Disclaimer:…Don't feel like it. Sorry.

Chapter Seven

Don leaned against the nearby tree, the soft clunk of his shell against the wood resonating in the dark forest around him. The sun had set nearly fifteen minutes ago.

Owen was late.

So they waited.

Don risked a glance at his older brother, catching Leo's dark gaze.

He was not happy.

"He will be here; he's never missed a lesson. It's just sometimes, though, that he runs a little…late…." He tried to reassure the annoyed turtle, but at the look he received for the "reassurance" he lost his nerve, trailing off at the end.

There would be no persuading the turtle in blue.

Don suppressed a chuckle, watching Leo in the moonlight. He could just be so stubborn sometimes, a lot like a certain red-banded turtle, although he knew that Leo would never admit it. And likewise, Don would never say it aloud.

'I would like to keep my vocal chords, thank you very much!' He smiled, watching the surly Leo as he visibly scanned their surroundings.

A perfect ninja to the end, always ready and always prepared.

And a perfect ninja he was.

Don opened his mouth to speak, an intended remark about how the perfect ninja and the perfect asshole was one of the same. However, he was not able to voice it, being cut off just as suddenly with a new feeling as it washed over him. It left him blinking in its wake.

"He's here." He stated simply. However, Leo only looked up at the statement, an eye ridge raised in puzzlement.

"What?"

"He said that I am here."

Owen stepped out from the concealment of the trees, his long black coat draped across and over his pasty arm, leaving him sleeveless in his midnight-black midriff.

Very unusual for the normally obscure vampire.

Slowly, he made his way over to the pair, amusement growing with the look of shock in the new turtle's eyes. Clearly, he had not sensed him, unlike his pupil, Donatello, of who had sensed the vampire immediately, as a proper vampire should.

He approached his student, of which smiled prideful.

As he should have.

Owen set him with an extolling gaze, returning the smile with a smirk of his own before turning to the newest turtle.

"Leonardo, it's good to see you again." Pleasantries, he made sure to make good use of them. He extended a hand, and once again, Leo shook it.

"Yes, a pleasure." Leo kept his greeting to a minimum, still a little peeved at the vampire for being late. Almost on cue, Owen seemingly explained his delay. In truth, he had read the turtle's thoughts and feelings. But he would not let Leo know about that, would he?

"I'm sorry, I got a little sidetracked. But if there are no hard feelings, Leonardo, I would like to begin." He eyed the turtle, once again amused at the small look of shock that passed over the turtle's face. It only lasted a moment, though, the more dominate look of determination coming back just as quickly.

He smiled.

Leo, meanwhile, was left unsettled. This guy just wasn't rubbing him the right way, but this wasn't for him.

This was for Donny.

With a nod of the head, he gave his consent.

For Donny, all for Donny.

Owen picked up on the turtle's feelings, but for now, he ignored them. He would not pry. Instead, he turned on his heels, facing the turtle in purple once again. Donny watched him expectantly.

"Well then, let us begin, shall we?"

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Feigning amnesia, she was allowed to leave the clinic and to her delight, she was allowed to walk home. However, some of that delight left her as she opened the door, only to face the chill of her dark and drafty apartment.

The window was left ajar.

Huffing, she stalked over to the offending opening, willing it shut. After a few tugs and a pull, the window was finally closed. The draft ceasing immediately.

However, the chill did not cease with it.

She shivered, looking around for the first time since walking in. Despite the chill, there was a warmth that spread through her, a warmth that could be felt in no hospital room across the country.

The warmth of home.

She smiled amiably as she looked over her home, it being messier than she remembered. Her mind went back, recalling the day that she left…Yeah, she had been meaning to tidy up a bit, but hadn't gotten a chance to.

Fate…had other plans that day.

She walked around now, picking up the few out of place bits. A sock here, a paper there.

In actuality, the small apartment was not very messy, just a few misplaced objects here or there, but to her, the neat freak, it was a mess.

Just a plain ol' mess.

'Gotta get this stuff where their supo-" Something caught her eye, cutting of her thoughts entirely. She eyed the dark corner of the room, her senses becoming uneasy with its familiarity. Slowly, she placed the objects in her arms on the couch, making her way over to the spot where it all again. Blood, also unmoved and untouched, inhabited this corner.

Her blood.

'Why did he do it?' She knelt, bruising the dark stain with her trembling fingertips. She quickly brought them to her chest, as a way to calm the tremble, but only succeeded in making them shake even harder. Suddenly overcome with the emotions she did not allow herself in the hospital, a tear slipped down her cheek. She had felt so betrayed that day. Why would he hurt her? Why?

But she knew that she could never hate him for it. Even in the hospital, she constantly thought and worried over his well-being.

She raked her eyes over the stained carpet, following the discolorations up the carpet and to the wall.

Before, she had been able to block it all out, make it all a dream of sorts. She could pretend that the cuts on her neck were from something else, like a nasty scratch from a cat or something, and there would be nothing there to prove her wrong. She just couldn't think of Donny as such, a wild animal, hurting her, so it was just so much easier to pretend, pretend that it wasn't real. To pretend that it really didn't happen. And for a while, she believed it. But now, there was proof.

This was no dream.

Donatello…

She sobbed. She needed to know. She needed to know what happened, what happened to trigger…this. She loved him. Plain and simple. There just had to be a reason, right, a reason for this?

She willed her tears to stop, and soon after, they complied. She was never one to be weak and simple minded, crying at the first sign of trouble.

And today would be no exception.

She would call Leo and find out what happened, plain and simple. However, there was a flutter of nervousness in her heart at the idea. A nagging fear crept up her spine at the thought of seeing…him…again.

Nevertheless, she pushed it down.

She loved him, no other way around it, and because of that she would not, no, could not, fear him, no matter what he did to her. She knew for a fact that he would never hurt her intentionally, never.

'Oh yeah, "unintentionally." How "unintentional" is it to bite someone, suck out their blood, and leave them for dead. Yeah, pretty "unintentional!" She ignored her mind's mockery.

She had proof.

That look he gave her was all the proof she needed. No, he did not want to hurt her, but something…something…was just not right with him, was all.

So, all was not lost.

Yes, her Donny was still there, she had all but seen it in his eyes. He just needed a little help to find himself, to figure this all out.

She made a promise then, a promise to be there for him, to be by his side in this or any other time of trouble. Yes, from this day on, she would be there for him just as he had been there for her that fatal day a year's past.

It was the least she could do for the one that she loved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Owen dodged, flipping into the air. But just as quickly, Donatello was after him. However, despite his determination, the small wooden mock sword grazed nothing but air, just as it had been for the past hour. It seemed as though no matter where the "sword" went, the vampire was just out of its reach, leaving the struggling turtle annoyed and weary.

"Donny, concentrate!" Leo threw in encouragements as he watched from the sidelines. But he would have to admit, that Owen was a pretty slippery fellow.

Coatless and weaponless, Owen had challenged Donatello to a match. The object, to successfully attack the sitting duck of a vampire with the sword provided.

The real sword provided.

Of course, Donny had immediately refused. He was ninja after all and they had their own set of codes and rules. Attacking a weaponless individual with any sort of arms was not acceptable, by any means.

Therefore, Owen offered a substitute.

A wooden mock sword instead of the real one. He found that pretty satisfactory. With the new offer, Donny still seemed unsure. However, after some persuasion, he reluctantly agreed to Owen's demands.

However, the task was soon deemed harder than once thought.

Much harder.

Owen watched him expectantly, the exertions of the past hour only evident having no effect on him what so ever. Donatello, on the other hand, sported a thin sheen of sweat. He wiped it away. Still, his determination only grew with the sight of the untouched vampire.

One more time. He would try one more time.

He held the sword in the stance, his determination never faltering as he watched his still target, the challenge evident once again.

Owen's eyes flashed, the smirk widening.

"You are persistent, but lacking something essential. Without it, you will only fail."

Donatello only frowned.

Owen's neglect in not stating what that something which only succeeded in making Don more angry, making him more determined to prove the vampire wrong.

He charged the standing Owen, his sword posed and ready to deliver the fatal blow. However, just as he brought it down, Owen moved, sidestepping the advance way quicker than the eye would allow.

Nevertheless, Donatello did not give up.

Now at close quarters, he quickly analyzed the new situation, and unexpectedly brought the "blade" to the side, meaning to clip the vampire in the stomach. However, just as before, the vampire moved, his stomach arching away just enough to avoid the blade completely.

Once again, Donny's plans were foiled. But it was not over yet.

Don followed through, spinning the blade up and around, a quick counter, side swiping at his opponent. If the attack had been successful it would have cut his arm clean off, if the blade was real of course. However, it was to no prevail. Once again, Don only grazed air, Owen moving just beyond the impact of the blade.

Just out of reach. He was always just out of reach.

Donny began impatient. This would end now, one way, or the other.

Nevertheless, it would end.

He released a fury of attacks, their intensity echoing in the air around them. Up, down, left, right, he attacked. If it had been a punching bag he was hitting, it would have fallen to the floor in pieces.

But, it wasn't.

Owen dodged the close interval attacks with such precision Leo that even stood in awe.

Breathing hard, and sweating, Donatello finally slowed his fury, his attacks, until they finally came to a halt, his heavy panting filling the night air.

Owen arched a dry brow.

"You give up?" His voice sounded suspired, but in his mind, he knew the turtle was finished. Just as he had suspected, turtle nodded once before sitting down.

That was exhausting.

Leo stepped from the shadows, eying the exhausted Donny wearily before hitting the smirking Owen with a look.

"Ho-How did you do that?" He asked, keeping his voice in check, the smile off his face. That had been the singular most coolest thing he had ever seen!

But he would not let the vampire know that, would he?

Nevertheless, Owen already did.

Owen turned, his eyes dancing with the sense of awe he picked up from this one.

"How did I do it? Ask your brother." He motioned towards the fallen turtle, of which still sat panting on the ground. Don looked up at the mention, his eyes blank.

He had no idea.

Owen frowned.

"Well then, I guess its something that you'll just have to figure out then, isn't it Donatello?"

And with that, he picked up, turning to leave.

"Wh-what do you mean, 'something that I'll just to figure out on my own'?! You're the teacher here, remember?!" Donatello panted looking up, eyeing the retreating figure, annoyed at his lack of instruction. Both of the turtles watched him as he retrieved his things, speaking as he did.

"A formally wise vampire once told me that it takes a true spirit and a peace of mind to do all things. Only then can you control what is, and what can be, opening every door to reality."

He turned, offering two more bubbles of blood to the turtle, never really allowing Donatello the time to absorb what he had said. However, it seemed as though he didn't need to. Donatello looked up, blinking in confusion at the statement before accepting the packets, his mind elsewhere.

'Good, let him think it through, he will figure it out eventually.' And with that, Owen turned, walking away. He passed by the passive Leo, of whom was also puzzled by the profound statement. Leo was beyond surprise when he heard the vampire's voice, whispering to him as he passed.

"It is good that you gave Donatello living blood, but it wasn't completely necessary. If you mix the transfusion blood with a few drops of blood from the living, it works just as well. That way, no waste, and no nasty cuts."

He smirked, continuing on his way.

Leo's eyes widened at the advice.

'How did he know?'

However, he let it go, turning to help the tired turtle from of the ground.

From beyond his vision, Owen responded, an answer his unasked question.

He just couldn't resist.

"Well, I am a vampire, you know. Mind reading is just in my job description…" Owen smirked. Leo shot up, his eye widening.

"Wha-" But before he could finish his exclamation, the vampire was gone, leaving a blinking, angry, Leonardo in his wake.

Donatello smiled, gaining a new respect for the vampire with the look on his brother's face.

Priceless!

He smiled even wider as another thought entered his mind.

One day, he would be able to do that, and then he could have some real fun, just like his teacher.

He grinned.

'I love school!'

***

Lol, this chapter was easy, wrote it before I could blink. Just some informative stuff here. I hoped you enjoyed it. R and R.

~Oh, Note to Rene

I think I tried to make it clearer in this chapter, but I'll cover my bases just in case. Donatello attacked Centriece three days ago (three days in the hospital. A quick recovery, showing how determined she was to get home. : )) When I mentioned the "year" in the last chapter, I meant that that was how long she had been seeing that doctor, it being a year since she moved. Coincidentally, (well, not quite) it has also been a year since she and Donatello "hooked up," of which was right after her move. Get it? Got it? Good!~

R and R