Chapter 22: Training.


I rolled over in the bottom bunk, bringing the warm comforter tighter around me. After a night of mild nightmares, I wasn’t in the mood to get up; even though my internal clock was screaming at me that I would be late for training. The thought that I hadn’t been to training in about two days occurred to me, but I shoved it to the back of my mind. All I wanted was to sleep some more. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. I pulled the comforter over my head, knowing exactly who was knocking on my door; one of my brothers. Squeezing my eyes shut, I heard the audible sound of the door being opened and then the sound of a small metal object being thrown into the door frame. “What the shell?” Raph asked. Pulling the comforter off my head, I turned to see a kunai, or a ninja throwing knife lodged into the door frame not ten feet away from Raph’s arm. He was glaring at Logen and Leo had an arm in front of his shell.

“Logen,” I said, angrily. “Last time you threw a pillow, now you’re throwing kunai?” I asked. Logen grunted.

“Wait, she was throwing pillows?” Donni asked. I sighed.

“I was noisy yesterday when I was getting dressed, so she threw a pillow.”

“Ya’ were noisy then and you’re noisy now,” Yuki groaned.

“We apologize, Yuki,” Leo said. “We were just coming up to see what was taking Chris so long.”

“How late am I?” I asked, groggily.

“Half an hour,” Donni said. My eyes nearly popped out of my head.

“Can’t you guys go talk in the hallway?” Yuki snapped. Not wanting to cause a fight, I nodded and started to get up. My efforts obviously failed when Raph snapped back.

“We’re only here ta’ get Chris. Ya’ don’t need ta’ get so up tight ‘bout it,” he said, sharply. Yuki glared at Raph.

“’Up tight,’ am I?” she asked. “Well maybe I don’t like being woken up at seven in the morning!” she said, her voice rising. She sat up in bed, angrily.

“Yeah, you are uptight,” Raph said. I glared at Raph. Why can’t my families get along? I asked myself.

“Raph, I think this has gone far enough,” Leo said, crossing his arms, a sign that he meant business.

“Stuff it, Leo,” Raph snapped. I glared at Raph, but he ignored it.

“You should be nicer to your older brother,” Yuki said.

“And you need ta’ stay outta my business,” Raph retaliated. Growled internally. I was in no mood for this.

“Raph, Yuki, knock it off,” I said. I got up and walked over to my dresser. Not looking at anyone, out of habit. It was something I did when I was ticked. Raph growled a bit, but backed off. I knew he could tell I was pissed, so he didn’t want to push his luck. I pulled out my training gear and turned to my brothers.

“Hey, since I’m up, can I watch?” Logen asked, fiddling with a kunai in her hand. I gave her a look, telling her to put it back under her pillow.

“Sure,” I said. “Wanna come, Yuki?” I asked, causing Raph to glare at me. I ignored him, which only ticked him off more. Yuki shrugged.

“Why not?” she asked.





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I tightened my mask after coming out of the changing room. Dad had found us on the way to the Danger Room and asked if he could watch. He was now watching with Yuki and Logen from the control booth. He had seen some of my skill when I first trained in the Danger Room and a bit more of my abilities when we went up against Doom’s robot army. I still haven’t told Yuki and Logen about Doom, because it kept slipping my mind. Not that I was complaining. We all knelt in front of Master Splinter, waiting for him to start. We were most likely going to practice until ten instead of nine, because of me accidently sleeping in. I also knew that I would have a half an hour meditation session with Sensei.

“Today, you shall be sparing in pairs. The odd one out shall stand by me,” Master Splinter instructed. We all waited patiently for Master Splinter to pair us off. I was wondering who I would get paired against. I was hoping to get Leo first, to see how my skill has improved. Though, fighting against Raph has its perks. Donni is also a formidable opponent, but he keeps forgetting about a blind spot that he has. Mikey may be the most naturally ninja in the family, but he doesn’t hone his skill enough. He could probably even hold his own against Master Splinter if he tries as hard as Leo. Master Splinter interrupted my thoughts with the pairings.

“Leonardo, you shall go up against Raphael. Donatello, you and Michelangelo shall spar,” he ordered. I sighed. This most likely meant that Master Splinter wished to speak with me. We all got up and the pairs faced each other as I walked over to stand next to Master Splinter. I knew that Dad, Yuki, and Logen could hear everything going on down here, and I wasn’t so sure I wanted them to hear the possible conversation that Master Splinter and I were about to have. My brothers bowed to each other and the battles begun. I was watching them, as I was supposed to do. I was supposed to watch them to see what mistakes they made and mentally fix them.

“I assume that you know why I have chosen you to sit out for now?” he asked. I nodded, not taking my eyes off my brothers.

“Yes,” I said.

“Would you like to explain why you were late?” he asked.

“I had a long night, Sensei,” I explained. It was no surprise to Master Splinter that I had trouble sleeping because of nightmares. I have had them since I could remember. Master Splinter nodded. I knew that Logen, Yuki, and Dad were looking at me. I was almost sure they heard that. I was hoping no questions would be asked, but knowing Dad, he would ask later on. I continued watching my brothers until the matches were over. It was no surprise that Raph and Leo were the winners, though Don was a pretty close second to Raph. I noticed that Mikey got a bit distracted during the battle.

“Alright, now, Raphael, you shall sit out and Michelangelo will go up against Leonardo while Crystal and Donatello fight." We all nodded once and I walked over to Donni. We bowed to each other. Donni quickly pulled out his Bo Staff while I unsheathed my Ninjato. I got into a defensive stance while Donni’s stance became offensive. He attempted to hit my leg, to knock me down, but I blocked it with my Ninjato. He then pushed on the upper half of the Bo, causing it to try to come down on my head. I rolled out of the way and attempted to cut his leg. I almost did, but I pulled back at the last second. We trusted each other not to hurt each other. He came back with the same leg, trying to kick me on my back, but I rolled out of the way. I went into an offensive stance and Don responded with a defensive stance. I came at him with a side ways slash. He caught it with his Bo and I pulled back and went for another attack, which he easily dodged. I was about to block an attack from Donni, when my hands felt like they were being split open. I let go of my Ninjato as I cried out in pain and dropped to my knees, cradling my hands. I narrowly missed Don’s Bo as it flew over my head. He instantly dropped to his knees next to me, wrapping an arm around me. I knew he was speaking, but I couldn’t hear a word he was saying, though I could guess what he was saying. Tears of pain fell down my face as the pain in my hands increased. My vision was going black around the edges. I could no longer tell if I was screaming anymore. I knew everyone else was around me. I could feel another hand on my shoulder, but who it belonged to, I couldn’t tell. Sound slowly came back to my ears, but I was having trouble focusing on it. I could tell that Dad was talking to me, but I couldn’t tell what he was saying.

A hand gently pushed some hair out of my face. It felt like only three fingers, so I was guessing it was Donni. I looked at my hands and the tips of three metal claws were protruding from my hands. I was hoping I didn’t need to go to the infirmary again. I was sick of seeing all those needles lying about. It took every ounce of strength I had to stay awake during this. Finally, I could hear what Dad was saying. I was guessing everyone else was too stunned to speak.

“Just keep pushing,” Dad said. “The harder you will your claws to come out, the faster the pain will go away.” I could hear the pain in his own voice. I realized that I had taken to biting my tongue to lessen the pain in my hands. I felt like collapsing onto the floor, passed out, but I willed myself to get through this. I suddenly felt Donni’s arm leave me. Almost instantly, I felt someone else place there scrawny hand on my shoulder. It felt like Master Splinter’s hand. The tears of pain were now flowing freely.

“You are stronger than this, Crystal,” Master Splinter soothed. “You can do this. Do not let your fear win.” His hand gently wiped away my tears. I noticed that my claws had been slowly coming out and they were now almost a foot long. Maybe about nine inches, but I wasn’t sure. Dad and Master Splinter kept saying encouraging words, but I kept missing most of what they were saying. Finally, my claws stopped coming out. They were about eleven inches in length and came out from my knuckles; three on each hand. They no longer hurt and I was relived.

“Now just let your hands relax,” Dad said when he was sure that they weren’t growing anymore. I tried, but my hands wouldn’t comply with what I wanted them to do. I took a couple deep breaths and slowly, my hands uncurled from fists and my claws went back into my hands.
“I think your training is finished for today, Crystal,” Master Splinter said as Dad and Donni helped me up. I nodded.

“You okay?” Leo asked.

“I’m fine,” I mumbled. I sighed internally and walked out of the Danger Room, not caring if anyone followed. I went into my room and pulled out my new manga and started to read. I soon fell asleep.

no, i ment Leo goes up against Mikey. (i was exausted when i wrote this...) that was a my bad...

Chapter 23- Secrets


I was walking to the kitchen after my nap, feeling better. I was hoping that Dad would talk to me about my claws later. Suddenly, I heard a phone go off in the kitchen. Walking along to the kitchen, I heard Logen pick up her phone. “Moshi Moshi (hello),” she said. She was quiet while who ever was on the phone talked. “How’s it going?” She paused. “OMG!!” she shouted. “This is great!” Another pause. “OMG, that’s right, ask him what he wants and I’ll get it, but not this second,” she said. A final pause. I was almost to the kitchen now. “Sayonara, (good bye)” she said. I heard her hang up her phone. “Yatta! (done)” she yelled to no one in particular. I got to the kitchen and walked in a ways.

“What are you so happy about?” I asked. I must have startled her, because she yelled.

“Don’t do that and it’s nothing…” she replied, but I could see she was hiding something.

“You’re lying,” I said simply. I folded my arms as I looked at her.

“I give up, I’ll tell you,” she said. ‘That was easy,’ I thought.

“Well…” I trailed off.

“Where to begin…” she trailed off as well. She thought for a moment.

“Well, someone important to me is coming home,” she said, obviously not wanting me to know who.

“Who is that someone?” I prodded. She thought for a moment again.

“Common, it’s a long story,” she said, turning and leading me to the game room. She seemed happy it was empty. We sat on the couch, sitting sideways to face each other.

“Well, who is it?” I asked.

“My son… Keitaro is coming home, I finally got custody over him,” she started to explain.

“Your son? Like biological?” I asked. She certainly didn’t look old enough to be a mother, but I wasn’t going to judge.

“Yeah, biological. I gave birth to him about three years ago. It was a couple of months before our birthday now that I think about it…” she said. I nodded. I sighed internally. I knew that people weren’t supposed to have kids before they were married, but I really didn’t know how people had kids. Growing up in a male dominate household with no older female to guide me on these things left me pretty naive.

“Where do babies come form?” I blurted out, before I could stop myself. Logen laughed.

“You’re serious?” she asked looking at me. “Oh begesus…” We spent the next few minutes going over where babies came from in not too much detail.

“Thanks Logen,” I said when she finished. She looked confused.

For what, Chris?” she asked.

“I could never talk to anyone else about it, without it being awkward,” I explained.

“Oh, well, itte (no big deal). I’m happy to finally tell someone who won’t freak out, like ‘OMG, that’s so stupid of you to do, weren’t you thinking?’ or “OMG you had a baby!?” she exaggerated, making me laugh.

“Holly hell, you had a baby,” Yuki said, causing Logen and I to jump. Logen laughed worriedly.

“Yeah… keep it a secret?” she asked Yuki. Yuki walked over and sat in a chair, facing us.

“Sure, it can be our sister secret, like the whole ninja thing,” Yuki smiled. This reminded me I needed to talk to Logen about telling Master Splinter. It got silent and then we all laughed at the awkwardness. As we stopped laughing, Reno trotted in with an unopened bag of cheese in his mouth. He walked over to where Logen was and dropped the bag in Logen’s lap. He barked. Yuki and I laughed some more. He was so cute.

“Did you steal it? And from who?” Logen asked him. Reno barked playfully. “Oh, okay,” she smiled.

“What he say?” Yuki asked.

“Dad gave him the cheese bag and he wants me to open it and fee him cheese,” Logen explained. I was shocked.

“You understand him?” I asked.

“Yeah, I could always understand him. Even when I bought him,” she said as she opened the bag and took out a piece. She broke it into pieces and Reno started to bother her to hurry.

“So, Chris, how you feeling? About earlier?” Yuki asked randomly.

"Better,” I replied. “I’m glad to know that the Professor was right and that I do have claws like the rest of my family.”

“Ouch, that really hurt today…” Logen laughed.

“How do you know?” I asked, genuinely surprised.

“I can feel others emotions and feelings. Since we’re twins our bond is stronger, so I felt your pain today,” she explained.

“Oh,” I said. Then I remembered that I wanted to tell them about Doom. He said he was coming back, and the fact that Logen was my twin and looked almost exactly like me made her a target if Doom ever came. There was also the chance that Doom would loose interest in Logen and me and go after Yuki. “Hey guys?” I asked.

“Yeah?” Yuki and Logen asked at the same time.

"I have a secret of my own to tell you…” I began. They both looked at me, giving me their undivided attention as I was about to speak again.

Wow, this just keeps getting better and better ^.^ I can't wait to read chapter 24!

is working on the chapter now XD

I AM ALL CAUGHT UP WOOT!!! XD

That was great Chris, I think you're getting better at this

thanks alot, Xile XD

Chapter 24- Discussing Doom


I took a deep breath. “Either of you know Dr. Doom?” I asked. Logen and Yuki both shook their heads. “Well, he’s the ruler of a small country called Latveria.” I left it at that and started my story. “As you both know, I haven’t been living with Dad all my life. It was actually only a couple of weeks ago that I met him or even knew who he was. The first night I was here I was taken by Doom.” I paused for a second, anger building up, but I let it go. My emotions would not get the best of me right now. “He wanted to marry me and turn me into his queen,” I explained. I looked directly at Logen and Yuki. “I’m afraid he might loss interest in me and go after you.” Logen looked a bit scared and a bit freaked out by all of this. Yuki seemed unfazed, but I couldn’t really tell. Her eyes were guarded, not letting me see into them.

“So, you think he’s gonna come and take us?” Logen asked. I sighed.

“He said he would be back for me. But he might decided to go for you, thinking you were me,” I said. I turned to Yuki. “He might go after someone who’s older.”

“He ain’t touchin’ me,” she stated simply. Logen looked at me.

“He didn’t, ya’ know, do anything?” she asked. I shook my head.

“He didn’t do a thing except put me in a room. He was probably planning the wedding or something like that, the pedophile,” I said. That caused them to chuckle a bit. “Doom is also the only reason my brothers and master are here right now. They’ll be leaving soon. Back to New York.” I looked away from them. It was going to be hard without them. Yuki’s hand went to my shoulder.

“Ya’ still got us,” she said. I smiled.

“Yeah, I know. And I hope to get to know you as well as I know my brothers.” Logen smiled at me.

“That ought ta’ be fun,” she said. I laughed a bit. Just then, Dad walked in, smoking a cigar. It smelt terrible and I was wondering how he could keep that thing in his mouth. Placing my hand over my nose, I looked at the smelly cigar with disgust. He took it out of his mouth.

“Hey girls,” he said, smiling. He then looked at me. “You okay, kid?” he asked.

“That thing smells,” I said, pointing at the cigar. Dad looked at me.

“Says the girl who grew up in a layer in the sewers of New York,” he countered. I looked at Logen and Yuki. They didn’t exactly know that I grew up in the sewer. I was gauging their reactions. They seamed surprised, but looked okay with it. I knew they were gonna ask me about it later.

“Well the sewer smelt better than that,” I said. He sighed and put it out. He then looked at me with concern.

“You feelin’ better?” he asked. I nodded. “Let me see.” I looked at him.

“How?” I asked.

“Just focus on wanting them to come out. It should be faster and less painful now.” I did as he instructed and there was a soft shing as my claws came out. I winced and grunted, but Dad was right, it didn’t hurt as much. He gently took my left hand in both of his, examining it. He was most likely checking the state of my claws. I realized for the first time that my claws were metal, like Dad’s. “Huh, yours are metal. That’s weird.”

“How is that weird?” I asked. He sighed.

“Well, mine were bone coated with metal, same with your sisters. But you have naturally metal claws.” His face became questioning, almost reminding me of Donni when he was working on a new problem. “But what kinda metal are they?” he whispered.

“Well, what kinda metal are yours?” I asked. “Maybe the metal compound was transferred through your DNA and ended up manifesting in my mutation.” I looked around and everyone was looking at me like I was speaking some foreign language. I almost laughed. It reminded me of the look that Mikey gives Don after a science lecture. “What?” I asked. “I listen to Don when he talks.” Dad cleared his throat.

“Well, the metal coating we all have is Adamantium. I guess it could be possible,” he said. “You can sheath your claws.” He nodded at my hands. I relaxed them and the metal claws went back into my hands. “Oh, I almost forgot, you’re not going to ninja training tomorrow.” I was about to argue, but he cut me off. “Instead, you’ll be learning how to control those powers of yours before you sneeze and light someone’s hair on fire,” he said with a smile. I nodded.







------------







Later on, I was back up in my room. I hadn’t sketched in a while, so I was going to do some sketches of the woods on the perimeter of the grounds. I was looking for it when I found the bag with the new video game for Mikey in it. I was thinking about giving him it for a parting gift, but decided to give it to him now. I took the bag and walked into the game room where Mikey was currently battling Bobby at Gears. I smiled and cleared my throat. “Not now,” Bobby said. I rolled my eyes.

“I wasn’t clearing my throat at you, Bobby,” I said, politely.

“In a minute, Chris,” Mikey said. I sighed. A minute was never a minute with Mikey. It always turned into longer, so I sat down and watched them for a bit. After a bit, Donni came in.

“Hey, Don,” I said, not looking up. Having a good nose could be useful when someone is trying to sneak up on me.

“Shell,” he said and I smiled. He hoped over the couch and sat down next to me, throwing an arm around me. “Feeling better?” he asked. This must have caught Mikey’s attention.

“Oh, yeah, I almost forgot to ask how you’re doing,” he said, angling himself so he could see the screen and me at the same time.

“Your concern for our little sister is amazing,” Donni said, sarcastically.

“Sorry, I was playing Gears…” Mikey said. I laughed a bit.

“I’m feeling better. I found out they’re metal,” I said. Mikey laughed.

“Well, you’re observant,” Donni said. I gave him a playful punch.

“Shut up,” I said. Mikey finally noticed the bag in my lap.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Well, it’s supposed to be a gift for you… but seeing as you’re too busy with your videogame, I might just give it to Logen…” Mikey immediately pushed pause.

“Hey,” Bobby said.

“Dude, just a sec.” he said. He looked at me excitedly.

“You’re like a four year-old who’s about to get candy,” I said.

“No, that’s Leo when you tell him he’s getting a chocolate bar,” Donni said. I laughed. Leo had a major sweet tooth and loved chocolate. Obviously, Halloween is one of his favorite holidays. And he could go out and trick-or-treat because it looked like he was wearing a costume to people. I handed Mikey the bag and he quickly opened it to find the original Halo and the new memory card. He squealed and then threw himself at me, hugging me so hard, it felt like I was gonna explode.

“Mikey, I kinda need to breath,” I said. He let go.

“You rock!” he shouted. “Have I ever told you how much I love you, lil’ sis?” I could practically hear the excitement drip from his voice. I smiled.

“Well, you know, you’re bound to get bored while I’m here, so I thought I might as well give you something to keep you busy while I’m in class so you don’t call me and get me in trouble,” I said.

“He would, too,” Donni said. I chuckled. Mikey stuck his tongue out at Donni, but he was too excited to get mad. I smiled and got up. I wanted to go find Gambit. I felt bad for ignoring him, though I knew he understood why I was doing it. I stood up.

“Well, I’m gonna go find Remy,” I said.

“Who?” Donni asked.

“Remy’s Gambit’s first name,” Bobby answered for me. “His full name’s Remy LeBeau.” I nodded.

“Take it easy, Chris,” Donni said as I left. I rolled my eyes at him. I was done with taking easy. If I took it easy for one more day, I was sure I was gonna go crazy. I found Gambit in the kitchen, alone. He was turned away from me. I went over to him and placed my hand on his shoulder. Without missing a beat, Gambit placed his hand over mine and started to rub my hand with his thumb. He looked up at me.

“Hello, Mon Bell,” he said, smiling at me. I smiled back. He let go of my hand and stood up, pulling me into his arms and resting his forehead on my shoulder. He straightened out and I looked up into his red and black eyes, smiling.

“You wanna go for a walk, Rem?” I asked, wrapping my arms around his neck. His grin grew.

“It would be Gambit’s pleasure to escort Mon Bell ‘round the grounds,” he said. I loved the sound of his thick Cajun accent. He took a step back and I dropped my arms. Taking my hand in his, we walked out of the kitchen, almost bumping into Dad. I blushed.

“And where are you two goin’?” he asked with a smile. He took in the fact that we were holding hands and his smile grew a bit.

“Just for a walk, Dad,” I said. He nodded and stepped out of the way. I walked out the mansion and onto the grounds with Gambit, hand in hand.

That was an awesome chapter Crystal ^.^

...lmao her sense of smell is very creepy...I wonder how she can stand training with four sweaty guys around her XDD

Another great chapter Crystal

haha she's gotten used to it, just as she's gotten used to the smell of the sewer.

Hehe, another great chapter. =D Leo and chocolate... x'D That made me laugh out loud.

Keep up the good work. :>

i had to. it was too good to pass up.

Chapter 25- The Walk


I walked out onto the grounds with Gambit. I talked with him and we laughed together about random things. He liked to play with a lock of my hair as we walked. “Gambit loves your curls,” he said. I blushed a bit.

“I thought you liked my straight hair,” I said, remembering his reaction for our first date. Gambit smiled at me.

“Ya’ always look beautiful ta’ Gambit, Mon Bell,” he said.

“Thanks,” I said. He smiled at me. I found my self just staring into his eyes for a minute, making it hard to watch where I was going. I ended up tripping over lawn chair set around the pool. Gambit caught me.

“Careful, Crystal,” he said, laughing. “Gambit no wanna see you get hurt.”

“Thanks, Rem,” I said. He pulled me up into his arms.

“Just part of what Gambit do, Mon Bell. He saves beautiful girls like you.” He came down and kissed me. I kissed back and pulled away. I then pulled him around the pool to the edges of the grounds, making sure to stay away from the water.

“So, have any plans for de weekend, Mon Bell?” Gambit asked.

“Not really…” I responded. I then heard something move in the trees.

“What are you doing here?” I hear Raph ask. I turn.

“What is it, Chris?” Gambit asked. I hushed him and listened harder to pin point where Raph was.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I heard Yuki respond. I was having a hard time pin pointing the two, mainly because they were quiet and I wasn’t good at this yet.

“Would it matter if I told you?” he asked. I finally see them up in a tree. I was about to call to them when Yuki spoke.

“I think it would,” she replied back. “Listen, I’m older. Why don’t you head inside and I’ll inform you about what happens, ‘kay?” My jaw dropped. They were spying on me! I felt so hurt and betrayed. They didn’t trust me enough to be alone with my boyfriend while Dad and Sensei did. I decided to see where this went.

“You think just because you are older you can boss me around?” he asked. I knew he hated it when people use age for authority.

“Yeah, I think so,” she snapped back.

“Listen Grandma…” she cut him off.

“Did you just call me Grandma?” she snapped. I started to get involved when Gambit grabbed my arm.

“I know you want to help, Mon Bell, but you may end up in de cross fire and Gambit no want that,” he said.

“Yeah, got a problem with it?” he asked. Yuki shoved him out of the tree. Just before Raph he hit the ground, he landed on his feet. She jumped out of the tree and got into his face.

“Listen, turtle, don’t you ever try me like that, ever!” she yelled at him.

“Don’t yell at me!” he said, his voice getting louder. Yuki pushed him and Raph pushed back. I knew this wasn’t going to end well. I had to step in.

“Knock it off,” I said, but I could tell that Yuki wasn’t listening. She had pulled out her claws as Raph pulled out his twin Sais. “Stop it!” I said, forcefully. I was prepared to throw myself between them if I had to. I was just about to, but Gambit grabbed me around the waist to stop me.

“It’ll be alright, Mon Bell,” he whispered. I knew he just didn’t want me to get hurt. Yuki hand put her claws right up to Raph’s chin and was threatening him.

“So you wanna play turtle boy? Alright, I’ll make it interesting. If I lose, I leave. If you lose, you do as I say. Does that sound fine to you?” Raph looked to me and the Yuki.

“Fine.”

“What? No! You guys can’t do this. Please stop! Don’t do this. Yuki, please,” I tried to plead, even though I knew they wouldn’t listen. Gambit had taken to holding me by the arms so he could rub up and down them to try to calm me, though he knew it wasn’t working. Yuki didn’t even look at me. I knew this was pride, something I was cursing right now. She took a deep breath and let it out. Closing her eyes, she disappeared and reappeared behind Raph touching his shell and disappeared with him. I let out a groan of frustration and roughly yanked myself out of Gambit’s arms.

“They always have to fight, don’t they?” I said, tears forming in my eyes, I was so frustrated. I started to look for them, Gambit not far behind me. I knew he was worried about me, but all I could think of was finding Raph and Yuki and stopping them from fighting just so I could slap both of them. After a while of walking around, I went inside, slamming a door in the process.

“It’ll be alright,” he said.

“No, it won’t. They’re gonna hurt each other and then Dad’s gonna get pissed,” I snapped. I looked at him apologetically. I knew he was only trying to help. “Sorry,” I said. He help up his hand.

“No apology needed, Crystal,” he said, pulling me into his arms. “Dey should not be fightin’ each other.” He gave me a kiss and let me go. Just then, Logen came out of our room.

“What’s wrong, Chris?” she asked, looking at me from her freshly died bangs.

“Yuki and Raph,” I replied in a huff. She shook her head.

“Hello, Cherr. You are related to Mon Bell?” Gambit asked, before I could say anything else.

“Hai, Remy-san, twin to be exact.” She smiled. She walked over to her bed and I followed, sitting on Yuki’s bed. Gambit sat down next to me and put his hand on my knee. Logen had started to pet Reno, who was sleeping on her bed. “So… how was your day?” Logen asked randomly. I opened my mouth to answer when Dad came in.

“Anya’ know why Orin has a toddler with ‘im?” he asked us. I looked to Logen, who looked worried. Orin was apparently Logen’s sensei who was currently living in the Mansion, though, I’d never met him.

“Well, it’s funny ya say that…” Logen said. She paused for a moment. “The toddler is my son, Keitaro.”

“What?” Dad yelled, venom dripping from his voice. He woke up Reno with a start. The dog got up and left, and Gambit slowly tried to follow, but I grabbed his hand. I wanted to be here for Logen in case Dad got madder, if that was possible, and I wanted his support.

“He’s my son,” Logen said, slower, standing up.

“How could you be so stupid?” he yelled again.

“I don’t know! I know it was stupid, but that’s the past!” she yelled back, tears threatening to overflow. Dad saw her tears as they started to fall and a look of compassion crossed his face.

“Why is he here?” he asked, calming down.

“I won full custody of him,” she said. Dad walked over and sat on the bed next to her.

“Who’s the father?” he asked, calmly.

“Sachio Yamashi,” Logen replied. There was a small knock on the door. It opened and Reno came in. Behind him was Orin, carrying who I was guessing my excited nephew, Keitaro. Orin placed him down and he ran over to his mother. I smiled. He was so cute.

Keitaro had reddish-brown hair and big green eyes. His skin was a bit pale and he looked at his mother with love. “Mama!” he yelled happily as Logen hugged him.

“Hi, baby, you glad to be here?” she asked while tears of sheer joy fell from her face.

“Ahuh! I missed you, Mama.” Keitaro looked at her. “Why mama kwing?”

“I’m just happy to see you.” She smiled, causing me to smile.