"Misunderstood Guardian"
Ch. 11
"Hey, Gerald… what was your ex-wife like?" Mikey asked as he and the other set the table for breakfast.
The older male pondered for a second before replying, "She was a very strong willed woman. To tell you the truth, I was hired to kill her."
The orange bandana clad turtle's eyes went wide. "Whoa, really? Why were you hired to kill her?"
"She was a wanted criminal… a serial killer to be more precise."
By this time, Mikey had become glued to every word Gerald said. "A-a serial killer… no way…! What else can you tell me about her?"
Gerald chuckled softly. "She's Japanese and a half-demon and her name is Azura Nagomii."
Why was that name so familiar? The turtle thought for a moment, then his eyes went wide. "Wait a minute, isn't Dominick's last name—?"
"Yes, Azura is Dominick's younger half-sister. The two constantly fought with each other. He did many horrible things to her when she was younger… I guess it's a hobby of Dominick's to make people's lives miserable."
"What does she look like?"
Gerald dug inside his pocket and brought out a picture of a woman with black spiky hair, golden yellow eyes, ivory skin and elf-like ears. In the picture she was wearing a purple kimono covered in cherry blossoms. She wasn't smiling, but there was softness to her face that Mikey liked… almost motherly. Upon further inspection, he saw a slight bump in the dress.
"She was one month pregnant with our son when I took this picture," Gerald answered the turtle's unspoken question. "This was back when I still had my sight, though I had just begun going blind in my left eye."
"Do you ever miss her?"
Gerald sighed. "Sometimes… late at night. Even now, I find I still love her."
Unbeknown to the two, Don stood just outside the kitchen entrance, listening to their conversation. The purple bandana clad turtle felt a pain in his chest that he couldn't get rid of. He still loves her… What chance would I ever have anyway? I can never tell him… not when I know he still has feelings for someone else… Don slid down in to a sitting position, burying his face in his arms. Why couldn't I have an easy life? Why did I have to fall in love with someone like Gerald? Why did I have to fall in love at all? Things would be so much simpler without love to mess things up.
"Yo, bro… what are you doing sitting on the floor like that?"
Don looked up startled to see Mikey staring at him, one brow arched questioningly. "Oh… uh… I just got a cramp! Yep, that's it! But it's all better now." The genius turtle quickly got up, plastering a fake smile on his face.
The younger turtle just stared at his brother skeptically. "Well… okay… um, could you tell the others breakfast is ready?"
"Yeah, sure!" Don quickly made his way to the living room where the others were sitting on the couch watching TV.
---
Raph was still sitting on the roof. Don had always been the shy quiet type; he would always spend hours on end working on his gadgets and inventions. Who would have thought the genius turtle was really struggling on the inside? All the teasing they gave him for not ever making the moves on April gave the red bandana clad turtle a sick feeling in his stomach. What if they were the ones that had made him like this? Made him afraid of his own sexuality?
He groaned, rubbing his head. It wasn't good for him to think so much; it was out of character for him.
"I must say your family has been the most fun to play with in years."
Raphael whirled around to see Dominick floating a foot away from him. "What the hell do you want?"
"Just enjoying watching one of your family members crumble. He certainly has strange taste in men… although; I must say he's certainly the type I like… soft-spoken, shy… compliant." A sadistic grin played across the demon's face.
Raph got to his feat, glaring at the demon. "If you dare go anywhere near my brother I'll –!"
"Oh no, I won't touch him, I promise."
"Yeah, like I'd believe any promises you gave me," the red bandana clad turtle scoffed.
Dominick chuckled. "And this is why I like you. But really, I swear on pain of death, I will not place one hand on your precious genius."
"Raph? You still up here??"
"Ah, speak of the devil. I must be going, see ya." With that, the demon disappeared in to thin air.
I hate when he does that…
"Hey, Raph, breakfast is ready," Don said, coming up to the other turtle. He blinked at Raph. "Anything wrong?"
The red bandana clad turtle shook his head. "Nothing, I'm okay. What about you? Are you – um – okay?" Raph shifted uncomfortably.
"Yeah sure, I'm fine! Come on, we don't want to keep the others waiting." Don headed back in to the building, Raph following close behind him.
He didn't know what that demon was up to, or if he even had anything planned and he was just messing with his mind, but Raph wasn't about to let him hurt any of his family members; especially not Don.
After breakfast, the gang returned to the lair where Don could properly treat Gerald's wrist. The cuts were deep so he had to place stitches in.
"How long to I have to have these stitches in? They itch," the older male complained as the genius turtle was finishing up.
"For a few weeks or so…" Don didn't say anything else.
"You've been awfully quiet, Donatello… is there something wrong?"
"I'm fine… I'm going to be busy working on a few things in the lab so don't bother me, okay?" The purple bandana clad turtle got up, avoiding eye contact with the other and left the med room.
Is he mad at me? Gerald sighed and getting up, headed for the dojo to get a little exercise with the others. Hopefully it would help clear his mind.
