We walked back to Mr. Murakami's restaurant in silence at first. I think we all had a lot on our minds; I know I did. My gaze kept drifting from Red to Blue, affirming the realization that there was more than one mutant turtle in the city. How many else could there be? Just three? Fifty? Countless? Red eventually noticed me peering at him from the corner of my eye, which he probably wasn't expecting. "What?" he asked in a coarse way.
"I didn't know you weren't the only turtle here. How many of you are there?" "You weren't the only turtle?" Blue repeated, though he wasn't looking at me; his eyes were expressively on his brother. Red flinched the slightest and tore his eyes away. "Four; there are four of us," he answered in an utter. "And… are you all related?" "Y-yeah….." I didn't ask anything after that; the mood felt really tense. It wasn't a long walk to the shop. The turtles let me ascend the front steps, pausing momentarily to look at one another. "A pretty dull night, huh?" Blue asked Red, who didn't respond.
We entered the restaurant to find April and Mr. Murakami with Orange; Hoogie and Big were nowhere to be seen. They all immediately perked up at our arrival. "Baby!" "Baby-chan!" April and I practically ran into each other's arms, holding the other really tight. Mr. Murakami also joined us, smiling and placing his hand on my back. "Are you alright?!" April gasped like she was out of breath. "Y-yes!" I sounded equally breathless. Her eyes grew huge when she pulled back to see the blood on my neck; the wound was still open. My hand quickly covered it as I tried to force a grin. "I-it's nothing…." "Dude! You're alright!" Orange was the next to unexpectedly come over, smiling at me excitedly. Boy, did he look relieved.
"Thank you, my friends," Mr. Murakami said to the turtles. "Thank you for saving my shop and more importantly, rescuing Baby-chan," he motioned my way with his hand. "Baby?" Red smirked, folding his arms. "Your name is "Baby?" "Got a problem with that?" April spoke in my defence. This surprised me a little but I didn't intervene, just looked at the now slightly flustered Red. He didn't reply but Blue rubbed the back of his neck and gave a cute little smile. "It's a nice name," he offered. "For a tiny, helpless human," Red added under his breath.
After a sharp glare at his brother, Blue turned back to us. "Don't worry. I don't think they'll be coming around here anytime soon." "Do they…. do they come around often?" I asked in a frightened tone. Blue looked at me for a brief moment, then flashed a reassuring grin. "Not after tonight." "And if they ever do come back, we'll be here to save you!" Orange announced. He stuck out his hand to shake mine. "I'm Mikey! Your new friend!" "New friend?" Red's eyebrow rose. "Heck yeah! She knows about us now, we can be friends!" That's…. some sort of logic. "Besides! She's already friends with April; that's a bonus."
"You really….. know these guys?" I turned to April. She nodded. "Yeah… we kinda met off chance last year. Murakami-san knows them too." "Really?" He also gave a nod. "Wow…" I then turned back to the three mutant turtles. "Ooooooh! We're gonna have so much fun! I've always wanted a human friend!" Orange cheered with delight. "I'm a human!" April's hand went to her hip as she frowned. "I mean a different human…. You are a human, aren't you?" "Uh, yes?" What kind of question was that? Were there non-human humans wandering around the city?
Blue rolled his eyes and motioned for his brothers. "Alright, you guys; come on, we should go." "Really?" April, Orange, and I asked in unison. This surprised me a little, though I'm not sure why. The only ones who didn't look startled were Red and Mr. Murakami. The elderly Japanese man just went behind the counter while Red simply looked at us- or rather me. Within seconds, Mr. Murakami returned with a takeout box in each hand. "With my gratitude, pizza gyoza." "Pizza gyoza?!" A very happy Orange took both containers. "Thank you," Blue nodded respectfully to the elder, who grinned back. Then he turned to me.
"Will you be… alright now?" Blue seemed almost apprehensive to ask; embarrassed a little, for some reason. I merely nodded, taking care to keep my wound covered. Satisfied with this, he gave me one last look before turning to head for the door. "Come on, let's go home." "Awe! But I just met her!" "Baby's had a long night, Mikey. Give her some time to let this all… sink in." "Ugh! Fine!" After a dramatic eyeroll, Orange dragged his feet to trail his brother to the door. "See you soon, Baby! Bye April! Thanks again for the pizza gyoza, Murakami-san!" "Don't eat them all before we get back. Boy, did Donnie choose the wrong night to stay home," Blue and Orange exited the shop.
Red was the last to go; he just stared at me with a confused face, confused eyes. Then he made them tear themselves away from me, going to head out the front door. With one last check over his shoulder, he took off into the dark of night without a word. I didn't know what to think while April just grinned over at me with a mischievous look in her soulful eyes. "So? Red, huh?"