Author's Note: For the other two short stories mentioned here, check out my fics called "Follow the Leader" and "Still Following the Leader." Enjoy!
It was the stereotypical dark and stormy night.
Following after Raphael and Michelangelo, Leonardo hoped that Donatello would pull through soon. Their meager diversions would only hold the creatures off for so long. They needed their leader to pull through. Where brawn failed, intellect would triumph.
Cold and wet, the three young turtles huddled together. "Donnie'd better get here soon," Raphael grumbled. "I see some bad guys headed straight for us!" Leonardo turned to follow his brother's gaze. He was right. Withdrawing his katanas, Leonardo told his brothers to prepare to fight.
"Fight?" Michelangelo asked incredulously. "Against those things? We're sure to have our shells waxed if we try and lay the smack down on those uglies." Leonardo shook his head. "No," he told Michelangelo. "We'll hold our own and fight. Donatello won't let us down." Leaders never let their group down-
"At least, that's what he thought."
Leonardo blinked up at Donatello. "Hey, Donnie," he whined. "Why did you interrupt me? I was just getting to the good part of the story!" Donatello nodded and stood up from his laptop. "Yeah, uh-huh. Let me guess. It's the part where we discover that Donatello was sidetracked by some sparkly new electronics and caused the unfortunate demise of everyone around him, which is why he's not the leader."
Hiding the paper behind his back, Leonardo defensively claimed, "No. That's not where I was going at all." Looking around the room and seeing that his brothers were looking at him skeptically, Leonardo decided to rethink his reply. With a wavering smile, he amended, "All right, maybe it was sorta veered in that direction."
"Can you say, 'not cool?'" Michelangelo asked. "Cuz I totally can. See? Not cool. There, I said it." Donatello nodded in response to his brother's comment. "I agree. These stories of yours were all fun and games for a while, Leo-"
"Oh, sure," Raphael muttered. "Fun and games when it was me he was harassin'." With a sideways grin, Michelangelo told him, "Aw, that was different, Raph. In your case, it was true."
As Raphael began pummeling Michelangelo—both verbally and physically—Donatello rolled his eyes and sighed. "Let's face it, Leo. Unless we all learn to grow up, none of us are cut out to be the leader. Especially not you."
Putting down the sheet of paper on which he had written his story, Leonardo stood up and asked, "What do you mean? Master Splinter says that a leader must have confidence in his abilities. And that's what I've got. Confidence."
"Yeah," Donatello reasoned. "But no abilities. Not yet." Seeing that Leonardo took offense to that, the quieter turtle held a hand up in defense. "Yeah, you kick our shells during training sessions, and you'll probably end up being the best fighter out of all of us. And I look up to you for that, Leo. I really do. But don't you think a real leader needs to be someone that people actually want to follow?"
Leonardo stopped, looking at his brother contemplatively. "I… I guess it was a little out of line," Leonardo admitted, though not apologetically. "Still, the way you guys are talking, you would think that my confidence was actually-"
"Arrogance!" Leonardo jumped at the sound of Splinter's voice. The sensei had heard Leonardo's first short story about Raphael's lack of leadership, and could imagine from this conversation that it was as he feared: Leonardo had grown haughty. "You would do well to listen to Donatello, Leonardo. The mark of a true leader is one who would make himself a servant, not a tyrant."
"But Master Splinter," Leonardo protested, truly confused as to what he had done wrong. "I was just trying to do as you said. A leader has to understand his own good qualities and embrace them for what they are. My main attribute is my responsibility-"
"Yeah, but that don't mean the rest 'a us ain't responsible," Raphael fumed, finally tiring of his scuffle with Michelangelo. "Give us some credit, bro. We got our faults, but so do you."
"This much is true, Leonardo," Splinter told his pupil. "Your focus and skill make you a valuable asset to this group. But how many doors will you be able to open by merely focusing upon them? Or will you need the strength of one such as Raphael to bash it open? How many setbacks and traumas will you be able to endure merely by way of your skill? Or will you need the remedy of laughter which Michelangelo so gladly supplies? Will your katana aid you in dismantling a bomb that threatens the life of those you care about the most? Or will you need Donatello's superior intellect to dismantle it safely? When you are in need of love and validation, sincerity and honor, can you find these things within yourself? Or will you find yourself in need of brothers who can give you all of this and more, and still bestow enough of their trust in you to call you Leader?"
As the lecture wore on, all four of the turtles looked down. Glad that there at least was a lesson to be learned in this for all of them, Splinter continued, "Do not focus on the faults of others. They cannot help it, and it will only blind you to the good that they can do. A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make difficult decisions and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. There is no reason, then, why a 'leader' must be chosen amongst you. You all have the potential to be one that others will willingly follow and depend upon. Is that understood?"
A scattered murmur of "Yes, master," came from the four young turtles. With a sigh, Splinter told them that it was getting late and that they should all go to bed. Without a word, they followed his orders.
On the way out of the room, Leonardo quietly crumpled up the papers with his stories and tossed them into the wastebasket. Feeling ashamed and ponderous, he lowly told his brothers, "I know one thing for sure. No matter how great we grow up to be, we'll never be as great of a leader as our sensei." Hearing the quiet words with his sharp ears, Splinter smiled, knowing that Leonardo will do well now that he has learned the most important secret to great leadership:
Humility.