Wow - thanks so much for the enthusiastic reviews! Reviews should be called "Refuels" (that's totally a name that Leo would invent and Mikey would diss ;P )

Chapter 12 – Matriculations

"Our family is strong. I only hope that we are strong enough"
Master Splinter

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April studied with excessive interest the rivulet of hot tea as it slid down the tetsubin's outer curve. At the cast iron kettle's base, the drop pooled; then slowly bled outward as it was drawn osmotically across the plain burlap tablecloth.

Steam silently swirled upward from the chubby pot's spout.

There was no timepiece in Master Spinter's dojo-come-chashitsu, or tearoom, yet in April's mind the awkwardly insistent "TICK! TOCK! TICK!" of a phantom wall clock punctuated her unease at this turn in the conversation with her Sensei.

The kunoichi shifted uncomfortably on her tatami mat. Cupping her unrefined yet elegant tea bowl in both palms, the teen raised the bowl's ceramic lip to moisten her own mouth and stall for time before answering Splinter.

Finally, she looked up at him, her features a mixture of confusion and shame.

"Hai, Master Splinter: I consulted Wikipedia."

Deliberately, Splinter sighed just enough to show April his discontent. The Rat gathered himself, ready with a measured reply to his student.

"April. The internet is of course very useful. To fashion a comfortable life here in the sewers, my sons and I have relied on the World Wide Web, on many an occasion - not in the least to settle patently ludicrous debates about film trivia. While this particular online encyclopedia is usually accurate, it is imperfect and changeable: wabi-sabi, if you will.

There are many more ninja factions that continue to employ tessenjutsu than you, or Wikipedia, would ever know. Funnily enough, ninja typically do not blog. It is simply fortunate that The Foot Clan prizes brutality above grace: the tessen has no place in the dojo of The Foot. Its lack of expertise in the tessen should prove a great advantage for you in combat with Clan soldiers – although I pray this never happens. While knowledge, married to skill, toughened by experience is the ultimate weapon, experience battling The Foot is one that I would prefer you not acquire for several years yet. If ever.

Now. If you have moistened your palate then I would suggest we resume your kata. These moves should become as second nature to you as texting."

Pupil and Master stood and moved towards the centre of the dojo.

Splinter folded his hands in front of himself. Arching an elegant eyebrow, he leveled his gaze at his kunoichi: "Do you recall mushin?"

"Hai, Sensei", April replied promptly, seeking to re-enter Splinter's good graces. "When practising battle forms, mushin is 'the mind of no mind'".

"Good, that is correct. Mushin is the ability to consciously clear your thoughts so that they do not interfere with your intuition. Or, as is Michelangelo's preferred terminology for mushin, enter "The Zone". Even for one as sensitive as you, April: when you attain mushin, you activate your ultimate speed and stealth. Your body and your survival instincts take over, guiding your actions with split-second accuracy. It is vital that you learn to "trust your gut" in a fight. Allow mushin to guide your thoughts and actions."

Clearly in her own state of mushin, April blurted, "Does that apply to love, too?"

Splinter held himself still. Carefully, he studied his pupil. After a moment's pause, The Rat responded to the uneasy young woman in front of him.

"Yeeess, I imagine that mushin has merit in matters of war and love. Both require courage, strength and strategy – and not a little lunacy. To achieve victory, they also demand passion and conviction. Overthinking can bring tragedy and defeat."

April's brow furrowed as she reflected on the past couple of days and the many permuted scenarios she'd projected onto the lack of communication from Donatello.

Splinter wondered how far down this road the conversation would travel. In light of the past 24 hours' events, he decided to guide it a little.

"In fact – and perhaps not mentioned by Wikipedia – the tessen is often likened to Love. The fan seduces with grace and beauty, yet is so swift and sharp that one's enemy is the last to know he has been bitten. The tessen is often chosen by women because it is most effective when wielded – not with brute force – but with style, wit and deception: skills not typically encouraged in male soldiers. Some particularly liken the tessen to a woman's love – capricious and punishing. But I do not agree; men and women can prove equally deadly with others' hearts. Love, is a battlefield.

But let me not tell, and instead show you what I mean, April. Begin your kihon kata."

April bowed, and assumed the starting pose.

"Hajime. Ichi!"

As she stepped forward, April flicked her wrist in and her elbow out chin level, the still-folded tessen held close her face.

"You see, this position makes it appear that your elbow is the weapon and the tessen but a trivial accessory.

Ni!"

April rapidly arced her arm back past her face, carving down in a belly-level strike, the tessen fully expanded and edge-on to April's imagined opponent.

"Now, if you have done this move impeccably, your enemy will be gathering his intestines from the floor. If not, he will be winded. Either one works for the next move:

San!"

As she ghosted forward again, April expertly flicked her wrist to collect the tessen's blades back together. Without pause, and supporting her bent right elbow with her left hand, she jammed her tessen end up into where the soft, vulnerable underside of her enemy's chin would be.

"At this point your enemy will be hard-pressed to complain – or to shout to alert his fellow soldiers or guards. But if necessary… Shi! Go! Roku!"

Flicking her tessen open, April smoothly advanced in rapid-fire forty-five degree steps – right, left, right again – as if dodging an enemy sword at the same time that her blocks were counter-attacks in their own right. Bending her knees, she twirled low. As she pushed herself upwards she forcefully swung the still-open tessen at neck-level.

April held the pose then, gracefully, gathered herself and bowed to signal the kata's conclusion.

"What would your opponent be doing now?", Splinter queried his pupil.

"Looking for his head", grinned April in response.

"Yame, kunoichi. Yes. Most kata for tessen are – concise. The idea is that you are in close quarters and require stealth and speed to survive. Otherwise, you would choose a different type of weapon. This is also why a ninja such as Raphael adopts shuriken for attacks that sais cannot perform. Also, the tessen exploits the enemy's assumptions of what is ornamental – or lethal. The grand error is…"

"…assuming that both are mutually exclusive", finished April.

"Exactly", approved Splinter as he stroked his fine beard with agile fingers.

"So why doesn't Raphael use the tessen?"

It took a heartbeat for Splinter to realize that April was joking. He allowed himself as much of a guffaw as he ever would. April smiled subtly in return.

"Raphael is actually not that bad with a tessen", Splinter answered finally, "But I never said as much. As you know, his preference is for brute force." The comment reminded him of how vulnerable April remained in a city run by The Shredder. And potentially at a loss in a world cohabited by Donatello.

"April, I am confident that prior to… that Mr. O'Neil has long ago prepared you for young adulthood, with the appropriate information about consequences and…protection? Hrm, including knowledge of key choke holds?

"Hai, Sensei", April affirmed as she did extensive mental multiplication to fight off a blush response. Unconsciously, she fiddled with the tessen still in her hands.

Splinter pushed a bit farther. "Romantic love cuts a unique sort of pain. Conversely, a parent's love brings entirely another, more sinister type of ache. When a Father loves a child, even a child who is grown, it is as if his heart lives outside his body, entirely in the hands of this other, beloved person. As a parent, if we are to function without constant fear, we must choose to forget how vulnerable we have become."

Looking off to the side, the Rat carried on, clearly in his own state of mushin. "I worry that, even for my own experience with love, because I was human I will fall short of the unique advice that my sons need. One son in particular. Maybe two. This is but the beginning of the type of struggles that my boys will have throughout their adult lives."

Somewhat sadly, but in a manner meant to reassure, Splinter smiled at April. "But, truly: nothing changes. Life is love, and hate. Both bring pain. Love is better. Always choose Love, if you can, April. But surely I am bending your ear beyond what you wanted to know. You already have one father. You do not need a second one."

"What if I don't mind having a second one?", asked April, quietly. "Would that be so bad?"

Splinter's whiskers twitched. Now it was the Rat's turn to rally his poker face. Suddenly, he allowed himself to yield, and turned compassionate ochre eyes to the teen's worried blue ones.

"No, kunoichi. That would not be so bad at all."

Splinter changed tack, deciding to be as frank with April as he was with his son: "You and Donatello are good together."

April looked up, relief plastered across her features. "Why do you think that, Sensei?"

"Because you are both similarly weird", Splinter smiled. "April, whatever happens, good and bad - these are experiences that both of you must embrace and grow through. For all the pain in my life: what can I change? There is nothing that I can "take back". Regret is energy misspent. Always look ahead, eyes wide open for not only danger - but also opportunity and joyfulness.

"Huh." … April paused and thought. Her mood was decidedly lighter. She decided to change tack, too.

"So, ….Mikey must have really good mushin, hey, Sensei?"

"Indeed. I believe he mastered it while still in the shell."

BTW, I totally used Wikipedia and the internet to research the tessen and made up 95% of the above tessen kata and strategy. A ninja does as she must. But if you for reals know sh*t about tessens, drop me a line! :D Oh, and if you know what epi. Splinter's quote is from, please let me know and I'll add it!