November 2, 2007
Ever wake up feeling like you were on fire? It usually happens in the summer, when you forget to turn off the heater and go to sleep. Being a turtle whose slept alone in bed for seventeen years, waking up with a human curled on your chest was about equivalent to that. I kicked off the covers, which had been put on us who knows when, while I turned off the alarm that woke me up. Liza probably put them on, needing the warmth when sleeping next to someone who had a fever if they were 87 degrees.
I stopped when Liza appeared from under the blanket, brown hair disarrayed on her head. Her eyes were twitched behind her eyelids, a dream she will probably not remember. Her cheeks were pale and smooth, relaxed in a way I didn't know they could be. Her lips were parted, her breath a ghost over my chest. One of my legs was stuck between hers and her arm was thrown over me, immobilizing me from moving very far. Her hand was gripping the bridge of my shell, index finger tapping away against my carapace.
I stopped, just watching Liza. She was relaxed, completely carefree. She looked like a teen, like she probably should have been. But, she was wearing an outfit that had blood stained into it, curled up into a mutant that she was dating, living in enemy territory that could kill her at any moment, and wanted by the police. If she ever got caught, she would be on death row. And it won't be a long death row.
I curled my arm around her and leaned up to kiss the top of her head. She made a quiet cooing noise in her throat as I pulled away, and after a few seconds she opened her eyes. She took a deep breath, stretching her back out and raising her hands high above her head. I heard several pops along her spine, and she let out a pleased sigh as she relaxed back into me. I chuckled at her display, and she tapped my plastron with her index finger in warning.
"What time is it?" She asked groggily as she rubbed her eye. And she froze.
"What time is it?" She asked in a much more focused voice as she sat up. She corrected her hoodie, prepared to get up when a yawn overtook her. I looked to my right, where the nightstand was. Liza followed my gaze and looked at the neon red time. She sighed in relief and fell back into my arms.
"How soon do you need to leave?" I asked, placing my hand over the clock as it switched to five-thirty-five in the morning. I pressed the button, stopping my backup alarm before it could go off.
"I have training at twelve. Got a bunch of possible new foot ninjas coming in. I have to sort them out based on skill." She mumbled out, curling further into me. Twelve, that was seven hours from now. She could get up, sneak into her room, and go back to sleep; no one would be the wiser. That was the smartest choice.
"In that case, we should get up." I cheered. Liza groaned against me, but she quickly found herself alone on the bed when I rose. I was determined to make sure she stayed safe and that I was ready to train at six. I couldn't slack off now, that would just make us look bad. "Come on, we have responsibilities."
"I didn't know you wanted me out of your room so bad." She grumbled even while she listened to me. She sat up once again, but paused when I crouched down in front of her.
"Don' say that," I breathed, laying in heavily on the accent. Liza's cheek twitched in response and she swallowed heavily. She glanced at my mouth before looking back at me. "I'd keep ya all day if I could."
Liza nodded, agreeing with me even if she didn't need too. I grinned toothily before leaning up to peck her on the lips. She was smiling when I pulled away. I put my back to her for whatever she needed to do this morning and set myself up for the day. First with my mask, conveniently placed on the nightstand last night, then my belt and sais, which I tied down into their rightful place. When I was done I turned around to see Liza. She was by the door, her metal mask between her teeth as she tugged on some new black gloves.
"When did ya get those?" I asked her, getting closer to see them better. They were padded along the thumb and index finger, extra grip I could only assume, and they went up just far enough to tuck into her sweater seamlessly. They weren't something you casually found on the street, they looked rather well made. Liza showed them off when I got closer, proud of them.
"A week ago? They're a gift from Karai," She said around her mask. I hid a grimace quite masterfully at her answer.
"That was... kind," I commented. Liza moved her hands away from me to brush her hair back. The movements were practiced, right down to the extra sweep over her left ear for the hair that didn't follow the first time. She tucked it all under her hood, which she pulled over her face.
"They feel a little redundant. Everyone already knows who I am, leaving DNA behind isn't going to change that. It is nice not to have beat up skin though." She responded, tugging the mask from her mouth. "How do I look?"
"A little like the grim reaper if I'm bein' honest," I answered. Liza smiled brilliantly at my response. She slid her mask on, showing the terror of what she was under rather bright light. I could barely see her real eyes through the tinted visor that rested behind the eyes of the mask, though she could probably see me perfectly; the mask curved for her nose to rest comfortably, likely also covered from the outside world; and the teeth of the mask were dagger-like, just far enough apart to slide a finger between them. Or a wrist. A shoulder. A jaw. I swallowed painfully, feeling rather icky from the images all of a sudden. I didn't want to imagine how her victims felt when they saw that come for them in the dark.
Liza lifted the mask up to sit on her forehead, hiding it from my view. Her expression said she already knew what I was feeling.
"Ya look more like Death with the mask on," I said, still honest. Liza looked down, as unhappy about that as I was.
"Still love me though?" She jestered, just to lighten the mood. I leaned forward to kiss her forehead, which encouraged her to look up. I shifted far enough she didn't bump me with her nose and no farther.
"Yeah," I answered. Liza smiled, relieved, and leaned in to bump foreheads with me affectionately. "Ya should really go. I need to train in fifteen minutes."
"The horror." She gasped. I pinched her wrist in retaliation and she chirped from surprise. Liza pulled away from me to leave, but came back to kiss me one last time. Then she left finally, off to see Don and get her voice modulator back before leaving until who knew when. Soon, hopefully.
November 6, 2007, 4:40 P.M.
"Why are we using wooden weapons again?" Mikey asked for the umpteenth time, drumming away at the wooden nunchucks in his hands. Even the chains were made of wood; a weird, bendy wood. He looked at the wooden and unsharpened sword Liza had as she balanced it in her hand, then at me.
"So I don't hurt you, " Liza answered breezily. She bounced her head side to side in consideration. "And so you don't hurt me."
Mikey pointed at Donnie, who was assessing his bo, the same one he always had.
"His weapon is always made of wood and he still hurts people." Mikey pointed out. Don looked up at the mention of his name, comfortably playing with his staff without needing to see it. He glared at Mikey, as if the mention of him hurting someone was a vile thought.
"A bo staff is meant to hurt. It can cause a concussion if the wielder so wanted too, but it requires a lot of force. A sword is meant to kill. Sais are meant to kill... and for gardening. Nunchuck chains can choke someone. I gave you three wood that can hurt yes, but they won't kill. If I hit you too hard, the sword will break in half. I made the chains on your nunchucks a stronger wood, so they won't break as easier." Liza explained.
I looked at my wooden sais curiously once more and pressed one of them against my leg to test how much it bent. It was actually pretty stable. The weight was lighter than I was used to, but Liza had given us weighted bracelets to make up for the lost balance. Mikey looked down at his real weapons, set down beside Leo, who was out of the training session while getting back in shape. Mikey furrowed his brow, trying to figure out how the chains could possibly harm a person.
"Don, you're first." Liza snapped, halting Mikey from asking another question. Don moved out to the placemats while Mikey and I sat next to Leo, out of the way and able to see everything. My eyes were immediately back at my girlfriend and brother once comfortable. Both were already twisting their weapons around, getting themselves ready for the fight.
Donnie rolled his bo around in circles, shifting from hand to hand. He spread his legs apart, distributing his weight evenly for all attacks and defense. When he was finished he hooked the bo in the crook of his neck, between his shoulders and the bridge of his shell, and waited for Liza. His expression was set to one of determination, and his eyes were searching over Liza, looking for her weak spots.
Liza flexed her fingers around the handle of the sword, her face becoming devoid of all emotion while her body seemingly grew taller. She slid her legs farther apart, crouched closer to the ground, already prepared for something heavy. Her breathing ceased to show, and her eyes lit with fire as they glistened, like she was fighting the urge to look around. She kept her eyes locked on Donnie, and used a finger to signal to Leo.
"Hai!" Leo shouted, and Liza was moving.
Donnie dragged his bo in front of him, caught off guard because Liza immediately went for a front attack. Donnie leaned backward, taking the blunt force of Liza's attack in his arms. Liza's face remained unchanging, not even acknowledging what it must have taken to force Don into a lean. In fact, she didn't look at all stressed about fighting someone who was eight inches taller than her and weighed ninety pounds more than her.
Donnie kicked his leg out, sweeping it under Liza. She jumped over the kick, bouncing backward and away from Donnie in a movement fit more for a boxer than a martial artist. Donnie stood up straight, crossing his bo over his chest in case Liza tried again. She stood up though, that emotionless appearance still in place. She took a deep breath and rolled her shoulders. Her grip and angles changed, shifted to fit whatever knowledge she now had about Don from that single moment.
"A full force attack right off the bat?" Donnie asked, surprised, and he began to walk left. Liza followed his stance, moving with him.
"I needed you surprised. It caught you off guard, didn't it?" She answered. Donnie lifted one corner of his mouth, silently agreeing with her with that move.
"You won't be doing it again." He murmured, moving his bo staff so it stuck out farther. Liza's eyes flickered to the increasingly long bo, and held her sword closer to her body. Donnie paused, which made Liza pause.
"Why are we doing this?" Mikey asked us. Leo looked over at Mikey while my shoulders fell in defeat.
"Because," Liza began, eyes watching Donnie's every move. His shoulder muscles started to bunch up, preparing to attack. "I need to know how you fight. So when the real training starts, I know how to fight you. And I can imitate it."
With speed only succeeded from daily practice, Donnie swung his bo out, and the long piece of wood created a five-foot difference between them. Liza held her sword out to block the blow, and there was a loud CRACK as the bo took half the sword with it. Liza ducked when her sword broke, narrowly missing Don's bo completely. She rolled away as the wood rained on her. She looked at her sword, now half its original length. Don used his entire body in the next swing, and Liza ducked the bo staff once more as it went after her head. I went to stand up and help, because Don was actively aiming for her head, but Leo held me back.
Liza did one of the offensive moves only humans could easily achieve. She dove under Donnie, grabbed one of his wrists, and twisted it around his body. She lifted his arm up his back, almost capsizing him. Don leaned on his bo though, and refused to move. Liza reached up for his shoulder when she saw he didn't move and pushed something in his shoulder, a pain point if I were to guess, and Don almost keened over from it. He didn't, he stayed standing.
Don took a deep breath, and then swung one of his legs back. It caught one of Liza's legs, tipping her balance far enough she had to let go to stay standing. Don didn't stop moving once free, he continued to move his entire body around until he thwacked Liza's chest with his bo. That sent her down flat on her back, and for a moment her expression fell to one of discomfort. It was gone before Don could see it.
She was back in the game when Don moved to hit her with his bo staff again, raising what was left of her weapon above her neck to protect herself. She put one hand on the hilt, the other on the blade, and then waited for the crash. She didn't roll away, and she didn't try to kick Don, she just stayed there. Her expression changed at the last second; shifted to her clenching her eyes closed and mouth contorting in expecting pain. Mikey and Leo were up with me to stop the swing, but it was too late.
What was left of the sword snapped in half between Liza's hands with a CRACK so loud it woke the dead, offering no protection as Don's bo kept going. I thought he was going to stop despite the fact his momentum was too fast, because Donnie obviously won this round. He didn't though. He kept going.
"Donnie!" Leo barked out, drowning out the sound of the bo slamming into the blue matt just next to Liza's head. She flinched away from the weapon, and then opened her eyes to see the bo staff inches from her nose. Her breath left her in a shivering whoosh and she looked up at Don, who hadn't moved.
"Feel better?" Liza asked him. Don breathed harshly through his nose and pulled his bo away. He offered her his hand, which Liza took cautiously. He dragged her up to her feet and kept a hand on her until she had her balance. He let her go like she burned him when I came up on her side and stepped away. I grabbed her elbow when she swayed and pressed a single finger to her wrist to see how she really was behind her cool face. Her heartbeat was a mile a minute, the pulse of someone high on adrenaline. Something told me she was scared rather than invigorated by what just happened though.
"Yeah." He answered stiffly. He looked at the ground, then back at Liza. "You fight better than that. Why didn't you fight better than that?"
"You have anger towards me. I figured you'd like to get it out of your system. To do the training needed, you can't hate your instructor. Soo I let you have a few whacks at me." She answered calmly. Don's eyes looked at the shatter wood on the ground, the three pieces the wooden sword was in.
"You let him try to kill you?" Leo asked accusingly, taking the bo staff from Don. Don let go of it without a word.
"He wasn't going to kill me. Master Splinter taught you guys well. I didn't know he was going to break my sword in half twice and still aim for my head though. I miscalculated how angry he was." Liza murmured, twisting her wrist out of my grip. She doesn't object to me holding her though. In fact, she leaned farther into me. "It was terrifying."
Donnie released a brittle laugh and finally looked at Liza.
"And you understand." He said. Liza nodded. "Thanks."
He didn't sound sincere, but his eyes said he was. If I had to guess, he was halfway in shock. He didn't think he'd get that close to Liza's head, or close to Liza at all. She had incredible reflexes and she was small in height compared to us, so she could slip by with ease. She did at one point, she ducked under Don, but I realized now she likely did that to make him angrier.
Liza smiled a small smile, and then she finally relaxed in relief. She looked between the four of us, to the shocked Don, to a protective me, to an uneasy Leo, to the quiet Mikey. Her eyes stayed on Mikey.
"Well then, now that we got the anger out of the way, how about we get to the training." She said cheerily, and pointed at Mikey, who promptly he tensed up. "You're first."
November 6, 2007 8:00 P.M.
"Hai!" Leo called.
Don, Mikey, and I collapsed to the floor, collectively agreeing to give up now that we didn't have to keep going. Mikey heaved a very loud sigh as he laid on his stomach and curled his arm under, not even going to try and sit. I sat against the wall, tossing the pieces of wood that were my weapons off to the side. Donnie fell next to me, bo already gone, wiping at his brow with a towel. He undid his bandana and draped it over his knee so he could get to all of his face.
Liza was the only one who managed to stay standing when Leo gave word, if only to walk a distance to the bench and fall on it. Her third sword fell to the ground, and she rubbed her face with the towel Leo handed her.
"What did you find out about them?" Leo asked, chipper compared to the rest of us since all he did was watch for three and a half hours. Liza pulled the towel away from her face to give Leo a dull look. He raised his hands up in peace, palms facing towards her. Liza sighed heavily after a few seconds and pointed at the completely relaxed Mikey.
"He's a bit sporadic with no defined long term fight set, and he's also the quickest of the three. He's right handed, and it shows when he moves. He also bounces around and makes facial features that can be very distracting." She answered. Don, Leo and I chuckled to the best of our breathless abilities, and Mikey looked up at us. Liza pointed at me next, and I sat up straighter to pay attention.
"He goes for jabs more than cuts, and he has a nasty habit of turning his weapon around to punch when it's least expected. He also is extremely physical and will use every part of his body to get a hit. He relies on strength and moves hard and fast." She said, then tipped her finger sideways at Don.
"He is very detail oriented and moves in a wide circle to keep people away. He is aware that his bo staff is his height and knows it'll block anything thrown at him so long as it's straight. It's hard to get him down because of it. It also makes me curious to see how he fares without his weapon, but that is not happening tonight." She finished. Leo smiled and Don looked momentarily terrified that he would have to get up.
"That sounds about right." Leo agreed. Liza looked over at him with a half hearted grin, which promptly changed into a yawn big enough her jaw popped.
"Sorry, late night yesterday." She said once she was back in control. I paused, trying to remember if there had been anything on the news this morning about the Black Mask Terror. Her kills were usually documented on TV as both a warning to people and a catch up because of how many there were. Even though she's been around since February, she was still the big news. But I realized no, I hadn't heard anything about her this morning. There was even a message that said "The Terror slept in " on NBC.
"What were you doing?" Mikey asked, coming to the same conclusion I did. He turned his body so he could lean against his shell and face Liza. He rocked awkwardly, but he stayed there on his carapace. Liza looked at her hands and twiddled with her fingers.
"New ninjas to train. I had them take patrol. And so they didn't get in trouble, I went with them. We got back around four in the morning." She answered quietly.
"You should sleep," I murmured. Liza groaned at my words, but she stood up nonetheless. She left with the same grace she always did despite probably being sorer than we were, and I slowly got up to follow. I also groaned as my sore muscles complained about use, but they weren't the boss of me.
By the time I made it out of the dojo Liza was long gone. We didn't hear the front door so she didn't leave, which meant she was somewhere in the house. I heard the upstairs bathroom door close though. Right, she probably wanted to bathe first. I trailed up the stairs slowly, taking my time since I could. At the top I looked down the hall towards the bathroom, wondering if Liza would let me join. I blinked a few times before shaking my head and continuing to my room.
I stepped into my room and pushed the door softly back into its spot. It stuck for a second, the end results of many different angry moments from me. But when it did close, I turned around to the bed, ready to fall asleep. The bed already had an occupant, curled under the covers in a ball.
I stared longer than I needed too, caught off guard at having a body in my bed. Only one other person went upstairs with me, so who was in the bath...
Master Splinter. Of course. Why would Liza bathe if she got doused with blood pretty much every night? Sweat wouldn't be much to her. And if it was, then why would she be in my bed?
I crept up to my bed, subconsciously reaching for the sharp weapons that weren't there, and then undoing the belt. Liza was hidden under the covers, every part of her engulfed in the red material. I grabbed the top of the blanket and pulled it off of her slowly. Liza was in a fetal position, legs tucked up into her chest and arms around her legs. She changed outfits, wearing one of the really big shirts she brought with her this visit. She had on short shorts too, which didn't make sense to me. Sure it looked good, but she was sleeping next to a cooling system which overheated easily. Either I overheat or she freezes, and she wears short to sleep.
I bent down, sliding an arm under my girlfriend. I lifted her a little, using my other arm to help slide her over so I could lay down. She didn't wake up, which was an oddity for someone who woke up to a temperature change of two degrees. A thought struck me then. She got in at four in the morning, and we assumed she'd actually slept. She probably didn't.
I tucked in next to her, pulling the covers back up and over us. Liza relaxed her body curl and stretched her body out. I turn so my chest was to her back, bending my knees into the crooks of hers. Liza lifted her head as I weaseled my arm under her head. I had to bend my elbow so my arm was crushed to her chest because she wrapped her arms around mine, hugging it to her. Resting my head into the pillow, I tucked her head under mine and looped an arm around her waist. And just like that, we fit like a glove. Her soft skin molded against the hard bone of my plastron, and I could already feel her heat seeping through. With an inaudible yawn, I fell asleep with her.
November 7, 2007
The sound of an alarm clock blaring woke me up, and I jolted awake from its unexpectedness. I looked around the room for the torturous sound, but someone else got it before I could.
"Sorr'." Raph mumbled against the pillow.
"Does that clock come with a muter?" I asked, sliding back into a comfortable position. It wasn't the old position I was sleeping in, one I will never find again, but this one just was nice. Raph disturbed it when he turned to face me, then fixed it when he wrapped me up in his arms.
"No. But tha's for the best, it wakes me up." He breathed.
"Heavy sleeper?" I inquired, a little bit of tease in my voice. Raph's chin went side to side against my head, shaking his head no.
"No. Jus' loud is better. I am easy to wake up, but hard to get up." He replied.
I wish it was like that for me. My morning alarm was either the sun, or someone coming into my room telling me training was in five minutes. That's all it was at the Shredder's Lair. Train, train, political statement, train, train, let's go see the turtles, train, train...
Training. Sunlight. I had training with Shredder at five. Shit.
"What time is your alarm set to?" I asked, suddenly panicked. Raph shrugged.
"Don has them set for different times on different days." He answered.
"Can you check?" I asked, and Raph responded to the urgency in my voice. He rolled over to see the clock, and I silently prayed it was still early morning.
"Uh... Seven thirty." He answered. Fuck. "Why do ya need ta know the time? Hey! Liza?"
I leaped over Raph and straightened my outfit into a presentable appearance. No time to change, I was already two hours late. Shit, two hours? I wasn't going to make it out alive. I grabbed my silver outfit and made a dive for the door. A green hand slammed against it just as I tugged, keeping it closed.
"Liza! Slow down." Raph snapped, stopping me when I went for the door again. I looked over at a flustered Raph, and then at the suit in my arms. I stepped away from the door.
"I had training at five today." I murmured. I turned my back to him, sure the length of this conversation would equal the amount of time it took for me to change. Raph was silent as I changed into my silver suit. First the shorts, and then the shirt. Raph's seen everything before one way or another, I didn't have much to worry about. He shifted around me, walking to his weapon rack.
"What will he do to you?" He asked. I halted my movement. I could hear the worry in his voice. To you.
I followed through pulling my legs through the suit and slipped it up my body with practiced ease. When my arms were covered by the sleeves I made my way over to Raph. I rested my head on his carapace and curled my arms around his shell and arms. There was no way I was getting farther than that, his shell was too massive.
"They won't do anything severe. I'm one of their best. Shredder will probably just give me a scar or two to remember." I soothed. Raph's muscles tensed under my hands at the mention of me getting hurt. I felt something grind in my stomach, and my eyes flickered to look at the clock. I was lying. I might be one of the best, but so was Hun and Karai. They've told and retold the stories of their failures, and what Shredder did in retaliation. Everything short of torture was on the table. Two hours of not showing up for training didn't warrant the same as failure, but it couldn't be good.
Raph turned around in my arms, and I had to release his shell before the surface of it scratched my suit. He faced me, maskless and stern. His eyes glanced at my suit, taking note that I didn't zip up. I shrugged and turned around to show the zipper.
"Mind helping?" I asked. Raph sighed softly and he grabbed the zipper at the base of my spine. He brought the zipper up slowly, letting one of his fingers trail along the scar across my back. At some spots he placed his hand on my hip to stabilize the suit and tugged, and once he pulled the suit out to get over the bra strap. He was careful not to hook on skin or scar, and I brushed my hair aside so he could get to my neck. Raph let go of the zipper when it was finished and slid his arms through the gap between my arm and side, wrapping his arms around me from behind. His thumb found the pipe scar in the front and he rubbed over the numb skin. His head dropped down to my shoulder as he sighed.
"Promise?" He murmured softly.
"Promise what?" I asked. It was a weird feeling, the security and safety of Raph's arms colliding with the scared and nervous feeling inside.
"That you won't get too hurt." He whispered into my neck. I chuckled, and my stomach dropped lower.
"Yeah. I promise." I murmured, turning in his arms. Raph looked down at me, eyes searching. He unhooked one of his arms from around me and brought it up to brush under my scar. I turned my hand into his palm, letting the coolness of his skin ease the heat in me. Raph smiled, and his eyes glimmered. He leaned down with intent, and I stood on my tip toes to meet him halfway. His mouth pressed against mine softly, no rush and no worry. He was as gentle as he could be, taking all the time I could spare for this.
I placed my feet flat on the ground, splitting us, and Raph stared at me. His jaw clenched with unspoken words, words I would never hear, and then all of the air in his lungs left him. His hand left my cheek for a brief moment and appeared with my mask, which he waved tauntingly. I grabbed it from his finger, squinting at him. He did it right back, and for a moment I smiled.
I spun out of his grip, slipping my mask on as I faced him, now farther away. He raised an eyebrow, watching me walk backward and out his door. And this time, he didn't stop me from leaving.
I was two hours and thirty minutes late for training. My punishment?
"Trade!" I held up the wooden sword, pointing it at my new assailant. I was bruised, Shredder gave the people I fought metal weapons and gave me wood. There wasn't much a wooden sword could do against a metal bat, and I was limping from some of the blows.
The Foot soldier that took the stage twisted the metal bat over his wrist in a show of skill, and leaned all his weight on his left leg as his starting move. I tilted my head at the faulty move of all the weight on one foot, and relief flooded me. I'd fought this one before. Actually, I trained him. He wouldn't be hard to fight.
I looked over at Shredder, who was staring down at me passively, hopefully tired of trying to break me. His fingers tapped at his chair, a repetitive ra-ta-ta-ta at a slow pace. Then I looked at the clock above him to see how long I'd been doing this. Eight at night. No reprieve, no food, no bandages. I glanced at my thigh to check the only worrying wound I had, courtesy of someone I would never get my hands on.
"Hai!"
Immediately I stepped to the right, ducking low as Fred went for his strike. Fred was a Purple Dragon turned Foot Ninja. I tried getting the punk out of him, but he still thought face first was the best move to make, and he always lunged with one leg. Fred tipped sideways, losing his balance in the telltale sign of cockiness that I never beat out of him. As he regained his equilibrium I aimed low, kicking his feet out from under him. He made a humphing sound as his back collided with the ground, and he froze as I pointed the wooden sword. It may be blunt, and it may be wood, but it still made a good baseball bat. And I've used it like that before.
"Seriously Fred?" I asked. The black-suited man raised his hands up in surrender. "You have two legs."
"Hai!" Shredder shouted, and he finally rose from his seat. "Kneel."
I dropped the sword on Fred, who grappled to catch it. I fell in front of Shredder unceremoniously, staring up at him defiantly. I wiped the defiance away immediately after, remembering who I was really facing.
"Why were you late for training?" He asked.
"Ran into complications last night while doing my Nightly Job," I answered after waiting a second. I had this rehearsed, now I had to time my words.
But Shredder didn't say anything else, he just stared down at me. I kept my back straight, and there was an itch in my calf, but I refused to move. My legs and arms hurt from all the small cuts, and I noticed blood was falling down my arm. With one clean and fast movement, Shredder unsheathed his sword and brought it under my chin. I looked up with his sword, well aware just how sharp the end of it was. Shredder leaned over, glaring at me through my mask.
"What will you not be doing again?" He asked, deathly quiet and completely still. I lifted my chin up and swallowed. The tip of the sword slid along my jaw, to my ear.
"I will not be late for training again," I answered. A sharp pain ran along my neck and I fought almost every instinct that told me to protect my throat. The rest of my instincts told me to stay put to protect my life. Shredder wouldn't kill me, I had to believe that. He was just scarring me.
I felt a pulsing throb, in tune to my heartbeat, as he switched sides of my throat. My clothing felt warm seconds later, confirming what I already knew. My throat was cut. A swallow and breath eased every concern I could of had with that knowledge. I would live.
"And?" He asked. I inhaled slowly, the thing I always feared since I started visiting the turtles brought to life.
"I will be followed," I whispered. I fought a groan as the other side of my neck experienced the same sharp pain only a blade could create, followed closely by it pulsing to my heartbeat. When Shredder pulled away completely I bent over myself and grabbed my throat. Two cuts, no doubt equal in every way. One for every hour I missed. That was definitely an incentive not to miss again.
I stood up, and slowly, painfully, let go of my throat and put my hands by my side. I bowed low to Shredder before leaving the room, respectful even now. Hitoshi would be proud. When I was out of his line of sight I high tailed it as fast as I dared to my room where I could properly take care of my problems.