"Kage! Kaaaaaage!"

The voices called her name, and the Shadow Girl cowered against the wall. How could they possibly know her name?! They weren't supposed to know her name! They weren't supposed to know about her at all!

"Kage!"

The purple bandana'd turtle called out, and Kage swiftly fled in the opposite direction. For ninja, the boys were really bad at it. She, on the other, hand needed it for survival. So, like all the masters before her, Kage was silent, swift, and invisible. She paused by a brick wall, feeling for any cracks, and finding the hole carefully pushed the two bricks apart. It had taken a long time to make all her doors, escape hatches, and entry ways, but she never regretted the time she spent on it. She slipped behind the wall, closing it silently, and then moving into pure darkness.

She didn't mind the dark, it had adopted her a long time ago. Keeping her safe in its shadows, erasing her from normal sight, and played tricks on peoples' minds. So, Kage had learned to trust the gray world she had become a part of of. Her fingers would trail on walls, her steps hesitant at times, but able to keep going. The rocky floor gave way to metal pipes, and the sound of rushing water filled the girl's ears.

She looked around herself, straining her ears to catch any sound that might be hidden behind the waterfall of water. Kage held her breath a moment, closed her eyes, and listened.

Nothing.

She let out her breath, and moved forward. Kage crossed over the swirling waters, almost wary of the moving river. If she fell...Kage shook her head, she would not fall, she could not fall. She came to a halt by the edge of the 'bridge', looking down into the moving water. What would be the harm of jumping? She wouldn't have to stay hidden any longer, she would be free from her pursuers, and she wouldn't have to remain quiet any longer. She could just jump, let out a whoop of relief, scream and scream, and then plummet into the darkness below.

She could just jump.

Kage leaned over the edge, closing her eyes. It would be so easy...

So easy.

Kage took a step away, letting out a shuddering breath. She reached for the cool chain around her neck, feeling the jewel at the end. She focused herself on the necklace, the memories. Her mom wouldn't have wanted her to end it all. Kage's mother would've brought her back from death only to kill her herself for even considering it!

Keep moving, Kage. It's the coward's way out.

Kage shook off the thought, and let herself get swallowed up in darkness again.

~(0)~

"Kage! Kage! Where are you?!"

Four brothers called out the name, over and over, to no avail. She wasn't going to reveal herself, and the four brothers' knew they wouldn't find her unless she wanted them to.

"I can't believe this!" Mikey groaned. "How can she evade four highly trained ninjas?!"

Mikey's brothers didn't know how to respond, especially since they were all agreeing with him. They were some of the best ninjas on Earth, Mikey was even a Battle Nexus Champion, and they hadn't even found a trace of this girl.

"How do we even know this girl's still down here?" Raph asked. "She could've gone topside or something."

"I doubt it," Leo scoffed. "if she's been living down here, then I don't think she'd feel safe up topside."

"Raph has a good point though, Leo," Donnie spoke up. "she looks like the people above. She'd be able to blend in, hide in plain sight."

"But if we don't find her..." Leo trailed off, remembering their Father's earlier tirade. The rat wouldn't allow them to come home without this Kage girl.

"Dudes, we're not going to find this girl," Mikey sighed. "she's been living on the down low for as long as we have, probably even better than we did," he chuckled, thinking about all the news stories about mutant turtles in Central Park.

"We should probably head back," Raph decided, his eyes flickering to each brother.

No one argued.

Raph took the lead, his brothers following suit. Leo looked back once, into the crazy sewer system were a girl was running wild, alone, and had been for years. Had his brother and he destroyed what little happiness this girl had discovered with Master Splinter? Had they sent this girl running? Again?

Leo shook his head, he would never know.

~(0)~

Kage slipped into the Lair, quieter than a mouse with the grace of a cat. She was actually above the lair, on a wooden beam that seemed to support her weight. A backpack was on her back, and Kage carefully balanced on the beam. She had been nervous at first, she could hear the ominous creak of the wood being stressed, but after a moment everything was silent again. She had been up here before, it was a great vantage point, and it hadn't failed her before. She doubted it would succumb to her light weight anytime soon... But at the same time, Kage knew it was going to come down soon.

Really soon.

Kage looked around herself and beneath her, searching for any sign of turtles.

It was empty.

Mr. Splinter wasn't even there, which seemed odd to the girl. Had they moved to a new home? The family had done that once before, after the mouser invasion, and it had taken Kage a few days to find their new residence. Kage felt herself become unsettled. Had she been considered a threat? Was that why they had moved? They thought she was of the evil variety? Kage shook her head, hurt, and tried to clear her thoughts. She had to get to the ground below, and clear everything of hers out.

Since Mr. Splinter had invited her to move in, Kage had brought some little knick knacks of hers to make her new room in the Lair feel a little more homey. A few extra clothes, a book, things like that.

Kage felt for the rope she had tied on the beam, making sure it was tight and wouldn't drop her. Since Kage had been here before, she had set up another quick route of escape...just in case. A simple rope that led to a rafter beam, that was next to a vent, that was connected to a tunnel, that dropped onto a sewer floor and means of escape.

Kage grabbed her rope, and rappelled down. She came down, light on her feet, leaving the rope dangling as she hurried to her room. She threw her things into the backpack, making sure it would all fit, and then hurrying out into the Lair.

She skidded to a halt.

Mr. Splinter was by her rope, curious. Kage knew she couldn't take that way, she would have to use another escape hatch. She started towards another little hidey hole of hers, but cast a glance back in fear. She didn't want him to know she was there, but at the same time...He tugged on the rope, and then the beam above groaned darkly. Oh no... Kage gasped, and the beam groaned again. The snap of wood alerted the two Lair occupants to the disaster about to befall them, and Mr. Splinter looked up just in time to see the rafter begin its descent to the ground below.

"MR. SPLINTER! WATCH OUT!" Kage screamed.

~(0)~
She spoke! And Master Splinter's about to get trapped beneath a rafter beam! Oh no! But anyway, my question. The truth's about to be revealed about Kage's past, and the question for you, my amazing readers, is how big a twist do you want Kage's past to be? Tell me when you review! :)