A/N: Y'all have no idea how much information I looked up about all these weapons! I feel like I know everything now about the Kusari-gama. Also, the turtles are 18 in this, just to clarify. ;)

Chapter Seven

Scarlett's P.O.V.

I stayed with the Turtles and Splinter for a little while longer before leaving to go to my apartment. It was around lunch time when I got there, and Gabby asked me how the class was. I wasn't quite sure what to reply since we really hadn't done anything training-wise, so I just said that we'd gone around in a circle and told our names and interests.

We both went out to lunch and did some shopping afterward, arriving back around 3:00. I was tired from the long day I'd had, and Gabby was knocked out as well. The rest of the day was spent with Gabby searching around the hotel and all the neat things it had. There was a ballroom, dining rooms, and many other nice things. I thought that the Park Central Hotel was going to be dilapidated and not in good shape, but it was actually the nicest hotel I'd ever been in. The modern touches with the old vintage styles gave the decor and layout of it a nice touch. Gabby and I both were just in awe of the beauty of the hotel.

We both ate dinner in the hotel café, which was amazing, and then came back, took showers, and went to bed. I had no idea what I was in for with the Turtles the next day, but I was sure that whatever it was, it would be absolutely stupendous.


"I heard yesterday that you play soccer, Scarlett. For how long?" Master Splinter asked me.

"I started kicking around the ball in my yard and scoring on my Paw-paw when I was three but got on a team in first grade. And I've played ever since."

"Good, because no physical training before Ninjutsu can really be harmful and nearly impossible for the body. What sort of things do you see yourself accomplishing in Ninjutsu?"

"Well, I really just wanna find some peace with myself over school and whatnot. Also, self-defense and to get in shape before soccer season."

"Alright, today I was going to try you out on a weapon. Would you like that?"

"A weapon?!" I gasped. "Kinda like Raph and Mikey and the rest?"

He laughed. "Yes, everyone gets their own weapon."

"Yay!" I squealed.

"I will try you out on many different ones and see which weapon you are most comfortable fighting with. Let's go ahead and begin warm-ups."


After warm-ups, Sensei tried me out on all of the guy's weapons, except Mikey. Double Katana blades were a bit tricky for me, then he tried me on just a single blade and I did better, but still didn't feel very comfortable with the swinging. Next, he tried me on the Sais. Some part of me wanted Raphael's weapon terribly, just to show him I could, but I couldn't. I only spin them around on my fingers and jab them with great force only no accuracy whatsoever, which is what Master Splinter had said.

Thirdly, he tried me on Donnie's Bo staff. I was actually really good with the staff, and he complimented me on how well I could spin and whack it. My Mama was in Colorguard and was a Majorette in the marching band, and she taught me how to spin certain objects such as long poles and batons. There was a blade on the end of the staff that you pushed a button to get out, which I was alright with.

I probably would've gone with it, but I wanted something different from what someone else had. I told Master Splinter this and he moved on to a weapon I'd never seen before. He called it a "Kama." It was a basic piece of wood, about as long as my forearm, with a scythe-shaped blade attached to the end. For some reason, I was better with the double Kamas than just a single, probably because it was shorter than the Katanas.

Master Splinter taught me how to jab with them, and also how to block with one while stabbing with the other. I told him that I liked them, but that they weren't really what I was looking for. That one statement got him thinking hard about what weapon to choose next for me to try. He contemplated over it and looked through the weapons he had. Eventually, Sensei came back with the strangest thing I'd ever seen.

"This is a Kusari-gama."

"Woah… alright, you're gonna have to repeat that for me."

"A Kusari-gama. This weapon is not known as well as the others, but still exceeds in hand-to-hand combat."

I stared the weapon down over it's miraculous, yet odd, form. There was the Kama, which you held in your left hand, and a chain attached to that Kama which you held in your right hand. On the end of the chain was a spiked ball, only a couple inches long but effective, Master Splinter had said.

"How exactly are you supposed to use this?" I asked.

"Start swinging in your right hand."

"Alright." I began swinging and almost felt as though I were a little cowgirl attempting to rope some cattle.

"Good! Now try to fling the chain towards this." He held out a long, thin piece of wood vertically.

I kept swinging until I was ready to lunge the chain forward. It instantly wrapped around.

"Excellent! You are doing well with this."

"Well, when I was little I always wanted to be a rancher or farmer, and had a little cowgirl outfit all my own," I said. "Those were the good ole days. I kept a big, long rope in my room and would go outside and practice roping all the time. Maybe that's where I got it." I smiled at the memories of me going out in my yard and practicing.

Sensei chuckled. "Perhaps. Now, with the Kama, you can use this to block, like I already showed you. You can also, once you have your opponent snared, or their weapon snared in your chain, finish them off with one blow of the Kama blade."

We practiced a couple times going back and forth between trapping with the chain and slicing with the Kama. I fell in love with this weapon instantly and also adored how unique it was.


"If the novel has a theme it is that of survival. What makes some people come through catastrophes and others, apparently just as able, strong and brave go under? It happens in every upheaval. Some people survive; others don't. What qualities are in those who fight their way through triumphantly that are lacking in those that go under? I only know that survivors used to call that quality 'gumption.' So I wrote about people who had gumption and people who didn't."

~ Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind ~ (1936)