Chapter 2
Okay, this was weird. I mean, my whole night had been weird but this was even... well, weirder. After carrying me over the rooftops for at least twenty minutes (in which I couldn't help but wonder at the strength of Raphael's arms, or his stamina. I wasn't exactly the thinnest girl out there. Although my step mum hated me, she did make sure I was fed. Or maybe fattening me was another expression of her contempt), Raphael had carefully put me down on the ground in a deserted alley. Although he didn't look it, his touch had been surprisingly soft, and gentle. Must be more to him than meet the eyes. Meanwhile, Donnie had been taking the lid off an entrance to what could only be the sewers, judged by the smell of it.
"In there?" I asked doubtfully.
"Eyup", Mikey said. "Just do it like us!" And jumped down the hole.
"Come on, I'll help you", Donnie offered and extended his hand toward me. I took it, no trace of hesitation on my mind. I let Donnie carry me down the ladder.
"We're here, Dana", he said.
"Ah, thanks." I let him go and landed on the ground with a soft thud.
"Mikey, lead the way!" Leo said, who closed the line. My eyes hadn't adjusted to the dark yet - it was much darker than above ground, where at least the stars and the moon were there to shine some light upon the earth. Here, sight was useless, yet I didn't hear the turtles trip once. "You must be- ah!" I said, tripping over some unevenness in the ground. I grabbed onto the turtle in front of me, steadying myself.
"Careful", Raph whispered. "And try to be silent. Even though we've been here a million times, there might still be things out there we don't know about."
I nodded. Ah, right.
"Sorry", I whispered. "I'll try to but I just can't seem to- agh!" My ankle twisted in a very unpleasant way.
"Ouch", I moaned, trying to keep it down. I heard Raph drop to his knees next to me. I should ask them for a pair of knee pads, really.
"Are you OK?" he asked softly.
"Yes, it's just- my ankle, I think I've sprained it."
Raph accidentally leaned on my hurt ankle.
"Aaaah!" I gasped. "Don't!"
"Keep it down!"
"I'm trying to but someone had to put pressure on my injured ankle!"
"Quiet!" Leo's voice suddenly sounded from behind me.
"I think there's something following us... Raph, you come with me.
Donnie?" Leo hissed into the darkness.
"Yeah, I'm here!"
"You and Mikey take Dana home, OK?"
"What about you and Raph?"
"We'll go track down whatever it is that's chasing us, and then come home."
"Copy that."
Donnie lifted me from the ground.
"Just be careful, OK?" Genuine concern in his voice.
"Always am", came Leo's assuring answer.
"See you soon", Donnie whispered.
"Mikey, let's go."
"OK!"
The light cawas unexpected and I shot up, immediately awake. "Woah, where I am- what is- who?"
"Take it easy, Dana. It's okay." Looking up, I saw Donnie.
"We're in our lair now but you fell asleep on our way here and I didn't wanna wake you." "Thanks." I looked around. "Where are we?"
"Like I said, this is our home. Or lair, as we also call it." It was a huge room, more of a hall, in which several tunnels ended. Although I hadn't forgotten this place was located somewhere in the sewers, the red bricks, the lamps, the casually scattered around mess - comic books, gaming devices, wooden swords, weights, empty pizza boxes, cans of soda - made it feel very cosy and, well, homely, to me. It's clearly a men household, though. The finishing touch were the pictures of the turtles and a giant rat who I presumed to be Master Splinter on the walls.
A close family.
Donny carried me to the couch, situated opposite a TV, and gently lowered me onto it.
"I'll go tell Master Splinter we're home", he said. "Mikey!"
"Yeah?"
"Stop stuffing your face with pizza and go grab some bandages and an ice pack for Dana!" "On it!"
I sat up from my lying position to get another good look at the turtles' home. I spotted a pinball machine, a small kitchen, a room filled with rugs, weapons and weights. I noticed four doors, each with a sheet of paper on it which said 'Raphael', 'Donatello', 'Michelangelo', and 'Leonardo'. The doors were adorned with other things as well; Raph's was filled with posters from movies, Leo had used Japanese characters and proverbs to decorate his door. There was a lot of room left on those two doors, whereas Mikey's door had disappeared behind all the pictures of comic books he had stapled to the wood, and Donnie's looked like a school board from a very complicated science or math class. I also spotted some blueprints.
Why am I surprised they have different, unique personalities? And why am I surprised I'm surprised? They're not animals.
Well, maybe just from the outside.
"Dana-san." The soft, gentle yet stern voice came from a silhouette in the shadows. The figure stepped forward and exposed whiskers, a snout, large ears and a long, hairless tail.
And again: why am I surprised? Raph mentioned something about a rat. Really, I gotta pay more attention to what people say.
He towered above Donnie and Mikey both, the difference in height being at least a foot. I noticed the Japanese honorific he'd attached to my name. I bowed, although a little awkward as I was still seated on the couch, hands crossed over my chest; a sign of respect in the Japanese culture. Master Splinter chuckled. "You were raised well, young lady", he remarked.
I grimaced. "Not really... Splinter-sensei, I take it?" He nodded.
"I just learned some Japanese a while ago."
"Leonardo will find that very interesting", he said, approval colouring his voice. "He, too, has been studying the country and the language of my youth."
"You're from Japan?"
"Hai."
"Hajimemasthe. Dana desu."
"Hajimemasthe, yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
"Sorry my pronunciation is a little broken."
Master Splinter smiled, but his eyes soon turned grave.
"Donatello told me about your encounter, and your home situation."
I looked at Donnie, who smiled encouragingly. Good news, apparently.
"And I have agreed it is safer for you to stay here", he announced in a stern voice.
"At least for a while." Gratitude flooded me.
"Thank you so much", I said. A spark of an idea in my mind. It's too much, isn't it? Oh, for fuck's sake, to hell with that.
I got up from the couch, ignoring the pain in my ankle, dropped to my knees, and put my forehead to the floor, my hands to the side of my skull.
"Arigatou, sensei."
"Dana, please stand up. There is no need to thank me, to thank us, for it is in human nature to help one another."
I stood up, balancing on one leg.
"I have found not everyone feels the same way, Master Splinter."
His expression saddened.
"I am sorry to hear that, Dana-san."
"So am I."
"For now, though, you can rest assured knowing we do think like that, although I doubt you need to be told that explicitly."
I smiled. "No, your sons have shown me."
"I am glad", then turned his attention to Donnie. "Now, Donatello, would you please tell me where your brothers are?"
"Leo thought he heard something following us, so he and Raph stayed back to take care of it."
"Very well. We will await their return. If they do not get back in half an hour, we shall go looking for them."
"Hai, sensei."
"Michelangelo", Splinter said, raising his voice, "where are you? We need those bandages!"
A men household, yes, but not a bad one. Not at all.
Raph and Leo slipped from corner to corner, relying on their sense of touch, smell and hearing. They'd gone back to the place where they'd entered the sewer, examined the surrounding tunnels and, having found nothing conspicuous, were now on their back to the lair. Raph could see the darkness becoming lighter ahead of them. Suddenly, Leo stopped in his tracks and Raph bumped into him.
"Hey! What did you do that for?" he said annoyed. "You could've given a heads-up!"
Leo didn't respond.
"What is it, Leo?" Raph sighed. "Wanna lecture me again about something? What did I do wrong this time?"
Ever since they'd gone up to the surface, Leo had been nagging non-stop about every little thing he did wrong. He wasn't silent enough, not fast enough, should've paid more attention, watch Donnie and Mikey more closely, he shouldn't rush into fights like that, he was impatient… The list seemed to be endless, and every time Leo seemed to find something else to add to it. His brother, however, surprised him.
"What was up with you today? Being all soft on that girl?"
"Whaddaya mean?"
"Well, it's just that, normally, you're pretty hostile towards strangers. You didn't even wanna help April in the beginning. And now this other girl shows up, and you just decide you're okay with taking her home? What's up with that?"
"I thought I was supposed to show compassion", he said dryly, drawing quotation marks in the air, realising too late Leo couldn't see that. Another thing on the list Leo wouldn't let go; apparently, it was okay to let guys who beat up blind, old people escape. If they didn't show mercy, then why should we?
"That's not what I mean, Raph."
"So now that I finally show some mercy", he said sarcastically, "it's no good? What do you want from me, Leo?" Leo was silent for a few seconds, then seemed to change his mind. "You know what, never mind. Forget I even asked. Let's just go, OK?"
"Fine with me", Raph mumbled. "Didn't know what we were waiting for in the first place."
"... and we had to draw pig hearts, you know, and kidneys. Man, that stank! I didn't feel like going to the toilet for a few days after that biology class." Mikey laughed, exhilarated. "Seriously, you had to poke organs? That's awesome!"
"No, it's not awesome!" I argued, heating up to the conversation, "it's gross! It's all very nice that we know how animals and people work, you know, but I don't need to have my nose pressed into a kidney smelling like pee!"
Mikey shook his head. "You just don't understand, man, but that's okay." He patted me on the head, then grabbed his comic book and started reading.
"You'll get used to it", Donnie said, answering my slightly dropped jaw. "Mikey has a very... different view of the world."
"Yeah, I guess that sums it up", I laughed.
"You're OK? Need another ice pack?"
"Nah, I'm fine, thanks. It's gonna swell up anyway."
Donnie looked worried. "But it'll heal, right?" I nodded.
"Yup, definitely, it just takes a couple of days."
The lie twisted in my belly; I wouldn't be staying that long.
"OK, good, permanent damage to your ankle wouldn't be very nice", Donnie responded relieved. Another stab. Why are they so worried about me?
A sound behind me stopped my train of thoughts, and I turned around to look. Leo and Raph hopped over the what used to be subway gates, apparently uninjured. There was a tension between them; they refused to look at each other and kept their distance.
"Did they have a fight again?" Mikey asked Donnie in a small voice.
"Yeah, probably..."
"Does that happen a lot?" I asked.
"All. The. Time", Donnie answered annoyed.
"Yeah, you have no idea, Dana! This one time, they were up on the roof and they were fighting, and it was raining, and we just had to-"
"What are you whispering about?" Raph growled. "That's considered rude in company, you know."
"Nothing", Donnie said, making an innocent face.
"Well, actually, we were talking about y- aagh!" Mikey rubbed his head.
"What did you do that for, Donnie?"
"Where's Leo?" I asked. He'd disappeared immediately after entering the lair.
"Don't know, don't care", Raph responded.
"Raphael!" Splinter's voice came from the room with all the rugs. Raph sighed.
"Ugh, here we go again..." Shoulders slumping, he stood up and made his way across the room. He slammed the door shut behind him.
"Sorry about all that", Donnie offered.
"It's okay, I'm used to it." Donnie looked quizzically at me.
"Well, I've had nice people in my life, too, you know. I used to have a place to call home."
The green of his face got a shade darker.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"
"No, it's OK, really, you couldn't know." "
So you used to have a home? A-and a family?"
I nodded. "Yep. I've only been living with my step-mum for a year or so, not that long. I used to have three brothers, a younger one and two older ones. My older brothers used to fight all the time. No matter what it was about, they didn't agree about anything. It drove me and David mad! And then we'd get in a fight with them about the fact that they were fighting."
A laugh bubbled in my throat at the memory.
"A bit of a vicious circle, I guess."
Donnie was smiling. "Tell me about it, it's exactly the same with Raph and Leo."
"But you still make a pretty good team together", I remarked.
"Yeah, I guess... Though it's happened often enough that their quarrel got in the way of our battle."
I didn't respond, as I was losing myself in the world that had been mine before the car accident happened, before the walls of that world caved in. I saw the six of us sitting at the table, me reading, while David tugged at my sleeve for attention, Leon and Theo playing video games in the background - without bickering, for a change - Mum and Dad reading the paper. Another memory flashed to life: watching Scrooge with the whole family on Christmas Eve. It'd been a tradition for as long as I could remember. The popcorn would be in the microwave, the bottles of soda on the table, me and Leon sharing a couch, Theo and David claiming the other one. We never left room for Mum and Dad and though it took some arguing, Mum and Dad had always endured it with a smile on their lips. I think they liked fighting for their space on the couch, for some reason.
"Dana?"
"Hmm, what?"
Donnie stayed silent.
"Sorry, I was just..." Donnie put his arms around my shoulders.
"You don't need to tell me, OK?"
I nodded. The motion made the freshly-produced tears leave my eyes. They left a wet, salty trail on my cheek but I didn't wipe it away. God damn it, I thought I told you not to come out anymore.
Raph emerged from the room and was about to call out to his brothers when he saw Donnie and Dana huddled together on the couch. Mikey was still reading his comic book, oblivious to his surroundings. What was going on? Wasn't Donnie supposed to have a thing for April?
"Go find a room, you two", he announced himself, and sat down on the floor. "You know, Donnie, I thought you had a th-"
"Just shut up." Raph blinked. Donnie usually wasn't the one to react like that, that was his job. He looked really mad now, though.
"Geez, fine, I'll just.."
"She's crying, alright? How about being nice, for a change?" Only now did Raph notice Dana's propped-up knee, her arms slung around it (her other leg was resting on a chair), her face hidden in her arms, hair obscuring whatever would have been left visible. She raised her head.
She lifted her head, let her cheek fall onto her arms, eyes directed at him. "Damn it, I feel like I've watched The Titanic three times in a row since last night. I'm not sure if it's me or a girl thing." She sighed, wiping away the residue of her sadness.
"Never seen The Titanic."
She stared.
"You can't be serious."
"I am, though."
"You're an idiot, you know that? Never seen any other classics?"
Raph grinned. "Probably not."
"I'd say we watch it tonight, except for the fact I've used up all my tears. And we need tears when watching that movie."
"Raph can cry in your place", Donnie teased.
He snorted. "As if."
"Oh, don't pretend as if you never cry. OK, well, you don't, not in situations where it would be appropriate, but we've all seen you cry, bro. Like when we watched Up."
"THAT OLD MAN LOST HIS WIFE! HE WAS ALL ALONE! HOW DO YOU NOT FIND THAT HEARTBREAKING?"
"Dana, are you crying again?" Mikey asked worriedly.
But I couldn't answer, as my body was wracking with laughter.
OK, tears, this time, you're allowed.