Chapter 7

A Close Call

The next night, the mutants trained again, this time without any incidents. Monalisa had mended her top and it looked almost like new again, and Tyroth had promised to be more careful with his claws in the future. She didn't blame him for what happened, and apologized for accidentally slapping him when she freaked out. But they were good friends, so there was no ill will between them either way.

Once they were done, Michelangelo once again headed out for some sewer skating, and to meet Shari, but the last part was still a secret. Maybe one day he'd introduce her to his friends and family, but not yet, they still needed to get to know each other better first.

"Third night in a row that Mikey goes skating on his own, he must have some impressive tricks he's practising on." said Donatello.

"Three nights? I know he loves skating, but that does seem like more than usual." said Sephie.

"Maybe, but everyone's got their own hobbies, and at least he's doing something that gives him some exercise instead of just playing video-games or reading comic-books. Maybe we can join him next time, it's been a while since we all took a proper skate through the sewers." said Leonardo.

"Mind if we also tag along?" asked Sephie.

"Of course not, you're all more than welcome to join us." said Monalisa. "We got a few extra skateboards and roller-skates that you can use."

"I hope that you have something my size, otherwise I'm out of luck." said Tyroth.

"Yeah, I don't think any shops sell anything size Dragon." said Raphael.

"Leave that to me. I think I have an idea." said Donatello.

Meanwhile, Michelangelo had arrived at the apartment building where Shari lived, and made his way up to the rooftop. Shari was already there waiting for him, and casually paced back and forth.

"Hey, Shari." Michelangelo said as he got up on the rooftop, after carefully scanning the surroundings. "Sorry if I'm late, but we had some guests drop by yesterday."

"Mikey, you came back again." Shari said with a happy voice.

"Of course I did. I said I would, didn't I?"

"Yeah, you did, and I'm happy that you kept your word. People that break a promise are among the worst that I can think of."

"Well, I may be a bit goofy, but I'd never break a promise."

"That's good to know, then I can trust you. You said something about guests, what kind of guests?"

"Oh, other mutants from out of town. Seriously good friends. We saved the world together once."

"Saved the world? You're exaggerating, right?"

"Nope, some ancient alien demons attacked, and we were the only ones that could stop them. Man, that wasn't easy, but we kicked their butts good."

"Wow. That's just unbelievable. Then you've already saved my life before we even met, your friends too. Where are they from, if they're not from New York?"

"Sorry, but I can't say. We all promised them not to tell anyone they don't know and trust yet."

"Oh, I understand." Shari said a bit disappointed.

"But, uhm… if you want, maybe I could introduce you to them. I'm sure the dudes and dudettes will like you."

"You would do that for me? That's very so sweet of you! I would love to meet them. But, do they know about me?"

"Um… no. I haven't told them of you, at least not yet. I wanna take it slow with them, so they don't freak out, we're supposed to stay hidden you know."

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea, but still, I would like to meet them as soon as possible all the same. Anyway, tell me a little more about yourself, what do you like to do?"

"Oh the usual, comic books, video-games, beating up bad guys, hanging out with the others, party. That kind of stuff. We've even been able to go on real parties with humans."

"Really? How did you manage that?"

"Masquerade parties, no-one can tell us from those in costumes. It's the only time that we can move around freely among humans. It's awesome to bust out some dance moves in public like that."

"You like dancing then?"

"I do, yeah, and I'm good at break-dancing. What about you?"

"I'm decent I suppose, though not at break-dancing, but I've always preferred the slower, softer dances, where you're close to your dance-partner."

"That's not really my style, and I can't get the moves right for it either."

"Well, I could teach you… right now… if you let me, that is." said Shari with a faint blush.

"Y-you would? Uhm… sure… why not? It's worth a shot, ain't it?" said Michelangelo, blushing as well.

Standing in the middle of the rooftop, Shari began to instruct Michelangelo on how to move. They both blushed greatly when they took each others' hands to begin practising, stumbling a little as they slowly moved around.

Underground, Donatello had made a pair of improvised roller-skates for Tyroth, by basically tying a smaller skateboard to each of his feet. It wasn't pretty, but it seemed to work when he tried skating with them. It was a little wobbly at first, but after a while, he had gotten used to them and it seemed to go well. Seeing that Tyroth now had his own set of wheels, the others decided that they might just as well go skating as well. Kate was borrowed a pair of roller-skates while Sephie was given a skateboard, and the others grabbed their own wheels and headed out.

Zooming through the sewers, the mutants were having a great time, while trying to see if they could find Michelangelo on the way. Though, not everyone was having as good of a time as the others. Tyroth was able to keep up with the others, but whenever he tried any kind of the stunts that the others did, he would end up on the ground. Even just going up on the walls a bit resulted in him falling.

"Not your day today, is it Big T?" said Raphael.

"Sure seems that way. Didn't think I'd be this bad at skating, I used to go ice-skating a lot as a kid, but I must have lost my touch."

"I think that there's more working against you than just a lack of practice. You got more mass than the rest of us, so you need more speed for the tricks, which is harder to get because of your mass." said Donatello.

"If I didn't understand what you just said, I would have thought that you were calling me fat in scientific terms." Tyroth replied. "Guess I'll settle for just rolling along then. If I reach the speed needed, there is no guaranty that I'll be able to stop before running over any of you, or into a wall or something."

"That's too bad, love. Maybe we should do something else instead." said Sephie.

"Let's just continue, I'll do my best to keep up with those of you that have the skills."

"Speaking of which, you girls are doing very well. Do you skate back in Mutopia?" said Monalisa.

"Some do, but not us." said Sephie. "I've tried using a skateboard before, but I've always had trouble staying on it. Since becoming a gecko though, I got the best grip in the world, so all I have to do is mimic the rest of the skaters."

"What about you, Kate? You handle those roller-skates like a pro." said Leonardo.

"I've had some training. Back when I was human, years before I mutated, I took a job at a restaurant as a waitress. Fucking hated that job, but I needed the money. Anyway, they had a fifties or sixties theme going, so all waitresses wore roller-skates. Serving customers like that was a hellish nightmare, and those damned dresses were fucking awful. Every other old goat tried to grope us if we weren't quick enough to get out of reach, so we had to be good with skates, not only for serving."

"No wonder you're skilled then, you would have to be in that situation." said Monalisa. "Kinda reminds me of the time we worked at the inn in Skyrim."

"That was an interesting day to say the least, not to mention when Mikey invented the pizza there." said Tyroth.

"Speaking of Mikey, wonder where he is. I thought that we would have bumped into him by now." said Sephie.

"So did I. He must have headed somewhere else then." said Leonardo.

"Hey, isn't that his skateboard over there?" said Raphael, pointing at a part of the wall further down the tunnel. And sure enough, there was Mikey's skateboard, securely wedged between a few pipes next to a ladder to a manhole. It seemed like he had gone topside, but for what reason?

Topside, on the rooftop, Michelangelo and Shari had just finished practising.

"You learn quick, Mikey, a few more times and I think you got it." Shari said with a smile.

"You think so? Well, I got a good teacher after all." said Michelangelo with a blush, and his compliment made Shari blush as well.

"I don't know about that, but thank you. But the next time, maybe you can try not to step on my feet as much."

"Sorry about that, my bad." he said sheepishly. As he tried to think of something to say, the clouds in the sky parted enough for the full moon to be seen. "Hey, the moon's out."

"I don't think I've actually watched the moon, or the night sky, properly since I moved here. It looks so pretty."

"Me and the others stargaze every now and then. How about we do that tomorrow night if the weather's good? I know a place not far from here."

"That's so kind of you to offer, I'd love that."

"Great! But now I have to scram, or my brothers will start wondering where the shell I am, but I'll be back tomorrow night, okay?"

"Okay. But before you go, could you stay for just another minute? And watch the moon together with me? Please?"

"Well… I really should be going… but sure, I can stay a little while longer."

But as the two stood together, looking at the beautiful moon, three pair of eyes watched them from a nearby rooftop, hidden in the shadows. A trio of Foot ninja. They continued to observe as Michelangelo left and headed back into the sewers, while Shari remained on the roof for a while longer.

Climbing down the ladder, Michelangelo was completely oblivious to that the others were below. As such, he almost jumped out of his shell when Leonardo made their presence known.

"Mikey?"

"Aaahh!" the youngest turtle yelled, turning around quickly. "What the shell, dude?! What are you guys doing here?!"

"We were trying out Tyroth's new set of wheels when we saw your skateboard." said Monalisa. "What were you doing topside?"

"Uhm… I, uhm… I wanted some fresh air, then I lost track of time watching the stars and moon, but they're covered by clouds now, so I decided to head back home."

"Okay then, how about we all head back together then? We can take a slightly longer way to skate some more, if all are for it." said Donatello.

"Why the fuck not, let's do this!" said Kate enthusiastically.

A rather soft and tender moment for Mikey and Shari, the others skating a bit on their own, or trying at least. Not too bad of a chapter.

But Mikey was almost caught by the others, and the Foot has now seen him and Shari together. Things might just get hectic now.