Midori: Chapter Nine
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Everyone jumped out of bed and was battle ready in seconds. Donatello went straight for the car Midori was staying in, since to him it had sounded like Midori who had screamed.
She was sitting up in bed, doubled over, and clutching the blanket around her. She was shaking badly. Don approached slowly, hoping he wouldn't startle her. "Midori, are you all right?"
As he reached out to touch her shell she lashed out, knocking him away as she bolted for the door.
The other three tried to grab her as she went by, but she slipped past them. Raphael ran after her into the tunnel.
"Stay here!" Leo ordered Mike, pointing in the general direction of Don. He headed for the ladder, hoping he could catch up with her before she got to far. Or got hurt.
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Midori ran through the sewers blindly. She had no idea where she was going, but it didn't matter since she couldn't see a thing through her tears anyway.
She had to get away. Panic coursed through her body. She wanted to wipe away the visions of Taro and the Foot overtaking the lair, the Turtles falling, Splinter….
When Taro had turned to her, she knew he was going to kill her. She had turned and ran, ignoring the calls and screams from the others.
She ran into something and screamed as it grabbed her.
"Midori, it's me, Leonardo." He grabbed her wrists to keep her from pounding her fists against his chest. "Snap out of it!"
She stopped struggling and looked up at him, choking back a sob. "You're alive!" she suddenly cried out, throwing her arms around his neck, startling him with her sudden change.
"Whoa, easy, it's okay," he comforted her as she cried into his shoulder. He looked up to see Raphael leaning up against the sewer wall, watching them with a smirk on his face.
Leo finally managed to gently pry the sobbing turtle off his shoulder. "It was just a bad dream," he told her.
"It felt so real," she whispered, still clutching to Leo's shell.
"I know. Let's go back home."
Midori stayed beside Leo as they walked, but no longer held onto him. Raphael walked behind them. After they had been walking for a minute, Leo asked, "Would you like to talk about it?"
Midori looked away silently. Just when Leo thought she wouldn't answer, she said, "It was Taro. He'd somehow found the lair."
"Like that could happen," Raphael responded with a snort.
Leo nodded, reaching out for Midori's hand. "Don't worry, he can't find us."
"You don't know him as well as I do."
Leo continued on silently. An odd twinge went through him, forcing the question, "How well did you know him?"
Midori looked at Leo in surprise. Why did he always change the subject like that? "He took me in, taught me nearly everything I know. We were close, and trusted each other." Her face fell and she lowered her eyes again. "Or I thought we did."
"Well, you were leaving them."
Leo glared back at Raphael, who shrugged and moved past them to go down the ladder into the lair. Leo tilted Midori's face back up. "You did the right thing, leaving the Foot."
Midori smiled. "I've been waiting for someone to confirm that for me."
Splinter, Don, and Mike were all waiting for them when they came down the ladder. Mike was the first to reach Midori. "Are you okay?"
Midori looked at him in surprise. It still came as a surprise to her that they were sincerely worried about her. "I'm fine. I just had a nightmare." She looked at Don. "I'm sorry I hit you."
"It's okay," Don told her, giving her a shy smile. "I should learn to never startle you."
"I'm still sorry." Midori felt odd as she went back to her room. She'd never felt the need to apologize to anyone before, not even Taro. As hard as she was trying to keep herself from getting attached to these mutants, she felt herself doing exactly that.
Leonardo caught up with her just as she got to her door. "Are you going to be all right?"
She smiled in spite of herself. She decided that it felt nice to have someone worry over her. "I think so. I don't know if I'll be getting back to sleep any time soon though."
Leo frowned. "I could stay up and keep you company if you want."
An unfamiliar, but not unpleasant rush went through her. "I don't think that will be necessary. I don't want to put you out."
"I don't mind," Leo answered quickly. He saw Midori's doubtful expression and added, "Really."
She thought for a moment before letting him in. "I've been meaning to ask you about your story, anyway."
"You mean where we come from?"
Midori nodded as she sat on the floor. Leo joined her, sitting cross-legged across from her.
"All right, but then you're going to tell me about yourself, okay?"
Midori smiled. "Deal."
"It all started several years ago with a company called T.G.R.I…."
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