AN: So going into this fanfic I feel I need to note a few things. This is a human!tmnt fanfic as implied in the summary, which I know will turn off some if not most of you. I used to be turned off by the human AU too, that is until I read a couple and became inspired to write one myself.

Also note that this story will be extensive. Updates will be slow, and eradicate, but I will not abandon this story, even if I don't update it as much as some of my other stories.

Arc One: Origins.

Chapter 1. Failure

"Ya know, Splinta, you need to sleep at some point."

The man in question didn't even bother looking up from his recent case file to respond to his partner. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Samantha Jones leaning on to his desk.

"What did I tell you about that nickname, Sam?"

"But fits so well," she answered in almost a cooing voice. She shifted her posture and grew serious, "I know ya were here all night, and I'm gonna agree with the captain. Once we go visit our old friend down at the docs, you're gonna go home, Hamato."

This time Yoshi Hamato did look up and gave her an impassive stare. "Is there a reason why we're speaking to Hobs?"

"Ya tellin me that ya didn't notice this newest murder happened on Old Hobs turf?"

He gave her a blank look.

"You spent all night reading case files from the past weeks to make a connection, and you didn't even see that Old Hobs might be that connection?" She was smirking now, only to match his scowling face.

Yoshi and Sam were an interesting pair; nearly the complete opposites of each other. He had just turned forty; she was in her early thirties. His features were dark. His black hair, black eyes, and natural tan skin complemented her light skin, her dirty blonde hair, and pale blue eyes. He was calm, collected, and kept level a head in most situations; she was fiery, bull-headed, and lacked simple tact. She was fun; he didn't know what that word meant. Despite being mother of a four-year-old son, she had very little maternal instinct to speak of, while he would play father to even their much older than forty captain.

And the most important thing that set them apart and what made them such a great team was that Sam saw the whole picture. She normally would miss details, but when Yoshi zeroed on one part, she could pull him back and get larger view of any case.

But Sam loved it when their roles were in reverse, only for the fact it irritated Yoshi. Almost as much as Old Hobs irritated him.

Yoshi let out an aggravated groan and began to pinch the bridge of his nose, "He's not going to tell us anything."

"He probably doesn't even know anythin," she said, "but we still need to talk him just on the chance he does."

"I seriously doubt he will know anything, every other murder that has the same MO."

For the past several months there were nine different murders and dozen thefts that were connected to up and rising gang called The Foot. There was little to no information on the gang, except for their name and moniker. It was a red triangle with three sharpen points in the top. In every crime scene that was connected to the gang, the symbol was nearby. Either on a wall, the ground, or a body.

Yoshi opened his mouth to respond, but the phone on his desk started to ring. "Hello, this is Detective Yoshi Hamato speaking."

"Oh good. My name Don Bellisario. I am a detective out of Torrance, California," between Bellisrio's regretful tone and the word detective, Yoshi sat straight up. "I tried reaching you at your house, but I was told I could reach you through your work phone number as well. I'm glad I caught you."

Yoshi was vaguely aware that pause was meant for him to ask why an officer from California would be calling him this early in the morning. He knew the three-hour time difference. It was 4:30 am there. There was no reason for a detective to be calling at that time…unless….

"There's no point on putting this off…"

Not unless something happened…

"Officer Hamato, your brother Natsuo…"

Oh no.

"…and his wife, Karen…"

Please don't say it.

"…were found dead this morning…

Dead…

"I'm sorry Mr. Hamato I know how hard it is to hear this but…"

Whatever else the other man over the line was saying was drowned out by the rapid pounding that was emanating from his chest.

Dead? Natsuo was dead? His little brother was dead?

Sam watched helplessly as her normally calm and collected partner fell apart in seconds.

Quickly, and without thinking, she took the phone from Yoshi as if she was pulling something dangerous out of her son's hands.

Yoshi didn't even protest it. Instead he got up and stormed out of the room. She will most likely find him in the locker room.

"Hello? Mr. Hamato? Are you still there?"

"Sorry 'bout that. My name is Sam Jones. I'm Hamato's partner. He was havin a breakdown so I thought it best to finish this conversation for him."

"Hello Officer Jones, as I told your partner, I'm a detective out of California. I work homicide, Jones. I'm sad to say that your partner's brother and sister-in-law were just murdered."

"Sam's eyes widen. "Oh fuck." Running her free hand over head, she started flipping her braid out of nervousness. "How did it happen? What about his nephews?"

"We don't have all the specifics at this moment. His nephews are just fine. The oldest one, Leonardo I believe, was the one to call us in. He even took the intuitive to hide his brothers. When we found them in a closet, he had a toy baseball bat him his hands and was ready to hit us with it."

A five-year-old defending himself and his brothers? Arnold was only four. The very thought of Arnold in that same situation

"Jones, are you still on the line?"

Sam shook her head, "yes. Thanks for letting us know. Look, I need to find my partner…"

"Of course, I understand."

Five days later Yoshi found himself on a plane flying to Torrance, California. The seats were cramped, and he found he was stuck between a man who was significantly overweight who was obnoxiously snoring in Yoshi's left ear, and an older woman who seemed to think Yoshi didn't notice her lewd stares.

Ignoring the growing discomfort, Yoshi closed his eyes and tried to center himself. His thoughts drifted back to fifteen years ago when he first flew back to California after leaving to live in New York.

His flight back then was for similar reasons as the ones he was flying now.

Yoshi was twenty-five at the time; he was nothing but a rooky beat cop back then. He had a crap apartment, he was in a steady relationship, and was overly optimistic of their future. That is until Natsuo called late one night. And just like now, his world fell apart.

At least back then he had Tang Shen to lean on.

"You should have let me drive, Yoshi," Tang stated.

Yoshi risked a sideways glance at his girlfriend before averting his eyes back to the road. "I'm perfectly fine to drive."

Tang stared intently at Yoshi's hands. His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel. Her gaze then flickered towards his face. His expression was unreadable, almost blank. Out of a nervous habit, she ran her fingers through her long black hair, but she didn't make any further comment. He was grieving over his father.

What Tang didn't know, or wouldn't possibly guess, was that Yoshi wasn't grieving.

No, Yoshi was far too angry to grieve over his father.

Shifting in her seat, Tang said, "are you sure he will be working today? Wouldn't his boss give him time off?"

"My brother, when upset, dives into work and ignores everything around him. And his employer knows this."

"What exactly does he do? You never really talk about him." Tang figured it would be best for Yoshi to talk about something, anything and get his mind

Yoshi let out a low sigh. He came to red light, and from what he remembered from his teenage years, this was one of the worse lights in this area. He'd hoped Tang wouldn't ask about his brother. They had a strain relationship before Yoshi moved to New York, but Natsuo made it perfectly clear that he wanted nothing to do with Yoshi when he called to inform Yoshi their father passed away.

"His friend from high school, Baxter, is a son of one of the leading scientists of the world and runs a company Stock Gen. Natsuo and Baxter intern there." Yoshi thought for a moment on what exactly did his brother do before answering completely, "the last time I talked to my father, he told me Natsuo was studying biology and engineering."

"He is a genius is what you are saying, right?"

Muttering in a low voice, Yoshi responded, "an unbearable one." And that as the end of conversation. They went back to nothing but silence

Tang turned away and looked to the side of her to watch the buildings go by. This was the first time she ever been to California, having lived in New York for her entire life. When Yoshi talked about taking her to visit his father, she assumed being here would have been a happier time.

The drive continued until they passed a relatively short skyscraper with solid black letters on the front of the building. In all lower case, the bolded print read 'stock gen'.

"Now we just have to find a free place park." Yoshi muttered once more, this time to himself.

There wasn't any free parking. They had to pay ten dollars to park in a private parking garage blocks away from their intended destination. All of this put Yoshi in an even more foul mood.

Yoshi didn't know what to expect when he entered Stock Gen. Natsuo had just met Baxter Stockman in junior high school, and the fact Yoshi left L.A. to live in New York after high school, there was never opportunity to actually see the interior of Stock Gen. The outside of the square shaped building seemed to be the same from what Yoshi remembered. The first floor of the front side of the building was completely made of glass, with the exception of a couple steel bars for support. It exposed the dark colored lobby. The rest of Stock Gen was nothing but metal. There were no windows, at last it appeared that way to Yoshi.

If Yoshi could describe it in one word, it would be clinical.

The lobby as fairly empty with the exception of the pretty receptionist sitting at a black wooden desk. There were two chairs off to the side of her and a small round table, but nothing else. The receptionist was a bit older than Yoshi. Her blonde hair was pulled into a massive bun on the top her head. She wasn't paying any attention to the door, as when Yoshi and Tang entered she red lips broke out in a genuine smile.

"Welcome to Stock Gen—

"Is my brother, Natsuo Hamato, in today?" Yoshi interrupted. He had no time to deal with pleasantries, and he was certainly not in the mood for it either.

"What is wrong with you?" Tang asked in angry whisper in the woman's defense.

Yoshi looked between the angry look of Tang, and the startled one the receptionists gave him. Taking a breath to calm himself down, Yoshi apologized.

"It's not a problem, sir. Just sit over there and I will contact him for you."

It took ten minutes. Yoshi considered on leaving when it hit five, but the sound of running from what sounded like the stairway and shouting made him stop.

One of the seamless doors opened and out came a very angry Natsuo followed a timid Baxter.

Before Yoshi could even stand up fully, Natsuo growled out, "what are you doing here?"

Yoshi was taken aback to see his brother. Gone was the skinny, pale fourteen-year-old with a ridiculous bowl cut. And what replaced that boy, was a tall, broad-shouldered young man of twenty-one. And he had to have stood well over six foot. Yoshi was tall himself, reaching 5'9, but he could tell from this distance, Natsuo towered over Yoshi. It hardly bothered him. Natsuo was still four years younger than him, he wasn't going to be scared by this change. But Yoshi did find comfort that Natsuo still had his vicious temper.

Behind him, Baxter Stockman didn't change at all from the last time Yoshi saw him. His clothes still seemed to be stuck in the 70's. He was still short. He still looked like the passive, geeky boy Yoshi had saved from bullies. The only difference Yoshi could see, was Baxter's afro and large bug-like glasses compensated his height.

"Why are you here?" Natsuo took a step forward.

Straightening up and returning the glare, Yoshi answered, "you seriously thought I'd wouldn't be here? I wouldn't return home after—

"Home? Your home is back in New York. You don't have anything left for you here. I suggest you go back home, on your own accord."

"I know we had differences in the past, but this is not the—

"That's an understatement."

Yoshi stepped closer, the frustration of being interrupted was getting to him. Still as angry as he was, Yoshi still needed to know why his brother thought he had any authority in saying who was banned and wasn't. Taking several deep breathes, he asked, "why do you have to be like this? Our father accepted me moving—

"DON'T YOU DARE! You have no right to use Dad as an excuse—

"I have every right! Father understood. You didn't. You still don't understand. And you certainly can't ban me from our father's funeral!"

"Why not? You weren't here for Mom's."

Yoshi gripped his head. How many times were they going to have to go over this? "Natsuo

"No. I'm done. Leave, or I'll have Lil," he gestured towards the receptionist, "call security, and have you removed."

"You're serious.

"Do I look like I'm joking? And if you show your face around the funeral, I'll have you arrested. Now get out.

There was a brief pause, lone enough for Baxter to speak up, "Yoshi man…I think you should listen to your brother here and go. My pops won't be so keen on having a fight breaking out in the lobby.

Yoshi straightened out. "As far as I'm concerned, I don't have a brother to listen too."

Yoshi stormed out of the Stock Gen and didn't look back.

While he hated lying, Yoshi was quite apt at it. At least he could lie to himself with ease.

He told himself that he didn't need his brother. Not when his first partner was killed in gang related violence. Not when he had to deal with training a rookie. Not when he had to work through some of the hardest cases Not when his beautiful Tang Shen laid dying in a hospital from an illness that shouldn't effect young women Tang's age.

He had Sam and Arnold Jones to lean on. He had his captain. He had his precinct. He had his friend, Yukio Mashimi. He could even rely on a former gang leader, turned police informant, Chester "Old Hobs" Ernest.

So why did he need his brother?

But Yoshi did find himself looking back ten years later in the late summer of 1998 when a young lady arrived at his front door.

Karen Rollins. She was seven months pregnant, due in October.

She would also be the future Mrs. Karen Hamato.

Sweet, dear Karen. She saved his relationship Natsuo when she just showed up out of the blue. And in turn, Yoshi helped their relationship problems.

He also showered Leonardo with gratitude. He might have been unborn at the time, but he was the driving factor for the three adults. His mere prescience forced Natsuo, who of course would follow his pregnant girlfriend to New York, and Yoshi, who let both stay in his cramped apartment, to cooperate. It was either that, or cause severe stress on Karen.

Yoshi shook his head of these thoughts, and decided to look forward.

How was he going to raise four boys on his own?

He pulled out a three-month old picture of his nephews from his jacket's breast pocket. The picture was taken a few days after Donatello and Michelangelo turned two. Karen thought it was adorable the twins had their birthday on Valentine 's Day. And it did make for great pictures. Yoshi smiled at the photograph. Karen put all four boys in probably the ugliest sweaters she could find. He had a larger version on his wall.

Raphael was three in this picture. He sat on the far left, his arms folded across his chest glaring at the camera. Both Hamato Brothers were known for their nasty temper, and Raphael inherited it. Raphael resembled Natsuo more so than any of his brothers. They both had dark brown hair, pale khaki colored skin, and oval shape heads. If Yoshi could guess, if any of the boys inherited their father's impressive height, it would be Raphael. The only difference that was glaring obvious was Raphael's eyes. Natsuo and Yoshi both had dark brown eyes, almost black. Raphael had soft hazel eyes. To his right was an anxious Leonardo holding a very rambunctious Michelangelo.

Michelangelo stood out compared to his brothers. He had much lighter skin than his brothers; there was porcelain like quality to it. Shockingly enough, he even inherited his mother's copper colored hair, even if it was darker. His eyes were closed in this picture, but they too were an unusual shade of amber. Michelangelo was a bundle of energy, and it was near impossible to get the boy to sit down. Leonardo held his arms to keep them from moving; a shame that Leonardo couldn't have done anything about his brother's feet. They were nothing but a blur. His head was thrown back and was giving the biggest smile he could muster. Most likely laughing, thinking it was game. Yoshi couldn't help himself laugh at his youngest nephew's antics.

He moved on to Leonardo, studying him. Whereas people thought Raphael was carbon copy of Natsuo, Leonardo was a pint sized version of Yoshi. The same solid black hair, round black eyes, and tan skin; Leonardo didn't resemble his parents at all according to everyone who's seen the two of them. Well almost everyone. Sam loved to point out that Leonardo was too cute to be his. Usually a happy, but thoughtful child, Leonardo looked miserable as he was regulated to hold his brother. He hid his misery better than Raphael though.

And then finely on Leonardo's right, was Donatello. Donatello was shy and quiet for boy his age. He tried to hide himself behind Leonardo as best he could, but still gave a cute little wave to the camera. It was hard to grasp that Donatello was Michelangelo's twin. They weren't identical in the slightest, from looks to personality. He was bit more of mix between his parents than his brothers, but he looked more like Natsuo. Yoshi had a feeling when the boys got older, people will think Donatello's twin was Raphael.

The last time they talked was last week. He couldn't make down for Raphael's four-year-old birthday party. It was hard to visit his nephews, given what kind of job he had. But with the recent 'Foot' murders, no one was given time off.

And Natsuo understood that.