(A/N): Hey guys. Okay so this is my very first fanfic EVER. I've been reading some amazing stories and decided to post my own. This takes place when the turtles are young (about eightish). As I said this is my very first fanfic. So be gentel. Please R&R, constructive critisisim is always welcome. Flames are not. If I get good reviews, I'll add more. Enjoy! ;-)
Disclaimer: TMNT doesn't belong to me. All charecters belong to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.
Master Splinter glanced at his young students first at Leonardo, then Raphael. "Begin!" He yelled.
The room suddenly erupted with the sounds of the sparring match between the two brothers. Raphael threw several punches and kicks but Leo dodged them easily and then countered with an attack of his own, almost knocking Raphael off his feet and leaving him dazed. Leonardo made another attack, this time sending Raphael flying across the room.
Leo turned and bowed to Master Splinter, signaling that he had defeated his opponent.
"Very good, my son." Master Splinter said. "Your hours of extra training have paid off."
"Thank you Master Splinter." Leo said raising his head. He looked over at Raphael who was still lying on the ground. He walked over to him and offered him his hand, which Raphael angrily swatted away, as he stood up and stormed out of the dojo without a word to anyone.
Leo began to go after him but a firm hand on his arm stopped him. "Let him go," Said Master Splinter. "We should let him calm down before speaking with him."
"Yeah, he's just being a hothead." Michelangelo said. "Let's go watch TV! I think Animaniacs is on!" He said running out of the dojo with his brother Donatello.
Master Splinter began to follow, but stopped halfway across the room and began coughing violently. A concerned Leonardo turned his way and said, "Father, are you okay?"
"Just a small cough," He said. He began coughing even more Leo ran over to him and began patting his back. "Father!" He cried in concern as he continued to pat him on the back.
Donatello ran in the lair, concerned of the panic is his brothers voice. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"Go get father some water! Hurry!" Leo said.
Without any question Donatello nodded then ran out of the dojo and returned a few seconds later with a glass of water and handed it to Leo, who nodded in thanks.
"Here sensei," He said taking the cup. "Drink this."
Splinter took the cup and began to drink the water. After his drink he stood there breathing heavily. "Thank you my sons, why don't you go watch television with Michelangelo while I find something for us to eat?"
"Okay." they said in unison as they walked out the dojo and over to the couch where Michelangelo was watching TV.
Master Splinter walked into the kitchen; he opened the refrigerator and sighed. Almost empty. He thought to himself. Nothing was in there but a jug of water and some fruits. He then opened the cabinets and found a few cans of soup and some herbs. Perhaps I should go see what I can find above ground. But another coughing fit made him rethink that. This time he coughed blood into his hands. "This is no small cough." He mumbled to himself. He cleared his throat and wiped the blood on his hand on his robe, being sure to make sure it wasn't noticeable. He grabbed few cans of soup and stuck them in the microwave. Once they were warm enough he called his family to the table so they could have their dinner. The entire time they were silent. Leonardo was cautiously eyeing his father.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Leo asked. "That was a pretty bad cough you had back in the dojo. Maybe you should some rest."
"What da you know? You're eight. You ain't a doctor." Raphael mumbled.
"Why don't you just shut up Raph?" Leo yelled.
"Why don't you make me Leo?" Raph retorted.
"Enough!" Splinter yelled, slamming his fist down on the table; making everyone jump.
"Sorry sensei." Raph and Leo said in small voices.
Splinter stood up and walked away from the table and into his room; leaving his young sons at the table, confused.
"Nice goin guys." Mikey said in a low voice.
"Don't get mad at me. Raph started it." Leo said glaring at his younger brother.
"Yeah, cuz' it's always Raphael's fault." Raph said sarcastically.
"Got that right." Leo said.
The four sat in silence until they finished eating, then they all went their rooms in silence.
Leo was about to fall asleep when he heard the sound of Splinter coughing again. He got out of bed and quickly made his way to Splinters room. He gently tapped on the door.
"I am fine, my son. Return to your room." He said in a raspy voice.
Leo obeyed and returned to his room, without arguing.
But Master Splinter was far from fine. He sat in the middle of his room feeling terrible. His throat was burning and he couldn't speak without it causing him pain. He sighed. What am I going to do? He thought to himself. He and his family were running out of food and he was too weak to go to the surface and retrieve more. He would never send his sons to the surface without him. They were way too young and it would be too dangerous. He had no herbs or medicine to heal him. He began to meditate. Hoping to come up with an idea of how he was going to provide for his family. He continued to think and continued to come up with absolutely no ideas. He had no idea what to do. After 8 years of providing for them he had idea how he would keep his family alive.
The next day Splinters' condition was even worse. He didn't even have the strength to get out of bed. His sons had been doing their best to make him feel better but nothing worked. As time passed, Splinter did not get better and their food supplies were dangerously low. It wasn't long before his sons began to realize the situation they were in.
"What are gonna do?" Said Mikey one night to his brothers.
"I-I don't know. We're almost out of food and Master Splinter is too weak to go topside." Donny responded.
"This is it! We're all gonna die aren't we! We're doomed to starve to death in the sewers of New York City!" Mikey cried. "Nice knowing you guys, if I go first, I want you to have my comic books!"
"Shut it Mikey, you're not helping!" Raph said in a grim tone.
"What do you think we should do Leo?" Mikey said turning to his oldest brother.
"Yeah, Leo what should we do." Raph said, shooting Leo a dirty look.
"Well," Leo said ignoring Raph. "There's only one thing we can do, we're gonna have to go topside ourselves."
His three brothers started at him in disbelief and shock.
"ARE YOU NUTS!" Mikey yelled. "WE CAN'T GO TOPSIDE ON OUR OWN! WE'VE NEVER BEEN WITHOUT MASTER SPLINTER!"
"Keep it down Mikey! Master Splinter is trying to rest." Scolded Don.
"I know it sounds crazy but what choice do we have? If we stay down here we'll all starve." Leo said.
"And if we go topside we'll get spotted by some crazy scientist who'll capture us then take us to a secret lab and dissect us!" Mikey exclaimed with a horrified expression on his face.
"First of all Mikey, you watch way too much TV and second of we won't get spotted. We're ninja. Just like Splinter always says, ninjas who stick to the shadows are never seen by anyone. Think of it as stealth training."
"I dunno." Don said. "There's no way Master Splinter will let us go topside alone. He doesn't even like us going when he's with us."
"Well no one ever said he had to know." Raph said mischievously.
"Are you suggesting we lie to him?" Leo said. The thought of them lying to Master Splinter was almost as unbearable as the thought of them going topside without him. Leo had never lied to Master Splinter before, and he didn't want to start now.
"Well he isn't gonna let us go if we ask him. What choice do we have?" Raph said. "So what do you suggest we do, Mr. Perfect?"
Leo didn't know what say. He hated it when Raph put him on the spot like this. Raphael knew that Leo's greatest weakness was pressure.
"I'll go." Leo said boldly, looking Raphael straight in the eye. "I'll go topside and find more food."
"You're going alone? You can't go alone!" Mikey said franticly.
"I have to! If Master Splinter wakes up and ask where I am, I'll need you guys to cover for me." Leo said.
"Whatever happened to I won't lie to my sensei." Raph said,
"I changed my mind. Gotta problem with that Raph?"
Raph responded by simply holding his hands up surrender.
"What if you get lost?" Mikey said.
"Master Splinter keeps a map of the city around here somewhere doesn't he?" Raph asked Don.
"Yes, he does." Said Don as he ran to the kitchen and grabbed a map from one of the drawers. He ran back to his brothers and handed the map to Leo who looked over it quizzically.
"You do know how to read a map, right?" Mikey asked.
"No, it's just a bunch of lines and words." Leo said.
"Oh!" Mikey exclaimed. "I know what to do!" He darted off to his room and came back with a big bag of marbles. "Master Splinter read me a story like this one night. Just use these skittles to leave a trail behind you when you leave the lair. That way you can just follow them back when you wanna come home."
"That's a great idea Mikey!" Leo said patting his youngest brother on his shell.
"So are you really gonna do this?" Raph asked, showing a little concern.
Leo hesitated before answering. He looked over at his brothers who were all staring at him with looks of concern, fear and hope in their faces. "Yes. I'm going to do it, tonight." He said.
"Yay!" Mikey said running over to Leo and giving him a hug. "We aren't gonna die! Leo's got everything under control!"
"Boy, I hope so." Raph said.
About an hour had passed since their decision and Splinter was still in his room sleeping, unaware of the plan his sons were about to put into play.
The four of them walked in silence to the manhole where they usually come and go from whenever they go to the surface with Splinter.
"Alright, I'm ready." Leo said after they'd reached the manhole. He had the bag of marbles and a small flashlight in his hands. He was starting up the ladder when someone stopped him.
"Wait!" Don said. "I almost forgot, here." He said as he reached into a small bag he had with him and pulled out a black walkie talkie. "So we can keep in contact." He said.
"Thanks Donnie." Leo said as he took the walkie talkie and stuck it in his belt.
"Good luck bro." Raph said, patting Leo on the back.
"Yeah, if you can't find anything come back ASAP." Don said.
"We'll do our best to cover for you if we have to." Mikey said.
"I'm sure you will." Leo said as he continued to climb the ladder. When he got to the top he moved to cover aside slightly to check for anyone walking by. No one was there; he opened the cover a little more and climbed out, then slid it back into place. As soon as he did a noise came from his walkie talkie. He pushed a button on the side and Don's voice came through.
"Leo can you hear me?" He asked.
"I can hear you Don." He replied back, already feeling better at the sound of his brother's voice.
"Good, now don't go too far. You might get out of range and I'll lose contact with you." Don said.
"Got it." Leo said. He released the button and put the walkie talkie back in his belt.
"Alright, here I go." Leo said to himself.
He began wondering the alleys, being sure to leave a trail of marbles behind him. Don would call him every 5 minutes to make sure he was okay. Leo didn't mind. It actually made him feel better hearing his brother's voice.
Leo had been searching for almost an hour and still found nothing; he was beginning to run out of marbles. He had lost track of time and knew he had to be home soon. All of the alleys were full of nothing but junk and stray cats, but no food or medicine for Splinter. He was about to give up and turn back when something caught his eye. He looked down a dimly lit alley and saw and some abandon grocery bags sitting near a door that appeared to be closed. He waited to see if anyone was coming out anytime soon but saw no one. Cautiously he began to make his way toward the bags. Being sure he made no sound. He even turned his walkie talkie volume down so that he could work in complete silence. He was inches away from the bags. He peered inside one of them and saw all kinds of things such as: TV dinners, fruits, soup, cookies, chips, crackers – and that was just the first bag there were two more full of things just like it-. He looked around again. Still no one came to claim the bags.
Leo reached for the closet one but hesitated. First sneaking out without sensei permission now stealing? He thought to himself. No I can't….but my family needs me? Humans can get food whenever they want. My family on the other hand….. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of movement towards the door. "Someone's coming!" He exclaimed quietly. He looked around for a place to hide and saw a dumpster. He quickly scrambled behind with only a second to spare as someone came out of the house. He was expected to see a man or a woman but instead he saw a young girl who looked like she was his age. His eyed widened, he had never been this close to another human before. Sure he had seen them when he went to the surface with Master Splinter and his brothers, but even then they had to stay several yards away. But now, he's was only a few feet away from one.
She was about his height. Slightly shorter. She had long dark red her that fell a little more than half-way down her back. When she looked up, he noticed that she had emerald green eyes that almost seem to shine in the alley. She had cream colored skin and a small round head. She was wearing a hot pink t-shirt, jeans and black sneakers. Around her neck was shiny silver chain that was attached to a circular emerald. She sat down on the ground with a small sketch pad and a pencil and began to draw.
Leo was so distracted by her he wasn't paying any attention when his bag of marbles fell from his hand and hit the ground, making a small clanging noise. Immediately, the girl looked up from her sketch pad. "Hello?" She said in a strange accent he couldn't identify. "Is anyone there?" She asked. She began to stand up and walk toward the dumpster. "I heard a noise from there. I know I'm not alone. If you're hiding come out." She said making her way over to the dumpster.
Leo didn't make a sound. He swore he could hear and see his heart beating through his chest. She was inches way when he panicked and yelled. "Go away!"
The girl gasped and took a few steps back. "Aha, I knew there was someone there." She said. "Who are you? What's your name?" She asked eyeing the dumpster.
Leo didn't respond.
The girl looked over at the grocery bags, then back at the dumpster, then back at the bags again.
"You were hungry weren't you?" The girl asked. Silence was her only response. She backed away from the dumpster, being sure not to let it out of her sight. She then kneeled down, still watching the dumpster and dug around in the bag. Her hand came back out and in it was a honey bun.
Leo's mouth began to water. It took everything for him not to jump out and grab it from her. Oh great, now she's going to torture me…she's gonna eat right in front my face. But what she did surprised him. She walked over to the dumpster and set the honey bun down inches away from him. "Go ahead." She said. "It's yours. Daddy always said there were people like you here, people who didn't have enough food to eat and sometimes stole from others so they wouldn't starve." She said. "He doesn't like people like that; he gets mad when he sees them. I think it's sad though." The girl said, as she played in her hair. "Well go ahead, take it. I want you too."
Leo took a deep breath and quickly grabbed the honey bun. He ripped the wrapper off and shoved it in his mouth. It was delicious. The icing melted on his tongue as he chewed. He was finished in seconds. There was then an awkward pause. "You talk funny." Leo said breaking the silence. "Where are you from?"
"Ireland." The girl replied.
"Where's that? Is it in New York?" Leo asked curiously.
"No." The girl said laughing. "It's very far away from here. We had to ride a plane to get here."
"Why did you leave?" Leo asked.
"Daddy got a new job and said we had to move. I didn't want to. I had lots of friends in Ireland. I don't have any here." The girl said sadly.
"Oh." Leo said. This was the end of the conversation, once again leaving an awkward silence between the two.
"I want to see you." The girl said suddenly.
"No!" Leo said in a harsh tone he didn't intend. "My father says not to let other people see me."
"My father says not to give food to the needy." The girl said.
Leo grimaced at her logic, but still refused to reveal himself. "I'm not coming out."
"Fine, then I'll sit right here until you do." She said. She sat down on the ground with her back to the door and crossed her arms. She started staring at the dumpster.
Leo knew he couldn't get out without being seen. He decided to wait for her to get tired, which he hoped would be soon but instead she didn't take her eyes off the dumpster. Leo was still hungry and he needed to get home to his family. When it became clear that the girl wasn't going to give up, Leo sighed and finally said, "Can you keep a secret?" He asked.
The girl looked up and smiled, "Yes. I'm very good at keeping secrets." She said.
"You promise you'll keep mine?" Leo asked.
The girl stood up. "I promise." She said. "I swear."
Leo stood up than began to slowly emerge from behind the dumpster. He was halfway out when finally he quickly stepped from the dumpster and into the light where he could be seen.
The girl gasped. Her eyes widened as she took in Leo's appearance: the green skin, the knee pads, the blue bandana that covered most of his head, the three fingers on each large hand, the two toes on each foot and the shell. She found the shell the most interesting. He was looking at her nervously as her emerald green eyes looked him up and down several times.
The entire time she was staring at him Leo was staring at the ground. He felt ashamed of what he was doing. He disobeyed his father's number rule, and why? For the satisfaction of a human? He was disgusted with himself.
"You're afraid aren't you?" He said still looking at the ground. Noticing how she had been silent since he revealed himself.
In response, the girl stepped closer without saying a word. She then slid her small hands under his chin and bought his face to her level. She looked into his dark brown eyes and saw a mixture of fear and shame.
"You're- you're not afraid?" He asked, surprised that she hadn't run off. She lowered her hands and began to circle him. Leo didn't move. When she was behind him she slowly outstretched her hand and touched Leo's shell. Leo tensed as she began to rub it. His heart rate accelerated and he felt a feeling inside he had never felt before. The girl felt him begin to tremble and decided to stop.
"Are you going to hurt me?" She asked innocently.
"No!" Leo said sounding offended. "Of course I'm not."
"Than what's there to be afraid of?" The girl said. "So why did you try to steal?"
"I needed food for my family." Leo said. "My father is very sick. He wasn't able to bring us food and we were hungry."
"There are more…of…you?" The girl asked. She sounded very amazed rather than scared or disgusted as he had expected she would.
"Yes." Leo replied, happy that she was interested. "I have three brothers. They're just like me."
"What about your daddy?" The girl asked.
"Oh. He's not like us at all. He's a giant rat." Leo said.
The girls tilted her head sideways in confusion, but decided not to ask any more questions. "Wait here. I'll be right back." She said as she ran into the house.
Leo questioned whether or not he should run away. But before he could come to a decision the girl came back. In her arms were a few tiny bottles and a box of herbal tea that looked like the kind Master Splinter always had.
"What's that?" Leo asked.
"Give it to your daddy." The girl said. "It will make him feel better. When I start coughing very bad, this is what mommy gives me. We never use these so no one will notice they're gone." She said. She walked over to the grocery bags. "Take these too. Our shopping lady bought them by mistake. We didn't need them. Daddy doesn't like keeping things we don't need. He just threw them outside when she bought them home. He was in a bad mood." The girl said as she slipped the medicine and the tea into one of the bags.
"Why are you helping me?" Leo asked with a puzzled look in his face. "I appreciate your help but I'm also confused. My father always told us that humans would never accept us. He said most of them are judging and cruel."
"I'm not like that." The girl said defensively. "Daddy is. So is Mommy. Robyn is too. But not me. That's why I'm his least favorite. I don't think he likes me. I don't think anyone does. Ever since I moved here I haven't made any friends." The girl said as she looked down at the ground.
"Oh." Leo said. He felt bad for the girl. He began to wonder what his life would be like if Master Splinter didn't like him His brothers were also his friends as well. He couldn't imagine life without them. "I'm sorry."
"Do you like me?" The girl asked.
"What?" Leo asked.
"I said do you like me." The girl asked again.
Leo was quiet for a moment. "Yes." He said. "I like you. You're very nice. You're pretty too."
The girl looked up and she had a very big smile on her face. This made Leo smile as well. "I have to go home now." He said.
"Will I get to see you again?" The girl asked stepping closer.
"I don't know…" Leo responded, "Maybe. It depends."
"Depends on what?" The girl asked.
"I dunno." Leo said. "It just depends."
"Oh." The girl said. "Well here." She handed him the grocery bags.
"Thank you." Leo said taking the bags from her. "You've really helped a lot."
"Good. I'm glad." The girl said. "Does this mean we're friends?"
"You want to be my friend?" Leo asked. He was both happy and astonished.
In response the girl took Leo's free hand in hers and nodded. Leo hesitated before enclosing his hand larger hand around her smaller one. And it was only for a second, but he could have sworn he felt a small spark when they joined hands. She must have felt it too because she was grinning at him. He grinned back.
"I've been friends with a human before." Leo said still holding her hand even daring to grip it tighter.
"I've never been friends with…well whatever you are before." The girl said returning his grip.
"Okay then. We can be friends." Leo said with a smile. He let go of her hand and took off down the alley.
"Wait!" The girl called after him. "I don't know you're name." She said.
"Leonardo. But you can call me Leo." Leo said. "What's yours?" He asked.
"April." The girl replied. "April O'Neil."
"April." Leo softly repeated to himself. The name seemed to roll of his tongue. "Well then…good-bye April. See you soon…I hope." He said He turned around quickly ran home.
When he got back home his brothers were ecstatic to see the food he bought back. Even Raph was very pleased with him and relieved to see him home. He gave Master the Splinter the bottles and the herbal tea April gave him. Master Splinter was confused, and very angry. But instead of arguing he took the items and said, "We'll talk about this tomorrow my son." He said in an angry tone, then shooed Leo out of the room so he could treat himself.
Leo left Splinters room and headed to his own. He was exhausted. He lay in bed that night thinking of his experience. He had bought back food, medicine and met a human. He almost didn't want to tell his family what had happened. He wanted to keep it to himself. That night as he was drifting off he found himself softly repeating her name to himself. "April." "April." "April."
