Chapter 12
Dark Secret Revealed
Master Splinter led Michelangelo into his quarters, motioning for the young turtle to sit down while he lit some essences to create a calming atmosphere for them to talk in.
"This is most serious, Michelangelo." the old rat said, sitting down opposite of the turtle.
"Are you angry with me for not telling you, master Splinter?" Michelangelo asked slightly carefully.
"I am not angry, my son, I am in fact very happy for your sake, that you have found someone special. Tell me, are you certain that she feel the same?"
"Well… we never outright said that we loved each other, but I know that I love her, and she's the one who made the first move, so I'm pretty sure that she loves me."
"I see, and what will you do now?"
"What do you mean, sensei?"
"The two of you are very different, you being a mutant and she a human, and the kind of lives that you live are even more different. The road ahead of you will be difficult."
"I don't follow. There hasn't been any problems with April, Casey or the other human friends we have. Okay, there were a few times, but-"
"That is what I mean, Michelangelo." Splinter interjected. "Our lives are filled with strange events and dangerous situations, not to mention many enemies, while hers is most likely a normal life. Yes, miss O'Neil and mister Jones have been through a lot together with us, and they are fine with that, but the relation between you and miss Shari would be as that of Raphael and Monalisa, as mates. Such a bond requires a lot of both of you."
"But Raph and Mona are mates, and they're doing okay."
"Yes, but they have the same kind of lives, both are ninja and crime-fighters, that is why they have been able to not only maintain their relation, but also let it grow stronger, just like you all have grown closer. For you and miss Shari to have such a bond, both of you would have to nurture it in such a way I am afraid may not be possible, simply because you may not have the time to spend with each other."
"I was thinking maybe she could move in with us, you know, be part of our family just like big sis did."
"A kind thought, my son, but then she would be giving up her old life, leaving friends and family behind, just like fate forced upon Monalisa, Tyroth and Sephie."
"I… didn't think of that..."
"Your heart is in the right place. And I do not want to stop you from finding love, I just do not want you or miss Shari to get hurt."
"I wound never hurt her, master."
"Not intentionally, but our actions have consequences, consequences that might affect her in ways that we do not want to. Our enemies are a good example, and I trust that you remember what they did to Tyroth's family, simply because they had a connection to him."
"I do, master."
"For someone from the outside world to have a relationship with us, is to be placed in harms way, as sad as that truth is, but if the two of you still will go through with this, then I will not stop you, but I will ask of you to talk with her about this before making a decision."
"But… what if she thinks I'm breaking up with her? I might break her heart."
"If that is the case, then that is the lesser of two evils. Sometimes you are forced to hurt those you care most about, in order to protect them. The right choice is seldom an easy one, my son."
"I… I think I understand, sensei."
"Good, then take a while to meditate upon this, and you will find the answer."
Meanwhile, the rest of the mutants were still very shocked about the news, and Kate was still in the bathroom.
"I still can't believe this." said Leonardo. "It feels like a strange dream, but I just couldn't imagine that Mikey would fall in love with a human."
"I think it's more of an infatuation than actual love, but a part of me disagree with that, so I'm not sure what to think." said Donatello.
"We've been through a lot of weird stuff over the years, but nothing beats this. Nothing." said Raphael. "And no-one had any idea that something was going on, what great ninja we are."
Monalisa and Sephie looked at the bathroom, both deeply worried about the recent events and Kate, and it showed.
"I was afraid something like this would happen..." Monalisa said under her breath, barely noticeable, but someone did notice.
"What's did you say, babe?" Raphael asked, hearing what his mate said. "Do you know something?"
Monalisa sighed and looked at Sephie, who knew what she was thinking and gave her a small nod, it was time to come clean, with everything.
"When Sephie and I went out for a while, we didn't really go for a jog, we followed Mikey when he went topside."
"You did? Why?" asked Leonardo.
"We were worried that something was wrong, with how he went skating every night. After what happened to Tyroth, we got worried that something similar might have happened." said Sephie. "However, we didn't expect what we discovered. We saw him meet this girl, and followed them further, as Mikey carried her to one of the spots where we use to stargaze, then we saw them kiss."
"So it did happen? I still can't believe it." said Raphael.
"It did, and we were as shocked as you were when we found out, but we didn't think that he would tell us right away." said Monalisa. "And I'm afraid that we have been keeping more from you guys."
"There's more? What have you girls been up to?" asked Donatello.
"You've noticed that Mikey has been acting a bit strange the last week?"
"Yeah, more than usual." said Raphael.
"He came to me, thinking that he might be sick, but I found nothing during his check up." said Donatello.
"Well, the reason is that he had started to long after a mate of his own, which we figured out after he told me how he felt." Monalisa continued. "After that, I wanted to help him find someone, so I got in touch with Sephie and Tyroth."
"So you two were in on this as well." said Leonardo.
"That's right, though I wasn't aware of what happened tonight." Tyroth said.
"We were going to talk with you about it, babe, but we never really got the chance." said Sephie. "And now things have taken a turn for the worse."
"What do you mean, Sephie?" Donatello asked.
"There was another reason for bringing Kate with us."
"Wait, you don't mean?" Leonardo asked, as he caught on to what Sephie was talking about.
"That's right, Leo. We're pretty sure that Kate has a large crush on Mikey." Monalisa said.
"Again, what kind of ninja are we if we can't notice something like this?" said Raphael.
"We thought that if we brought the two of them together, they might become a couple given some time." she continued.
"But Mikey has found someone else, not even knowing how Kate feel for him. Poor girl, I understand how she must be feeling." said Leonardo, remembering when he found out that Monalisa had chosen Raphael over him.
"She's gonna need our support, but I think it would be best, at least for the time being, that we don't mention that we know of her crush." said Tyroth, trying to think of the best way of handling it.
Then there was the issue of Michelangelo and a human having fallen in love with each other, but they were cut off when Kate exited the bathroom, not looking too good. They could clearly see that she had shed at least a few tears, and she still coughed some.
"How are you feeling?" Donatello asked.
"Could have been better… 'cough' Nearly choked on the food, coughed so my eyes watered and I felt like I was gonna throw up… 'cough' Ugh… I still don't feel too good, I think I'll take it easy the rest of the night." Kate responded with a hazy voice.
"You do that, sounds like you could use a rest. We'll let you know if anything happens." said Leonardo.
Kate didn't say anything, she just nodded weakly and walked towards her room, wiping the last traces of her tears.
Everyone felt sorry for her, and knew that the coming days would be very hard for her, for them all.
And they were more right than they thought.
Roughly at the same time, Arashi was waiting for his ninja to return from their mission, practising with his katana to keep his skills sharp and pass the time.
"My lord." The doors opened and a ninja entered the throne-room, causing Arashi to stop his swordplay and look at the ninja.
"Yes, what is it?" the Foot leader asked impatiently.
"The squad of ninja you dispatched has returned, my lord." the ninja answered with a bow.
"They have? It was about time." Arashi said, sheathing his blade. "Send them in immediately."
"At once, master!" the ninja said and left. A few moments later, a couple of ninja entered the room, together with Shari. Arashi looked at her and smiled.
"Welcome, my dear. I hope that you are well." he said.
"What do you ask of me, master?" she replied coldly.
"Straight to the point as always. That's what I like about you, girl. As to why you were recalled, I am curious to your progress, as you haven't reported anything since you were given this assignment several weeks ago."
"Of course I haven't reported, I made absolutely sure that I wouldn't have anything in my possession that could be connected to the Foot, should the mutants try anything."
"I see. Then tell me, how is your mission progressing?"
"It is going very well, if I may say so myself. After… persuading some ruffians to help me staging fake attacks on me, the trap was set, and even though it took several nights, I have managed to gain the trust of the one known as Michelangelo, he doesn't suspect a thing, in fact he truly believes that I love him."
"Does he now? Impressive work, that could not have been easy to achieve."
"It took a lot of work, even with my acting skills, but I was lucky that it was him and not one of his brothers, I don't think they would had fallen for it, even with the perfume that doctor Arden created."
"He truly is a genius, a perfume with highly concentrated pheromones of female turtles. Even though they can't smell them, their brains still react to them. It has proven to be well worth the effort. But how much longer will it take you to find their base, despite your success, I was expecting more."
"It depends on the turtle, master. I try to persuade him, but it has to be done gently, or he and the others might suspect something. Had it been as simple as using a tracker, we would have found them a long time ago. But I will succeed, I promise you, master."
"See to that you do, this is the closest we have been since we captured the Dragon's family."
"Fear not, master. If it becomes clear that my cover will be blown, I will capture the turtle and bring him to you. Doctor Arden has provided me with a special pepper spray, that also contains his Head-on-a-stick-serum, so the mutant won't be able to escape."
"Excellent, you make me proud, my dear. Soon, all our efforts will come to fruition."
"I really hope so, master. It hasn't been easy to keep up appearance all the time, I nearly puked when I kissed that ugly freak. Disgusting. Have to brush my teeth for half an hour to get rid of the feeling once I get back to the appartment."
"Your sacrifices will not be in vain. But now it would be best if you returned to your mission."
"At once, master." she said, and turned to leave.
"One more thing, Ren, my dear." Arashi said, causing Shari, or Ren that she was really named, to stop and listen. "If all else fails, kill that turtle."
Hearing that, she got an evil smile.
"With pleasure, Uncle Arashi."
Please don't quit reading just because of this! Had I know that Shari/Ren would become so popular, I would have done this story differently. But as it is, I've already worked a lot on this plot, so it will continue as I planned.