Juu- ichi...
Raph's mind had gone on auto-pilot as he trudged along the hillside with Trinity in tow. He barely acknowledged Don in front, or Ryutaro behind. His thoughts dwelled more on what had happened to the others.
I can't talk…dammit…
All these negative feelings mounting up in him. For once, it did not feel right that they should be apart. With this set up, somebody's gonna get pulverized, while the other goes on without knowing… and somebody here's to blame.
It was Ryutaro. Raph felt certain this time the kid was up to no good. Just how Ryutaro insisted on bringing Danza stuck out foremost in his mind. Or how he seemed to know where to go out here. The chance that Ryutaro could have mind control over them worried Raph the most.
That's it, he's fucking with our heads. Made Mike go after his stallion- he's been screwing with us the whole time, like with subliminal messages… So if he tore us apart, and stuck one of us with his stallion, he'll make it look like he wasn't at fault!
Without breaking stride, Raph snapped out a sai and slung it at Ryutaro behind him.
Ryutaro promptly stepped out of the way of a sai sailing toward his throat. He seemed to sense something like that was coming. He couldn't quite handle all of Raph coming at him though.
Don heard sounds of struggle. He turned around and gawked at the two.
Ryutaro's side seared from where the spears of Raph's sai grazed. He now held the arm with the sai away with both hands, while Raph got in a few more blows to his face. Ryutaro tried to kick the turtle off of him, but it was futile. The rage that powered Raph was more than he knew how to handle.
Don brought down his bo hard at where Raph's shoulder met his neck.
Halfway ducking his head down in his shell, Raph thought he was being attacked. Period. He spun around to spear his sai into the new attacker.
"Raph!" Don caught Raph's sai with his bo, just before it made contact with his plastron. "Stop! It's--" he further blocked a couple more punches. Sorry Raph, but… Don delivered a low groin hit between Raph's legs with his bo. Not something he felt proud of doing.
Raph crouched to the ground with a gasp. Don looked down to him with a sympathetic look, lowering his staff, gripping the wood. At least he stopped Raph long enough to reckon with him. "Just stop, okay?"
Raph looked up to him, the pain very evident in his eyes. He showed Don the back of his fist with his thumb between his fingers - the Asian way of telling someone to F off.
Don groaned and looked over his shoulder to Ryutaro. He could make out the figure of him leaning against Eclypse. The kid clutched one hand to his side, the other gingerly touching his face.
"Why was he attacking you?" Don questioned Ryutaro. He had his own presumptions, but refused to believe them yet.
"He's on-- 'em." Raph was barely audible to them.
Ryutaro carefully wiped at the blood dribbling from his nose. The pain throbbing in his cheek made his right eye squint. He could barely see the two turtles anyway… nothing but stars danced in the dark.
"Is that true?" Don narrowed his eyes. Raph was hard to believe again. Ryutaro didn't seem like the kind of guy to lead them to certain death.
"It is…" Ryutaro confessed, closing both of his eyes in pain for a moment. "Sorta… but I don't mean t' hurt any you."
"Huh?" Don couldn't make out his slur.
"I… made arrangements t' take Danza to 'em. At's all…" Ryutaro picked up his voice.
"You what? You mean you are involved with them?"
"Yeah…"
Raph shoved Don aside to face Ryutaro. "Y' kne-- who T--ats--! "
Don held Raph back. Ryutaro remained silent as Raph broke free from Don. Raph and Ryutaro faced each other, but made no further advances.
"Not personally." The human whispered. He began to feel Raph's vibes, his intense rage for this Tatsu and himself. That hurt him emotionally. He didn't deserve to be part of that. Then he sensed a dreadful fear from Raph, a dark nightmarish flash. He picked up something like that from him before when they were helping Leo on the hill.
Ryutaro fixed his gaze on the turtle, trying to shake Raph's emotions from his head. There's something… or somebody else influencing you. I'm not doing that…don't blame me for it, Raph.
He heard Raph groan in disbelief.
Ryutaro had to admit, in the short time he got to know the Turtles, the more he saw them as friends. It was not his intent at all to do harm unto them. Nor was it his doings for the separation. He decided they all would go out together because of the safety it brought for him. This Tatsumaki must be more than he believed him to be…
"Why… How?" Don still didn't understand. Does he really know Tatsu?
"Don't ev-- know 'im," Raph croaked, straining to be heard. He was on the same brainwave as Don for a moment. "He-- cap'ble of kill'g us!"
Don looked at Raph, then Ryutaro. The Foot, but not the Foot. That explains that, Tatsu… is not part of the Foot anymore…?
"So he's your enemy…the Foot…" Ryutaro nodded. He knelt down to the ground, his headache being too much for all this thought.
Mike pushed himself to keep in pace behind Leo. He was cold, but the injured horse he led made it harder to keep up. Leo offered to take Danza, to calm some of Mike's nerves. That seemed to make things a tad worse in retrospect. Now he was stuck with a slug, and had no one to cover his back. The cold strongly gripped Mike now, making his teeth chatter uncontrollably.
The darkness, however, got on his nerves the worst. Mike felt like he was eight years old again, when he used to be afraid of being in the dark sewer tunnels. Some stories Raph told him about New York's homicidal maniacs hiding in the shadows with them helped instill that fear. Along with the occasional sewer rat which would run across his feet when he least expected it.
Something's back there… watching me… waiting to jump on me…
Mike shuttered through his insecurities. He wanted to drop the lead rope and run up to Leo. He just wanted to run away from this. Every step Mike took, he was alert and tense… waiting for that moment gunfire would blow through him.
"Mike!" Leo had enough of listening to his chattering. It seemed to be louder than the roar of the river. "Quiet!"
Stunned by Leo's outburst, Mike ducked his head in his shell a little in hopes it would muffle the chattering.
Jontondo had enough of this misery and planted his feet. Mike tugged on the rope. Jon only stretched his head out, but refused to move forward.
Leo continued putting one foot in front of the other. Over and over, he pieced together the words, the name, Raph told him when he was on the cliff. Tatsu was the Foot Clan. Leo shook his head… trying to clear it of those thoughts again. This flu is making me edgy… and spacey too. Did I just yell at Mike?
"Jon… c'mon! " Mike pulled harder. Jon stood firm. C'mon! Leo's leavin' us behind! Mike stopped to look ahead. He could not see Leo in the dark anymore. "C'mon!… urrrr…Jon! Leo?!"
Panic began to set in further. Maybe there's danger ahead… maybe that's why Jon ain't moving, oh god!
"S-stop Leo!"
"Mike?" Leo stopped. He could barely see the ghostly shape of Jontondo down a ways, but didn't really sense an immediate danger. Leo promptly wrapped Danza's lead rope around the first sturdy tree he could find and ran back.
Mike had his back to him, pulling on Jon. Leo reached out to touch Mike's shoulder, "Nee--"
"Jaahhaahhaaahhh!" Mike screamed, dropping the lead rope. He jumped around with nunchucks in hand.
Leo caught Mike in his arms, just to keep him from striking out. "Shhh, Mikey, shhh…" he held onto his brother's trembling body.
"Leo, oh god--eo… " Mike mumbled in relief. He tried to relax as Leo held him in a hug, letting his head rest on his brother's shoulder. His brothers's assuring hold did give him more courage. And he was warm too.
"I'm here, it's alright…" Leo had a hunch Mike was freaking out about the dark again.
"Da-damn… fre-freez-zing," Mike shuttered, not fully admitting his initial fear to Leo yet. But the warmth he felt from Leo seemed too warm. Lifting his head, Mike looked at him. "Leo, you're ra-radiating! Don't tell me you're runnin' a fever a-again…"
"You feel like a spastic ice cube." Leo grinned at Mike. That's a good sign you're okay, you're making jokes.
"Lemme cool yah down…" Mike snuggled up to him a little more. "So I can w-warm up!"
"O-o-oka-ay, that's enough male bonding for me, let go!" Leo proceeded to pry off Mike's arms.
"No, no! Leo… please don't go…" Mike pleaded with now a tone of sincerity in his voice.
Nodding, Leo looked into Mike's longing eyes. His brother's teeth started to chatter again. Turning away, Leo scanned what he could of the lay if the land. It looked a lot flatter there than it had been. "Okay, we're stopping." Those words send a wave of relieve through his body too. Leo looked up the hill though. He hoped the others were gonna be okay, and that they would stop while up there too.
"Yes, yes! Need a fire, bad!" Mike stepped away from Leo.
Leo continued through the brush in search of a suitable spot to park. "Let's make a lean-to first," he eyed a big pine on his way back, "to hide the fire's glow…and to keep in the heat."
Facing the gray horse, Mike let out a long sigh. The thought of now looking for firewood pulled his spirits down. He just was too cold to do that. Mike picked up the lead rope and pulled back on it as to get Jontondo to turn around. "C'mon… gotta look for wood and stuff…" Much to his surprise, Jon followed after him then.
"Ryuu…? Hey… Ryan?"
Ryutaro instinctively sat up from the ground, grabbing at the arm holding his shoulder. The throbbing in his head and neck came back in full force too.
"Whoa… it, it's just Don. Thought we lost you there."
Ryutaro realized he was sitting on the ground, and had been laying on it. That was Don kneeling by him now, with flashlight in hand. We…? It was just Don there, Raph… Raph wasn't there. A crashing in the leaves and brush behind Ryutaro alerted him.
"… was I… out long?"
"No," From the glow of the flashlight, Don could tell Raph rearranged Ryutaro's face pretty good.
"God… I'm sorry. Shit…" Ryutaro gasped as he tried to unzip his coat to check his bleeding side.
"Don't be," Don still had many questions about this sudden turn on the tables. But he decided they would have to wait. He looked over to his brother trying to find his other sai in the flora.
Ryutaro tried to stand up on his own, despite waves of dizziness. "Where's… the horses?"
Unsure whether on not to help him, Don just stood close. "I tied them up over there. They're okay. I think we better stop for awhile."
Ryutaro felt for a tree trunk and leaned against it. He had no comment, understanding why.
"Raph will want to go on, but… I'm not."
"Damn…" Ryutaro wiped at more blood trickling from his nose.
"What?"
"The two first aid kits are… down with Leo and Mike."
"Oh… " Don nodded. His mind started a mental search through the stuff they did have that could also work.
Asshole. Ryutaro thought when the other turtle approached.
Raph walked by the two in a defeated way. He couldn't find his lost sai, just to make matters worst.
"Need a flashlight?" Don pointed the beam of light at Raph's feet. That was a risk, considering Raph's present mood.
Raph turned and glared coldly at him. We gotta get going again, his lips shaped the words. He finally given up on using his voice too.
Don shook off Raph's stare, almost afraid to disagree with him now. "Not now." Don swallowed.
And why? Raph crossed his arms and held his dark stare. "Ju-- 'eave da tra'tah."
"Because… that's not right. Ryan didn't do anything to us. I'm not going to leave him behind." Don found more of his voice to protest. How does Leo come up with such persuasive arguments?
Raph stepped up, growing more impatient. What about Mike and Leo? They're more important!
Don remained silent, contemplating what Raph's lips formed. Trying to find a good response that would persuade him. "They got each other… that's why Leo went down to Mike." He sighed, and I hope you stick around to back me up.
"Don!" Raph groaned.
Don gritted his teeth with anxiety. It seemed he was not getting through this brick wall of a brother. That was one of the things he just hated about Raphael. In most cases, he was too unwilling to get into a fight with him whenever his ideas conflicted. Don just gave up and let Raph have it his way. Or let Leo straighten it out. But now, considering the circumstances…
"God, Raph!" Don held his hand up to him. "Why is it every time someone else has an idea that doesn't agree with yours, you hafta bitch about it? If it's not your way, it's bogus! I mean, you can't have it your way all the time!"
Raph looked at Don, blinking his eyes once over Don's renewed sense of authority. "Ok--ay." Why can't we fix him up quick and move on?
"We gotta stop and rest." Don put his hand on Raph's shoulder. "Raph… you're sick, you've lost your voice, I'm getting cold, and Ryutaro is a plastic surgeon's nightmare."
Raph turned away with a sigh of disgust. "Fine." he whispered.
Ryutaro watched the two, then finally spoke. "You think they, or we, will actually be attacked? I thought it was going to be more like a meeting."
"They shot Mick in the leg… and from what we've learned of this from Splinter, implied an attack." Don faced him. "But I suppose, they had been a lot more peaceful with you, since you've cooperated."
"I dunno… " Ryutaro left the tree. "Now that Mike has Danza, they may put up a fight to keep him from them. They don't know what you do now."
Raph grabbed Don's arm, to get him to look at him. That's more of a reason to go down there.
"I know, Raph… but it's dark and dangerous travel." Don refused to give in to Raph's insistence.
What if Leo doesn't stop? He's probably thinking that we won't, knowing me.
Don glared at him. "No… Mike will make him, knowing him."
Mike knelt down on his elbows and knees desperately blowing on the glowing shreds of grapevine bark in the midst of the damp sassafras logs. Whether those logs actually were sassafras was another matter. They both had stuffed up noses and no leaves to go by. As far as Mike was concerned, all the wood was covered with ice if not wet. C'mon… c'mon! I can't last like this. Eat it up, little flame, please.
The pine boughs to one side of him closed in more as Leo bound them together. They chose to hide out under a pine tree, with its branches fairly close to the ground. Another old limb held up the boughs in front to give the fire ventilation.
"Damn…" Mike groped in the dark in search for the small book of matches. Maybe now, those six million other times dried out the tender.
"Um… try to go easy on those, huh?" Leo added his bit of concern.
Mike struck another delicate paper match. This little light of mine, I'm gonna make sure it shines… he cupped the flame as he lowered it down to the tender. The flame settled in amongst the fibers of the shredded bark and grew brighter… larger. Mike knelt close to it, giving the flame whispers of his breath. Breathing new life into it. The flame explored deeper into the shreds, devouring its way through.
With a smile, Mike sat up for a moment. He felt for some more of the shredded grapevine bark, and a few small twigs. Mike carefully added them to the starving flames as to not suffocate them.
Leo knelt at the open side of the lean-to, to watch Mike. He admired the almost patient care his brother incorporated into fire starting. The love involved. He himself was patient too, but it was amusing to watch the way Mike did it.
Mike flashed his smile to Leo. "I think we got it!"
"Good," he crept into the lean-to a little more before stripping off the torn up garbage bag and his coat. The interior began to take on an orange glow from the newly born flames. "I rigged the ropes holding the branches down to snap up, if someone outside trips 'em."
"Brrrraaa hrr raaa hrrr…fire!" Mike shuttered once in excitement, before easing some more tender into the flickering, red flames. "They kinda remind me of Raph, when he gets hungry." Mike chuckled and glanced over to Leo.
He was sitting cross-legged, his elbows resting on his knees and hands folded at his beak in thought. With the fire illuminating Leo's face, Mike could also see the worry that racked it now.
Mike sighed, before picking at the frozen laces on his boots with numb fingers. "I hope they are okay up there too…"
Leo held his gaze into the small fire, not responding.
Mike shrugged, and told the fire to wait a sec. He stepped outside to take off his soaked coat and wet jeans. "Hopefully… these'll dry out enough by the fire." He crept back in and draped the jeans and coat on the saddle bag stack.
"Raph and Ryutaro were both holding something back. " Leo started. "Raph's scared…I sensed it when I told them I was going back down."
"Yeah… " Mike pulled his bare knees up to his chest for warmth.
Leo looked over to Mike. "But it's okay to be scared… it's okay to admit it too."
The fire gradually grew larger with each passing moment. The fire's glow on the pine boughs reminded Mike of a Christmas tree now. I hope I live through this. Mike looked over to Leo, to accept his challenge.
"I'm scared of dying… I don't want to die yet." Mike confessed to him. "That's the part of the dream I've held back from you guys. I got shot at."
A wave of sympathy fell over Leo's face. "Now I understand… "
"I just feel like such a weenie about it though."
"That you're afraid of dying?"
"You and Raph fight so well, Leo! I mean, you killed the Shredder by yourself."
"That was shear luck, Mikey… " Leo shook his head. "I was scared out of my wits facing him alone. I came too close to death fighting with him, he would've got me… if the dock didn't collapse… "
Leo ran his hands over his head. "I just handle my fear in a different way than yours. To live and die by the sword… you don't know how much that expression torments me. When will I die? Will I die in battle, or will it be alone and without honor?" Leo stopped and latched into Mike's dark brown eyes. "I don't want to die yet either."
Mike remained silent, feeling his throat tighten.
"That's one reason why I'm so good, I don't wanna die -- especially under the blow of the Foot."
"But that's ninjutsu. What about guns? I can dodge a Foot soldier a helluva lot better than a tiny speeding bullet." Mike strained his voice so he didn't sound whiney.
"You've faced 'em before, when you go around busting those criminal-sorts with Casey and Raph." Leo tried to encourage Mike.
"They didn't know we were on to them… " Mike looked down. "That's different."
Leo sighed. "Be ahead of the trigger."
Mike folded his arms and rested them on top of his knees, then hid his face behind his arms. "I'm just not as good. I can't… " he choked back mounting feelings of frustration.
Leo got up and crept to the other side of the ring where Mike was. "No… Mike, don't say that. Your fighting abilities are special as yours. What you got is the talent." Leo put his arm around his brother's shoulders. "Don't compare them to mine, or Raph's, or Don's. Splinter doesn't care if we are ranked. Rank doesn't matter, it's how we work together."
Mike lifted his head up and quickly wiped a tear from his eye. "I'm sorry, Leo. I just… dunno if I could handle… those guns."
"You're not gonna be alone when you do, we do encounter them." Leo reassured him. "Believe in yourself."
Mike set his chin on his folded arms and gazed at the blazing fire. His hands and feet were still numb, but his face grew warm from the fire's heat. "I'm gonna be okay." Mike looked to Leo. "But… I better check Jon's leg… the fire's going now." That's what I do better. I'm good at giving life, instead of taking it.
Leo stood up on the outside of the tree. "I'll help."
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