Author's Note: Hey guys! I honestly didn't expect to write more fic for a while, what with school and all. However, this idea came to me after watching Tale of Yokai – worthy of an Emmy, if I do say so myself – and now it won't leave me.
This fic is different from my others. While it is a TMNT fic, it contains very little about the turtles. They only appear in the first and last chapters. It does, however, contain April O'Neil, as well as many other familiar faces... Also, the first few chapters will be relatively tame, but this will eventually become M-rated. I'll warn you beforehand.
That's all I'm giving you. You'll just have to trust me.
xx
"King me!"
Raphael turned a sardonic stare to the game board, one hand balanced carelessly on his knee. "We're playing Life, doofus."
"Duh," Mikey rolled his eyes. "And I want my life to be one as a royalll king!" He tapped his chin before gesturing grandly. "King Michelangelo! Owner of that little car and its two blue pegs!"
"Why did you choose two blue pegs, Mikey?" asked Leo curiously. "You know those are both for males, right?"
Mikey shrugged. "Two dudes can party together, Leo. It's the 21st century, catch up."
Giggling, April leaned over the playing board from her spot above them on the couch. "That's right, King Mikey."
"Don't encourage him," Raphael leaned against the couch. "You've all got like two seconds to make this game interesting or I'm bailing." However, before anyone could react to Raphael's threat, a bright square flashed above the left corner of the lair's living area, making even Donatello look up from where he was working at the kitchen counter. A flicker preceded a shriek, one that echoed distantly before coming in closer and closer.
Michelangelo's eyes lit up. "I know that scream!"
Thud.
"Whoa!" Donnie popped out of the kitchen, a pair of goggles still strapped firmly to his face. Leo and Raph jumped to their feet in unison, weapons drawn, but when they saw who had suddenly transported into their living room, they relaxed.
Reluctantly.
"Renettttttttttt!" Mikey was on her in an instant, snatching her up in a hug that brought her clear off the ground. From her seat on the couch, April watched with wide eyes, but the turtles gathered in front of her and she could only peer curiously over their shoulders as they each greeted the time-traveler with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
The strange woman giggled, patting Mikey on the head. "Hey there, my favorite turtle warriors!" When she was on her feet again, she straightened her peculiar helmet and twirled the staff in her opposite hand. It went slightly off-kilter and knocked her helmet sideways again, but she hurriedly fixed it and flashed them all a beaming smile.
"I'm practicing!" she proclaimed proudly, much to Mikey's delight. "And I thought I'd drop in, just to visit. I don't have much time, though." She paused, possibly for comic effect, even though she was met with total silence before she laughed at her own joke. "Nah, just kidding. I've got like, all the time." She waved her staff pointedly.
"Hardy har," Raphael rolled his eyes.
"What's all the racket?" Casey Jones emerged from the bathroom, pausing when he saw Renet, his dark eyes growing mischievous. "Well, helloooo.." A sharp jab from Mikey's finger to his shoulder shut him up. "Ow!"
"It's good to see you again," said Leo politely. "Welcome to our home."
"Thanks!" Renet said enthusiastically, though she eyed Casey curiously. "Who is this?"
Raphael punched Casey's shoulder to accompany Mikey's finger-jab bruise. "He's our pet human. Found him in a dumpster," he said, talking loudly over Casey's protests. "I originally named him Dinkle, but Leo thought he might never learn to answer to that -"
"So we call him Casey Jones, instead," Donnie cut in with a snicker.
"Oooh," Renet clapped her hands excitedly. "I read all about you, Casey!" She paused as Casey grinned smugly, nodding to the other turtles before she continued sympathetically, "Sorry about what happens to your whole – face, thing, though."
"My... face?" croaked Casey, touching his jaw.
Renet's eyes widened. "Oh, oh! Yeah, that hasn't – uh, exactly happened yet – Just – Ha! Don't worry about it," she cleared her throat awkwardly before clapping her hands once more. "Anyway!"
"Oh, and we almost forgot," Michelangelo reached behind his brothers and drew out the redhead behind him, tucking an arm around her shoulders affectionately. "Renet, you've got to meet the first ever human in our lives!" With a proud smile in April's direction, he gently pushed her forward.
"Hi," April said, laughing at Mikey's antics. She turned to face the unusual young woman, relaxed and easy as she extended her hand. "My name is April O'Neil."
And yet for all April's ease, all the cheer she felt at a nice, normal evening with her turtle family, the reaction she got from Renet the Time-Traveler was anything but.
April's hand remained floating, unshaken and untouched.
Glancing at Mikey uncertainly, April lowered her hand when Renet simply stared her, all hints of laughter gone from her pretty features. Instead, they were twisted with confusion and more than a little alarm. "April?" she repeated finally, her head tilted. "As in like – the April? But, what -" She pointed, eyes ticking all around the room as if she couldn't remember where she was.
"Uh," April looked around as well. "Is everything okay?"
Renet jabbed a finger in her mouth and chewed on a fingernail, brows furrowed. "Like, you shouldn't be – but you SHOULD be – pretty sure I read, okay, maybe I'm like -"
"What are you talking about?" April looked to Mikey, who shrugged. All the turtles were just as confused as April, and Renet was only growing more and more panicked. Then, without warning, she jumped out and grabbed April's wrist.
"Oh, man," Renet said to no one in particular. "I sure hope I'm right!"
The square of light opened up above them and Renet waved her staff, making all of the turtles leap in her and April's direction. "Whoa, Renet, wait -"
"Don't TAKE her!" shrieked Donatello.
"Take me?" squealed April, as a strange vortex began to pull on the edges of her body. "What the -"
"Sorry, guys!" Renet called out. Then the flash of light engulfed them both and they were gone.
xx
Whoosh.
Fwish.
Thud.
Rarely had April landed so gracelessly – and on her face, too – but she did now, and the next moment she came to full awareness, it was with the uncomfortable realization that she was now outside.
And whereas before it had been late in the evening, it was now the middle of the day.
"This is not grocking cold," said a familiar female voice to her side, and April rolled onto her back before spitting out a mouthful of grass. Sitting up, she spotted the time-traveling young woman just a few feet away, pacing and muttering to herself. Standing heatedly, April brushed off her clothes and marched over.
"Hey, Renet! Remember me?" she waved a hand frantically. "Yeah, you should. We just met five minutes ago and now we're like," She glanced around slowly, her eyes taking in what appeared to be a desolate, unpaved road on the edge of a great deal of forest.
"... in the middle of nowhere," April finished lamely.
Renet's eyes jumped up to hers. "Not nowhere. I mean, like. It's somewhere. I think this is it."
Growing increasingly impatient, April growled. "What is it?"
"The place!" Renet piped up. "The place where you need to be." She tapped her chin, lips pursed. "At least, I think so..." At April's glare, she held up both hands. "I'm sure, I'm sure! Well, okay. Like – I think 93% sure, and that's pretty close to one hundred, right?"
"What are you talking about?" asked April desperately. "And where are the guys? Take me back to them!"
"I'm sorry, I can't!" said Renet, her eyes wide. "I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to bring you here, because – well, I can't tell you why, otherwise it might not happen right. Because, time-travel, ya know, it can get pretty sticky! Which is why they leave it up to us!" She pointed to herself proudly. "The experts."
April glared.
"Okay, so..." Renet edged away, hands still high. "I gotta jet, but you know, just... do what you're supposed to do."
"Wait, you're not – you're not leaving me, are you?" exclaimed April, eyes wide. "I don't even know where I am!"
"I'm sorry!" Renet cried out, the portal opening above her. "Really, I am. Like – I want to help, but I don't think I can, and I also don't know if I'm doing this right, but hey – you're gonna miss every goal you never take, right?"
A loud wordless shriek left April.
"Ooooookay, I can see you need some time to process this," said Renet, before pausing to snort at her own joke. "Heh," she giggled. "Time, get it?"
"GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
"Okay, bye!" And with that, Renet jumped up and vanished in a cube of light.
Leaving April O'Neil alone. On a dirt road. In the middle of God only knew where... in God only knew what year.
xx
"Oh hey," April mimicked under her breath in a nasally voice, her boots kicking up dirt on the unpaved path as she followed it mindlessly. "Meet Renet, she's super cool. Renet, this is April. Please take her and leave her defenseless on a dirt road while spouting a bunch of nonsense about time-travel and laughing," she turned her face skyward and screeched, " - at your own jokes!"
Her walk continued for almost two miles before she finally came to a road sign, and when she turned her weary gaze on it, it did little to assuage her irritation.
It was in Japanese. The road sign was in Japanese, and that meant she was in Japan.
What in the hell made Renet bring her to Japan? And from the looks of things, it wasn't TOO far in the past. She could see, very far in the distance, where a series of hills dropped and gave way to an opening that housed a fairly modern looking city. She couldn't read kanji, so she didn't know what the sign indicated, but it was a decent sized place with tall buildings. She couldn't be back in feudal times or anything, which was something. Maybe she could find a phone.
Turning back to the street indecisively, April's irritated huff nearly disguised the sound of tires rolling down the loose gravel. However, the shriek of a car horn as someone blazed by her – nearly running her over in the process – was impossible to ignore.
"Ack!" April fell over, landing in a cloud of dirt with a pounding heart from her close call. "Holy hell," she wheezed, touching her heart. Oh, man. Here she was, wandering the streets without a dime to her name, and some Japanese farmer had nearly mowed her over with a ratty looking van. Great.
"Just another day in the life of April O'Neil," she grumbled.
In her misery, she drowned out the sounds of yet another vehicle approaching, but this one was much more subtle – and quiet – than the last.
"Sumimasen," came a male voice.
April jumped to attention, her hands hurriedly brushing away some dirt as she turned in her spot, only to see an old pickup truck stopped just a few feet down the road. After a moment, an elbow leaned out of the open window, a face accompanying it a moment later.
"Daijobu desuka?" asked a young Japanese male, his face partially obscured by dirt rolling off the tires of his truck. April coughed and swatted away some of the misty dirt, her boots shuffling forward uncertainly.
Grappling for the few Japanese phrases she knew, she tilted her head to get a better look at the driver.
"Eigo o?" she tried uncertainly.
The dust cleared as April approached the window, and she found herself face to face with a young man very close to her own age, one with such handsome features that she became immediately aware of how dirty and distressed she must look. Great, April. Awesome. Fantastic. You win at life.
She tried to brush down her unruly hair, a flush staining her cheeks even as the young man offered her a small smile. It was a subtle expression, one that read much more in his eyes than any of his other features.
"I speak English," he said in a clear, crisp accent that sent a wave of relief through April. She responded with a smile of her own.
"Oh, well..." she glanced around. "Actually, I was... I was dropped off here to, um." She paused. "I was coming to meet a friend and I think someone might have left me off in the wrong place. Pretty sure I'm lost."
The young man leaned back into the cab of his truck. "I would think so," he said, a faint hint of teasing in his tone. "You're quite a way from any village and I do not think you want to walk all the way to Osaka from here." He pointed at the city April had noticed in the distance. Turning to look back at the city, April witheld a resigned sigh.
"Yeah," she said softly. "That would be terrible."
"Who are you meeting?" he asked, and April's mind panicked. Finally, she grasped for the first name that popped into her head. Why, she would never know.
"A girl called Tang Shen," she said, waving a hand dismissively. "She's a friend of mine."
To her surprise, the young man raised both brows and said, "Really? She is from my town. I can take you there, if you'd like. I'm on my way back right now."
April stared, her jaw loose. He knew Tang Shen? Then that must mean... What year was she in? Did she drop right back into where the turtles had left? They'd told her all about what had happened... How they'd seen Master Splinter and the Shredder, baby Miwa – Karai. How they'd watched her die, and witnessed as the Shredder took Miwa away.
Damn Renet. Damn her all the way the 1600's, so she could be burned at the stake for being a witch.
Honestly, she had no plans to meet anyone, much less a woman she had never actually met, but it was either go with this young (attractive) man or stay where she was, so April reluctantly climbed into the truck cab and clasped her hands politely in her lap. The young man – or teenager, rather – started the vehicle down the dusty road, one he appeared to be very familiar with.
"So how do you, uh," April swallowed tightly. "How do you know Tang Shen?"
The young man turned a corner, his driving quick and assured. "She and I attended school together," he said, and April realized his voice had a very deep, low quality to it that didn't match his young, sharp face. "But I do not know her well. She is a few years older. My brother was in her year."
He glanced at her, his expression placid but his eyes curious. "Are you from her university?"
"... Yes," said April slowly, forcing a smile. "I'm an exchange student."
"From Ireland?" he asked, eyeing her briefly, pausing at her red hair. April couldn't help a small grin.
"No, from the United States," she said. "New York, specifically." It couldn't hurt to tell him that much. Maybe if she kept him talking, she'd get some insight to when exactly she was.
"Ah, no wonder you are friends with Tang Shen," he said, looking back to the road. "She always spoke of traveling when she was still in school."
"My name is April, by the way," she offered out of habit. "Thank you for picking me up."
"April," he repeated slowly as the truck turned onto a paved road and continued its trek, and April looked out of the window as the hills rolled into higher, steeper mountains. Now that she could see more of the landscape, the beauty was enough to drive her to distraction. "That is certainly far from a Japanese name," he mused, and when she looked back to him, she saw him quirk his lips in a smirk.
Flushing, April bit her lip and looked back to the window determinedly. Fortunately, it was not long before they pulled into a small town, one that sat on the outskirts of yet more forest. The streets were paved but narrow, angled roofs lining the edges and curling up twisted paths set against mountains long ago. It was a modern looking town – nothing particularly ancient about it – but the architecture was definitely Japanese, and most of the signs were unreadable with her limited knowledge. More of the town seemed to seep into the forest, possibly pushing back further where she couldn't see, but her rescuer didn't turn that way.
Instead, he navigated the slender streets until he came to a series of homes in a well-kept area. Circling around, he slowed and peered thoughtfully at the houses. "I believe this is hers," he said, stopping the truck. Sucking in a deep breath, April turned to face him with a fully-prepared, completely inauthentic smile that was meant to disguise her mounting anxiety, but instead threatened to dissolve into hysteria.
"Thank you, really. I appreciate your kindness," she told him sincerely, a vain part of her wishing desperately that she didn't look like something the cat had dragged in. However, he never gave her any sort of condescending looks, instead inclining his head politely in her direction.
April turned to her door to get out. "Oh," she said, as she fiddled with the handle. "I almost forgot – What's your name?" The old door opened at last with a groan.
"It was no problem," he told her kindly, and as April's head lifted to peer at him in the glass of her window, his face reflected clearly, he said, "My name is Hamato Saki."
And with that, she fell clear out of the door.
"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, looking more than a little bewildered as April brushed him off with a wild, nearly manic smile.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll get Tang Shen to look at – all the bruises," she said, waving him away. He got back into his truck, which he'd abandoned to help her off the ground, but April practically flew away from him as soon as she was able and now he was nearly ready to leave. "Its cool, really."
"Well," he said slowly, eyebrow raised. "It was nice to meet you." Weirdo, April filled in mentally. She gave him one last awkward wave before he finally, finally drove way, his truck disappearing around the corner of several homes before she dropped her hand and barely staved off a collapse.
Hamato Saki, she thought as she turned back to face the house he'd left her at. The Shredder. She'd taken a casual lift from The Shredder, one who still called himself Hamato. How old had he been when he'd discovered his true heritage? April wasn't sure. He'd re-formed the Foot Clan in his twenties, though, so he couldn't have been that old when he'd found out the truth.
And if THAT was the Shredder, than that meant this Tang Shen really was...
"Well, here goes nothing," she said, raising a fist and knocking on the door. After a few moments of silence, the door opened, and April was once again floored for what felt like the zillionth time that day.
Wow, this girl looked so much like Karai. Or, at least, what Karai would look like without crazy make-up and hair. She was very pretty, in a much more natural way than most pretty girls actually were, in April's opinion.
"Hello," said the young woman in English, seemingly sensing April's distress. "Can I help you?"
Her kind, genuine tones rattled April even further, because she even sounded quite a lot like Karai. But then also, April was getting a little desperate for help, and one bit of generosity might be enough to break her or make her. Pushing back her distress, she sucked in a deep breath and said as steadily as she could, "Are you Tang Shen?"
"I am," she said with a smile. She was young, too. This girl was pre-Miwa, April supposed. Young Shredder had said she was at the university, but she couldn't have been older than nineteen or so.
"Hi," April said, her tone wavering a little. "My name is April and I'm... I'm an exchange student at the university. I was... I'm so sorry to bother you at home," her voice broke, and even though she had already planned to play on this girl's sympathy, her misery was genuine and she couldn't really help how pathetic she sounded. "But I really need help."
To her surprise, Tang Shen immediately stepped back and beckoned her inside. "Please, come in." When April stepped into the home, the young woman closed the door and gestured to her kitchen. "I was just about to make myself some food. Would you like something? Or some water? I also have juices."
Some pieces of the panic melted away. "Something to drink would be wonderful, thank you." She took a seat on a stool Tang Shen directed her to and after a few minutes, they were sitting together at a small bar. The home was compact, but neat and well-made, with appliances that looked dated to April's eyes, but also appeared shiny and new.
"Are you hurt?" asked Tang Shen after nibbling at a sandwich. April glanced at some of the scrapes on her arm, one of the many souvenirs from her multiple falls in the last few hours. Some ninja she was.
"It's fine," April managed a real smile. "Just had a rough day, is all." When Tang Shen seemed content to let her drink her juice in silence, she gathered her thoughts and prayed for just a tiny bit of luck. For once. "I, um... I was at the university and I ran into some trouble. Some legal issues," she said, sighing softly. "Now I can't continue going to school, but I can't return home to the United States, either."
"Oh, no," Shen frowned, her expression genuinely sympathetic. "That's terrible."
"I know," April turned her juice bottle in her hands. "I asked around campus, and some people mentioned you..." Please let that make sense.
"Oh," Shen said with understanding. "Because I have worked with exchange students all my semesters in the university."
"Right!" April piped up. "That's what they said – Yes, they told me you knew a lot and... well, I don't - exactly know what you can do for me. Honestly, I just needed to get out of town and – well, this was the only place I could think to go." She paused, despair sinking her heart. Because as fabricated as her story was, it was partly true. She didn't know what to do or who might help her. She was complete lost. And alone.
Damn Renet. Salem Witch Trials were too good for her.
"Well, I am glad the other students thought of me," said Shen firmly, setting her sandwich aside. "I know how difficult it can be for students overseas. Some of those things – they are so complicated! So much red tape, so much nonsense." A real smile touched April's lips. She liked Shen's facial expressions, which scrunched often, and her soft accent. Like – eeeuugh – Shredder, she spoke English very well.
"You are welcome to stay here with me while it is sorted out," said Shen suddenly, making April balk.
"What, really?" April blinked, and Shen nodded, her sandwich back in her hands once more. "You would do that? For someone you don't even know?"
Shen swallowed her bite, unperturbed.
"I live alone," she pointed out, looking around the small, organized space before she leaned close and whispered. "If you are a danger to me, I think I can take you." A quick grin flitted across her features, and she and April laughed together. It instantly occurred to April that Master Splinter had been wise to fall in love with such a person. She was likable in such a rare and instantaneous way. And with all that April knew about her, it was hard not to feel bonded with her already.
"Thank you," murmured April sincerely. "I'm... really trying to get home. Hopefully, I won't have to inconvenience you long."
"Do not worry," she responded with a shrug. "I had thought about getting a cat, but since you are here, now I will not have to." They giggled again, and when they were finished with their drinks, April helped her clean up, just to show her she was a little more useful than a cat.
xx
When she found a calendar, it revealed that the month was September.
The year was 1991.
xx
Author's Note: Stay tuned, I update quickly!
