3rd POV: Starting s1 ep 5 tmnt 2012---

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Master Splinter was meditating in a deep trance until he heard loud shouting from the living room, hearing Mikey's voice he grumbled and got up to check on his sons: "Guys, guys, get in your spot!"

Raph: "All right, Mikey, but this is the last time!"

Donnie: "But don't flip me this time."

Leo: "Ate too much cheese."

Mikey: "And now the kid goes for the world record! He will attempt to jump three mutant turtles!"

"I can't believe he talked us into this," Raph whispered a bit angered.

Mikey: "Ya! Booyakasha!"

Master Splinter: "What is going on in here?"

"Sensei!" Raph, Leo, and Donnie get up, unexpectedly, Mikey screams and rammed into his three older brothers, landing on the floor. And Master Splinter was standing in front of them with a stern look on his face, "How many times have I told you not to skateboard in the lair?"

"None, Sensei," Mikey responded.

"I shouldn't have to tell you!" He snapped.

Leo could tell that their Sensei wasn't in a good mood, then said: "You're right, Sensei." he continued, already regretting his choice of words, "We definitely should have known better and we deserve to be punished. Eh, some."

"And what do you think would be a fitting punishment?" There was an unsure expression on the blue-clad turtle ninja, he turned to his younger brothers who were whistling nervously and reading comic books, then back to his Sensei and father, "Well, uh, we- we should clean up our mess?..." Master Splinter folded his arms, still angry, making Leo continue, "And then think about what we did."

Raph, Donnie, and Mikey said: "Yeah. Sounds about right."

"We were wrong."

"Wouldn't want to do too much. No worries." The trio spoke at the same time, when Splinter then stroked his bread at them, "Hm, What about being grounded for a week?"

All the brothers widened their eyes, not wanting to be grounded for a week, they quickly answered his question with excuses, "Oh, I'm not sure that's-"

"I'm cool with the thinking."

"Really, that's not necessary."

"Maybe next time."

In the end, Master Splinter hit his jade stick to the ground and shouted:

"Enough! You're grounded for a week!"

The turtles groan in defeat, and as for that, the skateboard rank collapses, leaving an even bigger mess.

Somewhere in New York...

Jennifer, on the other hand, finished her assignment and her work at the library, and it was alright nighttime so she got into her Dark Ninja suit and decided to do her normal routine.

It has been a whole week since Leo and herself last made contact with each other. Of course, Dark Ninja was thrilled about it but deep down... (not wanting to say it out loud), she missed the blue-clad turtle ninja's company and their nightly visits; For some odd reason, Leo became like a 'visiting neighbor' of sorts to her.

Each meeting unfolded with a rhythm that felt almost natural, their shared quiet conversations made her feel... at ease. It may surprise you that the Dark Ninja (Jennifer) had a way of cloaking herself in darkness without showing any remorse; yet with Leo, she allowed a small light to seep through-a glimmer of trust developing amidst the enigma that surrounded them.

Dark Ninja had been sitting on the ledge near the billboard for nearly an hour for the seventh time in a row and ya'll know that she didn't have patience for it. So the first thing that came to her thoughts was further disappointment and resentment, 'I'm tired of waiting, I knew this night would come to an end.'

She thought when she spotted a thief running away from the police officers by going through the abandoned subway to lose them. Making her click her tongue behind her mask in annoyance at how police officers weren't doing their job, "Pathetic promises my ass." That was before she disappeared.

Already on the move, Dark Ninja discreetly follows pursuit but what she doesn't know is that someone is living there; the shadows of the abandoned subway. As she slipped into the darkness, her senses heightened, every sound amplified-the distant echo of footsteps, the faint drip of water from the cracked ceiling, and the soft rustle of rats scurrying away.

Dark Ninja navigated the narrow corridors with the grace of a phantom, her heart racing not just from the thrill of the chase but also from the lingering disappointment of Leo's absence. The thief, a wiry figure clad in a dark hoodie, darted through the maze of old tracks and crumbling walls, glancing back only once to see if he was being followed.

She, however, was a master of stealth, her presence a whisper against the forgotten infrastructure. She could see the glint of stolen goods peeking from the thief's bag, a challenge that ignited her competitive spirit.

As she closed the distance, she noticed him pressed against a wall. Before he could sigh in relief, something sharp sliced his neck and stabbed his eye. Dark Ninja emerged from her shadow, smirking. "Y-You Ugh!" The thief choked on his blood, dropping his stolen goods on the floor, desperately trying to cover his neck and eyes as he trembled in fear while growing weak before her.

"Sleep, thief."

And just like that, Dark Ninja finished him off by decapitating his head with one swing of her katana as if he was nothing; Not one hint of regret or mercy was shown in her eyes once the thief passed away in front of her. Though the Anti-heroine (Dark Ninja/Jennifer) walked over it, kept her katana before kneeling to bow twice in a Japanese manner and began praying:

'安らかな旅路をお祈りします.' Pray you're safe journey to the afterlife. Dark Ninja mentally prayed before she took out a match from her utility belt and burned the corpse until it was ash; Suddenly she sensed movement from behind and immediately took out her smoke bombs to disappear. Only to reappear behind a wall while eyeing the four shadows below without moving a single thing of her body.

"But what's Splinter gonna say?"

A familiar voice rings out.

'Leo?' She concentrated on the four turtle ninjas as the one in red started mimicking someone, saying, "I don't know what's going on because they snuck out while I was asleep." It made her snort in surprise; she hadn't expected to react that way. She pounded her chest to dismiss it and continued watching.

"Heh. Real mature," Leo said, crossing his arms at his brother, "But as your leader, I say nobody's going." Dark Ninja noticed the red turtle's hot temper, which she could relate to. "Well, as your followers, we're going anyway," he replied. "As your leader, I'm going with you," Leo stated firmly, then hesitated. "To lead you. Away from... bad stuff."

Dark Ninja silently chuckles at how cute he looks 'trying' not to admit he wants to leave the Lair. Suddenly, Mikey, the orange-clad turtle, screams, covers his ears, and collapses, prompting everyone except Dark Ninja to rush to his side in concern, "What's wrong?" "It's back to polka!" Mikey pouts at Leo, "We've got to get some more tunes on this!"

That's when everything was put together, Leo wasn't the only turtle ninja in New York; He has three brothers and Dark Ninja began observing them having the same figure but different looks and personalities that made her envious of their happiness:'So that's where you've been, Leo? Grounded for a whole week with your brothers? And you say you & I are the same yet...'

She frowned.

'It...must be nice to have people who care about you.' Intrigued by where Leo and his brothers were headed, Dark Ninja chose to explore the Lair further. As she entered, she was greeted by an unexpected sight. the entire room was filled with an arcade game machine, a corridor leading to 'supposedly bedrooms', a kitchen, and a lab; Interestingly, she entered a room similar to a dojo.

A bit confused at this but then was met by an unexpected sight that caused the Dark Ninja to hide behind a sliding door without any sound: A giant brown rat wearing a red robe was meditating. This caught her off guard that she blinked a couple of times before eyeing the person or more like the mutant meditating with full focus.

Her heart raced momentarily as she stealthily moved through the dojo, leaped up, and quietly perched on a tree branch. From above, she observed the giant rat meditating and was stunned to see that his hands were covered in bandages while his robes resembled those of the Hamato Clan.

'A giant rat wearing only the Hamato Clan robe? What gives him the right to wear-' Dark Ninja glances to the left, and her breathing stops. There stood a small shrine with two candles, and a picture frame of none other than, 'Unless he's... no that's impossible! Hamato Yoshi is dead! But is he...?'

Narrowing her eyes as she stealthy jumped down, not knowing she interrupted a certain someone's meditation; the Dark Ninja walked slowly towards it and lifted the small picture of her old master 'Hamato Yoshi', and his wife & baby. But then, she spotted another picture as well.

A pair of tears began trickling down through her mask that she gripped with tidal waves of emotions surging through her entire body: An American couple around their 20s held a little girl in Japanese robes in both their arms with bright smiles on their faces that the Dark Ninja took the picture from its frame:

'It's not safe for my parent's picture to be here, and yet if this rat is who he truly is...' Dark Ninja set down the family photos and noticed the giant rat had vanished from meditation. 'Damn it, he knows I'm here!' Withdraws her twin katanas out, she braced for the upcoming attack, sensing it just in time to deflect it.

me/author: "Oh~ this will be FUN!" *passes the popcorn to @horcam26*

horcam26: *takes the popcorn with a grin* Bloody yes!

"Who are you and how did you find this place?" He demanded. Dark Ninja hid her stunned expression by expressing her sassiness, " 知りたいんだろうな、浜戸義? Heh, wouldn't you like to know, Hamato Yoshi?" As shock and anger washed over him, she launched the first attack with her twin katanas, the clash of steel echoing through the dojo as they engaged in a swift, intense duel.

The giant rat known as Hamato Yoshi/Splinter, surprisingly agile, parried her strikes with a fluid grace that belied his size with his emerald cane. Each of his movements blended martial arts mastery with instinctive reflexes, reminiscent of the teachings she once valued from Hamato Yoshi.

Narrowing her eyes, she feigned a high strike before pivoting quickly. The tip of one katana brushed the floorboards as she aimed for the rat's side. He sidestepped effortlessly, gripping her wrist in a firm hold and twisting it to break her momentum, "How do you know my real name?" he pressed, using her imbalance to throw her against a column, which she deftly rolled away from, regaining her stance with a fierce glare:

"マスター、あなたは真剣に日本語を失っていますか? Are you seriously losing your Japanese, Master?" she replied defiantly, inching toward him, her stance widening for balance. Only for Master Splinter to widen his eyes in horror and shock: "No, it's not possible."

"Oh~ but it is." The two circled one another in the dim light of the dojo, hints of uncertainty flickered in Master Splinter's mind, but he quickly cast it aside, "ジェニファーさん、あなたの両親と一緒に火事で亡くなったと思っていました. Jennifer, I thought died in the fire with your parents-"

"ごめん、それは同じことを考えていたんだけど...オロク・サキがあなたの妻を殺して、あなたは何もしなかったんだよ! I thought the same thing...until Oroku Saki killed your wife while you did NOTHING to prevent his escape!"

With each swing, Splinter shifts gracefully, his feet gliding across the tatami mat as he employs evasive maneuvers in order to talk her out of fighting by reasoning, "I'm truly sorry if I wasn't able to do it but you must understand that we should not fight about the past like this." He counters her slashes with calculated jabs of the cane, each strike resonating with precision as he finds openings between her attacks.

"As if I would listen to you." As she leaps into a spinning kick, Splinter ducks low, his cane sweeping beneath him to trip her up. She lands skillfully, rolling back onto her feet, but Splinter is already advancing.

Striking low and then high, mixing his attacks; the cane arcs in wide sweeps, forcing her to parry and block. The dojo reflects their intensity, wood walls echoing the clash of metal against wood, the rhythm of their fight a dance of strategy and balance. The Dark Ninja, relentless, lunges once more, her twin blades crossing dangerously in front of her.

Splinter sidesteps, using the momentum to spin his cane and deliver a sharp jab to her side, pushing her back, she regains her composure, fierce determination shining through her hoodie. With a sudden burst of speed, she closes the distance, executing a rapid series of cuts aimed at his arm.

He weaves in and out, every movement graceful, countering each strike, his cane a barrier against her twin katanas. In a final attempt to gain the upper hand, she lunges with a powerful overhead strike. Splinter anticipates her move, rolling out of the way and redirecting the force behind her attack.

With a swift rotation of his cane, he sweeps her legs out from under her. She falls as she fails to catch herself at the last moment, and in a fluid motion, Splinter gets ahold of her hoodie and pulls it off, revealing that it is a teenage woman with pale skin, black hair, and silver eyes.

Still a bit shocked at how much she had grown, Jennifer/Dark Ninja suddenly grabs his leg and trips him over only for Hamato to lose balance and land on his back with a grunt. After getting up and putting her hoodie and mask back on, she turned her back on him as she ran.

Not long before dropping a small origami shape of a flower for Master Splinter to slowly pick up and began having flashbacks of his past teachings with the little girl across his mind, recognizing the face more closely, he dropped his emerald cane as he softly gasped:

"Jennifer...what has changed you?" Tears streamed down from his eyes filled with guilt and pain.