A/N: TA DA, I'm back again, sorry for the delay. I noticed a lot of grammatical mistakes in my last story, so I'll be reupdating that one here soon. Remember if your reading this one first, you'll have to go backwards and read my other TMNT one first before this one.
Either way, ENJOY!
Chapter 2
It was such a beautiful morning in Tokyo, the sound of birds, sun shining through the windows, and even lots of traffic, it reminded me somewhat of home…. Without the annoyance of turtles.
"Well," I said to myself as I pulled my shirt over my head.
"Guess today's adventure is the old Hinto shrine," I said to myself. It was the temple of the Shinto monks; the place where I studied and trained for four years. It will be a two hour journey by train, so I prepared some music on my cell phone for the road.
I paced around the hotel room as I organized some of my favorite songs into one folder for easy access, that's when the phone vibrated in my hand.
I slide on my Bluetooth ear piece.
"Hey," I said cheerfully.
"Good morning," Donnie said from the other end.
"Good morning," I replied to him, half awkwardly pulling my jacket through my arms.
"You're up kind of late, isn't it past midnight there?" I asked, tossing stuff into my back pack.
"Yeah it is, just wanted to say hi and check up on yeah," he added almost in a half whisper. That's when I heard a door shut.
"Is something wrong Donnie?" I asked him curious as to why he called.
"Well," he started to say.
"Is, is Splinter okay? The guys okay?" I asked him worried.
"No, no everyone's fine… see thing is," he started to say. I could hear the tension in his voice.
"Well?" I said to him as I swung my bag over my shoulder.
"There's this professor…. Started new at the lab," He said his voice stuttered a bit.
I had a feeling I knew where this conversation was going. I smiled and put down my bag on the bed.
"Are you asking girl advice?" I asked him trying not to laugh.
"Well… I know she's a human girl, but she's really… cool," he said carefully and in almost a half whisper.
I pressed my lips together trying to be as polite as possible and not laugh.
"So you like her?" I asked.
"Well…. Yeah," he replied I heard him shuffling through papers. Probably at his desk.
I sat down at the foot of the bed and tossed some bottles of water into my bag.
"Don, I know she's human, but….. if you like her, then well be truthful, tell her…" I said to him as a bottle rolled off the bed.
"Well, thing is…" he said, his voice sounded nervous.
"You're a turtle," I said to him.
"Yeah," He said quickly.
"Donnie, even though you're a turtle, I know there's someone out there for all of you, and human or not, I know they'll be the right person for you…. so if you like this human girl, then tell her… and," I said to him looking around the room for my minicomputer.
"… and, if she likes you…. you'll know," I told him.
"You think so?" he replied, I heard paper shuffling.
"Yeah I know so," I told him awkwardly balancing the minicomputer and bottle of water in one hand.
"Thanks," he answered.
"No problem Don," I said pushing the computer and bottle into the bags front zipper.
"I'm heading to the temple today," I told him and awkwardly zipped my bag with one hand.
"Yeah? Well have a good time," he said in return.
"Don," I said to him and swung my bag over my shoulder again. I tapped my back jean pocket for the door key.
"Yeah?" he said, I heard his chair squeak.
"Love yeah," I told him and closed the hotel door behind me.
"Ditto, and thanks Alex," he said again. That's when the phone clicked.
I pressed the Bluetooth off, and pulled out my ear buds from my bags front pocket.
I looked at the hotel revolving doors and saw numerous taxis outside.
"Hmmm," I said and shifted through the revolving door.
"Good morning miss," one of the drivers said gesturing with his hand to his taxi.
"Good morning, I'd like to know where the nearest train station is, I need to get to the Hinto district," I told him with a slight bow.
"I can actually drive you to the district if you like, I have a delivery there," he said with a smile, he held his car door opened for me.
"That would be an expensive trip," I told him shifting my bag off my shoulder.
"No miss, I will charge you half, it's no problem," he waved his hand at me and smiled. He was an older man, probably in his thirties; he had a charming exterior to him.
"Okay, thank you," I said to him and climbed into the back seat. Wasn't sure if I could trust him or not…. But, a taxi drive through the countryside would be much more peaceful and beautiful then a bullet train.
I clicked through my phone and looked through some pictures. I slide my bag on to the seat next to me and noticed a large box.
"It's a gift for my daughter, her birthday is today," he said to me looking through the mirror at me.
"Oh," I said as the car accelerated.
"She's turning ten today," he said swerving his way through Tokyo's dense traffic. I pulled my bag off the gift and shifted it between my feet.
"Do you have any children?" he asked diverting his eyes to his mirror.
I shifted my eyes from my phone to him.
"No, I have four brothers," I told him.
"Oh, even better," he said and stopped at a red light.
"Oh?" I said to him sliding my phone into my jacket pocket.
"Well yeah, they say brothers are the best thing to have, they take care of you, protect you, and even tease you sometimes…. But they're love is unconditional," he said as he shifted out of traffic to a long stretch of road, leading out of the city.
"Huh, never really thought of it that way," I said thinking about his words.
"Oh? Do you not care for your brothers?" he asked his tone seemed curious, or concerned with my remark.
"Well, yeah of course I care for them, but never really thought of things in that way… that's all," I said and diverted my gaze out the window as we drove along a long stretch of road.
"Older or younger?" he added after a few moments of silence.
"Oh, they're younger, one year younger," I said to him, thinking about Donatello's conversation today.
"Any of them married yet?" he asked looking to me again through his mirror.
"Huh?" I said diverting my gaze to him again.
"Uh no, no…." I said again then looked back out the window to some of the old farming houses.
That's when it hit me; my brothers will never experience true love in their lives because of how different they are. Even with human girls, they'll never be normal, or be able to have real relationships. It got me thinking about Donnie, and the girl he likes, it would break his heart if she didn't like him in return. I sighed deeply and pulled my phone out of my pocket again.
I scrolled through some pictures.
"Miss, we'll be in the Hinto region real soon, where is it you'd like to go?" he asked clicking his signal.
"Oh, I need to go to the Shinto temple." I told him looking at some pictures I took a few days before I left.
"Shinto, the old monk training grounds," he said, his voice sounded perturbed.
"Yes," I said again looking to him.
"Miss, that temple was burnt down by a fire two years ago," He said stopping the car near the docks.
"What?" I said leaning over the seat.
"What do you mean burnt down, what happened to all the monks there," I asked.
He turned around and looked at me.
"Miss, that temple never had monks, are you sure you are looking for the right temple," he said questioning me with his eyes.
I leaned back thinking, was I wrong? Did I pick the wrong temple, maybe the name was changed?
"The monks there teach ninjitsu," I told him rubbing my head.
"Ninjitsu, miss there has never been any monks in the Hinto region since the Edo era. The Shinto temple was so old the government had to burn it down," he said looking at me.
"No way," I half whispered to myself.
"These docks were built in its place near the waterline," he said pointing to an old large fishing hanger.
"No way," I said opening the door. I stepped out of the car bewildered. I couldn't believe what I was looking at, it was all farming land, fishery and boats out in the water. How could the Shinto shrine not even be here? Was I wrong, maybe the name changed, or the location moved? There's no way, I know I am certain where I was trained.
"Miss," the man said distracting my thinking. I closed the door and walked up to the fence.
"Are you sure there are no Shinto training grounds anywhere in this region?" I asked the man again looking through the fence.
"No, there never was," He said closing his door as well.
"Look miss, if you need help looking for this shrine, that little shop there near the hanger has maps and know these lands well," he said pointing. I nodded to him and reached in to my jacket for some money.
"No no, its on me this time," He said reaching into his jacket pocket. He pulled out his business card.
"Next time," he said handing it to me. I took it and read it.
"If you require my assistance anytime please call," he said and opened his car door again. I pulled my bag to my shoulder.
"Oh and miss one more thing," he said rolling down his window.
I turned and looked at him.
"They say at night these docks are extremely dangerous, large creatures have been seen lurking in these area's at night," he said he tapped his hat and drove off.
"Large creatures," I said to myself and looked to the small shop.
I ran my hands along the fence to a locked gate.
"Huh, great," I said and climbed the fence.
I jumped to the ground, that's when my bag rang and vibrated.
"Great," I said fumbling quickly with the zipper searching for my Bluetooth. I pressed it to my ear and tapped it.
"Yo, yo, yo, girl sup," Mikey's voiced chimed on the other end. I smiled and pulled my bag to my back.
"Hey Mikey," I said to him.
"What's up sweet thing, miss yeah," he said. I could hear a lot of commotion around him.
"Nothing much Mikey what's up there," I said to him shifting my feet down the Cliffside.
"Well you know," he said. "The usual," he added, he seemed extremely bubbly today.
"What did you do?" I said to him, knowing him all too well.
"Hahaha, oh nothing nothing," He said. Then I heard another voice behind him.
"Give me that," Raph's voice bellowed. "No, wait hey," Mikey's voice trailed off.
"If you come home and Mikey's not here, it's not our fault," Raph said to me.
"Hey, you lay a finger on him I swear to God Raphael, I'll…" I started to say but before I could finish an argument erupted. I sighed and tried to listen in.
"Hey come on Raph, I was talking to Alex first," Mikey's voice chimed.
"Who was the moron who decided on paint cans over the gates to our rooms," Raph's voice bellowed.
I covered my mouth trying not to laugh.
"Paint cans," I said loudly.
"Yeah our stupid kid brother thought it would be so hilarious to play a world class I'm-a-hot-shot prank by loading coloured paint cans over our gates," Raph's voice bellowed through my ear piece. I stopped near the shop and pressed my lips into a hard line.
"…. And?" I said trying so hard to hold back from laughing.
"And, and?" Raph hissed angrily. "…. We woke up, opened the gates and got covered by paint, what do you think Alex?" he said sarcastically.
"Wow," I said and laughed. I couldn't hold it in, I covered my mouth.
"Yeah, yeah laugh," He said. Then I heard the phone shift.
"Girl you should've been here…." Mikey's voice chimed. I heard Leo and Donnie behind him cussing him out. Then the phone clicked.
I shook my head and pulled the Bluetooth from my ear. I opened the door to the shop and went in.
"Hello," a man from behind a counter said to me.
"Hi, do you have any region maps?" I said to him coming towards the counter.
He handed me a map of the area, I awkwardly opened it over the counter, and ran my finger along the map.
"Shinto temple, is it not here anymore?" I asked him narrowing my eyes on this location.
"No, it was paved into this area two years ago," the man said. Exactly like the taxi driver.
"Do you know if the monks from that shrine moved, or if it's in another location?" I asked pulling the map together.
"Yes, I hear the monks of this land and the Shinto shrine moved to Okinawa," he said reaching for the Okinawa map.
"Okinawa? But that's so far away, it'll take a day to get there," I told him perplexed. He opened the map and placed it on the counter; he ran his hand over the map and pointed.
"There, it's now the Tomaki temple," he said tapping his finger.
"WHAT?" I said surprised. The area he pointed at was my home; my father's dojo was there.
"You know this place?" the man asked surprised.
"Yes my father's dojo was there, I am from Okinawa," I said to him shaking my head. I was trying to make sense of the whole thing.
"How much for the map?" I asked as he pulled it together. I reached into my bag to grab some money for it when I heard the man shout at a customer.
"Hey, hey I thought I told you never to come in here," he said coming around the counter. I looked up at the customer hovering near the door. I placed down some money and took the map.
"Excuse me," I said coming around the man. He looked at me and shifted aside, the customer was still blocking the door.
"Excuse me," I said again looking at the hooded figure.
The figure turned its head towards me then back at the man, it leaned against the door and opened it. I eyed down this figure lusciously. He wore a long brown trench coat and a hood covered its head and face, it was tall and looked like a female. As I walked around this person, I could see it slide away from the door and run back to the large hanger.
I narrowed my eyes curiously.
"Hmmm," I said, as curiosity hit me.
"You stay away from here creature," the shop owner shouted after the figure as it disappeared into the hanger.
"Creature?" I said to him.
"Vermin that's what they are," he said mumbling something else as he disappeared back into his shop.
I turned my gaze back to the hanger, that's when my stomach growled. I hadn't realized I'd spent half the whole day travelling to this region, and wasting my time trying to figure out if I was going crazy or not. Now I have to travel back to Tokyo and figure out a way to Okinawa before the sun sets.
"Great," I said to myself rubbing my stomach. I went back into the shop to ask directions to the nearest train station.
"Train station?" the shop owner said. "Miss the train comes by here only once a day," he said pointing to the tracks near some farm houses.
"Once a day, are you kidding me?" I sighed deeply, and rubbed my grumbling stomach.
"Hungry," the man chuckled. "My wife has a dinner in the back, why not grab some food, if you need a place to stay the night there is a small cottage you can use, its ours we don't mind," the man said gesturing for a door behind the counter.
"I couldn't possibly," I said to him sliding into a chair in the dinner. A lovely woman came to me with a menu and a pitcher of water in her hand.
"Darling, this young lady is in need of a place, she missed the train and the next one is tomorrow at dawn," he said to his wife. She smiled and poured me some water.
"Oh dear, we have a small cottage overseeing the docks, you can use it," she said handing me the menu.
"I really couldn't," I said to her opening it.
"Please, you are stranded here until the next train, it would be wrong to leave a girl to sleep outdoors in these areas at night," she said pulling out a pad and pen from her apron.
"Well thank you, I appreciate it," I said to her skimming over the menu.
"I will give you time, I will grab the keys to the cottage," she said and disappeared in to the back area of the restaurant.