To Crack a Shell - ROTTMNT

10 - Errand

Donnie hisses a curse into the dark. Hopefully Hueso didn't hear him knock over that box. Donnie sets the box back into place and continues rummaging through the restaurant's storage closet.

A little voice in his head keeps nagging him. The turtles and Hueso are friends. Surely it would be so much easier to just ask for what he is currently intending to steal.

Donnie chases the voice away. Listening to it last time almost got him killed. He didn't need it then and he doesn't need it now. Besides, he wouldn't be killing anyone, just engaging in some petty thievery.

That's what you thought last time , the voice says.

Donnie freezes at the sound of approaching footsteps.

The steps don't have the sharp clack of Hueso's immaculately polished shoes. They sound more like toe pads. Someone is coming. Whoever it is knows how to walk quietly, but they haven't mastered silence. Even if they did, they can't sneak up on a ninja.

The door opens slowly but the light doesn't reach Donnie. He's frozen near the back of the room, back to the door, one hand up on a shelf, the other aimed for his staff.

"Hello?" a male voice calls, clearly not seeing anyone. There's a shift of clothing and the stranger flicks the lights on.

Donnie turns his head to the door. His third eyelid drops down, making his eyes look white under this mask.

The stranger is a white rabbit yokai in a light blue waiter's outfit. His ears are tied on top of his head with a grey band, and his left hand holds a katana keychain at his hip.

The rabbit stiffens as he spots Donnie. Donnie keeps glaring, hoping this kid will get the hint and leave.

But he doesn't leave. The rabbit lowers himself into a fight stance, his shoulders rising and grip tightening on the keychain. "It's you. The Violet Kappa."

Donnie blinks and lets his eyes go back to normal. "My errand got me a notorious nickname?" He turns back to the cabinet. "I'm flattered."

He keeps rummaging as the rabbit starts yelling at him. "You call slaughtering a dozen yokai for a few handfuls of mystic minerals an 'errand'?!"

Donnie rolls his eyes. Great. The kid has moxie and morals. "It was only ten, and those geodes were illegal in the Hidden City."

"You took lives and did so without honor. You are without honor."

Electricity crackles. Donnie glances behind him and notices the rabbit is now holding a full sized katana against his hip, the fading gold sparks indicating magic.

Size altering magic? Interesting. Maybe Donnie could find a way to implement it in his tech.

The rabbit flicks the sword forward with his thumb, grasping the hilt.

Donnie raises an eyebrow. "That's a samurai technique."

"I am Ronin."

"You look like a bus boy."

"You are ninja. You ought know of honor yet you take lives and steal. You dishonor yourself. If you do not leave immediately, I will not hesitate to restore your honor with your death."

Donnie opens another cabinet and finds the box he's looking for. "Look, Fluffles, I would prefer to not kill a waiter in my brother's favorite restaurant—" he holds up a few of the box's contents, "—over some candles."

The rabbit's eyes narrow, but he makes no other move to further unsheathe his sword. Donnie counts that as a win since, if this kid is really as serious as he's talking himself up to be, if the sword comes out any more, it won't go back in until Donnie is dead.

"I have no quarrel with you," says Donnie. "I have what I want. Let me through and you won't see me again."

"You are a known criminal," the rabbit snarls, "I will ensure you are brought to justi—!"

Donnie flicks shuriken and kills the lights. He moves like a ghost in the darkness, slipping through the vent he first came through and emerging on street level where he takes the rooftops.