Man, I've just been in an update frenzylately!
So... without further adieu, I'd like to add another chapter. Here it is! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: In a storybook world, I would own the TMNT. Unfortunately, we don't... and I still don't own them. (sighs) Reality bites.
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Day 3There was a cobweb in the right corner of his room. The shadows provided cover for the spider that'd created its intricate design, fabricated with the thread from its butt.
Raph only noticed the insect because he'd run out of ways to entertain himself and had thus resorted to gazing at the ceiling. He thought about throwing something at it, from a considerable distance, of course, and therefore killing it.
He hated bugs.
But Raph decided to let it be, at least for now. However, this was only providing if the spider stayed in its little corner and far away from the turtle in red. Raph was a lot nicer than most people thought him to be, but he had his limits.
For example, he still had absolutely no intentions of leaving this room until Splinter forced him to. That would be sometime today, day three.
Half the time, when Splinter made him and Leo come out of their rooms, he'd also make them apologize. Raph didn't want to do that either. Not just because of his pride, but because he still wasn't sure what he and Leo had been arguing about; what had got them into those fistfights.
Maybe he wasn't in the blame. Why should he apologize for something he hadn't done?
Raph smiled, remembering a snippet of some lawyer show he'd seen once. A man had shouted in it, "I'm innocent, I tell you!"
Sighing, the ten-year-old rolled over carefully in his hammock and looked at the time. A little past nine in the morning. Time moved slow, sometimes.
Giving into his own conscience, Raph decided that he might apologize. After all, if he was willing to cut the spider some slack, he could give Leo a break. He had to admit, he preferred his brother over a nasty bug any day.
But, like with the spider staying in his own little corner, Leo would have to hold up his own part of the unspoken bargain. If his brother was sorry, Raph would apologize.
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His thumb lingered next to his mouth, not touching it, but close enough that he could feel its presence. Leo opened his eyes slowly, finding his hand where it had fallen when he'd turned over on his side in the middle of the night. Like the days before when he'd awakened, the world around him was cold.
Frowning, Leo slipped his head under the blanket. His second day on his own had been marred by his failure to protect that woman. He didn't feel like getting up at all.
He lay under the blanket for another thirty minutes before sighing, debating between his own feelings and his current needs. With a sigh, Leo finally sat up, the blanket falling down past his chest as he did so.
For a moment, he was blinded by chilled sunshine. When he was able to look at the sky again, Leo checked out the sun's position. From it, and the business of the street below, he guessed it to be around ten in the morning.
He hadn't really slept that long though. He'd only fallen asleep around five this morning.
His stomach rumbled. Not wanting to eat anything, but craving it nonetheless, Leo suddenly remembered the eggs.
Quickly, he delved into his few meager belongings, locating the golden treasure still wrapped in its napkin. The waiter from the day before said he should eat them in a few hours.
It'd been at least twenty-four.
Cursing himself, Leo lay the eggs back down. Stupid. You waited too long. Now they won't be any good.
Looking at them longingly, Leo felt tempted to eat the eggs anyway. They still looked good...
But he remembered that rotten sandwich he'd eaten on his first day. It'd made his stomach sick.
Eventually, he turned back to the donuts he'd gotten yesterday. Only about five of them had survived his mad dash back to this place, and he'd eaten two for 'dinner'.
There were still enough to get him by. Taking one half-eaten and covered in powdered sugar, the blue-clad turtle had his breakfast. It was stale, but quite edible and tasty.
Inevitably, his thoughts turned back to the day before. Leo couldn't shake off his guilt of that mistake, as well as the one he'd made for leaving his family.
He wondered if they knew he was gone. Probably not. If they did, Splinter would have been out looking for him now. And his Sensei had a talent for knowing where to find his sons, a trait Leo was picking up on.
Well, he'd pulled off a decent escape, then. At least he could do something right, albeit a dishonorable thing.
So, a little voice started in his head, what did you learn from this?
Leo sniffed and spoke to himself. "That I'm a little sneak, and a cowardly one, at that."
Anything else?
He stopped to think about it, remembering the snobs. "That half the people in this city are pure evil."
C'mon. Wasn't their anything good that came out of this? He asked himself, begging for a decent memory to appear.
And it did.
Leo quickly recalled the blond waiter who'd brought him a feast.
So there was another thing. He smiled slightly. "And that you should eat eggs before they go bad."
But that wasn't the real lesson.
That waiter had been the only good thing about this, besides that beautiful image of the moon he'd seen while first coming out here that had lulled him to sleep.
Strangers had taught him much in this time. From some he'd learned horrific cruelty. But from the waiter, Leo had learned that within some people resided a kindness, a light in utter darkness.
He felt a little better.
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Singing as loud as he could to the theme song of Inspector Gadget, Mikey knew he was off-key. He rather enjoyed tormenting his brothers with his singing.
Unfortunately, two still had yet to make an appearance.
But Michelangelo did not let that deter him. He just raised his voice a little higher, in hopes that the sound would reach their ears.
Donny came into the room, hands over his ears. "Mikey!" he yelled. "Some people are trying to sleep!"
Satisfied with the response, but confused by his brother's words, Mikey blinked. "But it's almost lunchtime. No one's sleeping now."
"I'm talking about the people over in China!"
The song ended. "Aw, man." Mikey moaned. "You made me miss the rest of it!"
His brother smiled in relief. "Good. I couldn't hear myself think."
Already switching the channels on the television, Mikey stopped on the Sesame Street theme song.
His grin came back. "Oh, dear brother, I can fix that for you."
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Splinter was debating on whether or not he should risk roaming the streets above in search of a pair of earplugs.
While he wanted his sons to have as joyful of a childhood as possible, hearing a children's show's theme song sung in punk rock form was getting rather hard to take.
Raphael and Leonardo still hadn't come out of their rooms, probably using the bathroom when he wasn't looking. Splinter hadn't been expecting them to return before the three days was up, but he nevertheless hoped for it.
Every time, he hoped for it.
If the day ever came, it would be a sign of the growing maturity in his sons. The process was slow, but from what Splinter had learned from sightings of the world above him, it was the traditional method of the youth of today.
The old rat glanced at the clock as he prepared some herbal tea in the kitchen. The time read 11:48.
He'd give them another six hours.
Then he wanted an explanation.
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After deciding he'd probably be better off staying up on the roof, Leo allowed his thoughts to consume him.
There really was no need for him to go out looking for food today, since he'd be going home soon. He could easily survive the rest of the day on his donuts.
Though he'd had his mind set on using his remaining time for reflection, Leo found himself reminiscing. And surprisingly enough, he wasn't thinking about these three days spent as a gamin.
No. He thought about home. He thought about Splinter and Mikey, and Donny and Raph. God, how he missed them.
Leo honestly couldn't wait to see his family again... and yet he was afraid to.
For when he returned, Leo knew he'd be coming home changed, in some aspects. But none of them would have. That, in itself, was wonderful.
So why do I think they will?
Wouldn't Donny still be as curious as ever? When he saw him tonight, wouldn't he be tinkering with some gadget, like always? Wouldn't Mikey still have that same life radiating from him? Wouldn't he still be that annoying little brother who'd wake him up by jumping on his bed, and him, while screaming at the top of his lungs? And wouldn't Raph still be a hothead? Wouldn't he still be that tough-guy who refused to admit that deep down, he was just a big softie?
Leo didn't just hope they would. He prayed.
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Things were so boring. While Leo and Raph's constant fights were rather exasperating, Donny had to admit that they were better than watching Mikey attempt to dance like Elvis.
Amusing as it was, his little brother couldn't pull it off all too well.
The purple-clad turtle was half-tempted to go into his brothers' rooms and talk them in to coming out.
He would have, too, but he didn't see the point. Master Splinter would be forcing them out in just a few hours, after all.
Back in the den, he saw something new on the television channel Mikey had flipped to. After studying it for a few moments, he groaned, realizing what it was.
Michelangelo had officially discovered MTV.
Sighing, Donatello quickly left the room. Might as well just go ahead and kiss any sanity I have goodbye.
The only joy Donny could take from this was knowing that sooner, rather than later, Mikey's imitations and singing would get on Raph's nerves and he would be pummeled.
While he usually preferred to abstain from a whole lot of violence, Don did think that some forms of retribution were very necessary.
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Leo suddenly remembered why he and Raph had been fighting.
He'd been gathering his things, planning on heading home earlier so as to avoid being caught, when he recalled it.
Placing his little possessions gently back on the ground, Leo cocked his head and started off into space.
"That's it?" he asked himself in disbelief.
He could've sworn it'd have been over something more serious. Man, are we stupid.
Still astounded by this discovery, Leo began to make his descent down the fire escape connected to the building. Before he left, he made sure to where the coat and hat he'd found on his first day. He could shred them when he was back in the sewers.
Down on the ground, he decided to avoid the docks this time. It was only nearing four in the afternoon, so Leo figured it was safe to bet that it was still pretty busy down there.
Remembering that there was a manhole cover down somewhere to his right, Leo headed into the alley.
He hadn't gone far when he heard the familiar sounds of a mugging.
When he looked to his left, towards another alley, as well as the direction of the sound, Leo immediately recognized the attacker. His feelings of cowardice from the night before quickly returned to haunt him.
Why can't I escape from this jerk?
Feet rooted to the ground, Leo finally noticed who the victim was when the man moved aside for a different angle of attack. The realization shocked him.
It was only a child. Younger than he even was! From the looks of it, the kid was only four, no older than five. He was on the ground, getting kicked in the stomach by the man he'd seen yesterday and the day before.
In the little boy's hands, Leo saw the remnants of a chocolate bar.
Before he even knew he was speaking, the words escaped his mouth, said in anger and disgust. "What the heck do you think you're doing?"
The man turned around to see who'd spoken, no trace of surprise or fear showing on his face.
"Ah. Hello, you little bastard." He said cheerfully, as if the word had become Leo's name and they were old friends. "Did ya enjoy the donuts?"
Leo didn't answer his question, just used his arm to gesture to the boy. "What's wrong with you? He's only a little kid!"
Frowning, the man's look was menacing. "He stole my food."
Still on the ground, the little boy whimpered.
Leo hands clenched. "You aren't the only one who's trying to survive out here, you know. What's he supposed to eat, huh?"
"Dirt, for all I care."
Before Leo could say another word, the man looked at him bitterly. "Look, you little bastard. You're lucky I've let you get past me these couple of days. Mess with my business one more time, and I swear I'll slice you up to ribbons and let him eat ya."
The threat rocked Leo, made his stomach turn violently, but he was far too angry now. His next words were said with as much venom as the man's had been. "Maybe I'll do the same to you..."
The man laughed. "What the hell do you think you can do to me? Cry me to death?"
Enough was enough.
Leo took off his coat, and then his hat. Slowly, he drew his katanas, which had remained sheathed this whole time. As they slid out into open, the sound they made was like that of a child's glee for swords.
The little boy was looking at him. He was smiling. "Whoa..."
Now, the man's demeanor changed, though he too drew his weapon. His face was different than the boy's. "Just what the hell are you?"
Instead of letting Leo answer, the man threw his knife at him. Just in time, Leo deflected it with his sword. He flipped over and in front of the man and held one katana to his throat and the other to his stomach.
"Jesus!" The man shouted.
Leo had no intentions of killing him, but he grinned. "I could kill you right now."
It was nice to see fear in this jerk's eyes instead of the man's victims. I should have done this when I first met him.
"Don't..." his voice had changed; "Please, kid. Don't kill me."
He let him suffer for a little bit. "All right." He finally said, but still held his swords in place. Glancing to the side, he saw on of the man's carts of food. He looked back at him. "I want you to let the boy over there have his candy bar. And give him some donuts and sandwiches; I know you have them."
"All right! I'll do it!"
Leo slid one sword away from his neck. "Do it now."
He followed the man as he went over to the cart, making sure he didn't have any more knives.
The man gave the little boy, who was now standing up, the food. Leo looked at him. "You better go now."
"'Kay." The child said as he started off. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome." Leo said back.
Then he turned back to the man, drawing his other katana away. "Don't you ever do something like this to anyone again, do you understand?"
"Yes."
"Because if you do, I'll see you. And this will happen all over again. I'll always be watching you from now on." Leo lied, knowing full well that he'd be in the sewers.
"...Okay."
Pushing him in the corner, Leo disappeared while the man was temporarily blinded in the darkened section of the alley.
Smiling, he quickly made his way to the nearest manhole cover, slipping beneath it before the man even knew where he'd gone.
Now he knew that although things in this world were scary, when push came to shove, he was brave.
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That took a little while to get up. Sorry about that.
But hey! After the next chapter, which I will try to get up before the end of the month, we can move on to the second part of the story! Yay!
Now, is anyone gonna review this? I've been noticing that a lot of people here on FanFic have been disappearing. Heck, the last chapter of Suicide II has only gotten seven reviews; and it's been a whole week since I updated!
Anyways, if you didn't already get the picture, I'd really appreciate it if you dropped in a review. (puppy dog eyes) Please?