LeoFan87: Don't cry. Things are looking up. :)

yukio87: Please don't hit Splinter. He's just really, extraordinarily worried. So is Don. So is everyone. Unfortunately, there is no cure for cortical blindness, but there are exercises that exist to help stimulate vision. We'll just have to wait and see.

Guest: I agree. Thank you. :)

prangersturtles: FEELS! FEELS EVERYWHERE! That's so kind of you to say. Thank you!

pownxmanonnie: This one is a lot slower in coming than previous projects but I'm holding fast to my update-every-Sunday rule. :)

tarin2014tfan: The tough hangs around for a bit more... Ehehehe!

TheMaskedTimelord: Mikey's really going to be Leo's foundation, especially in this chapter. He's got a lot to offer and his family's about to get a crash course. Thanks so much!

AlessandraDC: Mikey definitely is. :)

tmntlover2013: Your patience has been rewarded: here you are!

TheLadyofSouls: Welcome to "Flash"! Thank you so much!

gima2618: I'm glad you're loving it. :) The difference between Don's help and Mikey's help is that Donnie's looking at the problem from a medical standpoint, and while Mikey doesn't have that kind of know-how under his belt, he's all for tackling challenges head-on. He might not know what it's like to not see but his ability to problem-solve from a nurturer's standpoint is unrivalled and his family's about to understand just how unrivalled it is. :)

Natalie Ryan: I will never stop! I will bring the angst and tears and joys like goodies given out by Oprah! "You get feels! And you get feels! How about everyone gets feels?! Feels for everyone!" I hope your exams are going well (though they be nasty, little bugs!). While I would never accuse any of our beloved mutants of intentional cruelty, Mikey really came through for his eldest brother when he knew a threat had been presented. I honestly believe that had Mikey not done what he did (and will do), Leo would have sunk into a deep depression. I don't know much about it aside from TV and a random article here and there but it's nothing light to take. Let's just say the story would have been a lot shorter if Mikey hadn't spoken up.

icys: Leo's my favourite, too! Thank you!

MiniMcGiggles: And I'm the conductor! All aboard! That's so kind of you to say. Thank you and welcome. Also, if you like my style, you might try my project, "Brother Mine". It has all the feels anyone could ask for. :)

Author's Note: It's a little early but it's ready. Thank you all for your patience. :D

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 7

"Why are we here?" Leo asked.

They'd taken him to the dojo, of all places. Seriously? Why? He might not be helpless but he was useless, especially in here.

"Because I asked them to." He hadn't really expected an answer and so the sudden voice, though mild and calm, startled him.

Sensei was here.

Every muscle in his body stiffened even as he fought to relax, the most recent betrayal in the kitchen still raw and fresh in his mind, heart and soul.

"Leonardo, my son," Splinter said, his voice suddenly closer. He couldn't even hear his tread on the mats! "Michelangelo made a few, good points after you left. His main one, however, was that this is not new. This is merely an exercise."

Leo stared in Sensei's direction. An exercise? What? How?

He didn't hear him near but he felt the heat he exuded as he came within a foot of him. Warmth from the mutant mammal washed over him, automatically soothing his muscles and nerves.

Sensei explained, "You are simply caught up in a lengthy round of blindfolded combat."

Leo blinked once, twice, and then something touched his left arm. It was instinct to look down, though he still saw nothing, and his hands wrapped around… His head snapped up and he knew his face was full of everything he wanted to ask and say: Are you serious? Please don't let this be a joke. This can't be happening. Why are you letting this happen? I'm useless. I'm disabled. I'm a cripple…

Soft, furry hands covered his, holding his fingers in place around his beloved katana. "Leonardo, I am truly sorry for what I said earlier. I only want you to be safe but Michelangelo reminded me that you already are. You are careful and cautious, and that is why I am returning these swords to you. Forgive me, my son?"

Tears burned in his eyes and his throat constricted around his sobs. He had his soul back! Father had returned him his soul!

"Yes, Father," he managed to say, nodding wetly. "Of course."

Father squeezed his fingers for a second longer and then stepped back, clearing his throat. "Your training begins now, Leonardo. Michelangelo, the floor is yours."

Mikey was going to train him? Leo whipped his head around to where his baby brother stood and felt him near, taking his elbow. "Okay, Leo, this is going to be as straightforward as we can make it. Your muscle-memory of the lair is decent, at least so Raph says – ow!"

Leo hid his smile when Raph cuffed him upside the head.

"Anyway, um, well, we want you to memorize the lair completely. Inch by inch, room by room. We're gonna start here since you're most familiar with the dojo."

"The idea is that you'll create mental maps of everything," Don added.

"And you're taking the lead on this, Mike?" asked Leo.

"It was his idea," Raph supplied. Leo could hear his smile.

"You're gonna need your hands, though," Mikey said slowly. "You'll be touching everything in here so you'll know where it all is."

Right. Of course. His hands tightened a fraction around the prized swords before holding them out. He didn't know who took them until Raph said quietly, "I'll put 'em on yer bed, Fearless. Just don't stab yerself when ya go ta bed, eh?"

Leo wrinkled his beak in his brother's direction and was rewarded with a huffy laugh.

"All right, Leo." Strong yet gentle hands steered him to the doorway and positioned him to the right. "Where are you?"

"Doorway's on my left. Here's the frame." Leo reached out and nine inches away, his fingers met wood. It was rough in some places. He'd never noticed before.

"Good. Follow the wall. You're walking the perimeter first. Don't forget to take your time. We have all the time in the world to figure this out." Footsteps retreated only six yards away and Leo, heat in his face at displaying such weakness, let his fingertips trail along the wall as he walked forward. He knew the weapons racks were along the far, left wall so he needn't worry about them just yet. Instead, he focussed on the feelings beneath his sensitive skin: the cool stone and its intricate cracks and fissures, and the mats (soft against his injured foot) and their easy give.

He found the corner and stopped for a second, gauging distance – ten feet from the doorway to the corner. He continued on and he knew he was getting close to the first rack that held their old, wooden, practice weapons. Ah, here it was. As lightly as a butterfly over a flower's petals, he skimmed the weapons he and his brothers hadn't used in more than five years. There were the twin swords (a lot shorter than he remembered) and there were the bokken and hanbo. Next was the metal rack and he was more careful here, fingertips barely brushing against the sharp steel and iron of shuriken, kunai, tanto, tetsu-bishi, chigiriki and kama. He touched everything, doing his best to memorize every weapon's position on the rack and its position to being grabbed in an emergency. He'd have to come back again to double-check his constructing mental map of the arsenal but he could do that later; like Mikey said, he had all the time in the world. Just past the racks was the collage of mirrors for shadow-boxing. Knowing full-well that there were pieces missing from the scavenged glass, he skipped over it, and two feet after the mirrors ended, he found the second corner.

There was nothing on the wall opposite the doorway so he let his senses spin out into the room, still keeping a feel on the wall as he moved. Raph had returned, though he hadn't heard him enter; he could now hear his harder breathing beside Don's mute intensity, and his own muscles stiffened in instinctive response. Mikey was cool and calm, and that was both unsettling and comforting because his baby brother was never cool and calm but he needed him to be right now. Sensei was a solemn and quiet presence, per usual…

What was that noise? It sounded like a light and quick cadence of very tiny feet –

"No!" Mikey exclaimed just as Leo understood what was coming at him.

Klunk!

He didn't react in time when the cat wound around his ankles: he tripped over the little animal, his beak striking the wall, and landed on his shell, almost squashing Mikey's pet who just managed to dodge out of the way in time, screeching his indignity. Then, to add insult to injury, Klunk hissed at him and swatted at his face with unsheathed claws.

"Ow!" he spat, scrambling away from the cat as his family converged. His shoulder hit the wall and he gritted his teeth. At least it hadn't been his right shoulder because he wasn't sure how much more of a beating that side of his body could take.

Raph was laughing. "Hoo, hoo! Hee, hee! That was the most ungraceful thing I've ever seen! Ha, ha, Leo! I wish I had camera!"

"Bad Klunk!" Mikey chastised his cat. "No scratching! I thought we'd trained him out of it," he added more soberly.

"Shut it, Raph!" Don rebuked, though Leo knew that he, too, fought laughter. He helped steady him on the floor and turned his head to check the cuts along his right cheekbone. "They're not deep, just a bit of blood, but we should clean them anyway. How's the rest of your face?"

Raph snorted while Leo mumbled, "It's fine" and Don left to fetch his supplies. "Stop laughing at any time, Raphael."

"Sure thing, Fearless," he tittered.

Leo didn't have to stay still until Don returned with Band-Aids and iodine. With a rapid and skillful twist, the ninja leaped to his feet and tackled his younger brother.

"What? Ow! Leo, what the shell? Ow! No, stop that! Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

Leo pinned him on his stomach and trapped his right arm easily, pulling back gently. "Who's laughing now?" he chuckled.

"Okay, okay. I get it. Ya win!"

"Say it," Leo commanded.

"Yield! I yield! Now get offa me, ya fat reptile!"

Leo grinned, obeyed and grinned wider at Raph's muttered, "Freaky, blind ninja."

"See that you remember that," he said.

Mikey smothered his laugh with a cough and Leo could have sworn that even Splinter voiced a small chuckle.

"Do I want to know what I missed?" Don wondered idly, his step light but audible on the mat; Leo caught a whiff of the iodine.

"Nope!" Leo replied with a smirk and Mikey laughed louder.

"Ya think that's funny, Mike?" Raph griped; Leo heard him shift his weight and he gently but quickly pulled Donnie out of the way as the red-banded turtle launched himself at Mikey who squealed.

Klunk let out a shriek and ran out the door, and there was a thump as the two turtles collided with the mat.

Don grumbled something about primitivism and dabbed his cheek with iodine-soaked cotton. Leo couldn't hold back his snicker and murmured, "Mikey's winning."

"No, he's not," Don retorted. "Raph's sitting on him."

"Are you sure?" He knew the exact instant when Don's incredulous gaze landed on him and then turned on their tussling, younger brothers.

"Holy shell," he whispered.

"Ow! Mikey! Get off! Yield! For shell's sake, yield!"

"Well done, Michelangelo," Splinter commented smoothly. "Raphael, remind me for your morning training tomorrow to work on your ground work."

While the others chortled, Don looked back at Leo; he could feel the scrutiny. "How'd you do that?"

Leo just shrugged. "I don't know. I was just listening."

"Right." Don finished with his face and stepped back. "Do you want to continue?"

Leo tried to be nonchalant as he shrugged again. "I might as well, though you don't have to watch."

"One of us should stay…"

"I will, I will!" Mikey piped up. "After this, we're going to do the kitchen!"

"Just make sure Klunk stays out," said Leo as the rest of his family trouped out of the room. He distinctly caught Raph's masking cough but his younger brother didn't comment further so Leo let him leave with his dignity.

-:-:-:-

Anyone would have thought that Michelangelo would be bored watching his eldest brother meander systematically through the dojo but anyone would have been wrong. Instead, Mikey was fascinated. Maybe this was what Don felt like when he discovered something new or interesting or different or whatever and Mikey really wasn't all that sure anyway because on a good day he barely understood half of what his genius brother spouted. Now, though, his eyes followed Leo's every movement, every confident-turned-unsure step, every trail of his fingers, every muscle tick in his face and every emotion passing through his unfocussed eyes. Leo was the strangest sight because to all appearances, save the bandages and lack of swords, he still looked the same. He acted the same but he wasn't the same, and that was what fascinated Mikey. He was used to Leonardo being his fearless leader and he had never stopped to wonder what would happen if something like this happened (but that was mostly because he was an optimist and he never liked to imagine his big brothers injured in any way anyway). The skill was still there – he had been nothing short of amazed when Leo had tackled Raph – and so was the quiet strength and wisdom. He wondered what it was that made Leo so different now and it took him the entire rest of Leo mind-mapping the dojo to realize what it was: Leo was visibly listening. It was strange to word it like that but Mikey could tell that Leonardo was listening as hard as he could to everything and anything. It was the tilt and twitch of his head whenever a noise sounded through the air. It was the stiffness in his shoulders and neck as if he were preparing to engage in battle. It was the tiny, upward curl of the right corner of his mouth whenever Mikey shifted his weight because, clearly, he could hear the barely audible scuff of skin on the mat.

"All done," Leo announced, striding smoothly towards him and the doorway.

"You sure?" Mikey felt obligated to ask even though this was Leo.

A nod. "Pretty sure. I think I'll go over the weapons rack again one more time, though, but I can do that later. Right?"

It was a strange question because Mikey realized he was actually the teacher here. Mind-mapping the lair had been his idea, after all, and Sensei had designated the job to him. For the first time in his life, he was a sensei himself and that thought startled him because there was no way he was cut out for teaching, let alone teaching his eldest brother.

"Of course, young padawan," he chose to say loftily, hoping that the joke would ease his nerves somewhat.

Leo chuckled warmly and stepped to his side.

"Careful of the frame!" Mikey warned as they exited the dojo.

As quick as lightning, Leo grazed his left hand against the wood, saving himself a second bruise on his face. He smiled at him. "Thanks, Mike."

"Sure thing, bro. And now, on to the kitchen!"

"Are you sure you want me in there?" Was that nervousness in Leo's tone? "I mean…I blew up the toaster every other week and that was when I could see."

"Don't worry," Mikey assured him. "You're about to learn that I don't need to see in the kitchen either."

Leo stared at him, or rather, he stared at two inch to the right of his eyes. "Wait, what?"

"It's true. Hey, guys!" he called into the living room as they passed. "How does chicken pasta for dinner sound?"

"Sounds awesome, Mike!" Raph called back, engrossed in a rugby game.

"Keep the green onions to a minimum, please, Mikey," Don added, not even looking up from his book.

Mikey waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure. Come on, Leo. We're going to mind-map and cook at the same time."

Leonardo was such a skeptic sometimes: "You know that I can't boil an egg, right?"

"But you can boil water and that's what I want you to do. Okay, we're going to do this slowly and with all deliberation." His tone changed on the "all deliberation" to his best impression of Genius Donnie, and he was rewarded with another chuckle. "Okay, bro, where are you?"

"Half a metre into the kitchen," was Leo's prompt reply. "The counter's right…" He fumbled through the air for a second before his hand fell on the countertop. "Here."

"Good. Now, you've got cupboards above and below you. What's in 'em?"

"Uh, tupperware's on the bottom and…" He trailed off, blinking. "Dry foods are on top!"

"Awesome! Let's keep going. Next cupboard?"

Mikey made Leo work through the kitchen that way, naming cupboards' contents and where the microwave, fridge, stove and sink were. He let him sidle around the table and chairs, watching him push them in as far as they would go and then checking the allotted distance in the new space.

That's something we're going to have to remember, Mikey thought. We need to push our chairs in when we're done, otherwise we'll get another round of shattered plates and bleeding Leo. Looking at his bandaged brother and taking in his injuries, not the least of which was his freshly-wrapped left foot, he knew his big brother couldn't afford to bleed much more.

"Okay," Leo announced. "I think I did it."

Mikey grinned. "Great because now you're going to cook. We need the big silver pot and the bag of bow tie noodles."

He duly noted when a bit of the colour drained out of Leo's face. "Aw, come on, Leo. It's not so bad. I have a system! I always tell you not to mess with my system and this is exactly why. I actually don't need to look at what I'm doing about seventy percent of the time."

"But…things like spices and stuff – how do you know where they all are?"

"We'll get to that in a bit. Pot and noodles. Get to it."

Leo snapped him an ironic salute, "Yes, sir!" and got.

Their fearless leader had no problem locating the big pot in the cupboard beside the stove but took about five minutes to find the right noodle package. Leo stayed quiet the whole time, focussing on the mission at hand, and Mikey, slicing up raw chicken and throwing it into a pan, smiled at him as he figured out that he organized the pots by size and the noodles alphabetically.

"Don't put the noodles in until the water starts to boil," he said when his brother finally found the right noodles.

"How much water do you want?"

Mikey shrugged and then remember that Leo couldn't see it. "Not sure. Guess-timate it. How much do you think we'll eat?"

"Uh, maybe half of what's left of this bag?" He wrapped his fingers around the contents, showing him what he thought, and Mikey let his beaming smile show in his voice.

"Looks awesome! You need to be able to cover that amount of noodles with water."

A small smile suddenly curled Leo's mouth and he said, "I think I know exactly how to do that."

"Get to it, then!"

While Mikey sprinkled garlic and a favourite roasted-pepper spice over the sizzling chicken, he kept an eye on Leo at the sink who took a moment fingering the noodles in the bag before setting a finger into the pot and turning on the faucet. He watched, brow ridge lifting in interest, as Leo filled his pot with his finger marking how deep the water was. Carefully, lifting the pot out of the sink, Leo found the stove and set it on a burner.

"Dial goes to 'high'," Mikey supplied before he could even ask. "Feel for the little nob on the dial and the clicks the dial makes as you turn it. There are ten notches, with 'high' being the ninth and it's only one notch to the right."

"I got it." There was the barest hint of victory in his voice and it warmed Mikey's whole soul. "This much water should take about three minutes to boil, right?"

"More or less. In the meantime, you can check out the spice cupboard. I got the chicken and we'll start the sauce in a bit."

He watched Leo as he washed his hands rigorously. Stiff and unsure, Leo cautiously opened the cupboard door as if the contents would leap out and attack him. He gave him no advice, didn't say a thing, and Leo ran his fingers over the small containers, bottles and jars. Selecting one at random, he popped the lid and took a whiff, a tiny smile falling across his face. Mikey knew the reason behind the smile. Fate was kind to have guided Leo's hand first to the cinnamon: his favourite spice in cakes, muffins and hot chocolate. Or maybe he had already known where it was because of familiarity? Leo lovingly set the little jar back in its place and plucked its neighbour from the shelf.

A single smell and Mikey found blank eyes lifting in his direction. "They're alphabetical, too. This is cloves."

"Yep!" Mikey popped his lips on the 'p' and let the chicken spit in the frying pan for a moment to walk over to him. "April told me she likes to organize by different meat and baking and other stuff but this is easier for everyone. No muss, no fuss and it's easy enough to remember. The great thing with spices is that most of them are hard to tell what they are just by looking at them. Smell is your ally here and that's power to you."

Leo was silent for a long while, navy irises roving over what Mikey knew they couldn't see in his hand. His thumb rubbed over the paper taped to one side, cloves spelled out in Mikey's flowy penmanship. "You really think I can do this," he murmured. He didn't say it as a question.

"Sure I do," Mikey replied, calm and confident. "But you can't do it alone and you can't quit just because it gets hard."

"It's going to get harder than this?" he asked quietly.

Mikey swallowed, his heart picking up the pace against his ribs, but he said, "You bet it will. You're going to get frustrated and you'll lose confidence and you'll doubt, and that's okay because you're not perfect and we never expected you to be."

Leo stared at the cloves for a few more seconds before saying, "What do you expect from me, Mikey?"

He opened his mouth but nothing came out because he really didn't have an answer. There was no answer, not yet anyway, not for what Leo was asking in that particular context. However… Clapping his brother on the shoulder, he said with as much seriousness as he could muster, "I expect you to not overcook or undercook those noodles because Raph is worse than a kid when it comes to his food."

Leo was silent, taken by surprise, and then returned the cloves to its place on the shelf. Turning to Mikey, he said, "Let's get to it, then."

Mikey had to smile at the determination in his big brother's voice.

-:-

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