I do not own the TMNT.

Enjoy.

Decisions

Chapter 14

"Leo! Mikey! Are you okay?" Raph and Donnie asked in unison as they threw themselves at the two of us.

I couldn't speak. I could only open my arms wider to allow my other two brothers into my embrace. We stayed like this until the ash blew away completely. We stayed like this when the shadow warriors blinked out of existence. We stayed like this when Rinji and what was left of the rebels gathered around us in celebration of our victory. We stayed like this when Mikey burst out into relieved tears. We stayed like this together and it was good.

I never thought relief could feel so good. It was almost a tangible entity that I could touch, it flowed so thick from the four of us. Reluctantly, we pulled away from one another and shakily rose to our feet. Raphael had to make a grab for Mikey when he began to sway groggily. He was clearly exhausted.

"Rinji," I said turning to the man that had helped us save our brother.

"Yes?" he said stepping up to me.

"Is there somewhere my brothers and I can go and rest?" I asked.

"Of course. The closest place is the fort…"

"NO!" Mikey interrupted clearly upset, "I don't want to go in there! Please Leo? Don't make me go back in there!"

"Hush. Shh. We won't go in there," I said soothingly as I pulled Mikey into a hug, "Rinji is there someplace else we could possibly stay?"

"Yes. You can stay at my home. It will not inconvenience me or my family," he said, "We will all be attending a town meeting, to decide on what our next steps will be now that Katsuro is gone."

"Thank you," I said relieved, "Thank you for all of your help tonight."

"No. Thank you," Rinji said bowing low to me, "Without you and your brothers, Katsuro would have reached his goals. We are in your debt."

"Yo Donnie!" Raph called looking over at Donatello as he knelt over something, "What are ya doin'?"

"I'm getting Katsuro's ring," Donnie said walking over to display the ring he had taken off of Katsuro's finger, "We need to give this to Master Makota. He would know how to keep this safely out of anyone else's possession."

Mikey whimpered and clung to me tighter. Donnie, Raph, and I eyed one another worriedly over Mikey's head. What had happened during our little brother's captivity? Rinji led us back to his home and showed us where we could sleep. To our surprise and delight, he even had a large bathing area that we could clean up in. He even provided Mikey with some of his own clothing to change into before he left for the night. I sat Mikey down on a chair and kneeled down to talk with him.

"Mikey? I want to talk with you and I want you to tell me the absolute truth," I said earnestly.

"Um…okay," Mikey said softly.

"Did Katsuro touch you?"

"What!" Mikey gasped looking at me as he blushed hotly.

"Did Katsuro touch you in anyway that made you uncomfortable?" I asked again.

Mikey kept his head down and refused to meet my eyes. He began to tremble violently. Donnie sat at Mikey's knee.

"Mikey? Just shake your head 'yes' or 'no' for me when I ask a question, okay?" he said gently.

Mikey nodded his head.

"Did Katsuro hurt you?"

Mikey nodded and I saw Raph bristle and start to say something. I quickly signaled him to be quiet.

"Did he hit you?"

Mikey nodded.

"Would you show me where?"

Mikey pointed to his face and then hesitated before speaking.

"The first night, he threw me across the room and I hit the wall," he whispered, "It doesn't hurt that much anymore."

I clenched my jaw in anger. What else had happened over the past two weeks?

"Did he hurt you in any other way?"

Mikey nodded hesitantly again.

"Mikey did Katsuro rape you?" Donnie asked.

Mikey didn't answer right away and then shook his head violently in denial. I felt great relief, but when I looked at Donnie it wasn't mirrored in his face. He still seemed tense.

"Mikey did Katsuro try to rape you?"

Mikey nodded his head and then burst into tears and threw himself into Donnie's arms. Raph and I quickly joined the two on the floor as Mikey sobbed out his story of what happen in the fort from the beginning of his captivity to what happened in Katsuro's bedroom. I wished I could bring the man back to life and kill him all over again. The bastard!

"It's going to be okay," Donnie said soothingly.

"Leo nailed Katsuro," Raph said, "That in' pervert ain't nevah goin' ta hurt ya again."

"I tried to be brave," Mikey sniffled out, "But it was so hard."
"You were brave," I said pulling Mikey back into my arms, "Not only did you escape on your own not once, but twice, you saved all of our lives by challenging Katsuro. You were awesome!"

"But you were the one that finished him off," Mikey said confused.

"And you were the one that distracted him long enough that I could," I said, "Nobody will ever touch you again without your express permission. I swear on this."

"As do we," Raph and Donnie said together.

"Well…nobody will touch my brothers either. I swear on that," Mikey said and then yawned, "Thank you for coming for me."

"How could we not?" I asked, "You're our baby brother. We love you."

"I love you too," Mikey whispered hugging all of us tightly, "I knew you would come. Katsuro told me you wouldn't, but I knew you would."

"Stop with all the mushiness!" Raph snapped, "Let's go hit the baths. Ya stink Mikey!"

"Raphael!" Donnie gasped slapping Raph on the arm.

To our relief, Mikey burst into laughter instead of being upset.

"Well, you don't smell much better," Mikey teased as Raph helped him to the bathing area.

"Will he be okay?" I asked Donnie.

"I think so," Donnie said, "Mikey has always been able to bounce back, but I would feel better if we got him home to Sensei. We need to go home Leo."

"Yes we do," I said softly, "Thank God that explosion went off when it did. I don't want to think about what that would have done to Mikey."

Donnie and I shuddered and then had to smile when we heard Raph's and Mikey's shrieks as they splashed one another in the bath.

"Let's go clean up before Raph and Mikey drown one another," I said chuckling, "We also need to see if anyone has wounds that need tending."

Nobody had any injuries that would cause any major problems. Mikey fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Except for a nightmare from Mikey, we all slept well that night. Now we had to get back to the Jinchuu. Mikey had a few decisions to make.

To be continued.