Leo shifted in his sleep. "Whoa!" He cried as he crashed from his seat. His back ached like he hasnt moved a century, but with a quick stretch, he managed to crack it. The smell of eggs and bacon filled the room. Mikey must have cooked breakfast again. But surprisingly nothing smelled burnt. He probably was trying to impress someone. Someone like...
"Where's Sora?" Leo cried jumping up. He looked around vigorously to no avail. He had fallen asleep and she had gotten away. She was probably already back to Shredder, telling him EXACTLY where they lived. How could they be so stupid to let her into their home!
He let himself down. He let his brothers down.
"You called?" Sora emerged from the kitchen. She had a plate in each hand that was piled with eggs, bacon, and toast. Mikey followed with two plates balanced on each arm.
Leo rubbed his head. This girl was going to give him an aneurism for sure.
"Breakfast is ready!" Mikey called out as he took the plates from Sora and set them on the table. The other two turtle emerged from their rooms and joined them around the table.
"This smells great, Mikey!" Sora said.
"Dont get your hopes up," Raph said. "You havent tasted it yet!" He and Don cracked up.
"My sons," a old, raspy voice broke through the commotion. "What is the meaning of this?" The old rat followed behind.
"Master Splinter!" Leo said. He bowed as Splintered entered the room. Mikey and Don tried unsuccessfully to cover Sora before bowing too.
"Who is this you bring into our home?" Splinter asked. "You threaten our secret?"
"Master Splinter, wait!" Don cried. "It's okay!"
"We found her on the streets. She was being attacked by the foot and we saved her," Leo explained. "She's blind and cant remember a thing. I was going to ask if she could stay here last night, but you were already asleep."
Splinter combed his fingers through his beard. "Hmm. Blind, you say?" Sora nodded. "How much do you remember?"
"Just being chased by Shredder," Sora replied. "Thats all I really know." she was really getting tired of repeating herself.
"I see," Splinter said. "Then I guess I see no harm in letting her stay here. Just a little while. What is your name, child?"
Sora smiled gratefully. "Sorahaku." She said. She placed one hand inside her other and bowed in the general direction of his voice. Raph corrected her by her shoulders so she was actually facing him, and she bowed again.
"Sorahaku..." Splinter repeated, his raspy voice shaky. He turned around so his sons could not see his face, but Sora caught on to the uncertainty in his voice. "If one had not known better, that would be a name that would bring great fear."
"You... You've heard of me?" Sora bit her lip nervously. This might be her chance to finally get some answers, but the tone of his voice made her worried.
"No." Splinter said sharply and suddenly, making Sora jump. "But I know of the fear that name once spread many years ago."
"What's so scary about her name?" Leo asked.
"Did... Did i do something wrong?" Sora asked quietly. "What did I do?" She glanced at Leo. Maybe he was right about her this whole time. Sora felt her stomach tighten.
Splinter shook his head and faced her again. "I do not know," he said. "But you do!"
Sora sighed. Was this old man senile? "But i dont remember anything!" she cried exasperated.
"Your memories are not gone forever, Sorahaku," Splinter said. "They were just locked away in a place your mind can not reach. With meditation, together we may be able to break down the barrier that separates them."
Sora let the words sink in. With Don offering to fix her sight, and Splinter offering to meditate with her, she was doing all she could not to cry and hug every one of them. This family was just too much for her. "You can do that?"
"I can only take it so far," he replied. "What you learn and what you choose to do with what you learn, is out of my hands."
"You mean..." Sora trailed off. "You mean if I find out I did something bad, do i turn back to my evil ways?" Wonderful. So now there's a chance I could be really evil, Sora thought.
Splinter nodded. "I cannot choose for you. If you wish for me to help you, I'll be in my room. Come see me," Splinter left the room, leaving a very heavy silence behind.
"Well, that went well!" Mikey broke the silence. "Lets eat!" he sat down at the table. Everyone else followed.
The breakfast was quiet and awkward. Splinter's words still echoed in the room, and Leo wouldnt take his eyes off Sora. I dont want to be evil, Sora thought, completely ignoring the glare she was receiving. If i did hurt someone, I dont think i want to know. Is it just better to stay ignorant like this? I could stay like this forever, with no memory, to save myself from knowing i hurt someone.
After they ate, Sora helped Mikey wash and put away the dishes. "Hey Sora, can you put these in the cabinet?" Mikey shoved a large heavy stack of plates in her arms before she had a chance to decline. "Great! Its right above you!"
Sora stretched up feeling for the cabinet. "A little more!" Mikey giggled. The other three turtles stopped what they were doing to watch the spectacle. Sora stretched further, standing on her toes. She started to wobble under the weight of the plates. "Now a little to the left!" Sora followed his command, barely missing the cabinet that was clearly to her right. "More left! MORE!" Mikey cried between stifled giggles.
"Hows this?" Sora cried, chunking the top plate at Mikey's head. It barely missed him and crashed on the wall behind him. Mikey screamed as another plate was hurled towards his head. Sora dropped the remaining plates and pounced at him and tackled him to the ground. Don managed to catch the plates before they crashed on the ground.
Sora had Mikey pinned with her knees on his thighs and one hand holding his wrists together over head. No matter how much Mikey struggled, he couldnt shake her off.
"Alright, alright!" Mikey cried. "I give! Im sorry!" Sora giggled and rolled off.
Leo suddenly grabbed Sora's arm and yanked her up to her feet roughly. "What is this?"
Sora yelped, slightly in pain. Leo's grip was a little too tight. "What's what?"
Leo pointed to her back that was showing from her slightly lifted shirt. Then remembering she couldnt see, he added, "This! On your back."
"Well i have no idea!" Sora broke free from Leo's grasp.
"Its a tattoo," Leo explained. The boys gathered around and Sora lifted the back of her shirt. She felt around on her back, but not knowing what she was looking for, she said, "What does it look like?"
Leo narrowed his eyes. "It was the Foot clan symbol."
"The foot?" Raph cried. "Lemme see!" Raph shoved past his brother to get to Sora, but her back was completely bare.
"I dunno, bro," Mikey pushed his way to see too. "There's nothing there."
"I saw it!" Leo cried. "It was there! It was the foot!"
"Oh yeah? Well i think you're seeing things," Raph said, his voice steadily rising. "You dont trust Sora, so you're saying things to make us not trust her too!"
"Thats not true at all, Raph," Leo shouted back.
"Well tattoo or no tattoo, I still trust her!" Raph exclaimed. "And aint nothing you're going to say will change that! I'm going out!"
"You cant go out when its daylight! Splinter's orders!" Leo cried, but Raph had already left.
"I'll go keep an eye on him," Mikey offered, and followed him out.
Leo pointed a finger dangerously in Sora's face. "I WILL get to the bottom of this," he promised harshly before storming out.
Sora just sat there, dumbfounded from all the chaos. "Dont worry," Don assured her. "Its not you. They fight all the time!"
"Thats reassuring," Sora mumbled. She waved as Don left her alone as well.
Sora sighed. She was going to tear this family apart and she didnt even know what she did. Maybe she should have never come here. Maybe it be best if she just left. But not before she got some answers. About the foot. About her father. About this tattoo. About why her name was feared. And about why the Shredder wanted her so bad.
Sora pushed Splinter's door open with a new determination. No matter what the brothers thought of her, she wasnt leaving without answers. A sharp cold breeze welcomed her. Sora felt a single candle in the middle of the room and Splinter said behind the candle facing the door.
"Sorahaku," Splinter said calmly. No doubt he had heard the brothers yelling and was waiting for her to come in. "Please sit down." Sora said on the mat placed on the other side of the candle. Closer to the candle, it was warmer and stopped Sora from shivering.
"I want to know what happened to me," Sora said strongly. "I want to know what happened to my father."
Splinter nodded. "We will start by clearing your mind, Sorahaku."
"Please," Sora interrupted. "If the name Sorahaku brings fear, then i want to be called Sora."
"Sora," Splinter smiled. "You have great heart and honor. I personally believe you did nothing wrong. you just had things happen that was out of your control. My son, however, might need convincing."
"Yeah, Leo doesnt seem overly fond of me."
"Leonardo also has a strong heart. He is very stubborn and will do anything he thinks is right to protect his family. If you choose the wrong path, he will stop you."
Sora nodded.
"I wish you to make the right choice," Splinter said. "Let us begin, Sora. Think of the one thing you wish to gain from this. Breathe out slowly and clear your mind of everything. Think of the last thing you remember, and push a little further back, into the dark abyss of your mind. Push yourself harder than you have ever tried.
Sora followed his instructions, breathing slowly and straining herself, but all she was in her mind was blackness. "I dont think its working."
"It takes time," Splinter said. "Try again. Channel all of your energy into this one thing and concentrate hard."
Sora closed her eyes and pushed harder. Her nails pierced into her hand from where she was clenching them too tight. She imagined a physical barrier in her mind and imagined herself tearing it down. Within seconds, a blood curdling scream pierced through Splinter's silent room with a light from Sora's mind that made her eyes burn. The scream was so horrifying, Sora screamed too. The scream and light lingered on, and would not go away.
"Sora? What is it?" Sora barely heard Splinter's voice over the scream. Splinter placed his hands on Sora's shoulders and the scream suddenly faded away.
Sora pushed his hands off her as she tried to catch her breath. "What was that?" She screamed.
"Calm down!" Splinter said. "What was what?"
"That scream!" Sora cried. "Didnt you hear it?"
Splinter remained silent until Sora calmed dow. "Sora, there was no scream."
Sora gasped. "What?" she whispered.
"That scream may have come from your past. Concentrate on that scream." Splinter said.
Sora closed her eyes again and pictured the barrier once more. As Sora pushed harder, an image appeared in her head, like from an old Tv set. "I see..." It was a ginormous hairy white wolf-like creature. Its eyes were blood red and looking for a kill. Saliva dripped from its huge jaws that could crush a car. From its rows of razor sharp teeth were dead carcasses dripping with blood and guts. With one swipe of a giant paw, it destroyed a building. People were screaming and crying, pushing to save their selves and their families from the monster and the fires it caused. A voice stood above the screams, like it was right next to Sora's ear, but she couldnt see that man the voice belonged to. It cried out, "Sora! Sora!" It was her dad! The creature howled an awful screech as it took out another building. Its paws were sticky with blood. "Sora?!"
"What do you see?" Splinter asked. "Sora?"
"Im right here dad!" Sora tried to say, but her body wouldnt respond. Sora was trembling. She tried to shake away the image of the monster destroying her town, but she couldnt snap back to reality.
The creature screamed. Blood and saliva drooled from its large, hairy snout. A woman was hiding behind a collapsed building with a baby clutched to her chest. The creature raised its paw, aiming for them. The baby started crying.
"Sora, run!" She couldnt tell if it was Splinter or her father, but run she did. She ran head first into Splinter's wall. The knock on her head was enough to knock her back to reality.
The creature was gone. She was back in Splinter's room. The sound of her father calling her name was gone. Splinter was listening intently, waiting for Sora to speak. "I saw this creature destroying my village when i was in Japan." Sora said slowly. "And heard my father. We got separated and he was looking for me." And the woman with a baby. Was this her mom? I dont remember much of her, Sora thought. She looked at Splinter. "What does this mean?"
Splinter stroked his beard in thought. "I do not know. It is quite curious."
Sora shivered. She just wanted out of this room. Splinter opened his mouth to say something more, but Sora pushed out of the room back to the living room, where Mikey and Raph had returned.
"Hey!" Mikey exclaimed happily. "How did it go? What did you see?" Raph looked up from where he was training with a punching bag.
Sora tried to calm her breathing. She shook her head and shrugged. "Nothing." she lied.