Chapter Two: Nightly Visitor

When he had said he was turning in for the night, Leonardo was hoping he could fall asleep. After all the training he had done earlier, the turtle did feel tired, and he had thought that as soon as his head hit the pillow sleep would take him. Instead, he was lying in his bed reading his favorite book, The Art of War by Sun Tzu. It was also his father's personal favorite as well and when he had noticed that his eldest son had taken in interest in reading, Splinter passed the book onto Leo. Of course, the rat had thought about giving it to Donatello, but he knew the genius was more intrigued with literature about science and machines rather than war.

While The Art of War usually calmed Leonardo's mind, after only a few minutes of reading, the turtle wanted to throw the book across the room. As he read, the words seemed to run together and he found himself having to reread the pages again, but that did not help. Sighing, Leo closed the book and placed his hand over his eyes. What was wrong with him?

As if to answer him, a low growl came from the turtle's stomach. He shook his head.

"Maybe I shouldn't have went to bed without dinner. Hope there's some pizza leftover. If Mikey didn't eat all."

Leo chuckled at the thought but decided it would not hurt to check for the pizza. He slid out of bed and shivered a bit as the cold air hit him. Just because he was cold-blooded did not mean that he could not get cold and since he was wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer shorts, it was really chilly. But the turtle quickly got over it and headed to the kitchen, not stopping until he was right in front of the fridge.

"Now let's see what we have here."

Leonardo opened the refrigerator and looked inside. But it did not take him long to find what he was looking for, a pizza box with a sticky note on top of it. He pulled the box out of the fridge and read the note to himself.

"Thought you might get hungry. Eat up, bro. -Mikey."

Leo smiled. That was his little brother alright. He was about to throw the note away, but he noticed something else was written on the back.

"P.S. Don't tell Raph, but I got a secret stash of pizza in my room. If you need more, just come by, but quietly 'kay?"

Leonardo shook his head, but he could not help but laugh. No one had a bigger heart than Michelangelo. But his smile slowly faded as he thought about what happened earlier. Even after being such a jerk to his family, they still looked after him. Leo knew that they would always be there for him and they just wanted to help.

"Maybe, I…should tell them what's…"

He immediately shook his head, pushing the thought into the back of his mind.

"No...this is my problem."

Closing the refrigerator door, Leo took the pizza and began to walk back to his room. But with each step he took, the guiltier he felt about leaving his family in the dark. They would not understand, the turtle kept telling himself. He would get over it and everything will go back to normal. He just needed some time.

As he left the kitchen, Leo stopped when he heard what he believed to be footsteps behind him. He turned and reached for one of his katanas on his back, but he remembered that he had left his weapons in the room. The turtle mentally scolded himself for being so careless, but at least he had his fists. He took a few steps back while still facing the kitchen and his eyes darted around the room in search of intruders. Whoever they were, their presence felt…evil.

Leonardo was not sure how else to describe it. Every muscle in his body was screaming for him to get out of there and call for help, but a voice in the back of his mind was telling him not to. Who or what was generating this sinister aura? After some time with nothing happening, Leo began to think that maybe he was imagining it. And maybe this dark presence he felt was a result of paranoia. It was reasonable after all Leonardo and his family have been through.

But a low growl from behind confirmed that the turtle was not imagining things. Spinning around, Leo tossed the pizza box towards the stranger and watched as a spear tore right through the material, the pizza slices falling to the floor as it did so. He dodged the weapon and turned to kick his attacker in their side, but his leg was blocked.

"Your soul…it disgusts me."

Leonardo frowned, not sure what the intruder was talking about, but he had no time to think about that before thrown back into the kitchen by his leg. He crashed into the counter, which broke apart due to the impact, and landed on his stomach with a hard thud. As he turned onto his back, the turtle heard a cry and watched as the stranger jumped into the air. Leo quickly rolled out of the way before their spear could touch him, the blade digging deep into the concrete floor where his head had been. He scrambled to his feet while his opponent pulled his weapon out of the ground and then the two warriors began to circle each other.

This gave Leonardo a chance to analyze his attacker. They wore a black cloak and the hood was pulled over their face, but Leo could see something peeking out from under it. It looked like… a snout? This person definitely was not human. Although Leonardo had assumed that from the way they tossed him across the room like a ragdoll. So who, or what, was attacking him?

"Look, I don't know who you are, but it doesn't have to be this way. We don't have to fight."

"Lies spew from the demon's mouth like lava from a volcano."

"I'm not…"

"Silence!"

With a roar, the stranger thrusted his spear at Leo again and he barely managed to avoid it. His opponent was fast, and it was becoming difficult for the turtle to keep up with their movements. Eventually, they were able to land a direct hit on Leonardo, their weapon cutting across his chest. It even pierced through the plastron of his shell. Leo jumped back just as his opponent swung their spear again and he covered his wound with his hand.

"Blood as red as a rose, yet a soul as black as night."

Leonardo had barely registered what the stranger had said to him. He was too distracted by the burning sensation that was beginning to build up in his chest. Had he been poisoned? Did the spear cut him deeper than he thought? Leo grunted as the pain grew and eventually, it drove him to his knees. He could not even lift his head off the ground when he saw his opponent walking towards him.

"I will admit, I am impressed that you are still conscious. It seems that my powers still have room for improvement. Or rather…"

The stranger knelt so he was at eye level with Leonardo. That was when the turtle got a good look at his adversary's face. And their eyes. Leo could not help but stare into those white, soulless eyes, no matter how much he wanted to look away.

"There is something…different about you. Different from the others."

Others? Were they talking about Leonardo's brothers? That would explain why they had not shown up yet. After all the commotion Leo and their unwanted guest had caused, the turtle wondered why no one, not even Master Splinter, had come to see what was going on. But if his attacker had harmed his family in any way, Leonardo was going to make them regret it. If he survived tonight.

"I can see it in your eyes. Your soul is corrupted, but with my help you may prove useful."

"Wha…What are you…?"

Leo could not even finish his sentence. In fact, he was not sure what exactly he was going to say. For some reason, his mind was just going…blank. And his opponent noticed this and smiled, both rows of their sharp teeth showing. There was nothing nice about that smile.

"Shhh. No need to speak. You will be the perfect…"

The stranger is cut off when a sword suddenly pierces through him from behind. They threw their head back and howled in pain, breaking eye contact with Leonardo. The turtle gasped, not realizing that he had been holding his breath, and was finally able to think. The sword was pulled out of his opponent's back and they turned around to see who had attacked them. When they did, they immediately growled.

"You."

Leo also wanted to see who had saved his shell, but as he lifted his head, his vision began to blur. He felt incredibly exhausted and weak and he was slowly losing the strength to keep his eyes open. So, he was forced to allow the darkness to take him and he fell back onto the ground, unconscious.

"Dudes, my head feels like it's on fire."

"Yeah, you're not the only one Mike."

As his senses were coming back to him, Leo could hear voices around him. They sounded faint at first, but they became clearer as the seconds ticked by. Leonardo groaned and was soon able to open his eyes.

"Hey guys, I think he's coming to."

Leo's vision slowly came into focus and he could see his brothers crowded around him. Mikey and Donnie smiled from ear to ear when they saw that their eldest brother was awake.

"Leo!"

The youngest turtles pulled Leonardo into a bear hug.

"Guys, you're…hurting me."

Remembering that their brother had been injured, Michelangelo and Donatello quickly let go and stood back to give Leonardo some space.

"Sorry, bro. We're just so happy you're okay!"

"Yeah. You gave us quite a scare, Leo. Even Raph was getting restless."

Hearing Donnie say his name, Raph turned away from his brothers with his arms crossed. Leo chuckled.

"Aww, you do care."

Raphael grunted, his face turning a light shade of red at the comment. Being the tough guy of the team, Raph was not the kind of person who showed his feelings often. After the whole ordeal with the Shredder, the turtle had tried to be more open with his family, but that was not going to happen overnight.

"It's, uh…good to see you're alive, bro."

"Thanks, Raph."

Leonardo attempted to sit up but groaned when he felt pain in his chest again. He looked down and saw that there were bandages around his upper body. Flashbacks of his last fight suddenly appeared in his mind. His hands balled up into fists as he thought about the person who had assaulted him.

"I can't believe that guy overpowered me like that."

"What guy?"

Leo turned to Donnie and frowned.

"You know, black cloak, white eyes. Sounded like a bit of a psycho."

"He's gone, kid. Don't worry."

Raph, Donnie, and Mikey looked to the entrance of Leo's room and took protective positions around their wounded brother. The eldest brother tilted his head to look around Donatello's form and get a look at who had just arrived.

"What the hell are you doing here? We told you to get lost."

"Now is that any way to treat your guests? I thought your master would have taught you boys some manners."

The moment he laid eyes on the stranger, Leonardo immediately thought that they were Rocksteady. But after seeing their white gi and broken horn, the turtle was sure that this was not the same rhino who he and his brothers had fought before.

"How are you feeling?"

Leo was pulled out of his thoughts by the rhino's voice. He was staring straight at the turtle, ignoring the glares he was getting from the others.

"I'm…I'm fine."

"Good. If you're fine, then you should get out of that bed. You kids shouldn't be wasting the day away down here."

"Wasting the da… wait, what time is it?"

Donatello looked down at his watch.

"It is…2:45p.m."

"I was out for that long!? Yeah, I need to get up. I…"

Leonardo successfully sat up in his bed and he tried to swing his legs over so he could get out, but his siblings were against the action. Raphael grabbed his older brother's shoulder to stop him.

"Woah, woah. Easy there, Leo. You should stay here and rest."

"I think I've rested enough, Raph."

"Well, I don't think so."

"I don't need to be coddled. And when did you become the leader?"

"Leo. Lay down."

Hearing the seriousness in his brother's voice, Leo sighed and decided to listen to Raph. He pulls the covers back over him and lays his head down on the pillow. Raphael nods his head, satisfied.

"There. Now was that too hard? I'm going to get Master Splinter. You STAY HERE. And you two-"

Raphael pointed at Michelangelo and then Donnie.

"-keep an eye on him. And HIM."

Raph nodded his head towards the rhino still standing at the door. The mammal raised his hands up.

"I promise I will not try to harm you or your brothers. You can trust me."

Ignoring the rhino, Raph stomped past him and made sure to give him a death stare before leaving. It was his signature "You mess with my family, I will murder you in your sleep" look. Turning back to the other turtles, the mammal could see Mikey and Donnie crowd even closer around their elder brother, but when he looked at Leo, he only saw confusion in the turtle's sapphire eyes.

"So, if I may ask…who exactly are you?"

The rhino chuckled and took a seat on a small chair that was seating in the corner of Leonardo's room.

"My name is Gennosuke. Murakami Gennosuke. But you may call me "Gen" for short. And may I ask your name, kid?"

"…Leonardo. It is a pleasure to meet you, Gen."

"Ahh. At least one of you has some manners."

Mikey crossed his arms over his chest, offended by the comment.

"Sorry, but our master taught us that we shouldn't talk to strangers."

"Ha, ha. Fair enough."

Gennosuke then saw a glint in the corner of his eye and turned to his right to see what was causing it.

"You too are a swordsman, Leonardo?"

Leo also turned to look at his weapons, thinking about how he should have taken them last night.

"Yes, I am."

"I see. It would have been interesting to see them you in action the night before."

"So you were there. Were you the one who…?"

"No, I was not the one who came to your rescue. My friend is the one you should be thanking. In fact, I believe you two will get along quite well."

"Master Splinter?"

Raphael called out to his father who was nowhere to be seen. He had checked the dojo where Splinter was last seen with their other "guest," but now they have disappeared.

"If that guy has done anything to Dad, I'll…"

Before he could finish his thought, Raph heard someone's voice echoing from one of the tunnels. He went to investigate and could see shadows dancing on the cement walls. The turtle had taken only a step inside the tunnel before he heard someone shouting at him.

"Get back, Raphael!"

Raphael did as Master Splinter commanded and watched as his father flew past him. Splinter skidded across the floor for a moment before he planted his sword in the ground to stop himself. The rat looked back at the tunnel and smiled.

"You are very talented, young man."

The sound of footsteps brought Raph's attention back to the tunnel, where he could see Splinter's opponent placing their sword back in its sheath.

"You honor me with your praise, Master Splinter."

The rat smiled and then turned to his son.

"Is everything alright, Raphael? How is your brother?"

"He just woke up, Sensei. I think he may…oh, come on!"

Frowning, Master Splinter turned around to see what his son was so aggravated about. But even he had to shake his head when he saw Leo walking, or rather stumbling, towards him with Mikey and Donnie not far behind him. Raphael glared at his two younger brothers.

"I thought I told you two to watch him!"

"Sorry, Raph! You know how Leo gets. We tried to stop him, but we didn't want to hurt him even further, so…"

As Donatello spoke, Michelangelo cowered behind his genius brother, praying that Raphael did not try to strangle them. Or at the very least him. But Raph only sighed and went to Leo's side.

"What part of "Stay here" did you not understand?"

"Well, now you know how I feel when you don't listen to me."

"Leo, this isn't the time for…"

Raphael stopped talking when he felt his father's hand on his arm. The turtle looked down at Splinter and could see the desperation in the rat's eyes, pleading with him not to argue with Leonardo. Not now. Raph immediately understood and walked away to leave his dad and his older brother alone. Instead, he thought he should check on Gennosuke since that task proved too difficult for his other siblings. Speaking of them…

"Mikey, Don, come on."

Raphael walked past his younger siblings and did not bother to look back to see if they were following him. Donatello started to walk after his brother but stopped when he heard Michelangelo whining.

"Aww, do we have to? This is just getting go-OW!"

Mikey's head flew back as Donnie grabbed the ends of his bandana.

"We're leaving, Mikey."

Once those two were finally out of sight, Master Splinter looked to his eldest son.

"My son, you should not be out of bed. You need to allow yourself time to heal."

"I'm sorry Sensei, but I can't just sit around knowing that that cloaked maniac may come back."

"I assure you that he will not, my friend."

Leonardo then turned his attention to the person his master had fought against earlier.

"It is good to see you on your feet. I was worried that I had come too late."

"Then you are the one who saved me?"

Nodding, the person gave Leo a small bow, their rabbit ears falling forward as they did so. Leonardo returned the gesture and took the opportunity to look over the rabbit's swords.

"I am Leonardo. It is a pleasure to meet you. And may I ask the name of my savior?"

The rabbit smiled.

"Of course. My name is Miyamoto Usagi. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Leonardo-san."