TMNT - One Purpose 13

One Purpose

 

Summary: She didn't have the privilege of choice, bound by tradition and honor, she stepped into the unknown and fast city with only one goal in mind. But like a wise man once said "No plan has ever survived contact with the enemy. It is how you react to the unexpected that will determine if you will succeed".

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WARNING: Major none grammar/spelling control done on this one!

Chapter 13

 

 

Jim looked at the list of items Mai had purchased the day before – these days it wasn’t hard to check your bank account and see whatever had been written off.

He had found most of the shops she’d been too with the same ease, simply gathering up the clothes and footwear she had bought.

But by god, the girl hadn’t picked anything other than a couple of black tank tops, long sleeved black shirts and black poofy pants.

Jim supposed it was because she was blind and therefore wouldn’t care for anything else then what felt comfortable – but still.

The past couple of weeks the older gentleman had wondered what secrets lived within that silent girl he’d taken in.

To him, the girl was anything but ordinary.

Mai did not care for any kinds of foods other than simple cooked rice and fish, nothing else to wear but what she had on and no interest in anything fun.

Even if he could understand some of it, surrounding television and games, he found her lack of interest in music and reading shocking.

Which lead him to many other questions, like; why was she here, how did she get here, where were her parents, family?

Oh, she told him something ridiculous along the lines of murder and vengeance, but she could’ve told him she was some fairy princess and make that sound more believable.

Normally he’d never ask anybody these things, it didn’t matter. But Jim started to really care for this hopelessly lost kitten he’d taken in.

And that she was.

A lost child, even though she considered herself to be an adult, Jim often caught glimpses of the girl when she thought he looked the other way.

In those glimpses the amused mask she wore slid off momentarily and he saw what was really going on behind those ghostly white eyes.

When Jim just started out as a doctor, no, even as an intern, he had to deal with a lot of different types of patients. But those who really stuck with him, were the ones who either died at the end or tried killing themselves.

The same kind of chill ran through the man when he saw the look on Mai’s face, the look of someone who knew they were going to die and were accepting it.

It completely terrified him.

Stepping into the next shop, Jim nodded to himself as he decided they would have a long hard talk about this later that day about all of it.

Looking around, Jim found himself in an Asian Art Shop and looked at the piece of paper in his hands with all the items written on it.

Apparently she had gotten some kind of incense from the shop – probably for her feng shui stuff or something.

“Hello? Excuse me, I need some help?” Jim called out, since the store appeared to be empty. He looked around, hopeful he might see a clerk come his way, when he something caught his eye.

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Mai had spent the day walking around the streets, absently managing not to hit anyone or get run over as she walked.

And walked.

Until night fell and her feet were dragging her back to the house she was currently living in. Why did the fight drain so much her though? Mai wandered as she went up the few steps and got her keys out.

Raphael.

The name gave off a bitter taste in her mouth as she thought about how he had betrayed her. That word lingered in her mind, stopping her from actually using the key in her hand.

He betrayed her.

With what exactly, for not helping her out with her suicide mission and thus forcing her to meet her end so much sooner?

Wasn’t she being a bit hypocritical considering she was postponing the inevitable for over two years now?

Mai shook her head violently.

Though it felt more like she was shaking herself on the inside.

No, that wasn’t true, she thought sternly, her Master would rather she avenged his murder then directly kill herself. Because he liked to make her suffer that way.

But she wasn’t doing this for her Master, she didn’t want that, she was doing this for herself, to restore her honor.

The front door clicked open, startling Mai out of her deep and dreading thoughts.

“Oh thank goodness” Jim exclaimed as he saw the Japanese girl on his door step “I was about to call the police and,-”

“You said you wouldn’t call the police” Mai interrupted rudely.

Jim blinked at the sharpness with which she said it and tried to explain “No, that’s true, but you weren’t home and didn’t leave any note and,– ” He cut himself off, shaking his head when he remembered he should question her “where were you?”

“Out” Mai answered and walked passed him inside.

Watching her walk up the stairs, Jim felt something was terribly wrong with her “Mai!” He called out and shut the door behind him.

Mai stopped, standing half way up the stairs, she turned as if to look at him “What is it, Jim?” She asked, voice paper thin.

“Are you alright?” Jim asked gingerly, cautiously walking over to her.

At that moment, all sort of emotions came crashing down on her like a wave and a strange sound filled the hallway.

Rushing over to her, Jim caught her and held her in his arms “Sssh, it’s okay, it’s okay” He reassured her.

Mai’s knees buckled underneath her and all she could do was hold on with her arms – her right arm starting to throb yet again from the strain she was putting on it, but Mai didn’t feel it.

Realizing the strange sound was her own sobbing, Mai stopped crying altogether.

She was so shocked that she was sobbing, let alone that she was crying, that the harsh truth hit her in the face – literally slapping her out of it.

For the past 10 years Mai hadn’t shed a single tear, hadn’t felt a single emotion or a thought of her own up until her Master had died. She had been nothing more than an emotionless puppet in those years serving her master.

Sure there were underlying thoughts and feelings, but they had never surfaced as they had the past few months.

And dealing with them was something she hadn’t done…ever.

Like swimming against the current, Mai tried to put enough effort in to comeback from her moment of ‘weakness’.

“I’m fine” She muttered hoarsely.

Pulling back from the hug, Jim held her by her shoulders “Are you sure?”

Another wave crashed over her with feelings and all she wanted to do was scream ‘no’, but with another flood of tears streaming down her face, Mai nodded – too afraid that if she spoke her voice would crack.

Jim couldn’t help but smile at how silly she was being “Come on, let’s go to the kitchen and I’ll make us some tea”

Dragging her by her hand to the kitchen, Jim made tea. Passing Mai a tissue box that had been hidden and unused inside one of the cupboards.

Removing her sunglasses, Mai shamefully gotten a couple of the square little white things and dried her face.

Setting down her cup of tea and holding his own, Jim sat down opposite of Mai before he spoke “Now, I realize you might not want to talk about why you are so upset, but,-”

“I don’t” Mai cut him off, but this time a bit less venomously and raised her cup of tea before she blew the steam from the hot liquid inside it “And I’m not upset” She added.

“Then why did you just break down in tears?” Jim questioned, less amused then before.

Mai pressed her lips into a thin line.

Like she’d know what actually triggered all that – she knew where it came from, all those emotions, but not what triggered them into action just in that moment.

“I don’t know” She said finally, setting down her cup on the table without drinking from it.

Frowning, Jim tried a second time to break through that thick wall of hers “Well, why don’t you tell me how your day was, we might find,-”

“I thought I said I didn’t want to talk about it” Mai grumbled, feeling yet another set of tears fill her eyes – Mai cursed angrily under her breath as she got another tissue to prevent them from streaming down her face.

“Mai” Jim said sternly as he watched clumsily wipe her tears “I won’t force you to talk to me, I can understand that you might want some space to get your thoughts together, but” Jim looked at his own cup as her eyes darted his way “I’ve been meaning to ask you something very important”

Mai wasn’t sure she could handle any more questions or just people in general at the moment, but out of sheer respect for the kind doctor, she waited patiently for Jim to continue.

Feeling like this was actually a bad time to start this conversation with Mai’s emotional breakdown, Jim had trouble gathering the right words in the right places “Well…uh…I…uhm, well I thought that…you see, since you…ah...have been on the streets, maybe not,- mean, there’s nothing wrong with that,-”

“What is it” Mai demanded, tired of his babbling and really just wanting a long bath.

Startled by her harsh tones, Jim kind of just let the words fall out of his mouth “I’m going to do research on your background”

Silence.

Rethinking what he said, Jim almost nervously tried to explain further “Not in a bad way! I just think it would be a good idea to find out who you really are so we perhaps can find your family and get you a passport and you could then perhaps get a visa or something,-” He took a deep breath as he saw her completely blank face “I know you might not approve, but I think it is the best thing to do at the moment, for your future, and perhaps whatever the reason is you left your family back home in Japan,-”

“My family is dead” Mai informed him emotionlessly.

Jim blinked “All of them?”

That question didn’t have a direct cut-off answer, and Mai had trouble with remembering “I don’t…know” She said finally and put her head on her hands as she leaned forward.

“Well, see?” Jim said standing up and walking towards her to put his hand on her shoulder “You might still have them, most families are quite big you know” He added reassuringly.

But to Mai this was terrible. All these new thought and feelings she already had to deal with until her final moment and NOW this?

She rather commit Seppuku* now.

“So why don’t you give me your surname, so we can start looking” Jim asked gently.

“I don’t know what is” Mai finally answered after a moment and straightened up to get rid of the kind hand on her shoulder.

“You don’t know what your last name is?” Jim questioned, shocked.

“No, I used to, when I was young…” Mai took her cup of tea in her hands, feeling the first hot liquid had cooled down quite a bit and took a sip “But…I haven’t used it in years so I don’t…”

More questions bubbled up, but Jim wasn’t entirely dense and knew better then to make her rush into this. He was glad though, to know that he was right about her needing the help he was offering “It’s alright. Let’s not further discus it and leave it for tomorrow”

Mai simply nodded, she didn’t have the energy anymore to even speak. After they finished their tea, Mai stood up without saying a word, heading out to the stairs when Jim remembered something.

“Oh Mai, uh, I got you the things that you bought yesterday and…something extra” He told her before she went up.

Mai wasn’t entirely sure how she should respond to that “…okay?” She said lamely, and continued up the stairs to her room.

Walking in, Mai found the shopping bags on against the wall on the side and went straight towards them.

After a bit of digging, she found what she was looking for, pj’s, and walked off to the bathroom. Letting the water run in the tub, Mai didn’t waste a second, threw off her clothes and entered the still empty tub.

When the tub was full, some of her wounds itched painfully when they got wet, but that was a pain Mai could handle.

Her mind was still filled with so many things at the same time and all she wanted to do was lie there and never wake up ever again.

Tears again sprung up in her eyes as she remembered how her day had gone, no, how messed up her life really was.

Evaluating herself at the moment, Mai could only guess the reason for her emotional state was because it took so long – not having her master around she was free to feel and speak her mind, rather than never say a word or do anything that she wasn’t ordered to do so otherwise.

Maybe Raphael was right about one thing though, avenging her master was stupid – she could admit to that. But it wasn’t a lie that she didn’t have choice in the matter, this was how her world worked and who she was.

Feeling somewhat better, Mai sighed. It might be better that she and Raphael weren’t going to see each other anymo,– wait she and Raphael?

Well he was her strongest link to the Hamato family, so she probably meant that. Mai nodded.

Yes, it would be better not associate herself with them anymore then she already had, it would only cause more hurt then necessary.

Content with those thoughts, Mai got out of the tub and dried herself off, putting on her brand new pj’s and went to sit on her bed.

But she found that ‘something extra’ Jim had talked about before she went upstairs. Feeling the object up, she found it must be wrapped in some kind of thick wrapping paper with a big bow on top.

She opened it with an annoyed look.

And yet, her expression changed and more tears settled in her blind eyes as she felt the silk and the cotton and the angles the material changed in.

A Yukata*.

Quickly putting the thing back in the wrapper, Mai put it away in her closet when her T-phone vibrated in her small backpack.

She had completely forgotten she had one and realized she had received two gifts on the same day. Mai idly wondered whether or not she wanted to read the text that was sent to her, especially when she had decided to no longer associate herself with the turtles…and rat.

But feeling rude for not using her gift – and thinking it might be an emergency of some kind – Mai quickly grabbed her first gift and read:

 

[I’m SORRY.

Look, I’ve been sitting here in my room all day figuring how to tell you just that. I’m SORRY. I won’t tell my family anything as long you don’t go asking them where to find the Shredder, deal? I hope you can forgive me for being an idiot.

Raph.]

 

She might count this as a third gift, at least by how lighthearted she suddenly felt. She wouldn’t lose her new friends.

She texted him back without thinking about it:

 

[Thank you, that means a lot to me Raphael-kun.

And I’m sorry too, for the sparring thing…

See you tomorrow? My place as usual?

Mai.]

 

She took her phone to bed, but before she could even lie down, his reply came:

 

[Sure]