New York City-
Daddy was certainly right- life in America was very, very different. The culture shock was immense, and not just because I lived in a part of Chinatown with my great uncle. Although my grandfather had immigrated from Japan to Germany after the Second World War, I didn't look like I came from Asian descent. My maternal, Japanese grandfather married my German grandmother, whose daughter married an Austrian. Lots of patrons were confused why this white girl worked at the old, Japanese man's noodle shop and called him "uncle". But I adored my great uncle Hideo Murakumi.
I was busy cleaning behind the counter when he hollered for me. "Athénaïs-chan? Could you come here a moment for me please?" He asked in his broken English. "Yes, Uncle?" Taking off my apron, I didn't hesitate to approach him. "Would you please keep an eye on this? It's a pickup for some of my regulars," he patted a box already placed inside of a bag. "Of course. What is it?" "My very own creation: pizza gyoza." "Pizza gyoza?" My eyebrow lifted. That sounded gross. He nodded and turned his head my way excitedly. "Would you like to try some? Wouldn't hurt you to put some meat on those bones of yours." "Erm, thank you, Uncle. But I'll have to pass. I don't eat pizza." "You don't eat pizza? My word. What do they feed you in Europe? A diet of milk and bread?" I chuckled and shook my head. Uncle thought that I was much too skinny, when I was a regular size for a European girl of my age. Being in America though, I can see why he may think I'm too small.
Uncle decided to let the issue drop as he went to go back into the kitchen. "I'm going to start on another takeout order. Please make sure they get the box when they come." "Yes, Uncle. What's the name?" "Huh?" "The person who ordered it- what's their name?" I clarified myself a bit more this time. He nodded in understanding. "It's for the Turtles." "The Turtles?" "Don't worry; you'll know who they are. They're good friends of mine and crazy about pizza gyoza." How anyone could be crazy about pizza gyoza is beyond me. But I complied and obediently planted my elbows on the counter ready to wait for these "Turtles". I wonder if that's a gang name or something; pretty weird gang name. Maybe Turtles has a different, mobster meaning in English. "I'll be here, Uncle." "Good, thank you. And for goodness sake, eat something; you're going to widdle down into nothing." "Yes, Uncle," I rolled my eyes. God, I'm sick of people telling me to eat more. I eat three square meals a day; the portions are just a lot smaller than what they serve here in America. But they're normal where I come from. Oh well, I know he's just looking out for my own good.
I didn't have to wait long for the front door to open up. The patron caught me in the middle of cleaning the tables in between the entrance and the counter. To my surprise, it wasn't a gang member- aka a Turtle- who walked in, but a girl. She looked to be about my age or so; pale, red-hair, slender, and a kind, freckled face. She also seemed equally as startled to see me there instead of my great uncle. Her feet came to a halt for a moment and we looked at each other.
"Oh, I'm sorry; I was looking for Murakami-san." "Hello there. Hideo is my uncle." "Your uncle?" Her eyebrow rose in mild astonishment; believe me when I say we look nothing alike. I grinned and nodded. "My great uncle, to be exact. I just moved from Vienna; I'm here to help him with his shop. I take it your one of Turtles?" She laughed. "Well, I guess you could say that. My name's April O'Neil." "Athénaïs Lauser." "Ah-ta-nih-ooze?" Her pronunciation made me burst out laughing. "Heh, close enough," I then took the bag and handed it to her. She accepted with a friendly smile.
"So, how are you liking New York so far? This your first time in America? Your English is very good, by the way." "Thank you! Uh, yes; this is my first time in North America, actually. New York is… different." "Heh, big cry from Vienna, huh?" "You can say that again. The people are nice, though." "Haha, well then you obviously haven't been here long enough. Anyway, I should get going. It was nice meeting you," she waved as she headed for the door. I waved back. "Nice meeting you too, April. Have a good night." "You too," and then she made her exit. Uncle was still busy preparing orders in the back kitchen, so I decided to keep cleaning until it was time to close.
Eventually the others came to pick up their food and it was time to close up shop. By then I was hungry but not for Japanese food; I'd had enough of that in the last week to last me the rest of the month. There was this sandwich shop called Subway around the bend; I'm sure they'd have something for me to nibble on. "Uncle! I'm going to get something to eat!" I yelled loud enough for him to hear me in the back. "Ok! Don't be too long! And bring a key with you!" He shouted back. "Alright! Bye!" I snatched up my phone, which had my bank card inside its case, and locked the front door behind me.
Subway was a new and curious experience. I got to put all the toppings on I wanted, which meant I piled on the vegetables. Very strange- most sandwiches were made on baguettes in Austria. Here they used this good-smelling, poofy loaf called "Italian bread". And their mustard was this vibrant, yellow, sour-tasting stuff. It was good! Good, but weird. Americans sure like their foods to be colourful.
I thanked the server, who asked me several times if I'd like a bag of chips or a drink with my meal, and I headed back home with my sandwich in hand. I was about halfway back when I noticed someone tailing me. Now, this was nothing new to me; I am from Europe, after all. Men have followed me before in lots of locations- mostly Paris and Brussels. I once had three different men stalk me in a weekend alone in Brussels; it's just going to happen if you're a young woman and you go out there alone. Nothing ever happened however, and I saw it more as an inconvenience than anything. The trick was to make a run for it and get lost either in the crowds or streets- it always worked. I was convinced that tonight would be like all the others and I would shake them off in a matter of seconds.
What I was not expecting was for another man- this one much rougher-looking- to step out from the corner in front of me. My feet stopped as I gawked at him in alarm. Ok, this was new. One I can handle, but I've never had two men try to approach me at the same time before. I could always run across the street and go from there; you become very good at formulating escape routes after dealing with scenarios such as these. The brute chuckled sinisterly, taking a menacing step my way.
"Well, well, well, what have we here? You lost, little girl?" I didn't say anything. Rule number one when being stalked by a predator: never verbally communicate. The man behind me was also getting uncomfortably closer. "Heh, I don't think she likes you too much, Reggie," he said in this weird, American accent I'd never heard before. And Reggie? What kind of name is that? For an American, I mean; it would make sense if he was an Englishman. I kept my back completely straight; same with my face. Rule number two for dealing with stalkers: never smile or show emotion, especially positive emotion.
"You're pretty cute. Whatcha say, princess? I think we can have a really good time once we got to know each other," the back one exclaimed. "What's your name?" Oh, I doubt they'd be able to pronounce it even if I did tell them; my eyes rolled inwardly. I think they were growing tired of my unresponsiveness. The goal was for them to get bored with me, and it didn't look to be working. I guess American men were different- or in their case, more dense. "So, how 'bout it? Wanna hang with us? I promise you'll have a good time." "No, thank you," were the only words I let myself say; in a very cold tone too. I'm usually very warm and smiley, but living in European cities had made me learn to be otherwise around men like these slime balls.
The front thug took another dangerous step forward. "Awe, looks like our girl is the shy type. I bet it's because you're scaring her, Sid." "So? I think she's even cuter when she's afraid." I beg your pardon?! What kind of sick, twisted compliment was that? Disgusting! My heart did start to race afraid when Reggie's hand suddenly reached out for me. "Don't worry. We'll take good care of you, sweetheart." I was literally about to make a dash for it out onto the street until….
Now, you're not going to believe me- even I don't believe it entirely- but before either of these jerks could act, this large, oddly shaped figured jumped down from the shadows on the rooftop. All our heads jerked to the side, only to see this… this… turtle standing there, glaring at us- or should I say the men accosting me. W-What…. My mouth hung open speechless as I gawked at this unnatural, intimidating creature. What is it? W-What is happening just now? I've never…. seen anything like it before.
Raphael's P.O.V:
Nugh, that Leonardo. Why does he get to make all the decisions? Who made him the leader? Well, I know who, but that didn't help my annoyance. I kept hopping from rooftop to rooftop, totally bored out of my shell. Since the Kraang and the Foot Clan had been laying low for the past couple of weeks, our oh-so-righteous leader thought it would be a good idea for us to spilt up and comb over the city individually. Only problem, it was super dull going out on patrol alone. It got to the point where I even missed Mikey's antics, I was that bored.
I'd been looking for hours and found nothing. Not even a break-in or something, anything to keep me entertained. Things seemed to turn up though when I spotted a few Purple Dragons near Murakami-san's shop. Finally, some entertainment! They were weak enough opponents, so I'd be able to take them on by myself. Sai in hand, I got ready to jump down from the building I was on when all of a sudden, I saw this petit teenage girl standing in between the two gangsters.
What the…? Is she stupid? Why's she just standing there like that? Doesn't she know how dangerous those guys can be? Well, not to me but to someone like her. I didn't know what to think for a moment, but quickly realized that she likely needed some help. Heh, fine by me! I didn't hesitate to jump down to her aid. Yeah, yeah; I know Leo wouldn't approve of me showing myself to humans so readily, but this was my first action all night and I wasn't about to pass this up. Besides, I was certain that the moment a big, green, mutant turtle armed with ninja weapons showed up, she'd be outta there in no time; screaming her pretty, little head off I'm sure. Humans always ran away whenever we showed our faces. Why would she be any different?
Turns out I was wrong. Way wrong. She didn't budge an inch while I beat these weaklings down to a pulp. It was over in less than a minute too; talk about a let-down, I thought they'd at least put up a better fight than that. Still, I didn't deprive myself from celebrating this minor victory. My fist pumped high into the air. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!" A wide grin drew across my face. Or at least, it did until I noticed the girl take a step towards me; her eyes as wide as dinner plates.
Athénaïs's P.O.V.-
"Turtle…. You're a-a… a turtle….?" I couldn't stop blinking, convinced that my eyes were playing tricks on me. He- at least I think it was a "he"- frowned and crossed his arms. "You're still here? Why haven't you run away?" He didn't sound impressed. I, meanwhile, lifted my hand so to rest on my forehead as I staggered over to the unconscious bodies now laying on the ground. "What did Uncle put in that tea?" My lips uttered more to myself than anyone as I bent down to inspect the men.
"I need to call an ambulance." "Why?" "Why?! You smashed them into the pavement! They need to go to the hospital," I didn't mean to yell as loud as I did; his question just shocked me so. And forget the fact that I was still trying to comprehend that this man-sized turtle was talking to me. His eyes rolled behind his red mask. "Don't bother. They'll be fine; besides, they probably couldn't afford a trip to the hospital anyway. And hey! Don't change the subject. Why didn't run away yet?" "Uhhhhhhhhh, was I supposed to?" I blinked up at him incredulously. "Oh, gee; I don't know. Maybe that's what normal, teenage girls do when they see a giant, mutant turtle?" He replied, clearly annoyed. He's annoyed? After what he did to these men; granted, they weren't the best of people, but still.
I stood up and locked eyes with him. He seemed… hard; hard and tough. But also easy to tease. Thankfully for him, I'm not that kind of girl. I simply let out a sigh and shut my eyes. "I'm dreaming anyway; this is all dream. You're not real." "If that's what you need to tell yourself to sleep at night," there was a bitterness in his tone. I decided to play along, which probably wasn't the best if this was all a mental delusion anyway.
"Ok, assuming this isn't a dream and there is such a thing as a human-sized turtle in New York, why do you have ninja weapons? And more importantly, are there more of you?" "Ha! Like I'd tell you. You don't need to know nothin'." Oh my god, what a child. Or more like a tsundere: hot-tempered and standoffish when he's caught doing something nice, god forbid. But I didn't let it get to me. Considering that he did just rescue me, I thought it best to end on a high note. I brushed myself off and forced a grin his way.
"Well, thank you for saving me; I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't showed up." He snorted, tearing his stone glare off to the side. "Whatever." Don't let it get to you; don't let it get to you, I gritted my teeth. "I'm Athénaïs. What's your name?" "As if I'd tell you." Oh, fantastic; the first mutant anything I meet, and he's utterly refusing to talk to me. Welp! That's my cue to go home. I sighed and turned my feet to leave.
"Thanks again, Mr. Turtle." "Mr. Turtle?" He repeated in a growl. "Would you prefer Schildkröte?" I couldn't stop myself from smirking. "What?" Mr. Turtle was more perplexed this time. Yeah, I didn't think so. With that out of the way, I kept on walking home. But before I did, I placed my sandwich bag on the ground. Mr. Turtle blinked from it to me confused and a little suspicious, but I merely smiled back. "It's to say thanks for your help. Get home safe, Mr. Turtle," I waved as I took off down the road. My trot soon turned into a mild jog, and I secretly smiled, trying my best not to let on that I knew he was there.
Raphael's P.O.V.-
This is stupid; I can't believe how stupid this is. I couldn't help but glower as I followed the girl with the hard to pronounce name from the rooftops. Why was I shadowing her? Who knows. Definitely not me. I mean, she's just a human girl- a human girl with really good tastes in sandwiches. I polished off as I hopped along in the dark of night. I couldn't really explain it; I suppose I just wanted to confirm that she stayed out of trouble until she got to where she was going. Something in my gut told me that she was a magnet for trouble.
I stopped when she arrived at a familiar place. Hey, isn't that Murakami-san's restaurant? It was! I watched from a distance as she pulled out a key and opened the front door; the place was pitch black inside. A light turned on and I could see her take off her coat from the window. Well, that's weird; Murakami-san never mentioned her before. I wonder if she's working for him or something. Doubting that she could hurt a fly- literally- I wasn't all that suspicious of her sudden and unexpected arrival to Murakami-san's home. Nevertheless, I unconsciously decided to keep an eye on her, just in case.
With that determined, I stayed there for a minutes, quietly observing. The light on the bottom floor clicked off and a light upstairs turned on. It was around this time that I thought it time to go back to the lair. And along the way, I did my upmost best to vehemently ignore any and all thoughts of her.