Title: Sister Dear
Summery: They were her family. She would not lose them, not like she lost her brother. She would protect them until her dying day, because that was what sisters did.
Mariana was cold, though that was common now she was in New York, the disgusting place it was. She rubbed her arms as she struggled through the streets, looking around. She missed her home, but she had to be here. Her brother put her on the boat, promising her that he would meet her at the Eagles and Prey statue in Central Park. She had to be there.
It was just so cold though. Brazil never was this cold. She shivered and pulled on her frayed sweater as she stumbled around, looking for an easy mark. She had to go to the statue on April eleventh- her birthday, but till then she had to survive.
Mariana was not unaware of the gazes on her- some of worry. The tiny seven year old was dressed in a sweater to large, with a woolen skirt patched sloppily. Her long dark hair was in tangles, the curls wild from the strange air. Her shoes were mismatched on her feet, one red and one black. She was use to the looks, but right then, she was focused on her target, a tall man with his wallet half in his pocket. She tripped into him, and when he turned to yell, she fake panicked, stuttering in Portuguese before running, his wallet in hand.
Mariana smirked as she ran away, playing the confused tourist was perfect, though she knew she didn't look like one. Of course, she did hear the swearing and the chasing feet. She took a moment to look behind, only to curse. Apparently she picked a gang member, who gained followers who chased her through the streets. She was usually better at this, able to pick out who was who.
She continued her run, spotting a manhole that was open. A truck was nearby it, she noticed but no one was around it- obviously off getting food or something.
She moved fast, running and grabbing the ladder, slipping down, and continuing her run. She heard yelling from behind, and she kept up her run, until she figured she was in a safer area. She leaned against the wall, ignoring the smell- she was far to use to this. She'd never had the same skill as her brother.
"Achoo!" she sneezed, letting out a puff of air. She cursed, shivering. It was ten degrees out, winter temperature for her. She'd have to spend some money on a coat while waiting for her brother… or find a shelter, but she didn't want to end up in an orphanage again. She hated St. Agatha's, the stupid Catholic Orphanage she'd been shoved in until she found her brother again.
A noise startled her and she stood from her position. Her hand dropped to the pocket knife she carried, and she eyed where the noise came from. It was an open tunnel, and she moved quietly towards it, wondering if it was nothing.
It wasn't. In fact, it was a...
"Tartaruga?" she asked, tilting her head at it. But it was big- as big as a child. It actually looked frightened, taking a step back, only to slip and fall, hurting it's knee.
"Waaa!" it began to cry, and Mariana took a step back, eyes wide.
What was going on?
"Daddy!" it spoke, and she jumped. A talking turtle… okay, America was very weird. She wanted to go home now. "Daddy!" it… no, he cried some more, and she felt a glimmer of pity. It was just a child. Or at least she thought so.
She couldn't leave a child to cry, not when it was obviously upset and not faking it to make her a mark. She didn't think it was anyway.
"Calm down." She told him, holding her hands up and stumbling through the English. "I… no harm?" she frowned to herself. That didn't sound right.
"Huh?" the turtle asked, and she knelt down, making sure the knife was hidden.
"I… not harm… you?" she frowned once more, that sounded better, but still weird.
"Why are you talking like that?" asked the child, looking at her, suddenly in her face. "Are you an alien?!" She blinked, staring. From his voice he sounded like a boy, but kids tended to sound similar… she was going to call him a him for now.
"… I understand little English." She said, blinking at him. "I am from Brazil." He blinked, before smiling and offering his hand.
"I'm Mikey!" she stared at the three fingered hand, before she hesitantly shook it. She was right on then… unless it was some nickname for Michelle or something.
"Mariana." She introduced herself, as more noise came.
"Michelangelo!" she blinked, as the boy tried to get up, looking startled.
"Daddy!" she watched as he moved away, only to stop, looking back at her. "…Where will you go?" Mariana blinked, and shrugged.
"I will find empty tunnel." She figured if a giant turtle and more could remain undetected, she should be able to. She turned to leave, knowing the father would not trust her. If he was like his son, he had reason to.
"Bye Mary!" Mikey called after her, and she turned in shock, but only saw him running away.
…Mary? Seriously?
-0-
Her new home was an abandoned subway car she found by accident. The seats were still there so she had a bed at the least. She made sure to keep track of the days as she went through her new life, slinking up to the surface to steal and buy food and clothing. She never bought new things, not liking the feel. Broken in clothing was the best.
Tattered sweaters, torn leggings, ripped skirts mended with care, those where her favorite clothes. Sure, they didn't look as nice, but she knew that her money would do better going to a place that sold second hand rather than a new place- second hand stores were often charities. Her only accessory was a heavy metal locket around her neck containing two hand drawn photos and a lock of hair.
It wasn't hard to move from surface to the sewers. She figured out the trick to popping the manhole covers and could do it fairly easily. It saved her life when her cons were discovered. She was faster than any overweight tourist, and could escape down a manhole fast leaving them wondering where she was.
Mariana wasn't sure why, but she would detour by the tunnel she met Mikey in sometimes. Maybe it was because he just trusted her right away- maybe it was because he was a kid. She didn't know.
It was about two weeks after she first met him she ran into him again.
"Mary!" he cried upon spotting her, jumping up in joy. "I thought I would see you again!"
"It's Mariana." She told him, frowning as he just waved his hand. He had a new addition to himself, an orange mask around his eyes. "What is…" she frowned and motioned to the mask. She didn't know the word for it in English.
"Oh! It's my ninja mask! Dad- I mean, Master Splinter is teaching us to be ninja!"
"Us?" Mariana asked, tilting her head. Ninja… that was Japanese, so was Mikey Japanese? But his name was… Michelangelo, right? That was Italian.
"Me and my brothers!" he looked excited, jumping around and talking to fast for her to translate.
"Mikey! Slow…down." Mariana waved her hands, trying to get him to slow down. "I don't… understand?" He stopped, and then blushed- a bright green blush. It was adorable, and Mariana had to control her impulse to coo.
"I forgot." He admitted. She nodded, then tilted her head.
"You name… Michelangelo?" She asked, and he grinned wildly.
"Yeah, but I like Mikey." He said, and she made a note to call him that. "So… where you from Mary?"
"I call you Michelangelo if you call me Mary." She warned him, before she shrugged. "Brazil."
"Cool! Why did you come to New York?"
"My brother say he come, so I wait." She told the turtle. Soon, they dissolved into a conversation about brothers, until Mikey left for his family and Mariana left for her own home. She felt a spark of joy in her chest she did not often feel.
Life went on, the two often meeting secretly. Mikey began to learn Portuguese and Mariana learned English from the orange masked turtle. It had been a month since they met, and the air turned colder each day as the days turned to December. Mariana felt the cold settle in with dread.
Snow began to haunt the streets where she stole and ran small cons- it was something she wasn't use to and she began to fall behind. People put their wallets closer to their bodies, they were less likely to slow down and she had to buy a warmer coat that ate into her money. She turned to shoplifting to get by, and hated it. It was one thing to con rich folk, but shops were just trying to get by. Unless it was a rich store, but then those stores were annoying to because she couldn't eat that food without getting sick.
She hated America, it was ridiculous.
"It is cold." Moaned Mariana to Mikey one day, bundled up in a coat and sweater over a woolen skit and leggings. Mikey nodded, similarly bundled up. "I miss Brazil."
"Yeah, it was way warmer, right?"
"Yes." Mariana said, nodding. The two friends shivered for a while before they split, Mariana heading back to her subway car home, where she had a small heater working. Not much, just enough to stay warm.
She had really went to town on the car. She had ripped off all the seat cushions and littered them on the floor in the middle, combined with her clothing as a bed. She had her food- cans and bread along with a jar of jam- up away from her heater and she'd found a drawing pad in the garbage she happily used from time to time.
Mariana curled up in the pile, and shivered as the cold settled in once more. It was so cold, this weather. She wasn't use to it, and it felt like a cloak draping over her.
-0-
Mikey, despite common belief, wasn't stupid. Yeah, he would admit he wasn't smart, but he wasn't stupid. Just because he didn't get what his siblings said all the time didn't mean he didn't understand what they meant. He was good with getting his brothers despite not understanding them sometimes.
He also knew Mariana was really lonely, even though she hid it. It must be hard, being all alone in a strange country. He sort of understood, but at the same time he didn't. Mariana was alone even when she was among the humans, just because she spoke differently. She was getting better, but she still had trouble with English. She also was what she called a street kid. He didn't get it much, but he did get she did Bad Things to get by. He wasn't sure what Bad Things they were, but they were Bad Things.
Mikey didn't get why humans were so focused on… levels? He wasn't sure, but he knew that some people thought Mariana was dirt because she spoke different and lived on the streets because she had no place to go, despite the fact she was awesome. She listened to him, and taught him like he taught her. She did Bad Things but she wasn't a Bad Person. Yeah, she was scary a little, like when he didn't call her Mariana and she just stared at him, and said Michelangelo in that really creepy way, but she was really cool, she wasn't bad! Humans thought she was though, but thought that others were good, but they weren't!
Humans were weird.
Mikey didn't get why Mariana lived in the sewers like them either- he understood she didn't have a home, but she was human, not like them. He didn't mind too much though, Mariana was awesome, and fun! He liked playing with her more than he did his brothers sometimes, which was why he didn't tell anyone- Mariana was to cool, they would all want to play with her!
He was fifty percent sure Splinter knew about Mariana though. He let the four out to play in the tunnels close to the lair, but he did keep a close eye on them, he wouldn't be surprised to find out he did know.
When Mariana came to their tunnel one day, Mikey was worried. She was shivering, and her nose looked really raw, with some snot coming out. And she was sweating, despite shivering.
"Mariana… are you okay?"
"I'm… I'm f-f-fine." She shivered even more and seemed to draw into herself. "I'm just… cold." She stumbled and fell, shivering even more.
"Mariana!" he dropped down to touch her shoulders and she looked up, blinking slowly before she tumbled forward.
"Mariana!"
Okay, so here is the first chapter! I've always been a fan of TMNT, and recently, I thought 'screw it'. So, here it is!
I wanted to write a sister fic for the turtles, but I wanted her to be older, so Mariana is about eight here, while the turtles are almost six, so she's around two years older. Everyone write sisters as younger, the idea Mariana would be older just made me grin.
Mikey is really hard to write to… seriously, I'm just trying to write him and it's hard because he's a smart kid, but not in the general way. He's good with people, just not with books. So I tried to show that, and I hope I did okay.
Mariana does tend to talk in Portuguese a lot, so I will show that, but unless it's just one word, it will only be italicized. I don't speak Portuguese so I need to use a translator, and that's never right.
That being said, Tartaruga means turtle.