Failures.
Plot: Five years after the death of the rest of the Hamoto clan, only Leo and Raph remain at each other's side with only memories of the past to haunt them now. one shot.
A/N: I thought of this last night and was bored so decided to see how it would turn out. It's loosely based off SAINW and some things in the comic. Like shredder was human (hated the utrom thing) and splinter wanted revenge against him for killing Yoshi.
Leo had found a habit in watching his brother move over the years. Always bouncing upon his left heel while his face sketched a deep scowl as he marched to and fro room after room, rarely remembering what he was even doing in those rooms anymore because of the years of wear and tear. At twenty five he could be considered legally senile. But Leo knew it was merly the stress and the fact that they were alone only hyphened it.
He was no better he supposed, after Mikey died and Don disappeared he stopped talking to anyone. Every now and again Raph would get a simple word from him, but he stuck to using expressions to get his point across fearing words would bring upon another death. Thinking of it all made his book slide from between his fingers. His imperfection made his youngest brother hate him and his weakness in refusing to strike Karai down for Splinter's death and Don's possible disappearance only made things worse.
"Don't go blanking out on me again, fearless," Raph snapped pausing in front of his elder brother staring mindlessly off into space a lair of grief still painted across his face,"You ended up killing her. You avenged them, stop doing this to us."
His head tilted to the side to his choice of words, it was usually 'yourself ' meaning he was pissed that he had to stay home and keep his only living family member in the light of sanity. Or he would respond with 'me ' referring to the fact he couldn't take it any more. Did this mean they were closer to being a somewhat team again?
"Don't look at me like that! You know what I mean!" he spat turning away,"I lost an eye for your ass didn't I?"
He smiled to him once more, Raph rolling his eyes to him helping him up holding his arm firmly marching to the kitchen still mumbling hateful words Leo knew would never be true.
...
Blood oozed from his sensei, the one he once called friend smiling to him. His mind finding no words only blank spaces through out his mind.
"A sensei for a sensei," Karai whispered to him the sound of her blade clashing inside its sheath filled his mind eyes only seeing crimson,"Now we are even."
His mind bounced back and forth between memories of himself sneaking out to see her, telling her of every weakness he dared not tell anyone else she sharing her own set of weaknesses. Leaving Leonardo to marvel to the similarities and how both were simply born to be perfect. Now it was all another stupid mistake, he looked away from his father's dead form wishing to take back his foolishness now.
...
Eyes met the burnt mush before him then once more gave Raph a strange look. A scowl coming forth from his brother.
"Like that shit you made me yesterday was any better!"
Leo rolled his eyes to the never ceasing bickering knowing it was all his mask. Holding back his vomit he took another bite of the slop before him. He glared to his brother as he noticed he wasn't eating anything.
"I made that just for you, bro," he laughed to the disgusted face he made,"Me, I'm fond of real food, I'll order a pizza. This is your punishment for not warning me there was a spider on my head yesterday..."
...
"Leo it's been almost a year since sensei died and Don disappeared twice as long ago!" Mikey snapped to his eldest brother who still made no response. Simply gnawing upon his bottom lip, rag slidding across his blade. He still could not do the silent command.
"Michelangelo, you don't understand. What lead to sensei's demise was sensei.Because he wished of the death of Oruku Saki. I can not keep up this blood bath, I got my revenge and Karai got her own."
A hand smacked across his face to that, he didn't even respond to the wound he knew would bruise. Eyes didn't even bother to look up to his youngest brother, the one who had always adored him for whatever he did, staring to him with nothing but disgust.
"So you side with her?" his voice shook on the verge of tears,"Don't even think of sensei in this matter?"
"He wouldn't want more blood," Leo whispered turning his head away Mikey breathing hard but nonetheless listening to his words,"I can't handle any more blood. We step into wars we never belonged in. Your still inosent to the battle field, you and Raph, you think it a thrill. I am the one who spills the blood of the leader to keep our peace. But we have our peace now, she will not strike until we do. I can not kill her for she is me."
"Your just not as fearless as we thought then," Mikey spat coldly gulping down his tears slamming the dojo door behind him, leaving those hatefilled words to be the last that fell onto his brother's ears.
...
"Didn't I tell you to stop giving me that face," Raph snapped to his brother who smirked satisfiedly jumping his checker across the board kinging himself once more.
"You know what?" he finally growled Leo tilting his head telling him to go on,"Fuck this game."
As the pieces clashed against the floor, Leo instantly held up another suggestion for a game through the flickering candle lights he could see Raph's glare.
"Fuck that! I don't even know how to play chess," he growled the chair screetching behind him as he rose,"I don't give a shit if I do get fried, we're fixing the fucking electricity."
Leo laughed to himself, what did he know of electricity? He couldn't even play chess, let alone know which circuit went into which.
"Come on fearless," he groaned hand tightened around his brother's wrist dragging him behind him,"You can hold the light."
...
When they arrived upon the battle field all Leo saw was a stain of blood. His heart beat slowly nearly stopping if it wasn't for Raph's invitation for him to keep going.
"Bonehead won't die so easily fearless," he whispered to him only getting a curt nodd in response.
"So you did come for revenge, Leonardo."
His heart beat slowly as he watched Karai sheath her blade once more knowing he was far too late as he watched the blood cape up at the top of the case eyes not daring to move to her feet where he knew his brother was.
"Pity. If I had known you were coming I would have waited on giving the finall blow," she said gently Leo's eyes never leaving hers,"Come now Leonardo, you know I never avoid a challenge."
...
"I think I almost got it," he groaned slamming two random cords together Leo making a small noise of protest but it was ignored,"I know what I'm doing you know! I watched Donnie do it a hundred and one..."
ZAPPP. Leo smiled as the lights flickered on, Raph laying on the ground huffing out a puff of smoke. Snatching Leo's stretched out hand.
"See, I knew exactly what I was doing..."
...
Their blades locked together, eyes never once leaving the other. Leo pretended not to hear Raph, for now he was a figment of his imagination no matter how many times he called his name.
In a steady rhythm like the beat of a heart their swords clanged. Each using their deadly art as a painter would to a create a master piece, but Leo knew the only canvas would be the concrete floor and only paint would be Karai's blood. The sword was finally kicked from his vice grip, he waited for death's smile as her foot slammed upon his throat, blade inches from his pupil.
As his air grew thin he felt something smash her off him. A gasp of air shooting through him taisting sweet as ever. Before he could pull himself completly together he heard his brother cry out in pain falling to the floor. Hastily he snatched his blade from the spot it had fallen, swords clashing together once more stopping the death blow.
Karai gasped in pain, he hadn't even realized he had stabbed through her, but it brought back the satisfaction any strike he made did. The feeling made him sick as he watched his once friend drop to the ground clinging to her open wound blood staining her petite hands.
"Very good Leonardo," she whispered everything fading before her,"Very, very good..."
He dropped to his kness as well watching her take her finall gasps of breath. Mikey not far from him yet so very far laying upon the ground an arm served off from battle and the final blow all too nauseating. He began to vomit as he looked to the headless corpse.
Bloody fingers wrapping tightly around his forearm, blurry eyes taking in Raph's bloody face. A slit ran diagonal across his left eye bloody tears running all the way down making something snap in Leo. Years of perfection fading away as he clung tightly to his brother, the walls blocking his emotions shattering as he cried on him.
"I'm sorry, Raph!" he gasped through tears,"I destoyed us! All for I was too weak to consider everything!"
Raph held his pain back simply holding his older brother not knowing how to handle this, what to say. Later he would come to regret that was the final sentence his brother would ever utter.
...
Raph watched Leo go through the katas from his spot on the dojo floor. He wished he would act like he used to, he couldn't even argue with him if no words beside the occasional 'yeah' or 'no' fluttered from his mouth. He dared not leave him alone for longer then a second though, it still frightened him what would happen if he left again out of anger like he always had in the past. As the two brothers eyes met, Leo's head tilted to the practice swords eyes begging for a challenge.
"Not right now," he groaned staring off still.
Leo tugged at his arm looking firmly at him warning him they were going to practice if he wanted to or not.
"Fine," he groaned allowing Leo to yank him up,"We'll have it your way."
...
Raph's eyes fluttered open to find himself in April's apartment. Leo head rested on the bed next to him. Sighing Raph pushed a pillow under his head as he rose from his spot sighing as he realized he would have to get used to only seeing everything with half an eye.
Stretching he descended from out of the room. April was sitting at the kitchen table smiling to see him up.
"I'm fine," he reasoned more to himself then her half looking away from her concerned expression,"I'll be fine too."
"I expected such," she replied standing directly in his only path of sight now,"I hold more concern for your brother now."
His head tilted wondering what could cause any one to worry about Leo, but then again he wasn't one to forget anyone's first breakdown.
"I think he's in shock," she finally called through the silence bringing Raph back to reality,"Whatever happened must have been pretty bad to put him there."
"What do you mean?"
"He hasn't spoken in the last few hours you've been out and I don't know, but his eyes almost look empty."
Raph considered it all before snorting to the comment, April must not of known his brother very well...he wouldn't stay down for long. He never did. His eyes clapped shut to the thought of Mikey defenceless on the ground.
"What happened to Mikey's body?" he finally whispered.
"Before Leo went into total shock, he called Casey and I telling us a little of what happened. We went and picked you guys up, Leo and Casey just buried him next to Splinter an hour ago. Leo didn't seem like he was capable of holding a service, he sort of just blanked out afterward."
An overwhelming sensation suddenly struck Raph forcing him to turn his head away from his friend. He couldn't deal with this, not right now. Words failed him as his mouth opened a few times before his usual course of action finally returned to him.
"Where's Casey now?" he finally whispered April looking to him with a mix of concern and surprise.
...
Raph scowled as his older brother shoved him to the ground, a near childish smile shrouding his face as he gloated in his victory. He offered his hand out to his younger brother, Raph grinning devilishly to the offer yanking his brother to the ground with one harsh pull.
A pout fluttered across Leo's face Raph snickering to it.
"What was it you always used to tell me?" Leo simply glared playfully to the words,"Oh, right, never let your guard down."
...
Bullets clanging against brick was the only sound forming in Raph's mind. He ducked behind wall behind wall Casey at his heal.
"I've got to stop hanging out with you," Casey snapped over the clanking of another gun being reloaded by a purple dragon. Raph simply smirked, he would take this form of therapy over anything.
"Come on, stop complaining," Raph groaned back shooting up a fire escape head crouching to a bullet,"You live for this."
Casey smiled to him as he climbed to the top of the roof along with his friend, deep crimson catching Raph's limited line of sight as he glanced over. Eyes widening as he realized Casey's luck had just run dry.
"If ya say so Raph," he groaned gasping for air as his knees hit the ground.
...
"Crime is escalating-" Raph's finger slammed against the remote to that.
"-Witnesses claim that this murder was done by ninja-"
Finally he just stopped his channel surfing to the dreaded commercials he had been trying to avoid, his brother half asleep on the couch next to him. As another news report about 'mysteriose' gang activity popped up he turned the tv off.
"Leo," he mummbled gently shaking his brother's arm,"I think you should go ta bed now."
Nodding slowly he allowed Raph to yank him up from his spot on the couch.
...
A month. It seemed strange that he had been gone that long, yet he hadn't even done anything. Raph couldn't explain why he was even bothering coming back now, his brother didn't need him if he had even stayed in the old layer.
He walked down the familiar setting of the sewer, a smile fluttering across his lips thinking of childhood and how much simpler it had been then. He wasn't proud that he had left Leo alone for so long without any knowledge of if he was alive or dead or worse off, but for the longest time after Mikey and Casey died so abruptly...he didn't know if he could handle seeing anyone.
He cracked the door open of his home wondering if anyone had been here for awhile by all the dirt that collected all over the place, but by the lingering smell of candle incense he knew his brother had been here.
"Leo?" he called getting no answer making him ponder if he was even here.
He steadily walked up the stairs stopping at his youngest brother's room a faint smell of strong alcohol and low sound of breathing came from the other side of the door. Slowly, he cracked the door open to find his eldest brother atop the youngest's bed bottles scattered across the already messy room.
"Leo?" he whispered faintly grasping his brother's gaunt shoulder.
As it dawned upon Leo there was another presence in the room his eyes sprang up in excitement hoping to see Michelangelo but faded to disappointment as he saw Raph standing over him.
SMACK! Raph slightly backed away clinging to his bruising cheek but standing his ground as his brother's angered glazed eyes narrowed to him asking why he came back.
"Because," his words stammered at first before finally straightening out the answer all too obvious as he stared at his half drunk half ill brother,"By the looks of things, you need me."
The end.
I had planned on it ending with Don returning, but I think this ending seems alittle more complete. I don't know if this is any good, I wrote this in like an hour, but I'll accept harsh complaints/death threats if you have them.