Author's Note: Sorry this took months. I spent a lot of time on other fanfics and my personal life, and at the same time, I've been doing research to fulfill a guest reviewer's request. I don't know who they are, but they've made a request that involved using special moves from an old TMNT video game. Now, I know the names, but it's nearly impossible to search for them on the internet. I can view them through Youtube gameplay videos, but I can't tell which attacks are which. Perhaps if I had a more accurate description on what these attacks do, it would help. But for now, the Ground Claw featured here was all I could do.
Anyway, here's the next chapter you've all be waiting for. Enjoy. Any and all comments are welcome.
Across the hallway, the turtles and Hanzo girls readied their weapons against the Hebijo girls who were ready for a fight. Leo stepped up ahead of his group to address the people they were looking for.
"Homura, girls, let's not do this." Leo said. "Just give us the scroll and we'll be gone."
Homura chuckled. "Was that your plan? You storm here on a giant, tricked-out garbage truck, break through our walls, and take out several other students just so you can ask for the scroll back?"
"That plan borderlines on stupidity." Hikage said.
"Well, we dare to be stupid!" Mikey said proudly earning a slap to the back of his head by Raph.
"Look, you don't want to do this." Donnie said. "You're all being tricked by the Shredder."
"Sure, we are." Haruka said without any belief in her voice.
"It's true." Asuka said. "The Shredder is using you. He doesn't want you girls to reach your full potential. All he wants is power, and letting you keep that scroll is part of his plan to get that. You have to give it back before you get hurt."
Homura raised an eyebrow. "So what you're saying is that our headmaster, the man we've been following, is planning to turn on us, it's dangerous for us to keep the scroll, we should let you have it, and you are actually looking out for our well-being? That's way too convenient for you."
"As if some snooty princess cares for anyone but herself." Yomi said.
"Sorry, you buffoons, but we're not buying it." Mirai said.
"Well, it looks like they won't listen to diplomacy." Ikaruga said.
"Then we'll have to beat it into their skulls and their boobs." Katsuragi said.
"Are you ready, Hibari?" Yagyu asked.
Hibari nodded.
The two groups looked at each other before finally charging to attack. The fight lead to the groups splitting into different rooms.
Donnie and Ikaruga were launched through their own room with Yomi following. She had her very large sword in hand as she faced against the Hanzo girl and the ninja turtle. They stood for a moment looking at each other.
"Come on, Yomi." Donatello said. "Think rationally. You don't want to do this."
"Yes, I do." Yomi retorted. "That holier-than-thou princess has to suffer."
"Why?" Ikaruga asked. "I didn't do anything to you."
"The fact that you don't know who I am just shows how little you think of me, and that only makes me want to kill you even more!" Yomi shouted. "You don't know me, but I definitely remember you, and your blue-blooded family. How could I not? Your polished-marble mansion is only on top of the hill overshadowing my poor town!"
Ikaruga widened her eyes completely surprised. That was Yomi's chance. She jumped toward her ready to strike with her sword, but Donnie blocked the attack with the metal hilt on his bo staff. He shot his green feet towards her to knock her away, but Yomi kept up her momentum and scaled up the wall. She jumped off for another strike aimed at Ikaruga. Thankfully, the class rep recovered herself and blocked with her katana.
As the three ninja bounced all over the room trading blows, they continued their conversation.
"So you and Ikaruga are from the same town?" Donnie asked.
"Same town, different classes!" Yomi said. "That wretched family leeched off of my village for years robbing us of every yen we had! Everything became unbearable, even for my family! My parents had to sell themselves off just so I could at least have the next week's worth of meal on the table! And I couldn't get them back because…"
Donnie couldn't help but notice the tears dripping from Yomi's eyes. He was smart enough to read between the lines and realize the ultimate tragedy that fell to her parents. After landing on the ground, Yomi wiped the tears from her eyes and stared at Ikaruga with hatred.
"Things got difficult again after that. I had to beg off the barren streets for what can only be money for bean sprouts. That's when I came across a TV store with a working television set. And inside was a TV broadcasting a live interview with the rich family who are responsible for my parents. They all were there, even the princess. While I was slaving away for food, they had the finest cuisine. And if that wasn't unfair enough, dear old daddy went on record and say that he cares for the poor, so he shipped food across the ocean and to starving children in China. SUCH LIES! IF HE ACTUALLY CARED ABOUT POOR PEOPLE, WHERE WAS THE CARE TO MY VILLAGE! MY PARENTS! HE CLAIMED HE WAS A CHARITY, BUT HE WAS JUST PUTTING ON A FRONT TO HIDE THE CRUEL, HEARTLESS RICH FOLKS HE AND HIS FAMILY ARE! AND THAT INCLUDES YOU, IKARUGA!"
Ikaruga's eyes widened again. "Wait! You saw that broadcast? Yomi, there's something about that interview I don't think you heard…"
"Save it!" Yomi interrupted. "There's nothing you can say that'll save your pampered and entitled head! I've waited a long time for this!"
Yomi didn't hesitate to rush for another strike. Ikaruga raised her katana, but she didn't grip it hard enough. It was knocked out of her hands and she was met with a strong kick sending her across the room. Yomi raised her sword again to finish her off, but Donnie landed behind her and held her with his bo staff.
"Let go! This doesn't concern you!"
"Only if you hear us out!" Donnie said. "You can't be mad at Ikaruga for what her family did because she's not…"
"Shut up!" Yomi yelled out before powering out and elbowing Donnie in the face. She then swung her sword ready to decapitate him. He saw it coming and a familiar memory flashed in his mind.
Donnie grunted in pain as he landed on his back on the Hanzo Academy rooftop. He held his sore face as Daidoji brushed off the fist she just swung.
"Donatello, you saw the attack coming. I know you did." She said. "So why didn't you dodge?"
"Are you kidding me?" Donnie asked standing back up. "You swung it too fast. I didn't have time to choose a counter."
"Choose a counter?" Daidoji asked.
"Yeah. For example, when you swung your fist just now, I should've grabbed your arm and threw you over my shoulder with a judo throw. But I didn't have any time to think it… AAH!" Donnie braced himself for the fist aiming for him. But it stopped when it was just an inch away from his face.
"In a fight, there's not usually time to think. This isn't some action anime where it takes a minute for a punch to swing giving the protagonist time to think two sentences in their head." Daidoji said. "You have to rely more on your instincts and fight without a plan."
"Fight without a plan?" Donnie asked. "How do I do that?"
"You know the proper techniques, but you won't be relying on knowing them all the time." Daidoji said. "In some situations, you'll have to use the environment to your advantage. As for your staff, I think there's a way to do that. It's so simple, it's the very definition of instinctual. And if applied right, it could be the perfect way to knock your enemy off balance."
"Really?" Donnie asked. "How?"
Acting on instinct, Donnie ducked before the sword could his him. He then rolled backwards to gain some distance between him and Yomi. The Hebijo shinobi charged at him ready to strike again and that's when he made his move. He swung his staff roughly brushing its tip on the floor. The swing generated a blast of air across the floor that actually struck at Yomi stopping her in her tracks.
Yomi grunted feeling the sting of air. But Donnie wasn't done yet. He brushed the floor again with his staff, but from his other side. The blast hit Yomi again knocking her backward. Donnie did it again and again keeping her disoriented. While this happened, Ikaruga recovered and picked her sword back up. After another wind blast, Ikaruga took her chance and swung her sword at Yomi's knocking it out of her hands.
Donnie was ready. He was just about to blow one final strike. He spun his bo staff around probably a hundred times before ending it with one last swing across the floor. The mother of all wind blasts shot out and made a big explosion once it hit Yomi. She was knocked back with her outfit nearly torn.
After the final attack, Ikaruga approached Donnie. "Where did you learn that?"
"From Daidoji. She called it the Ground Claw, a simple but effective attack for bo staff wielders."
Yomi groaned as she struggled to get up. But she was too weak to fully do so. Her efforts stopped when Donnie and Ikaruga stood above her. She sighed in surrender.
"If you're going to finish me, it better be done right."
"I don't want to kill you." Ikaruga said. "I just want to talk."
"We have nothing to talk about!" Yomi snapped back. "I hate you! I'll always hate you! And your entire family!"
"That's just it, Yomi." Ikaruga said. "Those people at the mansion, they're not my real family."
Yomi widened her eyes. She was caught by surprise with that unexpected statement. She looked over to Donnie who nodded in agreement. "What?"
"That family wanted a shinobi child to carry on their legacy." Ikaruga explained. "Their only son didn't have what it took, so they reached out to a distant relative. I had everything they were looking for, so they took my from my real family and adopted me into their own. That broadcast you saw. While the subject of delivering food to China was brought up, the truth is, that interview was mainly to announce their newly adopted daughter. I'm sorry about what happened to your parents, Yomi. My adopted parents took them away from you just as they took me from my real parents. I guess we're more alike than you think."
"You've always been on Ikaruga's case because you thought she was born lucky and you had the worst luck of all." Donnie said. "But that's not the case. If anything, you're luckier than I am. At least you're human. At least you can walk outside without unintentionally scaring the daylights out of people. Me and my brothers, we have to live in a sewer stealing Wifi from the apartments above us."
Yomi couldn't help but chuckle. Happy tears dripped from her eyes as she stared at Donnie. "Thank you. I'm… I'm so sorry. I'll help you get through to…"
She didn't have time to finish, not with the sword that interrupted her. Both Donnie and Ikaruga gasped silently as the Foot Ninja who fell from the rafters digging his sword into Yomi's prone chest. Yomi's eyes widened as she struggled to breathe. The Foot Ninja removed his bloody sword and jumped back up to the darkness. Yomi was left on the ground with her chest wound pouring out blood.
"YOMI!" Donnie cried out as he moved himself to hold her head up. "Come on! Come on! Stay with us!"
"Why did he do that?" Ikaruga asked loudly.
Donnie didn't answer. He was busy trying to tend to Yomi and keep her wound shut. "Don't die on us! Please!"
Yomi coughed out a bit of air as she said two words. "D-Donnie… Princess…"
"Don't talk!" Donnie pleaded desperately. "You're gonna be okay! You're going to be…"
Suddenly, Yomi began to glow red. Both Donnie and Ikaruga watched as Yomi's red light became brighter until the sudden flash. Yomi then became dust, red flickers that escaped through the window and into the swirling, red storm cloud above Hebijo Academy.
"What just happened?" Ikaruga asked.
"I… I don't know!"
"DONATELLO!" Donnie and Ikaruga looked over to the room door. Splinter and Rin were standing at the doorway with worry on their faces.
"Master Splinter!" Donnie gasped. "Something happened! We were fighting Yomi, we worked everything out, but then, this Foot Ninja just stabbed her and she turned to dust!"
Splinter gasped in disbelief. "Then it's begun."
"What's begun?" Ikaruga asked. "What's going on here?"
"No time to explain!" Rin said. "We have to get to the other fights before the same thing happens again!"
