A/N: We got ourselves a little bit of teen rebellion on our hands. Oh damn. Who was rebellious towards their parents as a teenager? Anyone? Did you ever do the opposite of what they told you to do just to feel like you were experiencing freedom? When in reality you were being a hard little shit for your parents to deal with? Bahahah, I was. Oh my god I was horrible to my mother and I feel so bad for it. I'm making up for it though :) Anyway! Read and Review duckies!
To leave or not to leave…
She chewed her lip, a habit she picked up from her mother years ago. Her piercing blue gaze darted back and forth between the katanas and the dojo as she went over the decision in her mind. If her parents found out she was gone, she would be neck deep in trouble and grounded for Lord knows how long. She'd snuck out before and it landed her in the ring of fire with her parents. But…if she went out…she'd be able to run. Aanika loved to run.
"Fuck it…" She muttered and snatched her weapons, strapping them on her back the way Leo had taught her. She took one last look at the closed dojo after tucking her beanie back onto her head and ran out of the lair in a silent blur. The fox just needed a moment by herself in the fresh air…well…as fresh as New York air could be. She just needed the brisk, night air to hit her skin and the breeze to flow through the fur on her ears and through her hair. Aanika needed to be outside. She'd be careful.
Aanika was born careful…
The teen fox found her beat up skateboard by the entrance of the lair and slipped outside, quiet and sly as well…a fox. She set the wheels onto the ground and gave herself a kick push and sped down the tunnel. Her mother would have a fit if she witnessed her speed and recklessness on guard rails and water lines, grinding and flipping her board over with the knowledge that she was never going to fall. Aanika never fell off her board unless someone tackled or tripped her. When she was no more than six years old, Michelangelo had started to teach her how to ride and shred because in his words "You're never too young to tear up a sewer pipe, dudes."
A true vixen's smile crept across Aanika's pretty lips and she ripped up the sewer tunnels, only wishing her uncle were there with her. But he hadn't touched his board in a good two years and she skated alone. He was too busy with his own son to even play games with her on their half-pipe in the lair. Her sharp teeth clenched together as she pushed the thought out of her mind. Everyone was always too busy for her now; they must have thought she was all grown up now. Well if that was the case, why wouldn't they let her out already?! Aanika almost resented the birth of her twin siblings, almost. Everything changed once they came along.
Before the little "blessed children" were born, it was nothing but Aanika. Especially to Leo. She missed the days when he carried her around on his shoulders just because he could, the afternoons at home with JiiJii watching his stories when the others were training, the mornings with Shiho and Leo before everyone else woke up; Aanika missed it so much that it hurt. No one told her that growing up sucked this much. Growing up as a genetically mutated fox hybrid made it that much harder. She asked Shiho once about her biological mother and wished she hadn't, the truth had knocked her in the teeth.
A heroin addict. Aanika's real mother was a heroin addict and sold her to Marcus Silver, the sadistic prick that created Aanika and the other hybrids. Once her nameless mother discovered she was pregnant, she found the ad for Silver Inc. offering $5,000 for a single fetus. With no money and no means of getting junk for her nest fix, Aanika's mother jumped at the opportunity and gave her up without a second thought. When she compared the two, Shiho was always really her mother. For as long as she could remember, the few years she spent in the lab she stuck to Shiho's side. She didn't talk, Aanika remembered that much, she didn't talk until Shiho and Leo took her in as their own.
Flipping the edge of her board up into her hand, Aanika laid it on the wall of the tunnel before climbing up the iron wrung ladder to the surface. The thoughts that were running through her head were starting to make her angry again and she needed to get out of the sewer already. Slowly, she lifted the lid the way Leo had taught her and took a look around, she was in an alley between two buildings. Once the coast was clear, she climbed out and shut the lid. Tugging her beanie further onto her head and tucking her long knit sweater that went to her knees closed, Aanika smirked and started making leaps to get up onto the rooftops and run. Now that felt good, running.
Sprinting over flat rooftops, climbing and jumping over water towers and free falling until the next rooftop, swinging around wires and rolling to a landing; that's what it was all about. Her sneakers didn't make a sound as she darted from surface to surface. Her parents wanted to keep this freedom away from her, but Aanika was hell bent on having it.
One way or the other.
"Excellent work everyone
. That wraps up the hour, now, I want you all to do your cool down exercises and then shower," Leo announced to his family. Collectively, they all bowed at once in respect and dispersed to wind down their muscles from the rigorous work out that he'd put them through. Shiho dabbed at her face with a towel and kissed her handsome mate on the cheek, getting a goofy grin out of him.
"Not bad, though I think Ginny and Freddy need some one on one focus with their jump kicks. Everyone is coming along nicely," She spoke into her towel as she wiped away the sweat she worked up. Leo wrapped his hand and arm around her waist and tugged her close to nuzzle his beak into the side of her hair. "Leo, quit it!"
"You smell good, c'mere…" Shiho gasped and giggled when he swept her into his arms and took her away outside of the dojo. Still a Casanova after twelve years. He was about to take a chomp at her hot neck but the twitching of her ears caused him to put her down. She stood before him with her hands on his biceps as her hears tweaked back and forth and she listened and focused. On what? He couldn't be sure, but her hands on his muscles always meant she was nervous.
"What is it?" He muttered, but she held her finger up to silence him as she focused intensely on some invisible force. Bright violet eyes narrowed and glossy lips bent and twisted into a frowning scowl.
"Leo, where's Aanika?" The mates looked at each other in a long silence before Leo rolled his eyes with a growl and ran upstairs with Shiho right behind him. They sprinted towards Aanika's room and threw open the door. Empty. "She's gone! Leo!"
"Alright…alright…Call April, and tell her to keep an eye out. Aanika isn't familiar with the city and might just have gone there. Shiho? Shiho!" The fox had already started to panic; he could see it in her wide eyes as she backed out of Aanika's room and pressed her back against the wall. Her tail was rigid and her skin was cold when he grasped her by the wrists and kissed her fingers. "Baby, listen to me, we'll find her."
"Where'd she go, Leo? Where's my baby?" She'd begun ranting and Leo silenced her with a finger against her lips. Shiho's kids were everything to her, not knowing where one of them had run off to was enough to send her mentally over the edge. Aanika left her cell phone at home on her night stand, even better.
"Go call April. Now." The steadiness in her mate's voice brought Shiho down from her heightened paranoia just enough to follow his orders. Leo watched her stumble down the hall to their bedroom to do as she was told before he went to collect his brothers with a holler. The turtles gathered around the staircase where Leo had come to stand, all clearly confused. They'd been looking forward to spending time in the sauna room after working out, instead here they were.
"Leo this better be good." Raph snorted.
"Aanika's gone missing and we don't know where she's run off to. Shiho is calling April now but we need to go find her," His brothers held in their groans and complaints for the sake of not making him worry more than he already was. Leo looked like he had it all together, but inside he was losing his mind. The first time Aanika took off, she'd nearly been hit by a truck. If he hadn't gotten to her in time she'd have been flattened.
Donnie sighed. "Alright, what's the plan?"
"No time for a plan. We need to get topside and spread out, keep your Shell Cells on you and stay in contact. Shiho, let's go!"
Aanika sat curled up on the top of a water tower, her knees tucked to her chest and her tail close around her feet. She looked like a small, defenseless child with her posture but she had the biggest smile on her face. It had been a good four years since she last snuck out of the lair. Her parents and caught her less than twenty minutes later, not enough time to really enjoy being outside. Outside. What a world it was out here. She'd never heard so many voices and sounds before and she wanted to hear and see as much of it as she could. In the back of her mind, the teen fox wondered what could be so bad about the outside world that had her parents so uptight.
It wasn't Aanika's fault that she couldn't remember the evils and darkness that surrounded her in the days of being in the laboratory. Shiho made it a point to not remind her of the awful things their creator put her through. But not everyone was that evil, right? Sure there was the Purple Dragons and your every day street thugs, but New York City wasn't filled to the brim with criminals. There had to be someone…somewhere that would accept her for who she was without wanting to hit her over the head with a frying pan in fear. Aanika giggled at the thought of a terrified little human wielding a frying pan in defense.
Even so…she wanted to be like her uncles. Busting up crime syndicates and dealing the hand of justice to brainless thugs. She heard Raphael boasting about all the heads he bashed when he was younger, when the Foot was still fully operational, and she often dreamed of showing her parents what she was made of. It must have been odd to the people of the normal world to imagine a girl's aspiration to be a vigilante. Like Casey. Or her uncles and father. Why was Shiho so afraid? She taught Aanika everything, Leo did too. It wasn't exactly like she couldn't take care of herself.
Aanika sighed. "Damn…I wonder if they even notice that I'm gone."
Tall fox ears opened when she spied a fire escape across the street. She'd never jumped a distance that far before and she was a couple stories higher than the landing, maybe she could pull it off and brag to Mikey and Raph. With a snort, she stood and dusted off her backside. "I'm gonna jump that distance and nail that landing."
With a soft thump, her sneakers hit the rooftop and she went as far back as she possibly could for a running start. Aanika pulled her ears back against her head with a grin as she got down in her knees and exhaled slowly. And…Go! The teen fox sprinted and pounded her feet into the rooftop until she reached the ledge. With all of the power in her legs, she launched herself across the street and reached out for the railing of the iron fire escape. And missed.
"Uh-oh…AHH!" Aanika's fingers just slipped from the railing and she fell onto the landing and rolled through the hole and down the ladder for at least two stories. She bounced, she thunked, and at last she slammed to a halt on her back on what looked to be the third story landing. "Ohh man…wipeout."
"WOAH! Are you okay?!" Aanika would have been startled by the sudden voice screeching at her through the open window beside her if the ringing in her head wasn't so loud. She shook the blurry vision out of her eyes and sat back against the grated railing of the fire escape with her hand rubbing the back of her head. "That was one heck of a spill, are you alright?"
"Woah, dude…yeah I-I'm okay," Moaned the fox as her eyes steadily opened and landed on a boy staring directly at her with a face full of concern. Suddenly she felt exposed. Not naked, but felt like her ears and tail were on display. "I'm sorry I crash landed on your window here."
"No, it's alright, do you want some ice? You hit your head pretty hard? Woah…your eyes…they're like…glowing?" Aanika gasped.
"What?! Uh…uh! No they're not! It's just the light…Ice please…yes I want some ice…" The boy tapped his fingers suspiciously on the window sill and ducked his head back inside his bedroom. Now that he was gone, Aanika took the chance to wince and growl at her stupid stunt. Better to not tell Mikey that she missed. She missed.
"Here you go. I'm Jeremy, by the way. Welcome to my eh…fire escape," He said after he'd come back with a bag of ice. Aanika graciously took the bag and sloshed it onto what was going to be a goose egg in the morning. Her mother would kill her for talking to a stranger. Hell, she was dead when she got home anyway, what's another log in the fire?
"I'm Aanika. Thanks for the ice. Jeremy…that's a nice name," It took all of her effort to not take off the beanie and apply the ice directly to her head but that would just scare him. So she grimaced as the bag made the fabric wet, but the chill felt nice on the lump. Jeremy smiled something sweet and leaned his arms on the open window and just sat there on what she assumed was a chair.
"I guess so. Aanika, that's a unique name. I like it. So what are you doing out this late? And alone?" The fox blushed and chuckled. She sat up straight and Indian crossed her legs, scooting closer.
"I'm not supposed to be out. So, keep it on the down low, kay?" She winked a bright eye that caused him to gulp and tug at his shirt collar. Aanika had never seen a boy look so nervous before. Did her breath smell? Was there something in her teeth?
"Secret is safe with me. So where you from?"
Aanika shrugged. "I dunno, I was adopted. Not really sure where I'm from."
Jeremy paused. Adopted? This conversation sounded familiar, like he'd had it before already. He narrowed his eyes on the strange girl and tried to figure her out. Aanika must have caught on to his stare because she shifted uncomfortably and shifted those seemingly luminescent blue eyes everywhere but to him. She was nervous, and he was making her even more nervous by blatantly gawking at her the way he was.
"Sorry, I zone out sometimes."
"S'okay. So…Je-re-my," Aanika annunciated his name with every syllable, a silly roll in her pretty eyes. "How old are you?"
"Just turned seventeen. Do you go to school around here? I've never seen you before," Under her beanie, Aanika felt her ears twitch and fold against her head as she tried to think of an excuse. Of course she didn't go to school; she'd get thrown out before even walking through the doors. Jeremy rested his chin into the palm of his hand as he waited.
"U-uh no. I'm home schooled, yeah. I'm home schooled. My mom and dad are my teachers. I just turned sixteen, too. Maybe my Uncle Donnie will teach me how to drive soon," Aanika took the bag off her head and rubbed the sore spot, resting it on the floor of the fire escape. She chuckled half-heartedly before playing with her pinky finger.
"I like your shirt, don't find many girls these days that wear Pearl Jam shirts."
Aanika was thankful that it was after dark, she didn't want him to see her blush. She couldn't understand why she suddenly flushed in the cheeks, but the charming smile he had on choked her up a little. The sensitivity of her nose picked up his scent and tickled her nose with how nice it was.
"Thanks. My dad got it for me a few years ago for calling me the wrong name," Aanika was suddenly talking about personal things and couldn't stop herself. She remembered how utterly crushed she was when Leo looked her in the eye and called her Allegra. He felt so bad that he managed to get his hands on the shirt as an apology gift.
"Woah he did? That sucks! You must have a big family then for him to forget your name."
"You have no idea, kid. My family is enormous and we all live under the same roof. It's madness. Hey, did anyone ever tell you that you look like a blonde Diego Bonetta?" Jeremy tossed his head back and laughed out loud. Aanika found herself eyeing his neck, the smoothness of his skin. She wondered what it felt like or smelled like up close. She snapped out of it when he looked back at her.
"Wow, yeah. All the time, girl. I get it at school."
"Man, your girlfriend must get so mad with all of the stares your probably get," Jeremy chuckled and rubbed his chin and glanced upwards at the pretty thing on his balcony.
"Hah, I don't have one of those. Nor do I get stares. But, I get a lot of people asking if we're related."
"I'm gonna call you Jeremy Bonetta from now on," Her eyes flashed to the illuminated time on his alarm clock across the room. It was after midnight. "Oh shit. My mother is so going to kill me. I gotta go. Thanks for the ice."
Aanika stood up and started to reach for the landing above her when Jeremy reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. She froze. She'd never been touched by anyone other than her family before and the sensation was strange but oddly comfortable. Kneeling back down, the fox tilted her head to the side and waited for him to say something.
"Hey, can I see you again?" Inside, Aanika was bouncing and leaping and doing summersaults. But on the outside, she remained composed and curled a cool smile on her pink lips with a wink of her eye. Someone actually wanted to see her. The idea alone was enough to make her happy for the rest of her life.
"Sure thing Mr. Bonetta. Keep an eye out for falling girls on your fire escape."
And with that, she jumped out of sight and onto the fire escape above and scampered away. Jeremy leaned back in his chair with a strange smile and look in his eyes. He felt funny, but not in a bad way. He'd just met the clumsy girl and he already wanted to see her again. He didn't know much about her but there was an indefinite…something there. But what that something was he couldn't be sure yet. Maybe once he saw her again, he'd know.
This time, when Aanika landed on the fire escape, she did so quietly. She landed on April and Casey's landing and knocked on the window for her to be let in. When the curtains pulled back, she was greeted with a set of worry-filled green eyes. The window opened in a rush and she was yanked inside and pulled against April's chest in the most suffocating of hugs. Great. Shiho called April. Now she knew she was really in trouble when Casey came out from the kitchen with two mugs of hot cider. When he saw Aanika he almost dropped the hot drinks in his haste to put them down and throw his arms around the fox.
"Oh my God Aanika! You're alright! Where have you been?!" April screeched. She held the teen at arms length and grimaced. "Oh jeez you're mother is going to lose her marbles. What happened to your lip?!"
"I just fell down a fire escape, I'm fine—AH! April stop it!" The O'Neil had her hands on Aanika's face trying to examine her busted lip she'd acquired on her trip down the flights of iron steps. Suddenly, April's and Casey's expressions shifted.
"Do you have any idea how worried we've all been about you? You're mother is an absolute mess. Sit." April ordered and pointed to the sofa. Aanika removed her beanie and katanas and plopped onto the cushions. Her ears were flat and her tail was placid and tucked between her legs. She knew April was forcing herself to keep her voice down because her kids were already in bed. Which meant Shiho was going to yell at home.
"Aanika…what were ya thinkin' goin' out there all by yaself? You coulda really been hurt," Casey said, trying to be the good guy. April stood in front of the teen with her hands on her hips and pursed lips, he took the hint. "I'll go call the guys."
"Guys? All of them are out? Aw man…I just wanted to go for a run-"
"Yeah well instead you've got your uncles, your mother, and father worried sick. They've been calling me every fifteen minutes to see if you showed up. I'm just…I'm so disappointed in you, Aanika. I thought you knew better," April sat beside the cowering fox with her face in her hands and a groan. In the other room, they could both hear Casey on the phone with Leonardo and telling him that she was safe. Aanika could already sense her father's anger and disappointment.
"What do you have to say for yourself, young lady?"
"I dunno, April…" Aanika mumbled. Her blue eyes focused on the stack of magazines and homework on the coffee table. She couldn't look at April, it'd only make her feel worse. Her ear opened at the sound of Casey returning and collapsing into his recliner with a drawn out sigh. He looked tired and Aanika felt heavy guilt that they were being kept awake because of her.
"Well…your parents are really upset, Short Stack. They'll be here in a few, they were a few blocks out. Sounds like you even gave Splinter a scare."
Aanika grabbed a pillow from the side of the couch and covered her face to hide her shame as she fell against the back of the couch. She had JiiJii worried? Now she'd really never hear the end of it, worrying the old sensei was enough to put him into a heart attack these days. The last thing she wanted was to be the one who cause him to suddenly go south. Her parents would never forgive her…
It didn't take long for the sound of the ninja's landing on the balcony outside. Aanika knew when Shiho hit the landing, she made a sound unique to herself. Once they had all stepped inside, she tried to curl up into the cushions of the couch to disappear from her mother's line of sight. The teen broke into a nervous sweat and swallowed thickly.
"Aanika…" Leo's voice.
I'm dead…I'm dead…I'm sooo dead…Hesitantly, Aanika stood up from the couch and faced her parents, her uncles behind them with unreadable expressions. She couldn't tell what any of them might have been thinking about her. The look on Shiho's face twisted something in her heart, she looked genuinely relieved to see Aanika in one piece. Leo on the other hand never looked more hurt.
"H-hi Daddy…" Katanas clacked against his carapace as Leo rushed the teen and crushed her in his arms against his plastron and buried his beak in her long, wavy hair. They'd been looking for her for nearly five hours and he was exhausted. But more relieved that she wasn't hurt. Not too badly anyway, he'd get to the bottom of her busted lip eventually, but now was not the time. Tears of shame pricked at Aanika's cool blue eyes as she slowly brought her arms around her father's neck to return his embrace.
"I've been looking all over the city for you…" Suddenly, she whimpered when he pulled away and looked at her dead on. Shiho was taking slow, calculated breaths to not lose her temper. She didn't want to wake up April's children, that wasn't fair.
"Just what were you thinking, Aanika? You gave us all a heart attack," Shiho hissed in a whisper. Aanika noticed her mother's fists clenching at her sides to keep her composure and began to tremble. Shiho was battling with her Madness which meant she was truly distraught over her daughter's disappearance. The Madness was a serious issue in their home and keeping it under control hadn't been hard, but not aggravating it was the challenge. Something that deadly was not to be toyed with, and Aanika had done a pretty good job in dancing with the Devil.
"Mom I'm sorry I just-"
"None of your excuses. We are going home. Now. Apologize to your Aunt April and Uncle Casey for keeping them awake this late," Donnie exchanged glances with Raph and Mikey, nervously. They wondered if they were going to have to break out the sedatives when they made it home.
Slowly, Aanika turned to April and Casey and bowed her head respectfully. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make your worry. AYEE!"
Shiho yanked her daughter by the tail until they were outside and her uncles right behind them. Leo stayed behind a moment to hug the Jones' couple graciously for keeping an eye out for Aanika. They understand what the teen meant to him and were glad that she was safe. He bid them goodnight and left to catch up with his brothers and mate.
Aanika was running particularly fast to keep ahead of Shiho. Probably a good idea at this point. Leo knew Shiho was boiling over in her anger and frustration and was struggling to keep a lid on it. The trip home was silent and swift, no one said a word for fear of setting their fox leader off. Doing so only resulted in a fist in the mouth or a twisted arm. But once they were in the tunnels and his brothers had disappeared into the lair is when all the cards were on the table. Shiho was fuming, she'd never been this furious with Aanika in the past and was absolutely trembling. The glow in her eyes scared Aanika beyond comprehension, she'd never seen them glow so bright before. Not even in the dark.
"Of all of the selfish, stupid, bone-headed things to do…you sneak out of the lair at night. Aanika…I can't even look at you. So you know what? I'm not going to deal with you," Shiho spoke through tightly clenched teeth. She cornered Aanika against the tunnel wall and stared her down. Leo said nothing, this was the fox nature breaking through. Shiho was Aanika's mother even if she didn't carry and give birth to her. She was focused on making the teenager learn her place and was doing so with that intense glow.
"The only thing that I will say is you're grounded for the next month. You lose your weapons and you will be doing nothing but meditation exercises for the duration of your punishment. Is that understood?"
"Y-yes, Mother."
"Shiho, I don't think-" Leo snapped his jaw shut when his mate glared holes into his head. The heated fox took one last look at her disobedient child and stormed away into the lair where she would most likely destroy one of the practice dummies. He exhaled slowly and looked back to his daughter who was pressed against the wall with her tail tucked so far between her legs, he imagined it would be stuck there for a week.
"Aanika…go to your room. I'll be there shortly. Leave your katanas with Master Splinter on your way up and apologize to him."
"Yes, Daddy…" Aanika shrank away from the wall and slipped by Leonardo who looked after her and sighed with a shake of his head.
Leonardo thought back to the night when she'd first said his name. She was four years old and his name was the first time she'd ever spoken. She called him, or rather, recognized him as her father then. Shiho then asked him if he was ready for the plunge into parenthood and he jokingly replied "No."
He didn't realize how right he'd been.
A/N: Teenagers, they make you crazy don't they? Make you wanna just rip your hair out from the roots. I was dealing with this smart-mouthed sixteen year old who was part of the steer project for 4H. She made me want to throw her off a roof sometimes. Hahah, but they do weird things at that age don't they? How will Leo handle his rebellious little Aanika? Is Shiho ripped a practice dummy to pieces?! Find out next time