The way to her home was much longer and more difficult than she would have wanted. It had been almost a day and a half since she had eaten or slept, and her body was definitely feeling human. Leo and Raph didn't seem to mind the slow pace, and on more than one occasion they had helped her up when she had stumbled. Kaiya felt very weak, and very tired. The freshly bloodied wound didn't help anything either. She was limping before long, and when they finally reached the old subway line that led directly to her secluded little hideaway, she collapsed against the abandoned lines, feeling light headed and spent.
"Shit… I'm sorry, just give me a minute, we're almost there," she gasped, clawing at the tall ledge to try and yank herself back to her feet. Both of the turtles headed for her, but Raph reached her first, bending and sliding his powerful hands around her waist and hoisting her easily onto his shoulders. Kaiya squeaked and grabbed at his shell for balance. "Y-you don't have to—"
"You said we're almost there right? Just point me in the direction," he grumbled, making sure she was stable before heading down the way she pointed. With her legs draped down his chest and his masked head between her thighs, she was blushing wildly. Leo's jaw practically dropped to his chest at Raph's actions, but shook his head and closed his mouth before he said a word, probably silenced by the seething look Raph gave him daring him to. "You barely weigh anything anyway…"
"Th-thanks, Red," she mumbled, shifting just a bit so his shell wasn't biting into her rear so much. One of his hands wrapped around her calf, and briefly she paled, but when she realized he was only steadying her, she relaxed. "I owe you one."
"Whatever."
"Hey, Kaiya," Leo called from up ahead aways, and she could see the faint light of her subway station just around a bend. "I'm guessing these are your security cameras?"
"Yeah, it's just around the turn, but wait at the corner. You won't want to go just yet."
Raphael tried to look up at her, but she nearly fell over in the motion, so he kept his eyes forward. They reached Leo's side in no time, and Kaiya held up her wristband, into the pool of light. An alarm blared, making the turtles wince and stand on guard. Clearing her throat, she called out in a clear voice, "Tadaima, Isha-san!"
The alarms stopped and a small mechanical voice chirped, "Welcome back, Kaiya-hime."
The lights flashed on and the stairway up onto the platform illuminated, and the turtles relaxed as they made their way up the steps. Leonardo went to take a look around the perimeter, even though Kaiya said he wouldn't have to.
Raphael stepped up onto the marbled floor, looking around her "living room" curiously. She had gotten two couches down here some time ago—not an easy task, mind you—along with your basic TV set. She had built most of her furniture out of remnants left behind down here or shipping crates no one would miss. She loved her home, it was cozy to her, and there was no other place in the world like it. Down the platform near where the stairs used to be was her own computer terminal, and there were a few tables with miscellaneous lab equipment strewn about it. Books piled up nearly as tall as the tables, she tended to collect whatever caught her interest, and she would use what she found if she could. There was even a table and rack for weapons, mostly small caliber handguns, but a few swords, kama, and throwing knives hung there as well.
"Y-you can put me down now, I'm sure I can manage a few yards more," she looked down at the top of his head, handing the case down for him to hold. Instead, he grabbed it and set it on her couch before reaching up and grabbing her waist once more. Her smaller hands gripped his wrists as she was lowered to the ground, and she was glad to have solid earth beneath her feet once more. "Thanks…" she didn't dare look over her shoulder at him, but she was glad his cool touch was gentle this time. Stepping out of his grasp, she snatched up the case and hurried over to her terminal. Leo came back in time to see her, red-faced and flustered as she started up her system.
"What did you do to her this time, Raph? She looks terrified."
Kaiya flinched, busying herself with letting Donnie into her system so he could access the cameras. The only places not on camera were the bathroom and her makeshift bedroom, located in the only abandoned subway car left in the station, sitting across the tracks in the darkness. She had gutted it ages ago and made herself a safe room to sleep.
"What's that supposed to mean? I just put her down. I didn't even say anything."
"Well, you obviously did something to upset her, I mean earlier you did something too, didn't you? I could smell the blood Raph, and I know Donnie wouldn't have done it."
"That was an accident, Leo."
"Right, just like all the other times you –"
Kaiya drowned their arguing out long enough for Donnie's face to pop up on the screen. "Oh, hey, Kaiya. I can see that Raph and Leo have made themselves right at home. I have access to your security cameras… But I can't see anything else?"
"Yeah… I said you can monitor my progress, but I'm not just handing you my home, Donnie. Sorry," she chuckled, running a hand through her hair and looking back at the two brothers, who were in each other's faces. Looking back at the screen, she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "Should I be worried about these two? It sounds pretty serious."
"Nah, they do that all the time. Well… If they start fighting, just try and get their attention. It should be okay… Maybe?" He gave a shrug, and Kaiya groaned quietly. Get the attention of two large, hormone raging turtles? Why are men such babies?
"Well, anyway," she sighed heavily, easing herself into her computer chair for a moment, wincing as her muscles screamed. "I'm going to start my security program and diagnostics on this case, but I don't really know how long it'll take. I'll check back with you later if there's any progress."
"Sounds good, me and Mikey will keep an eye on thing one and thing two from here. If they don't shut up soon, I'll come running."
"Thanks, Donatello," she smiled at him, thankful he was being so friendly to her. She flipped the monitor off and swiveled around in her chair, staring at the two shouting turtles. Shaking her head, she got up and grabbed the case, moving over to an empty table and setting it in the middle. She unclipped her wristband and laid it flat along the edge; tapping a few buttons and making it whir to life. "Isha-san, I've got a tough one for you. Start a scan on the contents and see if we've got any booby traps in there. When you're done with that, see about how to open it."
The same mechanical voice from earlier replied, "Oh? Is that all?"
"Enough sass from you, missy. Get to work."
"Hai."
Kaiya stood from the table and stretched, wincing as her arm throbbed and her body shrieked at her for rest. The sharp sound of Leo's voice caught her attention, and she turned in time to see him climbing up onto the platform and stalking towards Raphael. "Oh shit."
Spurred forward, she darted between them and held up her hands, shouting, "WHOAH, WHOAH, WHOA! HOLD ONTO YOUR SHELLS!" They looked down at her, shocked she had gotten so loud. She sighed and dropped her hands, looking from one brother to another. "I have had a reaaaally long day and am not in the kind of mood where I want two giant talking turtles destroying my home. If you guys could put your dicks away long enough to care, I've actually done what was asked of me and am trying to find a way to open that box. Now, do me the kindest favor and CALM THE FUCK DOWN. I would be much obliged."
Their expressions were priceless, eyes wide and mouths agape as she finished her little tirade, assessing her posture, hands on her hips like she was talking to two small children. Huffing, Kaiya turned and stalked towards the kitchen, not sparing a glance at them. "I'm making myself something to eat. Do either of you want anything?"
"Uh… Yeah, sure," Leo stammered, sounding flustered and embarrassed.
"Y-yeah…"
Seven sandwiches later, she came out with a plate stacked with them and three cans of soda, happy to find them sitting on her couch and looking much calmer than they had moments earlier. She set the tray of food on the table and plopped between them, handing them each a can of soda.
They took the sodas with mumbles of thanks and she rolled her eyes, grabbing the remote and clicking through the stations as she guzzled half her soda immediately. Setting her can down and picking up a sandwich, she left the TV on a basketball game and dug in. "I don't know how much you guys eat," she said between bites, "So you each get three. Fridge is open after that if you're still hungry."
Leo reached forward and grabbed a sandwich while Raph sipped on his soda, both of them watching her demolish her sandwich. When she caught Raphael's gaze she looked surprised, swallowing before she mumbled, "What? I'm hungry."
Leo laughed and started in on his sandwiches as Raph's cheeks darkened and he looked away. Kaiya watched a bit of the game as she finished eating, draining off her soda in one long drink. She crumpled the aluminum can and tossed it at a far trash can, watching happily as it went right in.
"So I guess you like basketball?" Leo broke the awkward silence as he finished his first sandwich and started on another. He seemed to trust her enough to eat her food, at least. Kaiya shrugged.
"It's more fun to play, but I can watch it when I'm bored. I never played on a team cause of my size, but when I was a kid I used to play with a few of the other kids in my neighborhood," she reclined against the couch cushions, taking a moment to catch her breath. She felt much better with food in her gut.
"You from New York?" Raph asked, tipping the soda can to his lips for a drink. Kaiya kept her eyes on the screen and leaned forward, propping her elbows on her knees. Hesitant to share, she sighed and rose from the couch.
"Nope," she said nothing more as she went over to check on Isha's diagnostics. She could feel their eyes following her as she went.
The box was going nowhere fast, and she felt grimy and worn down. Leo said something quietly to Raph as they watched the game, and she felt relieved when Red finally grabbed a sandwich and started eating. She walked over to the subway car and grabbed a change of clothes, glad for the brief privacy of the blacked out windows and familiar smells of her room. For a few moments, she gazed at the huge bed she had built in the back of the car with longing, half tempted to crash. A long look at her dirty clothes and even dirtier bandage told her she couldn't do that just yet, so she left her room before she gave into her urges. She hobbled past the living area and towards a room beyond the kitchen, the ache in her muscles making her start to stiffen up.
"Make yourselves at home, guys. I'm in dire need of feeling human again, so I'm locking myself in the bathroom. Feel free to change the channel if you like."
"Thank you for the meal, Kaiya," Leo called out before she went into the dark room.
She heard the quiet thanks from Raphael seconds before she shut the door and clicked the deadbolt.
Almost half an hour later, she came out dressed in a clean tank top and cargo pants, barefoot and damp from her bath. She had a first aid kit under her arm and a towel around her shoulders. Leo was nowhere to be seen, but a few noises told her that he was in the kitchen, and Raph had wandered over to look at her weapons. He spun abruptly as she sat on the floor next to the coffee table, setting out her supplies on its uneven wooden surface.
"Leo got hungry?" she set out a sterile pad and laid out her needle and fishing line from the kit, pulling out a bottle of rubbing alcohol and setting that beside the pad. She looked down at her arm and sighed, knowing this was going to hurt. It was sore as hell, and after a good, painful scrubbing in the shower, the skin was tender.
"Yeah, he eats like a horse. You really shouldn't have let him have free roam in there," he wandered back closer, curious as to what she was doing. When he saw the medical supplies, his brow quirked up and he sat on the couch beside her. "You gonna do that yourself?"
"I'm a big girl Raph, this isn't the first time I've done this," she smiled, using the towel to gently dry the skin around the wound. Setting it to one side and slicking her hair back against her skull, she began to thread the needle as he watched quietly. "It reopened earlier, so these will keep it closed."
"I, uh… I'm sorry about what I did, before we left. I shouldn't have been so rough," his voice was quiet, and she looked up at him to see if he was serious in his apology. His green eyes didn't seem to hold any humor, and her shoulders relaxed just a bit.
"Raph, you had plenty of reason to do that. It's fine," busying herself with her task, she tied off the loop of fishing line and set the needle back on the gauze. Grabbing the bottle of alcohol, she inhaled a deep breath before dousing the open wound in the burning stuff. Clenching her jaw as pain seared its way up her arm, she let out a shaky breath and grabbed the needle. "I can handle it."
"I have this bad habit of over reacting sometimes," his nostrils were flared due to the acrid smell of the alcohol, and she wondered how acute his sense of smell really was. He leaned forward and watched as she put the needle to her skin, noticing her trembling fingers. "You sure you're good?"
"Yes," she snapped, feeling immediately bad she had done so. Giving him an apologetic look, she steeled herself and pushed the needle through the skin, a bit of sweat forming across her brow at the pain. It was already so tender, this was agony. She needed some kind of anesthetic. "Th-there is a bottle of Gin in the shelf above my fridge. Could you get it for me?"
For a second, she thought he would refuse, put off by her tone, but he also seemed sincerely worried about the pain he had caused. In the end he got up and went to the kitchen, coming back in time to see her finish her second suture. Her hand shook violently, and the fist in her lap was clenched tightly against the pain. Raph hesitated and came to sit next to her on the floor, handing her the bottle and brushing his fingers over her hand to take the needle from her.
"I said I don't—"
"Hold still, I don't wanna stick you more than I have to."
Kaiya swallowed a lump in her throat and nodded, unscrewing the lid on the gin and tipping the bottle back and letting a bit of the clear liquid run down her throat. Hissing at the burn, she looked away as Raph started stitching the rest of her wound closed. Almost immediately, the gin had dulled her senses, making her feel warm and a little less agonized. Red's touch was cool, gentler than she would have expected, and he seemed experienced enough. She bit back a few noises of discomfort and looked back at the huge turtle, noting the deep scar above his lip and the various marks that littered his shoulders. He had seen some good fights.
There was a sort of brand on his shoulder, a kanji that matched the one on his mask, and she nodded at it, curiosity distracting her from the pain somewhat. "Anger?"
"Mm," he grunted, the toothpick in his mouth switching sides as he focused on her arm. Looking down at his work, she wondered if he thought her weak. To average humans, she was muscular and strong to look at, but seeing her arm dwarfed by his huge hands made her feel vulnerable.
"Did you do it yourself?"
His green eyes glanced up at her face for a moment before he went back to stitching, giving a sort of shrug. "So? What's it to you?" he sounded offended.
"Oh, n-nothing… Just curious. Forget I asked."
He tugged hard at the fishing line and she flinched, looking down in time to see him snip the line and set the needle aside. He lifted himself up onto the couch and settled in, watching her as closely as ever. Kaiya cleaned it with alcohol one more time and dried the area around it with a sterile towelette before placing a clean bandage over the sutures. She quietly tidied her things up and rose from the floor, nearly falling to one side as her calf muscle cramped up. Raphael moved to catch her, but she sidestepped and walked it off.
"Don't," she said a bit sharper than she had meant.
"I was just trying to help," he growled, and he crossed his arms to make a point that he, in fact, wouldn't touch her. "Excuse me for trying to be nice."
"I wasn't asking for your help, Raphael, in fact, I told you I can handle myself," his tone had her irritated, and she glared down at him, her scalp prickling in a strange wave of anger. "You wouldn't know nice if it reached up and bit you in the ass."
"The fuck is your problem, kid? You need to back off."
Kaiya's anger only flared wilder when he stood up and tried to intimidate her with his almost two and a half foot height difference over her. She was so sick of people looking down on her, and the weariness she felt made her anger even worse; her limit on looking weak had been reached.
"Oh yeah? And are you gonna wave your fancy weapons around in my face? Huh?! You big jerk."
"Maybe I will, you're really askin for it this time," he took a step closer to her and she had to tilt her head back to squint her icy blues in agitation at him. No way she was backing down first. Her fists clenched at his obvious distaste of her. "A little girl like you couldn't take me anyway."
It was the scoff that really got her.
"You think I couldn't handle an overgrown angsty little brat?" Her voice grew louder, and she stood up on her tiptoes, wobbly but resolute. "I am NOT scared of douche bags like you."
"You ain't never seen a douche bag like me before, bitch."
For a moment, shock flickered across her face but she clamped it down and growled, using his brief second of regret that flashed through his eyes to take him by surprise. Kaiya lifted her hand and slapped him across the face, her palm stinging from the harshness of the blow.
"Don't you ever call me a bitch," she hissed through her teeth, clenching her hands into fists as she turned and stalked away from the absolutely enraged turtle. She ignored Leo, who stood in the doorway with a huge plate of food with an expression similar to that of a deer in headlights. He had a mouthful of sandwich, and he started choking, either from laughing or shock-she couldn't tell. Kaiya shook her hand loosely, which hurt almost as much at her pride.
"H-hey! I wasn't done talkin to you!"
Kaiya ignored him and sat down in her computer chair, pointedly swiveling her back to Raphael and busying herself with some soothing work. She needed the absolute and familiar repetition of letters and numbers, needed to write a completely mundane and stupid algorithm so she could calm down. Her fingernails clacked noisily across the keyboard, and she minimized the window that held Isha's progress on the box. There was no need to worry herself about that either, at least for the time being.
"Raph, I think you should quit while you're ahead, man," Leo was definitely laughing, which did nothing to quell his brother's anger.
"Leo, say one more goddamn word, I fucking dare you," Raphael snarled, and Kaiya could tell he was walking away, probably going off to sulk somewhere and nurture his bruised ego. Serves him right. "Just one more word."
"Kaiya, can I just say thank you?"
"For what, Leonardo?" she was grumbling, acting like a child, but she didn't care. She was too tired for this bullshit.
"For taking that ass down a peg. I've never seen him walk away like that…"
"I guess I'm just lucky like that," she sighed, leaning back in the chair and staring at the dusty ceiling with a sarcastic tone in her voice. "No man calls me a bitch and gets away with it."
"That was priceless. I bet Donnie and Mikey are having a cow over watching that."
"Great," she abandoned the terribly messy code she was writing and rolled her chair over to the table with the case in the middle. She just couldn't seem to focus. "Isha, please tell me you're making some kind of progress on this shit."
Leo chuckled and walked into the living room, shaking his head as he flipped through the channels to finish his meal.
"Hai. So far, I can detect no weapons, traps, or other incendiary devices. I cannot ascertain what metal the box is made of, but the mechanisms inside indicate it needs a trigger to open. The seamless design is most likely to keep out contaminants such as bacterial or viral infections. Your research on the medicine called Miracure seems to support these findings thus far, Kaiya."
"What would I do without you, Isha-san?"
"Based on the statistics of your somewhat antisocial personality, you would probably become a hermit and shun the outside world."
"Wow, thanks for the honesty," Kaiya rolled her eyes, leaning down and propping her chin on her folded arms. "Keep searching for a way to open this thing. Don't spare the horses, we don't have much time left." Her voice was barely a whisper as she added that last bit, sadness thick in her voice. Leo glanced at her, only able to hear because of his heightened senses. She caught his gaze and blushed, turning her head away and resting her cheek on her forearm. "Do me proud, Isha-san."
"Hai, Kaiya-hime."
Kaiya watched the screens as her self written computer a.i. did as it was told. Before long, her tiredness got the better of her and her breath evened out, falling fast asleep atop the chilly table.