TMNT: A Mother's Love
"speech" 'thoughts' "Japanese" "Spanish" "English" (translation)
I would always look at the teen mothers and think, 'They must be so busy and shunned. I don't want that to happen to me.' I acted on that wish to. I never let myself get close to a guy in that way unless I was sure I was ready for it. I honestly didn't think that I would have any kids, but I did. I got four sons. I didn't exactly become their mother in the normal way either. I didn't meet them until they were one year old much less give birth to them.
I guess I can thank the man that attacked me 15 years ago. After all, if he hadn't met me in the sewers, I would never have met my son's and their father. 17 was a big year for me, and I know this much, I would never change or regret any of it.
I remember that it was sunny, summer Saturday. That meant that everyone and their families were on the streets. I was walking down the busy sidewalk towards my place from shopping.
I looked at my watch. '7:32, it'll be dark soon.' I thought. I turned down an alleyway to get me home faster. As I walked forward I rummaged through my shopping bags to make sure I had everything. "Salad, soda's, fruit, fruit sauces, ramen's, a new ramen pot, beef jerky, bread, and cold cuts. That's everything." I looked up in time to see a 'warning: open man hole' sign in front of my face before the ground before my feet vanished.
The next thing I knew was darkness, a shooting pain in my right leg, and something hard hit the back of my head before the dream world claimed me.
When I woke up, I was assaulted with the smell of trash and the sound of running water. I opened my eyes to see exactly what I expected, the sewers. After checking myself for injuries and my bags for damage, I found that my things were fine. I, however, had a fractured leg and a possible concussion from the fall.
I looked up at the man hole to see that the latter was broken beyond repair. 'That's probably why there was no one there while it was open. They need a new ladder to get down here.' I thought. I called out, "Hello. Is anyone up there?" A one minute wait gave no answer. I turned my attention to the sewer around me. "Is any one down here?" I asked worriedly.
I heard a few footsteps and a male voice say, "Who's there?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you, but I fell down the manhole while it was open." I said, despite my instincts saying not to.
The voice gained a figure. I knew this man's type as soon as I saw the way he walked. He was a woman predator. He examined my injured Japanese-Hispanic figure lustily and took a step forward. I leaped to my feet, ignoring my wounded leg and head, and dashed down the sewer path.
After a while of running, I lost him and promptly collapsed. "Where am I?" Looking around, I realized that I had no idea where I had come from. I looked at my watch, noticing that my shopping bags were still on my arms, to see that it was 10:53.
A few moments of sitting prompted me to recheck my injuries, naming them aloud. "The bone in my leg shifted out of place a bit. I'll need to set it. I can't do that right now, though. … Dizziness, ears ringing, headache, nausea..." I waved my hand in front of my face, getting the action half a second later than intended. "… and delayed response all signals a concussion. I wouldn't be able to fight that guy off if he found me." I shift in my surroundings caught my attention.
I tensed when a small figure emerged from the darkness only to realize that the thing in the shadows was an infant mutant turtle. I blinked at the infant as it crawled up to me. 'What is this?' I thought. "A… baby turtle?" I let the little one crawl into my lap. "Hey there, Chīsana kodomo. Are you alone?" (Tiny child) The little one babbled at me, making me giggle. "I am."
"There you are girly." The man from earlier appeared and I pulled the baby behind me. "That hot body of yours is mine."
The baby cooed behind me as I felt the adrenaline rush preceding what I knew was my motherly instincts. "Stay back." I growled. All I got was a sinister laugh.
"I would recommend leaving the woman and my child alone." A new voice sounded from the shadows on my left.
The man scoffed and said, "Like you'll stop me." He kept coming.
"I did warn you." The voice said. A shadow moved away from the darkness and made quick work of driving the man off. He was allowed to escape with a limp and black eye.
Standing on the edge of the darkness, the voice asked, "Are you alright miss?" I noticed the voice was slightly older and had a Japanese accent.
"I fell through a hatch and got a broken leg and a concussion, but the baby is fine." I said. "He's yours, you said?" The infant babbled happily as he crawled his way to the hidden figure.
"Yes. How did you happen upon my son?" He said.
I chuckled. "It's more that he happened upon me. I had just fled from that man when this Chīsana kodomo crawled up to me. The man came moments later and, well, you know the rest." (Tiny child) My vision blurred as I started to black out.
"I see." He said. "Rest now, Shinsetsuna josei. I will care for your injuries." (Kind woman) He left his shadowy corner and I registered a large, humanoid rat as the form belonging to my Japanese savior.
I faded out with a "Thank you" barely leaving my lips.
Opening my eyes, I heard an infant's squeak and the Japanese rat say, "Be careful, my sons. She is still hurt." I was on a sofa in a different part of the sewers. There were four baby turtles clinging to my side. "How are you feeling?" I looked up to see my rodent rescuer offering his assistance for sitting up.
I took his help and said, "My leg is sore but that was expected." One of the infants closest to my injured leg babbled curiously and looked first at my leg then at me. It seemed as though he was asking how I was hurt. "I fell." I said. The infant cooed while patting my knee gently. "I'll be ok, Sumato-ko." (Smart child)
The one at my left cooed with a frown. He seemed conflicted, glancing at his father. "I can't hurt you guys in this state even if I wanted to, Yukan'na ko." (Brave child) He blinked at me.
My good leg was suddenly grasped by the tot that I found earlier, babbling happily. "Hey Chīsana kodomo, how are you?" (Tiny child) I said, lifting him onto my lap. The last turtle tot, standing a bit farther away, was just looking at me.
"You will need to remain here for a while. You cannot be allowed walk on that leg." The Turtle's father said. "I am Splinter."
"I'm Hitomi, Hitomi Summers. Thank you for helping me." I bowed my head.
"It was no problem, Hitomi. I am glad you are alright." Splinter said. "That one you are holding is named Michelangelo. The one at your injured leg is Donatello. The one at your left is Leonardo, and the other is Raphael."
"Named for the Renaissance Masters, I assume." I said. "How old are they?"
Splinter smiled at me, making me blush a little, and said, "They are one year old."
There was a small gurgling sound from Mikey, who sat in my lap. I looked at him with a giggle. "Are you hungry?" He blushed with a nod. I looked at his father. "I have some fruit sauces in my shopping bags. They could have those. I'll help feed them." I had noticed my things in the corner earlier.
"Thank you, Hitomi." Splinter said. He got four of the fruit sauces and gave me two. Leo climbed up next to me while Raph and Donny were fed by Splinter. The containers came with little spoons.
After a few seconds of feeding the boys, Splinter asked. "If I may ask, how is it that you know Japanese?"
I smiled. "My birth father was Japanese and I went to live with his side of the family in Japan after him and my birth mother was killed. They raised me from when I was seven to when I was 12. My mother's side of the family, down in Mexico, raised me after that until a few months ago. I came to America to live with an old friend of mine."
We finished feeding the boys and had some time in quiet since the boys had fallen asleep. "Why are you so calm about our appearance, Hitomi?"
I smile sadly. "Looks hardly matter. They don't reflect who a person is. I look into someone's eyes for that." I looked Splinter in the eyes and continued to talk. "You can see a lot through them. I can tell that you love your sons, even though they aren't yours by blood. I can see sorrow for loss. I can see the fear in a new father and the fear in a single father." I looked away from his surprised face to the sleeping faces of Leo and Mikey. "Eyes reflect who a person is, so can't hide anything."
Mikey and Donny started fussing in their sleep so I sung a lullaby that usually calmed me.
Sleep Ritoru ai,
Please don't cry.
Sleep Poco amor,
Sleep and dream some more.
I'm right here, love,
Gentle as a peaceful dove.
I'm right here,
Keeping near.
Sleep Ritoru ai.
Sleep Poco amor.
I'm right here.
The lullaby worked and I found that Leo and Raph were smiling in their sleep.
"They'll need a mother." I said. Splinter looked at me in surprise, as though he hadn't considered the fact. "I can at least relieve you of that fear." I smiled at him. He smiled in return and nodded his thanks. I glanced at my watch. '1:03am.' I went to sleep with a firm hold on Mikey and Leo.