Tori slowly opened her eyes and slowly looked around at all the posters on the walls before her eyes lighted on Raph, still sprawled out on his bed. She had to hurry if she was going to sneak out again, but then her eyes were inexplicably drawn to the drum set sitting in the corner right at the foot of his bed.
She stared hard at it for a moment. She had always been curious about it, and wanted to ask Raph about it, but it just never seemed to be the right time to ask. What would she say anyway? 'Hey, you know that drum set I see every night when I sneak in to sleep in your hammock? What brand of make is it?'
She snuck another peek at the ninja turtle less than 5 feet away and bit her lip before slowly creeping out of the hammock. She set her pillow, blanket, and her little brother's teddy bear on the floor next to the door then started inspecting the drum set.
It was in very good condition considering the fact that it had to have come from a garbage pile somewhere. It shone with the care that only a drum with a very caring owner could have.
"Master Splinter found that for me and gave it to me for my 7th mutation day." Tori jumped and looked over to see Raph sitting up in his bed. His bleary eyes were blinking away the last traces of sleep and he didn't have a mask on- neither the red one or the emotionless I-don't-give-a-sheep's-butt-what-people-think-of-me one. "Leo helped me fix it up and Donnie looked up some drum care techniques on the internet for me. Mikey found a bunch of "Cool" stickers to cover it with."
Tori nodded and went back to inspecting it, hoping this unexpected easy-going personality would stick to him just a little bit longer and that things wouldn't turn too awkward.
Eventually she stood up and awkwardly wiped imaginary dust off her hands on her pajama pants, trying to avoid looking at him. If he noticed, he didn't say anything instead opting to nod at her stuff still sitting on the floor.
"You can leave that stuff in here if you like," he offered. "You'll probably just be dragging it back in here tonight anyway."
Tori smiled a little guilty, shuffling her feet a bit and tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear- a nervous habit of hers. She stared hard at the ground as if it had suddenly become the most fascinating thing in the world.
"You don't have to let me stay in here," she murmured. "I understand if it's getting a little old. I need to learn to sleep by myself again anyway."
"Nah, you're alright," Tori looked back up at him in surprise. "I don't mind you coming in here. But I just need to know... why do you come here every night?"
Tori sighed and sat next to him at the foot of his bed.
"I can't sleep when I'm alone. Not since..." she flinched as the scream of her dear cousin Cass echoed in her ears. "Not since my life turned upside down. Not since my family..."
She lost the ability to speak just then, but she got the message across. Raph nodded in understanding.
"Every princess has a Dragon they have to face," he said, the usual snark coming gave him a warning glare, but it didn't last long before giving way to a smile.
"As true as that may be, if you keep calling me princess I'm going to use every pressure point that I know on you in training."
They both laughed easily and Tori wished they could always be this laid back around each other. She liked this side of Raph. She never would have pegged him as a morning person, but here they were. Their laughter dwindled off slowly and they just stared at each other; milk chocolate brown meeting acid green.
"So where do you disappear to every morning?" Raph asked.
Tori smiled and stood.
"Do you want to come and see?"
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They made it to the surface with only minutes to spare.
"Uh, what are we doing out here exactly?" Raph asked.
"Hold your horses; we're almost there," Tori said, before jumping up to reach the lowest rung of the nearest fire escape. Raph stared up at her and shrugged before following her all the way to the roof. She made it to the top then turned back towards the east, and sat down on the edge of the roof. Raph crouched next to her and then she pointed at the horizon without a word.
He looked in that direction just in time to see the first rays of sunshine peak out from behind the distant skyscrapers. Different shades of bright orange, fluorescent pink, and faint yellow crept across the sky. The sight was nothing like he had ever seen before. He had grown up underground the first 15 years of his life and he had only recently seen the sky, and that was always at night with the sky too smoggy to see a single star.
Sure, he had seen many pictures of sunsets, but none of them had done this justice. Tori had to say, this was the prettiest sunrise she had seen since coming to New York.
"Alright, I'll admit it," Raph said. "This is pretty awesome. Definitely worth sneaking out early in the morning for."
Tori snuck him a glance and marvelled at the was the sunrise reflected in those amazing green eyes.
Then she felt stupid for ever thinking that way about Raph of all people. The most hot-headed, temperamental, judgemental, sarcastic, relatable, protective, funny...
Okay enough if this.
"We should probably get going," She said. "Splinter and Leo will be waking up soon and the last thing I need is getting in trouble for letting a human catch sight if you."
Raph nodded and they both retreated into the safety of the sewers.
The dark, sunless, sewers...
Raph would have to sneak up during the day with Tori more often.
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"So, I see that you and Raphael have been getting along very well as of late," Master Splinter said later that afternoon.
Tori's eyes widened at his remark and was quick to jump to her own defense.
"It's not like that!" She insisted. "Yeah, we get along better now, and he's a really good friend but we don't get along like THAT." She snuck a glance at Splinter and he was watching her in amusement.
"I did not suggest that you and my son had any romantic notions, but the fact that you jumped to that conclusion is most curious."
'Oops...' Tori thought, and she felt her cheeks growing ever warmer. Goodness gracious, she had only been there for about a week and a half, and the thought that she might have a crush on one of the turtles was almost irritating; out of character at the very least. She had never been interested in guys before, but she knew it was bound to happen eventually and now...
"Could you please show me that kata again?" She asked rather than continuing the conversation. Master Splinter chuckled but did not push the situation, and performed the kata for her once more. She watched carefully and then copied his actions perfectly.
"Very good," Master Splinter praised. "You are a very quick learner, and Leonardo has informed me that you have done well in helping with their last mission. Tell me, how do YOU think it went?"
Tori considered the question for a moment. "Well, it certainly wasn't easy, and it was kind of frustrating when I was unable to help in certain parts of the mission, and at times I wished I had a weapon because I very well couldn't kick the Stockmanpod, but... I did enjoy myself for the most part. It was like nothing I've ever done before."
Splinter nodded and seemed satisfied with her answer.
"With time, it will become easier. When you are ready for a weapon, we fill find you your right match. For now, how about I show you how to use the shuriken?"
My spirits soared at the thought of finally being able to use the deadly little throwing stars. Instead of shouting "Alright!" and fist pumping, she bowed respectfully and said, "Hai, sensei."
Leo was right, she had been worrying about training for all the wrong reasons.
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"You need to stick your elbow out more, and keep the movement fluid. It's all in the wrist." Tori nodded again, concentrating on the target with all her might. Master Splinter had worked with her on her aim for the rest of their lesson and had ended practice with the instruction to practice- a lot.
Throwing the shuriken was a lot harder than it looked. Much harder than throwing a frisbee or skipping rocks. For one thing, she had to make sure not to cut herself with it. For another, she needed to be able to throw it hard, but still in full controls of its actions. So, practice she did throughout her entire tutoring lesson with Raph.
She threw the shuriken again and it hit far to the right of the target, not even sticking into the wood, instead clattering to the ground. She groaned, dispirited at the dozens of failed attempts, but still determined to get it just right.
"How did you and your brothers get so good at this?" She asked Raph who, contrary to what she believed he would do, was not laughing at her.
He shrugged and crossed his arms. "We all have our own ways of learning. Leo practiced until his arm almost fell off and kept practicing. Donnie apparently does a whole bunch of crazy math calculations, and Mikey... as crazy as if sounds, he's just naturally good at it, even if he doesn't use them very often."
Tori nodded. "And you?" She asked. He hesitated as if he wasn't sure if that was really a piece of information that he wanted to share.
"I imagine that my target is someone I hate. Someone who I think really does need a shuriken in their back." He avoided eye contact as she stared at him with an unreadable expression. "You were right about my fighting style. My anger is... something else. I think I can use it to my advantage all the time and sometimes it works... and sometimes it doesn't. That's how I fight."
Tori nodded and went back to examining the target. Raph snuck a glance at her, and she wasn't frowning in disapproval like Master Splinter or Leo. Instead she looked thoughtful.
"What do the Kraang look like?" She asked. He was surprised by her question, but complied none the less.
"Well, some of them look like the exact same ordinary man with a gaunt face, black hair, and a tux. The ones not disguised to look somewhat normal are like these tall-ish shiny silver robots, sometimes covered in blue membrane, with what looks like big, pink, brains with tentacles in their stomachs. You'd definitely know one when you saw it."
Tori nodded again before drawing back her arm, elbow out like Raph had instructed, a new throwing star in hand. She squinted at the target, then, lighting quick, threw the shuriken. It hit dead center with deadly accuracy. Raph raised an eye ridge, and glanced at her in surprise. She didn't look at him.
"You could say I've got a bit of a grudge against them," she said. She closed her eyes momentarily, took a deep breath in through her nose, let it out slowly through her mouth, and opened her eyes again. She turned and gave him a small smile.
"You hungry? I'm cooking."
And without waiting for a response, she disappeared out the dojo's sliding doors. Raph glanced once more at the shuriken embedded deep in the wood target and grinned wryly. Looks like he wasn't the only one with a temper.
Chapter Twelve:
"Raph?" Leo asked, peeking his head into his brothers room. "Can we talk for a minute?" It was an unspoken rule throughout the whole lair that Raph as not to be disturbed if he was hiding in his room, but it was a chance that Leo was just going to have to take.
Raph looked up from where he was feeding Spike.
"Uh, sure..." He set down the package of lettuce and turned his full attention to Leo.
The oldest brother entered the room, and closed the door behind him with a click. Then he stood there awkwardly for several moments, trying to find a way to bring up the topic without it coming off the wrong way.
"I wanted to talk to you about Tori..." Raph instinctively tensed, but not enough for Leo to notice. There was any number of topics about Tori that Leo could bring up, and not all of them were ones he was willing to talk about.
"Donnie said the Kraang have been acting up a bit lately, buying warehouses and stocking it with stolen goods and kidnapping scientists... I know the Kraang is a touchy subject for Tori and I was wondering if you thought it would do her good to conquer some fears, or if it would open up some fresh wounds." Raph almost released a sigh of relief. This conversation he could deal with- even if it was kind of touchy-feely.
"Why didn't you bring this to Master Splinter?" Raph asked.
"I did. He told me that you know her better than he does." The surprise on Raph's face was very evident that time, but he didn't question why.
He thought back to earlier when she had hit a bullseye just by picturing the Kraang, and then pictured her sitting alone at night, waiting for them to come back to give her an update on her family's murders.
"Honestly, I think she'd be better off coming with us on missions against the Kraang. If I was the only one to survive an explosion done by them, I'd want to get back at them."
"You would also probably lose your head and make stupid mistakes," Leo pointed out.
"That's why we would be there with her. We can stop her from making stupid decisions. That's what we have you around for isn't it?"
Leo smirked and nodded. "Alright then. You better start getting ready then. It'll be dark soon." Raph nodded and went back to feeding his pet turtle as Leo left to go get ready himself.
"Well Spike, I guess things are about to get interesting."
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"So what are we doing here again?" Tori asked. When the guys had said they were going to sneak into some Kraang facilities, she had thought they would be sneaking into a super secret underwater spaceship, or a very well hidden science lab with out of this world security systems. Imagine how disappointed she was when she found out they were only poking around in some warehouses.
"The Kraang have been buying hundreds of warehouses throughout New York, and stocking them with various unknown supplies," Leo explained. "It's also possible that they might be keeping some of the scientists they kidnapped, like April's dad, prisoner in one of these warehouses. We're just here to figure out what it is that their stocking up on and what they're planning so that we know how to stop them."
Tori nodded and continued following behind Donnie as all five of them walked one after the other on a thin support beam in the first warehouse of the night. So far this was one pretty void of anything even slightly interesting. There was a stack of empty cardboard boxes in one corner, a few discarded and empty mutagen canisters, and enough dust to fill a sandbox.
"I don't think we're going to find anything in this one Leo," Donnie said. "There aren't even any radio waves coming from in here."
And so they moved onto the next one. And the next one, and a few more after that.
"Are we sure that the Kraang are supposed to be here?" Tori asked. "Because unless they can turn invisible, I haven't seen any."
"Invisible Kraang?" Mikey asked, eyes widening. "Dudes, that would be the last thing we need! They could, like, sneak into the lair and steal all our pizza!" Raph smacked him upside the head, causing the youngest turtle to pitch forward into Leo who then lost his balance and fell into Tori.
She let out a surprised squawk, and before she could catch her balance, she fell off the side of the rafter and landed hard on the ground with a loud 'THUD'.
"Tori!" All four of the brothers leapt lightly down from the rafters and crowded around her.
"Shell, are you alright?" Raph asked. They all reached to help her back to her feet, but she shook her head quickly.
"Don't touch me. Wait until my ribs and leg heal." They all stopped and blinked in surprise. Raph looked down at her leg and was horrified to see the piercing shape of a broken bone sticking out of the side of her leg. But instead of swelling like a balloon, the leg was slowly straightening itself out and the penetrating bone retreated back inside of her leg. The muscles jumped and twitched until everything finally stopped moving.
"Fascinating," Donnie breathed. "If anyone else had that kind of injury, they'd never walk right again. You healed in 46 Seconds!"
"That was either the coolest or grossest thing I've ever seen," Mikey said honestly, earning an elbow to the ribs from Leo and Raph.
Tori laughed shakily and slowly pushed herself to her feet. She looked paler than usual, and a little tired - side effects of super healing most likely- but she looked completely fine.
"So," she said. "Shall we move on to the next warehouse?"
"You, who is known as Victoria, will not leave the place that is known as here."
They all jumped to attention at the unfamiliar voice, and turned to see a large group of Kraang. They looked exactly how Raph had described them. Some of them were men with gaunt, tired faces, while others were silver robots, some of which surrounded in purple-ish blue membrane. All of them had pink brain-like aliens sitting in the abdomen.
Leo groaned and was grateful that Master Splinter wasn't here to see this. They, who were supposed to be ninjas, had been snuck up on by a whole flock of Kraang droids.
"Oh yeah?" Mikey shouted. "Well the one who is know as Victoria WILL leave the place that is know as here with the turtles... who are known as... us?"
"The ones who are known as the turtles do not know what is it they are speaking of," The supposed leader of the group of aliens said. "The one who is known as Victoria belongs to Kraang as Kraang has need of the one who is known Victoria for the invasion that is known as the invasion of Kraang. The one who is known as Victoria is the only who who is known as worth while to Kraang as she was the only human to survive the explosion that is know as the explosion done by Kraang."
Tori's cheeks burned in anger and her eyes turned almost black with rage. They thought that her family's death was meaningless? That they were not worth while?
"You want me?" She growled. "Come and get me scrum bags!" Then, before anyone could blink, she stole a shuriken from Leo's belt, and threw it at the kraang droid that had done all the speaking. It struck the bot with deadly precision, lodging itself deep into its forehead. The Kraang droid short circuited and collapsed to the ground, and the brain-like creature inside jumped out, running for safety and squealing like a pig.
Then the fight exploded into motion. There were 7 Kraang droids, not counting the one that Tori had already taken out. It was a blur of motion for everyone, and as quickly as it had started, it was finished. The troupe of Kraang droids was now a pile of scrap metal. All the actual Kraang had ejected from the damaged suits and retreated- all except one. Tori had somehow managed to rip the arms and legs off of this particular droid and trapped the kraang that was held within.
She held another shuriken (that Donnie later realized had been snuck from HIS belt during the fighting) right at eye level with the pink fleshy creature.
"Why are the kraang after me? What did they do to me? And how am I of use in your invasion?" She all but growled. As Raph looked at her, he realized that she was actually kind of scary like this. This was not her being playful, protective, mischievous, or determined. This was the darker side of her. The hurt side of her that wanted to avenge her family, and stop the kraang from ever hurting anyone again.
"Kraang will never tell the one who is known as Victoria the secrets that are known as the secrets of Kraang," It said stubbornly. Then, the actual creature opened its eyes and ejected out the butt of the robot, scuttling away through a rabbit sized hole in the wall, and disappearing from sight.
"Fudge-nuggets," Tori cursed comically under her breath. Running a hand through her messy hair, she sighed and turned back to the turtles. They each had a few more scratches on their plastron, and a bruise was starting to swell on Donnie's shoulder, but for the most part, they were okay.
Mikey leaned towards Raph to whisper in his ear.
"What are fudge-nuggets?" He asked. Raph groaned and shoved him away.
They didn't say anything for a while after that. Then, Leo finally stepped forward.
"Let's head back to the lair."
It was still pretty early, but no-one complained.
Leo took the lead and dropped down into the sewers followed by Donnie, then Mikey, Tori, and finally Raph taking up the rear and closing the manhole cover. It was quiet, and the only sound was the lazy flowing of the sewer sludge. Not even Mikey interrupted the silence.
Raph looked down at Tori who was staring ahead determine not to cry, but the look of desperation was evident in the way she was holding herself. She walked stiffly, her hands not swinging by her sides as they usually would, and her shoulders were hunched and strained.
"Aw, don't worry princess," he said patting her shoulder awkwardly. "We'll get everything sorted out eventually." He massaged her between the shoulder blades and she abruptly stop walking and closed her eyes, unconsciously leaning into his touch. He looked on in amusement as the tension in her shoulders and on her face melted away and she hummed in appreciation. Mikey watched in fascination as the girl he had known as a wired firecracker turned into melted putty in Raph's hands.
"Dude, how did you do that?" he asked. Tori suddenly snapped back to reality and slapped his hand away, shooting him a deadly glare.
"Keep your hands to yourself," she snapped, then paused. "And stop calling me princess!" She stomped ahead and Raph had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing out loud. Oh yeah, this girl definitely had some spunk.
Alright, that's enough chapters for today. I promise I will post another tomorrow. :)