After waking Michelangelo and explaining their situation to him, Donatello did all he could to settle Splinter and Leonardo comfortably upon the mattresses in the back of the van, both fighting a swiftly losing battle to remain conscious. In turn Michelangelo had gently woken Heiji. The boy looked about uncertainly, wondering why he wasn't waking from this dream and refused to relinquish his hold on Michelangelo's neck.
The kunoichi settled on the edge of the van floor letting her legs dangle. A brief grimace of pain breaching her mask not lost on Raphael, making him smirk. She gestured for Heiji to come closer and Michelangelo carried him to her, the boy still rubbing the sleep from his eyes as she drew her mark on his chest.
"Heiji-kun, do you want your Father to live?" she asked.
"What kind of question is that?" scowled Michelangelo, hugging Heiji closer as the boy whimpered.
"The important kind." the kunoichi asserted levelly. "There is a task that needs doing. It is the only chance we have to save Hattori. And Heiji-kun, you are the only one of us that can do it. Michelangelo-san can go with you, but it would be best if you let him walk behind you without holding his hand. Can you do that, Heiji-kun?"
Hesitantly the child let go of Michelangelo's neck to sit up straighter and give a brave nod.
"Good." she treated him to a brief, rare smile. "I need you to walk down into the town below us and purchase some food at the market."
Heiji's face crumpled in distress.
"The bad guys took my money!"
"Michelangelo-san will have enough to cover what we need. He will give it to you. You will only need to give it to the vendors. If Michelangelo-san gives it to them they may see him for what he is and be frightened. Do you understand?"
"No." whimpered the boy.
"I gotta admit I don't get it either." Michelangelo frowned. "How can I just go waltzing through a town to go shopping?"
"I can place a ward upon you that will make most people look past you. Although the less attention you attract the better it will work, which is why it is best if Heiji doesn't touch you any more than necessary. He will give passers-by something else to focus on that's away from you."
"Can't you go instead? He's only a kid and he's been through some really rough stuff already."
"The Kage no Renmei have no interest in the boy. It is Hattori and I they are targeting. If they attack us here, this arrangement will give you a chance to get Heiji to safety. Plus, he can walk."
Michelangelo considered her points a moment.
"Fair enough." he shrugged. "We can do this together, right squirt?" he grinned at Heiji, getting a firm nod from the boy in reply.
Heiji stood to one side watching, just as fascinated as Michelangelo, as the kunoichi drew a complex ward on the turtles' plastron. She paused a moment to spit on the tiny nub of chalk she had left, rubbing the saliva to make a coating of red-tinged paste before using the gunk to draw another small mark on his chest.
"Eew!" whispered Michelangelo, screwing his face up dramatically to coax a small snigger out of Heiji. The kunoichi tugged on Michelangelo's chin, forcing his cheek flat again to draw another small mark on his face. "Double eew!"
"My apologies if this makes you uncomfortable. I mean you no offence, but I need to make the ward for people to look past one as striking as you as strong as possible. And that takes more than blood."
Michelangelo eyed the fragment of red chalk in disgust.
"Serious?!"
"It's my blood. You've not been squeamish to touch it before."
"That's still... really gross."
"Is it?" she asked, genuinely perplexed.
"Hai." stated Michelangelo bluntly.
"Oh. Then I sincerely apologise again. Try not to rub the chalk away." she carefully closed Michelangelo's gi over her work. "The wards will remain for a short time after the mark has gone. But the better the marks are preserved the stronger the wards will be."
"Got'cha." Michelangelo forced his hand away from scratching his face. He jumped out of the van, careful not to scuff the marks in the dirt, and swept Heiji up to sit on his shoulder. "Looks like it's a bit of a walk into town, it's alright for me to carry him there, yeah?"
"Hai. It's only when people can see you that you need to stay separated."
"Cool. C'mon squirt, let's go hit the town!"
Raphael blocked Michelangelo's path.
"Take Donnie with ya." he muttered.
"You sure, Raph? If you guys get attacked..."
"An' if this voodoo of hers don't work..." countered Raphael.
"Uh, yeah. That could be not a lotta fun." agreed Michelangelo, with a worried glance up at Heiji.
"If we do get attacked here, we're pretty well fucked anyway. I'll keep an eye on things. You know I won't let anythin' happen to Splinter an' Leo. Not unless it's over my dead body."
"Yeah. That's what worries me." Michelangelo admitted with a lop-sided grin. Raphael gave a grunt and a brief, crooked grin of his own.
"Get outta here, ya nimrod." he waved his brother away, no vitriol in his tone. "Hey Donnie! Field-trip time!" Raphael called, Donatello quickly jumping down out of the truck. "Keep those two brats outta trouble, will ya?"
Staying hidden in the shadows on the outskirts of the marketplace Donatello grimaced as Michelangelo again 'missed' his hand signal to wrap things up. Despite his relief that it was his brother being called upon to mingle so openly, certain he'd never be able to pull off being so relaxed and jovial under similar circumstances, Donatello couldn't help thinking that Michelangelo was taking advantage of the situation. And the fact that he knew full well who would get stuck having to carry most of the groceries and treats back up the mountainside.
Donatello wasn't wrong.
With Heiji snuggled in his arms, the boy clutching his new little silver windmill in one hand and the remains of a half-eaten sweet bean bun in the other, Michelangelo made it back to the van first. Cautiously peering through the trees before approaching the vehicle, Michelangelo felt his heart leap into his throat as he spotted the kunoichi slumped against the base of a tree near the rear of the van, only her legs visible to him.
The distinctive crinkle of aluminium from the far side of the van had Michelangelo gently hushing Heiji's soft whimper as he eased a nunchaku out of his belt. Raphael rounded the van, sai ready in hand. He gave a low, long belch as he tossed his empty in the back and rummaged quickly about for a fresh Red Bull before starting another slow circuit of the van.
Michelangelo slouched briefly in relief, tucking his 'chuck away to cradle Heiji's head so the boy couldn't look towards the kunoichi. Just in case something untoward had happened to her.
As he carried the boy closer Raphaels' head snapped up in their direction before Michelangelo broke the cover of the trees, Raphael quick to drop the threat of his sai.
"Where's Donnie?" demanded Raph by way of greeting.
"He's comin'." grinned Michelangelo, tipping his head in Donatello's direction as his brother came partially in to view lugging the bags up the slope.
"So it was all good then?"
"Yeah. Um, how'd things go here? No trouble?" prompted Michelangelo, keeping his tone casual.
"Nah. No real trouble." shrugged Raphael. "Nothin' I couldn't handle."
"Uh huh."
Michelangelo deposited Heiji in the back of the van and made sure to stand where his bulk blocked the boys' view of the clearing as the boy scampered over to kneel beside his father.
"Why's she sat over there then?" he asked blithely.
"'cos I want that bitch where I c'n see her. Fucked if I was gonna let her sit inside where she could be doin' who knows what while I kept watch on the perimeter."
"So you asked her nice, yeah?"
Raphael gave a derisive snort.
"Nice as I could. Don't worry; I didn't have ta do more than tell her to move her friggin' ass. She thinks she's all that. But she knows I could take her in a fight, no worries. 'sides, figured this way her little buddies would find her first, if they turned up. Give me a chance to book it with the van while they were busy killin' her. Did her... mark, or whatever the fuck that was, work?" he asked, waving a hand at the remnants of dried chalk slurry on Mike's cheek.
"Heh, yeah! Worked a treat!" Michelangelo couldn't suppress his excitement. "It was so awesome! Being able to walk about in the open, just like everybody else. Right out in the sunshine! There was this one old lady did a bit of a double-take. But other than that, it was like no-one could look right at me. We gotta get her to let you try it. Hey, I know! Once this mission is all done we take her to Tokyo, get her to mark us both and we hit a bar. Or a nightclub! What d'ya reckon?!"
"You serious?" deadpanned Raphael.
"Why not?! Hey, how about a strip club?" Michelangelo cajoled with a wink, giving his brother pause. Raphael gave the idea due consideration before clenching his resolve to state,
"No."
"Aww, why not?"
"'cos there ain't no girl worth lookin' at enough to want that bitches' spit on my face."
"Tch, spoil sport." Michelangelo grumbled lightly.
Donatello shoved between his brothers to dump the grocery bags in the van.
"Thanks for all your help guys." he uttered in sincere sarcasm as he nabbed a few apples and a can of soft drink. He stalked away to eat his breakfast under the trees and enjoy the dabbled sunlight, bird song and serene mountain vistas. Michelangelo and Raphael shared a brief, sheepish glance before ransacking the bags for themselves.
Munching on a pork bun Raphael hefted the large bag of cucumbers over to the kunoichi, dumping it on the ground beside her.
"There ya go. Now do what ya gotta do to save Hattori. And do it quick." he smirked at the scowl she shot at him.
"Baka. Be careful with these. They're no good to us bruised." She dug through the bag quickly before giving a terse nod of satisfaction. "Take them back to the van. And be careful with them." she instructed, holding the bag up for him to take.
Raphael bit down on his first impulse and snatched the bag instead.
"Aren't ya gonna use 'em?" he demanded.
"Hai. But first we have to get there."
"Get where?"
"To... the home of an old friend."
"Yeah, that's made everything crystal fuckin' clear now. Thank you." Raphael declared, dripping sarcasm.
Gathering up the large stick she'd been working at stripping the bark from, the kunoichi managed to get back on her feet, using the stick as a makeshift crutch to keep her weight off her shattered leg.
"We need to get moving." she asserted, already making her way to the van. With an angry shake of his head Raphael went to fetch Donatello.
A few minutes later Raphael was side-eyeing the kunoichi in disdain as she settled herself in the passenger seat beside him.
"So where the hell we goin', huh?" he grunted.
"Are you a good driver?" asked the kunoichi levelly.
"The fuck? Yeah. Yeah, I'm a damn good driver. What of it?"
"As soon as we move the wards will break. You need to stay alert."
"Yes, ma'am." Raphael ground out in a sarcastic snarl. "And where would Madame like to go?"
"Continue along this track. I think it should take us close."
"You think?!" Raphael accused. He fired up the engine regardless, swore as he crunched the gears and reversed out of the copse to get back on the track. The kunoichi closed her eyes the moment the van moved.
"Hai." she answered calmly with the obvious. Jamming the van into forward gear Raphael decided continuing their conversation wasn't worth the frustration.
A glance in the rear-view confirmed only Michelangelo and Heiji were still awake, playing thumb wars as best they could as the van bounced through what Raphael was certain was just a natural corridor in the trees.
They had travelled for miles on the stone lined track before the kunoichi had directed him to turn off onto what he'd considered was little more than a criss-cross of winding goat trails. Convinced she was just randomly directing him on which forks to take since she kept her eyes closed the entire time. But the ruts had dwindled away to nothing after a few more miles and Raphael had found himself hoping to catch sight of a damn goat. Or any other kind of proof anything else had actually travelled this way in the past century.
The van laboured up another slope, cresting the peak to sputter to halt.
"Fuck, fucking fuck!" Raphael pounded the steering wheel in frustration before fiddling with the ignition wires, knowing his effort was futile.
"Problem?" asked the kunoichi levelly, turning to face him despite keeping her eyes closed. Raphael found himself wishing she wouldn't do that. It was creepy.
"We're outta damn gas. And, just so ya know Miss Blind-friggin'-sight, we're in the middle of fucking nowhere. I don't think there's another person around for at least thirty damn miles."
"There isn't." she confirmed softly.
"So what the hell do we do now, huh? No way we're gonna get to this buddy of yours before Hattori croaks. Hey!" he protested as she ignored him to slide out of her door and hobble into the trees. Not wanting to let her out of his sight Raphael quickly leapt out his door to race after her. Almost skidding past her as she stopped abruptly and over the cliff-face that dropped away a few meters from the road, camouflaged by the thick-set trees.
"Damn it." he cursed his tired eyes for his near miss, rubbing his face roughly in an attempt to clear his head and ease his headache. Blinking his eyes open he couldn't help but gasp at the sight of a huge ruin dominating the opposite mountainside. The buildings had burned down almost to the ground, long enough ago that the forest had already staked a firm claim back upon the whole area. Only a few sections of crumbling stone stood above the saplings as proof some of the buildings had been at least two or three stories tall.
"Is that where your friend lives?" Raphael rubbed his eyes again as he noticed hers were open. Sure his vision must be playing tricks since he was certain the kunoichi hadn't opened her eyes once while they had travelled in the van.
"No. No creature you'd want to meet lives there now. It's a cursed place." she murmured.
"Then it's not a lot of help to us right now, is it." Raphael pointed out derisively.
"We need to follow the river."
Raphael followed her gaze to the bottom of the valley. He breathed a sigh of dread resignation as he surveyed the tangled undergrowth that almost hid the narrow, rocky river from his sight.
"You just love makin' things easy, don't ya."