TMNT: Secrets of the Sewers

Prologue: Everything Changes

New York City, the city that never sleeps. A masquerade of lights forcing its denizens into a maddening yet never-ending dance. Many outsiders describe this city as a beautiful place, a metropolis of second chances and new beginnings. They have clearly been blinded by false promises. Promises of an American Dream turned into a nightmare.

One such victim was a Japanese immigrant named Hamato Yoshi. He came to this mystical place with his wife and daughter, searching for a new life away from the hardships of their former home. They were hopeful, yet naïve. His wife, Tang Shen, would watch over their three year old daughter, Miwa, as they tried to find their place in this unforgiving place.

Unfortunately for the Hamato family, they stuck out like a round peg in a square hole. Still, Yoshi tried to make the worse situation better by teaching karate in Chinatown on weekends. It was meager work, but it kept his family happy and well fed, and for Yoshi, that was enough.

But happiness is a fragile gift, and it doesn't take much to destroy it.

.....

Yoshi sat up with a start, looking around in a frantic motion. A cry had roused him from sleep, a cry from his daughter's bedroom. He pulled the chain on his bedside lamp, scanning the room as his wife began to stir. He turned to her and placed his hand gently against her neck, kissing her cheek. It was a deed that always comforted her, and thus one he performed on a nearly daily basis.

He gently pulled the sheets off of him and stood up, reaching into the end table drawer for the flashlight. As a father, he feared the worse, but expected it to be simply one of Miwa's nightmares. He frowned at the thought. It had been hard for Miwa to adjust to New York. New sights and smells were always waking her.

He opened the door, closing it behind him so gently that not a sound was heard and turned down the hall. He passed by the broom closet and turned into his daughter's room. She was curled up under her blankets, peeking out hesitantly upon seeing the light.

"Miwa," Yoshi softly spoke.

"Daddy." She called, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Yoshi approached her, gently pulling the covers off her head. Her face was red, and her eyes cracked from the tears.

"What happened, my child?" he asked.

"I had the dreams again..." She whimpered.

Yoshi sighed before snuggling next to her, pulling her blankets over the two of them. Another long night of comforting his daughter was in store, yet he was never unhappy to do so.

"Tell me about it." he said.

She scooted over and hugged his arm. He in turn picked her up, cradling her in his arms as she told him.

"My turtles..." She began.

As she spoke, she stared at a small fish tank that sat on her dresser just across the room. Though void of water, there was gravel and tiny green plants that brushed to the movement of four small reptiles slowly stomping about. Miwa's pet turtles, won by Yoshi in a street fair last New Years.

"They were monsters..." She explained "Bigger than you.... they hurt people."

She hugged onto his arm. She never liked the move, and he feared this was a symptom of it.

"Shush, Miwa." He said, hugging her close to him. "They are not monsters. Turtles cannot hurt anyone."

But still, she seemed adamant. She looked up at her daddy, her eyes like diamonds

"Can you take them outside?" She begged. "Just for tonight?"

She was precious, and he was weak. He smiled, as he stood, scooping up the small glass tank.