Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fan Fiction ❯ Bad Places II: Rebirth ❯ 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Part 4

Splinter knelt on his mat, slowly lighting the candles around him. He didn't have to glance up when the door opened to know who had come in. The steps were impatient, rushed. Leonardo always entered quietly, making as little noise as he could. Now Splinter knew that was partly from respect and partly from fear. He looked up at Raphael and felt the now familiar sting that he saw a red bandanna instead of blue. He loved Raphael, but his presence was a constant reminder of how he'd failed Leonardo.

"I am worried," he said. "To put his dead on display..."

"It's not like that," Raph said, sitting down carefully around the candles. "There's a difference between displaying 'em and laying them out. I mean, when we see a lot of bodies on the news, don't they line 'em up, too?"

Splinter considered that, continuing to light the candles. The darkness in the room gave way to a soft glow. "That...is true. I had not thought..." He sighed and flipped the match once, extinguishing the flame. "This is completely unfair to Leonardo. I compare everything he does to his previous behavior, but he was afraid of me then."

"Master Splinter--"

"No, Raphael," he shook his head. "We must admit the fact that he felt he could never contradict me. His drawings are proof enough of that. He will never tell me exactly how he feels, and my guessing is inaccurate at best."

"But he'll tell me," Raph said. "He doesn't like killing, he told me that himself and he hasn't lied to me yet."

Splinter smiled a little sadly. "He may twist the truth around once in awhile, but he will never lie. That at least remains constant." He stared at the candles, the reddish glow no longer as comforting as it once was. "His leaving of a message, however, bothers me. I understand the frustration he must feel--"

"Fear," Raphael said. "Master, he's hiding it well, but he's scared. I mean, all of us are scared that Saki's back, but Leo...he's the one who killed him before. He's the one who'll have to do it again, but what if he can't?"

"He is not alone. You must remind him of that. I know habits formed after so long will be hard to break, but he must realize that he has all of us. He need no longer carry the weight of protecting his family alone."

"I think that's where he's headed," Raph admitted. "He just expresses it different than before. Instead of waking us up in the morning, he kills anyone who might be a threat. He keeps us safe and leaves me to take care of all three of 'em."

"'All three'?"

Raphael winced. He hadn't meant to let that slip. "Leo...still needs me to hold him back. Kind of. I mean, he's getting better, if you don't count the elites--"

Splinter raised one hand, stopping him. "If you think he's taking pleasure in causing death--"

"He doesn't. I asked him--" he ignored Splinter's startled look "--and he doesn't enjoy killing. He...takes pride not in killing but in killing well. Like...not being proud of what he does, but of how he does it." He watched his master's face carefully, wishing he had as much experience reading his subtle emotions as his brother did. Leo could have told exactly what Splinter was thinking. He didn't want his older brother catching hell because he slipped up and damn when he did start feeling this responsible for Leo anyway? "Master?"

"Pride in how he fights," Splinter whispered. "I understand. It's all right, Raphael, you have not gotten him in trouble. I think it may even be a change for the better. I hope that it is a sign he is discovering his honor once again."

"He never lost it!" Raph said, then looked down when he realized he'd shouted. "Uh...sorry, I didn't..."

Reaching over the barrier of candles, Splinter put his hand on Raphael's and shook his head. "Your faith in your brother does you credit. I trust your instinct in this, as I trust you to keep watch over him. He still needs you."

He needs all of us, Raphael thought. He merely nodded, sensing this conversation was nearing its end. "Father?"

"Yes?"

"What do we do when we face Shredder again? How...how do we make sure he doesn't come back?"

Splinter fell silent and closed his eyes. "I do not know. I have thought about it, trying to find a solution, but we have too little information to make any guesses. I'm afraid we may have to make that decision when we come to it."

Neither of them said what they were both thinking. Ultimately, Leonardo would make that decision and hopefully live with it.

Upstairs on his bed but wide awake, Leonardo eventually heard the televisions shut off and everyone leave the main room. He stood up and went to his door, listening for any stragglers. Once he was sure he was alone, he went halfway down the stairs before leaping to the floor, landing with one hand on the floor, the other arm flung behind him for balance. Only while crossing the bridge did he realize that he hadn't walked down the entire flight of stairs for months, too used to taking the fastest route for everything. He'd even developed a habit leaping up the stairs to his room.

The little things would be what drove him crazy, he thought, not the killing or fear he might run from home still. Old habits had died during the game. He hadn't joked or practiced with his siblings or watched the news in months. He hadn't walked up the stairs or eaten anything beyond the simplest--

He winced. No, the little things, like not being able to eat unless he was distracted, the way a sparkle of light made him shield his eyes, covered or not. The way he whirled when he heard a metallic scrape, the rush of adrenalin as he prepared for a feeder's attack or a screamer's lunge. He managed to hide it from his brothers, although he suspected Raphael knew how far he was from normal. And now with Shredder back from the grave...

Train. He needed to train. He had to be as fast as he had been coming out of the game. It was his only chance against Shredder. Luckily the practice room was empty. Taking a deep breath, he stood in the center of the room, calming his mind. For now, Shredder didn't exist, he had no problems. All that existed were the dark tunnels of the game...no. He hesitated. Memories of the game made him fall inwards, training him in mind but not in body. No, that had to change. Reliving those three months hadn't helped him in the past six. But he cringed at the thought of katas, predictable and slow. Still...a run through couldn't hurt.

He called up the simplest kata he knew, returning to the basics, a simple kick, a sharply defined punch, a well-executed block. Then came the next kata, and the next, more complicated moves, roundhouse kicks, midair spin kicks, sweeps, backfists and rolls, moving up into feints and counter feints, flips, dodges that turned into attacks. It seemed like he retraced his entire life of training in the span of a few hours.

And for the first time in as far as he could remember, the moves came easily. The routine no longer seemed dull when compared to the memories of the game. The set steps became less rigid and more like water flowing through a channel, cold and clear. How long had it been since he'd felt so relaxed? These weren't the slow moves of tai chi; he'd moved into the most advanced forms, the ones even his brothers hadn't mastered or even begun. He should have been struggling to keep up with each move. Instead he followed them easily, not caring that with these moves he wouldn't be able to break bone or cut off heads.

He paused. Maybe that was it. He'd worried about regaining his strength constantly for six months. Now he didn't care. No one could keep up with him. No one. His head lifted. No doubt, not even Shredder. He didn't have much strength, and even less hope of regaining it, but he'd traded it for something better, for what good was Shredder's sword if he couldn't strike him? Not a perfect trade off, he knew, but he had a little glimmer of hope now. He could kill Shredder, he'd done it before. He just had to find a way to make it permanent this time. And this time his enemy's fear should work for him. He was sure Shredder remembered his sword cutting through his throat. His message would leave no doubt of that. Perhaps he should have made the message bloodier, made a sharper impression...

Just outside the room, April leaned on the door frame, arms crossed, watching as he practiced. She was sure she'd been silent, but as he finished a devious counterfeit, he took a moment to catch his breath. With his back still to her, he tilted his head. "You up for practice or you just watching?"

She smiled and took a step inside. "How do you always know when I'm around you?"

He stretched, cracking the knuckles in both hands. This was as good a place for a break. "It's pretty easy. You're breathing."

"You could hear me?" she asked. "I thought I was quiet."

"You were," he said. "I didn't hear you at all."

"But you knew I was there," she said.

"Splinter taught you about maai, right?"

"Uh..." She glanced sideways to make sure Splinter wasn't around to hear. "He said something like making an aura out of my...ki?"

Leo nodded.

"But to be honest, that sounded so much like Dragonball Z flinging around glowing balls I couldn't take it all that seriously."

He couldn't help a laugh. "I swear, it isn't like that. It's...look, when you're alone in a room, can't you tell when someone comes in? Like instinct?"

"Well, yeah, but half the time I'm wrong." She jammed her hands in her pockets and came closer. "It's just my imagination acting up."

"You think we never have false alarms?" He sheathed his sword and leaned against the wall. "I sometimes catch Mike talking to someone he thinks came inside. Water coming through the pipes can feel like someone. It's...weird."

She watched him as his look turned inward and quiet. "What's wrong?"

"Just remembering. Saki had an extremely powerful ki. Fighting him...was one of the most difficult things I've ever done." Before she could respond, he shook his head and looked up. "Did you want to practice?"

Knowing he was changing the subject but letting him get away with it, she nodded once. "Yeah, but I wasn't looking forward to it. Splinter says I need to practice at least once a day, but it gets boring repeating the same kata over and over."

He laughed. "Tell me about it. You wanna practice fight instead?"

"Sure, just--" She tilted her head. "You sure you're okay?"

A nod. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you. Just...let's use practice swords, instead. I haven't sparred anyone but Raph lately."

She retrieved the wooden bokken from the weapons rack and tossed him one, envying how he caught its hilt easily. "What do you mean?"

"He means," Raph said, coming inside, "that whenever he starts practicing katas during a fight with Mike, Splinter pairs us up. He can't do that with me. Mind an audience?"

"Uh, okay," April said. "I guess."

"Mike gets predictable," Leo defended himself. He wondered if Raphael was here to keep an eye on him, make sure he didn't hurt April, but shrugged that off. If they were worried, he wouldn't have been allowed to suggest the match. Heck, April wouldn't have agreed at all if that was the case.

"Ready?" he asked.

She nodded. They both raised their swords and Leo waited for April to tap hers against his to start. His breathing slowed. Forgetting his brother, he focused solely on her eyes and the wooden edge between them. She seemed to move in slow motion, the tip of her sword swaying through the air to touch his. The vibration traveled down his sword to his arms, triggering his response.

With a yell, she lunged at him, swinging the bokken straight at his head. Obviously Raphael had given her a few pointers. He held still for a moment, watching her come closer. Was she moving slower? Her hair floated instead of flying, as if she moved underwater. He heard Raphael shout at him to dodge but ignored him, slipping under the edge at the last moment. The wind from the passing edge swept his bandanna back and he crouched, knocking her sword sideways and coming around her side.

To his surprise, she managed to block and pushed forward, trying to startle him back. He almost smiled. That might have worked on a foot ninja who expected his enemy to run, but after three months, he was only startled when someone ran. Instead he grabbed her wrist and held onto her as he fell backwards, tossing her over his shoulder and sending her sprawling onto the mat. When she raised her head, she found his sword tip a few inches in front of her face.

"How did...?" she stammered, then glared at Raphael. "You said that would work!"

Laughing, Raph raised his hands in defense. "Hey, I didn't guarantee anything. Good try, though."

"It would've worked," Leo said, pulling back the sword and holding out his hand, helping her stand. "But I'm used to that now. Try it on Donatello, I promise you'll run right over him."

"Don't let him hear you say that," Raph said.

Leo smirked at him and glanced at April. "Wanna try again?"

"Darn straight," she said.

They both resumed their starting positions, tapped swords, and began. Again, he saw her moving in slow motion, and he figured it couldn't just be his own speed. He easily came around her and tapped her hard on the shoulder. "Come on, you're faster than this."

She winced and blocked his next hit. "Splinter says I have to watch your moves and react to them."

"Watch too long and you'll lose your head," Leo said. "Find your rhythm, match mine."

To make sure she found his rhythm a little easier, he fought her in steady beats, striking to the rhythm of his heartbeat. It was a little faster than she expected, but she kept up, keeping him from touching her.

"I can't fight back," she complained.

"Don't worry if someone's driving you backwards," he said, "it's only bad for your pride."

"Unless he's pushing you off a cliff," Raph called out. "Then worry."

"How often does that happen?" Leo snapped.

"In our line of work, a lot."

"All that matters," Leo said, turning back to April, "is that you block or dodge all my hits, and when I make a mistake, or when you see an opening, you take it."

"But what if you never make a mistake?"

Raph groaned. "Oh God, don't feed his ego like that."

"Once in awhile I might make a mistake," Leo said with a grin. "Your average street thug will make more. You wanna try advancing instead?"

"Yes, before I trip over something." When he nodded once, she trusted him not to attack and instead swung towards him. He backed up, allowing her to practicing coming at him.

"Push yourself," he said. "Faster."

"I'm afraid I'll hurt you," she said.

He blinked in surprise and had to rush to block her next swing. "You will not hurt me, I promise. Especially not when I'm in front of Raph. He'd never let me live it down."

"Got that right."

"Faster, April. Try listening to your heart."

Raph raised his voice. "And remember your breathing."

Obeying, she picked up speed, at first swinging haphazardly until she became more acclimated to the beat in her chest, timing herself to her breath. As he blocked each hit, either with his sword or by dodging to the side, she found a pattern as he reacted to her moves. It reminded her of Casey's kung-fu movies where the fighters threw countless punches and kicks but never touched each other.

"There, now you're doing it." He dodged another swipe and took a step back, both hands holding his sword before him. "Remember, you're not trying to strike my sword."

April nodded, remembering Splinter's lessons. "I'm trying to draw it away from your center. It's a balancing act." She tried to force his sword away to one side, but quickly realized that would never happen, not at her skill level. "Is there a way to use that maai thing in a fight?"

"Yes, it's just not something I'd wanna rely on too much."

"Aw, show her how ya do it," Raph said. "You gotta see him fight blind, April. It's freaky."

"Just because you can't concentrate enough to do it," Leo said.

A little miffed that he could talk with his brother while fighting her, April took a step back and put down her sword. "Can you really do it, though? I know I saw you four do it at the farm, but..."

Leo glared at Raph, then sighed like a martyr and reached up, turning his bandanna sideways. As a precaution, he tossed his bokken aside. He hadn't fought blind since he'd acclimated to the game; he wouldn't take the chance he might hurt his friend. "Whenever you're ready."
"Wha...with a sword?" April gasped. "I know it's just wood, but--"

"It's fine, you won't touch me," Leo said. "Go on."

With the world plunged into true darkness, not simply the twilight in which he lived, his hearing expanded. The slightest breeze became a warning of motion. One by one they came, hesitant at first, faster when she really couldn't hit him. The blade came through the air but without any way to see it, he relied on the wind and the ripples her presence sent through his maai. The sense of danger didn't go away even though the sword was made of wood; the edge was still dangerous. It skirted just above his skin as he dodged left, right, leaning backwards, flipping over its edge when she swung low, trying to knock him off his feet.

Endless twilight in his mask was nothing compared to true blindness. He hadn't fought like this in awhile, and he felt his lack of practice with each swing. The blade had to come uncomfortably close to his skin, and he used the pattern of her attacks as much as the breeze off the sword.

After letting her back him across the practice room, he decided to end it and waited for another sweeping arc. He ducked, letting the sword cross her body, then rushed in close and grabbed her arm, sending her backwards onto the mat. She grunted as she went down and he heard the bokken clatter across the floor. Unable to suppress a smile, turned his mask back so he could see and found her at his feet, up on her elbows glaring at him.

"You could've warned me," she said.

"Not as much fun." He bent and held his hand out to help her up.

With a smirk, she grabbed at his hand, intending to yank him beside her on the mat. Raphael saw the look in her eyes and knew what she was going to do, but he only had time to gasp. Leonardo had gained some strength back, but not enough--

April blinked. One moment his hand was in front of her. The next, it was gone. She looked up and found him standing straight, hand well out of reach. "How--?"

"You are fast, grasshopper," he said. "But not fast enough." He gave her a quick bow and left his bokken on the floor next to her. "Loser puts everything away, right?"

While she grumbled and gathered up the bokken, he stretched and left the room, heading for what was quickly becoming his favorite spot, the bridge. The lair seemed empty, but he spotted a faint glow from under the door to Donatello's lab, and if Casey was out, that probably meant Mike was out as well. Hopefully just a supply run, though he didn't like the idea of those two out on their lonesome. How long had he been practicing? Maybe he should go out after them. Shredder was bound to be enraged and he hated the thought of his siblings suffering for his violent tendencies...

"You're brooding again," Raph said, leaning on the railing beside him.

"I'm an artist," Leo said, "it's in the job description."

"Well, I'm the hothead, I got dibs. What's wrong?"

"Where's Mike and Casey?"

"Oh..." Raph nodded once. "Figures that's what upset you. They're only getting groceries, they'll be back soon."

"Raph..."

"Relax, they just went to that little place around the warehouse. They'll be fine."

"Raph, it's Mike and Casey." He stared at his sibling. "If either of them spots anything shiny--"

"Leo..."

"It's too dangerous up there for just two of us. You should know that. If something happens--"

"Geez," Raph said, rolling his eyes for emphasis, "let me deal with it, huh? You're supposed to be laying off from the constant worrying."

"Seems like I'm the only one who cares," Leo snapped.

Raph froze. Oh no, I didn't not just hear that, he thought. "What did you say?"

Leo faced his brother. "I'm saying you're not considering everything that could happen. You should have at least gone with them."

"At least I trust them to handle a supply run on their own," Raph said. "I'm not gonna pretend I have to hold everyone's hand to--"

"So you just let them go out?" Leo said. "When you know Shredder's elites must be searching--"

"Yeah, and who left a few bodies around just to piss ol' Shred-head off, huh? I only see one borderline psycho in this room--"

"You never changed at all, did you?" Leo said, hands clenching into fists. "You never make a mistake, no, it's always me who can't do anything right when you're the one who lets his emotions run off--"

"Whoa, back off!" Raph growled. "I am not hearing this from the guy who tried to off himself."

"I did not--"

"No, of course not! You were gonna let those things do it."

"I'm faster than they are. I could've handled it--"

"Now who's delusional?"

"The idiot who thinks Mike and Casey can handle a pack of elites on their own!"

"So you don't have any faith in us, do you?"

"After fifteen years of protecting you, I think I know exactly what you're capable of," Leo said, voice dripping sarcasm.

"Oh not that again," Raph said, throwing his hands up. "Fifteen years, fifteen years, enough! You don't have to do it anymore--"

"Apparently I do, if you're too...too...arrogant to think you three have miraculously improved in six months!" Iwillnothithim Iwillnothithim Iwillnothithim ran through Leo's mind.

"Oh, so it'd take a miracle, that what you're saying?"

"For you three..."

"You really don't think we can handle ourselves?" Raph hissed. "We get your ungrateful ass out of hell but we can't live without your guidance?"

"You hid behind me the entire damn time! It would've been great if you two hadn't been stuck in there with me."

"You had three months to get used to that place! And you still needed us!"

"Like hell, you only got in the way!"

"Yeah, you're so damn good, you never need backup! Yeah, right."

"If I need backup," and Leo said that sarcastically, "then Mike and Casey definitely need it. So why aren't you there with them?"

"'Cause they don't need a damn babysitter! Fine, you suffered all your life, whatever! Doesn't give you the right the treat the rest of us like children!"

"I'll stop when you stop acting like self-absorbed brats!"

"Why can't you ever just lay off--?"

"Because you three never consider your actions! I actually worried less in the game--"

"You were so happy there, maybe we should'a left you there!"

Leo's voice turned soft. "Maybe you should have."

"Whoa..." Raph paused. How the hell had this started? He didn't even remember what set them off now. "Whoa, Leo, wait..."

Willing to keep arguing, Leo didn't calm down. "None of you trust me, admit it. Everyone handles me like I might cut their head off."

"We never said nothing like--"

"There's only one borderline psycho in this room, right?"

"Oh come on," Raph said, "you know I didn't mean that."

"Like hell."

They could've kept going, but at that moment their shellphones simultaneously beeped. Already knowing what was coming, Leo flipped his open and found Mike backdropped by a dark brick wall, Casey crouched beside him.

"Guys, we need help!" Mike said. "There's at least twenty elites after us, and who knows how many ninjas."

Raph gaped at the amount of shuriken spraying the wall above them. "How on earth did you--"

"Not now," Leo said, instantly taking the weight of responsibility back. "Save them first, scold them later. Where are you?"

"Um...I'm not sure. We were running pretty fast and weren't really paying attention--"

"Fine, I'll be right there," Leo said, flipping the screen from Mike's face to the locator beacon. He didn't know what the buttons meant, but Donatello had shown him in what sequence to press each button, and after a moment he had the right screen up. He was already running for the door with Raphael behind him, hard pressed to keep up.

Back inside the lair, Splinter ventured into the main room, too late to stop his students. The argument hadn't lasted two minutes but he feared the long-term consequences. He spotted April coming out of the practice room and Donatello running out of his lab, a printed-out spreadsheet in one hand and his active shellcell in the other.

"What happened?" Splinter asked.

"Um..." April tried to remember how it started. "They were just talking at first, but then Leo got worried, and Raph brushed him off, so that upset Leo, and Raph got insulted, and then...oh, it was all bad."

"Master, April," Don said as he ran by, tossing the spreadsheet to April. "I gotta catch up to them! Talk to you on the phone!"

"Huh?" She looked after him, but he was already disappearing out the door. She glanced down at the diagrams and equations taking up most of the sheet. "This is a dna chart..."

Beside her, Splinter flipped on his shellphone and a moment later had Donatello on the screen. "My son?"

"Mike and Casey are pinned down by the foot clan," Don said as he ran, adjusting his bag onto his shoulder. "We're on our way to rescue 'em!"

"What's this dna you gave me?" April said, looking over Splinter's shoulder.

"It's Leo's," Don said. "Could you go over my results? I'm really hoping I'm wrong and you catch a mistake."

"Why?" She looked back at the diagrams and noticed the results were not mere genetic mapping, but a six month study of genetic drift. A chill came over her, and she vaguely remembered one of the charts on Stockman's clipboard. "Oh my God, Don...you're not saying that--"

"I think so, April. His eyes may just be the beginning."

TBC...

Author Note: I learned about maai in Samurai Deeper Kyo. Imagine a samurai in a shallow pond. Another samurai steps in. The ripples will alert the first samurai to the second's presence. The pond is like his maai, an aura of ki.