

"The network that lets chi flow through the body..." Donnie explained "...like how blood flows through veins."

"Oh..." Mikey nodded, content that he was in the loop once again, "So you're saying that Yuki also uses this keira...thingy?"

"Looks like it." he pointed at scrolls placed side by side, "I've been comparing diagrams that Yuki gave me with material from the Tribunal library."

"Wait a second..." Mikey froze, "You said they're the same?"

"Yeah." Donnie glared at the diagrams.

"So then why can't we just use chakra?" Mikey murmured with a frown.

"That's what I'm trying to research." Donnie groaned, before resting his head on the table, "But so far nothing."

"Maybe you need a break to clear your head." Mikey suggested, "How about breakfast? Coffee and pancakes sound good?"

"That sounds perfect."

Donnie smiled as he leaned back in his chair, as Mikey got up and retreated to the kitchen.

Yuki just barely registered April grumbling next to her, "...wish he'd tone it down a notch, though."

"Nani?"

"I said, the baby's kicking the crap out of me again." April gave her an appraising look, "Are you ok? You've been very distant today."

"I'm fine." Yuki reassured.

"Uh-huh." Aril gave her a sceptical look before wincing. She placed a hand over her belly and rolled her eyes, "I hope this isn't a sign that he's as impatient as Casey."

Yuki chuckled softly, "I'm sure it'll be fine, especially with Splinter Sensei around."

"True." April laughed.

The shop window chimed, followed by a female voice yelling, "Damn, it's cold today!"

A few minutes later, a shivering, dark skinned girl with purple streaks in her black hair stepped around the corner.

"Hello Angel." April greeted, "How are you?"

"F-freezing my a-ass off." Angel managed to grumble through chattering teeth, "H-how's t-the k-kid?"

"Ok." April shrugged, "He kicks hard, though."

"That's Casey's kid, alright." she snickered.

"It sure is." April sighed

"Hello, Angel-san." Yuki greeted.

"Yuki? You're still here?" Angel squinted at her in confusion, "Don't you have training today?"

"Eh?" Yuki glanced at the clock in the front room and nearly choked, realising that she had completely lost track of time. She cursed under her breath.

"Ok, now you're really worrying me." April frowned, "What's wrong?"

"I...I don't know." Yuki shook her head as she grabbed her coat, "I have been having this very strange feeling all day...and whatever it is, I can't quite place it."

"I see." April murmured, "In that case, be extra careful."

"Will do."

She greeted the two women and left the shop in a hurry.

The strange feeling still tugged at her, as it had done the whole day prior.

She sighed, irritated, before running around the corner and slipping into a small café.

"Oh, hello again, Miss." the cashier greeted as she reached the counter, "You want the usual order on the go?"

"Ah, yes please." Yuki nodded and smiled pleasantly.

The cashier turned away to give the order to the kitchen, and Yuki sat down at one of the empty tables as she waited.

'Ok, Yuki.' she thought, 'now shift your focus, just like Splinter Sensei showed you...'

Two months ago...

She sat in the dojo, across from Master Splinter, beside the turtles.

"You mentioned some new information you have for me?" she asked curiously.

"Yes...from what we've seen over the last few weeks, you seem to be highly claircognizant." Donnie had told her, "And while not as powerful, you also seem to be clairvoyant, as well as slightly clairsentient."

"Ano...?"

Leo spoke up, "Have you ever had a situation where your gut told you something was out of place? Where, rationally, it didn't make sense but your hunch turned out to be right?"

She felt her jaw tense, "Yes...with Orochimaru, back when I joined him." She glared at the space in front of her, "I should have just trusted my gut and made a run for Konoha while I still could."

"Don't blame yourself." Splinter shook his head, "Rather, see it as a mistake you can learn from to avoid a similar situation in the future."

"Hai, Sensei." she smiled softly. Splinter always knew just what to say.

"Now, that gut feeling is also called claircognizance." Donnie explained, "The ability to access information and knowledge via psychic ability."

"Ah, that makes sense." she nodded, "And the other two abilities?"

"Clairvoyance is seeing things, like dreams and visions." Donnie answered, "Clairsentience is the ability to sense things, such as other people's feelings."

"Ah." she noted. Curious about the newfound information, she asked, "Are there more of these 'clair' abilities?"

"Yes, there are six in total." Donnie revealed excitedly, but then paused, "Though, it's quite a bit to go through, so I'll give you the information later."

"Ah, thank you for the trouble."

"No problem." Donnie shrugged, "I actually enjoy doing research on these kinds of things."

She smiled, and turned to Splinter, "Is there a way I can learn to utilise these abilities better?"

"I'm also somewhat claircognizant, I can help you learn the art of pinpointing information." he gave her a knowing look, "I have already prepared a lesson for you."

"Really?"

"That's right." he confirmed, "There is a hidden bell in this room, you are to locate it."

"Hai." Yuki nodded, closed her eyes, and attempted to do as instructed.

A few moments passed uneventfully, and she frowned, wondering if she was doing something wrong.

"Are you having trouble?" Splinter asked.

"I..." she frowned deeply. "I don't think I'm doing this right."

"Feel the flow of energy as it passes." he instructed, "As if life itself is a river."

She nodded and closed her eyes.

"Now shift your focus around." he instructed, "Can you sense the changes in the flow of the energy?"

She focused more intensely, letting her focus shift through her surroundings, first the room, then, carefully, each of the turtles.

As her focus shifted to the youngest brother, she finally felt the shift in the flow.

"Mikey-kun." she answered, "He has it."

"Very good Yuki-san." Splinter nodded, motioning to Mikey.

"Are you sure she needs training?" Mikey asked, as he revealed the hidden bell. "She seems to be pretty good already."

Leatherhead was busy with calibrations when he heard a familiar knock outside his lab. He looked at his clock and frowned, "Blimey, is that the time?"

There was a second soft knock on the lab door frame, followed by footsteps. "You're later than usual. Did something happen?"

Yuki seemed to be in a bad mood as she stepped into the lab, and placed a large disposable cup and paper bag on his desk "Not really."

"How are you today?"

"Ok." she answered, seeming slightly more cheerful than before, "And Wani-san?"

"I'm doing pretty well." he pointed at the items she brought, "You really don't have to do this."

"Have to." she gave him a stubborn glare and slid the bag over to him, "Donnie-san say Wani-san not eat enough."

"I'm fine, really." he grumbled as he reluctantly took it, freezing as the smell of freshly baked pie hit his nostrils.

"Lies." she deadpanned and took a seat on the couch opposite him.

He grumbled something as he took the contents out, revealing a large chicken pie.

"Ugh, fine," he laughed as he felt his stomach grumble, "you win."

She gave a satisfied smirk as he eagerly started eating. After a time, he noticed that her scowl had returned.

"Is something wrong?" Leatherhead asked, "You seem to be in a bad mood today."

"Strange feeling." she grumbled, "I think something big going to happen."

"Something bad?" he asked as he finished the pie.

"Not sure." she shook her head.

A few moments of silence passed, and Leatherhead was growing concerned. He had never seen Yuki act this way before. She was always eager to have a conversation, despite the language barrier, but now she was just silently glaring at empty space

"Getting late." she murmured after a while, and he nodded.

They got up, the silence still unusually awkward as they walked out into a more general subway area.

She gave him a soft smile as she greeted him, "Matane." [3]

She had just started turning away, when she suddenly froze. Before he could properly register what was going on, she was shoving him back, and something flew right past his snout...

NOTES:

[1]
Crétin is French for "dumbass", "moron" or "imbecile".

[2]
Keirakukei (経絡系) is the Japanese term for Jīngluò (經絡 or 经络): the network through which chi/qi/ki (氣) is thought to flow through the body. It's also called the Meridian System.
The Chakra Pathway System is called Keirakukei in the Japanese versions of the Naruto franchise.

[3]
Matane (またね) means "See you soon".