Hey everyone!
So, exciting news: a friend has given me permission to use their OC in this retelling of the 2003 tale!
Won't reveal too much ('cause I'm mysterious like that, lol), but I will have the OC's profile posted on mine soon enough, with credit to their true creator, XxWolfLord95xX included in the title of course. Big thank you for stirring my interest with your character, and here's to hoping their entrance will add all the more intrigue.
Bet your attention's caught now, eh? Let's see if I can hold it. Read on :)
Darkness rules the streets of Manhattan once again, the soft glow of lampposts serving light for the few sources of life scouring the dead of night. We witness the shadow of a raccoon dash past one wall as the animal ducks into an unoccupied alleyway...before the brickwork is overtaken by five slivers of black shaped distinctly human walking past.
"Living the life of a teenage ninja means having to deal with constant mystery...Some of those mysteries can be fun, like the ones in detective novels that always sparks a person's interest..."
Moving down the street and into a high-hovering view, we see the quintet of figures pause at a corner, before the tallest points ahead towards an open area several yards away, where the Manhattan Youth For Life Center once stood proud, it now reduced to a sign standing in front of a heavily burned two-story building, the front doors smashed open and smoke-damaged but with the entrance way chained off.
"Other times, the intrigue and secrecy can be about as frustrating as trying to catch smoke with your bare hands. For me...I've mostly experienced the latter."
...Stepping into the spotlight of a new lamppost first, would be noneother than the young Hamato who wasn't a mutant, she dressed in an outfit of full-black, from her jeans to hooded sweatshirt, and her monochrome All-Star converse. Her honey orbs peek out from under the hood, peering at the sight before her with determination and desire.
"My name is Shiori, and hopefully, tonight will be the night my friends and I get some answers related to an old mystery that's been haunting us for six long years."
She turns to see Talon, Ariana, Shun and Ortensia settling into the limelight just half a foot near her, also dressed in dark-coloured outfits...They share a collective nod, before making their way to the entrance of the abandoned center...
"Of course, that's assuming this mystery wants to reveal some of its secrets...and doesn't wanna shove us under the carpet along with the rest of its dust."
For what they weren't aware of, was that two teams of 'Kage Warriors' were closing in from opposite sides of town...
A Few Days Earlier...
Picking up where the story last left off, Shiori had just reached the peak of her own shake up thanks to a live news report broadcasting this very hour, talking about a local youth center called Manhattan Youth For Life being the target of a very recent arson fire...
"Whoa, who would do something like that?"
The blackette snaps out of her trance to the tune of her brother Michelangelo's voice, he settling on the couch after procuring a bag of chips from the kitchen, only to find this very real tragedy playing on the entertainment system, making him frown sadly and a little angrily.
"That's just cold, takin' down a place for kids to hang out at...They say who did it?"
"Uh, no, the police don't have any suspects yet. They just ruled it as a suspicious fire...and discovered a couple victims, one with an ID."
The other three mutant terrapins and one rat walk into the living room area just then, also finding themselves intrigued by the breaking news in their own ways. For Donatello and Leonardo, they would comment in solemn tones respectively,
"Magnolia Reed, huh? I've heard her name a few times. She was a popular advocate for the voices of youth all over Manhattan for several years. A shame such a nice lady would be the victim of something like this..."
"Shell, we come home for doing some good, but end up seeing something bad happen shortly afterward...It's a vicious circle..."
Raphael, meanwhile, found himself making a 'mmmrph' noise of indignation, glaring at the television screens while muttering,
"There's somethin' about this I don' like, and I don't jus' mean what happened. I mean the timin'..."
Splinter just continues to watch the report, not saying a word with his expression set serious and passive...Though he would pull away for a second when his sharp ears pick up on the sound of a Shell Cell ringing, the recipient being noneother than his adoptive daughter. She slips it out of her pocket to answer:
(Beep)
"Hello?...Yeah, we're watching it...Mhm?...Urh, hang on, Ari."
Covering the speaking end, Shiori excuses herself out of the area.
"I'm gonna take this into another room. 'scuse me."
She turns to walk out, her brothers with the orange and blue bandana masks to watch her go with quietly-matching hms of suspicion, recalling their small talk from before the whole sibling quintet left for the South Street Port earlier this evening...
Catching up with the teenage girl, once she clambered up to her room on the second floor of the lair near Raphael's, and made sure there were no eavesdroppers, she settles onto her old day bed to properly speak with her friends over the phone, keeping her voice a little low to be extra cautious.
"Okay, I'm in my room now. You all together?"
Ariana's sassy mezzo voice pipes in from the other end of the conversation bubble.
"Our square's got all corners."
"Good...So, bit of a stupid question to ask, first of all...but are all of you also feeling the ole, familiar itch from that spectacle the news is showing right now?"
Shun's partially-deep voice replies with a wholehearted,
"Oooh yeah," followed by Talon's more Brooklyn-chipped response of,
"It's hard not to. I mean, ya can't really tell from the camera angles, but the way the youth center's burnin' looks a hell of alot similar to how...Double L went up years ago. And for this ta happen not too long after you and your brothers did that job down a' the East River...it can't just be a coincidence."
Shiori nods and mutters with her own frown of thought,
"That's exactly what I thought...I'm almost willing to bet that whoever's controlling these ninjas might've sent them to do it."
Ortensia's soft voice asks through the phone,
"But, what would the motive be? I don't get it."
"I don't get it either, Ori...but I know what I saw back that night. Those ninja were there in the orphanage, and Shun, you said yesterday that you remember seeing something similar?"
"I do. That symbol you described, sounds like the same one I caught a glimpse of when I was running with Ari and Talon out the front door."
Nodding with a heavy sigh of 'right', Shiori then proposes,
"Okay...I dunno if you guys would agree to this, but...perhaps we should investigate this activity for ourselves."
There's a collective hum of mixed uncertainty and interest that echoes from the Shell Cell...before Shun replies for everyone on the other end,
"We're in...When should we head down there?"
Though surprised by the lack of protest to the idea, the girl with light beige skin says,
"I'm thinking three days from now. That should be when the cops take down their tape."
Ortensia then chimes,
"Sounds good. In the meantime, I'll see if I can do some research on these ninja, or at the very least, find any past arson crimes similar to this and Double L's. There could be connections going back farther than we're seeing right now."
"Good point. Thanks, Ori."
Shiori moves to stand up from her bed...just as Ariana asks,
"Are you going to tell your brothers and dad about this?"
...She pauses, before muttering,
"No...Not yet, anyway."
"Why not?"
"It's just...sensei's already tense enough about these ninja as it is, and I don't wanna give my bros another reason to go hunting before thinking. I...I want to uphold what sensei said yesterday, about not seeking an enemy you don't understand. I mean, I know that's not what we're really doing: we just want answers, but-"
"We get it. You're just a little concerned that Sensei Splinter may not see it that way."
"Exactly, Shun, exactly...I will tell him and the others, I want to...I just want to gather more information first."
"Hm...Alright. I dunno if I like the idea of secrecy, but it's your life. Just remember what happened to Pinocchio."
A wry smile forms on Shiori's face as she quirks back,
"Heh, very funny...and, I'll keep that in mind. So, meeting at your guy's place tomorrow?"
"Sure. Goodnight, Yori."
"G'night!"
"Sleep well, Shiori."
"Night."
"Goodnight, all."
The Shell Cell is clicked off...and the holder of the telecommunication device lowers that arm with another quiet but heavy expel of breath, shaking her head while thinking,
What the shell did I just get us into...?
Two Minutes Earlier, Splinter's POV
I watch out of the corner of my eye as my daughter leaves the room for a quieter area of our home to conduct what I am suspecting to be a more private conversation between herself and her friends on the surface, noticing a strange expression on her face, as if she was trying to hide something.
Hm...something about this news report has stirred Shiori...What has you troubled, my daughter?
"This just in: a woman working for the local high school of this area has arrived on scene, identifying herself as a volunteer teacher for the youth center. We go to Jim as he speaks with the former volunteer. Jim?"
"Thank you, Barb. Miss O'Neil..."
Hearing the familiar surname, I turn my attention back to the television...only to receive a very unexpected surprise.
Uh!...Is, that...?
The woman speaking with the reporter looked to be as tall as April, but had longer, dark auburn hair held back in a low ponytail, with bangs cut and styled to frame her face around her cheekbones, and wore a white shirt under a brown leather jacket, blue jeans, and black dress boots...But what really struck me, were her eyes, being a very familiar jade green.
Can it, really be...
(Flash)
It has been so long now, but I can still recall that more innocent time as if it were only yesterday. Back when I was but a regular rodent...
"Splinter?...Spli~nter..."
Her face, so young and full of life, a welcome distraction from the more serious parts of my existence.
"Oh! There you are."
She was always so good at finding me during our sessions of Hide and Seek, peering under every nook and cranny possible to find me...And what made these times more enjoyable, was seeing the relaxed content on my master's face as he watch us play. Her laugh, made us both feel at peace.
(Flash)
"...Emily...?"
"You know her, sensei?"
I snap out of my thought process to the sound of my daughter's voice, pivoting my head to see that she had returned to the living room.
"Oh, sorry; I didn't mean to startle you."
"It is alright, Shiori...To answer your question...I am not completely certain."
Gazing back at the woman on television, I add,
"This woman does share a remarkable resemblance to someone I once knew many years ago."
"As in, back before you and the guys first became who you are now?"
I nod, noticing that the attention of my sons had been caught as well...Sensing the collectively high level of curiousity, I decide to indulge their minds in telling a little about a special someone I and my deceased master once knew.
"...Her name was Emily."
Flashback, No POV
"The first time she and I became acquainted, was during an afternoon when my Master Yoshi and I were in an open market for supplies...I had been chased off my master's shoulder by a vendor who did not take kindly to rodents, and found myself wandering aimlessly through the crowded street, trying to search for him once I had calmed down...Unfortunately, my goal was delayed when I became surrounded by some rather unruly young boys, who sought fit to rid the world of my existence."
"Hehaha, get it, get it!"
"Yeah, kill the rat!"
Turn back the clock to more than twenty years ago today, back when the world was much bigger for our favourite rat master, when even a human child was a dangerous giant. In this case, our poor gray rat had found himself circled by three scrappy-looking young boys in mixed fashions of the causal and hip-hop attire, who then proceeded to try and hit him with rocks or even attempt to stomp of him!
"During those days, my only main defense was to scurry out of the line of attack. I could have employed my teeth, but my mind was clouded with fear from being separated from my master...Then, just when it looked like the end-"
"Hey! Leave the poor thing alone!"
The so-called 'fun' for the young punks is cut short by a sound of protest made by a female voice a few years younger than they, and turning the view around, we see the source to be a little girl of about eight, with porcelain skin, long, dark auburn hair tied into a single, high-positioned side ponytail with a gray scrunchie and bangs that went over her forehead, wearing an outfit comprised of an oversized rose pink sweater with wear and tear at the bottom, with a yellow t-shirt peeking out from underneath, gray blue jeans with a touch of fraying in the left knee, and a pair of monochrome canvas sneakers with salmon red socks.
Her jade green irises were blazing with anger over what her young body was witnessing, and with gritted teeth, she rushed over in a charge towards the three boys and Splinter, much to the amusement of the meaner souls.
"Heha, whaddo you plan on doin', girly?!"
"Thinks she's so tough, little wimp!"
"All this for a filthy ra-"
The third one would not be able to finish his sentence, when he felt himself being shoved down by a pair of small but very strong hands!
"Ga-ah, whoa!"
That boy fell backwards onto the concrete hard, giving his buddies enough of a distraction for the auburn brunette to spin around and gently but swiftly scoop up the pre-mutated rat into her arms, before taking off from the area as fast as her little legs could take her.
"Hey! Get back here, ya little-!"
"You brat! You're gonna get it now, you and that pest!"
She just ignored the threatening calls of those boys, focusing on picking up her pace through the winding crowd...
"I never expected my savior to come in the form of a young brunette, whose kind heart was a breath of fresh air compared to the otherwise...prejudice opinions of my own species."
The little girl kept running as fast as she could for a couple blocks, until she comes across a broken crate that likely held fruit at one time, sitting on its side with the opening facing forward to the road and an old tarp draped overtop.
"Ah! Hah, that'll work..."
Reaching the wooden box, she bends down and crawls inside, turning around to tug the tarp down a little more to properly shadow her form...as well as the younger Splinter.
"We should be safe in here..."
She sets the gray rat onto her knees, he staring at her with astonishment for her act of kindness...He then stiffens up on alert when he hears the hurried footsteps of their pursuers, and seeing this, the auburn brunette's jade irises soften with sympathy before reaching her hand to very gently pet her new friend calm.
"Shh, it's okay...Don't worry. (Small smile) I won't let them hurt you."
...A few minutes pass, and with no disturbances to their peace being made, the young human girl lets out a breathy sigh of relief before crawling out of her hidy hole with Splinter in one arm, settling into a sit beside the crate on the gutter in a cross-legged position while the gray rat sat up on her right knee.
"Phew...that was close. Stupid boys, trying to harm an innocent animal, and for what? (Shakes head) Nothing good comes from tryin' to hurt anybody smaller than you...I know how that feels..."
Her eyes seemed to dilate with sadness on that last mumble of words, before she brightened up again and focused her attention on Splinter.
"Anyway, you look alot nicer than some of the tougher rats that run around the city...and, you didn't try and bite me when I petted you. You must be someone's pet, right?"
To her surprise, the rat obliged to her question with a slight nod.
"Ah! Oh wow, you understand English! Amazing...!...My name is Emily. What's your name? Oh, wait, eheheh, you probably can't answer that one real well since we both speak differently from eachother."
"The way that she spoke to me, as if she were striking a conversation with but a normal citizen of this grand city...made something within me continue in finding a way to respond back, even with the human tongue unavailable to me."
In which case, this younger version of the rat would use non-verbal actions to communicate an answer to the girl, Emily's question. He looks around for something that would help him convey...and spots a small sliver wound on the edge of her right palm resting on her upper leg. Crawling over to it, he places one of his much smaller paws on top of the healing section of skin, much to the owner's confusion.
"Huh? Oh. I had a splinter there yesterday, but I got it out before it could get worse..."
The rat taps his paw against the old entrance point a few times...
"What? Why are you interested in a-...Wait...Splinter...Is, that your name?"
One small nod was all the answer Emily needed.
"Huh...Splinter. (Smile) I like it. It's not a name you hear alot...but, I feel like it suits you...Oh, right! Silly me: if you have a name, that means whoever gave it to you's probably looking for you, and getting worried..."
Cupping Splinter into her small hands, the little auburn brunette stands up and prepares to head into the crowd of passers again.
"Okay then. I'll help you find them, whoever them is...Um, any ideas to where we should go?"
Splinter tips his nose up to sniff the air...before darting his head towards the direction northeast of their starting point.
"That way, huh?...Okay, that way it is."
"A search that would have taken much longer than necessary, was made simple and shorter thanks to my new young ally. We wandered the market square for a little while...and eventually..."
"Splinter!...Splinter, where are you?"
Stopping herself in front of a stand that sold various trinkets and jewellery, Emily peers her head around to the sound of that Japanese-accented call.
"Huh?"
Hearing her new friend squeak in excitement, she quickly deciphers,
"Oh! Is that him? Your owner? Hang on; let's listen for him and I'll walk over for us. I don't want ya to get trampled..."
...Zooming in through the crowd near a bus bench, we see a young-looking adult male in his late twenties standing roughly at five foot seven, his body build close to the trapezoid shape but more rectangular, short raven black hair cut similarly to the Ivy League style, light beige skin, and wore an outfit consisting of a slate brown haori with a matching hakama, the former article having tan bordering, both held together with a thickly-banded black belt, black ninja-style boots, and a light brown vest overtop the haori. His deep brown irises were currently shining with concern as he looked to and fro for any signs of his treasured companion.
"Oh Splinter, where could you have gotten to...?"
"These were rare moments where my own Master Yoshi was at a near loss over what to do, his worries almost making him seem younger than he was. I could not blame him, of course, for this was back when we had only just begun settling into America for a few years, and the great borough of Manhattan was still so new, so vast...so easy to get lost in."
"...Um, excuse me, sir?"
Pausing in his own search of the street market, the man known as Yoshi would turn around behind himself to meet the innocent jade green of Emily, she smiling shyly while holding up Splinter in her hands.
"Is, this who you're looking for?"
"Hah! Oh, Splinter..."
The blackette walks over with a relieved smile forming on his face, and as soon as he was close enough, the small gray rat would jump onto the former's shoulder with a chattering squeak of excitement. Chuckling, Yoshi reaches to stroke his companion's head with his palm while chiding,
"Yes, I am glad to see you too, my friend."
He then pivots his head back on the young auburn brunette:
"Thank you, young one, for returning Splinter to me."
"You're welcome. Your rat's really nice and very smart. He helped me find you through all these tall people...He was being bullied by some really mean boys, but I got 'im out of danger, and we hid in a box until they were gone."
"Really? That was very brave of-"
"There she is!"
"Hm?"
The conversation is interrupted suddenly, when those same three little terrorizers from earlier pop out from around a far corner, and lock their glaring gazes on Emily!
"There's that little punk!"
"Thoug' you could get away from us, girly? Think again!"
Gasping, Emily whimpers a little before darting behind Yoshi, subconsciously deciding he was her best line of defense for a second round against those bullies.
"Th-That's them. Those are the boys who tried to hurt Splinter and me. Oooh, I hoped we lost 'em, but I guess I was wrong..."
"My master could hear the care as well as the fear in Emily's voice, possibly recalling his own experience as a youth left adrift the tides of more well-off humans, and felt his heart go out to her...He knew in an instant what he would do."
Humming firmly, the man with deep brown irises turns his gaze from the little girl towards the approaching mean-spirited youths, face set in a stern gaze, which the trio would take quick notice to based on how fast they screeched to a halt a few feet from the other side's proximity.
"H-Huh?!"
"Wh-Who's that?"
"Dunno...but I'm not stickin' around to find out! Let's bolt!"
So with that, the short-lived threats to Emily and Splinter's livelihoods came to an end, the sources spinning on their heels with nervous stumbles before scrambling out of the area...A nearly unnoticeable upturn of mouth forms in the corner of Yoshi's lips, amused that the boys gave up so fast...
"Woooow..."
He focuses downward on his left, seeing the little auburn brunette looking up at him with awe shining in her green irises.
"You just, scared them away with one look...!...Do you have superpowers or something, sir?"
A short chuckle bubbles in the man's throat as he replies,
"No, I am just as normal as the next man walking these streets. Those boys merely had weak hearts, easily prone to standing down when they see their opponent lacking an overwhelming fear."
"Oooh..."
"Now then..."
Kneeling down so he was at the youngster's height, he places a gentle hand on her shoulder before asking with a kind smile,
"It would be my honour, if I were to hear the name of my companion's savior."
"O-Oh! Yeah, sure. My name is Emily...May I ask what your name is?"
"Of course...I am called Yoshi...Hamato Yoshi."
End of Flashback
"He then will have invited Emily over to our home for tea, noticing that she looked a little undernourished, and we would come to know her tales of a troubled family life...She had been living virtually on her own whims, for her mother had passed a few years earlier, while her father...Hm, her father..."
Something in Splinter's black-brown irises seemed to sharpen like an angry shuriken come the mention of his old friend's fraternal figure, before he breathed out a calming breath and finishes,
"Let us just say he was not a fit parent, and was suffering from internal demons that he foolishly chose to fight on his own."
Though sensing the tensity rise in the air for this moment, Donatello asks carefully,
"Was he...hurting, Emily?"
"...For the most part, it was emotional neglect, and poor care. She did speak of a few close calls involving a thrown object, but I never saw any physical markers of severe abuse. The more times she visited my master and I since that day, the more visible her struggles became, until eventually my master, out of the kindness of his heart, became her legal guardian when her father was arrested for multiple crimes involving narcotics."
Shiori could see her father's expression soften a little, her heart swelling with tenderness as he went on to say,
"Her life essentially became a part of ours after that, and not a day went by where my master's home was not filled with her laughter..."
The room falls into a respectful silence for a few minutes, save the tuned-out noise from the late night television report...until Raphael asks out of his own curiosity,
"So d'en...when Sensei Yoshi passed...what happened to 'er? Do you know, master?"
Michelangelo - surprisingly enough - would shoot a pointed look at his brother for posing such a question...But, to his and the other four teen's shock, their father would answer, if with a quiet, heavy sigh.
"That, I do not know. She was sent out of the home to fulfill a few errands by my master at the time...the time of his tragic end. If she did return, I did not see her..."
The girl with light beige skin and honey-coloured irises could feel the sadness radiating off his shoulders, so she moves to kneel at one side of the chair the anthropomorphic rat was sitting in, propping herself on her elbows before reaching her left hand to lay on the other's upper arm.
"But, that doesn't mean Emily isn't out there still, right? I mean, from how you describe her, she sounds like a pretty resourceful girl...In fact..."
Turning her attention to the live news report still headlining, Shiori thinks aloud with a small smile of hope,
"This woman looks a little too much like Emily to be a mere coincidence..."
Splinter felt his lips twitch upward at hearing such words from his daughter's mouth, focusing on the auburn brunette as she finishes her talk with the reporter.
"I am personally saddened by the loss of Magnolia. She was an excellent conversationalist, a real gem to talk to, and the children really loved her. To lose her so soon, along with the youth center, will not be easy to recover from...But I have faith in my fellow community members. We will find a way to come back, and keep Maggie's memory alive...I ask everyone, to not focus on the tragedy, but on the legacy left for us to help in healing."
"...You may be right about that, Shiori."
Leonardo lightly comments more to himself when he felt the seriousness in the atmosphere drop low enough,
"A little odd that they didn't mention her first name, though. Just her last...O'Neil..."
I wonder...could she be related to April?
Unbeknownst to him and everyone else, the young woman with velvet red hair and bottle green irises was watching the very same news report in her loft complex above 2nd Time Around, sitting on the couch across from the small television set. Her face was set in an expression suggesting a wave of shock passing from her skin, before settling into intrigue.
"Wow...To think, after a few years, I'd be seeing Emily on TV of all places...Heh, guess that makes two O'Neils who made it onto the local news."
Getting up from her seat, she walks into the attached kitchen to get a glass of water from the tap, finding herself staring down at a small picture stuck on the refrigerator with a heart magnet. It looked at least a couple years old, showcasing a younger, eighteen year-old April, her hair left loose and free while wearing a white t-shirt under a pair of overalls the same colour of purple her belly shirt was. Her arm was wrapped around another young woman in her early twenties, she having the longer, dark auburn hair held back in a french braid, and wearing a red tank top under a blue shrug, and light blue jeans. Both were smiling in a way that suggested they were laughing, the setting somewhere in the infamous Central Park.
A near-somber smile forms on April's lips as she gazed fondly at her younger self and her apparent family member, thinking to herself,
I should really call cousin Emily and see if we can get together...
I'm sure she'll want some good company to help take her mind off recent and terrible events.
Her bottle green irises travel down a little more, falling onto another, much older picture, reflecting what looked to be a tween Emily, standing with her arms around the waist of...Hamato Yoshi, a big smile on her face while his was more gentle, he having a single arm wrapped around her shoulders...and sitting atop his own left, was the pre-mutant Splinter.
A sad frown forms on the true redhead's lips as she adds to herself,
She's gone through so many turmoils over the years...At least she had a little longer period of quiet this time, but still...why her?
Why must these things keep happening to you, cousin?
Time Skip, Michelangelo's POV
It's been about three days since me and my sibs took down that giant ray-gun thing down at the South Street Seaport, and while we weren't able to stop those ninjas from making off with the goods (whatever that was), we did manage to bring home really cool old sword. 'Course, weird thing is that none of us can actually touch it without that metal glove we picked up too (unless we wanna go flying across the lair), so all we can really do with it is find a nice spot for the sword to sit, like by the bookshelf near Don's tech station, for example.
...But to be honest, that's not what's got my attention right now. See, my sister, Shiori, has been acting a shell of alot weirder lately, talking less to us in the lair and having more of these private conversations with her friends over the Shell Cell, or scribbling in that same folder I mentioned a little while back. Her focus has become fixed in ways that kind-a reminds me of both Leo and Donnie when they're reeeeally trying to concentrate, but whenever any of my bros or I try to break it to find out what's wrong...she instantly covers it up with some weak excuse, or at least it sounds weak to my ears.
She's hiding something...but what?
I'm sitting on the couch right now with Raph reading one of my favourite superhero comic book issues, while he was catching the latest wrestling matches on TV. Not to brag or anything, but this is a somewhat rare occurrence for me and my hotheaded brother to actually occupy the same space for a good amount of time without one of us tempting the other in our own way to break the peace, me with my pranks or him with his teasing. Used to be more frequent when we were kids, but, you know, things shift when you get older...
Anyway, I had just reached the beginning of an awesome action scene when Raph suddenly exclaims,
"Aw come on, what the shell was that?! You call that a body slam?!...Man, today's wrestlin' is gettin' lamer. It's like they're not tryin' to put the effort in gettin' the job done..."
Looking up from my reading material, I ask out of general curiousity,
"What's there to think about? Aren't they still aimin' to sock the other guy out cold?...And, aren't some of those moves, you know, not suppose to be real?"
Surprisingly, he calmly obliges an answer, probably a bit surprised himself that I wasn't making a smart comment or whatever.
"Maybe, but there's more to i' than that, baby bro. Sure, one of the goals is t' get everyone's attention, but'ch'ya can't just rely on feigns and actin'. You gotta be honest in wantin' to win against your opponent, show your strength and what you know."
"Huh...that makes sense."
That's when I my eyes catch the sight of the familiar, slim figure that would be my sister making a steady pace for the elevator out of the lair, she dressed in a full-black outfit save the white on her All-Star sneakers, and carrying her turtle shell green drawstring backpack over one shoulder.
"Hm, speakin' of being honest..."
"Huh?"
I turn to see Raph looking at me a bit confused, until I jabbed a thumb over where Shiori was.
"Aah...Hey, sis!"
She pauses a little too fast for it to not be suspicious, and turns her head our way with a neutral expression.
"Yeah, Raph?"
"Where ya goin'?"
"...Out."
Both of us were a bit taken aback by the dry, closed-off reply, but my bro does try to get more information, raising a brow and forming a suspecting frown.
"Okay, lemme try again: where specifically are ya headin'?"
I could've sworn I saw a flash of nerves forming on Shiori's face, but it didn't last very long before she replies smoothly,
"Over to my friends' place. Practice session for street dancing...I already told sensei and he said I could go over this evening."
Hmm...I believe that last part...but there's a lie in the rest...
"I'll be back later, midnight at latest. See you."
With that, sis enters the elevator and heads out...
"Did Yori just leave?"
Following the sound of Don's voice, Raph and I turn around to see him and Leo walking over to us. Nodding, I reply,
"Yeah, she's gone out to meet her friends..."
Shaking his head, my techno-turtle brother comments,
"This is the third time in a row she's gone out for a 'supposed' dance practice..."
Raph doesn't miss the emphasis on that one word:
"Supposed? Ya think she's lyin'?"
"Well, as much as I wanna believe her reasons, they usually have only about two sessions per week, and were never back-to-back like this...Not only that, but I'm sure that the rest of you have been noticing some other rather, abnormal behaviour in our sister as of late."
...We all nod in agreement, Leo commenting,
"She has been acting more withdrawn from all of us, more secretive, which isn't like her at all."
I pipe in,
"Yeah! She always shares any problems she's having, and listens to ours when we need a set of ears...But now...it's like she doesn't trust us, (looks down) and that kind-a hurts..."
What could be so important that she can't trust her family to know?
...Unless...wait a minute...!
Slapping a hand to my head, it hits me:
"Of course, duh! Stupid turtle; how could I have missed it?!"
My bros look at me with puzzled expressions, and Leo asks,
"Missed what, Mikey?"
"I think I might know what's going on. This all started when we, or, I, brought home that ninja clan symbol, right? And you said you saw her tense up, Leo?"
"Uh, yes?"
"When have the rest of you seen her go stiff as a board like that? Think about it."
They do...and Don would get it first:
"Uh! Her past, and the fire at her old home!"
"Exactly...And then that news report from a few days ago, the one about that youth center getting torched? Her nerves were hitting a whole new high, and, then there was that phone call she took to another room...I'm not sure if I'm right, but...what if both those events are connected?"
I give my bros a minute to think, they humming in thought, and Leo poses the question,
"You mean, you think those ninjas have something to do with both of the past and present arson?"
I shrug, replying honestly,
"Like I said, not sure...but, with the way sis is actin', it sure seems like she figured out something."
Raph heard all he needed to, and rose up from the couch, proposing,
"Well whatever's goin' on, I'm done with all dis secret-keepin'...I dunno 'bout the rest of ya, but I wanna get some answers."
"And how are we going to do that? She took that folder with her."
He turns our way and counters with a small smirk,
"We don' need some folder, Don. We're ninja...All we need ta do, is tail 'er."
Small Time Skip, No POV
"You're sure that the police tape is gone, Shun?"
"Of course I'm sure. We wouldn't be heading that way if I said it was still up..."
Those low whispers would be coming from the two males in the group of five humans walking down the darkened streets of New York during a new late evening, heading from the 'abandoned' resident apartment building all the way to the burned-down site of the Manhattan Youth for Life Center. For the last few days since the unfortunate news report, they've been conversing and pooling in resources about what they knew regarding their own tragedy, the suspects responsible, and any probable connections to other isolated events. By this time, they were confident enough in the basis created, and conspired to confirm their suspicions about this recent blaze...
Watching them wander down the concrete, we see that they had all donned dark clothing like Shiori had. Talon had his green flat-cut hair almost fully tucked under his black toque, and wore a black, closed blazer over a white t-shirt, dark grey jeans and his brown loafers, while Shun wore a black zipped-up hoodie jacket with a gray checker pattern on the back over a brown long-sleeve, his black track pants and dark grey tennis shoes. They lead the way, while bringing up the rear was Ariana, she wearing regular black skinny jeans, a tank top as dark purple as her perm highlights under a black pleather jacket, and flat-heeled black knee-high boots. Beside her walks Ortensia, she wearing a pair of dark stone-washed jeans held up by a sparkly black belt, dark pink canvas shoes, the footwear matching her babydoll shirt worn under an open onyx black trenchcoat that coordinated with her black beret.
Shiori's strangely natural silver roots seemed to shine in the low streetlight in time with the gleam of her eldest male friend's double hoop earrings, as she tilted her head to the girl closest to her age to ask,
"So, you mind going over what you did find out about those ninja, Ori?"
"Honestly, haaah, not a whole lot. I tried searching phrases like 'secret organizations in Manhattan' and 'Ninjas in New York', but the information was rather scattered and kept directing me to stuff involving immigration of all things and odd sightings of shadows on the rooftops that go back as far as the 80s...But this may tell us a little more about these people than we think."
The young woman with light almond skin quirks up a brow and asks,
"Really? How so?"
"Well, if there isn't any available details about who they are, this tells us they're a very secretive bunch and have managed to avoid being detected by the public eye for a very long time."
A 'tch' escapes through Shun's teeth as he remarks a tad sarcastically,
"Kind-of a given since they're ninja. I mean, aren't they supposed to be invisible?"
Shiori argues,
"I believe 'concealed' is a more proper term, speaking on behalf of another group of said 'Kage Warriors'...?"
"Whatever..."
Rolling her amethyst irises the slightest with a soft smile, Ortensia would then go on saying,
"Anyway, while that search was a bit of dead end, I was able to find three cold cases involving mysterious arson fires similar to...that day, and this recent blaze. One in 1991, another in 1985, and the last one 1979...You see the pattern here?"
The tallest male with hazel irises answers,
"Six years between each one including up to now."
"Exactly, Tal, and each establishment hit had some form of ties with the public youth. The oldest case, for example, was an old youth halfway house run by a man named Jiminy Wilwak, who apparently died in said blaze along with four unnamed teenagers between 13 and 15."
Sucking some air between her teeth, Ariana comments,
"How awful..."
"It gets worse from there, unfortunately. The next fire, or should I say gas explosion that occurred in 1985 took the lives of seven innocents that belonged to an orphanage called Rosebud Haven for Girls, including the twin women who ran the place, Agatha and Rosemary Hava..."
Shiori thinks to herself,
That would've been two years before Master Yoshi died...
"Then there was the non-profit school for underprivileged boys that ran near the Eastern Seaport until 1991, run by a man named Jacob Vanner, who perished in the fire along with seven of his students, and another dying on the way to the hospital...(Shiver) As horrible as it was to read these gruesome details, I realized another connection: all of the people who ran these places died in their workplace, including our old caretaker, Derek Liberty, and Magnolia Reed of this recent fire."
Narrowing his forest green irises in thought, Shun thinks aloud in a low voice,
"Then maybe we're looking at more than just simple destruction...Maybe there's murder mixed in. Question is, what's the motive? And were those other young lives targets as well...or just a part of a bigger statement?"
Talon comments,
"Hell, it could be both for all we know...But until we actually survey some more palpable damage, we're just tossin' theories around."
The other four nod firmly in agreement...and eventually, after traveling a couple more blocks, they would arrive at the place of interest, or what was left of it. The Manhattan Youth for Life Center may as well be a forgotten and gutted memory by the way the site looked now, the sign being the only object virtually untouched by the fire, it sitting in front of the two-story equivalent of an architectural zombie, the steel framework exposed in various spots of the burn marked concrete walls, while the front doors, smoke-damaged, halfway to unhinged and with the glass windows smashed open, were being held semi-closed by a thick chain.
Letting out a very quiet low whistle, the eldest male of the group of five comments,
"Damn, looks even worse in person...Almost reminds me of the aftermath from Double L, 'cept with a bit more hold, know what I mean?"
The younger male with the crow feather black hair nods, pulling his hoodie over his curtain bangs.
"Yeah, you can actually tell it was something at one point...while the orphanage was reduced to a pile of rubble."
They both let out matching sighs of sadness, and Ariana would grab both their hands while chiding meaningfully,
"Hey come on, guys, let's not start a pity party...We knew this was going to stir up some ugly in our hearts, but we all agreed to coming anyway because our desire for answers was stronger, right?"
Nodding, the men breathe out a,
"Right," forcing up a small smile each...
Shiori would then move in front of her friends so she could go over the plan with them again before they moved in, pulling off her drawstring backpack.
"Okay, let's go over the plan one more time: we go in, and very carefully comb the remains of this building for any similar patterns to the fires we know about now, specifically, anything that looks even remotely similar to what we collectively recall from that night in Double L. First of all, we need to find the starting point of the spark, and then follow the burn lines, study them...And we also need to keep our eyes out for any possible clues that the police may have missed in their investigation. In other words, think 'what would a ninja do to pull this off and avoid being detected?'...But, we should avoid being stubborn in our searches and watch our step in there, 'cause this is an unstable structure after all."
"In other words, avoid weak points in the floor and keep an eye out for cracking."
"Right, Ari...Now."
The girl with honey orbs reaches into her bag to pull out a flashlight and a small glow-stick that had yet to be activated with a string allowing it to be worn like a necklace.
"Everybody got their flashlights and glow-sticks?"
The other four grope in their pockets or small backpacks to present their own said pair of items.
"Check."
"Okay. Now remember, we travel in groups of two and three. Nobody swims alone, and we all keep an eye out for our respected glow-sticks...We'll search for about an hour, and meet back outside by the sign. Sound good?"
Quirking up a smirk, Shun replies,
"Sure thing, Leo Mini-me."
Everyone sniggers and giggles quietly, Shiori smile-glaring at the older boy.
"Hardy har har..."
"Hey, you're the one channeling your inner leader here, not me."
"Psh, right...Anyway..."
Pivoting her sneaker-soled foot around so she was facing the remnants of the youth center, she draws a deep breath through her nose to draw on some strength.
"...Let's do this."
She cracks her glow-stick to life - it illuminating a light neon green - and ties it tightly onto her belt loop, before marching her way to the entrance. Her friends would follow shortly after, snapping their own chemiluminescent-fueled light sources to life - Talon's a bright orange, Shun's blue, Ariana's purple and Ortensia's pink - before hurrying after their youngest peer...
Unbeknownst to the group, Shiori's brothers had been following the five humans from the rooftops since they first left the abandoned apartment building, and were now watching from atop a running housing establishment as the amateur sleuths sneak into the youth center wreckage by crawling under the chain through the silvered opening of the doors.
"See? What'd I tell ya guys?"
Shaking his head after Michelangelo's remark, Donatello mutters disappointingly,
"I can't believe this...Why would she withhold something this important from her own family?"
The turtle with the blue mask and dark pear green skin postulates with his own frown,
"She most likely didn't want to cause us any worry, given the trouble we've been having lately involving those ninja, assuming they truly are the ones responsible for these fires..."
His brother wearing the red mask tches,
"Well mission, not accomplished; we're all worried. Shell, I ough'da go down there and drag her butt back t' the lair."
"...As much as I'm tempted to do that too, Raph, we should at least wait a while and see what they find out. Then we can go down and demand an explain for their actions."
Raphael glances at Leonardo with the slightest amount of surprise for not disagreeing with his idea, before residing with a huff of air,
"Yea', whateva...I'll be surprised if Yori and the others even find anything in dat wreck..."
Shun's POV
I decided to team up with Talon and Ariana for the big clue search, we taking the first floor while Shiori and Ortensia moved on to find a working entrance to the second that hadn't collapsed or became blocked off. I just slipped inside what I'm guessing was an art room based on the faint scent of burnt paint and melted crayons, plus a few singed bits of construction paper stuck to the cracking walls that were likely crude but cute drawings made by little kids...
Dipping my flashlight beam over the floors and shooting it around the walls, I think to myself as I survey,
Hm, nothing poppin' up so far...though it looks like the bulk of the damage was in this room, which is no surprise considering how much flammable material's in here...
"...Hm?"
Suddenly, just as I was about to deem this room a dead point, I spot a strange smudge of soot on one of the walls near a broken window...It was faint and a little distorted, but walking over for a closer look, I could see some basic features of...a footprint.
Huh. Interesting...The window's fairly high from the floor, (glances up) which means the perpetrator must be very good at wall-climbing or have strong legs.
Reaching into the old, patchwork black backpack I've carried on my back since I was little, I tug out a small disposable camera to take a picture of the supposed footprint.
(...Click)
"Dunno how good the quality will be, but Ori will appreciate the record...Now, let's see..."
Following the drag pattern, my flashlight beam travels from the high point of the barely-intact wall towards a blackened piece of the floor near what I'm guessing was a shelving unit for the art stuff.
"Hmm..."
Alright...so there must have been someone in here adding to the fuel, but almost got trapped, (pivots around) and was forced to scramble out that window.
Must've been a tight squeeze too, considering how narrow it is...which means...
"It's possible that there could be evidence in the frame that wasn't destroyed by the flames..."
"...Any luck?"
I slowly spin over to see Tal sticking his head into the space I crawled through to get in here, replying,
"Kind of. I think this area's where the main burn was...and I might've found something pinning one of our Unsubs in here during the time it was first lit."
"Yeah?"
Nodding, I point over to the wall where the footprint was as he shimmies in.
"It's a little smudged, but I'm more than sure there's a footprint over there with the toes pointed up to the high window, suggesting one of the arsonists might've escaped that way as the fire reached its peak. I got an image on my camera for Ori...but, I feel like there could be more found on the window itself, assuming the fire didn't kill the evidence."
Humming, Talon shoots me a wry smirk and quirks,
"I'll take that as the subtle hint tha' you need a lift up?"
"...Please."
Chuckling a bit, he lightly claps a palm on my back and leads us over to the wall...A few minutes later, I'd be standing on his shoulders while he held me up as straight as he could.
"Hh-nh...Can ya reach, the window?"
"Al-most...Okay, I got it; hold here."
"R-Righ', just hurry...!"
Though I couldn't get high enough to look outside, I was able to stretch far enough to at least grope my fingers along the bottom horizontal piece, carefully of course to avoid cutting my skin on any jagged pieces of glass.
Come on, there's gotta be somethin'...
...
...Hang on...here!
"I got something!"
"Cool. Hr, now, c-can ya get off'a me?"
Rolling my eyes a little at my friend's so-called endurance, I comply with his request and jump off his shoulders, my small find clenched between my right fingertips...
"What're you guys doin' in here?"
Turning over to the nearly inaccessible entrance of this marred art room, we see Ari squirm her way inside.
Once she was in and walking our way, I hold up the bit of clue that I found on the windows.
"Just snaring a more substantial clue. Check this out."
Looking down at my right palm, we'd be staring at this piece of black clothing material that had a bit of blood staining the one corner.
"What is that...?"
"Some sort of cloth material..."
Ariana picks it up to look at for herself:
"Hm...This is rather good quality wool. Thick weaving...I think this might've been part of a pant leg."
I nod in thought:
"That makes sense. They must've broke the window with something and cut their leg on the way out..."
"...Hang on...there's a tiny emblem hidden in the stitching."
"There is?"
Ariana nods with a frown:
"Yeah. They used the same black as the main base to try and hide it, but I've seen so many personal monograms of all sizes on trucks and motorcycles that it's become child's play to spot some form of alteration...And in this case...Uh! It's that clan symbol!"
Tal and I inhale sharp breaths:
"No way...!" "You sure?"
"Look."
She holds her flashlight directly over the spot where she saw the emblem...and low and behold, there it was, that foot-shaped symbol!
Holy crap...Then it really was those ninjas!
Ortensia's POV
I wonder if the other three are having any luck...Ergh, this place is creepy.
Teaming with Shiori, we both combed down the remains of the youth center halls until we found a stair entrance to the upper floor that wasn't completely blocked off near the far back. There was a small mountain of foundation and metal in our way, but my friend was able to hop on top easily before pulling me up with her. Jumping down to the other side, we started to slowly make our way up the darkened staircase, keep our eyes and ears peeled for any weak points as we climbed...
"Do you think we'll really find anything connected to the Double L Fire, Yori? I mean, there are some connections between this and those other cases...but-"
She cuts me off and says in a voice as quiet as mine,
"I know, there is a possibility that this could be just a sick coincidence...Still. This is the closest we've ever gotten to a possible lead, Ori. It's not something we can't just, pass blindly; we all want answers."
"Right, of course...I'm just, a little worried that, we could accidentally, y-you know, stir up something we shouldn't...?"
Pausing a couple steps before the closed and burned door leading to the top floor, Shiori turns to face me with a mix of reassurance and shared worries.
"Wish I could tell you that won't happen, but...that'll really depend on how sophisticated these arsonists are. But, we haven't had anyone come after us for six years, so, it's fair to say that no one of that group knows we didn't perish that night."
That's true...
(Ka-cha-creeeeaaakkk...)
Stepping back a bit when some rubble falls from the ceiling, Yori and I then make our way inside the upper halls, gliding our flashlights every which way to light the way as well as look for any clues to what could've done this...
"I see a burn trail along the walls and ceiling...and it looks like it leads towards a room in the back..."
Peering into one of the rooms, which looked like an office at one time, I note,
"This must've been the part of the youth center more focused for older kids and the runner, Magnolia Reed...There's definitely some heavy damage he-"
(Crack-chaaa)
"Auh!"
Suddenly, I found my right foot falling through the floor!
Hearing my yelp, Shiori spins around to rush over and help me.
"You okay?!"
"Y-Y-Yeah, it was just my foot."
"Alright, just stay still for a sec..."
Grabbing my ankle, she gently guides my foot back out the way it sank from...We both breathe out matching sighs of relief, before continuing on...
"Trail stops here."
"Yeah, and it looks like the door's been blown open...Oh! No wonder: this is the furnace room. Odd that it'd be designed on the upper floor, but...this must've been where the arsonists started the blaze."
There's definitely enough fuel in that heater unit to do so...Hang on.
My eyes catch sight of an unusual cut mark on one of the gas pipes, or, should I say...claw mark?
"What in the world...?"
Shiori asks,
"What is it?"
Pointing my flashlight at the pipe in question, I answer,
"Look at this: there's a slash cut...Two tines by the looks of it..."
"Huh. Must've been pretty strong to cut through the metal..."
"What's pressing me, is how similar this looks to the ones found in those other cases...including what the investigators were able to salvage from Double L."
That caught my friend's attention, and she postulates as I take out my disposable camera - one of three our group brought down - to take a picture of this strange cut,
"So, are we looking at a possible signature? You're sure this was found in all the other cases?"
"Positive. There was at least one image in each of the cold cases that involved this slash mark, either across a pipe or simply on the wall...And though I'd really rather not think about it aloud, there was something similar mentioned in the autopsy reports for the heads of the establishments who died. I'm not sure about Magnolia Reed, though; hers hasn't been released..."
"Hm...So the ones who did this were definitely armed, no doubt."
Nodding, I move up straight again and tuck my camera away.
"This also tells us that they knew what they were doing, and had done their act with no hesitation...Dangerous people indeed..."
Deciding this was enough evidence, along with some pictures of the burn trail I took before coming down here, we turn around and began making our way back to the lower floor...
But just as we reach the doorway again:
"Rh!"
Shiori freezes, and spins around on alert, making me tense.
"What?...What is it-"
"Shh!...Back away where we came from, Ori, slowly."
I was taken aback by how serious she sounded, but if there was trouble, who was I to question? Swallowing a gulp, I do as she says, while she slipped a single Tonfa out of her holster to hold at ready, backing with me...When we reach the stairs, I ask in a scared whisper,
"What's happening?"
"...We need to get out of here."
"But, wh-...Wait...is it, them? The ninja?"
One slight dip of her head was all I needed for an answer, and I fight down a whimper as we kept making our way backwards...And as soon as we reached the halfway point of the staircase:
(Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip)
Four throwing stars were shot our way! I let out a small yelp, before Shiori yanks me down with her to dodge the flying weapons.
"Duck!"
Thankfully, we sunk down in time, the throwing stars embedding into the concrete pile and/or the wall!...Still, that didn't mean weren't out of danger.
"Hurry! Over the pile!"
Shiori vaults me up first, but it was just as I jump down into the hall again and she prepares to follow...that a figure tries to lunge at her from behind, with a sword no less!
"Look out!"
Swiftly tugging out her other tonfa, she whirls around on my warning and manages to block the incoming weapon with her own. Getting a better look, we see the attacker to be noneother than,
A ninja!
I gasp with a squeak in my tone, while Shiori only grunts in an offensive manner, before shoving the ninja back and then hitting them with a swift punch to the torso, the drive given an extra push thanks to her weapon. With them down, she quickly takes the advantage and jumps down beside me.
"Run!"
Not wasting any time on being paralyzed standing up, I unhinge my feet and start scrambling away with her, the commotion catching the ears of our other three friends as we sped from around a corner.
"Huh?!" "What the heck-"
"Girls! What's wrong?!"
I call back in warning,
"We need to leave, now," and Shiori adds,
"They're here!"
"They?! Who's they-Uh! Lookout!"
(Fwip...clac-ting)
Another throwing star comes whirling our way, but Shiori manages to knock it away with one of her tonfas.
"That answer your question, Tal?!"
"(Gulp) Yep, that'll do it. Let's bolt!"
So as soon as we caught up to their point, all five of us would be running for our lives, the ninja of our small group pausing every few seconds to hold off a dark-clad baddy that was faster than the others, whacking them back far enough that we'd be provided some more escape time. Shun, Mister Resourceful, tried to help her in any way he could, incorporating whatever he was able to snatch up from the floor - rocks, bits of concrete, wood, anything - to throw like fastballs at our attackers...
Thankfully, it wouldn't take us too long before we reached the front entrance again, but even so,
Something's telling me that tonight's not gonna let us off easy.
No POV
The second that the four turtle spies across the way barely pick up on the sound of Shiori and Ortensia's exclaims when they're ambushed by skulkers hiding in the shadows of the top floor, they all went on high alert.
"Mm!" "Uh!"
"That sounded like Ortensia, and Shiori!"
"What the shell's goin' on in...Wait; there!"
Raphael spots a couple shadows rushing from around the back of the ruined youth center towards the somewhat blocked off entrance.
"D'ose shapes look familiar to you guys?"
The fern green turtle with the orange mask would answer for the rest.
"Yeah! It's those ninjas, again!"
Donatello remarks,
"Well this should certainly suffice as enough proof they have something to do with the arson. Question is why?"
(...Slam)
The front doors are shoved against the barring chains harshly, providing barely enough room for the five humans responsible for the friction to slide and crab-shuffle out one or two at a time as fast as their legs could carry them...But while they did escape the destroyed building, they were nowhere close to being out of danger, as evident by the six ninja that came at them three from each side!
"Gah!" "Whoa!"
This sextet didn't seem to carry any visible weapons, or chose to forgo them for the night, so all their victims had to worry about was dodging a few fists or driven kicks. After shifting away from one attack, Talon attempts a more novice counter, performing a football rush against the opposing black-clad figure, using his elbow to jab hard into the other's torso.
"Hah!"
"Grh!"
He succeeds in causing the ninja to stumble, giving him enough of a short time interval to pull the more vulnerable members of the small quintet group to safety.
"Ari, Ori, this way!"
"Oh!" "T-Tal!"
Meanwhile, Shiori struggles with taking on three ninja at once, switching between using her tonfas as either an extra guard for her punches or as the melee weapons they are.
"Hh! Gh! H-tch!"
Shell, the guys make taking more than one opponent at a time look easy...
She momentarily shifts her focus towards another source of grunting sounds, coming from the second eldest male of her social group with jet black hair who was trying to lend a hand in decreasing the pressure, using his bare fists to take on two ninja.
Well, least I'm not alone...but even Shun won't be able to fight for long that way.
Gotta give him something to use...
Whacking one of her attackers away harshly, the girl with honey irises spots a piece of a wooden beam about half the length of her brother Donatello's bō staff.
That'll work!
Crouching down fast and forcing the incoming kick from one of her attackers to go flying into another, Shiori scrambles to where the wood laid before scooping it up with the handles of her weapons, then does a pivot-spin and tosses it over to the teen boy's direction.
"Shun, catch!"
The young male with forest green irises and skin just a bit lighter than the young Hamato's turns on his heel and quickly holds his hands out for the incoming beam, feeling the splintered wood slap atop his palms.
"Got it!"
He wouldn't waste time in using it against the enemy, implementing techniques ranging from very crude martial arts to simple baseball swings; basically anything that would make the ninjas wary of his strength...
But any attempts toward a comeback would quickly be snuffed out like the fleeting flame of a candle...when one ninja - slightly taller than the rest and only having a cover for his lower face, exposing some of his warm brown complexion and bright red hair cut in a short-banged Devilock style - comes charging down from the fragmented roof while carrying an ō-naginata, a pole weapon with a metal shaft that held a curved, single-edged blade on the offensive end!
Spotting the stranger-looking ninja with a sharp intake of breath, the terrapin with the blue mask pulls his katana out at the ready.
"Whatever's going on, we'll find out soon enough. But right now, we better go bail those five out!"
His three brothers nod in agreement, bringing out their own respected weapon choices before making the leap down for the ground below...At the same time, after knocking down one ninja with the beam, Shun would feel his neck hairs stand on end from a piercing stare.
"Hm?!"
Spinning around, he'd gasp at the sight of the ō-naginata blade heading straight for him!
"...Shun!"
(CLAAAING)
Thankfully, his life would be spared when Shiori sped over to block the stabbing-bound weapon with a criss-cross of her own! Stuck in a deadlock, the girl's honey orbs form a glare to match in power to the more or less neutral stare of her latest opponent's teal-brown.
"Hrrgh...not, on, my, life!"
The ninja with the red hair says nothing, focusing his weight against his smaller opponent...until.
(Slip)
"Gauh!"
He succeeds in shoving her off-balance to land back-first on the ground! Crying out Shiori's name, Shun tries to rush over and help, but would become blocked by four ninja boxing him in.
"Rgh!"
Damn it!
The other three - Talon, Ariana and Ortensia - would've gladly lent a hand, but also had their hands full thanks to another section of black-clad baddies, who trapped them towards the right corner of the ruined building. The girls cloister together in a frightened manner, while the male with the black toque covering his green hair stood in front of them protectively.
This isn't good...!
Shiori's POV
I was lucky to only get thrown to the ground and just barely avoid getting skewered, but as I struggled up on one knee with a wince...I'd quickly learn that such luck will sometimes last for only a couple seconds.
"Mm-rh...Uh!"
Or maybe I shouldn't even use the word 'Luck'; let's call it 'momentary gratefulness for gravity'.
For how can someone call it lucky, when the blade of an ō-naginata ends up pointed at you next?
...The ninja and I stare at one another for a moment, my ears blind to the sounds around me other than my hammering heart...before he pulled back his weapon a little, prepping for what I knew was gonna come. I also knew I couldn't scramble off the ground fast enough to avoid some sort of injury, so I settle for another block-cross with my tonfa, even with my lack of confidence that this would save my skin.
I'm, so, dead...!
(...TANG)
"...Huh?"
Hearing the sudden clash of metal, and feeling no agonizing pain in my body, I open my eyes...only to find myself staring at the shell of my technically-eldest brother!
Leo!
Yet as much as I was eternally grateful that he came around in the nick of time...I also couldn't help but wonder,
Hang on...how did he-...Oh, shell, was he tailing me this whole time?!
That anxious feeling expands ten-fold when I hear the outcries of my other three brothers heading for here, with Donnie and Mikey speeding over to the direction of my friends to help them out, while Raph quickly took down two ninja in this area, before giving Leo a hand with this stranger, the latter shoving the ō-naginata upward, giving the hotheaded turtle the opening needed to jump-kick the wielder of the pole weapon down.
"Iiiee-ya!"
The ninja with the wild hairstyle grunts in surprise and stumbles backwards, his back hitting the weakened wall near the left of the doorway...
"You wanna try that again, smart guy?"
There's a colder staring contest than the one I had with this strange ninja between him and my brothers...and much to my surprise, he puts his weapon away before turning to leap out of sight!
Huh?...He left...
Though I was a little confused by the sudden switch to retreat, now that I was somewhat out of danger, I could get up back on my feet.
"Hah, hah...Leo...Raph..."
Pivoting their heads to my direction, they gave me matching glares of scrutiny as a response, making me feel very, very small.
"Mph!..."
Ooooh, I'm in so much trouble...
It wouldn't take too long before the rest of the - I guess I can say, 'more regular' - ninja would get thrashed hard enough that they'd follow that other one in favour of calling it a night...
But if I can be perfectly honest, I almost wished those black-masked creeps had stuck around for even just a little longer, because that might've given me a bit of time to mentally prepare myself for the mass scolding I was gonna get from all four of my brothers...Anyway, once the last member of the mystery enemy hightailed it out of sight, we were all able to relax, for a minute or so at least.
"Hah, hah, hah...That their way of calling a draw?"
Walking over with the girls, Talon replies to Shun with his own frown,
"Somethin' in me's sayin' otherwise, but...what was with that one with the Devilock? He seemed a little, dodgier than the others..."
I could only shrug in response, before the clearing of Don's throat pulls me to attention. Turning back in front of me, I cringe at the sight of all four ninja turtles looking at me with matching glares, each having their own distinct levels of anger and disappointment reflected. Yes, even Mikey, Mister Positive Turtle, held a negative expression on his face, and that alone made me ready to literally melt into the shadows and never come back. Ignoring the sound of my friends' own winces, I attempt to open my mouth and begin some sort of explanation...but nothing came out. And really, thinking about it, it'd be a fruitless exercise anyway.
What the shell can I even say that'll make this situation lighter...?
"Got nothin' t' say, do ya? Tch, why am I not surprised?...What the shell we're you thinkin', Shiori?"
What was I thinking, you ask, Raphael?...I was thinking I would get what I've been wanting for so long...
...But the truth is...I don't have a damn thing to show for myself, other than a few loose ends tied into more confusing knots.
I looked away from their stares, my own eyes burning in frustration...Footsteps approach, and I feel a strong, three-fingered hand grip my shoulder firmly, forcing me to look up at the owner of that hand, Leo.
"...Do you have any idea how much worry you've been causing in the lair these last few days, how dangerous this was?"
Sucking in a deep breath through my nose, I numbly yet defiantly nodded back, making his eyes widen for a second, before he grits his teeth and moves his hand to grip my arm.
"Well since you're obviously not going to explain yourself this minute, we'll just have to see what Master Splinter has to say."
Hearing him mention dad made a bit of panic flash in my eyes, but Leo was not in the mood to be sympathetic, and just started marching me along.
"Come on, we're going home."
...And it seemed that I wasn't gonna be the only one receiving the blacklash from sensei, for I hear Don call in a rather uncharacteristically stern voice,
"Don't think that the four of you will be spared either. You're all coming back to the lair to tell us what the shell you were doing."
A part of me was a little shocked that my friends would be coming into our home...but the rest of me wasn't as surprised, since really, in some ways, they've become close to extended family members, so if we're all to be in trouble, we'd all receive the same lecture...
Once again, not a huge chunk of time would be taken out the daily clock before we'd arrive back in the sewers, and by no shocker to me, Master Splinter would be waiting for us as soon as we entered through the main entrance rather than the elevator, occupying the expression that immediately told me he - somehow - had an idea to what I and the others have been up to (my bros may have even expressed their concerns at some point during these few days). Ori, my gal pal who I swear sometimes has secret telepathy, could tell that my voice was still buried deep inside my throat, so she and the other three would step up to give a summary about our recent activities, in meek and near-regretful tones I may add.
Needless to say, sensei was not pleased with what he had to hear; in fact, he was on the borderline of furious...Mind you, one thing that should be made plain about Hamato Splinter is that he's the kind of man - or rat, depending on your general view - that doesn't have to yell or use a majorly infuriated voice to express his anger...No. He only has to add a stern direction to his tone and face to make the emotion plain, not once having to change the volume or add more creases in his brows. And his eyes...shell, the amount of internal reflection he can put in them is sometimes terrifying.
Probably inherited that talent from his own sensei...
Currently, I'm feeling the heat of that steely gaze bore in near the top of my head, my own irises directed to my lap as I sat on my heels in front of my friends, we facing dad while my bros sat sideways to us inside our parental figure's room. No one dare makes a sound as he gave me, his daughter, one of the biggest lectures of my life thus far. I won't bore you with every detail, but he did reprimand me for disobeying his orders of not seeking out the appending enemy (even though technically that wasn't the intent), and for putting myself as well as the lives of my friends and family in danger.
"Not only did you completely disregard my direct order to not investigate these ninja, but you and the other four were trespassing on the scene of a crime, risking the potential for becoming suspects!..."
Now, my ears were registering his words...but, only part of my heart was actually listening, while the other half along with my mind was drowning in the weight of...all the failure I've uncorked tonight.
Failure from distrusting my family and not being a good daughter and sister.
Failure in not doing enough of a job to protect my friends from the threat, or at least not well enough on my own.
And most of all...complete and utter failure, from once again missing my chance for answers I've been wanting for so long.
Like I said, a few loose threads may have been tied back together...but in actuality, there's no new pattern woven on the blank canvas of wool. I still have no idea who these ninja assassins are, who they work for, why they do what they do. Nothing is clear in the motive. These facts alone were making my stomach churn in a strange kind of agony, the kind of hurt I almost expected but didn't want to face, like a little kid getting their booster shot for the first time.
How...How could it have gone so wrong, when we were doing everything as carefully as possible?
...It's all still in a smog. An impenetrable smog that I can't grasp.
"Shiori."
Flinching from the stern call of my name, I bite my lip and very slowly look up to meet dad's eyes, his black-brown irises not quite as anger-reflective as they were in the beginning, but there was no mistaking the dissatisfaction.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself in light of your recent actions?"
...I couldn't say anything at first, looking back down in thought as my insides swam in the turmoil of the steps I've been taking these last few days that I thought would lead me to where I want to be, but instead morphed into mistakes that are taunting me...mocking me with images of yester-year.
(Flash)
Those shadows sifting through the smoke and fire, belonging to the ones who had a hand in destroying our old home...
The rush of the flames...it almost sounds like cruel laughter now.
(Flash)
I then recall a moment at least a couple hours after the place was reduced to a mass pile of brick and rubble inside some splintered framework. See, what the police investigating Double L's destruction didn't know, was that Ori and I were still hovering around the area for a bit until we came up with a plan for where we could go in Manhattan...We were in a nearby alleyway, watching them as they tried to make their own sense out of what happened.
"This is clearly the job of an arsonist, but...rgh, the fire must've burned away most of the major evidence...I doubt the chief will let us keep the case open for very long..."
And right that cop was: our tragedy only lasted as police priority for about a week at best, before they just moved onto the next crime.
...They hardly gave the lives lost a second thought, since it was an orphanage.
(Flash)
These and similar memories have been haunting me for quite some time, and have only resurfaced in a nightmarish fashion since I first strayed eyes upon that clan symbol days ago. They, along with my very old questions surrounding...my birth mother, have twisted into this bitter resentment I hold towards my origins, for unlike the members of my family or even my friends, I don't understand anything about why I've come to where I am today.
Why does this keep happening?...Why is it when I get even remotely interested in who I am, where I come from, that any answers come to an immediate halt before they even form?
Why...Why must I be left in the dark?!
"...Well? Do you have any form of defense, Shiori?"
Gripping my hands into fists so tight that my fingernails threaten to break the skin of my palms, I drew in a shaky breath...before muttering in a voice so tired, so, fragile,
"...No, sensei. I don't."
A collective gasp runs its course through the room, everyone likely very surprised by the response which passed my lips...but at this point, I was too exhausted by my doubts and frustrations to care.
"I have, nothing to say that will explain my actions...because that is precisely what I found. Nothing."
"What?"
Grasping hold of whatever sliver of courage I had left, I dip my head back up to look at my dad, my face crumpling as I felt the weight of that unknown come crashing against my body, shaking and doing my best not to cry...which slowly adds on as yet another failure, as a few salty drips stream down my cheeks.
"All I wanted, what I have been wanting...was some sort of an answer, a Why. What was the motive in destroying something so innocent...Why cause discontent, for those who don't deserve it?"
"Shiori..."
Master Splinter could sense that I was speaking beyond the youth center, and some of his stern front fades, making room for a father's concern for their child. I just shook my head furiously with a sniffle, trying to hold it together long enough to say,
"We...We did nothing, to warrant something so cruel...I didn't do anything, that should translate into, into...into having a past so hazy, so riddled with mystery. I-I hate it!...I hate that I don't know where I come from!"
I was close to shouting by the end of that last sentence, and fearing the idea of more questions too soon in the state I was in, I quickly rose to my feet and ran out of the room, ignoring the calls of my friends and brothers to come back. I just made a beeline for my room, and hurled myself onto my bed, burying my face in my pillow to sob like one of those highschool drama queens who got their heart broken by the captain of a sports team.
Why...Why did you leave me in these dark, opaque waters...mom?
No POV
As soon as the high-strung girl with shoulder-length, beach wave black hair and silver roots had made herself scarce in such an abrupt way, the air within the mutant grey rat's room seem to thicken with a different kind of tension, one seeping with worry and confusion...
"Ooooh...I had a bad feeling that was going to explode from Yori through this whole endeavor. We...we should've said no."
"It was bound to happen at some point, Ori. Any longer and we might've paid witness to a worse release."
"What're you two talking about, Shun?...Did you know she was feeling like this?"
Turning his head he was meeting eyes with Donatello, the late teenage boy sighs before starting the explanation he prayed wouldn't have to come from anyone's mouth other than his youngest friend.
"Look...What you have to understand, is that Shiori came to the orphanage at one of those vulnerable ages, when you're just starting to get used to where your life's going, only for it to crumble into dust way too early to fully comprehend...Based on the few conversations I recall her having with Mister Liberty regarding her, mom, it sounded like she was dropped and ditched with no discernible info to who her old family was..."
His forest green irises hardened a little as he adds,
"And while I too came to the place at a later age, I had been living in a, toxic, environment for long enough that I while it didn't seem like it, I was willing to adjust to a new setting quick...as long as it meant no more pain. I could easily embrace a new lifestyle and not look back...Yori, in contrast...she kept her feelings about her choppy past hidden, so she could avoid rocking everyone else's boats."
Smiling sadly and almost guiltily, the young grown woman with almost milky almond skin puts in her own insights.
"It's almost funny: she used to get so interested in hearing the stories from other kids about where they came from, even us. I mean, there's not much to tell about me. My own mother, bless her, was a sickly woman who left from a loveless marriage, or so ole Derek told me when I was old enough, and she unfortunately passed away giving birth to me, right in the living room of the orphanage, actually."
She gestures a hand to the young man with hazel irises, then the younger girl with amethyst eyes.
"Talon's story isn't too different, aside from being dropped like a brick in front of the doorstep not too long after he was born. Though thanks to Casey, he's starting to piece some sort of idea as to who that couple might've been...Then Ortensia...well...her parents..."
The young lady with olive-beige skin forms her own sad smile in replacement of Ariana's.
"My folks, got into some sort of debt trouble with the Purple Dragons."
The four turtles gasp, hardly believing such a sweet girl would have parents who would be associated, even remotely, to people as corrosive as a street gang. Michelangelo would be the one to ask,
"How'd that happen?"
"Simple case of living on the wrong side of town...They had me for a year after I was born, before deciding to give me away to Double L for my own protection, concerned that the Dragons might do me harm because of their mistakes. (Looks down) They'd end up in the memorial pages a week and a half later..."
"Oh...Sorry I asked."
Shaking her head, Ortensia replies softly,
"It's alright. It wasn't a very heavy loss since I was just a baby back in those days, and yes, it did hurt to learn the truth about my parents' fates when I got older...but I'd rather know what happened than be kept in the dark like I'm a delicate firefly...And, I think that's a part of Yori's personal issues regarding her own past."
Quirking up a brow, the turtle with emerald green skin inquires,
"Whadda ya mean?"
"Well, she's virtually been lost in a haze for as long as the first time she stepped into the orphanage, one that not even Mister Liberty could wave away. She was, wandering inside a maze of uncertainty...So...I guess she tried to fill that void by asking other people about their roots, asking questions, getting a little excited when they had even a small answer. She, didn't want to face the thought of being another nameless face in New York, n-not that she is! Far from it...but society's view on orphans kept imposing otherwise."
"...Man...Had no idea she was hurting that much, is still hurtin'."
Raphael's other three brothers formed equally despondent frowns, almost feeling that twinge of guilt for not sensing anything this wrong with their sister until now...
"I think she was also a little scared t' tell you all what she was up to...or rather..."
Talon focuses unfortunate hazel irises towards Splinter as he says,
"She was afraid of telling you, Sensei Splinter."
Now that caught the grey rat in the brown monk robe off-guard:
"Uh!...Afraid of telling me?"
"Um, yeah, b-but don't take it too personal...I think she just, might've taken what you said to her and the guys a while back a little too seriously. You know, not wise to seek out an enemy that isn't understood?"
Shun cuts in by adding,
"Which like we've been trying to sum up before we all gathered in here, was not our intent at all. We all know better than to undertake a suicidal mission like that...We just, want to find some closure, and that's it."
Nodding, the male with green flatcut hair no longer kept under the black toque finishes his peace.
"Right, he's right. All this investigation was abou', was to try and find even a few answers connecting to what the heck happened back when, which we did...and thinkin' about it now, kind-a didn't. It's all still smoke...smoke we're trying to catch with our bare hands...Even so, Shiori was worried you wouldn't see it like that even if she did try to explain, and...didn't want to disappoint you by trying to get as many facts as possible, even at the cost of stress."
Splinter's coal-brown irises widened a fraction, his mind drifting into disbelief for the second time this evening.
My daughter...was frightened of disappointing me?
...
...
(Knock, knock)
"Sis...?"
Zooming within the emotional wreck of a teen's bedroom as she continues to wallow in negativity, she shifts her tear-stained face from the pillow of her day bed, setting herself sideways and revealing lightly bloodshot eyes. She restrains from looking at her doorway where the sound of her brother Leonardo's voice came from, but does call back in a raw sort of mutter,
"Y-Yes, Leo?"
"...Can we come in and talk?"
Shiori knew his 'we' meant all four brothers were outside her room, and not wanting to prolong the situation any longer, she breathes out a slightly shaky breath and replies,
"...Okay..."
Feeling their hearts crack a little at how vulnerable their sister sounded, the four terrapin ninja slowly make their way inside the bedroom, moving so that Leonardo was kneeling by the head of her bed, Raphael was crouching beside him, Donatello sat by the girl's stomach after she shimmied over to make room, and Michelangelo chose to sneak in behind on top the mattress until he was sitting behind her back...
No one says anything for a minute...before the girl with honey orbs breaks the silence in a hushed voice.
"...I'm sorry...I, should've said something from the beginning. (Sniff) I'm so sorry, guys."
As she swallows some saliva to help hold back another wave of tears, her brother with the red mask says to her a bit gruffly but matter-of-factually,
"We know, and darn right you should've said somethin' to us...But your friends, d'ey, kind-a broke the Why down in a way that we can understand your reasons. Doesn' excuse tonigh', but, it does make some sense..."
Though having an idea to what the answer would be, Shiori nonetheless asks,
"...And, what exactly did they say?"
Brushing his fingers against hers, the turtle with the blue mask replies,
"They told us about how you used to frequently ask the other kids at Lady Liberty about their pasts, including their own, and how it stemmed from this, resentment you have towards your own. Not that I don't trust their word, but, I need to ask...is it true?"
"...Yes."
Wiping the moist areas under her eyes, the blackette says with a tiredly bitter tone,
"This whole escapade, really, for me...was just another excuse to search for something that, I knew deep down wasn't going to reveal itself to me. Everything about my early years is just so, patchy, and only got worse when Double L was destroyed...I was allowing myself to go into wishful thinking, that somewhere in that youth center and the backup research we did beforehand, there'd be an arrow pointing to...to..."
Donatello finishes her sentence with a tone of realization,
"Pointing to why your mother left you..."
"(Sniff) Mhm...I keep saying, telling myself that I'm not angry, with my mom for leaving me at Double L like she did, that it was the best for both our lives. Survival, you know? (Bitter smile) You'd think I would've gotten over it after eleven years, or, accepted it at the very least...But, the truth is, there's this part of me that almost despises her for what she did. I'm still asking myself, 'Why did she do it?', even while knowing that no disembodied voice will echo back a reply..."
"Shiori..."
Breathing in and out more steadily, the teenage girl circles back some to the current affair.
"Anyway, that said, I did want to tell you guys and Master Splinter about all this...But, I wanted to be absolutely sure of everything first, and, before I knew it, I started to cover my tracks with lies...I was just, so afraid, of becoming another family's disappointment-"
"Now hold on!...What the shell are you meanin' by that, sis?"
Momentarily stunned by the nunchaku-wielding turtle's interruption, the girl would attempt an explanation.
"W-Well, as much as I've tried to ignore the thought...what if, the real reason my mom abandoned me is, simply because she didn't want me? That, I wasn't good enough to belong...And, I guess that fear's transferred to home here: I'm, scared that one day, I'll be lost to my own devices...be abandoned again."
The quartet of brothers heard all they could take of this downward spiral, and would immediately fire back, starting with Michelangelo when he yanks up the girl from her laying position to hug her tightly to his plastron!
"Uh! M-M-Mikey?!"
"Don't you ever say somethin' that stupid again! We'd never abandon you!...Not ever..."
The next turtle to argue his peace would be the one with the purple bandana mask, reaching hand out to softly rub his sister's back while chiding with a sad smile,
"Mikey's right. You belong here, with us, as our sister, and we plan on keeping it that way, thank you very much."
Shiori almost giggles at the last bit of that line, before feeling two distinct hands on each of her shoulders, and turning around to face the owners, Raphael and Leonardo, both occupying smiles with a more serious vibe.
"Your mom may have chosen not ta keep ya...but we did, and i' was one of the smar'est choices we ev'a made as kids."
"Really smart...You've, become so precious to us, Shiori, and to sensei, that it's ludicrous to think about something like abandoning you, no matter how tough life may get. You could never do anything that would warrant such...You're our family."
"...Guys, I..."
This time, the girl's honey irises couldn't hold in her tears, but they were a little more happy this round, and she reaches out for a group hug, which her brothers would wholeheartedly oblige to...
"(Sniff) Thank you. I needed to hear all of that...And again, I'm sorry that things went down the way they have. I should've trusted you all."
"Hey, forge' about it."
"At least it's all on the table now..."
"But no more secret-keeping, alright?"
"Or lying."
Shiori nods in agreement:
"Promise...So, am I correct to assume that punishment's in order?"
Pulling back to their respected points, Leonardo would be the one to say with an almost quirked smile,
"That is the idea. There are consequences that need tending to."
"True...Whaddo you guys suggest?"
Donatello proposes with a slight smile and a finger under his chin,
"Mm, I'm thinking, two weeks of no leaving the lair without at least one of us as an escort."
Cringing, his sister forms a nervous upturn of lip and mutters,
"That sounds fair. I can accept that."
"As can I."
"Uh!"
Five sets of eyes focus to the doorway of the teenage girl's bedroom, where the upright-walking gray rat would be standing, a calm sort of smile on his face.
"I believe that will suffice as a fair punishment."
"M-Master Splinter...Did you, hear all of that?"
Nodding, he makes his way inside his daughter's bedroom, switching places with Donatello so he was the one sitting beside the girl.
"My daughter...why did you not come to me sooner about all of this? Was it as Talon said; were you, truly afraid of being misunderstood?"
Though hesitant, Shiori breathes out,
"I, I was...but some of the fear, was more directed at, disappointment. I, didn't want to disregard your words; I wanted to follow them to the fullest extent. Play it as smart as I can...Plus, I could sense you wanted the subject of those ninja to remain dropped, and, I didn't want you upset again."
"Shiori..."
Feeling her lip starting to quiver, the girl with light beige skin and honey-shaded irises reaches out to hug her parental figure, suddenly feeling alot younger than she really was.
"...I'm sorry, dad...I'm really sorry."
Breathing out a quiet sigh, Splinter wraps his arms around his daughter's form, a weak smile on his face.
"I know, my daughter, and I forgive you...but promise me that you'll come to me or one of your brothers if you're facing a problem similar to this in the future. Do not be afraid of asking for help."
"I will...and I won't. I promise, sensei."
"Good."
Small Time Skip, Splinter's POV
It has been a little more than an hour since that rather intense conversation I had to have with my daughter, and to a lesser extent, her friends. Because it was rather late by the time everything was spoken, I had decided to allow the four to stay for the rest of the night. Ortensia and Ariana chose to bunk in Shiori's room, not wanting her to sleep alone, while the two young men, Talon and Shun, took the couch and chair in the living room area...
I am now in my own quarters, wide awake while the children and young adults slept, my mind reeling over the details from this evening.
"Haaaah, what a way to make a father's heart worry..."
It was foolish of me to believe that all of my children would heed my wish regarding the ninja...
My dear daughter...she has no idea how close she is to unveiling the truth.
...And perhaps for now that may be best...but I cannot keep her, or my sons, in the dark for much longer.
"They will need to learn...about the Foot Clan, (narrows irises) and about him."
I forced myself not to think about the unpleasantness of that hour fifteen years ago, when I lost my own master to a murderous individual whose name shall not leave my tongue this night...But...I could not stop myself, from recalling a scene not too far into the aftermath.
(Flash)
I had just risen from my fall from the window onto the pavement of the alleyway, the feeling of shock wearing thin and making way for the agony over losing Master Yoshi...I did not know what to do. I felt, more lost than I ever had in my life...
"Spliiinterrrr!...Spliiiiinterrrrrr!..."
I had spoken the truth a few days ago, in not seeing Emily's return from her errand...but I could hear her voice and her wandering footsteps as she tried to find me, most likely very aware of recent events.
"Please, Splinter, where are you?!...Splinterrrrrr!..."
It was heart-wrenching to listen to the descend into desperation...
And yet...I could not face her, not after failing to protect my master, failing her...All I could do was remain hidden, until I heard a sad sigh escape her lips, before she walked away, but not without saying,
"Splinter...I dunno if you're near, or, if you're alive, but...wherever you are...please be safe."
Emily...
(Flash)
This memory continues to bring a tear to my eye, but I cast it away like I have been this last decade and a half...Still, as I held the original copy of that picture taken a year prior to my shared tragedy, the one I had stolen away from the old home not too long after getting my sons settled into their new lives, I found myself, wishing for a chance of redemption.
Emily...if that truly was you I saw on the television a few days ago...I am glad you are doing well for yourself...
And...I am sorry, that I must remain in the shadows from you.
No POV
Little did the mutated grey rat know, was that the fully-grown little girl from his past, had fallen into a similar funk this evening.
We turn now to the inside of a reasonably-sized one bedroom apartment somewhere in the streets of South Manhattan, where sitting on a comfy-looking brown couch in a soft grey bathrobe overtop a pair of cream-coloured pajama pants with matching tank-top, was the auburn brunette, she leaning her back against an armrest while reading a book...or trying to at least.
"Hoooh...It's no use. This isn't helping to clear my mind..."
Too bad cousin April's working tonight; I would've loved to get together again like we did two days ago...
(Slight smile) She was a welcoming confidant and distraction.
Putting the random paperback down, the woman with jade green irises casts her vision on the small pile of papers gathered on the coffee table next to a red pen.
"Maybe I'll try to finish my marking for Monday again...But first, I need some more tea."
Getting up and leaving for the kitchen, Emily would then be seen pouring green tea from a Japanese Blue Dragonfly teapot into a matching cup. Gazing over the pretty design of the pottery, she laughs slightly and comments,
"Goodness...Even after all these years, I'm still bent on following the habits of...Sensei Yoshi..."
Oh master, how I miss you...You were a gift to New York, a true gift.
...But, I'm starting believe...that maybe you haven't completely left the world.
Flashback
What the woman was referring to brings us back to the night of a familiar incident involving an otherwise temperamental piece of technology. As it turns out, this was the same night Miss Emily O'Neil was walking home from a faculty meeting at her place of work.
"Well that took alot longer than necessary. Urh, I swear Julianne loves to make everyone's jobs difficult; why must she nit-pick over every little detail?"
(Crash)
"Gaaauh-uuuh!"
"Hm?"
Suddenly, her ears pick up on the sound of someone, a male (Casey), being thrown against a few trashcans. Looking over from across the road to where the noise rang from, she would widen her eyes with a gasp, before ducking down behind a parked truck.
"What, the..."
What she would be staring at, was the much larger form of Nano!
Whuh...What, is that...?
Her night would only provide more surprises when the turtles come rushing into view to try and keep the robot from coming into the alley.
"Hah!...And who, or what, are they?"
Giant, turtles...?
She catches a snippet of the conversation between Leonardo and one of his brothers.
"Ok-ay, what is that?! Donnie?"
"Uuh, insufficient data, boss."
Shaking her head in near-disbelief, Emily would find herself playing the secret captivated audience member to the spectacle before her, watching as the four terrapins tried to subdue Nano, before recognizing the techniques.
"Wait...I know those moves, that style..."
This...Those moves are being delivered in the same manner that Master Yoshi taught me!
But how could those, turtle ninja, have knowledge about it?
...Unless...
End of Flashback
"...Can you really be alive...Splinter?"
Emily was now gazing fondly and almost sadly at a very familiar photograph, this one also a bit aged but seemed to be kept in delicate care. She looks over the faces of herself and her old teacher/guardian...then fixates on the little rat sitting atop her shoulder.
"...If there's a such thing as, giant turtles, there has to be a such thing as a giant rat...And only he, could have passed on Master Yoshi's knowledge, thanks to his amazing talent for mimicry."
I always knew that somehow, you survived that day...
But, why didn't you respond when I called for you those years ago?
...Why did you hide yourself, Splinter?
Sighing, the auburn brunette forms a tiny, depressed smile, before setting the framed picture back onto the small kitchen table again next to a simple glass flower vase with a single large daisy inside.
"Well, whatever your reasons were...I'm glad to know you're doing well."
And I hope someday, we'll meet again...my dearest friend.
