Emma Hamato#5

                               Emma Hamato#5


     
      The next morning, Emma finished doing her round of pull-ups and dropped to the floor. Sweat trickled down her as she finished her workout. Grabbing a towel she went for the shower. Her brothers, Splinter, Casey, and April weren't up yet. Emma was always an early riser aside from Leo, and today was the day she wanted to look around town for more clues. Her thoughts dwelled on the elevator in the library. It was there for a reason and she wanted to know why. She stepped out of the shower and pulled on her jeans and a light blue oriental top.
"Morning early bird." April was standing outside the doorway.
"Morning April."
"Good workout? Looks like you killed the pillow."
"That’s because the pillow was Regina, Queen of Bi-yatchs."
April laughed as Emma threw it from the floor to the bed. She had used the pillow as a punching bag and it looked like it had almost gotten torn in half.
"The guys are up. Ready to get breakfast?"
"Yeah. Just let me grab my jacket."
Emma grabbed a red jacket and followed April where the rest of the family was waiting. They all left the Inn and went to the vacant diner, save for Ruby, a very pregnant blonde girl, and Mary-Margaret reading the paper. The pregnant girl stumbled, dropping her notepad and pencil catching Emma's eyes. She moved away from her family and walked to her.
"Here let me help you." Emma got down to the floor with her and picked up the pad.
"Thank you. It's not always easy with this." The young woman said patting her pregnant belly.
"You're welcome. How far along are you?" Emma asked.
"About two weeks or less."
"Well, either way, I'm sure you will be a great mother." Emma said respectively.
“I won’t be keeping my baby. I can barely afford to take care of myself.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.” Emma said.
The young woman, or Ashley Boyd, smiled at her, “It’s alright,” Her eyes followed Emma as she looked back to the table where she saw four boys and two men, and a woman laughing together. “Is that your family?”
“Yeah. Some of the nicest people I’ve ever known.”
Ashley furrowed her brows, “They’re not your biological family?”
“No. I’m adopted.”
“It must be hard that you don’t know your parents.”
“It can be. However, I have a great family right now. I have a dad, four brothers, and a great aunt and uncle. I know that my mom couldn’t keep me and I don’t hold a grudge against it. It’s all about what you think about it and how you choose to make the best of the situation.”
Ashley watched Emma walk back to the table with her family. She glanced down at her belly as she walked back behind the counter. She rubbed it gently. She didn’t want to give up her baby. She said under her breath,
“I’m going to keep my child.”

       

 
     After breakfast, Emma was sparing with Raphael on the beach. This time they were training with their weapons. Because they were in the open, they all were under their disguises. Emma was using her Sais against Raph's. Then she would rotate with Leo and do the swords. She’d do the same with Mikey and Donnie and even Splinter as he started showing her how to use her swan dagger. Emma blocked another incoming strike from Raph and managed to hop over him and block another fast one as he turned around. Raph got her with a misled kick and she went to the ground, sand flying.
"Not bad there, sis."
Emma shook her head as she got up, popping her ankle, "Thanks."
"You are doing well Emma. Now, I believe it is time we work with your dagger." Splinter said.
"I still haven't spared with Donnie or Leo yet."
"I know. You can do so later; right now I would like you to get used to using your dagger." Splinter said getting up from his spot on the bench.
Emma put away her Sais and brought out the dagger. Sunlight gleamed as it shined on the blade. Splinter took one of Leo’s katanas and held it above his head. Emma didn’t move. Splinter made the first move, bringing the sword down and Emma thrust the dagger upwards. Metal clanged against metal as Emma and Splinter moved in a circle facing one another. Splinter tried again, but Emma ducked and rolled out of the way. They both fought one another as everyone watched the two.
"Excuse me!"
Everyone turned to see Regina Mills and Sidney running up to them.
"What are you doing?" Regina nearly shouted, making her look like a concerned parent. Sidney on the other hand was staring. Emma and Splinter stopped, faced each other, and bowed. They turned to Regina and Sidney. As Emma looked at Regina, she saw her wearing a dark red dress with a glittering high collar and long hair in a high ponytail. Certainly fits 'wicked queen.’
"We were sparring." Emma said.
Regina still looked pissed. "I know what you were doing what I want to know is why."
"None of your business lady." Emma spat out.
"Emma." Splinter reprimanded her. He walked to Regina and Sidney. "Ms. Mills. Emma and my sons are trained under me as fighters. They have been doing so for many years and are capable of what they are doing." He said firmly.
"You're letting your daughter learn how to fight?! That is the most dangerous thing I have ever heard. If she were my daughter I wouldn't let her near a sword."
"Emma made this decision to train with her brothers." April said, coming up to her, "she’s done it for many years. As you can see, she's doing fine. She is not your responsibility Ms. Mills."
Regina was shocked. But her eyes narrowed as she looked at Emma. She just stared back.
"You're right, Ms. O'Neil..." Regina smiled deviously, "However, do not say I didn't warn you if she gets hurt. It won’t be my responsibility then. Good day."
Regina walked off, Sidney following her. "This girl is not what she seems." Sidney thought as he took one last look at Emma.
"Emma." Splinter said. Emma cringed. Splinter looked at her, "Run ten laps around the park and ten flips."
Emma bowed, saying, "Yes Master Splinter,” Emma put her dagger away and started running. "Man, I need to not lose it with her."



  After running laps, the family went to get lunch. Emma felt a presence after sitting down.
"Ms. Hamato,” She turned and stared into the eyes of Mr. Gold, "May I have a minute of your time?"
Emma narrowed her eyes, the little voice in the back of her head was telling her to be careful.
"Sure."
She got up and as her hand was behind her back, she signaled to her family, 'follow me.' Leo and Raph slowly got up as they saw Emma and Gold walk outside.
"Why did you want to see me?" Emma asked.
Gold had the same impish grin on his face like she just made a joke, "I have something for you. It's a way of saying welcome to Storybrooke."
Mr. Gold pulled out a leather book from behind him labeled, "Fairytales." Emma took it raising an eyebrow. "Thank you."
"You're quite welcome Ms. Hamato. Have a good day,” With that he walked away, not realizing he smirked as she looked at the cover.
"Emma?,” She turned and saw Leo and Raph coming from out of their hiding places.
"You alright sis?" Raph asked.
"I'm fine. That guy is just plain creepy."
"Yeah, no arguing on that Emma." Leo said as he watched the man walk away.
"Whatcha got there?" Raph asked, noticing the book.
"Tell you about it later. Let’s go eat before anything weird happens again."



  The family ate and retired to the hotel room. Emma showed them the book Gold gave to her. When they opened the book, they saw who was who in town. Mary-Margaret was Snow White, Ruby was Red Riding Hood and the werewolf, and the huntsman was Sheriff Graham. All the fairytale characters were real and living here in Storybrooke.
"Emma, we will find a way to free them." Leo said.
"I know, it’s just, this is all..."
"Crazy?" Mikey piped up.
"Yes. It is crazy, but I know it’s true. I've been seeing what they look like when they lived in the Enchanted Forest." Emma trailed off, remembering what she saw her mother.
"Don't worry Ems. We'll be there with you all the way." April said.
"Yeah, bite-size. No one will mess with you while we're here." Casey said.
Emma smiled, they were a weird family. But a family nonetheless.

      --

 
    Regina fumed as she paced in her office. That little…ugh! Nothing could describe how irritating that girl Emma Hamato is. There was something familiar about her. But, the queen was stumped. The door opened to her office and Sidney walked in,
"Well?" Regina demanded.
"The girl has a clean record. No police record, no juvie, nothing. Just files of where she went to school, after-school activities, and the names of her guardians." Sidney handed her the folder. Regina glanced through it and saw he was right. "Her guardian’s names are April O'Neil, and Casey Jones and her father's name is as it says Toshi Hamato."
"Why are there three names?"
"That I can't figure out."
What they didn’t know was that Donnie had used the computer to hack Emma's files and change them up a bit.
"So you're saying I got nothing." Regina asked, glaring at her right-hand man.
"Afraid so."
Regina threw the file back at him. She needed to know who she was. "Keep looking. There must be something."
"If you don’t mind me asking...why are you obsessed about her?" Sidney asked.
Regina straightened herself out and turned to Sidney, "There's something about her. Just find me whatever you can about her."
"As you wish, my queen." He said before he left.
"And don't you forget about it." Regina muttered under her breath. Then an idea came to her, "Sidney."
He stopped, "Yes?"
Regina smiled coldly. "Let's show our new guests in town that we don’t allow strangers to stick around easily."


--

 
   The family was having a meeting in the hotel room again. A knock came at the door,
"Hello?"
"Hotel manager." Granny's voice rang out.
Everyone got up, and the turtles and Splinter put on their disguises. April opened the door and saw Granny with a grim look.
"I'm afraid you can't be in the hotel anymore. You have an hour to clear the premises and leave."
"What?" Nearly everyone said.
"Madam, have we done something wrong?" Splinter asked.
"Sorry. It's the mayor's orders."
When they heard that, everyone's faces grew dark. Regina was starting to play now.
"We understand. We will get ready to leave." Splinter said.
Granny nodded looking every bit of her age. April closed the door, "The van is still being repaired. What are we gonna do now?" She asked.
"Maybe we can go to the abandoned library?" Mikey said.
"Regina would know if someone was there, especially if we are sticking around." Leo reminded him.
"Oh right." Mikey said defeated.
"Let's just play it by ear and go from there." Emma threw out.
Everyone decided it was the best course of action. They all packed up their things and vacated the Inn. The moon was shining over the trees. Everyone sat in the park, unsure of what to do now. Mary-Margaret was walking home from a failed date night with Dr. Whale. She was fumbling through her purse till she noticed Emma and her family.
"Emma?"
Emma looked up and a smile lit up her face as she saw her 'mother'.
"What are you all doing here?"
"Regina had Granny kick us out of the hotel." Raph said in a gruff tone.
Mary looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry. She runs this town her way and no one can do anything about it."
"Yeah, we learned about that first-hand." Casey said.
"You know...I have room in my apartment. You guys are welcome to stay till you can get a place or till your van is fixed." Mary suggested.
"We do not wish to give you any trouble Ms.-” Splinter said.
"Oh no, no trouble at all. Besides, it’s just me in there. Plus, you don't have a place to stay for the night.” Mary said.
Splinter saw Emma smiling. He did a tiny gesture to his sons and they nodded. "We would be most grateful for your hospitality Ms. Blanchard." Splinter said.
"Wonderful. I'm just up the road here."
Everyone picked up their bags and followed her to the apartment complex. It was small enough for everyone.
"Thank you, Mary." Emma said. Making sure not to call her mom yet, otherwise, it would've made everything confusing.
"You're welcome, Emma. You have a nice family."
"Thank you."
"Would you like some hot chocolate?" Mary asked. Emma grinned.
"With cinnamon on top?" She asked with a cheeky smile. Mary-Margaret laughed. It was a beautiful sight for the others to see. Hopefully, they could break the curse soon so 'Snow White' could remember her daughter.

     

 
    Emma woke up at the crack of dawn. Everybody was still asleep, except for Splinter, who was meditating in the living room. His ears twitched as he heard the door open, "Your morning training my daughter?”
“Yes Sensei, while the town is still quiet.”
“Be careful Emma. If you encounter Regina you come back.”
Emma nodded. She jogged down the stairs. As soon as she was out the door, she broke out into a full-on run. Emma ran to the beach and made a backtrack through the woods. As she came to the park, she began push-ups and pull-ups. She was upside down on the monkey bars, doing a set of crunches, till she heard, “Hello Emma.”
Emma stopped and saw Sidney upside down, “Hello.” She said with a blank face.
“Might I have a moment of your time?” Sidney asked.
Emma groaned, seeing that he wasn’t going to leave her alone. She flipped herself off. Eying Sidney who looked skeptical. “That was quite impressive.”
“Part of my training.”
“Yes, would you care to elaborate a bit more on that?”
“Why?” Emma asked calculatedly. She could tell he was hiding something. This guy was Regina’s right-hand man and if he was here, that mean the queen was here to pull something off.
“Why are you interested in the training I do with my family?”
“Judging how you wielded the sword yesterday, it seems that you have a lot of knowledge on what it is you do and maybe you would like to answer a few questions for the paper?”
That was all Emma needed to hear. “I’m sorry sir, but unless my family is here and gives me permission, I cannot help you.”
“Not even just a few words? It’ll be kept confidential.”
“Right, till the mayor asks you to print it.” Emma said coldly.
Sidney’s eyes widened a fraction but he collected himself. Emma though, saw it all, “I can tell when people are lying and you are lying through your teeth. You can tell the Mayor this: I am not someone for her to exploit or to be taken advantage of. Try anything and I’ll retaliate just as hard.”
Emma jogged home, leaving Sidney Glass in the park.



     Emma walked inside and saw Leo and April helping Mary-Margaret make breakfast. Splinter was still meditating and Raph, Mikey, and Donnie were asleep on the couch. Casey was nowhere to be found.
“Hey everyone,” Everyone awake turned when they saw Emma.
“Emma, where were you?” Mary-Margaret asked.
“I was running.” She said as she sat at the table. April threw her a water bottle which she caught.
“How was your morning exercise, my daughter?” Splinter asked. He took notice of Emma’s body motions and a growl under her breath,
“Fine.”
Mary-Margaret caught it too because she sat down at the table, “Emma? Did something happen?” She asked.
“I ran into someone while running through the park, that guy who’s always tagging around Regina.”
“Oh, Sidney?” Mary said, Emma, nodded, “He’s a reporter. And you’re right; he’s always with Regina.” Mary’s eyes flashed, “He didn’t hurt you did he?”
“No, he was trying to ask me questions about my family and the training that Regina saw me do in the-“
“Training?” Mary asked.
“Yes. The mayor walked upon us at the beach yesterday while we were practicing our daily training.” Splinter said. He got up and sat down with the woman. “You see Ms. Blanchard, my sons and Emma do lessons with me in-“
A knock at the door startled everyone. Mary-Margaret went to the door and saw Mr. Gold.
“Hello, Ms. Blanchard.”