Hachi...
A figure cloaked in the inky black of night rode up to the northern fence line of the horse farm. The rider seen enough over the past couple days there. He halted his tall, dark horse to watch the horizon. After almost an hour of standing still, he raised an arm.
Another rider on an equally matched mount joined him. "Hai?"
The first rider lowered his arm, and uttered in his native tongue. "Itoda-sama…[before the sun fully wakes, we'll look here.]"
Itoda nodded his head.
The dark rider's horse began to gnash his teeth on the bit in anticipation. His nostrils flared red as his reins tightened and the rider asked for speed. Both horses were able to clear the five-foot fence without breaking stride.
I ride from the woods and see a bony horse with its head down low. It stands in a clearing by the river. Seeing that alone gives me the chills. I bring Danza to a halt. This poor horse probably got lose, then lost, in this wilderness or something, but this situation didn't feel right.
I press my legs around Danza's body enough for us to move slowly forward. I have no choice but go through the clearing. It's the easiest way of travel along the river. The woods are just thick with the branches of young trees and blackberry thickets. Danza senses my concerns and refuses to move anymore. Despite his insisting advice to not go through this area, I dismount and lead him. The poor mare barely lifts her head to acknowledge our presence. A glint of despair sits in her eyes. Every breath she takes sounds loud and labored, like Darth Vader. And her body, it looks like a skeleton covered with an orange, scruffy hide matted with mud. I tug on the reins so Danza would pick up the pace. A click comes from the bushes beside us.
In a split second, I grab Danza's tousled mane and spring up on his back. I look left, then right for the best exit. Danza's own fearful imagination combined with my tense body makes him hollow out his back and raise his head high. There's serious danger in the area, he gnashes on the bit. I give up on trying to control Danza and let him run into the woods. We'll be safer there amongst the shadows.
Despite the sound of hoofs tearing through the forest floor, I hear a shot ring. In the same second, something stings through me. Auugh… pain… The reins slip from my fingers as the intense burning grows.
Free from my hold, Danza surges forward to a blurring speed. He tries his best to save my life as he saves his own, but he forgets how big I am in his dash. I hug his neck close to avoid the low branches. Danza just manages to pass under the branches, these long fingers with sharp nails grabbing and scratching us. Slowly, everything becomes a blur of branches and bush to me. Are we safe yet, or are they still after me. I look up ahead into the woods. A thick, low-hanging branch appears as my vision of it blurs. The collision sweeps me clean off Danza into a thorn bush surrounding the tree.
I open my eyes slowly, while taking in painful gulps of air. I never liked having the wind knocked out of me. It's not the fall or the bullet wound that bothered me now, it's the thorns. Many scattered points of pain all over my arms and legs itch into me. The tree limb several feet above me, I now remember, hit my jaw. I cut my lip in the blow...all I can taste now is my salty blood. Every time I try to move, a thick vine with sharp thorns insists I stay right there. If I roll to the right…so dizzy… It hurt so much to move. I close my eyes for a moment. I can't move!
"Danza? Leo...oh god, Splinter?" I gasp, "Help!?" That's a waste of breath. It'll be a miracle if Danza returned, or anyone else would be there. Distraught, I spit some blood out of my mouth. An overpowering dread creeps into my soul, I don't want it. Someone takes hold of me…
"Mike, Mikey, you're okay. Wake up," a comforting voice beckoned. Mike still heard wind blowing, but it sounded different now. The branches of a tree rhythmically hit against the side of the house. He felt his brother's hands holding him.
Mike opened his eyes and things started to focus in the dark room. The hardness of the wood floor became obvious again. He sat up and faced Don. Mike also recognized Raph kneeling beside him. "I, I'm okay, okay. Justa bad dream," he reassured his brothers. Oh, how humiliating, Mike took in a deep breath, they're babying me. But he found it bizarre how real the dream felt about being shot. The gunshot...and Danza?
"One helluva bad dream," Raph climbed back onto couch and buried himself under a quilt.
Don wasn't sure about Mike. He heard genuine fear when Mike was yelling in his sleep. "Y'sure you're okay?" Don touched Mike's shoulder. "You sounded really scared…."
"I dunno," Mike put his hand on Don's. "Don't wanna talk 'bout it now."
Don squeezed his brother's arm.
Thanks anyway, Mike looked full into Don's eyes.
After Don got back into bed, Mike checked the clock before straightening out his blankets on the floor. Only an hour and a half before Steve gets up to feed the horses and… when we go. Mike could not go back to sleep, however. A dream so vivid like that had to mean something. Things now started to make some connections and he blew them aside. But the foremost theme said he, or they, were being sought after. Was that a message from Splinter, or what? Mike kept on wondering if he should go down stairs and tell Leo about it.
Mike woke up with a start. Something, he heard something, like a gunshot…maybe it was a flashback from his dream. The room was getting lighter. Mike smiled…it seemed like forever waiting for morning to come. The time for us to get out of here. To get back and repair the pain I've caused Splinter. Mike got up hoping the first rays of the sunrise would cheer up his spirits. This morning had a dark rosy glow, which seemed unique after the other wet and gray ones. He felt sorry they were going to leave such a revered place now.
The glowing light on the horizon beckoned Mike to the window. Mike noticed the door of the main barn was open and a dim light shone from it. Amongst the trees, he saw a breathtaking glimpse of a horse. The spirited animal ran out into the open, catching the morning's rays in his flying mane and tail. Such speed and power…the red horse danced in the golden pasture as streams of vapor shot from his nostrils.
Mike blinked to clear his head. Why are they at the barn so early? He heard Raph roll under the quilt on the couch. Just to not wake his brothers, Mike took his jeans and a sweatshirt to dress out in the hallway.
A thawing scent in the chilly morning air struck Mike's nose as he left the house. The unnaturally warm air and the glowing sunrise made this December morning feel strangely like spring. The sound of hoof beats stopped him in his tracks. They didn't come from the pasture he saw Danza in, but from behind him. A horse had to be loose. Danza? But how could he get loose? Mike turned around in his spot, looking for the fugitive. Nothing strange was seen.
He jogged toward the barn. Why she didn't call them to get help to catch the horse? It probably was because she didn't want to stop them from leaving. The stall barn door was open, wide enough for horses to pass through. Mike went in and headed for the office. He abruptly stopped when he saw someone down the isle.
"Mick!"
The trainer sat on the ground, leaning against a stall wall. He had a horse blanket on him now. Mike's imagination went wild, evoking the scene of a horse he had out kicking him, then running from the barn.
Steve stepped out from the office. "Mike! I'm glad you're still here! We've just got hit by some burglars, and they shot Mick in the leg."
"Are you okay?" Mike asked.
She nodded. "I got the ambulance coming for Mick. Two men…two Orientals on horses, came in like a stick-up...they took Sundanza and Delilah." Just the way she said this haunted Mike, like it was his fault.
"I'm sorry..." It couldn't really be his fault; no one could really know that this would happen. They had given up and planned to go back.
Mick looked toward them, "Those two assholes threatened my life! One shoved his gun at me while the other tried to trample me with his horse. That guy had the beast jumping on me…he said I better not call the police either. The other ass shot me when they left."
It seemed they did not know about the loose horse. "I, I think...one of the horses got free." Mike told Steve.
"Maybe so..." she sighed.
"This might come in handy," Mick pulled his arm from under the blanket. "One of the asses who burst in here was thoughtful enough to leave a sympathy note, tacked to the wall with a dagger." Mick's gaze settled on the dagger in the wall.
Mike kneeled down to him to take the piece of paper, then looked in the direction Mick indicated. A Japanese tanto dagger jutted from the wood from where the note was torn.
"Sounds like the same horse thieves that led you here."
Another wave of guilt hit Mike, as well as a chilling fear. More than ever did he feel responsible, like their ninja clan stories lead to this. But how…was it because of us, or was it purely coincidence? Mike pulled the dagger from the wall, then looked down at the paper in his hand. Mike's heart skipped a beat.
It can't be…
"I must call the house and tell my husband." Steve turned to walk toward the office. "I don't know what to do though. They might make hell break loose or something if I do make a big fuss out of this by callin' the police."
"Call the police, dammit." Mick gasped with pain. "Who cares what these goons in green do."
Mike was in such a rush when he left the barn, he blindly ran over Raph at the doorway. He ignored his brother, even when he followed after asking questions. Mike had to tell Leo, so they could think things out. The piece of paper was still crumbled in his hand, sticking to his sweaty palm. What his dream could mean bothered him even more now. Man, and we were supposed to be busting outta here this morning.
"Leo! Le--" Mike slammed the back door and ran into the living room. He expected to find Leo stretched out on the couch, where he had slept all night. But he wasn't on the couch now.
Mike turned to run up the stairs. "Leo! Don! We've got trouble!"
Gary passed by him in the stairway. He was talking to Steve on his cellular phone as he left the house.
Mike went into their room, gasping for air. He noticed Don was up and getting dressed.
"What? What happened?" Don reached back to pull the strap of his overalls over his shoulder.
"Uhh, where's Leo?" Mike looked around nervously.
Don paused a moment. "In the bathroom…he's throwin' up." His eyes stopped on the dagger in Mike's hand.
"Aw shi-- das nicht guut," Mike turned around in disbelief. "Look, Donny, two…of their horses was just stolen by Japanese guys. Mick's shot in the leg, an'…now Leo's--"
"Whoa, whoa," Don stopped him. The faint sound of a siren reached their ears. "Slow down," he glanced out the window to see an ambulance come up the drive.
Mike continued to ramble. He also looked out the window to watch. "Wha--what are we gonna do? Mick wants to call the cops, but the baddies don't want 'em to!"
Leo walked into the room and lay back on the bed. "Were still gonna leave…"
"No, Leo," Mike kneeled down by the bed. "We've got some trouble…one of the horses was just stolen an' Mick got shot in the leg. We gotta do somet--"
"Mike, no, stop…" Leo mumbled, folding his arms across his plastron.
"We'll just leave and let them handle it." Don offered his advice.
"No, I'm serious, Leo." Mike stood up and pointed to the window. "There's an ambulance out there…and this dagger."
"Where's Raph?" Don turned away from the window.
"Uhhh, he's…down in the barn."
"I do not feel good. Why…all this, now?" Leo stayed on the bed.
"Yeah, I know," Mike sat on the bed beside Leo. He briefly laid the back of his hand on Leo's forehead. "But you'll be alright by this evening."
"If I don't puke my guts out…" Leo sat up.
"Mikey, let's go down after the ambulance leaves. They're getting Mick inside now," Don pulled his sweatshirt on.
Mike held out the note he got from Mick. "Um, guys…?" They looked to him. "I gotta tell you something, 'bout my dream…it's too connected to this."
We will wait for you in the mountains. If you value the lives of your new friends, come alone.
Long after the others read and reread it, Leo's gaze was still fixed on the piece of paper. Fixed on the Japanese characters, which signed the end of the note. Who…who? It can't be Shredder or the Foot. It can't… Leo rose from the hid-a-way couch. Mike's dream only heightened the intensity of the situation. It had to have been a message from Splinter. Leo's face contorted with anger-- and damn this flu… Something else had been lying dormant within him for a long time. Something dark.
Raph kept his eyes on Leo as he paced back and forth. "Well?"
"So it has finally come to this," was all Leo said.
Raph wanted a more clear-cut answer. "We're staying an' going on with it?"
"Now waittaminute here," Mike interjected, "If they want a fight, why not just come out and ask for one?"
"You bet your ass I'd give 'em one in a heartbeat!" Raph gripped his pair of sai.
"The Foot has always operated in mysterious ways, sure," Don sighed. "But kidnapping horses? Honestly, what would they be thinkin' to draw us out on that?"
"It's not the Foot!" Leo made eye contact with all of them. "I'm not so sure if it's a fight they want either."
"O-okay, I'm confused," Raph turned toward the window and looked out to the barn.
"But that's right," Mike got up from the other couch. "Splinter told us it wasn't the Foot, that it was a buncha pukes with guns. Mick got shot at, y'know. Since when did the Foot use guns?"
"If it's revenge they want, whoever it is, why us? I can't help but wonder…" Don trailed off, speaking directly to Leo.
"I know." Leo nodded understandingly. Could Oroku Saki, or someone connected to him, have returned once more? Or are they not affiliated with the Foot at all? The image of Shredder, hideously mutated and decapitated, spastically twitching in the water surfaced in Leo's mind. He's wasted, gone…dammit.
Isn't he?
"But we're gonna find out," Raph picked up his bag as to leave the guestroom.
"Okay, when night falls, we're busting outta here for sure." Mike turned to Leo. "You better be okay then."
Another wave of nausea hit Leo. He sat down on the couch and fought it off. "We'll need to get some supplies together, as well as…"
Steve also called Ryan to tell him to come ASAP. She needed him to watch the place while she went to the hospital with Mick. She told him the four are still there, and would help him out. However, Ryan found himself alone when he sought to find the loose Danza. But he and Danza had a strong bond between them. Through his own mysterious ways, Ryan caught the frazzled stallion within an hour
Ryan led the stallion into the main barn, and stopped in his tracks. Danza also froze when he fixed his gaze on the arena. Well, now he also found the four guys. Not like he expected them to be, though. They actually were turtles with martial arts skills.
Every one of them was without their clothes, letting their true colors show. The four seemed 'dressed' for the occasion too. They wore leather belts, leather pads on their joints, and red bandanas that were eye-masks.
One with a pair of swords and another with sai were standing opposite each other, engaged in fierce hand-to-hand combat. He recognized Raph's voice after he complained about Leo's condition. Leo must have thrown up on him from the sound of it.
The other two were also sparring with weapons, a bo versus a pair of nunchuks. As Ryan watched, Mike twirled one of his nunchuks around Don's staff and stopped it just short of his face. Then he planted a good kick to Don's midsection.
Ryan's trained eye recognized the situation. They were sparring for training purposes. Whoever burglarized the farm, they must be unrelenting to require them at this level.
Leo held up a hand to stop Raph when he noticed Ryan. He could see the fascination in Ryan's dark eyes. Leo resheathed his katanas.
"Makin' sure you still know how to fight?" Ryan thought he try to be funny to break into such an awkward situation. He put Danza in the grooming stall to approach to four.
"We're preparing for tonight," Leo explained with a weary tone in his voice. "We've got a hunch who stole your mare, like someone connected to a ninja clan."
"Why our horses?" Ryan's dark eyes narrowed to slits.
"We don't know yet. But they seem to want us. If it's our old enemy, he wants vengeance…he's not going to rest until either he kills us, or we kill him." Again.
"Sounds like a respectable guy."
Leo's face bore no humor. "This can't be taken lightly. All of you are in grave danger as long as they know we're here. We've got to do what they ask…face them in mountains. Alone. Just us and them. No cops either." He turned away to cough.
Ryan looked at all of them for a moment, contemplating Leo's words. They didn't sit well in his mind though. They took the farm's horses, his horses…the very animals he took responsibility of here…and the fact he was just an assistant wasn't holding him back. Ryan stepped up to Leo. "Just the act of coming here and taking our horses, they've matter the matter personal. Now it's my fight too. I'm connected to theses horses-they are my sole duty. If you don't want me with you, I'll just go alone." He held his gaze with Leo for a few seconds.
"Okay," Leo finally nodded. "I guess we could use your expertise regarding this area and the horses."
Ryan nodded and left the arena. He still felt he had to prove himself to these freaks of nature. He was only half Japanese, but he understood the warrior code of a ninja all the same.
The four returned to sparring, this time with a little more spirit. After Ryan checked Danza over and put him away, he headed to the office. He came out a moment later with a black, samurai sword in his hands. He leaned against the arena wall to watch Leo and Raph. "You got good style," Ryan told Leo.
Leo paused to watch the slim figure in a shirt and blue jeans walk into the arena with this long sword.
"Mind of I warm up wit ya?" Ryan smiled, rolling up his long sleeves. "Perhaps one on one?"
"Whoa," Mike whispered. He watched Ryan put his dark, shoulder length hair up into a ponytail with a renewed sense of fascination.
Leo decided to accept. "Or two on one?" The kid didn't seem to be the same barn manager type he remembered from yesterday. Ryan's slanted eyes also played with his. Leo shook off the notion he was facing up with Keno.
"Why not?" Ryan pulled his sword. The frosted blade reflected the florescent lighting. "I might be a little rusty though."
"And I a little sick…" Leo shrugged.
They faced off to begin the spar. The other three had to stop to watch them. After a series of well executed sweeps and blocks, Leo clipped Ryan's shoulder. Leo stopped, wishing he hadn't done that.
"Not the first time I've been cut," Ryan shrugged it off, only to promptly slice the turtle's two leather sheath straps.
Feeling cheated by that unfair move, Leo picked up the heat. Ryan blocked his move, Leo advanced with another, crossing his blades on Ryan's single edge.
Ryan gritted his teeth, as he stepped up into a front leaning stance to hold his ground. The muscles on his lean arms began to quiver slightly. His pheripheral vision centered on Leo's liquid brown eyes. Leo left himself wide open for Ryan to front-kick his chest. But Ryan gave him another second to make a move…why isn't he covering himself? The force between him and Leo gradually worked a notch into the edges of Ryan's and one of Leo's blades.
Ryan stopped resisting when a nauseous look edged across Leo's face. "I better not push you," he lowered his sword. Maybe that's why he can't focus…
"Thanks, not bad yourself," Leo promptly handed his katanas over to Raph and ran from the arena.
Mike shook his head. "I don't know why he's torturing himself like that."
"His will is strong," Ryan studied the notch--the only notch--marring his sword's sharp edge. This is my Dad's sword, too.
"You okay, your shoulder?" Mike asked him. "We, uh, try not to draw blood when just training…"
Blood had soaked through the upper part of Ryan's long sleeve shirt. Ryan looked through the slit in the fabric to see how deep it was. "Ehh, I'll be okay…just nicked me."
The four sat with Ryan in the barn's office as they discussed the situation in length to Steve. Ryan put up the suggestion for them to borrow horses for their trek to the mountains. They'll get there a lot faster than on foot. The horses are the best all-terrain vehicles for this area, provided they are able.
Steve finally admitted it was a worthy idea. She still had many reasons to not go with it right away. It's not just a trail-ride…and horseback riding now was very risky. Winter would should be here, along with unforgiving weather. The ground was already hard, and vegetation for the horses was scarce. They had to look at all the options. How much food and gear can they bring for both them and the horses, and not burden the horses with the load? More importantly, the horses could not, must not, get hurt. They are going out to the middle of nowhere. True, the Adirondacks are part of a park system, but if something goes wrong, they would be without a vet.
This sounds like one of Splinter's expedition runs when we were at the farm…Mike sighed.
"Do you even know how to ride?" Steve outwardly asked the four.
"We could take a crash course if we have to." Mike shrugged. "No…"
Ryan looked at them with a sly smile. His determination to convince Steve to lend them horses was not wavering. "If you're ninja, you can ride. They both deal with balance and pressure points."
"Not quite," Leo sighed, "I'm not going to kill the horse."
"Heh, it might kill me," Don added.
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