Donatello Pov
Cameras flash, people cheer. My fingers are weaved with April's as we walk to the entrance of the 4.5 star rating restaurant; Masa. It's a Japanese styled diner, complete with raw fish and foreign food that absolutely exquisite. The reviews are through the roof. The prices are so high, though, that only the rich can dine here. If it weren't for two small factors—me being a multimillionaire thanks to my findings; and the release of my retromutagen today—we would never get the privilege of even stepping foot in this place! My family owes their gratitude to me.
I smile and pull April closer as reporters film us and snap pictures.
"How did they know where you were gonna be?" April shouts of the roaring crowd.
"I said it on the news report!" I reply, still smiling and still waving.
The nearer we get to the door the more people there are. I drop April's hand and drape my arm around her side. I grab her hip and yank her against my body. I don't want anybody to touch her.
My family follows close behind in pairs. Mikey and Raph are behind me and April, the former shoving and the latter threatening. After them is Claire and my father. They both decided to have Jake sit this one out and stay at a friend's house for the night. My father was the one to make this decision. He'd pointed out to Claire that it was a high class Japanese diner, and Jake would have a very hard time selecting his meal. But that wasn't really why he insisted that his step son not come.
Father told me and my brothers—and I'm positive Leo told Karai—that while meditating this morning, he'd sensed a great danger. "Never let your guard down, an antagonist could be anywhere. It is best that we keep watch in our unfamiliar surroundings." To sum that up, he believes that something grave will take place tonight, and knows that Jake won't be able to take care of himself, unlike the rest of us.
I, though, don't believe that anything bad is going to happen tonight. I've worked day and night for the past 7 months for this day, and I am not going to let some poor thought out prediction ruin this. Tonight's my night.
Leonardo POV
I dig my knife through my Kohada, dividing the sushi into a smaller bit. The scales from the fish-flesh shimmer under the light hanging over the table, and the fish sizzles against the hot white rice.
As I shove the food into my mouth, a tall women dressed in a uniform approaches our table. We all put down our silverware and drop our conversations immediately.
"Is there a Karai Oroku here?" The woman asks. She mispronounces my fiancée's name, but we all know what she means.
Slowly, and seemingly unsurely, Karai raises her right hand up for the women to see. Her left hand reaches for mine desperately. I take it and grip tight, massaging her palm in soothing circles to calm her nerves. "Right here."
The women nods and walks towards Karai. "This was dropped off for you," she says, dropping a box and sealed envelope in front of Karai.
Earthquakes shake my body up as I struggle to keep my cool as Karai releases my hand and reaches for the envelope. Silence weaves ropes around my breathless neck. I'm not the only one choking on anticipation, either. My brothers, parents, and April are all dead silent.
Karai clears her throat and reads the words printed on the note, "Karai, you and one other person will make it out of here alive. Choose wisely. Signed, your beloved father." The crack in my fiancée's voice sends chills rippling down my spine. Karai gasps as she catches the finish and tears moisten her amber eyes. I jerk forward, scooting her over and sharing her chair with her. My arms wrap protectively around her torso, and she whimpers as I bury my face in her black locks.
My family's eyes widen as they themselves take the time to process this dire news.
Raphael is the first to react. He stands up, pushing his chair back. His buff arm reaches forward and he snatches the box away from its place in front of Karai. Raph rips the top away, revealing two small gas masks. A fire burns in his eyes and his voice is loud as he practically yells, "Well? Why are we just sitting here? Only two people are making it out of here alive, who's it gonna be?" Considering we're in a private room reserved for our party only, I'm more carefree than usual with my little brother's obliviousness. No one's in here to hear him, so I don't care as much.
"Obviously Karai and I guess-" I'm cut off by Donatello, who's face is bright red with fury. "Wait, so just because her daddy sends her two masks it means she gets one?"
My jaw drops and eyes go wide as saucers. Did he just say that? "Of course she gets one, Donnie, are you fucking stupid?!" I demand harshly. "Karai is my fiancée and I will die if it means saving her life."
"Uh, Leo. . .," Mikey murmurs awkwardly.
"I know, poor choice of words. But my point still stands!"
Donatello rolls his eyes and stands up. His and Raphael's postures are so incredibly that it looks as if they're imitating each other. Their glares are both stone cold and their lips are pursed in a straight line. "She's the reason we're in this mess! If anyone should be getting out of here alive, it's me and April!"
Raphael's eyes widen in shock. His head whips around to face his blood brother in unison. "You and April? What makes you two so special?"
Donatello chuckles and answers so smoothly that he makes it sound as if this is the simplest thing in the world. "I'm running a multimillion dollar business and April is my girlfriend, we're worth more than all of you combined."
"Oh, I'll show you how much your worth when I shove this knife up your-" my father cuts off Raphael's threat. "We mustn't dispute over this difficulty. A unit divided is a unit of war; we cannot loose sight of who we are." Leave it to Dad to inspire you. His words are sewn together with elegancy, his thick Japanese accent whirling in a most ominous.
"So we're just gonna sit around talking calmly when we're on death's doorstep? What are we, hippies?" Raphael is beyond infuriated with this issue. Then, with a straight face, he states boldly, "Mikey gets one of them, he's the youngest, it's only fair."
Beside my hot headed brother, Michelangelo jolts up in objection. He stumbles as his tall legs struggle to balance his tall structure after sitting down for so long in a state of rest. "I'm not taking one of those gas masks if Raph, Leo, and Donnie don't get one as well. I can't live without you guys, you're my brothers. Someone else is just gonna have to take the second mask." The selflessness makes my little brother look strong and intimidating, emotions that don't appear in his stance very often.
Raphael clasps Mikey's hand and squeezes it. The act of comfort reminds me of the trembling form I'm holding in my arms. I hug Karai closer against my chest, my shirt muffling her whimpers. The broken girl in my arms isn't the one I'm used to seeing, and I can only imagine how incredibly damaged her heart must be for her to break down in front of everyone. Not that I blame her. Six of us are going to die tonight, only two will make it out alive. From what it looks like, those to people will be Karai and one other person. If she loves me as much as I love her, then she's not going to be able to let me die alone very easily. She'll be hard to convince, but I'll shove the mask on her if it means saving her life.
"Karai and April should get the masks. They're the girls here," Claire's suggestive voice is unexpected through all of this. She'd been so silent through all of this, I'd practically forgotten she was here at all.
Almost everyone nods their heads in agreement. Women first, that's the rule. It's rather obvious that my father and Claire won't be taking the masks. I can tell by the gear grinding in their minds that they only care about getting us out alive; they're both more than willing to give their lives for us.
But like I said, almost everyone nodded in agreement. The person that made that an almost is Donnie.
Donatello looks around in bewilderment, a fearful gleam in his burgundy eyes. "So what now?" He croaks. "We just sit around and wait to die?"
I nod, much to my dismay. Because there's nothing left to do.
Raphael hands Karai and April each a mask, which they grasp tightly in their hands. Against my chest, Karai's breaths warm my skin. A though occurs to me. Then many more follow until I'm drowning in a pit of my own realizations.
This is the last time I'll ever hold Karai in my arms.
After all of this, I'll never again hold her in a tight embrace as my fingers comb through her hair. I'll never again lay my head on her chest, just so I can listen to the soft thumping of her heart. I'll never kiss her goodnight and shut off the lights and bury my face in her neck. I'll never whisper "I love you" in the dawn of the morning when she's still half asleep. I'll never make love to her. Never crack a stupid joke only so I can smile as I listen to her burst into laughter. Never from mischievously as she playfully threatens me. Never shower with her. Never ride in the car with her. I'll never again stare at her as she looks out at the city we've learned to call home. Because this is the end.
I hug Karai closer to me, lovingly, heaving a long, exaggerated sigh. "Yes, Donnie, that's exactly what we do."
Tears begin to melt down my little brother's face as he accepts the vile truth. "But I don't want to die."
"And you think we do?" Raphael scoffs, a scowl playing on his face. "It doesn't matter what we want, it matters what we do."
Karai pulls away a bit, straightening her posture so she's not curled in a ball against my body. She sits on my lap, her arms wrapped around my torso. Her head rests on my shoulder as she intently watches the fur brewing within my family.
"Well, then let's do something. I say we get up off our asses, and walk the hell outta his place," sarcasm drips down from Donatello's teeth, leaking into the atmosphere. The words dance around me, flooding into my ears like cries for help.
How many times have I saved a life? All too many to count. How many times have I saved my family? More than I'd like to admit. How many times have I just barely made it out alive? An unreasonable amount.
I've stopped caring, I think. Perhaps that's why I'm sitting here limply, not bothering to hatch a plan that could save us all. For once, I'm hanging up my coat and leaving the rescues to the others. For once I'm going to sit and do what the bad guy has instructed.
"You know Saki," I begin with a dull tone, "he's most likely taken over the place, probably has the place loaded with his men. Hell, I'm sure there's a bunch standing right outside the door!"
"Well we can take them, we'll make it out-"
"Alive? Is that what you were gonna say?" I spit with raised eyebrows. "We don't have our weapons, Donnie. We're completely defenseless. Either way, whether we fight or not, we're going to die. And I don't know about you, but I'd rather die from a gas that'll end my life quickly than by bleeding out from a stab wound."
Donatello collapses down into his chair, his lips curled and teeth clenched as he holds his hands over his eyes in attempt to block out the world. His head shakes slightly, mimicking the trembling movement of the rest of his body.
April leaned over to hug him, holding his head against her chest. The soft movement of her lips tells me she's murmuring soothingly to him.
Turning my head, I meet Karai's glance. Our eyes lock. I shift so we're sitting beside each other, and I have a better view of her face.
I cup her cheek, and smile when she leans into my touch. "You okay?" I whisper. She shakes her head in response. Tears well in her eyes. "You're about to die," she says, those tears streaming down her cheeks, dragging her makeup with it, "I don't wanna live without you."
My lips quaver, my smile slowly fading into nothing but a memory. "I know, but you have to."
"No. No, I can give it to someone else and then we can die in each other's arms and-" I cut off Karai's pleas with a definite response. "Im sorry, but I can't let you die. You have so much to live for, I just know it. So I need you to take the mask, hold it over her lips, and not die." In a situation like this—one where you're about to lose your fiancé to death itself—what I just said may seem like a hell of a lot to ask. But Karai has to live.
"But I love you, and you won't be there for me." It pains me to see her like this; crying and pleading for me to let her die.
I lean towards her, resting my forehead on hers. "I know I won't, and that kills me inside. But you are beautiful and passionate and strong-willed, I just know that you'll find someone else to stand by your side. And one day, you'll get married to that person and you'll have beautiful babies together. You'll love them all so much, I'm sure of it. But that won't happen if you can't get through tonight. So, I need you to stay strong."
"But I want you. No one else. No one else even stands in comparison to you," Karai's lips move delicately against the air. Her fingers tangle in my hair, massaging my head comfortingly.
I smirk wildly as I say, "I know they don't."
She comes forward, closing the gap between us. Our lips move against each other's one last time; forever. When pull apart, we both whisper at the same exact moment, "I love you." That's when I realize the true meaning of those three words. They mean that you care for someone, and you will forever until the end of time. They mean caring and standing tall and proud next to the one you spoke to. They mean being more than willing to follow someone every step of the way.
Karai falls into my arms, nuzzling into my neck. Her warm breath makes the hairs on my skin stand up. I close my eyes as I inhale her scent deeply. This is it, this is exactly how I want to go. In her arms, loving her all the way.
Around the table, everyone just about sits in silence. April and Donnie talk in hushed voices. But my parents, Raphael, and Michelangelo all sit quietly, their heads down. Claire's and my Dad's hands are linked together.
Suddenly, the silence is broken as a high pitched hissing comes screaming out of the vents. "This is it," Donatello admits with a shaky voice. April and Karai lift their masks, and I get out three last words before everything is forever changed.
"I love you," I say, staring deeply into Karai's Amber eyes. But then something happens, something that wasn't according to plan.
April lunges across the table, shoving her mask on Mikey. Donnie screams, trying to hold her back. I can't hear anything, it's all muffled. I can feel the gas entering my system. But then it's not. Because Karai pushes her own mask against my lips. My eyes widen as she holds it there, a small smile on her lips. "I can't live without you."
Her last words hanging in the air, her eyes roll to the back of her head and she lolls to the side. Karai's body thumps to the floor loudly, just as everyone I've ever cared about slumps back in their chairs and onto the table with an echoing thud.
In that moment, I realize that I'm alone. My dad is dead. Claire is dead. April is dead. Donatello is dead. Raphael is dead.
Karai is dead.
And the worst part? The man who set the trap walks into the room, a pride-filled grin on his smug face.