I own nothing!

Leo went up with his brothers to patrol. They ran across roofs, then paused, listened, and watched from them. Leo gazed more thoughtfully out at the city than the others.

Master Splinter had told him to write about what he observed. The skyline was beautiful. He looked up at the sky, just dark clouds and smoke, smog really, hung up there.

Leo gave the clouds a tired smile. That was New York for you. He looked back down. So many lights. In the city, it seemed like the stars were below you.

Five syllables, seven syllables, five syllables … Smog in the sky … Four … not quite enough.

He looked back up. Smog hid the stars … Four … Blocked? Two. Smog the stars blocked … No …

Smog in the sky blocks stars. Six. Minus one, smog in sky blocks stars …

Okay, now seven … "Million" had a lot of syllables. He looked down. A mil-li-on lights be-low … He was getting the hang of this.

. . .

Clang! Clang! Clang! Ring!

Tomoe grinned furiously as she hopped away and raised her blade. "So, you are going away again soon?"

Usagi shrugged behind his own sword in front of her. "Not too soon, in about half a month."

Tomoe's smile became gentler before him. "I'm glad you have your gift ready."

Usagi grinned gently back. "I have your daimyo to thank for that, and I shall be forever grateful."

Tomoe frowned then. "Not grateful enough to serve him always though."

Usagi's smile fell away. He lowered his sword. "Tomoe I'm sorry. I …"

She raised a hand, closed her eyes, and bowed her head. "No, no. That was uncalled for. As I said before, if anything happened to 'my' lord …" She looked back up with eyes filled with tears none of which were escaping yet. "I would not want anyone to pressure 'me' to serve another in his place."

Usagi gave her a smile filled with gentleness again. "I cannot blame you for asking another to help you protect your daimyo, though. Were our places exchanged, I'd encourage you to serve Lord Mifune. I'd want a samurai such as you at his side."

She raised her sword again with a grin. A sparkle lit her eyes. They began to spar again.

. . .

Leo held his journal, or haiku book as Mikey had designated it, above his face. He lay back on the couch staring at it. He was also listening.

He almost always did to make sure everything was alright. But he hadn't really thought about exactly what he was listening to for a long time. It had become background noise. Now he really listened again.

Bap, bap, boof, boof, grunt … Raph whacked away at his weight bag making it sound like he was in a match of life or death against it. Leo grinned. Really Raph enjoyed working out that way almost as much as he enjoyed nearly anything, except working on his bike and tracking down goons with Casey.

Leo's head turned slightly as he heard the rustle of paper too .. Flip … Flip … (snicker)

A smirk crossed his face. Mikey was reading his comics on the floor again. Leo suddenly sat up, rested his shell against the arm of the couch, and bent over his journal. He placed the nub of a pencil to the paper.

. . .

Usagi hopped back with a grin raising his blade to block.

. . .

Usagi hopped back with a grin raising his blade to block. This was turning out to be a most satisfying day. When the bigger blade came down, he was careful to turn, sliding their swords against each other, and back away while facing his opponent. He was not going to take the weight and strength at the end of that blade upon himself. He grinned up into the face behind it after he had moved.

He talked as he prepared for the next movement of his opponent. "So, my friend, what will we do after we get back to our own world after visiting Leonardo's and his family?"

Gennesuke circled him, his blades up in a protective block as he replied before and while striking out. Usagi dodged. "Find another bounty to hunt or body to guard with you, what else? As long as I can bring food of course."

Usagi began to circle as well looking for his opening. "Lord Noriyuki has asked me to be his eyes in his land while he remains in his palace."

The rhino nodded. "Good. It's better after irking Hekiji and Hebe to stay in friendly lands to us." He brought his sword down, and Usagi blocked before smoothly disengaging and diving in with a strike that forced the rhino to back away. He then raised his swords into a block to keep Usagi from making the same move to get inside his guard as before. "I can guess what they're going to do next …"

. . .

Hekiji strode across the room. "Get the bounty on him doubled."

Hebe's tongue flicked out as he listened. "Sir, I think we should concentrate on Noriyuki's retainer now."

Hekiji paused in his striding to turn a glare upon his counselor. "You heard the reports the same as I. The ronin was the cause of the multitude of failures of the other ninja clans and desertion of the Komori from our side." He began to stride up and down the room again glaring at the floor. "I will deal with them later."

Hebe's tongue flicked in and out. "I still say if we kill the girl in ambush, using a necko ninja, the cub will more easily fall. Then the grief alone could make the ronin more …"

"More likely to come for my head even to this very castle."

Hebe raised his own head and flicked his tongue out in the other daimyo's direction. On the tip, he could smell … fear?"

"The ronin issssssss nothing, my lord."

"Nothing?" Hekiji stopped and turned to him. "I have sent bounty hunters after him. I have sent ninja clans after him, after he sliced through my army like my katana through straw while carrying Mifune's head in one arm. If it had not been for him, I would have had Mifune and his family slain in one night and no battle would have been necessary. And still, he taunts me by merely remaining alive."

Hebe lowered his head. "Fine then, my lord. Up the bounty on him as you wish. We will not have to pay if no one succeeds. But someone, somewhere, is bound to get lucky against him someday if only a geisha who catches his eye and carries poison in her robes."

Hekiji looked out the window. "Indeed. And once he and his allies fall, we will take the Geisha Clan's lands added to yours, and we will be able to increase our rice growing and our armies …"

"And someday," Hebe continued, "we will be able to take it all."

Hekiji glanced over at him. Vague, but vague enough? Surely the Shogun also employed his own ninja somewhere to keep tabs on daimyo who showed ambition. While they'd been careful, he could not say that he and Hebe appeared 'unambitious' to anyone's gaze.

He looked out the window again on a seemingly peaceful landscape, he knew was really watched over by many necko ninja loyal to him. Yet, he dared not anger them even if he was severely disappointed in them. He might have to punish and replace their leader sometime, but he'd make that move carefully. He'd already had one ally switch alliances on him to lend their support to Usagi, Noriyuki, and his retainer. He was certain if not for the ronin's influence, the female retainer of the cub's would have been too proud and stubborn to make such a deal. "First we must get rid of the ronin. He 'wonders' into the midst of too many of our important plans, and still seeks vengeance upon me …"

. . .

Posters went out, and one rainy night, a white and tan hound looked up at one paper with a picture of a rabbit samurai on it. His gaze fastened on an amount listed beneath it that would have made one old ally of his choke to see it.

What do you think will happen?

God Bless

ScribeofHeroes