Ch7 A little about you and Me

A/N: Seriously if you think this story is so bad you can stop reading it. For this chapter, I wrecked half my brain just to think of a perfect moment and how to set it all up. Thank you Animation Universe 2005 and Nala162024 for reviewing my story, at least I have a little encouragement.

"Would you stop?" Yumiko said.

Splinter blinked, "Stop what?"

"Glancing at me every five seconds!" her eyes flashed brightly through the dimness.

"I was not glancing at you!" although he had been, he could not help but look at her. What she said about this happening like before worried him.

He gave one small glimpse at the locket she was wearing wondering why she wanted it so much. Guess it was a thief thing; you can't help but want an object.

"What are you staring at?" she snapped.

"Nothing! Besides it's dark, how do you even know what I'm looking at?"

"I can see well in the dark, do you still miss your precious locket?" she sneered lightly.

Splinter grunted, "I…I do, that thing means a lot to me, it's an heirloom of my master."

"Your master?" she said quizzically, "What's his name?"

He sighed and answered, "His name was Hamato Yoshi, and I learned ninjutsu from watching him from my cage."

Her finger coiled around the chain, "His name sounds awfully familiar. Okay, since it's that meaningful to you, let's make a deal. If you win against someone without my help, I'll give it back to you. If you don't win, I'll have it and you can drown in your shame and humiliation."

"I do not trust any deals made with thieves." he replied bluntly.

"But I am a thief of honor. Back then, when a thief makes a deal, they must keep their promise because if they don't, they'll suffer being beaten half to death till they do what is owed or hanged."

A chill ran up Splinter's spine with the horrible image of a man being beaten to death."Does that really happen?"

"Well…most of the time. Sometimes thieves have a reason for breaking promises, either for good or for bad. Some have a reputation for being big liars anyway."

"In my book, all of them are." he muttered scowling at her.

A small tension of silence passed over them for a minute. Splinter then broke it.

"If we are to work together…"

"Not really." Yumiko interjected.

"Can I hear a little about you?"

"You expect me to tell everything about myself to a stranger?"

"I said a little, what did you mean back then that this was just like before?"

She scoffs before replying, "I was a prisoner a long time ago with other animals, we were tortured and forced to be subjects to strange experiments. That's how mutated."

Her face became wistful as she stared out into the darkness. "I was once a common rat in Japan, roaming wild and free. There was no home to go to and my only friend was a woman who fed me, she was the one I called my master We had so much fun, until everything turned horrible when I was captured by men and put into boxes with other rats. We were shipped to a laboratory in a city and many horrifying things were done to us. We were nailed to tables and…. I nearly died." she stops and shudders.

"I still remember the smell of sherry wine on the man who did all of that even after I escaped the lab."

Her body quivered with the awful memory. Splinter was speechless, she may have told more than needed, but this pulled his heartstrings to her a little more. There was a deep urge to take her into his arms again, but he restrained himself thinking of how weird she might think he is.

"I'm sorry, I probably shouldn't have asked."

She smiled as two jewel eyes twinkled at him merrily, "That's okay. I may have needed that relief. I guess its okay to tell you about it." she empahsized the word 'you' making Splinter fluster.

" Now let's hear about you oh great ancient one."

"Will you not call me that?" Splinter said annoyed, she giggled back mischievously.

"I lived in Japan as a pet rat of my Master Yoshi. From inside my cage I learned to mimic his moves as I watched him practice the art of ninjutsu. I later moved to America with him due to hisreasons, days later after moving into the city, he was slain in battle by an enemy. Without a master or a home, I was left scouring the sewers like a stray animal. Those days were so hard and lonely. Then one day, four baby turtles were dropped down the drain and fell into a pool of mutagen, they mutated from it and so did I after coming in contact. I decided to take them in as my own children, naming them after famous renaissance artist, Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo."

He let out a deep breath after his brief life story.

"Wow." Yumiko said, "You being a father, a master, and having kids makes me jealous."

"Why?" he asked.

"Because after I escaped, I lived under an old dojo of a man who adopted three kids. After he passed away I took care of those children and trained them myself, they were all like family to me."

"And what happened to them?"

"They all disappeared, one went away for training and was never heard from again, and two I lost in a storm. So you're lucky to still have all four with you up to this point in your old life. I guess it's my fate to end up alone."

"But you don't have to be!" Splinter suddenly grabbed her paw baffling Yumiko, this action also stunned himself.

"Er…um…what I mean is, you may have lost people in your lives but that doesn't mean you're meant to be alone. Nobody is an island."

Yumiko gazed at him awestruck, but her face saddened, "But I doubt they will last by my side."

"I always fear that my sons will die, but in your case, you cannot let fear decide if you are to be alone or not. You can still be happy."

"After being taken from my home, cut open, and experimented to an inch of my death, I don't know anymore."

"I'm sure of of it."

He smiled back at her. They stood together almost a foot apart. Being this close made his heart skip beats. Just what is it about her that made him feel this way? He had a longing to just kiss her lips, but he tried to fight this feeling inside and crush it under the force of his will reminding himself that she was a thief, a criminal, and him a ninjutsu master of honor. Those two things do not mix. His heart hammered in his chest, their were so many emotions swirling in his mind, he wanted to stay and hold her but another part wanted to push her away. So many emotions, so much confusion. It was hard to differentiate whether what he felt was real or not, if these were just feelings that were stirred up in you like when watching a soap. Was it out of necessity for some sort of companionship with another rat he was like this? Were his feelings for her even out of purity of his heart?

Yumiko was also trying hard to defeat the same thing that was wrapping them both in a web of inevitable magic. She reminded herself that she was a thief and a lone thief to be exact. Thievery was her only love and purpose of living, her principles did not include a man to make her heart beat. But the way she felt towards him was so...secure. It was like he would never let anything harm her, but she would not fall again for these stupid impulses. Before she was in love and inexperienced, and that rat became a monster to her, all that she saw in him was a false illusion. Never again will she fall for that sort of trick. But the urges were so unruly, it was like fighting an addiction.

All their means of fighting it was useless, it was then the whole world had frozen in place, and they felt their own world's passionate flame grow as Splinter slowly inches by inches bent down to her, his lips almost so near.

Before they could touch, a loud bell rang and snapped them out of their moment as the floor began to rise to the top.

Then again, they were on the newly repaired arena, the crowd of people cheered again, and there was also Frost.

"Thank you for the wait ladies and gentlemen. Now are we ready to get some more action!" he yelled.

The crowd roared in excitement. Splinter felt his chest sink in. Their cries were useless after all.

"Now my furry friends, lets see you handle your own relatives."

Yumiko put her hands on her hips, "Our own….oh my…" she trailed off as two openings appeared on the ground, and four hulk-like mutant rats rose slowly from the dark depths like a monster from those horror movies.

Like the others, they were goliaths on steroids and other chemical substances, and they also had electric collars on them. All had red piercing eyes, and their claws were long and sharp as rusty knives. A rat on the far left had a torn ear, to his side was another that had the right side of his face burnt, the third had half his jaw ripped off and still dripping with blood, the tallest of them all had three scars running down his face. To make the whole description about them short, they were just plain butt ugly.

"Oh no, it can't be!" Yumiko cried horror struck.

"Yumiko!" the tall scarred rat bellowed.

"Antonio! Um, you're here." Yumiko said and tried to hide behind Splinter.

Splinter looked at him and at her "Wait, what is going on? How does he know you? How do you know him?"

"Yumiko my love, I thought I lost you!"

The whole crowd gasped and crescendoed into silent shock, Frost was the same as he grinned with the thrill in his blood. He wanted to see them fight the white rat's lover. Splinter's jaw dropped and glared at Yumiko.

She was stricken with nervousness, "I can explain….."

"Damn. I sense trouble."

"I knew it was too good to be true. You trusted her too soon!"

"Master you think they're gonna be together?"

The master didn't say anything.