Hello everyone! It occurred to me that, back in Chapter 1, I never explained the story or gave the proper disclaimers. I think it's pretty safe to say that I don't own Ninja Turtles; if I did, you can be sure I would be part of the staff that creates real stories, not fan fiction. Still, I enjoy just writing whatever pops in my head.
This story is meant to be an AU story, obviously. It's a typical "beauty/beast" scenario, but I want to tell a deeper plot that might still reflect what I grew up watching in the 80's as well as the series now. I chose the 2012 series because I can really feel that the boys are teens and how they play off the relationships with each other, with Splinter and with the greater human population, particularly Casey and April. And yes, I find the idea of Donnie having a crush on April adorable. Those ideas brought this story to life and I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 2
Every morning, April would play the music of TMNT. She found that certain songs helped to guide and reflect her mood. For the mornings, upbeat pop songs gave her an energized feeling. In the evenings, she listened to the mellow folk tunes and, for bed; she would play the same melody sung by Donnie to drift into slumber. She began to search for anything she could find about the group, slowly coming to be what she would have once called obsessive.
She also began to search out things about the boys themselves. Leo, the one who wore blue, was the oldest of the four. He was the lead singer and played guitar; acoustic, steel string, standard and even shamisen, a Japanese guitar April had only seen in old movies. Leo loved traditional Japanese food, but drew the line at seaweed, a stark contrast to his turtle background. The red one was named Raph. He was the second eldest, splitting the middle child duties with Donnie. Raph was a hot head, but April was surprised that he was the writer of most of their original songs. Beneath his bad boy exterior, April sensed a sensitive and deep poet. Raph had embraced the American lifestyle, preferring to eat burgers, pizza and whatever junk food he could find. If April had not found such a connection with Donnie, her favorite of the group might have been Mikey, the youngest of the four turtles. Mikey wore orange and he was the epitome of freedom and life. He, like Raph, had embraced American food, particularly pizza. But he had a more adventurous palette, choosing the most unique toppings; from avocado to zucchini, he was ready to try anything. All of the boys loved to skateboard and were die-hard fans of superhero anime.
April had spent the most effort looking up anything she could about Donnie. The third eldest was very private, keeping most of his personal information quiet. He played the keyboard for the group. He also helped to create computer generated sounds for the songs and he, like Raph, helped to compose the music. Or rather, he helped to create music for Raph's lyrics. Beyond his favorite food (Italian) and his favorite sport (hockey), April couldn't find anything else about him. Still, April didn't really need to know much more about him beyond his sweet smile, his gentle voice and his wonderful singing. April wandered around the southern end of Central Park, passing out and hanging flyers around the streets, hoping she might hear sounds of practicing from the bandshell. One afternoon, she decided to risk a time away from her search and wandered into the park with a group of tourists. She kept her head down and didn't make eye contact with any of the guides or the police officers patrolling the park. As the group veered to the right and the East Green, April turned left towards Sheep Meadow and The Mall. For once, the day was cool and a breeze had picked up. April let her hair out of its usual ponytail and let the wind blow it over her face.
The Naumburg Bandshell was over 100 years old. It usually was a spot for free outdoor orchestral concerts, but it had also been used by notable politicians and speakers. It was pretty out of the ordinary for a pop band to perform in the bandshell, but for 4 mutant turtles, performing outdoors was a must, it seemed.
The sound of music and screams came to her and she began to run. She finally arrived at the edge of the green west of the bandshell.
"There they are!" April whispered excitedly. She could see the green shapes standing stark against the white. Slowly, she moved closer to the bandshell until she could make out the different colored masks they all wore. She didn't see Donnie and felt a twinge of disappointment.
"I wonder where he is?" she thought. Still, she found herself smiling as the group launched into a song she had listened to just that morning.
"Sweet baby, you know my world's on fire
Just to have you near me is my one desire
What will it take from me to make you stay?
Give me your "Yes" and drive these blues away."
"Come on Raph," Leo said, "You're going too fast. The song is a slow one, so take it a beat down."
"I'll give you a 'beat down' Leo," Raph said grumpily. He twirled the sticks in his fingers so fast they seemed to fly.
"Chillax, bros," Mikey said cheerfully, "It's just a practice."
"Shut up, Mikey," Raph and Leo snapped in unison. Mikey rolled his eyes and, preparing for an inevitably long argument, pulled out his phone to play a game.
April edged as close as she could to the pavement, just under the trees. She could make out the security holding back a group of fans. Many of them were girls, snapping pictures with camera phones and screaming various amorous offers. Raph ignored them. He walked around his drum set and stood in front of Leo, arms crossed.
"I'm just saying we could remix the song," Raph said, "Take it a beat faster and it could get the crowd pumped. Jeez, other groups have taken power ballads and juiced them up."
"We're not prepared for juicing anything up, Raph," Leo responded.
"How 'bout I juice up your face?"
"Bring it on anytime, tough guy," Leo snapped.
April began to giggle when she felt the presence of someone behind her.
"They do act childish, do they not?"
April jumped and toppled over onto her back. Behind her was a 6 foot rat dressed in a crimson Japanese kimono with a pattern of blossoms on it. April stared in alarm as the mutant rat bowed to her and extended his hand.
"Forgive me for alarming you, child," the rat said, "It was not my intention. Are you quite alright?"
April breathed in relief and took the proffered hand.
"I'm fine," April said, "I should apologize for my behavior. I'm normally not such a freak. Oh! I mean-."
"You have not insulted me," said the rat, giving her a kind smile, "Have you come to hear my sons play?"
"Your sons?" asked April. Then it made sense to her, "You're Hamato Yoshi!"
"That was my human name," he said, "As a rat, I am called Splinter."
"Ok. Splinter. And I'm April," she said, "I was just wandering by when I heard the music. I thought it was really nice." She hoped she was able to hide the blush on her cheeks that would no doubt give away her pretended indifference.
"I am surprised that you were able to get so close," Splinter said, "The crowd control is similar to many of Oda Nobunaga's sieges. These girls are attempting to storm the bandshell as though it were housing some powerful daimyo within."
"That's probably the kindest metaphor to apply to fangirls," April said, "Although I wouldn't say most pop icons have the same sort of honor as a daimyo."
"True," Splinter said. Voices began to be raised higher from the bandshell as Raph and Leo's argument escalated.
"Please excuse me, April," Splinter said and he hurried to the stage.
"Yame!" Splinter shouted. At once, Raph and Leo backed away, but continued to glare daggers at each other.
"You have 3 days until this concert," Splinter said, "You will continue with your practice. And where is Donnie?"
"He's checking the speaker system," Mikey said, "I guess he thought no one would be able to hear us."
"Oh, they'll hear us," Donnie said, climbing up from the ground, "I just want to make sure that they hear what we want them to hear."
April ducked down as Donnie turned around to take in the plaza.
"The acoustics of the shell are fantastic, Splinter," Donnie said, "We can move everything forward about 6 feet."
"Awesome," Mikey said, "More room for the ladies to see the Mighty Mikey."
"Donnie, what do you think about taking the tempo of "Yes" a bit faster?" Raph asked. Leo clenched his fist.
April watched as Donnie put on a thoughtful look.
"It's possible," Donnie said after a moment, "But not by Friday. It's too much work to rework all the parts and the electronic synthesizer will need to be reprogrammed. I think we could do a whole album with remixed versions of some songs."
Leo and Raph looked both looks annoyed. Splinter did not allow either of them the opportunity to speak.
"Your brother has given his opinion," Splinter said, "By now you should know to trust it when it comes to the success of the music you make."
"Yes, Master Splinter," Leo and Raph said. They grudgingly shook hands. But it was with a slightly grumpy smirk that Raph shoved Leo's head. Leo rolled his eyes but smiled. April could sense this was the end of the argument, at least for the moment.
"Can we get back to practicing now?" Mikey said, "I still want to check out some of the skate parks to chill out before tonight."
The four brothers resumed their places, Donnie taking his position behind his keyboards.
"What do you think, Donnie?" Leo asked, "Feel up to playing "Rain?"
"Sure," Donnie said, "I could use a warm up."
With four strikes of Raph's drumsticks, the music swelled up. April had not heard this song before. And certainly, this was a new experience watching the boys perform. Despite having three fingers, Leo and Mikey were able to make their guitars sing. Mikey was amazing to watch play. Although his smile never went away and his baby blues were still full of childlike glee, she could see a deep focus etched around his face. Raph, too was focused as he played, guiding his brothers with a firm tempo. April admired Donnie's fingers flying over the keys. As Leo began to sing, April slowly began to walk forward without noticing.
"Standing in the rain
Watching as the road slips away
I saw a rose bloom up
And kiss the drops of gray
My heart began to race
And my eyes filled up with tears
I turned to hurry back
Losing you fills my fears.
Still standing in the rain
I'm so ashamed by what I said
My face is burned by tears
Of sky and my heart
Please tell me you're okay
Would you leave me here alone?
The dark night of the storm
Soaks me to the bone."
April stared as Donnie began to play a solo on the keyboard and Leo glanced back appreciatively. It never ceased to amaze him how good his brother was. Donnie looked up and smiled at his brother. It was then that they noticed the girl dressed in the yellow raincoat standing on the plaza in front of them. Leo blinked in confusion and stopped playing, but saw that Donnie was still going, staring hard into the girl's eyes. Leo decided to follow his lead and began to sing again, switching to Japanese.
"Hashiri dasu Hito no senaka ga
Kyou wa yokei ni Tsumetai yo
Furi muite Kureru dareka ga
Itara egao o Kaeseru no ni
Doshaburi no rain
Boku nara daijoubu Samishisa
Mune made shimicha inai
Bishonure no rain
Sore yori kanjiteru 'Honto no
yasashisa ga hoshii' tte"
April was lost in the brown eyes and didn't notice when the music had stopped. For an instant, April was alone in a soft, misty world that encompassed only Donnie and her.
"Donnie," April whispered. He gave her a soft smile and waved.
A loud scream of girls woke her out of her trance and she turned red in embarrassment.
"I-I," April stammered.
"Were we that good?" Mikey asked, staring at April cheerfully. Leo looked back and forth between Donnie and the girl.
"You were wonderful," April said, not taking her eyes off Donnie, "It was such a beautiful song."
Raph and Mikey exchanged looks of confusion. Donnie's smiled broadened, revealing a gap between his teeth.
"How'd she get over here anyway?" Raph said, "Who let her in?"
April finally noticed the others. She smiled shyly. Suddenly, she heard a loud whistle and felt her blood turn icy in her veins.
"You!" one of the guards shouted, "You're not allowed there!"
April looked panicked at Donnie. Then, she took off down the path that would lead her out of the park. She didn't stop running until she had reached Lexington Avenue on 72nd Street. She was gasping for air, clutching a stitch in her side.
"I can't believe I did that," April thought, "What if that guard had caught you, April?"
April's mind filled with visions of being hauled back to the child services building and taken back to the family she had escaped. Or worse, she could be sent to a family that was even worse. She'd never be able to continue searching for her father.
"No more chances," she thought, "From now on, stick to listening to the internet."
As April trudged home, she felt a pang of sorrow twinge in her heart. And ironically, the sky opened and began to pour. April spent the rest of the afternoon, munching on rice cakes and listening to the music of TMNT.
The next two days, April threw herself into her search. A few posts on the website pointed her to the Kraang Inc. Headquarters as an area of high activity at the moment. She had to take extra precautions around the building though; security seemed to increase each time she went. Still, she watched how many people would come in and out of the building, taking note of repeat faces and schedules of maintenance worker and janitorial staff. But still, in the back of her mind, the thought of TMNT would fill her dreams and quiet times
On Thursday, April found visiting the Kraang building wasn't going to work; security was simply too tight. Instead, she wandered aimlessly up and down the streets, replacing flyers and asking more and more people if they knew the face. She realized that her feet had led her back to Central Park. People were milling about the entrance, glancing at the additional security officers guarding the 72nd Street entrance.
"The concert is tomorrow night," April thought. Out of curiosity, she had checked ticket prices the other day. The price wasn't unreasonable for an outdoor concert in the park, but still higher than she could ever hope to afford. She didn't even want to think about how many cans and bottles it would take.
"I shouldn't go anyway," she said out loud, "It's a distraction. It's fine to moon over the songs from afar, but I will not become one of those obsessive fangirls who cling all over them."
April moved to walk off when a glitter of green caught her eye. Underneath the garbage and trampled leaves, April saw a slightly rumpled but perfectly legible "TMNT Concert in the Park" ticket.
To Be Continued
"Yes" is an original composition of mine from a poem I wrote.
"Rain" is an original song from "Marmalade Boy." The first verse isn't an exact translation from Japanese, but it's pretty close to the mark.
The second verse translates as:
"I start running,
the turned backs of the people around me look colder than usual today
If someone would only turn around,
I'd have a smile to return.
Pouring rain
I'll be all right
The loneliness hasn't seeped into my heart
Drenched in rain
Above all, I can feel it
'I want real kindness'