Midori: Chapter Eight
***
Mikey exited the subway car; the one they had set Midori up in, with a perplexed look of his face.
"What's wrong, get lost?" Raphael asked with a smirk.
Mike ignored his brother's joke. "Hey, did you notice something different about Midori today?"
Raph just shrugged. He'd spent very little time around her, and frankly wouldn't have noticed if she'd suddenly turned blue.
"You notice anything, Don?" Mike asked his other brother.
Donatello didn't even look up from his work. "She seemed a little withdrawn when I checked up on her this morning. But I assumed it was the painkillers I've been giving her."
Mike let out his breath and smiled. "Whew. I thought it was just me."
Raphael rolled his eyes and strolled into the kitchen area. Leo was there sitting, feet propped up on the table, drinking a cup of tea.
"Hey, we gotta eat there!" Raph snapped. He didn't really care, he just wanted a reason to yell at Leo.
Leo calmly sat up and put his feet on the floor. "So has your opinion of her changed yet?"
"Nope." Raphael grabbed a couple slices of pizza from the fridge and popped them into the microwave. "Has yours?"
"Huh?"
Raph crossed his arms and smirked at his brother. "Oh, come off it, Leo. You really didn't look like you wanted to let her go when you caught her yesterday."
Leo sipped his tea. "Neither did you."
Raph's jaw dropped, but he recovered and growled deep in his throat. "Don't try and change the subject."
Leo shrugged and sipped his tea again, this time to hide a grin. "You brought it up."
"Hey, I was just trying to make sure she didn't get the jump on us!"
"Sure you were." Leo was enjoying turning the tables on his brother. "She had been beaten and left for dead. She had been unconscious for three days. She nearly died. Were you really afraid of her hurting you?"
"No. I was... I..." Luckily, the microwave dinged right then so Raph grabbed his pizza and left.
Leo pumped his arm in victory.
***
Midori picked at the food Michaelangelo had brought to her. She was too preoccupied to eat. It struck her was strange that she'd never done that much thinking when she was living in the warehouse. The only things she thought about back then were where she was going to get food, what she would do when it got cold, and things like that.
She had the scars to prove that living on the street had been hard, but this new, "easier" life was weighting on her more and more. There were so many things now that she never had to worry about before.
Midori looked up when Splinter walked into the room, making just enough noise to alert her to his arrival.
"Not hungry?" he asked, eyeing her full plate as he took a seat beside her.
"I don't really feel like eating," she replied, setting her plate aside.
Splinter looked at her critically. "You need your strength."
"I'll eat it later," Midori told him.
"I don't think your appetite is the problem."
Midori reluctantly turned to face Splinter. She recognized the tactic to get her to talk, but she wasn't about to bite.
Splinter waited until he was sure he had her attention. "Child, I know this has been hard for you, but you must know that we are only trying to help you."
Midori looked up at him with unfocused eyes. "Taro was trying to help me."
Splinter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He felt sympathy for the poor girl for what she'd been through. The physical wounds would heal, but the damage to her spirit would not heal so easily. The first person she had trusted, perhaps the first person she'd had real contact with, had betrayed her and tried to kill her. He couldn't blame her for being reluctant to trust anyone again. He could only hope that Taro's betrayal had not permanently scarred her, and that she'd open up to them someday.
***
Raphael leaned over the back of the couch between Leo and Mike.
"They ain't there."
"Who's not where?" Mike asked, not taking his eyes off April's news report.
"The Foot," Raph answered with a lowered voice. "I checked out those warehouses, but they must have bugged out, if they were ever really there at all."
Leo turned his head slightly to look at his brother. "Don't tell me you were thinking of taking them on all by yourself."
"Don't worry, I woulda come and got ya."
"Right. How considerate of you."
"I thought so."
***
"Mike, turn that light off, I'm trying to sleep."
"But I want to finish this comic. Five minutes, tops."
Raphael grabbed his pillow and swung it at Mike. It hit his brother in the face and Mike dropped his book.
"Hey! I said I would be done soon."
"You've read that stupid book five times!" Raph growled.
Mike rolled his eyes. "Fine, fine, I'll let you get your beauty rest. 'Cause you need it badly!"
Raphael was about to smack Mike with the pillow again when they were interrupted by a scream.
***