Little Brother
By Maikafuiniel


Chapter 14
Meeting Sensei


Mikey came out of the bathroom, his hands soaked with cold water from the sink, and smiled. "Done now," he said simply, trying again for a three year olds dialogue, "We're not going to go back to the cage now, are we?"

Bebop looked at him carefully for a moment, before shrugging his large shoulders. "Don't know," the warthog replied, snorting once, "Shredder never gave me no other instructions or nothin'. Figured I'd drop you'se off in the dojo or sumthin'. Everybody knows you're here, so I'll let em figure it out, kay?"

Mikey shrugged, trying to get across the point that he didn't really care either way. In truth he was getting rather restless- he hadn't done much since he had been turned, and that felt like days ago now. He wasn't quite sure about the decision he had made though; about letting Shredder and the other ninja's here teach him.

On one level, it felt like he was getting even with his brothers and father, who had been so unfair to him. On another, he knew that all his sensei wanted was the best for all of them.

But he doesn't understand, Mikey thought to himself with a frown, I mean, it's not like he could if he wanted to, but still. So unfair.

Mikey thought to himself with a frown,

With another shrug he continued to walk behind Bebop as he was led to the dojo. In the end of all things, it was hardly like he was stopping anybody from rescuing him. If they came, he would go, first chance. If some really obvious escape route came up, he would go, first chance. Plus, it was hardly a good idea to go spouting off about who he really was.

And with that, Bebop stopped at one of the metal doors. He pressed a few buttons into the keypad on the outside, far above Mikey's head, making it slide open.

Mikey's jaw dropped. It was huge, for any dojo, let alone the one at home. There were four rows of people, ten in each row, all in the exact same positions doing the exact same moves. And in the front of the room there were three separate masters facing the group, in the same positions.

Shocking him, Bebop suddenly yelled out, "Yo, this almost dun?"

Everybody in the room, including Mikey, snapped their heads towards Bebop, making him blush a little. The three masters watched him for a moment carefully, before turning back to the group with little more then a roll of their eyes skyward. The master standing in the centre made a sweeping motion, signalling that the class was over, and bowed carefully.

Everybody else bowed back, and then filed out. Each one giving the warthog an angry look as they passed through the doorway, since he had interrupted their class.

Once everybody was gone except the centre master, he came up to the door and knelt down to face level- surprising Mikey when he smiled widely. "And you," he said, with an obviously American accent, "Would be Giovanni, correct?"

Mikey nodded wordlessly, still not taking a step into the room until the master swept his hand in the enter motion. "Come in, please. Shredder has talked to me about you; I hadn't expected you for a day or so, but I'm pleased you could find your way to my dojo."

"Well," Mikey said, a bit awed to be talking to the ninja master in charge of training all the foot soldiers (as Shredder was obviously too busy doing other things to do the job himself anymore), "You know, um, Bebop brought me here."

He wanted to hit himself over the head when he realized how stupid he sounded, but decided not to worry about it. To this guys eyes, he was just a nervous three year old. Who really cared how he acted, so long as he wasn't colouring on the walls or something, right?

"Yeah," Bebop said, before turning back to the turtle, "I'm gonna' actually go find Rocksteady, alright kid? You…" he trained off, obviously not knowing what to say to a child, before settling on, "Be good for this guy here, okay? He could probably beat up the Shredder, and that ain't no easy thing to do, see?"

Mikey nodded once, feeling oddly alone once Bebop had gone, closing the door behind him. He turned back to the master, and waited for him to say something. He didn't have to ask long.

"Alright," he started, "First the introductions. My name is Tobias, but when we're in this room you call me master, or sensei, alright?"

Mikey nodded, knowing that he was going to stick with the word master. Nobody could ever replace his father as the one and only sensei he had ever had- no matter how angry he was at the large rat for the moment.

"Now," Tobias continued, "I don't know what your uncles have taught you, if anything, but tomorrow, when I start teaching you, you're going to have to bow when you come into the room, alright? And I'll bow back to you when you're done. It's a sign of respect."

Mikey had to fight not to tune the man out already, what with him explaining things that he had known for a decade already. Instead he settled himself with nodding again.

"You're lessons are going to start early in the morning," the man continued, oblivious to Mikey's lack of caring, "About six in the morning in fact. I'll wake you up myself, unless I'm busy. Then Shredder, Bebop, or Rocksteady will have that privilege."

"Alrighty," Mikey replied, bored stiff already, "But just so you know and everything, I already know most of this stuff."

"Well," Tobias said, smiling, "We'll just see how much you know tomorrow, all right?"

And with that, he decided it was time to lead Mikey back to his cell.