Stella's Pov...
I slowly fluttered my eyes open, with a small smile on my lips. I yawned as I stretched my arms above my head, moving part of my hair out of my face. I let out a sigh with content feeling very refreshed from a good night's sleep, the best in a whole year. I looked over at an alarm clock to see it was 7:30 in the morning. I couldn't believe it that I actually slept good for once, but I knew it would still be some time before I really caught up on sleep, at least this was a good start. I smiled as I slid out of bed and I walked out of Raph's room.
I looked down to see Raph was still sleeping on the couch and I smiled warmly down at him. I walked downstairs quietly and I walked over to him. He was snoring with his head curved back and mouth open, with a trail of drool coming down the corner of his mouth. I giggled as I covered my mouth to keep myself from laughing.
I walked over to him slowly and I curved his head forward to rest it down more on the pillow. He continued to snore and I giggled and I carefully wiped away the trail of drool from the corner of his mouth with my sleeve. I gave him a smile as I then left him to continue on sleeping towards the kitchen.
I took out two frying pans from under a cabinet and I placed it on the stove. I went to the fridge and I grabbed some eggs, bacon, tomatoes, and cheese. I cracked the eggs into a pan letting them cook as I put the other ingredients into the second one letting them heat up. While I waited for the eggs and others to cook, I started cutting up strawberries, bananas, and apples making small bowls of fruit salad. When the eggs looked finished, I poured the heated cheese, bacon and tomatoes on top of the eggs then folding them over, making fresh made omelets. As I finished preparing breakfast, I placed them all on plates and I brought them out to the dinning room table. I poured some glasses of milk placing one at each plate right beside the fruit salads.
I smiled seeing the food looking really appetizing and I looked over to see Raph was still asleep on the couch. I walked over to him and I sat down quietly beside him, with what room I had on the couch.
"Raph, Raphael", I said, rubbing his shell gently
He moaned and he shifted around now with his head buried in the pillow and his arm fell off the side of the couch, continuing on snoring. I giggled and I gave his shoulder a squeeze as he began to stir awake.
"Raphael, wake up, it's morning", I said
He grumbled a bit in sleep and he slowly fluttered his eyes open, he looked around a bit, then he looked up at me. His eyes went a bit big and he backed up against the couch, startled. "Woah Stella!", he said
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you", I said, concerned
"Oh no, you are fine, I just thought you were Mikey trying to wake me up", he said, settling down sitting up "He has some obnoxious ways of doing it"
I giggled and smiled. "No it's just me", I said "Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah not bad, got a good few hours", he said, yawning and stretching out his arms "What about you? Were you fine up there last night?"
"Oh it was perfectly fine, it sure felt nice to sleep in a bed again", I said, with a smile
"Well that's good to hear", he said, smiling
We then just stared at each other eye's, smiling. I then got a really good look of Raphael up close. The warm hazel eyes that he had behind his dark red mask was fascinating. They blend so well together. His dark green skin was quite unique, a different kind of color of green you hardly did see at all. From seeing his aggression the other night, his face tells me of a different person. Behind that tough exterior lies the real truth to his nature, and it was clear to me that he was not the aggressive person that Mikey claimed last night.
We continued to stare on, not really caring so much about anything else. I blushed slightly looking down shyly, but as I looked up I could see Raph was closer towards me. I then felt his hand touching mine. It felt very different than a human hand, instead of having five fingers he had three fingers and it was scaly. But it didn't change the way I thought of it, it was full of care and was ever so gentle like a feather.
I then noticed we were closer towards each other. Our eyes seem to be saying the same thing. Both of our eyes seem to close, slowly moving closer. We were lips distance apart just about to kiss, but we then heard a loud obnoxious yawn. "Boy what a night! I am starving I can eat a whole cow!", Mikey said, as he came out of his room
Raph and I quickly snapped out of our trances as we pulled away from each other, trying to not make it look too obvious. We then looked at each other embarrassedly, blushing red.
"Um, well, breakfast is ready if you want some", I said
"Um sure, I would like some", he said, smiling uneasily
"Good come on, its nice and hot", I said, nervously walking off
I tried to hide my blush as I was so close to kissing Raphael and nearly being caught by Michelangelo. I then walked into the kitchen as I sat down in front of my plate with Raph sitting beside me.
"Hope you like it", I said
He smiled up to me and he took a bite of the omelet, he swallowed it and his eyes went wide, then he looked up at me.
"Stella this is amazing!", he said
"You really think so?", I asked
"Yeah this is way better than what Mikey can make!", he said
"Thank you", I said, proudly "I was so nervous about making these, I hoped it wouldn't become a disaster"
He smiled, and just then the others came out from their rooms.
"Guten Morgen", I said, happily
"Guten what?", Leo asked, confused, scratching his head
"Guten Morgen, it's a way of saying good morning", I said, smiling
"That is one funny way to say it", Mikey said
"Mikey she is speaking German", Don said "Isn't that right Stella?"
I smiled. "Yes it is, you catch on quick Donatello", I said
"What's all this about?", Leo asked, looking at the food on the table
"Well I thought it would be considerate of me to make breakfast for you all, after all you did provide me with hospitality", I said, smiling
"Oh well thank you", Don said, looking surprised "That's very nice of you"
I smiled. "Thank you", I said "Well dig in you guys, it's nice and hot"
"YUM!", Mikey cheered
He quickly ran over and he started digging into the food. I giggled and the others walked over joining us and sat down as they started eating. They all took a bite of their omelets and they looked shock when they swallowed then they looked at me, stunned.
"Mmmm this is really good", Leo said
"Oh its nothing really", I said, shaking my head blushing "It's just something my dad taught me"
"What are you talking about? This is delicious!", Don said
"This is amazing", Leo said
"I wish my mouth was 5 times bigger!", Mikey said
"Man we should let cook around here more often", Raph said
I smiled and giggled. "Thank you", I said "I still got it after all that I had went through"
"He did taught you quite well Stella", Leo said, smiling
I smiled. "He owned this little restaurant back home and we would always go down there and he would personally serve my Mom and I", I said
"So why were you speaking German Stella?", Raph asked "You trying to learn a new language or something?"
"Oh I forgot to mention to you all, I'm from Germany", I said, smiling
They looked at me surprised. "Germany? No way! That's so cool!", Mikey said, with a grin
I giggled. "Yes it is a rather beautiful country to live in", I said
"Which part of Germany are you from?", Don asked
"Bavaria", I said "I lived in the forest regions"
"That sounds interesting", he said
"So how long have you lived in Germany?", Raph asked
"For about 14 years, well I wasn't actually always living in Germany all my life", I said "I was born in London, England?"
"Woah really?", Mikey asked "So you are British?"
"Well half and half, my mother was German and my father was British", I said "I lived in London for at least till I was three years old, then we moved out to my mother's cottage out in the forest in Bavaria, to be closer to family"
"So why did you come to New York?", Leo asked
"Well my family and I were always dreaming about coming here to America and my family and I saved enough to fly here", I said
But then my smile turned into a frown thinking about them. How they were not here anymore with me, taken away from me. But even though everything had been taken from me, they did not take my spirit or my heart. I could sense the others were looking at me as I looked down sadly. I felt a warm gentle hand go on my thigh and I looked with my eyes, seeing Raph looking at me with concern. I smiled a bit and I laid my hand on top of his, luckily no one else could see us.
"I'm sorry that they are not here anymore Stella", Leo said, sympathetically
"It's okay Leo, it's not your fault", I said "They are in a better place now, and I know that they are still here with me, in my heart"
He smiled a bit and I looked back at Raph, who smiled too. "But anyways, let's try not to make this morning filled with grief", I said "Let's make it a better one than yesterday"
"I second that", Don said
They others smiled agreeing with me. "You up for skateboarding after breakfast Stella?", Mikey asked
"Oh sure! I would love too! It's been forever since I have had a rush on a board!", I said, excitedly "But I might want to get myself cleaned up first"
I looked at myself seeing I was all in torn up and filthy clothes that I have worn for the past year.
"Well here", Don said getting up
He walked over and I followed him and he handed me a green tot bag. "We told our friend April about you last night and she offered you a few outfits", he said
"Oh that is so thoughtful of her", I said, smiling "I will have to tell her thank you"
"Well she is coming by in a few days you could tell her then", he said
"Oh great can't wait to meet her", I said, smiling
Don smiled. We finished up eating breakfast and the boys went in different directions to get ready to go out skateboarding in the tunnels. I tried looking for a place to where I can get myself cleaned up around the lair, with no such luck. I wasn't looking where I was going as I looked around and I soon crashed into something hard as I fell on my back, hard.
"Oh my god! Stella are you okay?!", a familiar voice asked, concern
I rubbed the back of my head as my eyes fluttered open. I looked to see I accidentally bumped into Raph, and he was kneeling down to me. "Oh yes, I'm alright, that was my fault I wasn't looking where I was going", I said
He helped me stood up and I dusted myself off. "Are you sure you are okay?", he asked "Did I hurt you?"
"Oh no you are perfectly fine, no need to worry", I said, smiling "I'm okay, thank you for your concern"
He smiled. "Is there a place where I can freshen up?", I asked
"Oh yeah, here follow me", he said
I smiled and I followed him and he lead me into a room and there was double doors in front of us. "You can spruce up here, and don't worry we do have hot water", he said "Towels are on the rack by the door"
"Thank you Raphael", I said, smiling
He blushed and he gave me a shy smile. I giggled softly as I gave his arm a few gentle pats as he closed the door, leaving me be. I quickly started to shed off my torn up and filthy clothes, throwing them on the ground. It felt so good to finally get out of them, it was like a break for freedom. I pulled back a shower curtain as I stepped inside and I reached for the faucet and turned it on and steaming and relaxing hot water came down on top of me.
I gasped with relief feeling the hot water, come pouring down my face and body. I haven't felt this good in at least a year. I ran my hands through my hair, moving my head around to get the hot water all over my face as I smiled laughing happily in relief. I couldn't stop smiling as I started washing my hair with strawberry scented shampoo and I washed my body with passion fruit scented body wash, washing away the years of dirt, grime and sadness down the drain. After taking a good, refreshing shower I turned off the water and I stepped out of the shower and I sighed with content feeling better than ever. I grabbed my towel that I had on the floor wrapping myself up in it, smelling the fresh scent of my skin and hair as it filled my nostrils.
I dried my hair, shaking it out, and it fallen into perfect position against my shoulders. I smiled and I looked at the tot bag, and I grabbed the first outfit on the top. I got dressed in a light blue and black button striped shirt and I slipped on a pair of dark black skinnies. I put on a pair of light blue sneakers with white laces. When I looked in the mirror it was almost seeing myself, how I was years before my whole ordeal of becoming homeless. The old me was finally back.
I walked out of the bathroom and I saw the guys sitting in the living room, waiting with their boards. I smiled and I slowly walked out them, fixing my hair and adjusting my necklace around my neck.
"Well guys, what do you think?", I asked, smiling
They turned and they looked at me with surprise as I gave a little spin, then doing a pose at the end. "Wow", Leo said, smiling
"Look at you", Mikey said, doing a whistle
"Looking good Stella", Don said, smiling
"Thank you, I really appreciate all of this", I said "Oh it feels so good to be back to my old self again"
But I looked around to see Raphael wasn't there with the others. "Hey, where is Raphael?", I asked
"Oh he went to talk with Master Splinter for some reason", Leo said, pointing "It's that door over there, you can go in, Master Splinter won't mind"
"Oh okay, thank you", I said, smiling
He smiled and I walked off in that direction. I slowly opened the sliding paper doors and I went inside to see a small bedroom, consisting a small bed, a few Japanese paintings of landscapes, and a mat with burnt out candle sticks surrounding it. I looked over to see another set of double doors and I could see two shadows from the candle light inside of the room. I then walked over to see what was going on as I pressed my ear up towards the door.
"You may go now my son", Splinter said
"Hai sensei", Raph said
I quickly walked away quietly from the doors, not wanting to make it obvious that I was listening as I stood back a few feet.
Raph's Pov...
I got up and I bowed respectfully to my father and I walked out of his meditation room. Just as I opened the doors, I stopped in my tracks seeing Stella as she looked up with that same beautiful smile. She looked a whole lot different than she did before, it was looking at a completely different person.
Her black wavy hair that shimmered like silk rested perfectly against her shoulders. Her pale skin glowed like a candle in the small candlelight. Her icy blue eyes sparkled. Not like diamonds, but like the infinite amount of stars that I see during the night, as she smiled at me.
"Hi Raphael", she said, walking up to me "I was just looking for you, we were waiting for you to come out with us skateboarding"
"Woah Stella, you look...different", I said, stunned
She giggled and smiled. "Do I look okay?", she asked "It's been quite awhile since I have looked normal you know"
"You look...amazing", I said, softly
She giggled as I blushed again, hearing that giggle. She then walked up to me as she hugged around my waist, looking up at me. "Thank you Raphael, for being so kind to me", she said
I slowly wrapped my arms around her and I hugged her close to me. I felt all warm inside just hugging her to me. It felt like something about myself was changing. I held her closer to me as it felt like everything in the room was brighter, even the light seemed brighter. I didn't want to let her go. Having her in my arms made me feel...completed. But I had to let her go. "No...problem Stella", I said, nervously
"You ready to go skateboarding?", she asked
"Yeah I'm ready", I said, smiling
"Good, come on", she said, smiling
I followed close behind her as I could smell the sweet aroma of her hair as it waved while she walked. We grabbed our boards and we went out in the biggest tunnels of the sewers to have some fun skateboarding. She and I skated near each other, and I smiled at her every time she did a trick or when she was not looking at me. I was starting to think that this girl was actually changing the way about myself.
Stella's Pov...
Over the next few days, I have been doing much better living with my new family now. Everyday was some of the best of my life. I learned how to do meditation with Leonardo, Donatello showed me some of the inventions and gadgets he made, such as the Battle Shell, the Sewer Spewer, and the Shell Cycle. Mikey taught me some new skateboard tricks and showed me how to make his favorite meals and his comic collection. But I noticed that Raph was a bit shy of me. Every time I went near him, he looked nervous. I wondered why he was acting like this, was he shy of me? Or was it something I did? Or something else?
One day I decided to find out why he was acting like this. I found him in the sparring arena, doing katas and spinning his sai's. I smiled seeing how strong he looked. How his muscles were big, strong, and tight. How he time he did a punch or a kick he did it with courage and strength. I blushed a bit red in the cheeks and then I walked down the stairs to him.
"Those are some nice moves Raph", I said
He suddenly dropped his sai's and he looked at me shocked. "Oh Stella, you scared me there for a moment there", he said "You might as well have been a ninja there for a second"
I smiled and giggled. "That was very impressive, I have never seen such skills", I said
"I try to do my best", he said, flexing a muscle showing off
"I can see that", I said, smiling "I can see that Master Splinter has trained you well"
He smiled and he picked up his sai's, placing them in his belt. "Hey how about you and me one on one?", he said
"Um...I'm not so sure Raph", I said, nervously "I haven't really fought anyone before"
"It's okay Stella, I will go easy on you", he said, giving me a reassuring smiling
I thought about it for a moment before I looked back at him, I knew he meant well and wouldn't do anything to hurt me. "Well...okay then", I said, smiling
I walked out in front of him and we bowed at each other respectfully. We suddenly whipped into fighting stances, giving each other playful glares. We stood there watching each other, waiting for someone to make a move. He made the first move by charging me and I jumped and suddenly without warning I flipped backwards and I landed in a fighting stance. Raph tripped and grunted and he looked back at me. I was in shock I didn't even know I could jump that quick or do back flips.
He looked at me with shock. I looked at him shock, but I snapped out of my trance and I waved my fingers forward to me, giving him a serious look. He yelled and he charged me again. He attacked me with various punches and I was able to move out of the way of each strike. I blocked a few of them and I grabbed a hold of his fist and I was able to throw him over where he landed on his shell behind me.
The others came near by the training arena and looked at me stunned as they saw Raph on the ground and me in a fighting stance. Raph jumped back up and he tried to high kick me to the head. But I flipped backwards and I side kicked him in the chest, knocking him down, while leaning on my arm. He quickly came back up and he ran at me again and I jumped and roundhouse kicked him in the head. I front kicked in the air with both my arms out by my sides and I jumped on my one foot and went spinning across the air, yelling and I roundhouse kicked him in the head, knocking him to the ground.
I landed on the ground in a fighting stance, breathing quickly as I looked at him stunned. I looked back at the others who just looked at me with awe and surprise. "Woah! She totally kicked Raph's shell!", Mikey said, with shock
I was slowly regaining my breath as I was looking down at both of my fists, then back at Raph laying on the floor. I ran over to him and I knelt down to him, looking at him with concern as I helped him sit up.
"Raphael?", I asked, with concern "Are you alright? Did I hurt you?"
He sat up, groaning, then he looked at me at shocked. "No, I'm okay", he said "Wow you got some fighting skills Stella!"
I was in shock. I didn't know I had these skills and strength. I helped Raph stand up and I just looked down stunned, then I looked back up at the others shocked. "Guys, what just happened?", I asked, shocked and confused
"What do you mean Stella?", Leo asked
"I never could fight like this", I said "Not like a professional, I could hardly even beat up a Purple Dragon trying to get away from an assault"
"It seems you have some very strong and powerful inner fighting skills Stella", Don said
"I can't believe this", I said
Splinter came walking over and he looked at me, helping me up to my feet. "Stellaluna, how do have these skills?", Splinter asked
"To be honest Master Splinter, I didn't even know I had them", I said "I didn't even know my own strength"
"Surely you must have gained them somehow", he said "From seeing your skills, it's at the same level of skills as my sons"
"I really don't know Master Splinter, this is all new to me", I said, shaking my head "First it's my calming power now these skills, its all very confusing"
He placed a paw on my shoulder. "Do not fret Stellaluna, I'm sure we will find the origin of your skills, but they do give you such amazing ability, your skills are very unique in the world", he said
I smiled. "Thank you, my goodness my life is now very strange", I said
"Tell me about it", Splinter said, chuckling
"But in a good way dudette", Mikey said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder, giving it a playful punch
I smiled and giggled a bit. "Why not show your skills off when we go on patrol tonight?", he said
"Well I don't know though, I don't want to be a bother or slow you guys down", I said "Besides who knows, I probably won't be as strong enough to fight, whoever you guys might run into"
"Nonsense dudette", Mikey said, with a grin "We could use another team member, right guys?"
"The more the merrier", Leo said
"Well what do you think Master Splinter?", I asked
"Seeing your skills Stellaluna, that are as about as strong as a true kunoichi", he said "I don't see how you could not join my sons tonight"
"Okay then, this is an honor, thank you Master Splinter", I said, bowing respectfully
"But be warned Stellalauna, the world above is not a friendly place, you must listen and follow my sons", he said "And do what they tell you to do, for they have much experience"
"Don't worry Master Splinter, I will", I said, nodding "I promise"
He smiled and we bowed at each other respectfully. "Just be careful my dear", he said
"Hai sensei", I said
"And you as well my sons, I shall see you tonight when you return for our nightly meditation", Splinter said, as he left, retreating into his room with the doors closing behind him
"Come on, we better get going", Leo said
The others went to get their weapons and Raphael came up behind me. "Hey nice match back there, you really kicked my shell", he said
"Raphael, I'm so sorry, I didn't know I had such skills and I didn't mean to hurt you on purpose, it just happened so fast", I said, sadly "I'm really sorry"
"Hey take it easy Stella, it's your not fault", he said, with a slight chuckle "You said you didn't know about it and that's okay, besides you are not the first to beat me up"
I smiled a bit. "I'm not mad and I'm not hurt", he said "Okay?"
"Okay", I said, smiling
"Good", he said, smiling "Come on let's go"
I smiled and we ran out of the lair and down the tunnel and we climbed up a manhole. We were in a quiet, dark, trash strewn alley. We started climbing up the wall of the building beside us and as I was climbing up, Stella was climbing up beside me with no problem, like as if she were Spiderman. She looked down at me and smiled as she continued climbing up. "Come on Raph, we are almost to the top", she said
I looked at her stunned. I snapped out of my trance, shaking my head and I continued climbing up beside her, catching up. We made it to the top of the building and we looked around seeing the full moon was out and the wind was blowing our mask tails around in the breeze. I saw Stella look around and she smiled happily up to the stars and moon, leaning against the ledge. I walked up beside her as she looked at me, then looked back out to the night.
"It's so beautiful", she said "This is what I love most about the night, it's so calm and peaceful"
"Yeah, yeah it sure is", I said, softly
I blushed hard as I stood beside her trying to hide it the best I could, without her noticing. "Raph, Stella come on!", Leo called out
My brothers had already started to jump across the air toward the next building rooftop right next to us. Leo went running across the roof doing a cartwheel, then a backflip as he jumped on the ledge landing on the rooftop. "Wow that was really good!", Stella said, impressed
"Do you think you can make it across that?", I asked
"Well only one way to find out", she said, smiling
Without warning she quickly started running across the rooftop towards the ledge, and I looked at her with shock and fear. "Stella wait?!", I said
But she kept running and she jumped off the edge and spun in the air as her shadow figure outlined in front of the full moon. She then flipped back in the air, doing many backflips till she did one final flip and landed on her feet, smiling at me with her arms crossed. My sai's fell out of my grasps and my mouth just dropped, shocked.
"I think I can do it just fine!", she called out
I snapped out of my trance and I picked up my sai's again and I ran across the rooftop and I flipped off the edge, landing in front of everyone.
"How did you do that?", I asked, shocked
"I guess it's the skills I have", she said, giggling
"That was amazing!", I said, excitedly
She smiled up to me. "Okay so how are we going to do this patrol?", she asked
"Well we are going to split up to cover more ground", Leo said "I'm going east, Don is covering west and Mikey is up north and Raph you and Stella will take the south"
I was in shock that Leo actually paired me and Stella together and I looked at him stunned. "You are putting her and I together?", I asked, surprised
Leo smirked. "Or unless you want Mikey to go with you two", he said, crossing his arms
"No thanks!", I said, quickly waving my hands in front of me "Not necessary!"
"I thought so", Leo said, smirking "Come on you guys"
Stella giggled and smiled. Leo chuckled and he, Don, and Mikey ran in other directions, leaving Stella and me alone. I turned towards Stella and she looked at me playfully. I got curious of why she was looking at me like that. "Why you looking at me like that?", I asked
"Race you!", she said, running off
I got a look of shock, seeing how fast she can run. "Hey wait up!", I said, running after her
She laughed and I ran fast, jumping across rooftops. I was close behind her and I heard her laughing as I ran up beside her and I turned to see her smiling. She looked so amazing. Her black wavy hair went flying in the wind, the moon shining was down on her, making her beautiful icy blue eyes and pale white skin, shine and sparkle like a pearl. I felt heat rise in my cheeks again, seeing how beautiful she looked, her beauty made her look so...alive.
We continued racing across the rooftops and she got ahead of me, laughing.
"Catch me if you can, slow poke", she said, looking back at me
I smirked playfully at her "Why you little?!", I said
She laughed and she ran ahead of me. As we came to the last of the rooftops of the block, I was gaining up on her and we smirked at each other, playfully. We made it to the last rooftop and we flipped across to it and she landed doing another front flip on the rooftop and I landed just after her, out of breath. I fell to my knees catching my breath and I saw her come walking over to me, panting.
I looked up to her and she smiled and held out her hand. I took her soft hand into mine and she helped me up.
"Good race", she said "You can quite run"
"Yeah good race", I said, catching my breath
She smiled and giggled. "You okay?", she asked, panting
"Yeah no one has ever been able to beat me, in racing on the rooftops", I said, panting hard "Until now"
"Hopefully that's not a bad thing", she said, giggling
"No it's not, besides I was letting you win", I said, smirking
We both laughed. But our laughter was interrupted when we heard someone else laughing. We looked over to see the Purple Dragons, walking out laughing from a building carrying these bulky gym bags.
"Man what an easy snatch by us wolves", John said
I growled seeing them, but then I heard Stella gasped in fear and she backed up a bit, shaking nervously. I looked over at her with concern and she looked at me frightened.
"Stella what's wrong?", I asked, coming to her
"Raphael, that's them", she said
"What do you mean?", I asked
"That's the group that beaten me up before you found me, The Purple Dragons", she said
A look of pure anger came across my face as I looked down at the ground, now knowing who were the ones that they were the ones hurting Stella, a beautiful and innocent young girl. My look of anger softened and I looked back up to Stella.
"Don't worry Stella, they will not hurt you ever again", I said, angrily "Because I'm going to make sure they get what they deserved"
"Raphael I don't think this is a good idea", she said "Revenge can be very dangerous, it might cause more trouble"
I placed both my hands on her shoulders. "Stella, you were beaten by these guys for too long and they need to be punished for what they did to you", I said "I'm not allowing them to get away with hurting an innocent girl like you"
She looked at me knowing I was right. "Okay, just remember though your anger can take down and do not let your anger get the best of you, because you might go too far and will regret your actions", she said
"I will be careful", I said "I promise"
"Come on then", she said
We both jumped off the ledge and quietly on to the fire escape as the Purple Dragons walked out of the alley, laughing. "What are we going to do?", she asked
"Hurry come on, follow me", I said
Stella's Pov...
We jumped across the alley and we landed right in front of the Purple Dragons in fighting stances. "Well well, if it isn't our favorite little girl", John said "You come back for some more baby?"
"No! Your days of beating me up are over John!", I said, angrily "Now you give us what you have in those bags and things won't have to get violent"
"Ain't happening toots!", John said "Get them boys!"
The gang members cam running out at us. One came running at me, but Raph stood in front of me protectively and he roundhouse kicked him in the head, then Raph looked back at me.
"Just be careful", he said
"Don't worry I got this", I said
He smiled and he took out his sai's from his belt and charged the gang members, screaming. He started beating each one that came at him. He attacked with force and strength, blocking their attacks with their weapons with his sai's. A few members came out at me and I got in a firm fighting stance and one attacked me with a metal pipe but I flipped backwards and I grabbed a hold of it and I spun the member around and I kicked him in the back.
"Stella!", Raph called out "Call the others! We need back up!"
"I'm on it Raph!", I called out
One member came out at me I barely had time to flip out of his way and I punched him in the nose, kicking him in the chest, knocking him down. I pulled out my shell cell from jacket pocket that Don gave me a few days ago, and I called Leo.
"Leonardo we need help, we are on Brooklyn Ave and West of 64th!", I said "We are being attacked by Purple Dragons!"
"We are on our way! Hold on!", he said
"Alright hurry!", I said
I hung up my shell cell and I placed it back in my jacket pocket. Two members came running at me and I jumped and my feet kicked them both in the stomachs and I flipped backwards and made them go flying over me. I saw Raph struggling to get one of the biggest members off him from under a grip. I glared and I went running at them.
"Get away from him!", I yelled
I jumped and side kicked him in the head, catching the pipe he had in his hands. He came back at me and I jabbed the pipe in his stomach and I spun it in my hands, knocking him in the face, making him fall unconscious.
"Nice shot!", Raph said
"Thanks!", I said, smiling
But then we saw the other members were coming back at us. "Oh great!", Raph said
Just then I heard laughter and I saw Mikey come jumping attacking a few with his nunchucks. Donnie came out and he jumped over a few members and spun around, spinning his staff, knocking them off their feet. Leo came charging in and he attacked a few members that had metal pipes and he jumped and split kicked them in the faces.
"Hey great timing you guys!", I said, happily
"It's a ninja thing", Mikey said, grinning
I smiled and we started attacking the gang members. Donnie knocked a few out by spinning and knocking them out with his staff. Mikey blocked their attacks with his nunchucks and flipped and kicked them, making them fall through the air. Leo used his katanas to slice the metal pipes they were using as weapons and roundhouse kicked them both in the heads.
I saw Raph fighting with John and he knocked Raph to the ground. He looked at me and I looked at him and we gave each other nods. He jumped up again as I came running towards him. He knelt down and I jumped off from his shell and roundhouse kicked John in the head, knocking him to the ground as I landed.
I slowly walked up to him and I grabbed a hold of him by his coat and he looked at me with shock and fear. I gave him a serious look that meant, 'I mean business'.
"Your days of hurting the innocent are now over, if we ever catch you trying to hurt or rob an innocent person again, you will pay the price", I said, darkly
He gulped and I let him go and he crawled away and ran off, leaving the other members unconscious in the street. I slowly regained my breath and I felt dizzy from all that fighting. I was about to fall backwards, but I felt someone caught me in their arms. I looked up and I saw Raph looking down at me gently.
"You did it Stella", he said
I smiled, panting. "No we did it", I said
He smiled and he helped me stand up, then we walked over to the others. "You guys okay?", I asked
"Yeah we are okay Stella", Leo said "What about you guys?"
"We are okay", I said, nodding "I have a feeling we won't be seeing these guys anytime soon"
"You did good out there Stella", Raph said, smiling
I smiled up to him and he smiled back. Leo unzipped up the bags that John and the gang were carrying, to reveal many stacks of money. "It's a good thing we stopped them just in time, who knows what they would of done with that much", I said
"Come on we need to get out of here", Leo said "And turn this in to the police"
Leo ran off with Donnie and Mikey following behind him. I started running, but I ran out of breath from all that fighting and I stopped, resting my hands on my knees. I then heard Raph come running up behind me.
"Up you go", Raph said
He picked me up in his arms and I squeaked with shock as he ran with me in his arms. "Raphael you don't have to do this", I said "I can walk"
He smiled. "I don't mind, besides carrying you, will help with my arm strength", he said
I laughed and we started catching up to the others. We turned the money and left it on the steps of a police station and we saw the officers looking around confused of why bags of money were laying there. We smiled proudly and we made it back to the lair and we settled down from an exciting night of patrol. I was sitting on the couch, drinking some green tea that Leo had me made. I then noticed that Raph had come walking in from the training arena.
"Hey Stella", Raph said
I turned and smiled. "Oh hey Raph", I said, smiling, setting my cup down on the coffee table
He smiled a bit, but he looked at me a little bit nervous and I became curious and concerned. "Raphael, what's wrong?", I asked
"Can I talk you about something?", he asked
"Of course, what's going on?", I asked
"Well not here, can we talk outside the lair?", he asked
"Oh sure, here come on", I said, getting up then walking out of the lair
He followed me out of the lair and I stopped when we were just outside of the lair doors. I turned to face him and he still looked at me with nervousness.
"Is everything okay Raph?", I asked
He sat down on a concrete barrier along the tunnel, looking down at the ground. I sat down beside him and I placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked at me and turned himself to face me.
"Well...Stella...I wanted", he said
"It's okay Raphael, you don't have to be afraid of me", I said, gently "What is it that you want to tell me?"
"Stella..what I'm trying...to say is...would...you...want to...hang out...with me tomorrow?", he asked, nervously
He was blushing redder than his own eye mask and I smiled happily. "Raphael, of course, I would love to hang out with you", I said, happily
He looked at me stunned. "Wait...really?", he asked
"Yes, you were very nice to me from the beginning and I honestly wanted to hang out with you too", I said, smiling
"Are you kidding me?", he asked, confused
"I'm not, I'm serious, I did", I said, smiling
He smiled shyly. "Oh thank goodness I got this off my chest", he said, looking relieved
"So it's a date then?", I asked, giggling
He blushed highly red and he looked at me nervously. "Y-yeah, a date, something like that", he said, chuckling nervously
I smiled brightly and giggled. "I would love too", I said, happily
"Are you serious?", he asked, shocked
"Yes I'm serious, I think it will be great", I said, smiling "So where do you have a place in mind?"
He looked away frowning. I placed my hand on his shoulder and he looked at me again. "It's okay, you can have it figured out by tomorrow", I said "What time do you think we will go?"
"I was thinking around 8 since it will be dark by then", he said
"Eight will be just perfect", I said, smiling
He smiled nervously and I smiled back. "Okay then its settled, eight tomorrow night", he said
"Great, do you want to head back inside?", I asked
"Sure let's do that", he said, nodding in agreement
I smiled and I leaned closer to him. "I can't wait for tomorrow", I said, softly
I kissed his cheek and I walked away smiling and I looked back at him, smiling as I went inside the lair. "Oh my gosh! I have a date tomorrow! This is amazing!", I said, quietly to myself, squealing with excitement
Raph's Pov...
I just stood there stunned that she kissed my cheek, again. I slowly placed my hand on where she kissed it and I felt heat rise in my cheeks and I felt the same weird feeling inside me, again. I don't know why I was getting this feeling but it came when I was near Stella. I looked down at the ground, then I slowly looked back up, with shock. It was true, all this time, for the moment we met, the moment we laid eyes on each other...I am in love with Stellaluna.
"Holy...shell!", I said, to myself, laying back against the tunnel walls
