Chapter 2

"You want me to do what?"

Leo smiled awkwardly as he stood outside April's room on the fire escape. He had taken her home, practically fighting Donnie off just to get the chance to talk to her. He then began fumbling with his fingers as he tried to explain what he wanted April to do one more time.

"Tomorrow afternoon, after you get home from school, I'd like you to buy me some food."

"By me, you mean that girl?" April asked, raising her eyebrow as she folded her arms. "As in you're going to go try and find her and talk to her?"

"If I said yes, would you be angry?"

April let out a cry of frustration. "What is it with you and chasing after potentially dangerous girls!?"

"She's not dangerous!" Leo argued. "She's just… scared."

"No, she isn't dangerous at all. She just morphs into a dog and attacks ninjas. Perfectly safe and secure."

"April… you know how you get a feeling about things sometimes?" April nodded, and so the turtle continued. "Well, sometimes I do, too, and I have a feeling that she can be a beneficial ally to us against the Shredder. I think she was attacked by the Foot because she poses a threat to him in some way, and I want to know why that is."

April continued to stare at him skeptically. Finally, she sighed in defeat, letting her arms fall to the sides of her body as her gaze drifted to the side. "Fine… Tomorrow around six, meet me at Mr. Murikami's. I'll have your food ready."

"Thank you, April!" Leo exclaimed excitedly. "You won't regret this. I promise."

"I better not. And if you get bitten by that human-dog-whatever, don't say I didn't warn you!"

Her words didn't reach Leo. He was already out of earshot and on his way back to his lair. She sighed and propped herself against the window frame. "Idiot."

• • •

Leo leapt over a large gap as he looked at the fading sun that was beginning to shrink over the buildings that lay on the horizon. In his left hand he held a white paper bag that April had handed to him. In it was the food he had requested, though what kind of food, he had no clue.

He leapt over another gap in the building structures as his feet carried him over crowds of people below, all scurrying to wherever they needed to go. He was cautious not to make too much noise when moving so not to attract unwanted attention. The last thing he needed was for someone to see a mutant turtle carrying an unmarked bag and leaping across gaps.

Each alleyway he came in contact with, he would stop and scan, looking for that black dog. She had to be in one of these. Please be in one of these. It was the only true form he could confirm as her, for her human form had been hidden behind shadow.

After about the tenth alleyway he came in contact with, Leo stopped to rest, leaning against an air vent as he looked back up at the sky to see it shifting from grey to an orange and red color. Neither he nor his brothers ever got to experience a sunset. Most of their time above ground was during the night. There had only been a select few times they had gone above during the day, and each time, the sky had been a dull, placid grey, just like the city's streets and buildings.

This afternoon, the sky was painted. Leo took it in for a moment, admiring the beauty of it when he heard the sound of a trashcan toppling over. He walked over to the edge of the building he was on and gazed down into the dim alley and smiled. It was her.

The dog had knocked over a trashcan and was now sifting through it to find a morsel of food. Leo looked down at the white bag and smiled. "Perfect timing," he said to himself. He then leapt down onto the ground.

The soft thud his feet made when they collided with the asphalt alerted the dog. She looked up and immediately began growling at the sight of the turtle, peeling her lips back to reveal a set of large, white fangs and pink gums. Her fur began standing on end as she lowered her body to the ground, tail sticking straight in the air.

"Back off, turtle…" she sneered, circling around him.

Leo followed her movements, holding up his hands. "Whoa, whoa… I don't want any trouble. I just want to talk. See?" he shook the bag he grasped in his left hand. "I even brought food."

The dog didn't relax. "Really? You bring a gift in hopes of winning me over? You think I can be bought!?" she snarled in anger.

"No! It's not like that!" Leo stated hastily. "I just wanted to talk about those guys you were cornered by last night…"

"I could have handled them," she sneered fiercely. "I could have crushed them without any help from you and your turtle friends. Where are they?" Without moving her head, her bright lime green eye veered around, peering at the rooftops above. "Come out from hiding!"

"I didn't bring them with me, honest. I came alone. Just trust me. I don't want any trouble. I even came unarmed."

Leo pointed with his right hand to his back. Where his katanas would have been sheathed was empty holsters. This made the dog relax a little. She let her lips fall over her teeth as she stepped forward a few paces. She then sniffed the air before finally accepting that he was sincere. Licking her lips, she settled down on her haunches.

"What's in the bag? It smells like cow meat that been saturated in chemicals, probably more than a month or so old."

"It's food. I'm not sure what it is, exactly." Leo opened the bag to see that she had predicted exactly what it was right on the spot. It was ground beef, raw and looking slightly browner that what most ground beef looked like. "Oh, so it is ground beef! April did a great job at preparing a meal."

"April?" the dog asked.

"How about we talk on the roof? I… can't really be seen by humans."

"Fair enough."

Leo leapt up onto the fire escape attached to the opposite building that he had jumped down from. He climbed up and waited for the dog to follow. However, instead of the black, floppy-eared dog, a girl emerged.

Her hair came over her shoulders slightly and was jet black in color, just like her dog form's fur. All of her hair was this color except for her bangs, which were painted a deep yet bright neon purple. They were also parted to fall over her left eye. Her right eye was the same color as her dog form's – bright lime green, having this yellow tint to it. Her skin was a pale, ghastly white, almost porcelain like.

She stood before Leo, who was slightly stunned by the girl's appearance. He hadn't quite expected the somewhat gothic look she held. In a way, she resembled Karai. Her attire was completely different from kunowichi's, though. She wore a white tank top and navy blue denim skirt, which came down to her knees. Black leggings were underneath it and on her feet were black sneakers. She had fishnets on her arms, which came slightly over her elbows. Around her neck was the collar she wore when she was a dog. It was black with the exception of the white metal pieces that surrounded it, creating a simple design.

"What?" she asked, cocking her head to one side and raising her right brow.

Leo shook his head lightly. "N-nothing. I just… wasn't expecting to see you as a human."

"Yeah, well, neither was I," she whispered under her breath.

"Huh?"

"Nothing. Hand me the bag. I'm starving." She extended her hand.

Leo handed over the white paper sack, and she snatched it from him. She then ripped it open with her teeth, spilling the ground beef onto the rooftop into a big, slumped heap. Then, while still a human, she descended onto it like a vulture would descend onto a dead carcass. The blue-banded turtle could only stare in disbelief.

He watched her eat with only her mouth, never once using her hands to consume the meal laid before her. When he tried approaching her, she would growl in an animal-like way, making him back away from her and allow her to finish her meal. She was more animal-like than anything he'd ever seen.

Halfway through her meal, she finally spoke in a muffled voice. "I don't see how humans can eat a meal such as this every day of their wretched lives. It tastes like it's been sitting on the ground and baked in the sun for at least half a year." She slurped up some more of it. "Not even a vulture would touch this."

"Well, you don't have to eat it, I mean…" Leo stopped when he saw her eye peering at him from behind the veil her hair had created. He saw the raw beef covering her pale face and grimaced in disgust.

"I haven't had a decent meal in over five days. Of course I'm going to eat this rancid, processed meat." She then descended back onto the beef.

"You know… for a dog, you sure are picky."

"Dog?!" she demanded, glancing up at him with this fire in her eyes. Leo was taken aback by her sudden hostility at that one simple word. He watched at it faded away slowly. "Sorry… that word is used as an insult from where I'm from. I'm neither a dog, nor a human. I'm a wolf."

"A wolf?" Leo asked skeptically.

"Yes. A wolf."

"Most wolves don't have long ears or wear a collar."

"Most turtles don't run around or walk on two legs."

"Good point."

The girl grinned in triumph and began finishing up what scraps of meat were left on the roof. Once the beef was gone, she licked the spot it had been in for a few moments before finally satisfying herself. With the back of her hand, she wiped her face clean of the small morsels of flesh left on it and then licked the back of it clean. The girl then settled down on the ground, sitting with her arms between her legs and knees pulled up to her body, much like a dog would.

Leo sat down in front of her atop his legs as if getting ready to spar with one of his brothers or when Splinter addressed them during training. Upon seeing him do this, she immediately switched the position she was in to match his.

"What's your name?" Leo questioned.

"I was named December," she answered. "Given the name after the month I was born in."

"I'm Leonardo," Leo stated. "Given the name after the great painter, Leonardo Da Vinci."

"Leonardo," December repeated. "How strange."

"Well, it is pretty strange I guess," he laughed lightly.

"Tell me, Leonardo, why did you come to find me?" December asked as her eyes combed over his body.

"Well, you see, it was about those guys who were battling you. The ones we… helped you to defeat." He chose his words wisely in hopes of not offending her again.

"What of them?"

"Well, why were they fighting you exactly?"

December sighed, now climbing to her feet. "I know what this is about," she stated in a melancholy tone of voice.

Leo stood up and stared at her in confusion. "Y-you do?"

"If you are looking to form an alliance, I must decline your proposal. In fact, it would be best if you forgot you ever saw me."

"Forgot I ever saw you? Why? What for?"

"Look, Leonardo, I appreciate your generosity and your help in fending off those combatants from last night, but I am not an ally."

"So… you're a villain?" he asked, now more confused than before.

"Just know this… I am what you would call 'bad news.' You must forget you ever saw my face." Her eyes then wandered to the sky. The sun had already settled behind the horizon and the moon, which was hidden behind its monthly veil, had already begun to rise. Upon seeing this, Leo saw December's eyes fill with a sort of fear. "You must go."

"Go?"

"Go home!" she shouted suddenly. "Get out of here! And forget you ever met me in this place!"

"But-!"

Without any warning, December transformed into her dog self and leapt over the top of the building. Leo began to race after, looking over the edge to see her peering back up at him. She then snorted and dashed off into the open, racing away from him and not once glancing back.