*I think I enjoyed this a little too much.
Michelangelo was worn out, sore, and thirsty. But under the circumstances, he still didn't feel like he could actually complain much. No one had laid a hand on him since Takashi's forced "demonstration", and the man himself hadn't followed through on the threat with his blade. Not yet anyway. Since it was difficult to sleep in the fashion that he was bound to the chair, he'd spent the last few hours considering how he could buy them all some more time.
Takashi had been kind enough to spout his theories on them within his earshot, but that didn't mean that the turtle had a clue of the behaviour that was really expected from one of the Guardians. He mentally went over phrases in his head, carefully searching out his Sensei's speech pattern in particular, as he expected it would sound closer to how one of the Four Kings was supposed to sound.
At the same time, he would need to exaggerate his own behaviour as "himself", to be certain that Takashi could distinguish the difference between the two. It was a fact that the youngest of the turtles was not a good liar under pressure, but if there was one thing Michelangelo was not lacking in, it was creativity. Creating stories and roles in his mind had never been a difficult thing . So rather than focusing all of his energy on hiding the truth, he would have to feed the man a believable role that would completely distract him from it.
None of these wise old types really say what they mean anyway, right? That's part of their shtick - you're supposed to figure it out without them telling you completely. Be purposefully vague, and let the man draw his own conclusions. Shell, where'd that come from? You don't even know what's in the box until you go to let everything out, he thought with a little amusement.
The orange-masked turtle was merely resting his eyes, when he sensed someone nearly standing over him. He opened his eyes with what he assumed was a rather vacant expression, and raised them slowly to focus on Takashi.
"Otetsudai shimshouka?" (Can I help you?) He asked the man.
"Awase mono, hanare mono." (What may be joined, may be separated.) Takashi answered coolly. "It does not bode well for your 'host' for you to disappear on me."
"Abunai koto wakega no uchi." (Dangerous things are a harm to oneself.) Michelangelo replied. "You forget who you speak with son of Man."
"It would be easier not to forget, if you would remain accessible for me to speak with. There is much to say between us."
"Where words are multiplied, so often is foolishness." The turtle intoned.
"Allow me a single question for now then." Takashi requested. "Answer this, and I may yet grant your host relief of some fashion. Why do you come to us only now? The cries of your own children in Asia itself were not loud enough to reach your ears?"
"Who said they did not?" The turtle said simply. "You do not actually believe that your actions were hidden from our sight."
"But you made no attempt to hinder our collective purpose." The man pointed out.
"Your blindness is not my concern." Michelangelo stated solemnly.
"What are you saying? That you've already taken action against us before?"
"The wind blows where it will - if you fail to distinguish a breeze from a tempest, how can you truly count yourself wise?" Shell, I don't even know what I'm saying right now - I'm sure he'll figure something out.
"How long have you been coming for us? A few years, a decade? Why take such strong interest in our actions, when there remains many more enemies of your noble empire?"
"What right does the clay have to correct that hands that shape it?" The turtle answered even more quickly.
"Do you honestly mean to answer me nothing?" Takashi said.
"The one is a fool, who does not recognize answers already given."
Takashi grunted something indiscernible under his breath. "Then how are we to proceed? Can you give me one straight answer?"
"Many answers I have already given, it is no fault of mine that you do not grasp them." He replied.
Takashi paced a few steps, and then focused hard on the restrained turtle again. "It seemed that we were covering more territory when we discussed those that are so important to you. Perhaps it makes more sense to return to those grounds."
"I have already spoken what I will of them, that they are not to be harmed."
"Your own cooperation with me will be what determines that." Takashi stated flatly, and the turtle visibly faltered with a trembling sigh.
While Takashi watched, the turtle yawned deeply, and then glanced at the man again, as if noticing him for the first time.
"You again, huh? I don't 'spose you've got any breakfast in your back pocket. If you've come to interrogate me, the least you can do is feed me first. Guarantee I'll stay awake longer." Michelangelo said impishly.
"I have not come to speak with you turtle, but the one above you. How can I get him back?"
"I dunno doofus, you could start by not ticking him off." The turtle said sarcastically, and received a hard right fist across the mouth for it. Too much Mikey, a little too much.
Michelangelo craned his neck painfully from the blow, and scowled at the Asian man. "Sorry if that's a little too honest for ya dude. Lemme try and speak your language here. You'll get more flies with honey than with vinegar, y'know? You want him to stick around, you have to treat him right. But there's no sense in going off on me about it, 'cause I don't control it anymore than you do."
"Why does he care for those women so dearly? He called them 'life-changers'. I'm not familiar with the phrase."
"You wouldn't be," The turtle said contemptuously. "Because the only thing you see in these girls is their potential worth in money, not the value of who they are, or what they have to give."
"But these three in particular hold some special value to the world?"
"Every life holds value." The turtle corrected. "They're just a few of those chosen for this time and place."
"To do what?" Takashi demanded.
"I doubt you'll ever have the patience to figure that out dude."
Calley was lying on her side in Shirou's quarters, silently facing the wall as she'd been doing for hours already. It was incredibly surreal to be back in this place again, after already being free of it. She was staring now at her own tally markings on the wall, etchings she'd made to try and retain some sense of sanity inside her tortured mind. Shirou had forced himself on her the night before like so many other times, an act that was more about dominance on the warrior's part than real pleasure.
It was different to see this room, to be in the man's presence when she was actually in her right mind. The man had left her wrists bound even though the door was locked; she was guessing more out of spite than actually expecting her to try anything. She felt sick to her stomach, though whether it was more from fear or grief, she couldn't say. Here on her own in the room she'd been left in, she'd spent countless days in the past simply in longing, waiting for Shirou to show up with the next fix.
Calley didn't care so much if she died at this point, but the other women and Michelangelo didn't deserve this. Frustration had welled up inside of her more than once, as she thought about members of the Akiudo laying their hands of them. But upon one such vision her mind kept repeatedly returning, of being alone with Leonardo in his room their last night togther.
Pulling away from him had been the last thing that she wanted to do. She had no fear of being harmed or taken advantage of by the blue-masked turtle. In fact, she knew she was safer in his hands than she would ever have been with anyone else. It was not even for the sheer awkwardness of their physical differences, which in Calley's mind paled to nothing compared to how she felt about him.
But it couldn't be that easy, shouldn't be that easy to get close to him. She knew it was not sympathy or pity in his eyes, that he honestly cared for her more than anyone else ever had, save her father alone. And that was exactly the problem. She was no more worthy to be on the receiving end of such devotion, than she was ready to be considered for sainthood.
There was no part of her that was remotely deserving of Leonardo. If truth were spoken out loud, she was also deathly afraid of disappointing him, when he finally found out she really couldn't be normal again. Calley didn't feel like she was in a position to be with anyone, particularly when she was almost certain she would end up hurting him.
But I already have hurt him. I'm kidding myself if I think I can make these emotions just disappear. But wanting him has got nothing to do with deserving him. To die here has to be the better thing, for his sake. But I wish I would have told him why when I had the chance. I should have said how I felt, how much he meant to me. None of it makes a difference now, but at least he would have known the truth. God, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I'm so messed up, I'm sorry I messed this up.
Calley heard the soft click of the door being unlocked, and stiffened severely. It was Shirou returning from a work-out, and feeling utterly exhilarated by the sound of it.
"To lose your life and then get it back again, it's one of the greatest feelings that there is." The warrior proclaimed, as he pulled Calley forcibly onto her back. "But I have a feeling it will not be comparable to the satisfaction of taking you apart, piece by piece." He finished, and waited for some reaction from her.
Her expression, though it had already been pained, didn't actually change. He peered at the woman curiously, searching for the familiar desperation in those brown eyes. There was plenty of feeling in them, just not the same that he'd witnessed month after months. In slow motion, he withdrew a packet of heroin from his pocket, giving her a wide smile.
"You do still want this, don't you sureibu?"
For an instant she literally stopped breathing, as the craving that had been a note in the background of her mind, once more grabbed center-stage. A part of her wanted it very much, wanted the escape and the temporary euphoria that would release her.
"Do you want it Haruko?" Shirou asked again. "Do you want it more than anything else?"
More than anything else....No, what she wanted more than anything was to be finally free once and for all, in the arms of the one she wasn't supposed to want. The vision of the blue-banded turtle instantly brought tears to her eyes in that moment, which Shirou completely misinterpreted as something else.
"You won't get it now." He told her matter-a-factly. "You took advantage of my hospitality before. You'll not receive another moment of pleasure before you die, I promise you."
