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Into all things one must find balance . . .
It was morning, soft dew embracing the nexus, its plains, and its forests. Some melodious songbird was caroling in the distance, maybe some kind of mutation of a sparrow. It felt like a very gentle mist had settled around the nexus, shrouding its inhabitants in a thin veil. The morning still had its romance of the night, its darkness yet another layer of shadow. It was a ninja's playground, but not all ninja were awake to play. Some had to meditate.
How far will Earth's boughs bend for you?
Splinter always awoke unnaturally early, often with the schedule of farmers. This pattern, to any plain view, would be considered strange, especially from someone native to the bustle of New York. However, when the mind called to be quelled, he had to listen to it. Sometimes, it was as early as four AM, and yet also late as five thirty. On most occasions, Leonardo would join him, mainly for the bonding time and for the relaxation that came to him through mediation. The poor turtle was worn down, especially after the skirmishes he had to fight late in the night. It was best for him to rest at this time.
Do you know which way that the wind blows?
He was still cloaked in the clothes he found at this small cottage, grateful that no one had taken claim over it. Splinter, although at nature a ninja, hated to steal unless his life depended on it. If dressing strangely helped to protect his sons, he would do that. Besides, these clothes weren't all that bad—in fact, they were rather nice. It was strange that someone would abandon such items, but sometimes people have to depart from their material needs. In that case, Splinter was glad to have what he had. It was also extreme luck that both April and Casey found something different they could wear for the moment. If anything, ninja commonly have luck going for them.
Does the fire burn at your heels?
He could have practiced in the house, but he risked waking up his sons and the humans. So, to let them sleep, Splinter slipped outside into the morning air. The miasma of dew felt refreshing, considering he was used to the somewhat acidic rain that New York had. Taking his walking stick, he slowly began to run through his simpler katas, working his way up to the more extreme and back down again. He was a grayish blur in the morning, somewhat obscured by his white kimono. Even with the dexterity it took to perform these tasks, he made no sound—no twig disturbed, no leaf shuffled.
Have you felt the wrath of the water?
Which is why he slowed when he heard something crackle in the distance. Stopping for a moment, Splinter looked around to where he had heard the sound. Ears flickered delicately, sensing the world in its full form. He took in a deep breath, deeper than that a musician takes for their art, and let his chi energy fuel his body. Finally, eyes adjusting in the forest, he caught the glance of moonlight milk irises, finding what he originally failed to seek out. His opponent, eyes slightly widening behind its mask, made a sharp signal, then descended out of the tree to directly confront its target. Even if they were ninja, they prepared to fight equally in this occasion.
If you claim to have found balance, then you lie, for all things mortal cannot have perfect ambience with nature without bias.
The first assailant bowed, calmly addressing her situation, "I have come to fight a Battle Nexus champion." She dressed in teal and pink, a red fox's mask shielding her face. Radiant hair flowed strangely around her, waving like the rays of the sun.
Splinter, analyzing his foe while speaking, nodded, "You have found one."
The second one, a taller companion with straight, brown hair, stated, "We search for two." This one had an air of impatience around her, a purple bird's face masking her own. She dressed much more prepared for combat, a naginata already in her hands.
"You may find another later," Splinter surrendered very little information, "But, until I understand your motives, I will not let you find him."
The first nodded, then withdrew two thin wakazashi blades, "Then, it's time for both of us to assess our characters."
Balance, inevitably, must be broken.
April was up, though. Leo could smell something coming from a couple of rooms over. It was like egg and rice and peppers. Where did she find food? His stomach was growling, beckoning him to go to the kitchen. He gave into the temptation for once, drifting through the abandoned cottage like a satisfied ghost.
This place that Splinter found was rather cozy, for being covered in spider webs. There was a small hallway, an entrance, a bathing room, a storage facility with weapons still in tact, and this room that they had morphed into a bedroom. The walls were not without minor damage, tiny little rips in the sides of the rice paper walls. It kept the weather out, and it was a place to rest, so that was good enough. In all reality, Leonardo didn't understand why the place was left alone in the first place. He suspected foul play from a long time ago, but he wasn't sure what.
"Morning, Leo," April cheerfully greet Leo as he stumbled in. She offered him what she had made, "Omelet?"
Leo nodded, beaming with gratification. She scooped a small portion of the food out for him, leaving the rest for when everyone else woke up. He was curious how she had managed to find something to cook with, "What's up with this place?"
April shrugged, "I'm not sure, Leo. It's got somewhat modern facilities in it, but it all operates strangely. This stove doesn't make any smoke when I cook with it, and there's a cooling unit like a fridge that had fresh food in it. I don't know what any of these things run on. It almost seems like some kind of magic."
Swallowing a mouthful of rice and egg, Leo agreed, "It's possible. Donatello and Splinter went through the place last night and found ofudas and charms all over the walls. Looks like whoever had this place used to be very powerful.
"That's another thing that bothers me," April sat down, taking a small bit of breakfast from the community wok, "I do believe Splinter, but it's hard to believe he just found a place like this. Who had this place, you know? Why would they live in such a small area if they were so powerful?''
Leonardo had some kind of idea, "Well, it's possible they were ninja too, and wanted to hide. Somebody must have found him, though. Probably killed him, too." That was starting to kill his appetite. Eating a little more, he asked, "By the way, have you seen Splinter?"
April smiled, pointing outside, "Sure. He went outside to meditate."
Bowing as he stood up, Leonardo thanked her, "Sorry to eat and run, April, but I think I'd better get out there before he kicks my butt. I woke up late, and he's not always very forgiving about that. But breakfast was great!"
As he dashed out the wooden door, April had to smile again. Even cordial Leonardo, the eldest brother in maturity, was still a teenager. She picked up his food, noticing that he had picked out the peppers from it. That made her laugh even more—Leonardo, a finicky eater? Oh, well. At least they were all safe.
Well, so she thought.
Splinter was being very resourceful, as is expected of a ninjistu sensei. Not allowing his two opponents to be granted quarter, he kicked back on one of the bamboo shoots. It served for his weapon, at least for now. If ninja are good at anything, it's improvisation. He then waited calmly for their advances, preparing to take the defense (and often times easier) side of battle.
Obviously, the younger of the two women was much less experienced than her elders. Taking her naginata, she raked at the rat, catching only grass and bamboo. Splinter jumped over her violent swings, landing on the shaft of the weapon with careful precision. The youth was surprised, yanking backwards in an attempt to shake the rat off. With a quick strike of his heel, Splinter sundered the weapon, wood easily cracking under the swift blow. The young girl was startled, dropping the rest of the broken handle.
"Perhaps you should have done as I suggested and left him to me," the girl's elder scolded her, "Go now. I can handle this."
The brown-haired youth seemed shocked, "Yes, Senro-sama." Taking a small pouch out of her belt, she disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. Her elder quickly took her place in combat, softly smirking behind her vulpine mask, "Let me make no mistake, Splinter-san. I only wish to test you."
"That is a strange motive, but let us not debate it further," Splinter was fairly short on the small talk. Taking his bamboo shoots, he carefully approached the teal-clad elder. With a slash and a block, the second and more intense began. It quickly became apparent that this woman knew much more about fighting than her youthful entourage did.
The woman known as Senro rushed up one bamboo shaft, jumping back down with both swords drawn. Splinter was able to dodge one, the other catching the left sleeve of his robe. He deflected a kick to his face, shredding his robe loose from the pin. She took both her swords back and launched an acrobatic assault, plunging both into the ground and flipping herself 270 degrees to deliver a flurry of kicks. Splinter again dodged most of the attack, but a few graceful kicks landed on his muzzle. One of them managed to bloody his nose, but he ignored that. No time to tend to injuries, especially not right now.
Instead, he began flattering his opponent, "Impressive. That took some upper body strength, along with flexibility. Where did you learn this?"
Not falling for idle talk, Senro continued with a whirlwind of swords, "I did not learn it. I simply knew it. I was programmed to do so."
That was startling, "Programmed? Are you not alive?" Splinter caught one of her hands off guard, slamming it into a tree. It dropped its wakazashi, hand clearly broken by the attack. White bones stuck out of the skin, but there was no blood. Splinter nearly gasped, but kept calm as his training told him to do.
"I am not alive, in the sense of the word," Senro explained, allowing herself one moment to wrap up the damaged hand. Splinter did not stop her, remembering when he broke his leg in one match and was given time to patch it. Finishing the makeshift bandage, she muttered, "I was created out of death, and I have not life. I am not undead, yet I am. I am. . .a monster, I suppose."
Strange term she chose for it, but Splinter had no time to think. The woman leapt up into the bamboo forest, using her sword as a brace. Pausing for a moment, she yelled down, "If you want to continue this, you must come up." It was an odd game, but Splinter was willing to participate in it. He easily climbed up to her level, using some of the older bamboo shafts as his balance. Now a new level of complication affected the test.
There was a pink and red blur as Senro leapt off her balance, one leg smashing through Splinter's bough. Barely catching his breath, Splinter grabbed onto the stump where he was previously standing. He flipped himself up, knocking the eccentric fighter away as he grasped another branch. She seemed at ease up in the bamboo tops, almost like some kind of bird. He wished he could admit the same, but it wasn't so. Steeling himself, he anticipated another blow.
This time, Senro snapped through the bamboo shoot below him, sending an entire half of the shoot tilting and crashing onto the ground. Splinter slipped from his position, digging his nails into the bamboo, hoping to slow his fall. With some luck and pieces of wood digging into his fingers, he managed to avoid getting impaled by the tree. He jumped to another one, throwing his crude weapon at the woman. It struck her through the upper right shoulder and laid in it limply. She was startled by its appearance, but then smirked. Pointing down, somehow with her right arm still working, she smiled, "It appears we are not alone."
Leonardo had only seen the last fifteen seconds of battle, but he knew that was enough time to make a good judgment that something was definitely wrong. Splinter, as through some strange sweep of humor, waved to his son, and then launched himself back into combat. Leaping across to where Senro balanced, he knocked the shoot and rocked it back and forth, eventually having to jump to another spot. It was enough to shake Senro loose, but only to another bamboo plant. Washing the idea of fatigue out of his mind, Splinter climbed up higher to re-establish his fight, fingers and toes bleeding from the harsh series of his own attacks. Leonardo watched almost helplessly, and then searched for some kind of weapon around him. He had to do something to help his dad!
Senro finally took the shoot out of her shoulder, still no blood present in her body. There was a small gaping hole where the bamboo rod had smashed through bone and muscle, sickening if anyone stared at it too long. Somehow managing to cling onto one of her swords, she finally saw an advantage of her location. Mustering up strength that should not have been present in her right arm, she channeled energy waves throughout the sword. Blue energy flared through it, sucking the mist out of the atmosphere around it. Aiming with the precision of an eagle, she threw it at the rat, the sword spiraling as it slashed through everything around it. Splinter managed to avoid getting his feet and tail cut off, hoisting himself over the path of the sword. Bamboo all around him was severed, collapsing to the forest ground. He was not left out of the range of attack; he watched helplessly as his shoot slid backwards, smashing into another bamboo stem and landing several feet below with a heavy THWACK!
"Sensei!", Leonardo's mind switched into battle mode, racing across the fallen wreckage of plants. He picked up one discarded blade from the ground of the field, uncertain who originally possessed it but nevertheless taking it. Splinter heard his son's voice, shaking wooden shards out of his fur. He ached in his upper arms, but it wasn't the worst he ever felt. The back of his head was bleeding a little bit, although he was certain it wasn't severe. He just thought he was getting a little careless, that's all.
Leonardo slipped Splinter the recovered wakazashi, asking, "What's going on? Are we under attack?" He seemed anxious, even under his cool exterior.
Splinter patted Leonardo's shell, softly speaking, "All will be explained. Wait." Leonardo quickly took cover as Splinter launched a counter-attack, chopping the reed that Senro was standing on. The fighter, snarling with rage, flung herself down the tree, going into a bizarre rage. She slashed at Splinter with her one remaining sword, both barely blocking each other's blows. Leonardo watched with fright, wondering how long Splinter could keep deflecting the lightening blows. He decided he had to interfere, against his better judgment.
The rat flinched as one slash nearly took off the entire left sleeve, or what was left of its tattered state. Preparing another block, he was surprised to hear a clang but not feel the heavy blow through his weapon. Leonardo, both swords crossed, finally pinned the last remaining wakazashi under Senro's control. The woman screeched in fury, smashing one leg into Leonardo's plastron. Reacting under only parental instincts, Splinter growled in terror and anger, blindly attacking in fury. It was one thing to mess with the sensei, but he was not about to let his son get hurt by some psychotic fighter!
He struck and hit. Critically.
Senro blankly stared at the sword lodged between her ribcage. She then smiled, about as emptily. Splinter and Leonardo watched in amazement as she pulled the sword out of her chest, placing it in the rat's hands. Placidly, she murmured, "The test is complete. You have been found worthy."
Leonardo was still gaping, uncertain why the strange woman was not bleeding. Splinter listened carefully as the woman explained, "I am certain that you indeed are the Battle Nexus champion I was searching for. I have something that needs to be given to you."
"Please, continue," Splinter acknowledged her eccentric actions. Leo was in shock, uncertain why she wasn't dead or dying.
Senro explained with almost a vacant gaze, "I am certain that you knew of the holographic man that assisted Lord Daimyo. I am the same as him. We are not alive, but we are not dead. This is why I cannot bleed. However, unlike most holograms, we have tangible forms susceptible to damage. Those of my kind can heal easily, in time."
Leonardo, although less freaked out, was still angry, "Why did you attack my sensei?"
The strange woman continued her chain of thoughts, "It was part of a test I was to administer. The Daimyo assigned me to protect the Battle Nexus champion, as he does for every champion. I was to protect Hamato Splinter from any attacks, but failed initially because he created my position too late. Since Splinter's unfortunate mauling at the hands of Drako, I have been existing simply to redeem myself. That was, until recently."
"Then, something is wrong with the Daimyo, as we have feared," Splinter frowned.
Senro affirmed it, "This assumption is correct. Lately, he has fallen under a malign influence, and he released all holograms of our type to hunt and kill any champions that may usurp his power. That is why both myself and my partner were after you, master Sensei."
Splinter thought on this for a moment, a very somber expression dulling his mood. Walking carefully around the words, he began to pace, "That means, if I had failed, you would have killed me."
"Yes."
He turned angrily to her, "And, if your partner found the other Battle Nexus champion here, she would have tried to kill him too. Correct?"
The hologram nodded, "This is true. Unless, of course, he defeated her. We were all designed to have a complimentary fighting style to our respective guards. He probably would have been able to gain the upper hand, but it would have been arduous."
Leonardo took some time to think about this, "Are all of you female?"
"Mostly. We exist as the opposite of our assignments. It is . . .appropriate, I suppose," Senro began to get fidgety, "Listen—I cannot answer all of your questions right now. I have to report my failure to the Daimyo." She slipped a small medallion to Splinter, "Keep this, and the swords. If you need me, I can be summoned, but only once per day. Do not give this coin away; it will only work for whom it was created for, and for Lord Daimyo. In his condition, he will only use it for mad schemes. Do not search for me, and whatever you do, do not attempt to storm his castle. He will annihilate you, understand?"
Leonardo began to protest, but it was a useless task. The strange warrior disappeared in a swirl of blue water, like most magical beings did in this realm. He stood, along with his Sensei, staring at nothing. He shook his head, unsure of what had all just happened. Everything was moving so fast, it seemed.
Splinter frowned, now frustrated with the injury on the back of his head. He pressed one hand to it, making sure he wasn't bleeding profusely. Satisfied with that, he sighed, "Leonardo, I think we should forego the mediation this morning." He then added, "Feel free to take the swords; I have no need for them." He grabbed one broken shaft of bamboo and walked to the cottage, hand on the base of his head, rather concerned and furious about the situation. Leonardo could understand; the Daimyo was his friend. What would change him so much?
"KEEYAAAHH! You're bleeding all over the floor!"
Leonardo sighed as well. April was going to need to be settled down.
Senro seemed angry, dodging his eyesight, "Yes, my lord. I had to keep my word. You cannot use Battle Nexus guardians without some risk of losing them. I convinced Okugi-chan to leave before she could be defeated by her charge."
The Daimyo's mask morphed back into a sunny, almost perversely happy face, "Well, I suppose I should dispel you, but that would meaning losing my own powers. I must have them, you know."
"I know."
"For my son's sake."
"Yes, Lord Daimyo."
You know, I suck. Big time. Four months without updating? Yeah, suck big time! But, I really do have reasons. Just, not very good ones. You know, school, tests, homework, prom, other fanfics, that kinda crap. (Yeah, I went to prom! Ugh! Well, it was okay.)
But, I got a 30 on my ACT, and I was inducted into the National Ass-Kisser. . .err, National Honor Society. And I'm a junior in high school. That's pretty cool, I guess.
So, after missing 5+ episodes and getting back into TMNT, I'm raring to go again! Maybe it'll only take me a fourth of the time to right an new chapter, compared to this one. . Really sorry about that.
Title is actually a fighting technique from Tales of Symphonia. I like to play as Regal. Wee—watch those feet go! Umm, better end this before my boyfriend gets ideas. :P (Well, he kissed a microphone, so there! What if he was hypnotized?)
Please, do review! I likey!
