FRIEND OR FOE: CHAPTER 7

SANGO

"Hey, guys! I brought some goodies from the store!" April's voice filled the lair as she was the first to exit from the elevator with Casey in tow. The top of his body was hidden by a stack of pizza boxes.

"I have the food!" Casey added.

"About time you got here." Raph walked over to grab a few boxes from Casey before they toppled over. "What happened to fast delivery?"

"Hey, shell for brains. You try fightin' midtown traffic at five o'clock," The black hair man shot back as he followed Raph over to the couch. Along the way, he managed to wedge a piece out from the box to munch on. With his mouth of full of food, he continued to defend his tardiness, "Besides, I was doin' you guys a favor. Next time, let's see you try to pick up your own pizzas."

"Yeah, yeah," Raph plopped down in the middle of the couch and opened the top box. Taking a loud sniff, he smiled as his mouth savored from the sight. "Come to papa."

Mikey's head popped out of the kitchen. "Oh! Food's here!" He ran and took the space next to Raph.

April rolled her eyes and then looked at Leo who was walking up to her. "How is she doing?"

"She's up in Mikey's room and hasn't really come out much. Master Splinter managed to get most of her wounds healed, but her body will have scars on it forever." Leonardo shook his head. "I can't believe what Bishop did to her…."

"We still don't even know where she came from," Donatello joined in from his computer desk nearby. "I'm really hoping she talks to us soon."

April smiled as she pulled out some fabric from her bag. "Maybe this will cheer her up. I found different colors of fabric that I thought she could use to cover up her scars. That way she won't be so self-conscious about it."

Hearing what their friend brought, Mikey quickly dropped his pizza and zoomed over, taking the bag from April. "Thanks, dudette! I can take this to her!" Humming loudly to himself, he brandished the prized bag in his hands and jumped up to the upper ledge to enter his room. Donatello and Leonardo exchanged puzzled looks.

Inside Michelangelo's room, the female turtle they discovered at Bishop's facility, was sitting cross legged on the floor with a stack of comic books beside her. Mikey's presence first startled her, but then she smiled at him. "April brought you something," He exclaimed as he dumped the contents of the bag onto the floor and took his fingers to spread out each color of the fabric. "Now you can look really cool with these! Which color is your favorite?"

Examining each one carefully, she lifted a coral color tone. "I think I would look nice in this." Then she blinked, "But, uh, how?"

Pushing the discarded pieces aside, Mikey took the one she chose and then held it up to her. "Hmmm…" He posed like a director with his hand under his chin. "Your body would look great like…" His cheeks flushed. "I mean you would look great with this maybe wrapped around your arms and legs?"

Complying, she took the fabric and began to wrap it around her limbs to cover up her scars. Once completed, she walked around the room, mimicking a fashion model and then grinned. "What you think?"

Michelangelo sighed happily as he looked on. His voice was light as air, "You look so hot…"

Turning bright red, she squealed, "Michelangelo!"

Realizing what he said, Michelangelo snapped back to reality and felt his heart racing from embarrassment. "I mean…uh…you got the look going…you just need something else. Something is definitely missing." Taking some of the left-over material, he looked at her face and smiled. Retrieving some scissors from his desk, he cut out eye-holes and then motioned her to turn around as he slipped the makeshift bandana over her face. "Now, you look like one of us!"

She beamed as she tried her best to see all of her in the small mirror that was on the wall. Michelangelo looked on. "We need to show the guys." Grabbing her hand excitedly, he darted out of his room with her. "Hey, guys! Look at this!" Stopping at the top of the ledge, he cleared his throat loudly and made a trumpet sound with his mouth. "May I introduce to you…uh…. her!" He proudly stepped aside to reveal her new look.

"I like it," April smiled with a nod.

"Not too shabby. Like the bandana. Makes her look tough," Raph added.

"That was my idea," Mikey pointed out.

Leonardo smiled warmly at the pair. "Things are definitely looking up for her. What about a name?"

Becoming stumped, Mikey glanced at his new-found friend for any suggestions, but she only shrugged. "Well, she does like that coral color…what about Sanga!"

Everyone looked at one another in confusion. Donatello scratched his head, "Sega?"

"Typical that he would name her after a gaming console," Raph snickered to Casey.

"No!" Michelangelo protested. "It's like Japanese for Coral."

"Ah," Splinter spoke up. "You mean 'Sango', my son."

"Yeah, what he said. Like it?"

"Definitely." Sango smiled warmly at the turtle beside her.

"Hey, Sango, let's go topside. I know you are being suffocated in here." He grabbed her hand and jumped down to the main level.

"I am not so sure that's a good idea, Mikey. With the increased Foot activity and the debris from the Triceraton invasion, the city could be more dangerous," Leonardo held up his hand to stop them.

"Aw, come on, Leo," His brother whined. "I am a ninja after all. I can teach Sango to be all stealthy like the rest of us."

"That takes time, Mikey. You just don't learn it overnight."

Not giving up, the blue-eyed tossed his master a pleading look. Splinter gave his nod of approval. "You may go topside, but not too long, my son. It may do her some good to get out of here. After all, she is our guest. Not our prisoner."

Taunting his oldest brother with a laugh, Mikey moved to the elevator to go topside. It wasn't every day that his master would take his side over Leonardo's. Raphael decided to get in the rivalry. "Be careful on your date, Mikey. Remember your curfew." He and Casey snickered as they made kissy sounds.