𝒰𝓃𝒸ℴ𝓃𝒹𝒾𝓉𝒾ℴ𝓃𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 | 𝖡𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝖨𝖨 {𝖳𝖬𝖭𝖳}

Chpt. 8 | 期待しない

{No Expectations}

𝟛𝕣𝕕 ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕟 ℙ𝕆𝕍~

"It is all over the police scanner, they are hunting you. What happened up there?" 💙 "Tell him, Raph. Tell him how you broke rank and got us all exposed. For the most selfish reason." Leo grabs the vile of ooze from Raph and shows Splinter. ❤️ "The Foot were gonna get their hands on it," Raph growls as he gently sits Akari in a chair. She woke up on their way back to the lair, but she's still a bit disoriented. 💙 "You didn't know that!" 💜 "Stealing from police headquarters... There's no scenario where you wouldn't get caught." ❤️ "Maybe if you hadn't lied to your own flesh and blood..." 💙 "Oh, wait. The way you lied to April? And now she's taking the fall for your mess." Leo turns towards Akari and points an accusing finger at her. 💙 "And you! If you didn't lie to her too, none of this would've happened. But you let her believe this plan would work. Now look at where we are!" ❤️ "Don't yell at her, Leo! She just took a fucking bullet for us!" 💙 "She could've gotten killed! She's being reckless—You're all being reckless!" "Raph is right, Leonardo. If you didn't keep secrets from us, we wouldn't have had to run around, trying to do things in secret ourselves." 💙 "So this is my fault?!" "YES!! Are you finally getting it through your thick skull?! Or do I have to say it again?!" 💙 "Say ONE more thing!! I dare you!" "Leonardo!" Splinter calls out. Akari chuckles darkly before clenching her jaw, hot tears begin trailing down her rosey cheeks. In this moment, she feels as if she could just shatter into a million pieces.

"I've been up for nights, wondering where you've been. And I've already been through about seven scenarios, just wondering what changed your mind—Knowing very well you told me we'd talk, and it happens every time." Leo clicks his tongue in annoyance as he looks away from Akari's burning gaze. He knows she's right. All he's done is avoid her and any possible conversations with her. "I wish I had no expectations—I wish I could get it through your head. With no confrontation, I really wish we could talk about it instead. All these tears that I cry while I'm turned to the side and you're in the same fucking room. I wish I had no expectations, but I expect, you expect, we expect."

🧡 "Akari-" "No, I don't mean to pry. I don't need no play-by-play. All I need from your side, is for you to communicate." Akari grows angrier with each passing second. The pain from her wound long forgotten as she stands and slowly approaches Leo. "Respect for my time! Respect for my space! Respect for my energy! 'Cause I've been waiting here all night, for you to talk to me, and you haven't once thought of me." 💙 "That's not true." Akari sighs heavily as she turns away from the stubborn turtle. Her heart aches more than it ever has before. She feels like she's lost Leo for good this time. 💙 "And of course I respect those things, but-" "I wish I had no expectations! I wish I could get through your head! With no confrontation, I really wish we could talk about it instead! All these tears that I cry while I'm turned to the side and you're in the same f*cking room! I wish I had no expectations, but I expect, you expect, we expect." With a final sigh, Akari turns and limps her way towards her bedroom, not wanting to show her tears any longer.

💜 "Akari, wait!" Donnie tries to stop her, worried her wound will get infected if it's not treated quick enough. But of course, Akari has already tuned them all out and is definitely not willing to listen at the moment. "Oh dear," Splinter sighs with the shake of his head. He had no idea how bad things had actually gotten. He truly wishes he could fix whatever is going on between the group. It's hard for him to see his sons constantly fight over the smallest of things; it's also very hard for him to watch as Leo pushes Akari away.

🧡 "They- they shot her, dad. She was only trying to protect us. I... You should've seen the looks on their faces. They weren't just scared. There was... actual hate." "It will be all right, my Son. People fear what they do not understand." Splinter gently pats Mikey's shoulder before chasing after Leo. "You can't walk away from this." 💙 "I told him, Master Splinter. But Raph, he never hears a word I have to say. Now, I knew they couldn't handle the truth about the purple ooze, and you know what, they proved me right." "Leonardo-" 💙 "I don't know what to do! Donnie's nose is in his computer, Raph's brains are in his biceps, Mikey's head is in the clouds, and Akari's heart is... It's-!" Leo growls in frustration as he turns away from his master. 💙 "I can't get them all on the same page. To think with one mind!" "You shouldn't want them all to think the same. It's their different points of view that make the team strong. A good leader understands this—A good brother accepts it." Leo stares at Splinter, feeling somewhat defeated. That is, until Donnie yells out to the others from his monitors, 💜 "Guys? I got something!" Leo and the others quickly rush to see what Donnie found. Akari watches from the shadows, her glowing green eyes being the only tell tale she's even there. Her eyes stay solely focused on Leo, silently watching his every move.

There's nothing in this world she wouldn't give to fix her relationship with the stubborn leader. She wants nothing more than to grab the top of his shell, pull him down, and... and what? What would she do? Akari takes a shaky breath as her anger falters. Remnants of her wound long gone by now—She wasted no time healing herself, knowing how worried Donnie would be over a possible infection. But still, what would she do with Leo? Would she kiss him? Would she punch him? Maybe both? The possibilities are endless, yet, she only wants to slant her full lips across his. Is this her daddy issues talking? Most definitely. But honestly, who knows what will happen if the opportunity arises.

💙 "Talk to me, Donnie." 💜 "The computer's pinpointed the isotopic signature of the purple ooze. I can track Bebop and Rocksteady's exact coordinates." Donnie clicks away on his computer until a location pops up. 💜 "I got 'em. They're at 36,000 feet, traveling at 490 knots." 🧡 "Woah~ They've achieved the power of flight! Good for them, you know." 💜 "They're on a plane, Mikey. It looks like our mutant buddies are headed to Brazil." 💙 "How do we get there?" "We sneak onto the next cargo plane from JFK," Akari's voice startles the group as they turn towards her.

💙 "You're not coming with us." "And you're not stopping me. Either I go with you, or I go on my own accord. Your decision, Fearless." Leo growls lowly as he strides towards the smaller girl. He grips the bottom of her shirt and yanks it up so her stomach is showing. 💙 "And what about this? You're just gonna let it get infected?" Akari's lips curve into a snarky smirk as she stares up at Leo. His brows furrow as he looks down to see...nothing? "What are you talking about, Leonardo? There's nothing there." Leo's breathing is heavy as he presses his fingers against Akari's burning skin. Her eyes widen as butterflies swarm her stomach. Even though their relationship is in the slums right now, Leo still somehow manages to bring Akari to her knees as his fingers trace the area where the wound once was. His expression slightly softens as he looks into her uncertain, beautiful, Caribbean blue eyes. 💙 "...Fine. You can come with us." Akari takes a shaky breath as she hesitantly moves Leo's hand away from her skin. "I would've come, anyway."

"They're not monsters, okay? The only real monster in this city is Shredder and the two mutants that he's created." "Bebop and Rocksteady." "If you think anything coming out of your mouth is gonna add to her credibility, you are sorely mistaken Jones." "Shredder mutated them with the help of Baxter Stockman. That's actually who you need to go see." "Funny you should mention Dr Stockman, because we just finished analyzing some security footage from T.C.R.I that he gave us." "Great." "Guess who's on it." Chief Vincent plays a recording on the mounted television; But instead of the footage showing Baxter, Shredder, and the two mutants, it merely shows April.

"That's not what happened. That footage has been altered—It's been edited." "We checked its authenticity. It's clean." "I want a phone call." "Hah! I hate to break it to you, but all the phones have been shut down on account of monsters breaking into our stationhouse." "Well, I hate to break it to you, but legally I'm entitled to a phone call." "Tell me where they are." "I don't know. But if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Also, one of your officers shot my friend for no reason. Surely that goes against some sort of code? Or is this a corrupt precinct?" "Chief, the turtles are not the ones you should be chasing."