BACKSTORIES
BACKSTORIES
A STRAY
Hamato Yoshi was an orphan and street urchin. Despite all he went through in life, he was a kind young man. He warned a man that he dropped his money purse and returned it, without taking any of its contents, or even asking a monetary reward. The man was impressed by Yoshi’s strength of character. He did a coin trick where he asked the kid to swipe it before he could close his hand. Yoshi showed himself clever by kneeing the hand, and snatch the coin out of mid-air. The man says he’s a clever kid.
He introduces himself as Oroku Yori. He says he can find a home, a place to belong for the kid. However, he’ll be part of something bigger and it will be one of the most difficult but rewarding journeys he’ll ever take. It beats living on the street so Yoshi accepted.
He was taken to the home of Yori, the Foot Clan. Ninja clans still exist, but they keep the shadows, protecting the world without them realizing it. The Foot clan are the unsung heroes.
Oroku Yori introduces Yoshi to his two sons, the elder son Nagi and the younger brother Saki. Nagi thinks Yoshi isn’t much. Yori said that Yoshi managed to pull off the coin swipe. Nagi says even he hadn’t managed. He takes his father’s coin and asks Yoshi to prove himself, only to find the coin swiped before even finishing his sentence.
Nagi stands there for a moment, baffled before bursting out laughing and admits that the kid got spunk and welcomes Yoshi to the family. Yoshi had family…the boy was happy.
GROWING UP
Yoshi and Nagi became young adults, growing up as loving siblings and friendly rivals, Saki also seeing Yoshi as a cool adoptive older brother.
Recently, a clan of ninja called the Order of the Lotus Blossom merged into the Foot as they were going extinct. One of these ninjas is a young kunoichi called Tang Shen. Nagi has eyes for her, and Yoshi just wishes Nagi luck since Tang Shen is a spitfire. True to Yoshi’s words, Nagi is turned down hard. But Nagi thinks he can win over Tang Shen over time.
Yoshi just decides to indulge in a hobby and started painting the scenery of a nearby turtle pond. Tang Shen approaches him and compliments his art. She is aware she is beautiful and strong, so many of the clan desire her. But she thinks most of the suitors have inflated opinions of themselves. So she rather would sit by Yoshi since he isn’t like the others and she can get some peace around him. Yoshi allows her to stay. The two would grow closer and fall in love over time, but hide their relationship for now, not wanting to hurt Nagi’s feelings (or Yoshi doesn’t want to, he is his brother in all but blood).
Nagi also thought he’d be successor to his father as head of the Foot Clan. During one of their missions, to observe the Yakuza and keep an eye on them, Nagi got overzealous and killed a Yakuza boss. This earned him ire for as much a criminal the yakuza boss was, he was also honorable and kept a stabilizing presence over the Japanese underworld. Now there is a power vacuum and gang wars will occur which will leave countless hurt or dead in the crossfire.
Yori says Nagi is far from ready to lead the clan, feeling that he’d run the Foot Clan into the ground if he let his oldest son become leader. He wanted to offer the chance to Yoshi, but Yoshi has no desire to lead, just lead the simple life. Yori understood and would train a temporary replacement until his youngest son Saki is ready.
Nagi became angered when he not only learned that Yoshi dated Tang Shen, but also that Yoshi was chosen as successor. Yoshi saying he refused only made Nagi angrier. He says Yoshi is no longer his brother. There was a fight between both, Yoshi fighting only in self-defense, not wanting to hurt Nagi, whom he still cared for. Yoshi was badly beaten but Tang Shen jumped in between, ready to attack Nagi. Nagi stepped down and just left. Not just the scene but the Foot Clan. Until he runs into a woman whom calls herself Kitsune.
Oroku Yori calls Yoshi. Oroku Yori is dying due to a disease. He gives a last mission. Since Nagi left, he took several like-minded Foot Ninjas with him to become a splinter group, threatening the way of life the Foot established. Nagi has become dangerous. He asks to either bring back Nagi to his senses…or put him down like a mad dog if he can’t be saved.
Saki overheard and asks Yoshi to not kill their brother. Yoshi promises to bring back Nagi alive. Yoshi confronts Nagi, whom has stolen the Kuro Kabuto helmet, a relic of the Foot Clan’s past. When fighting Nagi, it seems Yoshi can’t fulfill the promise, Nagi was too far gone and he strikes him down. Before he dies, Nagi reclaims clarity and asks Yoshi to forgive him.
Yoshi returns home. Oroku Yori grieves for his son, knowing he couldn’t be saved. Saki is furious with Yoshi for being unable to save or spare Nagi and runs off. The death of Nagi sped up Yori’s condition, living long enough to release Yoshi and Tang Shen from the Foot Clan, knowing the two wouldn’t be able to be part of it after all that happened. Yukio Mashimi, a fellow Foot Ninja takes over the clan after Yori’s death.
However, Saki was found by Kitsune. She is with the splinter faction of the Foot Clan, and offers vengeance. She hands the Kuro Kabuto to Saki, saying he’ll lead the future Foot Clan soon.
RUNNING
Yoshi and Tang Shen settle down. They have an infant daughter, Miwa. As well as a little turtle pond, with four different species of baby turtle they recently gave a home there.
Their quiet life got usurped. Oroku Saki returns, as the Shredder and the new leader of the Foot Clan. When asked what happens with Yukio, Shredder says he folded like a house of cards when faced with him. Saki says that he seeks to get even for Nagi’s death, only the life of Hamato Yoshi can serve as repayment. Tang Shen and the daughter are innocent and are free to go. But Tang Shen won’t leave Yoshi behind.
Yoshi fights Saki to protect his family, while Tang Shen is a mama bear, protecting her baby daughter and the baby turtles from Foot Ninja. Their house catches fire in the progress and scars Saki. Tang Shen and Yoshi flee with their daughter and the baby turtles.
However, During the fight to protect her daughter from a stray projectile, it had hit her in a vital organ. She won’t make it to the hospital. She tells Yoshi to take the kids and their pets, and flee. Yoshi reluctantly does so. As Tang Shen despite her being mortally wounded, puts up a final stand to hold off the Foot as her family escapes.
TRAGEDY GROWING WORSE
Yoshi escapes with his daughter and the baby turtles, barely having time to grief. Being emotional and irrational, he was caught off guard as he was taken by a mysterious force.
He finds himself in a lab, among strange brain-like creatures in robotic suits. People and animals alike in cages, enslaved. The only ones not enslaved were a bunch of scientists whom were forced to work for them.
The aliens experiment on him and the baby Turtles. Yoshi got exposes to a weird ooze while being mixed with Rat DNA, while his human DNA was harvested and mixed with ooze applied to the Turtles. Yoshi was mutated in a rat monster and the turtles into humanoid creatures…they were still obviously children.
One of the brain creatures says that the process is going well. Now they have to prepare the next test subject. Little Miwa. Seeing his daughter used like that…Monster or not, he was still her father. He broke out, went on a rampage, and took Miwa and the baby turtles.
Along the way he unlocked some cages and let loose various of the other experiments to cause chaos. Even saved one for the scientists in the progress. They were able to get to a portal and escape through it alongside most of the scientists and the mutants, with them spreading out in panic and joy upon their freedom. Splinter sees he is no longer in Japan, he is in New York City.
The scientist Yoshi saved remains behind and tanks Yoshi, saying he’ll repay the man any way he can. His life has been broke, fragmented and splintered…so Yoshi renames himself Splinter. He is a rat man…but at least Miwa was saved the worst. The baby turtles, now infants like Miwa herself, are adopted by him. He names them after the Renaissance artists he admired so much: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo.
Chet Allen helps him find an underground lair so he can be safe from the aliens and from humans whom may perceive them as monsters, while providing them with food, resources and education.
As Miwa and the Turtles grew, Splinter started to train them in ninjitsu. He hoped the Foot Clan would never learn he was alive, but if the worst comes to pass, they’ll be able to hold their own.
END OF NARRATION
April and Mona show sympathy to Splinter. They promise to keep their secrets and help them any way they can.
The turtles realize the aliens they met…They are the Iron Oni that Splinter always told them about in fairytales when they grow up. They are still around.
Yoshi says that what he hoped never would come to pass, has come to pass. They made enemies and they’ll have to fight to find their place. Yoshi says the girls can go home, forget about this and live their lives, not be dragged into it. April says that those things are menaces and this is the world they live in too. Also they want to repay the Turtles for their help.
Splinter says if they want to help, be their eyes and ears, but keep a low profile. That’s the extent, it’s too risky otherwise. April says she can also lend her brains and Donnie notes she’s pretty damn smart.
They get a visitor, the scientist whom Splinter saved long ago and whom has been helping them. He is introduced as Chet Manley…and apparently he is a teacher at April and Mona’s school. He is April’s favorite teacher, both being caught off guard by it.
Mona says they have ended up in a situation that is downright insane…and she is all for it.
DARKNESS RISING
During the mission to save April and Mona, the Turtles have left behind a single shuriken. It is introduced on the news. Which is seen by the Shredder, whom recognizes the shuriken as the same ones that Yoshi used to make, it has his handiwork all over it. His old enemy lives and he will be able to finally get even, to get revenge for the death of Nagi. He rallies his troops, saying they’re going to New York.
TRIVIA
- I kept the backstory from previous incarnations of my turtle reboots since for the most part it was fine; I only made small changes the previous chapter established.
- Oroku Nagi was a minor character whose death in the original Mirage comics set Oroku Saki’s story in motion, but here he is expanded upon.
- Tang Shen is a ninja herself in this continuity and she goes out swinging, not as collateral damage.
- Chet Allen is a boy in the cartoons whom originally bought the turtles, but it is used by a scientist here, to whom there is more to him then meets the eye. If you read my other reboots, you know whom he is.
- Order of the Lotus Blossom refers to Lotus Blossom, a character form the 1987 tv series.
- Splinter and the Turtles being directly mutated by the Utroms is a ref to Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, where Baron Draxum did the mutation instead.