//------------------------------// // The Date // Story: Falling For a Mutant // by VioletRose13 //------------------------------// As she walked down the sidewalk, Celestia took out her cell phone and checked the GPS, hoping she was going in the right direction. She looked up and saw that she was heading towards a movie theater, the place she and Splinter agreed to meet. She smiled and put her phone back into her purse. She stopped in front of the entrance and looked around the area, hoping nobody would see. She checked her wrist watch and saw that it was almost 11:45. “Oh, I hope I’m not too late.” Celestia said to herself. “Looking for me?” A familiar voice asked. Celestia turned around to look for the source of the voice, but there was no one there. Then she felt someone tap her shoulder. She quickly turned and was almost nose to nose with Master Splinter. She took a step back in surprise as he let out a chuckle. “Did I scare you?” He asked playfully, lifting his hood to show his eyes. “Uh yeah, a little bit.” Celestia said, checking her watch again. “And what do you know? Right on time.” “Were you keeping time?” “Sorry, that’s probably Twilight’s influence.” “Twilight?” “Twilight Sparkle, one of my students back at Canterlot High. She’s probably the smartest and the most punctual student we’ve ever had.” “That sounds a lot like my son, Donatello.” “Donatello? That’s your son’s name?” “One of my sons.” “Oh, that’s right. You have four of them.” “Yes. My other three sons are named Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo.” “Named after Renaissance artists?” “Yes, the Italian Renaissance is my favorite period in art.” “Really? Are you kidding? I love the Renaissance too!” “You do?” “Yes. I even studied it back in college.” “My, what a coincidence.” “I guess it is.” They shared a laugh. “So, what should we do now?” Celestia asked. Before Splinter could respond, his stomach suddenly let out a low grumble. Celestia suppressed a few giggles as he blushed in embarrassment. “I-I apologize.” He said. “I was in such a hurry that I must have skipped supper.” “That’s okay.” Celestia said sympathetically. “I sort of skipped dinner, too. We should probably get something to eat right about now.” “Agreed.” “I didn’t think to bring anything. If I did, we could probably have a picnic on the roof of one of these buildings.” “While a rooftop picnic does sound romantic, I believe I know of a place where we can go.” “You do?” “Yes. Follow me.” Splinter took Celestia’s hand and they made their way down the sidewalk until they stopped in front of a small noodle shop somewhere in Chinatown. “Welcome to Murakami’s.” Splinter said. “This seems nice, but are you sure we’ll be welcome?” Celestia asked nervously. “Certainly. Murakami San will not care what you look like. In fact, he won’t even know what you look like. He is blind.” “He is?” “But he does not let that stop him from doing what he loves. My sons visit every once in a while and they are always welcome.” “Well, then what are we waiting for?” “After you.” Splinter said, holding the door open for Celestia. “Oh, what a gentleman.” Celestia said as she entered; Splinter followed close behind. “Ah, good evening and welcome to my humble shop.” A round, elderly man said as he turned to face the door; he had a big friendly smile on his face. “Good evening, Murakami San.” Splinter greeted with a smile. “And who is this? Why it is Hamato Yoshi, the Turtles’ master. It is an honor to finally meet you, Yoshi San.” They shook hands. “Ogenkidesuka.” “Arigatōgozaimasu.” “Sore wa subarashī. So what brings you to my shop this lovely evening?” “I am actually here for a late supper. And I hope you do not mind, but I have brought someone with me. This is Celestia.” Celestia stepped forward and extended her hand to the blind man, which he happily took. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.” She said kindly. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss Celestia.” Murakami said. “So what shall it be?” “Two orders of Pizza Gyoza, please.” “Right away.” Murakami smiled and started to cook. Celestia gave Splinter a puzzled look as they sat down. “Pizza Gyoza? What in the world is that?” “A special dish of Murakami San’s own creation.” Splinter answered, removing his hood. “Since my sons love pizza so much, he decided to turn it into a new kind of dish.” “Really?” Two platters of dumplings were set in front Celestia and Splinter along with a cup of tea and a set of chopsticks for each. “Here you are. Extra cheese, just how you like it. Enjoy.” Murakami said. “Itadakimasu.” Splinter said, bowing his head and smiling. “Oh. Um, Itadakimasu.” Celestia said, doing the same thing. Splinter picked up the chopsticks and began to eat. He glanced over at Celestia and saw that she was curiously inspecting her food. He swallowed. “It’s okay.” He said. “I was as skeptical as you when my sons first introduced this dish to me. But believe me, it is delicious. Just give it a try. You would be surprised.” He took a sip from his cup of tea. “Okay, fine. Just one taste.” Celestia picked up her chopsticks and reluctantly popped a dumpling into her mouth; her eyes widened and she smiled. “Wow. Wow, this is amazing! Probably the best thing I’ve ever tasted!” Splinter chuckled. “See? I knew you would like it.” He ate another dumpling. After they finished their meal, Celestia and Splinter stood up and Celestia gave Murakami some money. “Thank you very much for the meal.” She said kindly. “You are most welcome, Miss Celestia.” Murakami said. “I hope you two enjoy yourselves for the rest of the night.” “Arigatō, Murakami San.” Splinter said. “Dōitashimashite, Yoshi San.” Murakami said before Splinter and Celestia exited the restaurant; he smiled. “Sorera wa…” As they walked, Celestia and Splinter looked at each other and couldn’t help but smile. “So, what should we do now?” She asked. “I don’t know.” Splinter answered, stroking his beard. “Perhaps we could go to the dock. No one would be there.” Celestia paused and thought for a moment before giving him a playful smile and taking his hand. “Lead the way, Hamato Yoshi.” Splinter smiled as they walked in the direction of the pier. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Celestia and Splinter sat on the edge of the pier side by side, watching the stars. “This is so beautiful.” Celestia said, dreamy-eyed. “Indeed it is.” Splinter remarked. “You know, my sister actually prefers the night to the day.” “Really? …What is your sister like?” “She’s wonderful. Though she can get a little moody sometimes. Luckily, it’s not very often. I still love her. Do you have any siblings?” Splinter suddenly froze. He couldn’t tell Celestia about his life with Oroku Saki, or the Shredder, and what he did to Splinter in Japan; he just couldn’t. What would she think? How would she react to Saki’s numerous crimes? What would she do? Worst of all, what would Shredder do if he found out about Celestia? Since he was still out there somewhere, who knows what could happen? These questions buzzed through Splinter’s head like a swarm of angry wasps, refusing to calm or slow down. “Are you okay, Yoshi?” Celesta's gentle voice asked. “Hmm? What?” Splinter said, snapping back to reality. He looked at Celestia, who was giving him a concerned look. “You suddenly went quiet. What’s wrong?” “I, um… nothing. It is nothing. Just thoughts of my past, nothing more.” “Your past? Care to tell me?” “…Why?” “Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but you looked a little troubled. Did something happen?” “…I don’t want to talk about it.” “Oh! I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to pry. I understand if you want to keep things secret, but if you ever decide that you want to talk about it, you can always come to me. I promise I won’t judge.” “Really?” She nodded; he smiled. “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” “Celestia? …I don’t think I have ever met someone like you. As odd as it sounds, I feel I could truly relate to you.” “Really? Well believe it or not, I have a bit of a past too.” “You do?” “Yeah. I hardly talk about it with anyone; it just brings back old memories. It’s never easy.” “I understand. But if you wish to talk, I am here to listen.” Splinter wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Celestia looked into his eyes and gave him a small smile. “Thank you.” She then wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug; he paused for a moment, then he hugged her back. They split and looked back at the ocean before them. “You know this is crazy, right?” Celestia asked. “I do.” Splinter replied with a sigh. “I just never thought I would find another adult to really talk to.” “Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. All of the other adults I know just want to talk about work and politics and boring things like that. What I really need is someone I can really talk to, someone who understands my feelings, opinions, and morals.” “I know how you feel. But this could never work… could it?” “Well, a human and a mutant? It just can’t be… can it?” They looked away from one another and remained silent for a moment until Splinter spoke up. “I would love to do this again soon.” He said. “I would, too.” Celestia said before a thought popped into her head. “Hey, I just remembered something. There’s a masquerade party at the hotel I’m staying in on Friday. We could meet up there.” “A party? In public?” “Oh, don’t worry. It’ll be a costume party; everyone will be dressing up and wearing masks. If you come as yourself, you’ll blend right in.” Splinter stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes in deep thought. He glanced back at Celestia. “May I at least think about it first?” “Of course. I’m sorry.” “It’s fine; I shall think about it. I promise.” “Good… Do you have a phone?” “Yes.” “Do you think we could exchange numbers?” “I don’t see why not.” Celestia took a pen and a sticky note out of her purse and handed them to Yoshi who wrote down the number to his cheese phone. In return, she did the same and they exchanged notes. They smiled. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Splinter walked Celestia back to her hotel with his hood drawn. “I hope to see you again soon, Hamato Yoshi.” Celestia whispered as she stood at the entrance. “Me too, Principal Celestia.” Splinter replied with a smile; Celestia giggled before leaning in and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. He smiled before walking out into the darkness; Celestia went up to her room, grinning all the while. She unlocked her room and went inside, only to be met with her sister sitting on the bed… along with the seven Rainbooms on the screen of an opened laptop. “Top of the evening to ya.” Luna said. “Luna, what are you doing?” Celestia asked. “Principal Celestia… who is Yoshi?” Sunset Shimmer asked. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As quietly as possible, Splinter snuck into the lair only to see his four sons sitting on the sofa waiting for him. They all turned their head to see their father enter. “Boys, what are you still doing up?” He asked. “Nothing.” Mikey said nonchalantly. “How was your date, Sensei?” Donnie asked. “It was… great.” Splinter replied, clutching the sticky note behind his back. “Good to hear, Sensei.” Raph said. “Yeah, we’re glad you had a good time.” Leo said, getting up from the sofa. He yawned. “I think it’s about time we all head to bed. You can tell us everything in the morning, sensei.” “Very well, Leonardo. Goodnight, boys.” “Night, Sensei.” The turtles got up from the sofa and walked in the direction of their bedrooms. Splinter headed for his own room and closed the doors before he stuck the note to the glass cover over his cheese phone. He smiled.