𝕺𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓: 𝕸𝖆𝖐𝖊 𝕾𝖚𝖗𝖊 𝕷𝖊𝖔 𝕬𝖎𝖓'𝖙 𝕲𝖊𝖙𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕮𝖆𝖙𝖋𝖎𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖉 𝖇𝖞 𝖆 𝕽𝖔𝖔𝖋𝖙𝖔𝖕 𝕹𝖎𝖓𝖏𝖆 𝕬𝖘𝖘𝖆𝖘𝖘𝖎𝖓 𝕮𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖐 𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍 𝕹𝖔 𝕹𝖆𝖒𝖊™
THIS is the FOURTH chapter!
Author's Note: (11,765 words).
Small Recap: (Raphael's P.O.V.):
Mikey nudged me, his grin huge. "Admit it. Our Leo's got a rooftop crush."
"I ain't admitting nothin'," I said, but I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped anyway. "But I will say this-"
I pointed down at Leo, who was still staring into the night like a kicked puppy.
"-that was the least ninja thing I've ever seen."
Mikey slung an arm around my shoulders as we headed for the fire escape.
"Probably," I said, cracking my knuckles. "And when he does, I'm not letting him forget it."
The Present (Now): (Raphael's P.O.V.):
From the moment Leo hopped over the turnstile into the common area, I could already see it written all over his face.
His head tilted slightly, scanning the lair. First the kitchen. Then the dojo. Then the common area. His brows furrowed just the tiniest bit, like he could feel something off in the air. Like something wasn't quite right.
Author's Note: (By the way, when I mention the turtles' brows, I mean basically the muscles of them raising it up or down, because obviously, they don't have the eyebrow hair to show for it or any hair for that matter).
His eyes flicked around, his jaw clenched tight-, like he was tryin' to act casual but was too uptight to sell it. His bandana tails twitched like they always did when he was nervous. Guy couldn't hide his guilt if he tried.
I smirked from the shadows; arms crossed over my plastron. Donnie and Mikey flanked me on either side, both staying quiet for once as we watched Leo slowly start to catch on.
Then-, boom. There we were.
Arms crossed, smug as hell, standing like a jury ready to sentence him to a lifetime of teasing. I had one brow cocked so high it was practically halfway up my dome.
I gave him the slowest, meanest grin I could manage.
"Evenin', Romeo," I said, stepping forward with my arms crossed. "Nice night?"
Leo froze. His whole body tensed like he was about to bolt. His eyes darted to Donnie, then Mikey, then back to me.
"...You were following me?" he asked, voice flat.
Donnie stepped around him with a smirk. "Well, you didn't seriously think we wouldn't follow you, did you?"
"I was hoping," Leo muttered, still not facing us fully. "Key word: hope."
"Hope?" I laughed. "You ditched us like some shady ninja on a solo mission every night for weeks. What did you think was gonna happen? We're not dumb."
"Well..." Mikey said, squinting, "you did tell me the other day not to touch your cereal, and I did it anyway, so technically-"
"-No one's talkin' about cereal!" I snapped.
Mikey raised both hands in surrender. "Just sayin', I'm consistent."
Leo let out a groan and turned away like he was about to storm off.
I wasn't lettin' him go that easy.
I grabbed his shoulder and spun him back around. "No, no. You ain't slippin' into the dojo and meditatin' your way outta this one."
Leo glared at me. "Let it go, Raph."
"Oh, I'll let it go. Right after you tell me who she is."
Mikey gasped. "Bro! Don't you ever let her hear you say that! Step one to dating-, don't call the girl 'not anyone.' That's like, basic!"
Leo looked like he wanted to melt into the floor. "I don't even know her name, okay?"
Donnie blinked. "Wow. That's... kind of sad."
"I wasn't trying to meet someone," Leo snapped, brushing past me. "She was just there. I noticed her once, then again. She keeps showing up. I just... I don't know."
Mikey grinned. "I was thinking you had a girlfriend."
Then he gasped dramatically, throwing his hands in the air. "And I was right!"
Leo groaned again. "She's not-, ugh. She's not my girlfriend."
I arched a brow. "You sure act like she is."
Mikey gave him wide, shimmering eyes. "Do you loooove her?"
"Did you kiss?" Mikey wiggled his eyebrows.
Donnie deadpanned, "Statistically speaking, highly unlikely given her obvious discomfort with basic emotional interaction."
"Shut up, Donnie," Leo and I said at the same time.
"She doesn't even like me like that," Leo muttered, turning away slightly, his voice dropping lower. "It's complicated," Leo turned red, shoulders slumping.
"Ohhh man," Mikey said, fake-swooning into Donnie's side. "Leo's got the FEELINGS!"
Donnie nodded slowly. "Very bad."
"I swear," Leo muttered, glaring at us all, "if you three breathe a word of this to Master Splinter-"
"-Can't relate," I muttered. "If I met a girl and knew she didn't like me back, I'd move on. Boom. Easy. But you? Nah. You gotta chase the one girl in New York who barely speaks and probably has a knife collection."
Leo rolled his eyes. "She's not-"
"-Dangerous?" I cut in. "It's clear nothing matters to her, and she perches on the edge of a building like a weirdo. Yeah. Totally normal."
"I said let it go," Leo snapped, louder now, his voice edged.
Leo sighed and rubbed his temples. "Look, I don't know what I'm doing. I just... like talking to her. That's it. Even if she doesn't talk back. It's weird, I know."
"Yeah," I muttered. "Weird's a word for it."
Mikey leaned over to me and whispered loudly, "It's okay, bro. He's just finally entering the moody romantic ninja phase."
Donnie watched Leo with mild curiosity. "So let me get this straight. She's mysterious. Cold. Barely talks. You're drawn to her even though she's actively avoiding basic communication?"
Donnie blinked. "Huh. Sounds like someone has a type."
I just crossed my arms and grinned wide. "Well, well, well. All that brooding. All that 'I must meditate' nonsense. You just love chasing a girl who treats you like lint."
"She's not like that," Leo defended, glaring at me.
Mikey threw a pillow at his head. "She literally called you weird!"
"Twice," Donnie corrected. "Tonight alone." He sighed, "You do realize this mystery girl is probably hiding something, right? I mean, who casually hangs out on rooftops and talks to a mutant?"
And honestly, I didn't have a joke for that either.
Because yeah... something about her was off. The way she stood. The silence. Like she was waiting for something to happen. Or testing him.
Not 'cause I didn't trust Leo, but because I did.
That was the part that bugged me.
Leo looked over at me, probably reading every thought off my face.
"I'm not being reckless," he said quietly.
But I still didn't buy it.
Eventually, Leo disappeared down the hall, door closing shut. The second his shadow left the room, we all let out the breath we'd been holdin'.
Mikey flopped face-first onto the pit couch and groaned into a cushion. "Dude. He's so in denial."
Donnie sat on the pit couch as well. "More like dangerously unaware."
I crossed my arms, leaning against the back of the pit couch, watching the hallway until I was sure Leo's door was shut.
"Alright. We're doin' this."
Mikey peeked up. "Doing what exactly? Karaoke night? Pizza brainstorm? Oh! New disguises? I've been working on a fake mustache-"
"-We're gonna figure out who the rooftop girl is," I said, cutting him off.
Donnie nodded, rubbing his chin. "Agreed. Leo clearly isn't thinking straight, and considering she might be dangerous-, or worse, manipulating him-, we can't just ignore this."
"She didn't look evil," Mikey muttered.
"She didn't look anything," I snapped. "She barely moved. She barely talked. She was like... like a statue with good posture."
"Creepy posture," Donnie added.
"I thought it was kinda cool," Mikey said.
He threw his hands up. "What? I like mysterious girls. They're like puzzles... but with eyeliner."
I rolled my eyes. "Anyway. Step one-, we need info. We gotta know what we're dealin' with before Leo gets in too deep."
Mikey sat up straight, suddenly grinning like a kid with candy. "Soooooo... funny story..."
I narrowed my eyes. "What did you do?"
"Nothing!" he said quickly. "Just... y'know... some casual, responsible recon."
He reached and pulled out his T-Phone, grinning ear to ear. "Boom. Surveillance, baby."
Author's Note: (I know Donnie had made the T-Phones in episode, "Monkey Brains", but I just wanted them to have their T-Phones before that).
He turned the screen to face us.
A grainy but clear picture of Leo standing on the rooftop behind the girl, arms crossed, his whole posture soft. She stood near the edge, looking away, arms limp at her sides. Even in a still image, she looked like she didn't belong to the world she was in. Like she'd just step off the building and vanish into shadow without a sound.
"Bro," I said, squinting. "That's actually good."
"I got more!" Mikey scrolled. "One where she's sitting, one where Leo's kinda leaning in-, look at that one! He's SMILING. Like, real smiling."
Donnie stepped closer. "Can I see that? Maybe I can run facial recognition on her. There's no way someone that composed isn't in a system somewhere."
"Good idea," I said, then jabbed a finger at Mikey. "And you better not have posted any of those."
"Pshhh. I'm not an idiot, Raph. These are just for us." He paused. "Though, now that you mention it, I could make a collage-"
Donnie connected Mikey's T-Phone to his computer and started uploading the images. Lights flickered as the system began to scan. We all leaned in.
I crossed my arms. "I can't believe he doesn't even know her name."
"Or her deal," Donnie added. "She has no public footprint-, no signals, no data trail. I ran all facial recognition on the photos and got nothing. That's not normal."
Mikey chimed in. "I think that makes her super normal. Like, maybe she's a ghost. Or a vampire. Or a ghost vampire."
Donnie shot him a flat look. "Please don't start."
But Mikey raised a brow. "Dude, you saw the way she sat there. Silent. Like she sensed us. She didn't even look back, but I felt her knowin' we were there."
And yeah... I hated to admit it, but Mikey had a point. Girl gave off some weird vibes. Not bad. Just... unreadable. Like lookin' at a wall and tryin' to guess what was behind it. And Leo? He was walkin' straight into it blindfolded.
I turned to face the both of them. "Alright. Leo ain't gonna tell us more. So, we're gonna find out ourselves."
Mikey's eyes lit up. "Ooh! Operation Snoopy Snoop?"
"No," Donnie deadpanned. "We are not calling it that."
Mikey frowned. "Okay fine... Operation Night Stalker?"
"How about: Operation Make Sure Leo Ain't Getting Catfished by a Rooftop Ninja Assassin Chick With No Name™?" Donnie offered dryly, clicking through blueprints of the city.
"...That's not half bad," I admitted.
Donnie smirked. "Thanks."
Mikey tilted his head. "So, what's the plan, Cap'n Red?"
I tapped a finger against the pit couch back. "We follow her next time. Leo's bound to go see her again."
Donnie nodded. "I'll recalibrate the drones to track Leo's heat signature from a safer distance. Last time, he almost spotted us three times."
Mikey raised his hand. "Can I name the drones?"
"No," Donnie and I said in unison.
Donnie continued, fingers flying across his computer keys. "I'll also cross-reference potential rooftop hotspots where she might frequent. There's a pattern to these meetups. If we map Leo's movements over the past week-"
"-Wait," I cut in, narrowing my eyes. "You've been tracking Leo already?"
Donnie blinked. "...He broke my favorite beaker last week and lied about it. I was verifying behavioral patterns for guilt. But it's proven useful here."
I stared at him for a long second, then just shrugged. "Y'know what? Not surprised."
Mikey clapped his hands together. "Alright! Secret mission to spy on Leo's maybe-ninja-not-girlfriend! Let's goooo!"
"Not yet," I said, sitting down. "We wait. Watch. Plan it right."
Mikey leaned over with a mischievous grin. "Raph, are you jealous?"
I gave him the deadliest side-eye I could muster. "You wanna keep your teeth, or...?"
"Okay, okay, okay!" Mikey backed off with his hands up, laughing. "Just sayin'. She was kinda mysterious in a cool, 'might poison your pizza' way."
I ignored him and looked to Donnie. "You're sure you didn't find anything on her?"
Donnie's smile faded just a little. "No I.D. No phone. No police database. No trace of existence online or through surveillance. She's not in any facial recognition network. She's... off-grid. Completely. It's like she doesn't exist. Either she's extremely careful... or someone erased her."
That made my gut twist. Leo had no idea who he was dealing with. And with how obsessed he was with honor and trust and doing the right thing... he'd be the easiest guy in the world to play.
I leaned back in the pit couch; hands folded behind my head.
"Alright then," I muttered. "We'll find out who she really is."
Mikey leaned over, eyes wide. "You think she's dangerous? Like, really dangerous?"
I shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe she's just messed up. I dunno. But Leo's actin' like a lovesick rookie, and someone's gotta have eyes on the big picture."
Donnie turned the computer so we could see a map dotted with red pins. "I've narrowed it down to six rooftops she's most likely to frequent. Leo's gone to all of them in the past two weeks-, usually between midnight and two A.M. I'll add a few hidden cams early tomorrow."
"And what if she spots the cams?" I asked, brows narrowing.
Donnie didn't even look up. "Then I'll know she's more dangerous than we thought."
Mikey let out a low whistle. "Man, Leo's crush might actually be a shadow demon. That'd be kinda awesome."
"She's not a demon," Donnie said flatly. "She's human."
"Yeah?" I leaned forward. "And how do you know that, Professor Genius?"
"She walks like one," Donnie muttered.
Mikey blinked. "...You can tell someone's species by their walk?"
"I've studied movement," Donnie said with a shrug. "She's light on her feet, but it's not like a mutant. No tail compensation. No extra weight shift. She's either human or hiding a lot under that hoodie."
That made me pause. Because now I was remembering how she barely moved when we were watching. How she stood and sat there, just letting the wind whip around her like she didn't care if she froze to death or not.
"She didn't flinch," I muttered aloud, mostly to myself. "Not once. Not even when Leo was practically tripping over his own tongue."
"Exactly," Donnie nodded. "No response. No visible tells. Which means either she's stone cold... or trained."
Mikey threw a hand in the air. "Ooh! What if she's, like, a secret agent? Like Black Widow but moodier!"
I groaned. "You've been watching too many movies."
"Movies prepare us for this, Raph."
Donnie ignored us, zooming in on a few buildings with high roof access. "Based on Leo's route, she could be using the old water tower as a staging point. That spot's got a three hundred sixty-degree view of most of the Upper East rooftops."
I leaned in, my eyes narrowing at the map. "And that's where we catch her. Tomorrow night. While Leo's asleep."
Donnie nodded slowly. "Surveillance only. No contact. We don't want to spook her. Or Leo."
"I live for spooking Leo," Mikey chimed, grinning.
I smirked. "Focus, Mikey. This ain't one of your pranks. We're watching. Learning. If this girl's hiding something-"
"-Which she definitely is," Donnie interjected.
"-Then we find out what it is," I finished.
Donnie pulled up the city's sewer grid overlay. "We'll use Tunnel 17. It connects directly under the East tower block. No surface crossing, no visual exposure. Perfect angle."
"Stealth mode?" Mikey asked, tapping his fingers on his plastron.
"Stealth mode," I confirmed. "No sound. No chatter. No ninja-ghost-vampire jokes."
Mikey mimed zipping his lips, then immediately whispered, "But if she is a ghost and she sees me, do I get cursed or-?"
"Okay, okay! Stealth mode. Quiet as a shadow. Silent as a single pepperoni sliding off a hot slice."
Donnie let out a long, strained sigh. "That made zero sense."
"Neither does Leo crushing on someone he's known for like... five seconds," I growled. "And don't think I'm lettin' that go either. Guy's got no clue who she is, and he's out here makin' moon-eyes like we're in a rom-com."
Mikey giggled. "Leo in a rom-com... Oh man, imagine him trying to pick up flowers. 'For you, mysterious emotionally unavailable rooftop girl. I fought a Kraang for these daisies.'"
Donnie snorted. "No, he'd probably quote Space Heroes. Something ridiculous like, 'These flowers represent the truce between your galaxy and mine.'"
"Okay, now I'm actually gonna puke," I muttered, rubbing my temples. "Let's get serious. We scout tonight. No slip-ups. No confronting her. Just watch. Gather info. Then we figure out what the shell Leo's gotten himself into without him finding out. If she's harmless, we drop it..."
"...And if she is dangerous?" Donnie asked, glancing up from his screen.
I cracked my knuckles, jaw tightening. "Then we handle it."
Mikey sat back slowly, for once not smiling. "You think she's really bad news, huh?"
I didn't answer right away. I looked toward the hall Leo had walked down just minutes ago. Our "fearless leader". Always preaching discipline. Focus. Logic. And now he was sneakin' off like a lovestruck idiot to hang with a girl who might not even exist in any record.
"I think," I said finally, "anyone who can get inside Leo's head like that without even tryin'-, that's someone worth watching."
Donnie nodded grimly. "Agreed."
The room quieted, and for once, even Mikey didn't crack a joke.
Donnie finally shut his computer, tucking it under one arm. "I'll prep the drones."
Mikey stood and stretched, looking a little more serious. "I'll grab my gear."
I nodded once, sharp. "Tomorrow. Midnight."
Because love or not... rooftop ghost girl had too many blanks.
Whoever she was-, whatever her story-, she wasn't just another human. She didn't act like anyone we'd ever met. And I knew trouble when I saw it.
Sunday night. Lights low in the lair. Everything was quiet-, almost too quiet. Leo was out cold in his room; swords probably tucked under his pillow. We waited until his snoring hit that steady rhythm-, light and even-, before creeping out.
I led the way to the garage, Mikey following with that stupid bounce in his step like it was Christmas Eve or we were going on some field trip instead of a recon mission. Donnie trailed behind, computer tucked under one arm, his other hand twiddling with something in his utility belt. Nerd stuff.
We slid through the common area and past the turnstile entrance, stepping into the garage. Purple light washed over everything-, the glow from the algae tanks giving the whole place that eerie, mad scientist vibe. Smelled faintly like ozone and algae soup.
Donnie booted up his computer, all that weird tech he cobbled together humming to life around him. The Kraang orb blinked from its perch. Monitors flickered. And the second his fingers hit the keyboard, I knew we were in business.
"Tunnel 17," he muttered. "Connecting now."
Mikey flopped into one of Don's spinning chairs and spun like a maniac. "Are we sure she's gonna show? What if she's like, a figment of Leo's repressed trauma and we're spying on thin air?"
"She's real," I grunted, arms crossed as I leaned against a shelf with a framed photo of us and Master Splinter. "We've seen her too, remember?"
Donnie nodded. "Her pattern's too exact to be random. Always Sunday night. Same rooftop. Same time. It's not coincidence."
"Yeah, well," I muttered. "Hope she's worth the hype."
Donnie smirked, then hit a key. The old water tower building showed up crisp and clear on his monitors-, six angles, three drones overhead, all stationed earlier in the day while Leo trained and meditated like usual. Donnie had even rigged motion-activated cams on surrounding rooftops.
"Drone three is high altitude. That one's got thermal overlay. Drone one's our main visual. All cameras have infrared and night vision enabled," Don said as he swiped through displays.
Mikey leaned forward, eyes wide. "Duuude. It's like Big Brother, but for ninjas."
"More like Big Bother," I muttered, glaring at the screen. My gut was already tight. Something about this whole setup felt wrong-, like poking a bear with a stick just to see if it bites.
The minutes ticked by slow. Eleven forty-five. Eleven fifty. Eleven fifty-eight.
"She's really late," Mikey whispered. "Think she stood us up?"
"She doesn't even know we're watchin', Knucklehead," I said, eyes locked on the monitors.
The motion sensor lit up on Drone one's feed. A silhouette emerged from the shadows near the tower.
"There," Donnie said, voice dropping to a whisper. "That's her."
And yeah, it was definitely her.
Same way she stood. All stiff posture, like she'd been carved from stone. Hood up, hair trailing in the breeze, arms at her sides. She didn't move like a normal person. She didn't even stand like one. She was too... still.
"She moves like trained muscle," Donnie murmured, more serious now. "Notice how her footfalls avoid the loose spots on the roof tiles? That's intentional. She's tracking for sound. Every step has weight calibration. Military, maybe. Or worse."
I narrowed my eyes. "She lookin' for Leo?"
"No," Donnie said slowly. "She's scanning."
"Okay whoa," Mikey breathed.
Donnie suddenly narrowed his eyes. "She has no heat signature."
"She's blocking it," he murmured, tapping at his keys, trying to recalibrate the overlay. "That's tech or training-, probably both. She shouldn't be able to ghost the drones like that unless she knows exactly how they work."
I stepped closer to the screen, staring at her.
She hadn't moved. Just stood there. One foot slightly forward, like she was listening.
Donnie switched cameras. "Okay, I've got a side angle-, maybe if she turns her head, I can get a clearer read on-"
Then she tilted her head. Just slightly. Like she heard that.
"Wait-, can she hear us?" Mikey whispered.
"No-, there's no audio output on our side," Donnie replied, but his voice had dropped a little, like even he wasn't sure anymore.
She stayed still for another beat, like a statue.
"She can't," Don argued. "These cameras are silent, the drones are built for stealth, and-"
She crouched, slid a hand under her hoodie, a flash of silver flicked across the camera view-
Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip!
"What the-?" Don's hands flew over the keyboard. Drone one was gone.
"Yo, what just happened?!" Mikey yelled, scooting closer.
One by one, the other two drones dropped like flies. Each one knocked clean out of the sky with shuriken so precise it was like they had freakin' homing software in 'em.
"Dude, she's slicing our tech like it's pizza crust!" Mikey gasped.
"Guys?" Donnie's voice was tight. "She's taking them out. She's taking out all the cameras."
"What the shell?! We're not even out there!" I barked.
"Clearly, she doesn't care," Don muttered. "She knows she's being watched."
I stepped forward. "You said she wouldn't even know she was being watched!"
"I said I didn't think she could detect it!" Donnie snapped. "I cloaked the drone's signal, encrypted the feeds-, she shouldn't have been able to-"
"Well, she knew," I growled. "She knew the whole damn time."
The last camera held for three more seconds.
Then she looked right at it.
Not at it like she saw a blinking light.
I mean into it. Like she saw us.
The room went dead quiet except for the humming algae lights.
We all stared at the now-useless monitors.
"...Dude," Mikey breathed. "She just wiped out our entire surveillance setup in under ten seconds."
"She didn't just see them," Donnie said slowly. "She anticipated them. Tracked angles. Used the wind. I bet she even threw those shurikens blind in some cases. That wasn't just instinct. That was training. But she's not just trained. She's elite. This kind of awareness-, this is spy-level. Assassin-level. She didn't miss once."
I nodded, fists clenched.
Donnie stood up. "I was right. Someone erased her. She's not just off-grid-, she's built to be invisible. A shadow among shadows. Raph... we are way out of our depth."
I said nothing for a second. My jaw was locked so tight I thought my teeth might crack.
"She didn't even look angry," I muttered.
Donnie shook his head. "Forget if she looked angry. If she's capable of this kind of counter-surveillance, Leo has no idea what he's messing with. She could be anything. Government ghost. Mercenary. Or worse."
"Whatever she is," I growled, pushing off the table, "we just declared war without meanin' to."
Mikey called after me. "So, what now, Cap'n Red? Do we tell Leo?"
Leo was stubborn. He wouldn't take it well. He might even defend her.
"She didn't attack him," I muttered. "If she wanted to, she had chances."
Donnie nodded slowly. "True. But she did dismantle our surveillance like she expected it. Like she knew someone would come looking eventually."
"And she was ready for us," I finished.
Mikey slumped in the chair. "Man, I thought this would be like some rom-com spy thing. Not... Batman versus ninja Catwoman, but Catwoman's scarier and Leo's clueless."
I looked at the black screens, fists clenching.
Whatever this girl was... she wasn't just some mystery anymore.
"She's hiding something," I said low. "And if she's good enough to wreck your whole surveillance rig in ten seconds' flat... she's not just 'cool and mysterious' anymore."
Donnie turned, voice grim. "She's a threat. And Leo's walking straight into her line of fire."
Mikey stayed quiet for once, face unusually serious.
I turned and cracked my knuckles. "Alright. She wants to play it that way? Fine. Next time, we don't watch from a screen."
Donnie looked up. "You mean-?"
I nodded. "-We go in person."
Mikey blinked. "Like... actually follow her on foot? Right behind her?"
"No tech. No drones," I said, gripping the edge of the table. "She can't destroy what she can't find."
Donnie frowned. "She'll sense us if we get too close."
"Then we don't get close," I said. "We out-ninja the ninja."
Mikey hugged himself. "Can I just say... I'm not ready to get stabbed by a maybe-assassin chick just to stalk Leo's weird love life."
"No one's getting stabbed," I muttered.
"...You sure about that?" Mikey said with a weak grin.
"Yes, Mikey. Tomorrow night," I said. "We do this the old-school way."
Mikey raised his fist. "No cameras. No tech. Just turtle power?"
Donnie gave him a side glance. "...Do not say that when we're actually out there."
Mikey shrugged. "No promises."
And the garage went quiet-, too quiet, if I'm honest.
We stood around the desk like soldiers planning a heist. No one said anything for a few beats. Mikey was still hugging himself like he was cold-, probably more creeped out than he wanted to admit. Donnie looked like he was already rewiring the whole plan in his head. Me? I was just pissed.
"Right," Donnie finally said, snapping out of it. "We'll tail her when she shows again. But this time we stick to rooftops. No gadgets, no feeds, nothing that can be hacked or traced."
He shook his head, jaw tight. "She took out my drones like they were made of cardboard..."
I nodded. "We follow, we observe. We don't engage unless she does first. And we don't tell Leo."
That made both their heads snap toward me.
"...Seriously?" Mikey said, eyes wide. "You sure we wanna do this behind Leo's back? Again?"
"He's got blinders on, Mikey," I said, folding my arms. "He sees her as some lost soul on a rooftop-, and maybe she is. But maybe she's also someone who's waitin' for the right moment to stab him in the shell."
Mikey's mouth opened like he wanted to argue, but then he closed it again.
Donnie tapped his fingers on the table. "He's emotionally compromised. He wouldn't let us investigate even if we asked. He'd say we're overreacting."
"Exactly," I said. "So, we don't tell him."
"Until we have something solid," Donnie agreed, already reaching for a notepad.
Mikey finally sighed and sat down. "Okay, fine, but if he finds out and gives us that disappointed 'Leonardo lecture voice,' I'm blaming both of you."
Donnie started sketching a rooftop map of the water tower and surrounding area. "So, here's how we do it. No tech. Just eyes. We stay high and wide-, east, west, and north perches. I'll take the water tower side for the best view. Raph, you get east; you've got the stealth for a tight crawlspace in case she moves. Mikey-"
"-I get snacks," Mikey offered with a hopeful grin.
Donnie gave him a flat look. "You get north rooftop. Diagonal sightline, backup position."
"Less lame than getting a shuriken through your skull," I muttered.
Donnie marked the spots on the sketch. "If she shows again, we observe only. No interaction. No movement unless she leaves the area. If she disappears, we regroup before following. No solo tails."
Mikey raised a hand. "Uh... how do we know she won't just feel us again like some kinda rooftop Jedi?"
Donnie looked up. "We can't guarantee she won't. But we'll mask our presence the old way-, low heart rate, controlled breathing, absolute silence. Minimal exposure time. We move like shadows. No sudden movement. If you feel her noticing you, back off."
"I'm pretty much a ninja wizard," Mikey muttered, stretching his arms. "I've trained for this moment my whole life."
"You tripped on one of the algae tanks last week," Donnie said.
"I still smell it in the air," I added with a grimace.
Mikey held up his hands. "Alright, alright-, this time, I'll be serious."
"Good," I said, walking over and tapping Donnie's map. "We meet here at eleven thirty tomorrow night. Full gear. No T-Phones. No gadgets. Strictly analog."
Donnie nodded. "I'll prep backup routes and blind spot assessments."
I started toward the exit but paused. "And one more thing."
"If she makes a move on Leo-, any move-, we step in. I don't care how good she is, I'm not lettin' our brother walk into an ambush."
Mikey gave a quiet, serious, "Yeah."
We headed back out of the garage in silence. The algae tanks gave a faint gurgle behind us as the doors hissed shut.
We passed the turnstile, slipped through the common area, and peeked down the hall toward Leo's room.
Door closed. Lights off. Still snoring.
And I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep it that way or not.
We split up, each of us heading to our own rooms. I could still hear Mikey muttering something about ninja Catwoman under his breath, but it faded behind me.
In my room, I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the wall for a long time.
This wasn't just recon anymore.
Something about her was wrong. Off.
And Leo? He was too far gone in whatever connection he thought he had with her.
So yeah... we'd do this our way.
The rooftop was quiet, save for the soft whistle of wind slipping between the metal pipes and ducts, and the usual hum of the city down below that never quite slept. The moon hung heavy overhead, swathed in a gauzy cover of thin clouds, casting a pale sheen over the rooftop's ledge where I sat-, legs dangling over the edge, elbows resting loosely on my knees.
Not by much, maybe two minutes. But I had been expecting him. Leonardo was irritatingly consistent.
He hadn't come yesterday-, Sunday-, and I'd been half-expecting that, too. After all, Saturday had been noisy. Not because of him. But because of the three idiots who had followed him.
I wasn't stupid. When someone's tailing you, especially badly, you know.
Leonardo had told me his brothers' names on Friday night. I remembered that clearly-, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo. So, when I felt the air shift Saturday, when I caught the heavy scent of machinery oil and pizza grease, I knew exactly who had come snooping.
They weren't exactly stealthy either.
One of them-, Michelangelo, obviously-, had laughed way too loud at some joke I didn't catch. The others kept telling him to shut up, like that would somehow make their presence less obvious. As if I wouldn't hear every footstep, every whisper, every slight vibration in the rooftop pipes.
It's honestly a miracle Leonardo hadn't noticed them.
It was so noisy I nearly left. Nearly.
Three drones. Six cameras. Different angles. All planted between buildings like amateur surveillance. I assumed it was his brothers. Could've been him, but... no. Something told me Leonardo wasn't part of it. I had no plans to say anything to him, though.
I destroyed them, of course. Fast. Efficient.
Each drone fell with a quiet clatter; each camera sparked briefly before dying like a crushed firefly. I left no evidence of their existence-, except in my memory.
I finally sensed movement-, heard the soft, steady sound of his landing behind me-, I didn't turn. I kept looking at the skyline, unmoving.
I didn't need to look to know it was him.
"Miss me?" I asked dryly, not bothering to turn around.
Leonardo exhaled through his nose. I could almost hear his sheepish expression. "That depends," he answered calmly. "Did you miss me?"
"You skipped a night," I said instead, voice as flat as the skyline.
"I was tired," he said. "Didn't even train. Just meditated, then knocked out."
I turned halfway to glance at him over my shoulder. "You're telling the truth."
He blinked. "You sound surprised."
"I'm not." I looked forward again, eyes fixed on the edge of the rooftop. "You seem like the type who'd be honest about something that boring."
He stepped up behind me, arms crossed, the light breeze fluttering the ends of his blue bandana. "So... you were waiting?"
Silence fell again, but it wasn't awkward.
He cleared his throat after a minute. "About Saturday night..."
I didn't look at him. "You mean when your brothers tried-, and failed-, to spy on you?"
He shifted behind me, startled. "You knew?"
"From the second they stepped onto the neighboring rooftop," I replied evenly. "Your youngest brother couldn't keep his mouth shut if someone paid him."
He rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. "Yeah. I didn't find out until I got back to the lair. They were waiting behind me when I walked in."
I finally looked at him, eyes narrowed. "You really didn't know they were there?"
He met my gaze, sincere. "I swear I didn't. They followed me without telling me."
I searched his face for a moment. He wasn't lying.
"Then maybe you should start sleeping with one eye open," I muttered. "Because if you were anyone else, I'd think you were part of it."
"You think I'd do that to you?" he asked quietly.
We stood in silence again, the hum of the city below us.
"You never answered," Leonardo said suddenly.
He gave a small smile. "Did you miss me?"
He chuckled under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck. "Figures."
"...What's your name?" he asked.
I blinked. "Still asking, huh?"
"I figured you might finally tell me."
I gave him a look. "I don't do names."
He smiled faintly. "You know mine."
"That wasn't hard. You practically announced it."
He scratched his neck again, awkward. "Right..."
After a beat, he said, "I'm still sorry... for asking about your parents the other night."
My gaze sharpened slightly.
He looked away. "I really didn't mean to pry. I just... I wanted to understand you."
"You don't need to understand me," I said flatly.
He nodded slowly. "Still. I shouldn't have asked."
"...Apology accepted," I muttered after a pause, the words stiff and unused.
He blinked, surprised. "Really?"
"Don't make me say it again, Leonardo."
He gave a sheepish smile. "You keep calling me Leonardo. It's weird. Nobody calls me that except my sensei when he's serious or I'm in trouble. Just... call me Leo."
I stared at him for a long second, unreadable. Then, finally-
He looked like he didn't expect me to actually agree. For a second, his shoulders relaxed. His whole frame seemed to settle. I watched him, eyes narrowing slightly.
"Didn't know 'Leo' was short for 'awkward turtle with too many questions.'"
For a moment, we just stood in that space between awkward and familiar. Between whatever this was and whatever it wasn't.
I glanced at him again, more out of habit than anything else.
I didn't trust easily. I didn't do trust. And yet, here I was. Again.
He tilted his head slightly. "So... not even a fake name?"
He huffed a quiet laugh. "Stubborn."
"Says the guy who keeps coming back."
He shrugged, the corners of his mouth twitching. "You're interesting."
"That's a bad habit," I said blandly.
He raised a brow. "Thinking you're interesting?"
"Coming back to people who don't want company."
Leo tilted his head at me, thoughtful. "I don't think that's true."
Instead, Leonardo just stood there, the moonlight sketching faint shadows beneath his eyes, painting soft silver lines across the edges of his shell. I stared back at him, motionless, waiting for him to leave like anyone else with half a brain would.
He shifted his weight slightly, arms folding, katana sheathed neatly on his back as usual. "You keep acting like pushing people away is easier," he said after a beat, voice calm but not condescending. Just... quietly curious.
"It is easier." My answer was immediate, deadpan. I didn't bother to explain myself. I never did.
Leo tilted his head again, the way he always did when he was thinking carefully. It wasn't the dramatic tilt of a comic book hero, no exaggerated stare or smirk-, it was subtle, like he was studying a battlefield. "Maybe," he said slowly, "but that doesn't mean it's better."
I blinked once, slow. "You here to give me a lecture?"
"No." He scratched the back of his neck, awkward now. "I just... wondered if you ever get tired of pretending."
He gave a soft huff through his nose, like he wasn't sure if I was messing with him or not. "That you don't care when people come back."
After a beat, I glanced at him sideways.
"...Why are you standing behind me again?" I asked. "Thought you were bold enough to sit next to me now."
He blinked, startled. "Oh. Right." He cleared his throat and took a careful step forward, settling beside me at the ledge. "Habit, I guess."
He looked down at the street below, the corner of his mouth twitching. "Maybe a little."
We sat in silence for a moment-, not the awkward kind, but still tense. Like the city was holding its breath.
He glanced at me, a question in his eyes he hadn't quite built the courage to ask.
I sighed. "You're not gonna stop coming up here, are you?"
He offered a half-smile. "You're interesting."
I looked away. "You already said that."
"...You're bad at giving up," I muttered.
"Yeah. It's not one of my better traits."
I finally glanced at him. "Why? Why keep coming back here? You don't even know my name."
"Because I want to," he said, simple as that. "And I know there's more to you than the tough act."
I snorted. "You think this is an act?"
He didn't flinch. "No. But I think it's only part of who you are."
That made me pause. My fingers twitched slightly, then stilled again.
"...Do you have a favorite show or something?" he asked suddenly, trying to sound casual. It didn't really work-, he sounded stiff, like he was overthinking every word.
I gave him a look. "That's your next big question?"
Seeing as he didn't answer, I sighed-, leaning back on my hands, watching the hazy skyline. "Not really. Doesn't do much for me."
"Oh," he looked mildly surprised, but not judgmental. "Not even when you were younger?"
I tilted my head slightly. "Why do you want to know?"
He shrugged lightly, clearly nervous but trying not to show it. "Just trying to get to know you. The normal way."
"...Do you have a favorite?" I asked before I could stop myself.
His face lit up more than I expected. "Yeah. I do."
I raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
He cleared his throat. "It's, uh... called Space Heroes."
I stared at him. "...That's real?"
"Hey-, don't judge," he said quickly, turning red. "It's a great show."
"What's it about?" I asked, folding my arms.
His voice perked up, just a little. "Okay, so-, it's this old sci-fi cartoon about a space crew led by Captain Ryan. He's a fearless leader, super noble, always trying to do the right thing. And the ship gets in all these crazy situations, and there's betrayals and wormholes and alien empires-, it's awesome."
I couldn't help it-, a small, sharp grin twitched at the edge of my lips. "You really like it."
"Yeah. I do." He scratched the back of his neck. "I used to try and imitate him when I was younger. The whole serious-hero vibe. Voice and everything."
"Oh, I can definitely see that," I said dryly.
Leo gave a groan. "Ugh-, you too?"
I looked over at him, amused. "Let me guess-, your brothers tease you for it?"
"All. The. Time." He groaned again, leaning back on his hands. "Raph never shuts up about it. Mikey does impressions that are so bad, they somehow loop around and get stuck in my head for days."
"They think it's dorky," he muttered. "But whatever. It's kinda how I learned to lead. Not the yelling parts-, Captain Ryan yells a lot. But the rest of it."
"...You wanted to be like him."
He hesitated, then nodded. "Still do, kind of. He always knows what to do, no matter what happened. Even when the odds are stacked against him."
I was quiet for a moment, taking that in.
Then I asked, "And when you don't know what to do?"
He looked surprised again-, like he hadn't expected me to ask anything, let alone something like that.
"...I figure it out," he said after a moment. "That's what a leader's supposed to do."
I watched him a little longer. "You're not as calm as you pretend to be."
His smile faded just slightly. "No. I'm not."
The honesty in his voice surprised me.
"But I try," he added. "Even when it's hard. Even when I mess up. I try."
"...You really think that's enough?" I asked softly.
"I think trying's better than giving up."
I didn't respond to that.
A silence stretched between us again. A breeze tugged at the corners of my hoodie. His hand brushed his knee, idle. His eyes stayed on the skyline like it held answers.
Finally, I said, "If I did tell you my name..."
His head turned toward me slightly.
"...Would you stop asking so many questions?"
I gave him a sidelong look. "Not good enough."
Leo leaned forward slightly, arms resting on his bent knees, like he was truly considering how to bargain for this one little truth. "...Okay. What if I promised not to ask any questions for the rest of the week?"
"Hm." I turned my eyes back to the skyline. "I'd be stupid to think you'd actually follow through."
"I would," he said, too quickly. Then added, "I mean, I try to keep my word."
"That's not the same thing."
He sighed softly beside me, his voice dropping. "Alright... what about a game, then?"
I slowly tilted my head toward him again. "...A game."
"Yeah. Like..." He looked thoughtful, glancing down at his three-fingered hand, then up at me. "Rock, paper, scissors."
I stared at him blankly. "Are you serious."
"As serious as a ninja turtle can be."
I exhaled a breath through my nose-, somewhere between amusement and disbelief. "You want to play rock, paper, scissors for my name?"
"Well, yeah. Why not?" He shrugged. "It's fair. I win, you tell me. You win, I stop asking forever."
"Forever is a long time."
He gave a short laugh. "Okay, maybe not forever. But at least... a good while."
I turned to face him fully now, resting my elbow on my knee and my chin on my hand. "...And what do I get if I win?"
Leo blinked. "Didn't we just say I stop asking?"
"That's a given," I replied flatly. "I want something else."
He paused, clearly caught. "Okay... name your price."
I studied him for a moment, my expression unreadable. "You'll owe me. I won't say what it is now, but when I call it in, you do it. No questions. No arguing."
Leo blinked again, clearly not expecting that answer-, but he didn't immediately reject it. "Even if it's unreasonable?"
I stared. "You don't get to define what's unreasonable."
"...Okay," he muttered, exhaling. "Alright. You win, I owe you a favor. I win; you tell me your name."
He grinned faintly and lifted his hand.
We both raised our fists, held the rhythm in sync.
"Rock... paper... scissors..."
My fingers stayed flat-, paper.
Leo had gone with scissors.
He blinked. "One point for me."
My lips twitched faintly. "Best of three."
"Rock... paper... scissors..."
"Rock... paper... scissors..."
A smirk tugged the corner of my mouth.
"This is your big strategy?"
He frowned. "I don't have a strategy. I didn't think you'd go paper again."
"That's your mistake, then."
Last round. We raised our hands once more.
"Rock... paper... scissors..."
"Rock... paper... scissors..."
Leo let out a triumphant sound, throwing both arms in the air like he'd just taken down a warlord. "Yes! Victory!"
He quickly reined it back in, coughing and trying to hide the small grin stretching his lips. "Ahem. So..."
He nudged my side gently. "A deal's a deal."
"You're awfully excited over a child's game."
Leo smiled wider. "Hey, I earned this. You said it yourself-, best of three."
I exhaled and looked away, lips pressed tight, then finally muttered under my breath, "...Y/n."
I narrowed my eyes. "Don't make me say it again."
He blinked a second time-, slow, surprised-, before a genuine smile blossomed onto his face. "Y/n..."
He said it again, like he was trying it on for size. Like it was something rare. Something worth memorizing.
There was a long pause between us, filled only by the faint breeze and the quiet hum of the city breathing in the dark. The rooftop lights flickered softly behind us, casting long shadows against the rusted pipes and graffiti-scratched vents.
Eventually, Leo spoke again. "I like knowing your name."
Leo's voice was softer now, almost reverent like he was afraid saying it too loud might scare it away. I didn't respond-, partially because I didn't want to, and partially because I didn't know how. The quiet stretched between us like a thread pulled taut by silence, not uncomfortable exactly... but definitely loaded.
I shifted slightly, hugging one knee to my chest, the other leg stretched across the edge of the roof. The air smelled like wet concrete and electricity from the train lines nearby, humming faintly beneath us. Leo didn't move, but I could feel his gaze still on me.
Then he cleared his throat, voice lightening in that subtle he's-about-to-deflect-something-real kind of way.
"You know," Leo said after a long pause, his voice quiet, almost hesitant, "I'm glad you told me your name."
I didn't answer right away.
"You didn't have to," he added, still watching the skyline. "But I'm glad you did."
He meant it. I could tell. His voice didn't have that usual joking lilt he used when trying to charm his way around a question. This wasn't one of his dumb bets. Or another strategic attempt at getting me to talk.
"...Even if you never tell me anything else," he murmured, shifting to rest his arms over his knees again, "it's enough."
That time, I said nothing on purpose.
Because somehow-, I knew he meant it.
We sat in silence again. But it wasn't awkward. It never really was with him, not anymore. The quiet between us had started to feel familiar. Comfortable. Like it belonged.
Then, after a minute, Leo spoke again-, his tone lightening like he was trying to pivot the mood.
"So..." he began casually, drawing the word out. "Since we're being all friendly now..."
I narrowed my eyes at him. "Dangerous start."
He grinned. "You should-"
He frowned. "You don't even know what I was gonna say."
"You're about to ask me to watch the show with that Ryan guy in it, aren't you?"
"Captain Ryan," he corrected automatically.
"Oh, excuse me," I said dryly.
He laughed-, soft and unguarded. "You'll like it more than you think. And if you don't-, fine, I'll owe you a favor."
I tilted my head, giving him a sideways glance. "So, this is your strategy now? Keep making bets with me until I owe you nothing and you owe me everything?"
Leo grinned. "I didn't say it was a bad strategy."
"You're persistent," I said, shaking my head. "I'll give you that."
He straightened a little, clearly trying to play it cool. "Is that a yes?"
I sighed, already pulling my phone from my pocket and unlocking it with a flick of my thumb. "What's it on?"
Leo blinked, clearly surprised. "Wait-, really?"
"You said one episode." I scrolled casually. "Don't make me regret this."
He sat up straighter like someone had just handed him a golden ticket. "Okay, okay-, hold on. You'll probably have to find it on some sketchy streaming site or-, wait, Donnie made a server, I can text you a link-, oh wait, you don't have my number-"
"-I'll find it," I interrupted. "I'm not letting you text me."
He looked genuinely offended. "Not even after the name thing?"
"I've only known you for a couple of weeks. You got my name tonight."
"...So you're saying there's a chance."
I found the first episode in under a minute-, it wasn't hard. His precious "Captain Ryan" was plastered all over the thumbnail with that stupidly heroic jawline and impossibly windblown black hair.
"...This is your favorite show?"
Leo didn't even try to defend himself. He just smiled, shrugging. "Just play it. One episode. I swear, it grows on you."
I hit play and angled the screen slightly between us.
We were both quiet for the first few minutes. Captain Ryan barked a command to his crew about maneuvering around a collapsing star system. Someone in the background screamed about plasma containment. Another guy fainted for absolutely no reason.
Leo, beside me, was mouthing the lines silently, like he couldn't stop himself. He was doing a horrible job of pretending he wasn't obsessed.
After a few more lines, I gave him a side glance. "Do you know every line?"
"No," he said too quickly. Then added, "Okay, yes."
"...Did you really used to imitate him?"
Leo turned red almost instantly. "I was a kid. I didn't know better."
"I bet you still do the voice when no one's around."
"Captain Ryan would be so disappointed in your dishonesty."
Leo groaned into his hands, but I could hear the muffled laugh under it. "I knew telling you was a mistake."
"You just gave me infinite ammo," I said, eyes still on the screen. "And I plan to use it."
Captain Ryan was now giving a monologue about honor and leadership while dramatically pulling someone out of a malfunctioning cryo-pod. It was absurd. Everything was absurd.
And yet... I wasn't turning it off.
At one point, Captain Ryan stood dramatically in front of a console, yelling something about betrayal and quantum destabilization.
Leo quoted along with him. Word for word.
I gave him a long, unimpressed stare.
He didn't even flinch. "I've seen this like, a hundred times."
Leo peeked out between his fingers. "...So are you gonna admit it's kinda good?"
I didn't answer. Not right away.
But I didn't pause the episode either.
His grin came back slowly-, subtle, satisfied, and annoyingly smug. "...You're watching it."
"It's background noise," I muttered.
"You're watching it," he repeated, positively glowing now.
I rolled my eyes. "One episode. Don't push it."
"Wouldn't dream of it," he said, leaning back again-, just close enough that I could feel his quiet pride radiating off him like heat from sun-baked concrete.
Another crew member onscreen screamed about a subspace rift. Captain Ryan slapped him.
I blinked. "Your hero just slapped an ensign."
Leo nodded solemnly. "Classic Ryan. Builds character."
I shook my head, smirking faintly despite myself.
Eventually, the episode ended in a flourish of dramatic explosions and overacted shouting. Leo turned to me, eyes bright with anticipation.
"So..." he asked, "what'd you think?"
I hesitated, then said, "Maybe I'll watch the next one."
Leo looked like he'd just won the lottery. But instead of gloating, he smiled-, genuine, quiet, and way too pleased with himself-, his arms crossed loosely over his chest.
The first episode of Space Heroes had ended a while ago, but Leonardo remained by my side. For a while, neither of us said anything.
Eventually, my gaze drifted.
They gleamed faintly under the moonlight, even as they remained strapped to his shell. Pristine, well-kept. They weren't just weapons-, they were extensions of him.
He caught the look. "You wanna see one?"
I hesitated. "...If you don't mind."
He didn't hesitate-, reaching back over his shoulder, he unsheathed one of the katanas and handed it to me, hilt first. I took it in one hand, then both. The balance was heavier than I remembered. Still... familiar.
"You ever used one before?" he asked, watching me carefully.
"Yeah," I murmured, my fingers closing tighter around the hilt, adjusting it for weight. "Just not in a long time."
He raised a brow, clearly curious, but didn't press. I stood up from the rooftop ledge and took a few steps onto the open space. The blade twirled once in my palm, clean and confident, before I dropped into a loose stance-, just to feel it again.
Leo's eyes followed every movement.
I exhaled and pivoted, slicing through air with practiced sweeps. My body didn't need to think; it remembered. The smooth draw of the wrist, the quick torque in the shoulder. I didn't go fast-, just sharp. Controlled. No wasted effort.
"...That's not beginner-level."
"Where'd you learn it?" he asked, voice softer than usual.
I didn't answer right away. My gaze drifted back toward the skyline. "Not important."
"It kinda is," he said, still watching me.
I didn't look at him. "Let it go."
He didn't push. Which surprised me.
"That was really good," he said after a while, trying to keep it casual.
He paused again. "You used to train?"
"Right, right. 'Let it go,'" he muttered, holding his hands up in surrender.
I said nothing, but I did glance at him, watching the gears turn in his head.
He reached for the other katana strapped to his back. "Okay, okay, hang on-, just one round. No pressure. Not a real spar. Just... a demonstration. Like training."
My expression stayed neutral. "You trying to assess me, Leonardo?"
He flinched a little. "Leo," he corrected automatically.
"...Leo," I said, slow and dry, turning slowly, katana still in hand. He matched my stance. Our blades met once-, testing.
The sound of steel-on-steel was soft at first, then sharp. There was no banter, not really. Just a silent understanding in the way our feet moved across the gravel. He was good. Disciplined. But he was also careful, measuring his swings to avoid going too far.
I didn't have the same concern. I didn't aim to hurt him-, but I wasn't babysitting him, either.
A block. A sweep. My blade caught the edge of his and pushed. He stumbled a half step.
"Okay-" he huffed, grinning now, "-not rusty."
A blur of orange shot between us, arms flailing. "-ARE YOU GUYS FIGHTING OR FLIRTING?! I CAN'T TELL!"
"Mikey?" Leo immediately stepped back, katana raised out of the way. I exhaled through my nose, annoyed but unsurprised.
Another blur-, red-, landed heavily beside me with a loud thud, Sais drawn. His stance was hostile, shoulders stiff. "Back off, Leo! We told you something was off with her!"
And then the third one dropped down. Purple mask, a sleek gadget still in one hand, staring at me like I was a test subject in a lab. "Leo, she's trained."
"No duh," said the red one-, Raphael, if I remembered right-, his eyes narrowing at me. "We already knew that."
Leo's shoulders tensed. "Guys. Stop."
"We warned you," Raphael continued, stepping between us. "You think she's just some girl hanging out on rooftops? She broke our cameras and drones without a trace."
"Wait," Leo blinked, turning toward him. "What drones?"
"...Uh-oh," Michelangelo whispered.
Donatello winced. "Raph..."
Leo's brows drew down sharply. "You spied on her?"
"We were watching your back," Raphael shot back, unbothered.
"You lied to me," Leo said, his voice low but clearly cut with disappointment.
I took a step back, expression unreadable.
Leo glanced at me, then turned to them again, jaw tight. "She's not a threat."
"Don't be so sure-, she's got your katana!" Raphael said, eyes still on me like he expected me to lunge at any second.
"Come on, Leo. Are you seriously defending her? You're fighting!"
"She's not an enemy. It's sparring! Back off," Leo warned, stepping between us. "This isn't what you think."
"She could've taken you out, and you wouldn't have seen it coming," Donatello added, still eyeing the katana in my hand.
Raphael gritted his teeth, looking at me. "You gonna explain or should I just knock some answers out of you?"
I didn't speak. I didn't flinch. I shifted into stance again, blade raised.
"Just back off!" Leo barked. "Raph, seriously-, she's not attacking!"
"She's not talking, either!" Raphael spat.
I didn't hesitate. The katana Leo gave me was already raised. Our blades clashed in a hard, sharp ring of steel-, his sai and my blade locking together between us. His strength was heavier, more brute force than Leo's, but he lacked precision. He fought with emotion. I didn't.
Strike. Block. Counter. Step. Pivot. He was fast. Strong. But predictable.
I didn't speak. Just blocked again. Slid under his guard. Let him tire himself out with wild, angry swings.
"Back off already," Leo snapped, trying to push between us-, but I shifted sideways.
"She's playing you," Raphael barked. "You seriously can't see that?!"
"I told you; she's not a threat!"
"Then why is she fighting like this?!"
I said nothing. Just moved behind him, spun, kicked his leg out from under him.
He grunted, stumbled. His sai clattered.
I pressed the katana tip to his throat, hovering just above skin.
Breathing heavy, Raphael glared up at me, still furious. His eyes burned with defiance. He didn't look afraid. Just pissed.
Michelangelo made a small "oof" noise. "Yikes..."
Donatello blinked, eyes wide. "She beat him."
Leo took a step forward. "Y/n."
The sound of my name cracked through the air.
Raphael's expression flickered. "Now you know her name?"
Leo took a breath. "She's not a threat."
"She's holding a blade to my neck!" Raphael shouted, still on the ground.
"Because you attacked her," Leo snapped back, fists clenched. "She was defending herself."
I finally stepped back, letting the tip of the katana drop.
Leo exhaled, moving beside me, though his brothers all looked varying degrees of stunned, suspicious, or grumpy.
"She's not who you think," Donatello said.
I didn't say anything. My breathing was steady despite the fight. My hands-, still gripping Leo's katana-, remained at my sides, relaxed. Raphael was still on the ground where I'd left him, his glare burning a hole into my skull as if he could incinerate me just by looking. He was breathing heavy, trying to decide if he should lunge again or just sit with the loss.
Mikey blinked. "So... we're not killing each other?"
"Not yet," Raphael muttered, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, his pride probably bruised more than anything else.
Leo hadn't moved. He looked torn-, caught somewhere between stopping me and saying nothing at all. My gaze swept over the four of them, not hurried, not searching-, just... measuring. His brothers stood behind him, tense, like wolves waiting for a signal.
I finally looked at him-, really looked at him.
His expression was conflicted, and his hands hung at his sides, empty. He wasn't reaching for his other katana. He wasn't yelling. He just... watched me. Still breathing a little harder from the scuffle, but calm. Leo met my eyes briefly but didn't hold them this time. He wasn't angry. Just disappointed, but not in me. In them.
I turned my attention down to the katana in my hand. Still light. Still balanced. Still sharp. The edge shimmered faintly in the low rooftop lighting.
I spun it once in a lazy circle, then turned away from them-, walking away toward the edge of the rooftop.
"Hey-" Leo took a half-step forward, unsure. His voice had lost its edge. "-Wait."
"-You'll get it back," I said, my tone flat and steady, "the next time you see me."
I didn't give him the chance to respond.
I dropped over the edge of the rooftop, vanishing into the night with his weapon in hand. No flourish. No farewell. No promise I'd be friendly next time. Just quiet footsteps disappearing down the metal stairs-, and then, silence.
The rooftop was still. Too still.
The wind had died down. The faint hum of the city was muffled under the weight of what had just happened. Y/n was gone-, disappeared into the shadows like smoke-, and she'd taken my katana with her.
No. I let her-, gave it to her. That was the difference.
"I knew it," Raph shoved himself up with a grunt, gritting his teeth as Donnie stepped beside him and offered a hand. After a long, stubborn second, Raph finally took it, letting Donnie help him to his feet. His cheek was bruised. He'd gotten off light. "I freakin' knew there was somethin' off about her."
"You're lucky she didn't slice through your chestplate," Donnie muttered. "That spin parry was ridiculously precise. Honestly, I kinda wanna ask how she learned it."
"She didn't even start the fight," I snapped, glaring at Raph. "You charged at her. I told you to stop."
"Yeah? And if I didn't, we wouldn'ta found out she could dismantle us without breakin' a sweat."
"Exactly!" Raph shouted. "And that doesn't freak you out?!" He stepped forward, jabbing a finger toward the dark where she had vanished.
"She wasn't a threat," I said through clenched teeth.
Raph scoffed. "She took your sword."
"That doesn't make it better!"
"Guys-, enough," Donnie cut in, stepping between us. "This whole thing is escalating faster than we planned. You saw what she did. All of you. She didn't just take out Raph. She knew exactly where every drone and camera was last night. Every. Single. One. Even the ones I cloaked."
Mikey sat off to the side, arms loosely resting on his knees. "She didn't even look up. Just bam-, shuriken, gone. That was kinda... awesome. And that spinny kick thing? I thought Raph was gonna puke."
"I didn't puke," Raph growled.
"I'm telling you," Donnie continued, tapping rapidly at his T-Phone and pulling up the feed-, now static and fried. "She's not just some random rooftop loner. That kind of skill? It's trained. Calculated. She's been doing this a long time."
"You three shouldn't have been spying on her in the first place," I snapped.
"Oh, so we're the bad guys now?" Raph barked, jabbing a thumb into his plastron. "Sorry for trying to protect my idiot brother from some rooftop psycho with a knack for killin' every camera and drone we've got!"
"She's not a psycho." I clenched my fists. "You don't know her."
"Oh yeah?" Raph laughed dryly. "Because you do?"
"I'm trying to," I shot back. "But how the shell am I supposed to when you keep treating her like a threat instead of a person?"
"I don't even care if she's trained by the freakin' Foot," Raph muttered, rubbing his shoulder. "You gave her one of our weapons. That ain't just dumb-, it's reckless."
"It wasn't dumb," I muttered.
"Oh yeah? Then what was it?"
I didn't answer. Because I didn't know. Not yet.
"I trust her," I finally said.
"Based on what?" Raph shot back. "Your 'gut'?"
"No. Based on the fact that every time I met her, she could've ambushed me, taken me out, never even let me leave. But she didn't."
"She watched Space Heroes with you," Mikey added quietly. "No one's that evil."
"Guys," Donnie said again, dragging a hand down his face. "This argument is going nowhere. We've already lost the surveillance. There's no way to track her now."
Donnie paused and sighed. "Look, we can debate her threat level all night-, and yes, I did say she is dangerous-, but let's not ignore the obvious solution here."
I turned to him, still fuming. "Which is?"
He shrugged. "Just replace the katana."
I stared at him. "...What?"
"You've got backups. You designed some of your own with Master Splinter. You don't need that specific one. Why even bother going after her again if she's clearly volatile?"
"I'm not chasing her down for a weapon," I said, voice quieter now. "I'm going because... I don't think she is volatile. Not like that."
"-I'm not replacing it," I said. "I gave it to her. I'll get it back from her."
Raph scoffed. "So, what, now you're just gonna keep chasing after her every night like some lovesick fool?"
I stepped forward, jaw tight. "I don't expect you to understand."
"Damn right I don't," Raph growled. "You let your guard down for one girl, and suddenly you forget everything Sensei taught us? You're worse than Donnie!"
"You lost a sword," Donnie said gently-, ignoring Raph's diss-, trying to reel me back. "That doesn't mean you have to lose your head too."
"She's not the enemy!" I shouted.
That shut them up for a second.
I looked at each of them-, Donnie didn't say anything. Mikey just looked down. Raph looked at me like he didn't recognize me anymore.
I swallowed the heat in my throat, looking away.
"She's not stupid. She knew you were watching. She knew everything." I looked toward the city skyline, the water tower just barely visible in the distance. "And she still didn't hurt me. She didn't want to hurt any of us."
Raph scoffed again, quieter this time. "You say that now..."
"I say that because I know," I met his glare evenly. "We've trained under Master Splinter since we could walk. I can read intent. Her strikes weren't meant to kill. She was just keeping us back."
Donnie sighed. "Still doesn't explain why you're suddenly trusting a stranger who keeps dodging every personal question like it's her job."
"Because she has a reason," I said. "I don't know what it is yet, but it's not random. She's hiding something. That much is obvious."
"Exactly why we should stay away," Donnie muttered.
I shook my head. "No. That's exactly why I'm going back."
Raph's fists curled at his sides. "You're not serious."
"No way, Leo-, if you go back out there to meet her again, she might not be so merciful next time."
"She gave me a reason to trust her," I said quietly. "Until she gives me a reason not to... I'm going to."
"Yeah, I'm not standing around waiting for another ambush," Raph muttered, brushing past me. "But this isn't over, Leo. You're not the only one she messed with." Raph stormed off the rooftop without another word.
Mikey finally spoke up, voice soft. "Just don't get hurt, bro..."
I nodded once. "I won't."
Raph's angry footsteps had long since faded into the city below, but his words still rang loud in my head. Mikey hadn't said much, and Donnie kept glancing at me like he wanted to say something but didn't know how. I knew that look-, half logic, half worry.
"Come on," I finally muttered. "Let's head back."
Mikey gave a soft "Yeah..." and stood, brushing gravel off his knees.
Donnie nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself for once. Mikey gave me a small pat on the arm as we turned toward the edge of the roof.
The walk back to the lair was filled with that strange, uncomfortable silence-, the kind that crawls up your spine and makes you second-guess every step you take. I didn't look back. I didn't have to. I could feel Donnie's questions building behind me like static, and Mikey's thoughts bouncing nervously like a pinball machine.
The moment we stepped through the turnstile, the familiar glow of home hit me-, but it didn't feel like relief. The lair was quiet. No cartoons blaring from the TV. No pizza boxes on the floor. Just shadows, dim lights, and the distant sound of the underground river.
Donnie peeled off to his lab without a word, already muttering calculations and something about camera backups under his breath. Mikey tossed his nunchucks onto the couch and made a beeline for the kitchen.
Instead, I headed for the dojo.
The soft thump of my feet on the mats was the only sound as I stepped inside.
It was quiet here-, still in a way nowhere else was. The flickering glow from the standing lanterns cast warm shadows across the walls. The tree in the center stood under the skylight grate like an ancient sentinel, its branches silent and unmoving.
Master Splinter's (he was in his room) shrine sat undisturbed on its shelf, incense slowly burning in a thin curl of smoke.
I moved to my usual spot near the tree, kneeling onto one of the old worn rugs. The dojo felt sacred. It always had. As a kid, it was the one place where the noise of the world stopped-, where things made sense. The silence here didn't feel awkward or heavy.
Across from me, the daruma dolls sat still. Only one eye painted.
A promise waiting to be fulfilled.
I closed my eyes and exhaled.
The meditation didn't come easy.
Thoughts of her kept slipping through the cracks.
The way she held the katana. The subtle shifts in her footwork. The cold precision in her parry when she faced Raph-, and the restraint behind every strike.
She was trained. Focused. Controlled.
There was something else beneath all that. Something she was hiding. Her walls were higher than ours, and somehow more fragile. I could feel it in her voice, her eyes, her silence.
She'd told me I'd get the katana back when I saw her again.
Which meant she expected that I would.
She wasn't done with me yet.
When I finally stood, my knees were stiff, and the dojo was dim-, lanterns nearly out. The incense had burned low, and the silence had deepened, settled. I bowed to the shrine, then moved slowly toward the entrance.
Past the ranma. Past the turtle tank. Through the green folding partitions and into the living room, where the soft hum of the moat echoed in the background.
I could hear Mikey snoring faintly from the pit couch.
Donnie's low mechanical whirring from his lab echoed behind a closed door.
Raph's room was empty. He still wasn't back.
By the time I stepped into my room, the adrenaline had worn off. My muscles ached. My head throbbed.
My one missing katana flashed in my mind.
I looked at the empty space where it should have been... and instead of frustration, I felt a strange calm.
She said I'd get it back.
Maybe that was stupid. Maybe it wasn't.
But the next time I saw her?
It wouldn't be with suspicion.
I laid down, eyes on the ceiling, mind racing.
But not before I whispered one thought into the quiet:
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