Risen from Ashes

Act Two, Part One: Make a Kunoichi Out of You

Four weeks later
Darkness surrounds the dojo, leaving no light to be seen—except for the little lamp in the middle of the dojo floor, which creates a little barrier of light around it to push the darkness away. In the light, the four brothers stand in a small circle with their backs facing each other.

These four weeks have been fast, and so far, they have only taught them about basic combat skills in Ninjutsu and martial arts. Nina is a skilled expert, Julian is learning, Ginny is also, and Judi is a little slow on movement. They showed great potential to become kunoichi and their new ninja member. 

Leo paced a little, hands behind his back, looking at the darkness ahead. "A ninja and kunoichi all hide in the shadows to surprise their enemies, " he informed. They blend with it, let the darkness be their ally. Blend with the darkness; don't fight against it; use it." He stopped his pacing while still staring at the darkness.

He is met with silence, almost like he is speaking to a phantom who hid in the shadows and avoided letting light touch them. He and his brothers wait for a sign of life in the inky blackness. They carry no weapons with them; Splinter told them they must learn to use their bodies as weapons first. So, no weapons until later.

A soft sound of pain and a noise of body hitting against body are heard inside the darkness, followed by a soft light footstep. 

"And they must be quiet, not give themselves away," Leo added. "The key is to be silent and lightless." He finished.

The dojo fell into deep silence once again. No sound of movements or a single voice was heard after that. Leo turned his head to his brothers; Raph looked at the darkness with Donnie and Mikey. Leo looked at Donnie's bandaged shoulder, injured thanks to Abigail. He's been healing well, but he still needs to be careful not to open the stitches.

A scream was heard in the darkness. It startled the four, and all turned to the voice's location.

" Judi!!" Ginny's voice shouted.

" Sorry!!" Judi's voice apologized

A loud ouch was heard. "Hey!" Julian's voice yelled.

" Sorry!" Nina's voice was heard.

Suddenly, Donnie pressed his wristband, causing the dojo to turn on the lights. With the lights on, everything is revealed, and the darkness surrounding them vanishes out of sight. They spot their students standing too close to each other; Judi has her foot on Ginny's while Nina's back is pressed against Julian's.

Ginny glared at Judi. "Judi, please take your foot off my foot!!" she shouted. Judi backed away from her in fright.

Nina backed away from Julian. "Sorry about that, Julian." She apologized to him.

"It's alright," Julian assured her, not mad at her. He huffed out, clearly disappointed. "Seems we don't know much about blending in the shadows. Sorry about it, guys." He turned to the turtles.

"Hey, we didn't get it right on our first try, either," Mikey reassured them. "So, it's alright."

Raph nodded, agreeing with his little brother. "It takes time to adjust to the dark, " he added. I was frightened and thought monsters would find me." He let out a nervous chuckle. 

"Oh boy..." Leo sighed. He remembers the times Raph tried to light their old dojo because he got a little scared of the dark. 

"But till you get used to blending in the shadows, we can start on our next lesson. Defense." Donnie instructed them. He rolls his shoulders, careful not to damage his hurt shoulder. The pain was bearable when he wasn't in his arms too much.