TMNT

Mutant Kunoichi

A girl from our world is somehow transported to the TMNT world, where she is subjected to becoming a mutant not in body, but in spirit. Protected by the turtles, and hunted by Foot Clan, will she find protection or even love?

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

You Can Do It

"Dinner's ready!" Michelangelo's voice rang throughout the lair. I heard it from in my room, where I was…meditating. Yes, I had started doing that recently, because the turtles and Master Splinter did it. I didn't want to feel left out, and I also found it was a great way to calm down and relax. Now, however, I uncrossed my legs and stood up, realizing I'd been in the same position for at least an hour.

Stretching, I made my way over to the door, and went out into the main part of the lair. The turtle's lair is really as awesome as it seems in the TV series, maybe even more so. I'd been in some of the other rooms before – we talked of very important things in Master Splinter's room, Mikey had asked for help picking out a DVD in his room (his room has orange everywhere – he reminds me of Naruto) and when I'd asked Don if he had a book on American history since I was taking it at school and didn't know a thing about it he'd said I could borrow the book and told me it was in his room and to go and get it (Don's room has purple everywhere, and he's taking care of many exotic-looking plants as well).

Mikey was already seated at the table, as were Master Splinter, Don and Raphael. I stopped at the head of the table. "Ah, pizza…again." I said, looking at the already opened boxes.

"Mmhmm. Pepperoni." Don clarified.

"Well, good thing I'm hungry." I muttered, about to sit down.

"But where is Leonardo?" Master Splinter wondered. "Could one of you kindly go and remind him that dinner is ready?" The elderly rat helped himself to a slice of pizza, as did I.

I glanced at the other three turtles. They were faster than I. They already had the pizza in their mouths.

I sighed. "Mikey, can you please go?" The pizza smelled so good – and the cheese was extra stringy today.

"Mm-fmmm-hfm?" He'd taken the world's biggest bite.

Rolling my eyes, I set down my slice of pizza, giving them all a 'you touch it and you die' look, before walking away from the table and toward where Leo's room was. I had to climb up a flight of stairs, and then turn right and I was at Leo's door, which was pulled to.

I knocked lightly on the door. "Leo?" I called softly.

"Come in." The eldest of the turtles said.

I pushed the door open, and found Leo kneeling on a light blue cushion. On the ground before him was the naginata from April's shop. I was surprised to see it there. "Umm, didn't you give that back to April yet?" I asked cautiously, edging into Leo's room. It's got shades of blue everywhere, and there are various Kanji symbols decorating the place, which is pretty cool.

"She said she didn't want it back," Leo explained, glancing at me (I looked away).

"What?" I was stunned. "How could you not want it back, it's like the coolest samurai weapon ever…well, except for the samurai sword of course…" Saying that made me think about Miyamoto Usagi, and whether or not the turtles had met the young rabbit samurai yet. And that, of course, made me think about the whole Battle Nexus thing, and the whole 'Ultimate Ninja tries to kill Leonardo' thing. "Hey, Leo, can I ask you something?" I said.

"Sure." Leo said, standing up.

"Did you…ever get challenged by a guy with red hair calling himself the Ultimate Ninja?" I asked, all in a rush.

Leo fixed me with his piercing stare. "Yes…why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason," I said quickly. "Just…you only met him the one time, right?" I wanted to know.

He nodded.

Oh great, I thought worriedly. Is this AU or what? Now we'll probably end up going through the four 'Big Brawl' episodes while I'm here…on the one hand, I wanna meet Usagi, but on the OTHER hand…I wonder if the Daimyo knows what's in store for his son…? He'd worry if he did…

"Emma, what are you thinking?" Leo was standing closer to me now.

I shook my head to clear it. "I'm just…wondering…how much my parents are worrying about me right now, you know? Like, I won't be thinking about it, then suddenly I'll wonder if they wonder about me, and worry that I'm alright…we may argue sometimes…well, a lot, but…you know…?"

"Yeah," Leo nodded sagely. "I do. Don't worry, Emma, I'm sure we'll figure out how to get you home soon."

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I love being here!" I said earnestly. "You guys are awesome, you seem to…don't take this the wrong way…but you guys function better as a family than mine did, I wish I was…" I broke off suddenly, blushing.

Leo realized what I'd been about to say, and smiled gently. "Well, for now, you can be an honorary member of our family…if you want to, that is."

My eyes sparkled suddenly. "Really? Wow, cool! Anything I should know?"

Leo nodded, serious suddenly. "Yeah…the only rule in this family is that you have to follow your own pace…and just be yourself."

I cocked my head to one side. "Just be myself?" I repeated. Leo nodded. "So…it's okay for me to watch heaps of anime, draw manga all the time, read more books than all of you combined, play video games, rollerblade, speak in Japanese, meditate, be fascinated by ninjitsu, not know how to cook and alter my personality to fit the situation! ?"

Leo blinked. "Ah, well, I'm not so sure about the not knowing how to cook part (I think you'll at least need to learn how to make pizza) but the rest of it…" He looked right into my eyes. "Is fine, as long as it's who you are."

"Arigatou, Leo!" I exclaimed, hugging him suddenly.

He seemed surprised at first, but then hugged me back, and whispered in my ear: "Welcome to the family, Em."

We suddenly broke apart then, realizing what we were doing. My face must've looked like a stop light…and…was it just my imagination, or was there a faint pink blush on Leo's face? Nah, just my imagination, I'm sure.

"This is the best pizza EVER!" We suddenly heard Michelangelo exclaim from downstairs, which reminded me of my hunger.

"Oh no, I bet he ate my slice of pizza too!" I yelped, and ran out of Leo's room to the railing. I looked down at the kitchen table. "Mikey!"

"Hiya!"

"Kiya!"

I watched as Leo and Raphael clashed with each other, appreciating the sound of the katana blade on the sai. If it was a dance, then I'd have to say the choreography was most excellent. You could tell just by watching them spar with each other that they were top-form ninjas. Their bandanas swirled around them, one like fire and one like water. Master Splinter, Don and Mikey (hanging upside-down by one foot) watched the session from the sidelines.

Of course, none of them knew that I was watching them – I'd said I was going to my room, but had come out to get a cup of green tea. I was now watching through the space in the door, gazing at the training session with uncurbed curiosity.

I've always been a big fan of ninjas and martial arts. The whole concept behind it, plus being able defend oneself from people with…immoral intentions. It is my deepest, darkest fear, beyond anything else, to be attacked by a man who wants to…well, you know. As I watched them fight, I saw Raphael execute a kick I recognized as a Roundhouse Kick. I'd seen my cousin do it before (he was allowed to take martial arts lessons, and became a black belt, only then he had to go and give the whole thing up, find a girlfriend and have a kid). Leo was unable to dodge the kick, and only just managed to block it with his arms, but he was still pushed back a fair ways.

I glanced to my left and to my right, feeling my heart begin to hammer in my chest. I hate doing things I don't know how to do, even if there's nobody watching. Trying to fight the feelings of self-consciousness that were welling up inside of me, I assumed the fighting stance – I turned my right side to my invisible opponent, and placed my feet apart at shoulder width. My knees I bent slightly, and tried to keep the weight to the balls of my feet. I brought my hands up into a guard position, just for good measures.

Okay, I thought, breathing steadily. Now, what did Raphael do next…?

A little voice in the back of my mind seemed to answer me. Bend your front knee and raise it as high as you can – point your toes towards the floor.

Deciding to humor the voice a little bit, I did so, and was surprised when I was able to get that done easily – I've never been very good at kicking.

Now, pivot your back foot so your toes are pointed away from your body, and allow your knee and bent leg to become perpendicular to your supporting leg. Now, extend your foot, and your leg and foot will automatically follow a straight line from your knee. Go ahead, do it now.

I did as I was told, and was immensely surprised when I was able to do it. Then, I didn't just drop my foot, I retracted it back into the cocked position before returning it to the floor.

I blinked in surprise. "Go me…" I whispered, before returning to my earlier spying session, unawares that someone was watching me watch them.

Later that evening, I came out of my room to find just Michelangelo there. "Where is everyone?" I wanted to know.

"Out on patrol." He said, a little grumpily. He was sitting on the couch, watching some Japanese anime with subtitles. I was surprised to find that I could vaguely understand what was going on, even without the subtitles. Well, it was Naruto Shippuden. Anyone who's a Narutoian can understand that.

"You didn't go with them?" I asked him, leaning my arms over the couch back next to him.

He shrugged. "They said I had to stay behind and keep an eye on things."

Ah, now I understood the grumpy attitude. Mikey was being forced to stay behind and keep an eye on me, while he'd probably rather be out keeping an eye on the city.

I eyed the TV screen. "Nice Roundhouse Kick." I commented casually.

"Yeah…" Mikey muttered.

"Michelangelo!" I exclaimed. "Don't say 'yeah'! That was a Side Kick, not a Roundhouse Kick, and you know it!"

"Yeah, whatever." Mikey sighed, and got up off the couch as the ending credits came on.

I was confused as to why he wasn't in a good mood, and then I realized that the ending credits were one of my all-time favourite songs, U Can Do It.

http: /www. /watch?v= IgLivUqj77A& feature= related

I began to sing along with the song:

Shiranai wo riyuu ni nigete bakari de

raku na michi wo susumu no wa kantan da yo ne

demo ima dake no kono isshun wa

dare no mono demo nai yo

What's going on, What's going on

chiisaikoro ni egaiteta

naritai jibun ni naru tame ni

nani shite nani wo mirebaii notte

mayocchau toki mo aru yo ne

dakedo

(Anytime) kitto ima daiji na mono

(Anytime) sore wa koko ni aru kara

(Anytime) kowagaranai de sono mama

ikou shinjite

shiranai wo riyuu ni nigete bakari de

raku na michi wo susumu no wa kantan da yo ne

demo ima dake no kono isshun wa

dare no mono demo nai yo

What's going on, What's going on

Hey, I think U can do it!

yoku mimi wo sumasete kimi wo yobu hou e

biru no aida no aida made sagashite mite yo

mitsukaru yo kitto

jibun wo ugokasu nanika…

Just like before, my voice seemed to shimmer and ring. I was so impressed by it myself (unable to believe that it was really me singing) that I didn't even realise that Michelangelo had come back into the room and heard me singing, until he was standing right beside me.

"Eek!" I cried, jumping to one side. "Mikey! Don't sneak upon me!"

Mikey grinned apologetically. "Sorry Em, it's kind of a ninja thing…" His sky blue eyes were shining, though, and he seemed really happy again. "Em, Keno was right, you can sing!"

I blushed, but grinned. "You weren't supposed to hear any of that…I get really shy…I don't like people looking at me when I'm doing something…"

"Is that why you were spying on our training session?" Mikey asked, not unkindly.

I gasped. "You…you saw that! ?" Oh damn, did he see my miserable attempt at a Roundhouse Kick, too! ?

Mikey shrugged. "Not much to do when you're hanging by your ankle…speaking of which, was that your first time…you know…?"

I sighed. I knew what he meant. "Well…yes…did it show?" I asked meekly.

Mikey grinned. "No, actually, you did it perfectly!"

My eyes widened, and then I ducked my head and blushed. "Don't tell the others, okay?"

Mikey said: "Okay, but you should ask Master Splinter to train you, Ems."

I shook my head. "Oh no, I could never ask that of him, you guys are doing enough as it is and, besides, I've got my school to worry about…"

It was Mikey's turn to sigh, and suddenly I guessed the reason for his mood earlier on. "Hey, don't worry about it, Mikey," I said, touching his shoulder gently. "We can still hang out after school – and you can watch over me when I'm at school, like they said."

Mikey grinned. "Yeah, I guess so…hey, wanna play a round of Super Fabio Bros. before I have to take you over to April's?" I was going to be spending the night at April's, so as to be ready first thing tomorrow morning. I was feeling slightly excited and very nervous, especially about walking to school with Danny – remember, I'm shy!

I grinned at Mikey's suggestion, however. "Yeah, sounds great. You'll lose, mochiron." I added, and watched determination light up his eyes.

"You're on, dudette!" He exclaimed.

"Bring it, dude!" I replied.