Backwoods: 10. Masters
Lotus followed closely behind her mentor on her motorbike. The two women escaped the fire in the junkyard. They left their mutant targets behind due to the flame’s hostility. The women zipped through the New York traffic as they headed towards their next destination. Along the way, they scanned the streets for the van that the Purple Dragons would be hauling their prisoner in.
The women came up to a backstreet and rode down the cramped aisles behind the buildings. At an end was the truck they were looking for. The oncoming lights of their motorcycles signaled the Purple Dragons to exit the vehicle. When they were able to confirm it was who they thought it was, they lowered their arms and relaxed outside the vehicle. The Mistress and Lotus took off their helmets and approached the van. Johnny stood up straighter to ensure he would not anger this woman.
“Where is rat?” she demanded in English. Johnny took a brief step back and opened the rear passenger door. The Mistress cocked her brow. When she stepped towards the vehicle, the third member of the Purple Dragons got out of her way. In his haste, he realized he stood closer to Lotus than he would’ve liked. He jerked himself over again, trying not to laugh nervously or make eye contact with her. Lotus hid her smile behind the full plated mask she wore.
“Right in here Ms. Mam.” Johnny announced. There he was, still in the same outcold position he was. The Mistress took a step back and looked towards Two-Ton. She pointed at him and then back to Splinter.
“He come.” Without hesitation, Two-Ton reached over to slump Splinter back over his back. The Mistress led with Lotus right behind her and the rest of the crew lingering behind.
“(I’m surprised they still have him.)” Lotus commented in her native language. The Mistress agreed.
“(So am I.)” She looked back. All three were startled at first that she was looking directly at them. It was as if she did not care that they were squirming under her gaze, unsure of what to do. They acted funny and dressed funny. “(these people don’t seem real.)”
“(As if we are to say with what we are up against).” The Mistress cocked a brow to her student. She couldn’t see her face but she knew she was giving the same knowing look back.
They approached a door in which they had stopped. The Mistress knocked and announced herself. Another voice called for her to enter. The door opened and in front of them was a small spread. Karai sat before them, enjoying her meal on her knees as she would traditionally do. She motioned them to sit with her. The Mistress and Lotus kneeled before her and bowed.
“(We couldn’t get one more mutant?)” she stated bluntly. The Mistress rose to explain.
“(Apologies. Our enemies started a fire. Required action was taken.)” Her voice was not shaky. It was stern and honest in delivery. Lotus has only shadowed some jobs that her mentor has taken her on, but this was one of the few times a failure occurred. Her sensei never sounded an emotional mess with her apologies. It was always poised, professional, and sincere. There was a pause. Karai was thinking.
“(With the rat still in our possession, the others will come back.)” Lotus added. Her neck was pushed down by her mentor. She stopped her force before her forehead hit the floor.
“(Silence.)” It happened so fast even the Purple Dragons behind them flinched in fear that they too had done something wrong by just being there. “(We have failed you today. Our humblest apologies.)” Karai reached into the side of her robe where her walkie talkie was.
“Come take the Purple Dragons to holding.” She asked. A member on the other line agreed. Instantaneously, Foot clan members appeared out of nowhere. The three members were quick to interject, asking what they did wrong and getting scared of a punishment. “You are taking and guarding our prisoner in holding” She explained further. The boys calmed down, and went off with the Foot Clan members. The last member took it upon himself to close the door to leave his master alone with her business. Immediately, The Mistress took off her black hood from over her head and pulled her yellow scarf below her chin. Lotus followed behind, pulling her metal mask from her face. She looked back up at Karai who was indifferent to this change.
“(Anything else to report?)”
“(We have injured them greatly.)” The Mistress began. She placed a hand on Lotus’ knee to address her. “(She was able to inflict damage to their leader.)”
“(Impressive.)” Karai commented. She stared at Lotus. She was unsure whether or not she is supposed to continue staring as she is or if she was to look away. “(Despite your failures, you have still pleased me. You will be called on later.)”
“(Thank you, Master Shredder.)” The Mistress bowed once more with Lotus following her. The black hood and yellow scarf came back on and so did the mask. The two women politely left Karai to finish enjoying her meal. When they got far enough down the hall, Lotus began:
“(Shredder? How did she become the Master?)” The Mistress abrasively took a step in Lotus’ way to cause her to stop abruptly. She looked into the eyes of her student to be clear.
“(Hold your tongue. This is a contract for you and that’s all you should be concerned about.)” she warned. Lotus could do nothing but stand there and actually heed to her sensei’s words. She knows it's true but can someone really go through the majority of their life so nonchalant? Is that what it is to be a kunoichi? Her mentor took an opening step and continued down the hall. She wanted to take the time to actually look at the creature.
She may have been up close in battle but the commotion of the night didn’t give her the time to examine the creatures thoroughly. They entered where they kept him. The Purple Dragons met them at the door. With few words, the Mistress ordered them to stand by the door. She wanted to study the creature with minimal annoyance. Splinter was still out cold and chained to a wall. This time he had the ability to stand up but the rest of him was weighed down in chains. He lay sprawled on the ground for him to wake up in one of the worst positions for an elderly animal on the worst surfaces. Lotus squatted down to study his finer features.
“(What do they say these things are?)” His whiskers flickered for a moment. “(I don’t believe they could be lab experiments gone wrong.)”
“(It is what we are told.)” Her mentor took her foot and got it under Splinter’s tail. It was heavier than she thought. When it slipped off of her foot when she lifted it, her body shuddered. “(This is supposed to be a rat.)”
“(It wears a hair tie.)” Lotus pointed out. Indeed Master Splinter was wearing his usual style. Most of his silver tresses were wrapped up in what used to be such a neat bun on top of his head. After two days of being held captive, it told its story of distress. “(Very peculiar. Am I going to be seeing more things such as this?)”
“(Maybe on this job. I can honestly say that I am stunned by what I am seeing.Kunoichi are far and few inbetween and you will be called for multiple types of jobs. You will see things you had not thought possible.Things you don't want to believe. This, I believe.)”
The older woman watched as her student reached out her hand to properly touch the creature. Her fingers brushed back his rogue hairs from his face. They were twirled between her fingers until she removed them to twist and secure them around his hair bun. The Mistress sighed in distaste.
“(Don’t tell me you’ve developed a liking to this creature. How unsanitary.)” Lotus almost choked from what she was accusing her of. All she could do was shake her head. Slowly, she began to stand. The Mistress stood much straighter as it seemed that her student was going to give a possible sermon. She wanted to know what could be going on in that child’s head. It was always something different with her.
“(I saw humanity in the creature I fought. What is to say its downfall is similar to the ones I’ve played with in the past? If I am not mistaken, it is also the great leader I ‘injured greatly’.)”
“(It is disgusting.)”
“(Sensei, it is a skill you refuse to utilize.)” She got her there and she had to agree. The Mistress cracked a smile under her mouth covering.
“(With that thing, you are absolutely correct.)” She referred to that green monster her student was able to fend off. When it was time to leave the building from that fire, the Mistress did what she could to escape from the majority of the family and find her student. She didn’t see the fight but she did see her straddling the thing. Other small hints such as how she was smiling was a tell-tale sign. She’s seen her do this before with other victims. “(What happens if it does not work?)” Lotus gestured towards the rat on the ground.
“(‘Injured Greatly’)”














