She didn't even gasped as she spun on her heels. Faster than lightning, Kage had zoomed into the closest room: Raphael's. She slammed the door shut, running towards the back wall. The room had a checkered design, with squares around the room. The base of the walls had a border of squares, and it was to one seemingly normal square that Kage flew. She reached out and pushed the wall sideways, revealing a secret passageway into the tunnels.

Since she had started living with Mr. Splinter, Kage hadn't felt any panic or need to flee. Still, a little voice at the back of her mind told her she needed to keep her options open...just in case. So, with her paranoia in full swing, she had left many of her hidden doors unlocked, and easily accessible. Such as the one in Raph's room, it could only be locked from the inside.

Kage was quickly though her hole, turning only briefly to snap the lock in place. Her secret passageway started with a little tunnel of its own, and the shadow girl crept swiftly through darkness before shooting into the bleary darkness of the sewer system. She could hear the shouts of echoing voices, the anger.

They couldn't find her.

She practically flew through the sewer system, feeling like an escaped criminal. She knew they were after her, they would follow her, try to catch her. She took a sharp left, coming face to face with a dead end. She cast an afraid look over her shoulder, feeling herself hunching up as she pushed open a camouflaged door. It looked exactly like the sewer wall, but unless you knew it was there, or felt along the wall, you would never know it existed. This door was also risky. It had no lock, she used it to go in both directions. She never dreamed she'd need to lock it.

Kage did what she did best: She disappeared. You never would have guessed someone could be living in the sewers, you never would have known someone could slip in and out of the the shadows. And you certainly wouldn't have been able to tell the slight ripple of light was a girl in flight.

She made it back to her original hideout. She slid into her room, turning on the light, bolting the door, and listening to the sound of her pounding heart. Her nerves were shot, she couldn't believe she had been seen! It was so unlike her...Kage never dropped her guard! Did-Did Mr. Splinter tell...? Did he tell his sons I existed? Did he tell them about me? Kage felt herself tremble. She had been discovered, she could be found! She had worked so hard to disappear, to be a nobody. She had fallen off every radar, had slipped away from the spot light.

She shouldn't have been found.

But Mr. Splinter...

Why did I get involved? Why didn't I stay away? Why didn't I...?

She hung her head in shame. This was all her fault, wasn't it? Kage could've ignored the rat's summons, she could have pretended he was wrong. She could've continued like nothing happened. She had been doing it all her life, pretending she didn't exist. Carefully keeping herself hidden, waiting for the day she didn't have to constantly look over her shoulder. It wasn't her fault she was hidden. Really, it wasn't. But still, Kage had to live with the consequences. If it meant hiding, she would hide. One day, maybe, just maybe, they would give up searching. Maybe one day, she could stand in the sunlight, without fear of being seen...or reported.

Kage fingered a small, jeweled necklace around her neck. It shimmered slightly in the light, seeming to crackle with energy. Kage loved the necklace, it was something her mother had given her before Kage was forced to flee. It was so pretty, a deep, vibrant red color on a gold looking chain. In all the running, the necklace had peeked out of her shirt, and Kage hastily pushed it back beneath her collar.

Some things didn't have to be known about.