Luckily for me I don't think that Master Saki was quite aware that I might have been involved with the disappearance of Lea and Donatello. But no one came to get me or even check my room earlier that morning when I had woken up which kind of scared me because I thought for sure Hun would stop by to interrogate me.
I got up from the bed and put on my belt on, which held my sais and walked out of my room, down the hall to get on the elevator to go up to the top floor where Saki's dojo was. I was afraid if I continued to remain isolated and quiet that Saki may grow suspicious so I decided to kind of act like I didn't know what was going on. When I reached the top floor, I noticed that the door to his room was cracked open and I could hear him yelling at someone in the room. Curious, I stepped quietly over to the door and looked inside.
In the room Saki was standing in front of a foot ninja, who was on his knees. The side of Saki's body was to me and behind the foot ninja, stood Hun. Master Saki seemed very displeased about something with the foot ninja so I figured this was the same guy who was guarding the room where Don and Lea were.
"I can't believe that you would allow this to happen!" Saki screamed at the guy. "It was very important for me to HAVE at least one of them! Those miserable shellback freaks have been a thorn in my side for too long." I held my breath some as my eyes went wide. I totally forgot about the guard! If he tells Saki that I had made a visit to see Don then Saki may grow suspicious. I looked on my heart was pounding hard.
"Sorry, Master for my failure," The ninja replied as he stayed where he was on his knees, his head hung down low in shame. I was in shock when I heard the reply. He was going to take TOTAL responsibility for this even though he was tricked.
"You know I do not have any tolerance for failure." Saki walked away from the ninja, over to where he normally sat and picked up something. I really couldn't quite see at first because his back was blocking my view, but when he turned around to walk back to the ninja, I saw it! He had slid a gauntlet on his right hand. It had 2 deadly blades extending forward from the wrist. I watched in horror as I saw Saki walked back over. I couldn't believe what he was going to do! I looked over helplessly at the foot ninja, who seemed to stay where he was. Saki stopped in front of the ninja again and looked down at him. I was pleading and hoping that Saki may found forgiveness, but the expression on Saki's face turned to anger again, he let out a growl as he quickly grabbed the ninja's left shoulder and thrusted the blade straight into the ninja. He thrusted it so deeply that the blade stuck out on the other side of the ninja's body. My eyes went wide, I wanted to cry out, but I held it in. I could see the blood falling all over the floor. The ninja let out a faint groan then fell to the ground when Saki removed the blade.
At that very point, I wished I had gone with Don and Lea. I felt so afraid. I never seen anyone get killed in front of me and I felt so scared; tears filled my eyes. I wanted to get out of there right away. Suddenly Saki's voice grabbed my attention once more. "I do not think Melinda is aware of their disappearance, but now since they are gone, she is very crucial for us. Bring her to me, I will have a word with her."
As soon as he said that, I panicked! I knew I had to get back to my room. I got up and ran swiftly to the elevator, almost tripping over my feet. I got in the elevator and went down to the floor where my room was, hoping that Hun did not spot me. I ran to my room and jumped on the bed and trying to calm myself down so Hun wouldn't suspect anything.
Minutes later, Hun walked into my room. "Master Saki wants to speak with you," he said, his eyes studying me.
I got up from the bed and walked over to where he stood. "Sure, what about?" I tried to make myself look confused.
"About something that happened last night." Hun said as he motioned me to follow him. I nodded my head and followed him back up to Saki's dojo, trying my best to get the image of what I had just witnessed out of my head.
When I reached the dojo I was in complete shock to see that the dead foot ninja's body was gone and so was the blood on the floor! It was as if nothing had happened!
Saki looked very pleased to see me. "Ah, Melinda, glad of you to come. We have urgent business to discuss."
"Sure what about?" I tried my best to remain calm.
"Apparently, it seems that the turtle tricked the guard and escaped last night, but no matter, I am still very proud of you capturing him for us, it means a lot to my clan," He smiled gently as he put his hand on my shoulder this time I shivered some. "So are you ready for your training session? You are doing quite well and I am pleased with your ability." I nodded my head.
That day I had practiced with Master Saki for almost the entire day! I mean I did get breaks in between, but he was very good! He taught me a lot of moves and he looked pleased on well I could do! I guess those fencing classes paid off after all! I am not quite sure what time it was at first when I walked back to my room, but I knew it must have been pretty late. Master Saki had even allowed Hun to give me tours of the building! I was amazed how extensive this place was. Hun promised me that the next day I would be able to stay more at the different places. I was amazed how much they seemed to trust me and how nice they were to me. It almost tempted me to stay there. I felt so high and important with Saki, but I still wanted to see Lea again and talk with her. But I also knew that once I left Saki that was it, but Lea was too important of my friend and I knew that. I walked in my bedroom and saw that the clock on my nightstand stated that it was 11:00pm. How was amazed how late it was! Time sure went by fast that day!
My eyes then fell upon my bed. How I longed to just lay down on my bed and go to sleep, but I knew I had to leave there shortly to get out of there and try to find my friend. My legs were so sore from the practice and my body was begging me to lie down, but I forced myself to just sit down on my bed. I sat there and waited for a few minutes to see if the coast was clear before I would start packing. When I felt it was safe, I walked quietly over to my small dresser and started to put my clothes back into my bag that I had brought with me. Once I was done I zipped up my bag and pushed it against the wall quietly. I looked over at the clock once again it was 11:30pm. I knew I couldn't leave just yet. I sat back down on my bed and stared at the wall, I felt my eyelids growing heavy. Without any more control over my body, I lay down and told myself I would sleep for just a little.
I am not sure at first how long I slept but I figured it must have been longer than I thought so I forced myself to wake up. Still so tired and exhausted, I looked over at the clock and saw it was 12:15am. It was time for me to go. Groggily, I arose from the bed and stumbled over to my bag. My body pleaded for me to stay there, but I knew if I stayed there to rest more, then it would be too late for me to leave. I slung my bag over my shoulder and quietly opened the door. I kept my sais in my belt around my waist, hoping I wouldn't need to use them to get out of there.
I made it down to the first main level and looked down the hallway to the front door. I knew once I left the building, there was no turning back. I saw the foot ninja who was guarding the hallway; turn the corner to cover more sectors I guessed so I knew now was my chance. I bolted for the door and pushed the door open, allowing myself to get out of the building. I figured that when the door slammed against the wall when I had opened it as hard as I did, it would alert the guard, so I kept running as hard as I could, feeling myself stumble from how hard I was running! I didn't know where to go! I turned the corner and stopped in an alley, trying to catch my breath. The streets were so quiet that I heard a voice coming from the skyscraper, calling for more backup. I knew that they were onto me! I looked around frantically trying to find someplace to hide. I knew April's apartment was down near Soho and that was too far for me to go! I let out a cry some from fright as I heard several voices calling out to each other. I knew that the foot ninja were out trying to find me. I took off running hard from the alley and I heard someone shout, "There she is!"
I ran as hard as I could, trying to cross streets randomly, hoping that I would lose them as I made my way towards downtown. I thought for sure at first that I had lost them, but suddenly I felt someone jerk me by the arm into an alley nearby. I let out a cry, but I felt his hand go to my mouth to muffle my cries. I had no clue what was happening! All I could do was feel him pulling me down deeper into the alleyway. I muffled my cries some as I squirmed, but I heard him say, "Shhh." Immediately I recognized the voice! It was Casey! I remained quiet, feeling so much safer knowing he was there! Casey remained quiet and still as he held me for about 5 minutes, I could hear footsteps nearby. I knew that the ninjas were passing the alley. I felt Casey's head look upwards then he whispered for me "It's not safe here."
Casey motioned for me to follow him and he led me over to a grate near the sidewalk. He looked around and then lifted the grate and told me to go down under the grate. I groaned some to myself, but did I was told. I stayed down there and waited for Casey to go down with me into the sewer. I felt the water splash some onto my pant legs when Casey jumped down. Casey looked up and motioned me to follow him some through the sewer tunnel away from the grate, and then he stopped me. "Okay, what the exactly are you doing?"
I let out a sigh. "Look, I was trying to find April's. I needed to find Lea." I then looked at him. "What are you doing here so late at night?"
Casey's face turned red. "Uh, nothing. Just takin' a stroll." He then studied my face. "Oh so NOW you want to join the good guys again?"
I sighed hard and looked at him angrily. "Stop it, Casey!" I didn't want to deal with him.
Casey sighed at me to and then said, "Look, ok. I'll take you to the guys." He motioned me to follow him. I wasn't quite sure on where I was going, but immediately I recognized the lair's door. I guess Casey had access to the door because he pushed in a few buttons at the control panel and the door opened up.
It was very dark inside the lair, not as bright as I remembered. I figured everyone was probably asleep. I heard some faint snoring in the distance. Casey motioned for me to follow him. Suddenly I heard "Hai-yah," then I saw a quick blur and then Casey was down on the ground. I heard Casey let out a groan as he hit the ground.
"Oh, sorry, Casey," the voice said as he got up. I knew that it was Leonardo. I was first kind of shocked, but then I figured it was a mistake and I tried to hold in my giggle.
"Gee, thanks," Casey grumbled as Leonardo helped him from the ground. "You know I didn't have to do this." Leo's gaze then fell over at me. His eyes narrowed some as he studied me. I knew he was waiting for an explanation from me.
"Hey, Leo…I-I'm sorry for everything…I just need to talk with Lea. I left Saki," I stuttered some, I didn't know what to say.
I saw Leo's eyes soften. "Well it's pretty late, Melinda. Everyone's asleep. Are you tired?" He asked.
"Yah, I had a long day," I replied. I felt my mind still kind of woozy from the lack of sleep.
"Alright, I'll take you to where you can sleep till morning, then we can discuss everything," Leo said as he motioned for me to follow him.
"Hey! Don't I get a thank you?" Casey whined behind us. "You KNOW it is late and I should be in bed."
"And just why were you out so late in the first place, Casey?" Leo said as he looked back at Casey, his arms crossed. I noticed that a smirk appeared on Leo's face, which kind of confused me.
"Uh, just out with a friend," Casey said as he face got red again. I giggled some, confused, but finding it amusing.
"Well thanks for bringing her to us safely," Leo smiled softly back at me, which made me feel kind of better. "Now everyone's asleep so we'll talk to you tomorrow." He turned again to motion me to follow him.
"Aww," Casey whined.
"Good NIGHT, Casey," Leo called back more sternly; this made me giggle even more. I put my hand up to my mouth to muffle the noise. I followed Leo up to a room and heard the lair's door closing after Casey left. Leo turned back around to me. "Now, she's asleep. But don't wake her up tonight," he smiled. He walked past his bed where Lea was sleeping quietly. He pulled 2 blankets from the closet and walked back over to me. I stood there and placed my bag down on the floor.
"Here are some blankets. They should be enough till tomorrow," Leonardo said as he handed them to me.
"Thanks," I whispered back. "I can sleep on the floor. It's not a problem at all." I smiled gently at him.
Leonardo nodded and walked out of his room, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, I placed one blanket down on the floor for me to lay down on. I then walked over and unzipped my bag and changed into my pink, short sleeve, cotton nightgown and then walked back over and got down on the blanket. I laid down and pulled the other blanket over me. I felt myself drifting off to sleep. I haven't slept so well in days, even though I was on the floor.