"Who is Mitsu?" Casey asks.
"Remember I told you about the leader of the rebellion we fought along side during our cosmic trip to Feudal Japan?" April points. "Arimi looks exactly like her."
"I'll be damned. She's right! Arimi's the spittin' image of Mitsu." Raphael says.
"Wow, that's amazing! She was your friend?" Amber asks.
"Yeah, to most of us." Raph points a thumb over to his youngest brother. "But Romeo here had an instant crush on her. It get go too far, eh Mikey?"
Mikey shot him a look but didn't retort. "Yeah, a little crush." He laughs it off. Leo and Donnie remember the conversation they had about Mikey's confessed love for Mitsu and don't add to Raphael's taunts.
"Tell us about your friend, Amber." Leo says.
"Yes, you had mentioned that you had something 'mind-blowing' to tell us." Donnie says.
"Oh yeah!" Amber notices Mikey's reaction and makes a note to address it later. She begins. "Her full name is Arimi Kirisawa… does that last name sound familiar to anyone? Leo?"
He thinks. "The only Kirisawa I know is the name of my first pair of Katana blades."
"Exactly! Arimi is heiress to the Kirisawa traditional weaponry empire located in Yokohama. Her father, Hiro was good friends with my Uncle Bubba. He was the one that sold my uncle your very first weapons!" She motions with her hands on either side of her head making an explosive gesture and mock sound with her mouth.
"That's incredible!" Leo exclaims.
"What are the odds of that?!" Donnie wonders.
"No fuckin' way…" Raph trails off.
Casey and April are dumbstruck and Splinter too, sits wide-eyed. Mikey hears the revelation as he cleans up the small mess he's made, but can't stop staring at her picture.
He remembers that face and smile, like he just saw her yesterday. He takes the tray of fallen treats and goes back downstairs. He does not return. Splinter sees his son leave and has a troubled look on his face.
"Uncle Splinter, are you alright?" Amber asks.
"Oh yes. I was just thinking how serendipitous this all seems, very interesting. Please, continue your slide show." He nods to her.
They all spend the rest of the evening viewing the slides, talking, drinking, laughing, and reminiscing. Leo and Donnie tear down te screen and pack the projector away. April and Casey clean up the rest of the fdishes and head to Amber's guest room for the night. Raphael asks Amber if she's ready to turn in but says she'd join him after she has a chat with Splinter. Amber and Splinter are left alone, sitting quietly under the stars, enjoying the warm spring evening.
"It's almost summer." She says.
"Yes, next week." He says.
"It will be the solstice, the longest day of the year. That's also the turtle's birthday."
"That is why I picked that day. I do not know their exact birthdates. The solstice was around the time I first found them. I've prayed for them, since that day, to have long, happy lives. So far, my prayers are being answered."
"Hmm. I should buy them a birthday cake. Or a guess a fancy pizza with candles would suit them better?"
He chuckles. "Yes, I suppose it would."
"Uncle, what was that with Mikey? I know you noticed it too… It was more than a crush, huh?"
Splinter's whiskers twitch. He remembers how difficult Michelangelo's first couple of weeks had been after his adventure in Japan. "He was changed after meeting her. It was hard for him to let go."
"I don't understand."
"He felt that leaving her in the past and arriving in the present without her was eminent demise. She would be long deceased and he struggled with the irony. Although he and his brother helped make a mark in history, he would never see the fruits of their labor, or see her again."
She rests her head on the table. "Losing someone you love in an instant, I know how that feels."
"As do I… When Michelangelo saw your friend Arimi, the heartache of his past stirred up inside of him. Though he must deal with these forgotten feelings he does not have to do it alone. I suppose it is true, Amber, that you never know you are fully healed until you address the wound?"
He is not just speaking about Mikey's loss and she knows it. She doesn't want to talk about her family yet. It's only been a year and a half since… But Splinter, in all of his gentle kindness, is giving her an open door. Another door opens and Mikey walks through entering the rooftop patio. He sees Splinter and Amber still sitting at the table. Amber motions to him and he comes over, plopping down on a pillow.
"Hey." He says.
"Hey." They say.
The three just sit a while. The small humming of power lines mixed with the soft chirping of crickets fill the silence. It's a very peaceful Brooklyn evening, no sirens or speeding cars or loud drunks out tonight. Mikey looks at them. They are looking at him. Splinter is very still, his beady eyes shining in the candlelight. Amber is smiling warmly. He takes a deep breath and jumps right in.
"Mitsu's heart belonged to another guy. Not just any guy, a prince! I didn't care. I just wanted to stay with her and protect her. She was strong, a leader, so I guess she didn't need much protection. We were in the middle of a war. There was blood and mud everywhere. She always smelled like flowers. It's true right… that time waits for no man, or turtle? Once we defeated the evil Lord Norinaga we had to leave quickly. I didn't have enough time to say everything I wanted. April and my brothers jumped back to the present a minute before I did. I stole that one minute, risking my ride home and I kissed her."
Amber gasps but doesn't interrupt. He continues. " I told her 'Since I won't ever see you again, I at least wanted to take some part of you with me.' And then she kissed me back." He stops and looks down at his hands, concentrating. "She told me that 'Time is not the enemy but the river in which we all must travel. We get in and get out. And maybe get back in again.' She smiled and disappeared in the blue electric light."
"Oh, Mikey. Amber's eyes are watering. She reaches and places a hand over his. "All this time. Your brothers don't know this do they?
He shakes his head. "Sometimes I'll see Mitsu in my dreams. I'm standing in clear water and she's just smiling at me, swimming toward me but not yet reaching me. It's like she's coming to me and I'm waiting for her in the same place. I wake up feeling like I've lost something and I don't know how to find it or where to look. It's creepy. And seeing your friend Arimi makes me feel all anxious and jittery. I thought I had dealt with theses feelings a long time ago. I'm wondering if I just lied to myself. I don't love her anymore but the pain of knowing I could have done something more…"
Amber nods. This is all so heart wrenching. She wonders if Leo and Donnie have unrequited love stories of their own. And poor Mikey, having to face the ghosts of his past, what could all of this mean? She looks to Splinter for an answer.
"My son, in all my experience I have known many things to be true, two things in particular; that everything that is supposed to happen, happens, and time always finds a way of bring things to balance. My advice to you is to continue living your life, following your dreams and leave nothing for regret. Our existence is not in vain."
Mikey mulls this over in his head to catch his sensei's meaning. Then the light comes on. "Uh, so are you saying I should make something happen or allow something to happen?"
"I am saying that you must do what you think is right and do not fret over things you cannot control."
Mikey repeats Splinter's word silently then nods. "Alright. Thanks Master Splinter." He grins.
Amber is so glad that they have Splinter in their lives. His perspective on things calms the chaos every time. She begins to think about her own circumstance. Has Amber been doing the right thing? Is she holding on to any regrets? Does she still fault herself for things that were not in her control? No, yes and yes.
The woman, the turtle and the rat decide it's time for bed. The two younger help the elder down the stairs and to his room. They say goodnight and part ways to their own floors. They get in their own bed and wrestle with tier own thoughts. They think about each other and hope the best. They drift off, consenting to the fact that what ever happens, time will be the only one to tell.