Chapter 7: Ikhaya Labantu.

Donatello grumbled and forced himself out of bed. He couldn't stand it any longer. Donatello tiredly grabbed his pillow and headed across the wooden bridge towards the dining room. He was surprised to see his master still awake, sitting at the table. "What are you doing still up?" Donatello uttered through a yawn. Saringai looked up from what he was working on.

"I could ask you the same thing", the leopard said simply. Saringai looked Donatello up and down. The boys were now one year old and were the size of regular cheetahs. The only thing that set the cubs apart from the adults, was their silvery mane that still lined their backs. Over the past six months the boys had grown rapidly, so rapidly in fact, that they grew out of their red cargo shorts in what seemed no time at all. When it came to replacing the shorts, Leonardo held a good debate over why he shouldn't wear red, as it didn't match his baby blue eyes. Saringai gave into his request for another colour and presented Leonardo two dark blue pairs of shorts and a matching bandanna.

Donatello then had complained that if Leonardo was allowed another colour, then he should be allowed a different colour as well. Purple was his colour of choice and Saringai complied. As for Raphael and Michelangelo, both liked the red and decided to keep it. Yet because Michelangelo was outside playing for most of the day, the red soon faded into a dark orange, which Michelangelo didn't mind about, as he liked that colour also.

Donatello yawned once again. "I couldn't sleep. Michael's sleep-eating again", he tiredly explained. Saringai nodded his head before stopping to think about what Donatello had just said.

"Sleep-eating? He eats in his sleep?" The adult asked with a 'what the?' expression. Donatello nodded his head; a big smile swept his face. Saringai shook his head in disbelief. "That boy will never cease to amaze me". Saringai went back to what he was working on. The cub walked over to the table. Masses of wires, microchips and plastic frames lay in front of the occupied leopard.

"What are you doing?" Donatello finally asked, fascinated with all the wires in assorted colours.

"I'm working on portable communication devices so that you boys will be able to contact each other if need be", Saringai answered, not looking up from what he was doing.

"Like a walkie-talkie or something?"

"No, more like a mobile phone", Saringai corrected. Donatello placed his pillow on the floor and walked over to stand beside his master so he could see more clearly what the leopard was doing.

"Can I help?" Donatello finally voiced. Saringai nodded and pulled out the chair beside him. Donatello sat down.

"Now, these blue wires have to be connected to the yellow through the microchip here, so that the flow of electricity isn't disrupted. So to do that…"

*****

The fourteen-month-old cubs looked down at the seven objects before them; a bo, two sais, two katanas and two nunchucks, all lined up on the floor of the dining room. Saringai paced around, something that he did when he was about to say something important.

"Each of you will receive one of these weapons before you. From this day onward, you will train with them, learning the disadvantages and advantages of your particular weapon. Eventually, you and the weapon will act like one. It will soon feel like the weapon is an extension of your own body. So, it is important that you make the right choice, and choose the weapon that is best for you. In a couple of seconds, I will ask you to choose your weapon, the weapon that will be with you for life. Think long and hard before you step forward and claim it, my students. When you've made up your mind, calmly come forward and pick up your weapon of choice. You may claim your weapon… now!"

Immediately Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo lunged for the coolest looking weapon, the katana. "So much for 'think long and hard' and 'calmly come forward'", Saringai murmured, appalled at the cub's behaviour. When Leonardo had successfully grabbed the katana, Michelangelo and Raphael dived towards the next coolest weapon, the sai. A tug-of-war competition broke out.

"Back off Michael! I grabbed the funny forky thingies first!" Raphael growled, pulling at the sai. Raphael gave Michelangelo a light kick to the stomach which caused him to lose his grip on the sai. "Yeah! I got it!" Raphael cheered. Defeated, Michelangelo hurriedly grabbed the two nunchucks off the floor.

Donatello, who had been standing there shocked the whole time, came forward and picked up the last weapon of the floor, the bo. "Donny got the stick!" Michelangelo called out, giggling.

"Michelangelo, it is not a stick, it's a bo, and it is not a bad weapon. When I was your age, my master allowed me to choose a weapon. I chose the bo because it was simple, effective, had great defense and good attack power", Saringai said.

"Your master?" All the cubs had asked at the same time. Saringai couldn't bear to tell them about who his master was, as it would lead into many more unspoken questions of his past.

"Never mind", he simply said. The cubs decided not to push the subject any further. There was a silence, which was finally broken with Leonardo's voice, asking Saringai the question that had been bothering him for months.

"Master, why are we learning Ninjitsu?"

"I'll show you why," Saringai answered.

*****

Mutants walked by left, right and centre. For the cubs, this definitely was a culture shock. For most of their life, the cubs had been living with only Saringai and their brothers. Now they were in the middle of a busy courtyard, bewildered by the number of people.

"Welcome to Ikhaya Labantu", Saringai announced happily. The cubs looked around. There had to be over fifty mutants living here, all herbivores. There must have been over ten different species of African animals, from mutant gazelles to mutant warthogs. Smallish huts filled the area, along with many stalls owned by mutant shopkeepers.

"Most of the animal species that you see here are not native to Lesotho. As you can imagine, it can be quite hard to find the correct food. So most of the mutants here grow their own crops to trade. Trade is a very important part of life for these people and it is highly regarded. The mutants that live here are very peaceful. Here, everyone is regarded as an equal", Saringai explained to his unusually quiet students.

The boys eyed the local mutants. Everyone seemed to be whispering something about them. It made the cubs feel uneasy.

"What are they saying about us?" Leonardo quietly asked Saringai.

"I can guarantee that they're saying nice stuff about you, don't you worry", Saringai answered.

All too suddenly there was a silence. Not a word was spoken by anyone in the village. "Stand close", Saringai whispered to the cheetahs. It didn't take long to see what the 'fuss' was about. Shere Khan and some of his troops had arrived. He wore a maroon bandanna and long blue pants. He was armed with two sais which were held with his black belt, tied around his waist. The local mutants quivered in fear. They knew that one hit from Shere Khan would mean certain death. Shere Khan glanced around, all too easily spotting the newcomers. Shere Khan furiously walked up to Saringai and the cheetahs.

"Why are you here?" Shere Khan asked fiercely. He eyed the leopard and cheetahs with disgust. The cubs craned their necks upwards to look at the towering Siberian Tiger.

"Just here to do some trading, if that's alright with you", Saringai answered back both sternly and rudely.

Shere Khan growled. He angrily looked at the cubs. In defense, the cubs withdrew their new weapons. Shere Khan noticed that Raphael was incorrectly holding his sais.

"If you plan on defeating me with those pathetic excuses for ninjas, then you've got another thing coming. You can't and you won't beat me, not when I have the 'Book of Mutants' on my side", Shere Khan boasted. Saringai glared angrily back. Shere Khan noticed that all of the local mutants were listening in. He straightened. "I wish you all the best of luck", he said modestly before adding evilly, "you'll need it". Shere Khan stormed off, his troops following.

Saringai sighed out the breath he hadn't realised that he'd been holding. The local mutants slowly returned to what they were doing. "He's our enemy isn't he?" Michelangelo asked quietly, a little scared about what just happened. Saringai nodded in response. It was then that Saringai noticed an all too familiar face.

"ZAREB!" Saringai called out over the noise of the crowd. It worked. Immediately Zareb ran over to Saringai with a big smile on his face. They shook hands and gave each other a quick hug.

"How long has it been?" Zareb questioned.

"Too long", Saringai answered. Zareb noticed the cheetah cubs behind Saringai.

"Wow! You guys have grown! Last time I saw you, you were tiny!" Zareb said excitedly. The cubs looked deeply confused. "Guess you don't remember me".

"Zareb's an ally of ours. His father was a friend of mine. He was a great warrior and I feel honoured for having the opportunity to fight beside him. Those are his katanas in fact", Saringai explained. Leonardo looked at his two katanas with admiration. Saringai turned his attention back to Zareb. "Do you know where Shere Khan is keeping the 'Book of Mutants'? I thought that it might be wise to retrieve it as soon as possible after that little encounter just then".

Zareb nodded with understanding. "I do know where it's kept actually. Come back to my place and I'll draw you a map". Saringai agreed and, along with his students, followed Zareb back to his hut.