Kage. Kah-gay. Two syllables...She liked it. The blue eyed girl had a name again, and while it matched what she was, it didn't exactly match who she was. No one wanted to have to hide, but when there was no other choice...It was weird, having someone know you would be coming by every night and spending time with you, expecting a friend. Being called by name...well, it was different.

She came rushing into the lair the next night excited, her eyes twinkling in glee. Mr. Splinter was running through a tai chi routine, and when he glimpsed Kage he stood still, smiling.

"Ah, Kage, how was your day?" Mr. Splinter asked pleasantly. The brunette ran up to the rat, taking his paw in her hand and tugging him toward the sewers. "What is it? Is something amiss?" Mr. Splinter asked alarmed. Kage shook her head, a grin on her face as she motioned him toward the sewers again. "Do you want to show me something?" Kage nodded, letting go of Mr. Splinter's hand and moving into the doorway that separated the sewers from the lair like home. "Alright then, lead the way." Mr. Splinter said, and Kage took off like a shot. Her brown hair disappeared into the black sewers, and she disappeared into the shadows. She didn't realize she had left Mr. Splinter behind until he called out to her. She gasped, looking over her shoulder to find her friend no where in sight, and then bolted back up the sewers to where the rat was standing still, looking around confused. Oh Mr. Splinter... Kage thought amused. It was funny, how could someone who'd lived here so long not know their way around? And he was a rat too!

The brunette rushed out of the darkness to stand beside her elder, who did a double take at finding her by his side. He gaped, and Kage silently giggled. She took his paw again, and walked him into the shadowy world she was accustomed to.

"Where are we going, Kage?" Mr. Splinter asked, and she just smiled secretively at him. She took him to a dead end, and he looked at her curiously. "What are you...?" He trailed off, at a loss. She moved toward a corner where a bunch of bricks had been pried up, enough for a person, or rat to fit through and fall to the floor below them. Kage sat down, her legs dangling in the whole and looked up at him. "I am not going down that hole." Mr. Splinter said firmly, stepping away from the shadow girl. Kage gave him a pointed look, shook her head, and let herself fall. "Kage!" Mr. Splinter called out shocked, and the girl grinned as she bounced up off a small trampoline. Another body fell from the story above, and the rat let out a surprised gasp as he bounced off the ground. "My, oh my." He murmured, and Kage giggled noiselessly. "How did you...How long has that...Where exactly are we going?" Mr. Splinter finally sighed.

She smiled and took his paw, leading him further into the sewers. Kage knew the Mr. Splinter could tell when the rocky floor gave way to a metal one by the hesitant steps forward, the slight pause as he measured each step. She gave him a patient look, and then sat down at the edge of the pipes. She patted the seat next to her, and nervously Mr. Splinter did as she wanted. Kage knew this could be a bad idea, letting someone else know about some of her hidden doors, travel routes, even this slide, but she wanted someone to know about her world. And if that meant sharing some of her secret passageways, so be it. Mr. Splinter had become a good friend since she started going to the lair, and she wanted to show him he could trust him too.

Making sure his paw was tight in her hand, she pushed off the edge of the slide, and with gravity on her side they started falling.

"AHH!" Mr. Splinter shouted, probably thinking they were falling to their doom. She made sure he was ready when the edge of the slide came up, and they both flew off the edge, landing on their feet like cats. "You are never, ever, to do that to me again." He warned her breathless, and Kage grinned, moving forward. "Hm, Michelangelo mentioned he had found a slide once. I didn't believe him...He was right." Mr. Splinter was muttering, and Kage rolled her eyes. She led him up and over a wall, through a trap door leading up, and eventually to a straight-a-way wrapped in darkness. If it had been someone unfamiliar to darkness's grasp, with no see-in-the-dark eyesight, a trip down this corridor would be a very bad idea.

But Kage had gone down this hallway many time, knew where she was by feel and foot placement, and could see fairly well given her humanity. She led him down into darkness, and finally she could see the light beam that fell from the street above their heads. It was challenging getting where you needed to go in the sewers, and most of the time getting around by simply staying on the same sewer level was complicated. So to compensate, Kage had learned to travel on every level, with ways to get above and below her through trap doors, ropes and pulleys, locks, and even taking apart the sewer floor. In the end, it was worth it. In the one ray of light from the city world above, now just a weak ray of moonlight, a beautiful little flower was struggling against all odds to flourish in the darkness.

"Oh my..." Mr. Splinter breathed, and Kage nodded, smiling. It's petals were a fluffy light pink, with oval like leaves. "An Ageratum." Mr. Splinter breathed, surprised. "How beautiful. It's said their blooms never die, and it seems like this little flower agrees with that statement. And how amazing to find a pink one, usually they're blue. But pink..." Mr. Splinter marveled, and shook his head in amazement. "How did this little plant get down here? How incredulous."

Kage didn't know the answer, she just knew it was a testament of beauty and perseverance. She had found it on a scavenger run, and was completely floored by it. Usually, she saw ugly weeds that grew in the sewers depths, but this little...what did he call it? Agertin? Agertum? Well, something like that, it had surprised her. Something so pretty, holding on in the sewers below New York. It was truly awe inspiring.

"How beautiful." Mr. Splinter murmured, and that was really all he could say. "How amazing."

~(0)~

"Leo, we got to tell him." Raph shouted, quickly round kicking his Purple Dragon opponent.

"It would break his heart, Raph! You know Master Splinter, he loves us." Leo replied, disarming his opponent with his katannas.

"We're of legal age, it's not like everyone topside wouldn't eventually do it." Donnie called out.

"I don't know, guys, it seems a little risky." Miky sighed. The four brothers were taking out a group of Purple Dragons who had been on a mugging spree, and all the while wrestling with a question they had all been considering. "Master Splinter could get a little mad."

"It's not like we wouldn't come to see him. You're acting like we're planning to drop off the map, Mikey." Raph snorted.

"You don't have to come if you don't want to." Donnie shrugged, punching a Purple Dragon in the stomach. "It's your choice."

"Well..." The orange masked turtle sighed.

"Behind you, Raph!" Leo called out, and the red masked turtle hook kicked his assailant.

"Thanks, Fearless!"

"Donnie, we gotta get to the roof, would you stop playing with that guy?" Leo sighed, and Donnie quickly knocked his Purple Dragon out. The four seemed to disappear, and if you happened to be looking up you would have seen four shapes roof hopping. They finally all came to a stop at the top of a roof edge, looking out over the city.

"Come on, Mike, we're brothers, one for all and all for one, right?" Donnie spoke.

"I guess..."

"It'll be fine, Mikey." Raph snorted. "It's not the worst thing in the world you know."

"I know, but-"

"No buts." Raph cut in.

"I even found us a spot." Leo told his brother encouragingly. "It's perfect."

"It's simple, tomorrow morning we tell Master Splinter we're moving out."