A/N: Would you lookitat! I new Akasha ficcie! What a surprise! Beta read my Pirate Queen - thanks chica!

Disclaimer: I. Do. Not. Own. Ninja. Turtles. But I do own Akasha and her family.

Hidden Truth

Chapter 1

You're going where?


Akasha woke up to sunlight hitting her face. It was June the twenty-eighth, and tomorrow she was going up to Canada with her Aunt, Uncle and cousins. Her Uncle was her dad's brother, and almost the only family left on that side, so it was pretty special when they took her up to their cottage in Ontario Canada.

"Oh, darn it, I have to pack," she muttered to herself, before closing her eyes and drifting off again.

She awoke about an hour later, when her mother knocked on her door to ask if she was ever going to come down to breakfast. Another hour and she finally started packing. She was halfway done, when she heard a tap on the window. She didn't even bother to look up; she already knew whome it was.

"Come in Raph," she called. Raph opened the widow and jumped in, landing next to her, peering over her shoulder.

"Why are you packing?" He asked, clearly startled that she had a full sized suitcase lying on her bed, half filled.

"I'm going up to Canada for a month, with my Aunt and Uncle."

"I didn't know you had an Aunt and Uncle, other then April."

"On my dad's side," she answered absentmindedly.

"Where're you going in Canada? It's a pretty big country."

"Somewhere in Ontario, Lake Huron, I think it's called. They own a cottage there, it's pretty nice too, lots of trees, rocks and water." She went over to one of her drawers and pulled out a couple sweatshirts. "Not to mention the people, most of them are really nice, but they can sometimes be a little strange. Like the last time I was up there, I accidentally stepped on someone's foot, and they apologized for it. Weird huh?"

"Akasha," Raph said calmly, "you're rambling." She looked at him and sank onto the bed.

"I guess I'm just nervous about going to the cottage," she admitted, folding a pile of socks and adding them to the suitcase. "It's a long ways away and I'll miss you guys."

"They're all okay, right?" Raph asked, instantly suspicious. "Your aunt and uncle?"

"None of 'em are like Josh," Akasha assured him. "Relax. It's just that I havn't seen them for a couple of years." She emptied the contents of a draw into her case. "Let's see." she thought for a moment. "There's Emily, she's the youngest, my cousin. I think she'll be four some time this year. Then there's Jordan, she's eight, and she's my cousin. Then there's her older sister, Naomi, who's thirteen. Emily's mom, that's Sarah, and her husband Nicolas will be there to, I think. But they own their own cottage next to the other one. Sarah's my dad's youngest sibling. His older brother, Mark, will be there as well. He's Naomi and Jordan's dad. Their mom died in a car crash." She thought for a moment. "I think that's everyone."

"You have a big family," Raph whistled.

"Nah, it's actually pretty small," Akasha laughed, stacking shorts neatly in one corner of her case. She rummaged around in a plastic bag at her feet and drew out a pink bathing suit, wrinkling her nose in disgust.

"Oh, she didn't…"

"What?" Raph asked, eyeing the bathing suit and trying very hard not to snort.

"My mom. I asked her to get me a bathing suit. I specifically said no pink."

Just then the door opened and in bustled Dr. Andrews, carrying an armful of underwear.

"Here, Ash. I washed them," she said, putting them on the bed. Akasha flushed and shoved them hastily under a sweater.

"Do you mind?" she demanded. "Raph's here!"

"Oh, hello, Raphael," Dr. Andrews greeted the guffawing turtle.

"And you got me a pink bathing suit!" Akasha continued, shaking her fistful of garish nylon angrily for emphesis. "Pink! Wasn't there any other colour?"

"It's cute," her mother said, taking the wrinkled suit from her daughter and smoothing out the creases.

"Since when do I where stuff that's cute?" Akasha grumbled. "I like practical, mom. Pink is not practical!"

"You're going to a cottage," Dr. Andrews informed her daughter briskly. "You don't have to be practical."

"Well I'm not wearing that!" Akasha sniffed. "I'll bet Naomi'll like it."

"You'd better hurry," her mother said over her shoulder as she exited the room. "Sarah said that she's going to be here at eleven."

"Eleven?" Akasha yelped. "I thought she was coming tomorrow!"

"Change of plans," her mother called.

Muttering about pink bathing suits and inopportune changing plans, Akasha threw some remaining items from her desk into her case and slammed the lid shut.

Suddenly there was another tap on the windowpane.

"Come in, guys!" Akasha said. Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello hopped into her room.

"Where're ya goin', Asha?" Mikey asked, noticing the suitcase.

Quickly Akasha explained about the cottage in Canada and that she would be away for a month.

"Aww, man!" Mikey moaned. "I'll be bored for a month!"

Akasha grinned and tugged his bandanna tails.

"Nah, you'll find something to do."

Noting the clock read five minutes to eleven, Akasha said,

"Well, I'll see you in July!" a horn blared in the street below. "That's Sarah! I've gotta go." She kissed Raph on the cheek and waved to the others before running full speed down the stairs, dragging her suitcase. The turtles climbed out of the window again and watched from the roof.

Sarah was about twenty-seven, with long, honey-coloured hair secured with a hair-stick. She wore a blue T-shirt and jeans, with sandals. Avril Lavign blasted from the red Jeep, causing passers-by to glance interestedly at the newcomer.

"Hey, Asha!" Sarah hugged her niece.

"Hey Sarah!" Akasha returned the enthusiastic greeting. As Sarah turned to talk to Dr. Andrews, who had followed her daughter outside, Akasha glanced up at the turtles and gave them another wave before sticking her suitcase in the Jeep's trunk and climbing into the passenger side. Sarah got in the drivers side and revved the engine before pulling away from the curb and driving away, cranking the music up a little higher.

The turtles turned and headed for the alley, and the manhole cover. Raph lingered for a moment, waiting for the music to fade into the distance. Finally he followed his brothers, trying to ignore the twisting feeling in his gut that was warning him of impending doom.


Akasha sighed happily, watching the stars winking in and out in the velvety sky. The clock read 11:08 P.M. They had been on the road for twelve hours, but she didn't mind. Sarah's eyes were fixed on the road ahead, her head bobbing to the music now playing softly in the background.

Leaning her cheek on the cold window Akasha closed her eyes and tried to doze off, but she was too excited. In a few hours they would be at the cottage! She smiled. Suddenly she was overcome by a tide of exhaustion. She did not even remember falling asleep.

"Akasha! Psst, Akasha!" Sarah was shaking her shoulder. Opening bleary eyes, Akasha yawned and said,

"Are we there?"

"Yep." Sarah grinned. "C'mon, the kids are up now. They want to see you again." Akasha unbuckled her seat belt and hopped out of the car, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Sarah had already got her case out the back and was pulling it up to the door of the cottage.

The cottage was a fairly good size. An outhouse stood a little way off, and an old tree stump with a small pile of wood was on its other side. A shed housed the axe, and other tools. Sarah opened the cottage door, and waited for Akasha to pass through. She stumbled inside, flakes of teal paint clinging to her hoodie as she did so. No sooner had she gone two steps inside did a young girl with long brown hair leap up off the chintz sofa and shriek "Akasha!" at the top of her voice. She ran over and hugged the surprised older girl.

"Hey, Jordan," Akasha grinned, now wide-awake. The girl smiled. She was clad in an overlarge green T-shirt and shorts, her bare feet scuffing the wooden floor.

"Hey, Ash," a slightly sleepy voice said from the doorway. Naomi, Jordan's older sister wore plaid pyjamas and slippers, her long dark hair rumpled from sleep. She yawned and padded over to the sofa and sat down next to her father, Mark, who was flicking through a magazine.

"Hello, Akasha," he said with a half-smile.

There was a woof and a bundle of black-and-white fur whizzed foreward, hitting Akasha in her midsection.

"Bailey!" she ruffled the collie's head affectionately. "Hey there, boy!"

"Well, I should be going back to the Den," Sarah said, using the family's slang term for her cottage. "Emily'll be up still, most likely. Night guys." She left, shutting the door behind her.

"C'mon, Asha," Jordan said, bouncing impatiently. "I'll show you your room!" she grappled with the suitcase for a moment, then gave up and let Akasha drag it away. She led the way through the living room and into the hallway, followed by Naomi. Akasha entered the room.

It was big enough, with two beds in it. A small dresser stood in one corner, with a hairbrush and a stack of books on it. A half-unpacked suitcase lay on one bed, while the other looked as if it had not been made for a while.

"You'll be in with me," Naomi explained, lugging the suitcase off Akasha's bed. "The spare bed wouldn't fit in Jordan's room."

"Do you mind?" Akasha asked uncertainly.

"Nah. Just don't touch my books," she added in an undertone.

"Okay, just don't touch mine," Akasha grinned, knowing just how the younger girl felt about her books.

"Well, the bathroom's in there," Naomi said. "Just don't waste too much water when you brush."

Akasha changed into her pyjamas and cleaned her teeth before climbing into bed. Naomi ushered Jorden from the room and did the same, falling asleep quickly. Akasha gazed dreamily out through the gap in the curtain, a smile on her face, before dozing off too.


Raph couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, but he just couldn't bring himself to doze off. Sighing in frustration he sat up and put on his bandanna and shoulder- and knee- pads, belt, and quickly thrust his sai's into place. He stole out of his room and into the kitchen, intending to get himself a drink. Instead, he ran into Mikey and Don, sitting at the scrubbed wooden table, drinking root beer and immersed in conversation. Only when Raph cleared his throat did they look up, surprised looks on their faces.

"Oh, hi, Raph," Mikey said, a guilty expression on his face. Raph raised his eye-ridges, instantly suspicious.

"What are you doing?" he demanded.

"Er, just, umm… we were thirsty!" Mikey stumbled for an excuse.

"Whatever." Raph sat down at the table.

"Okay, okay, we were talking!" Mikey babbled.

"No kidding," Raph replied.

"About Akasha!" Mikey finished.

Raph's eyes narrowed.

"What about her?"

"Weeelll…" Mikey looked pointedly at Don. Don heaved a great sigh and massaged his temples wearily.

"We were just wondering wether Akasha was alright," he said finally, bracing for Raph's explosion. Raph looked at him blankly.

"Why were you wondering that?" he shook his head. "Me too."

"Oh." Don shrugged. "I guess after the Josh incident…"

"Yeah." Raph said.

"She can take care of herself," Mikey pointed out, dunking a chocolate-chip cookie into his drink. "You've seen her with her chigiriki – oh, wait! She left it here! Now I can use it!" he grinned happily, and took a large bite out of his soggy cookie. Don cringed, and Raph rolled his eyes.

"I was kinda thinkin'…" he began, but trailed off. "I was thinking of maybe followin' her or something."

"Hey, cool!" Mikey crowed, jolted from his chigiriki-based daydreams. "I always wondered what Canada was like…"

"Cold," Don replied dryly. "And there's loads of insects this time of year – moquitos, black fly – not exactly up you alley, huh, Raph?"

Raph glared at his purple-wearing brother.

"It's Akasha," he said gruffly. "So, you in, guys?"

"I'm in," Mikey said, fishing blobs of chocolate from the bottom of his glass. "It'll be fun! But what about Master Splinter and Leo?"

"Master Splinter is going to the Battle Nexus for awhile," Don supplied. "He said so this morning, but you guys were too busy fighting of the remote to hear him."

"We'll just hafta sneak outta here while Splinter Jr. ain't lookin'," Raph decided.

"Mondo coolness!" Mikey yawned widely and got up from the table, depositing his empty glass in the sink. "I'm gonna turn in. 'Night, dudes."

"Well, bro, I'd better go too," Donnie said after a moment of silence. "I've been meaning to check this website on nano-tech –"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Raph yawned. "'Night, brainiac."

Finally he was alone. Raphael's eyes wandered around the kitchen. It was clean – Splinter made sure of that – save Mikey and Don's glasses. The old clock on the wall read 3:07 AM. He should really get some sleep, but he shrugged off the thought. He absentmindedly traced a knot in the table with a callused fingertip.

Klunk slipped into the room and wound himself around Raphael's ankles, purring. Raph smiled and stroked the cat's back, picking him up and setting him on the table. Splinter disapproved of this antic, and Mikey had more than once been told to do flips for allowing his feline friend to walk on the table.

Klunk blinked at Raph with his huge, liquid green eyes. Suddenly the terepin felt rather drowsy.

Maybe I should go to bed, he thought. Getting up he scritched Klunk behind the ears and switched off the light, heading for his room.


Donatello panted, clutching a stitch in his plastron. He was trying – and failing – to keep up with his brothers as they raced across the rooftops, heading for the outskirts of New York. It was noon, and he, Raph, and Mikey were on their way after Akasha. Don wholly believed that she could look after herself, but when Raph put his mind to something, he would never give it up. Especially since Mikey was regarding the whole thing like a game, and egging him on. With a sigh the purple-wearing turtle readjusted the straps of his backpack that were cutting into his shoulders, dashed the beads of sweat from his brow and pounded steadily after his brothers.

"Yo, brainiac!" Raph called, using his nickname for his tech-happy sibling. "Keep up bro!"

"I'm trying!" Don shouted back, a little sharper than he had intended. "It's a little difficult when I'm lugging eighteen pounds of Silver Sentry comics!" He shot Mikey a glare.

"I might get bored!" Mikey whined.

Suddenly the seemingly endless rows of rooftops stopped, leaving a sheer drop. Raph skidded to a stop, scrutinizing the area from under his red bandanna.

Don unslung the bag from his back and let it fall with a thud to the roof. Mikey let out a cry.

"Dude! Those are my comics you're crushing!"

"You shoulda left 'em at home," Raph grumbled, agitated by the delay. Suddenly he perked up; there was a rustling from the alley below. With ninja swiftness Raphael dropped to a window-ledge, peering down. His eyes widened as he recognized the shell with the chunk missing, and the blue bandanna.


A/N: Okay, a minor cliffie. But your stunning reviews will put an end to that, right? (cricket chirps in background) ...Guys?