Disclaimer: Bla Bla, I don't own TMNT so let's get on with it.
Michelangelo
"Mikey, take off your jacket," Raph ordered and I froze.
"W-why?" I mumbled. Raph then stood up glaring at me.
"Do it! Now!" he ordered.
"I-I don't want to," I said and jumped out of the bed heading for the door, but Raph ran over and blocked my way.
"I wasn't askin' ya kid!" he growled and I shivered at his tone.
"N-no! You're not the boss of me!" I snapped. Raph then let out a growl behind clenched teeth and then grabbed me with a deathlock. "Get offa me Raph!" I said fighting back with everything I had, but Raph was way stronger then I could ever be. Then he tried to yank my sweatshirt over my head.
"No!" I shouted trying to pull my sweatshirt back down, but he managed to yank it off with little trouble and tossed it to the ground. Then he pushed me away from him. I stumbled for only a moment before I caught my balance and put my arms behind my back right away. But Raph's face was already horrified and was starting to turn completely red. He kept glaring at me with vengeance in his eyes and then he stormed out of the room.
"Raph! Wait! It's a lot better now then what it was before! Come back!" I yelled chasing after him. Lucky for me, I was the fastest brother and managed to get past Raph and block his way into the kitchen. I stood in front of him with my arms out trying to be brave as I looked deep into his blood-thirsty green eyes.
"You gotta listen to me Raph! It wasn't her fault. Please, just let me explain," I begged but Raph pushed me aside and went into the kitchen. Ms. Mary stood in front of the stove placing a frying pan over one of the burners.
"Hey! You and me are havin' some words! What the hell did you do to my brotha?" Raph snapped and I held my knuckles up to my mouth.
'Not the accent, not the accent!' I thought.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said not even looking at us.
"Oh, you don't?! So those hand-marks on his arms just randomly appeared?!" he continued pointing at me. "Let's get one thing, straight lady! No one messes with my little brother 'cept me! Ya got that?!"
"He needed to be taught a lesson! If you two think you can just get away with breaking the rules then you have another thing coming," Mary said.
"I'LL SHOW YOU WHO NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT A LESSON!" Raph screamed and I ran in front of him.
"Raph, it's okay! It was an accident! I went into the paint room without asking and she hit me for not listening, but it's okay! It's not her fault that she's so stressed," I said and then turned around to face Ms. Mary. "I know what happened with your husband. He didn't die; he took your son and left New York forever right? He didn't like that you were hanging out with some gang all the time. You miss him and your son and just want a real family again which is why you took us in. We can help you-"
"You don't know anything about me!" she shouted.
"It's okay, it's okay!" I said holding up my hands. "Let's just take a deep breath and-"
"Ugh! SHUT UP! I've had it with you! Can't you give me five minutes where you're not talking or moving around?! Is thatreally so hard?!" she shouted and picked up the frying pan. I stared at the pan with wide-eyes as my bottom lip started to quiver.
"I…I'm sorry," I whimpered.
"YOU'RE STILL TALKING! I think I need to fix that right now!" she said and came forward towards us. Raph then grabbed me and pushed me behind him.
"You stay the hell away from him!" Raph said holding one arm behind him to keep me back.
"Shut. The f***. UP!" she said and held up the frying pan high above our heads. Before I could process what was happening, Raph tackled me to the ground and I screamed in response. My eyes had somehow closed by themselves before we reached the ground and I heard a loud 'bang' followed by someone grunting in pain.
Slowly I opened my eyes and saw Raph lying over me holding the right side of his face. Or was it his left? No, I was definitely his right side when I looked at him. Afterward, he took his hand away from his face and I gasped. Raph was now bleeding on the right side of his face a little, and a large area around his eye was beginning to swell I think. Raph looked at some of the blood that had fallen on his hand before he slowly stood up to face Ms. Mary who still held the pan in her hand. He stared at her very cross and I could practically see the steam coming from his nose as he exhaled loudly.
Then out of the blue, Raph turned around, picked me up, and ran back upstairs.
"Get back here! Raphael, do you hear me?! GET BACK HERE NOW!" she called out to us but Raph didn't stop or turn back around. He carried me all the way back to our room before slamming the door shut with his foot and put me down. By this point, tears had already started rolling down my face and I was shaking.
"Raph, are you okay?" I whimpered through a horse voice.
"Peachy," he said and ran for the closet.
"Raph….she…she hit you."
"Yeah, and it hurts like hell. Now come on, we gotta go," he said tossing me my orange bag.
"Go? Go where?" I asked.
"We're gettin' out of here," he said now running around the room stuffing random stuff in his own red backpack.
"What?! But we can't leave," I said.
"Look, here's the deal kid. I ain't staying here with her anymore, and I ain't leaving you here alone with her. So you can either run with me or I can drag you out," Raph continued zipping up the bag and going over to the window to open it.
"But what about Mr. Sa-"
"LOOK AT ME MIKEY!" Raph screamed pointing to the blood on his face. "Is this what having a family means?! HUH?! Is this what you always dreamed of?! Cause if it is, then I want nothin' to do with it!" I stared at the drying blood still on Raph's face and the light blackness that was starting to form around his eye. Slowly, I shook my head as more tears rolled down my face staring at the floor. Then Raph came over and lifted my chin up to look at him.
"We have to go," he said gently and I nodded. I quickly wiped away my tears and put on my bookbag. Suddenly, we heard the hardwood creaking from outside the closed door. The door slammed open and Mary stood there with a belt.
"Move!" Raph said pushing me towards the window. I put one leg outside when I happened to look back at my bed. My bear was lying against my pillow looking at me.
"Wait!" I said and jumped back into the room past Raph before he could grab me.
"MIKEY!" Raph yelled but I just ran to my bed and picked up my bear. Then I tried to run back to the window, but Ms. Mary ran forward and blocked my way.
"You've had this coming," she said and held up the belt. My feet all of a sudden became super-glued to the ground and all I could do was stare with wide-eyes at the silver buckle as it started coming down.
"NOOOO!" Raph yelled and pushed Ms. Mary hard away from me. She stumbled against the wall and somehow hit her head against the edge of one of the shelves hanging up on the wall. Suddenly, Ms. Mary went down like a ton of bricks to the ground; unmoving.
Time now stood still and I couldn't breathe. My mouth was wide as I pictured in my mind exactly what Raph had just done. Then, something red started dripping down from her forehead to the floor and was starting to stain up the carpet. Her eyes were closed and she lay as still as a…..oh my gosh.
'Raph…Raph just killed someone; all because of me.'
Raph meanwhile stared at her unconscious body with little sympathy for what felt like an eternity. Still, she didn't show any signs of life or that she was still breathing. I squeezed my bear with chattering teeth not being able to look away from the still scene.
"Is…is s-she dead?" I asked which brought Raph out of his state before looking back at me.
"I….…c-come on Mikey," he said grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the window. Raph practically pushed me out of our room and onto the fire escape as I was finally forced to look away. "Go!" he shouted and I ran down the fire escape stairs with him right behind me. When I made it to the ground, I looked back up at the only open window with the light turned on in the middle of the night. Still, there seemed to be no movement in that room. Then Raph ran down and jumped off the latter to the ground next to me. After I quickly put my bear into my pack where he'd be safe, Raph and I ran into one of the alleys without looking back.
Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break
Donatello
"Donnie? Donnie, wake up," someone said shaking me. My eyes flew open and Sophie was standing over me. "Why are you asleep on the desk?"
"Sophie, what are you doing up so early?" I said sleepily as I rubbed my eyes.
"It's almost breakfast time," she said.
"Wait, what?!" I shouted and looked over at the clock.
9:02 am
"Crap!" I said and shot up out of the chair.
"Donnie said a cuss word!" Sophie yelled.
"That's technically not really a cuss word Sophie. I've heard way worse in school," I said quickly running a comb through my hair while I put on my shoes.
"Like what?" she asked.
"Like…..uh….never mind. Tell Ms. Adams I'll be back later," I said grabbing Raph's knife and my phone before running out the door. I was supposed to go for my normal run and then wait at the park for him to show up. That's the only other place I've seen him. I just hope he's there and that he didn't go home yet. I only saw him in the early morning.
"Please still be there, please still be there," I mumbled to myself. When I arrived, I ran through the park once but didn't find the Japanese man anywhere. I caught my breath and then started to speed walk the same way I came. It was starting to get crowded and more people were sitting on benches or tables, but none of them where who I was looking for. I'm such an idiot. I was so focused on that flowchart that I forgot to set the alarm. And I forgot to take a picture of the flowchart to study before I went up and talked to him; if I found him. Then I stopped walking when I was coming up by the boat rentals and stamped my foot.
"Dammit!" I cursed. Raph would have my hide if he heard me but he did it all the time and was only a year older. Then I looked up and there he was! He sat at a table looking out into the water at families who were boating in the water; still full of grief of some kind.
'Okay, Donnie. Now's your chance. Just go up there and ask him exactly why he saved you,' I said taking baby-steps over to where he sat. 'You can do this. Just take a deep breath and try to remember as many scenarios as you can from the chart. You've got Raph's knife if tries to hurt you and remember some of the karate classes you took after-school.' Then I stopped where I was only a few feet away from him. 'I can't do this! I'm already sweating. What did the chart say to do if I was sweating bullets? Aw, I can't do it! Just turn around and maybe we can try this another time. Yeah, just put one foot in front of the other and walk away.'
"Are you going to just stand there or are you going to have a seat?" the Japanese man said and I nearly jumped out of my shoes.
"O-oh…right," I said and then took a seat across from the man. I had a bad feeling he could see me shaking. Yeah, I really wasn't good at talking to others, but never this bad.
"Well?" he asked.
"Well…..what?" I said.
"You've been searching for me, haven't you? Is there something you need?" he asked.
"Uh…yeah kinda," I said rubbing the back of my neck.
'Okay, here goes.' I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before facing him again.
"I want…answers. You have no idea who I am, and I don't know who you are. So why did you save me from those muggers yesterday?" I let out feeling my heart race.
"I see. First, can you tell me your name?" he said.
"My name is Donatello Laird, but you can call me Donatello or just Donnie or Don…"
"Very well Donatello. My name is Hamato Yoshi. Now tell me, did you know who those muggers were?" he asked.
"No," I responded.
"And were they bothering you?"
"Of course they were bothering me! They pulled a knife on me!" I yelled.
"Did you want them to pull a knife on you?"
"No! What kind of question is that?!"
"The question that will help answer your own. You say you did not want those muggers there and that they were bothering you. I only helped you get away from them," he said.
"But why?!" I demanded as I slammed my hand hard on the table. The table slightly shifted but Mr. Yoshi didn't seem fazed.
"I believe I already gave you that answer after I saved you," Mr. Yoshi said.
"But there has to be more than just 'why not'! You followed me all the way from the park and then saved my life from a bunch of muggers. No one in this city just follows a random kid and then saves them; not unless they want something in return."
"I only followed you to make sure you got home safely. You were troubled by something that day and sometimes when we are angered, we tend to act irrationally. I was impressed that you tried to use meditation to calm yourself; even if you weren't quite doing it correctly. Regardless, I still wanted to make sure you made it home to your family and not do anything you would regret," he said and my face slowly dropped.
"Yeah, I guess, and also, thank you for saving me."
"You're welcome," he said back. Then it turned into that awkward silence between us. To be honest, what else could I say to him? "Is that all?" he asked.
"Uh….I don't know. I don't mean to be awkward or anything, but this really wasn't how I thought this was going to go," I said.
"Really? Just out of curiosity, what were you expecting to happen?"
"Well…..would you believe me if I told you I have a big flipchart that illustrates just about every possibility you might have told me in my room?" I asked and the Japanese man laughed a little.
"Were you that worried about this? Did you think I would hurt you if you just asked?"
"No?" I said letting off the phoniest smile I'd ever done.
"Let me show you something Donatello," Mr. Yoshi said and reached into his pocket. He pulled out some kind of throwing-star and placed it on the table. It was all black and in the middle was some kind of symbol that kinda reminded me of a flower.
"Whoa," I mumbled admiring the artifact.
"Do you see this?" he asked pointing to the symbol right in the middle. I nodded. "This is the symbol of my family; the Hamato Clan. For generations, this clan has mastered the ancient technique of ninjutsu and passed it on to the next of their kin. One of the first rules of being a ninja is to do no harm…unless you intend to do harm. Then you do lots of it! But the Hamatos have always been an honorable clan who never seeks to harm unless it is called for; such as saving an innocent child from a couple of thugs. It is no different for me Donatello." Suddenly a lightbulb switched on on top of my head.
"You only did what any other person would do who has the honor in them to help. I don't think that was on my flipchart," I said.
"You seem like a very smart one Donatello, but you can't overthink every possibility that might happen. Focus on the now and just do what you think you should do without thinking," he told me.
"But then how will I be prepared for every possible scenario that comes up?" I asked.
"You can't. You just…do it," he said.
"Maybe," I said and my phone started to vibrate. I quickly took it out of my pocket and saw the text message.
Ms. Adams: Need you home asap.
'Aw really?' I thought and sighed.
"Sorry Mr. Yoshi, but I'm needed back home," I said standing back up. "Oh, and are you alright Mr. Yoshi? For some reason, I can't shake the feeling that something's bothering you. Is there something I can do to help?" I asked. Suddenly his face dropped.
"No Donatello. There is nothing you are able to do now. You needn't worry yourself," he said and he picked up his face acting like I hadn't noticed.
"If you say so," I said. "Hope to see you again soon Mr. Yoshi."
"I have been coming here every morning since I arrived in this city to calm the mind and soul. You're more than welcome to join me if you want," he said.
"Maybe I will. I usually go for a run or something like that in the morning anyway," I responded.
"Very well. Until we meet again Donatello," he said standing up and then bowed to me.
"Goodbye Mr. Yoshi, and thanks again," I said bowing back to him and then started walking back to Ms. Adams' with a big smile on my face.
When I got back, I took off my shoes and started to head upstairs when I heard Ms. Adams call me from her office.
"What is…?" I said but my speech was cut off by two police officers in full uniform standing in the office.
"Don, I'm afraid something's happened to Raph and Mikey," Ms. Adams told me.
"What happened?!" I demanded.
"Apparently, your older brother assaulted his foster mother early this morning and then kidnapped Michelangelo," one of the officers said.
Well? What do you guys think? I've been waiting to write this chapter for a long time and now it's finally here. Also, I know a few of you have been asking about a Leo chapter. All I can say is that he's coming soon. Just hang in there for a little bit longer and I promise there will be a whole Leo chapter in the near future.
Thanks and I hope you enjoyed.
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LaurenHardy13