• Chapter 2:
    April Showers Brings May flowers


    The sun rose over New York City several days later, the birds chirping as the city came to life. In an alleyway the girl stirred as the sun hit her pale face, waking up from her night’s sleep on a fire escape. She groaned as she sat up, her body aching from the several hours of laying on the grated surface. Her brown hair was tangled and knotted; her oversized clothes tattered and soiled. Her stomach called out for food, like it had been doing soon after she escaped. She looked around, trying to figure out where to go next. She blinked as an inviting aroma wafted through the air. Curious, she followed her nose up a flight of stairs of the fire escape, finding an open window. She looked inside; everything looked so strange to her. She climbed through the window and observed her surroundings; she was standing in a living room. The girl followed the scent farther and found herself in the kitchen, a plate of cinnamon rolls sat on the table. She looked around and took one, ripping into it. It was warm, soft, moist and sweet, she didn’t care about the icing making her fingers sticky, and she just wanted to eat. She quickly finished her first roll and went for another.

    “Hey April those rolls smell…” A large muscular man dressed in jeans and a muscle shirt walked into the room, scratching his head. “Great…” He trailed off as he saw the stranger in his kitchen, eating his breakfast. He slowly reached for the golf bag filled with sports equipment; golf clubs, hockey sticks, and baseball bats –wood and aluminum. He felt he should be ready in case of an attack, his visitor wearing the uniform of the Foot clan. The girl just looked at him as he moved in to strike her, the man shouting. His hockey stick stopped just before her head. The man looked at her with disbelief as she held his stick with one hand, eating the roll with her other. She was unfazed by him. The man backed away, unsure of what to do next.

    “Casey what’s with all the yelling?” A red haired, green eyed woman asked as she walked in. She stopped and saw their visitor.

    Leonardo sat in his room, meditating. Thoughts of the girl from a few nights before stuck in his mind. It troubled him that she was both running from the Foot and that she wore their uniform.

    “Hey Leo, we’re going to April’s for pizza.” Michelangelo said. “Are you coming?”

    “Yeah.” He said, getting up. He and his brothers made their way to the surface from their sewer lair. By now it was getting dark outside, the street lights flickering to life.

    Mikey eagerly climbed the stairs to their friend’s home above her antique shop. He could smell the aroma of his favorite Italian cuisine, pizza. “April we’re…” He froze, his brothers running into him. “Here…”

    “Hey what’s the big idea?” Raph snapped.

    The orange masked turtle just pointed at the couch, where April was brushing out a girl’s long brown hair. The girl jumped up like a startled cat and glared at them, ready to fight them.

    “What’s she doing here?” Raphael shouted, grabbing his sharp weapons from his belt.

    “Casey found her in the kitchen this morning.” April said, slowly getting out of the way.

    “She broke in?” Don asked.

    “No Casey left the window open again.”

    The girl stared the turtles down, keeping track of their slightest movement. Raph, still upset about what happened days before, charged stepping off the couch to get at her. The girl back-flipped, kicking him in the chin as she did so and barely avoiding the china cabinet. Raphael stumbled backward. The girl stood ready to go again.

    “Raph stop!” Leo shouted as his hot headed brother charged forward.

    The girl jumped up, avoiding his strike and leaping off of his shell. She landed by the window she came through earlier that day. Her grey eyes flashed at them as she jumped out the window, onto the fire escape. She quickly scaled the ladder to the roof, the red masked mutated turtle not far behind, and jumped across the alleyways across to the neighboring buildings.

    “Hold it right there!” Raph shouted, catching up to her a few buildings away. The girl stopped, looking at him her long auburn hair waving in the wind. He panted, grabbing his sai again. “You caught me off guard, I want another fight.” The girl just looked at him and jumped down, landing on a passing bus. Raph tried to jump down, but his brothers held him back.

    “What were you thinking,” Leo said sternly, “attacking like that?”

    “Yeah dude. I know she kicked our shells and all but still.” Mikey said.

    “Come on, let’s go.” Don said. Raph didn’t say anything as he followed his brothers back to the apartment, pissed that she got away from him.

    Back at the apartment the four teenagers sat with April, everyone but Raph munching on pizza.

    “Did she tell you anything?” Leo asked April.

    April shook her head. “Nothing, she was here all day and all she did was eat and sleep. I tried talking to her but she wouldn’t say anything, not even her name or why she was wearing the Foot uniform.”

    The girl sat on a roof top, holding a brush in her hand. She slipped it into her sash. She looked down at the city. She stood up and walked off into the night, looking for a place to sleep. She found one in a local park; she slipped into the flower bed; under the bushes so she could hide. She curled up, the air cold against her skin. She closed her grey eyes, tired.

    “Hey! Wake up!” a gruff voice shouted. The girl groaned as she was dragged out from under the brush. She slowly opened her eyes; a fair haired man was grasping her wrist. “What are you doing here? This is Purple Dragon turf; we don’t want any of your Foot clan trash on it!” The girl huffed and sent the man flying into a tree, walking away. She wandered the city for the rest of the night finding a sewer exit pipe near the river, there was only a few hours left of the night so she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

    Soon enough the sun began to rise again. A slight humming filled the giant pipe; the girl was unbothered by it. An aged rat walked to the mouth of the pipe, he stood at least five feet tall and wore a formal orient robe, though it was worn out and faded. “What's this?” He said quietly, seeing the girl sleeping. He looked over, even though she was wearing the Foot uniform he didn’t find her as a threat considering that she didn’t have the insignia anywhere on her and that she didn’t come completely into the sewer and attacked his home. He saw the white flower petals that were stuck in her dark hair. The girl stirred and woke up, jumping when she saw the mutated rat. She hit her head on the side of the pipe. “Are you alright?” Splinter asked. The girl just looked at him, rubbing the bump on her head. “I will not hurt you. What are you doing here?” Again, the girl said nothing. Splinter could tell by the look in her eyes that she was confused. “What is your name?” She still didn’t say anything. “Do you have a name?” The girl blinked, her face blank. Splinter sighed, either the girl was stubborn or was just freaked out by the fact that a five foot tall rodent was talking to her.

    “Sensei?” Leonardo said, walking over toward them. He stopped as he saw the girl. “You again?”

    “Leonardo, you know her?” The elderly rat questioned.

    The blue masked turtle nodded. “She’s the girl we told you about nearly a weak ago, the one being chased by the Foot. She was at April’s last night too.”

    Splinter looked at the teenaged human, who was looking out at the ocean. “It seems that she does not have a place to stay.” The girl looked at him, his gentle smile seeming to have a calming effect on her. “Would you like to come with us?”

    “S-sensei?!” Leo muttered, taken aback.

    Splinter stood up and held out a hand to the girl. “I can tell that she does not have a home. She has been on the run for several days now.” The girl looked at Master Splinter’s paw and slowly reached out. Splinter only smiled, telling her without words that she would be safe. The girl took his hand, the rodent helping her up to her feet. “Welcome Miki.”

    “Miki?” Leo questioned.

    Splinter nodded. “It means flower in Japanese.”

    “I know Sensei, but why Miki?”

    “She has flower petals in her hair. It also seems to suit her.” Leonardo only nodded, walking back into the sewers with his father and their new member of the household.