She Rat

by Fablemaster

A master and mother outlives her students, faces her most hated foe, the Shredder, and surrenders to the Kraang. Now in a new reality, she holds the key to shaping this world with her presence.

2. Chapter 2

The female rodent, wearing her all-white Kunoichi attire, was sitting in the traditional Japanese style in front of her host and his students, who sat at the side while the master was preparing tea for his guest. No words were exchanged, as certain ceremonies were being exchanged that were known only within the clan.

she briefly glanced over to the most energetic of the four Turtles. he was nearly hopping in place, no doubt wanting to ask her a million questions on who she was, where she came from, and other questions that would probably overwhelm anyone who wasn't experienced with this type of youthful energy. This was something that her daughter had often done whenever she saw something new or interesting, while the rest had other expressions directed to her. Donnie was eyeing her as he was trying to formulate the possibilities of another rat Ninja Master out there in the world. If he was like anything of her inquisitive daughter, the first thing he would ask of her is a hair sample to test the relations between herself and their Master to see if they are truly kin. Raph, on the other hand, had a brooding look as he felt sore of being beaten, not only by a woman who was holding back until she faced against their master. Leaving the last, Leo, his expression matched that of his master whenever he wasn't paying attention to the tea that he was preparing. It was both curiosity yet caution. Overall, their discipline was without question. This sensei trained his students well. She wondered if she could add a little more spice to their training.

"Your tea," Master Splinter announced as he set the tea at an equal distance between himself and her, signifying that he was willing to listen to her, but he would not extend the branch of trust any further than he had given.

She gave him a simple nod as she reached over and grabbed the cup. She looked into it. It was dark, yet when light was shown, she could see the various herbs that were still swirling around in the cold liquid. "You desire the cold, clear, unfettered truth of who I am and how I got here, and that I shall give," she answered the unspoken question that was symbolized in the tea. She brought it to her lips and drank it down to the last drop before setting it down next to her. She then closed her eyes and took in a deep breath as she prepared to tell her story, filled with tragedy and loss, similar to her counterpart's story. "I will start with how I got here. I came into this city through a portal from Dimension X." She paused for a moment to see if there was any recognition of that little pocket of reality that was in the intersection of other realities, both real and unreal. To imagine the unimaginable, yet they seemed all confused, which only told her that they had yet to encounter that reality. She continued, "This Dimension is an intersection of space where all existence can be connected to."

"An interdimensional Highway?" Mikey burst out, unable to hold back his enthusiastic nature, only for his master to grab hold of the part of his student's head that was similar to an ear, in between his two fingers, and yank, causing the orange ninja to yelp in pain.

She laughed, not quite a giggle, at the antics of the orange turtle. "Anyway, it is a Highway Between Worlds. One of them happened to connect to mine, a world that was destroyed and conquered by an alien race called the Kraang, who took me prisoner until I escaped. I thought that this place was similar to my own home city, so I came to see if this place existed here, and apparently it does." She finished explaining how she got here but never really spoke of who she was or her origins. Seeing how she still had a captive audience, she went ahead and did the more difficult part of her little tale. Actually taking another breath, preparing herself for the agonizing pain that she would be revealing about everything that had happened that led to the death of her family and the actual catalyst that had ended the world, her world.

About 30 minutes of careful explaining, with a few interjections and questions coming from the students that couldn't hold back their own inquiries. Even Splinter himself had questions that he held back, but he would only like to ask her in private, in regards to their shared, more human past that they didn't particularly share with their students.

"Whoa, does that mean we now have two Splinters for the price of one?" Mikey enthusiastically said, imagining the awesome team-up of watching two ninja Masters in a comic book-like outfit, bumping fists together to unleash their ninja power.

On the side, Donnie was just trying to calculate the logistics of an alternate reality where he was a she, and their Sensei was also female. Those lines of thoughts also began imagining what April would look like as a boy, which made him shudder at the thought of seeing a male version of his crush.

Raph wasn't much for contemplating philosophical things, so long as he's able to punch something or stab something with his sai, he did not particularly care. He let the hard thinking be handled by his Sensei, Leo, and Donnie.

The only one of the four that was quite skeptical of her story was Leo. He simply watched her, and his questions were few and far between his brothers. He looked at his master, who he was sitting next to, wondering what would be his overall decision of this person.

Splinter stared into the eyes that were so similar to his own, light brown, almost red in coloration. The only odd accessory was her earrings on her one ear, something that he would never have considered. Maybe in his youth when he was more rebellious, he would have gotten one or two back in Japan just to keep up with non-ninja friends, until his father put a stop to such foolishness before he could even get started. As he watched her give her story, he noticed the pain that was in her eyes, and her body language tensed on a few descriptions of how she had found her daughters as they were broken, just as her home was destroyed. There was no lie or hint of deception, and if there was deception in her words, she would surpass even the most skilled Kunoichi who could deceive the gods themselves. He started to stand up, his eyes never breaking contact with hers, and a lot like him, she also had risen to her feet. "I believe your story, as far-fetched as it is, and your movements definitely tell me that you are of the same Clan as I. And with that said, I welcome you formally, Hamato Yoshiko. Our clan doors are open to you." He started to bow his head respectfully, only glancing a bit to see if she did the same.

She did the exact same manner of respect being shown to her as she bowed exactly the same way. A lot like him, she glanced, as the two still had their instincts to never let their eyes away from a possible opponent, out of habit more than anything and not out of any disrespect.

"Then I thank you for welcoming me into the fold, and I will not usurp your role as head of this clan, but I shall take the role of head of the Kunoichi Grandmaster and train future Kunoichi under my oversight," she said formally. It was expected of her to take such a position if she did somehow find surviving members of her own clan in her own world, and due to the lack of any others that could dispute her claim, she doubted that the current male head of this clan would dispute her claim. After all, there are no other Kunoichi masters like herself.

Splinter nodded in agreement, "Hai, it is your prerogative to take your position as it's proper from one master to another, and I shall not interfere in your methods of training future Kunoichi as you would do the same for my Shinobi." Bowing with Clan formalities, he made sure to reinforce his position as the only one who will train his sons, though she was more than welcome in her position whenever his Turtles were combating against a Kunoichi warrior.

Both stared at each other before, at the same time, they smiled and closed the distance between one another as they extended a hand to clasp each other's forearms and shared a Warrior's handshake before breaking.

Splinter folded his arms underneath his sleeves behind his back, giving a curious look towards his students as he nodded towards his sons to relax. All three finally let out sighs of relief, except for Leo, who was slower to relax.

"So, are you going to be living with us now, Mistress Splinter? Also, you need a cool name when you are in that outfit. How about the White Shadow? Or maybe the White Phantom? Yeah, that sounds awesome," Mikey said enthusiastically, hopping and pumping his fist in the air as he came up with an interesting name for when she was going out in her white Kunoichi attire.

She let out a snort of amusement and brought two fingers to lightly poke his forehead, redirecting his attention onto her instead of bouncing from one thing to another. "I don't mind the name White Phantom when I'm on patrol. As for me staying here, that is up to your master to decide. Though I am welcome to come and go as I please, I doubt there's space for myself here," she answered both questions while smirking at the stunned, confused expression on his face.

A fond memory briefly entered Splinter's mind, seeing the other Clan siblings, primarily the older ones, tapping the younger on the forehead to calm down their more excitable nature. He never had siblings of his own to look up to, being an only child. Such interactions never occurred, especially with his father being strict and not as warm as most fatherly Masters. He would not prohibit such interactions.

Switching his focus and hearing her words, he let out a Gravelly cough, redirecting the attention of his son who was the first to ask the question of whether or not she was going to stay. "I will not be against allowing her to stay if she wishes to. I would have to clear out a small section for her, possibly splitting my quarters so she can reside within the dojo as it is her right as a master. But if she does not wish that, she can use one of the extensions of this part of the juncture of the subway and sewer system to her personal preference and comfort," he said. He felt something buried within himself wanted her near something he would have to meditate over.

"Again, I thank you, Grandmaster Yoshi. I'll take you up on your offer, but I believe it would not be appropriate for me to force you to surrender half of your quarters for myself. I will find my own section and spruce it up in accordance with my preferences," she said, both accepting and rejecting the idea of staying somewhere that she didn't have to pay for or have compromised.

Part of him was slightly disappointed that she wasn't going to take up his offer of giving her the same luxury that was offered to a Master occupying the same space. Yet he understood the proprieties. He was a man and she was a woman, and he would not push the issue. "If you have anything that you may have brought with you and tucked away somewhere before coming here, my sons will assist you in retrieving them. Or if there are any materials that you require, they shall also assist you," he extended the offer to help her feel welcome and put his sons on the spot to assist her in any way she may require.

All four of them, upon hearing that they were going to be put to work by both their Sensei and father, looked at him with shock. Especially after they had come back from their patrols, engaged with a few Foot Clan and stopped a few other petty criminals. But now being possibly forced into physical labor was almost cruel to them. But they knew if they argued about it, the next morning would be nothing but heavy-duty training until their limbs felt as if they were about to fall off.

Seeing the expression of the turtles made Yoshiko start to laugh, the first laugh that she felt with pure joy since the loss of her daughters and capture. It was a soulful laugh that truly minimized the pain that she felt for their absence. "No need to put your sons to work as they are already exhausted from their patrol. I am quite capable, even as a woman, to fix my own place. But I do need some materials to make my quarters more suitable for my needs. Could you direct me to where the trash is usually dumped into the subway system so I can salvage the parts that I need?" As soon as she said that she didn't require help from the turtles, all four of them had relieved looks on their faces. Especially Mikey, who was already wanting to goof off while listening to music, then possibly play with his skateboard. Donnie, on the other hand, wanted to go to his lab to work on a few pet projects he wanted to finish before heading off to bed. as for Raph wanted to spend some time with his pet tortoise Spike. Leo, on the other hand, wanted to speak with his Sensei a little more on the current situation in regards to Yoshiko's presence and how that would affect their training, as well as possibly mention how it was going to affect April's training if Yoshiko would take over the position of Kunoichi training exclusively, along with future female students.

"Very well, Donatello. You will direct Mistress Yoshiko to where the salvage is usually accumulated," Splinter prompted the purple mask turtle who was almost about to sneak out of the dojo, causing him to drop his shoulders in frustration as a low groan came from him.

Turning around, he quickly approached his master, "Hai sensei." Donnie reluctantly accepted playing the role of guide.

She gave a thankful nod towards Yoshi as she fell in line behind Donnie, who led the way to where all the refuge had accumulated from the various things that were thrown out onto the subway system, later sucked out of the main line and into the sub-lines or left behind by the various homeless who often lived in the more comfortable and less humid parts of the subway system. Yoshiko would have gone by herself if this place was similar to her own home. She would have just walked there herself, but what was being offered was a polite courtesy, and she didn't want to show any disrespect from said courtesy. So, she took the offered assistance in locating where she needed to get the items she required. After all, she didn't leave anything at the apartment besides locking the door and leaving the key inside.

After a few moments of walking, both the turtle and the rat entered a large spacious section where the old train lines used to switch from various sections, with a large mountain of garbage that mostly consisted of scrap metal, discarded furniture, electronics, plastics, and a few toys here and there in various states of condition, from brand new to looking as if they had spent time under a magnifying glass.

Yoshiko did not waste any time and found some tools, nails, strips of wood, and a discarded roll of silk that had what smelled like wine stains on it, possibly from a clothing store that couldn't get rid of the stains and decided to throw it out instead of trying to clean it chemically. That was one thing she had to respect America for; they seemed to throw away rather than fix or clean things. Instead of doing that, they would rather buy something brand new, hence the reason why this pile of garbage of useful material was so large, just as large as the one that she had in her previous home, where her studio would often build variations of gadgets and tools that best fit the role of ninjas and went beyond even that.

With her materials gathered, her guide waiting patiently at the entrance of this chamber let her back into the main part of the lair. Before she scouted out a perfectly sized space for her use to craft her own little quarters that would be similar to the one she once had and possibly end up mirroring Yoshi's if given enough time.

Hours later, April had just finished school and decided to visit the turtles. After all, there was very little she could do besides going to her empty home with her father still missing and the Kraang out there looking for her. Fortunately, she rotated between staying with the turtles and the apartment building that her father owned. He managed to pay off a year in advance in rent that included electricity, her phone, and other quintessential things that she needed, though she could easily have Donnie hack her phone so she would have infinite cell service with an unlimited data plan and internet usage. But she wasn't going to go down that road only because she felt that would be morally wrong. She entered the subway station with the least amount of foot traffic and walked to the very end where the station was, where the start of the tunnel began. She pulled out her phone and checked the time, making sure that she didn't hop down onto the tracks on a schedule where one of the subway trains would be coming towards the direction that she would be walking down and end up becoming a pancake. Seeing that there was no train scheduled for this hour and no one would think her crazy for jumping onto the tracks, she hopped down past the yellow line and started walking down into the tunnel. After 30 minutes of going through one tunnel after another and going through a service juncture, she entered a familiar space that was almost becoming a second home for her and to the second family that she never knew she had ever wanted outside the one she already had with her father.

Just like every time she had seen when entering the lair, everything remained relatively the same. By the looks of things, a few of her turtle friends were groggily getting up from a late night, with some of them still yawning. "Good morning, boys. Sleep well?" she announced her presence playfully, asking how well they had slept, and by the looks of things, they hadn't.

"Hey, April. Yeah, we sort of had a bit of an exciting night that made it difficult for all of us to sleep," Donnie was quick to answer, rubbing the back of his head feeling embarrassed that he wasn't up to his own standards when meeting up again with April. If he wasn't green, his cheeks would be slightly red with embarrassment, the one thing he thanked for his reptilian biology.

The only one who seemed to be recovering much faster than his brothers was Mikey, who was already mixing a blender of orange soda, pizza, cookies, and a large spoonful of mystery gray gunk that he kept in a jar with green spots in it. After it was blended, he opened up the monstrous mixture and drank it down, immediately letting out a "woohoo" after just a few sips before downing the rest. "Yeah, last night was awesome. We got ourselves a second Splinter," he said, sounding more like his usual energetic self after downing his wake-up pizza mystery slime orange soda surprise.

She raised an eyebrow at Mikey's mention of a second Splinter, which caused Donnie to give an annoyed glare as if the purple mask turtle was about to relay that information himself if he ever got past the shyness that she always saw he expressed, making him look cute at times, annoying though, but still cute. "So there's another rat mutant here?" she asked.

"Apparently, yes, with a complicated story to go with her origins," Donnie had added to his brother's outburst to his chagrin.

Curiosity was already piqued; now she was eager to meet this newest person, and from what she had heard, this rat was female—a welcome change of pace compared to the male-dominated group of ninjas that she knew. "When do I meet her, or is she in meditation now?" Her eyes went towards the dojo, wondering if both Splinters were occupying the same space.

"I had already completed my meditation, and I'm glad to meet you, Miss O'Neill," a stern yet motherly voice spoke from behind the redhead, who immediately whipped her head around to look at the almost 6 ft tall female rat wearing a short navy blue shirt that only covered her chest and was sleeveless, with black netting material coming out underneath her shirt, along with the same netting material in between her forearm and the midsection of her upper arm, covered in that material with the same material extending down her legs and stopping at her knees, wearing a matching skirt that went with her shirt.

The human teen jumped a bit, and out of the routine reactions that she had developed under Splinter's tutelage, she had already taken on a defensive stance from the sudden surprise of the person that was behind her.

Seeing the girl's reaction and quick reflexes, despite being slower to her standards, Yoshiko was still impressed. "So you are the April O'Neil. I've heard about who's being trained as a Kunoichi, yes?" she asked in question as she slowly began circling the girl, examining the parts that she could see of the girl, her arms, her legs, her midsection, and found it all lacking the proper development.

"Yes, I have asked Master Splinter to take me on as an student under his guidance," April answered, recognizing the tone that this master of ninjutsu was conveying as she was being examined, as that was the closest thing she could get to why the dressed rat was circling her.

Yoshiko stopped circling the human girl; she then crossed her arms and leaned her head forward until her muzzle was in front of the girl's face and stared sternly into the girl's eyes, and the girl stared back. Within a few moments, she withdrew and smiled. "Yes, you'll do well, but you'll no longer be under Yoshi's guidance. He is not a proper Kunoichi master, and I am, and I expect you in the dojo immediately." She waited for the girl to follow her orders before following behind and testing the girl of her skill set and seeing what parts that she needed to polish in the girl's training; hopefully, she'll be a lot better than her counterpart when she was having to train Alex O'Neill, the girl's male version.

Recognizing that last part as an order, April immediately headed to the dojo and made sure to kick off her shoes as she entered, leaving behind the new mistress and surprised Donnie.

A few moments later, the rat had entered the dojo with her arms behind her back in a similar fashion as Splinter would have done when entering the dojo when training a student one-on-one. "Fighting stance," she commanded as she stepped to the side, wanting to see the girl's form.

Without hesitation, she took on a battle stance that conveyed strength and power, and she felt rather proud that she was able to do this stance but that proud feeling that she got from successfully taking on the stance was immediately replaced with pain as a small stick whacked her in the arm.

"No, your stance is too rigid; you're not a man. You need to be more flexible. What if you come across someone who has a lot more power than you? You need to maneuver around rather than trying to tank their blows with your arms and legs," she lectured while twirling the stick that she had taken from the training rack of weapons. "Now, defensive stance!" Again she commanded, and just like before, she whacked the girl on the inner thigh in an effort for the girl to widen her stance that would allow her to have a stronger yet more flexible base.

This continued for some time with the sound of a whacking stick hitting flesh, and a painful grunt could be heard outside the dojo. Donnie was half tempted to go in there to save April from the harsh training that was being dealt with by Yoshiko, only for his father to stop him who emerged from out of nowhere, extending a hand to prevent him from moving in the direction of the dojo.

"I understand what you're thinking, my son. A Kunoichi master doesn't simply train their students; they break them down and build them back up. The pain that April feels will be gentle caresses compared to what Yoshiko has in store for her," he said. he wasn't speaking out of his ass about this; before he was even ready to become a Shinobi, he peeked on what kind of training the Kunoichi would have done, and from what he saw, it was truly something, a mixture of both exotic yet brutal. Sadly, he was immediately caught, and as punishment, the current master of Kunoichi saw fit to temporarily blind him for one month for gazing upon something that he shouldn't unless he was the head of the clan. Even now, he dare not look into the dojo just to see if Yoshiko was going too far and truly hurt the girl. He dare not intrude simply because he had to show the proper respect, especially to one who has experienced training girl ninjas.

breathing heavily April was covered in welts and a few cuts at her arms legs and even one across her face that one was delivered when she had given a stink eye at her master she had gone for the various forms and made these little adjustments and followed the advice that was given and when she had switched between defensive and offensive move sets still it wasn't enough for her Miss painstick of an ass instructor.

" again defensive stance!" Yoshiko ordered and she had the whipping stick raised to strike at the few parts that weren't bruised in some way by the cruel instrument that she was employing in the breakdown of her student and testing the girls resolve.

doing as prompted April tried to move her arms and legs in the proper position but have difficulties thanks to the swelling of her arms and legs that felt like utter agony and she wasn't truly able to get into the perfect stance and she heard a disappointed sigh followed up with the whistling sharp sound of the stick heading straight for her back. instead of just standing there April immediately turned out of the way of the stick that missed her by an inch and she had the look of Triumph of avoiding getting smacked only to see other Fury in her Kunoichi instructor.

" I did not command you to move from your spot girl I believe I should stop holding back on my punishments on you when you fail to follow my instructions." but she rat words came out harsh and even sadistic as an evil smile appeared on her face and she twirled the stick around before gripping it tightly as her muscles in her right arm that held the stick began tensing to deliver a harsher smacking on the girl as she slowly approached.

her eyes widen as April thought about running away possibly try to reach the exit of the dojo yet she was in no condition and just simply run not with her legs all sore and she doubt she could actually have the dexterity to even open the door instead she bald her fingers into Fists and went to the offensive whether it would be a good idea or not she refused to be smacked anymore.

" really you're going to fight me in your condition I would find it laughable if it wasn't so pathetic you truly you think you can fight me Kunoichi that's been trained since the age of five against a girl who's only began formal training that children are instructed in but barely even know their letters and numbers." Yoshiko cruelly mock the girl and even when as far as spread out both of her arms offering a free hit for the girl to take out on her if she can manage a strong enough blow.

" fuck you you rat faced bitch" she managed to yell out as she brushed forward anger feeling her gaze and fueling her aching muscles as she delivered the strongest blow she could into the female rats chest and effort to strike the one weak spot she knew as her fist connected it didn't yield the results that she wanted as she punched that somewhat firm yet saw a bit of Flesh.

Yoshiko definitely felt that sting on her left breast though it wasn't the worst type of pain that she felt but she could not allow her student to strike her without retaliation. grabbing hold of the girls wrist she flipped the girl over her shoulders and on to the ground with enough Force to knock the wind out of her before delivering a harsh kick into the girls abdomen with enough Force to begin making the girl regurgitated that what she had eaten for lunch. " such a weak little thing perhaps I should end you right here now I know of those who pursue you and I know the terrible fate awaits you when they do get you it's worse than any hell a woman should ever endure they will poke you they will prod into you they'll peel away parts of your flesh just to see how things work and if you're lucky they will kill you if not they'll leave you as a shell of a person." her eyes were glowing menacingly as she grabbed hold of girl's shirt and hoisted the girl up in the air until not even the tips of her toes were touching the ground as the nearly broken form of April with half closed eyes stared defiantly into the one that had beaten her bloody.

"No…" was the only thing that April managed to croak out as her eyes remain filled with stubborn determination and unwilling to give it.

her eyes narrowed as she leaned her face forward until rat like nose was inches away from the girls as light brown eyes met with blue eyes. " no what no more is that it you don't want any more of this this pain you feel the life that you are now forced to live no more of this non normalcy that you are forced to endure having to come here and deal with mutants deal with aliens deal with ninjas is that what you're trying to tell me you do not want this anymore is that it girl!" Yoshiko words came out even more harshly as her grip tightened on the girl's shirt to the point that it was starting to choke April as the girl began letting out a few coughs at the tightness the girl felt.

" no I will rather die than give in to you bitch." again she croaked out and felt some new Strength within her like a fire that had been lit up in her belly as she managed to bring her right fist that she had balled up into the tightest fist as possible to the Temple of her master stunning Yoshiko for the brief moment as she let go of her giving the battered and bruised April opportunity to tackle she rat before she had a moment to recover and then started blindly wailing her fist in the attempts to deliver the same amount of pain that she had just received for almost possibly an hour of this brutal torture.

three hits that she allowed and within three seconds of that April being on top of her Yoshiko had flipped herself and the girl over changing the positions as she delivered a side chop to the girls neck disrupting the signals between brain and the rest of the body virtually paralyzing the girl from the neck down temporarily she got up and took a few coming breaths and look down at her broken student that was incapable of moving only blinking and shock and fear at in her immobile state only until her eyes met with hers that's when she rat could truly see the girls fire the fire that she was looking for the fire that she had to Chip Away to find " well done you will be Kunoichi yet." Yoshiko tone of voice switch from being cruel and harsh to now being proud and warm which had confused the paralyzed girl that was still staring at the rodent with the Frozen expression on her face..

being pushed to her side she felt an intense pain in her back as April immediately regain mobility of her body and able to take in a deep breath of air that she didn't know is that she was holding she tried to get up only for her body to immediately collapse due to no small part that every part of her body felt as if was made into one of Raphael's punching bags for the last week. " why… you beat the shit out of me?" she questioned percent say that's if she really wanted to train under this monster.

Yoshiko had heard the question as she went to Yoshi's living quarters and grab some herbal tonics and pastes lastly bandages to help the girl with her current injuries and cuts. " this is known as the trial of spirit whether you are a member of the clan or not this trial must be taken place between student and master if I did not have the strength to truly put you through the pains that we Kunoichi endure as a woman as our Nature's dictate later in life how can we handle fighting along our Shinobi Brothers we would be nothing but liabilities if we do not endure such pain and we women must and do a greater amount of pain to reach our true potential and I just chip away to bring your potential forth." the sheet black shirt as she kneeled down and pulled out a knife and began cutting and stripping April from her current clothes as it was covered in a vile and blood from the various welts bad developed underneath from the horse training that was just delivered.

cool air on her skin hurt more than than what type of medicines that were being put on her skin but April could truly see how tender and motherly her new Sensei was as does she worked the almost equally as painful sabs that were being rubbed into the few cuts and bruises that she had on her skin she hardly even felt embarrassed being exposed in front of another person even if they were an adult woman. " did you have to do this with your turtles?" she managed to say clearly as she could feel less of the pain as the oils and ointments that were being worked into her skin to numb the pain.

'

That question caused the she-rat to freeze for a moment as she remembered the type of training that she had to force on her daughters. They weren't exactly human, so she couldn't truly deliver the same amount of pain that their shells often got in the way when trying to deliver the type of training that she would like to instill in her daughters. But she managed and remembered the type of words that were said, words that they truly did not merit, and how it struck at her having to force her daughters through such agony. Yet it was for their benefit; at the end of the day, she would find them huddled up around her, resting as the various bandages and ointments were still healing their bodies. She did not send them to their rooms; she just cuddled there with them, the same way that she hoped for her own child that she had lost. "Yes, they endured this pain, but it's far less hard to whack them when they have shells. So, if anyone should be envied, you know who to direct your jealousy upon," she rat said warmly, despite feeling the pain of those memories.

Another hour passed, the door of the dojo was open, with April having a blanket covering her body and providing a bit of modesty for her. Yoshiko escorted the girl towards her own quarters so she could provide the appropriate clothes for Kunoichi.

"April, are you all right? Do you need any medical attention?" Donnie said very loudly and quickly, seeing the condition that was delivered upon April's face and how disheveled her hair was. There was no mistaking the scent of blood coming off of April's bruised body that was covered under the blanket, and he could also glance into the dojo and see the floor mats covered in droplets of blood.

Before he could even reach out, the purple-masked turtle was flipped over and landed on his back before being spun out of the way, courtesy of Yoshiko's tail. She only glanced over at Yoshi and gave him a stern glare before directing her glare at Donnie, who was about to step out of line on where his concern should lie at the moment.

Yoshi got the message, and as expected, he would have to deliver some punishment to Donatello for attempted interference with a Kunoichi after she had completed her trial. "Yamete!" he firmly commanded Donatello as he grabbed his son's shell, preventing him from moving any further.

"But sensei, April's hurt and she's, you know, human," Donnie blustered, wanting to go to April's defense, help her heal, and keep her away from the sadistic version of Master Splinter.

He forced his son to turn around and face him, looking deeply into his son's eyes with a stern glare that spoke of a world of hurt if Donnie continued on this idiotic pursuit. "April has completed the first of many trials to becoming a full Kunoichi, and I know what you are feeling. This feeling will pass in time. I wish I could tell you more, but even I know very little in regards to the various trials for Kunoichi, mostly by design. But I assure you, she'll remain the same as she is in spirit, though her spirit will be put through the crucible that is ninjutsu," he tried to reassure his son while also trying to keep him from doing something stupid where he would have to take drastic actions to make sure the proper punishments were delivered. He hated the fact that he would have to deliver it himself, as both a father and a sensei. It was his duty to put his students in line, as well as his sons, whether they were truly of his blood or not, and he would have to carry them out regardless.

Being placed down on a comfortable, thin mattress, April welcomed the sweet relief of an oblivious sleep. It was fortunate that today was Friday, and she had the entire weekend to rest off the injuries that she sustained. A comforting soft pillow was put on the back of her head as gentle hands made sure she was being well taken care of.

"I'm truly sorry, Miss O'Neill, but it had to be done. You are too important to be handled so gently. It is best to increase both the heat and the strength of the blows on this blade that is still in the forge. But once it's over, you will be a worthy Kunoichi," she rat softly spoke to the unconscious girl as she brought a gentle hand to move a single strand of the girl's hair away from her face and softly caressed her forehead, before withdrawing and standing up.

Heading towards her closet she pulled out her white Phantom Kunoichi attire and slipped them on after she had slipped out of her clothes. She had split the door open of her new quarters and stepped out, closing it behind her to allow the girl to have peace and quiet to allow herself to leave for the surface. As she passed through the lair, she had variations of intense, almost hateful stares delivered at her simply because she delivered a great deal of pain to the one human friend they deeply care about, at least until they would eventually meet up with Cassandra Jones, or whatever name she or he would go by in this world.

She ignored all their angry glares as she directly headed for one of the various service tunnels in the sewers that would lead her somewhere where most of the action would be happening at this time of early night. Who knows, she might find a newspaper article talking about how a white-clothed Ninja saved a woman that was nearly assaulted by some ruffians. Fame wasn't something she would have longed for, especially after her daughters had taken up the mantle of Guardians of New York. But she did keep many items of their exploits as souvenirs, mostly trophies of their triumphs. If only they had survived. And she did the one thing that she had successfully done after their passing - she would mount Shredder's helmet along with the other armor pieces, items, and other trinkets that she had collected on behalf of her daughters' victories to finally put a close on the chapter that should have been closed far sooner than it had happened. But that was the past.

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All four of the turtles had watched as their newest master left the lair in the original outfit that she had worn when she had first entered it. It did not take long for the purple-masked Turtle to voice his opinion of what he heard and what he saw condition of April O'Neil was in.

"This can't be right, Master Splinter wasn't as harsh on us when he began training us, am I wrong?" Donnie said loudly, outraged.

"I don't know, Donnie. Master Splinter was hard on us when we started out as simple initiates. I still remember a few times we cracked our shells, at least more than once before we were let out of the sewers," Raph commented, remembering back as far as he could about their youth and how their training had begun. The grueling days and weeks of continuous training made them feel as if their limbs were about to fall off, along with their shells.

Despite feeling the same anger directed towards the one that had hurt April, Mikey tried to look at the silver lining. "It's all right, Bros. Just means that April's going to come out as strong as us. No biggie," the orange-masked turtle was confident that April would come out of this stronger, maybe strong enough to participate in patrols. It would be interesting to watch the mad moves of a human Ninja.

Like his brothers, Leo was concerned for April, perhaps not on the same level as Donnie or with the same disregard as Raph, but similarly, he had the same hope and confidence that he shared with Mikey.

"We'll just have to trust that Master Splinter will step in if Mistress Thorn goes too far with April, but I doubt he will interfere in the proper training of her," Leo said. He was confident that his master knew what he was doing and that Mistress Thorn knew what she was doing, despite having doubts in the back of their minds, which mostly centered on the worry and care that all four of them shared for April.

"Donatello, come to the dojo," announced Splinter as he spoke through the paper-thin sliding doors of the dojo.

"Ooh, you're in trouble," Mikey mocked and teased as Donnie had a pulsing vein that became a little more prominent the more his brother continued to mock and tease him.

Despite the mocking and teasing, Donnie did as his father and master requested and stepped into the dojo. In front of Splinter were several cups that were empty, and next to his master was a slowly boiling teapot.

"Take the stance of patience," he commanded as he sat there with his eyes closed, waiting for his student to follow his orders without him having to open his eyes to make sure if his order was followed correctly.

The purple-masked turtle got into position as he stood on one leg while extending the other, stretching out his arms with his hands extended. He tried to stand perfectly still. He was about to protest, stating that this was unfair until the tip of Splinter's staff halted his protest. His master stood up with the bowl/cups in hand and began placing one on top of his head, along with several more on his shoulders, arms, wrists, knee, and foot. Then, taking the boiling hot water, he poured it into the empty cups until every cup was full. He then sat down and started to meditate.

While Donnie held the pose, he could feel the heat of the boiling water begin to seep through the cups and onto his scaly skin. It was starting to make his head hurt, along with his wrists, arms, shoulders, knee, and foot. If he did anything that would break his concentration to keep his balance, the hot, scalding water would be poured onto him, making the slight irritating pain feel worse than simply holding the heated cups. He wondered how long he would have to hold this pose.

"I apologize for this punishment, my son, but you need to know this: you should not attack brazenly against another master. Be lucky I took over your punishment. Usually, when a student attacks another master, they are the ones who decide the punishment, rather than the other way around. I wish to spare you the actual pain that you would suffer. If you calm your mind now, you'll be able to ignore the heat. But if you allow your mind to focus on what is currently happening in regards to April, then the heat from the boiling water in the cups will continue to steal your focus and cause you to fail to keep your stance. You'll be severely burned," he sagely lectured to his son and student while still maintaining the look that he was in deep meditation.

Though his thoughts were on calming himself, he was distracted with thoughts of Yoshiko, how she moved, and how their duel never truly ended, which needled at his own pride as a Ninjutsu master and as a man. Sure, he would gladly accept being defeated by a woman, but having no conclusion to a duel such as the one he had with her made him want to go after her and demand the conclusion to their fight. Yet he kept those feelings pressed in the back of his mind, where his other childish thoughts were usually kept. This also allowed him to focus on the now and on the lesson he wished to impart to his son. He waited patiently before taking one of the boiling hot cups randomly off of Donatello's body within every hour of this night.

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Jumping between rooftops, Yoshiko felt the cool wind penetrate through her clothes and relished the feeling of being able to do this without the fear of being targeted by the Kraag or the Foot. That was until she would make her presence known to them. After that, she would have to be wary whenever she resurfaced, either to annoy this current Shredder, whoever they are, and disrupt operations for those interdimensional invaders. Until then, she'll take her time and assist the turtles whenever they require it, even though right now they would rather see her banished from their lair. Had she been a man, her own daughters would probably have given her just stern and angry glares when she had trained the O'Neal of her world, a young man who had just entered adulthood. Unlike her turtles who were in between teenhood and adulthood. Just like Donnie, her own purple-masked daughter was infatuated with the charismatic, handsome human man. He seemed to be quite the charmer, even towards her. Though she had to make sure to put her foot down that she wasn't going to be someone's conquest, especially a bold young man. She had to take a stern task in hand and threatened him. If he ever broke one of her daughters' hearts, he would be the last of his bloodline. She would do it slowly and painfully as possible to ensure her daughters' feelings would be avenged. It scared the boy straight and treated all the girls respectively from then on.

When she pushed those memories of Mr. O'Neil aside in her mind, another roguish, handsome fellow appeared in her mind, taking the form of Yoshi. Sure, he was a rat like herself, but that didn't disqualify him from being handsome in her mind's eye or in her rat's mind's eye. The way how he moved truly felt like a dance, a dance that could end with one of them hurt. She wondered if he realized that she had won that duel. Probably not. He probably wouldn't allow himself to accept defeat unless an actual blow was given. Most likely, another challenge would occur, and she would just simply oblige. She couldn't help but feel excited to have another chance to fight against him. Where the excitement was coming from, she did not quite know.

Landing into an alleyway, she walked out onto the sidewalk, passing a few shops, one of them showing TVs displaying various programs on high-definition screens the shop owner had on offer.

News Bulletin*

'Today we're reporting on a news report that just came in yesterday. One of our own on channel 12 had been nearly assaulted by a few non-gang affiliated rapists. The reporter had stated that she took an ill-advised shortcut to her apartment and ran into these despicable men. Only until a white-clothed ninja-like savior came out of nowhere and brutally handled these rapists, putting them into critical condition. Already, we are getting reports from various callers and media posts, announcing that it's about time that there was a womanly savior to defend us women. While others are coming up with theories stating that this person is the so-called ninja. They had appeared shortly after several criminals and gang-affiliated individuals had been disarmed, battered, and tied up for the police to detain after being notified of the crime's progress. Others are skeptical. Until we get further news, stay tuned on channel 12 for more of your New York info.'

She had watched the entire news bulletin. She either wanted to laugh or hiss in distaste of her heroic action being used to bolster someone's position in the news media. Yoshiko did not personally like being used in such a way, but there was nothing that she could do. She would not allow a woman to be defiled in such a way. She continued to walk down the sidewalk, suppressing more of the disgust that she felt. She looked around from the point of view of an average person, not a ninja, leaping from rooftop to rooftop to see the city properly, something she had rarely done in the past, not since her change.

The moments of peace that she was beginning to feel were interrupted as she heard some hushed mutterings that were almost imperceptible. But thanks to her sharp hearing, she could hear clearly.

"The Foot needs this shipment or that will be it for the Purple Dragons," said one of the Purple Dragon members, as at least four others were trying to force a large box into a comically small van.

She knew beating low-level thugs would hardly be a fight, but at least it would help get the rust off. As she cracked her neck, shoulders, back, and legs, she made her way across the street where the Purple Dragons were. To deliver some pain and possibly try to see what type of package they were trying to deliver to the Foot Clan. Either to take it as a prize for herself or simply destroy it and have it delivered anyway, just to deny the Foot Clan their prize, and by proxy, Shredder.

BTC