Rain stung Leo's eyes as he'd stupidly forgotten to grab the helmet that had been near the keys when he took off after his mate. Simple things like road safety seemed to be at the back of his mind when he peeled out of the cabin's drive leaving his confused brothers behind, and even his children. But this drive from the cabin to the city was a long one, one that took from sun up to sun down, and it was halfway over and Shiho was still nowhere in sight. Perhaps she'd taken to running through the woods instead of staying on the road so she wouldn't be found. That would be the smart thing to do. But then again, nothing about this life of theirs made any sense. A bipolar love.
Despite the cold rain, Leo didn't feel the cold and he could feel, that even though the sky was covered in black clouds, the sun was getting ready to set. Dark enough that he finally needed the headlight of the bike to see where he was going. And it was because of that bright beam of light that he saw something. A flicker of burnt orange and white flapping about like a flag billowing in the wind. It was her, he'd found her at last. And as he drew closer, the entirety of her body was coming into view. So with everything he had, he floored the vehicle and sped ahead of the sprinting fox until he turned too hard and the bike slid from underneath him. With a timed jump, Leo landed hard on the balls of his feet which made Shiho come to a screeching halt.
"L-Leo...you can't be here. Go back." She was out of breath, and completely drenched in both rain and sweat. Her beautiful chestnut hair was nearly black as it cluncg to her body, violet bangs dark like a galaxy clinging tightly to her face. Her eyes, oh how he loved them, they were the day he met her. That felt like an eternity away from where they were in this moment.
"I can't, Shiho. I can't leave you, I can't go without you." He said between hard breaths. Despite taking the easy way of reaching her, the adrenaline had him exhausted. "I can't live without you."
Silence was what he was met with and it was driving him insane. Shiho just stared at him, analyzing him and he wasn't sure if she was planning to attack or run again. So with all the courage he could muster, he grabbed her by the wrist and held her tightly. In the light of the now toppled motorcycle, he was able to realize she was completely covered in scrapes, bruises, and a sizely bite chunk taken out of her beautiful ear.
"What did he do to you?" At first, Shiho fought, she fought so hard to make him let go. But now, she was not only beaten and had just finished running nearly 40 miles, Shiho was uncharacteristically weak. And he just wasn't letting go. Why wasn't he letting go? This created an outrageous anxiety that caused her to continue to try and break free jsut so she could run.
"Please let me go, if you love me, you'll let me go, Leo. I can't hurt you, I won't hurt you."
What was she saying?
"What are you talking about?! We've been through worse together and we can get through this just the same way-"
"Leo you don't understand! Unless he's gone, I can't be near you." It was at that point that the headlights of the van carrying the turtles and Aanika suddenly peeked over the ridge in the highway. Shiho saw the lights and became increasingly terrified. Once the vehicle stopped, and against her uncles desperate please to keep her inside, Aanika tore open the sliding door and slipped on the wet pavement but ran as hard as she could to her parents.
"No!" Shiho cried, shoving her child away with the one free hand she had. Aanika landed on her side and whimpered which confused and angered Leo that much more.
"Mama! I'm sorry! I swear, I'll never disobey you again, I'll do anything you need. Please don't go!" Shiho was on the verge of tears by this point, hearing her child plead so desperately shattered her humanity and made her wish that she'd never been made. So finally, the vixen gave up and fell to her knees, her mate just beside her. He just wanted to understand.
"As long-.." She was beginning to choke on her sobs. "As long as Micah is alive, I'm not safe to be around. He and I were just meant to be from conception and I can't do anything about it! Just let me go, find someone else, Leo. Love again."
Amber eyes widened in concern, Shiho was in such a powerful struggle that was literally between the choice of life and death, but not hers. She was keeping everyone around her in mind and not herself. But she just didn't want to die.
Aanika began to hyperventilate at the idea of looking her mother and started to sob, throwing herself into Shiho where arms came around her with no reluctance. By this point, the turtles had all exited the van and stood at the side, doing their best to not intervene and make it worse.
"Be a good girl," Shiho muttered into her young's ears. "You will always be mine, and I will always love you. Love hard and never let it go." Holding Aanika's precious face between her hands, Shiho burshed back the wet bangs that obscured her face. "Promise me you won't change. Do what makes you happy."
"But Mama, please.." Aanika spoke between sobs, she couldn't tell if her face was wet from the rain or from her tears.
"You'll be alright," Her mother said, kissing her forehead tenderly before standing and facing Leo once again.
"Shiho please."
"Leo I can't. You will never be safe. And it isn't in you to just kill someone for your benefit." She was right, Leo wouldn't be able to live with himself if he killed Micah just so Shiho could stay. He wasn't a killer. With his arms around her waist and his face in her hands, Shiho let slip a sob. Saying goodbye to the only created who had ever shown her compassion from day one was the hardest thing she's ever had to do. Yet, here she was.
"I love you, I will never stop loving you. Listen to me when I say let me go. Don't wait for me. I wouldn't wait for me."
"But Shi-"
"Stop. There's nothing you can say, I won't hurt anyone. I'm just going away. But Leo, you're the love of my life and no force on Earth will ever change the way my heart yearns for yours."
With a tearful sniffle, the leader nodded his head and simple stood there with his fox for a few more moments in the rain, his brothers and daughter looking on with heartbroken expressions. It was when they kissed for the last time that the rain finally stopped, as their souls seemed to take a piece of each other to hold onto each other through that kiss. Shiho was passionate and loving as she fulfilled that last kiss she's ever give to that life changing turtle.
"Tell our children that I love them. I love them so much, they're my miracles. Just like you." She said at last.
"I promise."
Before anyone could say anything else, Shiho disappeared into the woods away from the city, just like she promised. Who knew where she'd go, even Shiho didn't even know. She just had to put as much distance between her and her family to keep them safe at all costs. It left such a foul taste in her mouth and a pain in her heart the further she went, but the most distance she gained, the better off they were.
"Daddy?" Aanika gently slipped her hand it Leo's and to her surprise, it gripped tightly around her small hand. He swallowed hard, accepting that there was nothing else he could do now. It was over. She was gone and half of his spirit seemed to just die. His heart just hurt, there was no other word to desccribe just how utterly heart broken he truly was.
"We'll be okay, you'll be okay." He said solemnly, not looking away from the spot from where she disappeared. He was trying not to break, for Aanika and his brothers, but also for himself. If he broke, he'd let the salt into the now raw wound it would seem to take nothing less than a decade to heal. "Let's go."
Into the van, they turned around to go back to the cabin where the remainder of their family had stayed. Aanika anxiously fiddled with her phone, wondering if she should text Jeremy or not. He always seemed to know what to say to help her cope, however with this, she couldn't see a way that he'd be able to talk her out of it. But she text him anyway, pouring it all out in one long text that made her cringe when she hit send.
No one spoke, not even Raphael about his abandoned bike on the road that Leo essentially wrecked. There were more important things for him to be worried about, like what this was going to do to Shiho's sisters. They were all so closely connected with a bond that none of the brothers could understand. But he was nearly sure, it would destroy them. The hybrids without Shiho just wasn't right, it was incomplete. Leo was Raphael's main concern, second only to Aanika. The other children, albeit they love their mother, are just too young to comprehend what this meant. Making them understand when they become older was the obstacle.
Hours later and just after the dawn of a new day, the van pulled up in front of the cabin. All of Shiho's sisters were asleep on the porch with their children and Leo and Shiho's children. It appeared as though they stayed out there all night, just waiting and keeping the young ones stay busy. Especially Shiho's. The questions of when was Mommy and Daddy coming home seemed to just play on repeat. The sound of the engine turning off woke the sisters but not the children, and they all crowded on the front steps with anxiety written all over their faces.
Upon stepping out of the van, Leo just shook his head. All at once, the hybrid sisters collapsed in a wild cry of absolute agony that only seemed to growworse when they noticed Aanika and her red eyes and tear stained cheeks. The sisters all rushed their youngest sibling to comfort and hold her. But she just didn't want to be touched and slipped away. So, they went to their subsequent mates instead. All that was left to do was tell Shiho's children that she wasn't coming home, and truth be told, they didn't understand. Only Aanika knew.
Leo disappeared to the one place she knew to find him, the cliffside. He'd hear her coming from yards away and thus didn't flinch when she sat beside him and dangled her legs over the edge like he did. A strong arm came around her narrow shoulder as they essentially mourned together in silence watching the sun rise once again over the mountains. Just like they'd done yesterday before everything changed. The days were different, the sun was different, just the air was different.
"What are we going to do, Daddy?" Aanika spoke, her throat sore from sobbing as she looked her father in the eyes. He smiled the way a broken hearted man did and gave her a gentle squeeze.
"Do what she said. We live."