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The Long Walk	By : Breech_Loader Category: Comics > Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Views: 2638 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the franchise of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, have invented none of its characters, and make no money from writing this story.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
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The Long Walk

Co-Written by Harley Quinn hyenaholic and SonicFrank

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Harley: Yeah, it's been a while. I have lots of chapters, I just keep forgetting to put them up. But now I have. So, not so bad, huh?

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Chapter Eight: Clarifying Things

Currently in April's apartment, Breech was performing her various morning exercises, and had been for the past hour. In her old home, there had been very little else to do. She had moved on from the simple stretches, and was currently performing contortions that would have made any human wince, and were quite impossible for the turtles, encumbered as they were by their shells, to perform. Right now, April was drinking coffee, and watching her balance upside down, gripping a chair back with one hand. One foot was currently behind her ears, while the other was straight up in the air, and her other hand held a tessen. Right now, she was swapping hands by using her tail to hold the tessen briefly while she changed to balance on her other hand. It was an act of flexibility and balance that would not have looked out of place in a circus freakshow.

"How can you manage to pull something like that off?" April asked her, quite astounded.

"Oh, felines have a few extra bones in our spines that make us more flexible than humans," Breech said conversationally from her upside-down position, "Plus the tail helps with balance. And, of course, our frames are lightweight in comparison, so... we're lighter too. Still, I have to keep practicing to stay in shape."
Casey Jones had found Michelangelo's Game Boy Advance somewhere in April's apartment - most likely under the couch cushions, and was pushing buttons frantically. "Aw c'mon! I had dat stupid mushroom, I sweah! Next time I see dat waukin' head wit no ahms, I'm gonna toss it down dat stupid hole tuh get it!" April's table rumbled as he struggled with the game. He was sitting across from her.

"Typical," she sighed, "We've got an accomplished acrobat-"

"Contortionist," Breech corrected her, placing both feet as well as one hand on the chair back.

"In the apartment, and all you can do is perform acrobatics on a Gameboy." Breech preened a little - still upside down - at these words. Her old family had never complimented her on her ability, or on her successes. They only really focussed on when she failed.

"Heh?" He looked up and April, and placed the game on the table. It was still in his hands, but his attention was on her. "So what? I can do all dat. On ice! I play Hockey, remembuh?"

"Bull," Breech smirked, "You're way too big to do anything like this," she holstered the tessen and switched positions again, this time with her feet firmly behind her head.

"And too clumsy, too," April added, taking another sip of coffee.

He clicked the game off. Either that, or he held it so tight, he broke it. "You's two sayin' I can't do it? Cuz yuh don't gotta take my wuhd fuh nuttin'! I'll get up an' do it right now!" Looking around the apartment, he could feel that even the germs didn't believe him. "Matter o' fact, stand aside. Dis could get dangerous."

"Well, if you utterly insist on doing it," April said quickly, "You also have to be able to do it without breaking anything." Casey had to weigh at least 200lbs. For one thing he'd never be able to balance on a chair back upside down for more than twenty seconds without losing his balance. Let alone manage the position Breech was in right now. He was just doing this because he'd been challenged. And also to show off.

"Hey, why don't you try holding one of these at the same time?" Breech asked him, offering him one of her tessen to hold.

He shot back nastily. "I got my own weapon, Cat! Keep yuh fans to yuhself!" His bat had been handy all night, and so had his Hockey Stick. He stepped beside Breech, and took a good look at what she was doing. "Okay, I admit it. I can't do it on a chaiuh. But check dis out!" What he did would actually have been impressive, if he had held it long enough to gain praise. He did a hand-stand, on one hand, while balancing the base of the bat on the index finger of his free hand. He let his back arch a tad. "Oh yeah, Baby! Casey Jones still got duh-" And then he fell. With a thud that shook the room. Somehow, glass broke in the bedroom. "Touch... Owwww... My achin' noggin'..." The lady downstairs pounded her ceiling with her broom again. "Well, least duh neighbuhs uh clappin'..."

Breech smirked slightly, and kicked out at an imaginary enemy sharply - Master Tatsu always said that a ninja had to be able to fight, no matter what position they found themselves in, and she took this very literally.

April applauded mockingly, "Well done, Casey, but it looks like Breech has won this time. As runner up, you can go and clean up the glass you broke."

He sat up, rubbing the back of his head, and his lower back. "Wait... how 'about dis?" Reaching for his bat - now laying solid on the hardwood floor, and balanced it on his index finger again. This time, though, he isn't upside down, and uses his free hand to spin the bat, so it twirls like a basketball. "Haha! Like magic!" He had a very unique smile on his face, now. Like a child showing his mom a new trick.

"Sure, fine," Breech righted herself on the wooden chair back with a somewhat mocking sigh. Still balancing on the chair back, she drew both tessen, "I guess I'll never really find it necessary to do that," she said calmly, snapping her fans open and closed a few times as she balanced on what was an inch-width of wood and began to perform her morning tessen kata, without the chair toppling backwards.

April watched the show, amused at Casey trying to beat the feline at her own natural abilities of agility and balance. Even if he wasn't so big and clumsy, it was highly unlikely he'd ever be able to grow a three foot long tail.

Casey watched this, and his face grew dumb and clueless again. "Big deal. I can juggle poahcupines. I just don't wanna show yuh." He stood up, now, and went back for the table. "When's Don comin' back so I can get some shut-eye? Even men need dare hunk-rest."

"I dunno," Breech said, not looking at either of them, still practicing strikes and lunges with both blade and club, "Hey, maybe he left me here to get me off his hands. Then I'd have to live with you forever, April!" She sounded quite cheerful at that comment.

"I sure hope not," April grinned, "I don't want cat hair all over my carpet and apartment forever!"

"Hey, cats shed," Breech replied, "Deal with it. Humans shed too, y'know. Only you've got less fur, so you don't notice as much."

"Except when Casey's long hair jams up the vacuum cleaner," April corrected her. She rather liked the feline. She was a bit of a tomboy - or a tomcat, sort of - but she was friendly, most of the time, and best of all, hadn't broken a single thing since she'd got here.

"Oh, shoah!" He sat down across from her again. "Guhls can have aull duh louhng haiuh dey want, but us guys aren't allowed tuh look pretty! Lemme tell yuh some'tin ladies, He-Man, The Undertaker, Ken Masters, Samson, duh dude from Street Fighter wit duh claws! Dey aull had louhng haiuh! Quit hatin' duh meign." He grabbed hold of April's cup, and took a sip of her coffee, oblivious to how rude he was being in doing so. "'sides. Mine's prettiuh den both o' yuz." Placing the cup back in front of her, he swallowed the coffee, and shook his head. "Needs moah suguh."

"And you need all the sweetening you can-" The friendly bickering was interrupted by knocking at the door, and April looked up, "That's probably Don right now," she said, standing, "Although... Breech, could you come down and cover up, just in case it-"

"April, it's me, Don," Donatello called through the door.
"Never mind," April sighed, going to answer the door. Breech continued her kata calmly. Casey got his bat ready, and stood up.

When she opened the door, Donatello greeted with his usual, gleeful wave. "Morning, April. I brought father." He was wearing his trench coat again, as usual. It, along with the hat, gave him a nineteen-fifties mobster-type look. It was a rare style nowadays, but it suited his complexion well.

"Come on in," April greeted them both, "Breech is performing her morning exercises, and Casey's performing his morning obnoxiousness." She stood aside, letting them both in.

"Kunichiwa, April," Splinter greeted her, entering, "It is good to see you again." The next thing he saw was the slim Breech balancing on the chair back with ease. She performed a few more strikes, before turning to look at him. She quickly holstered her weapons and jumped down from her perch, landing neatly on the floor, "And this must be the young kunoichi whom Donatello so badly wishes for me to approve of," he said, his face open. Breech was already knotting her hands together nervously.

Donatello's eyes shone for a moment when he saw her again. She was real. It wasn't all just some kind of sick joke... Seeing her again this morning made him fall for her all over again. "And good morning, Bree - WOAH!!" He had to draw his head in his shell for a moment, otherwise Casey's Homerun Swing would've knocked him out cold!

"Oh, g'moahnin' tuh you too, Flowuh-Head!" The man proceeded to shove him angrily, which didn't phase Don too much, as he only took a single step back from the push. His head withdrew. "Uhm. Salutations, then?" He asked nervously, lifting his hands so as to surrender.

"Aw no, yuh not gettin' oaff dat easy, Shell-Head! Wut's dee idea tuh leave me heah wit' Cat-Breath ovuh deah, who wakes up in duh middle o' duh fight and makes me miss duh whole dawn thing!?"

"Oh, the Satellite Connection! I have to disconnect it before April gets in-" He ducked his head again, avoiding another swing. "BUSTED!!!" He showed up again, "Maybe I'll leave it on a few more hours, then?" Donatello was certainly a pacifist. Anyone else would have clonked the big lug by now.

Breech had been just about to clout Casey one with a tessen for attacking Don like that, when the great big dumbass started complimenting her like that, taking her completely off her guard. She stopped, one hand still hovering at her holster, quite struck dumb with surprise.

"My name is Splinter,” the rat told the feline, “Donatello wanted me to meet you in person, Bridget. He has told me much about you, but I am sure there is still much I have to learn."

Breech swallowed. That was more true than it sounded. There were things she hadn't even told Donny yet, "I... would very much like to be friends with your son, Master Splinter," she bowed slightly, "He's been very understanding, and I'm kinda hoping you'll be just as understanding as he is, y'know?"

"Yes, I understand," Splinter looked at her feline eyes. There was anger and oppression there... but also a kind of child-like innocence that showed she wasn't at all sure of herself, "Come, child. We will speak together in private."

He was still being neck-crushed by Casey's arm, but his attention was still on Breech. "So much for introdu - ack, Casey, not so hard. Ahem. Introducing you to my fa - little lighter. That's good. Father. But wait! Master Splinter, I haven't given Breech her gift yet!"

Casey shook his head. "Pfft! Dis guy! Bearin' gifts and every'tin! Keep dis up, Don, yuh might be duh fuhst tuh-" But he fell unconscious to the floor. Don let go of the hidden pressure point below his thigh.
"Wow. He must have been sleepy. He fell asleep, just like that..." Donatello was blushing furiously. It was a Kodak Moment, as he likes to call them.

Breech had turned to follow Splinter into April's bedroom and talk with him there, when his words made her turn sharply, "A... gift?" she asked, ignoring Casey's unconscious state, all her focus on Don, "But... but I don't have anything to give you..." She hadn't even seen what it was yet, and she was already almost overwhelmed. Nobody had ever given her anything. Ever. Despite the things she was wearing, and the tessen she wore, it had on many occasions been made clear to her that they were not truly her possessions.

"Oh, don't be silly!" Don waved a hand in front of him, attempting to shove her state of semi-guilt away, though lightly. "You can even think of it as equipment, rather than a gift, if you like." He stuffed his hand in his pocket. "Ready to see what it is?" His smile hadn't changed overnight, that's for sure. And his hat wouldn't stand a chance of hiding it, if it were on his head and not on the floor. He'd made a mental note to pick it up once she had the gift in her hands.

Splinter looked between them. Donatello was fixated on Breech, excited and eager to please her. Breech, on the other hand, looked uncertain. Her tail was twitching nervously, but Donatello didn't notice it in his excitement. She was not afraid of Don, oh no. She had been caught quite off-guard by the offer of a gift. Don's smile remained wide as he dug in his pockets, never once taking his eyes off her.

"Oh... okay..." Breech said. She tried to smile, but her tail continued to twitch. A gift? Don was transparent in his feelings, but nobody ever gave her something unless they wanted something, and she had nothing to give him.

"It's not much, really, but I thought you could use it." From his deep, brown pocket, he pulled what at first looked to be a strange, metal, flat oval. Smooth on one side, but as he went to hand it to her, she saw that the opposite side was... barbed? "I hope you like it regardless of its simplicity, though. When I saw your tessen last night, I concluded immediately that you had been sharpening with your claws. That must be difficult, time-consuming, and horrible for your feminine and/or feline naturalism. So, I welded a sharpener for you. Can you believe there isn't a design in existence for a sharpener that's specifically meant for tessen? I sure couldn't! So, I had to create my own design from scratch."

Don smiled even wider when she had it in her hands. Now, he was confident. This was something he never failed at - to create something not just convenient, but that the receiver actually needed, "The blueprints were the hardest part, I wouldn't have the gift of drawing a perfect oval if my shell depended on it. When I was finished, I thought about the claws you probably broke constantly while attempting to sharpen your weapon, so, I welded a claw-sharpener on it, too. You can use it as a cat-rack, so to speak. And there's a nail-filer just beneath that. Let me know if it doesn't work as intended, and I'll gladly make corrections to its design. But I'm hardly worried that this will be the case."

"I... uh..." Breech stared down at the gift, waiting. When she'd been younger, it hadn't been unusual for her family to pretend to give her something, and then snatch it back seconds later, just to mock her, "Well, I... usually use my tessen to sharpen my claws, too," she said, awkwardly, "Um... thanks, Don," she looked up and smiled nervously at him, "I... uh... appreciate it..."

Splinter stepped in before the situation could become any more awkward for the feline, "Come, child," he told her, "We will talk now." Breech all but ran into April's bedroom in her hurry, closing the door as quickly as she dared. The last words Don heard from Master Splinter were, "Tell me everything..."

Donatello scratched his head. The door was shut. "Y-you're welcome..." He whispered, and took a deep breath. He turned to April, now, and shook his head while he looked down at the floor. That sure was awkward. He thought she'd be happy. But she ended up being worse than surprised. And her reaction even outscaled rejection of the gift on the rotten level. She was SCARED... He lifted his head to face April, and smiled. "Now, you really didn't think I'd come here with a gift for Breech, and not my very first female accomplice, did you?"

"Don, I don't think you know what you're getting into," April said, before Don could offer her anything, "I talked to Breech quite a lot last night after you'd left. Do you have any idea how totally starved of affection she's been in her life? I mean, sure, you know she's had it rough, but I don't think you fully understand. You can't just swoop in like a knight in shining armour and sweep her off her feet with gifts and so on. She'll run a mile."

Don was confused, "...g-good thing I didn't tell her about everything else, then..." He walked up to the table, and placed a solid pouch of some kind, reminiscent of that for a camera. Then he picked his hat up. "It was just one gift." He spoke very low, now. And refused to look her way. "If she runs, at least she'll run with a new sharpener." Without a word, he steps over Casey's log of a body, and walked up to the broken window, inspecting the damage on the frame, and getting to work on fixing it with his bare hands.

"Donny," April walked up behind him, "She cares about you. But... when you see a stray cat in the street, do you leap at it with a bowl of milk and cat-food? No, you approach slowly. Maybe it's even because she cares about you so much, that she found it so hard to accept your present. This morning, she found it hard enough to accept a few compliments. It's hard for her to grasp the idea that she's free. Before I met Casey, I had a boyfriend. He was a nice guy, but really possessive. And he kept giving me gifts, and flowers and chocolates. He bought me a really expensive cell-phone. And eventually, all I could think of was that he wanted to buy me."

"Okay!" He snapped, though it was more of a humiliated one than anything else. "Next time I'll just NOT bring her anything! Sheesh. I get it, I made a complete Jones of myself, and in front of my father... It's okay, though. That's what I get for being so thoughtful. Now I understand why Raph only cares about himself half the time." In order to fix this frame, he'd have to pull it out completely. And he uses the direct approach, ripping it off its hinges. "I need a knife, a screwdriver, and some of those small nails I secretly keep on the side of your cupboard for when I secretly fix things in your apartment while you're not here."

"Donny, don't take it personally," April sighed, "I can see right through you. You've got all sorts of gift ideas ready, but right now, what she really needs is your friendship. She'll appreciate it more too."

"Look, do you want me to fix the window, or not?" Reaching for the back of his trench coat, he unzipped an otherwise hidden zipper, and pulled out a brand new glass panel, wrapped in newspaper pages. He then held it up in front of her face. "Windows are incomplete unless you can see through them from both sides. And you're only seeing through one right now. So, forgive my assault on your logic, but your advice is illogically incomplete."
April shook her head and headed to get the tools Don would need to repair the window. That was the funny thing about women, she thought as she stepped over Casey again. They appreciated men a whole lot more when they weren't there. The pouch remained on the table. Casey snored.

~~~

Two hours later, the door to April's bedroom opened once again, and Master Splinter and Breech stepped out. Breech looked very much subdued, but Master Splinter was smiling. He saw Don fixing the window, "Donatello, always so hard at work, repairing and inventing. His life revolves around repairing that which was broken, and inventing new ways to make life run more smoothly." He said this loudly enough to be heard by Don.

Donatello had finished fixing the actual frame about a half hour ago, he was just working on smoothing it out, so it blended easier with the wall. Master Splinter looked to Don, his son could feel his gaze. But as soon as his face turned in a different direction, said son vanished. Faded away. Without a trace. Just as he'd been taught. The window was open now, when just a moment ago it was shut.

“Did... Did I do something wrong, Splinter?” Breech asked him.

Splinter looked at the window. He guessed his son was troubled by Breech’s reaction to his gift, “He will not have gone far. Perhaps you should ask him yourself, child?”

Breech walked over to the window, leaning out and listening. Her ear twitched, and a matter of seconds later, she was climbing up the wall easily, before swinging herself onto the roof.

Breech sat down, crossing her legs, "That's a nice sweater, that you gave Master Splinter," she said quietly. She took out the tessen sharpener and started to turn it over and over in her hands, her gaze fixated on it, "I wish I was used to getting presents," she muttered.

His eyes opened, the sound of her voice sparking a reaction out of him that he's never felt before - humiliation, amongst someone he's attracted to. In more than one way, when it came to Breech's case. Very simple bo manoeuvres that involved him striking multiple imaginary opponents followed. He spoke lightly while he performed his most basic kata. "It's no big deal. I know Master Splinter sent you up here to retrieve me. Just give me a few minutes, okay? I need to clear my mind."

"Okay..." Breech took out a tessen, opening it with a snap, and testing the sharpener against it a few times before finding the right angle. She continued talking quietly, "Last person who offered me a present was a freelance street dealer offering me a free sample of crack. Fortunately I'd already been ordered to kill him anyway..." She continued to sharpen the tessen slowly.

The movements became more complicated. Any ninja, a true ninja, could use a bo effectively because of its simplicity. But kata took practice, and discipline. Donatello was customized to this weapon, completely in tune with its weight, size, shape and texture, "It's a good thing I gave you something productive, then. HEAH! What do you think of - HeAAAHHHH!!! - Master Splinter? Thanks a ton for not eating him."

"I like him a lot," Breech said quietly, "He's good at listening. Kinda like you are. I hope he likes me too. I don't want to mess up your family, when it's so much nicer than mine was," she examined the sharpened iron fan closely, "Hey, this works a lot better than using my claws, or a stone."

He didn't comment. He just finished his kata, and bowed. Then he walked up beside her, elbows on the wall she sat upon. "He likes you already. I can tell." He spoke, though something was different. He was still bothered. At least a bit. She could tell, even though his next comment was with a smile, "I'm glad you've befriended him. His advice could be explicitly accurate, as I'm sure you've noticed. And he never judges by one's past. I learned that from him."

"Um, Don..." Breech stood up and scratched at the line on her neck awkwardly, before holstering the tessen and tucking away the sharpener quietly, "Um, y'know..." She squirmed. Why was taking Casey's advice so goddamn difficult? "You know, I like you too. A lot..."

Don smiled wider, head looking down at his hands before eyeing the city once more. "I know. And that makes me happy in ways I've never imagined. That tessen sharpener's got nothing on the greatest gift I've ever received, because that would be you. From fate." His bandanna stopped flapping for a moment, falling to the center of his shell. Then it picked up again. "Corny as that may sound..."

"Um, yeah, it's just..." Do something, you stupid bitch! "Don't really like the idea of fate... some unseen force controlling my life..." She sighed, and reached out with her right paw, placing the flat of it on his plastron while her ears turned pink, "Fate, destiny, whatever the hell anybody wants to call it... isn't it enough that we've met?" When there was no negative reaction to her light touch, she moved her paw to his broad shoulder and stepped forward again, her long fingers deliberately prying at the solid muscle under his green skin, her green eyes watching his.

Don closed his eyes, and breathed. Taking her touch into him, grasping it, embracing it. He pressed his forehead to hers gently, "Fate or not, you're the greatest thing, the greatest person, the greatest gift, that's ever happened to me. And don't you forget this. Ever."

"Don..." Breech put her other hand on his other shoulder, still moving her fingers against the muscle there. Their lips were really, really close now, and if she just leant forward... "I... I don't want to hurt you..."

He shook his head, eyes closed for a moment while he took her scent in. The symptoms were just around the corner, but he didn't care. "You won't... You, Breech, are the epitome of joy..." If he could just lean forward...

"'Ey! You two gonna kiss now oah what?" Casey Jones stood on the roof beside the fire escape, baseball bat hung over his shoulder. "Mastuh Splintuh's gettin' worried. Hurry it up." And he turned to head back down.

Don's forehead hadn't left hers, but his face was bowed in aggravation. "Y'know, it's a really good thing I had you make that promise. Otherwise, I'd be a client right now." He managed to smile, if just a bit...

Breech smirked, "And Casey would be a dead man in three seconds..." she thought about the heavy-set, six-foot human, "Make that five." She pulled back again, her hands leaving his body regretfully. Touching him felt so good... "Come on down. Master Splinter has things he wants to say to you as well as me."

"Wait- BLEAH-CHOO!!!" He faced away from her when he sneezed. This was the first time it had happened, and... could it be possible that his sneeze was actually... cute? He held that stance for just a moment, scanning for any further outbursts, then faced her again when he felt it was safe. "Excuse me. Anyway, as I was saying, I want to make something clear, so that you understand my position."

"Okay," Breech continued to look up at Don, her head tilting to one side inquisitively.

"I just... wanted to apologize, for making you feel uncomfortable earlier this morning." He leaned back, hands gliding off her legs, and onto his sides. He spoke with an understanding smile. "I'll never know what it feels like to have been in your position. But I do understand it. And you need to understand mine as well." Stepping to the side, he leaned on the wall again, facing out into the city. "Breech, I've never had anybody like you in my life. I make things for my brothers and Master Splinter, and April and Casey all the time. But never anyone like you. Someone who gives me butterflies every time I think of her. You make me blush just by looking at me. And since I've always loved to work with my hands, making things for you to use just seems so... natural. And it excites me. I didn't mean to unnerve you. And I'm sorry if I did. But always keep in mind, I don't ever intend on buying your affection. I don't need to. I feel I've already earned it."

During the course of this statement, Breech's ears had gradually turned even pinker. If she hadn't any fur, she would be flushed very red, "Yeah..." she said finally, scratching at her neck again, "I just wish I had more to give you..." She knew, of course, that she could give him her affection and... all that stuff. He was probably going to tell her that right now. But even though that was supposed to be the best thing of all, it still wasn't the same as something you could, say, hang on the wall, "Come on," she headed for the stairs, "Your father wants to talk with us." She stepped right off the roof, and landed on the balcony outside April's repaired window easily.

The moment she landed, Don’s arms slithered around her waist, and he held her back close to his plastron. "Thanks for coming to get me, Breech..."

"Yeah, well... I could hear you breathing..." Breech smirked and leant back slightly, enjoying the strong yet gentle touch, "Even ninja have to breathe."

Squeezing her for just a moment, he let go, and placed his hands behind his shell. "That's what happens when you steal my breath away..."

Breech sighed, enjoying the touch for a moment longer, before climbing through the open window again. She didn't really want to stop touching Don, but she wanted to get the uncomfortable part over with. Master Splinter seemed to have accepted her lengthy explanation - she had indeed told him everything - but she wasn't sure what his final decision was just yet, and she wanted to know what it was as soon as possible.

~~~

Harley: Yeah. Like, next chapter.

SonicFrank: You are such a sadistic bitch, you know that?

Harley: And while you readers are waiting, why not leave a review?
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The Long Walk