A/N: I gleaned information on 'kunoichi' and their history off the Internet from a site hosted by Caroline Seawright. If any one desires the web address, just E-mail me. I would put it here, but for some reason ff.net won't allow pasted web addresses. Additionally, some kunoichi information was obtained from Rahab, written by Wendy A Peabody. I don't know what is accurate, so I plead innocent of any mis-information! I do not own any TMNT's, either.
CHAPTER 17 – The 'Elements' of Surprise!
I was intrigued to find that after lunch I had lessons with Donatello, not in the art of ninjitsu, but with school. Regular school, mind you. Aside from already having an education, I couldn't figure out for the life of me why I would even need to have one. I thought it a big waste of time considering where I was currently living. What would I do with it?
I made a point of sharing this insight with my 'teacher'. It was a big mistake!
After twenty minutes of listening to him expound on the 'virtues of learning' and never to assume one had 'enough', I finally raised both my hands up in surrender and exclaimed in exasperation, "Okay, you win, I understand. Please, stop!"
"It seems, though," Donatello chided, "that I have to continually remind you of this fact, Kira. How many times must I repeat myself before you finally understand?" He seemed genuinely annoyed.
Hmm…it was apparent that this other Kira felt the same way as I did. How interesting. Nevertheless, I now knew not to question Don on this topic. It was evident that he took educating me very seriously.
Fortunately, I had been a rather decent student back in my old life. Much of what he was trying to teach me I had already learned. If there was any proof of that it was with my easy recitation of the periodic table that Don asked me to do. I even went so far as to tell him what each element was used for! I felt rather smug and it certainly proved my point that I was not the same Kira he and the others in the family thought I was. I had to admit that I saw it as a small bit of victory for me.
At least, for a moment I did.
The surprised look on Don's face lasted for a second or two. Then a dark cloud of discontent seemed to pass over him. I was somewhat puzzled by it.
"Did, ah, I say something wrong? Maybe I messed up somewhere?" I asked nervously. I knew I hadn't but then maybe Don wanted something else from me.
"In
a manner of speaking… yes, you did." He replied coolly. "Maybe you forgot about
the last time I asked you to recite the periodic table?"
I thought about that and I could in all honesty affirm that assumption. "Well, I guess so since I haven't a clue why you seem to be upset." I replied meekly.
"Really?" He offered dryly.
I did not like the way he said that, not one bit in fact.
Don then proceeded to inform me, "Well, let me refresh your memory, Kira." He leaned towards me with a smile that seemed to contradict itself, "The last time I asked you to recite the periodic table – which was last week - you declared that it was my forte and not yours. You whined about how difficult it was and how unfair it was of me to expect you to remember something so hard! No matter how many times I went over it with you and even with your father's help, you just couldn't do it." He glared at me, adding as he leaned back into his chair and waved one hand in my direction, "But, look at you now! It seems you were able to do it after all." He folded his arms across his plastron indignantly as he finished his tirade.
I sat there wondering where my little victory went. I could have brought up my proclamation that my knowing the table was proof of what I had told him last evening, that I really wasn't from 'here'. However, it would have been a hard sell all the way around. Truth that it was, I doubted very much Don would have taken me seriously. After all, I just appeared to have contradicted myself from what happened the week before, not that I was 'here' for it, mind you.
"Well," Don began, a little gleam in his eye and his smile widening almost to a sneer, "What I want you to do now is to take that new found knowledge and list off each element with at least ten ways it can be used for you to become a better kunoichi! I expect the results by tomorrow evening. No excuses."
Don then turned towards the desk and picked up what looked like an old history book. Evidently, we were through with science.
I sat there and stared off into space. How in blazes would any of it be used to better – what did he say… a kunoichi? I started to laugh a little, which of course piqued Don's interest.
"Something funny about that?" he asked me derisively. While he waited for my response, he opened the book and fingered through the pages.
"Well, yeah…" I chuckled in amusement.
"Okay, why don't you enlighten me a little." He asked, putting the book back down and facing me.
"I haven't any idea what a kunoichi is!" I explained sincerely.
Don just looked at me and shook his head, "Don't know why I even put up with you, I really don't!" He then stood up from his chair, saying, "I'm going to get some coffee. While I'm away, I want you to read chapters twenty through twenty-five. I want them done by the time I return." Then he roughly handed me the book and left his room in a huff, leaving me somewhat deflated.
How was I going to understand the homework assignment when I didn't even know the meaning of the word 'kunoichi'?
I looked at the book he had given me and realized how out-dated it was. I opened up to the chapters he wanted me to read and realized I had already learned this stuff in my other life. I quickly thumbed through it and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would be able to answer any question he would present to me.
What I really wanted to do was to find out what a kunoichi was. I thought about the spelling of the word and then I spied Don's collection of dictionaries. There were several but one in particular caught my eye. It was an English to Japanese dictionary. The phrasing on the word 'kunoichi' sounded very oriental so I decided that more than likely, it was a ninja term.
I quickly grabbed up the book from its shelf and fingered through it until I found the K's. Within a short amount of time, I found the word.
"Hmm…" I said silently, reading, "…kunoichi means female ninja!" How surprising! "One who uses their femininity to subdue or infiltrate." No wonder I couldn't kick butt. I wasn't supposed to, based on the definition. How incredibly chauvinistic of them! Rolling my eyes, "I'm so disappointed!"
There was more on the subject, however! As I read, I discovered that kunoichi's were mistresses of deception. They were spies, messengers, and observers. Their training, although similar to their male counterparts, focused more on the psychological techniques that included manipulation, disguises, feminine charms and the use of female intuition. They were instructed how to not only play with the emotions of others, but to keep their own emotions in check. In fact, it wasn't even allowed for them to fall in love with their targets!
I read further that some clans would seek out orphan girls for particular assignments. They would be raised, nurtured, and then trained in the arts for a single task. Once that mission was finished, depending on the severity of that task, some kunoichi's were conditioned to commit seppuku, or suicide.
Okay, that grabbed my attention. Why would anyone commit such a horrible act? What reasons would they have; it just didn't make any sense and it scared me to death. I wondered if maybe I had been so conditioned. Yet I doubted very much that Father would do such a thing, not with his comment how I reminded him of Mei Pei.
Happily, I dismissed that bit of paranoia.
I was then mindful of the fact that Don would be back at any moment. I figured he was doing more than getting himself a cup of coffee, though, Don was possibly chatting with one of the others. I quickly returned the dictionary to its rightful place on the bookshelf.
I then thought if Don wanted me to read six chapters before he returned, it was a given he would allow me the time to do it. I calculated that only about ten minutes had passed since he had left the room. Remembering the amount of pages that I had to read, I figured he would give me about thirty minutes to do the assignment. Since I had pretty much satisfied my need to define what a kunoichi was, I was now bored. I noticed, however, that Don's computer was on.
I wandered over there to see what kind of screen saver he had. I wasn't too surprised to see a floating Albert Einstein meandering around the face of the viewer. I nudged the mouse a little and his desktop came up. I saw the E-mail insignia down below and wondered if he did any of that. So I directed the mouse cursor over the emblem and left-clicked. A main window came up that showed the different accounts, but the one that I noticed right off nearly took my breath away.
Kira's!
I nearly jumped. She had an E-mail account for crying out loud! I looked over at the door and sharpened my hearing a little. The last thing I wanted was to have Don walk in on me right about then. It would probably end up being the last time I would ever have access to his computer.
Confident that he was still busy with his 'coffee', I clicked on 'my' name and then discovered that I needed to give it a password. Great, as if I would know that!
"Hmm…what would Kira put there for a password?" I thought to my self.
I really didn't have a clue. Maybe later on, if I explored her room a little bit, some clue or clues would present itself. However, thinking about that, maybe I did know. Connecting to the outside world via E-mail was as close as Kira would ever get to being part of the human world, or 'freedom' as one might describe it. I then remembered the posters in her bedroom.. I wondered if maybe with what she wrote on them gave her an easy reminder for her password.
Again listening for Don's possible intrusion, I quickly typed in 'freedom'. I then clicked the 'ok' button and waited.
Nothing happened other than the indicator that said I had typed in an incorrect password.
Okay, so…what else would she use as a password? Maybe it was her slogan on the posters. I typed in 'youarehere'.
Still nothing happened.
I knew that if I didn't get it the third time, I would just have to give up until I could think it through a little more. I didn't want to become so distracted with this that I failed to hear Donatello's approach. I wracked my brain wondering what kind of word or words would she use that would be an easy-to-remember password. I thought of one and typed it in.
Finally, I found success!
I felt it heartwarming and sad when I thought about her password. Mei Pei must have meant an awful lot to this Kira, but then it was a given since she was her mother. Yet, nevertheless, I now had access to Kira's E-mail account. Maybe there was some clue hidden in there that would explain who she was and where she had disappeared. I was certainly going to beg, borrow, and steal – if it came down to that – time at the computer. My goal now was to comply even more with the demands that Don put upon me, even that ridiculous chemical elements homework.
I wanted computer privileges!
Not wanting to tempt fate, however, I quickly closed the account and brought everything back up to desktop. I left the mouse alone and prayed that Don had the screen saver timed to go on in short order. I watched and waited.
I waited a good long time, in fact. I was almost sweating bullets as the minutes ticked by. I was afraid that if Don came when the screen saver hadn't activated yet, I would have to forget about privileges – and maybe dinner, too, as well.
Then, I heard him coming. He was talking with Mike, but making his way back to the room. I took up the history book, thumbed to the last page of the last chapter he had asked me to read, all the while aware of that screen. If push came to shove, I would feign being sick, just to get him distracted. I would do anything to keep him from seeing the evidence that I had been at the computer.
Just before he worked the door handle, though, the screen saver kicked in! I breathed out a deep sigh of relief, grateful that for once my luck had held out.
My next task was to act calm.
Yeah, right!
My heart was beating furiously from the anxiety of being found out.. However, I did an impromptu relaxation exercise that Splinter had shown me that morning. It was quick and efficient. By the time Don was back in the room and had closed his door, my heart rate was beginning to slow down.
Don sat in his chair and took note that I was on the last page of my reading assignment.
"Good, glad you're sticking to the assignment." He still had coffee in his cup and took a swig of it before settling down into his chair to watch me finish. He eyed me a little bit as if noticing something. He worked the inside of his cheek as if in consideration. I didn't watch him directly but allowed my peripheral vision to take in what he was doing. I saw his eyes narrow at me just a bit.
"Something wrong, Kira?" he asked me. I could hear the suspicion in his voice. He knew something wasn't right with me.
I looked up and squinted to focus on him, replying, "No, not really. Why?"
"You seem anxious to me." He said and then took a sip from his mug. He continued to watch me.
"Oh, this 'war' stuff; very unsettling. Amazing that so many countries would join up like that. All those people dying. Upsets me is all." I explained. War did bother me, but sometimes when an evil persisted in the world and threatened to jeopardize freedom in general, it became a necessity. I thought my reason was a good one to explain my heightened anxieties.
"Hmm…I see." He said simply. Yet he continued to observe me.
I went back to my reading, trying to act natural, but I did notice Don glancing over at his computer at one point. I wondered if maybe the other Kira had the habit of using it outside of his permission, too. I was thankful that the screensaver came up when it had otherwise I was sure my instructor would be lecturing me again about the virtues of learning!
Once I had finished my assignment, Don leaned back and started testing me – right off the top of his head! The guy was amazing; it was almost as if he had memorized the entire book. I knew then that he would never forget anything that I might say or do. He was, in effect, my conscience. It was quite intimidating to sit there and realize that, too – all things considered.
The topic was World War 1. I had to wrack my brain a few times to get the answers and the dates he wanted. Nevertheless, I had proved to him that I had read it – though I really didn't – and understood the topic. It sort of made his afternoon, to be honest. His mood perked up after that. It was a great improvement from where it had been before he left to get his cup of coffee. I felt kind of bad, though, since I hadn't really complied with his request but relied on what I already knew. I guess it didn't matter, however, since his goal was to teach me and my goal was to learn.
How could I be criticized for already knowing the stuff?
About two hours later as we finished up with school and Don was rearranging his desk, I asked him, "Would it be all right if I did a little Internet cruising?"
"Hm? Oh, sure…you earned it, Kira." Don offered lightly, "I'm surprised, though."
"Why is that?" I asked.
"Because it's been about a year since you've shown any interest. Ever since your mom…" He stopped and then gazed at me uncomfortably as if he had invaded my personal territory. Then he looked down at the papers in his hand and mumbled, "I'm kind of glad, though. It tells me that you're coming around." He looked at me again and smiled, "I'll give you about thirty minutes and then you should rest up for tonight. Dinner will be in a couple of hours, so you should be able to get some sleep before then." He reached over and gently squeezed my knee then turned to straighten up his desk.
"Ah, I thought I took the seven to eleven shift?" I asked him.
"Oh, well, you're going out on patrol with Mike this evening, so it'll be from eleven to two – unless you run into trouble. That can always put a delay on getting back." Don replied. "You might be allowed to nap before the shift starts, though. I'll square it with Leo on that."
"Ah, I have that elements homework to do, so maybe napping wouldn't be a good idea." I commented as I moved on over to the computer. I clicked on the E-mail icon and then typed in the password.
As I watched Kira's E-mail account come up, I heard Don say, "Hmm…you're right. Well, do what you want; nap or homework."
Then, to give me some privacy, Don left his room, allowing me free access to his computer.
Once I had Kira's E-mail account opened, I clicked the 'In' file to see what was there.
Don was right; it had been a year since she/I had used it. The last mail that she had opened dated back about twelve months prior to today's date. I looked at the incoming messages from that point and went backwards, finding a variety of E-mail addresses like CoolDude32, Brazenbratt.5, WhatevahBabe, and other silly handles. However, there was one which seemed to come up more frequently. That one was from Drial Namtsae. Whether it was a he or a she, the name took up almost a whole month before it stopped – twelve months ago. From where it ended, a long string of unopened E-mails were listed. Those petered out about six months after Kira had supposedly stopped using the Internet.
I ran the incoming mail back as far as I could where Drial Namtsae began. It started at three months prior to the last message, when Kira had stopped E-mailing. Before that, I noticed the other accounts that sent her messages. I also noted that some of their subject titles dealt with the death of Kira's mother. It was obvious that she had shared her loss with her on-line friends, though I doubt very much she would have told anyone the cause of her mother's demise.
However, Drial Namtsae bugged me. Each of his/her incoming messages were opened. Yet there were several other messages belonging to different addresses that weren't. Why would Kira be more interested in Drial than with the others? I decided to click on the last E-mail that he/she had sent to her. I waited for a moment to allow the system to kick in. Finally, the message window popped up. There wasn't much to it and what there was puzzled me.
"The time is right. I have what you need. Meet me at Essex and Canal Sts at Seward Park tomorrow at midnight. Don't be late or you'll miss your window."
That was it. What did it mean by 'miss your window'? That was very strange. Was it a 'window of opportunity'? Was it a departure time? Was she picking up a window and what would she use a window for, anyway.
What kind of name is Drial Namtsae?
I went to the subsequent incoming messages and opened them one at a time. The strangeness continued. Most were casual replies to questions. I knew I was going to have to check her outgoing messages to understand what Drial was replying to. However, one caught my attention and it nearly caused me to gasp out loud.
"I have found your replacement. She is willing to the exchange but you must not tell anyone. They cannot know or the incantation will not work. I will contact her per your acceptance."
Replacement? Incantation? What is this? Spells, witchcraft, sorcery? I didn't believe in such rubble, but, yet, here I was. What did all of this mean, anyway?
I furthered my search through the mail, opening each one and reading as fast as I could. My time at the computer was slowly running out. Yet I knew the reasons for my being here would be found in Kira's E-mail account.
Then, just before Don came back to tell me my time was up, I found one reply from Drial that nearly froze my heart. It was near the beginning of Kira's E-mail relationship with this person.
"You must understand that if you are sincere in pursuing this exchange, you will not have the memory of your previous life and neither your replacement of theirs. However, both of you will gain the memories of the other – forever! Keep in mind that any mention of this to anyone after the fact and you will return to the life you had without regaining that life's recollections. You will be a stranger in your own world. From that point on there is no return."
I stared at the screen not believing what I was reading. This just couldn't be nor was it possible. Incantations were not real, they didn't work; they were just a mish mash of words that mislead people into thinking they had power. How could this happen and who was this Drial Namtsae?
I saw one problem with what I had just read, however. If the 'exchange' was reversed when this arrangement was mentioned to anyone, how could that happen if they didn't have any memory of their previous life? Wouldn't the reverse occur only if they knew about their previous life? Maybe something wrong happened with one of them and just enough memory remained anyway? It just didn't make any sense at all. Somewhere in the unopened E-mails I had yet to explore was the answer.
Then it hit me – like a ton of bricks.
Regardless if I believed incantations were real or not, what this said implied that an exchange of some sort happened between two different individuals – Kira and someone else. With that said, then what I assumed next had to be true. Finding my self in this strange world was not a figment of my imagination. Nor was it a result of a coma-induced illusion.
The truth that presented itself in what I was reading said only one thing and one thing only.
I had returned to my own world!
I just sat there in utter shock and disbelief.
I was Kira!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A/N: I didn't plan on getting to this point so soon. However, I saw how many words and chapters I've already written and decided that I didn't want another marathon story. Even with that, this aspect of Kira was not what I had originally planned for her. Nevertheless, it's done and now I have some storyboarding to do. It's tweaked my ending just a little. Probably for the better, but right now I'm scrambling!
Lady Venom2
Yeah, control verses getting thrown across the dojo. Which would you choose? LOL Trust is earned, as we all know, and can be lost in a nano second, too. Raph scared her to death and she believed every word he told her. Why would anyone challenge him on any threat he offered up? I know I wouldn't. I've given Mike a well-rounded personality compared to the goofy guy that's portrayed in the cartoons, etc.. He's grown up. Though he can still joke around and all of that he's come to that point where life becomes a little more serious. Having kids or being responsible for them will do that to anyone. Trust me; I know this one very well! Now, with chapter 17, things are taking an interesting turn for Kira, me thinks! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Be blessed.
danceingfae
Yeah, food! Who of us wouldn't be thrilled, eh? Yeah, Raph can scare anyone to death! Did he seem mellow? Hmm…maybe he's learned along the way that going off the deep end with his temper was counter productive. I prefer to write as if they were real and had choices. Another words, give them the opportunity to make mistakes but to learn from them. Personally, his role in the dojo was to teach Kira, not to beat the living tar out of her. Though, had she resisted any more than she did, he would have. Maybe I allowed him too much patience in the beginning? Probably. Oh well…as for her story? I think the turn in Chapter 17 is causing her some grief, don'cha think? :0) Thanks for reading and reviewing! Be blessed.
Kuroi Neko-kun
Food food food! *wonders what to make for lunch* Yeah, I'm sure it felt good to bite into something substantial! Anyway, Kira is trained, as I mentioned in my E-mail to you, but not to fight for her life. That will change, I think, with Leo stepping up her training, now! Yeah, I wanted to 'disclaim' my Japanese and explain the website I gathered the few words from. I did go back and change the words that Leo spoke to Splinter and made the corrections with his reply as well. Thanks for the insight! I would love to find a website that translates phrases from English to Japanese, but the only one I found translates into Kanji. Like that would help me here. You did not offend me, either! :0) Thanks for reading and reviewing! Be blessed.
Pretender Fanatic
Yeah, lunchtime is here and I'm feeling a little hungry myself! I wanted to do that and I will maybe in the next chapter or two. However, I wanted to focus on her obedience rather than what she was being asked to do. I have a problem writing action scenes, especially where I haven't a clue what the moves are called. I don't do martial arts. I'm too old!! I'd get matted and then have to be carried out on a gurney! :0) However, I did find a website that has video logs of about twenty different katas! So, with the one I mentioned in Chapter 15 ( with Don) and 16 ( with Raph), I used that and tried to describe part of it. As it turned out, I forgot one 'step'. Oh well. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Be blessed.
Ramica
What is it about food? Oh, yeah, keeps us going, eh? :0) Yeah, the Foot should educate Kira in more than one way, that's certain. Being untrained to fight for your life is not a good thing to be in a family of ninjas! That's about to change, though. I think at this point with Chapter 17, Kira is going to dread more than facing Splinter! Knowing what she suspects is now true, she will have a need to search for answers. This may or may not put her into trouble with the Clan or danger elsewhere. Hmmm….again, I never story board and even the last part of Chapter 17 was outside of my original plans! But it just sort of wrote itself and that was how I knew it needed to be. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Be blessed.