A/N: I finally got some free time! And immediately I started thinking about going on another adventure with Mikey. This is the 3rd one, so thanks for all the kind words that encouraged me! Don't worry, it still makes sense if you haven't read the first two :D So here we go, hope you enjoy :)

Mikey's still in eighth grade (13), Donnie's in tenth (16), Raph's in twelfth (18 bc he had his bday since the last one), and Leo's in his second year of college (19).

Mikey loved the springtime. It meant that the sun would shine for longer, the ice cream trucks would come around again, and people would have barbecue parties that would fill the warm breeze with good smells. Mikey couldn't help but love it when it basically felt like the world was giving itself a hug.

Greetings, Michelangelo.

Outside, the sounds of spring rang anew: the melody of the birds, the harmonizing insects from the bushes, and the disembodied voice inside his head.

Wait, hold up.

The what?

The wrens seem to have found you, a woman's kind voice whispered, enveloping his brain.

"MIKEY, HEADS UUUUP!" came a holler.

"Whaa—?" Mikey looked up just in time to get smacked in the face with a rubbery red ball. It ricocheted off his face with a rich boing, and Mikey landed on his butt in the left service box - a jarring reminder that he was in the middle of a dodgeball game with all his friends.

Fong wince-laughed, holding his hand out. "Ouch, that looked like it hurt. I tried to warn you."

Which Mikey was thankful for, but currently his brain was still processing being shaken up - physically and figuratively. There was a voice inside his head. What did it mean? Was he chipped? Was he bugged? Did he have aliens in his brain?

As Mikey let his friend help him up, he might have dizzily said something like, "it's all part of the plan", but he wasn't sure. That ball had hit him harder than Raph's well-meaning shoulder pats (and those stung).

This time, Fong laugh-laughed. "Sure, Mikey. I believe you."

A lazy whistle rang through the air, its tune dying out towards the end. Even with the lackluster time-out, the entire court stopped playing, the whisking of balls back and forth coming to a stop.

Their gym teacher (and substitute physics teacher for the day) Mr. Kraang pointed at Jennika, a tall girl with a pixie cut who'd been the one to whack Mikey in the face.

"That was an illegal throw. Neck and above is off limits," the middle-aged man drawled from the corner of the tennis court. He was splayed out in a lawn chair like a wrinkly blob. "This is supposed to be my easy period, don't ruin it for me."

Jennika grinned unapologetically, but called out, "Sorry!" anyway. Then Mr. Kraang blew the whistle again to signal time-in, and the chaos resumed.

It was the last period of Friday. Normally, Mikey would have been in physics class, and not outside using the Eastman Middle School tennis courts as an impromptu dodgeball court. But for today, physics class had been merged with gym class on account of Mikey's physics teacher having had her baby earlier than expected and no substitute available. The gym was too small for their joint class, so they were out here, engaged in an epic dodgeball battle.

It was worth it for the physics class kids — they'd all had a giant test yesterday. Mikey had spent every day this week and the weekend studying for it with Renet. Now that it was over, his brain felt like mush. Maybe that was part of why he was hearing voices.

Mikey's stomach growled, reminding him of his skipped breakfast. Maybe part two of why he was so distracted.

That's what I get for sleeping through my fourteen alarms this morning, Mikey thought, clipping his golden blond curls on top of his head to keep them out of his eyes. Donnie is always preaching that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Who knew that physics test would make me only a few Cheerios away from going crazy with hallucinations?

That had to be it. Just a hallucination, nothing else.

"Ugh, that's it. We're pummeling them," Bradford grumbled from his team.

Mikey glanced up his friend. He was surprised and slightly touched to see Bradford glaring across the court in his defense.

"S'not a big deal, my dude. My face is like, totally fine," Mikey said cheerfully. "All's chill in love and war and dodgeball, as they say."

"And this is no longer dodgeball. This is war," Bradford replied, stone-faced. "I've already got a target. Our friends are now our enemies, and we can only expect treachery from those back-stabbing convicts."

Mikey raised an eyebrow. "Back-stabbing convicts? C'mon, Jennika's a tough opponent, but she's not that bad."

Fong rolled his eyes as he hurled a ball across the court, nearly getting someone out but not quite.

"Don't mind Bradford, Mikey," Fong said with a conspiratorial grin. "He's just salty that Xever's on the other team."

"We don't say that traitor's name around here, Fong."

From a few feet away on the other side of the center line, Xever seemed to hear them. He splayed his arms out in defense, jokingly offended.

Mikey laughed at the same time as someone else. The contagious bubbly laughter let him to turn and see Renet, his best friend. She stood by on his team, her arms up as she tried to catch one of the throws that suddenly zoomed at her. Somehow she managed to punch it instead of catching it, and it flung sideways to hit someone who was already out on the sidelines.

"Hey, watch it!"

"OMG, sorry!" Renet cried immediately, wincing. "I'm so sorry!"

The ball was aggressively thrown back at her. Mikey caught it and flashed a smile at the short-tempered kid who'd thrown the ball.

"We're sorry," he called empathetically, sweetening his smile.

Not only did the kid soften and look a little less grumpy, but the others on the sidelines smiled back at Mikey and Renet. When Mikey turned back to his friend to hand her the ball, Renet gave him a grateful look.

"Thanks," she whispered, her face a little less red from embarrassment.

Mikey waved his hand in the air like he was pushing the grouchy kid's vibes out of the air. "It's no big thing."

"Is your face okay?"

"Totally intact, I promise," Mikey reassured her.

Michelangelo, you must find me. I have something to tell—

Mikey flinched at the voice just as Renet reached up to pluck something out of his hair.

"Oops, sorry," she said, then showed him a piece of tree bark between her fingers. "You had this woodchip in your hair."

"Wow, how did that get there?" Mikey wondered, rubbing his hair.

"Maybe it just jumped on you because it liked you," Renet said, mimicking the woodchip jumping.

Mikey snickered, but the voice in his head from seconds ago was definitely doing a great job of giving him the creeps. He waited for it to come again, but nothing came. His brain felt like his again. Totally normal.

So what was that bizarre voice just now? A yokai? He wondered. The thought hadn't crossed his mind before, but his heart picked up in anticipation. He opened his mouth to tell Renet - one of the only other people he knew who could see the mysterious invisible spirits like he could.

Out of nowhere, something big and dark came crashing at them. Mikey's eyes widened as a ball smacked Renet so hard she fell onto the ground with a grunt, her fist enclosed around the woodchip.

"Renet!"

"I'm okay," Renet said, sitting up with a good-natured laugh and rubbing her side. "Jennika's got an arm, huh? Now I know what your face felt like."

"No kidding," Mikey said, helping Renet up.

"You're out, Tilley!" Jennika shouted across the court. "And you're next, Hamato."

Jennika, aka The Girl Who'd Nearly Taken Mikey's Head Off, grinned when he met her eyes. They had gym together and where she dominated in athleticism and strength, Mikey had her beat in agility and speed, much to her chagrin. Mikey could see the competitive spirit in the girl's eyes had flared up.

Renet moved off to sit on the sidelines. Jennika rolled her shoulders and her neck until Mikey could hear the cracking sounds across the court.

"So, Hamato. Ready for me to wipe the floor with your face?"

Mikey's face felt a little like Jennika had already done so, but he just quipped back, "Brave plans for someone who's going to be out of the game soon."

Jennika's jaw dropped a little, but a smile came through her scoff. "Oh, you're on."

At least a dozen kids on Mikey's team scattered as Jennika went chaotic.

Mikey dodged like a pro. Ducking, rolling, and squatting, anyone who tried to hit him was groaning with frustration. He was like a slinky. Dodging this way, that way, and repeat.

"STAY STILL, YOU LITTLE WORM -" Jennika roared.

"I'll help you get him!" Xever said.

Mikey tripped just as Xever aimed a sharp curve ball at him with the rubber dodgeballs. Mikey flipped out of the way, a new spurt of adrenaline through his veins. Cowabunga!

"Slick moves, Mikester!" Xever hooted from across the court.

"You too, dude!" Mikey called back. "Awesome throw!"

"Thanks, I lift!"

Jason, a boy who always wore a snapback, scoffed. "We're trying to get him out, X-dude, not compliment him."

"Hey, I'm just trying to hide from Bradford. Oh, whoops, he found me again. Evasive maneuvers!"

Across the court, Mikey could hear Bradford hooting loudly at the opposing team as he hurled his attack at Xever with ferocity. Whether Xever managed to dodge or not was unseen as balls from both sides were hurtling through the air at chaotic levels. Out of the corner his eye, Mikey saw Fong get hit.

"TAKE NO PRISONERS!" Bradford screeched at the entourage he'd somehow assembled behind him. "FIRE!"

"I'm too young!" screamed Lita, a really short 12-year-old who had skipped a year (and was consequently in eighth grade with all the 13-year-olds). Caught in the crossfire, she sprinted across the court as dodgeball ammo hit her from both sides, one of her braids undone, her white hair a flurry over her shoulder. "I'm too young!"

Mikey was so engrossed in the hilarity of the chaos that he almost missed Jennika's super-charged throw that came barreling at him from his blind spot. He turned at the last minute and opened his hands to hug the dodgeball as it hit. The force nearly knocked him over, but he managed to stay on his feet.

My wrens found you again, Michelangelo.

Mikey flinched, because holy jump scare, and somehow tripped over his leg while stepping back. He landed flat on his back. For a moment, all he could hear was the sound of his heart beating in his ears.

"You're out, Jennika!" Mikey then heard someone shout, distantly. "Mikey caught your throw!"

"Perfect timing," Mr. Kraang called out, and blew the whistle, signaling the end of class.

Over the chatter of kids running to collect the balls to clean up, Mikey let out a vocal sigh as he sat up. He couldn't even enjoy his win. He had way too many questions!

Like, how was there a voice in his head?

It was a woman's voice. And how did she know his name? And the thing about the wrens — weren't those a kind of bird?

"Yo, Hamato," said Jennika, spilling into Mikey's thoughts as she walked up. "Nice game."

"Nice game back," Mikey said, taking Jennika's outstretched hand to get pulled up. Something fell across his face, and he looked down at the pavement to see a… another woodchip. He picked it up, confused. Hadn't Renet taken one out of his hair earlier? What was he, growing these out of his head? Without thinking, he pocketed it.

"Got any plans for the weekend? Besides apparently collecting small pieces of bark?" Jennika asked with a smirk.

"You're funny, Jennika, you know that? You should do stand-up!"

Jennika laughed. "Shut up."

Off the the side, Mikey spotted Bradford playfully tackling Xever, with Fong cracking up besides them as they rolled in the grass by the tennis courts. Kids around them gave them weird looks before taking off for the locker rooms.

"I'm going to sleep in this weekend, though. I stayed up almost every night this week studying for that physics test," Mikey told her, earning her understanding nod.

"That was pretty much torture. I studied with my mom's help, though. She teaches the stuff at the college."

"Whoa, lucky," Mikey said, pausing in scooping up a couple more balls at his feet as they walked. "That's awesome!"

Jennika punted a stray ball over to the group of kids who were close to the bag. Jason was the one who caught it, and dropped it in. He was helping Lita hold the bag open.

"Heh, I guess. I'm going to figure out how thank her this Sunday," Jennika said as they got to the bag.

"What's special about this Sunday?" Mikey asked, tilting his head.

Jennika cast him a funny look, but grinned nevertheless. "Ooh. You're one of those."

"One of what?" Mikey asked, blinking.

"Oh, you know," Jennika said with a casual shrug, but a teasing smile on her lips. "The kind of people that forget about Mother's Day."

Mikey felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Jennika was grinning, but there was no sign of malice in her eyes.

She… doesn't know, Mikey realized awkwardly. I thought everyone knew.

Numbly, he dropped the dodgeballs he'd collected into the string bag that Lita and Jason were holding out. Although the majority of the class had pretty much left for the locker rooms back in the gym, he felt like the entire world's eyes were on him.

"I guess it just slipped my mind," Mikey said, giving her his default smile and hoping it didn't seem forced.

A lot of things about Mikey's life had changed since the summer between sixth and seventh grade. All Leo's plans of traveling across the country for university had been dropped to settle for a local college so he could stay close to family. Raph had grabbed a part-time job as an instructor's assistant at the local self-defense classes on the weekends, while Donnie had become a tutor on top of his own schoolwork. And in his school, Mikey had become the kid who'd lost his dad. At some point, it was what everyone knew but didn't dare talk about in his presence.

With all that indirect attention during those times, Mikey had just assumed that people knew about his mom - or rather, his lack of one.

The silence after his answer seemed to last for ages. For some inexplicable reason, Mikey felt… well, he wasn't sure how to describe it. His skin felt like it was prickling, especially around his cheek and neck, and his stomach was doing flips. He couldn't fathom why.

"I'm going to bake a pie for my mom," Lita said, and relief washed over Mikey like a wave as someone else took the center stage of attention. "She loves apple pie. What are you going to do for your mom, Jason?"

"Make her a card, for one. But my dad and I are going to try to make her favorite foods all day," Jason told them. "Breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

"Isn't your mom a chef?" Lita asked.

"Yeah. But we're using her cookbook so it comes out the way she likes," Jason said with a shrug. "Hopefully she'll like it."

"I - I bet she will," Mikey chimed in. "That's a really awesome idea."

"Taking notes, Hamato?" Jennika teased. "Considering you forgot and all?"

Not especially, Mikey wanted to say. Considering I don't have a mom to celebrate. But he didn't want to say that and make Jennika feel bad. He laughed along with the others, and the topic naturally changed, their conversation carrying as they walked back to the gymnasium.

The sky grew a little cloudier, and Mikey could see the early onset of a rainstorm through the locker room window as he got changed out of his gym clothes. His phone buzzed, and he hopped on one foot trying to get into his jeans as he picked it up to see a message from Leo, checking in on him.

R u walking home now?

Yep, on my way! Mikey texted back.

He finished changing and shrugged on his backpack, his mind continuously rerouting back to the conversation he'd had with Jennika. Mikey sighed, long and dramatically.

Why am I thinking about that, anyway? Mother's Day never really bothered me before. I'm so weird. I should probably be thinking about the super creepy weird voice I heard during dodgeball. Where did it come from? Where did it go?

Worry and curiosity spiked in Mikey's chest at that. But most of all, a weird sense of anticipation.

After all, there was a pretty good chance it was a yokai.

When Mikey found Leo in the master bedroom's walk-in closet at home that afternoon after his shower, he hesitated before going inside and making himself known.

This is not going to go well, is it?

Okay, for the record? All of Mikey's brothers were pretty awesome. Donnie had the brains, Raph had the brawns, and Leo was just… perfect.

No, for real! There was just something about Leo's natural grace that had people flocking towards him. When teachers saw Mikey's last name on their attendance sheets, they would get a wistful look in their eyes and bring up Leo, who they'd had six years before Mikey, like he was some kind of living legend. Leo didn't consider himself popular, but Mikey knew it was all in humility — after all, Leo was literally friends with the mayor.

Okay, well. Friends with the mayor's son, more technically, because they went to the same college and all.

But whatever. Still. The way Leo's charisma worked was impressive.

In Mikey's eyes, it made him kind of perfect.

And with all that awesomeness already taken up in the family register, Mikey had felt so special after making a discovery a few months ago that set him apart from his brothers.

He could see yokai.

Yokai, as in the mysterious mystical spirits that humans couldn't see. The same illusive creatures from Japanese folklore that their father Yoshi used to tell them stories about. Not only were they were real, but Mikey could see them. It was basically his own personal superpower!

And yet… they'd all learned on Valentine's Day that yokai could be pretty dangerous.

Leo had been concerned. A lot.

He'd even made Mikey stop hanging out with Klunk, the awesome and adorable cat-yokai with owl features and way too many tails that had followed Renet into the city after she'd moved there. The cat-yokai normally hung out wherever Renet went, but on Leo's request, Renet was trying her best to keep the yokai in her room. It had only been a couple months, but Mikey really missed the furball.

Mikey now stared at Leo's back as his oldest brother rummaged through a box of old things, oblivious to the fact that the youngest Hamato was still hesitating on starting the conversation.

Just say it! Mikey thought, pumping himself up and practicing in his head. Leo, something weird happened today.

Okay, no. That would set all sorts of red flags for Leo. Something else, something else…

Leo, I was playing dodgeball with everyone today, and I heard a voice in my head telling me that it had found… me…

What was Leo supposed to do with that?

"Oh, hey, kiddo," Leo said, seeing Mikey hovering in between the doorway. "You're back!"

"Back and showered and smelling great, thank you, soap," Mikey said cheerfully, pushing aside his inner turmoil for a moment. He scooted forward, shaking his wet hair at Leo. "Smell me."

Leo's eyes crinkled as he laughed, shaking his head.

"C'mere, silly," he said fondly before moving aside to let Mikey sit next to him.

Mikey cast a look inside the box. It was full of mostly their old clothes and junk and some other smaller boxes. "What are you doing?"

"Just going through a few things," Leo said. "I accidentally broke a picture frame, and I think we have another one in here."

"You broke something?" Mikey gasped dramatically.

"It decided to fall apart in my hands," Leo amended himself easily, making Mikey laugh. "It was old, I promise."

"So now… we're looking for an even older picture frame," Mikey said as Leo pulled out a cardboard box. It kicked up a cloud of dust.

A twinge of a smile appeared on the eldest Hamato brother's mouth. "It is true that some of these things are older than you."

"Like what?" Mikey asked.

Leo pulled out a thick book with cloth binding that looked worse for wear. Mikey instantly recognized it, but Leo spoke the words aloud anyway. "Exhibit A. Dad's dictionary."

A few months ago, Mikey couldn't talk about their late father without getting his voice caught in his throat and his eyes starting to smart. He still missed his dad terribly, and it still hurt sometimes. But now a smile came to his mouth, and warm memories felt like they were floating through the air.

"He loved that thing more than the Internet," Mikey said.

Leo smirked. "Remember when Donnie and Dad got into that competition?"

"Yeah," Mikey said with a snort. "Donnie was trying to prove that online dictionaries were superior by finding a word that wasn't in Dad's dictionary."

"Wasn't it something like 'sleet'?"

"I think it was 'slush'."

Leo chuckled and gestured to the large box full of stuff. "You can poke around in there, too. It's a small frame, rectangular."

"What picture is it for?"

"It's of Raph and Donnie at this bake sale when they were in middle school," Leo said, and Mikey got to searching, sticking his arms into the big box and moving things around. "How was school, though?"

"Oh! It was…," Mikey hesitated. "Um. Good. I sort of… we played dodgeball in physics class today."

"Sounds like fun."

"It was. Bradford was being funny. Jennika was totally awesome. And Renet was on my team, and she found a woodchip in my hair."

Why was Mikey telling him all this?

"Fun, fun," Leo said, listening half-distractedly.

How could he gently broach the subject of yokai? He didn't want Leo to freak out.

"Um… Leo?"

"Yeah?"

Mikey gulped. "So… about, like, Klunk."

Leo hummed, pulling out a folder full of old documents and flipping through it.

"What's the dealio with letting me hang out with him again?" Mikey asked. "I mean. He's pretty harmless. He's just a cat."

Leo sighed. "Seriously, Mikey? No."

"What? But I-"

"No. We talked about this."

"We didn't, actually," Mikey said. "You were the one who was all, 'no more yokai investigating', which I agree with, because wow, last time was a mess, but then -"

"'Hanging out' with a yokai is a form of investigating yokai, in my book," Leo said with a deeply irritated sigh. "It'll lead you straight into trouble like last time."

"But Leo, Klunk -"

Leo snapped the folder shut. "No, Mikey. How many times do I have to say it? No. End of discussion."

"We barely had a discussion," Mikey mumbled, annoyed. With that avenue shut, how was he supposed to bring up what happened today?

Leo, I think a yokai is telepathically communicating with me.

Nope, no way.

Clearly, Leo was already so hyper-sensitive about yokai and Mikey getting into trouble that saying something like that would no doubt create a fiasco. And Raph and Donnie were snitches of the highest degree when it came to protecting Mikey, so there was no way he could recruit them.

Mikey engrossed himself in shuffling through the box, feeling Leo's gaze on him linger for a moment. Then Leo seemed to go back to searching through his own box. Mikey knew Leo probably felt bad about saying 'no' so much, and that it wasn't fair to stay angry at him. But Mikey wasn't angry, honest! He was just… just…

Mikey froze, then slowly his hands pulled out a picture frame that was already framing a picture. His heart jolted at the image, and suddenly he was looking at something that he had never seen before.

It wasn't like they didn't have other pictures of her. She'd died when Mikey was small, so as soon as Mikey was old enough to wonder, his father had supplied him with the family album, which had nearly a dozen photos of the beautiful blond woman in bright, colorful outfits, usually overalls over a t-shirt. Her blond locks were something Mikey had unabashedly inherited from her, as well as her smattering of freckles that stretched down to her neckline. Donnie had a lot of her nose, Mikey had always noticed. And everyone said that Raph had the same eye shape. Leo had always resembled their father more, barely sharing any features with their mother.

But in this picture, with Daffodil Hamato standing in the doorway of a house that was no longer their home, her hair tied back and her mouth in a pressed line, trying not to burst out laughing at whatever goofiness the little black-haired toddler in her arms had said to her in total seriousness, Mikey could see something mischievous that glinted off that expression in a way that was definitely all Leo.

Mikey smiled, sort of awed by how genetics worked their magic like that.

Maybe if their mother were still here, Leo wouldn't have to worry so much about him. Maybe then they could've all seen Leo make that funny little expression more.

"Mikey?" Leo asked. "Did you find something?"

Things weren't like that though, and Leo already had so much to worry about. Part-time jobs, bills, taxes, college, groceries. The least Mikey could do was keep his yokai stuff to himself, while not putting himself in danger.

"Yeah, actually. Exhibit B," Mikey said, and turned to hand Leo the picture frame.

"Thanks, Mikey. Oh, hey," Leo said, his voice going all soft when he saw the picture. "Where was this hiding?"

"Dunno, but it's super nice. We should keep it out. You were adorable, Leo."

Leo laughed softly, the smile not leaving his lips. "C'mon. It's almost time for dinner."

"While you're in a good mood, can I hang out with friends tomorrow?" Mikey asked, walking out behind him. "Human friends?"

Leo rolled his eyes. "Buttering me up, I see. Sure, Mikey."

Mikey squeezed Leo's midsection before skipping into the kitchen, a plan in his mind and a smile on his face.

It's time to call Casey and Renet, Mikey thought. I might not be allowed to investigate yokai, but they totally can for me!

No, don't mentally look at me like that, conscience. This is a loophole. Everything's going to be totally chill!

A/N: Thanks for reading!

I practically grew up on taisi's tmnt human aus (although all her fics are pure gold!) and in her fic 'if wishes were fishes' the boys' mom's name was Sunny so I picked Daffodil purely due to the similar aesthetic, which I vibe with. (I would have used Tang Shen as the boys' bio mom, but I didn't know how to explain Mikey's blond hair lol). As a reader, I highly recommend checking out her fics if you haven't yet because she arranges her sentences like the words are flowers. :D