Chapter 12: Raynar "Ray" Nezumi Smithson
Yoshi was asleep on the couch now, he had curled up there after explaining everything to his uncles and aunt.
Ray was leaning against the counter, shirt back on, head bowed, worry creasing his forehead into deep lines.
"Go figure Leo would name his kid after Master Splinter's master," Ray mumbled.
April smiled slightly before resting a hand on Ray's shoulder.
"We'll get Tyler back Raph," she promised softly.
Ray pressed a hand to his face before nodding.
It had been two days since the young man had arrived, too days of worry.
They had prepared everything they could so they could leave only to receive a frantic phone call from Darien.
Leo had been taken and both Darien and Hana had been left for dead.
Casey had gone to pick them up a few hours ago.
The door opened and Ray looked up.
A exhausted pair stepped in a head of Casey.
The man looked like he'd been dragged through hell and back, body shaking, head bowed, collapse seemed imminent.
The woman looked numb, shock and pain only visible in her eyes, but just as worn out as the man.
She froze when she spotted the sleeping figure on the couch.
"YOSHI!" she cried before scrambling forward.
The boy jerked upright in time to be dragged into the sobbing arms of his mother.
"Mom…" Ray heard him mutter softly in embarrassment.
Ray looked back at the man who had sank to the ground in a heap.
Ray got up and walked over to him, squatting in front.
"Hey," he greeted softly.
"Hey," was the only response.
"Come on Don…let's get you-" he broke off as Darien tiredly pulled the collar of his shirt down to reveal the birthmark.
Ray nodded quietly.
"Let's get you cleaned up and to bed for a while alright?" Ray whispered.
Darien nodded tiredly as Ray stood up and offered a hand.
Darien shook his head.
"Why not?" Ray asked.
"I can't move…I'm so tired," he muttered in response, "haven't slept in days."
Ray chuckled softly before reaching down and hauling Darien to his feet, the man groaned in pain before wincing and then leaning heavily on his brother.
Ray hugged him as he guided the semiconscious figure to the bathroom to clean him up before sending the man to bed.
He needed a distraction from his worry about Tyler anyway and Darien was obviously too strained to do much more than collapse.
April looked at Casey expectantly, they'd sent the kids to a cousin's house until things were more safe.
"Shredder attacked Leo's home and blew the place up…Hana and Don were hurt but not badly…Leo took the worst of the blast when he shielded Hana…but his carapace-" Casey started.
"Carapace?" she gasped.
"He never became human," Casey replied before continuing," His carapace shielded him pretty good…Hana was knocked out…and Don was pinned beneath some of the walls and furniture…Shredder grabbed Leo and left. They got a hold of us as fast as they could…Don's bleedin' and he hasn't slept since like four days ago…they both need food, rest, and I'm pretty sure they both requested a hot shower."
April nodded.
"Raph just took Don that way…I'll show Hana to the guest rooms upstairs and that shower. Order some food love?" she finished with a question.
"On it," he replied.
A couple hours later Ray peeked in on the slumbering form of his brother. Shirtless and with only a pair of Casey's borrowed sleep pants on, the man lay sprawled across the guest bed, bandages covering his chest and ribcage. There were stitches here and there and various Band-Aids covering smaller cuts that needed to be covered. he hadn't twitched since Ray had showed him the bed earlier.
Ray shook his head before closing the door and peeking in on the next room to spot Hana curled under the covers.
She too was sound asleep.
Ray closed the door before heading back down stairs to the man apartment.
April looked up as he walked in.
"Both out," he answered her unspoken question.
She nodded., glancing over at Yoshi who was sitting with his head in his hands a battered photo album in front of him.
"What's that?" Ray asked softly.
Yoshi looked up, slightly startled, before blinking and looking down.
"Oh…its…a photo album my mom started when she and my dad first started dating…she kept it up after everything happened…when we found dad again she started adding more pictures of him…" Yoshi sighed, flipping the book open, "This is my favorite picture of him."
It was a picture of snow-covered trees and rocks around the cabin that had been their home.
Ray cocked his head.
"Where is he?" he asked after a second.
"Look over by the tree, on the rock," Yoshi replied.
Ray's jaw dropped when he spotted the squatting figure on top of a large snow covered boulder.
"How?" he sputtered.
"The experiments Shredder performed on him…turned him albino…Uncle Don had a similar reaction," Yoshi chuckled, "the Foot ninja call him Yurei."
"Ghost," Ray chuckled.
"Dad said that the woman…nurse…he wasn't quite sure what her part was in everything. Well the woman that was supposed to come into his cell to give him another dose of a drug…she screamed and ran out. Dad said he took advantage of the opened door and ran for it…he barely made it out in time," Yoshi ended in a whisper, "she thought he had died and was there to haunt all of them…he had blood splattered on him so he looked pretty terrifying. I was scared of him when I first saw him…"
"Hey you two…I've cracked Foot headquarters…I think I know where they've got Leo and Mikey," April interrupted.
Both swiveled her way.
A/N: more puzzle pieces…. : )
