Chapter 11: Sparring Buddies
It was still rather dark out in the morning when Leo slowly slid the door to his room open, quietly slipping over to Mikey's room, sliding the door open.
Inside, his baby brother lay on his plasteron, his cheek buried into the mattress as drool leaked out of his open mouth.
"Mikey." Leo whispered, lightly shaking his brother. "Mikey, wake up."
The orange clad turtle shifted lazily, mumbling in his sleep. He rolled over, muttering something about 'pizza' and 'Ice Cream Kitty'.
Rolling his eyes fondly, Leo gently shook him by the shoulder. "C'mon, buddy. Time to get up."
Wearily, Mikey cracked an eye open at his eldest brother before letting out a tired sigh. "Already?" He asked.
Leo nodded before moving out of the room and over to Donnie and Raph's rooms as Mikey sat up and yawned, stretching his arms.
Getting up, Mikey quietly walked out of his room to see Donnie waiting outside as well just as Leo emerged from Raph's room with the red clad turtle behind him.
"Training?" Raph asked.
"Training." Leo replied.
"Courtyard?" Donnie asked.
"Courtyard." Leo answered.
Quietly, the ninja turtles easily made their way through the halls of the bunkhouse before heading outside, unaware that a certain panda was watching them.
"So why are we up so early again?" Mikey asked for like the fifth time once they were in the courtyard outside of the training hall.
His brothers groaned in annoyance. They knew that they shouldn't get too angry with him, as his severe ADHD had always made it hard for the party turtle to stay focused, even if he was the most spiritually intuitive alongside Leo.
Still, that didn't mean it didn't get frustrating at times.
"Mikey, we've been over this." Leo said in exasperation. "If we're gonna stay in shape, we have to keep our normal routine up."
"But I thought we had a new teacher now?" Mikey said, sounding confused. He then turned to Donnie and Raph. "Come on guys, back me up."
Donnie simply shrugged. "Sorry, Mikey. We may be students here at the Jade Palace now, but Leo's still the sensei of the Hamato Clan."
Mikey sighed. "Fine."
"Alright. Donnie, you're with me." Leo stated. "Raph, you're with Mikey."
The orange turtle gulped as a familiar savage grin spread across Raph's lips. With each of them paired up, the turtles each took out their weapons as they each circled each other.
Raph took his sais out from his belt, twirling them in his hands. "You ready for another beatdown, Mikey?" He taunted.
Mikey flipped out his two nunchaku, spinning them in a fluid movement. "You can talk the ninja talk, Raphie, but can you walk the ninja walk?!" He shot back.
Off to the side, Leo and Donnie rolled their eyes. Maybe it was a mistake pairing those two together again.
"Hajime!" Leo announced before lunging and clashing his katanas with Donnie's staff, to which the smart turtle quickly shoved him off and swung his staff at the blue clad turtle.
Meanwhile, Raph sprung into action, attempting to take down Mikey quickly by tackling him. But Mikey flipped over his head, rolling along the cobblestone ground before hopping to his feet again and extending his nunchuck into a kusarigama chain.
He then swung his chain at his hotheaded brother, who quickly dodged out of the way to avoid getting snared. Raph then grabbed the chain and used it to pull Mikey towards him, grappling the younger turtle to the floor, both of them wrestling on the floor and trying to overpower each other before Raph managed to trap Mikey in a headlock.
"Say it!" Raph said.
Mikey grunted in Raph's arms. "Raphael is all-wise and powerful." He started, rolling his eyes.
Raph then twisted his youngest brother's head a little. "And…?"
"And he's better than me in every possible way." Mikey continued.
Raph then pinned Mikey to the ground. "And…?"
"And I'm a lowly worm who isn't fit to live on the same planet as him because he's so amazing and I'm a dirt clod." Mikey droned, rolling his eyes again.
With a sinister smile, Raph licked his finger, prepared to give Mikey a wet-willie. "And…?"
If Mikey hadn't been scared before, he was now. "And in the history of the universe, there's never been one so awesome!" He cried, flailing his arms.
"And don't you forget it!" Raph stated, finally letting Mikey go.
Mikey gasped for breath, clutching his throat. "I LIIIIIIIIVE!" He cried victoriously.
Raph rolled his eyes. Geez, what a drama queen.
Meanwhile, Donnie's staff collided with Leo's blades. "Think you got what it takes?" The blue clad turtle questioned, ducking under a swing from Donnie's staff before deflecting a thrust.
"Oh contraire, mon frere," Donnie said with a little smirk while blocking Leo's katanas with the middle piece of his staff, "I don't think there's any denial that I can take you." With a sweep of his staff, Donnie then managed to hit one of Leo's katana out of his grip, sending it clattering across the courtyard.
Believing he had the upper hand, Donnie attempted to thrust his staff into Leo's gut, but the blue clad turtle quickly sidestepped the attack, still gripping his remaining katana as he swiped Donnie's right foot from under him.
The smart turtle fell to the ground, his staff having loosened out of his grip. He rolled over onto his shell only to be met with the edge of Leo's blade just inches from his beak.
Sighing, Donnie knew when he was beaten as he held up his hands in surrender. Leo then smiled, lowering his katana and holding out his hand.
Smiling back and taking his hand, Donnie was pulled to his feet with Leo giving him an encouraging pat on his shoulder before he moved on to face Raph.
Sitting down on his knees with Mikey, Donnie and the party turtle watched as their two eldest brothers faced off.
"Ready to lose again, Leo?" Raph taunted confidently.
Leo only smirked back. "Only when you are, Raph."
The two then lunged at each other, their blades clashing in a duel of strength before they broke apart.
Leo and Raph then engaged each other in fierce battle, swiping and ducking under each other's attacks as they seemed evenly matched.
Raph caught the blade of one of Leo's katanas in his sais, and with the twist of his wrists, he wrestled it from Leo's hands and sent it cluttering to the ground.
Leo quickly retaliated by using the handle of his remaining sword to jab at Raph's wrist, causing his grip on his sai to slip and sending it flying across the courtyard and into the crack between the doors.
The two turtles then rushed towards each other once more, Raph quickly used his remaining dagger to jab the katana out of Leo's hands and was about to hook the forked handles of his sai onto Leo's wrist to flip him over his shoulder.
But Leo quickly saw this coming, instantly recognizing this as Raph's signature, and moved out of the way. In one swift movement, Leo kneed Raph in the gut with his knee pad before grabbing his arm while he was disoriented and flipping him over his shoulder.
Raph landed on his shell with a hard thud, looking quite stunned about what just happened.
"Nice try." Leo smirked, to which Raph glared up at him with a frown.
Leo then held out his hand and offered it to Raph with a smile. Raph smiled back and took the offered hand as Leo pulled him to his feet. "Good to know you haven't gotten rusty, Fearless." Raph remarked.
Leo grinned slightly. "Not doing too bad yourself, hothead."
Before their banter could continue further, the doors suddenly opened, causing Raph's sai to fall from where it was and hit something with a loud clunk.
Whatever it hit let out a yelp of pain before it was revealed to be none other than Po who came through the doors, carrying Raph's sai in his paw.
"Po?" Donnie asked while the other turtles looked in a bit of surprise.
"Oh, hey, morning guys." Po said, rubbing the back of his head. "Ow. I think this belongs to you, Raph." He said, handing the red clad turtle his sai back.
"So why are you up so early?" Raph questioned, taking back his sai and putting it on his belt.
"I could ask you the same thing." Po replied.
"We're ninjas, duh." Mikey said it like it was obvious.
"Po, what are you really doing up so early?" Leo questioned.
The panda shifted a little where he stood. "I was… thinking I would try to do some early training." He said. He then rubbed his arms nervously. "And… I was wondering if maybe you guys could… train me."
The turtles looked stunned.
"You… want us… to train you?" Donnie asked, still trying to process what he just heard.
"Yeah." Po said.
"You realize that kung fu and ninjitsu are completely different martial arts, right?" Raph asked, to which Po nodded.
"Yeah, I know that." The panda replied. "It's just… I figured you guys could maybe teach me some self defense or something so I don't get totally creamed again."
Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey glanced at each other, contemplating their options when Mikey suddenly grinned.
"Of course we'll teach ya, dude! You'll be a butt-kicking ninja in no time!"
Inside the training hall, Donnie attempted to teach Po how to properly punch as he brought out the training dummy.
However, this quickly went wrong when the dummy recoiled and hit Po, knocking him into Donnie and effectively squashing the smart turtle under him.
Next, Raph tried to teach how to do a high kick by giving a small demonstration of how to do it. Once he was done, he gestured for Po to do the same.
However, as soon as Po tried to do it, he immediately lost his balance and fell on his back.
Raph could only face-palm and shake his head.
Mikey decided that instead of teaching him punches or kicks, he would teach him how to flip and how to roll.
Flipping did not go well as Po immediately landed on his face as soon as he tried to do it.
Rolling went a bit better, but not by much as Po ended up rolling out of the training hall and down the stairs into the courtyard.
Finally, Leo decided to teach Po some basic meditation since it was clear teaching him combat wasn't working.
"Master Splinter taught us how meditating can calm and ease the mind." Leo said as they sat on their knees in the courtyard. "The first thing you need to do is clear your mind."
"Clear my mind?" Po asked.
"Yes." Leo confirmed, already closing his eyes as he began meditating. "Don't think about anything. Don't think about me, don't think about Donnie, Raph or Mikey, don't think about the Five, don't think about Shifu, or Oogway, or anyone or anything."
Po nodded, closing his eyes and attempting to meditate, slowing his breathing.
"There are no thoughts, no fears, nothing." Leo talked him through it. "Find the space between your thoughts as you focus on your own will and inner-" He was cut off when he heard the loud sounds of snoring from right in front of him.
Opening his eyes, Leo's expression turned flat as a board when he saw Po's sleeping form on the ground in front of him.
Leo sighed. "Okay, this is gonna take some time."
The sun slowly rose over the horizon, its bright rays bathing the Valley of Peace in a golden warm glow.
The geese servants were already up as they wrung the morning bell.
Inside the bunkhouse, as soon as they heard the ringing sounds of the bell, the Furious Five immediately burst out of their rooms.
"Good morning, Master." They all said simultaneously in perfect unison, as always. They stood at attention before their Master Shifu who was waiting at the end of the hallway like always.
Quickly glancing at his students to make sure they were all up, Shifu quickly noticed that five more were missing. "Panda," He grunted, only to be met with silence. "Turtles, wake up!" He then darted over to each of their doors and threw them open.
All five of them were empty.
"Hm hm hm," Shifu chuckled in satisfaction. "They've quit."
"What do we do now, Master?" Viper asked worriedly (and feeling a bit guilty for how they had mocked the Dragon Warrior and his guardians the other night) as they made their way up to the courtyard in front of the training hall. "With the Panda and the Turtles gone, who will be the Dragon Warrior and who will be their guardians?"
Shifu and Tigress looked unusually pleased, though Tigress did a bit better at hiding it than her master. "All we can do is resume our training," Shifu answered, "and trust that in time, the true Dragon Warrior and his true guardians will be revealed."
He then pushed open the courtyard doors to reveal none other than Po, his legs spread wide apart on two leg stretchers while the turtles looked exasperated.
To say that Shifu and the Furious Five were taken aback would be a massive understatement.
"WHAT ARE YOU ALL DOING HERE!?" Shifu demanded.
Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all shot to attention as they nervously bowed to the red panda.
Po, however, was forced to look over his shoulder at them. "Hey! Huh… good morning, Master! I just thought I'd warm up a little. The guys said they were gonna teach me some basics." He then tried to lift one of his legs but failed.
"You're stuck." Shifu said dryly.
"Stuck?! Whaa? Pfft… stuck… does this look stuck to you…" Po brushed off before he tried to move again, once more unsuccessfully. "Yeah, I'm stuck." He admitted.
Leo pinched the bridge between his nose while Raph face-palmed and dragged his hand down his face at how they were pretty making fools out of themselves.
"He's been stuck like this all morning." Donnie said.
"Yeah, we tried to get him off," Mikey started, "but he's just too… uh…"
"Fat?" Po asked while he and everyone else gave the party turtle deadpanned looks.
Mikey hummed, tapping his chin with his finger. "I was gonna say heavy, but that works too."
"Help him." Shifu spoke to Crane.
"Oh dear…" Crane sighed, walking up to the panda and gingerly grabbed Po's waistband. He flapped his wings as he attempted to pull the panda free. After a few pulls, he managed to yank the panda over the leg stretcher with a heavy thump.
"Thank you." Po said, getting to his feet.
"Don't mention it." Crane said dryly.
"No really, I appreci-" Po started.
"Ever." Crane interrupted, going back over to Shifu and the Five.
"You actually thought you could learn to do a full split in one night?" Shifu said to Po before turning to the turtles. "And you four thought you could teach it to him overnight?" He questioned, with the turtles unable to figure out how to respond. "It takes years to develop one's flexibility..." He then threw two wooden panels in the air, "and years longer…" Before he could even snap his fingers, Tigress was already crouched and at the ready. When he did, Tigress launched herself into the air and performed a split-kick so perfect that it would give Xever a run for his money as the panels were shattered to splinters. "... to apply it in combat."
Coming down, Tigress landed on all fours before standing up returning to Shifu's side as she glared slightly over her shoulder at her spectators.
Po looked awestruck and Leo, Raph, Donnie, and Mikey all looked very impressed, the broken chunks of wood landing all around them, a large chunk hitting Po on the head.
Still staring in awe, Po slowly reached down and picked up the chunk of wood that had hit his head, hiding it behind his back.
"Put that down!" Shifu snapped. "The only souvenirs we collect here are bloody knuckles and broken bones."
Raph smirked a little. "Alright, now you're speaking my language." He said, punching his fist into his palm while Po tossed away the chunk of wood he was holding.
Shifu smirked back. "Let's get started."
Minutes later, everyone was lined up in the courtyard as Shifu, Tigress, Raph, Donnie, Mikey, Crane, Crane, and Mantis stood to the side while Po and Leo were told to face Viper.
"Um, no offense, Master Viper," Leo spoke up as politely as he could while gripping his katana in his hands, "but you don't really have any arms."
Viper simply smirked. "Maybe I don't need arms, blue boy." She then took her stance. "Are you ready?"
"I was born ready-" Po was staying before Viper suddenly lashed out with her tail, flinging the poor panda into the air before bringing him down with a swift tail whip, causing him to land on his head.
She then ducked under a swing from Leo's sword before wrapping herself around his wrist and making him punch himself in the face. With him dazed, Viper then flipped Leo over her as he landed hard on the ground.
"Oh, I'm sorry, brothers!" Viper apologized, genuinely sounding like she felt bad for beating them into the ground in a matter of seconds. "I thought you said you were ready!"
"Note to self," Leo muttered, groaning as he held his aching head, "arms are overrated."
"That was awesome!" Po exclaimed joyfully. "Let's go again!"
Irritated, Shifu snapped his fingers to signify the next match up.
Po, now along with Donnie, was paired up against Monkey, the panda and the monkey using bamboo staffs while Donnie used his own bo-staff.
Once they were ready, the three opponents engaged in a battle of staffs.
Po was the first one to go down as he took a rather comical beating from Monkey, getting hit on both sides before actually managing to block one of Monkey's strikes.
For a moment, Po was in awe of himself that he had actually managed to block a strike before he was bashed on the head and knocked down.
Donnie, meanwhile, lasted much longer as he managed to match Monkey blow for blow with his staff. And with a quick flick of his wrist, Donnie managed to disarm Monkey of his staff, sending it flying across the courtyard.
The smart turtle then raised his staff to deliver the final blow when Monkey suddenly leapt up and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying across the courtyard, his staff slipping from his grip.
Rolling to his feet, Donnie was about to retaliate when Monkey suddenly pounced on him, knocking him down. Donnie yelped as he raised his arms to block the relentless punches Monkey dished out before the master of monkey-style grabbed him and tossed him to the other side of the courtyard.
With both of his opponents soundly defeated, Monkey walked back over to the Five while Leo, Raph, and Mikey helped the two up.
"You guys okay?" Mikey asked. "Anything hurt?"
"Just my pride." Donnie groaned, getting flashbacks to that humiliating beating he took from Dr. Rockwell in front of April. "And my internal organs."
Next up, Po matched with Crane to spar on the Jade Tortoise Shell of Wisdom. And immediately, Crane won without even having to do much of anything as Po slipped and fell into the shell, getting tossed around like a sack of soup while Crane hovered over the tortoise shell with a dull look.
Leo, Donnie, Raph, Mikey, and even Viper, Monkey, and Mantis watched while wincing at the panda's pain.
It was now late in the afternoon as the turtles all circled around Tigress with their weapons drawn while Po, Shifu, Viper, Crane, Monkey, and Mantis watched from the sidelines, the turtles having been told not to hold back.
Leo and Raph were the first to rush in as Leo threw several throwing stars at the tiger lady, who quickly dodged two of them before grabbing one in mid-air and throwing it back at him.
Leo quickly raised his katanas to block the throwing star while Raph dashed forward, swiping his sais at Tigress who easily dodged out of the way of his swings before grabbing his arm and rolling him up into a ball and then tossing him into the air.
As Raph landed roughly on the ground, Donnie lunged at her with his staff raised as he swung it several times, but Tigress would dodge each time with relative ease.
Having enough, Tigress then grabbed Donnie's staff with her paw before kicking him away.
"Booyakasha!" Mikey cried his famous catch phrase as he swung his nunchucks wildly at the tiger lady.
Viper arched a brow, a small grin on her lips. "'Booyakasha'?" She whispered to the others, sounding quite amused. "What does that even mean?"
Monkey pursed his lips. "I don't know." He whispered back. "But it sounds fun to yell."
Tigress easily dodged out of the way of Mikey's swings before using Donnie's staff (which she still had in her paws) to whack the youngest turtle across the face, stunning him before grabbing him by the shoulder and flipping him onto the ground.
Finally, Leo was the only one left as he and Tigress circled each other, his azure blue eyes meeting her glowing ember ones.
The two then rushed at each other, the two punching and kicking at each other while dodging or blocking each other's strikes.
For a while, it seemed like the two were pretty evenly matched until Leo attempted to bring down his swords on Tigress, who easily caught the steel blades in her palms like they were plastic toys, much to Leo's shock.
Before Leo could register what had just happened, Tigress kicked him in the chest, making him stagger back.
Now Leo was being put on the defensive as he was finding himself being overwhelmed by Tigress' swift kicks and punches before he was knocked to the ground bruised and battered.
The sun was now setting on the horizon as Po was now matched up with Mantis.
Before the panda knew it, he suddenly felt like he was being thrown around by an invisible force before he was thrown face first into the ground.
Shifu grinned in satisfaction, convinced that that would be enough to get the panda and his turtle companions to leave.
But his frustration only grew when Po shakily raised his fist into his palm in a salute, signifying that he wasn't down for the count just yet.
"I've been taking it easy on you, boys, but no more." Shifu said to the panda and the turtles. "Your next opponent will be me."
Leo, Donnie, Mikey, and even Raph looked a little pale about having to face Shifu himself while Po met this challenge with utter enthusiasm.
"Alright, yeah, let's go!" The panda exclaimed, getting up.
The Furious Five exchanged slightly concerned glances as their master stepped up to face his opponents.
Even Tigress had to admit that while the panda was clumsy and idiotic, he sure could take a lot of punishment and still get back up. And for that… she couldn't help but actually admire him a bit for that, as much as she hated to admit it. The same could be said about his guardians as they were clearly not unskilled, and they showed much experience in their movements, but not enough to match the likes of them.
"Step forth!" Shifu ordered them.
The turtles hesitantly drew their weapons again as they along with Po faced off against the red panda.
Before they could do anything, the turtles suddenly found their weapons being knocked from their grips. And before any of them could register what just happened, Shifu already had them gathered up into a small pile, twirling them over his back before throwing them into the wall.
As the turtles collapsed in a dizzying pile of tangled green limbs, Po was suddenly snatched by Shifu and spun around in the air. "The path to victory is to find your opponent's weakness and make him suffer for it." Shifu said, locking Po's arm behind him while standing on his back.
"Oh ho, yeah!" Po said, in pain, but delighted.
"Is he nuts?" Crane whispered worriedly.
"I'm starting to think so." Mantis whispered back.
"To take his strength…" Shifu then flipped Po over and threw him on his back, "... and use it against him…" He then delivered a series of swift kicks to the panda's chin before throwing him to the ground again. "... until he finally falls, or quits." He then pinned Po down and pulled the panda's head up by his nostrils.
While Shifu's words were meant to be deterring, Po felt incredibly inspired instead. "But a real warrior never quits!" He told Shifu, his voice sounding incredibly nasal. "Don't worry, Master, I will never quit!"
Shifu's rage was palpable as tension radiated throughout his small body. He clenched his teeth before he flung Po into the air and with a sharp side-kick, he sent the panda flying back out the doors of the gate and down the long thousand-step stairs that led all the way back down to the Valley.
Getting up, the turtles along with the Furious Five came out the doors and watched as Po helplessly bounced down the stairs.
"Ooh…" Was all Leo, Donnie, Raph, and Mikey could say, for like the hundredth time that day wincing at the panda's pain.
"If he's smart, he won't come back up those steps." Tigress murmured.
"But he will." Monkey said, meeting her gaze before returning to focus on the bouncing black and white blob.
Tigress rolled her eyes before heading back into the courtyard.
Raph shook his head slightly as he watched her go. Geez, he wasn't sure if he was gonna hit her or he was beginning to like her. In a lot of ways, she reminded him of Mona Lisa.
"He's not gonna quit, is he?" Viper asked.
"He's not gonna quit bouncing, I can tell ya that." Mantis chuckled only to be silenced by a stern hiss from Viper.
Mikey winced as Po bounced on his head again. "Ooh, he's gonna feel that in the morning."
"Not to worry, I'm a doctor." Mantis said as Crane and Monkey headed back inside.
"You are?" Donnie asked, sounding a bit skeptical.
"Yep, was one before I joined the Five."
"No you weren't." Viper said. "You said so yourself when Tigress brought us all back to the Palace."
"Well, I'm the closest thing we have to a real doctor at the moment." Mantis stated. "Besides, I'm not that bad with acupuncture."
"If you don't mind me saying, I'm actually pretty experienced in medical attention myself." Donnie spoke up.
Mantis and Viper both looked rather surprised before nodding.
Leo sighed tiredly. "Well, c'mon. Let's go get him."
