Irma woke up the next morning lying on her bed. She didn't remember getting to her room or changing. She picked herself up and poked her head out of her room. She called for her parents even though she knew they wouldn't answer. Saturdays were especially busy at the institute. They'd be gone for the majority of the day, so Irma decided to use this to her advantage. She retreated back into her room to grab a few things before heading to the bathroom. She disposed of yesterday's clothes and jumped into the shower. It was then she discovered purple rings around her wrists. This reaffirmed her disbeliefs. Last night really happened. It wasn't a dream; it actually happened. Otherwise where would these bruises have come from? Irma quickly finished her shower and ran to her room. She searched "strange sightings in NYC" on her laptop, but all that came up were little pink brain things and robots. "Remind me to be scared of those things when I'm not looking for a giant turtle," she thought to herself. After all attempts to find out more about her masked hero, Irma decided to turn to what she did best: confide in April. She changed into an oversized navy sweater and purple skirt and dialed. It rang six times.

"Hello?" April's voice sounded like she was in the middle of something important but the background sounded like a Kung Fu movie marathon.

"April! You won't believe what happened last night." Irma was happy to hear her voice. It'd been a week two since she'd seen April. She should have known better than to go to the library and wait for her yesterday. If she hadn't shown up to school in two weeks, why would she show up for a study session?

"Can it wait Irma? I'm kind of in the middle of something. Shouting ensued behind April. The turtles were in the middle of a training session. To escape the loud practice, April snuck behind a screen door into the living room.

"I got mugged," Irma said excitedly.

"OH MY GOD ARE YOU OKAY?"

"Yeah I'm fine; that's not the point."

"That's not the point? You call me to tell me that you were mugged and then completely disregard it?"

"No. That's not what I meant. Right before they were about to….. have their way with me, someone rescued me."

"Say what?"

"Hey Ape, everything alright?" Raphael had slipped from the dojo to check on her. He was rubbing his knee in pain while she stood there listening to her friend babble about crime statistics in New York. April extended a finger toward his knee, but Raph shooed her away as if to say "It's nothing."

The young kunoichi in training pulled away from the phone to give her friend an answer, "Yeah, my friend got mugged last night."

"Really, he alright?"

"Not he, she and yeah she's fine."

"My bad."

"But April, that's not the half of it. So after he knocked out the thugs he approached me."

"Yeah, so?"

"Sooo, he helped untie me. And April, you're never going to believe this part."

"Try me," she said looking suspiciously at the red-masked turtle. She knew Raph and his brothers loved helping random citizens in danger when they weren't fighting the Foot or Purple Dragons. But April thought that they were all smart enough not to engage the people.

"He was a giant turtle!"

"I giant turtle you say." She gave Raph a stern look like she was about to rip his head off. She knew Raphael had gone on patrol last night and came back later than usual. She had wondered then but now she had her answer. As soon as Raph had heard 'turtle', he realized who April was talking to. He smiled nervously at her as he tried to sneak away, but April grabbed him by the belt and demanded him to stay. "Or else," she dared as she pointed to Splinter's silhouette on the screen door. He nodded and stood there. Even though he was bigger than her, he didn't dare cross April. She was lethal when angry and he did not feel like provoking her anymore.

"April, A GIANT TURTLE! You don't believe me do you?!"

"Yes Irma, I believe you. So other than the obvious, what did he look like?"

"Well, he had a red mask with torn tendrils."

Check. At this point April had grabbed Raph by the mask and pulled him to the kitchen. She sat down at the table with Raph sitting on the other end and placed the call on speakerphone.

"A lightning bolt in his plastron."

Check.

"He carried twin Japanese sai."

Check.

"He had these beautiful green eyes."

Both heads shot up and stared at the phone then looked at each other. April noticed that Raph's face was the same color as his mask. The turtle tried to hide his embarrassment and put his feet up on the table. The girl could still see the flush in his cheeks and smiled.

"Anything else," April asked.

"Well, to be completely honest, he had a really sexy voice."

Raph convulsed and fell out of his chair. April's shocked face disappeared as she silently laughed at her friend's sudden clumsiness. He emerged from the floor and his face was redder than ever.

"What was that," Irma asked frantically.

"Oh nothing. My cousin, Reagan, fell out of his chair. So you found this giant turtle guy sexy?"

"Well, I mean, uh," she stammered. "Not exactly but there was something about him that was different."

"Like what?"

"He seemed like a natural tough guy but when he was helping me he let go. Worried but comforting. He was concerned I was going to run off as soon as I could."

"Well, to be completely honest, if I was a giant turtle I would be scared people would run away from me too." April stared judgmentally at Raph, knowing this is what he should have been thinking.

"I understand that. I told him I wasn't scared though. Well, maybe at first but when he started talking to me I calmed down."

"Why is that Irma?"

"Because he seemed genuine. And like you said, he's probably faced enough rejection in his life, he could use a friend."

"That's my girl. Making friends with mutants on her way home from the library," April said hypocritically. Raph rolled his eyes. "Did you even catch his name?"

Irma let out an extended sigh, "Raphael."

"Raphael, eh? Irma, if I didn't know any better, I'd think you have feelings for this ninja turtle."

"I do not! I just find him interesting, that's all."

"Uh-huh, so when is your next date with your reptilian Romeo." Raph looked at April. The red in his cheeks had somewhat vanished by now. And he was silent.

"Well, that's the thing. While I was unlocking my apartment door, he vanished. And I really want to see him again."

"Well, I'm sure if he was willing to talk to you in the first place, he'll be back."

"I guess."

"Tell you what. You call me up the next time he talks to you and let me know how it goes."

"By the way, where are you?"

April knew that was coming. She couldn't lie to her best friend, but she couldn't reveal her location either.

"I'm, uh, at the farm in Connecticut with my uncle and cousins."

"Oh, well how long will you be gone?"

"At the least four months."

"Four months?!"

"It's ridiculous but I have to. I miss you like crazy and I promise I'll write."

"I miss you too. Have fun."

"I love you."

Irma smiled. She was glad that she and April had such a good relationship, even if it meant she couldn't see her.

"I love you too. Don't get any new best friends while you're gone."

"Trust me, no one can replace you."

Yay Raphinstein! This one was so much fun to write. Went much faster than the first. Thank y'all for the support and review, it means a lot. Just Luck will be updated every Thursday. The updates might become inconsistent at the beginning of August but I'll do my best! Love you all!