Harry turned off the TV and yawned. He got up and headed for the stairs. Something was on the floor in the corridor. The old man's back cracked a little when he picked up a device he had never seen before.
This must be another one of those technological thing-a-ma-jigs of Naomi's, he thought. Science these days… I just can't keep up anymore.
He went upstairs and knocked on Naomi's bedroom door.
"Naomi? You still awake?" he asked.
"Yes, Grandpa," said Naomi from the other side of the door. She opened up. "What's up?"
"Is this yours?" asked Harry. He gave her the strange device. Naomi took a good look at it.
"Umm… no, never seen this before," she said finally. "Maybe it's Soph's. I'll take it to school tomorrow. Thanks, Gramps."
"No problem," said the old man with a smile. "Just tell Sophie that she should be careful not to lose her gadgets. It looks expensive."
"I will," said Naomi. "G'night!"
"Goodnight," said Harry.
Naomi closed the door and turned around.
I wonder what it is. It has a button, but… Wait a sec… I've seen this before… right?
Suddenly, she heard a noise outside, near her window. She froze.
A burglar? Please, don't be a burglar…
She kept her eyes focussed on the window. With her hands, she searched for something on her desk she could protect herself with.
"S-show yourself," she stuttered. "I-I heard you."
Nothing.
Naomi slowly relaxed and shook her head. "I'm becoming paranoid," she said to herself. She put the little machine on her desk and went to bed.
********
Donatello waited for another 15 minutes before he carefully looked inside again.
She's asleep… But I clearly heard the old man giving her the wristband. Does this mean… she doesn't remember? No, it can't be…
He stared at the sleeping teenager.
I'm sure it's her. I can feel it. So I guess… it didn't work.
He sighed in disappointment. He opened the window and leaned a little inside. That was a little more comfortable than hanging from the ivy that was growing against the wall.
"Why?" he whispered. "Why can't you remember?"
He knew it wasn't right, but he gently climbed inside to take a better look at her.
She's grown. She must be taller than me when I was her age.
He saw the wristband on her desk and picked it up.
"How can you not remember this?" he whispered again. "We made this together."
Naomi's eyelids moved a bit, but she didn't open her eyes.
"Serge?" she mumbled. Donatello's eyes widened.
Serge? Her late brother? Wait… I remember. She told me they used to invent stuff together before he and their parents died.
He laid his hand on her forehead and patted her head. Naomi's face relaxed again.
"I'm the other brother," whispered Donatello. He took her hand and put the wristband in it. "You can have this."
Naomi's hand grabbed it tightly.
"Goodnight," whispered Donatello. "I mean… goodbye."
Without making any sound, he snuck back to the window. A quick, sudden rustle behind him made him instinctively turn around and take a defensive position.
Naomi was sitting up straight. The first thing she looked at was the wristband in her hand.
"I made this," she whispered to herself.
She remembers?! thought Donatello. He tried to sneak out while he still could, but it was too late. The sound of a gasp made him stop moving.
"Who… w-who's there?" she whispered.
"I-I'm sorry," stuttered Donatello without turning around. "I was just about to leave…"
"Wait," said Naomi. She stepped out of bed and carefully came closer to him.
"It's you," she whispered. "From that night… in the orphanage…"
"G-goodbye," said Donatello quickly. He wanted to get out of here before he changed his mind.
"Wait, hang on," said Naomi, reaching for his arm as Donatello tried to climb out the window. Donatello reacted instinctively. He turned around and grabbed her wrist.
Oh no… Not a good move…
Naomi stared at him, eyes wide open, trembling because of the sudden movement. She tried to pull her hand back. Donatello let go of her wrist. Naomi immediately backed off a few steps. Insecurely, she rubbed her wrist, now watching every move he made.
"Umm… sorry," said Donatello. "I didn't mean to…"
"It's ok," said Naomi. She was still keeping her eyes on him. "It is you… Wow. Never thought I'd see you again. I've gotta be honest, I thought I dreamt it…"
"I shouldn't be here," said Donatello. He shook his head and turned around to the window again.
"Please stay," said Naomi. She was scared to reach out to him again, so she decided no to.
"Why should I?" mumbled Donatello, more to himself than to her. "You don't remember…"
"You know what this is," said Naomi, referring to the wristband. "Don't you?"
Again, he stopped moving.
"That night," continued Naomi, "when I woke up and found you… Next morning, I told myself it was a dream. Then it turned out to be my birthday… Everyone asked me where I had been…"
A feeling of guilt was creeping up to Donatello's chest. He didn't move while he was listening to her.
"And I didn't know," said Naomi. "And I still have no idea."
Finally, Donatello turned to face her. He noticed the gap between them.
You're scared. How could I've ever thought we could become like we were back then again?
"I've got the idea that you do," said Naomi.
Stop. Don't ask me anything. You wouldn't understand.
"Just what are you?" asked Naomi.
Don't ask me that.
"And what the hell happened to me back then?" asked Naomi. When Donatello looked directly into her eyes, she got startled. She thought he was offended or something. What would happen if you angered a giant turtle?
She blushed. "S-sorry, I'm sorry," she said.
"Look at you," said Donatello. "You've grown so much, you've become a beautiful young woman… and you're scared of me."
"You're a turtle, a mutant," said Naomi. She immediately regretted it. "Not that… a-anything's wrong with…"
"I'd never, ever, hurt you," said Donatello. "And deep down, you know it."
Naomi looked at the wristband again. She felt a connection between the familiar device and the mutant standing at her window.
"I know," she whispered. She held the wristband against her chest. She sighed and leaned back against the wall. She slid down and sat on the floor. "Who are you?" she asked again.
"You still haven't figured it out?" asked Donatello.
Naomi took another look at the wristband.
"Did we… make this together?" she asked. It was more of a guess than a memory.
Donatello took a few steps toward her and crouched.
"What do you think?" asked Donatello.
Naomi sighed again. "I don't know," she whispered. "Are you the guy from the other night?"
Donatello nodded.
"That your real name?" asked Naomi. "Or are you stealing Donatello's alias from him, God rest his soul?"
Donatello smiled. "It's my real name," he said.
Naomi looked into his eyes and smiled shortly.
"Why can't I remember you?" she asked.
"Long story," said Donatello.
"So we did make this together," said Naomi. "Tell me everything, please."
Donatello looked down and saw his hands. Big, green, three fingers… Her hands were small, normal and had five fingers. One of many, many differences between them.
He shook his head. "Your memories were erased for a reason," he said. "I'm a fool. I shouldn't have come here." He stood up and headed for the window again. This time, he wasn't going to turn around again.
"Donatello," said Naomi. "Please… I wanna know."
"I'm sorry, Naomi," whispered Donatello. Slowly, he climbed through the window.
"You'd better come back," was the last thing he heard before he landed on the ground and ran back home.
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Gahh... done! I've been typing, reading and correcting this chapter for about 4 hours, my eyes can't take much more o_0 But I love doing this, so it's OK =)
This morning, when I checked my e-mail, I'd received 18 mails: most of them from FanFiction, about Fav Stories, Alerters, Reviews... You made my day, everyone, seriously. Thank you sooo very, very much for reading and liking my stories! 3
Again, for those who haven't done it already, please read the original story "Big Bro Donatello" and my Elfen Lied fanfic "After the Elf Died" (based on the manga series, not the anime!!). The Elf is M-rated, so be warned if you're considering to read it.
Thank you very much and see you next chapter ^^
