Chapter Text
Splinter opened with, “It is strange.”
CJ looked up from pouring his own cup of tea, a furrow in his brow. He put the old teapot down between them, scooping his hands around his cup and sniffing it. It didn’t smell much different than the last time he’d made it in his timeline. Fresher, maybe.
They were at the kitchen table, alone in the harsh light. The others had scattered when Leo’s healing spell had finished. Julia and Pigtails stuck their heads inside just to decide all these exhausted adults and teenagers were boring and they should head back into the woods.
“I could have gotten the recipe wrong.” He muttered. “Things look different here.” He’d had to wander the fields and surrounding forest on his own to find the ingredients while Splinter sat here.
“That’s not it.” Splinter shook his head, leaning forward. “This tastes exactly like how my grandpa Sho would prepare his tea. How did you do it?”
CJ blinked, relaxing his shoulders a little. He watched Splinter's old hands hold his cup. They weren’t as worn as they had been(would be?) when he’d taught a much smaller Casey to pour from a kettle. He sat up, clearing his throat. “Well, I was raised by the Hamato clan in an alternate timeline. So.”
Splinter's expression soured slightly. “I can hardly imagine my sons passing on the craft.”
Sons? CJ’s eyebrows lowered. He took a sip of the tea. It was hot, doing nothing to cool his temper. “Well, maybe that’s because you haven’t taught them.”
“Excuse me?” Splinter’s head jerked back.
Ah, shit. He cleared his throat. “I only mean, how do you expect them to if they don’t know how to do it themselves?”
Splinter looked at the boy like he had two heads. “They would never sit long enough.”
“Wouldn’t they?”
“No!”
“Have you tried?”
“You don’t know these boys like I do-”
“Again with the boys !” CJ hissed. “Here, pop quiz. What’s El’s favorite color?”
The rat mutant scoffed. “Red-”
“Blue! Because it reminds her of the ocean, and she loves the ocean. Favorite movie?”
“Hot soup-”
“Lou Jitsu: Sea of Soup! Again, OCEAN!” CJ spread his arms incredulously. His spines pressed uncomfortably against his clothes. “How does the boy born after her death know her better than her own father? Oh right, he listened to the stories those closest to her raised him on, rather than forming thoughts and ideas of what or who she should be based on what you want!”
Splinter was gaping.
“What?” CJ snapped.
“I believe… your teeth have grown.”
“Wha-” CJ slapped a hand to his mouth.
He pulled air slowly in. He pushed air slowly out. His teeth shrunk back to their original human shape. He glowered up at Splinter almost guiltily, frustrated his temper had gotten away from him. They sat there like that for some time, observing the other.
“You look like me.” Splinter finally said quietly.
CJ straightened his spine.
“The face shape. The face I used to have.” He brushed his hand along his own jaw absently. “And that attitude-” He cracked a small smile. “Exactly like my daughter.”
CJ didn’t say anything, heart pounding in his armored chest.
“Tell me.” Splinter took a quiet sip of the cooling tea. “How do I fix myself?”
“Pardon?”
“I must have done something in your timeline to upset you. How do I avoid it?”
“You haven’t done anything-”
“That is exactly my point !” Splinter growled, suddenly slamming his fist against the table. “Almost eighteen years in the business and I have no idea how to be a father. Yet it comes so easily to that flea-ridden goat.” He glared into his cup as if it had personally offended him.
“If I have any fleas they’re from you, old man.” Draxum drawled, walking by to swipe a cup of tea from between them and heading back up the stairs.
Splinter bristled. “YOU-”
CJ watched as the old rat launched into a tirade, following Draxum up the stairs. The yokai didn’t seem to care, just yawning as he continued on. Splinter returned to CJ a moment later, looking more cross than when he had gone.
“You want to change?” CJ asked.
Splinter looked at him urgently. He nodded.
“Then do it.” CJ put his cups to his lips. “Only one stopping you is you.”
Splinter stood there for a moment, seeming to roll that idea around in his head. He slowly nodded. “I think I will go find Orange.”
“Mikey.”
“Yes. Mikey.”
—
El was sitting over Leo, keeping dutiful guard.
She had his hand in hers. He’d actually let go a few hours ago with a little sigh, hand falling limp. She’d snatched it back up. As the hours continued to wear on and family members visited, she’d feigned having no choice in the matter.
He should be awake by now.
Shouldn’t he?
The ceiling bulb in the kitchen flicked on. El looked up, squinting at the dark figure against the sudden wall of light.
“You’re still here?” Casey yawned, crossing the room and maneuvering into El’s lap.
“Yeah. Guess so.”
She hadn’t even noticed it getting dark, to be honest. She knew dinner must have happened at some point. Julia had tried to use Leo as the table before she was banished to the yard. Again. But now that she took in her surroundings, she realized the sun must have been down for some time now. Casey was in her pajamas.
“Where’s everyone sleeping?”
“Donnie was under the kitchen table when I walked by.” Casey scratched at her spiky hair. “Mikey and Splinter set up a tent in the yard, for whatever reason, and the rest have spread through the upstairs.” Casey looked up at her and raised her arms, pulling at the snappers mask. “You should come to sleep.”
El shook her head. “El’s not tired.”
“Bullshit.”
“Bull-true.” She huffed. “Just go back to bed.”
“Not happening.” The girl crossed her arms stubbornly.
They sat in silence for a bit. El sniffled(allergies, she swore) and Casey jerked like she’d been dozing.
“Babe?” She asked, rubbing one of her eyes. “I can’t know how you’re feeling if you don’t tell me.”
“Right.” El rested her chin on Casey’s head. “Do you think he’s gonna be okay?”
Casey was quiet for a moment herself. “Yeah. He’s too stubborn to die. Or to not make a full recovery. Who’d win the Lair Games then?”
“Donnie.”
“Hey, I was gonna say you.” Casey elbowed her.
El chuckled briefly before tapering off. “...I keep half-expecting him to open an eye and tell us to get a room.”
“Yeah,” Casey looped one of her arms in El’s. “Me too.”
El was quiet.
“I can feel you shaking,” Casey whispered.
“I just-” El choked. “I just can’t help but think I did this to him.” She opened her hand to reveal his limp one in her palm. It was so small.
“Oh, hon, no.” Casey squeezed. “Leo was alone in the portal dimension for a long time, you know this.”
“It was only a few minutes!”
“It was plenty!”
“You didn’t see me when I was possessed, Case. I was- I- I was brutal .” She dropped her forehead onto Casey’s shoulder. “And then I had no idea his injuries were getting worse while we were here. Why wouldn’t he tell me?”
“He didn’t tell anyone, it wasn’t just you.”
“Well Draxum knew, and he wasn’t even here.” El closed her eyes against angry tears threatening to leak.
“Huh?? Hon, I called him here. Wanted it to be a surprise.” Casey turned, cupping El’s face. “But I had no idea he was dying . How could any of us?”
“I should know these things! I’m the oldest!”
“Splinter, when I catch you-” Casey broke off into whispered curses.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. Look. There’s a part of me…” Casey squeezed her eyes shut, looking pained. “A very large part of me that wants to blame myself for what happened to my senseis. And Pigtails. And- and Tenshi’s disappearance. Which I haven’t told you much about, I know. But that’s why I’m so proud of you for telling me you feel this way. Because it’s hard to say what you’re really feeling. I learned that the hard way when I shifted my shame onto Draxum.” She rubbed her neck. “So trust me when I say it isn't worth it to search for someone to fault in an uncontrollable situation.”
El finally sobbed, letting the weight of her head fall into Casey’s hand. The second one rose again to help support it. “You’re so good to me-” She blubbered.
“Oh, sush, you sap.” Casey put their foreheads together, fighting a smile. “You’re the same to me.”
“Really? Right in front of the dead guy?” A rough voice interrupted from behind them, followed by a yawn. “Get a room.”
“LEO-” El shoved Casey to the side to get at her brother; which the human genuinely did not mind. She’d do the same. El scooted forward on her knees to hover over Leo. “How are you feeling? Are you thirsty? Can I get you anyth-”
“A-bup-bup-bup. Less talking. More sleeping.” He didn’t lift his head or open his eyes, raising his hand to pretend it was a puppet instead. “Water would be nice though. Also, why are you crying.”
“We thought you were dying, you stupid idiot!” El yelled, slapping his miming hand with a flip-flop she conjured with her ninpo.
“Oh right.” He let his arm fall back to the floor. “Can I get back to sleeping now?”
El glanced between Casey and Leo and back again. “Is that safe?” Casey shrugged in a How would I know?
“He’ll be fine.” Donnie crossed into the room, sitting on the other side of Leo. “I’ll monitor his vitals. You should go to sleep.”
“You sure?” El asked. Casey stood beside her.
“He’s already snoring. Best not to argue.”
The couple looked down and indeed, Leo was soundly snoozing away. His shell rose and fell with each strong, deep breath. El almost teared up at the sight.
“C'mon, love,” Casey said quietly, wrapping an arm around El’s shoulders. “Let’s go to sleep upstairs. We have plenty of mattresses.”
El wiped furiously at her eyes and nose. “‘Kay.” She let herself be led away.
—
“Who are you?!”
Casey’s eyes snapped open from the shriek that came up the stairs. She fought to get free from El’s sleeping weight. She popped out, stumbling against the wall to catch herself. She barrelled down the stairs, only just managing to catch herself by the railings.
Kiz was standing by the back door, holding a basket protectively and looking ready to bolt. Draxum was slowly standing on the other side of the table.
He boomed, “I am Baron Draxum- ”
“Can it, Drax.” Casey deadpanned. “We have a guest.”
“More like an intruder.” He muttered, sitting back down and taking a sip of his morning tea.
It smelled just how she remembered.
“What are you doing here?” Casey rounded the railing.
“Well, I was feedin’ the chickens and saw a light on. So I thought I’d bring you some of my dad’s jam.” She offered the basket to Casey.
“Oh. You didn’t have to.”
“Don’t be silly, I wanted to.” Kiz waved her hand dismissively. A loud snore rang out from the living room, making them jump. “...How many people you got staying here? I saw the tent outside.”
Casey sighed. “I’ve lost count.”
Kiz snorted. “I’ll bring more jam next time.”
“No, no, that’s alr-”
“It’s the least I can do.”
Exasperated, Casey opened one of the pantry doors, various foods tumbling out. “Yeah, you and the last dozen reunited neighbors.”
“Ah, that reminds me.” Kiz dug into her big overall pocket, pulling out a folded-up paper. “My pa forced this outta the town council. He’ll help you go over it if ya want.”
“What is it?” Casey said, opening the packet when offered.
“I dunno the term, but it’ll finally give you the legal rights to your dad's assets. The farm, obviously, but his bank accounts too.”
“I don’t want his dirty money.” Casey scowled.
“Neva’ said you had to use it!” Kiz shrugged. But it’d be a good idea. Gives the council less opportunity to give you the boot.”
“They could do that?”
“No one knows what they can do anymore. They just… do shit.”
“Thanks for this, Kiz. Really.”
Kiz grinned. “‘Course!”
Once they’d finished catching up and said their goodbyes, Casey closed the door behind her. “Jeeze, we should really lock this thing.” She turned around, and Draxum had poured a cup of tea for her. She sat at the table. “Thanks. Sleep alright?”
“Fine. You?”
“Yeah, great. You were fine sharing a room with Pigtails and Julia?”
Draxum smiled fondly into his cup. “They were no louder than Splinters snoring.”
Casey tilted her head. “Er… You spend a lotta time around Splinter while he’s asleep?”
Draxum choked a lot on his sip of tea. He cleared his throat, grimacing. “Only… some.”
Casey squinted.
“...With the lair in disrepair, he has been spending the week at my house.”
“Ahh. That explains it. And y’know. The fact that they lived with us for a few months.”
Realizing he’d stepped into a trap, Draxum’s eye twitched. He shook his head, smiling. “All fear Hamato Splinter, whose guttural roar is enough to rattle walls!”
Casey snickered and they fell into silence. They sipped awkwardly at their tea.
“So… this is where you grew up?”
“Yup!” Casey slammed her teacup back down on the table, thankful for an out. “Well, kinda. It’s where I started.”
“How did you end up in the city, if I may ask?”
Casey hummed, looking at the ceiling as she thought. “It’s all kinda fuzzy. But I remember bits. We had a fight about a broken glass. I bit him or something so he dragged me to the car. Drove me hours just to show me the first homeless guy he could find and be all ‘Look where you would be if it weren’t for me!!’ But he didn’t even choose like, a sick-looking addict or anything. It was just some dude playing with his dog. And he was so… gentle with it. More than my dad had ever been with me. So I decided, ‘Well, why not? Why shouldn’t that be me?’ I jumped out of the car and booked it. By the time he’d realized what had happened, I was a block away. And I dunno how long it took him to get out of the pick-up but he was never exactly fast.
“Ended up in a few foster homes, but they were never able to identify me. My dad hadn’t reported me missing and I hadn’t started school, so they couldn’t find records of me. I didn’t give them my real name, either. I ran away over and over until the Foot found me. And then, well. You know the rest.” She looked back down and jumped when she saw the look on Draxum’s face. “What’s wrong?”
“If he weren’t already dead, I’d have another name on my list.” He growled.
“Drax. We talked about this. You can’t have a list anymore.”
“I don’t see why not when monsters like that exist.” He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms.
“You tried to destroy humanity, but you draw the line at parental abuse?” Casey raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.” He huffed.
“You’re sweet, you know that?”
Draxum stilled. “Ah.”
“Interesting deduction.” Donnie sauntered into the room, eyes bloodshot. “Have either of you homicidal maniacs made coffee yet? I could use it.”
“What you could use is some sleep.” Casey shot back, eyeing him up and down.
“Oh, watch the snark, Jones, I know your secrets.” Donnie moved around the kitchen, putting together the ingredients for the coffee machine.
“What secrets?”
He offered her a level stare.
“No seriously, what secrets?”
—
Leo was still on strict bed rest until whenever Draxum decided he could move safely again. At first, it was kinda fun playing cards and watching movies together as a group. But once they’d run through a few Jupiter Jim cycles and everyone began going their own ways, it became a bit difficult to separate Donnie from his stationary twin.
“Seriously bro, I’m fine . I don’t need your breath down my shell at all hours of the day.” Leo complained loudly. He held his hand between himself and Donnie and mouthed to El, Get him out of here before I go crazy .
“What was that?? You just did something, didn’t you? Did you finally learn El’s crazy hand signals?” Donnie demanded. “EL WHAT DID HE DO.”
El sighed, rubbing her neck. “Sorry, Don. I know your don’t-touch-me-mode is still active, but if you don’t give Leo some space, I’m gonna have to force you out of here.”
Donnie froze, eyes fixed on his sister. “You wouldn’t.”
She began her approach.
“I’m going!” He shrieked, scrambling past her and out of the house.
El frowned after him. “Well, that was easy.”
“Mmyeah. Something’s wrong. Have a chance to talk to him yet?” Leo asked.
“I guess not.” She sat down by Leo. “How you feelin’?”
“Like you’re hovering.” Leo flapped his comic in her face. “I’m tryna read here, man!”
“Right, sorry.” She slapped her knees and heaved herself to her feet. “Yell if you need anything.”
“I won't!” He called after her.
She shook her head, crossing the kitchen to peer out the windows. Casey and the kids had headed out there a while ago. Julia chased Pigtails – who was on all fours – around with a hose. Casey and CJ were a little closer to the house, with a few paces between them. Casey was braced, waving her arms at CJ.
As El watched, CJ completely fudged tossing a football to his supposed mom. It landed at her feet and she bent to pick it up. She enthusiastically mimed the proper hold and demonstrated, bouncing the ball off of CJ’s head, “making” him fall over dramatically.
El hid her grin behind a hand. She could hear Pigtail’s shriek of laughter through the door as Casey hauled the kid to his feet again.
“It is exciting, no?”
El looked down. Splinter was standing on a chair to her left, smiling at her. His head just reached her chest. “What is?”
“The future.” He said simply, looking back out the window at CJ.
El looked between Splinter and CJ and back again. “How’d you figure it out?”
“Hm? Is there something you’d like to tell me?”
“Nothin’ it don’t seem like you already know.”
“...I’d like to hear it from you. To… to know I am trusted.”
El looked down at Splinter. “I’d trust you if you let me, pops. I’ve really tried.”
Splinter sighed. “I suppose that is true. But I am listening now, if you would say it.”
El took a deep breath to calm her nerves, looking out on the sunny scene on the other side of the glass. “Casey Junior is… my son.”
“KNEW IT!” A voice cried from the living room.
“CAN IT LEO!” El hollered back.
“Rodger.” The flipping of pages could be heard.
El turned her gaze to Splinter again, a strange lump forming in her throat. Even after everything, she craved his approval. Her father’s eyes were shiny, and he wiped at one. “Oh, my daughter. You will be a wonderful mother. When the time is right. For now,” He took her big hand in both of his small ones. “Just be his friend. I can tell he wants to spend time with you.”
“You- you think?”
“Definitely. He does not seek you out because he wishes for you to seek him out.”
“How can you tell?”
“He is just like you. And you are just like me. Don’t overthink it and you’ll be fine.”
El sniffled, rubbing at her face. “Thanks, pops. I needed to hear all that. Especially about how I shouldn’t try to parent a kid only a few years younger than me.”
“Hm. While I am afraid you may have some experience in that area, I hope you can step back from it. We are on vacation after all!”
El raised a brow. “I was callin’ it a tactful retreat.”
“Same thing.” Splinter waved his hand. “Now go teach that poor boy how to throw a football. Heaven knows how he survived the end of the world with a throw like that.”
El chuckled. “Thanks, pops. Really.”
“Anytime.” Splinter smiled as she headed out.
“Hey!” El called. CJ looked up at her, eyes reflecting the sunlight like he were a cat in the dark. “Think I can get in on that action?”
CJ grinned as wide as he could and tossed the ball to her, giving it his best shot.
It hit the house instead.
—
Casey was sitting on the fence surrounding the chickens, enjoying the last rays of sunlight. Life had been a whirlwind lately, huh? Neighbors came by every now and then to verify that she was, indeed, really alive. Most were friendly and even more had invasive questions. It could take an hour to get someone off their stoop.
Other than that, it was pretty secluded out here. The mutants could wander around the farm in the daylight without much fear of being seen.
The fence creaked under her, and she turned her head to find CJ joining her. He wasn’t wearing his armor or cape for once, just a hoodie and sweatpants Casey had forced on him. He picked at the flint of the hoodie, looking awkwardly out at nothing.
“Hey, kiddo.” Casey greeted.
“Why do you think you never told me you were part of the Foot?” He blurted.
Casey blinked. She reached over to slowly pull some grass out of his hair. “...You mean in your timeline?”
He nodded.
She sighed. “Well, I can’t speak for… myself, I guess. Cuz I’m not the same person she was. But for me, I don’t really think about it.” She shrugged. “I’d probably go crazy if I did. And I’m sure there are things I repressed. So maybe it just never came up. Or maybe I was ashamed. Didn’t want to taint your image of me or something.”
“But it’s a part of you. Which makes it a part of me. How can you deny your own past like that?” CJ rubbed up and down his arms.
Casey looked at him for a long moment. “I’m not.” CJ frowned. “Look kid, I’m not pretending I led a perfect, harm-free life. But I’m not gonna sit around obsessing over the things I got wrong, either. Yeah, I guess where I come from is a part of me. It formed these hands and scars and my fidgety urge to carry a knife around. But it’s also already over, y’know? I’ve accepted it, and I’m choosing to move on. Or I have chose, whatever.”
“But-” CJ clenched and unclenched his fists in frustration. “How do you not think about it all the time??”
Casey watched his face crumple, finally understanding. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him in to lean his head against hers. “It takes time.” She said softly. “It takes time to heal. But we’ll be here with you through it, okay?”
CJ’s ribcage shuddered. “O-okay.”
“How’ve you been eating?”
“Fine. More-more than before.”
“That’s good to hear.” She kissed his scalp. “I’m looking forward to seeing you gain some weight.”
He chuckled, sniffling a little. “Well, I have a very fast metabolism. Mutant stuff, Donatello used to say.”
Casey hummed, squeezing him enough to threaten a headlock. “I guess we’ll just have to stuff you with more food.”
CJ wheezed. “Okay, grandpa Drax-”
Casey gasped in mock offense. “How dare you! Where do you get the nerve??”
“You, probably.”
—
They’d been here two months. It was kind of hard to believe, actually. There was so much going on that it felt like it passed in the blink of an eye. Splinter had really stepped up since he arrived.
He kept Leo company, staying up late into the teen’s sleepless nights. He’d managed to pry out of Donnie the reason he wasn’t accepting physical contact at the moment. Something to do with piloting the kraang ship and not being able to “scrub out” the sensation. Casey wasn’t really sure what that meant, but she was glad he’d found words for it.
As if that wasn’t enough, Splinter made a point to show up physically. He started working with Draxum to help Mikey through exercises to aid the process of his healing hands, badly as it stung. He asked Raph to go on hikes with him, he joined movie nights, tried to paint with Mikey using their feet.
It wasn’t perfect. There was still an undercurrent of distrust shared between the Hamato children and their father. Years of resentment and shoes unfilled couldn’t be fixed in just a few weeks.
But if this continued without Splinter hitting a burnout…
Well. Things would be nice.
—
They were ready to head back. It was January now. They’d gotten here in August. That’s six whole months.
By now, they’d gotten Leo back on his feet with the help of crutches and a brace. Raph hadn’t had a savage episode in weeks, Donnie was accepting hugs, and Mikey was as bouncy as ever, though he was being light on using his hands.
It was kind of hard to decide they wanted to return to the city. There were a lot of memories there, both good and bad.
Casey was worried it’d be too much for CJ. He was used to small communities of people. What if he was better off staying around this farming town? It was small, peaceful, relaxed. He could get close to most of the town in no time. But the city was huge and busy. You could see hundreds of people a day and not learn a single one of their names. Busses and trains and cars were loud and foreign.
But CJ had disagreed. He said he was tired of being cooped up here. This house had only ever been a bunker to him, used when times were rough. Plus, he wanted to explore. There were so many things he wanted to see and learn about.
He actually wanted to go to school.
Insanity.
Unfortunately, Casey wanted that for him too. Especially for Pigtails and Julia. And the odds of getting a mutant like Pigtails into a school around here were practically zero. In New York City, there was a chance. And they could always fall back on the Hidden City if that didn’t work.
April had gone home to her parents months ago and the guys missed her. Sunita and Todd too. Casey could also have sworn she saw the contact “Kendra” pop up in Donnie’s notifications more than once, so she imagined he was missing someone a little special.
So they packed up the entire house and sold off the chickens. Casey wasn’t quite ready to part with the rights to the house yet. But she knew she wouldn’t be back for a long time.
And then the house was empty. The mattresses were stripped, the cupboards empty, the furniture covered. Casey stood in the entryway, looking at the quiet house that had never been more than a roof to her.
“Case?” A heavy hand landed on her shoulder. “You ready to head out, or do you need a minute?”
Casey closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, breathing in the smell of the house. “I’m ready.” She turned to El. “Let's go.”
—
Yeahhhh, the surface schools wouldn’t take Pigtails. Casey had been hoping people would be more tolerant of mutants by now, especially considering Pigtails' age. It seemed she’d forgotten that the only other place people had really seen a creature like the little girl was in the aliens that invaded their city just six months prior. Of course, little kids were going to freak out that their classmates had a tail and fangs.
It was probably actually better this way. The Hidden City was on a different school schedule than humans were anyway, so Pigtails wouldn’t be as behind now.
What they hadn’t expected was Julia wanting to join her.
“What??” Casey asked incredulously. She was sitting at the lair’s kitchen table with Draxum and Splinter, going over possible schools for Julia and CJ aboveground. “Why in the world would you want that?”
Julia stood defiantly before them. “No way am I letting Pigtails go down there alone.”
“Julia, I assure you, Hidden City schools are very safe-”
“That’s not the only thing, old man.” Julia interrupted Draxum with a scowl. “I was on track to be in ninth grade this year. That’s high school, for the non-humans at the table.”
“Hey.” Splinter grouched.
“Anyway.” Julia took a deep breath. “I don’t think I’m ready for that. I skipped two grades, I’m only twelve. Not to mention school started late for them this year and I’m sure the whole system is a mess. I’d rather be somewhere more accustomed to chaos and with kids my own age.”
“Why not a human school your age?” Casey asked.
“Because humans are stupid!” Julia exclaimed, exasperated. “They had no idea the Hidden City was there for like, 200 years! They have no idea that magic even exists! I need to know more! The yokai can teach me that! Yeah, I’ll be behind on all their Yokai stuff, but I’ll be ahead in math, human history, literature, and geography! And I want to be near Pigtails too. She’s half-human, so her classmates could get nasty.”
“And you’re full-human.” Casey pointed out.
“Exactly. I can take it because I’m used to humans and they suck. Pigtails is practically a baby.”
“I’m convinced.” Draxum shrugged. “I say let her go. What’s the worst that could happen, she gets eaten by a Kraken?”
“Don’t look so hopeful.” Julia snarked, though she was grinning too.
Casey breathed a laugh. “Alright. I’ll get that set up.”
“I already chose our schools.” Julia presented a paper packet.
“Oh?” Casey glanced over it.
“It’s three levels of schooling all under the same name. It’s pretty similar to an elementary, middle, and high school, and all in the same neighborhood. I could visit Pigtails at lunch. Oh and it’s in Witch Town, so there will be more humanoid yokai around.”
“Wow. You did your homework. And it’s great that you could stay in the same school system when you move on to high school.”
“Actually, that was for someone else.” Julia angled to glance at the doorway.
Black hair ducked out of sight before reappearing, CJ peeking around the corner with a nervous expression.
“What’s this have to do with CJ?” Casey furrowed her brow.
With an encouraging nod from Julia, CJ stepped into the room. He fidgeted with his gloves. “I know I said I wanted to go to human school, but now that I’m here…” He swallowed. “I see what you meant before. It’s a lot. The schools are huge and there are so many people, I just… I want to try going to school in the Hidden City first.”
“Aaand?” Julia prompted.
“And… it’s mostly because I don’t want to have to cover up anymore.” CJ’s eyes darted up and then back to his boots again. “I want to walk around without gloves or pants on to hide my scales like I used to be able to back home. I have a better chance of fitting in down in the Hidden City. I’m not great with kids my age and I’d rather my first attempts be with equally as weird ones.”
“That’s my little brother!” Julia cheered, jumping to put her arm around the much taller boy’s shoulders and tug him down. “Communicating his needs like a BOSS!” They laughed.
Casey and the other adults watched them for a moment, in awe. A small smile tugged at Casey’s lips, unbidden. “You guys discussed this.”
“I had to beat him up for information.” Julia grinned.
“It’s true. She put me in a headlock.”
“And then he bit me super hard!” Julia brandished a bandage on her arm. “I love having a little brother!”
“He’s hardly little.” Draxum scoffed. “I’ve helped him gain ten pounds already.”
“Here’s to ten pounds more and high school or whatever!” Julia grabbed CJ’s arm and started dragging him away. “Let’s play Super Smash Bros.”
Casey blinked after them as they left. She looked to an equally stunned Draxum and Splinter. “Well, I guess that’s settled.”
—
“This is it guys. Your toughest mission yet.” Casey gazed down the road, the kids and El spread on either side of her. “School.”
Pigtails was wearing a brand-new Tailgate backpack and light-up Optimus Prime sneakers. She swallowed and squeezed Casey’s hand. “I wish Drax were here.”
Casey knelt to Pigtail’s height, brushing her loose hair out of her eyes. “He wanted to be here too, sweet pea. But he had to go to work.”
“Yeah, I know.” She pouted, looking at the playground to their right. “Think I can ride that dragon?”
“I think that dragon’s your classmate.”
“That’s my school?” She gasped. “It has rocket swings!”
“That it does. You ready to go?”
“Yeah!” Pigtails shook her hand out of Casey’s and began running through the gate toward a pack of kids.
“Remember to introduce yourself and be polite! Always blow your nose in a napkin and wash your hands!!” El called after her, clearly fighting the urge to follow.
“Hi, my name’s Venus!” They could hear Pigtails as she greeted the kids. “My sister is so tough she could beat up your dads .”
The Hamato members who still stood on the sidewalk burst out laughing as various shouts of indignation or giggling rose from the group.
“Oh man, I love that kid.” Julia grinned, leading the charge down the sidewalk.
“Which sister do you think she even meant?” El mused.
“CJ, probably.” Julia grinned, walking backward. “He fits the part with all that hair.”
“Hey.” CJ grouched, kicking a rock at her.
Casey smiled at CJ. He’d let El braid his hair this morning, and now it fell down his back in neat plates. It’d been growing a lot faster since they’d gotten him eating properly. It was shiner, too, though in a less greasy way. He was also wearing shorts and no gloves, because the Hidden City temperature wasn’t very affected by the ending winter above ground. Oh, and he didn’t have to hide his mutantness anymore.
His top spike stuck up through the collar of his shirt and his hands were green and scaly. He didn’t cover either of them up.
“This is me.” Julia stopped in front of the gate to the next building, slightly taller than the elementary school. It had less playground and more of an open courtyard full of man-eating plants type deal.
She didn’t move for a long moment.
“Jules?” Casey called, putting her hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You okay?”
“What if they don’t like me?” She whispered, still staring forward at the groups of kids milling around.
Casey sighed and crouched so she could look Julia in the eyes too. “Then it’s going to suck.” Julia frowned. “But you’ll get through it. Because you’re strong.”
“Plus, you'll win them over eventually.” CJ piped up. “Yokai run on competition, and you’re plenty competitive. Just beat up the biggest one in the yard.”
“Knuckles, that’s prison.” El quoted.
“Only if you let it be.” CJ pointed at her with a grin and they high-fived.
Casey snorted and looked at Julia. “Cmon. You wanna be stuck at home with these knuckleheads all day?”
“Definitely not. I’m ready.” Julia steeled herself and marched forward.
Casey straightened with a sigh, watching her go. Suddenly the girl spun and ran back to hug her for a millisecond before dashing back into the courtyard. Casey stared, stunned. A slow smile crept along her face.
They continued on. A block later, they were at CJ’s school, the biggest of the three. Casey turned him to look at her.
“Hey. You got this, buddy. Just be yourself and you’ll find your people.”
CJ nodded. “Okay. I got this.” He hugged her tight and looked at El, hopeful. El wrapped her arms around them eagerly, her tail swishing behind her.
“Okay, enough mushy stuff!” Casey called, shoving them off of her. “Get in there and kick butt!”
“Orders received, commander!” CJ straightened his spine and saluted. He spun and started robotically walking to the school. “Operation: ‘be yourself’ commencing.”
The remaining couple watched in a bubble of shock and horror as CJ approached the first person he saw and asked if they liked Lou Jitsu. When they shook their head he nodded and continued to the next.
El’s hand went to her mouth. “...He’s screwed.”
“It’s… He’s fine.” Casey shook her head, patting El’s arm. “He needs this.”
“It’s gonna be quiet around the house without them.” El sighed, putting her arm around Casey’s shoulders.
“When are our houses ever quiet?” The hairs on the back of her neck prickled like she was being watched. This was a street full of schools and shops, so it was probably just being around so many people.
“Wanna wander the area for a bit before we head back? Get the lay of the land?” El asked.
“What, you already planning to break them out?”
“Can’t a girl be prepared?”
Casey snickered. “Let’s do it.”
“Excuse me?” A voice piped up behind them. Casey turned to find… a human?? A black-haired human a few years older who looked relieved. “So it is you.”
“I’m sorry, who-” The woman cut Casey off.
“How’ve you been, sis?” Tenshi asked.