Ch 10 Getting to know each other

Usagi looked at the young ninja and placed a soothing paw on his shoulder to calm him. "You have nothing to worry about." He assured the young turtle. "Your brothers are fine and are no longer in danger."

"How do you know this?" Leo demanded. He had calmed down slightly and started walking along side Usagi once again at a slower pace.

"There is much about my world you do not understand just yet but perhaps in time you may come to realize the Daimyo can do much not only in this world but also in others." He smiled at Leo. "He is making sure your brothers are safe as well as your Sensei."

Leo still felt slightly fearful for his family but since he was not able to help them at this time he decided to just let it go and deal with it as soon as he got home. He accepted Usagi's word and the two walked on in silence. Eventually Usagi decided conversation was necessary to keep the young turtle's mind off his troubling thoughts.

"So tell me about your family." He asked him.

Leo looked at the samurai in astonishment. "I thought you knew about my family?" He said.

"I only know of your family from what my Lord has told me." He admitted to him.

"Well," Leo began, "I have three brothers, I am the oldest and my next brother is Raphael, we call him Raph, he and I tend to argue a lot but for the most part, we can be the best of friends; then there's my brother Donatello, his nickname is Donnie, he's the genius of the family, makes all kinds of really cool gadgets and other inventions. Then there's my youngest brother Michelangelo, we call him Mikey." Leo looked sad when he thought of his little brother and the last time he saw him. "He can be a bit of a prankster but he knows how to cheer us up when we really need it the most." He said with a downcast smile

"Do you miss more your Michelangelo then the others?" Usagi asked him when he noticed Leo's look of sadness .

"Oh no." Leo quickly assured him. "It's just," Leo huffed in exasperation, "the last time I saw him he was injured and it was my fault." Leo told him about the last time he and his brothers had been outside and quickly went into the long history of The Shredder, Karai and what has happened to his family since that fateful day they went out of the sewer on the fifteenth mutation day.

Usagi listened in wonderment. Occasionally asking questions regarding this ooze Leo talked about and the various creatures it effected. Leo continued to talked happily about his family telling tales of he and his brothers and some of the trouble they got into when they were younger before they began going above ground. He had Usagi laughing hard when he told him about the first time they tried pizza and how it has become a favorite of theirs but more so for Mikey since the younger turtle always seemed to need it.

"This Karai you speak of," He looked at Leo cautiously. "You sound like you have feelings for her, does she return your affection?" He saw Leo look down sadly.

"I don't know." Leo moaned as lifted his head and stared ahead in the distance as he thought about her. "At one time I think she really did like me in a special way but once we realized that she was my master's actual daughter, I knew there could be nothing more between us then just sibling affection." Leo sighed sadly.

"You say this Shredder, the warlord who is responsible for bringing you here, has been trying to destroy you due to your Sensei." Usagi said, his voice sounding curious. "What history do they share that he would have such a personal vendetta against him?"

Leo explained the past his Sensei shared with Saki and Teng Shen and how it was Shredder who took Miwa, giving her the name Karai. As he spoke he noticed Usagi also began to have a sad far away look in his eyes. "You look like you know something about what Master Splinter has gone through." Leo looked at him with sincerity in his eyes. "Would you like to talk about it?"

"It is a long story," Usagi told him. "It would probably bore you."

Leo chuckled. "First of all, Usagi-san," He said. "We have plenty of time since you tell me we will not be reaching the village where your Lord Daimyo is for quite some time and also I'm getting a little tired of doing all the talking." He smiled at Usagi. "I would love to hear a little about you."

"Very well." Usagi sighed as he thought about his past. Before he began he pulled out a small jug from the large bag he had and handed it to Leo, it was water and the turtle gratefully accepted it making sure not too drink too much of the cool liquid.

"When I was a young boy, I had a very close friend name Kenichi. We did everything together. Eventually I met a beautiful young girl named Mariko. I fell in love with her almost from the beginning, unfortunately so did Kenichi. Something I did not realize. I courted Mariko and told her I wanted to marry her. But first I was to begin my training as a Samurai with my Master Katsuichi." Usagi paused and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and swallowed hard before continuing on.

"After my training I went back to my village to find that Mariko and Kenichi had married and were expecting a child." Leo noticed that tears were now falling down the rabbits soft fun along his cheeks. "I could not stay in the same village and watch as they raised a family and live the life I had hoped for with the woman I loved, so I left and return to Master Katsuichi to continue my training as a samurai.

"Your life sounds very much like my Masters'. " Leo told him. "Only my master married his love and had a baby daughter." Leo sighed as he thought about Karai. "It was Saki who accidentally killed Teng Shen in an attempt at trying to kill Splinter, or rather Hamato Yoshi as he was known then, in a jealous rage." Leo shook his head as he remembered when he and his brothers were sent back in time and actually witnessed the incident. "I am sorry about what happened to you and Mariko." Leo told him. "Is this why you travel the life of a ronin on the musha shugyo?

"No," He replied. "There is much more to my life then that." Usagi looked up at the sky. "But that would be a story for another day."

They walked for a few more miles before Usagi decided to it was getting late and they should set up camp. After finding a nice quiet spot by a pond, Usagi gathered firewood while Leo got himself a much needed drink. They set up a fire and Usagi prepared a simple meal of pork and cabbage gyoza. He then insisted Leo get some sleep while he stayed up to make ensure their safety. "After all you have been through, I'm sure you could use with a decent night sleep." He told him.

He watched as Leo settled himself on the ground in the bed roll he provided for them, he couldn't help but notice, for being so young, the turtle seemed very mature for his age. Usagi took in Leo's muscular body and dark smooth skin. The light of the fire caused shadows to dance on the curves of the his limbs and it took a small shake of his head to force him out of his fixed stare on the turtle to avert his eyes elsewhere. He couldn't help the small smile that played over his lips as he thought about some of the stories he had heard today. It reminded him much of his own life when he was a young rabbit.

Leo had to admit, he was exhausted, but as he laid down and tried to close his eyes, his mind kept going back to his family. He couldn't help but wonder if they were as safe as Usagi told him they were. Eventually, exhaustion over came him and he let sleep pull him into darkness.