What I never told you

New home, new friends

An aeroplane rolled along the runway, slowly coming to a stop so that the passengers could climb out. Among them was a Japanese man and his teenage son. The two of them walked through the cramped corridors and passed through security with ease before they collected their luggage. The teenager pulled his suitcase behind him with little effort, trying to stay as close to his father as possible so that they didn't get separated. They walked in silence until they made it outside.

The early morning sky was pitch black with no sign of daylight. The polluted air of New York caused the teen to cough softly into his arm. "Are you alright Leonardo?" The man standing next to him asked.

"I'm fine father." Leonardo replied without hesitation. The teen fastened up his black coat and pulled up the hood. A stray strand of his jet-black hair was pushed in front of his eyes so he simply tucked it into the side of his hood.

Soon a yellow taxi turned up and after placing their luggage into the trunk, the two of them climbed into the back. Leo pulled a hardback book out of his messenger bag he had brought as hand luggage. All the text in the book was written in Japanese kanji and it was one of the teens most favourite books.

"You brought your mothers story book? I thought you left that back in Japan." The older man asked, a genuine surprised look on his face.

Leonardo didn't take his eyes away from the kanji in the book, "Its mothers book, how could I leave it behind. She loved reading it to me..." Leo mumbled to his father, trying to twist around in his seat so that his back was facing the man.

"Almost there you two." The bulky taxi driver announced from the front, "And if you don't mind me asking but what brings you two to this part of the city?"

"We are moving here from Japan. We both need a change of scenery from what happened 9 years ago, right my son?" The man turned to look at his son but the boy ignored his question. The man sighed and turned to look out the front window. "It has been difficult for both of us. I just hope that this move will bring back the boy I used to know."

A pair of forest green eyes glanced up in the rear-view mirror, "I hope it does sir." The driver said with a gruff but caring accent.

"Please just call me Yoshi."

The driver grinned, "Well Yoshi, I believe this is your stop. I wish you luck, New York can be dangerous if you end up in the wrong place."

"Thank you for your concern but we should be able to handle it." Yoshi handed the driver the cash he had counted out while Leo slid out the back and collected their suitcases. "Have a good day sir." The ninja master stood next to the quiet teen on the cold pavement.

Before the taxi took off, the window rolled down so that the driver could shout out, "And its Rocco."

The now interested teen raised an eyebrow at his father, "What was that about?"

Yoshi took one of the suitcases that his son was holding and with his free hand, he wrapped it around Leonardo's shoulders, "I had a nice conversation with him on our way here. Did you not hear us?"

Sapphire eyes looked down, "I was too busy reading and I didn't want to intrude on your conversation." What Yoshi didn't realise was that his son hadn't actually been reading, he had been in thought the whole journey. Leo knew that if he told his father that he would get suspicious and worried, so Leo covered it up by pretending to read.

"You really do like to read." Yoshi started to walk down the street to a rather large apartment building. "Come my son, let's go see our new home." Yoshi still held Leo in a one arm embrace so he steered Leonardo up the front steps and in through the front door.

The floor was covered in a patterned carpet made up of brown, pink and green entwined lines. The walls were a stark white with a huge painting of a cherry blossom tree hanging on the far wall. A long mahogany desk went along one side of the room while small mahogany coffee tables and green armchairs rested on the other side.

Leo gently removed himself from the embrace and ambled down the room, observing every small detail with curiosity. The painting that ran from ceiling to floor caught the boy's attention. His eyes were drawn to the elegant strokes that made up the artwork. The image of the cherry blossom tree reminded him of his birthplace and all the valuable memories that had been created there. But it also reminded him of that night 9 years ago. The night... Leo shook his head to stop himself from thinking about those times.

Yoshi was already in the elevator when his son jogged in after him with his own suitcase rolling behind him. "I deliberately chose this apartment because of the Japanese vibes I felt in the lobby and I believe you felt it to my son." The Japanese man pressed the button for the 5th floor.

The elevator ride was slow and calming. Music played quietly out of the elevator speakers, nothing more than a straightforward tune. Metal doors slide sideways to reveal a corridor in the same style as the lobby with white walls and a patterned carpet. The two tiptoed down the corridor so that they didn't wake up any of the other residence in the early hours of the morning. It wasn't hard seeing that both were either highly trained or master ninja.

The door they stopped at looked like all the other doors that they passed- glazed oak. Hamato Yoshi unlocked the door and lightly pushed it open. He then entered their new home. Leonardo faltered outside the door before he forced himself to walk in, keeping his eyes on the carpet instead of viewing the small apartment.

The front door leads directly into the main room which contained an olive-green corner sofa with a round coffee table in front of it. There was also a flat screen TV attached to the wall that the sofa faced. On the left side of the room was a kitchenette plus a tiny island (just big enough for 2 people to sit at) that would be used to eat at. Three white doors were dotted around the room. The one nearest to the TV lead to the pristine bathroom, the other two leads to the new bedrooms. Neither of the bedrooms contained any more than a bed, a desk, a chair, a chest of draws and a few cabinets.

Leo chose the middle room to dump his luggage, declaring it as his bedroom. The first thing he unpacked was a blue baby blanket that had been in his messenger bag. Sewn in the centre was a yellow duck wearing a blue gingham hat. It was spread out on top of the pearl white duvet, it didn't completely cover the bed, but it covered enough of it. The second item he took out was the book he had been reading in the taxi and that was placed on the wooden desk. Other than the leftover snacks from the journey and his devises, the last item Leo pulled out was a small, framed photograph. Without looking at the photo, Leo laid it face down on the desk.

In his own room, Yoshi was unpacking his own bags. He had begun by neatly folding and stacking his clothes and putting them in his new drawers or hanging them up in his wardrobe. He hadn't been able to sleep on the plane, so he felt quite tired. However, thanks to his ninja training and often working late, he was used to the tiredness. Yoshi glanced at his wristwatch, noticing that it was 5 past 4 in the morning. Deciding to leave it for the night so that he could get some sleep, even if he only got an hour or two.

Leaving his new bedroom, the father made his way to the neighbouring room and gently knocked on the door, "Leonardo, may I please come in?"

It took a few seconds for a voice to reply from the other side of the door, "Sure father." Yoshi pushed the door open and found his son sitting on his bed already clothed in pjs. "Is everything ok father? I was going to try and get some sleep before it got too late."

"Everything is fine my son. I was actually going to get some sleep myself and thought you should to, but I see you have already decided to." Yoshi took the moment to study what Leo had done to the room. The blanket on the bed and the two items on the desk were the only differences he could see, "Why is the family photograph laying down?" He already knew the answer as Leonardo stuffed himself into the corner, "You cannot run from reality my son. What is done is done, you cannot change that. Anata wa sudeni yatta koto o motonimodosu koto wa dekimasen."

Leo didn't reply, he just pulled his knees into his chest and buried his face in his knees, a clear sign that he didn't want to talk about it. The Japanese man placed his hand on his sons shaking shoulder. Sapphire eyes flicked up to look at Yoshi. "Go to sleep Leonardo." Leo nodded and with his father's guidance, laid down in bed. Yoshi covered up the teenager while Leo drifted off to sleep. Yoshi leant forward and whispered into Leos ear, "Watashi wa anata no musuko ga daisuki."


Leo awoke to mellow sunbeams shining through his closed window. He covered his mouth as he yawned before waking up his body by stretching. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, the raven-haired boy shook his legs to get the muscles working.

The door swung open as Leo drowsily wondered out of his bedroom, his messy black hair sticking out in all directions. A familiar smell of miso soup hovered around the kitchen area. Heat from the stove warmed the air in the small apartment, putting Leo into a relaxed daze.

"Good morning my son. Would you like some miso soup?" Yoshi asked while he served the cooked soup into two of the bowls that he had found in one of the cupboards.

Leo plonked down on one of the stalls around the island, "Yes please." A bowl was placed in front of him, "Arigatōgozaimashita."

As Leo ate, the pleasant heat from the food warmed his chilly insides. All the cold from the winter air that he had been forced to travel through last night instantly vanished with one sip of his father's soup. The delicious soup felt like a party that was trapped in his mouth.

"Hey father, where did you get the food from?" Leo asked after he ate some more soup.

"While you were sleeping I thought I would search the building and meet some of our new neighbours." Yoshi scooped up some of his own soup and sipped it off the spoon, "A widowed, elderly woman lives in the apartment across from us and she was kind enough to let us have some of her food." A smile spread across Yoshi's face, "She is also going to come over with her grandson soon, so I recommend you get yourself ready my son. You look a mess." Immediately, Leo slurped the last of his breakfast down, jumped off his stall- practically dropped his bowl in the sink- and shot into his room, the door slamming shut behind him.

In his room, Leo speedily undressed out of his night clothes. Stumbling on his own two feet, Leo pulled on a pair of dark blue jeans before plucking a white, short-sleeved t-shirt out of his unpacked suitcase. On the front of the t-shirt was the logo for the teens favourite tv show: Space Heroes. He pulled it on before grabbing a comb to brush his bed hair, paying extra special attention to making sure his bags swayed in the correct direction.

Seconds after Leo had finished preparing himself and exited his room, there was a knock at the apartments door. Yoshi politely let in the senior lady and a short teenager with long blond hair that ended just past his chin. The woman was escorted to the sofa by Yoshi and her grandson who made sure she was comfy before he skipped over to Leo with the biggest grin the Japanese boy had ever seen.

"Hi! I'm Michelangelo but you can call me Mikey and that's my grandma." The hyper teen pointed to the woman on the sofa, "She's really sweet and loves to spoil me! Oh, oh, oh! You should ask her to sing for you, she may be old and wrinkly, but granny Jo is an awesome singer!" Leonardo had to lean back to prevent Mikey from getting too close to his face.

"Calm down Michelangelo. I don't think Leonardo appreciates you getting so close to him." The elderly woman turned in her seat to look at the two teens chatting behind the sofa. She gave Mikey a gentle but stern glare in warning, "You can call me Joan or Jo, I don't mind which."

Leo walked around so that Joan didn't have to twist around. Keeping his legs together and arms pinned to his sides, Leo bowed at the waist, "It is an honour to meet you Jo-san."

"And it is an honour to meet you to Leonardo." Joan did her own miniature bow where she sat.

"Leonardo, why don't you and Michelangelo head out, Joan has just been telling me that her grandson has been dying to show you around since he found out another teenager was moving in." Yoshi casted a sideways glance at the elderly woman.

"Yes, can we Leo? Please?" Mikey clung onto Leo's arm, staring up at him with large, baby blue eyes, "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" Leo helplessly looked towards Joan for any assistance, but she just gave Leo an amused, apologetic smile.

"Fine." As soon as the word left Leo's mouth, an excited Mikey dragged a reluctant Leo out of the apartment. Leo barely had time to grab his coat and slip on his shoes before he was forced to leave his new home. Mikey released Leos arm when they made it into the elevator, giving Leo enough time to tie his laces and properly put his coat on.

Ding

Before the metal doors had fully opened, Mikey had already seized Leos wrist, raced out of the elevator and vaulted down the few steps that lead outside. Mikey towed Leo around several corners and down several streets until they got to a small clearing with a set of swings and a roundabout. Mikey made a sudden stop just in front of the swings which forced Leo to make an unexpected halt. Due to the freezing weather, Leo happened to stop on an icy patch that caused him to skid into the blond teen.

"Welcome to the hangout!" Mikey threw his arms up in the air as he spun round to face the Japanese boy, "My friends and I always come here to hangout after school. It's much more fun when there's less ice around because then we can chase each other without slipping but it is funny when someone falls on their butt."

Mikey sat on one of the plastic swings, gently swinging back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. Leo followed Mikey's example and perched on the other swing. However, Leo opted to stare up at the cloudy sky instead of swinging like Mikey.

Gradually Mikey's swing came to a standstill as he spotted his new friend lost in thought, "Hey dude..." Mikey reached across the short gap between the two occupied swings, "Leo..." A hand waved inches from Leos face.

Sapphire eyes rapidly blinked at the blur that appeared out of nowhere. Leo shifted his gaze over to the concerned teen.

"Dude are you ok? You sort of blanked out like granny does when she's thinking about grandpa..." Mikey's baby blue eyes looked down at the gravel, twisting his body to face forward again before adding in a barely audible whisper, "or mom..."

Seeing the hurt and sadness that flashed across Mikey's face, Leo chose not to ask about it. After all, he felt the same way when he was thinking about his own mother, "You know back in Japan, grandfather and father taught me ninjutsu. I can show you some moves if you want."

Mikey's face lit up at the reveal of his new friend being a ninja, "Really?!" Mikey half shouted as he jumped to his feet, "That's soooooooo awesome!"

Once again, Mikey seized Leos arm, forcefully dragging him off the swing. The area was fairly open so the two didn't have to worry about finding a big enough space to perform the moves. The first move Leo demonstrated was a roundhouse kick. He twisted on the ball of his foot, extending his right leg in a fast yet fluent kick which would have made contact with Mikey's head if he had been standing any closer. Mikey's baby blue eyes widen even more as he watched in awe as the ninja in training brought his leg back down.

"Wooooooo... Can I have a try?" Mikey asked, bouncing closer to the other boy.

"Sure, just follow my lead." Leo replied. Step by step Leo instructed Mikey what to do. Surprisingly, Mikey ended up being a natural and could perform a perfect roundhouse kick within a few minutes. Leo then went on to teach Mikey how to do one of the kata he has been doing for years, and once again, Mikey was able to do it flawlessly, even deciding to add an impressive one-handed cartwheel at the end.

"I'm impressed Mikey!" Leo announced after Mikey completed the kata for the fifth time in a row, "Are you sure you haven't done this before?"

"Nope, never done any fighting dude. I did gymnastics and hip-hop dance classes when I was little but not any fighting." Mikey explained, "Mom always told me that I had too much energy, that's why she made me start hip hop classes. I was also really flexible and loved to tumble so I convinced mom to let me do gymnastics as well."

The blond hair teen kept his signature gigantic smile on his face the whole time but the minor quiver at the edges of his mouth, avoiding eye contact and the slight shine in Mikey's eyes told Leo a different story. It must have had something to do with Mikey's mother because so far, every time he has mentioned anything to do with her, he has gotten that sad look in his eyes. Leo thought about this and how he felt similar when he thought about his own mother. Of course, Leo was not going to pour his heart out to a kid he met only an hour ago.

A cold white ball suddenly flew through the air and hit Leo in the face, "HEY!" He shouted as he spun on his heel to face his attacker. Normally, Leo was excellent at avoiding flying objects as a result of his ninja training. He may have not been able to avoid the first one, but the ninja did manage to dodge the second snowball. Evading a third attack, Leo playfully called out to Mikey, "You can't beat a ninja with snowballs Mikey."

"Not trying to dude." Mikey stuck his tongue out and blew a large raspberry at Leo. The ninja in training lunged at Mikey who backflipped out of arms reach before dashing away, causing Leo to give chase.

The two teens chased each other around the park, occasionally slipping on an icy patch that appeared out of nowhere. Mikey ended up having amazing speed and with his hyper activeness, he seemed to be everywhere at once. However, after being trained in ninjutsu for over a decade and with people older and more advance than him, Leo was able to predict Mikey's next move and pin him against the snow covered ground.

The smaller teen struggled to break free from the tight grip on his arms. It wasn't a painfully grip but it did cause his arms to ache slightly at being stuck in that position, even thou he was only in that position for a few seconds. Not having any other ideas, Mikey said the first thing that came to mind, "Ok, ok, I surrender." Mikey kicked his legs, but Leo was out of reach, "Let me go or I'll tell your mom and dad that you were picking on me."

Mikey could not see Leo's face, but he felt the hands that held him stiffen up before they disappeared along with the weight on his back. Glad that he was free, Mikey rolled onto his back. His long, lime coloured coat covered with tiny specs of white snow that had recently started to fall from the grey sky.

"Come on let's go home."

Mikey lifted his head to see Leo walking away down the street, his shoulders slightly hunched and his head hanging. The blond teen sat up in shock. Him and Leo were having such a great time. They had both been smiling and laughing and having fun. Lots of fun. Leo had let Mikey, well... be Mikey and Mikey loved that. Unfortunately, he had to go and muck it up just as they were getting to the fun. Mikey knew that it was a risky move, but he said it anyway and now Leo probably hates him. Nice job Michelangelo, nice job.

"Are you coming?" Leo's head popped out from behind one of the stone walls that made up New York, "I've been here for less than 24 hours, I don't know the way home yet so would you get up already." Leo commanded. Unlike earlier, Leo's voice was now sharp and serious, leaving no room for Mikey to argue.

Not caring about the ice or the gradually rising snow, Mikey jumped to his feet and jogged over to the serious teen, "Look Leo, I'm really sorry. Really, really, really sorry for what I did wrong. I was only joking when I said I would tell your parents. I thought you could take the joke but I'm sorry for not thinking it through properly and saying it anyway." Mikey couldn't keep his eyes on the slightly older teen who was walking a few steps in front of him, "I'm sorry Leo, I really am."

Hearing a small sniffle from the boy behind him, Leo stopped in his tracks and gazed at Mikey. The boy appeared smaller and younger with his head low, rosy cheeks and arms folded. Feeling sorry for Mikey, and knowing that he caused this, Leo wrapped an arm around Mikey's shivering shoulders. "Don't worry about it Mikey, I forgive you."

Baby blue eyes snapped up to meet Leo's serious sapphire eyes, "Really?" Mikey whispered hopefully.

"Really." Leo confirmed, "I just don't want to talk about it ok? Amarini mo itai."

Happily, Mikey nodded his head, "That's fine dude, now let's get home so that you can hear nanny Jo sing. Did I mention how awesome she is at singing, especially for her age?"

"Yes." Leonardo walked a few paces behind Mikey as the blond lead the way back to the apartments, "It was one of the first things you told me when we met."


Translations:

Anata wa sudeni yatta koto o motonimodosu koto wa dekimasen- You cannot undo what has already been done

Watashi wa anata no musuko ga daisuki- I love you my son

Arigatōgozaimashita- Thank you

Amarini mo itai- It's too painful