A year and a half later I'm finally updating this story. Sorry for the super long wait guys, to put it simply, life just got in the way but I do have ch12 pretty much complete as well but I'm not going to post that for a while.

When I first started writing this story, it was meant to be much simpler but I never fully planned it out so during my hiatus I actually got round to doing that, or at least made a brief plan. Now that I know where this story is going I have a few things to say:

1) If the first chapter wasn't already a hint, this story will contain some slightly darker themes and I will put warnings at the starts of those chapters. However, I will never be going into detail about them, it will always be more or less implied.

2) Any deaths that may occur in this story will be OC only because I hate reading fanfics that kill off the turtles or their allies.

3) Thank you to everyone (new and old) who reads this story, I love all your reviews, follows and favourites.

Disclaimer: I do not own tmnt

Enjoy... :)


What I Never Told You

Or Forgotten

How had this plan gone so wrong?

Leo found himself asking that question over and over again. He was a fully trained ninja that had taken down opponents twice his size and with years more experience. He had helped his father train the little kids at the dojo and more importantly keep track of them. A natural born leader according to everyone he met. Yet he could not follow a single teenager through a city.

Donnie had run off after asking Raph to join their search for Sarah Jane York- Mikey's honorary little sister- who was taken while she was out with Mikey and Joan. He had run off in tears and Leo had immediately gone to follow him. The only issue was that Leo had lost Don among the stone maze that created the streets of New York City.

Looking up at the cloudy sky and seeing the last of the sun's rays disappearing behind the surrounding skyscrapers, Leo formed a new plan to track down Don and he hoped that it would not delay the search for Sarah. Leo knew all too well what it felt like to be separated from family, the fear that you would never see them again, the anger that you couldn't prevent it, and the worst of all those feelings is the crippling sadness that you had just lost someone you love… loved.

Smoke… fire… shouting…

Hamato Leonardo briefly shook his head to stop himself from thinking about that dreadful night. He had his sister back and his father is healthy and at the Hospital with Mikey. In a way he should have considered himself lucky, but he just couldn't. He had lost his mother that day and if time machines existed, he would go back to save her in a heartbeat.

Closing his eyes for a minute, Leo talked to the one person he hadn't spoken to in almost a decade, "Haha, Kanojo ga mitsukaru made sara o mimamotte kudasai. Kanojo no kazoku ni watashitachi no yō ni kurushimenaide kudasai." Leo peeked up at the dark sky and continued in English, "I lost you when I was only 6 and… and I… just please don't let this girl's family suffer like we have haha."


Mikey timidly took a few steps forward, a thornless red rose tightly clutched in his shaking hands. Sniffling, Mikey looked through his tears at the simple wooden coffin that was covered in colourful flowers. They were so vibrant in colour that they almost seemed to be mocking the gloomy day. Reaching up, the almost 4-year-old placed his rose upon the coffin amongst the others before a pair of strong arms picked him up and cuddled him against a warm chest.

Joan Davis kissed her grandson's blond curls as Mikey wiped his nose on the sleeve of his black shirt. She wrapped her free arm around her sobbing daughter standing next to them and pulled her in for comfort, Mikey reached across to hug his mother.


Mikey let out a small sniffle as he curled in tighter to himself. The same gentle hand that had been caressing his hair for the past hour returned and even though he usually found the gesture soothing, now it was just a reminder of the situation he was in. Rubbing the moisture from his eyes, Mikey rolled on to his back and looked up at the sympathetic face of Hamato Yoshi. He tried to smile but it didn't reach his eyes like it usually did.

"You are allowed to be upset Michelangelo; you have been through a lot in the past few hours." Yoshi said, moving his hand from Mikey's head to rest on his shoulder, "How is your pain?"

Shuffling slightly under the white blanket, Mikey whispered, "My arms are a little sore and I still have a bit of a headache but it's nothing, I'm fine. Sarah needs me."

"Michelangelo," Yoshi sternly said, "Trust your friends to find Sarah Jane, right now you need to rest and heal."

Mikey wiped his bloodshot eyes again, quietly questioning the adult, "Do you really think they will find her?"

Yoshi pulled the pristine white blanket up to the 14-year-olds chin, "Leonardo will not stop searching until she is safe." He answered as he smoothed out the hospital blanket before patting Mikey's shoulder and adding, "Now rest while I go see if there is an update on Joan-san."

Mikey watched as Yoshi left before closing his eyes.

Screams of a petrified child and an elderly lady filled his usually imaginative mind. He covered his ears, but it did nothing to free him from the horrid memory. The sound of metal being drawn and stabbing flesh, made Mikey scrunch his eyes and curl up into the fetal position. Through the darkness of his dozing mind, a single blade cut through and swung right at him.

Michelangelo's eyes shot wide open. He laid there for several minutes, staring at the door to his room. It happened every time. Every time he closed his eyes, the memory would play over and over like a broken record. The screams, the pain, the fear, except he never saw anything but a sword in the darkness. No faces, no identity, no way to tell who attacked them.

Gradually, Mikey removed his hands from his ears and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He swung his legs over the side and stood on wobbly legs. He stood there until he felt his legs were strong enough not to give out on him, then he shuffled forward. The chill of the floor seeped through the non-slip slipper socks he was forced to wear while in the hospital. Reaching the door, Mikey rested his hand on the sterilized handle but hesitated to open it. He let out a deep breath before opening the door.


Leonardo pushed the sliding door open and ran into the open arms of the elderly man sat in the middle of the Hamato dojo. Hamato Yuuta chuckled as he accepted the hug from the excited boy and then held his free arm out to receive a hug from the equally excited girl.

"Sofu, do you remember what today is?" Leo doesn't wait for his grandfather to answer, "It's my birthday!"

Yuuta looks down into Leo's shining sapphire eyes, "You-" Weak coughs prevent the head of the Hamato clan from saying anything. He covered his mouth with his fist as he felt his two grandchildren shuffle back to give him some space. This was unfortunately not the first time- and definitely wouldn't the last time- that Yuuta had had one of his coughing fits in front of his grandchildren. His health had drastically gotten worse over the past few months and it was only a matter of time until he could no longer fight back.

After a minute, the coughing stopped and Yuuta gratefully accepted the water bottle Yoshi was handing to him. He took several sips of the refreshing liquid before he handed it back to his son and looked at the two children silently kneeling in front of him, all excitement gone and replaced with worried glances.

"You're getting so big Leonardo. Otanjōbiomedetōgozaimasu." Yuuta said with a small smile sent to the 6-year-old boy who smiled back.

"Leonardo," Tang Shen called from outside, "Your friends are here."

Leo got to his feet and looked at Yuuta who, with Yoshi's help, had stood up with him.

"Go play with your friends Leonardo, I'll join you later." Leaning against Yoshi and with Miwa following to help, Hamato Yuuta hobbled out the dojo and into the area that had been turned into a secondary home for the Hamato family.

Hearing his friends shout outside the dojo, Leo sprinted out the still open sliding doors and leapt over the steps.


Leonardo landed on the stone rooftop without a sound. He gracefully scurried over the rooftops, springing off the side of a water tower to flip over a large gap between the buildings. Expertly balancing on the edge of the roof as he ran, Leo glanced out the side of his eye at the street below to see if he could spot the famous teenager or the hot-headed gang leader.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Leo skidded to a holt, scanned the area, then sprinted to the other side of the building where the scream came from. Leaning over the edge of the roof, he spotted Raph lying in the middle of the road, his muscular arms trembling as they pushed him to his feet. Leo averted his eyes away from the red head and to the two men (who he assumed had thrown Raph into the road) leaving the derelict building. The taller of the two had messy black hair and a pale blue scarf tied around his neck. He was also dragging an unconscious Don behind him while the other guy with a helmet hiding his face, had a small child hanging over his shoulder.

The Japanese teen reached over his shoulders for his twin katana, only to remember that they were still hidden in his bedroom. Peering back over the side, Leo saw that the one with the scarf was walking towards Raphael with his sword out and ready to strike. Without thinking about his own safety, Leo vaulted off the roof. He continued to fall until he was nearer to the ground where he pushed off the side of the wall and delivered a strong kick to the closest person's chest.

The one with the scarf stumbled back, releasing Don in the process. He quickly regained his footing and glared at the teenager now standing between him and Raphael.

"Leonardo," Tiger Claw growled, "Surrender now and I might let your friends live long enough to see your demise."

"Not gonna happen." Leo objected, wondering how this warrior knew who he was but had no time to think about it as Tiger Claw attacked.

The assassin swung his weapon downwards, but Leo jumped out the way and delivered a punch to Tiger Claw's face which was deflected with ease. Leo then crouched to avoid a swing of the sword and kicked Tiger Claw's legs. The assassin jumped out of the way and skilfully jabbed his sword at Leo. The sword caught him in the arm, distracting Leo long enough for Tiger Claw to powerfully kick him in the chest.

Leonardo crashed into Raphael, who was blocking Chris Bradford's katana with his sai, and the two of them landed in a pile. They were getting to their feet when a large hand grabbed Leo's shoulder and slammed him into a wall, a tan face getting close to his.

"Impressive," Tiger Claw sneered, "but you are still young, still just a cub. Master Shredder is going to enjoy destroying you."

Leo gasped, "Master Shredder?"

"Sounds and looks like a fancy office appliance." Quipped Raph as he used his arm to block Bradford's punch.

Letting out a humourless chuckle, Tiger Claw turned his attention away from Leo to watch Bradford knock Raph down, "You should know better than to mock Master Shredder thief."

Taking his chance while Tiger Claw was distracted, Leo twisted out of his vice like grip and immediately crouched to avoid the assassins blow, rolling away to avoid the next. The ninja teen continued to dodge Tiger Claws attacks even as he made a mental note of what was happening around him.

Raph was still holding his ground against the warrior in the armour, though Leo could just make out a slight tremble in his arms. Not to mention in the few glances Leo was able to spare in their direction, Raph seemed to be more on the defence rather than the offence, something he had seen Raph preferring the few times that they had met. Leo knew that Raph wouldn't be able to keep it up for much longer. They needed to get out of there and soon.

Donnie seemed to have crawled over to where Bradford had left Sarah during the fight. Leo could just see Donnie out the corner of his eye as he stumbled down the street with a still unconscious Sarah in his arms. Hopefully, Donatello would be able to find someone to help or at least get the two of them to safety. Though Leo suspected that the latter would be more likely as there was a disturbing lack of people around, especially for the city that never sleeps. Either way, it was still one less problem for Leo to worry about. Well as long as there weren't any unforeseen enemies waiting for them.

Leonardo stumbled back, just barely missing the tip of the sword that was swung at his head, and fully focused on the fight once more. He needed a plan. If he could find a way to distract their attackers or keep them down long enough, maybe he and Raph could slip away. Side stepping to avoid the assassin's fist, Leo roundhouse kicked him in the face. He then sprung forward, ready to punch Tiger Claw before he had a chance to recover.

Except Raph jumped in front of him.

Stumbling a bit, Leo bumped into Raph who glared at him and, with a hint of confusion in his voice, started to speak, "What the-"

"Look out!"

Except Leo's warning came too late and the two teens went crashing into the wall, knocking over the trashcans in front of it with a crash. Leo blinked the stars out of his vision. He heard Raph grunting next to him, and he turned to see the redhead struggling to stand. The two locked eyes for a second before watching the two attackers advancing on them. That's when Leo spotted the dark grey circle that was just visible in the shadows of the alleyway across the street. A manhole cover.

The sewers!

If they could get into the sewers, they could lose their attackers in the tunnels. Now just how to get there? Leo's fingers brushed over the cold metal of the trashcan lid. He picked it up. It wasn't an ideal weapon but as his father had told him many times, anything could be a weapon. Leo threw the lid like a frisbee at the man in armour who cleanly cut through it with his katana. He wasn't so prepared for the second one.

To avoid his fallen partner the assassin leapt into the air and activated the rocket on his back, something that Leo hadn't noticed. Thinking fast, Leo pointed at Tiger Claw and yelled, "Raph now!"

Raphael got the hint and flung his sai, hitting the rocket and sending Tiger Claw spinning out of control. The second the sai left Raph's hand, Leo pulled Raph to his feet and supported him as they sprinted across the street, pulling the manhole cover off before they both jumped down. Leo managed to slide the cover back into place just as he heard someone slam their fist against the metal. He dropped down the ladder and avoiding the puddles, the two sprinted through the darkness.


Mikey splashed in the puddle, getting his shoes and trousers soaked but he didn't care. He continued walking down the dirt path and kicked the next puddle that happened to be in his way. The same with the next. With the fourth puddle the 4-year-old walked up to it and instead of jumping or splashing in it, he just stared at it. The small puddle rippled in the cool breeze, messing up the reflection before it settled back down.

"Michelangelo?"

The freckled boy turned away from his dim reflection to see his grandma and mother standing further down the pathway, the former watching him with sadness. Looking back at the puddle, Mikey lightly dipped his shoe in and watched the ripples once more ruin his reflection. Then, with a small sob, he kicked the water across the path and ran to the grownups.

Joan scooped the little boy into her arms the moment he was close enough. She held him close and rubbed soothing circles on his back as Mikey cried into her neck, whispering soothing words into his ear.

The trio walked out of the graveyard and over to the gradually dispersing group of people that were outside the church. Many of those people sent sympathetic smiles in their direction though none of them were really paying attention to the crowd.

In Joan's arms, Mikey sniffled and shifted so that he could see the young blonde woman standing next to them. He reached out a hand to her as he quietly called to her, "Mama?"

The woman glanced up at him, bloodshot blue eyes meeting equally as bloodshot blue eyes, then returned her gaze to the ground where it had been for most of the day.


Mikey stood still and silent, his eyes focused on the ground as he politely listened to the Doctor explaining his grandmother's condition. He didn't really understand the fancy words that were being said but Yoshi, who was standing next to him, seemed to. It honestly shouldn't have surprised Mikey as much as it had when the Japanese man immediately caught him trying to sneak away. After all, Leo had told him about what an excellent ninja Yoshi was.

When the doctor stopped talking, Mikey peered up. The doctor was giving him a sympathetic smile which made the teens heart clench. Mikey had always had a knack for reading people. A gut instinct of sorts. He considered it his superhero power, something he could do to help others, and he was proud of it. Mikey could always tell when Leo wanted to be left alone - even though he never did- to meditate, when Granny Jo needed cheering up, when Sarah needed a hug, when his mother… Except right now Michelangelo hated his ability. He could tell something was seriously wrong and it scared him.

"Doc?" Mikey mumbled, choosing to rather stare at his feet again instead of at the kind doctor, "Can I please see my Granny?"

The doctor took a moment to think it over, "Ms. Davis has just been moved to the ICU. We don't tend to let visitors in there at this time of night, but I think I can make an exception for you. I'll take you there."

The doctor lead Mikey and Yoshi through a maze of corridors, stopping at one point to collect some charts from a nurse. When they stood outside a private room in the intensive care unit, the doctor turned to them and while gesturing at the door informed them, "Ms Davis is currently hooked up to a lot of machines and it might look a bit frightening." He glanced at Mikey when the last part was said.

Mikey didn't respond in anyway. The worry eating away at his gut was still there and only intensified at the idea of Granny Jo being hooked up to machines, yet his mind tried to reason that it was a good sign. It meant that she was getting the help she needed to get better, to heal and to return back to her strong willed, loving self.

Taking a deep breath, Mikey walked into the small room while Hamato Yoshi waited outside to give them privacy. The first thing he saw was Joan laying in the bed with… how many tubes? Mikey recognised the monitors that were letting out a steady beeping and a bag of red blood that was flowing down the tube and into the woman's inner arm. Thinking back to what the doctor said, Michelangelo remember something about her need a blood transfusion.

The teen pushed the chair that was in the room closer to Joan's head and took a seat. He reached out a gentle hand (being careful to avoid all the wires and tubes) and wrapped his fingers around her wrinkly hand. The hand didn't hold his back or squeeze back when he squeezed it. There wasn't even a twitch.

She was just… still.

Giving the hand a second squeeze, Mikey talked to the unconscious woman, "Remember when I was little and got sick. Not all those times that I just had a fever, that one time when I was 9 and had that horrible stomach bug." The 14-year-old let out a sad chuckle then continued, "You let me watch any cartoon or film that I wanted all day and night. I remember you were supposed to go visit someone that day, I can't remember who, but you cancelled it so that you could look after me."

Mikey smiled and looked at Joan's peaceful face, his smile faltering at the sight of the tube in her mouth that was helping her to breath. He squeezed the hand he held again to gain the courage to keep talking, "You've always been there for me, putting my needs and happiness before your own. Now it's my turn. I'm going to stay right by your side and make sure you have everything that you need to get better. Then when you're all healed, we can… uhh… go to Spain together, just like you always dreamed of us doing."

"We can go to the beach, and I can swim in the sea while you sunbathe. Then we can eat ice-cream…mmmmmm… ice-cream." Mikey licked his lips at the thought of the frozen treat. He shifted in his seat so that his legs were folded next to him, and his freckled cheek was resting on the arm of the chair. Once comfy, he smiled and rubbed Joan's hand with his thumb, "Now I want ice-cream. What about Ice-cream on pizza? That sounds delicious, especially with hot sauce, anchovies and of course jelly beans!"

A small yawn, muffled by his free hand, prevented Mikey from say anything else. Moving his hand from his mouth to tiredly rub his eyes, the teen chuckled, "Guess I'm still not great at staying up late." Though, despite the tiredness, Mikey doubted he was going to sleep much tonight, the dream and bad feeling- that he had hoped would have faded when he saw Joan- made sure of it. Not to mention there was still no word on Sarah Jane's whereabouts.

"Leo and Donnie are out looking for Sarah right now and the cops have put an alert out." Muttered Mikey with a small frown, "I want to help them Granny Jo, but they won't let me leave. I'm fine though, just bumps and bruises unlike you who needed surgery to stop the bleeding. Something to do with something being nicked in your stomach or something like that."

Michelangelo lay curled up in the chair watching the rhythmic rising and falling of his grandmother's chest. It gave him some comfort knowing that she was still alive.

That she was fighting.

A soft blanket was pulled over the teen. Looking up, Mikey saw Yoshi standing behind the chair, a gently smile on his face. Mikey gave him a smile in thanks before snuggling into the blanket, more out of comfort than for warmth, and silently watching a new doctor checking over Joan.

The new doctor appeared younger than the doctor that escorted them here and he wore lighter blue scrubs compared to the other doctor's navy blue. He looked over the machines then pulled the white blanket that covered Joan down and adjusted her top to check the surgical site.

From his position in the chair, Mikey was at the wrong angle to actually see the wound. He was grateful for that, knowing that the sight of it would most likely haunt him for years.

The new doctor addressed the first doctor- when did he get here?- who was standing at the end of the bed and looking through Joan's chart, "Wound sight looks good Doctor Keener, no sign of infection but blood pressure is 130 over 80."

"That's higher than I would like." The older doctor, Doctor Keener, responded. He gave the other doctor instructions for- what Mikey presumed- medicine before closing the chart and giving Mikey the same sympathetic smile as earlier, "How are you feeling Michelangelo? Any dizziness, nausea or pain?"

"I'm all good Doc." Mikey replied with his signature smile while the fear eating his gut returned in full force.

Doctor Keener nodded, "Alright, keep resting and let someone know if anything changes."

"Will do." Said Mikey with forced happiness.

After a minute both doctors and the extra medical personnel that had popped in to do something seemed satisfied and left with Yoshi following them, once more leaving the grandson and grandma alone. The moment that the soft clicking of the door being closed was heard, the façade broke, and Mikey let out a small sigh. He shuffled in the chair to free his other arm so that he could sandwich Joan's wrinkly hand between his slightly smaller hands.

"You're gonna get better Granny Jo, I know you will b-because you are the strongest person I know. Y-you can beat anything that you face just like a s-s-superhero. Your s-super Granny. My super Granny."

Baby blue eyes flicked up to watch the steady rising of Joan's chest, Mikey's own breathing matching the rhythm. The faint frown stayed on his face even as he felt his body relaxing more under the blanket. The teen blinked tiredly and yawned again, yet Mikey didn't dare to take his eyes off his grandma's chest. Not until his body gave into the exhaustion and pulled him into a deep sleep without any nightmares. A single sentence left Michelangelo's lips as he descended into the dream world.

"We can go to Spain together."


The newly turned 6-year-old swung his bokken at his friend who ran away laughing. The wooden sword was a birthday gift from his father/sensei, and it meant that he could now join Miwa for weapons practise. Something Leonardo had been wanting to do since his sister started a year ago. Leo wildly swung at his friend as they ran around in the grass that surrounded the Hamato Dojo, laughing and shouting at each other like children do.

Leonardo gained speed and was about to grab his dark-haired friend when a pair of arms wrapped around his midsection and lifted him off the ground slightly. Leo let out a shriek in surprise and wiggled to escape his capture, "Usagi!"

The older, and taller, boy chuckled in response, lowering Leo just enough so that his feet were back on the soft grass, "I have him Daiki, Should we hand him over to the yokai?"

Daiki smirked and jogged over to them, "I have a better idea my friend." He lunged forward, fingers out stretched and ready to tickle. However, Leo twisted out of Usagi's loose grip just before Daiki reached him, causing the two friends to crash into each other.

"I am now free to take my revenge on those who have tried to stop me." Leo announced in his best villain voice, "No one can escape the great and powerful Leonardo!"

"Run Usagi, he's going to get us!" Laughed Daiki as he scrambled over the older boy and to his feet, running away while Usagi followed in a more controlled way. Leo chased after them.

"Leo."

Leonardo stopped running at the call of his name, his bokken held above his head in preparation to swing. He lowered the bokken and smiled at Miwa who stood at the entrance to the dojo with a yunomi in her hands.

"Do you know where haha went? I want to get sofu some more tea, but I can't find her anywhere." Asked Miwa as she tucked a strand of her loose brown hair behind her ear.

It took Leo a couple of seconds to remember where he had last seen their mother, "I think haha and Uncle Saki went to the shrine. I'll go get her for you." The 6-year-old turned to his two friends, "I'll be right back."

Leo jogged across the bridge and the short distance through the woods to where the Hamato shrine proudly stood. As the shrine started to appear through the tree's, loud voices reached Leo's ears. He recognised the voices as his mothers and uncles, yet they sounded so different. They were harsher, louder, and angrier than he had ever heard them before. Like they were arguing.

Arguing.

Since he could remember, Leo had never heard any of the grownups fighting this fiercely. Sure they had their moments, Yoshi and Saki were constantly clashing and Shen and Yoshi had gotten into some pretty heated debates over the years, though none of those could compare to what Leo was hearing.

Stopping behind one of the trees, Leo used what he had been taught in his training and stayed in the shadows as he listened to the on-going quarrel.

"I love Yoshi, Saki! I have always loved Yoshi! Just like how I love my children!"

"Yoshi doesn't care about you Shen! Not like I do!"

"You are wrong! Yoshi loves and cares about all of us!"

Leo smiled at his mothers' statement, his father adored everyone in their family and even some people outside their family.

"If he really did care about you then why did you-"

"ENOUGH!"

The shout was loud enough to make the child visibly flinch and shuffle further back into the shadows.

"That night should have never happened Saki."

"But it did! And now you won't admit that-"

"Don't you dare bring my baby into this."

"You know as well as I do that Leonar-"

"You are delusional Saki!"

Baby? Leonardo? They were arguing about him?

Leo peered round the tree more to get a better look at the two adults. His foot caught on a tree root that was sticking out the ground and sent the child crashing to the ground with a yelp. Immediately the bickering adults turned to Leo with surprise before they masked it with their regular smiles. As Shen knelt next to him and helped him up, Leo gave her a sheepish smile.

"Are you alright Baby?" Tang Shen's voice had lost all anger and was soothing like how Leo usually heard it.

"I'm ok mother." Answered Leo brushing the dirt off his trousers. "Miwa was looking for you, she wants more tea for Sofu."

As Shen stood, Leo couldn't help but looked back at his uncle still standing at the shrine. Saki's smile had melted into a hateful glare that was directed at them. When Saki's dark eyes looked directly at him, the ninja turned and walked way. Leo would have followed him if it weren't for Shen taking his hand in hers and giving him a warm smile that he returned as the two walked back to the dojo.


Leonardo and Raphael skidded to a halt down one of the smaller sewer tunnels. They pressed their backs against the stone wall and panted, daring to take a moment to catch their breath. They kept their breathing quiet and listened to their surroundings to hear if they were still being followed.

The dripping of water echoed through the tunnels, but it wasn't enough to conceal the indistinct footsteps. As the footsteps got closer, Leo and Raph moved further into the tunnel, letting the shadows consume them and hiding them from view of anyone that passed by. They watched as Tiger Claw and Bradford ran past their hiding spot. Only when the footsteps where completely gone did the teens leave the safety of the shadows. Raph edged along the wall and scanned the adjacent tunnel. When he didn't see anything, he gestured to Leo, and they stealthily dashed back the way that they had come until they were a safe distance away.

Slowing to a walk, Leo took several deep breaths through his mouth before tugging his scarf off his face. He tucked the cobalt blue material under his chin and quietly spoke to Raph, "You ok?"

"Peachy." The red head responded as he rolled his shoulder to get relieve the ache in it, "What 'bout ya? Break anything with that little stunt of yas?"

Leo did a quick check over of himself. He could feel bruises forming on his chest, back and arms as well as a minor cut on his upper right arm. Lightly poking the wound through the torn clothing, Leo flinched as it stung, "I'll live."

"Ya got lucky. Jumping from that height could've easily killed ya or at least broken a bone." Raph gave Leo a glare before it turned into a smirk, "It was kinda fearless though…"

"Thanks."

"And stupid."

"Thanks."

The two continued their silent trek through the sewers for a few minutes, encountering several hungry rats and a cockroach which- to Leo's secret delight- freaked Raph out. At some points, the two teens had to stop and figure out which way they had come from in their random run.

"You sure we came from this direction Raphael? I don't recognise this tunnel."

"Don't recognise this tunnel?" Repeated Raph with a growl, "They all look the same!"

"Keep it down!" Leo snapped back while keeping his voice low, "Those two could be anywhere."

Raph scoffed, "Bradford and Tiger Claw have probably gone crawling back to Shredder begging for his forgiveness for failing 'im." Raph seemed to realise something at that moment as his eyebrows scrunched together in thought, "What they want with ya anyway? I can understand ya sis cus she used to work for them, but ya?"

Leonardo stared at the ground as Raph spoke to him. The young ninja had been thinking about it for the duration of the walk. He could remember hearing stories about the Foot Clan and their notorious leader Shredder when he lived in Japan. According to his Grandfather's tales the Foot Clan had been destroyed decades ago when their leader Oroku Keiji was killed in battle. The Foot weren't heard from again. That was until Oroku Saki, Hamato Yoshi's adopted brother, restarted the clan after the fire that claimed Tang Shen. Leo hadn't even seen his uncle since the fire and didn't know what had happened to Saki until Miwa had given them the briefest of summaries to explain where she had been the past 9 years.

"It's a long story."

Raph opened his mouth to ask what exactly that meant but Leo sent him a look that told him that he wasn't going to expand on his answer. "Come on, I see a manhole up ahead. Let's go find Donnie and Sarah before they get into trouble again." Leo pointed to the ladder as he gave the order, still keeping his voice low to prevent being found.

The metal rungs were cold and slimy beneath the teens hands as they climbed up the ladder. Leo removed the manhole cover and poked his head out, scanning the alleyway for any threats before climbing out. He wiped his hands on his jeans while Raphael pulled himself out the sewers and wiped the grime off his own hands. With a gesture of Leo's hand- an action that made Raph glare at him- the two left the safety of the shadows and joined the mass of people that wondered the streets of New York City at night, becoming just two more faces in the crowd.

Sapphire eyes swept over the faces of the strangers walking past, searching for the familiar light brown haired boy. Donatello had become an instant friend to Leo, and it was obvious to anyone that had seen Mikey's face that he too had instantly seen Don as a new friend, much like he had done the day he met the Japanese teen. Leo couldn't quite put his finger on it but something about the way that the young genius acted around them had him concerned. He had an aura of confidence about him that let him speak his mind, however, that confidence was masking something, an area of grey, a part of himself that Don didn't want them to see. The nervous glint he got in his chocolate eyes and scratching the back of his hand when he thought no one was looking was what got Leo worried about Donnie.

Leo wasn't going to pressure Don into telling him, after all he suspected his spirit had its own grey area and he had no desire to tell anyone about the darkness that plagued his mind. Instead he was going to be there for Don if he ever wants someone to talk to, something Leo knew he should do. So why hadn't he? In the past, he had been able to tell his father about everything and anything and it wasn't like Yoshi wouldn't understand, he had survived the horrid event as well. So why was it still so hard to talk about that night?

Sat on a bench with an unconscious child on his lap was Donnie. Leonardo could see them through the crowd and with Raph following, they pushed their way through the people. As they approached, Donnie turned to face them. At first he looked fearful like someone was going to attack him again, then he relaxed and let out the breath he was holding as he recognised them.

"G-glad you guys could join us." Grinned Donnie with a shiver. His purple hoodie was wrapped around Sarah's small body so when Raph offered Donnie his jacket the younger teen gratefully accepted it.

Now that Leo was closer to Donnie, he could see that Don's face was paler then usual and there was a nasty bruise forming on his neck as if someone had had their hands around Don's throat with the intention of blocking his vital airflow. Along with the new gap in Donnie's mouth, the injuries made Leo's blood boil but he pushed it aside for the moment, reminding himself that they needed to focus on getting Sarah Jane to safety. He could teach the people that attacked them to not hurt his friends later.

Leonardo pulled the child into his arms, adjusting the oversized purple hoodie to make sure that it covered her, and stepped over to the side of the road. He waited patiently with Donnie standing beside him as Raph hailed a passing cab. The yellow vehicle pulled up beside them, Raph jumping in behind the driver while Don climbed in the other side. Leo handed Sarah over to Don who secured her in the middle seat the best he could without a booster seat before sliding into the passenger seat and telling the driver to take them to New York Presbyterian Hospital- the hospital where Joan and Mikey had been admitted.

Turning in his seat, Leo glanced at the people sat in the back. There seemed to be a tension growing between the brunette and redhead. Donnie's attention was on Sarah and making sure that she was secure except his eyes kept flicking over to Raph and Leo couldn't help but notice the way that Don had subtly pulled the girl closer to him.

Was Donnie afraid of Raphael?

That didn't make any sense. It was Don who stopped Leo and Raph from fighting. It was Don who wanted Raphael's help to find Sarah. It was Don who trusted Raphael even after he'd attacked him. Did something happen between them when Donnie went back to talk to Raph? Was Raph the reason Donatello ran away? Did Raphael hurt Donnie?

"Is she alright?"

The gruff yet concerned voice snapped Leonardo out of his thoughts. Leo's trained eyes noticed Raphael's muscles tense at the voice as he looked at the driver. The man's forest green eyes were flicking between watching the road and glancing at the teen in the passenger seat.

"She's just sleepy. It is way past her bedtime after all." Leo lied with what he hoped was a convincing smile.

The driver looked unconvinced, "What about you and your friends? I couldn't help but notice that you all look a little beat up. You… You don't have any issues at home, do you?"

"No, no, no, nothing like that." Leo quickly defended, "We just ran into some of the not-so-friendly locals. That's all."

The red-haired man nodded, "The purple dragons do tend to roam around this area at night and I've heard that The Red Stripes have been seen in Manhattan recently. Maybe you boys should head to the police station instead of the hospital."

Leo was about to voice his opinion on that, but Raphael beat him to it.

"Why?" Raph growled from the backseat, "Ya not our father so why should we listen to ya."

"Raphael." Scolded Leo, ignoring the drivers quiet "Raphael?" as he sent a glare at the younger redhead.

"What!" Raphael yelled back, "He has no right to tell us what we can and can' do!"

"That doesn't mean that you get to say that to him, he's just making sure we are alright!"

"And why does he care about us? We don' even know 'im!"

"We're minors Raph." Don quietly piped up, interrupting the argument, "He has every right to be concerned about us."

Raphael directed his glare, accompanied by an angry growl, at the younger teen who squished himself against the car door to get as far away from the hot head as possible.

In the passenger seat, Leo firmly addressed the taxi driver, "Please take us to the hospital, our parents are there with our other siblings, so we are going there to meet them, and we can deal with what happened once we've check on our injured family members." Not a complete lie but Leo didn't want to tell a stranger more about them then he had to. The driver nodded in response, not saying anything this time.

Leo shifted his gaze to look out the window, letting his muscles and mind relax in the silence as he watched the buildings whizz past. Why was his uncle in America? Why did he not tell them Miwa was alive? Why were they after him? Why… why… why… He had so many questions and so few answers. When he next finds a moment, he is going to ask his father though Leo doubted that he would get a straight answer out of the wise ninja master. For now though he could rest and enjoy his very first victory, even if it hadn't gone to plan, it still counted as a victory in Leonardo's books.


The blonde child sat on one of the few wooden benches that lined the entrance to the church, his short legs rhythmically swinging while he waited for the grownups to stop chatting. His eyes flicked between the people scattered outside the church, ranging from elderly to teens and two older kids. Mikey recognised some of them from family gatherings. His dad (technically stepdad) hadn't taken him to many, something to do with not being all that close to them, so the 4-year-old couldn't recall any of their names.

Baby blue eyes widened as they landed on his grandma and mother… or at least where they were supposed to be. Mikey scanned the crowed for the familiar faces of his family. He couldn't see them. Looking around again yielded the same results. He stood on the bench to get the best view possible as he once more searched the gathered people.

Mikey's bottom lip trembled and tears gathered in his eyes. Where were they? He opened his mouth ready to cry out, a small sob coming out instead.

"Michelangelo?"

The child's head whipped to the right where Joan stood, a concerned look on her face. In a heartbeat, Mikey had flown off the bench and into her startled arms. The woman recovered quickly and held Mikey securely to her chest, his freckled face snuggling into her blouse.

"What's wrong my little Jelly Bean?"

"T-thought… you had… l-left me…" Sniffled Mikey, scrunching the black fabric of Joan's blouse in his fist.

Joan planted a kiss on Mikey's wavy hair, "Oh my sweet Grandson, your mother and I are right here and we are not going anywhere. We would never leave you alone like that."

Mikey loosened his grip just enough so that he could look at Joan with his watery baby blue eyes. In a small voice he asked, "You promise?"

"I promise."


Translations (from Google Translate):

Haha - Mother

Kanojo ga mitsukaru made sara o mimamotte kudasai - Please watch over Sarah until we find her

Kanojo no kazoku ni watashitachi no yō ni kurushimenaide kudasai - Don't let her family suffer like ours

Sofu - Grandfather

Otanjōbiomedetōgozaimasu - Happy birthday