Random quote: "He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt."
~Joseph Heller
Disclaimer: don't own 'em..... yet -evil grin-; still writin' fanfiction
Please note: 12kirby12 (that's me! :)) and OneAndOnlyHardyGirl (Miz) are writing a story together under the joint account TheGrimSister. Our story is titled "Enter Wonderland" and we would appreciate some reviewers! Thanks my lovelies!!
And now...
Onto the story!
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"Dragon Punch! Right snap kick!"
Naomi was watching the turtles as they went a training session. She was fascinated with the movements and the art of ninjutsu. She copied their movements, mimicking their posture and positions.
"Again! Again! Again!" Master Splinter called out the moves and watched as his sons performed them. They finished with a roundhouse kick and Master Splinter broke them off into pairs to practice. "Leonardo and Michelangelo. Donatello and Raphael. You may begin." The two designated pairs pairs bowed to one another, then the fights began.
Naomi grinned as she watched the turtles fight each other. They were mostly focused and serious... except for Mikey.
"Michelangelo! Focus!" Splinter called sharply. Mikey dodged under a kick and tried for a punch. Leo grabbed his wrist and flipped him.
"Nice one, Mikey!" Naomi giggled.
"I'd like to see you take him!" Mikey grumbled, getting up.
"One problem, genius: I don't know ninjutsu like you guys."
Mikey stuck his tongue out and Naomi laughed. "That's a good look for you, Mikey." She suddenly saw the extra weapons stashed on the other wall. "Ooooo..." she said, heading for them. She could feel the eyes of the other five in her as she approached the rack with the weapons.
Nunchakus, sais, bo staffs, katanas... Extras of all the weapons the turtles wielded were lined up neatly on shelves.
Naomi studied each one, picturing in her mind's eye how she would look and feel wielding it. She picked up a single katana and weighted it in her hand. Heavy, but not overly so. Sturdy. She liked it. She examined the blade. Stainless steel, superior craftsman; somehow she didn't think it was bought from an ordinary store.
"Beautiful." she murmured, running a finger along the blade.
"Roundhouse kick!"
The command was so sharply spoken that Naomi reacted on instinct alone. She performed a beautiful roundhouse, turning a full 180 degrees around, sword at the ready. She faced a surprised group of turtles and a nodding rat. She blushed and felt her ears burn. They now knew her secret.
She sighed and set the katana back in its holder. She slowly turned back around to the turtles and raised an eyebrow.
"Take a picture, it lasts longer!" she snapped at the turtles, crossing to the other side of the room. She was nearly to the door when Master Splinter spoke.
"My child, would I be correct in assuming that you are learned in the art of ninjutsu?"
Naomi nodded. "Yes, Master Splinter... My old Master taught it to me. We had just started weapons training when I left." she said, ducking her head.
"Why did you not tell us this, my child? Why would you hide it and allow the gang of Purple Dragons to do this to you?"
"Because... My Master was a dishonorable man, Master Splinter. He invoked fear, rather than respect, when we were training. He would speak loudly and sharply, forcing me to react on instinct, rather skill and precision. Prompt action was always rewarded. Delayed action was punished. I grew to hate my Master and soon I loathed his methods of teaching. But I never hated ninjutsu. I would work at it for hours, always honing my technique. But it was never enough." Naomi said, subconsciously tracing a scar on her cheek.
"Your Master... hit you?" Mikey asked, shocked. Master Splinter never hit them unless it was disciplinary or imperative to their training.
Naomi sighed. "Yeah, but he's not here now and-" She stopped when she heard a meow and a loud "STUPID CAT!!"
"Casey, don't you dare hurt Klunk!" Mikey cried, leaping over Naomi and running to the door.
Naomi stared after him. "What's a Klunk?"
"It's Mikey's cat. He must have been hiding since you got here." Leo said, following his younger brother.
Naomi followed, shaking her head. She held back her laughter at the sight of Casey sprawled out on the floor with Klunk purring and rubbing his head against Casey's.
"Did he scare Klunk?" Mikey cooed, picking the cat up.
"Scare him? All I did was come down to see if the kid was still around. April, come on, babe! It was just the cat!"
"Don't call me babe." April said, coming into view. She looked at Naomi, then nodded. "Good. Don got you all patched up. You had me worried." she said.
"Yeah, sorry about that." Naomi said sheepishly. She grinned. "My name''s Naomi Artemisia, Miss O'Neil."
"Call me April." April said with a smile. "So, Naomi huh? Nice, nice."
"Naomi, since our guests are here, why don't you show us all that your Master has taught you?" Master Splinter suggested, though the look he was giving Naomi made it clear that it was not a suggestion/.
"O.K..." she said hesitantly. They all made their way to the Dojo.
"Sensei?" Leonardo looked at Master Splinter, who nodded.
"No weapons." Splinter said. "Begin."
Naomi sized her opponent up. He was undoubtedly better in skill, but she had speed and agility on her side. She took a deep breath and quickly dove into a flip, getting behind Leonardo's shell.
He spun around quicker than she thought possible and nailed her with a punch. She growled, kicked out with her foot, and punched at his face.
He stopped her with an effective block and flipped her on her back.
This continued for ten minutes before Master Splinter stopped them. Both were breathing hard, though Naomi was struggling to control hers.
Exhaustion is weakness. Weakness is pain. She remembered this lesson well. Her Master would not let her forget.
"You have both done well." Master Splinter praised. He noticed Naomi struggling to calm her breathing. "It is alright, Naomi. You may breathe easy. No harm will come to you here."
Naomi nodded and let sweet fresh air flood her mouth. Breathing through her nose was difficult for her, as it is with most cats after exercise. "Thank you, Master Splinter." she said once she caught her breath. She caught the gleam of a katana and grinned. "Oh Leonardo." she said in a sing-song voice, smiling sweetly at the turtle in blue.
Leo caught her glance at the sword and drew his own. "If you're not too tired." he teased.
"Tired, me? Never." Naomi said, grabbing the katana. The clang of metal on metal was heard as the swords clashed.
"Ready to... give... up?" Naomi panted ten minutes later, parrying Leonardo's swords with the one she wielded.
"No, but you are." Leo said as he forced her down, sword to her throat. She gulped and looked nervously at the razor-sharp point.
"Alright, alright. Fine. Lemme up." Naomi said. She flipped to her feet and stretched.
"That was pretty good." Casey said.
The girl dropped her gaze. He said pretty good... Not good, not excellent, not even well done... Only pretty good.
"I'm sorry..." she said. "I'll do better next time." I must do better next time.
Casey raised a hand, probably to brush hiis hair back, and the girl flinched. "I'm sorry! I promise, I really will do better!" she said. Anything to stop the beatings. Anything.
"Hey, relax kid. I ain't gonna hit ya." Casey said.
"Sorry, force of habit." Naomi said. She set the sword in its holder where it belonged and April glanced at her watch.
"Casey, we better get going."
Naomi went to the room that was designated as hers (next to Raph's and across from Leo's) and sat on the bed. She crossed her legs and closed her eyes in meditation.
"Clear your mind. Empty your thoughts. Clear your mind." she chanted to herself. Soon she was in deep meditation, drifting away from the pain in her body, mind, and heart. For the first time in years, she felt free.
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Naomi awoke the next morning to a now all-too-familiar shriek. She had been living with the turtles for six months and now knew all too well Mikey's scream of terror. She stumbled into the living room just in time to see...
Who else but Raph chasing him around the Lair. "Get back here, Mikey!" he yelled.
"What's he done now?" Naomi asked, standing beside her other two brothers next to the couch.
"Stole the remote." Don answered.
"Really? Does he have a death wish or something?" Naomi asked.
"Apparently." Leo said, watching Raph wrestle the device from Mikey's hands.
"Well, if anybody needs me..." Naomi said, heading for the exit.
She ventured to the top, sticking to the shadows. She trained on the roof, stabbing at imaginary foes. Her fur ruffled slightly in the wind as she spun, blocked, and kicked.
She spun around and ducked right before the blade pierced her neck.
"Shredder..." she hissed.
The Shredder and his band of Foot ninjas stepped from the shadows. "So nice to see you again, feline." Shredder said.
"Can't say the feeling's mutual." Naomi spat.
The Foot attacked and Naomi blocked, chopped, and kicked her way through a group.
She turned just as the Shredder tried to bring the blade down on her neck. "Give up, child." he snarled at her.
"Never."
"Then you will pay with your life."
"Wow." Naomi rolled her eyes. "That was cheesy."
"You will pay for your insolence!" The Shredder brought his blade down again and again, each time blocked.
"Shredder, you have a lot to learn about honor." Naomi said.
They fought viscously, ducking and leaping and blocking. Finally, the Sun shone high high above their heads and the Shredder vanished.
"O.K., that was too weird." Naomi said. She went back to the Lair, battered, but standing. She went straight to her room.
Then came barreling straight out of her room at ninety miles an hour. "Where is it?" she shrieked, running around the Lair. She flipped the couch, armchairs, and table, rooted around in the kitchen, and inspected Don's lab.
"Can I help you?" the resident genius turtle asked, annoyed.
"Nope." Naomi said, dashing to her room. She decided that one more search couldn't hurt.
Her nose told her the culprit, though she should have guessed.
"MICHELANGELO!!!" she screeched, tearing out of her room. She spotted him on the couch channel surfing. "Prepare to die, Mikey!"
Mikey saw the murderous look she was giving him, let loose a scream, and ran.
"This looks familiar." Raph said, watching Naomi chase Mikey through the Lair.
"She looks really mad, though." Don said.
"Help!" Mikey screamed, diving behind Leo.
"Move it, Leo." the enraged tigress hissed.
When Leo didn't budge, Naomi ducked under him, grabbed Mikey, flipped him onto the ground, and had her claws at his throat in seconds.
"Where is it?" she hissed.
"Hey, easy, Nay." Raph said. He and Leo pulled Naomi off of Mikey and held her back.
"My children, what is going on here?" Master Splinter asked sharply.
"Naomi's gone ballistic." Don said, helping Mikey to his feet.
"My daughter, what has happened?" Master Splinter asked calmly, watching the struggling tiger.
"Mikey took it! He took my box!" Naomi said furiously, finally giving up trying to break loose.
"Michelangelo, what have you done with Naomi's possession?" Splinter asked.
"It's right here. I didn't do anything to it. It just looked so shiny and pretty. I just wanted to look inside." Mikey said, handing his sister the box.
Do you really want to know what's inside, Mikey?" Naomi sighed, fishing a key out of her pocket.
"Yeah!" Mikey said, practically bouncing with excitement.
Naomi stuck the key in the lock and turned it. The lock clicked and the box opened, revealing two photographs.
"It's us." Don said, pointing to the photograph taped to the top lid.
"It was that day we first fought the Shredder, remember? Just after the camera took it, the Foot attacked and trashed the Lair. It was just me and you five and Casey, April, and Angel, but we beat 'em." Naomi said, smiling at the memory.
"Who's this?" Leo asked, pointing to the second picture. It was lying at the bottom, nestled between little scraps of fur.
There were six tigers, three adults, three cubs. The cubs were in the front, play-fighting with each other. Two of the adults were watching them, a male and a female. They were both orange. There was a white male tiger in the background, ears drooped and a sad expression on his face. He was thin and sickly.
"The white tiger cub on the bottom there is me." Naomi said, pointing. "The larger orange cub there is Rambo, my big brother by two years. That one there is my little sister, Luna Elvira Night. See that little patch of fur on her forehead? The one that looks like a crescent moon? She was born exactly at midnight. That's how she got her name. She's younger than me by about a year or two. I'm their half-sibling."
"Who's that?" Mikey asked, pointing to the sickly tiger in the back.
"That... That is my father..." Naomi said, bitterness in her words. "The male and female there is my 'step-dad' and my mother, They raised me for a short time."
They looked a while longer at the photographs until Naomi closed the box and locked it back in her room.
"Nay... Which zoo did you grow up in?" Don asked thoughtfully.
"The one downtown. Why?"
So, why don't you just visit your family there?"
Naomi looked at him like he was insane. "Visit them? Like this? They probably think I'm dead, and I don't want them to see me lie this. I'd rather them think me a dead tiger cub than a living... me." She sighed and glanced at the tunnel. A grin slowly crept to her face and she batted her eyes at Mikey. "Oh Mikey?"
"what?"
"You're it!" she cried, tapping him on the arm and running to the tunnel. She could hear the others behind her and she ran faster, her laughter echoing around the walls.
She could hear Raph catching up to her. He ran beside her and shook his head.
"Mikey tagged Donnie already."
"That's gotta be a new record."
Leo pulled up beside them. "It's switching between Mike and Donnie." he said.
"Better run faster!" Mikey's voice called from behind them.
"Oh crud." Raph said, glancing back. Mikey was about three fet away and gaining.
They came to a break in the tunnel. A river of water ran between the two concrete strips of land and the only was across would be to swim it. Leo and Raph dove straight in, but Naomi faltered.
"Gotcha!" Mikey said, pushing Naomi a little too hard. She lost her balbnce and fell into the clean, clear water below. It was something of an oasis in the sewers; one of the only ways to get clean water. With a squeak of terror she fell in.
They waited for her to surface, but nothing came up. A minute passed and still nothing.
"What's takin' her?" Raph said. "I'm goin' down after her." He dove under without another word.
Thirty seconds later he resurfaced with a very wet Naomi. He set her and the concrete and she blinked open her eyes. She glanced around and breathed a sigh of relief. "I hate water." she spat, shaking out her wet fur.
"Why didn't you tell us you couldn't swim?" Leo asked.
"It's not that I can't swim, it's that..." Naomi bit her lip and finally sighed. "I'm hydrophobic."
"You're afraid of water?" Don questioned.
Naomi nodded. "Yeah. Back at the Lab, they used to hold me under the water and time how long it took until I passed out. I learned to fear water pretty quick, no matter how shallow."
"Let's get you back to the Lair." Don said, picking her up.
"I'm really sorry, Misa." Mikey said, using ridiculous nickname he had made up.
"You didn't know, Mikey. It's alright." Naomi said.
"My sons, what has happened?" Master Splinter asked, seeing the wet bundle in Donatello's arms.
"Master Splinter, Nay's afraid of water!" Mikey blurted out. Raph slapped him in the back of the head. "OW!"
Raph just glared at him, then jerked his head at Naomi.
Her head was bowed in shame and her ears were flat on her head, a sure sign that she was upset or troubled about something.
"Oh... Sorry Nay." Mikey said. Don set her on her feet and she shook her fur out.
"It's O.K., Mikey." she said. She sighed and stretched.
"My daughter, this is nothing to be ashamed of. We will help you conquer your fear." Master Splinter said.
"With all due respect, Master Splinter, I don't think there is any getting over my fear."
"We will help you."
"O.K..." she sighed. She untied the yellow mask from around her eyes and wrung it out. She asked Don to tie it back on, then retreated to her room.
She didn't venture out for the rest of the day.
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YAY!! I got my three requested reviews! :D
REALLY sorry I haven't updated... You don't know how crazy my life is right now, lols... Again, I apologize.
THREE reviews before I post the next chapter, pretty please. Thank you!!
-12kirby12