Author's Note

Hello Universe! Palkia's back with Chapter 7! Yee! But before we get into it…

sonavelkovskaa5842: Aww thank you so much! Sorry I had to translate this, but again, thank you for you support for this story!

Nikxsy: I really wanted to make a story like this for a long time. Thank you so much! Yes, I am a huge fan of our cynical kyuubi. He needs more screen time XD

Here's the music!

(1) Stalemate- Naruto Shippuden OST 1

(2) Critical State- Naruto Shippuden OST 2

(3) Companions- Naruto Shippuden OST 1

(4) Evening- Naruto OST 1

Now, let's continue on!

I do not own TMNT and I do not own Naruto

Chapter 7

The Unexpected Truth

He didn't take any time to ask questions or respond at all to April's sudden outburst. All Leonardo did was run. Not even caring that he left his brothers and Sensei behind in the dust. They couldn't even catch up to him to begin with. It was impossible. But the fact that he ran away to begin with certainly had them asking questions.

The turtle ran as fast as he could through the sewers. His mind was a blur. To begin with, he didn't even know what occurred with his brothers, or even where Mr. Murakami was at the moment. But he didn't need to know. He just knew. Raph's behavior earlier showed that. "Dude, they were beating up a blind guy!" Leo heard his voice in his head. It must've happened.

The guys had gone out to get revenge on the Purple Dragons. Without him. And even if he had known about it and they went ahead and did it anyway, it would've been against his orders. Because this would've happened as a result. Going against the Purple Dragons is a sign of revenge, and knowing the street gang they would take up any advantage to get back at them.

"Leonardo," he heard Kurama's voice in the back of his head. But his mind was such a whirl that the turtle ignored him.

"Leonardo…" The fox's patience was getting pulled thin. Yet again, he didn't answer.

"LEONARDO!"

"Ahhhh!"

The reaction was immediate. So much so that Leo ended up tripping and falling to the stone ground.

"Hmmm…" he groaned.

"Baka! Do you even realize what you've done?" Kurama stated.

Leo sat up, beginning to collect his scattered thoughts. Then, his eyes widened. He slammed his fist against the ground, which unfortunately for him, made a crack in the ground.

"Damnit!" Leo cursed. His voice echoed throughout the sewers. It was clear he finally realized, since he usually didn't speak like this.

Now he knows that his family is most likely out looking for him, wondering why he suddenly ran off.

'What am I going to do now?' Leo thought to himself. 'They're probably searching for me.'

"You might as well continue on," the fox said. "If you go back now, there will be more questions."

Leo knew Kurama was right. If he went back now, his family would find him and ask him questions as to why he ran off. How could he run off when he didn't even know where Murakami was? Even worse, why would he run off to save someone who he "supposedly" just met? It didn't make sense, unless Leo had known the old man for a while, which was true.

'You're right,' he thought. 'Even now, they could be holding him hostage. I can't wait for them. When I come back, then they can ask me questions if they want to.'

With no other option, the turtle got up from his position on the ground, and ran once more. He rounded a corner and spotted a ladder that led up to the surface. Leo took a hold of it, climbing up towards the surface.

(1) The turtle pushed up the manhole cover, climbing out of the sewers then placed it back on top. Leo calmed down, then placed his hand on the ground. This in turn, allowed him to feel the life force of many, many people living in New York. But he was only there to find one person, and he hoped Mr. Murakami wasn't in too much danger. It was then at that moment that Leo was able to find out where he was. And it certainly wasn't good.

Murakami didn't seem all too worried, yet at the same time he could imagine the old man having some sense of fear.

'Found him!' Leo said to himself. 'A few miles away but I can make it!'

He got up from the ground and pushed himself forward, climbing up the nearest fire escape and continuing his run to find the old man.

It didn't take him long to find his destination; The roof of the Fortune Cookie Factory, which hadn't been in operation for years. It wasn't hard to guess who was responsible for the kidnapping, since the location itself was in the middle of ChinaTown, the area the Purple Dragons were in control of. What made it even more convenient for the kidnappers was that it wasn't too far from Murakami's Noodle Shop, meaning they didn't have to drag him too far.

Leo stopped his pursuit on the roof of the building next to the factory. He hid himself, trying to come up with some sort of plan. His eyes then saw the culprits.

'You've gotta be kidding me…' he inwardly complained. 'Not only is the place crawling with Purple Dragons…' The turtle turned his head, noticing two familiar men on the other side of the building.

'...but Bradford and Xever are here as well. The Foot are teaming up with the Purple Dragons?'

"There's another thing you should worry about," Kurama stated. "Look."

In response, Leo looked over to the side. His eyes widened in fear. There he was, Mr. Murakami, tied up by a rope, and suspended over the side of the Fortune Cookie Factory. Anger rose from within his entire being. His eyes taking on a slight reddish tint, filled with hatred.

'Those...ARGH!'

Kurama could sense the level of anger with the turtle. These humans, they had no sense of honor. And that was what fueled his rage the most. The fox knew humans could be low, but it was rare that he saw humans go this low. Through Leonardo's eyes, Kurama could see the turtle's fist clench.

The fox knew better than anyone how low humans could be. Being alive for 1,000 years had its perks. Humans had no trust for him. More than anything, Kurama knew the amount of hate that the humans harbored towards him. Here was no different, only it was aimed at Leonardo. It was almost as bad as it was in his own dimension. Could humans ever change?

"Well, what are you going to do about it?" he asked Leonardo, hoping to divert the anger away from the turtle.

It was at times like these that Kurama, while he would never admit, felt pity. And it was for his jinchuriki. The kitsune's chakra was just full of so much negative energy that it just influenced the turtle too much. That was the downside of being a tailed beast.

Not only that, Leonardo's body was never designed to hold chakra either. This meant that while in a normal shinobi, chakra would never leak out, but in the case of Leo, chakra would be leaking out almost constantly. Which meant it went into his emotions. Anger was the most common side effect from the tailed beast chakra. It always is the case, and always will ever be with any jinchuriki. There wasn't much he could do.

Kurama nearly chuckled. 'Heh. Me feeling pity? What am I then?'

There was no doubt in his mind that he had gained a soft spot for Leonardo over the years. From the first time they met, all the way up until now. The giant kitsune actually liked his jinchuriki for once! Oh wouldn't the other tailed beasts love to hear that!

Fortunately for him, Leonardo was snapped out of this anger trance by his statement. His eyes were blue once more, and the hatred left his system. He kept his breathing slow and steady, calming himself down.

'Sorry,' was all Leo could muster.

"Heh. Happens to the best of us," Kurama stated, referring to his past anger issues.

'Ok,' Leonardo began. 'Stealth isn't going to work that well, since Foot ninjas are surrounding the place. I could use a frontal assault, but they might expect that. Oh, what the heck am I saying? Of course they're expecting me to begin with! Agh! What do I do?'

"We know you're here, turtles!" Leo looked over and saw Xever standing over the beam where Murakami was tied up.

To the turtle's horror, he saw him pull out a knife.

'No, he wouldn't…!' Xever knelt down and pointed the knife at the rope.

"Come on out, or the old man dies!" Immediately, he began to cut the rope.

Leo couldn't watch anymore, and was soon leaping across from the roof he was currently occupying to the roof of the Fortune Cookie Factory. He landed swiftly on the roof in front of them,not even fazed a bit. Looking up, Leo saw the smirk on Xever's face at the sight of the turtle in front of him.

"So, you finally show yourself turtle," Xever remarked. He glanced around, not seeing the other three turtles.

"Hmm, where's the rest of your little friends?" The question wasn't asked in a curious way, but in a more sinister approach. Leo said nothing, not wanting to bring up how much the thought his brothers angered him. (1!)

"Shame. It looks like I can only fillet one turtle tonight." Xever twirled his knife in his hand.

(2) "Attack!"

Soon after that was said, a barrage of Foot ninjas came surging towards the turtle. Leo clenched his swords tighter, ready to go forward. Then, he made his move.

The Foot swarmed around him, yet this did not faze the turtle. He cranked up his use of chakra regarding sensory, knowing that it would be useful since there would be ninjas attacking him from behind. Leo blocked an incoming sword from one of the Foot soldiers in front of him, pushing back. He kicked underneath the ninja in front of him and sent them flying off the building.

A second later, he sensed more incoming projectiles. Leo smirked, now wanting to try something.

'Would that thing that Shishigami taught me work?' the turtle asked himself.

"Heh. Try it. If not, well a few cuts won't hurt now would it?" Kurama's voice rang in his mind.

'Thanks for the vote of confidence.'

Needless to say, Leo was going to try out what he learned. As the kunais came flying at him, he focused his chakra into his right leg. The turtle jumped up, closing his eyes and focusing. He couldn't use hand seals now, as it would take too much time, and he didn't even have the finger count to do one of them. Leo opened his eyes, determined.

'Wind Style! Divine Mountain Wind!'* he shouted in his mind.

He kicked forward while in the air. As the kunais flew towards the turtle, Xever held a victorious smirk on his face. However, this soon turned to a shocked expression, as a gust of wind appeared in the wake of the kick. The kunais were sent flying back towards Xever, his eyes widened in shock at the feat. They came in fast, and the human narrowly dodged them, nearly getting killed.

Leo smirked in victory, the opposing Foot ninja staring at him, not knowing what to do. The turtle was a little tired after using the jutsu without hand seals, but he was happy nonetheless.

'Yes!' he thought.

But he couldn't let himself get distracted for too long, so Leo lunged forward, blades firm as he headed towards the unsuspecting Foot ninjas. The turtle elbowed the first one, knocking them down. A kick to the second. He dodged the third, blocking another attack with his katana, then proceeded to kick two more ninjas out of the way. His adrenaline increased, as he could feel his blood exhilarating faster. He felt unstoppable.

More Foot came towards him, and among them was the Leader of the Purple Dragons. He carried a butcher knife with him, watching the ninja fight the mutant turtle in front of him. He hesitated for a moment, looking back at the knife, debating on whether to attack or not. After watching Leo fight off more, the Leader of the Purple Dragons lunges forward, ready to collide his butcher knife with the turtle.

However, just as he thought he had the upper hand when it came to surprising the turtle, Leo was already one step ahead, swinging his sword around and having it collide with the butcher knife. This in turn pushed the Purple Dragon Leader to the ground. He grew fearful as he realized that a katana was being pointed to him. But to the gang leader's surprise, the turtle focused his attention away from him, and towards some more Foot soldiers instead.

"Good job on not going berserk on him," the fox commented. Leo nearly scoffed.

'I'm...a little...heh...busy right now!' the turtle answered, noticing that he was becoming tired. Kurama could sense it too, as the breath from the teen was becoming hard and ragged.

"Baka. You should've used hand seals to do it. Or at least make an attempt at the hand seals."

'I can't,' Leo retorted. 'Three fingers. Turtle. Remember?' Even if he couldn't see him, the turtle just knew the kitsune was shaking his head. 'Besides, do you really want me to give away how I did that to begin with?'

"Even so, your chakra levels have gone down because you didn't use the hand seals," Kurama reminded him. "You could've done at least one of those. You need more practice with Shishigami." A slight snap was heard, and Leonardo looked over to see the rope breaking a little bit more.

'Dang it. I need to hurry it up!'

As he was distracted, he didn't notice an oncoming kick from Bradford, which sent him tumbling to the ground. Leo grunted, frustrated that he could distracted. His eyes widened, and he moved swiftly out of the way, just before Bradford could stomp on him. The turtle's reflexes were becoming a little bit slower now. The usage of that much chakra without a hand seal tired him greatly.

Leo glared at the human, now colliding and avoiding a few kicks from him. Then, more Foot ninja came in from above, and Bradford stepped out, letting the turtle take them on himself. The jinchuriki's exhausting was piling up, so much so that he didn't notice Xever come up behind him and kick him away towards Bradford. Said human landed a punch, and together they sent Leo spiraling to the other edge of the building, flinging his swords away from him, and he landed just underneath a water tower.

Foot ninja gathered around the area to watch the turtle struggle to get up from the ground. Leo was in pain, but he looked up to see Xever chuckling at him.

"See Bradford?" he said. "That is how you catch a turtle. "And next…" Xever twirled his knife in his hand. "I'll show you how to fillet one." But this remark seemed to spark anger in Bradford.

"You'd never had caught him without me and you know it!" he retorted back. Xever only sneered at this.

"Oh yes, what would we have done without your brave leadership from the sidelines!"

They seemed to have begun to fight against each other. Leo could watch them at the moment, as he tried to plan some way of escape. At the same time, he heard the rope snap a little more.

'How am I going to get out of here?' Leo thought. 'My chakra's low, and I don't want to use more than I want to. I've already shown too much. I can't show any more.' He tried getting up, only to stumble back onto the ground. 'Ugh! Dang it!'

"Let me take over," Kurama told him. It was a dire situation at this point, and the fox still had power in him to take on the enemies.

'No! You…!' But before he could say anything else to the fox, one of his katanas flew right in front of him, sticking out of the ground.

'What the…' Leo looked up in the direction of where it came from, and to his surprise, he saw the Leader of the Purple Dragons, crossing his arms, yet still looking at him.

'Well, it looks like my act of mercy paid off!' He smirked, giving the gang leader a nod. The turtle picked up his sword, feeling his confidence return. Leo eyed the waterfall, and suddenly had an idea.

"I approve," Kurama replied.

'Hehe, I knew you would.'

"Now, if you'll excuse me," Xever began to say. He held out his knife, smirking. "It's time to cut this turtle into little pieces."

But just before they could do anything, Leo held out his katana in front of them.

"I don't think so!" the turtle stated, now standing up. Then, he jumped up towards the water tower, slashing through the foundation.

The water tower broke apart, water spewing out from it. Leo got out of the way just in time for the wave to splash upon the two humans and the remaining Foot soldiers, sending them over the side of the building. Unfortunately, the water also escalated the breaking of the rope that held up Mr. Murakami. The turtle heard this, and rushed over to the edge.

SNAP! The old man fell towards the ground, yelling. Leo, in a last stitch effort, grabbed ahold of the rope, using all of his strength and chakra to haul him up. Thankfully, he managed to bring him up, and as soon as he got Mr. Murakami onto the roof, he collapsed, exhausted. (2!)

"Minato-san?" At that moment, Leo's eyes widened.

'Oh gods…' he thought. 'He knows...oh he knows…' In the back of his mind, Kurama's fur stood on end.

"Ooohhh Shishigami is not going to like this…"

The rest of the evening was spent explaining everything. And when Leonardo meant everything, he literally meant everything. His entire life, as well as his family, and not to mention Kurama. All the while, Mr. Murakami listened, while making food for the turtle's family. There was nothing much he could do to comfort the turtle. There was so much bottled up that all he could do was listen. It wasn't much, but he was sure that Leo took comfort in it.

The noodle shop was closed for the night. Even so, Leo took the extra precaution of using his human form. If some humans walked by, for instance, he didn't want them to see a giant mutant turtle in the window. Besides, Mr. Murakami knew him best in that form.

At some points, Leo felt he was about to cry. He didn't like showing emotion like that, yet this was different. Leo hated lying to the old man for the past three years, and this was all coming out. The truth that he had been hiding for so long. Part of it felt good to get out of his system, but it still hurt to tell the truth, especially after all the time that went by.

But this wasn't his family, Leonardo had to remind himself about that. This was Mr. Murakami, the kind old man who took him in and gave him a job for the past three years. It was different if he had told his family. At least from here he could've been fired. Yet to his surprise, the old man listened to his tale, nodding while he prepared the meal.

"So that's everything," Leo finished. His head was low, trying to hold in the emotions his mind was currently harboring.

"I…" The now human could not say much else.

Both stood in silence for a moment. Even Kurama didn't interrupt, waiting for the conversation to continue. And finally…

"I have heard that there have been tales of a kitsune possessing someone…" Murakami spoke.

Leo lifted his head. Did that mean…?

"Sometimes, a kitsune would take over a person's body, and kill them," he continued. "Other times, the person is made a servant and turns into a fox. It is very rare for one to befriend their host. And it seems, you have done so as well...uh…"

"Oh! Leonardo's fine!" Leo stated, smiling sheepishly.

This might be a little hard from now on. The old man couldn't see to begin with, so it would be hard to tell whether or not it was a good time to call him by Minato or by Leonardo. Regaining his composure, Leo looked up.

"But Murakami-san, I have one question. How were you able to tell that the Minato you knew and I were the same person?"

(3) "Your heart," the old man answered simply, as he was working on the pizza gyoza at this moment. By this point, Leo's mouth was wide open in shock.

"Ehhhh?!" was all he said. Mr. Murakami only chuckled at this. "I don't really understand," Leo spoke. "I had a different voice, different textured skin, everything! How did you know?!"

"It's not everyday someone was able to go behind the shop and able to find the storage closet for instance," the old man replied.

The young boy's eyes widened. Somehow he had heard Leonardo go behind the shop after the whole mess with the Purple Dragons the first time around!

"So I found the storage closet yeah," Leo remarked. "Yet that still can't be the only reason right?" The old man nodded to his question.

"It is not the only answer. When I said your heart, I truly meant what I said."

"Many legends say that no two souls are alike. No matter how closely you can see them, there is always a difference between the two. When you came in here with you brothers, you acted like you always do whenever you are here; You cleaned up the mess, asked questions, and you ordered your favorite item off of the menu, with politeness."

While he couldn't see the face of the blonde at the moment, Mr. Murakami knew he was blushing furiously in embarrassment.

"That noticeable...huh?" Leo groaned uncomfortably.

"Hai, you were never a good liar to begin with," the old man could only chuckle.

"That's what Sensei says all the time…" the boy sighed sheepishly.

"Even with the similar actions, was that how you determined who I was?" Leo asked.

"You have a way of thinking that is unique to you," the old man replied. "How else were you able to find me? Not many know me personally, yet you came without your brothers. That was when I truly knew that it was you."

Leo kept silent. Mr. Murakami just finished preparing the ramen, and brought it over to the boy. He stared into it, picking at the noodles with his chopsticks.

"So, what does that mean now?" Leo asked him. "Am I allowed to come back here and work?" The old man glanced over towards the sound of his voice.

"Why of course you are able to come here and work," Mr. Murakami answered. "You have been such a great help to me. You are always welcome here." This made Leo's spirit lift up. He looked at the old man, eyes beaming.

"A...Arigato, Murakami-san!" the boy said. Immediately afterwards, he started to eat the bowl of ramen.

"Oi! Oi! Save some for me baka!" Kurama called from the back of Leo's mind. "Oi! You're forgetting someone!" The boy's eyes widened.

'Oh...sorry hehe,' he said.

At this point, half of the ramen was gone, as Leo was very exhausted from the fight from earlier. He still continued to eat, hoping to replenish his energy.

The giant fox tapped his claw against the stone floor of the cavern. "Well, are you going to save some?" he asked.

'Listen, I need to replenish my chakra somehow!' Leo complained.

"Rest is an option. Better than food."

'Are you trying to get me to give you some ramen?'

"You usually give me some!"

'Well not now, in case you've forgotten, I fought a battle today alright! I need this!'

"Well so do I, oh great Hokage."

'Hey!' Leo felt something pulling him in, and in a second, he was in his mindscape.

"Huh? Oi! What was that for?!" the boy complained. Suddenly, Leo felt drowsy, his eyes were hard to keep open. In a second, he fell to the stone floor, asleep.

"I am getting food from you whether you like it or not!"

The giant fox loomed over him, his hands pressed against each other and his posture in a meditative state. He focused, and soon he found himself opening his eyes again. But this time, it wasn't in the familiar cave. It was the noodle shop. Kurama saw the old man preparing the food for Leonardo's family off to the side. The eyes of the blonde human were now red. Fox whiskers formed on his face, and his teeth became sharp and pointy.

"You must be Kurama, am I wrong?" Mr. Murakami said.

Kurama looked at the old man in surprise. How exactly did he know that he was here to begin with instead of Leo. And not only that, the old man didn't even have the slightest sign of fear on his body or in his emotions! To this, the fox smirked.

"Heh. Someone decided to not share their ramen with me," was all he replied. He paused for a moment. "Baka."

The old man in front of him chuckled. "Leonardo seems to enjoy your company," Mr. Murakami said.

"Ah. He can be a hassle at times, but the brat seems to know what he's doing. Well, most of the time."

"And you take good care of him as well?" the old man asked. The Pizza Gyoza was nearly done, so he grabbed a take out container to put them in.

"I wouldn't say all the time. I'm here just to slap him whenever he decides to go off the deep end." The fox-human pick up some of the ramen and ate it.

"You are certainly one of the more interesting humans I've met," Kurama commented. Mr. Murakami didn't say anything, but the fox took it as a sign to continue.

"Many have treated me with hatred over the years I've been alive. Yet you show quite a good amount of interest in me without anger. Could you...elaborate?"

"Leonardo speaks so highly of you," Mr. Murakami replied. "He said he thought of you as a guardian to him in some ways. But also, a friend."

Kurama thought about this for a moment. There was no doubt that Leonardo appreciated and, to some extent, loved him like a member of the family. To hear these words was no surprise, yet they made the fox feel good for once. There was someone out there who was speaking of him in a good way instead of the monstrous beast he is known to represent. Sure, it was his own jinchuriki, but even still, the feeling was there nonetheless.

"He has had...a hard life, so to speak," the kitsune admitted. "He cannot tell of my existence to anyone, even his family. Lest he will either be hunted down and killed just to get to me, or prejudice will set in upon him from those he loves."

There was silence in the room. The kitsune felt guilt, not being able to do much to help Leonardo in the years that the two have officially known each other.

"I do not usually say this, but you are one of the few humans I have grown fond of," Kurama continued. The Pizza Gyoza were finished by this point, and Mr. Murakami was putting them in a box.

"There are some things in his life that, despite my immense power, I cannot lift. Leonardo needed someone to talk to, other than his family and," The fox-human sighed, feeling his pride wear thin yet again. "Myself."

Again, there was silence. But Kurama spoke up once more. "I...suppose you have...ugh what do you humans call it? Gratitude?" He looked down at the almost empty bowl in front of him.

"Heh. Me...giving out gratitude. I'm growing soft towards humans aren't I? Next thing I know, they'll be performing tribal dances around me."

"If it were up to me, I would've left this city a long time ago, and probably killed a few humans in my wake. But I'm stuck with this brat for who knows however long he is going to live. I'm not complaining that much. He has earned my trust, as yours. However…"

Kurama stood up, leaning over the counter, getting close to the old man.

"If you intend to or actually harm him in any way, know that you'll be the first on my dinner plate, human."

He sat back down, finishing the rest of the food in his bowl.

"Hai, I understand," Mr. Murakami said firmly. The old man handed the box of food meant for Leonardo's family to him. "I would never in my life do such a thing. He has been like a light to me. In a way, a son. Leonardo is free to come and go as he pleases."

"Good," Kurama replied. "I shall return to the depths of his mind. I had an interesting talk with you, human."

Kurama grinned, flashing a toothy smile at the old man, even though he was blind. He closed his eyes, waiting for Leonardo to take over. Thankfully he got the message, and when the boy opened his eyes, they were now blue. Leo looked around warily, making sure he was in the right place. Not only that, but he felt tired, since a certain fox decided to put him to sleep. Lastly, he glanced down, noticing the empty bowl in front of him.

"He ate the rest of it, didn't he?"

To this, Mr. Murakami laughed. (3!)

Leo ran home after he talked a little more with Mr. Murakami. He was grateful for the fact that the old man had made his family a meal. Hopefully it would keep their minds off of him once he got home.

There was also the topic of that as well. What will happen once he returned home? Most likely getting grounded by Sensei and solo Randori. And he wasn't exactly thrilled to see his brothers either. Much less not being too enthusiastic about them telling him the tale of the stunt they pulled against the Purple Dragons.

Now in his turtle form and carrying the leftover food, he raced around the corner, spotting the familiar turnstiles of the lair. Leo slowed down for a moment, staring off into the distance.

'Well, here goes nothing…'

He walked towards the turnstiles, breathing in and out slowly. Leo was trying to keep calm, but on the inside he was very nervous. Then, he stepped into the light.

"Guys?" he called. "Sensei? April? I'm back!" But there was no one there. "Hello?" Leo called again.

Still, there was no answer. He leaped over the turnstiles and walked into the lair further. The turtle looked around, even tried to sense if there was anyone around. Yet despite this, there was no one.

'Where is everyone?' he wondered.

Leo ran into the dojo, hoping to at least see someone. Again, no one was there. The entire lair was empty.

'Did they go searching for me?'

"Most likely," Kurama replied. "You've been gone for over an hour, and haven't said anything since then."

Leo sat down underneath the tree in the dojo, putting one leg over the other and crossing his arms over his head in a relaxed position.

'Guess I'll have to wait here until they get back.' Leo thought.

But to take long for anyone to return, as minutes later, he heard the sound of footsteps entering the lair. Leo stayed where he was under the tree and let the owner of said footsteps come to him. There were two of them, and Leo had a feeling about who they were.

"Leo!" "Leonardo!" The voices of Raphael and Master Splinter filled his ears as they ran into the dojo.

The red masked turtle ran in front of his brother, relief and anger written on his face.

"Where have you been?! You scared the heck out of us!" Leo opened his eyes, and looked up at his brother. He tried his best to hide his nervousness, but it was leaking out. The turtle sighed.

(4) He didn't tell them everything that transpired that night, like the bulk of the conversation between him and Mr. Murakami. Everyone else came along eventually. Donnie, Mikey, even April. At first, they were angry at him for running off on his own, and Leo had no doubt that they probably questioned him in the back of their minds about why he would run off to rescue some man they only met once. Of course, they wouldn't admit it to him, and he was thankful for that. But after Leo told them that the old man was safe and sound, all of them felt relieved. Yet there were still questions.

"So wait a sec," Donnie began. "How exactly did he know that we were turtles?"

It was one thing Leo decided to add in there. The conversation between him and the old man led to a different answer, because of who he was. Leo couldn't say that answer. So he decided that this was the best way to approach it.

"He said he had other senses as well," Leo began. "Touch. Smell…"

The blue masked turtle turned towards Mikey, referring to the fact that the orange masked turtle barely took a shower. In response, he blushed in embarrassment. The others just rolled their eyes at the youngest. Then, they turned back to Leo.

"And he doesn't think we're weird or scary?" Raph commented. Leo just shook his head.

"He said we saved his life. He doesn't have anything to complain about. And he said he would keep our existence a secret." The three turtles breathed a sigh of relief, knowing their existence would be kept safe.

Master Splinter came up from behind Leonardo and placed a hand on his shoulder. Leo almost flinched at the touch, but relaxed.

"You showed your strength today," he said to the oldest turtle. But he did not understand what the rat master meant by this.

"Yeah, but I almost got beaten, Sensei," Leo commented.

"Your strength was mercy," he answered his son. "That is why the Purple Dragon helped you."

A realization came over the eldest, and he smirked, glancing over at Raph. He could actually get back at the red masked turtle for criticizing him earlier.

"Ohhh, are you going to do what I think you will do?" Kurama sneered happily.

"Well?" Leo began, nearly getting in Raph's face. "Say it."

He had the most devilish smirk on his face that it was almost as if Kurama had taken over his body again.

"Okay okay," Raph groaned in defeat. "You were right." In response, Leo grinned and put a hand on Raph's shoulder.

"WAHHHHHH!" In the back of the turtle's mind, the nine-tailed fox began to cry fake tears. "He has learned so much from me! Taking up his revenge and defeating his brother. It makes me proud!" Leo nearly laughed, but the grin was still there.

"Ahh, see?" Leo began. "That wasn't so-" But Raph retaliated back before he could finish.

"Your wimpiness might not be totally useless." The red masked turtle grinned. This made the blue turtle scowl.

'Dang it, should've known that he would have some retaliation.' Before he could attack, he felt an ominous feeling. And he knew it very well.

"However…" Splinter began.

In an instant, he whacked the point of his jade cane at Leonardo, causing him to fall over.

"Ack!" he cried out in pain as he hit the floor. The three brothers and April watched what was about to happen next, and Raph, Donnie, and Mikey knew very well what would happen. Splinter was mad.

"I am disappointed in you, Leonardo," the rat master continued. "You went off on your own, without your brothers. Not only that, you also faced enemies without any of us knowing." Leo groaned in agony, knowing the punishment awaiting him. "You deliberately ran away again!" Splinter continued.

"You're grounded for a week!"

He expected this to come eventually. There was no surprise that his Sensei would suspect that he would try to run away again. Yet he came back didn't he? Nevertheless, this punishment was coming. His brothers, as well as April, stared at him in shock. Leo pushed himself up, and brushed himself off.

"Wait, again?" April asked. Donnie looked at her, albeit a bit nervous about the touchy subject.

"We'll tell you later," he reassured April. Then Leo stood up and walked away. As he did, Master Splinter turned to the three other turtles, distracting their eyes away from their brother.

Leo opened the door to his room, but not before hearing that his brothers received a harsher punishment of being grounded for two weeks. Shutting the door behind him, the turtle flopped onto his bed. He sighed, exhaustion taking over him.

'Ugghh, well that was an eventful day,' Leo thought.

"Shishigami wants to see you tonight."

'SERIOUSLY?!'

Leo wasn't going to complain. No, he definitely going to complain. Leo was too tired to do it.

Yet he felt like giving the deer god a piece of his mind when he was so gosh darn tired. Leo just wanted to fall asleep and forget about the troubles that occurred throughout the day.

So when he was summoned by Shishigami, he was drained. And the deer god knew this. The jinchuriki had arrived in his human form, dressed in his usual white hoodie and blue pants. But his face revealed his condition. He most definitely needed a nap. And probably at least twelve hours of sleep.

"What...do you need...now?" Leo breathed hands were on his knees, and he was hunched over. Next to him was Kurama, who could appear outside the jinchuriki's body because they were inside Talbot Peak.

"Oi! Oi! Shishigami!" the giant fox complained. "Can't you see the brat's exhausted enough?"

The humanoid deer floated about them in the air, watching them intensely. "I already know," the deer replied.

Both fox and human looked at him in confusion. "What?" they both replied simultaneously.

"That is why I decided to bring you here. It is not very rigorous training. It is more meditative."

"Huh?" they both wondered.

"I'm going to teach you...Shadow Clone Jutsu." (4!)

Jutsu Corner

Wind Style- Divine Mountain Wind: This technique creates a vortex of wind to blast at the target (There really isn't much information on it, other than it was used in Naruto Shippuden: The Movie. I thought it would be fitting, since Shishigami is considered "divine" and would be able to teach Leo this. Also it isn't specifically told how it is used, so it doesn't mean the user has to blow wind form their mouth.)

Author's Note

That is the end of Chapter 7! Yee!

First, I'm sorry this took so long. I've divided my time between this chapter and Claws of Fallen Stars' chapter 4. But I'll get things out quicker from now on. This chapter was a little hard to write.

I didn't have the episode to begin with, so I had to buy it, as well as a few of the next episodes for the next chapters. But I based the rest of this chapter, as well as the previous one, off of Never Say Xever. With differences of course. But I like how this turned out.

I'll have a series of one shots regarding this story coming soon. They'll explain some of the things that this story doesn't have in them. Like how Leo met Mr. Murakami, and his jutsu lessons. This is just to keep the main story going, as there will be many, many chapters coming in the future. Since I want to go through season 4 and beyond.

Lastly, tell me what you guys think! I love reviews! They keep me going and let me know you appreciate this story.

Anyways, until next time, See Ya Universe!

Palkia