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Chapter Text

Michelangelo stopped at the sewer junction below Amsterdam Avenue and West 173rd Street, listening for the rumble of cars overhead. He heard nothing, so he lifted the manhole cover a few inches and peeked out at the darkened Highbridge Play Center. It was always a risk coming up out of the sewers in the city, yet he knew from experience that this corner was usually quiet at around midnight, and this overcast evening was no exception. He looked left and right for people and cars, then he quietly slipped onto the sidewalk and replaced the manhole cover before running to the shadows beside the building.

He liked this part of the city, especially the park, and sometimes he would hop the fence behind the rec center to go for a late-night swim in the pools there; but tonight he had other entertainment in mind, so he gripped his skateboard tightly and continued on to the tree-shrouded concrete walkway that circled behind the pool area. There, he leaped onto his board and got a speed-start before launching himself up onto the metal railing that went along the stairs that led to the lower pathway. His board screeched and sparked on the way down, and at the bottom he landed securely on his wheels as he continued on to the left.

There was little he enjoyed more than skating the sewer pipes and subway lines below the city, but sometimes he just wanted to get out in the air; and though last year the city had opened mountain bike trails and dirt jumps in Highbridge Park, they were not at all suited to skateboarding, even with the rough-terrain modifications Donnie had made to his new board. The paved paths around the park were better for that, but in his mind they were just not quite open enough, and more than once he'd come a bit too close to hitting a wandering raccoon or a mother opossum with her babies on her back for him to feel comfortable going along that way at the speed he liked.

At the point where the walkway turned on a hairpin to the left he stopped and kicked his board up, catching it in a smooth and practiced motion. He tucked it under his arm as he looked at the low building there; then he vaulted over the seven-foot-tall wrought iron fence and hopped down the stairs. There, he paused for a moment, casting his sight high above the gatehouse, where the Highbridge Water Tower stood like a sentinel against the clouded sky; then he shifted his eyes down to the building's metal door, where on the lintel were affixed the brass numbers 1848.

The High Bridge between Manhattan and the Bronx was the oldest bridge in New York City, though it was really nothing more than a pedestrian walkway. It had closed down some time in the 1970s, but Mike had heard on the news that the city was going to start fixing it up next year for public use again, so he wanted to get as many rides on it as he could before that happened. He was really going to miss it up here, since it had always been his favorite place to just get out to catch some fresh air and maybe stare up at the stars for a while.

Not that there were any stars out tonight. Honestly, he thought, it looked like it might rain. Still, that did provide one small advantage, since on nights when bad weather threatened, homeless people didn't tend to come out to the bridge to sleep. It was unfortunate that they had to do that at all, but it was a sad reality in New York, and when people were up there resting at night, Mike didn't like to disturb them with his skating; so he had gotten into the habit of strolling along the 1400-foot span before taking to his board, just to see if there was anyone there that he might bother.

He spun around east and started walking along the bridge, heading towards the Bronx end, which was invisible in the darkness far ahead. For the first hundred feet or so, cars rushed by on the roadway beneath the western stone arch, but the traffic noises faded as he continued along the iron span that towered some 140 feet above the Harlem River. A few boats slid by on the water below, their lights mere pinpricks on the black nothingness, and even though Mike had no fear of heights, he still got an anxious tingle in his feet when he glanced over the side.

Funny how that never kept him from grinding the rails there, but he supposed that focusing on his skills kept him from thinking about the plunge. Still, he had stopped bringing his chucks out on nights when he wanted to ride the bridge, ever since he'd accidentally lost one over the water while doing a frontside bluntslide that had gone a bit awry a few months ago. The flip itself had gone well, but on the landing he had hit a hidden groove in the metal and the board had come out from under him, and he'd only just managed to keep himself from falling into the river by grabbing a light pole… though the front truck of his board had bent, and one set of his chucks ended up taking the long dive into the water.

Mike pushed the memory of Splinter scolding him about that to the back of his mind and continued on, thankful, at least, that the accident had led to Donnie making him this new board. He was eager to get on it for a long, straight rush, and for a while he figured he would soon be able to do just that, since he saw no indication that anyone was making the bridge their home for the night; but then on the light breeze he caught a whiff of what might have been cigarette smoke.

He stopped, sniffing the air and looking intently ahead. He saw nothing except the faint lights of the Bronx shining through the overgrown trees on the eastern side of the bridge, so he walked on. Then he stopped again. He couldn't be sure, but he thought that perhaps he had just seen a small light about fifty feet away on the right. It was there for a moment, then gone… and at once he smelled smoke again.

His shoulders slumped. There was someone there, and so his hopes of having a nice evening out evaporated. Still, he thought, maybe he could come back in a couple hours and they would be gone, then he could have his ride without disturbing anyone. If it wasn't raining by then. Not that he minded the rain, but it made his board a bit more unpredictable than he liked, especially on the rails.

Regardless, he didn't immediately turn around and leave. Instead, he peered into the shadows, and at last he could just make out a figure dressed in clothes so dark that they practically blended into the night. Curiosity got the better of him then, and he silently stepped a bit closer, halting at about thirty feet away, where he had a little better view.

He could see now that the human was leaning against the chest-high rail, just to the side of one of the many non-functioning light poles that lined the bridge. Their head was covered by a hood, and they were wearing what seemed to be a black leather jacket; and though he could make out little else, it looked like they had what might have been an old canvas backpack slung over their shoulders. As he watched on, the person lifted a small, pale hand to their hidden face, and the tip of their cigarette glowed brightly as they took a long drag.

Yeah… he thought. They don't want to be bothered.

Mike at last made the decision to go home and backed a step away; but before he could turn around to leave he saw the person stiffen up. They then threw their spent cigarette into the river below before sticking their feet on the horizontal lower bar and lifting themselves up onto their toes in order to lean over the railing.

Oh… that's not good…

The human leaned farther and farther over, craning their neck as if searching for something below; and though their hands seemed to be gripping the rail tightly, still their feet began to slip slightly off of the bar below them. Mike felt his own feet begin to tingle as he imagined the human plunging head-first into the darkness, not knowing how far they had to fall before hitting the water.

Bad idea! he thought as the person's feet slipped a little more. Very bad idea!

Without taking another moment to mull it over, Mike dropped his board to the ground with a loud clatter and charged forward. The stranger whipped their head around, presumably looking to where the noise had come from, but they barely managed to let out a brief yelp of alarm before he had grabbed them by the backpack.

The person tried to pull away, sliding one arm out of their pack strap and nearly sending themselves over the side of the bridge in their fright; so Mike reached out and seized them by the wrist, then wrapped his arm around their waist to pull them back again. Their legs kicked and their arms flailed against him, and he was taken by surprise by an abrupt elbow to the jaw.

He let go then, dropping the person rather indelicately to their knees on the bricks and sending the backpack to the ground beside them. Their hood slipped off as they wheeled about, revealing a young Japanese lady with short black hair and bangs that fell untidily over her brow; and when her eyes fixed on Mike's face, she gasped and fell back onto her bottom. She then grabbed her bag and scurried away from him for a dozen or so feet before standing and hollering something at him in Japanese.

There were only a few words that Mike could translate, and he suddenly wished that he had paid more attention to Splinter's language lessons. Not that she was taking a moment to pause in her berating to let him respond, so he simply gave her what he hoped was a friendly smile. The girl just seemed to grow more agitated by this, and she swiftly unbuckled her backpack then reached inside, drawing something out before tossing the bag down and spilling the contents onto the bridge. She then waved the object at him threateningly, all the while yelling things that he could not understand.

Mike took a step back, thinking at first that maybe she had pulled a gun on him; but when he looked closer at what was in her hand he realized that it was green.

She yelled louder still, and Mike held his hands out in a peaceful gesture.

"Hey, I'm… um… I'm sorry if I hurt you and your…" He squinted at the object. "…Cucumber?"

Her jaw slacked. "You speak English?" she asked, lowering her hand a bit.

That was kind of an odd question, he thought, to ask someone that lived in New York. "Uh… yeah?"

She gave him a puzzled look, then pointed the cucumber at him again. "Fine!" she said. "You want this? Do you want it?"

"Not really," he told her, rubbing his sore chin. "My brother Leo might, though."

"Your… brother?"

"Yeah. He's a vegetarian. I mean, he does eat cheese and—"

"Whatever!" she cut him off; then she turned the cucumber over and showed him the Japanese writing that was carved into the side. "You see this? This is me!" She then held the cucumber high in the air before throwing it over the railing, to the river far below. "Go get it, and leave me alone!"

"I, um… I'm good." He glanced at where the vegetable had vanished into the darkness, then turned back to her. "Thanks, anyway."

She drew her eyebrows together. "You… you really don't want it?"

"Not really," he said, grimacing as he pictured the cucumber floating down the Harlem River. "Especially not now."

The confused look on her face deepened. "What kind of kappa are you?"

Oh, he thought. Kappa. Right. It wasn't the first time he had been mistaken for one of those… though he didn't know what the cucumber had to do with anything.

"I'm not a kappa," he said with a wave of his hand. "I'm a turtle. Just a turtle."

"If you were just a turtle you wouldn't be standing on two feet and talking."

He scratched the back of his neck. "Okay, that's fair."

Still she stared at him, and Mike shifted his eyes uncomfortably to the side to avoid locking gazes with her.

"What do you want with me?" she asked at last.

"I don't want anything," he said. "I actually… I was just afraid you were gonna, you know, fall into the river, so I kind of…"

She looked to where she had been leaning over the rail not so long ago. "You were… trying to save me?" she asked. "Why?"

Mike lifted his shoulder in half a shrug. "Because, um… gravity?"

"No! Why would you want to save me at all?"

"It's just… kind of what I do," he said, his cheeks growing slightly warm. "So, um… I'm sorry I scared you, but I guess you're okay now, so I'll just, you know… go home." He turned his shell to her. "Have a good night."

He started making his way back towards the west side of the bridge, picking up his board as he went; but he didn't make it very far before she called out to him.

"Wait!" she said. "Just… wait!"

He stopped and turned around, watching as the girl slowly walked near to him and studied his face. Up close, he could see that her eyes were much lighter than he might have thought, though in the shadows it was difficult to tell exactly what color they were. She looked him over for a few seconds before lifting her hand and poking him on the arm. He glanced down at where her finger had touched, then back up to see that her eyes were narrowed with confusion.

"Heh, yeah," he said. "I'm real."

She let out long breath. "Okay…" she said, then she shook her head as she turned away. "I need a smoke."

Chapter Text

Mike watched as the young lady lowered herself to her knees and shoved her scant belongings into her bag, then she carried it to the side of the bridge and sat down with her back to the railing. She let out a loud groan and pulled her legs up to her chest, resting her forehead on her knees; and although he couldn't tell if she wanted to be alone or not, still he made his way over to her.

"Are you… um… are you okay?" he asked.

"No," she said, her voice muffled. "But thanks for asking."

Mike shuffled from foot-to-foot. "Do you wanna… I dunno, talk about it?"

She looked up at him, then rested her head back against the metal bars as she pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her jacket pocket. "Sure. Why not? The night's already weird, might as well make it weirder by chatting with a giant turtle."

He set his board down in front of her and sat down on it; then he turned his eyes to the tufts of grass that were poking out from between the old, shifting bricks at his feet.

"So, are you new in town?" he asked after giving up on finding a better conversation starter.

The girl shrugged. "Been here a couple months," she replied, pulling a cigarette out of the pack and lighting it. "Well, here and there. Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island… wherever I can walk to in a night."

"And tonight you're heading… where?"

She shoved her lighter and cigarette pack into her pocket then took a drag, turning her head to blow the smoke aside. "That way," she said, motioning towards the east.

"The Bronx?"

"I guess."

Mike wanted to mention something about how walking alone in the Bronx in the middle of the night probably wasn't the best idea, but instead he just glanced up at the clouded sky. "Do you come to the bridge a lot?"

"A couple times a week, maybe. I like it up here. It's quieter than in the city."

"Yeah," Mike agreed. "That's why I like it, too."

"And besides, it's the only place I can smoke without people giving me dirty looks."

"Uh, I guess." Mike knocked his knuckles against his skateboard. "I usually come up here to ride."

She looked at the board, then raised an eyebrow at him. "Funny we haven't bumped into each other yet. I mean, I think I would have remembered if I had seen you before."

"Well, I don't really like to ride when there are people up here, so if I saw you I probably just… you know… left."

"Yeah, that makes sense," she said, taking another puff; then she held out her hand. "I'm Oyuki, by the way."

He hesitated for a moment, then took tentative hold of her hand and shook it. "Um… Michelangelo."

Oyuki narrowed her eyes as she let go. "Are you Italian?"

"No, my father just likes art. But really, you can call me Mike. Or Mikey."

"Mikey? That's cute." She stood up and turned around to the railing, leaning on it as she looked to the north. "Okay, you've convinced me that you aren't a kappa… but, what are you?"

Mike rose to his own feet and stood beside her, making sure to position himself upwind of her smoke. "It's a long story, but I'm just kinda turtle and kinda human."

Oyuki looked him up and down. "I mean, yeah. I can see that."

"Well, I'm a mutant."

"A mutant?"

"Yeah, but I think my brother Donnie could probably explain it better, though."

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "So… you have a brother Leo and a brother Donnie? How many brothers do you have?"

"Three. There's Raph, too."

"Right," she said. "So, it's the four of you and your art-loving father…"

"Yeah, but he's a rat, not a turtle."

Oyuki flicked the spent cigarette down into the river far below. "Sure, why not?"

Mike tapped his fingertips on the railing. "How about you?" he asked. "You have any family?"

The look she gave him spoke volumes, and he immediately regretted the question; but still she answered.

"Not really," she said. "None that matter."

"That's… sorry. I mean, I'm sorry. For asking."

"No big deal."

They fell silent, and after a minute Mike decided to voice another curiosity.

"Like… what was with the cucumber?"

She let out a flat laugh. "They're good for distracting kappa."

"So, you carry them around just in case you run into one?"

"No," she said, then she pulled out her lighter and started absently flicking it. "Well, yeah, but not 'just in case'. It's mostly because a kappa has been trying to kill me for almost a year now."

"It… what?" he asked, taken slightly aback. "Why is it trying to kill you?"

"Because I ran into it outside Hiroshima," she said as she turned around and sat down again, still flicking the lighter. "Well, I didn't run into it, really. Swam into it might make more sense."

Mike sat down beside her. "So, like… what happened, exactly?"

"I kind of…" Oyuki stopped, then sighed and shoved the lighter back into her jacket pocket. "Okay, first of all, I didn't have any place to live there, either," she said, apparently resigning herself to telling the story from the beginning. "And no place to live means no place to bathe… so on this really hot night last summer I went to this little river I knew about in the woods to get cleaned up, and I was out there skinny dipping when—"

"You were what?" Mike asked, his cheeks warming.

"Skinny dipping," she repeated. "Try to keep up."

"Why were you, uh…?"

"Because I don't own a bathing suit."

"Oh… okay."

She brought her knees up to hug them to her chest once more. "Anyway, I was swimming when this thing… this kappa tried to grab me. I always thought they weren't real, but… I was wrong. It tried to pull me under, and somehow I got away from it and ran back towards the city. I had to leave my clothes by the river, though."

"So you went back to Hiroshima, um…"

"Naked, yeah."

Mike looked down at himself. "I'm always… kinda naked."

"At least you have a shell or whatever to cover your… everything." She playfully flicked one of his mask tails. "And by the way, why do you wear this thing? It's not like anyone can't tell you're a turtle."

"Well, yeah. But my dad had a hard time telling me and my brothers apart when we were kids, so he had us wear different colors. And besides, masks go with the ninja thing."

"And because you like ninjas you decided to dress like one?"

"Actually, I am a ninja," Mike said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But like, a good guy ninja."

Oyuki shook her head and sighed. "Right… a mutant ninja turtle… might as well happen," she said, then she went on telling her tale. "Anyway, I was trying to stay around the outside of the city so nobody would see me, and I broke into this little shop and grabbed some clothes, but when I was putting them on the owner caught me."

Mike's eyes widened. "Uh-oh…"

"It's okay, it turned out he was a pretty nice old guy. I told him what happened and he said that a kappa would never stop coming for someone that got away, and that since I had left my clothes behind it would know how I smelled. He told me a bunch of other stuff about kappas, too, and said that I could protect myself if I carved my name into a cucumber, because they love them and you can trick it into thinking the cucumber is you."

"They don't seem very smart."

"Yeah, thank goodness," she said as she started picking at the grass between the bricks. "The old guy let me keep the clothes and this bag, and he gave me a couple cucumbers and a knife and a little money, then he put me on the train to Fukuyama."

She fell quiet for a moment, and Mike pulled his skateboard closer to himself. "I've never been on a train," he said, for no other reason than to break the silence.

"That was my first time, too," she said with a nod. "I hung out in Fukuyama for a week, and I thought I would be okay… and I got hungry, so I ate the cucumbers. But then the kappa showed up one night." She reached into her bag and pulled out a cork-handled knife. "It grabbed me by the hair, and I used this to try and stab it… but it wouldn't go through its skin, so I cut my hair off to get away. It still chased after me."

"But you did get away, right?" Mike asked anxiously; then he realized that the mere fact that she was sitting there was evidence of that escape. "I mean… how?"

"I bowed at it."

"What?"

"The old guy told me that kappas are polite, and when you bow at one, it has to bow back."

"They don't sound very polite."

"Well, it worked… at least a little. It could have worked better, because the guy told me that people would trick them into bowing, and the water would spill out of their heads and they'd be helpless. But the one that was chasing me had a metal hat on, so the water stayed in… but it distracted it enough for me to get to a busy place, at least."

"Okay…" Mike said, trying to figure out how water could spill out of a head. "So, what did you do then?"

"I pick-pocketed a couple businessmen to get money for a train to Okayama. And it followed me again, but at least that time I had a cucumber, so it was easier to get away." She tossed her knife back into her bag, then she eyed Mike's skateboard. "So, you ride a lot?"

"Do I what?" Mike asked, temporarily confused by the change of subject; then he realized where her attention was. "Um… yeah. All the time."

"I don't think I've ever seen a board with wheels like that."

"Donnie made them for me special."

She hummed. "Can I see it?"

Mike handed the skateboard to Oyuki, who turned it over to examine the underside.

"It's heavy," she said. "Did your, um… Donnie make the shocks, too?"

"Yeah. They work a lot better on bumps and stuff than the ones on my old board did."

"Cool." She stood and set the wheels on the bricks. "Let me see if I can still do this."

Mike got to his feet and watched as she stepped onto the board and moved along the bridge for a little ways, then she spun about and came back in his direction.

"I took off for Osaka the next morning," she said as she rolled past him, as if she hadn't stopped telling her story. "And I noticed there were a lot of cruise ships in port, so I thought that if I got out of the country, maybe the kappa would leave me alone."

"So you snuck onto one?" he asked, watching on as she continued to bump along the bricks. "That had to be hard."

"Not that hard, actually," she said, though she didn't elaborate. "I only learned later that it was headed for America."

Oyuki came around again, and when she was about even with where Mike was standing, she tried to pull into what might have been a heelflip. She was off-balance, though, and the board came out from under her, so Mike lunged forward, catching her while the board itself clattered to a halt some few feet away.

She looked at Mike, who cleared his throat and quickly set her down; then she walked over to the board and picked it up.

"It's too big," she said, returning to his side and handing it to him. "For me, anyway."

"It works pretty good for me," Mike told her as he set the board down on the bricks. "But I do have big feet."

She glanced down at his feet and smirked, then the two of them leaned against the railing again, facing the river to the south.

"After a couple days on the ship," she went on with her tale, "this lady came up and said that she noticed I was always out on deck, and she wanted to know if I was okay. So I told her I was running away from something bad, and she let me hide in her cabin for the rest of the trip. She brought me food every day and she didn't even complain much when I smoked, so long as I kept the window open."

"She sounds nice," Mike said.

Oyuki nodded. "I'm glad she noticed me, and not one of the crew or something."

"So, how long did it take to get to America?"

"About three weeks, I think. Or more? I didn't really keep track. There was a stopover in Hawaii for a couple days."

"Really?" Mike said excitedly. "I've always wanted to go to Hawaii!"

"Me, too… but I couldn't actually get off the boat." Oyuki said as she unzipped both her jacket and the hoodie she was wearing underneath it. "She did buy me souvenirs, though." She stuck her finger under the long braided hemp necklace she had around her neck, at the bottom of which were strung five puka-shells. "This was one."

"That's pretty."

"Yeah. Itches a little, though." She then pulled the jacket and hoodie down off her shoulders and turned to reveal the printing on the back of her light brown shirt. "And she got me this, too."

Mike grinned when he saw that the shirt had the outline of a honu turtle on it with the words Peacekeeper Of The Hawaiian Ocean arched above. He wondered if she had made the connection yet, but before he could mention it, she turned back around.

"Funny, huh?" she asked. "Like she knew I was going to meet you or something."

"Heh… yeah."

She slipped the jacket back over her shoulders, zipping it halfway up as she sat back. "When she was on the ship we played cards and board games and she got me books from the library. She even helped me to learn better English. I mean, I learned English in school, but she taught me how to have a real conversation in your language." She smiled at Mike. "Though this is the first real one I've had since I got here."

Mike returned the smile, and she went on.

"When we got to Los Angeles, she gave me some money, just like the old guy did, and told me to be safe. And that was the last I saw of her."

Oyuki looked down at the water, and Mike got the feeling that she really missed the lady; but he didn't ask, and Oyuki just went on.

"So, I was in California for a couple months," she said. "And I started to think that I was going to be okay. I mean, I still didn't have a place to be, but I didn't think the kappa would come across an ocean to get me."

"Oh… but I guess it did, huh?"

"Of course it did," Oyuki said. "I don't know if the ship that I came on went back to Osaka and the kappa smelled me on it then hitched a ride here or what, but it showed up one night when I was asleep. Again."

"Did you have a cucumber?"

"Yeah, actually. I had kinda started thinking of them as lucky, so I made sure I always had one. I distracted the kappa with it and got away again… then I hopped a train to New York."

"And you've been here since?"

"Yup. Just walking around and waiting… and picking a few pockets so I can at least keep eating. I mean, I know there's a desert and some mountains between here and California, but if an ocean didn't stop the kappa…" She pursed her lips. "I started sleeping during the day in busy places so I can be awake at night and it won't get to sneak up on me, but… I'm getting really tired of watching over my shoulder all the time."

Mike gave her a sympathetic look. "Yeah, I get you," he said. "There's been a lot of things that came after me and my family, too. I mean, like, there were these little robots that tried to eat us… and we've had to deal with a bunch of bad mutants and ninjas and scientist-types that wanted to 'study' us. And then there was this family of immortals from another dimension that tried to—"

"Immortals?" Oyuki cut him off. "You know immortals?"

"Well, not anymore. They kinda died. I mean, one of them did… not sure about the others."

"Doesn't immortal mean they live forever?"

"Um… yeah, usually. But I guess it didn't take."

Oyuki exhaled sharply as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Okay, so… you've seen robots and mutants and ninjas and immortals… but you've never seen a kappa? Ever?"

"Nope," Mike said. "The only kappa I know is something my father likes to eat called kappamaki, but I don't think it has anything to do with your kind of kappa."

She stared at him. "Kappamaki is a cucumber sushi roll."

Mike thought for a moment, then he smiled wide with realization. "Ohhh!" he said. "Cucumber!"

The laugh that Oyuki gave him seemed the most genuine he had heard from her yet, but it was extinguished by a quick gust of wind that blew from behind them. They both turned and looked to the north, where clouds were now gathering in greater billows. Oyuki's expression fell.

"Do you think it's going to rain?" she asked, a somberness to her voice.

"Maybe, yeah," Mike said.

She lowered her eyes, then turned and picked up her bag. "Then it's probably time for me to go."

Chapter Text

"Already?" Mike asked, picking up his board.

Oyuki slipped her backpack over her shoulders. "Well, yeah," she said. "I don't want to get caught in the rain."

He could understand that, but he had also really been enjoying the conversation, and wasn't quite ready for it to be over yet. "Do you, like, want someone to… I mean, want me to walk you…" He stopped, realizing that the word home was not only inappropriate in Oyuki's case, but completely incorrect. "…Anywhere?"

"I mean, I would, but I'm probably just going to head for the train station over that way." She motioned to the east end of the bridge. "And I guess you must not get out in crowds much, so… it's probably not the best place for you to be hanging out."

Mike looked to where she had pointed, trying to remember what station was over that way. "Bronx Park East?"

"If that's what you call it."

"But that's like, miles away."

"I've walked miles before."

"Yeah, but… alone?"

She gave him what looked like a sad smile. "I've been alone for a long time, Mikey."

Mike hung his head. "But… I mean, New York isn't really, you know, safe," he mumbled. "Especially at night."

Oyuki looked back over her shoulder, towards the Bronx. "I know, but…" She turned towards him once more, then she let out a little laugh. "Okay, fine. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a ninja escort, especially one that knows the city."

A grin found its way to Mike's lips and he rushed to her side, then the two of them started strolling east.

"Don't worry about people seeing me," he said, tucking his board under his arm. "I can hide pretty fast if I need to."

"That's cool," Oyuki told him, then she gave him a playful cuff on the arm. "You're cool. Definitely the most interesting person I've met in New York so far."

"Yeah, well… being green and all."

"Nah. Well, yeah. But you're fun to talk to, anyway."

He smiled at her. "You, too."

"Maybe we can hang out again some—"

Oyuki drew to a sudden halt, then she stiffened up and her eyes darted back and forth for a moment before growing wide.

He was about to ask her what was wrong, but then he heard something like the snuffling of a thirsty animal, followed by what sounded like metal scraping metal. He and Oyuki looked at one another, then they turned back around towards the darkened bridge behind them.

Mike swallowed anxiously, while Oyuki stared unblinking into the darkness.

"So, um… you said you come up here a lot, right?" he asked.

"Yeah…"

"And the kappa knows what you smell like, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So… do you think that's the, um…"

"Yeah…"

They both took a step back as the light scraping and snuffling gave way to clanging and wheezing. Mike saw long needle-like talons grip the bottom-most bars of the rail where they had just been standing, and without stopping to think, he grabbed Oyuki by the hand and started running towards the closer end of the bridge.

Behind them the noises grew louder, shifting into what might have been the sound of clawed feet running on the uneven bricks. Then abruptly the noises stopped, and Mike looked back over his shoulder to see a small figure in a crouched position some distance away. Before his eyes could make out the creature's shape, though, it sprung toward them. He yanked Oyuki aside just in time and the creature flew past, landing in front of them, then Mike stood fast, pulling her protectively behind his shell.

He dropped his board and reached for his chucks, remembering only then that he hadn't brought them that night; so he instead took an unarmed defensive stance as he squinted at the small creature that was now huffing and puffing about fifteen feet away. It wasn't quite four feet tall, and to Mike it looked for all the world like a monkey with a turtle shell. It had shaggy green fur that in patchy places shifted into rough scales and bare skin, and its long and sharp fingers and toes were webbed, as if they were meant for swimming. On the top of its flat head was a cap, as Oyuki had mentioned, that looked like no more than a squished metal pan that had been bolted down into its skull.

Mike shrunk back, then the initial rush of fright gave way to a touch of offense.

He turned halfway around to look at Oyuki. "You mistook me for that thing?" he asked. "I mean… that?"

"It was dark, okay?" she said, peeking out from behind his arm.

The kappa let out a strangled gurgle and Mike spun back around to face it as it began slowly crawling their way.

"So… got any more cucumbers?" he asked, backing them both up a couple more steps.

"I wasted mine on you," she snapped.

All at once the kappa stopped and crouched back like a cat, then it launched itself again at the pair. Mike pushed Oyuki away and caught the creature by the leg, then spun it around, throwing it against the railing on the north side of the bridge with a loud clang. The kappa was much heavier than Mike thought it would be, so the throw sent him off balance and he bumped into Oyuki, knocking her to the ground; but when he turned to see if she was okay, she was pointing behind him.

"Look out!" she yelled.

He spun back around to see the kappa in mid-air, growing nearer. This time he grabbed it around the midsection, trying to get a good hold on the slimy fur, but only managing to get a grip of the edge of the thing's gouged and chipped carapace. That could work, he thought… he'd had enough sparring sessions with his brothers to know what to do from there; so he curled himself around the kappa's shell, then swung out, flipping it away from himself and Oyuki.

The kappa twisted impossibly fast while in the air and landed on all fours, then it immediately scurried at him again. He kicked it away as it came near, then it once more landed on its hands and feet and pounced forward. It slammed into him, knocking him onto his shell beside Oyuki, and as he grappled with the creature it reached out with its knife-like fingers, grabbing hold of her necklace as she tried to scramble away. The necklace snapped and the kappa threw it to the ground, then it shrieked and reached out again.

"Oh, no you don't!" Mike said as he rolled himself and the kappa away from Oyuki. "You're not gonna—"

The creature kicked up while he was on top of it, hitting him in the chest and sending him flying back. He caught a glimpse of the railing as he went over the side of the bridge and he reached out, getting a hold on the top bar just in time. He swung over and his feet landed on the concrete ledge above the water, then he jumped back up and over the rail before running full-force at the kappa.

It dodged his charge, so he came back around and tried to punch it; but then the kappa pounced forward, slamming its metal-covered head into his stomach and again sending him back onto his shell. He slid across the rough bricks, and when he skittered to a halt he looked over at Oyuki, who had by now gotten to her feet.

"Strong for a little guy!" he said breathlessly.

"They like to sumo wrestle!" she said, backing up to the railing.

"They what?"

A green blur came flying from the darkness and Mike reached out, grabbing the kappa by the metal hat and slamming it to the bricks. The move didn't seem to do much good, and the kappa jumped up just as quickly as it went down, landing with all of its weight on his stomach before springing off to the opposite side of the bridge.

Mike struggled to his feet, doubling over from the pain where the kappa had just landed on his midsection. He heard the kappa say something, but it was strangled and rough, and barely recognizable as Japanese; and when Mike lifted his head, he saw it standing a few feet in front of him, bending at the waist.

"Um… what's it—" he began.

"Don't straighten up…" Oyuki whispered. "Put your head back down…"

"I don't…" he said, then he realized what position he was in. "Oh… okay. How long do I have to—"

"Just don't move," she warned, and from the corner of his eye, he saw her side-step away from him. "I'm just going to…"

At the edge of his vision, he saw Oyuki pick up his skateboard, then she slowly moved behind the kappa and swung back. She slammed the board as hard as she could across the creature's head, and the metal plate on top made a loud ringing noise as the kappa fell to its knees; but when Oyuki drew back again, the kappa spun around towards her, extending its claws.

Mike jumped at the kappa, grabbing it by the shell and lifting it over his head. It seemed even heavier now, and it was hard to keep a grip on the creature as it flailed its arms and kicked its legs, but he managed to turn towards the side of the bridge. He thought that maybe if he tossed the kappa into the river below, that would at least give him and Oyuki a chance to make a break for it; but when he threw the kappa, its long fingers curled around a light pole and it swung back around.

He grabbed it by the arm as it again reached for Oyuki, then he yanked back as hard as he was able; but without warning the creature's arms pulled loose of its torso, which then fell with a thud onto the bricks, leaving Mike holding to a squirming length of what seemed like a single long limb with talons at each end. He screamed at the sight and threw the arms down, then kicked them away.

"What the…!" he yelled, watching them wriggle like a worm across the bridge. "They're moving!"

The kappa began suddenly to cry and whine as it looked down at its armless body, then it tried to scurry over to the discarded limbs that now seemed to be making an effort to crawl towards their owner, as well.

Mike and Oyuki looked at one another, then her eyes grew wide and she dropped the skateboard, running for the arms. Picking them up at the center where the claws could not reach her, she held them, still writhing, high above her head.

She yelled something in Japanese and the kappa stopped moving towards her, then it looked at her with an almost sad expression. She waved the arms at it and said something else Mike could not understand, and the creature then whimpered and responded in a forced and feral voice. He thought he understood a little bit of what it had said then—yes and please, if he was not mistaken—though he hadn't paid enough attention to Splinter's language lessons to translate the rest.

Oyuki went on speaking, shaking the arms at the kappa again; then the creature mumbled something and walked close to her. Mike took a step forward, but Oyuki waved him back, then he watched on as the kappa bowed low. She held the arms down and the kappa turned a bit, allowing her to slip the now-relaxed limbs in through the gap in the side of its body.

It twisted its arms around, perhaps to get them into a more comfortable position, then it turned and bowed at her again before stumbling over to Mike and bowing at him, as well. It then slunk to the side of the bridge and pulled itself up and over the railing, looking back at them for a couple seconds before jumping into the darkness below.

Mike stepped over and looked down over the railing, then turned to Oyuki, who was wiping her hands on her jeans.

"Okay…" he said. "What just happened?"

"I remembered something else the old guy told me," Oyuki said as she moved to Mike's side. "That kappa hate it if someone pulls their arms out."

"Well… yeah." Mike shrugged. "Who wouldn't?"

She glanced down towards the river. "He told me that if you can get their arms away from them they'll promise you anything to get them back, and they have to keep the promise. I just never thought that particular detail would come in handy."

"Oh… yeah, okay. That makes sense. So, what did you make it promise?"

"To leave me, and everyone, alone. Forever."

Mike nodded. "Good idea."

He turned away from the rail, then looked down to where Oyuki's broken necklace was lying on the bricks. He leaned over and picked it up, then held it out to her; but even as she took it from him, she shook her head and grinned.

"Here," she said, taking the snapped ends of the hemp cord and reaching them behind his neck, tying them in place. "I think you deserve this."

Mike lifted the puka shells to look at them. "Thanks," he said, smiling wide. "But you didn't have to—"

He stopped as he felt a cold drop land on the top of his head, then he and Oyuki both looked to the sky.

"So…" she said. "We were getting off the bridge because of the rain?"

"Um, yeah. I guess." Mike made his way over and picked up his board, then turned to see Oyuki staring towards the Bronx. "It… you know, might start raining real hard before we get to the station."

She shrugged, then started walking east. "I can't think of any other place to go."

Mike took gentle hold of her wrist, letting go when his cheeks immediately began to warm. "What if, um… I mean, I think I know a place you can go… if you want."

"Like a shelter?" she asked.

"Not really," he said, motioning with his head towards Manhattan. "I have these friends, and I think they wouldn't mind you staying with them… for a while."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "These friends," she said. "Are they mutants, too?"

"No, they're human… but they're cool."

Oyuki thought for a moment, then squinted at the sky as the rain began to fall harder. "Okay," she said at last, lifting her hood up over her head as they began to walk west. "But are you sure about this? I mean, I am a complete stranger to them. You sure they're even gonna let me in?"

Mike waved a hand at her. "Yeah, of course," he said. "But you won't be able to smoke there."

She scoffed. "Is there anywhere in this country where I can smoke?" she asked, then she let out a long sigh. "Fine. I should quit, anyway."

They fell silent as they kept walking on, until at last they reached the end of the bridge, where they stepped around the gatehouse and up to the fence. Mike jumped up onto it and reached a hand down to her, but she just raised an eyebrow, then slipped around the side, easing through a gap that was just big enough for her to fit. When she got to the other side, Mike jumped down beside her.

"You know," he said, leading the way to the left. "This is the weirdest night I've had in, like, a year."

"Why?" she asked, then her feet slipped a bit on the wet incline and she took hold of his arm for support. "What happened last year that was weirder than this?"

He looked down at her hand where it was holding to him, then he smiled and faced forward again. "Remember those immortals I was talking about…?"