Hi! I know I essentially abandoned this story and I am so sorry!
To make up for it, I bring you some Asami and Lupa in the 2012 universe! Ta-da!
I'm also tweaking the first few episode insertions, making sure they flow better and they're not in past tense anymore.
I'm also erasing the few chapters of random scenes since I wrote those before the series ended and I realize they don't fit my vision for this series. I will let the Lone Rat and Cubs be the introduction, then continue into the episodes from there.
Feel free to request bonus chapters if you guys want them, though!
Hope you guys like this insertion! I feel like I can't write from a kid's point of view well, but I'm trying! :)
God Bless and Good Day!
~The Lupine Sojourner
"Join me, my children, for tonight, I have something special to tell you." Those words prompted us to sit in a line, as usual when Dad tells us a story.
"What is it?" I ask, unable to help it.
"Presents, Sensei?" Mikey asks, waving eagerly.
I laugh, but Raph's the one that speaks up. "Shh!" He hisses. "Quiet, Mikey!"
"Cool!" Donnie chirps, ignoring the others as Dad sat cross-legged to begin whatever lesson or story he wanted to share with us. "I love storytime!"
'Storytime' had become an evening tradition to calm the kids down before bed, and afterward Dad and I would sit up for a little while, talking and planning the next day's adventures. Although he was starting storytime a bit early tonight…
"I wanna learn more about Japan, Master Splinter!" Leo adds, always eager to know more about where we'd come from.
I barely remember anything from back then, so I always left it to Dad to tell the boys and Lupa stories of our previous home.
"Not tonight, Leonardo." Dad replies, then continues setting up the story he'd tell. "I've told you before how we all came to be together," He begins, smiling, "but I have not told you everything."
"What else is there?" Lupa asks, head tilted in confusion.
Dad doesn't tell the whole story again, just the basics, knowing we all knew it pretty much by heart.
My skin tingles a little as glimpses from back then come back, though it was just a few years ago.
The small pet store.
The baby turtles.
The strange man.
The feeling of his hands on my wrist, his grip bruising me…
The creepy glow of the ooze as it sloshed in the canister…
That awful tingling, aching feeling all over my body as it morphed and changed...
=#=#= The Night of the Mutation =#=#=
Why was Daddy walking with that man? He isn't going home…
But if Daddy thinks it's ok, I want to go with Daddy!
When the man goes to hide, Daddy looks at me and lets me hug his leg.
That man was scary…
"Musume, I need you to stay here and out of sight, do you understand? Be neither seen nor heard."
"Hai." I wonder why Daddy was whispering, but I guess if he is, I should too.
Daddy then smiles before standing, walking away.
I wonder where he's going, so I look into the road Daddy was walking down.
There were more of those scary men, holding weird things.
One of them has a puppy! It's in a cage, and it looks so sad!
A man takes the puppy out of the cage, and there's something weird the other man is holding. It glows! I don't like it!
I have to get the puppy!
"Let go of the puppy!" I yell, running to get the puppy, but Daddy grabs my arm.
"Asami, no!" He looks scared, so I stay behind Daddy's legs as the scary men come toward us.
I see the puppy running away and catch it, holding on as Daddy tries to leave.
One of the men grabs me and starts taking me to the weird thing!
"No! I don't wanna go!" I yell again, but I can't get away from that mean man! "Daddy!"
"Leave her be!" Daddy sounded scary, but he makes the man fall down, then Daddy picks me up, and I see the puppy still in my arms as Daddy hurts the mean man.
"Behind you, Daddy!" I tell him as a man tries to hurt Daddy, but Daddy kicks and the man falls down, that weird thing falling down, too.
It breaks and some weird stuff falls on me and Daddy!
It hurts a lot! I start crying, trying to find Daddy again, but I can't see him!
Finally, it stops hurting, but I still don't see-I am soon in Daddy's lap, but something feels different. Daddy feels like a blanket…
"Musume?" Daddy asks, his voice a little different, but still Daddy.
"Daddy?"
"We cannot stay here, Asami. We have to leave."
"But the puppy, daddy…and the turtles." I see them sitting in the stuff that fell on me and Daddy. They look different…
Daddy had to set me down, walking over to them, and he grabs a box from the big trash can with a lid and puts the turtles in it, along with the puppy.
Daddy led us to the top of the building, settling the box up there first before helping me climb up.
"Where are we going, Daddy?" I ask, unsure what was happening, feeling sleepy and...funny. My ears made a funny noise and everything was so bright my head hurt.
The breeze felt really weird now and my clothes were almost all gone.
"Somewhere safe, Musume. Not much farther." Daddy assures me, so I grab his leg (he was holding the pets we'd just bought) and keep walking.
I wonder if we're going home, but then Daddy spots something on a different roof. He hums and then looks around.
He tells me to sit with the box and he walks away, but he soon comes back with some rope. He uses the rope to put the box on his back.
He picks me up and tells me to grab his shoulders and wrap my legs around his waist.
Then, he leaps across to the metal thing on the new building and I get down.
I climb up and when we were on the top, Daddy unties the box, but still holds it in his hands.
I yawn. "I'm tired, Daddy. My head hurts." I tell him, rubbing my eyes. Daddy keeps walking.
"I know, Asami. We just need to get to that structure," He nods toward something not far away. "then we can all sleep."
"...Ok, Daddy." I grab his leg again and walk.
Daddy has to help me into the thing, and then he puts something over where we came in and lays down with his back where we came in, putting the box with the pets closer to him. "Sleep, Musume." He says, and I'm so tired, I lay down next to him and fall asleep.
The sun wakes me up and it hurts my eyes, so I rub them. "My eyes hurt, Daddy." I say and Daddy hugs me.
"I'm sorry, Asami."
"Can we go home?" I ask.
"I'm afraid not, little one." Daddy replies.
"Why not?" I ask.
"Because we are different. The world can't understand us. They will try to hurt us, and they will take us away if they find us."
"But Daddy, I wanna go home!"
"Asami, please. If anyone finds us, they will take us and the pets away, and we don't want that, do we?"
I shake my head. "No, Daddy." He hugs me, putting me in his lap.
"This is strange, I know, Asami. I do not like it, either. But, I may be able to get into our apartment and get some things for you, alright?"
I nod. "Ok, Daddy." My tummy then makes a loud noise.
Daddy messes with my hair, laughing. "But first, it seems, we need to find breakfast. Can you make sure the, er, pets stay in the box? I must find food."
I nod, happy Daddy gave me a job. "Hai!"
And then, Daddy was gone. It takes a while for him to come back and the pets were just waking up when he came back. "Daddy!" I cry, hugging him. He messes with my hair again.
I see Daddy is wearing his red robe. I always liked that robe
"I am back. I went to our home for food, and some other things." He hands me a bag and I look inside to see some clothes. "Let's see if they fit, Musume." He says, smiling.
The pants ripped, since my feet are so big now, and Daddy had to make a hole in the back. I then see I had a tail like the puppy I got from those mean men! "Daddy, I have a tail!" I tell him, grabbing it and letting go when it hurt.
"Yes. And so does the puppy we found." Daddy says. I look in the box and see that, yes, the puppy does have a tail like me, and it's awake. Daddy brings it out. "Here, they are awake; they'll need food." He says and I give them bits of banana, eating one for myself.
"Is the puppy a girl or a boy?" I ask, giving it more banana.
"Girl, Asami." Dad replies.
I nod. "Are the turtles girls too?" I ask.
"No, they are boys."
"All of them?"
"Yes, all of them."
"Why do they have backpacks?" I ask, pointing to the weird backpacks on the turtles' backs.
"Those are called shells. It keeps the turtles safe from harm. It protects the turtles like armor when they are in danger."
I eat more banana. "That's so cool!"
After we were all done eating, Daddy went out to get more things from our home and soon we had books, a lamp to light up the place we were in, blankets, mats, and more food.
There are a lot of things in the space now, so I didn't feel as bad staying here instead of at home, but I still wish I had my room and my toys. I miss home.
=#=#=#=#= (A Few Nights Later) =#=#=#=#=
I don't like it when Daddy leaves, but I know he has to.
He has to find food and other stuff we need.
I don't like having to stay inside the small place we are staying in, but Daddy says bad men will come and take us away if someone sees us, so I guess we have to stay here.
Sometimes, when Daddy is here, we get to go down to the roof and play. But only sometimes, when Daddy says its safe.
Daddy also says he's looking for a different place for us to stay. I don't know why though. This place is cool!
One night, after Daddy got back with food, I hear a strange noise outside. I look at Daddy, and he has the sword he sometimes took with him when he goes to find food.
"Daddy?" I ask, trying to hug him. I'm scared, but Dad only throws a blanket over our light and draws the sword before opening his arm to me.
I run over as the strange noise gets closer. "Be silent, Musume." He says very quietly to me and I nod into his robe. He moves us aside as weird purple light comes into the room and he kneels down as the light stays for a little bit, then it goes away.
Then, one of the turtles burps really loudly and I cover my ears. "Stay here!" Dad says, quietly, before he kicks the piece of metal out toward...something and jumps outside. I watch from where the piece of metal used to be as Daddy tries to stop the thing from seeing all of us...I think.
Daddy wins, then comes back up to where we were. "Asami, this place is too dangerous now. We must find another haven to hide!" He puts the pets into the box he used when we first came here.
"What's a haven?" I ask.
Daddy grabs my hand. "Somewhere safe, now come!" There was one more turtle trying to get food out of the bag of food Daddy had brought for us. "No, no time for food! We must go!" He puts the turtle with the other pets and grabs my hand again.
We go down the metal thing on the building and Daddy makes sure people don't see us.
He helps me put on a jacket, zip it up, and put the hood on before he looks around. He comes back quickly and then puts me and the box into a cart (I remember carts from when Daddy and I would go shopping...before we had to go away). "Stay here. I will get our things from the water tower and be back in a moment."
I nod and yawn a little as Daddy leaves. Nothing happens and soon Daddy is back with a few bags that he puts in the cart with us, and we start pushing it down the sidewalk.
"Can I get out, Daddy?" I ask, trying to take my hood off. I was getting hot.
"No, Asami. You must stay inside the cart." Daddy replies. "And keep your hood on."
"Why?" I ask. "I'm hot and I wanna walk."
"Because people cannot see that you and I are different. If they do, they will take us away and I won't be able to protect you. Do you understand?"
"...Yes, Daddy." I don't like my hood, but I sit down and wait for us to find the safe place Daddy wants to find, the haven.
Daddy lets us eat the food in the bag as he walks and I gave him some banana he looks happy to eat. Then we ride in the cart as Daddy keeps walking. The pets began to make noise and Daddy stops walking, opening the top of the box. "Be silent! Look to me; never be seen! Never be heard!" I try to do what Daddy says and be quiet. There were stairs down into the ground, but Daddy heard men coming and we had to leave. Daddy makes sure they don't see us.
Then, we find somewhere there are no people and we can finally stop.
"Can I get out now, Daddy?" I ask, hoping to go walk.
"Yes, Musume. Just for a few minutes, then we must leave and find somewhere to take shelter for a while." Daddy says and lifts me down, taking my hood off too. "Do not go where you cannot see me." He tells me and I nod.
"Hai, Daddy." I go and walk around a little, then all of a sudden I hear people coming and run back to Daddy just as the men spot us.
"Daddy!" I get picked up even as the scary men start talking.
"Mutant organism." Daddy puts me in the cart, putting my hood back up and putting a finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet. I nod and watch as Daddy turns back to the men.
I don't know what they were saying, but Daddy grabs a broom and starts fighting like Daddy and Uncle Saki used to. I loved watching Daddy fight!
Then there were pink lights everywhere and I was scared, so I sit back in the cart.
Daddy is hurt and the mean men try to hurt Daddy more, so I grab Daddy's camera and make the light go bright in the man's face.
Daddy then grabs one of the things he tells me never to touch, a weapon, but one of the turtles is on it! Daddy then puts the thing and the turtle back into the cart and runs away with more of those pink lights chasing us.
Daddy keeps running, but the men keep running behind us!
"Asami, duck!" Daddy tells me and I do, watching as whatever Daddy throws breaks something and it falls on the men.
"Yay!" I want to hug Daddy, but I can't cus he's running.
When we stop again, Daddy has to move a piece of metal and then he moves the cart inside.
"This will do…for now." He says.
"Is this a haven, Daddy?" I ask as Daddy gets me out of the cart.
"Yes, Asami."
=#=#=#=#=
When the sun goes down, Daddy has food and we eat while Daddy moves stuff.
I eat all my food and try to move boxes with him.
"Thank you, Musume." Daddy says, smiling at me.
I smile back and move more boxes with Daddy until I see the pets crawling around and getting in the way.
I then pick the puppy up and carry her over to where we'd already moved boxes. I see the turtles all playing together and one of them has two cords, and the turtle figured out the way to turn a lamp on with the cords.
"Wow!" I sit beside the turtles and look at the lamp, happy we had a little more light.
"Yes, that was impressive, smart one." Daddy says and smiles at the pets.
I yawn, feeling sleepy, and lay down, too tired to keep helping Daddy.
"It appears meditation is out of the question for now." Daddy's voice makes me open my eyes and I see he's a little upset, with the turtles all over him and Lupa in his lap, trying to chew his robe.
"Oh, no! Sorry, Daddy!" I run over and help Daddy get the turtles off him and Lupa into my lap instead.
"It is alright, my child. I never instructed you to keep them away. And I do not need meditation at the moment. Let me see…" He digs in the cart and brings out blankets. "Come, Asami." I walk over, yawning again as Daddy makes a bed. "Lay down, Musume. It has been an adventurous day. You need rest."
"What about the pets?" I ask, sitting up.
Daddy smiles, patting my head. "Do not worry, Asami. I can put them to bed on my own." He then looks over at the rest of the things we had from our old home. I yawn as he walks over and soon he is back with a book.
"Oh, are we gonna do bedtime stories, Daddy?" I ask, sitting up. I love bedtime stories!
"Not exactly." Daddy says, opening the book. "It occurred to me that we have not named these creatures. They need proper names."
I come to sit in Daddy's lap as he keeps looking in the book. "Like Asami?" I ask.
Daddy laughs. "Yes, something like that." He finds the part of the book he wants and shows me. "Now, when I was a child, I wanted to be an artist. So it seems appropriate to name the turtles after the painters of my favorite period in art; the Renaissance."
"What's a rena-sants?" I ask.
Daddy laughs more and hugs me. "I will tell you when you grow a little, but perhaps these creatures will grow up to be something great." He places the book down and the turtles crawl over, the puppy left to try to look over their shells. "I will name you Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Leonardo."
"Those are cool names!" I tell Daddy.
"Yes, and now all that remains is the wolf." He picks up the puppy and thinks for a while. "I also studied the mythologies of different cultures out of curiosity. Perhaps your name could be Lupa, after the Roman goddess of the wolves, since you are more than any wolf could hope to be."
"I like it! C'mere, Lupa!" I say, holding up my arms to hold Lupa. Daddy puts her in my lap. I look at the turtles. "Leonardo, Don'tello, Raphy-el, and Miche-" This one was hard, "Mike-ang-lo."
"Very good, Asami. Now, I believe it is bedtime." I yawn as Daddy carries me and Lupa to the blankets he put out for me.
Lupa gets sad when he tries to take her though, so he lets her stay with me and goes to the turtles. He looks around as they start falling asleep, and finds a box big enough for them.
My eyes are sleepy and they close all by themselves as Lupa falls asleep too…
=#=#=#=#=
I like the new place we were in! There was more room to run around and play without being seen when I wasn't helping Daddy, eating, or sleeping.
Sometimes, Daddy lets me watch the turtles and Lupa while he moved heavy boxes and helped us have even more room!
And then sometimes Daddy would practice fighting! It was so cool! I started trying to practice fighting too and would try to follow Daddy's movements, but it was so hard!
I fell a lot, but Daddy always says if you can get up from a fall, you'd be stronger, so I kept getting up and trying again.
Daddy began trying to help me and it was so fun learning how Daddy practices fighting!
"Well done, Asami. I am impressed."
I smiled so big at Daddy! "Thank you!" I hug his leg. The turtles and Lupa come over too. I laugh. "I think they want a hug too."
"Yes, so it would seem." Daddy hugs us all and I feel so happy!
"Daddy?"
"Yes, Asami?"
"Are the turtles and my puppy like Miwa was?" Daddy said Miwa and Mommy are angels now, watching over us from the sky, but I wish they could have stayed. "Are they my sissys now?"
Daddy sits down, a sad look on his face. "Yes, Asami. They...are called your siblings, and they are your family." He looks at me, hands on my shoulders. "Family is the most important thing. You are learning the way I fight so that you can help me protect your siblings, help me keep them safe. Do you understand, Asami?"
I nod. "I think so, Daddy."
"Good. When they are a little older, I will begin their training, but for now, I will only train you, and let the others follow our lead if they can." He stands up, and we keep practicing for a little longer.
Then, we have dinner and I play with my siblings until Daddy says it's time for bed.
Before bed, Daddy and I talk about ways I can say the turtles' hard names. Leonardo can be called Leo, Raphy-el can be Raph, Don'tello can be Donnie, and Mike-ang-elo can be Mikey. I practice the new names and then my eyes get sleepy and I go to bed.
Daddy lets me watch them when we wake up so he can go find food and I think some more stuff from our old house.
My siblings are just waking up when he gets back and we all eat sausage and some bread Daddy found.
Then it's more practice fighting! After we were all done, Daddy said I did a good job and that my siblings were improving as well. Then he picks them all up in a big hug.
I hug his leg, laughing.
"My children…" He says with a big smile. Then there was a loud noise and Daddy moves backward as I hide behind his leg. I look and see more of those men Daddy ran away from before!
"Daddy!" I start crying.
They were so scary! I think they were talking, but I don't know what they're saying as Daddy picks me up with the turtles. I grab Lupa's hand, and we are put in the cart quickly as Daddy finds a way outside and away from the bad men.
Daddy takes us to some stairs going into the ground and we start sliding down. It was scary and bumpy, but Daddy stopped the cart and it was ok again.
The men find us again, but Daddy runs away from the bad men and makes sure the men wouldn't find us before he kisses my forehead and goes to fight them. They couldn't see Daddy but I could! Sometimes he came out and hurt one of them, and they fell down! It was awesome! I know I have to be quiet, though, or the bad men will find us and Daddy and I didn't want that.
Daddy soon comes back and we are going back up the stairs but a weapon gets stuck in the wheel and we couldn't move!
"No! Not now!" Daddy says, and he seems scared. I try to help him, but my arm is too little and I can't reach what Daddy's trying to fix. "Asami, no!" Daddy says, but then something big and scary appears at the top of the stairs.
"Daddy!" Daddy looks at the thing and tries to move us away but we go too fast and I fall out of the cart. It hurt and I bounced a lot, but I think I'm ok, so I start trying to get up when my leg starts hurting.
I get up anyway and my leg hurts more! But then I see Raph on the ground and I try to run over.
Daddy picks me and Raph up, but Raph is hurt! Part of his shell breaks off!
Daddy gets really mad and puts us in the cart, grabbing the things he told us not to touch, then hurting the scary thing on the stairs a lot.
Once Daddy stops, he picks me up again, looking at me all over. "Are you hurt, Asami?" He asks.
"A little. My leg hurts."
"Hmm…" Daddy puts me back in the cart.
"Are you mad, Daddy?" I ask.
"No, not at you. I am mad at the ones who seek to take you and the others from me." Daddy says.
"Oh. Why do they want to take us away?"
"Because they do not understand us. They want to hurt us because they cannot see we are alive like humans."
"Are we humans?"
"We are something unique, Musume. Something the world has never seen." Daddy then looks at Raph and smiles, patting Raph's head. "I'm glad you are alright, little Raphael. Still full of fury, I see."
We had to run again. It was bumpy and scary, but Daddy got us away, hurting some of the scary men as we ran.
Then we stop and Daddy closes his eyes.
More and more of the scary men come and find us, but Daddy still doesn't open his eyes!
"Daddy! Daddy wake up!"
Daddy finally did.
"Kraang will dispose of rat mutant, but will take little mutants."
Just like Daddy said, they want to take us away!
Daddy grabs a sword. "Never! Beasts from beyond this world! Hear me! You want these mutants? You will never take them from me!"
I stay where I am in the cart as Daddy fights the bad men, hurting a lot of them and getting a little hurt, too.
One of the men walks to the cart, about to take us away, so I yell. "Daddy!"
"Leave them be!" Daddy hurts the man a lot, but we were moving! There's no more room and we're gonna fall down!
"Daddy! We're gonna fall!" We fall off! "Daddy!"
We fall in the water, and my leg was stuck in the cart! We went way down in the water before Daddy found us. I can't breathe and my eyes feel sleepy….
=#=#=#=#=
"-ttle one, please do not leave me!"
I slowly open my eyes. I'm not in water. I am warm, too.
Then I cough a lot and I think some water comes out. "D-daddy..?"
"Asami, thank the stars you're alright!" Daddy is crying as he hugs me tight, his whiskers tickling my cheek.
"Daddy, you're tickling me!" I laugh a little, but my throat hurts and I stop.
"I am?" Daddy asks, smiling at me.
"Yeah!" I feel really sleepy, so I cuddle next to Daddy and yawn. "I'm sleepy…"
"Asami, I think we should explore this place before we sleep, alright?" I try to open my eyes but it's really hard. Daddy picks me up and carries me around this cool place with a lot of room! I love it, but I'm so sleepy, I can hardly keep my eyes open.
I see a cool tree in one big room and almost feel like climbing it, but I yawn instead and stay in Daddy's arms. This feels nice…
Daddy keeps carrying me around the big place, my siblings following slowly.
"I wanna climb the tree…" I tell Daddy, smiling. "I like this place."
"I do, too, Asami. Are you feeling alright?"
"I think so. I'm really sleepy…" I rub my eyes, yawning.
"Hmmm, alright then. We will see what we can do about beds for tonight. I will try to find our blankets from the storage facility tomorrow."
Daddy sets me down near the tree and has to get my siblings together. He's got a box, a bigger one than my siblings were in before…
We don't have blankets, so Daddy can only put them into the box and carry it over to me.
Daddy lays down and he looks sleepy, too. He hums a pretty song Mama used to sing to me and baby Miwa…
I grab Daddy's hand and lay down with him, feeling happy now. Then my eyes go sleepy and I fall asleep…
=#=#=#=#=
"Finally, in this isolated secret chamber, we were safe." Dad finishes the story, smiling. "And that is how our first great adventure led us home."
"Whoa! You were awesome, Sensei!" Lupa cheers. "I loved that story!"
"Me, too!" I add. "I'd almost forgotten how we got here." I smile.
It had taken a long of hard work, but Dad and I managed to craft this place into a home over the years.
I wouldn't trade this place for anything…except maybe Mom and Miwa.
I bet they would've loved my new siblings…
Dad stands, making me remember this was still storytime.
"Now, I have a gift for each of you as we continue our journey." Dad walks over to the weapons cabinet and opens it. "Though this is mostly from your own choosing," He says, grabbing a series of weapons before closing the cabinet, "it is clear to me that they chose you."
"No way! We're finally getting weapons?!" Lupa's excitement spread as the little mutants wriggle in excitement.
I'd gotten mine a few years ago (a ninjaken and two hatchets Dad calls Ono hatchets), and the kids had protested ever since.
Dad holds out a katana for Leo. "A katana, a royal samurai weapon, for those with courage and keen skill."
Leo bows his head respectfully. "Hai, Sensei."
Dad continues to Raph. "The sai, for a fierce and fearless warrior who will always fight the hardest for his family."
"Thank you, Sensei." Raph's normally irritated voice was almost reverent as he takes the twin sai, eyeing them gleefully.
Dad hands Donnie a bo staff. "A bo staff, for a thoughtful soul and a peaceful heart."
Donnie frowns, having expected something cool. "Aww man, a stick?"
"Trust me, Donnie. That thing has given me a lot of bruises." I call, hoping to cheer Donnie up a little.
Judging by his smile, I think it works a little.
Mikey was next, and somehow he'd gotten a bucket of popcorn, but he puts it away behind his shell when he sees Dad in front of him, holding out two nunchucku. "The nunchuku, because…" Dad flounders, so I smile.
"They match your playful energy, and they are awesome, like you!"
Dad smiles at me gratefully as Mikey takes his weapons happily. "Yes, they are perfect for you, my son." He then moves to Lupa, who was bouncing on her heels with excitement.
"What do I get?" She asks.
"Though I may regret it…the kusa scythe fits your determination and will." He hands her the staff and Lupa is careful to watch the blades as she tries a small swing.
"Whoa this thing is so cool!" She cheers. "Thank you, Sensei!"
Dad motions for us to stand, so we do. "My little ninja, it is time for the next level of your training to begin. Are you ready?"
The five of them are adorable as they try some swings.
"Absolutely, Sensei!" They chorus.
"Good. Now, I will show each of you how to hold your weapons and how to perform the basic swings. We will drill these moves before learning more challenging techniques. Understood?"
"Hai, Sensei!" The kids were so eager to learn their new weapons, they'd have agreed to just about anything.
"They grow up so fast…" I muse, laughing as I side-hug Dad.
"They do indeed." Dad replies, smiling at me before stepping in to get the kids in line so they could start drills to calm down before bed.
This new life may not be the life I thought we'd have when we moved to New York, but I know there's nothing that can replace my family.
I will honor Mama and Miwa as I help Dad raise these amazing little ninjas here in this subway station we call home.
