I dropped a few details on Sasha in this story, I hope you picked them up.
Confusion
Sasha's body hurt all over, as well as her head. She didn't open her eyes, but she seemed to be laying on the floor. What was she doing on the floor? It was a long time since she last fell out of her bed. And falling out of bed was hardly a cause for all the bruises that covered her arms..
Slowly, she opened one eye, then another it was dark, and completely silent. It shouldn't be though. Even at night there was usually a noise of some sort, whether it be the pipes or a TV left on. Yet, there wasn't a sound.
She raised her head slightly and glanced around. She was in the TV section of the lair. What was she doing there? Slowly, Sasha got up, she was surprised at the bruises that covered her arms. Did she sleepwalk and fall over the side? She hadn't sleepwalked in a while, it had been a problem at one point.
She put a hand on a pillar to help her get up, her legs had a few bruises as well. She looked around and could tell at once that her sisters weren't there. She was able to tell the moment she opened her eyes and felt a sense of loneliness surrounding her. She didn't want to believe it, so she looked fruitlessly around their home. A few rocks seemed to have dislodged themselves from the ceiling and several pieces of furniture were knocked over. What alarmed her the most was that she found Asia's bo staff under an overturned sofa.
This meant that Asia had taken out her weapon and lost it. What else did it mean?
She suddenly felt limp, she fell to her knees and hugged herself, Asia's bo staff laid before her. Tears began to form at the corner of her eyes and began to flow down her cheeks. She felt like sobbing her heart out, but she didn't, instead she raised her hand and wiped her tears away. She was used to keeping it inside her, and she will, for how long is the question.
Sasha
Sasha loved it here, but even she had to admit that staying in the "lair" as they called it, was starting to get a little boring. Mostly because they've been there for a little over two weeks. Sasha had only left two times, both times to visit Leatherhead. She was very fond of her rescuer, as she will forever call him. He was kind, intelligent, and didn't treat her like she was a complete moron.
The last one really bothered her, even if it didn't look like it. Leo was very nice to her, but sometimes spoke to her like she was... well... two years younger then him. But he didn't know that, so it was slightly daunting. He was very overprotective, the two times she went to visit Leatherhead, he tried his best to talk her out of it. It was only when Korea intervened when he allowed her to go. Often when something like this happened, she changed from mellow to irritated, then mellow again, then depressed. She had no idea why, sometimes she would get irritated when she's laughing at Korea, even if she was having fun. Or she might sometimes get depressed when Mikey read his comics to her, which was not logical at all.
Leo spoke to her like she was a child, even if he didn't realize it. Of course that was when he bothered to speak to her at all. There was a time in the kitchen were she let him see more then she wanted him to. And she was sure it was a somewhat intelligent conversation. The only problem with it is that it was about Korea.
No, she told herself, that wasn't a problem. She didn't mind talking about Korea to Leo. She didn't have a problem with it. She never had problems. She wasn't suppose to.
I'm tired of being what you want me to be
Feeling so faithless lost under the surface
She shook her head, she didn't knowwhy that song entered her head whenever she began to feel resentful of everything. Nobody knew she was resentful of everything when it happened. They didn't need to know. She would have scowled, but her face stayed the way it was, she didn't scowl. People would be shocked if she did.
She was sitting on the couch with a book open in front of her. From far away she looked like she was concentrating on her book, but up close she was sure that no one would be fooled.
Sasha sighed and closed her book, there was no point of pretending. She got up and drifted over to Raph's section of the lair. She called it his section because of the motorcycle parts he left lying around. He wasn't the neatest ninja around.
"What are you doing?" She asked casually walking over to the red masked turtle. He grunted something but didn't look up. Sasha's mind turned to the comment Roxie made about men naturally having a very small vocabulary. She then scolded herself quietly, she wasn't allowed to think mean thoughts. That wasn't what she was suppose to think.
She kneeled down next to him and examined the engine. She didn't see why he spent so much time on it. He liked motorcycles, yes, but even Roxie didn't spend so much time on her bike, or beating up a punching bag. Actually, when she wasn't trying to clobber Jazz, Roxie was walking around their home darkly muttering about all sorts of things.
Sasha looked thoughtfully at Raph, she had told him that Roxie and Raph were alike. They were in some areas, such as obsessing over motorbikes, but very different in others. She rubbed her forearms, they were covered by her usual white cloth.
She told the guys that she wore them because her sisters did. Korea was there to confirm that. It wasn't the only reason though. They covered her pain, her sorrow, her guilt, her relief. It hid it all, giving everyone the impression she was always fine, always calm. She wouldn't be calm if it wasn't for-
Sasha's thoughts were cut short when a streak of ginger fur followed by a larger streak of black fur shot out of nowhere and nearly knocked her over. Klunk let out a loud hiss as Riddle made an attempt to swallow his tail. An action that made the cat swipe at his muzzle. Sasha, who was very weary of Klunk's claws, jumped in and grabbed the cat before Riddle hurt him. Raph leapt up and grabbed Riddle by the makeshift collar that Korea had made for him.
The both of them struggled for a few moments with the two pets before their owners came to collect them. Mikey very angry, Sasha didn't blame him. Korea was equally so, one of her ears were standing straight up, the other was drooping slightly at the tip, something that happened when she was very, very angry. Klunk had gave Riddle three deep scratches along his muzzle.
"Keep your crazy dog away from Klunk!" Mikey yelled, taking his terrified cat out of Sasha's arms. "What do you expect him to do with your stupid cat?" Korea snarled back, taking her dog from Raph, who gave a sigh of relief, "Give him roses? Besides, look what your dumb cat did to Riddle!" She put her hand under Riddle's jaw and showed Mikey the bleeding scars. Mikey was unfazed however, "If he hadn't attacked Klunk, he wouldn't have got hurt, so keep him away!" Korea wasn't about to let him have the last word, "Riddle wouldn't attack if he didn't have a good reason, your precious cat obviously did something to make Riddle attack him!"
Klunk was sitting contently in his arms, looking down at Riddle with a superior look. Riddle let out a booming bark that caused Klunk to jump a little. Mikey scowled. Whirling around, he left. Korea gave his back a scathing look before turning to leave herself.
Sasha watched them go sadly, Korea and Mikey got along exceptionally well together, but they got very bitter towards each other when it came to their pets. Klunk constantly bothered Riddle, which usually resulted in a chase. And would afterwards result in a shouting match between their owners. Sasha found unnerving whenever Mikey was angry, he spent a lot of time being the happy-go-lucky person of the lair. The person that always tried to cheer them up.
She sighed and pulled herself out of her thoughts, Raph had already done so and was sitting next to his bike again. She walked over to him and kneeled down next to him again. Surprisingly, it was Raph that spoke first, "It's always weird to see Mikey lose it like that," He said gruffly, "It's usually me who does." Sasha looked him closely, "I noticed," she said quietly, "You have a good reason undoubtedly." He glanced at her, then looked quickly away. "Korea has a way of getting on people's nerves," he said uncomfortably.
Sasha shrugged, "She likes to get on peoples nerves," She admitted, "She hasn't tried you because I think that she thinks it's to easy," She grinned at him. "I'm glad," he said, picking up a wrench and sticking it in the engine, although Sasha was pretty sure he didn't need to.
Raph
Everytime he was talking to Sasha, Raph couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, he couldn't imagine anyone who was the complete opposite of him. She was patient, he wasn't, she was quiet, he was loud, he was rough, she was soft. He couldn't find any way to relate to her at all. She knew a little about motorbikes, but not enough to carry on an entire conversation. And she wasn't anything like what he first thought of her.
On the other hand, when they do get a conversation going, they did very well. The conversations were mostly about their family, which neither of them had a problem with. Sasha didn't have a problem with a lot of things, she was very tolerant. Which she probably needed to hang around Mikey constantly.
He was tinkering unnecessary with the engine, it was fine the way it was. He just wanted to do something to do with his hands. He wanted to say something, but what could he say to her? He seriously didn't know.
"It's a full moon tonight," Sasha's voice almost right next to his ear, he felt an unwanted shiver go through his body. He glanced at her and saw that she was looking at the calendar that was sitting nearby. "Yeah?" He said, glancing at calendar next to him. She was right, it was a full moon tonight.
"It's been a while since I last saw the moon." she said sounding almost wistful, Raph looked at her face and saw something that looked like longing in her beautiful blue eyes. Her eyes were nice, especially with her eyelashes, along with her smile, everyone thought so, not just him. He only thought so because everyone else thought so.
"Same here I guess," he said taking his away from her face and looking back down at the calendar. She wanted to see the moon, Raph didn't blame her, Leo had been pretty firm about the girls staying in the Lair. Although they both obeyed, the difference was that Sasha took it quietly, Korea didn't. Korea made sure that Leo was miserable about the decision. Which made Raph laugh whenever he thought about it.
Sasha reached over him to take the calendar. Which meant that she leaned against him a little as she reached for it. Raph swallowed, his discomfort level raising.
Although...
He quickly beat the thought over the head before it could do any harm. Sasha's hand closed around the calendar and she withdrew. While she was doing so, Raph noticed something he hadn't noticed before, she had a slight scent of rosemary around her, he was sure it was rosemary because sensei and Leo would use it sometimes. Sasha must meditate using that incense.
She had the calendar and was examining it with interest. The look of longing still in her eyes. Raph wondered whether if there was something he could do. "Do you want to come for a ride with me?" He asked before he could really get his mind around the words. He mentally slapped himself, and he didn't know why.
Sasha looked at him in surprise, her blue eyes widening slightly, "A ride?" She asked as if the idea was completely new to her. He nodded grudgly, "A ride," he said "Tonight if you like, so you can see the moon." Her eyes widened even more. Will she agree? He found himself both hoping that she would want to come, and hoping that she would disagree.
"Of course!" She said, giving him a brilliant smile, he grinned nervously at her. She agreed. Was he happy about it? "Tonight then," he said, keeping his voice level. "Tonight" Sasha said happily.
Sasha
Sasha now had something to really look forward this evening, something different. She knew she should have asked about what "ride" they were taking. Odds are it might be his bike, but she wasn't going to complain.
Now she was going to visit Leatherhead.
She decided to just go out, she'll be back in a couple hours, she didn't need to report every single thing she did to the guys. Unfortunately she didn't get far.
"Where are you going?"
She turned and wasn't really surprised to find it was Leo.
"I'm going to visit Leatherhead," she said smiling at him. He frowned, "You shouldn't go out," he said, "It's too dangerous, and Leatherheads place is pretty far away." She raised an eyeridge, "I do not wear a sword because I think it looks cool," she replied as coolly as Leo would probably ever see her. "I do know how to defend myself if the time comes." He still looked skeptical, "You spend a lot of time there," he said in an odd tone. This made Sasha sort of confused, she only ever spent a total of five hours there in the last two weeks.
"Problems Leo?" A new voice added itself to the conversation. They turned and saw Korea standing there with her arms crossed and her eyes flicking from Leo to Sasha. Leo scowled again, "Nothing," he said bluntly. She raised her eyebrows, "Didn't sound like nothing to me," she said smoothly, she turned to Sasha, and in a moment seemed to understand what's happening.
"Going to Leatherhead's?" Korea asked mildly. Sasha nodded. "It's been a while." she said quietly. Korea gave a nod also. Then she turned to Leo. "So why can't she go to Leatherhead's? He's her friend too you know." she walked right up to him and stared into his eyes, she was a little shorter then him (excluding her ears)
"Well... uh... it's dangerous," He said rather feebly, Korea shook her head slightly, "Have faith Leo, Sasha knows how to look after herself." Sasha felt a rush of gratitude for her sister. Korea said all the things that Sasha wanted to say, but couldn't. Leo's eyes widened slightly, "It's not that I don't trust her," he said hurriedly, "I just don't want her to get...hurt."
Sasha suddenly felt bad, she knew she shouldn't feel resentful for Leo being overprotective. That was the way he was. He just wanted to protect the people that matter to him, it was a strong virtue of his that she most admired about him. "It's okay Korea," Sasha said quietly, putting a hand on her sisters shoulder, "I will stay," she looked at him, "If it makes you feel better, I will stay here," she said quietly looking him directly in his eyes.
Somehow this seemed to lessen his resolve.
"I guess..." he said slowly, "Leatherhead will be there..." Sasha waited, still looking in his eyes. She always saw many things in his eyes, things that she could never look long enough to see clearly and desciper.
"If you promise you'll be careful," he said breaking eye contact. She gave him a grateful smile, "Thank you," She said, leaning over to give him a short hug before turning and heading off.
Leo
Leo enjoyed the hug very much, more then he should really. Afterwards, he felt eyes on him again, and realized that Korea was still watching. She of course would have seen him staring after her sister with slightly moony eyes. He coughed and turned to go back to the dojo.
"You realize that she doesn't know," Korea's voice came from behind him, he stopped and slowly turned around. "Don't know about what?" he asked, even though he knew he knew the answer. "You know what I'm talking about," she said wearily. "Sasha won't notice it until it's pointed out to her, she's funny that way." She looked slightly amused. Leo however felt less so.
Pointed out? But that means... but he couldn't! Could he? How would she...?
He realized that Korea was still watching him.
"Don't you have anything else to do?" He asked roughly, before turning to go back to the Dojo, again. "Not really," Korea responded, "Mostly because I've been here so long, I have nothing to do." Leo stopped again, "I can tell," he said wearily, referring to all those times that Korea had tormented him.
It suddenly occurred to him that this would have to be the first time they have had an actual civil conversation with each other. He still remembered what Sasha had said to him about her. The explanation had only confused him more. "Why...?" He asked slowly, he wasn't sure what to add after that. Korea seemed to know however.
"Because I can," She said, instead of walking away like she normally would, she continued, "You're just... fun," Korea said shrugging. Before he could ask her to clarify that for him, she yawned and walked away. Just like that. She didn't bother to excuse herself or anything. Despite himself, he had always found her confidence admirable. As well as her sense of honor.
When they practiced, Korea and Leo would often find themselves paired with each other. This would probably be the only time when Korea was completely serious, was when she trained. She understood it as well as he did. His brothers didn't always, it was hard to tell with Sasha, she always seemed interested in what Sensei was saying, whether she understood it or not was difficult to tell.
And those moments when Korea defeated Leo in a sword fight, she did not gloat. Which surprised him. Instead, she would bow to him and help him up. She understood honor perfectly well, they all did in a way, but she understood it the same way he did. As a warrior. That was how they respected each other.
And in my next chapter, I will have Sasha's visit to Leatherhead, Korea and Mikey either making amends or spitting in each others face, and lastly, Raph and Sasha's motorbike ride. Please review, thanks.