8:30 am
Turtle's Lair.
…
Leonardo wasn't one to sleep in on Sundays. To him, everyday was training day, but this time he allowed himself to wake up a bit late. He just tied his mask on his face and his belt, forgetting the rest of his gear just because, and left his room. To his surprise, his brothers had done just the same; they were just leaving their rooms when Leo reached the stairs.
The fearsome foursome walked downstairs together, talking and jabbering nonsense. They all stopped their chattering when they saw Who sat by the table with a serious face, her arms folded against her chest and her legs crossed.
"For someone who's been partying all night, you don't exactly look happy, witch-girl," Raph said.
"We need to talk. Please, take a seat. All of you. This is something I'm expecting you all will find interesting," Who's voice was monotone, calmed. Dangerously calmed.
Donatello looked at Leonardo with scared eyes. The leader looked at him with a reassuringly smile that didn't exactly calm Don's nerves completely, but it was something. Mikey and Raph, on the other hand, did what they were told, not exactly sure what the heck was going on but suspecting it might have something to do with the secret Leo and Don were keeping from them.
"So… what now?" Mikey broke the uncomfortable silence.
Who took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "As you know, my father surprised me with his arrival yesterday and we spent the whole night hanging out. Like a father-daughter reunion."
"Yeah, we all remember that," Raph said, a bit annoyed. "You were all jumpy and cheery when you gave us the news."
"Ever since I saw him…" Who continued, "…I couldn't stop asking myself: Why did he come here after two years of my… 'disappearance'? Why now? And most importantly: how did he find me?"
Who's voice had darkened as much as her gaze. Don could feel it. Under the table, he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. The touch of a warm hand on top of his made Don gaze in Leo's direction, who gave him a calming look before staring back at Who. Don wondered how Leo managed to control his emotions in situations like this. Maybe it was thanks to his training or his extra hours meditating; either way, he was glad at least one of them was calm. But not even Leo's presence could rid Don of the feeling of unease he sensed in the air.
"You know, I've been asking myself the same thing!" Mikey exclaimed. "How the heck did he find you?"
"Maybe he already knew where she was all this time but wouldn't do a thing because he was busy or something but now she's gonna be in a big Halloween play, he's coming to his senses and finally wants to see his all famous lil' girl and make sure all her money goes to his account," Raph said bluntly.
"I would expect my mother to do that, not my father so…I have to disagree with you on that one, Raphael," Who pointed out.
"It takes a lot of time to find someone who's missing, especially when you have no idea where to start looking, you know?" Don said, trying to mask his nervousness with a thoughtful façade.
Who narrowed eyes. "Or perhaps he had a little extra help."
With that said, she stood up and threw a bunch of pictures on the table. Raph and Mikey picked up a few and started analyzing them.
"That's our copter," Raph said.
"I don't understand, what's up with our copter?" Mikey asked in confusion.
"My dad was taken from his job in that copter… your copter! And those weapons are Leonardo's and Donatello's!" Who said angrily, showing more pictures. Don and Leo gasped, their eyes widening in shock.
"SAY WHAT!" Raph and Mikey rose from their seats simultaneously. Don and Leo repeated the action trying to remain calm, but by the looks of the situation, they had been discovered big time and nothing they could say would save them.
"Guys, we can explain!" Leo started.
"I had a feeling you were doing something stupid but this?! This is beyond the stupidity charts!" the sai wielder spat furiously.
"Dude, seriously! What were you thinking?! You could've blown our cover!" Mikey seconded him.
"I told you to stay out of my private life," Who hissed, slowly approaching Leonardo like a lion stalking its prey. "My family problems are mine and mine only and I can solve them without your help; you didn't have any right to interfere!"
Mikey and Raph were petrified staring at the scene, not sure of what to do One part of them wanted to help make the situation less problematic, but another said: 'Leave now and stay out of this. They got into this mess and now they must face the consequences.'
"Who, calm down!" Don came between his brother and the girl, placing a hand on her shoulder. "There's no need to-"
"Don't you dare touch me, you dirty traitor!" Who yelled, slapping the hand away. "You are no better than your brother and if you think your fake 'innocent' face will save you this time, you may wanna think twice!"
The sound of a clearing throat interrupted her and everyone's attention focused on the doorframe where a very angry Splinter stood. The turtles' blood went ice-cold after looking into their Master's brown eyes; they knew that look very well and it meant business.
Great, like dealing with an angry girl wasn't bad enough.
…
"Leonardo. I expect you have a good explanation for this," Splinter said as he paced in front of his kneeling students.
The blue-clad ninja sighed softly. "When we were in Hawaii, Who and I talked about her father. She said she missed him and I thought, maybe, I could… bring him here to New York-"
"-which was one of the most stupid ideas you've ever had," Raph said harshly.
"Don't interrupt!" Splinter commanded, hitting his walking stick against the dojo mats. He then looked at the sword wielder. "Proceed, Leonardo."
"Once we arrived to the lair, I asked Don for assistance. He was reluctant at first but in the end, he helped me," Leo continued. "We did some research and used some of Who's information from her laptop-"
Who gasped. "-YOU DID WHAT!?"
"Oh boy," Mikey muttered.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" The girl was about to tackle the sword wielder when a pair of hands grabbed her by the waist.
"Easy, sis! Remember: breathe in, breathe out," the youngest turtle said, trying to not lose grip on the struggling girl.
"When we finally got her father's location, I used a voice program to send the message and used the copter to bring him here," Don continued, wincing when his father sighed loudly in disapproval.
By the end of the brothers' tale, Who had stopped struggling; she looked at the blue and the purple-clad ninjas, her vision blurring by the tears of anger.
"I've had enough of this," she hissed. Finally escaping from Mikey's grip, she stood up and made her way outside the dojo.
Splinter frowned. "Young-one, where do you think you are going?"
"I'm sorry, Sensei. But I can't stand one more minute near those two," Who said while she continued walking.
Leonardo swiftly followed her and grabbed her hand. "One-chan, c'mon, we can talk about-"
The girl's free hand slammed on the ninja's face, the sound of the slap echoing in the dojo. Leo's face, forcefully moved to the side, turned back to stare at the furious girl.
"Don't ever call me that again!" Who growled. "You know why I trusted you all my secrets, my problems… my whole life? Because I thought you weren't like humans; I thought your so beloved honor made you different! But I guess I was wrong, you are nothing but a backstabbing traitor!"
The three remaining turtles gasped. Nothing could hurt Leo more than a direct attack to his honor, they knew. The blue-clad ninja couldn't look at the girl directly in her eyes anymore; he lowered his gaze while she continued to let out her anger on him. After all, it was expected she'd react like that.
"Once, you told me I could trust in you, and I think now I know why: so you could lie to me and pretend I would forgive you so easily! Well, guess what? If that was your plan, you failed!"
Just before she left the dojo, Who looked at the purple-clad ninja. "Donnie… I can't believe a mind so brilliant could be so easily manipulated."
She was gone right after that.
Leonardo and Donatello silently stared at the floor: one standing, the other kneeling before Splinter with his other two brothers who looked at both of them in disappointment.
"I'm sorry, Sensei," Donatello started, his voice full of remorse. "I… we didn't think that-"
"-Sensei, this is all my fault," Leo cut in, walking to join his brothers and bowing deeply, forehead to ground. "If someone is to be punished here, that's me. Please, spare Donatello. I was the one who forced him into this"
"Leonardo, Donatello… one is just as liable as the other," Splinter spoke. "You two created this web of lies and because of your foolishness and lack of reason, both of you have lost your friend's confidence. Which means I cannot spare either of you, my sons."
"Master Splinter, maybe this pair of dummies messed things up but… isn't the thought what counts?" Mikey intervened.
"Yeah! I mean, Fearless just wanted to reunite a dad and his daughter… I guess," Raph added.
"We knew she had to face her past sooner or later, but this was not the correct way of doing it," Splinter replied. "Leonardo, do you have something to say in your defense?" the old rat asked to his eldest son.
Leo raised himself but remained on his knees and stared into his father's eyes. "I was just trying to help, Sensei. She… she missed her dad and… I thought I…I… " he trailed off, slowly looking at the dojo mats below him, unable to excuse himself.
Master Splinter took a few deep breaths through his nose to calm himself enough to speak. "You have disappointed me more than I ever thought possible, Leonardo. Therefore you will be harshly punished until we know of the result of your plan. I shall put you through pain endurance until we know how Who-san is."
Leo nodded. "Yes Sensei."
"As for you, Donatello, you are not to enter your laboratory for a month."
Don's eyes widened. "A month!?"
"Do you want it to be two?" the rat asked, arching a brow.
"N-no, Sensei."
"Good. You are dismissed."
Splinter left the dojo and returned to his room to continue his morning meditation, but he knew it would be impossible for him to focus right now. His usually level-headed sons had acted too rashly and what worried him the most was the consequences of their actions. He had worked hard to help the young girl restore her faith in friendship, to trust in society and trust in them, but now Splinter feared that after this 'betrayal', the young girl would close her heart once again. She may very well turn it into a cold, unfeeling stone, just as it was when they first met her.
…
"Thank you and please come again!" April said to her customer with a bright smile.
Sundays weren't exactly days off for her and Casey; the antiques' demand had increased so suddenly and so fast that they had to work when they were supposed to be resting. It didn't matter, though; some extra money was always welcome.
And apparently so was the unexpected company.
April raised her head at the sound of the tiny bell ringing once the door opened. She immediately recognized the dark hooded feminine figure entering to her shop.
"Whoey?"
The dark haired girl managed to give one step forward before her knees buckled and she fell on them, panting and grabbing her chest with one hand.
Alarmed, April jumped up over the counter and knelt beside her. "My… you're shivering. What happened? Are you ok?"
Who nodded and licked her dry lips to moisture them. "Would you mind if I stay here for a few days?" she asked.
"Of course not, but why? What's wrong?" April insisted.
The girl sighed and looked at her with slightly wet eyes. "It's a long story."
A couple of hours later and after checking Who's blood pressure, both girls were sitting side by side on the big living room couch. Once she heard Who's story about what had just happened back at the lair, April, though a little bit shocked, tried to find the best explanation for all this and somehow excuse her friends' actions.
"Look, I know you're pretty upset right now but don't you think you're overreacting? I mean, you did have a great time with your dad last night, right?" April said.
"Well, I was happy before I discovered that my ex-friend and my ex-best friend, who stole my laptop and hacked its password, violating my privacy and killing my trust, were the ones who brought him here!" Who said, tightening the grip on her cup of tea.
"Who, I'm not trying to defend anyone here. Just try to be reasonable- you're mad for no reason! Sure, Leo's way of doing things was not the right one but we all know he cares a lot about you and his main intentions were good. He wasn't trying to hurt you," April tried to reason with the dark haired girl.
Who placed her cup on the coffee table in order to hug a nearby pillow. "Then why do I feel like I've been stabbed in the back?"
April noticed the girl was shaking and holding back her tears; they weren't just tears of sorrow but tears of anger and disappointment as well.
The red haired woman sighed. "So, what are you going do with your dad now?"
"He's not guilty of what Leonardo and Donatello did so… I'll just spend time with him to make up for the two years I didn't see him, and after the Phantom's premiere, he'll be gone and I'll return to my normal life," Who said calmly. "And I'm probably gonna start looking for an apartment."
April blinked. "Say what?"
"I can't live with the enemy under the same roof, April."
"But they're not your enemies!" April replied.
"In my books, someone who betrays my trust becomes a certified enemy and those two are in that list," Who replied back, stood up and walked towards the door. "Anyway, I'm gonna go out for a walk. If they call, don't answer."
"While you're outside, maybe you-"
"-I won't reconsider, April. My decisions are laws I don't have any problem with obeying!" Who stated firmly.
"Just try. Please."
The dark haired girl stared into the pleading green eyes and sighed. "I can't promise anything."