Alright. thank goodness that's over. I'm still not happy with this chapter, but I gave it a swing, so... Meh...

Sorry for the lack of update everyone.

Warning: Lots of Angst, Japanese words, and Turtle Tots.

Raph's mouth stretched open wide in a yawn as he emerged from his bedroom. He scratched lazily at his bare chest, lumbering over to the kitchen. Upon entering the room, the wonderful aroma of maple syrup and bacon met his nostrils, and happy humming reached his ears. One thing Raphael never could understand about his youngest brother was how happy he could be in the mornings.

"Mornin' Raph!" Mikey chimed, giving his older brother a wide smile. Raph mumbled his greetings and slumped into a chair around the dining table, "Woah dude, you're face seriously looks messed up!"

"Shuddup, punk." Raph growled as he rubbed his swollen cheek tenderly. He had gotten angry with Donnie the night before and decided not to listen to his advice on cooling his wound down. That was something he regretted deeply, and it made him even more snippy thinking about being in the wrong once again concerning his purple masked brother, "At least it still looks better than yours." Once again, Raph regretted his words as Mikey winced, frowning slightly as he took them in.

"Whatever..." The orange wearing turtle pouted, pulling the five plates they owned from their place in the cabinet. An uncomfortable quiet took place as dishes quietly clanked onto the table. Mikey sat the breakfast food in the middle of the wooden surface, which consisted of pancakes, bacon, and eggs.

"Why the feast?" Raph asked, trying to distract his brother. Mikey looked up at him with a twinkle in his eye.

"Practice got cancelled." Mike replied nonchalantly as he sat a carton of orange juice on the table. Raph sat up suddenly, his eyes widening to the size of saucers.

"What!?" he said in disbelief, "Splinter cancelled practice?" Mikey nodded, "What for?"

"I dunno." Mikey shrugged, "He sent Leo out with a long list for groceries early this morning, then called Donnie to his room about half an hour ago."

Raphael hummed thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes with suspicion. Something was up. Splinter never cancelled practice, rarely called Donnie into his room privately, and they weren't due to buy groceries for another week. Before he could even begin to piece together what might be going on, there was a call from the turnstiles.

"Oi! Anyon' 'anna 'end nee a han'?" Leo called out, sounding as if he had a mouth full of cotton. Mikey and Raph shared a single glance before both raising a fist into the air.

"Rock!"

"Paper."

"Sissors..."

"Shoot...! Damn it!"

"Sorry Raph!" Mikey snickered, waggling his open three-fingered hand in the air, "Paper covers rock. You're so predictable. Why do you always choose rock?"

"Shut up, shell-for-brains." Raph grunted as he pushed himself up to go to Leo's aid. Mikey just stuck his tongue out and kept working on setting the table. The brunette grumbled in irritation as he trudged out into the pit, looking up the steps to where his brother was. His eyes widened for the second time that morning at the sight of his overly burdened brother.

"What the shell, Leo?" Raph laughed loudly, studying the strange sight with amusement. The black-haired boy had both arms filled to the elbow with full plastic bags, and two were hanging from his mouth as the boy clamped down on the white handles. Leo rolled his eyes as he handed some of the bags from his arms to his younger brother. Once he had a free hand, he removed the bags from his mouth and stretched his jaw as if in pain.

"Father had me stock up on everything." Leo explained to the still chuckling Raphael, "He said since I was the first one up, that I could go and get it done right away."

"Ha! Serves you right for wakin' up so damn early every day!" Raph laughed, "Maybe that'll teach you not to leave your lips on Splinter's ass for to long."

"Watch it, Raph." Leo warned as he started making his way to the kitchen, "If Splinter catches you talking like that, he'll double your kata for the day."

"Didn't you hear, Leo?" Raph said in a mocking tone, "Splinter cancelled training and all that today!" The younger boy watched with great amusement as Leo practically toppled over at this statement.

"What? Why!?" Leo asked in disbelief that paralleled Raph's earlier. When Raph only shrugged, the older boy knitted his brows tightly in concern. Mikey greeted them both when they came into the kitchen, laughing at all the groceries they were carrying and lending a kind hand to put them away.

"Come on, guys." Mikey urged, "Eat up! The eggs are getting cold fast!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Raph waved off his little brother as he sat down and scooped some of the scrambled yellow food from the large bowl onto the waiting platform of his plate.

"What about Sensei and Donnie?" Leo asked, taking a seat despite himself.

"They've been in Splinter's room forever." Mikey said as he joined them, "I wouldn't worry about them, they'll be out when they're hungry!"

"Alright then..." Leo said as he brought a pancake over to his plate and began the task of slicing it into twelve perfectly sectioned triangles. Mikey started carefully eating his food, yelling at Raph for not appreciating his work and just scarfing it down like any other fast food, and making fun of Leo for his obsessive compulsion over his food.

It was not until their mouths were full of food and everything seemed peaceful that Donnie materialized at the kitchen's doorway, looking as if the shadow of death were hanging over him. Don's mask was hanging loosely around his neck as he attempted to rub the dark circles under his eyes away. His eyes seemed hollow and sunken in with the surrounding darkened skin, and he was slumped forwards slightly with a tired expression taking over his features.

"Woah. And I thought Raph looked bad!" Mikey stated in an amused tone. This earned Mikey a punch in the arm from Raph, and a venemous glare from Donnie, he latter of which sobering him up more so than the former on account of the darker tones on his face making the red in his eyes stand out like a possessed doll's eyes would glow.

"Splinter wants to talk with everyone when you're all done eating." The tall turtle said uneventfully, turning slightly as if to leave.

"Wait, aren't you going to eat? Mikey made a good meal for once." Leo asked, obviously concerned by his brother's lack of vitality. Mikey gave his older brother a scornful look at his unintentionally rude comment, but it went unnoticed largely.

"I'm good." Donnie replied, moving once again to leave.

"Come on, Donnie!" Mikey whined, "It'll cheer you up! I know we all had a rough night, and-"

"I said. I'm. Fine. Mikey." Donnie interrupted in an icy tone, turning on his heel to step inside the room warningly. Firey eyes glared at the orange wearing turtle once more. Raph glared back in place of Mikey, who ducked his head submissively.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Raph asked angrily. He stuck his bottom lip out in mock sympathy and continued on, "Did Splinter yell at you for being so melodramatic lately?"

Raph never meant to make Donnie angry. Well, maybe peeve him off a little, just to get him off Mikey's case. He never expected to hit the nail on the head.

Donnie visibly bristled at his older brother's remark, his jaw and fists clenching tightly. The purple masked turtle took in a deep, loud breath through his nostrils before sharply turning around to face the doorway. Expecting him to simply walk out, all three of the brothers jumped in surprise when Donatello let out an angry grunt and punched the wall surrounding the door, leaving a deep imprint of his fist in the drywall.

"Aete suru anata wa shinai!" The angered teen yelled out as he whipped back around, pointing a finger at Raphael, who just stared in stunned confusion. Mikey's mouth fell open and Leo tensed up immediately.

"Hey! Donnie, calm down!" Leo reasoned calmly, standing from his seat and putting himself between Donnie and Raph before the hot head could regain himself, "You're just worked up. Raph shouldn't have said what he did, but neither you or him are in any condition to fight." Leo looked into his brother's burning mahogany eyes gently, "It's not like you to act rashly, think about this a little."

Again, it was as if Donatello was pinned, deflating the moment Leo spoke his last sentence. While Donnie wilted in the moment, Raph violently surged into life.

"No, no, Leo!" The second eldest spat out, obviously fuming at the audacity his little brother had shown, "If Donnie thinks he can take me on, then I say we go ahead and see where this leads!" Donatello looked at the ground as if ashamed, shaking his head and attempting to walk away.

"Gomen, ani." the taller turtle said forlornly as he head out, which did nothing to quell Raph's anger.

"Yawamushi!" Raph bellowed furiously, freezing Donatello in his tracks. Raphael stood up without any elegance, causing his chair to topple backwards and clatter against the ground, "If you say something like that, you better damn well mean it! Give me any of this half-assed crap again and it won't end well for you."

Without looking back, responding, or even letting Raphael know he heard him, Donatello walked off towards Splinter's room. As soon as he was gone, Leo snapped around to face his younger brothers, his expression shocked and his eyes gleaming intensely.

"Raphael...!" Leo started with his teeth clenched, obviously at a loss for words. Raph huffed and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Shut up, Leo. I really don't wanna hear one of your lectures right now," He said with a surprisingly resigned tone, "Master Splinter is probably gonna do that for us all in a minute."

With that, Leo reluctantly backed off. The three boys began cleaning up their breakfast, putting the leftovers away and shoving the dishes into the sink. After Mikey picked up Raph's chair and wiped down the table, they made their way as a group to their father's room, Leo leading the way and knocking on the wooden frame of the rice paper door gently.

"Hairu." came from the other side. Leo opened the door and went over to kneel beside Donatello, who was sitting lotus style directly in front of the rat. Splinter's ears twitched, a tick that always showed itself when the rat was either irritated or concerned. As Mikey sat at Don's other side, and Raph sat beside Mikey, Splinter took in a deep breath, "I have some very disconcerting news regarding the cloth that Leonardo gave to me last night."

"The symbol on the headband does indeed represent another clan of ninja. I am afraid that this clan is not our ally, either. They are the clan of the Foot." Splinter explained gravely. He placed a paw up to stop Mikey from commenting on the name of the group and continued on, "This clan is one that I do not wish our family to cross paths with again..."Splinter trailed off, leaving his sons anxious and confused. They had never before seen so much worry and concern in their father's demeanor.

"Leonardo." the rat picked up quickly, "Were you able to retrieve the items I sent you out for?"

"Hai, Sensei." Leo replied, "I also delivered that letter to Murakami-san."

"Good. Now that we have the necessary supplies," Splinter began slowly, "All travel to the surface will be suspended indefinitely. I sent the letter in regards to the leave of absence you two will be taking from the dojo."

"WHAT!?" Raph yelled out in disbelief, "You can't do that, Sensei!"

"Hamato Raphael! I can and I have!" Splinter sternly spoke a little lower than a shout, narrowing his eyes towards his son, "This is something that is out of our hands, something bigger than you can imagine."

"Oh, come on Sensei!" Raph groaned, "Me an' Leo have been dealing with crooks and bad guys like- forever! We took down those Foot guys and we didn't even-"

"Urusai." Splinter grumbled warningly, his words sounding more like a deep growl. This shocked Raphael into silence more so than his earlier reprimand. The rat took a deep breath inwards as if to calm himself before continuing, "What you are in the midst of is a war, my sons. A war that I am afraid I have dragged you all into." Leo shifted uncomfortably in his position.

"What do you mean sensei?" The black-haired boy asked, his deep blue eyes concerned and curious.

"The kaichou of this clan is an... acquaintance of mine from my youth. We could once be considered brothers, but now he wishes nothing short of the elimination of the Hamato clan, and to watch me suffer personally." Splinter explained, "He is cunning, insidious, and merciless. He will not hesitate to kill you. Have you ever wondered why I do not speak of our relatives?" The rat asked dryly.

All four boys shook their heads, "It is because there are none left. The Foot have erased the entirety of Hamatos from this plane of existence. There were no exceptions. Men, women, children, and all those associated with our clan have been slaughtered by this man's hand. We five are all that remains." As he went on, Splinter's voice became rough with emotion, and his body began to shake slightly. The bothers were silent like the dead, never having seen their father in this state before, "I suppose you two do not remember much about your mother." Splinter addressed his oldest sons, "This man had a hand in her death."

The atmosphere tensed immediately, both Raphael and Leonardo suddenly shocked to the core. Leo's jaw clenched tightly and his eyes narrowed.

"Who is this man?" the eldest boy questioned in a demanding tone, forgetting momentarily who he was speaking to. Splinter paid no mind, however, and willingly obliged his son.

"Oroku Saki." Splinter answered gravely, "In Japan they called him Setsudan-ki. He has gained a similar name among the english speaking clans, Shredder."

A few hours later...

Leo sliced at an invisible enemy with his katana, brining the blade downwards expertly and moving his other sword to block a non-existent blow to his left side. Beads of moisture formed on his brow as he went through the familiar katas, letting his mind wander while his body remained focused. He was not sure what to make of the newest bit of information he received. His father's sworn enemy from Japan had travelled all the way to New York, just so that he could kill off a few kids and an old man? Why did he have to kill his mother?

It did not sit right with Leo not to know al of the details, but he did not dare to try to procure more insight from his already worked up sensei. But there were so many things he wanted to know. Like; Why did the Shredder hate the Hamatos so much? Why did he have a personal vendetta against Splinter? Did they move to New York specifically to hide from this man?

Although these questions itched at the back of his mind (or OCD as his brothers would say), thoughts of his mother, Teng Shen, was at the forefront. It bothered him to no end, knowing that the man who killed his mother was now trying to kill he and his brothers, causing more pain and misery for his father.

Grunting with frustration, Leo poured himself into the movements of his kata, trying to zone out on the workout when he realized having such thoughts did nothing for his spirit, or his mood. Still, the unanswered questions buzzed around in his head, threatening to distract him and make him miss his marks. He powered through the motions, putting more and more into them as he pushed his thoughts away.

Leo only realized he was not alone in the dojo when the sound of metal against metal rand in his ears. Raph stood before him, brows furrowed and sais drawn, pushing his weapon against the katana that would have torn right through his chest if it had not been blocked.

"Cheezit, Leo." Raph grumbled, withdrawing his weapon sharply as his older brother stood up straight, "Didn't you hear me say your name like five times?"

"No. Sorry." Leo panted, sheathing one of his swords and wiping sweat off of his forehead with the back of his hand before giving Raph an amused look, "Cheezit?"

"Yeah, cheezit." Raph sighed, rolling his eyes in annoyance, "Splinter got on my case about cursing after you three were let out. Apparently rice paper isn't completely sound proof after all."

"Go figure." Leo gave a small smile along with an 'I-told-you-so' look. Raph huffed and shrugged nonchalantly.

"So, what's wrong with you now, Fearless?" the brunette questioned tiredly, pointing his sai at Leo's katana.

"Wh-what is that supposed to mean?" Leo covered quickly, stumbling over his words, "Nothing's wrong Raph. I'm fine."

"I wasn't askin' how you're doing, doofus." Raph quickly retorted, "Y'always push yourself when something's bothering you."

"Well, I mean, of course something is bothering me! I just found out an evil ninja overlord is trying to kill my family!" Leo scoffed, looking away quickly from his brother.

"Bull sh- Chips." Raph growled, correcting himself before he could slip up, "That ain't what's got you in here doing fifty reps of the same kata, Leo. You and I both know that." Leo stood still for a moment, letting Raph's words hit his turned back and remaining silent. He would have come back with some snappy comment if it were not for his younger brother's next, softly spoken words, "It's about Mom, isn't it?"

Leo gulped subconsciously as he turned to look at Raph, whose eyes were cast downwards and filled with confusion and anger. The older boy let his shoulders sag and let out heavy breath after a few moments.

"I guess..." Leo confessed, watching his brother nod as if he understood, "Do you remember anything about her?"

"What?" Raph asked, looking up at the sudden question. Seeing the serious expression on Leo's face, Raph decided not to try to hide things, "Uh... I guess. Not much though. Can't remember her face or nothing."

"Splinter says you look a lot like her." Leo stated, looking up at the ceiling just so he would not have to make eye contact with Raph, "I can't remember her face, either. I don't remember a lot, just small things. Like her opening the fridge for me, or sitting on her lap when she was pregnant with you."

"Didn't she sing, too?" Raph asked quickly, obviously choosing to ignore the last comment. Leo perked up and hummed thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I do!" he said as if he just had an epiphany, "Before we'd go to bed, right? A japanese lullaby. Do you remember the words?" Raph shook his head and shrugged, "Me either."

"Alright, Leo! What's the point of this again?" Raph asked, becoming rather antsy with the glum mood setting in. Leo looked at him with disquiet in his eyes.

"We don't know much about our Mother, and it isn't like Sensei to just tell us about her. I'm just worried about how that affects Mikey and Don." Leo explained. Raph stood still, looking sigtly bewildered as he made a disgusted face.

"Seriously, you worry about everything Leo." Raph exasperated, "You're worried about those two not having a mom?"

"No, Raph. That's not what I'm getting at." Leo sighed tiredly, "Besides, if we were talking moms, you've got Donnie covered, and I've got Mikey."

"Leo. You sure you don't need your head checked?" Raph asked with mock concern. Leo clenched his jaw in irritation and held in a groan. Raph chuckled and ran his fingers through his hair, "Sorry, bro. I seriously just don't get what you're getting at."

"Nevermind then!" Leo threw his hands into the air, "You've stopped me from practicing and cheered me up a bit, I think you're done here."

"Yeah, yeah." Raph grumbled good-naturedly as he turned to leave, "I'm gonna go yell at brainiac to get his ass, oop, I mean can, ugh I hate this already. I'm getting Donnie, so hurry up and come get dinner."

"I will, Raph. And don't bug Donnie, he's probably still mad at you!" Leo called out as Raph exited the room, receiving a half-hearted wave that promised nothing in response. Leo sighed and took his swords to the weapon's rack, his mind wandering back to Teng Shen's weapon of choice, the tessen, and her personal one hanging all by its lonesome in Splinter's quarters. He paused for a moment, wondering if Raph's mention of the turtle's having a mother was actually something to be concerned over.

Chuckling, he recalled his previous answer and the reason behind it;

"I think you're chokin' 'im, Raph..." Leo told his brother, who was currently holding Donatello with his arms wrapped around the mutant's head, his stubby green toes dangling mere centimeters from the ground.

"Nuh-uh, Leo!" Raph retorted, tightening his grip on the helpless turtle, "He's fine, 'sides, he runs away from me if I let 'im go!" As if to prove his point, Donnie struggled against his captor weakly, trying to push off the strong tiny hand encircling his face.

"Shh!" Leo hushed his loud brother, "Sensei is tryin' ta get Mikey ta sleep."

"Pshh, whatevar." Raph grumbled as he drug his captive over to the couch their father had recently put into the pit of their underground home. Leo followed, concerned about the lack of movement on Donnie's part.

Raph struggled to get up on the couch while keeping ahold of Don. Eventually he gave up on it and released Donnie's head, only to turn the turtle around to grab him by the arms. Raph looked into the mahogany colored eyes with his bright green ones sternly, gaining a whimper from the turtle. With a triumphant nod, Raph expertly showed off his developing strength by hauling the skinny turtle over his shoulder and using one arm to pull himself up onto the couch. After they had made it safely to their destination, Raph allowed Donnie freedom from his grasp, as long as he sat as close as possible to him.

"I could'a helped you, y'know..." Leo stated simply as he sat on the couch easily. Raph shot him a glare and harumphed, crossing his arms indignantly.

"Now, Don." Raph began, ignoring Leo, "You aren't supposed ta kill the toaster, you know that, right?"

Leo blinked in surprise. He knew that 'killing the toaster' meant that Donnie must have taken the poor kitchen appliance apart again, but he had never thought that Raph would be the one to scold him for it. The older boy watched as the turtle nodded his head sadly.

"How d'ya think the toaster feels?" Raph asked, giving a try at a lecture. Don just looked at his immediate older brother condescendingly. For about a year now, it had been quite obvious that Donatello could understand every word spoken to him, but he rarely ever spoke himself. The irritated look made it quite clear to Raph that the four-year-old turtle was to old for such baby games, "Fine, then. How do you think Splinter feels every time he has ta go an' find a new toaster, only for you to break em' again?"

This made Don look away guiltily, knotting his fingers together as he contemplated an answer, "Bad." he finally let out in a small voice.

"Right. You wanna make Sensei feel bad?" Don shook his head vigorously in reply, "Thought not. So I guess you get it then; Donnie, don't break things ya can't fix." Raph waggled a finger in his younger brother's face as he finished his 'lecture'. Don's eyes seemed to light up with understanding as the little head bobbed up and down. Leo laughed to himself and was about to comment on how Raph sounded like Splinter, when a loud crying caught all three's attention.

"Leonardo." Splinter said calmly as he walked into the living area, cradling a tiny green form in his bosom, "I think someone misses you."

"LEEEEOOOO!" Mikey cried out at the sight of the eldest boy, his arms sprawled out before him towards the eight-year-old. Leo chuckled and climbed off the couch as Splinter set the toddler down. As soon as his little feet hit the floor, Mikey was dashing to meet his brother's waiting arms, where Leo scooped up the terrapin and jumped back into the cushions. This caused the turtle to squeal in delight, thinking he was about to get to play.

"Nap-time, Mikey." Leo scolded as he furrowed his brows at the child.

"No!" Mikey immediately replied, looking away. Leo grunted in irritation and squeezed the child close to him, forcing the little green head against his chest, "No, no, no!"

"What color is inside your eyes?" Leo asked slyly, looking down at the upturned face and shutting his eyes tight to show the turtle what he meant. Forgetting his current position, Mikey screwed his eyes shut. Leo smirked, "What color?"

"Coror?"

"Yes, color. Do you see yellow?"

"No."

"Pink?"

"No."

"Blue?"

"...No..."

"Red?"

"N...o..."

"Black?"

"...y...e..." And just like that, the turtle was out cold, his body slumping against Leo's as he fell into unconsciousness. Not even a full minute had passed by since they started their little game before Mikey fell asleep, it was something Leo took pride in. He smiled as Splinter chuckled lightly. Looking over, Leo could see the other small turtle was nodding off while leaning on Raph, who looked quite groggy himself. Leo let out a long yawn before resting his chin on Mikey's smooth dome.

Leo smiled as he remember the event, recalling how the very next day, Don had taken apart another toaster. The only difference was that the little genius had actually managed to put it back together. Raph's mothering worked like a charm alright. Apparently, Leo was the only one who could get Mikey to take a midday nap, and even now he could get Mikey to fall asleep within sixty seconds if he tried.

Shaking his head of the reminiscence he was now heavily feeling, Leo began making his way out of the dojo, trying to remind himself that his little brothers were not that little anymore.

Okay, bad ending. I had nothing else up my sleeve. This chapter was brain junk. Stuff that had to be put in with no way of knowing how I was gonna do it. Hey, at least Raph was walking around shirtless the whole time. ;) Did'ya catch that? Hehe.

Translations:

Aete suru anata wa shinai: I challenge you to a fight.

Gomen, ani: Sorry, brother. (Ani is short for Aniki, a respectful way to address an older brother.)

Yawamushi: Coward

Hairu: Enter

Kaichou: Chariman/boss

Urusai: Noisy (a way to tell people they're being loud; Shut up.)

Setsudan-ki: Cutter (like a cutting machine... It was the closest thing I could find to Shredder in Japanese...)