Midori: Chapter Fourteen
***
Don and Midori were watching a movie on TV when Mike and Leo came home.
"Hey," Leo greeted his brother and Midori, sitting on the arm of the couch. "Raph home yet?"
"Yep." Don grinned, "Midori beat him in practice."
Mike smiled. "Really? Raph was beat by a girl? Sweet!"
Midori looked up at Mike. "It wasn't a big deal. He got me first."
Mike clicked his tongue at her. "Don't rain on the parade, sister. So where is he? Licking his wounds in our room?" He took off towards the car he shared with Raph without waiting for an answer.
Don shook his head and chuckled. "Glad I didn't tell him the details."
"At least he'll be teasing someone else for awhile," Leo said, standing and heading towards the kitchen.
Don was about to ask Midori something when Mike suddenly flew through the room. Raph stormed in after him, glaring at Midori before speaking. "I guess this means Leo's home too, huh?"
"Yeah," Don said. "Kitchen."
Don and Midori sat in silence as Raph went into the kitchen. Midori wondered if Raphael was always this angry, or if it was just because of her. Even as much as Raphael fought with his brothers, he was still closer to them then she had been with anyone. She secretly envied that type of unconditional love that could only come from being a part of a family.
There was more silence before Leo yelled out, "I can't believe you did that!"
"You're just jealous that I got info you couldn't."
"It's not what you got, Raph, it's how you got it."
"Whatever."
"I'm calling April." Leo left the kitchen and passed Don and Midori as he went for the phone, which was set up in the corner.
"Why? What's she gonna do?" Raph came storming in after Leo.
"Inform the police, of course."
"Police?!? Come on, Leo, we both know the cops won't be able to handle this. We should take them out ourselves."
"We don't go looking for fights, Raph."
"Then why all this checking up on the Foot, huh? Was it just to kill time?"
Don glanced at Midori. "Come on." They got up and moved into another part of the lair. Midori noticed that there were very few walls to divide rooms, except for the cars, yet every area was clearly marked if you took the time to look.
"Are they always like that?" Midori asked, remembering the yelling she could hear through the car walls while she was recovering.
"Pretty much. You'll get used to it."
***
Midori waited until everyone was asleep. It was obvious to her that they had all decided to let the police handle this, but she knew better. The police would never be able to stop them. Even if they did, they'd never catch any of the Foot and they'd just try again another night. No, someone had to stop them, and it looked like it was going to be her.
After getting all her gear on and loading up on her smaller weapons, she snuck into the dojo to get the naginata that stood on their rack of weapons. She knew she would be in trouble but this was bigger than that.
As she climbed out of the lair she suddenly realized that she had no idea where she was. There was nothing to orient her as to her whereabouts. She'd lived on the streets, not in the sewers. Finally she decided to just pick a direction and get up to the streets as soon as possible.
"You're going the wrong way."
Midori spun around to see Raph standing just on the other side of the den entrance. He had his arms crossed, and was in full gear as well. She didn't want him trying to talk her out of this, or worse, dragging her back and alerting the others. "Would you mind pointing me in the right direction?"
Raph pointed straight back down the ladder but Midori stood her ground. "Don't be stupid," he hissed. "Get back in there and go to bed."
Midori narrowed her eyes. "You're going, aren't you?"
"None of your business! This isn't a two Turtle job. You're not in my plan, so stay out of my way!" Raphael kept his voice low to keep from waking the others.
"Look!" Midori snapped, also keeping her voice low. "I'm not doing this just to indulge some irrational desire to fight. I have to do this. They need to be stopped. I want to make him… them pay for what they did to me. You have no idea."
"Oh, don't I?" Midori looked at him curiously. "They almost killed you, I know how that feels."
"They've never come close to…"
"It was almost a year ago. I was up on April's rooftop venting some rage that threatened to punch Leo in the face. They got the drop on me. I got the best of a few…" He shook his head. "They got me with numbers. I was beaten to within an inch of my life, then thrown through April's skylight." He opened his eyes and saw Midori watching him with awe. "Or so I'm told. I was unconscious for a few days, so I don't really know what happened."
Midori was silent for a moment, trying to think of what to say. "I guess we do have something in common."
Raphael was surprised by both the statement and the soft tone she had spoke it in. He chuckled softly, "I guess we do." He kept waiting for her to move, but she didn't. He knew she wouldn't, she had to take this chance, just like he did. He'd been trying to get the Foot ever since returning to New York. He'd wanted to go after them that night, but Leo somehow convinced them to wait until morning. Fortunately, the Foot had come to them so he didn't have to wait.
And then there was the search for the ooze. He'd practically abandoned his brothers while they were trying to find a new home. All he could think about was getting back at the bastards for nearly killing him. He supposed that's how Midori felt right now.
With that thought he felt a sudden kinship with her that he never thought he could. It was… an understanding. "Come on," he said softly, turning down the tunnel.
Midori was caught by surprise. "I thought I wasn't in your plan?"
Raph turned back to her and grinned. "Plans change."
***