a/n: you guys are going to hate me for this.

two

He sat there until his body was numb from the cold and weak rays of sunlight began to touch the horizon. Every breath hurt. Every beat of his heart was agony.

I just want it to be over.

His cobalt eyes were bloodshot and long-since empty of tears. His cheeks and beak were red and raw from the freezing wind, but it didn't matter anymore. Nothing did.


THIRTEEN HOURS PRIOR...

"Get out! Get the hell out!"

"I'm just trying to help-"

"Help? Oh, you mean like you 'helped' Dad?"

The whole world froze for a moment. Leo felt as if the ground dropped out from under his feet. Raph glared at him, plastron heaving, teeth bared in defiant rage. Inside the lab, Donnie and Mikey were stock-still as they watched the explosive argument play out.

The leader's hands shook and his throat tightened. "I'm sorry-" he tried to say, but his hotheaded sibling was too far gone.

"Sorry doesn't bring him back!" Raphael roared, slamming his hands into Leo's chest and shoving him back a good three feet. "Sorry doesn't fix the hell of a life you put us in! None of this would've happened if you didn't exist in the first place! You ruined everything, don't you understand?! He's gone, and he ain't coming back!"

From behind the irate turtle came a sob; Leo didn't have to look to know that it was Mikey. "Mike, I-"

"You don't get to talk to him," the brawler snapped, advancing on his older brother. "You don't get to talk to either of them ever again."

"They're my brothers!"

In an instant, a harsh, cold mask slammed down over Raph's face. "They're no brothers of yours," he said, in a voice so chilling it stole what little resolve Leo had left. "And you're no brother of mine." He took a breath and crossed his arms. "You have twenty-four hours to pack your shit and leave."

The katana-wielding turtle swallowed and nodded, taking a step backwards. "Okay," he whispered.

He spent the rest of the night in his bedroom, trying to come to grips with the situation. But after Raphael came to tell him about dinner - for whatever reason - he knew it was time to go. He also knew without a single, solitary doubt that nobody would miss him.


"You're a long way from home."

The honey-glazed voice should've sent adrenaline rushing through his veins, but Leo felt nothing. Instead, he just sighed and let his head drop lower.

Karai frowned, walking forward a few steps to crouch beside the former leader. "What's going on, Leo?"

"Doesn't matter," he said lifelessly, fluttering a hand to emphasize his point.

Okay, something was definitely wrong, the kunoichi decided. "Like hell it doesn't. Tell me what happened."

"Nothing to tell."

Her eye twitched. She was losing patience, and it was freezing, and she'd like nothing more than to be at her apartment with a nice warm cup of oolong tea. But April O'Neil had sent her a text saying that she felt something wrong, and it hadn't taken Karai very long to pinpoint the mutant's position - after all, a bright green shape on top of the Manhattan Bridge wasn't hard to miss.

"Leonardo..."

The turtle looked up, then, and Karai's heart broke at the sight of his face. He looked...shattered. "Raph kicked me out," he whispered, and tears gathered in the corners of his eyes. "He kicked me out, and he hates me. They all do."

"What?" She blinked, completely speechless for once in her life. "Why?"

"They blame me for Splinter's death."

A wave of anger flooded Karai's veins and she hissed, making Leo flinch backwards. "That is such a load of crap! Dad's death wasn't your fault!"

"You sure? I was right there, and I couldn't stop it."

"So was everyone else! Raph was closer than you were, so where the hell does he get off blaming you?" She was angry. She was angrier than she'd ever been in her life - and the moment she knew that Leonardo was okay, she was going to rip Raphael apart.

"How long has it been since you slept?" she asked quietly. Leo shrugged and looked back at the water far below them. She touched his shoulder to try and get his attention again, only to discover that his skin was absolutely ice-cold. "Alright, that's it. You're coming home with me."

"Why? I'm...I'm broken, Karai. I'll ruin your life just like I ruined theirs."

How long has he been hearing this crap? "You are not broken, and you won't ruin my life." The words came out firm and crisp - there was no way she was leaving this bridge alone. "Now get your ass up off the ground and come on. I've got some tea waiting for us."

As Karai coaxed him down off the bridge and they made their way back into the city, she had to wonder exactly how badly hurt the turtle really was - there wasn't a scratch on him, true, but his wounds obviously went far deeper than his skin.

The only question was, how deep did they really go?

a/n: told you you'd hate me for that one. on the upside, though, that's two updates within a pretty small amount of time - being sick has benefits, I guess, though that's the only one I can see right now.

anyway...leave a review? please?