I know I don't do a lot of stories lately. The muse just has not been with me. This is just something I wrote to a son. What song I cannot remember. I edited it hope I did a good job with the damn grammar. :) And no, this will not become a story chapter. It's a one shot. Though by god if it get's a decent amount of response and followers I will make it a story with chapters XD

Summary!

Leonardo had done a lot of things in his life that had been his moments of happy wonderful and treasured days, but this time he finally hit the lowest point. He fell. He thought he was doing the right but he ended up doing what he swore he never would. Who was he doing this for? Now the only thing that stood in the way of his families safety and their death was his moral conscious. Can he keep his sanity in check? Keep who he is? Keep 'Leonardo Hamato, first son of Splinter Hamato trained in the way of the nindo of the swords' alive to protect his brothers or will he let them suffer and die under his failure, under the Foot?"

Lead them, Brother

It was only a matter of time, Leonardo supposed, before they found out what a rat he was. Leonardo never had much of a thought beforehand on what he really was doing that was so out there. So wrong. - So right. That was until he stood over the field in the small park area where kids, human kids, played soccer. There laid Raphael on the grounds struggling to get up and several feet behind the red banded turtle, Leonardo's brother, was Michelangelo who was being dragged to safety by Donatello. Leonardo had no idea that his choice that day would lead to his family suffering.

"Leo!" Raphael's voice was weak, worn down by the fighting that had taken so much out of Leonardo and Raphael leaving two brothers battered and injured in the farthest part of the square nearing the baseball field. "You... how could you? We're blood, Leo, does that mean nothing to you?"

And to Leonardo it meant so much but he felt a shaky breath against his lungs as he drew in to speak in a steady voice, he so hoped, because he was feeling so broken. He knew that his actions that day, no the year, had doomed him and the trust his family had in 'him'.

"Raphael," Leonardo whispered and he cursed that whisper, "I thought I was doing this for you and them. Our family, I didn't want this. I swear I didn't want this." Leonardo looked down taking in the grass and the stains of red across it. He had to turn away because he felt so disconnected to it.

Leonardo looked at the goal, the netting slashed by his own swords. His own...

"What have you become, Leo?" Raphael was standing Leonardo assumed from the way Raphael was speaking. Leonardo let out a slow laugh. He knew the answer. He knew Raphael wouldn't like it. Raphael didn't even know the backstory behind the whole event that lead him to this stage. That took him down the road into a world where he was a pinprick away from becoming this horrendous monster.

"What we fight. What you fight, brother." Leonardo looked back at Raphael, "Another of the Shredder's minions. A foot member taught to kill you."

Raphael had stepped forward, his sai in his left hand had swirled in the palm to be gripped so the edge of the knife was pointed out the side of Raphael's palms. Leonardo knew it was a defensive posture. Leonardo knew that the other sai in Raphael's hand was in the same position seconds later when the sai was picked up off the ground. Leonardo smiled slightly as he looked at Raphael for a time his mind slowly taking in the cuts, bruising, the crack in Raphael's plastron. It would only get worse for the other because Leonardo wasn't finished. He never would be finished with anything. He was owned by the Shredder, the turtles mortal enemy since their father lived with his master as a pet.

"Raphael, never, ever, believe I wanted this for you guys. To be the one you'd have to fight. The one who could hurt you so ... I never wanted that for you, Donatello, nor Michelangelo. Tell Master Splinter I'm sorry." Leonardo shifted taking a stance looking at the one sword that Raphael hadn't broken. His brother had spent so much energy trying to remove Leonardo's swords, distract Leonardo for the two weaker brothers to flea to safer grounds or for distance for survival; a chance.

Leonardo took a breath his muscles tensing just enough before he charged attacking Raphael head on.

Why had he thought he could settle things with Karai's help?

She had lied to him, taken him and drugged him after he had started to give her the trust back. She had ruined his life again this time and when he had woken up and had realized the destruction he had caused.

His world destroyed. His family gone. And the words 'I will hunt you' in blood upon the wall written under the name 'the foot clan'. He had been so scared running around tracking his family down until just hours later finding them hiding. It became apparent what they knew of him when they took stances against him. Casey, April, Master Splinter, Michelangelo, and Donatello looked worried for a time before Raphael had yelled at them to get out and leave while he made sure they could at the time.

Leonardo had confronted, fought, and he had kept all three brothers from leaving. He had thought he was fighting in self protection until he felt the surge of pride at him harming his siblings. Furious at his sword broken. When he looked into the metal of his sword he saw his eyes tinged red, the color faded. His mask black and it covered the dome of his head with the foot logo. Only when his brothers were beaten did he feel he could talk.

"Brother, why though?" Raphael's words seemed pleading.

"I'm weak, Raphael, and a fool." Leonardo said the words harsh, "i'm sorry, brother, but I cannot control my actions against you any longer now that you are up and armed. Just go. Away, far away. Where I won't harm you."

"I cannot do that, Leo, you know that. Got to keep the bro's safe, right... and we'll find away, Leo, I promise, to get you back." Raphael moved forward to attack, Leonardo could tell that their brothers' were almost safe from his grip.

"Then fight me with all you've got as the older brother, as their leader, Raphael. Take me down like you take down other Foot clan members. I'm no better now than Shredder. Protect them, our family, our friends, our Nindo way." Leonardo saw the sad look but it steeled on Raphael's face and Leonardo felt so proud of his brother for stepping up as he could so easily see. Taking the role his older brother was giving him.

It saddened him as well because Leonardo would miss his brash brother... would Raphael ever be the same? was the last thought in his mind that was personally his own.