Chapter Text
"Already?" Mike asked, picking up his board.
Oyuki slipped her backpack over her shoulders. "Well, yeah," she said. "I don't want to get caught in the rain."
He could understand that, but he had also really been enjoying the conversation, and wasn't quite ready for it to be over yet. "Do you, like, want someone to… I mean, want me to walk you…" He stopped, realizing that the word home was not only inappropriate in Oyuki's case, but completely incorrect. "…Anywhere?"
"I mean, I would, but I'm probably just going to head for the train station over that way." She motioned to the east end of the bridge. "And I guess you must not get out in crowds much, so… it's probably not the best place for you to be hanging out."
Mike looked to where she had pointed, trying to remember what station was over that way. "Bronx Park East?"
"If that's what you call it."
"But that's like, miles away."
"I've walked miles before."
"Yeah, but… alone?"
She gave him what looked like a sad smile. "I've been alone for a long time, Mikey."
Mike hung his head. "But… I mean, New York isn't really, you know, safe," he mumbled. "Especially at night."
Oyuki looked back over her shoulder, towards the Bronx. "I know, but…" She turned towards him once more, then she let out a little laugh. "Okay, fine. I guess it wouldn't hurt to have a ninja escort, especially one that knows the city."
A grin found its way to Mike's lips and he rushed to her side, then the two of them started strolling east.
"Don't worry about people seeing me," he said, tucking his board under his arm. "I can hide pretty fast if I need to."
"That's cool," Oyuki told him, then she gave him a playful cuff on the arm. "You're cool. Definitely the most interesting person I've met in New York so far."
"Yeah, well… being green and all."
"Nah. Well, yeah. But you're fun to talk to, anyway."
He smiled at her. "You, too."
"Maybe we can hang out again some—"
Oyuki drew to a sudden halt, then she stiffened up and her eyes darted back and forth for a moment before growing wide.
He was about to ask her what was wrong, but then he heard something like the snuffling of a thirsty animal, followed by what sounded like metal scraping metal. He and Oyuki looked at one another, then they turned back around towards the darkened bridge behind them.
Mike swallowed anxiously, while Oyuki stared unblinking into the darkness.
"So, um… you said you come up here a lot, right?" he asked.
"Yeah…"
"And the kappa knows what you smell like, right?"
"Yeah…"
"So… do you think that's the, um…"
"Yeah…"
They both took a step back as the light scraping and snuffling gave way to clanging and wheezing. Mike saw long needle-like talons grip the bottom-most bars of the rail where they had just been standing, and without stopping to think, he grabbed Oyuki by the hand and started running towards the closer end of the bridge.
Behind them the noises grew louder, shifting into what might have been the sound of clawed feet running on the uneven bricks. Then abruptly the noises stopped, and Mike looked back over his shoulder to see a small figure in a crouched position some distance away. Before his eyes could make out the creature's shape, though, it sprung toward them. He yanked Oyuki aside just in time and the creature flew past, landing in front of them, then Mike stood fast, pulling her protectively behind his shell.
He dropped his board and reached for his chucks, remembering only then that he hadn't brought them that night; so he instead took an unarmed defensive stance as he squinted at the small creature that was now huffing and puffing about fifteen feet away. It wasn't quite four feet tall, and to Mike it looked for all the world like a monkey with a turtle shell. It had shaggy green fur that in patchy places shifted into rough scales and bare skin, and its long and sharp fingers and toes were webbed, as if they were meant for swimming. On the top of its flat head was a cap, as Oyuki had mentioned, that looked like no more than a squished metal pan that had been bolted down into its skull.
Mike shrunk back, then the initial rush of fright gave way to a touch of offense.
He turned halfway around to look at Oyuki. "You mistook me for that thing?" he asked. "I mean… that?"
"It was dark, okay?" she said, peeking out from behind his arm.
The kappa let out a strangled gurgle and Mike spun back around to face it as it began slowly crawling their way.
"So… got any more cucumbers?" he asked, backing them both up a couple more steps.
"I wasted mine on you," she snapped.
All at once the kappa stopped and crouched back like a cat, then it launched itself again at the pair. Mike pushed Oyuki away and caught the creature by the leg, then spun it around, throwing it against the railing on the north side of the bridge with a loud clang. The kappa was much heavier than Mike thought it would be, so the throw sent him off balance and he bumped into Oyuki, knocking her to the ground; but when he turned to see if she was okay, she was pointing behind him.
"Look out!" she yelled.
He spun back around to see the kappa in mid-air, growing nearer. This time he grabbed it around the midsection, trying to get a good hold on the slimy fur, but only managing to get a grip of the edge of the thing's gouged and chipped carapace. That could work, he thought… he'd had enough sparring sessions with his brothers to know what to do from there; so he curled himself around the kappa's shell, then swung out, flipping it away from himself and Oyuki.
The kappa twisted impossibly fast while in the air and landed on all fours, then it immediately scurried at him again. He kicked it away as it came near, then it once more landed on its hands and feet and pounced forward. It slammed into him, knocking him onto his shell beside Oyuki, and as he grappled with the creature it reached out with its knife-like fingers, grabbing hold of her necklace as she tried to scramble away. The necklace snapped and the kappa threw it to the ground, then it shrieked and reached out again.
"Oh, no you don't!" Mike said as he rolled himself and the kappa away from Oyuki. "You're not gonna—"
The creature kicked up while he was on top of it, hitting him in the chest and sending him flying back. He caught a glimpse of the railing as he went over the side of the bridge and he reached out, getting a hold on the top bar just in time. He swung over and his feet landed on the concrete ledge above the water, then he jumped back up and over the rail before running full-force at the kappa.
It dodged his charge, so he came back around and tried to punch it; but then the kappa pounced forward, slamming its metal-covered head into his stomach and again sending him back onto his shell. He slid across the rough bricks, and when he skittered to a halt he looked over at Oyuki, who had by now gotten to her feet.
"Strong for a little guy!" he said breathlessly.
"They like to sumo wrestle!" she said, backing up to the railing.
"They what?"
A green blur came flying from the darkness and Mike reached out, grabbing the kappa by the metal hat and slamming it to the bricks. The move didn't seem to do much good, and the kappa jumped up just as quickly as it went down, landing with all of its weight on his stomach before springing off to the opposite side of the bridge.
Mike struggled to his feet, doubling over from the pain where the kappa had just landed on his midsection. He heard the kappa say something, but it was strangled and rough, and barely recognizable as Japanese; and when Mike lifted his head, he saw it standing a few feet in front of him, bending at the waist.
"Um… what's it—" he began.
"Don't straighten up…" Oyuki whispered. "Put your head back down…"
"I don't…" he said, then he realized what position he was in. "Oh… okay. How long do I have to—"
"Just don't move," she warned, and from the corner of his eye, he saw her side-step away from him. "I'm just going to…"
At the edge of his vision, he saw Oyuki pick up his skateboard, then she slowly moved behind the kappa and swung back. She slammed the board as hard as she could across the creature's head, and the metal plate on top made a loud ringing noise as the kappa fell to its knees; but when Oyuki drew back again, the kappa spun around towards her, extending its claws.
Mike jumped at the kappa, grabbing it by the shell and lifting it over his head. It seemed even heavier now, and it was hard to keep a grip on the creature as it flailed its arms and kicked its legs, but he managed to turn towards the side of the bridge. He thought that maybe if he tossed the kappa into the river below, that would at least give him and Oyuki a chance to make a break for it; but when he threw the kappa, its long fingers curled around a light pole and it swung back around.
He grabbed it by the arm as it again reached for Oyuki, then he yanked back as hard as he was able; but without warning the creature's arms pulled loose of its torso, which then fell with a thud onto the bricks, leaving Mike holding to a squirming length of what seemed like a single long limb with talons at each end. He screamed at the sight and threw the arms down, then kicked them away.
"What the…!" he yelled, watching them wriggle like a worm across the bridge. "They're moving!"
The kappa began suddenly to cry and whine as it looked down at its armless body, then it tried to scurry over to the discarded limbs that now seemed to be making an effort to crawl towards their owner, as well.
Mike and Oyuki looked at one another, then her eyes grew wide and she dropped the skateboard, running for the arms. Picking them up at the center where the claws could not reach her, she held them, still writhing, high above her head.
She yelled something in Japanese and the kappa stopped moving towards her, then it looked at her with an almost sad expression. She waved the arms at it and said something else Mike could not understand, and the creature then whimpered and responded in a forced and feral voice. He thought he understood a little bit of what it had said then—yes and please, if he was not mistaken—though he hadn't paid enough attention to Splinter's language lessons to translate the rest.
Oyuki went on speaking, shaking the arms at the kappa again; then the creature mumbled something and walked close to her. Mike took a step forward, but Oyuki waved him back, then he watched on as the kappa bowed low. She held the arms down and the kappa turned a bit, allowing her to slip the now-relaxed limbs in through the gap in the side of its body.
It twisted its arms around, perhaps to get them into a more comfortable position, then it turned and bowed at her again before stumbling over to Mike and bowing at him, as well. It then slunk to the side of the bridge and pulled itself up and over the railing, looking back at them for a couple seconds before jumping into the darkness below.
Mike stepped over and looked down over the railing, then turned to Oyuki, who was wiping her hands on her jeans.
"Okay…" he said. "What just happened?"
"I remembered something else the old guy told me," Oyuki said as she moved to Mike's side. "That kappa hate it if someone pulls their arms out."
"Well… yeah." Mike shrugged. "Who wouldn't?"
She glanced down towards the river. "He told me that if you can get their arms away from them they'll promise you anything to get them back, and they have to keep the promise. I just never thought that particular detail would come in handy."
"Oh… yeah, okay. That makes sense. So, what did you make it promise?"
"To leave me, and everyone, alone. Forever."
Mike nodded. "Good idea."
He turned away from the rail, then looked down to where Oyuki's broken necklace was lying on the bricks. He leaned over and picked it up, then held it out to her; but even as she took it from him, she shook her head and grinned.
"Here," she said, taking the snapped ends of the hemp cord and reaching them behind his neck, tying them in place. "I think you deserve this."
Mike lifted the puka shells to look at them. "Thanks," he said, smiling wide. "But you didn't have to—"
He stopped as he felt a cold drop land on the top of his head, then he and Oyuki both looked to the sky.
"So…" she said. "We were getting off the bridge because of the rain?"
"Um, yeah. I guess." Mike made his way over and picked up his board, then turned to see Oyuki staring towards the Bronx. "It… you know, might start raining real hard before we get to the station."
She shrugged, then started walking east. "I can't think of any other place to go."
Mike took gentle hold of her wrist, letting go when his cheeks immediately began to warm. "What if, um… I mean, I think I know a place you can go… if you want."
"Like a shelter?" she asked.
"Not really," he said, motioning with his head towards Manhattan. "I have these friends, and I think they wouldn't mind you staying with them… for a while."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "These friends," she said. "Are they mutants, too?"
"No, they're human… but they're cool."
Oyuki thought for a moment, then squinted at the sky as the rain began to fall harder. "Okay," she said at last, lifting her hood up over her head as they began to walk west. "But are you sure about this? I mean, I am a complete stranger to them. You sure they're even gonna let me in?"
Mike waved a hand at her. "Yeah, of course," he said. "But you won't be able to smoke there."
She scoffed. "Is there anywhere in this country where I can smoke?" she asked, then she let out a long sigh. "Fine. I should quit, anyway."
They fell silent as they kept walking on, until at last they reached the end of the bridge, where they stepped around the gatehouse and up to the fence. Mike jumped up onto it and reached a hand down to her, but she just raised an eyebrow, then slipped around the side, easing through a gap that was just big enough for her to fit. When she got to the other side, Mike jumped down beside her.
"You know," he said, leading the way to the left. "This is the weirdest night I've had in, like, a year."
"Why?" she asked, then her feet slipped a bit on the wet incline and she took hold of his arm for support. "What happened last year that was weirder than this?"
He looked down at her hand where it was holding to him, then he smiled and faced forward again. "Remember those immortals I was talking about…?"