Chapter Twenty-One
Memories
After nearly an hour had past, Master Splinter emerged from his quarters and saw Mona and Leonardo sparring together.
"Ah Leonardo, Monalisa" said the old rat making the two reptiles stop what they were doing and look at him.
"Morning Master Splinter" they said together, "good morning" said Splinter bowing to them. Mona and Leonardo instantly bowed back.
"You are up early" said Splinter looking at the two. "We couldn't get back to sleep" said Leonardo. He bit his lip wondering if Splinter saw anything beyond the facade he was putting on.
But Splinter just smiled, "Your brother's should be awake soon" he said, "then we shall start training, I'm glad to see you two are taking your training seriously, especially you Mona"
"I want to be perfect" said Mona "After everything you have taught me" Splinter's eyes gleamed in happiness at Mona's dedication.
"I'm very glad Mona" he said "You have shown great skill"
Mona blushed "well, you and your sons have been great in helping me with my Ninjutsu skills and the meditation has helped me banish the nightmares about my attack"
"You have been doing well Mona" said Leonardo "I've seen it in the way you move and fight"
As he spoke, Leonardo bit his tongue realising he was starting to compliment Mona a little too well.
Mona just smiled, "You're really sweet Leo" she said "But I doubt I'll be as good as you and your brothers" "You'll get there Mona" said Splinter "And you are skilled in many other martial arts apart from what I have taught you in Ninjutsu"
"Thank you Master" said Mona bowing, Splinter bowed back to her then walked to the kitchen, "you better grab some breakfast you two, you'll need the energy for what we're going to be doing"
"Ok Master Splinter" said Mona and Leonardo together before following the rat to the kitchen.
As they walked to the kitchen together Mona held up one of her fans and showed Leonardo the Omamori talisman she had tied to it. "The Good luck talisman you gave me" she said "I think it's still working for me"
Leonardo smiled warmly as he looked at the talisman on Mona's War fans. "I'm glad it's working for you Mona" he said "I wanted to give you something to help"
Mona stroked the talisman, "It does help" she said "Thanks Leo, you are really thoughtful, I'm so glad I have you as a friend"
"You're welcome" said Leonardo his heart sinking with depression.
Hours later, Leonardo decided to go topside whilst the other turtles and Mona decided to play more video games. After the nightmare he felt maybe some exercise and fresh air would help clear his mind.
Leaving the others to play their games Leonardo walked to the exit of the lair to the sewers.
He soon came to a manhole and pushed the lid off, as soon as he felt the cool breeze hit his face he sighed contently.
Leonardo then climbed out of the manhole and onto the fire escapes of the nearest building. He soon got to the top and began to run across the buildings then jumped over to the next buildings.
As Leonardo ran he could see the whole city was lit up and sparkling. Leonardo loved running over the rooftops at night, New York was always lit up so brightly and he loved the way it shone in the night.
He always felt a sense of calm and escapism as he ran topside, feeling the wind over his skin and through the ribbons of his ninja mask.
After a while of running, Leonardo stopped for a rest on one of the tallest buildings. As he sat down on the ledge of the building, he felt his stomach jolt, as he remembered it as the same place he took Mona not long after she came into their lives.
"This is where I took Mona after I showed her the sewers" he thought sadly.
Flashback
Leonardo watched Mona as she walked to the edge of the skyscraper and looked out at the city of New York as it glowed and glittered in the twilight. "Wow" she said "this is amazing!" "Isn't it?" said Leonardo proudly.
Mona looked down at the city below as the lights of the buildings twinkled below her and the sounds of the traffic echoed around them, she could see the Atlantic Sea ahead of them with the Statue of Liberty lit up. She looked up at the sky and saw that she could see the stars more clearly than she would if she was lower down because of the light pollution.
"It's something isn't it?" said Leonardo "I come up here sometimes to think or meditate or sometimes practice my swordplay, it's just so peaceful up here" Mona
End Flashback
As Leonardo thought back to that night he sighed, he was sitting in the same spot where Mona sat and he had told her that she was attractive despite being a mutant.
They had spoken about that would happen now Mona had become part of the family and how Splinter would help her banish her bad memories of her attack through meditation and how she would learn the art of Ninjutsu.
As he looked out at the city Leonardo wished that if he had won Mona, they would have come up here together and maybe shared some wine or some other drink and watch the sparkling city and the stars.
A single tear fell from his eye as he imagined what would never happen.
After a while Leonardo then looked across into the direction where Coney Island Beach was where he and Mona swam in the sea together and watched the fireworks. That was such a memorable evening. Just the two of them alone on a quiet beach swimming in the calm sea:
Flashback
Leonardo then saw Mona walk further into the sea until she was up to her waist and was waving her hands in the water around her, seeing her in the water in the moonlight and her scales shining; she looked so beautiful, the way she moved her arms and the water rippling around her.
Mona turned to Leonardo as he started to wade towards her, "have you ever swam by moonlight?" she asked. "A few times" said Leonardo "well, mainly when trying to solve mysteries or hide from enemies, hardly ever for leisure"
"I've been swimming by moonlight before" said Mona "I was at a friend's house and we were having a house party. That was a pool though, not the sea "Cool" said Leonardo, You wanna swim?" asked Mona "the waters fine".
"Sure" said Leonardo. Mona smiled at Leonardo "catch me if you can" she said, she then dived into the water and disappeared beneath the gentle waves. Leonardo chuckled then dived in after her. As he dived in he saw swim to the bottom of the seabed and swirl around as she propelled herself through the water.
He swam after her, but he found it hard to keep up with her because her tail helped her propel through the water a lot faster. Just watching her move through the water, Leonardo couldn't take his eyes off her beauty and her grace as she moved through the water. Watching the way her hair flowed around her and the way her body moved, it captivated him.
End Flashback
Leonardo then remembered how he had tried to court Mona, trying to court her by swimming around her, performing an underwater dance like a normal turtle would. "She didn't know my true intentions" he thought "If only I had done something she would have understood the way I felt abut her"
Leonardo cursed himself for not being honest; he wished he had said something that night.
"I keep telling myself!" he cursed "I should have said something!" he looked down at the sparkling city as he continued to remember that night.
He would never forget that night, if only he could do it again. But now because Mona was Raphael's mate, he would never experience that night again.
Another tear fell from Leonardo's eye and it passed the place where Mona kissed him that night.
As the tear passed that very spot, Leonardo began to remember very clearly Mona's soft lips as she kissed him.
"How can I ever forget that night, I was so happy at first, thinking I was close to winning Mona's affections..." he touched his cheek and sighed as he remembered when she kissed him there.
"She kissed me, and I thought I had won her, but she said to me, 'You're a real friend', my heart just stopped right there"
Leonardo sighed sadly as he remembered. He then remembered the wet dream he had about Mona and how he felt bad that he wished it had been real.
"I can dream" he thought "But I shouldn't think that way about her, even if I did enjoy the dream" he placed his head in his hands feeling ashamed.
Poor Leonardo, remembering the times he spent with Mona and thinking he'll never experience them again. :(
Note: The flashbacks were from the prequel fic 'Fury Within Her' check my FF page to read the fic!