Splinter and Kiriya gave concerned looks when the turtles and girls returned to the school with news of their experience. Kiriya pondered roughly while Splinter brushed his beard.
"And you're sure this happened?" Kiriya asked.
"Definitely." Asuka assured.
"These ninja in Halloween costumes attacked us, but they weren't even real." Leo said.
"But someone real did set up that barrier." Yagyu said. "Another shinobi."
"But shouldn't that be impossible?" Donnie asked. "I mean, we're the only ninja here, aren't we?"
"Don't be that naïve, Donatello." Splinter said. "There are other ninja schools out in the world. Do you really think Hanzo Academy would be isolated like that?"
"How many other schools are there?" Leo asked.
"That's not important." Kiriya said. "The point is, I don't see any reason why any of these schools would attack you with puppets."
"Unless…" Splinter said. He and Kiriya exchanged glances.
"Mind filling us in?" Michelangelo asked. "Or are you expecting us to just read your minds?"
"Wait!" Ikaruga said. "Are you suggesting… evil ninja?"
"There are evil ninja?" Mikey asked.
"Makes sense." Leo said. "I mean, we can't expect everyone to use it for good."
"Yes. Good shinobi like yourselves and evil ones like them exist like day and night." Kiriya said. "While good shinobi usually work with the government, evil shinobi lend their skills usually to the highest bidder. We don't know how many evil ninja schools there are, but it's safe to assume one of them was responsible for this."
"But why come after us?" Raph asked. "We just got here."
"It's not you they were after." Ikaruga said. "They must have set up that barrier and the attack intended for us. You boys were just caught up in it at the time."
"That's the logical assumption," Splinter said, "Although, if they weren't aware of your existence before, it's likely they do now. And the next time they strike, they'll be better prepared."
"Then why are we standing around here?" Raphael asked. "Let's just head to this evil ninja school and waste them before they waste us."
"It's not that easy." Kiriya said. "We don't know which school is responsible for the attack, and even if we did, we would have no idea where they're hiding. We don't even know if it's a school or if it's a shinobi on assignment."
"If we go out now, we'll risk exposing ourselves open for an attack." Splinter said. "We need to be careful about this."
"Yes, Master Splinter." Leo agreed.
"'Yes, Master Splinter'." Raph mocked. Leo hit Raph with the back of his hand.
"Hey!" Splinter shouted to stop the fight he knew was coming.
"So what's the plan?" Katsuragi asked. "Just sit around and wait for them to attack us?"
"We don't have a choice." Kiriya said. "It appears to be our best option."
"But what if they take us by surprise?" Hibari asked. "What if there are so many of them? What if…" She stopped when Yagyu placed her hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, Hibari." Yagyu assured. "If any of them attack, I'll protect you."
Hibari smiled. "Thanks, Yagyu." That moment grew concern in Kiriya's eyes.
Deep within the forest, hidden by hundreds of trees, there erects a large temple, a castle of black with red outlines. And within the walls of this school were several individuals in maching black uniforms. They practiced their weapon strikes, their hand-to-hand combat skills, and their arts of stealth. If either of them make a mistake, their instructors would always throw a kunai at them to teach them a lesson. But instead of crying, they would hear their instructor's lessons and say. "Yes!"
Their instructors were different. While the students were all girls, half of their overseers were men. They were all covered in black outfits with red lenses on their masks. They wore red bandanas around their foreheads with a black footprint on them.
Five girls entered the castle and passed by their schoolmates. They were the same five girls responsible for the attack earlier: Homura, Hikage, Mirai, Yomi, and Haruka. Mirai and Yomi looked nervous.
"What's he going to say if we tell him what happened?" Mirai asked. "He'll probably shun us forever."
"Or maybe he'll burn down my bean sprout garden." Yomi said nervously.
"You two have very poor ideas of punishment." Haruka said.
"Indeed." Hikage agreed. "The worst he will do is maim one of us to motivate the others."
"Don't say that so casually, Hikage!" Mirai said. "At least act afraid!"
"I am." Hikage said. "I just can't feel fear because there's no point to."
"Would you all just keep it down?" Homura asked. "No one's getting maimed today if you just let me do the talking."
"Do the talking about what exactly?" An adult woman stood in front of the five. She had on glasses and a white shirt over her black jeans.
"Master Suzune." Homura greeted her teacher. "We need to speak to the headmaster."
"Was the plan a success?" Suzune asked.
"Sort of." Homura answered. "This is just something that needs a lot of explaining."
Suzune nodded and brought the girls into the elevator. She pressed the highest button and they were raised several floors up.
When the elevator stopped, the doors opened revealing a Japanese office room with a window for a wall. At the far end of the office stood a Japanese man in armor. It was metal armor that covered his entire body. And some parts of it had spikes sticking out. Even his gloves were equipped with blades from the back of his hands. He turned to the studenrs revealing his eyes. One was a normal brown, but the other was dead surrounded by a burn mark.
"Master Shredder." Homura greeted as she knelt down with her peers and her teacher.
The armored man called the Shredder approached Homura. "You have news, I suspect. Did you learn anything about your enemies?"
"You could say that." Homura answered. "The thing is… Well… This is going to be hard to believe, but it appears that the Hanzo shinobi are accompanied by… giant, walking, talking turtles."
Silence filled the room for a moment.
"Are you mocking me, girl?" Shredder growled.
"I'm serious, sir." Homura answered. "There were four of them, and they appeared to have ninja training. They helped those girls beat Haruka's puppets quicker than we expected."
The Shredder gave them a menacing scowl. "We will deal with this. For now, tell me, Homura, are you threatened by these… 'turtles'?"
"Of course not. They may have some basic training, but we're clearly stronger. We're Hebijo's elite, after all."
"Good. Then the primary goal remains the same. Learn what you can about where our target is hidden. When you do, find it and bring it to me. As for these turtles, learn what you can about them. Force them to fight if you must. But don't compromise our mission. Once we possess Hanzo Academy's greatest secret, the ultimate power will be within reach. And you all will get what you deserve. But it will only come to be when you unleash your inner evil.
"Haruka, never forget what other people are to you. Those who please you are nothing more than puppets for you to use as you see fit. Yomi, remember the pain that you've suffered your whole life, the misery cause by those who pushed you down and took your family. Mirai, continue to fester your hatred. Cause the world the same pain that it's put you through. Hikage, never hesitate. Never feel. Do that, and you will achieve greatness. And lastly, Homura… You want to be a shinobi. You tried to do it the right way, but it didn't work out for you. But here at Hebijo, you have the chance for greater power than the good side always did. The path of shinobi is the path to power.
"Never forget. Where good accepts few, evil accepts all. You are here because the outside world rejects you. This is your family. I am your father. If I say jump, you ask how high on the way up. If I tell you to kill, you will strike down your targets without mercy or hesitation. As long as you follow my orders without question, then you will be the mightiest shinobi. You are now dismissed."
Everyone nodded and exited back into the elevator. At that moment, Mirai and Yomi released a big breath.
"That was terrifying!" Mirai shouted.
"I thought he was going to hurt us!" Yomi said.
"I wouldn't put it past him." Hikage said. "He didn't show any mercy when he killed and usurped the previous principal. Since then, his Foot Clan have raised the intensity of Hebijo's training."
"As long as it makes us stronger, it doesn't matter." Homura said. "If we are going to be the strongest shinobi, we must complete the mission."
Kiriya sat on his knees in a dim room with a sliding wall. A light emitted from the other side of the wall revealing several shadowy figures.
"This is quite foreboding news, Master Kiriya." A voice said. "Which evil ninja school do you suspect is behind it?"
"I don't know." Kiriya answered. "But we'll be ready for them. And with Hamato Yoshi and his students, we'll surely be ready."
"About that…"
"What?"
"We members of the Hanzo Academy shinobi council have been discussing another recent report; the one about the graduate that has returned in a different state with four students of his own."
"You mean Hamato Yoshi and the turtles."
"Yes. You see, by any definition, Yoshi is considered a renegade."
"What?" Kiriya asked in surprise. "You can't be serious. Hamato Yoshi wasn't even on duty when he disappeared."
"And yet, he has illegally taken four students of his."
"Because he cares for them. Are you really going to punish Yoshi and his sons for something that cannot be helped."
"Well, in order for us to come to an agreement on them, we need someone else's opinion. Yours is biased. We will need someone else to see if these creatures are worthy of being by our side. You are dismissed."
Kiriya sighed as he left the room. He took a few steps out in the courtyard rubbing the back of his head.
"I take it, it didn't go as well as you expected, master."
Kiriya already knew who it was. He turned to meet an older student of his. "The council's getting second thoughts about Hamato Yoshi and his children."
"Yes, I've heard that your old friend, Yoshi, has gotten through a change. So what do they need?"
"Apparently, the council needs the opinion of someone else to see if the turtles should live."
"Really? Then maybe I'll test them myself."
Kiriya widened his eyes. "Are you sure? They're not exactly as trained as my girls. You'd destroy them."
"Maybe. But it's not about winning or losing, is it?"
Kiriya sighed. "All right. I'll set everything up tomorrow at sunset. I'll leave the rest up to you, Daidoji."
Author's Note: Merry Christmas. Been saving this for today. Hope you like it.
Any and all comments are welcome.
