A/N: Oh yeah, two chapters in one day. I'm on a roll, son! Nah, just have those creative juices a-flowin! I'm having a jolly time with this, I've had the weirdest interspecies crush on Leonardo since like '93 and now I'm living vicariously through Shiho, I don't give a damn! Haha, I'm hoping you're enjoying reading my turtle tale :) Read and Review please!
NOTICE: THIS STORY HAS OC CHARACTERS. IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE WHAT ANY OF THEM LOOK LIKE, PLEASE CHECK THE LINKS ON MY PROFILE FOR YOUR VISUAL AID.
"How old are you, Shiho? Makes me curious as to exactly how many nights you've been alone," Leo settled on his flat shell with a pillow in his arms, looking right at her. The room had grown dark with only one candle lit on his bedside table. In the darkness, her eyes glowed once again.
"I'm 23…" Shiho answered quietly which made Leo almost regret asking. Damn, 23 years alone every night, he couldn't imagine just how painfully lonely that must have been for her. "I know this is stupid, and you probably feel strange. But I can't help it, it's my nature to become attached."
"No it's fine, Shiho. I'm not going to hate you over something like this. Hm, you can stay in here if you'd like. Raph snores, Mikey talks in his sleep, and Donnie well…I don't know if Donnie ever sleeps. He's always up on his computer doing something," If she was that terrified of being alone, Leo wouldn't let it happen. It was his job to protect the weak after all, he could sacrifice the space in his bed if it meant she would have a peace of mind. Yawning wide and curling her long, luscious tail around her hips, the fox shut those luminescent hues and drifted.
"Thanks," Leonardo gulped before blowing out the candle. It was strange having someone who wasn't one of his brothers asleep beside him, someone who was an absolute babe like Shiho made him nervous. The thought of them being of a different species had entered his busy mind, but the comfort he felt silenced that thought. The more pressing matter on his mind, was figuring out everything he could about her and avoid the teasing of his brothers. Oh if Mikey could see him now, he'd never hear the end of it.
The days came and went faster than anyone had anticipated and Shiho had become a member of the 'gang'. The fox moved back and forth between April's apartment and the lair underground, alternating the weeks so no one would get tired of having her constantly around. Donatello found great joy in spending days with her, asking her questions about her genetic code and what she was capable of. But naturally, she didn't tell him the entire story.
With the assistance of a beanie and strong tail muscles, the fox was able to conceal her strangeness and wander into public with April at her side to search for a wardrobe. Many trips to the mall and department stores revealed to everyone that the fox had insanely rich taste in the clothing she desired. She loved designer clothes and shoes, but had few items of the like to stay reserved. Shiho often went with a pair of torn skinny jeans and a v-neck t-shirt or frayed little shorts and a spaghetti strap shirt. Anything she wore always got Leonardo's blood pumping for reasons he couldn't fathom.
Leonardo's moody attitude seemed to lighten whenever the fox was around, and to his dismay, his brothers noticed. All too often he caught them making kissy faces and pretending to swoon whenever Shiho left the room, the teasing always resulting in a butt kicking. Splinter was surprisingly impressed with Shiho's fighting skills; she wasn't a ninja but she moved swiftly and silently like a fox and packed a punch that could make someone see sound and hear color. No one was more aware of her powerful punches than Raphael when he would constantly try to catch her off guard.
"Hey boys, it's story time tonight. You'll all get to the answers you want about me," Spoke the violet vixen as they all had come in after another long evening of conditioning. All of them, even Splinter, found themselves anxious to finally learn about their mysterious little fox and what she was. The only things Donnie was ever able to get out of her was that her blood was highly acidic, her eyes glowed in the dark and in times of rage, and that her hair was naturally colored the way it was. Leonardo felt a bubbling sense of apprehension in the pit of his stomach. Despite the obvious difference in their species, the ninja was unable to stop himself from developing a bond with the fox that made him weaker than he cared to admit.
"Really? You mean we're finally gonna figure out what makes ya tick?"
"Yes, Mikey. Settle down for a bit and it'll all be explained once you've relaxed," Shiho moved that tail of hers from side to side in a fluid motion that made Leonardo's throat tighten. He'd noticed in the last few weeks that she was quite the creature of seduction and allure without even meaning to do so. Flicking the furry appendage upward, the fox silently disappeared into Leo's room to catch up on her reading.
"How 'bout that, huh?" A nudge to his side from Raphael's elbow shook Leo out of the trance he was in to focus once again. Shaking his head just slightly, the ninja rubbed the back of his neck.
"How about what?"
"Oh please, Leo. You're horrible at hiding the things you do. We all saw you staring at her ass," Raphael was purposely poking at that exposed nerve Leo seemed to have for Shiho, he always did. Mortified, a blush that was a shade of dark crimson tinted the green skin on Leo's face as he grunted and pushed away from his pestering brothers to escape into his bedroom with Shiho.
Despite the attempts the others made, none of them had developed a bond closer than Shiho and Leonardo. They meshed and collided in all the right places and preferred each other's company over everyone else's. Leo never felt the necessity to act like the leader when it was just him and her, Shiho broke down that tough exterior so he could let loose and relax.
"What're you reading?" Unsheathing his swords to polish and clean them, Leo sat on his bed while Shiho remained curled up in a beanbag with her nose buried in an old book. Casting a violet glance over the pages, Shiho chuckled.
"Great Gatsby. My favorite book," He made a hum to indicate that he'd heard her, wiping down the length of his blade and examining it for any chips or dents. Back and forth her tall ears twitched and folded as she listened to the sounds around her, focusing on the sound of Leonardo's breathing. He sounded like he'd been training harder than usual tonight; Shiho had to admit that she admired the dedication he had for his conditioning and focus. He always trained the hardest out of the four.
"So, what made you suddenly decide to come out about yourself? No one is making you talk about it," Shiho dog-eared a page and quietly closed her book and set it on the floor beside her. After scratching her cheek absentmindedly, she dragged her delicate hand back through her violet bangs and then her silken auburn locks with a sigh.
"Just figured I owed it to you and your brothers to know. I'm not what you think I am, Leo. The sooner you know the better, I just wasn't able to find a good way to tell you. I'm so comfortable now, maybe it'll spare me the judgment later," Leo gave her a stern look and left his swords on the bed to stand and rest his hands on her shoulders. The vixen froze but arched a brow in confusion.
"You know better than that. We'd never jump to conclusions about you or judge you, especially me," Shiho hated when he was this close, his presence made her weak in the knees because he managed to get under her sarcastic exterior. One of his fingers lifted her chin just a little higher so he could study her pretty face. Her lips were dark, but glossy and curved beautifully when she smiled. On the apple of her right cheek was a small beauty mark. Her eyes are what made his skin tingle, cat like in shape and shrouded in smoky grey eye shadow and lined in darker eye liner; those eye lashes were long and flirtatious and brushed against her cheeks when she blinked. Needless to say, Leo paid attention to every detail about her.
Shiho couldn't handle the intensity of his stare, of his red and brown eyes that bore into her. His large fingers brushed against her neck as he held her jaw aloft to look at him, Leo towered over the short fox. Against the heat of her skin, Leo's flesh was cool. He was cold blooded, what did she expect?
"D-don't," Grasping the hand he'd graced along her jaw, Shiho squeezed it and brought it back down. "Don't do that…" Instantly, her eyes darted away from his and she turned to leave but Leo held her wrist before she had the chance. Dropping her ears down to the sides of her head, Shiho looked back.
"Why?" Was all he asked. Unable to get into it now, Shiho chewed the corner of her plump lip.
"You'll find out," And he let her go.
"Alright guys, gather round and I'll begin," Like obedient students, the ninja brothers sat cross legged on the floor around the fox woman, Casey, April, and Splinter sitting in between each of them. "Where should I start?" Donnie was the first to raise his hand.
"Your birth, or rather, how you were made," Mikey had to stifle his snicker as his immature mind thought of what humans did, it earned him a smack to the head by Splinter.
"Okay. There's this scientist, Marcus Silver. Or, he calls himself a genetic biologist—whatever. Anyway, my parents were new to the country and my mother discovered she was pregnant with me. Unable to support a child, she saw an ad for a fetus experiment with money in exchange. So, Marcus paid my mother and extracted me as a fetus from her and put me into an artificial womb," Shiho paused to scowl at the gall of her biological parents. They'd given her up for money, like she was nothing. Leo caught the swift expression on her face before it disappeared as she continued.
"Marcus was looking to create a human hybrid with animal DNA. I don't know how he did it, nor do I want to know, but obviously Marcus mixed my DNA with that of a fox. The results are well…you see. But, that wasn't exactly enough for him," Donnie furiously scribbled notes in his journal, writing down as many details as he could. He wasn't sure how it was possible, but clearly it was, Shiho was sitting right there so the technology had to exist. Leonardo noticed how silent she'd become and moved until he was beside her, already he could see the tension in her shoulders let go.
"What next?" He spoke softly so as not to make her feel rushed. Splinter inquisitively stroked his paws through his beard as he listened; he was more interested than he thought he'd be.
"Well, the experiments started after he birthed me by means of machine out of the artificial womb. Injecting me with strange things that made me sick and putting me through vigorous and exhausting tests. The reason I have such acidic blood is from all the things he put into my veins, chemicals and toxins, but that wasn't the only problem his experiments created,"
Violet eyes flashed to Leo, she was about to tell him what made her so bad and dangerous for them all. Dragging in a long, shaky breath, Shiho watched Donatello's pen move in his hand at light speed. He wasn't missing a single thing she said. Placing her small hand against Leo's bicep, she chewed her lip as she often did when she was nervous. "What happened?"
"Well, there was one substance, I can't remember what it was for but it was injected. It's side effects caused the death of his two lab assistants…" She stopped and licked her lips. "He calls it The Madness. When it overcomes me, I change. This hunger-…lust takes over and makes me a monster. When it happens, I'll do anything to snap bones between my teeth, every bone."
The entire group collectively gasped. Even Donatello stared at her wide-eyed and stopped scribbling. Madness? "You mean like a split personality?" He asked, if that was the case, she couldn't help it.
"Kind of. I can't control it. The Madness only makes an appearance when something drastic happens. If I'm attacked or someone I love, I snap and won't return to normal until I've had that satisfying crunch. Even the way I look changes. Marcus recorded my pupils becoming slitted, like a snake and my nails become like claws. My canines get longer and thicker. It's awful." Clearly, the dark part of her was something Shiho was deeply ashamed of. Leo could see it in her posture and the droop of her ears.
"There's no way to fix it…is there?" Leonardo asked, even though he already knew the answer. Shaking her dark head slightly, Shiho pulled her fingers nervously.
"No, there's no cure. But Marcus did come up with a way to rid of it. Shortly after he made realization of the Madness, I was about 5. He made another hybrid from my DNA, like a clone and sort of…programmed her to kill me. That's why the lab was on fire the day you found me. Magdalena," Now things were finally starting to make sense. Why Shiho would remove herself from practice spars when things became too heated, why she never spoke of her origins. She wasn't born, she was made.
"Woah! A clone? So like…she looks just like you? This is just like a sci-fi movie I once watched,"
"Mikey!" Chimed everyone around him, the turtle smiled cheekily and shrugged his shoulders. Shiho was thankful for the distraction he provided.
"Not quite, Magdalena is blonde and blue eyed but shares all the same physical traits I do, she's me. Only meaner, but not half as strong as I am. Marcus sent the thing after me that night and it got out of hand. One thing led to another and the building caught fire. I don't know if she or Marcus made it out, nor do I care," Leo rubbed the back of his neck and swallowed thickly to let all of the information sink in.
"And that's basically it. I'm a freak who destroys everything around me. So uhm, if you don't mind, I'm going," Before anyone had the chance to stand up or stop her, Shiho dashed out of the layer with that freakish speed of hers until she was completely out of the underground and climbing up to a rooftop where she planted herself down on the ledge.
The family sat in confusion and Donnie stared at his notes, Leonardo was on his feet and staring at the door in which she'd disappeared through. He was going to follow her, she knew that, but she didn't want him to. It took a while for Leo to understand that she thought that by removing herself, she was keeping him and the others safe, he saw it in the way she looked at him. There was something else that she wasn't telling him, something that was really getting under her skin.
"You're goin' after her right?" Raphael piped up, unable to ignore the energy that Leo was giving off. The katana wielder fake laughed and nodded.
"Yeah, before she gets herself into trouble, I know where she's at. I'll be back later," The leader took the time to retrieve his weapons, you could never be too safe. Through the tunnels Leo scrambled out and made his way to the surface to the building he and Shiho often escaped to when they wanted to be alone and watch the city. It wasn't a very tall building but it gave a nice view of town when the sun went down, a simple hotel. Shiho was more predictable than she thought, because that's exactly where he found her.
"Where exactly did you think you were going?" The vixen jumped at the sound of Leonardo's voice. She hadn't had her ears focused like they should have been and completely missed the clanking of his weapons against his shell. Joining her on her right on the ledge, Leonardo dangled the left leg and rested his arm on his other which was bent at the knee. A breeze rushed by them, making the strands of her smooth and straight hair dance about for a few moments before settling around her shoulders.
"I can't do it, Leo. I'm terrified that someday, something will happen and I'll snap. The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone, to hurt you," The last bits of the day's sunlight was captured in the violet eyes, bringing out the rings of silver in both. Shiho bashfully folded her ears against her head and leaned against Leo's shoulder. There was something about the way his muscles felt against her skin that made her relax and feel at ease. Her fingers traced the veins and tendons that protruded from his arm, grazing over the lean muscle in the process.
"Oh please, you know we wouldn't let anything like that happen. Besides, you know I can own your butt in any fight," That breeze picked up once again, carrying the summer's heat with it as it buzzed around the odd friends. Leo lifted his left arm and brought it around her small shoulders to make her scoot closer. "Relax, I know it's terrifying. Just trust me when I say we won't lead you into any situation that will bring that side of you out,"
"It's not that, Leo. It's her, Magdalena. Who knows if she made it out or not, but if she did, she'll come after me. And if we clash, bad things will happen. You wanna know how those scientists died?"
"Not really?"
"I tore their skulls to pieces. I couldn't live with myself if I did something similar to you, Leo." The ninja fell silent in her confession. It was a difficult fact to swallow, but it was Shiho. He'd only known her for just about 3 months, but he wasn't able to see her in any evil light. She didn't choose to be the way she was, someone else made that decision for her.
"Shiho listen, I get it. But I'm not going to let you go, understand? You belong with me-us! You belong with us." The little fox chuckled and looked sideways at Leo, taking her eyes off the city for a moment. Feeling her gaze, Leo met it with his own and cracked a smile. "What?"
"Nothing, Just trying to understand," Darting his eyes to the side and back at her, Leo felt confused.
"Understand what?" With a right small hand, Shiho traced the knuckles of her slender digits along the turtle's jawline before wrapping one end of his billowing bandana around her finger. The breeze had picked up and was blowing the fabric and her hair. Leo could feel the blush on his face, he couldn't take her looking at him like that.
"What I'm about to do, of course," That deepened the confusion even more. Her ears opened full bloom in a display of comfort, the soft tufts of white fur whisking about in the wind.
"Do wha-" Shiho cut him off by gripping the back of his neck and yanking his head down to press her dark lips right up against the cool green flesh of his own. Startled at first, Leo didn't know what to do but tighten the grip his arm had around her and bring his right hand to push back the hair in her face as they both gave in and closed their eyes.
Shiho didn't show any signs of pulling away and instead pressed their mouths firmly together, molding their lips until they collided like the pieces of a puzzle. He swore he could feel her tongue slithering along his lip, what a taste she had. Smooth and cool, like mint. Leo had never kissed anyone before, how could he? He was a mutant turtle and had no means of forming a relationship with anyone, he was never interested. That was until this creature walked into his life, well, collapsed. She wasn't human either, which brought with it some justification. Leo just never imagined he'd actually kiss the girl despite the raging crush he's had since the moment he brought her home.
Slowly, but surely, Shiho pulled back but didn't move from his side and re-opened those gorgeous eyes of hers. Leo found it difficult to breathe all of a sudden, like he'd forgotten how; she had caught him completely off guard. He knew this was wrong, he was a turtle for God sakes! But if it was so wrong, why on Earth did it feel so right?
A/N: Bow chica wow wowww, gt some Leo BT. Haha, what did I say? Living vicariously through my little fox, haha. Yes, you guessed it again, it's a romantic pairing! I can't help myself! I'm curious as to how I'm going about chapter three. Read and Review please!