🥷

Through a text message sent by Raph, Talia read that his father had enough time to do a quick meditation session before heading to the soccer game. Talia almost couldn't believe that the game would still go on after what had happened in the gymnasium today, but in reality, she wasn't really sure how much everyone remembered before getting punched by that sleeping gas. If they were lucky, they wouldn't remember the fact that technically the school was under attack.

As much as Talia would love to go the game and support Raph and the rest of the soccer team, she knew she couldn't. She felt like punishing herself when she lied to Raph, but she knew she had to complete her new task at hand. Her and everyone she knew's lives were at risk if she didn't.

When she got to the familiar amber-colored-coated house, shining like a pot of caramel under the rays of the fall-tinted sunset, she felt her shoulders lift. Her fingers were tinkering with her necklace nonstop. Her plan for tonight was only heaping pile after pile of stress and worry on her mind until it could only grow so tall; she wanted to shorten the pile somehow.

Taking off her shoes and setting them aside, before she could raise her hand and knock on the door, it swung open and there was Mikey, already dressed and ready for the game.

"I didn't even knock." Talia was about to question how Mikey could've known when to exactly open the door, but then she stopped herself; he was a ninja, of course. He probably mastered every one of his five senses.

Mikey shrugged, his bubblegum popping when the bubble reached its maximum size. "My dad's expecting you, remember? It was just a matter of when."

Talia was ushered in, with Mikey closing the door behind her. She noticed right away how awfully quiet the house was. "So it's just you and your father?" she asked.

Mikey nodded. "Leo and Nee-Chan said they would wait for us at the stadium; seeing that Don's in another state and doing last-minute work, said he couldn't make it. But he said he sends virtual support exactly two-hundred-and-thirty-three miles away— his words, not mine."

"I see."

"So anyways—" Mikey launched himself somersault-style to the couch, "—you feeling any better?"

Talia went ahead and touched her head bump, feeling that it wasn't as swollen as before. "A little, yeah. Maybe I should start choosing a name for my new friend here."

"Just remember to pick a cute name for it; cute names have to go with pretty faces— which was the opposite case for Raph."

Talia couldn't help but giggle hearing Mikey compliment her, but insult Raph. The subject of her bump led her to think about the fight that caused it, which brought forth her next question: "So. . . did you and Raph tell your family everything?"

Mikey rose only his upper body from his laying position. He stuck out his bottom lip, pouting, "I'm beginning to wish I hadn't. Dad said he was going to double our training! You know what this means, right? Less time binge-watching cartoons while eating pizza!"

"I'm sure the training isn't that bad."

Mikey stared at Talia like he was trying to peer into her very soul. "Oh, you have no idea, Tals. No idea."

Seeing Mikey's face, Talia decided not to input anything else. She had to get going.

After a few steps, she stopped and whipped her head back to face Mikey. "Hey, Mikey?" She called out.

"Yeah?" He answered, sounding like his mouth was full of something.

"Well. . . to get to the dojo I have to enter the passcode, but I don't know it. . ."

Quiet. Stillness. Then she heard a thump land against the floor.

"Hang on, Imma 'coming!"

***

"You managed to stay in a trance a little longer than last time, Talia."

Yoshi meant every word. The first time he could sense Talia had trouble staying into a deep, meditative state every few minutes, but this evening he found that there was less increments of stiffening of her muscles and shallow breathing. The progress was off to a slow start, but Yoshi knew little went a long way.

Talia opened one eye when she heard the older man's remark. "But last time the longest I was in a trance was for five minutes."

"And today you held it for seven. See? Improvement."

Talia blushed. "It's only a two-minute difference."

"Meditation is a skill that takes time to master. Look at me— it took me a long time to get where I am."

"That's nothing to be ashamed about."

"I know. For some it might take months; maybe years; maybe a lifetime. The key is patience and practice."

"But what if I never truly master it? What if I'm stuck at the seven-minute-trance mark forever?"

Yoshi chuckled. "You sound like Leonardo when he first started. He always worried whether he would advance quickly enough or not. He wanted to make me proud."

"He's your son. Why wouldn't he?"

Yoshi pressed his lips together, exhaling a deep sigh. Out of all his children, Leonardo was the one who always went to him for guidance and wisdom. He was also the only one who really aspired to be like him (Yoshi) in all aspects of his life— Yoshi took notice of that when he observed how Leo interacted with his siblings, when he took decisions, and when he trained. Like most children who looked up to their parents, Leonardo thought Yoshi could do no wrong.

"Leonardo has an utmost respect for my teachings and everything I stand for. He feels the need to do right by me, but what he does not understand is that I already am proud for the young man he has become— for his ability to get up hardship after hardship, to freely make mistakes that will help him grow and develop. What he sees in me he tries to mirror, when it should not be that way. Just because a parent may be the best of all parents, does not mean they are immune to being fallible."

Echoes of her mother's words from the Brooklyn Bridge memory (the one she still had no memory of no matter how hard she tried to think) rang in Talia's head. "My mother said something similar to that."

Yoshi stroked his stubble, humming.

"I did not really understand it at the time— well, I do not know why I said 'at the time' since I do not remember that point of time, but as I was saying— I think I get it now: she did not want me to be her. My mother was always saying things like that— things I couldn't exactly comprehend. Things she wouldn't tell me the meaning of."

"I can tell your mother was a very smart woman. Sometimes, brilliant minds can fall into the hands of those who wish to take advantage of that brilliance— people like The Shredder."

Talia leaned on her thoughts deeply. It was pure speculation only, but what if The Shredder forced her mother to bred something— something so evil that she was left with no other option but to steal it in the hopes that her employer wouldn't ever bring it out into the light? It would explain why Shredder decided to interrogate her mother first before finishing her off.

"If I may, Mr. Hamato, I would like to ask a question before you go," Talia offered. Yoshi nodded for her to proceed. "I'm sure Raph and Mikey told you this, but what one of Shredder's ninjas did when we were attacked. . . bending the shadows to his own will. . . how could he have done such a thing?"

Yoshi frowned, his eyes suddenly downcast as if an unpleasant image popped in his head. "It is an ancient technique founded by Japan's first ninja. Anyone who mastered it became one with the shadows; they could be unseen, unheard, and untouched."

The corners of Talia's lips curled in confusion. "But isn't that what every ninja does? Live in the shadows?"

Yoshi shook his head. "I'm afraid that's a different kind of darkness. This kind of technique deals with the user crossing into a separate plane of existence, one inhabited by darkness more primitive and powerful than the shadows we have here. When one enters and leaves, they take some of that darkness with them, allowing them to do things even other ninjas could never do."

While explaining this to Talia, Yoshi had this disturbed look on his face. It wasn't something he liked talking about. He felt like he was opening himself to that world and leaving his soul bare for the shadows to nibble at.

Hearing him explain, Talia kept nodding vigorously. Before this moment, she never gave a second thought as to if dimensions that permeate what she called 'reality' existed or not. She didn't even blink an eye towards concepts of places of spiritual energy like Heaven or Hell (in her family, 'heaven' was not particularly talked about or taught more than very superficially).

If such a plane was out there, could that possibly mean there are others home to godlike deities, spirits, and angels? Could that be where April drew her 'supernatural' abilities? Probably not likely (April wasn't much of a spiritual guru), but possible.

Talia didn't want to ask Yoshi about what she saw April did. She thought he wouldn't believe her.

"I don't want to waste anymore of your time, Mr. Hamato," Talia said as she stood up. "Thank you for the session."

"Of course, Talia. Whenever you would like."

"It does not worry you that you go out knowing that Shredder is out there and can find you? Now that he knows about Raph and Mikey?" As far as Talia was concerned, Shredder knew nothing about Miwa, Leo, or Donnie's identities.

Yoshi thought about it Talia's sudden question for a second. It wasn't Shredder finding and confronting him that made him fearful, but rather Shredder setting his eyes on his children to get to him (Yoshi). "The Shredder is a crafty, but patient man. He could go dark for days— even months, but he always has a plan. If he does not come for me and family tonight, then he will buy his time for another day."

Which makes it difficult to predict when another attack from the Shredder will be, Talia worried inside her head.

"I cannot let my fear stop me from doing the things I love— like attending my son's soccer game," Yoshi said, rising from the floor and into a straight posture. He looked a little wistful at the end, which Talia didn't know why if it was only a soccer game. "Go home and rest, Talia."

Just like that, Yoshi disappeared out the doorway. Talia didn't leave right away, however. No matter if she was scared dthat The Foot might do something to her and everyone she cared about, she couldn't let fear be the reason why she dragged solving everything her mother left behind through snail's slime.