Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Severed
Ninjara's Story, Black Swan
Chapter II – Turn Your Back
"Really? Seriously?! How the hell can you have hit me with that knife!? I was across the damn map!" Cursed Akiro through the Xbox 360 headset as he sat with his legs crossed in the living room while playing Modern Warfare 2. Ninjara poked her head into the room from the kitchen with a raised eyebrow,
"You okay over there, Akiro?" She asked.
"HAX!" Akiro yelled, mashing buttons on the controller in his hand. Ninjara let out a chuckle and returned to her work in the kitchen, chopping vegetables on the red formica counter-top for dinner. Nearby at the kitchen table sat her grandmother, making her play in a game of Go.
"It is your move, Umeko."
Ninjara set down the knife in her hand and looked at the board, something was greatly amiss.
"Grandmother?"
"Yes, my dear?"
"How did you get to that end of the board already?"
"It's called cheating, my dear."
They both laughed. Even though the woman was blind and near crippled, she still showed the vigour or a woman half her age; and being able to play Go while lacking vision was something Ninjara could not fathom, her grandmother was as mysterious as always.
"Shall we play again, grandmother?"
"No, my child. I think I am good for now, I shall just sit here and rest my weary bones. It has been a long day."
Ninjara nodded, returning to her work on making dinner for her family.
Plans had changed since the arrival to her home, the chief of Akluitok had to postpone the engagement dinner until tomorrow evening; so it was up to Ninjara to prepare a meal for everyone. Mokoshan would be no help, he was busying himself with putting winter tires on the Explorer. Ninjara figured he was just dealing with some comfort issues around her family but would adjust in time. She didn't mind the work, she had become quite the culinary wizard and was planning on making a hearty stew and homemade biscuits for dinner.
"OWNED!" Akiro yelled from the living room, making Ninjara chuckle again and her grandmother let out a sigh.
"Akiro!" The old woman said, "Keep it to a dull roar if you please!"
"Sorry, grandmother." The young man replied as Naga walked into the kitchen.
"As if we don't have to hear that at home enough, he has to bring it with him." Naga noted as he took a seat at the table with his grandmother. "Smells good, Umeko. When are we eating?"
"When it's ready." Ninjara replied, popping a piece of carrot into her mouth. "Where is Tetsuma? She was supposed to help me."
"Shower." Was Naga's answer, thrusting his thumb back in the direction of the bathroom deeper in the house. He then looked down at the Go board on the table, "Grandmother cheat you, Umeko?"
Ninjara just smiled, everything was perfect. Her siblings and grandmother seemed to be not just adjusting to the home that she and Mokoshan shared, but to life in the modern world. Though the fox-people had continued a traditional way of life after their existence was revealed to the humans, they adopted things such as electricity and brand names with ease; if only the wolf-people had been so lucky. Ninjara could not shake the image from her head of the shock Tetsuma and Akiro displayed upon the sight of a homeless wolf-man in the streets of Akluitok earlier.
She shook off the thought and tossed a stalk of celery in Naga's direction, the young man barely managed to catch it as Ninjara laughed.
"Well since your sister is busy, you can do some work around here."
"I thought we were guests, Umeko-chan?" Naga said with tongue poked out.
"Love, love, love, I want your love..." Elsewhere in the house, Tetsuma sang as the hot water from the shower loosened tense muscles after a long trip. With a handful of conditioner, she ran her thin fingers through her short red hair; eyes closed as water flowed over her slender body. "I want your love and all your lover's revenge, hmm-hmm..."
Satisfied and soaking wet, Tetsuma turned off the shower and let out a long relaxed sigh as she stepped out of the shower and into the steam filled bathroom; face-to-face with Mokoshan who held out a towel to the girl.
"Mokoshan!" Tetsuma squeaked, standing there nude before the giant wolf.
"I am sorry, Tetsuma." He said with a smirk. "I did not realize anyone was in here before it was too late."
The fox-woman just stood there stunned for a moment as Mokoshan's eyes glanced up and down her body.
"I...I was sure I locked the door..." She stuttered.
"Ah, well sometimes that lock doesn't always work." Mokoshan noted, his eyes drifting lower and lower. Finally Tetsuma snatched the towel from the man, trying to cover herself as quickly as possible as water dribbled onto the blue bathmat.
"It's my fault, I am sorry..." Tetsuma said as she tried to avoid eye-contact with the wolf-man. Mokoshan then took a step forward, causing Tetsuma to jump.
"Nothing to be sorry about, young one. We're almost family..." His hand reached out again and Tetsuma was stricken with sudden fear. She wanted to back away but was frozen in place; her throat was tight—unable to speak as Mokoshan's large paw clasped upon your shoulder. "And family should never hide anything from each other, am I correct?"
All she could do was nod. His hand moved along her shoulder, thumb raised to her cheek to stroke her wet fur.
"You are even more beautiful than your sister." Mokoshan said with a large grin. "I bet many a man been smitten."
Maybe he was just being kind, Tetsuma thought. There was so much she didn't know about the ways of the wolf-people, maybe it was just his way? Then why was she so scared? She could only manage to say,
"Th-thank you, Mokoshan."
"You're shivering." He said, his hand sliding off her shoulder and down her arm.
"I'm cold." She didn't even have time to cover herself yet. This hand found her back, traveling lower still until he roughly grabbed one of her buttocks.
"Such a beautiful girl..." He whispered as his face neared hers. Finally, that was enough to snap Tetsuma out of her fear; she stepped back quickly out of his grasp and got the towel around her body.
"Thank you again, Mokoshan; but I should get dressed and help Umeko-chan with dinner."
"Yes." The wolf-man said, also stepping back. "I am sorry to have intruded, I am just so used to it being only Umeko and I here."
So it was just a mistake? An innocent intention?
"It's ok, Maksohan." She said, nodding to him.
The man looked her up and down once more, smiled and then left. As soon as the bathroom door closed, Tetsuma rushed over and made sure the door was locked before collapsing to the bathroom floor; hugging herself and continuing to shiver.
He seemed innocent, but the way he looked at her...the way he touched her. Tetsuma's stomach churned as she replayed every moment in her head a thousand times over; analyzing possible reasons. Logic dictated that Mokoshan was a creep; but the other part of her—the side where Umeko told stories of a romantic and passionate man. A man who provided a home and food for them all to enjoy; no, it had to have been a mistake. An innocent mistake from a different culture.
At least that's what Tetsuma convinced herself.
When it was finally time for dinner, Tetsuma pushed the thought to the back of her head as they all sat around the kitchen table and enjoyed Umeko's home cooking. Caribou stew, biscuits, salad and apple crisp for dessert. They talked about the upcoming wedding, the eventual birth of Ninjara and Mokoshan's child, history of their races and a lot of joking around. Tetsuma had given into the humor and made quips of her own; though Naga seemed to be the only one not in the mood for laughter as he leaned back in his chair with arms crossed over his chest.
"Sorry it was not much of a dinner." Ninjara said, standing up to collect the dishes. "I promise tomorrow when you meet Mokoshan's uncle and family it will be a meal unlike you have ever tasted."
"It's fine, my dear." Mitsuko said. "It was hot and delicious, what more could one ask for?"
"Well Mokoshan could help his future wife with the dishes." Naga blurted out, causing everyone to go silent until Mitusko hissed,
"Naga! Mind your manners, we are guests in their home!"
"I am just saying, grandmother. She is pregnant and should not be doing all this work."
"It's fine, Naga." Ninjara stated as she set the dishes in the sink. "Mokoshan works hard enough to support us, it is the least I can do."
"Whatever, I'm going for a walk." Naga said, standing up and grabbing his coat from the back of the chair he once sat upon. Ninjara spun around from the sink and glared at her younger brother.
"What is your problem, Naga?"
"I am sorry, Umeko-chan." The fox said. "I did not mean to sound rude. I just need to stretch my legs."
His apology was of course half-hearted, anyone could sense that but no one pressed the issue further.
"Alright." Ninjara nodded. "Just be careful, it's late and you don't know the village too well. I'll leave the backdoor unlocked for you."
Naga nodded, taking his leave of them.
"That boy is some kind of trouble." Mitsuko noted, taking a sip of her post-dinner tea.
"Do you know what's wrong with him, grandmother?" Ninjara asked as she sat back down in her chair beside Mokoshan. "I never remembered Naga being so...angry, before."
"He believes the world has wrong him in some way." Her grandmother said. "Since we are no longer a secret to the humans, he fears that soon we will all become slaves to them. A few years ago, Naga got the same wanderlust you did my child and went to explore the world. What he found was not wonder, but instead suffering. He fell in with a bad crowd."
"What kind of bad crowd?" Ninjara asked, resting her hand on Mokoshan's leg.
"Just people angry with the state of the world." Mitsuko replied. "People who think the world is without hope and already lost, a group called the Red Dawn."
"I have heard of them." Mokoshan said. "A pro-mutant group supporting equal rights with humans; though most people have labeled them as terrorists. There's even talks that they were responsible for the hotel bombing in Indonesia last year."
"Bullshit." Akiro blurted.
"Language, Akiro!" His grandmother hissed, shaking her cane in his direction.
"He's right, grandmother." Ninjara said. "Naga may be angry, but I doubt he's in league with a bunch of lunatic suicide bombers."
"As I stated before, Umeko..." Mitsuko closed her eyes in thought. "The world is changing all around us, we all cope in different ways. While you have found love and have a family in the works, Naga has found nothing but pain in this world. It is yin and yang."
Naga had departed, not hearing any of the present conversation; but his own thoughts were not much different as he walked through the unpaved streets of Akluitok. This village was a prime example of why humans could not be trusted. Everywhere Naga looked he could see homes in disrepair, garbage from fast food restaurants littering the streets and graffiti upon various buildings. A once proud people; as Ninjara had told him, more or less enslaved my humans.
He had seen it the world over. Japan was better than most, but in third world countries the mutants were either killed or jailed. Naga thought about his time in Nigeria with the Red Dawn. The locals had found a group of mutant Hyenas. Though not as advanced as the fox or wolf-people, the hyenas were still sentient. They were all executed, 15 in total. Men, woman and children were beheaded, some dragged through the streets and others...
A shiver ran down Naga's spine. The Red Dawn was traveling the globe looking to recruit mutants when they heard of the hyenas; the arrived too late to save them. A Nigerian tribe killed them and ate some of them, hoping to gain the hyenas power. Naga would never forget that day, finding a child no older than 5 years-old, mutilated and strung up from a post. The Nigerians called them monsters, but Naga saw it the other way.
He shook his head and continued his walk, arriving in the downtown area of Akluitok. Neon lights from various bar signs bathed him in light and close by a truck farted out a cloud of diesel exhaust that stung his nostrils. With every person he passed, Naga got a stare. The village folk were a mixture of wolf-people and human, the human portion made up mostly of indigenous natives. They viewed Naga as strange, most certainly not a wolf. He found it strange that even those of his own kind would look upon him like a freak, a stranger in a strange land.
Suddenly, Naga felt ill; he needed to get off the street. I t was if the weight of the world suddenly fell on his chest, crushing his lungs and causing him to gasp for more of that polluted air. He pushed by a man holding his hand out for change and into one of the many local bars. The smell was not better here, a mix of acrid cigarette smoke, alcohol drenched wooden floors and urine. Naga pinched the bridge of his snout and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to steady his nerves.
In here, no one stared. They were too involved with drowning themselves in Jack Daniels and Budweiser. Naga felt a sudden release of anxiety, and decided it was best to sit at the bar to relax. Where men drank to rid themselves or their worries, Naga was inconspicuous among them; just another lost soul.
"Something wrong, pal?" Came a voice from behind the bar. Naga waved a dismissive hand and the voice then said, "Well you gonna get something to drink, or what?"
"Beer." Naga muttered, leaving the bartender to fetch a random bottle and set it before the fox.
"Four bucks."
Naga fished into his coat and revealed his wallet, thumbing through a wad of crisp twenty dollar bills before settling on a ten. He placed the money on the bar,
"Keep the change." Naga took a pull from the bottle, the stale taste offending his tongue as he forced himself to swallow.
He was happy for his sister, Umeko. She seemed content, though Naga didn't really like Mokoshan much. The wolf seemed...wrong. Mokoshan seemed to know what to say when it was supposed to be said, faked hospitality. Naga could see right through him, the wolf-man was just like all the other mutants and animal-born; he had given up and let humankind take over. Not just take over, but a complete hand-over of his heritage and his pride.
And the way the bastard looked at Tetsuma, when Mokoshan thought no one else had noticed. Naga took another sip of the beer, focusing on that one fact. Their host was not to be trusted, and if he made any advance towards Tetsuma...
Naga set the beer down and let out a sigh. Well this was a waste of time, he thought to himself. Yet there Naga remained for the next hour and a half, drinking the one beer and lost in thought.
Back at the house, Ninjara and her family had settled in for the night. Ninjara slipped into flannel pajamas and slid into bed next to Mokoshan.
"I hope he's okay out there." Ninjara said of her brother.
"I'm sure he's fine." Mokoshan assured her. "Doesn't seem to like me much, does he?"
"It'll just take some time." Ninjara replied, furrowing her brow. "My people are not like yours, Mokoshan. They are still adjusting to the outside world, and it seems like Naga has seen more bad than good from it..."
"...last call!" The bartender announced, snapping Naga out of his thoughts. The fox stood to his feet and walked towards the exit, ready to go back home. Not the place he was staying, but home in Japan. How he missed the misty forests of the protected island the fox-people.
Stepping into the street, a cold wind whipped up his long-coat. Naga fought with the fabric, stepping into a nearby alley to take shelter from the sudden gale. Flurries surrounded him, the first sign of winter in Alaska, one of the coldest places on Earth. Naga frowned, he hated the cold. Turning to make his way back onto the street to fight through the wind and snow to get back; he was greeted by four men.
"Hello there stranger." Said the smallest of them, a human in the most ridiculous fur hat Naga had ever seen. "Ain't seen you around here before."
Behind the man to his left was a wolf-man, almost as big as Mokoshan; with grey fur and wearing a bulky parka that must have at one point been a tent in a circus. To the right, another wolf; this one smaller—though it was like comparing a mini-van to a 4x4 truck when sizing up the two wolves. The last sat off to the far right, sitting on garbage bin; another human. This one was a native to area and his face must have seen the wrong end of a broken beer bottle at some point.
Naga frowned.
"I'm not from here."
"We gathered." The hat wearer said, stepping closer to Naga. "Something you need to know about this place, though. We're kinda poor folk."
One of the wolf-men chuckled as Naga said,
"I'm sorry about that."
"Ain't nothing to be sorry about, boy. Just me an' the fellas here couldn't help but notice you're not doing too bad for yourself...carrying a fat wallet an' all."
"You an' the fellas, huh?" Naga repeated. "I always wondered what happened to the Lil' Rascals."
The comment was a self-defence mechanism, a way to not appear weak in front of these people. The apparent leader wasn't amused,
"Well what have we 'ere fellas? The fuzzy Will Ferrell!"
"I don't want any trouble." Naga stressed.
"Oh, ain't no trouble boy. Just hand over 'yer wallet and we'll be on our way..."
"...maybe I should go find him." Ninjara stated as she rolled over in the dark, first looking at the digital clock and then to Mokoshan. The wolf gave a snort, half-asleep;
"You're worrying too much, he seems like the sort who would stay out of trouble. Just leave it be and go back to sleep."
Ninjara sat up and reached over to turn on the bedside lamp.
"Mokoshan." She seemed annoyed. "You know as well as I do there's some bad people out there, especially at this time of night. The last thing I want is for him to get hurt."
"You make it sound like he can't protect himself." Mokoshan said as he rubbed his eyes.
"He can't! Every since we were kids, Naga was always picked on by others because he was small. There were a couple times when I had to save his butt..."
"...I don't want to hurt you." Naga said as he backed up from the group of men.
"Hurt? Us?" The man in the furry hat laughed, "Boy, we ain't worried about you hurting us."
The biggest of the wolves had found a length of wood, large enough to break bones with a solid hit. Naga scowled, he had backed himself into a dead end alley; finally understanding the etymology of the phrase. Scar-face had hopped off the garbage bin and produced a butterfly knife, flicking it open with a series of clicks.
"The wallet. Give it up." He said, pushing past the man in the hat and into Naga's face. "Unless of course you want to end up a rug in my trailer."
Naga punched the man in the face, just like that. A straight shot to the bridge of the man's nose sent the human to his knees. The fox was fast, he had also managed to disarm the man; flicking the butterfly knife closed in his furry paw.
"I warned you..."
"...Umeko, there's something I wanted to tell you." Mokoshan said, letting out a yawn. Ninjara was by the window, staring off into the snow that began to fall.
"Hrm?"
"You little sister and I, well there was an awkward moment today."
Ninjara spun around and quirked a brow,
"What do you mean?"
"Well..." Mokoshan propped himself up on his elbows, "...I accidentally walked in on her showering earlier today, the door was unlocked. Well that was pretty awkward, but maybe you should keep an eye on her."
"She seemed okay at dinner, so she must have realized it was an accident."
"Well, she acted a little weird to me. I think she was coming onto me, she said she didn't mind me walking in on her..."
"...well what are you waiting for?!" Scar-face said as he clutched his shattered nose, "Get him!"
They tried.
The largest wolf came at him first, swinging the length of wood. Naga side-stepped in the narrow alley, his left foot stomping against the brick wall of the bar and giving him leverage to leap up, spin around and land a whirling 540 kick to the wolf-man's mouth. Teeth were broken, and the wolf let out a howl of pain; that was interrupted when when Naga did not stop his attack. Upon landing, Naga axe-kicked, first bringing his foot down on the held board and snapping it in two, then twisting around he shot his foot out once more—this time finding home against the wolf's windpipe; thus ending all screams from him.
Somehow the other wolf managed to get behind Naga, tackling the fox and lifting him off his feet. The wolf swung Naga around like a plastic bag in the wind; but the fox kept his composure—feet again finding a wall and pushing himself off of it and over the wolf, breaking his hold on Naga. As the fox tumbled over the wolf, Naga kicked as hard as he could against the back of the man's head; sending the attacker face first into the opposite wall and knocking the wolf unconscious...
...Ninjara couldn't believe what she was hearing,
"She said that? Why that little..."
"Not to worry, Mooneyes." Mokoshan assured her as he leaned across the bed and touched Ninjara's arm. "I told her my love is only for you. She's probably just jealous you managed to find a man like me."
"Well someone's awfully full of themselves." Ninjara laughed as she plopped back down into bed. "Still, maybe I should talk to her?"
"No, no..." Mokoshan stammered, "...it was innocent, I assure you. No need to cause any drama, right? I just wanted to let you know, and there are no worries."
"Right." Ninjara said flatly, once again peering to the window. "Well, I still think we should go find Naga..."
"...he's just one guy!" The scarred man yelled, only to be silenced with a sudden leaping knee thrust to his jaw that sent the man sprawling.
The man in the furred hat had found himself a weapon of his own, brandishing a pipe.
"Come on you mutant bastard! You want a piece of me?! Huh!? Get some you son of a bitch! I ain't afraid of you!"
Naga walked towards the trembling man, slow and with intent to harm. The man lunged forward and took a swing, but it went wide; giving Naga more than enough opportunity to catch the man's incoming arm. With a series of quick and simple motions, Naga first disarmed the man, locked up the offending arm and then broke it. The man screamed, piercing the night with his cries—Naga wasn't finished. He continued to twist, kicking out the man's legs to snap the arm in another location; this time the break was visible as it pierced through the man's skin. Another scream and finally Naga reversed his momentum; the ensuing pop of a separated shoulder was almost as loud as the cries of pain. The fox let the man fall in a heap upon the ground next to his friends.
The fox dusted off his jacket, spitting on the fallen.
"I told you, I didn't want to fight."
The only rebuttal Naga received were the groans of the fallen men, suddenly interrupted by red and blue flashing lights followed by the wail of a police siren.
"Don't move! Hands above your head, on your knees!" Someone barked, but Naga could not see the source of the voice as headlights blinded him. "I said get down on your knees!"
"But they..." Naga started but he quickly stopped, he had just beat the holy hell out four men, four local men. This outsider had bested probable friends of the police officers now shouting at him. Naga let out a hiss between pursed lips and fell to his knees, interlocking his fingers behind his head.
Umeko was not going to be pleased.
Author's Notes
So, chapter 2 of Ninjara's story and what can be said about it? Umeko should be used to dysfunctional families by now considering she was rooming with the turtles for a number of years.
Don't worry, some main TMNT character references are on the way. I just really wanted to stress how screwed up this small Alaskan village and its inhabitants have become due to the presence of humans.
We're also getting into some risque themes here, just a warning. This ain't 4Kids TMNT.
And yes, Tetsuma is singing that blasted Lady Gaga song. Oh how I loathe that song.