Golden Angel

If Raph had thought Kasai was jumpy and shy before, he sure was surprised when they got home…

Mitsukai had startled her, and she stayed close to Leatherhead most of the time.

The crocodile explained that, thanks to her years of captivity and abuse by Bishop for her Firebending, she couldn’t trust very easily.

She talked with Artemis, sometimes following her as she continued training with Chi, and was even known to talk with the other benders.

Other than that, she rarely spoke, and always stuttered.

She seemed uncomfortable in the lair, like a guest feeling they weren’t welcome, but Mikey and Don managed to team up to help her out of her ‘shell’.

Leo even seemed in on their plans, and the only one out of the loop was Raph.

It wasn’t like he didn’t want to be involved…

It just seemed like he scared her…

Whenever he walked into a room, she’d make an excuse and run off.

Artemis always assured him that Kasai meant nothing negative by it, and was still getting used to many things that were involved with a large family.

Like lack of privacy, constant attention, and many other things she’d lacked for so long.

“And maybe if you weren’t so gruff all the time, she wouldn’t be so nervous around you.”

Thus, when Raph and Leo decided to go to April’s, Artemis insisted they take the Firebender with them.

The red-banded turtle had doubted the fragile-looking girl’s ability to help, but Artemis had given him the lecture of a lifetime about girl’s being able to do whatever boys can.

After appeasing his sister so her wings wouldn’t reveal themselves, the three headed out to April’s place…

Boarding up the windows, Kasai was needed only when welding broken pieces together.

Unlike Artemis, who only conjured fire when angry, she seemed calm as fire escaped her fingers.

April was happy enough to create a connection with the young girl, and she’d smile and laugh a bit.

“Well, that’s got it covered.”

“This’ll ‘old till ya get it covered.”

“Thank you so much, Casey! I feel so much better now!”

Kasai had a thoughtful look on her face, and turned to the two older turtles.

“D-Do you g-get the f-feeling she d-doesn’t realize w-we’re still h-here?”

“All the time…”

“I think it’s time for us to go.” Leo suggested, and the three headed back to the lair.

“I did more work than ‘e did, ya know…” Raph complained.

Kasai smiled a bit at that, and put a light hand on his shoulder.

“I know…”

He felt warm all of a sudden, and briefly wondered if it was her Firebending before dismissing the idea.

He’s be BURNING, not warm…

They were on a rooftop now, ready for the run back, when Raph got an idea…

“Hey, Leo. Race ya ‘ome. Unless yer ‘fraid I’ll beat ya like last time.”

“The only thing I’m scared of is your faulty memory. I won last time.”

The two started running, and the gold-eyed Firebender starting speeding up in order to keep them within earshot.

“And it looks like I’m going to have to do it again, Mr. I Can’t Admit Defeat!”

“Keep dreamin’, bro! I’ll wait fer ya back at the lair!”

Jumping across alleys and running on the pavement, Kasai looked up at the dark sky.

When was the last time she’d seen the sun?

Felt the warmth slip strength under her skin?

She hadn’t been out, especially during the day, since she was barely five years old and had accidentally scorched a stove…

Speeding up in order to match pace with the turtles, she smiled a bit at the burn in her legs as her muscles worked.

It had been years since she could run, could move freely, and she was enjoying the open air as she started panting for breath.

Even with the warm-up exercises she’d begun to do, her body wasn’t up to the strain of a long run.

She looked up to see Leo running ahead of his brother, and sped up her pace, feeling Raph was about to rocket himself away.

When the red-banded turtle went off-course, she followed, only if worried that he might find trouble and get involved.

When concrete crumbled under his feet, she dashed forward as fast as her tired legs would allow, catching his hand.

Unfortunately, the sudden weight and her balance off-center, sent her falling over a moment later.

Closing her eyes so she wouldn’t see the fall, she was surprised when Raph grabbed her around the waist and swung on a clothesline to slow their fall.

They landed in the street, and she was still breathing hard from the scare as she gripped his shell tighter.

“MAN, I’m good…”

He blushed as red as his mask, however, when he realized his arm was still around her and she was holding him back.

The beams of flashlights and collective voices caused them to snap to attention, separating.

It was a mob of people, and Kasai flinched away from the light.

“What now? Angry villagers?”

Taking hold of her hand, he pulled her along into an alley.

Footsteps and shouts thundered after them, and she closed her eyes as it brought back horrible nightmares.

Lights tried to follow them, and she almost tripped over some garbage.

“New York, New York…It’s a shell ‘a a town…”

Turning another corner, both skidded to a halt at a dead end.

The dark-skinned turtle tried to open a nearby door, but it was soundly locked.

“Great…The ol’ Turtle Luck runnin’ true ta form…”

Light managed to creep around the corner thanks to moving flashlights, and angry shouts reached their ears.

“If those bozos wanna piece ‘a me, they’re gonna get more than they’re bargainin’ fer…”

“W-We can’t…”

Hiding behind the sai-wielding ninja, she couldn’t stop shaking…

“D-Don’t…”

Suddenly, the door, once locked, opened, and Raph jumped into the shadows as an old woman stepped out.

“Yes? Whose there?”

“Uh…Me.” Raph answered uncertainly.

“A-And me.” Kasai added.

“I’m Raphael, an’ this is Kasai.”

“Oh, you must be some of Rosetti’s children. I’m Mrs. Morrison.”

The old woman held out her hand, and the gold/red-haired girl noticed her eyes.

“Help me, dear. I can’t see you. I can’t see anything. I’ve been blind for almost a year now.”

The Firebender took the hand gently in her own, her fingers and palm looking slim and delicate against the slightly wrinkled ones.

Raph even took a careful hold of the other, so Mrs. Morrison would know both were still there.

“I wasn’t expecting you till tomorrow. Come on in and I’ll show you what to do.”

The two were pulled in by the smiling woman, and the door was almost shut before one of the many mob members came to ask her something.

“Excuse me, ma’am. Have you seen any strange alien creatures run through here?”

“Don’t be silly.”

Morrison giggled at the very thought.

“There aren’t any aliens around here.”

The door was closed on them, and everyone relaxed.

The two teens set about moving boxes around, and Raph would’ve objected to the Firebender helping if she hadn’t seemed so willing.

He didn’t understand her determination at first, but didn’t question it.

Moving all the boxes was hard enough, after all…

“Those boxes go by the door, and the large trunk as well.”

Kasai smiled, patting the white cat as she settled a cardboard box down.

“Ya movin’ out, Mrs. M?”

“Forced out, I’m afraid…”

The gold-eyed girl looked up, feeling sympathetic.

She knew what it felt like to be forced out of your home…

“The bank’s foreclosing on my mortgage. Since my husband died, well…the money’s almost gone…I haven’t any other family…All I have is Lucy, my cat.”

The little feline purred, rubbing against the red-banded turtle and meowing.

Raph smiled a bit at little Lucy, scratching her behind the ears, before feeling horrible about the kind old woman’s situation.

Mrs. Morrison even served tea or coffee, though Kasai herself wasn’t sure which.

She’d never tasted either, but the warm drink was appreciated.

“Don’t slurp, son.”

“Sorry, ma’am…”

The Firebender couldn’t help a small smile behind her cup, and felt strangely light.

She’d figured the sai-wielding turtle was truly as gruff as he’d seemed to be, and it was…nice…to see his softer side…

Lucy jumped onto the turtle’s shoulder, purring and rubbing against his neck.

“Lucy’s really taken a liking to you, Raphael.” Morrison noted.

Kasai agreed whole-heartedly, petting the cat’s head, giggling when it gave her a lick with its sandpaper tongue.

“She usually doesn’t take to strangers…She used to live in the alley out back. I sort of adopted her…Or she adopted me. It’s hard to tell with cats.”

“Hey, I’m a bit ‘a an alley cat, too…Maybe that’s why she likes me…”

“Well, I shouldn’t keep you two any longer…It is a school night, after all.”

“Yeah…My father will probably be waitin’ fer us.”

They were led back to the door, and Kasai cuddled the cat a moment before handing it back to its owner.

“If you two would like to visit again, me and Lucy will be here a little longer. We’d love to have you.”

“Me? Really?”

The gold/red-haired girl smiled.

“W-We’d be happy to. Th-Thank you, Mrs. Morrison.”

The pair headed off after their final goodbyes, and made their way to the rooftops once more.

“…Ya’ve stopped stutterin’.”

Kasai looked at him blankly a moment, as if wondering where the statement came from.

“Yer stutterin’. Ya’ve started to stop.”

Blushing a bit at the thought that someone noticed, she nodded.

“Sh-She was sweet…I-I didn’t feel scared around her…”

“…Do ya feel scared ‘round me?”

She stopped, realizing he had done the same, and tilted her head a bit in thought.

“…I-I used to be…” She admitted.

“B-But…Not anymore…”

“…What made ya change yer min’?”

Kasai smiled, continuing on her even pace.

“…You did…”

And, somehow, those words warmed him to his heart…

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After the three had left, Chi was left with Mikey, Don, and Leatherhead.

Mizu and Artemis had gone off for an Indiana Jones marathon, and the blind, red/gold-haired girl couldn’t exactly PARTICIPATE…

So she stood in the middle of the ‘living room’, taking a stance similar to one from the Southern Praying Mantis art.

She was meditating, concentrating solely on her thoughts and the vibrations in the bricks.

If she REALLY concentrated, her ‘vision’ could spread through New York City above them, wind through the many tunnels, over buildings, across streets…

Even past New York itself…

She could almost see the farmhouse in Northampton when Mikey decided putting a strange tinfoil hat on Leatherhead’s head would help TV reception.

The action was so strange she snapped out of it, and she quirked an eye-ridge at the orange-banded turtle as he flopped down on the couch.

She ignored his annoying tendencies, and went to the kitchen for a glass of water.

Coming back out, she took a swig before noticing Splinter come out of his room and decide to bring Mikey along on a search of the sewer tunnels.

The Earthbender put the glass down, smiling a bit.

“I’ll come wit’ ya.”

“There’s no need, Chi.” Splinter assured.

“I don’t min’. I ain’t got anythin’ else ta do, an’ I can help ya.”

She followed the pair out, pulling the white tank top down over her stomach as it insisted on wrinkling up towards her chest, and shook out her khaki shorts.

The tunnels were pretty banged up, from what Chi could tell, and they had to climb over some debris in order to make any headway.

They met a persistent block in a tunnel they were heading down, and Chi grabbed Mikey’s mask tails as he tried to escape.

“Yer not goin’ anywhere, mister…”

“But CHI…”

She sighed, releasing him.

“Ya two can get ‘round this topside. I’ll clear it out.”

Splinter nodded sagely, leading his reluctant son up to a manhole as the Earthbender took a stance.

Carefully levitating boulders and debris out of the way, she made sure the ceiling was properly supported before moving slightly through.

Once there was enough room in the tunnel to walk through safely, she decided her job was done and continued on, wiping some sweat and dust off her forehead.

After some walking, she stopped at high rubble and a collapsed roof.

“Well, who made this?” She pondered gruffly, shifting the blockage to either side to make for easy passage.

She didn’t want something stabbing her foot and impairing her bending, after all.

Sensing figures up ahead, Chi sped up her pace, brow furrowing when she realized there were two more than there should have been…

‘Are they under attack?’

Running into a subway stop, partially abandoned, she skidded to a halt as she registered two figures being forced towards the tracks.

“HEY!”

The two men, one obviously larger than the others, turned to the angry-looking, small blind girl.

“Ya’d better back off fer I make ya!”

“And who is going to stop us, little girl?”

The bricks began to quake, and Chi raised her hands.

“Me.”

Mikey’s eyes widened.

“Chi, don’t-!”

The smaller man, wearing a white suit, ran for her.

Earth came up slightly, redirecting his feet and causing him to fall into a column of earth as she brought it up.

The other was much stronger than the first, however, and Chi found it hard to keep from getting punched.

Earth and brick came up to shield her from the blows until she could move, until it shattered and a fist smacked into her stomach.

With a surprised cry of pain, she flew back, and Mikey managed to jump up and catch her.

“Chi, are you alright?”

“’Cept fer my stomach an’ ribs? I’m fine…”

Mikey couldn’t help a grin at that, and she smirked softly, eyes half-lidded.

The orange-banded turtle held her close, hearing the rattle of train tracks, signaling a trains arrival.

“Perhaps it is time for them to catch the train, Mr. Go.”

“Or perhaps it is time for the train to catch THEM, Mr. Touch.”

The three were hit onto the tracks, and with a ‘WHOOSH’, the train sped by, seeming to have dragged them along, lifeless…

Chi couldn’t help a smirk at the two men…

‘Suckers…’

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Knock-Knock!

“HELLO. Room service!”

“We placed no order!”

“Uh…Yes you did!”

“GO AWAY! WE-PLACED-NO-ORDER!”

The door was opened, and a boulder flew, smacking Hun back into the room.

He growled, looking up at Chi’s smug face.

“Actually, it looks like ya ordered a nice butt-whoopin’…Earthbendin’ style.”

Mikey followed her in, grinning.

“You GO, girl!”

They ‘high-fived’.

“Yeah, I know…”

“Well, it looks like it’s just you and me, Mr. T! And I’ll show you what happens when you throw me in front of a moving train-!”

Mikey was cut off when he was punched through the air, but he landed on sand.

“Let’s try that again, shall we?” The orange-banded turtle asked, springing back into action.

Chi faced the other two downed opponents who were beginning to rise.

“Let me give ya some advice.”

The ground slid under their feet, sending them toppling over.

“Stay down.”

Something like mist came down from below, but Chi only felt it on her skin.

“Alright, Touchy! NOW you’re gonna get it!”

“What are you trying to pull?! This silly fog will not protect you for long, little one!!”

“What’s the matter? Can’t hit what you can’t see?”

The red/gold-haired girl could only smile a bit at that.

‘I sure can hit what I can’t see…’

Someone tried to swing at her, but she side-stepped with ease, palming them in the chest.

“As a ninja, I don’t have that problem!”

Mr. Touch turned, a confused expression on his face until a rock-encased fist smacked into his face.

“And neither does she!”

“Got THAT right!” She agreed.

“Ready for the finale?”

“Let’s do this…”

The floor came up, lifting both Touch and Go, and flung them out the window.

Hun managed to hold onto the windowsill, and climbed in a bit.

“Hun, my man, you throw one SHELL of a shindig!”

Chi nodded, letting the floor settle into its rightful place.

“Yeah, but I probably won’t come back fer another…”

“Thanks for the party favor, anyway!”

Splinter joined them, and was surprised to find that the two craters below were now empty…

“Come. We must go. It is not safe here.”

“Ya know, sensei, this whole using your mind thing is so WILD!”

Chi smiled.

“Maybe ya should do it more often…I kinda like it when ya think…”

Mikey stopped, turning to look at her.

“…Really?”

Starting to understand where he was going with that statement, she grinned.

“Yeah.”

Matching her grin, he picked her up straight off the ground and surprised her with a kiss.

They were still moving, and he swung her around a bit until her feet latched on to the sides of his shell.

Stilling herself, she got past the shock and kissed him back, arms wrapping around his neck.

Pulling back for air, the turtle grinned wider than he ever had before.

“So, the Mikester sure made you fall hard, huh? Was it the old Mikey Charm?”

She gave him a whap on the side of the head.

“OW.”

“Shell-fer-brains.”

She still had a small smile on her face, and nuzzled his neck.

“But I still love ya…”

“Same here, babe…Same here…”

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Leo was pacing again…

“Love, can you stop?”

Artemis took hold of his arm, concern in her eyes.

“…Sorry…But Raph and Kasai are late and Mikey’s gone with Master Splinter and Chi-.”

She smiled, kissing him in order to stop the rambling.

“I know…We’re all worried, alright?”

Don and Leatherhead were caught in their own little worlds, the former only coming out enough to share kisses with his girlfriend as she helped…

“…Okay, I’M worried, too…”

The elevator doors opened, showing the red-banded turtle and Kasai, and the blue-banded turtle sighed.

“MAN, Raph. I knew you were slow, but come on! What took you?”

“Hey, dudes and dudettes!” Mikey exclaimed, arm around Chi’s waist as the other held up a briefcase.

“You won’t BELIEVE this!”

“Trust me, ya won’t…”

Artemis only smiled, seeing the signs even as the youngest turtle released the petite Earthbender.

They still held hands, stayed close together…

“I have in my hands a briefcase OVERFLOWING with possibilities!”

Opening it, the orange-banded turtle revealed the money inside.

As he listed off everything they could buy, Mizu ran her finger over the bills…

“It sure is a lot…”

“Actually, Mikey…”

Raph shared a knowing glance with the gold-eyed Firebender…

“We got a better idea…”

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Knocking on the green rusted door, the two waited for Mrs. Morrison to answer the door with Lucy.

“Hey, Mrs. M. It’s me. Raphael. We found this case on yer doorstep.”

Kasai nodded.

“I-It’s full of money.”

“Who could have done such a thing?” The elderly woman questioned, taking the case.

The Firebender smiled, hands clasped behind her back.

“M-Maybe you’ve got a guardian angel…Wh-Who wants you to stay right wh-where you are…”

‘And he’s right here…’