Author's Note: …Oh goodness, guys! I didn't mean to leave off the story for that long! ;_; you still love me, right?

TMNT doesn't belong to me… obviously!

"When the sky turns grey and there's no end in sight

When I can't sleep through the lonely night

I turn to you- like a flower leaning toward the sun" – Melanie C

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The young woman was covered in fluffy white fur, save for her black ears, nose, and mouth, along with black circles around her dark eyes. Black paws peeked out of long kimono sleeves. Hazel frowned. A panda? Immediately, she ran into a back room without a word, and the older, human woman stepped forward.

"Please," she begged, "I don't have much money- but I will make you a fine kimono… if you swear not to tell of what you've seen here. Please…"

Hazel opened her mouth, trying to think of the right words. Her Japanese was a little broken.

"My friends- they are same way. Sort of. I understand…"

"Please, explain." She leaned on the counter. Hazel blushed- she wasn't confident in her explaining abilities in English, let alone Japanese. She cleared her throat and looked down at the floor.

"Um… my friends. They were…" She tried to think of how to say mutated. It wasn't really a common conversational word. "…Changed. From animals. They are turtles shaped like people." Her face was completely red now.

"I think I understand… Li Mei!" she called, and slowly the panda girl came back into the front room, humiliated.

"Speak in English with her, please."
"Yes ma'am." Li Mei looked at Hazel. "Hello."

"Hi… I-I was just saying…"

"You have friends like me."

"Yes- well, in New York, where I live…"

"I've always wanted to go back to America. I was born there… before any of this happened."

"What… what happened?" Li Mei sighed, looking at the clock.

"Perhaps we should sit down and explain all of this over tea."

A few minutes later, they were all in the back room sitting together. Hazel sipped carefully at her tea, not wanting to burn her tongue.

"I was just… a regular panda in a zoo. After that… I'm not so sure what happened. Some sort of genetic experimentation." Li Mei shuddered. "They brought me to Japan since that was where their headquarters was. They left me to die after that."

"How awful… Who did this to you?"

"I have no idea. Like I said- I don't quite remember what happened. Masako saved me." She smiled. "That's another story, though."

"I wish I could introduce you to my friends… but it's a little difficult to get non-humans out of the country… let alone a bunch of them." Hazel grimaced.

"This is JUST why I think we should move there!" sighed Li Mei. "To be with ones like me…"

"And how will we get you there, my dear?" Masako scoffed, setting her tea cup down. "It wouldn't exactly be easy."

"Well— no, but… it's possible." Hazel bit her lip, squinting at Li Mei and nodding, going into artist-mode. "A little makeup… A veil, of course. Very conservative clothing. Call it a traditional, personal matter, right?"

"It's still a gamble." Masako frowned.

"So is staying here!" huffed Li Mei. "There we have a fresh start. There we know there are others like me!"

"And lots of tourists come to New York! They'd love your kimonos," smiled Hazel. Masako let out a heavy sigh.

"I will consider." Li Mei smiled wide at Hazel, who smiled back.

"Well… it was very nice to meet you both. But… I have to go for today. My mother might worry. I'll be back though, I promise!" She bowed her head and turned to leave.

"Hazel," Li Mei called. Hazel turned back around.

"Thank you," she said in English. Hazel nodded to her with a grin and went on her way back to her hotel. On the way, she couldn't help but think about how Li Mei had become the way she was. Who could have done such a thing? She walked into the foyer of the hotel. She wasn't even sure how the turtles had become the way they were. Somehow, it'd just seemed inappropriate to ask… But now she was curious. She shrugged to herself as she got into the elevator. There would be plenty of time to ask about that when she got home in about a week.

When she reached her room, Hazel found a small note from her mother on her bed.

Gone out. Be back later. Love you. – Mom

Hazel shrugged. Not a big deal- they were on vacation, after all. She hopped up onto her bed and stretched out, turning on the television. A silly game show was on, and Hazel watched for a while before she fell asleep.

She awoke in the middle of the night- 3:15, her clock said. Her mother still wasn't around. She whimpered, wondering what time it would be in New York. She pulled out her phone and looked at the international time chart. It was evening there. She began to dial the numbers.

"Hey?"

"Hi Raph," whimpered Hazel into the dark room, lit only by the tiny light from her phone.

"What's wrong, kid?"

"Oh! Nothing- nothing really. Well, my mom's not around and it's really late so I just… needed someone to talk to."

"Huh. Must be pretty late there…" There was a pause. "So?"

"I met an interesting person today."

"Mmhmm," Raph mumbled.

"A mutant."

"You're kidding!"

"No… she's a panda. She doesn't remember what happened though. But… they're thinking of moving to America."
"And you told them about us, right?" Raph grumbled. Hazel said nothing. "You did."

"Just a little…" she mumbled. "Only- only that I had friends who were mutants. That's all."

"God damn… Never mind. It's fine." He sighed. "Guess I'm just paranoid."

"I don't think they really will- the lady who takes care of her doesn't want to… I'm… sorry."

"Don't be, okay? I don't know why the hell I'm worried about some Japanese people. I've got enough to worry about here."

"I guess so…"

"You'd better sleep, okay? Don't get all worried about me if I'm not around."

Hazel frowned. "Okay… I—"

"You're cutting out—Haze? Ha—" Silence.

Hazel sunk down on her bed and sniffled.

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Candy Stars: …Sorry. Boring. Please read and review! I missed you guys! C: