Chapter Text
The text itself was pretty simple.
>> 40°44'27" N, 73°47'45" W. Now.
Just place and time, a to-the-point message sent in the middle of the night. Even without the number ID Raph would’ve known the sender. So with little fanfare, she grabbed her sai and portable med kit and went topside.
Mikey and Leo were out visiting some kid they’d befriended on a mission and Donnie was working on something in his lab so she trusted that the boys could handle themselves for a few hours while she went on patrol. Just something to work the energy nipping at her bones.
It looked like the day was picking up at least.
“Jones I swear to Pizza Supreme if you don’t hand me that pipe bomb.”
“What? I’m just going to give it over to that nice man over there.”
“WHO IS HOLDING SEVEN PEOPLE HOSTAGE!”
Casey just rolled her eyes. Fidgeting with said device tucked precariously against her faux leather jacket. “Do not tell me you actually counted every passenger on a moving bus.” Raph just kept trying to take deep breaths, a nearly impossible feat as they were holding onto the roof of a packed bus speeding at ninety miles-per-hour. Raph would ask why she kept finding herself in these situations but she figured –what with being a seven-foot something mutant turtle– it kinda came with a territory.
“Yeah, Case. It was a nice way to distract myself from this complete disaster. Which by the way, seems to be getting worse by the second.” She was, of course, right. The assailant had just finished rewiring the car’s control panel so that it would veer off and keep the bus running a closed circuit around the block Albearto’s was on.
Personally, Raph felt there had to have been better ways to protest losing a manager job at a kids pizza place but what did she know? April did say that the pay had been criminal.
Oh look, he had a megaphone now.
“I WORKED FOR YOU BASTARDS FOR TWENTY YEARS AND YOU CAN’T EVEN COUGH UP MY 401K! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THE MASCOT WOULD START A ROBOT UPRISING?!”
Okay, now Raph felt kinda bad. That whole ordeal had kinda been their fault.
“So Casey, do you have a plan to catch this guy? Because right now Raph’s got nothing.” The vigilante opened her mouth. “That doesn’t involve throwing a pipe bomb at him and hoping for the best.” She promptly closed it. Casey answered with a glare, a little miffed at the frank dismissal. “I’m not hoping for the best, I’m hoping for violence. But fine. The long way to handle this would be to evacuate the passengers while one of us handles the nutjob.”
She didn’t even give Raph enough time to process all that before she yelled, “I CALL DIBS ON THE NUTJOB!”
Aaaaaand there she went. Casey was going to clobber that poor man, Raph just knew it.
Which sucked ‘cause Raph had wanted to do it. But oh well, there were passengers to evacuate and she knew her shell could take the damage from a quick stop-drop-and-roll.
What happened after that was a blur of screaming and fists but by the end of it, all passengers were safely rescued and the perpetrator was laid out for the cops to pick up.
It was when Raph was putting her small med kit to use on Casey’s dislocated shoulder that she got the call.
>> Splinter Calling…
‘Pops?’, there was definitely something off. Dad usually never called them, most contact being through texts or annoyingly long voice messages. Casey thought so too as she immediately dismissed her. “Go deal with that. You already bandaged me, I can handle it from here.”
Raph still worried. “I know you Casey, you’re just going to go back to patrolling the moment my back’s turned. I’m not gonna leave you fighting alone and injured.”
The vigilante rolled her eyes, “This is hardly an injury and I already set it back in.” Before the snapping turtle could continue, she raised her phone. “But I know you’re not going to leave it alone so I texted Junior. He’ll take over for you.”
It was a momentary relief but the worry of something happening to her dad kept her from relaxing. “Okay. Text me later then so I know that you’re alive. I’ll let you know if it’s anything serious.” Even as she turned away and jumped down a fire escape, she still heard Casey call from behind her. “You better!”
Raph only hoped that it was nothing world-shattering. They’d already escaped one apocalypse, if her and her brothers got another monumental disaster to solve Raph might just bite something. Or –most likey– someone.
Surprisingly, the lair was quiet when she arrived. No alarms blaring or flashing strobe lights to indicate any emergency happening. So Raph allowed herself to relax a bit as she made her way through the winding subway tunnels. Dad had been the one to call her so it was reasonable to assume that it might’ve just been a fluke.
Maybe he lost the remote again and needed someone to check under the fridge? Or maybe it was just a butt-dial he made after milk and cookies. He always was quick to pass out right after.
Or it could’ve been that he got hacked and it was all the work of a scammer who had way too much time on their hands. (Even though Donnie would never let such a lapse of security to happen in the first place).
In any case, she found her way around the living room straight to Splinter’s room. When they first moved in it was a unanimous decision to let their father take the one physical room available. Donnie the most vocal about it, stating that if he had to spend another night in any proximity to those snores, he’d move into the Turtle Tank.
Now Raph was regretting their decision, as she raised her fist to knock. Despite her reassurances, she knew anything could be waiting for her on the other side of that door.
A small, tiny piece of Raph trembled at the thought of what laid beyond.
They never did have a conversation about the whole transition thing. Leo had just corrected him on her pronouns once after she’d come out to her brothers about it and that had been that. But what if this was it? The shoe was finally about to drop and all she could do was pray that it wouldn’t land on her too hard.
Oh Pizza Supreme, what if she had to move out?! Where would she even go? She could already imagine the look on Draxum’s face when asked about Hidden City realty listings of all things. Hey– he was a Baron at some point right, what if he still owned some land down there and could rent to her? What could she pay him in? Mikey had mentioned once about some side-job adventure that’d tipped him in unicorns, why were unicorns a form of currency?
Before she could spiral any further, the door flipped open.
“Red! What are you doing standing out here? I was about to go look for you myself– don’t just loiter out there, come in, come in!” As she was ushered into the room, the anxiety that had gripped her heart evaporated.
Almost hidden from view by two enormous plush armchairs sat a small table holding a very familiar tea set. The preferred one in the Hamato household, considering that the only other option had been Shredder’s head. A coaxing aroma filled the air, reminiscent of winter days and early hour mornings.
“You made green tea?”
“No, I got delivery from that one place in East Village. While I may have adopted many traditions from my homeland, tea grinder I am not. Try some while it’s still warm.”
The snapper carefully moved to sit on one of the plush chairs, her tail spikes catching on the rugs decorating the concrete floor. Splinter poured them both a cup from the tray, Raph’s more likely a bowl than any teaware set. She took a moment to just breathe in the warmth nestled in her palms.
Her eyes shifted to where Splinter’s claws were absentmindedly tapping along his cup. He seemed lost in his thoughts, cup still full. Raph was never one to beat-around-the-bush, especially with her dad so she cleared her throat of the vapor and asked the question. “So. Not that I don’t think this is great an’ all, you wouldn’t have rushed me over from a patrol for a tea party.”
The ratman just sighed, placing his cup back on the table between them soundlessly. “You’re right. I am sorry if I alarmed you Red, this old man just got too ahead of himself. I forget that you all are no longer small and cannot just drop everything at a moment’s notice.” He stood from his chair and moved toward the mahogany chest pressed against the wall. The one he kept most of the Hamato artifacts salvaged from their old home.
“But you’re here now! And while it’s not a life-or-death situation, it doesn't make this any less important.” He gently pulled out an intricately carved box from the compartment as if it would crumple to dust at the slightest mishandling–which knowing how old some of the stuff in that chest was, was an actual possibility.
He carried it over with reverence and sat it on the table between them. “I wanted to let you open it first and if it’s what I expect it is, this gift is long overdue.” Without any further ado, he slid the package across.
Raph honestly didn't know what she was expecting. The scuffed sides of the box and faded color very telling on which century the box came from. Despite its age, the craftsmanship was unique with detailed five-petalled flowers etched into every corner. The snapper couldn’t say exactly what it was supposed to represent, that part of their culture still a mystery. ‘Maybe Mikey would know?’, she thought before carefully pulling back the lid of the box.
All thoughts were wiped from her mind when she finally laid eyes on its contents.
Inside, lay a bundle of silk fabric that shone in the light. Highlighting the beautiful design stitched into the cloth. She picked up the edges of it and lifted it out of the box while trying to be mindful of her claws. Dust billowed as the long sleeves fell in tandem, the red, black, and gold glittered. It was the most beautiful thing Raph had ever seen in her life and she couldn’t even tell what it was supposed to be.
“Pops… what is this?” Splinter ran a gentle hand over the silk. “It’s called a furisode. Many people in my old neighborhood would commission one for their daughters’ Coming-of-Age ceremonies but we Hamato are a traditional lot.” His eyes crinkled as he recalled a distant memory. “My mother told me that this particular furisode was special. Over the generations, the Hamato maintained and kept it for the eldest daughter and her ceremony. She believed its first owner was Karai herself, though I doubted it at the time.”
Splinter turned his gaze to his daughter, his eldest daughter. “Now I believe. And it would be a great honor to finally gift it to you, Red. I know our ancestors would be proud to have you wear it next.” His eyes shifted away nervously, “Eeeeeven though I cannot tell you more of its history or symbolism than that. I’m afraid I didn’t ever ask for specifics and I always did get low marks in history class–”
“It’s okay Pops, this is perfect! I…”
When did the room start getting blurry? Raph blinked, trying to look down at the kimono.
Could this really be hers?
It wasn’t out of the blue. All three of her brothers had already received traditional haori sewed by Splinter himself, decked in Hamato colors. She just never expected it to be this special. A gift dating back to Karai, nothing could compare.
But as she blinked away the wetness in her eyes and looked down at the gift, her breath caught in her throat. Realization had her heart plummeting down into the rug-littered floor. Had her clutching the silk to her chest in shallow comfort.
“Dad.” Her tone had her father at her side in an instant. Concern and worry plain in his gaze. “Red! What is wrong? I promise I can look into it, I am not well-versed in our traditions but surely we have a scroll about it somewhere.”
“It’s not that.” And she finally released her grip on the silk, hanging it so it fell in front of her. The furisode barely reached her ribs. “It’s small. The ancestors probably didn’t think a giant mutant turtle would ever have to fit into the thing.”
In for four, hold for six. Raph breathed through her nose just like Leo taught her. The silence rang harsher than any sound, even the thunderous beating of her heart.
She closed her eyes and pressed the kimono toward him. She didn’t want to see it anymore. She wanted to run out of the room. She wanted to forget this entire thing ever happened.
“Well, all hope may not be lost.” His face scrunched in concentration, which would’ve looked funny in any other situation. As it was, Raph was just trying to hold herself together to at least hear him out. “It’s fuzzy but I remember there being a family of… weavers? No, tailors. They were tailors. Who would come and personally sew the ceremonial wear and ninja garb of the Hamato Clan.” As he spoke, he began to pace the room. He was going to wear a hole in the rugs. “Yes, I remember! They knew the old craft very well and were one of the few people who knew of our full history. If anyone could alter this, it would be them!”
A tentative hope sprouted in her chest but she knew well enough now to assume there would be a catch. There always was with Hamato business. “But?”
Splinter’s face fell. Pitiful as it was, he couldn’t bring himself to meet her gaze, “I do not know where they are now. I can only remember the sparsest things from when they lived in the family compound and with my grandfather gone, I haven’t the faintest idea where they may be now.”
Raph knew what she should do –what a mature person would do– here. Paste a smile on her face and reassure her father that it was alright. Hand him the delicate fabric still wrapped in-between her claws and tell him that he could just make her a haori, like he had with all of her brothers already. They’d have a matching set.
The words were on the tip of her tongue, if only the traitorous trembling would stop. Before she could force out her half-hearted consolation, a voice piped up from the doorway. She hadn’t even noticed it opened and from the jolt of his shoulders, Splinter hadn’t either.
“Once again, I balk at this family’s haste to rash conclusions. Especially when a genius such as I am here.”
Donnie didn’t look as peeved as his words implied. As he crossed the room, he flipped his iconic goggles on and started scanning the garment from every angle. “Hmm. It not only is made of some very delicate material but it is actually setting off some of my mystic scanners. I can’t say what its exact attributes are, I have to agree with Papa that this can’t be fixed by any old clothes store.”
He began to flick through something on his wrist pad, words passing faster than Raph could even begin to read. “However you both have me around, so the probable chances of finding this mysterious clan have rocketed from disastrous odds to near certainty. I’ve already located a few places that could at least identify the fabric. You're welcome.”
A beat passed.
“Don?”
“That is my name, yes?”
“You have five seconds before I crush you into a hug.”
His eyes widened comically, “Wait–wait–”.
“Four.”
“I haven’t saved my tabs yet!”
In the end, Donnie did not escape that hug. He also didn’t put up much of a fuss when said hug lasted much longer than usual. Leo would stumble across them in the Lair’s atrium sprawled on Raph’s beanbag, Raph placidly watching Don commentate through StarDew Valley gameplay. He immediately sneaked in a photo and sent it to Mikey. Hopefully, the domestic scene was enough to distract from the fact the softshell was playing on his save file.
“You got everything?”
“Yup, triple-checked and everything. Like I told you the last time you asked.”
Donnie scoffed. “Forgive me if I want to make sure we’re fully prepared before we venture into the depths.”
“It’s the Hidden City, not Hell.”
“You just haven’t seen Witch Town yet.”
Raph rolled her eyes. They had spent all of last night looking into where this mystery clan could be but without a name, their leads topside had run dry. Splinter had mentioned how they had been knowledgeable about Yokai affairs alongside Grandpa Sho so the two were hoping that someone knew their whereabouts.
Or at least, Raph was hoping.
…
If Donnie bellyached one more time about this trip being a waste of time Raph was going to do something that would undoubtedly chip her nails. Since she really liked the strawberry design April had meticulously painted on them, she decided it was in her best interest to send them to the library first. Donnie loved them and being banned from the Mystic Library definitely chafed him more than he’d like to admit.
It’s been years since then though so surely the Librarian would’ve forgotten it by now right?
“Take one step beyond those doors and I’ll send my Hushbats to deliver you straight to Hidden City Prison.”
Okay, obviously that grudge is still burning strong.
The softshell rolled his eyes, unimpressed by the threat. “Scoff, shows what you know. For your information, we already escaped there once–” Raph quickly cut in, pushing him behind her with a hand to his head. “Aaaand thank you Donnie but I think I can handle it from here.” She took a deep breath.
‘Focus Raph. Mediate.’
“We’re so sorry Ms. –uh– Librarian? But we wouldn’t have come back unless it was important. My brother and I are looking for a certain clan and you’re our only lead at the moment.”
The Librarian let out a derisive snort as she quietly descended from one of the banisters. “If you think playing to sympathy is going to get you anywhere, you are sorely mistaken. The damages alone were enough to nearly have the Council of Heads separate my neck from my shoulders. And now, you have the gall to come back here pleading mercy?” She lifted one gigantic wing and immediately they were cast in shadow.
Her eyes shone in the dark, their beady yellow color full of menace. “I should cast you into the depths of the Primordial Pit, souls bound to a century of labor.” She raised one claw and pointed it dead set to Raph’s chest. Raph felt how her brother bristled at the action, a warning hiss building up at the back of his throat. She gently laid her hand on his shoulder to quiet him. This wasn’t the time to make threats, not with everything that was on the line.
The Librarian spoke. “Give me one good reason to grant you aid. Convince me that I shouldn’t leave you out here flailing… quickly.”
Donnie took her momentary distraction to push past her hold and step forward, using his jetpack shell to come face-to-face with the yokai. “Well Ma’am, forgoing the fact that libraries are meant to be public resources to all and how the incident you’re bringing up only happened because your Hushbats kidnapped us in the first place, I might have something to offer.”
Her eyes flashed. “You’re willing to make a deal?”
Donnie waved her off. “No, no, nothing of that nature. We’ve had enough of deals from Big Mama. No, what I’m offering is a simple exchange. You allow me and family access to the Mystic Library henceforth and not only will we pay off whatever ‘damages’ you’re moaning about but we can also get you some Empyrean.”
From the way her entire being tensed at just the word, the softshell already knew he got her. Hook, line, and sinker. Now only to reel her in. “That is something you Yokai treasure after all, correct? I was able to store a considerable amount of it after the battle with Shredder. Help us and half of it is yours.”
The Librarian shook off her shock and eyed them suspiciously. “How can I trust that you’ll uphold your end of the agreement? The last time I trusted you and your siblings at your word my library was ravaged.”
“I swear it on my family’s name, the Hamato Clan.”
You would’ve thought she’d been electrocuted the way she stumbled back. Her glasses fell crookedly on her nose. The yokai blinked a few times before she murmured, “The Hamato Clan? In truth?” She turned away, seemingly lost in thought as she whisked away toward one of the taller bookshelves. Raph and Donnie glanced at each other then followed.
“No, no. Not this one. Someone placed this book chronologically instead of alphabetically. Titans Above, I need to fire Sojourn for this filing, were they drunk when they did this?” After a few more moments of searching she found what she was looking for and pulled out an old tome, its leather cover thin and frayed.
The Librarian placed it delicately on the adjacent table and began flipping through the pages. “By all accounts the Hamato Clan was finished. The last of their bloodline sacrificed to seal the Twilight Realm from ours.” She pointed toward an etching of their clan crest, expression pensive. “And yet here you are. If you are who you claim to be.”
Raph felt a little offended at that. “Why would we pretend?”
“To get the upper hand, of course. You won’t dupe me again. Prove that you are of the Hamato bloodline or else our agreement is null.”
Well, there’s one simple way to do that. Raph focused inward and drew out the warmth nestled within the pulse of her heart. A familiar reddish glow emanated around her, only a faint glow since it didn’t need to materialize, only to show.
And there, against the center of her chest shone the very same Hamato crest sketched in the book. It was undeniable proof that they were Hamato and even the Librarian could rebuke it. Something she recognized as she sighed, “Alright. I believe you. You can stop that spectacle now, it's hurting my eyes.”
The snapper was close enough to Donnie to hear the ‘good’ muttered under his breath. Discreetly, she knocked him with her elbow and prayed the Librarian hadn’t heard him.
“So. You mentioned a ‘certain clan’ that you were trying to find? I am sure we have them written somewhere in our records. We yokai –as you may have already surmised– are meticulous creatures.” She beckoned them to follow as she made her way through a horde of tiny duckling yokai passing by. “Please do try not to disturb the other visitors this time around. Poor things don’t deserve your brand of antics.”
Despite his scowl at the warning, Raph could still see his excitement poking through the facade. Thousands upon thousands of novels glided by on moving shelves and shifting stairways. Yokai milled about, a quiet chatter that never raised a whisper lest they set off the Hushbats above.
She looked up at them. One of them glared back.
Well, that was fair. Last time she saw them she threw a bookcase at them.
Eventually, the Librarian at an isolated corner of the library, a hidden nook shadowed by a waterfall. It only took a flick of her hand before the books lining the shelves leapt out of their places and levitated in the air. She had them dance to an imaginary tune as they marched off the shelves and circled around her. Yellow eyes scanned the tomes for something specific.
“I’m assuming you don’t know the name of the family but that they’re associated with the Hamatos in some way?” Raph hummed an affirmative. “Since there is little to know about your clan to begin with, the search is narrowed down exponentially.” The yokai picked out three books from the air and pushed them into Donnie’s arms.
“These three along with the volume from before are the only ones that can offer anything related. Your answers must be in one of them, I don’t have time to decipher which one it is but with how much you boasted your library prowess last time I imagine it won’t be an issue.”
Before she could fly off Donnie asked her, “Wait! How did you recognize our family? I thought the Hamatos were bound to secrecy, it’s a clan of ninjas!” To be honest, it was bugging Raph too and knowing her brother, the uncertainty was eating at him.
The yokai scoffed, rolling her eyes at them. “I’m a librarian. Although most of the yokai population have forgotten our Old World legends, I make it a priority to know. The Crying Titan and the Hamatos’ Akuma are historically linked after all. Despite what you have been told, yokai weren’t always separate from mankind. The Hamatos’ were simply one of the few families who knew how to walk the line.”
Her brother looked like he was about to explode with more questions but the Librarian didn’t give them a second glance. “If you can excuse me, I really cannot trust the staff here to keep things running without me for any longer. Find me when you’re done.” And with that she was gone.
“Wow, another cryptic mystery. I cannot wait to lie in bed tonight and lose sleep over it. And for clarification, that was sarcasm.” Raph sighed, “Let’s just focus on what’s in front of us. Like literally what’s in front of us.” She gestured to the books on the table. “‘Cause shifting through four different books about yokai history is probably going to take a whi–”
She turned and Donnie was already sitting at the table, rifling through all of them at once. “I’ve already sent them through my text scanners and have highlighted any words pertaining to our search, according to the data this one seems to be the most informative.”
Raph stared.
“I really should have expected this stuff with you yet somehow I’m still surprised. Thanks, Don.” He just gave her a thumbs-up, his eyes never leaving the pages.
She swallowed down the feeling of inadequacy building up at the back of her throat. Of course, he figured it out that fast. He practically solved everything with the Librarian too. Even the fact that she was comparing them in her mind sickened her. She should be proud of her brother, but she was stuck wondering if her own incompetency was pressuring him to take charge.
Had she learned nothing with Leo?
Raph did her best to swallow down the feeling. They had a lead after all. It was better than they’d hoped for hours prior.
She just hoped their luck didn’t run out anytime soon.
It wasn’t long until Donnie was finished analyzing the book and they were on their way out. The softshell led them through the shifting corridors until they were back in the main atrium. The Librarian immediately caught sight of the two siblings, gracefully sweeping off her podium and descending upon them.
Her cool gaze flicked between them. “If you’ve got what you need I’ll take the volumes back now. You haven’t been registered in the system to check-out yet but on your next visit we should be able to remedy that.” She gently took back the books and stored them somewhere in her wings. Raph briefly wondered how many could even fit in there.
Donnie’s face twisted in confusion, “What about the Empyrean? You never gave me an answer if you accepted it or not.” The yokai rolled her eyes and gave a flippant reply. “If not for the law that forbids unauthorized yokai from handling it –it is a sacred substance after all– I would be remiss to leave a debt unpaid. It may not look like it but I’ve been around long enough to witness the sacrifices the Hamato have made.” Her eyes shifted away, something close to melancholy coloring them.
“Your ancestor Karai was an exceptional woman, a paragon to mankind. It is a great tragedy that more do not remember that.” Raph felt her breath catch in her throat and a glance at her brother revealed that he was feeling the same, his expression showing something vulnerable. Even though it had been years since her loss, they still felt that grief weigh on them sometimes.
It was comforting –in a weird way– that someone out there mourned her outside of their small family.
A crash echoed throughout the library and the moment was gone. Her expression closed off once more. “That would most likely be the work of my abysmal staff. With them around, my work is never done.”
Donnie had quickly recovered from the brief emotional lapse – and with a grin so like his twin’s Raph wanted to roll her eyes– he cajoled. “Well, you did admit it yourself that I do have some proficiency in that area. How about I visit sometimes and help you out? I promise that my organization systems will have this place looking like the second-coming of Alexandria.”
Lifting a brow, she hummed. “Perhaps. Now off you go. I’m sure you have better things to be doing than chatting with an old librarian.”
She was right, when they finally left the Mystic Library Raph was shocked to see that hours had passed and she had a missed call from Mikey. To not repeat last time’s mistakes she’d put her phone on silent but now she wondered if she shouldn’t have bothered.
It was a quick thing to pull up his contact and press call. It rang, and rang, and rang.
Before she could start sweating with anxiety, the call connected.
The massive explosion sounded in the background and Raph could catch someone yelling about how some Alchemax solution was unstable before another explosion rang out. Then Mikey’s voice, “Chellooo?”
“Mikey, why do I hear explosions?! Are you okay?!” Donnie looked up at the mention of danger. “Where’s Leo, put him on the line!”
“Well, I’d love to but uh… he’s kinda busy right now.” The sound of a portal opening and closing filtered through the tiny speaker. “HA! You totally whopped that dude in the face, was that a bagel? Leo! You should totally portal in a Continental, I always wanted to recreate the food fight from RWBY!”
There were a few moments of wind whooshing past before Mikey got back on the line. “Soooo, how’s it been with you guys? Did you find anything out in the Hidden City?”
“Yeah Mikes, we got a lead but I’m more worried about you guys. What’s happening over there, I thought you said you were visiting a friend?”
“Yeah, we totes were! But then a bunch of craziness happened with a Super-Collider and BAM! Miles is Spider-Man now and since we’ve been knowing how to fight baddies, me and Leo offered to help out. So, we’ll probably won’t be home till later.” There was some shuffling and an indistinct murmur before Leo popped on the line. “Yeah, no worries Big Sis. We’ve got this handled, you and DonTron just focus on the search, ‘kay? This sticky situation is about to be wrapped up –HA!– I crack myself up!”
His voice suddenly cut-off.
A beat passed. Raph clenched her phone with dread.
And then, “Guys, is it just me or is Don’s mad scientist clone racing toward us?”
The call went dead.
For a blinding moment, Raph was intensely grateful that she never got the hair gene from her dad. She was definitely too young to be rocking gray hair.
“Seems those two got caught up in something serious again. I know they said they could handle it but maybe we should go look for them?” Donnie blocked her from speeding toward the city exit. “Wait a second, we just got our big break and now you want to toss it just because of those two? From what I could parse, they’ve taken up a low-stakes mission to help out Miles and have got it under control. Need I mention the last time you didn’t trust Mikey to handle a solo mission?”
Raph shuddered at the memory. “But still. What if it escalates and they can’t call us? Or if they try to reach us and I accidentally ignore their calls again? It’s too dangerous, we gotta turn back–”
Her ramblings were silenced with hands grasping hers, lifting the deathgrip on her phone that had started to cut into her skin. “Raph, we could come up with what-ifs all day but statistically, none of them would actually happen. Scientifically, it’s thought to be a mechanism to regulate and cope with negative emotional responses which is shown to be linked to differences in brain chemistry among other–”
At his sister’s glazed eyes and lost expression, the softshell pivoted, “I can explain the specifics to you later, the point I’m trying to make is that we can trust Leo and Mikey at their word. If they say they’ve got it handled, I believe them. And if things really do take a turn for the worst, they can trigger their panic buttons. I upgraded the Donnie Pods so now they only leave once they’ve got a confirmed heat signature.”
Donnie gently shook their hands. A subtle stim to calm her. “Let’s just focus on you for once, alright?”
Raph took a deep breath and another before she responded. “Yeah, yeah. You’re right, I was getting in my head about it. Sorry.” With that, Donnie let her go and started walking in a familiar direction. She hastened to follow. “Of course I’m right and there’s nothing to forgive Raph-a-la. I was just pointing out the facts.” He paused to check something on his wristpad before nodding, “Now, I was able to figure out where the Clan may still be located but before that, I require substance. Specifically, the new meatless option at Run of the Mill.”
On cue, Raph’s stomach grumbled. “Yeah, good idea.”
It wasn’t long until they arrived at the restaurant. The place wasn’t super packed so the two were able to find a table pretty quick. Being a regular came with its perks because soon a rabbit yokai was bringing over their pizzas and they were left in their quiet corner of the restaurant.
She made sure to swallow the pizza in her mouth before she asked –Don hated it when people talked with their mouths full– “So, you gonna leave me in suspense or are you gonna tell me where the book said to go?”
Donnie looked over at her with a gleam in his eye that instantly had Raph’s hackles raising. “I could tell you but I first have to ask. On a scale of one to ten, how willing are you to jump onto a moving plane?”
“WHAT?”
The softshell covered his ears. “I don’t think my question warranted the assault to my eardrums.”
Raph counted to five in her head and reminded herself that her brother would not appreciate a sixteen-inch supreme pizza being thrown at his head. “Donnie, brother of mine, why would we need to jump onto a moving plane?”
He sipped at his lemonade as he explained. “It’s either that or we go to Leo for one of his portals because –due to a lack of uranium– I have not yet developed means for overseas travel.”
“Overseas?”
“Specifically to Japan. According to the book, their last known location had been near the outskirts. Recorded to be near total isolation due to yokai influence, the village they live in is toward the northernmost part of the island surrounded by… nature.” His face twisted at the latter even though Raph knew Donnie would survive. Todd Scouts had been a learning experience for them all.
“Ugh, I don’t want to throw off Leo on his mission for this but I also am not going to encourage your budding life of crime.” She threw her hands in the air. “Literally why are there always a million hoops when it comes to Hamato business. Can’t we just get a mission to save a cat from a tree? Or buy something that could ship overnight? A break is all I’m asking for.”
The snapper sighed and reeled in the melodrama. “There is a silver-lining though. If it’s yokai business then I bet my Teddy Bear Town collection that they’ve got some mystic jazz that could take us there.”
Donnie hummed an agreement, “Looking at their track record, that is probable. The mystic train is off-limits since Big Mama was not too pleased our last visit and the weird bird-kangaroo things–”
“Simurghs.” Raph prompted.
“Right! Those. They are definitely not making the flight over, not to mention Leo is the only one who knows how to tame the wild, not-insanely expensive, ones. So, in essence, the situation is turning toward the plane jacking plan. Do you prefer Delta or United?”
She absently plucked an olive off her brother’s plate and gulped it down before throwing out, “Man, if only there was someone we knew who knows all about the Hidden City and has a penchant for helping us out?” Raph caught the exact moment the suggestion clicked his mind. She raised an eyebrow. One of the cons of having a genius brother is that sometimes, you have to ground them back into reality.
Understanding passed through their gazes and their grins were sickeningly devious as they called out, “~Oh Senor Hueso!~"
From the way the skeleton walked over, you would’ve thought he was headed straight to the gallows.
The snapper put on her best innocent face but she already knew it was futile. She wasn’t Mikey after all. “Ah, Hueso! Just the boneman I wanted to see. Did you change the recipe for the breadsticks? Don and I can’t stop eating ‘em, we’ll need another box to-go.”
Hueso let out a controlled breath. “Que tonteria– kids get to the point. I know that look on your faces, Junior looks the same when he’s up to something. So, better just get it out.”
Donnie fluttered his nonexistent eyelashes, “Whatever do you mean? Us wanting something nefarious or borderline illegal out of you that will inevitably draw you into our action-packed shenanigans? We would never.”
She nodded alongside. “We would never.”
At the skeleton’s severe expression Donnie dropped the act. “We need info.” The softshell filled him in on what they were searching for and what their visit to the Mystic Library revealed. Hueso hummed in thought at the end of it, “Yes, that would prove an issue. Show me the exact location it gave.”
Don pointed at a marked red dot on his wrist hologram. Hueso nodded before turning and letting out a sharp whistle. The same rabbit yokai from before poked his head out of the kitchen. “Usagi, I will be stepping out for a moment. Watch the restaurant while I’m gone.” With a thumbs-up, the rabbit once again disappeared beyond the divider.
Hueso beckoned them to follow over his shoulder as they were once again led somewhere. Donnie was quick to question him, “Where are we going? Another Hidden City mystic attraction?”
“Something like that. To understand, you must first know that we yokai are a cranky lot who love to adhere to tradition. With Japan being the ancestral home to many yokai, it raised concerns to the Council when those same yokai were expected to migrate a hemisphere away from it. So, they developed a solution.”
He suddenly yanked them into a cave entrance that was filled to the brim with people and tried to push his way through the crowd. “Seems the platform is busy today. We have to get across here.” Seeing his struggle, Raph gently moved him back before charging through the unfortunate travelers there with the grace of a snowplow. Yokai hastily jumping out of the way before they could get squashed underfoot.
Soon, they reached an open area that showcased hundreds of different bodies of water, some were pools as small as Raph’s fist whereas others seemed to stretch on forever. Hueso waved his arm in a half-hearted, “Welcome to Suijin’s Grotto, one of the first international transport mediums created on the continent and one of the most expensive means of travel on the market.” He picked his way across the many pools, keeping a careful eye on the siblings before stopping toward a smaller one near the wall. The sign was written in careful calligraphy that Raph couldn’t decipher.
“This one will take you to the closest portal spot available. Now go on, I will handle the rest here.”
The softshell’s lip curled in displeasure. “Don’t patronize me, didn’t you say this place was expensive? If money’s an issue we can pay.” Hueso waved him off, “No, no. This place takes a different kind of price.”
On cue, another yokai rose from the stone floors like a fog. It started setting out shogi pieces. “The Grotto likes to take one’s time, Suijin was particularly fond of shogi so it’s become a popular way to pay for a trip. You can imagine the lines that form waiting for one’s turn.” He sat down across from the mist yokai and bid them off.
“Now go on, this is going to take a while. Just remind Michelangelo that he has to babysit for me on Thursday.”
With that, the two turned toward the pool.
Well, they were turtles. They weren’t afraid of a little water. The danger was what laid in wait on the other side.