Chapter Nine- My Name

The next morning, Splinter instructed the boys to leave the girl alone while she rested and immediately put them to work in their training. They became so busy they didn't get a chance to sneak away and check on the girl. They were also too busy to notice Raph only had one sai instead of two. By the time they finished, the girl had awoken, but she hadn't moved from her spot. She didn't look as distraught as last night, but she had a contemplating look on her face, like she was solving a puzzle. Her eyebrows furrowed together like caterpillars. Her mouth drew itself into a thin line and she frowned. The blanket remained wrapped around her shoulders.

Mikey knelt down next to the girl. "Are you okay?"

The girl jumped with a small gasp, obviously so engrossed in her thoughts she did not notice or hear him. "I'm fine." She sighed. "Just thinking."

"About yesterday?" Leo guessed. The girl only nodded.

"You need a distraction." Donnie rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I got it! Be right back!" He darted off to his room.

When Leo and Mikey disappeared into the kitchen for lunch, the Japanese girl pulled out Raph's sai and held it out to him. "Thanks." She murmured.

Raph smiled a little. "No problem. And..." He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry for...you know...misjudging you...without getting to know you..."

The girl smiled softly. "Water under the bridge."

Raph smirked and sat down a few feet from the girl, picking up a stray comic book. Donnie returned from his room soon after, a stack of books in his arms.

"I found these in our library." Donnie offered. "There's not much, and most of it is fairytales Sensei read to us when we were younger, but it'll take your mind off things."

The girl picked up the first book on the stack and blew the dust off it to better read the cover. She opened it and immediately started smiling softly. Donnie nodded in satisfaction and marched off to his lab to work.

The next half hour remained uneventful. Leo and Mikey returned from the kitchen arguing over the remote for the TV. It wasn't until April arrived soon after to help did they finally compromise and split the TV time. Mikey got first dibs, and immediately turned it to a show about baby kittens and puppies.

"Really Mikey?" Leo sighed. "Really?"

"Oh come on!" Mikey waved him off. "There's no wayyou can tell me that's not adorable!"

Before Leo could answer, Donnie suddenly burst into the room.

"Guys!" Donnie called excitedly. "Check it out! I built a totally awesome spy camera drone!" He held up a toy helicopter with a camera attached to the bottom. It looked like a regular toy helicopter, but sleek and black.

"That's cool, Donnie." Raph droned, flipping through his comic book.

The girl looked up from her book to get a look at Donnie's invention. "It actually is pretty cool. Does the camera detach from the helicopter and attach to other vehicles or does the helicopter reassemble to take the form of different modes of transportation?"

"The camera will detach from the helicopter." Donnie said proudly. "I can attach it to a toy boat or car. Both of which I have amped up and made so much cooler!"

"Are the remotes separate for each vehicle and the camera?" The girl asked, staring at the drone with a critical eye. "Or are all the mechanics synced in a single remote using chain link co-polymers to act as an adhesive for each microchip?"

The turtles and April stared at the girl. "I like her!" Donnie announced, sitting down next to the girl and tinkering with his machine. The girl giggled a little, smirking.

"Great." Raph huffed. "Another nerd around, just what we need."

Everyone jumped when the girl suddenly tackled Raph to the ground and put one of his sai to his throat. "Call me a nerd again, and see if I don't clobber you with your own sai." She threatened, her cheerful expression quickly changed into a fearsome glare.

Raph blinked in surprise, and then he smiled. "I like her! She's tough!" The girl smirked and got off him, even going to the extent of helping him to his feet. He took his sai back and returned to his comic, casting the girl a smile now and then.

"All right, let's see if she can pass my test!" Mikey boasted.

"What's your test?" Leo asked. "And what for?"

"Skateboarding!" Mikey pulled out his board and hopped on, rolling across the lair. "If she and I both like skateboarding, then she passes the test!"

"Sensei said no skateboarding in the lair!" Donnie reminded him.

Mikey didn't pay attention. "Watch as I jump the rail, flip into the air, and land perfectly on my own two feet!" He swerved towards the stair rail and kicked up and over the bars. However, he didn't get very far into the flip before the skateboard caught the edge of the metal rail and smacked into his feet, startling him and forcing him to land on his stomach on the ground.

"Very nice." Raph commented sarcastically.

"How about, instead of jumping over the rail," the girl suggested. "you use the rail to gain momentum and height to do the flip? If you truly know ninjutsu, use your skills that Splinter has taught you to gain speed and height for your tricks." She stood up and grabbed Mikey's board as it rolled by. "Watch." She jumped onto the board and rolled around to the stairs. She jumped up and the board landed between her feet and the rail. She pushed off, somersaulted in the air, and landed on the board as it rolled by. She skated a full loop around the lair before jumping off and settling down on the couch. She took up her book again and started reading as though nothing happened.

Mikey was at the girl's side in two seconds, pulling her in a tight hug. "I love her!"

"Okay, okay." Leo shook his head. "So she's got brains like Donnie, muscle like Raph, and she's a skater like Mikey. So what?"

"She's a leader, like you." Mikey noted.

"Even I have to admit, we wouldn't have escaped from Dogpound if it weren't for her." Raph nodded. "It was her idea to climb out the fire escape and down into the sewers."

"It was nothing." The girl assured.

"Nothing? It was awesome." Donnie protested. "It showed you have a good sense of impromptu thinking."

"Just because she's a leader, doesn't make her similar to me." Leo clicked the remote to turn on Space Heroes.

"Space Heroes?" the girl asked.

"You got a problem?" Leo asked in his most threatening tone.

"Nope." The girl shrugged as she continued reading her book. "Space Heroes is pretty cool."

Everyone stared at the girl and then at Leo. "I like her." Leo announced.

"I see you're all getting along." Splinter noted as he entered.

"Sensei Splinter!" Mikey put an arm around the girl. "Can we keep her?"

"Keep her?" Splinter repeated.

"Yeah, she's awesome!" Mikey said excitedly.

"We cannot hold her like a pet." Splinter chuckled. "She's not like Spike."

"You wanna stay, don't you?" Mikey asked the girl, his eyes going big and shiny in a puppy dog pout.

The girl giggled a little. "I don't want to be a bother."

"You wouldn't be." Splinter assured. "And we can't let Shredder get a hold of you. Don't try and deny that he's looking for you and convince us that you'd be trouble."

The girl noticed the stubbornness in Splinter's tone. She finally smiled. "I guess...if you don't mind me sleeping on the floor in a pillow and blanket nest."

"Yay!" Mikey cheered, pulling the girl into another hug.

April laughed at the boys' behavior. "Well, I gotta get home."

"So soon?" Donnie asked sadly.

"I just wanted to check in with you guys after yesterday." April explained. "My aunt wants me to help her out in the housecleaning. I'll see ya guys tomorrow."

"I'll join you. I need to stretch my legs." The girl offered as she and April walked from the lair. Splinter smiled after them before returning to his meditation.

"You know what? I like her." Donnie noted. "She's nice."

"And pretty funny." Leo added.

"And tough as nails!" Raph punched his palm.

"Yeah." Mikey nodded. "Good ol'...uh..."

The boys' smiles slowly disappeared. They exchanged glances.

"Does anyone remember that girl's name?" Donnie asked.

"I don't remember asking." Mikey remembered. The turtles shared looks before running off after the girls. They reached them just as April started climbing the ladder up to the sewer grate.

"We totally forgot!" Leo panted. "We don't know your name!" April and the girl exchanged looks.

"You never asked." The girl shrugged. The two girls started laughing.

Mikey rolled his eyes. "All right, then will you please tell us your name?"

"Why should I?" the girl asked innocently, fighting giggles.

"Because you're gonna be staying with us for a while." Raph explained.

"And we need to know what to call you or else Mikey will name you." Leo added.

"Please tell us your name!" Mikey pleaded, putting on his best puppy dog pout.

"Yeah, what is it?" Donnie added.

The girl laughed a little. "My name is Kuro."

A/N: Didn't see that coming, did ya? :D FYI, I really have no idea what chain link co-polymers are. So don't quote me on that.