"Breathe in...and breathe out..."

Leo chanted in slow, delicate whisper. He was sitting on his legs with his hands resting on his padded knees.

I followed suit, taking a long breath in...and letting it all out...

For any newcomers here, yes, the big, great Leonardo is my Sensei. Though Leo wasn't the one who chose to take me under his wing, it was Master Splinters decision, as he was busy training...April. But none the less, I enjoy Leo as my teacher much more than Splinter. I have no prejudges against him, it's just of my minor father's complex that makes me worry if he'd mad at me for messing up on simple actions.

I shake my head as I go back to meditate. I tend to go off a lot in this little head of mine...

...It's no use.

I think back to yesterday during the morning with Merith and Raul...does he know what he's doing is-

"Is something on your mind, Tori? You're all tense." I open my eyes to see Leo's dark blue ones looking back at me, they practically speak of curiosity.

"...N-No, there's nothing on my mind...Sorry..." I don't think he'd be able to understand my predicament.

"You sure?" By his tone, I could tell he knew I was lying.

"...Ok, maybe a little...buuuut..." I turn my gaze to the ground, looking at the manriki-gusari curled by my thigh.

"Uh, you don't have to talk about it if you want, I was just concerned when I saw you buckle over-" Leo jerks up, waving both of his hands like he was caught doing something.

"No, I'll tell you everything that I'm thinking about. Because I know you'd ask me later anyway. N-Not like that's a bad thing, you're just a caring person!" Now I start to panic.

But I won't deny what I said to him as well. As the oldest of four brothers, he is the guy that most people would go ask advice from. Though the one thing that weighs him down is someone coming to him baring a heavy weight of emotion. It's not like Leo wasn't empathic, it's just as being a male he doesn't know how to deal with such emotion such as depression. Plus another aspect is that of humans of the female gender, like me. Now I know myself he wouldn't know what a "time of the month" is, so I wouldn't go to him telling him this. But I hope that he'll understand this issue of mine, as it has to do with a boy.

I look back up at the turtle, he still is looking back at me. He cracks a small smile out of no where, looking quite awkward.

I take a deep breath as I try to figure out a way to explain my troubles, "...Ok...so, I get to school a hour early so I can hang out with a friend...this has to do with what I want to tell you, don't worry! A-Anyway...so, I've been hanging with this person for a month or two now...her name's Merith, by the way...but the thing is this other guy is hanging out with us as well...I'm not jealous of him, it's just...it's hard to talk to him. His name is Raul...he's...mentally challenged, but he likes anime just like I do...it's just he makes it awkward when he talks about it-not like naughty awkward, just plain...awkward. Like, sometimes he says he can shoot laser beams and stuff, Dragon Ball Z stuff..." I start to lose my train of thought.

"...Ok?" Leo tilts his head, "I don't really see any problems with this kid, in my honest opinion. I don't know what it's like to have handicaps like he does, but at he's trying to make friends!"

"Yea...but, lately he's been...touchy..." Trying to respond to what Leo told me is hard.

His eyes widen a little, "I-Is he touching...y-"

"Oh, no! Not me...Me-Merith, specifically. Y-You see...because of Raul's...handicap, he can't really hide his feelings well. Not like that's a bad thing! A-Anyway...so, he's pretty much made it clear he has a crush on Merith...And Merith herself knows about it too..." I try to explain more.

"Alright."

"...The thing is though...he's kinda going...a bit far with it. He's not like touching her inappropriately...he's just kinda scooting his chair a bit too close to Merith...and he's wrapping his arm around his shoulder-"

"If that happens, then tell him to not do that. I mean, has Merith told him not to do that?" Leo asks me.

"She hasn't...it's not because she's afraid...the shoulder thing doesn't really bother her much, actually." I tell him from what Merith told me a couple days ago.

"Hm, well, this Merith person sounds like a cool egg...or something like that, heh heh-" He scratches the back of his head.

"She is..." I tell him, nodding my head.

"-Though from what you've told me of Raul, he might start to get touchy-feely. So I suggest you tell him to stop touching Merith then, but don't be mean about it. Say it like 'you know, what you're doing isn't appropriate you're making Merith uncomfortable-' something like that." Leo spins his hand around as he thinks of the perfect sentence.

"I get what you mean..." I acknowledge his efforts, bowing slightly.

"That's good." With that, he gives a smile full of warmth, "So, was that all that was troubling you, or...?"

"Yea...t-thanks, Leo..." I gleam back, pulling back some hair that was covering my eyes, "Should we go back to meditation, o-or?"

"If you'd want to."

"...Yea, I'm up to it now that I got all that stuff off my chest."

I roll my shoulders back, closing my eyes and tilting my head back...empty my mind of any thoughts...and breathe in...and breathe out...