I wrote this as a one-shot a while back, before A Fear of Snakes even, and I think it's finally ready to become part of something bigger. As one of my New Year's resolutions, I hope to finish it within 2006 (I know it's only New Year's Eve, but believe me...I need the head start).

Well I hope you enjoy! Happy New Year, everybody!


Leonardo sat cross-legged on the floor beside his bed. The lights were off, and his door shut. A few candles were burning. Everything was quiet and masked in calming shadow, just like Master Splinter preferred when he meditated. Which was what eleven-year old Leonardo was trying to do.

He took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind, just like he was taught. He and his brothers had been learning how to meditate for a while now, but tonight the peace just wouldn't come. The loud report of a machine gun, the anguished screams...every time he closed his eyes, the sounds were waiting for him. His mind's eye saw a man fall, three spreading stains of red on his body, a son's face smothered in tears...Leonardo had witnessed a murder, and every scene of it was burned into his mind.

At the time, he had no chance to reflect upon what had happened; his body was already springing into action. He had vaulted over the garden wall and sent his shuriken flying with deadly accuracy. There had been only two thoughts running through his head at that moment: protect his master, and kill the enemy. He had done both.

But what if he hadn't?

The stray thought appeared suddenly and poisonously, like a drop of ink into clear water. If he hadn't...there would have been two clans destroyed that night.

If he had been just a second too slow, if the shuriken hadn't left his hand at the right moments, things would've been different. The assassin would've taken out his quarry and turned his attention to the strange turtle and rat creatures that had tried to stop him. His master was quick, but the spirit transfer had left him disoriented, nothing like his usual self. He couldn't have escaped machine gun fire. Leonardo would be crying over his father's body, just like the Gosei boy, and Raphael and the others would have arrived to see their father and brother's bullet-torn bodies...there's no way they could take on a skilled assassin after seeing something like that. The fifth assassin would come, and without the boy's awakened skills, they would be outnumbered, and they would fall. Then they would all be lying in pools of their own blood, eyes wide and unseeing, their lives forever extinguished from the world...

Leonardo's concentration snapped like a reed. His eyes flew open, and for a second he couldn't breathe. He sat hunched over for a few minutes trying to catch his breath and banish the vivid scenes from his mind. Maybe this was why Sensei had been encouraging him to take up activities like Mikey's drawing or Don's reading...he had an over-active imagination.

Soon his breathing was back to normal, and he straightened. He examined his hands dejectedly. Master Splinter said that meditation could help when something was bothering you, that it could soothe inner turmoil and help you find your path. But thinking back to what his mind's eye had produced, he didn't want to try it again anytime soon. Maybe he just needed more practice. Or more candles.

With a sigh, he got to his feet and silently padded over to his chest of drawers, where his katana lay on top. He simply held it for a few seconds before unsheathing it and watching the candlelight play on the gleaming metal. It had been his for a while now. In the training room there was another just like it, and that one was also his. He wondered how long before sensei would allow him to carry both upon his back. He had been learning two-sword style for a few months, and he liked the feel of having both in his hands at once. He felt balanced.

Leo tightened his grip on the sword, and moved back to get in a few practice swings. He took a deep breath and started a kata.

Sensei had been training them in the art of ninjitsu ever since he could remember. Years ago, Splinter had explained to them what death was. He had also explained that the skills they were learning could bring death. He accepted this. But watching that man die, and himself and his family only threads away from the same fate, made him truly understand.

It all boiled down to consequences.

They were not normal. Thus, they lived in the shadows. As ninja, they learned to take lives. Thus, they had to protect their own. Fighting alongside death, every movement was crucial. Thus, he would train, so that every movement he made in battle would keep his loved ones that much farther from the enemy.

Several swift slashes and then one final lunge. He stayed frozen for a few seconds, focusing on the katana's glistening tip. His heart was still racing with the thrill of realization. He knew what he had to do.

He was Leonardo, the eldest. Thus, he would lead.


To be continued!

Note: The murder Leonardo remembers is from "The Passing," a short tale that was in one of the old Mirage graphic novels.