"We fear that he is back again and he has reclaimed his powers again." Donnie anxiously stated.
"I can never imagine how much pain you've all been through." April said in sympathy.
"My brothers and I can never forgive him." Donnie declared through clenched teeth, his fists enclosed in anger.
April looked at him and placed her hand above his, "He'll get what he deserve."
Donnie blushed at the warm touch from the red haired girl. He vowed, "He will."
April retracted her hand from Donnie's and shyly twirled her hair using her finger, "Sorry about that."
"I don't mind." He mumbled. "If you don't mind, what happened to your parents?" He questioned, changing the topic. He quickly realized that it felt wrong for him to ask. "I didn't mean to! I'm sorry I asked."
April shook her head, "It's all right. It's only fair if I tell you." She sighed and looked down at the floor, "I was a kid when my parents went out for a while, leaving me with my aunt. Next thing I knew, my aunt was breaking the news to me that my parents died of car crash. My aunt was my only relative so it was automatically decided that I will live with her and take care of me. She did her best to raise me, she was like a mother to me until fate decided to take her away too."
Donnie gasped, "What happened?"
"I was sixteen when we discovered that she has stage 4 cancer and it was only a matter of time until she leaves me too. She refused to treat her condition, saying that I should just use the money to continue my studies. Months later, she died and since then, I had to do everything by myself."
"Wow." Donnie gaped at her. "You're amazing." He sighed dreamily at her. He quickly corrected himself as for her not to think of him as a creepy lovesick guy, "I mean, I admire how you endured everything and how independent you are." He chuckled nervously.
April stared at him, "No one ever told me that. Thank you." She smiled sincerely at him.
The vampire hybrid grinned at her, "Well, I was just saying the truth."
"Donnie, I have some questions, is it okay if you answer them for me?"
"Sure. But I have some questions of my own."
"What if I ask you a question and you answer then you ask and I'll answer?" She proposed.
"Fair enough." Donnie shrugged, agreeing to the idea. "Ladies first."
"All right. First, where do you get all the food?"
Donnie chuckled, "You're thinking if we're stealing it, aren't you?"
April smiled sheepishly, "Yeah."
"Can't blame you for thinking that way. To be honest, back when we first turned into monsters, we spent the money we were able to save before. But when we used it all, we had to scavenge for food until we met Mona. We were able to pay for the foods with Mona's help; she turned rocks into gold coins with her magic."
"Follow up question: Can't Master Hamato do the same magic?" April asked.
"Master Hamato is a sage and he mostly studied healing spells and charms. On the other hand, Mona is a witch as you have learned, she studied transfiguration spells which are spells that enable the users to turn something into other things. Currently, both Miwa and Mona are studying healing magic with Master Hamato as their teacher."
"I see." April thought aloud. "All right, your turn."
"How is school like at this time and in your country? Is it the same with those in the movies and television series?" Donnie inquired, his eyes sparkling with interest.
April giggled at his enthusiasm, "It's not as dramatic like they show it on television but it's almost the same thing."
"Wow. It sounds fun." Donnie thought aloud.
"My turn. You said you're from Japan, how come you speak English so fluently?"
"That's easy. English was taught to us."
"But you speak Japanese just as fluently, right?"
"Of course. I would never forget my country's language." Donnie replied in flawless Japanese.
"Okay…I didn't understand what you said." April sweatdropped and they both shared a laugh.
As soon as they stopped, Donnie offered, "I could teach you if you're interested."
"Really?" Now, it was April whose eyes shone with interest. "I really wanted to learn a new language."
"Don't they teach foreign language at school?"
"They do but it's fun to learn a new language when it's not a subject that you're required to take."
Donnie nodded, "It's true it's easier to do something when you put your heart into it instead of using this." He emphasized, tapping his temple and gesturing to his brain. "So, next question, how do you get by? I mean, how do you pay for your apartment, your food, your education, and everything else? Was your aunt's savings enough?"
April shook her head, "It wasn't enough. I knew that it wouldn't last me until I finish my studies. So, I took a part-time job as an intern for Channel 6 News during the weekend. It helps me pay for my education and other necessary expenses. As for the apartment, it belongs to my aunt so I didn't really need to worry about where I stay, just need to pay for the electricity and water."
"All right. Your turn to ask me a question." Donnie reminded, trying to get her mind off of her tragic past.
"I hope you don't mind but…exactly how old are you?" April raised a brow, curiosity piqued.
The vampire hybrid chuckled, "125 years old."
"What about Miwa, Mona, Renet, and Master Hamato?"
"Master Hamato is about…158 years old, if I remember correctly. Miwa is 1 year older than us which makes her 126. Mona is the same age as the four of us but she's older. If my memory serves me right, Renet is 115 years old."
The redhead freckled teen gaped at his response, to be honest, she expected them to be much older. "Wow."
Donnie laughed, "Yeah. We're pretty old."
April smiled, "You don't look like it. I'm 21 years old."
The vampire grinned back, "Right back at you. You look like you're not even 21…more like…18." April laughed at his response. "All right…it's my turn. Wh-"
"Donnie!" Leo exclaimed, cutting his brother mid-sentence and walking into the common room as Donnie cursed under his breath. "Why are you still awake?" He placed both hands on his hips. "I told you, go to sleep." He then caught sight of April, "Wait. Are you two talking?"
"We were." Donnie replied through gritted teeth.
April stood from the couch, "I should get some sleep too. Good night." She immediately left and went to her room.
As soon as Donnie was sure that April really left, he glared daggers and sarcastically praised his eldest brother, "Way to go."
Leo offered a sheepish smile, "Whoops?"
The reddish brown eyed turtle rolled his eyes and walked out of the common room and into his lab, slamming the door as he did.
Raph and Mikey's head popped out of the water from below the tire swing, startling Leo.
"How long have you been there?" The eldest of them inquired.
Raph shrugged and replied nonchalantly, "Long enough." He growled at Leo, "Also, did you really have to come at the worst time?"
Leo asserted, taking defense for his actions, "I didn't know, okay?"
"They look really cute together." Mikey smiled, imagining them if they get together.
"Are you two encouraging him?"
"Why not?" Mikey pouted. "It's about time for D to find love."
"I don't mind either. Do you prefer him to be cooped up in his lab 24/7?" Raph crossed his arms and smirked.
Leo trailed off, "No."
"Then shh." Mikey and Raph slowly submerged back into the water.
Leo muttered, "Okay."
"Langinstein!"
Irma ignored the call of her name, briskly walking on the hallway of the school.
"Langinstein!"
'Dammit, what does he want?' Irma thought furiously. She gasped as she felt the strong grip on her arm. The next minute later, Timothy dragged her into a corner as Irma's back was pressed against the lockers.
"Where is she?" Timothy's eyes flared in anger.
Irma raised a brow, "Who?"
Timothy slammed a fist on the locker, creating a huge dent and earning a squeak from the bespectacled girl. "April! Where is she?"
"How should I know?"
"You're her friend, Langinstein! You ought to know where she is!"
"Obviously, not this time. Besides, if someone here who would know where she is. It's you. You stalk her, don't you?"
"Quit playing games with me, Langinstein! And don't call me, stalker! Just tell me where she is!"
"Fine. I won't call you a stalker. You're just a crazy and creepy obsessed with April and follows her wherever she go kind of guy, would that do?" Irma smirked and narrowed her eyes.
"Tell me where she is!" Timothy demanded.
"I told you already: I don't know."
"If I discover that you know where she really is and don't want to cooperate, I'll torture you to death."
"We'll just see about that. But in the meantime. F***. Off." Irma glared as she skillfully slipped away.
Timothy slammed his fist on the locker, glaring at the direction where the bespectacled girl walked away, "You're dead, Langinstein!"
[A/N: Back at Donnie's Japanese statement, I can't really speak Japanese and I don't want to rely on Google translate since I think it's not credible so let's just assume that I wrote that part in Japanese.]