I have to say that I'm pretty proud with how this chapter turned out. I hope you all like it too and don't forget to leave any reviews or fav, follow if you like that story. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: TMNT belongs to its respective owners.

As all the high-schoolers gratefully walked outside of their school, Leonardo scanned the large crowd, looking for a familiar blonde. The smaller bouncing boy quickly appeared in the raven-haired boy's vision. Leonardo swiftly made his way over to the other teen, glancing around to make sure that Mikey's brothers weren't anywhere near.

Pleased to see that they weren't, Leonardo strode over to Mikey and tapped him on the shoulder. Mikey yelped in surprise and turned as fast as a cheetah. His familiar smile reappeared on his face as he noticed who had startled him. "Hey Leo!" He chirped. "What's up?"

Raising his eyebrows, the black-haired boy shrugged. "I was just wondering if you wanted to meet up sometime out of school."

Mikey's light blue eyes shone brighter. "You mean hang out?" He asked excitedly.

"Uh, yeah." Leonardo nodded hesitantly. I hope I don't sound too desperate or friendly.

Mikey threw himself around Leonardo, who froze in the blonde's grip. "Cool! I knew my bros were wrong when they thought you were a stick in the mud!"

Leonardo suppressed growling at the comment. Sure he never really had all that much fun, and wouldn't be known for it, but it hurt knowing how different he was from other people his age. They didn't have to worry about exhausting training every night that left bruises and scratches, battering the body. Their father wasn't some power-obsessed, evil, millionaire and horrible excuse of someone every boy should look up to.

He was startled out of bitter thoughts by Mikey as the exuberant teen asked. "So when do you want to go and where do you want to go? Oh! I don't think you'll even know where to go! After all, you've only been in New York for what? Two, three days?" The blonde scratched his head. "Well whatever. Name a place and I'll tell you if we can go there!"

Leonardo racked through his brain to find a reasonable response. He wasn't sure where exactly he wanted to go. It hadn't crossed his mind where they should go. Teens enjoyed going to malls right? That was a start.

"Uh…" He started, mentally face-palming himself for the lacking response. Mikey however, continued waiting patiently with his blue eyes shining with excitement.

"The mall?" Leonardo managed to get out, if he had said it somewhat squeakily.

"Sure!" Mikey chirped. "There's this huge on! It's got like, um, 50 stores or something. Including the food court. We should get pizza! You like pizza right?"

Sweat formed on the back of Leonardo's neck. "Uh yeah. Couldn't live without it."

Mikey squealed and wrapped his arms around Leonardo. "I know! I knew we were going to be best friends Leo!"

Leonardo quickly pulled out of the embrace, despite Mikey's hurt look.

"Err, yeah." Leonardo said uncertainly. "I've got to go and uh, get some homework done. You know. For our um, trip to the mall on Saturday around one o'clock."

And with that, the raven-haired teen swiftly turned and walked speedily towards his waiting ride.

Mikey heaved a small sigh before once again smiling, feeling a small sense of accomplishment at successfully gaining a little trust of Leonardo.

His happiness was soon replaced by a small burst of pain as Raph suddenly came over to his unsuspecting brother and hit him over the head. "Owie Raphie!" Mikey whined. "Why'd you have to do that?"

Raph sneered at him. "Hello! Me and Donnie have been waiting for you to get your sorry butt on the road so we can get home already! You've been standing over here talking to Mr. stormy mood for who knows how long!"

"It was only like two minutes." Mikey pouted, sticking his bottom lip out. Raph just sighed and grabbed his brother's collar, much to the blonde's dismay and complaining, and towed him over to where their taller brother was waiting.

"Took you guys long enough!" Don said. "I've got a science project I need to start working on."

Raph scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah whatever Donnie boy. You probably just want an excuse to get home and out of this hellhole."

"Well yeah." Don agreed. "I do prefer learning on my own."

"Yeah!" Raph smacked him playfully. "It's the weekend! Let's get out of here already!"

As the two began walking towards their destination, Mikey turned back to where he had seen Leonardo go. He opened his mouth to tell his brothers about his plans for the next day, but stopped himself. They had been warning him not to get too involved with the new teen, and Mikey decided that it wouldn't hurt them if they didn't know.

Turning back to his brothers, Mikey tried to hide his grin as he followed the two in front of him.

Leonardo flipped back onto his feet, barely dodging the kick aimed at his head. A grunt forced its way out of his throat as he received a sudden blow to his back. Not waiting to be pounded any further, Leonardo swiftly turned and delivered three quick blows to his opponent before flipping backwards to dodge any retaliation.

God I hate training with Bradford. He grumbled to himself.

Bradford rushed back to the teen in rage and aimed a kick at Leonardo's legs to unbalance him again. The teen however, jumped to avoid the attack and gave his own powerful kick at his older opponent's vulnerable chest. Bradford managed to step backwards in time to avoid the blow that would have either broken or bruised a few ribs. However the dodge cost him as he lost his balance.

As Bradford stumbled backwards, Leonardo rushed forward and jabbed his index and middle finger into his adversary's neck to hit a pressure point. The older man quickly froze at the motion and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Are we done yet Bradford?" Leonardo grumbled at the fallen man, not bothering to try and help him up.

Bradford flashed him a glare full of hatred. "Yes. Now get out of here." He snarled, trying to get up and ignoring the pain flashing through his neck.

Without another word, Leonardo stalked out of the dojo in his father's new mansion and headed upstairs to his room. He made sure to slam the door.

With a sigh, the teen flopped onto his bed. If training with his father was bad enough, he had to deal with Bradford too. The bulky brown-haired man was arrogant, but most people saw him as one of the greatest martial arts trainer. Bradford was not one people should admire.

"Coward." Leonardo mumbled to himself as he laid an arm over his eyes to try and calm himself. He had always liked the dark. Whether it had anything to do with training to be a ninja, or if it was just natural to him, Leonardo didn't know. But he felt more powerful in the ominous black, and he liked the feeling.

Rustling sounded through the alleys from rats and other night time creatures as they rummaged for scraps. A soft whimpering came from by one of the many dumpsters as nine-year-old Leonardo held his knees to his chest, rocking himself to try and calm himself. Los Angeles was not turning out to be a great city. Not only was Saki hardly there, but the city had been crawling with people bent on bringing everyone down.

Tears pooled in Leonardo's dark blue eyes as he remembered the words his father spat at him. Useless! Weakling! Disgrace! Dishonorable!

A sob escaped the child's lips as he buried his face into his hands, trying to find comfort. A loud screech brought Leonardo out of his misery as he jumped up in fright. Wildly, he looked around to figure out what had made the sound when he spotted a group of people running from something on the ground, but Leonardo couldn't make out what it was.

He waited until the three women and two men, most likely leaving a party, disappeared around a corner before he cautiously approached the unmoving object. Leonardo squinted his eyes and used the faint moonlight to see what it was. It was long and slim, and it took the boy a moment to figure out that it was a snake.

Carefully, Leonardo prodded the still snake with the tip of his foot. The creature didn't move. He bent down to get a closer look.

"It's dead." A voice came out of the shadows, spooking Leonardo. The boy whirled towards where he had heard the voice, getting back on his feet.

"Who's there?" He asked, his voice threatening despite the fear he felt.

A chuckle came from the shadows. "That's a good question. But I'm afraid I can't answer that."

Leonardo tried to figure out what to do; he could run away but that would mean seeing his father again. Or he could leave whoever was hiding in the shadows. All he knew was the person was a man.

"I mean you no harm." The voice said gently.

Leonardo remained tense. "Show yourself." He growled.

"As you wish." Suddenly, a tall, elderly man appeared from the shadows. He had squinted eyes, most likely Japanese, and had a white beard that had been braided. His long white hair rested on his back. The man wore a black kimono which seemed familiar and calming to Leonardo.

The boy's muscled relaxed, not sensing any threat in the elderly man. The man noticed Leonardo's calmed nerves and he smiled.

"Greetings young one." He said in a warm voice. "What are you doing out so late on your own?"

Leonardo looked at the ground. Sure he had been told numerous times not to talk to strangers, but this man didn't seem like he would try to harm Leonardo.

"I ran away from home." Leonardo admitted. "My father and I weren't getting along."

The elderly man's forehead crinkled in concern. "What troubles you so?" He asked gently.

Leonardo sniffed. "We got in a fight. He said some things that hurt."

The aged man approached Leonardo and laid a gentle hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'm sure everything will turn out alright." He encouraged.

The raven-haired boy met the man's eyes. "But he's Oroku Saki. Nothing ever turns alright."

The elderly man gave him a warm smile. "It will. You just have to believe it will. It's like being a ninja. By believing in the shadows to hide and protect you, they will. Will you believe in yourself to see that you and your father can make up?"

Leonardo gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "I could try I guess."

The aged man patted the boy's head. "I have no doubt you will make the right choice in the end."

Leonardo blinked up at the man in confusion. "But what do you mean?" He asked.

"You will find out Leonardo. Until then, I wish you the best of luck." And with that, the elderly man stepped into the shadows and disappeared.

Leonardo's eyes widened at where the man had disappeared. The boy shook his head and turned around. His eyes spotted the dead snake again and the words of the old man rung through his head. Slowly, Leonardo began to trudge back home, determined to try what he had been told to make up with his father.

As the young boy was making his way home, a sudden fearful thought struck him. How did he know my name?

A small smile covered Leonardo's face as he remembered how calm and comforted he had felt by being near the elderly man. Though he was still unnerved by how the stranger had somehow known his name, the man had seemed sincere. Not many people were like that, especially if they had any relations to Orokus.

Mikey was like the elderly man in a way. He too seemed sincere and wanted to help people, despite knowing who his father may be. It comforted Leonardo to know that there were some people in the world he could trust.

As Leonardo closed his eyes, still thinking about the elderly man, Mikey, and comfort in the dark, he sighed in content as his world faded into the world of shadows.

Be prepared. The next chapter has plenty of Mikey.