Leonardo's P.O.V. (for this chapter only (maybe))-
It was a lazy Sunday night spent lounging in the lair. Mikey was playing on the pinball machine, Raph had just finished pulverizing the punching dummy and was now hiding out in his room, and Donnie, April, and myself were hanging out on the couch watching mindless television. Well, I was anyway. Donnie was busy tinkering with one of his smaller hand-held gadgets and April was texting away on her phone. My eyes rolled over to her curiously when she let out this long, frustrated sigh. Her arms drooped down at her sides and her eyes stared forward into nothing.
"Something wrong?" I asked her with a detached sort of interest. She let another heavy sigh. "It's just this jerk from school; he won't leave Athénaïs alone." "Athénaïs? Your European friend?" My heart skipped a beat upon hearing her name. To be honest, I'd forgotten it; but I hadn't forgotten her… It's a really pretty name, I realized after hearing it again.
April nodded. "Some guy named Craig just texted me, begging me for her number. I don't even know how he got my number! Ugh, no matter how many times she's tells him no, he doesn't get the hint. No, it's not even a hint- it's a big flag waving in front of his stupid face. And he still won't see it!" Her arms crossed. She was clearly upset. "Oh…." My eyes lowered a bit. I hadn't any experience with anything erm, "girl" related before. My ninja training didn't teach me how to interact with girls. Donnie's shoulder gave a little shrug; he didn't even look up at us while giving his two cents.
"Maybe he's just really in love with her," my brother remarked. Even I was incredulous to this response, as was April. She frowned in a disgusted way. "That's not how it works, Donnie. It doesn't matter how he feels; if she says no, that's the end of it." "I-Is she going to be alright?" I found myself asking in a shaky voice; this conversation now had my full attention. April sighed yet again; her posture relaxing a tad. "Yeah, it's just bad timing. On top of Mr. Stocker, one of her friends has ghosted her all week. Seriously, who would up and leave Athénaïs? She's great! He's obviously wasn't that good a friend to begin with," she stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Yeah…." My eyes rolled downwards slightly.
"You guys are still keeping an eye on Murakami-san's shop, right?" I flinched as I noticed that she was talking directly to me again. I looked straight at her and began to nod my head but stopped. No….. To be honest, we hadn't checked up on the shop in a long time; none of us had, save Raphael that one night. But he didn't see Athénaïs….. None of us had ever met her before. Suddenly realizing that April was expecting an answer, I flashed her an assuring grin. "Don't worry, we…. or I got it." And she smiled back me gratefully. "Thanks Leo. I knew I could count on you."
April said goodbye and made her way home about an hour later. I waited until she was gone before grabbing my swords and getting ready to head out myself. Ever since April repeated her name, I couldn't get it out of my head. I literally knew nothing about Murakami-san's great niece. Not what she looked like, not what she sounded like- nothing. I had been planning on visiting the shop for a while now anyway. I just wanted to make sure that Murakami-san- and his niece- were doing alright. What can I say? She's an innocent girl! Is it so wrong for me to want to check up on her? It had nothing to do with me wanting to see what she looked like….. Ok, maybe a tiny bit, but that wasn't the main reason! I swear!
As I was turning to make my way to the exit, Raph finally emerged from his room. He blinked at me like he was surprised…. for some reason. "Going somewhere?" His eyebrow raised in my direction. "Yes, and you're staying here. Keep an eye on him, Donnie," I instructed our younger brother. "Hey, leave me outta this," he shot back. "And where are you going? Do you know what time it is?" Raphael folded his arms, glaring at me suspiciously. I snorted softly.
"Oh, that's rich coming from you. You think you have the right to ask where I'm going after all the times you've snuck out?" Raphael glared at me for a moment longer before rolling his eyes. "Whatever," he huffed, stomping back to his room. I knew I didn't have to worry about him tailing me; Splinter would notice if he left the lair so late again. But I also knew he had no problem with me going out. Satisfied with that, I left the manhole cover and began my way to Murakami-san's noodle shop.
The whole way, I kept imagining and re-imagining what Athénaïs might look and be like. April had nothing but praise for her. Besides, she seemed popular with boys; that must be for a reason. I hadn't actually intended on showing myself to her…. tonight anyway. I just wanted to pop by, make sure that the coast was clear around the shop, perhaps get a glimpse of her through a window, and head back home with peace of mind. It's not that I didn't want to meet her tonight; I just wanted to do everything in my power to keep her safe and ease her into uh… meeting me. The very thought made my cheeks blush a bit. I wasn't lying when I said I didn't have much experience with girls. This would be new for me too…..
I landed on a rooftop nearby the shop. Just a few more roofs to go and…. Sudden and unforeseen voices broken my concentration. I looked down onto the street in front of me to see three figures; I could make them out to be two guys and one girl. My eyes widened as I witnessed one of the guy's holding the girl by the arm. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the two boys were Purple Dragon! And the girl….
Whoa! What a girl! No, not girl- she's a lady. Young, about my age or so; maybe a year older. But she was stunning! She had this sort of regal, classic beauty about her. You'd see her face in one of those old, Renaissance paintings rather than a fashion magazine- if that makes any sense. She just had that "look" about her. Long, soft, flowing hair, and a slender physique; her skin was as pale as milk. She looked weak and defenceless, like a delicate flower. I know that may me sound horrible but if you saw her, you'd know what I mean. It only added to her beauty in my eyes. Her presence radiated nothing but positivity and kindness- again, if that makes any sense. Even in fear and struggle, her movements were full of grace.
My body moved before my mind could tell it too. Without hesitation I leapt down onto the ground, pulling out both my swords. I had just interrupted the creep talking to her; he was holding her dangerously close and smirking down at her with a lustful, sickening gaze. "Looks like no one is gonna save you this time, huh sweetheart?" "Let go of me!" She shrieked so loudly that I couldn't detect an accent. His leer only widened, and I saw his grip tighten on her skin. "Heh, I don't think so, princess. I'm gonna…." Before he could finish his malicious sentence, I stepped out from the shadows shooting him daggers in the form of a glare.
"Let her go!" I commanded in my heroic tone. I gotta admit, I'd never felt more heroic than I did in that moment. All eyes zoomed my way; the Purple Dragons narrowing and hers growing in shock and alarm. Well, I guess she would be stunned; I'm willing to bet I'm the first mutant she's ever seen before. But I didn't worry about that now; there were bigger concerns on my mind presently. "Oh no! Not again," the other freak- the one not holding her- groaned. I shifted the weapons in my hands, not moving my glare off the first jerk. "Drop her!"
Maybe I shouldn't have used those exact words… I hadn't expected him to literally drop, or rather toss her off to the side. The girl landed on the ground on her side, with her hands only stopping the full impact of her fall. I immediately ran to position myself in between her and them, baring my clenched teeth enraged at these thugs. Then I hollered over my shoulder: "run!"
She didn't have to be told twice. While she got up and took off down the street- the backpack she had been wearing still on her person- I proceeded to beat the ever-loving crap out of these losers. I made sure to make quick work of them; I didn't want her to feel like I was following her, but I instantly wanted to make sure that she made it home alright. Able to locate her pretty quickly, I discreetly followed alongside in the shadows of the rooftops. You can't imagine how high my heart jumped up my throat when she burst through the door of Murakami-san's shop…
I observed with a piercing realization as she ran into Murakami-san's arms once inside. It hit me like a crashing wave while I simply, effortlessly watched the two relations embrace each other. This girl…. She's… She's April's friend from school; she's Murakami-san's niece….. She's Athénaïs. My hand raised up to my chest as I reminded myself to breathe. Ok, yeah- I get it. I get why Craig has such a thing for her. Just one look at her and I understood…. I understood it perfectly. April's right about that loser who ghosted her; he's clearly the one missing out here.
I didn't wanna leave…. not right away, in any event. The cat's outta the bag, metaphorically speaking. She'd seen me; she knows that I exist now- that there's a human-sized, green, mutant turtle armed with ninja weapons roaming around the city. Is there really a point of staying away any longer? But then, she's been through a lot tonight; I don't want to add any unnecessary pressure. Plus there's my brothers….
Oh god, my brothers; I'd forgotten all about them. Raph would probably want nothing to do with her, so that'd be fine. But the other two….. Mikey would have a field day if he learned that Athénaïs knew about us, er me. And Donnie would wanna use her to get closer to April most likely. I cringed at the very thought of introducing her to them so soon…. too soon, really. It began to dawn on me the longer I watched her- maybe I should just keep this encounter to myself for the time being.
Yeah, that's a good idea. I don't want the others getting too excited and thinking they can just waltz into her life willy-nilly. This kind of situation required delicacy. After all, the last thing I wanted was to scare or startle Athénaïs more than she probably already was. If I wanted to introduce her to the gang, I'd have to do it in baby steps…. starting with me meeting her face-to-face of course. Once she was comfort being around me, then I could tell my brothers about her. But that would take time…. One last look at her before I started back home confirmed it to me. Confirmed it, and made me smile; a real, genuine smile. It'll just have to be me and her for a while, it looks like.