Title: Self-Defense
Day: Febuwhump 2024, Day 10
Prompt: Killing in Self-Defense
Fandom: TMNT 2003
Word Count: 912
Author: aquietwritingcorner/realitybreakgirl
Rating: T
Characters: April O'Neil
Warning:
Summary: With all of the situations that they'd been in, it was bound to happen at some point. After all, so far, she was the only one who hadn't experienced this. But despite her family's desire to keep it that way, at some point April was bound to make her first kill.
Notes:
Self-Defense
April reeled back in horror, staring at the Foot Ninja that lay on the ground in front of her. He wasn't moving. He wasn't breathing. He was lying in a crumpled, akimbo heap, laying at angles that no one would or could actually rest in. Especially his neck. That angle was unnatural.
And it was her fault.
April let out a cry of horror and backed away, trying not to stare at the dead Foot Ninja that was lying in front of her, even though it was all that she could see. The rest of the fight faded away and she lost all sense of awareness. All she could see was the dead Foot Ninja, the person, lying there.
The person she had killed.
April tripped on something as she backed away, falling down, and the world suddenly came crashing back in. The sounds of yells, of fighting, of weapons clanging. The smell of asphalt, dirt, and blood. The flashes of weapons, of people, of red, red blood.
Blood, like what was on her hands. Figuratively and literally.
April looked to see what she had tripped over, and she let out another cry. It was another dead body. She'd tripped over another dead body. This one wasn't her fault, but tears filled her eyes and she scrambled back, her back hitting the wall as she started to hyperventilate.
Because she had killed someone.
Suddenly, almost all too suddenly, all of the fighting ended. Casey was suddenly there, in her face, pushing up his hockey mask and looking at her with concerned eyes.
"Babe! Babe, are you okay? What happened? Are you hurt?"
April stared at him, her mouth opening, but not doing anything more than taking a shaky breath. Casey reached towards her in concern, and it almost felt like too much when his hand touched her shoulder. She had no idea how to say what had happened.
"I know what happened," Leo said, walking towards them as he sheathed his swords, and April stared at him. "I saw it." He looked at April. "April made her first kill."
Casey's head whipped back around to her, and his face softened. "Aw, babe…" he said, and his compassionate tone broke April's silence.
"I—I—I—" she stuttered out. "He—he was—he was coming and I—I just—he was going to kill me and I—I just did what Master Splinter—what he taught me—and—and then—and he went down and—and—and—I knew—" her breath hitched, becoming even harder to breath. "—I killed him! I—I—"
She didn't know how to continue, or even if she could. She just stared at the man she had killed. Don was kneeling by him, looking him over, Mikey standing near Don.
"If it's any consolation," Don said, "it looks like it was a clean break. It was a well-executed move, probably killed him instantly." He looked back up at her. "He didn't suffer."
"And," Mikey said, "if this tanto means anything, he wasn't planning on giving you an easy death, if he had managed to get you with it."
April opened to her mouth to try to tell them that, no, none of that helped, because she had killed a man. She had taken his life. Maybe it made it understandable, and maybe it was self-defense, but wasn't helping her deal with the fact that she had taken a life.
"Hey—I hear sirens," Raph said, before she could figure out how to say all of that. He glanced at her. "We need to get out of here."
"Let's go to the lair. April, can you get up?" Leo asked her.
April nodded, and licked her lips, trying to get her voice working again. "Um… y-yeah."
She went to stand up, Casey reaching out to help her stand when she realized that her knees were weak. He steadied her, but she caught a glimpse of the man she had killed again, and she paled, swaying in place.
"I gotcha, Babe," Casey said, wrapping an arm around her tightly.
Quickly, they made their way to the nearest manhole cover, the guys helping her down, and headed towards the lair. April faded into something of a fog as they moved, although Casey's arm around her the whole way helped her stay at least a little grounded. However, even with that, they were entering in before she knew it. Splinter was in the living area, his welcoming smile turning to a frown when he laid eyes on them.
"My children, what has happened?" he asked.
April burst into tears.
She was quickly led to the couch, where she sat, Splinter beside her. She could hear talking around her, but she wasn't comprehending any of it at the moment. Her emotions were welling up, confused, distraught. She didn't know how to deal with them or what to do. Suddenly, Splinter's warm arms wrapped around her, and she found herself leaning into his embrace, sobbing on him.
"Oh, my child. Oh, my daughter. I'm sorry you experienced this. I had hoped that you would be spared, but you were not. Oh, my daughter."
April leaned more into him, as Splinter's comforting words washed over her. She had killed someone. It had been in self-defense, but she had killed someone. And now she had to live with that.
"We will be with you. I promise."
April cried harder and leaned into that promise.