Serendipity

A/N: Hello there, everyone. I'm MiraculousDragonMaster, and I would like to share my first TMNT fanfic with you guys. I've always loved Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ever since I started watching the 2012 series when I was younger. Since then, I always loved watching those heroes in a half-shell.

It's been a few years since I've watched any of the series, but now that the 2012 and the Rise series are on Netflix, I've been getting back into TMNT, and I've been watching the 2003 series as well. Along with watching the series, I've been reading some of the fanfics as well. In fact, some of them inspired this piece.

The stories that this was inspired by came from the idea of, "What if Tang Shen lived?". I really liked that idea, so I decided to take a crack at it myself. The first few chapters will be explaining the backstory and origins of this AU in the 2012 universe, then the rest of the story will mostly be moments between the family throughout the series, and with Shen teaching some lessons to her sons. If an episode was centered around Splinter or all of the Hamato family, then I might do the whole episode, from Shen's point of view.

Okay, now that all of that is finally out of the way, let's get on with the beginning of this story. Ready, and action!

Prologue

Tang Shen gently held her whimpering daughter close to her chest as they left the dojo and began the run back to the apartment in the city. The black-haired woman couldn't shake off the feeling that something terrible was happening right now. To think how things have gone so horribly wrong.

The lovely woman had been long-time friends with both Hamato Yoshi and his brother Saki, and she loved them both dearly, and she knew that they both loved her as well, and as more than just friendship. However, it was Yoshi that she eventually fell in love with, and whom she chose in the end. However, it seemed that Saki slowly let his hurt, anger and jealousy consume him as almost sixteen months went by after their marriage, and Shen and Yoshi welcomed little Miwa into their family.

The straw that finally broke the camel's back was when Saki learned of his true origins, that he was the last living member of the Hamato Clan's most feared and deadly enemy, the Foot Clan. He was the son of Oroku Keiji, the last leader of the Foot Clan, and he had been taken in by the man who struck his father down, Hamato Yuuta, since he was only a child then. Enraged by this, Oroku Saki swore vengeance and rebuilt the Foot Clan, obsessed with destroying those who had lied to him. The ones he had first seen as family, but now were his enemies.

And to think that she had almost considered leaving Yoshi with Saki. Shen wasn't sure if she wanted Miwa to be raised as a ninja, thinking that ninjas had no place in the modern world. She thought that Yoshi was too dedicated to ninjitsu to raise a family, and Shen had dreams of moving to New York City. Saki had offered to take her and Miwa there, wanting to show that he can be there for them unlike Yoshi. However, thanks to a warning and some advice from some new friends that Shen made, she was reminded that her husband loved her and their daughter more than anything, and that he wanted them to be happy.

Now, she was more scared for her husband's life. Shen was sure that tonight, this fight that the two men were having, only one of them would walk away alive. As a worried wife, Shen felt like she had to do something. Maybe she could reason with Saki; she might be the only one he'll listen to. But if she couldn't, he might hurt her, on purpose or by accident. Either way, she had to protect her husband.

Just then, Shen started to recognize the scent of something burning on the horizon. She turned behind her and saw a column of smoke in the indigo night sky. Fire. And it seemed to be near the dojo. Time was running out. Shen looked down at Miwa, who had started to cry and her mother rocked her back and forth in an effort to calm her down.

Shen needed to do something to get those two to stop without shedding blood. And she needed a backup plan in case something went wrong.

***************

Back at the burning dojo, Hamato Yoshi and the newly christened Oroku Saki were still brutally fighting despite the fact that the building is on fire. Punches, kicks and complex katas were being thrown left and right, along with the use of blades. Yoshi wielded a katana while Saki had two gauntlets on his wrists that held three blades each.

The battle was fierce, and neither side was willing to give in. Finally, Saki managed to swing the katana away from Yoshi and then swept his legs from under him in a surprise kata. Knowing that his enemy was now down, and that the fall, his injuries and fatigue were beginning to catch up with Yoshi, the madman took the chance and jumped up, his arm out, poised to bring down the final blow.

But then, a familiar woman appeared in between them at the last second, her arms outstretched on either side, shielding Yoshi. "PLEASE STOP!" She pleaded.

However, Saki was a few seconds too slow to recognize who had interfered and his arm swung. Blood coated the blades, it was slowly leaking from the slash marks on the white button-up blouse, and it was soon covering Yoshi's hands as he let out a horrified and pained scream as he held the love of his life close to him.

"SHEN!" Saki cried out as he tried to head over to her, but she and Yoshi were soon blocked by falling debris from the collapsing roof. Because of his critical folly, it made him blind to a piece of flaming wood that landed on his face. The man screamed in pain as he fled the dojo, leaving the two in there to their fate.

Once he was out, he stumbled down onto the stone walkway, the flames having vanished now, but they had left his face brutally scarred for life, along with his right eye being blinded and his hair now burned. He panted for breath as he took in what had happened. Shen was dead, and that traitor Yoshi was now buried alongside her.

Just then, he heard a shrill crying sound. He looked over and saw Shen's infant daughter carefully lying under one of the totems, screaming her lungs out. Saki pushed aside all pain, removed his blood-stained gauntlets and gingerly picked up the baby. Both of her parents were gone now, and while he still hated Yoshi, the baby was also Shen's. He owed the child that much so that she doesn't die here and join her parents if the flames continue to spread out to the forest.

"You will be mine to care for now, little one." He croaked as the baby girl started to settle down once she registered that someone was holding her. "I will call you Karai."

****************

Back in the smoldering dojo, there were four large figures pushing and lifting the heavy debris that was over Yoshi and Shen. Once they were out of the way, they first stared down at the humans. There were two large bumps on their heads, and Shen's shirt was slowly getting more stained with blood. There was a heavy atmosphere in the air besides the smoke as two of the figures gently dragged Yoshi out of the dojo while the other two remained behind a little longer to look down with melancholy eyes at the woman.

But then, one of them noticed something. It carefully came closer to her, waiting tensely. "What is it?" The taller figure asked.

The shorter one waited a couple of more seconds before it saw it again. Shen's chest was slowly moving! "She's still alive!" It exclaimed.

The taller one immediately came over and felt her pulse on her wrist. It was faint, but it was slowly getting stronger. It looked down at Shen's blouse where the wound was. Upon closer inspection, it saw that under the blouse wasn't soft flesh, but a piece of leather armor that had taped to it the remains of a plastic bag of dark red paint. She had faked her own death.

Both figures let out a sigh of relief. The taller one then picked up Shen in its long, strong arms and carried her out of the dojo, the shorter one following it. Their companions were waiting for them outside, next to the still unconscious Yoshi. The tallest figure gently laid Shen down next to her husband, and then all four of the strange guardian angels retreated into the shadows of the forest.

Shen slowly stirred and blinked, feeling like her head had taken a big blow. It was dizzying enough just to keep her amber brown eyes open. Slowly, she pulled herself up onto her elbows and saw Yoshi lying next to her. She went over to him and laid her head on his chest, hoping for a heartbeat. Much to her utter relief, there was, and the gentle rise and falling of it as he breathed was starting to make her drowsy again. But before she could, she managed to reach into her back pocket and pull out her cell phone, speed dialing the emergency hotline before losing consciousness once again.

********************

Hamato Yoshi finally came to his senses an hour later. His eyes slowly blinked up to a white sterile ceiling, the smell of antibiotics and floor cleaner hitting his nose. As he recognized his surroundings, he saw that he was in a hospital room, a heart monitor beeping in a steady rhythm.

Suddenly, a painstaking reminder boomed in his mind as he immediately sat up. "Shen!" He exclaimed.

Right away, a doctor burst into the room and came over to him. "It is alright, Hamato-san." The kind man assured him as he tried to get him to lay back down. "You are safe now."

"Where is Shen?" He asked the doctor, almost sounding frantic. "Where is my wife?"

"Your wife is right outside, Hamato-san." The doctor answered him calmly, much to Yoshi's confusion. But wasn't she-? "I'll bring her in now."

The ninja watched as the doctor went over to the door, opened it and said, "Anata no otto wa me o samashite imasu."

Then, Shen came into the room, looking very much alive with only holding an ice pack to her head, dressed in a hospital robe like Yoshi, her eyes wide with relief as she came over to him. "You're alright."

Yoshi looked at her with disbelief, seeing her perfectly fine. "S-Shen?" He asked, whispering her name as if it was a prayer.

Shen smiled at him and gently took his hand in hers as she sat down next to him, putting down her ice pack. "It's me, my love." She said softly, gently rubbing the top of her husband's hand with her pale thumb. "I'm fine."

"But I saw you... Saki-"

"I may have faked it, in case I couldn't stop him." Shen admitted. "I wore some armor underneath. It's really amazing how simple red paint can easily fool anyone."

She was really grateful that she planned ahead and thought of that. Back when she, Yoshi and Saki were younger, they would play all kinds of tricks on some of the older clan members. However, Saki quickly grew out of those games, and it took her and Yoshi a little longer for them to grow out of their pranks.

When Shen had woken up in her own hospital bed, her head had suffered a major blow. Luckily, it wasn't too bad, although the doctor had suspected very minor amnesia. She still remembered her name, her family, all of that important stuff. But she couldn't remember the past few hours, which most likely was pretty insignificant. All she remembered was her holding Miwa while on a walk through the forest that afternoon, and the next thing she knew, she was with Yoshi right before Saki made his appearance as the new leader of the Foot Clan.

Yoshi swallowed a relieved sob as Shen came closer and embraced him. She was also quietly weeping tears of joy, now that the worst was behind them. Other than a few minor burns and a bump on their heads, they were both fine.

But then, Yoshi remembered something. "Shen, where's Miwa?" He asked her.

Immediately, as if a switch had been flipped, Shen started crying, gently pulling herself onto Yoshi's hospital bed and burying her face in his chest. Her husband then looked over at the doctor with worried and pleading eyes.

"I'm sorry, Hamato-san." The doctor said, shaking his head. "When paramedics arrived at the scene, they only found you and your wife. Your daughter was nowhere to be found. We have to assume that she had perished in the fire."

Yoshi's eyes widened in shock, and then he too started to shed tears as he held Shen close to him. Since she must have woken up before he did, she must have already learned about this tragic news and that she tried to not think about it when she came to see him, thinking that she had no more tears left to cry. But now, they were weeping together over the loss of their little daughter as the doctor left the room to give them some privacy.

****************

Several more hours had passed, and Yoshi had woken up again. He and Shen had fallen asleep after they ran out of tears to cry, and they were now alone in his hospital room. His wife was still sleeping, curled up against his chest. Yoshi gently held his beautiful and strong wife close to him, lost in thought as he slowly rubbed a hand up and down her shoulder.

They had lost everything. Their daughter, their home, and the clan. What will become of them now? They must now hide in case Saki ever learns that they're still alive. But where will they go? Where would be the last place that he would expect them to go?

Just then, he remembered something. Shen had always talked about wanting to see America; especially New York City. Maybe now, he could help her fulfill her dream. There, they can start over and live a better life even though the Hamato Clan is now gone. Perhaps they could even try again for a family. Yes, Miwa will never be replaced, but maybe adding another child or more could help them heal the hole in their hearts.

Yoshi gazed back down at Shen, his deep brown eyes shining with love at his wife as he gently stroked his fingers through her soft, long black hair before resting tentatively against her pale cheek. His beautiful, clever and brave Tang Shen. She had taken a big risk tonight, even though it could have cost her her life. But now, from the ashes of this tragedy, they can rise like a phoenix and start a new life in a new world. There was nothing left for them in Japan now. Perhaps now, they both can become better than they are now.

He had almost lost her tonight. He can't let that happen again. She had sacrificed so much for him, even though he really did very little in return for her and Miwa. Maybe he could now spend the rest of his life making it up to her, showing his love by doing this for her. He owed her that much, considering that she had saved his life tonight.

***************

Within the next several weeks, soon after they had been discharged from the hospital, Yoshi and Shen had packed up their things, shipped most of their furniture ahead to New York after they found an affordable apartment to live in, and then got on the first flight they could from Tokyo to New York. It was a connecting flight, first crossing the Pacific to get to Los Angeles before taking the next flight across the United States to reach New York.

Once they had landed, Yoshi smiled at the sight of his wife looking awestruck as she took in the sights and sounds of their new home. Everything they could see was thought to be the most amazing thing they had ever seen. Shen's amber brown eyes were sparkling with wonder; he had missed that lovely sparkle ever since they had lost everything, including Miwa.

Their new apartment wasn't quite as nice as their little place back in Tokyo, but it was the best that they could afford for the time being. After they unpacked all of their furniture, both of them looked for jobs that could help them pay rent. Shen got a job as an office secretary while Yoshi was hired as a construction worker. Both jobs didn't pay a whole lot, but it was enough to make ends meet.

Soon, it had already been a year since Yoshi and Shen moved to New York. Things have fallen into a comfortable routine for the Japanese immigrant couple. However, Yoshi noticed that something was missing in their lives. It felt a little too quiet in their cozy little place. Maybe it was time to bring up the topic of children.

But then he realized that Shen might still be very hesitant to talk about it, since there was the risk of reopening old wounds, since the loss of Miwa was still fresh in both in their minds. It might take several more months or even years to try and talk about having children again. But perhaps until that time comes, they can still add to their family in a different way.

On his way back home from work one evening, while riding the bus, Yoshi had noticed a pet shop near the bus stop that was only a couple of blocks away from their apartment. They were having a two-week sale on all pet reptiles. Maybe having a pet could cheer Shen up a bit. He had noticed recently that she had been particularly fond of turtles.

When he once had asked her about it out of curiosity, his wife only answered that she wasn't really sure about it herself. Yes, she had always liked turtles before, but now, it was like every turtle that she would see recently would draw her interest. But the strangest thing was that she couldn't remember why. It probably was one of the memories she had lost because of her partial amnesia. Although the doctor said that it was highly certain that she won't ever regain those memories, the feelings and personal significance of those memories never truly go away. Maybe something happened that day to her that involved turtles. Something good.

Perhaps Yoshi could surprise her with a trip over to the pet store and let her pick whichever one she wanted. The apartment complex they lived in had no rules against having pets, so it would be perfectly fine with them. Now, he just needed to make sure that he would be off work on that particular day, and then wait until Shen got back home from her own job. Yoshi only hoped that she would get off early and get back home before the store closed for the day.

A/N: What do you guys think of this so far? Personally, I'm proud of myself for coming up with the idea that Shen faked her own death. Next will be the moment that will change Yoshi and Shen's lives forever. Remember, this is in the 2012 universe, in case you guys needed a picture of how everyone looks like. I personally liked the 2012 design, although the other designs are pretty cool themselves now that I've been watching those as well.

Disclaimer: I have not seen the "Rise" movie yet, even though I want to. I want to finish the "Rise" series first before getting into the movie. So no spoilers for me.

Anyway, that's all for now. Hopefully, I can get into the first official chapter soon. But I do have some other things to take care of first before I do that, mainly some of my other stories. So I politely ask that you guys try to be patient with updates, because I can't promise you very frequent updates.

Thanks for reading this prologue, though! Please leave a review about what you think, and remember to stay healthy. The COVID-19 pandemic might be technically over, but that doesn't mean that the worst is behind us. As Master Splinter once said, "There is always a calm before the storm."

Got to fly! ;)