A/N: I'd like to thank CocoKissesTMNT for your enthusiastic reviews to this story I enjoy tormenting Raph it's a good time! Thanks everyone who is reading this I appreciate it so much!
The sounds of something smacking the window stopped the conversation in April's apartment abruptly as all five occupations snapped their heads towards the noise.
"Ms. April, what's that?"
Shadow asked, pointing at the object that was sticking to the glass. Raph silently walked over, opening up the window and grabbing the dart, looking directly across at the roof where he could see the outline of someone standing and waiting. Snarling, he unwound the piece of parchment wrapped around it, reading it quickly before paling.
Mikey and Venus watched him, worried as he scooped up his Sai and disappeared into the night. A quick glance between the two remaining turtles and Mikey followed, leaving Venus alone with April and Shadow. The Shinobi quickly picked up her shell cell and called Donny, relating what had happened so Donny could start tracking.
Glancing at the scared child in front of her, she attempted to smile gently at her.
"Uncle Mikey and Uncle Raph will be back in a bit. How about we start some popcorn and order some pizza?"
She suggested, patting Shadow on the head. The young girl nodded, sniffling to hold back her tears.
"Come on Shadow, let's pick out a pizza before Uncle Mikey gets back and wants to put marshmallows on it."
April said, pulling the young girl into the kitchen while Venus waited by the door for her other brothers to show up.
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Mikey jumped off the fire stairs, looking around to see where his brother had gone. Not seeing anything he frowned, looking back up at April's window to try to guess where the arrow had come from. Tracing an angle with his fingers, he picked a rooftop not too far ahead and quickly ran down the alleyway, appearing briefly on the streets before disappearing a few doors down.
He jumped up that ladder as stealthy as he could, poking his head up as he looked to see if his brother was there. Off to the right stood Raph, arms crossed impatiently as he obviously waited for someone. Mikey debated the options in his mind before deciding that revealing himself was probably the best route to go.
"Hey Raph, what's going on?"
He whispered, watching as the other turtle jumped in surprise at his voice.
"Mikey! What the hell are you doing up here?"
He snapped, looking in annoycance at his little brother.
"Y dude chill, I just wanted to see if you needed any help. You left before anyone could ask you about that note."
Mikey replied, hoping his hands up as he backed away from his angry brother. Raph sighed, lowering his head and rubbing a hand across his face.
"You don't need to worry about me little brother I'm fine."
"No you're not dude! We just got you back I don't want to lose you again!"
"You're not going to lose me Mikey, I just need to take care of something but if you insist on being here fine."
Raph pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to his little brother, watching as Mikey read it over.
"Sounds like they've been having a rough time over there lately."
Was all he could say before handing the paper back to him.
"He's putting people in the hospital or killing them because he thinks they are still allegiant to me and the Clan I started. Why would he do this I don't understand."
"Because you turned him down. No one does that and lives to tell the tale."
A voice interrupted, and Mikey and Raph both whipped around to see Akira standing there along with another man who had definitely been seeing better days. Raph gasped at seeing him, and Mikey looked at him in confusion before looking back at the other two.
"Who is that Raphie? I mean, I know Akira but who is that other guy there?"
"Hinata."
Raph answered, not taking his eyes off the other two as Akira helped his friend to the wall where he could rest.
"Raphael-san, you must listen to me. The Shredder is on a war path, and soon we are all going to be destroyed. He wants you, more than I have ever seen him want anyone else. You must come with me and pledge your allegiance to The Foot, it's the only way to save your family."
"Are you insane? You think I'd swear allegiance to anyone who would attack or kill my family? What the hell is wrong with you?"
Raph snapped, pulling out both of his Sai's.
"Raphael-san, please. You have to save u, there's no other way!"
Akira begged, looking down at his friend. Mikey couldn't help but take pity on the young man who obviously should be in the hospital and knelt down next to him, checking his bandages and opening up the small first aid kit they all carried hidden in case of emergencies. Akira watched this exchange, waiting to see if the turtle would harm his friend.
"You lost your shot to be safe with the Shredder Akira. You could have come to me, tod me what was going on and I could have helped you. Do you think I wanted to loose all of you? Do you think I wanted to be humiliated and attacked by that man. This is the path you chose, don't ask me for help anymore."
Raph snapped, felling his blood starting to boil. Akira blinked, slowly digusting the worlds of his former leader.
"Raphael I am… sorry. I should have realized that you would be unwilling to help us. Hinata, get up, we need to go"
"He can't go anywhere."
Mikey announced, picking up the sick man in his arms.
"He can barely stand right now. We need to take him to April's Donny and Leo are on their way."
Raph groaned, slapping himself in the head.
"Well, it's not like they don't know where she lives right?"
Mikey continued before turning to Akira.
"You may come, but you touch a member of my family and I will take you out myself."
Akira debated with himself before nodding and following the group off the rooftop. Venus blinked in surprise at her phone before frowning.
"That was Mikey. They're coming back with someone who's injured, he wants you to take Shadow down to the lair in case something happens."
April nodded, quickly gathering up a few things. And kneeling in front of her soon to be step-daughter.
"Hey sweetie, you and I are going to go see Master Splinter ok? We will have to do movie day another time."
Shadow pouted before nodding, knowing that something big must be going on for her step-mom to change plans like that. April patted the young girl on the arm before grabbing their go bags.
"Leo and Donny will be here in a minute. Leo will meet you at the entrance and take you back to the lair."
April nodded, picking up the bag of popcorn from the counter and offering the other two girls a bite. She then took Shadow by the hand and followed Venus quietly down the stairs.
After the guys had figured out the tunnel systems attached to April's building they had built a trap door so they could come and go without being spotted as much. It also gave them another way out if they were ever attacked while visiting, and several times it had been a lifesaver.
April waited now with Shadow and Venus for the door to open, and smiled when Leo gestured for her quickly before disappearing back into the darkness.
"Are they here yet?"
Donny asked Venus, brushing off the dust on his arms.
"I don't know, I waited down here with the girls to make sure they were safe. They weren't here when I left that's all I know."
Venus replied, following Donny up the stairs to April's apartment. Donny cautiously opened the door, calling out to his brother's quietly. When there was no answer, he opened the door wider and walked in, opening up his duffle bag and getting his things ready.
"Can you boil some water for me? I need to clean a few things, and I brought your herb bag also."
Donny handed Venus her satchel, and she quickly placed it on the counter while she filled up a put to boil the water in. A quick tap on the window made her pause, and she hurried over to let the group in. Mikey came first, carrying Hiinata, who was slowly fading in and out of consciousness.
Akira came next, followed by Raph, who had both of his Sai's at the ready. Donny barely gave the other two a glance before getting to work on his patient. With Venus's help, he carefully cut away the bandage, looking over the cuts quizzically.
"It looks like these were fixed up by a professional. What exactly happened?"
Akira looked straight ahead, rattling of the answer like he was responding to a drill sergeant.
"He has been in the hospital for a week. When I realized that he was not safe there, I took him and hid him so he could heal properly."
Donny nodded, muttering to himself.
"Was he on an IV or antibiotics or anything?""
Akira nodded, producing a small bottle.
"The doctor gave me these when he checked out, but he's missed several doses."
Donny nodded, looking over the cuts again.
"He's got a massive staph infection, he really needs to be back at the hospital."
"That's not an option, Shredder is looking for him, and he has men stationed at all the local hospitals."
Venus had finished cutting away the last bandage and she couldn't help but wince at how deep and nasty the wound looked.
"Did he have any other injuries we need to know about?"
She asked, reaching into her bag to pull out something.
"Bruised spleen, a couple of cracked ribs, that's about it."
Akira answered, eyeing his former friend carefully. Raphael had started pacing, obviously trying to contain whatever outburst he was about to have. Venus and Donny talked for a minute before Venus got up to make a paste.
Mikey had been busy sterilizing the tools Donny would need, and he brought them out now, spread out on a clean kitchen towel. Donny thanked him, before quietly asking Mikey to tend to their other brother.
Venus came back out then, having found the turmeric she was looking for. She applied the paste to several of the wound, while Donny inspected and cleaned out the rest.
"This one is going to have to be fixed, I'm surprised it hasn't started bleeding yet."
Donny muttered, pointing to a cut on the arm. He looked quickly up at Raph.
"Can I borrow one of your Sai's so he has something to bite down on?"
Raph handed the weapon to his brother, making sure to keep an eye on Akira. Donny shoved the handle of the weapon into his patient's mouth while Venus smeared some herbs on him to help lessen the pain.
"I'm going to need some help holding him down guys, this is going to hurt."
Donny said, looking at the other three.
"I will help, he is my brother after all."
Akira said, stepping forward to kneel next to them.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Venus will hold down his head to make sure he doesn't bite off his tongue. I need you to hold down his legs so he doesn't try to buck me off. Raph and Mikey, you're on standby just in case."
Donny waited until everyone was settled before gently beginning to stitch up the wound. Once it was done, they all stepped back while Donny checked the patient's vitals.
"He's breathing pretty well, his heart beats fast but it's slowly going down."
He gently tapped down the chest, trying to feel if any of the ribs were out of place.
"Let's get these ribs wrapped back up so we can help them heal properly. There's not much else we can do at this point."
Venus and Akira helped Hinata sit up, keeping him in place while Donny slowly warped bandages around him. Once that was done, Venus handed him some tea, encouraging him to drink it.
"It will help you sleep so you can heal properly."
She whispered, watching as he eyed her wearily before drinking. She held his hand while he drifted off, hoping she was comforting him a little bit. Once his eyes closed, she turned to watch the males in the room.
Leo had appeared, arms crossed while he glared at Raph, who was twirling his Sai's and staring at Akira. Mikey was standing in between the two three, ready to jump whoever decided to strike first. Donny was cleaning up, writing down instructions and checking that he had things bandaged up properly. Finally, Leo broke the silence.
"Are you out of your mind Raph? You brought him here, to April's house how could you?"
"It's not like I invited them in for tea Leo, someone was hurt and needed our help."
Raph growled, pushing off the walk to approach his brother. Leo help up his hands, obviously not wanting to set the other turtle off.
"Raph, we can't trust them. They are going to tell the Shredder what happened, and he is going to come here looking for us. I don't want to destroy April's home again."
"Don't you think I know that Leo? But he was my friend and he-"Raph paused to dramatically point at Akira "-was someone I once trusted with my life. He actually did save it once, when we were out on patrol and some punk decided to pull a gun on me. No matter what kind of crap he's put me through since then, I am grateful to him for not letting me die that night, and if I can repay the favor I will."
Leo snorted, covering his mouth with his hand as he started to laugh. Raph started giggling too, and soon booth were in hysterics.
"I can't believe after all the crap you give me about trusting Karai that you would be so eager to trust someone who has betrayed you."
Leo said after he calmed down. Raph shook his head.
"I don't, but I believe honor dictates that I help them right?"
Leo nodded before turning and regarding the man in front of him.
"One day, we will pay you back for what you did to our brother. Tonight, we extend our hospitality towards you and your injured family. As leader of the Hamoto Clan, I promise that no ill will shall befall on you while you are here, as long as you extend us the same courtesy."
Mikey snickered, rolling his eyes.
"You are such a cheese ball Leo, seriously who is your writer?"
Leo tapped his little brother on the head before winking and disappearing into the kitchen. Venus had already pulled out a couple of frozen pizzas and preheated the over.
"We all need to eat and relax a little. Raph's about to explode."
She told Leo, unwrapping one of the pizzas to place it on a tray.
"I know, but what can we do at this point? We can't let someone just die right?"
"Funny how you want to help now, not back when Raph was running his clan."
Venus said, and Leo sighed.
"I know, I'm a jerk can we please get passed that? I should have been there for him and I wasn't how many times can I apologize for that. Venus shrugged, opening up the oven door to shove the pizzas inside. Checking that everything was alright, she turned back to Leo, patting the turtle on the shoulder.
"We all know you did what you thought was right Leo, and while it might be annoying frustrating, it's what makes you you."
She gave the leader a quick hug before turning to pull out plates for everyone to eat on.
"Thank, I just wish that Raph could understand that too."
Leo muttered, peeking out of the kitchen towards his brother, who had moved from glaring at Akira against the wall to glaring at Akira while sitting next to Hinata.
"Leonardo, Raphael has been through a very rough patch. He's always needed something more than what we as a family could give him, and it's starting to show. We all just need to remember that as a family we need to support each other, not tear each other down."
Venus told him, smiling and patting him affection ally on the shoulder. Leo sighed, placing his head on the counter and banging it several times.
"Every time I think Raph and I will be able to get pass everything that has happened, something like this happens. I'm the bad guy no matter what I say, epically with Raph."
"You guys will get there, someday hop-"
She was interrupted by a crash in the living room.
"-Gala !"