Ch 2 Truth and Consequences
The small group made their way through the square and toward the woods on the outskirts of the village. They followed a small path that eventually lead them to a large clearing in the woods where there stood a moderate size and well-kept wooden house with a barn and horses in the back and was surrounded by a large garden. A stone wall of about three feet high surrounded the house.
Splinter led them through a garden gate and up a stone path to the entrance of the house. They entered and found themselves in a entryway that led to a long hallway. As they entered, they were immediately greeted by a young red haired girl with blue eyes and a gentle smile. She bowed to Splinter who returned the greeting.
"April-chan ." He greeted. "How are you this morning and how is your honorable father?" He asked.
"I'm fine Master Splinter." She told him. "But father is the same."
"Let me know when you will be needing time away from your job." Splinter told her. He then smiled and gestured behind him. "We have guest who will be staying with us for a while. They need nourishment and a warm bath."
"Of course Master Splinter." She looked at the two new turtles with a smile. "I'll have Casey prepare a bath and bring them fresh clothes." After a nod from Splinter, she departed down a long wide hallway and into a room on the right. Splinter now turned to his sons.
"Please escort our guest to the bath so they may clean up for lunch." He told them.
"Hai Sensei." His sons replied and bowed to him. Splinter nodded his head at them and then made his way down the hall and disappeared into a room next to the one April had gone into.
"This way." Raph told them.
They followed him down the long hallway and saw three large rooms on each side. Mikey, being the curious little turtle he was, looked in each one. In the first room on his right, the one April had disappeared into, he saw a small pot on a metal stove and an open hearth with a fire lit in it. Mikey felt his stomach grumble and mouth drool as he sniffed deeply and surveyed the large kitchen. He then poked his head into the one across from it and his eyes opened in awe when he saw the many books on shelves. This excited him and he quickly asked if he could check out the library after bathing.
"No Mikey." Leo told him sternly, and took his hand to keep him walking.
The room next to the kitchen on the right side had a low table with four small cushions surrounding it. And across from that room was one with several racks that held a variety of weapons and on the far end of the wall there was a shelf that held the traditional shrine. Raph noticed Leo took special interest in this room when he stopped and poked his head in for several seconds scanning the whole room.
"That's the dojo." He told him. "Sensei is a ninja master." Leo looked at Raph with excitement in his eyes. "He teaches Donnie and I, maybe he'll teach you too." He took Leo's hand gently in his and they continued down the hall.
The room that connected to the dojo was a bedroom with one large futon and a dresser with some shelving to accommodate trinkets and figurines and some photos. Across the hall was a similar room but with two futons. As they made their way down the hallway, Leo stopped and Raph turned to look at him.
"Something wrong?" Raph asked. Leo looked down at their hands.
"You do not need to lead me like I am a child." He told him. "I am willing to follow."
Raph blushed when he realized he had been hold Leo's hand rather tenderly. "I...um...didn't mean to lead you." Raph said and let Leo's hand drop. He stepped to the side and allowed Leo to get ahead of him and catch up to his brother.
At the end of the hallway, Donnie slid open the rice paper doors and they entered into a large room where they saw a small heated in ground pool and on either side were racks and small benches. On one bench sat a young dark hair boy in a dark tunic. His smile sported a gap in his teeth. Next to him he had placed fresh towels and new tunics for the guest to use.
"Yo Raph." The boy came over to him and they fist bumped. "So who are the new turtles?"
"This is Leonardo and Michelangelo." Raph introduced them. "You can call them Leo and Mikey and this is my good friend and our stable boy Casey Jones." He said as Casey bowed to them. The other turtles bowed back.
"The bath is ready." He told them. "I'll take your old kimonos and have April clean and stitch them up." He held his hands out, expecting the two turtles to remove their old clothes and handed it to them but neither one moved. Mikey only looked up at Leo, his eyes filled with uncertainty.
"You can undress back there." Raph told them pointing to a divider by one of the benches. Again both turtles continued to look at them and did not move.
"If you want your privacy, we can leave." Donnie said motioning for his brother and Casey to head toward the door. He turned away from the others and left the room. Casey followed after him but Raph continued to stand there.
"Look, we're all guys here and there's no reason to be shy." He told them.
"Oh, we're not shy." Mikey told him. "It's just we don't…"
"Mikey." Leo gave him another warning look and hushed him. "It's alright." He told Raph sternly. "We're just not use to people around us while we bathe."
Raph looked at them rather doubtfully, but then nodded and followed his brother and friend out of the room. When they were alone, Mikey turned to Leo with an annoyed look. "Why do you keep shushing me bro?" He demanded.
"Because they do not need to know about us." He told him angrily. "They are not to be trusted so you need to keep your mouth shut about where we are from and where we are headed." He began to help his brother out of his tunic. "Go get into the bath."
"But I like the one named Donnie." Mikey said as he made his way into the pool. "He seems nice and so does Master Splinter." He began to lazily move himself through the water. "That Raph guy I'm not so sure about though. He's seems kinda hot headed."
Leo removed his tunic and made his way into the pool with his brother. The water was warm and relaxing, and the two took a few minutes to swim about lazily before Leo decided they should start cleaning themselves. On the edge of the pool were cleaning supplies. Leo found a soft bristled brush and soap. He quickly washed his brother's shell and then had his brother assist him in washing his shell.
"I'm sure they are all nice Mikey." He told him. "But we still cannot trust them. We do not know if they are friends or enemies to the Daimyo."
While Mikey washed Leo's shell, he couldn't help but notice the bruises on his brother's arms and the new one around his neck. "You have more dark spots Leo." He told him. "Is that because of the cart you banged into?"
"Yes Mikey." Leo said. He kept his eyes averted from him, fearing he might see the shame in his eyes. "You know I can be very clumsy sometimes."
Mikey looked sadly at the older turtle. "You seem to get hurt a lot though Leo." He looked down and blinked back tears. .
Leo turned and smiled at him. He put his finger under his chin and made him look at him. "I am okay little brother." He told him. "There is no need to worry about me."
Mikey looked up at him and smiled. "I can heal it for you if you want." He went to put his hand on his brother's neck but Leo quickly stopped him.
"Not this time Mikey." He told him harshly. "You must not heal while we are here. Although they are being helpful, we cannot let them know about you."
Mikey brought his hand down and again, looked away from Leo with a sad face. "We have to leave here soon and get to the Daimyo's stronghold by the end of the week." Leo told him. "Till then, you must hold off on using your healing powers."
"Okay." Mikey told him regretfully. They finished bathing and after stepping out of the pool and after drying off, Leo assisted Mikey in putting on the bright orange kimono Casey had brought them. After he put his new blue one on, the two picked up their old clothes and walked out of the room. They were surprised to see Raph and Casey directly outside in the hallway leaning against the wall waiting for them. Casey took the old clothes and towels and went back into the bathing room.
"You look good all cleaned up." Raph said approvingly, looking the two turtles up and down. "I guess April could tell those colors would look good on you." He motioned for them to follow him.
"They're beautiful." Leo told him. "Thank you." He said with a bow.
Raph nodded his head at him. "Sensei and Donnie are waiting for us in the dining area." Raph said, leading them back down the hallway. "Lunch will be served shortly."
The two turtles followed him to the room next to the kitchen and saw Donnie seated diagonally across from Splinter who was seated at the head of the table. Raph sat next to Donnie while Mikey sat across from Donnie and Leo sat across from Raph.
A few moments later, April came in with a cart that carried plates full of rice, fish and vegetables. She went about putting the plates in front of Splinter and the turtles.
While April served the food, Splinter turned to Leonardo. "After lunch, I would like to speak with you in the dojo concerning your situation Leonardo." Splinter told him.
Both Leo and Mikey looked at each other before Leo turned to him. "Yes Master Splinter." He answered with a bow of his head.
A few seconds later, April stood and left the rat and turtles to enjoy their lunch. Mikey's mouth drooled and he quickly picked up his chop sticks and was just about to dive in when Leo pulled his hand back.
"Michelangelo." He narrowed his eyes at him. "Please do not be rude."
Mikey looked down red faced and put the chop sticks back on the table. He then folded his hands and lowered his head. "Itadakimas." He said. Leo then echoed this and both boys looked up at Splinter and the other turtles expectantly. Splinter smiled and nodded to his sons. Raph, looking rather put off, and Donnie put their chopsticks down and they too repeated the prayer followed by Splinter.
The meal was eaten rather quickly, even with Mikey asking questions regarding the library and other parts of the house. Splinter smiled at the turtle's enthusiasm and both he and Donnie attempted to answer his questions. Leo kept his head down and ate, rather slowly, while every now and then his eyes would look over at Mikey with a some what fearful look. Raph listened to everything going on around him but it was noticed by Splinter, his eyes occasionally would stare at the slightly older blue-eyed turtle, rather intently Splinter realized. After the meal, Splinter stood up and requested Leo to come with him. Mikey watched apprehensively as Leo stood and did as told.
Leo followed Splinter into the dojo, bowing before entering to show his respect, something Splinter was surprise to see him do. After he entered, Splinter nodded his approval and motioned for him to sit. He then turned away from the turtle and looked toward the shrine.
Leo sat on his knees and kept his head bowed in respect, waiting to be addressed. Splinter stood with his back to the turtle, his hands behind his back, staring at the small shrine on the shelf. After a few tense moments, he finally turned and looked down at the turtle.
"I need to know Leonardo." He began. "Does your brother know what you do?"
Leo blinked up at him and then once again looked down at the floor, with shame in his eyes. "No Master Splinter." He answered.
Splinter nodded. "Then we will keep that to ourselves." He told him. "But you must stop and repay me for the money I gave to the merchant."
Leo looked up at him and swallowed hard. "What would you have me do?" He asked nervously.
"Raphael tells me you are interested in my weapons." Leo looked up at him in wonder and nodded. "Very well then. Beginning tomorrow, you will clean the dojo and polish all the weapons." Leo looked around the room. "That will repay the money for the apples."
"Is that all Master Splinter?" He asked.
"No, we need to discuss what you will do to pay for your crime." Splinter began to stroke his long beard as he became deep in thought. "Ms. O'Neil needs to take leave of her job for a few days." He explained to him. "And I would like you to take her place while she is gone."
Splinter watched the turtle closely while the turtle listened with a blank expression on his face. "After she returns, you will continue to serve us here for the rest of the month." Splinter's eyebrows raised curiously when Leo's face shot up and looked at him in fear. " I believe that would be an appropriate amount of time to serve for a crime such as yours." He told him. "Afterwards, if I have decided you have done a good job, we can discuss a permanent position for you here." He watched as Leo's forehead creased in consternation. "That way you and your brother may have a place to call home."
"Master Splinter." Leo began, bowing his head low. "I do not mean to sound ungrateful but my brother and I do not require anything after I am done repaying you or serving my time."
"Really?" Splinter stroked his long beard. "You enjoy being homeless."
"We are not…" He looked up at Splinter who stared down at him with a knowing glare. "Please Master Splinter." He said, his voice filled with regret. "My brother and I have always taken care of ourselves." He looked up at Splinter with a look of determination. "We do not require handouts or charity."
Splinter narrowed his eyes at him. "This is not a handout or charity." He told him rather curtly. "But I will not force you to do something you do not wish to do." Leo nodded solemnly. "If you are certain that you do not want your brother to grow up in a place where he can attend school or have three decent square meals a day then that is fine. But you are to stay here till the debt is paid and you have served your time to make up for your crime." He gave him a stern glare. "Is that clear young one?" He asked.
Leo kept his eyes to the floor and nodded his head."Yes Master Splinter." He looked up at him."So I will be here for an entire month?"
"Yes." Splinter responded. "Afterward, you will be able to leave...if that is what you truly wish to do." He told him. "My son's will bring out an extra futon for you and your brother to share, there is a guest room on the other side of the bathing room past the garden." It was clear Splinter was very unhappy about his decision not to stay on permanently.
"Thank you Master Splinter." Leo said ruefully. He got up to leave.
"Leonardo." Leo turned back to Splinter who once again had his back to him. "Whom do you serve?"
"Excuse me Sensei?"
"Who sells you?" He asked him, his voice a little angrier then before.
"I work for no one." He told him. Splinter turned and looked hard at Leo. "I swear Master Splinter." He insisted. "No one sells me. When I need money, I sell myself."
"Then it will not be a problem for you to stop even after you leave here." Splinter told him, a warning look crossing his face. Leo nodded solemnly and bowed. He then left after Splinter excused him.
Splinter stroked his long beard and raised an eyebrow in wonder as he watched Leo leave the dojo. Something about the young turtle worried Splinter, but he could not put his finger on it. At least not yet anyway. And the way Raphael looked at him worried him as well. He decided he would have to keep an eye on the young turtle as well as keep a watchful eye on his oldest son, at least til he could figure out what it was about the turtle that made him feel so nervous.
