Chapter two

Lilyanna sighed almost as heavily as the rain as she peered through it beneath her umbrella, wondering just how far her twin had wandered.

When she was in a mood, Roseanna could walk around aimlessly for hours. Despite her brusque, blunt and somewhat aggressive undertone to her bodily mannerisms: she was more deadly with her words. With an interest in psychology and an understanding of human behaviour: she could pluck those fragile little strings with her smooth, poisonous tongue and leave you a bloody, crying mess on the floor. Usually, she was kind and patient but irk her well enough she was the cruellest bitch you would ever meet.

Her twin might be a skilled martial artist, but she was one girl and there had been an increase in gang activity lately. Some of the gangs had reportedly started carrying guns and they were always unwilling to play fair. For that reason alone, Lilyanna had ensured that her other two sisters remained close by – within touching distance, even. Between the three of them, they could handle probably a small group of five, unarmed. It was times like these Lilyanna was thankful their grandfather was a martial art instructor – and their teacher.

Their grandfather's studio would be the most likely place Roseanna would go; especially after another argument with their parents about her interests.

Thinking back on the argument, Lily wondered why their parents didn't just accept that Rose was not going to be what they wanted her to be. They were stern, firm and had high expectations. Both were the top scientists in their fields of study, which were classified and were not discussed even at home. The sisters did not know entirely what they did, but their security at home was high – like they were politicians high. Granted, they had their children's best interests at heart, but the way they went about it only served to create friction between them and their children – especially with Roseanne. The eldest Wood child was the kind of spirit that resented shackles of any kind, which put her at odds constantly with their parents.

Intellectually, they were all as freakishly smart as their parents. The odds of that were… not as high as one would think but even so, the four of them were exceptionally gifted.

Lilyanna wanted to be a biologist or a doctor. Perhaps both, she was not picky. She had yet to decide if her anatomy pursuits would follow human or animal, or both. Jasanne was rather gifted with computers: had been playing with technology since she had first grabbed a hold of their father's cell phones. The obsession had grown into computers, radios… she wanted to be an engineer. Lavanne had always been an earth child: always collecting rocks and always staring up at the stars, attentive to weather reports and the only one out of the four that would sit quietly in front of the TV watching David Attenborough. She was an ecologist. Roseanna was smart, no one would doubt that. She had a sharp mind and had been the first in everything from crawling, walking and talking. But she did not follow the scientist steps of her parents, oh no. No, Roseanne was an artist with a side interest in what made other people react and act how they did: the only one in the family to dabble into psychology out of curiosity. And the fact their parents hated the field.

Some of the science Roseanna had been… heavily persuaded to participate in had shown her aptitude for the studies, but she had never enjoyed it and quit halfway through the semester.

And that… was the main reason their parents were rather disappointed in Roseanna. She was "wasting" her talents.

Lilyanna sighed once more. Family drama was a universal thing, she was quite sure – but that just made that reality all the more depressing.

"We're here!" Jasanne whispered softly, just loud enough to be heard over the rain.

It was only early afternoon so there were still some people out and about, regardless of the rain, but not enough for any of the sisters to feel particularly safe. Lilyanna had not been kidding when she had said there had been an increase in gang activity. It was almost as if someone had been stirring up the hornet's nest for the past year, and they were getting territorial. Usually, the status-quo had been small groups of five wandering around, ensuring everything was going well (people acceptingly intimidated, no rivals on their turf), but there had been slow changes. Numbers were increasing not only in the actual members themselves, but in the groups walking the streets – constantly on the lookout for something.

If Lilyanna was a betting girl, she would say that a gang war was about to break out. When, was the question.

Lilyanna grabbed her sister's hands as soon as the road cleared and raced across the street inside.

She hoped Roseanna was there and ok.

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David was a man who had seen a lot of the world and experienced its hardships, but it had brought him his greatest joys: his three children Danielle, Caleb and Lucia. Between them he had twelve precious grandchildren.

Danielle had married into the Wood family who came from old money, having four girls: Roseanne and Lilyanna, Lavanne and Jasanne. His eldest could say whatever she liked, but she had always been obsessed with flowers and had been adamant that she would name her children after her favourites: Rose, Lily, Lavender and Jasmine, but of course she had to put her own twist on them. Danielle was freakishly smart and ambitious. At 6 years old she had planned her career, decided on working with DNA and genes and something else he had no idea what.

Caleb, in contrast to Danielle, was more subdued and quiet. It was only when meeting his wife who ran a reporting company that he gained his confidence enough to open his own bakery café which had become quite successful and a popular hang-out for the family. They had three sons: Luke, Michael and Jacob. Caleb was the man who knew what to say, to advise others but when it came to himself, he was always unsure. David was glad he had met his wife, she had managed to make his son realise his own potential.

Lucia was not as quiet as Caleb but less ambitious than her sister. She worked hard, there was no doubt about that, but she did not race up the incline like Danielle, preferring to stop and smell the roses and appreciate the view. A successful painter, she spent most of her days painting for clients. She had a chemistry degree and would have become a chemist, but it did not take Lucia long to realise it was not for her. This, of course, made Danielle feel like her sister was underachieving, which meant they often argued. For a while, David had been disappointed in his daughter's choice of husband, seeinig as e was eight years her senior and a former student of his, but the man loved his daughter and his sons Dean, Samuel, William, Jonathan and Timothy completely, and provided well for them.

He had changed much since his youth… oh, his youth…

David's parents had been honeymooning with him along for the ride (the surprise that brought them closer together). They had gone to Japan for the cherry blossoms, but there had been a war with the yakuzas and they had been caught in the middle. In the chaos, he got separated from his parents and a few years later he would learn they were murdered by the Foot Clan's resulting new leader. This served to fuel his obsession in mastering all forms of martial arts. He got… lost on that dark path until he had found his light in the love of his life. She had saved his soul from that darkness and instead of committing his life to tracking his parent's killers in an endless pursuit for vengeance; he chose to create a life with her – a fresh start.

After twenty years of marriage, it ended when she was taken from him by a cruel disease. He often burnt her favourite incense: jasmine and painted his dojo in her favourite colour: blue.

Now he spent most of his days teaching children the art of martial arts, not just because he could but because with the presence of the Foot Clan: they needed it.

"Grandpa!"

With that enthusiastic shout, David turned with a wide grin at his granddaughter, Lilyanna. Her eyes were such a light blue, as light as her grandmothers but he had his unruly black curly hair. Perhaps the only grandchild who had it. He smiled as he opened his arms and wrapped them around her, lifting her off the ground as she giggled like she was seven again. He put her down and did the same with Lavanne and Jasanne, but the smile dimmed when he realised Roseanna was not there in the background with that shy smile that always curled into something mischievous.

"Where is Rosie?" he asked, looking around.

"She's not here with you?" Lilyanna frowned, this time looking concerned and more than a little alarmed. "She had a fight with mom and dad, so I thought she might have come here, but… She didn't come here?"

David shook his head, "No, I have not seen her since her last lesson on the weekend."

"Then I hope she only got lost…"

"I will call your aunt and uncle. You three stay here. The weather reports say the storms is only getting worse."

Heading for the kettle, he decided he would also inform their mother where her children were. He breathed in to calm his antagonised heart and then spun on his heel and marched for the phone. He had always been fiercely protective of his family, but ever since losing his wife, the trait had worsened. He was the calm grandpa who always had a smile and a treat for his grandchildren, but make them cry and he would always retaliate. He needed to call a family meeting and make sure his eldest daughter was there while he chewed her out for not taking in her daughter's own wishes. Had he done the same thing, Danielle would have never left home at 16 years old to live on her own.

He grabbed the phone book, the first three contacts were his children, and started dialling.

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It had taken a while, but Donatello's patient was showing improvement. He had been forced to hook up an IV to the girl's arm with some antibiotics to fight any bacteria growing. She had yelled out about tasting shit once she saw them before falling unconscious, so it was probably best to ensure nothing hazardous remained in her systems. Her body was probably already fighting whatever had been ingested accidentally, but the body just needed an extra kick. Hence, the antibiotics.

He had watched over her ever since, ensuring she did not vomit in her sleep or get any worse. Neither happened. Thankfully.

All she had to do now was… wake up.