A/N- Wow guys two chapters in the same week? I'm proud of myself! Hope you guys enjoy. Sorry for any grammar mistakes.
Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT. I do however own this story and my original characters. I'm just borrowing the characters to make a plot of my own.
Follow the Leader
The turtles were worried about their leader. Since they made the discovery of Leonardo lying to them, they knew they had to get to the bottom of his actions.
Why lie? What was he hiding? These questions entered the turtle's minds, especially Raphael. He was the first to notice the fearless leader going AWOL at night. At first he thought it wasn't a huge deal. He figured Leo was going through leadership issues. He thought he was stressed and needed to clear his head. But, as weeks went on Raphael knew it wasn't the case.
Both Donnie and Mikey also have witnessed their blue-masked brother being a little more care free. He wasn't as uptight, but definitely was lacking concentration. Mikey would talk to Donnie in his lab about his older brother. They both feared that he was helping and/or seeing Karai, but they wouldn't dare mention that to their hot headed brother. He would light a fuse if that happened. They hoped that wasn't the case for Leonardo's sake.
Leonardo was having a hard time keeping up with his double life. He was distracted. His mind would roam around someplace else during training. Even during his daily katas he wasn't focused. His mediation was lacking in concentration and he knew that he couldn't live like this forever. He acknowledged that his training was suffering and for what? For a girl?
She's not just some girl. He would tell himself during his thoughts about Leolani. Was there something between them two? Could she possibly like him for what he was? Was it just a friendship? He desperately wanted to talk to Master Splinter, but he was too ashamed. Too ashamed at the fact he actually wanted to talk about relationship advice with a human girl. He also couldn't dare tell his father that he was sneaking out at night, meeting up with her without his approval. Sneaking out wasn't the Leo thing to do, but it's definitely a Raph thing to do.
Master Splinter was seeing a change in his son's demeanor as well. He kept quiet though. He didn't want to mention it to his other three sons or the son in questioning. Instead, Master Splinter would mediate on it for hours trying to resolve the issue with his eldest. He hoped in time the truth will come out.
On the other side of New York City, Leolani was having issues with her friendship with Leonardo as well. Her twin best friends demanded who she spent most of her time with. She couldn't keep the secret forever. She couldn't flat out tell them that a ninja turtle has saved her ass twice and they're besties. She couldn't possibly tell them that this turtle, who happens to be a mutant, saves people and fights crime on a daily basis. Who would believe her?
It wasn't just her friendship with the twins that was going down the drain. Leolani was having these strange feelings towards the turtle. Feelings that are similar to whenever her and her douche bag of a boyfriend started dating.
I can't have feelings for a turtle. Wouldn't that be too strange?
And how could Leolani have feelings for a mutant ninja turtle? Leonardo wasn't actually a guy who you would introduce to your parents. That would be insane. Leolani could imagine what her parents would think. They would either want to send her off to another country or to a mental asylum.
Before or after they have a heart attack.
Leolani came to the conclusion that she and Leonardo were friends. He wasn't any different than having a guy friend. He was there for her. He was kind, humble, very nice and considerate. She decided that having feelings for a turtle was absolutely crazy and she would bury these feelings, lock them up, and throw away the key.
Besides, what kind of universe would it be if a girl and a mutant turtle ended up together anyway?
~*TMNT*~
"Raph, just accept the fact that I'm way better at video games than you," Mikey taunted. "I mean, you couldn't even get a hit on me."
Raphael flung the video game controller across the room and crossed his arms. His youngest brother was always good a video games, a little too good for Raph's liking.
"I bet I can get a hit on you for real," the hot headed remarked under this breath.
Michelangelo just waved off his brother's comment. He was used to Raph giving threats to him. It was a regular thing between the two.
Right on time, Leonardo walked into the living area tightening his blue bandana on top of his head. He was getting ready for "another" meditation session topside.
"Leaving again Fearless?" Raph questioned. There was an edge to his voice. Leonardo knew Raphael was catching on to his little late night runs out on the rooftops. That just meant for the leader to be extra careful and alert.
"You know me Raph. Training never stops for this turtle," Leonardo said casually. Lying was becoming second nature for Leo and the thought of that scared him.
"Well if you need us we'll be right here not doing anything," Mikey forced a smile. "We will not be up to anything. Just sitting here and playing video games."
Raph rolled his eyes and smacked his baby brother upside the head, which led to an outburst by the youngest. If Mikey kept talking like that, they would ruin their mission. Tonight was the night they were going to follow the fearless leader and get some answers.
"Right," Leonardo raised an eye ridge. "I'll be back later." Leo walked towards the exit and vanished into the sewers. The door closed behind him signaling that he was out of sight.
"You're such an idiot," Raph scolded his little brother. "I'm sure he knows we're on to him now. Didn't Don and I tell you to keep a low profile, act natural?"
"I didn't mean to," Mikey defended himself. "I got nervous. You know how nervous I get."
"Doesn't matter now," Donatello said, standing in the doorway of his room. "We need to act fast." He held up a tracking device with radar detection. While Leo wasn't paying attention, which was frequently these days, the intelligent turtle planted another tracking signal in his turtle cell.
Raph wielded his sais and tucked them into his belt. "Let's go see what the prodigy son is hiding."
"Then we better move fast," an orange-masked turtle zoomed by Raphael and headed towards the door.
"Mikey's right," heading towards the door, Donnie remarked. "Leo is swift so we need to be pretty close to him."
Raph nodded and caught up with his other two brothers. He was starting to get that uneasy feeling again. Raphael thought it was just nerves, but yet…something told him that he wasn't going to like what finds out tonight.
The turtles made their way to the topside, following Leo on the radar detector. They were a little ways from home. The turtles did notice the neighborhood looked a lot nicer than what they were used to. The streets looked cleaner, the apartments looked well-kept, even the air smelled better.
While all three turtles were jumping rooftop the rooftop, Michelangelo couldn't help but think that he has been here before. It was like he was experiencing déjà vu, but he couldn't wrap his head around the thought of why he would think that this area was so familiar. Mikey was in his train of thoughts when he smacked into something hard. Mikey hit the ground and looked up at a hot headed brother.
"Sheesh Mikey! Can you pay attention for once?" Raph spun around and shot daggers at his little brother.
"It wasn't my fault. I was thinking about something," Mikey held up his hands defensively.
"Surprised you can even do that," Raph mumbled under his breath.
Mikey scrunched his eye ridges together and walked past his pissed off brother. He didn't want to fight with Raph while scouting for Leo, but this place did seem familiar to him.
"Can you two keep it down," Donnie whispered. "We don't want Leo to hear us or spot us."
"Guys this place seems familiar," Mikey stated. "I feel like I've been here before."
"That's not possible," Donnie implied. "This is the nice side of New York City. It's very rare we come out this far."
"Can we keep moving please?" Raph impatiently tapped his foot.
Donnie rolled his eyes and looked at this radar screen. Leo was definitely nearby, but he wasn't moving.
"Leo is around here," Donnie confirmed.
"Then why aren't we going after him," Raph argued. "Why are we waiting here like sitting turtles?"
"Maybe it's because Leo stopped moving," Donatello showed his brothers the radar device. The little dot on the screen had indeed stopped moving.
"According to my calculations Leo is on the other side of this rooftop," Donnie continued. "Now if we all can just…"
"Enough waiting around," Raph backed away from the edge of the rooftop. "Let's go!"
Raph ran and jumped onto the next rooftop and Mikey followed suit. Donnie rolled his eyes and shook his head. He had no idea how Leo handled Raphael whenever he made rash decisions. Donatello jumped off the rooftop and followed his brothers.
Donnie caught up to his brothers with the radar detector in his hand. He was leading them to their brother and finally after weeks of thinking, Raphael (and his brothers) were going to get the answers they been searching for.
"Just a little closer," Donnie stated.
The three turtles inched closer and closer and finally they saw Leo. After worrying and thinking about him seeing Karai, after all the suspicions, after all the questions, the turtles finally had the answer. The answer was disappointing to say the least.
The leader was sitting, motionless, breathing evenly, unaware of his brothers' presence. Leonardo was in deep meditation, which made Raphael a very unhappy turtle.
"What the shell is this!?" Raph exploded. "There is no way in hell that we came all this way to find fearless sitting on a rooftop actually meditating."
Leonardo came out of his trance and looked up at his brothers. He played them and it was entertaining to watch from Leo's point of view. He didn't know if he found the situation humorous or pitiful. He heard his brothers coming a mile away and he needed a way to keep them off his shell.
"Guys, what are you doing here?" Leo asked calmly. "Please tell me you guys aren't in sort of trouble."
Steam was coming out of Raph's ears. He knew Leo was lying. His gut once again was telling him something was off. Mikey and Donnie were puzzled. They were so sure that Leo was doing something else other than meditating. Mikey was continuously thinking about his surroundings. He was so sure that he had been here before. Everything looked so familiar, but Mikey couldn't put his finger on it.
"Don't play innocent with us," Raph pointed a finger. "You hoodwinked us and we all know it."
"Wow Raph I'm surprised you're using such a big word," Donnie remarked. "I'm proud of you." Mikey and Don were laughing in the background. It was meant to be a joke, but the red-masked turtle didn't see it that way.
"Shut it Don," Raph gritted his teeth.
"Hoodwinked? Raphael I have no idea what you're talking about." Once again Leo was keeping his cool. He couldn't risk his brothers knowing his secret.
"You're going to find out soon even if I have to beat it out of you," Raph pulled his sais from his belt and wielded them in his hand.
Leonardo was started to draw his katanas but one of his brothers stepped in.
"Alright you too, there is no need for this," Donnie insisted. "We were wrong about something Leo. We apologize and we're leaving."
"I'm not leaving until tight ass tells us what he's been…"
Donnie faced Raph and took him by the shoulders. "We're leaving Raphael. Come on." Donnie winked at him and Raph's posture changed. He was catching on.
"I thought we were going to find out why Leo is so tired all the time and sneaking out at night," Mikey piped up.
"What?" Leo questioned. "Who said I snuck out at night?"
Mikey pointed and Leo shot daggers at his hot headed brother.
"Have you been telling them I sneak out at night?" Leo asked his brother.
Raph led out a sigh. He was trying to keep his cool. If he was thinking what Donnie was thinking, then he definitely had to play along.
"Look Leo, we were just worried about you that's all." Raph said through his teeth. It was hard for him not to fly off the handle, but he had to remain cool, calm, and collected. Raph was thinking how ironic this situation was. Usually Leo would stay cool, calm, and collected while confronting a lying Raphael.
"Well I guess that explains why you guys were following me," Leonardo remarked. "I'm fine I promise. Can you please go home now? Master Splinter will be worried."
Raphael wanted to slap Leo right across his lying mouth. There was so much rage in Raph. He was angry at the fact that Leo thought they were all stupid and they were automatically going to believe every word he said. If one thing was for sure, Raphael hated looking like an idiot.
"We're sorry Leo," Donnie apologized. "We're leaving now."
"But I thought…" Mikey was cut off by Raph dragging his by his orange bandana.
"Let's go Mikey, there's nothing to see here." Raph said through his teeth.
The three brothers started fleeing the scene until they stopped at a short distance on a rooftop.
"Guys there is something familiar about this place and I just can't put my finger on it," Mikey was becoming irritated. He hated this feeling. It was at the tip of his tongue.
"Mikey shut your shell before I shut it for you," Raph spun around and stuck a sai in his face.
Raphael turned back around, not noticing his little brother sticking his tongue out towards him.
"It's not my fault you were wrong about Leonardo," Mikey taunted. "That's nothing new though."
The hot head was starting to get heated again, but thankfully Donatello stepping in just in time.
"I don't think he is Mikey. I can still sense a strange vibe from Leo. That meditation act was definitely an act."
"Then why aren't we doing something about it?" Mikey asked.
"We are shell for brains," Raph annoyingly said. "We're going to follow him whenever he starts to move again and this time we'll catch him for sure."
~*TMNT*~
Leonardo swiftly jumped rooftop to rooftop thinking about his brothers.
That was a close one. I can't wait to tell Leolani about this one.
The turtle was practically rolling his eyes at this point. Of all the times his brothers were unfocused, they decide to watch every move of Leo's. He knew Raph played a big part of this situation. Raphael has been dying to see Leonardo break a rule. He's been waiting for it his whole life. Leo knew how desperate Raph was to catching him doing something Master Splinter would not approve of.
Tonight was almost the night.
Leonardo jumped on a fire escape and knocked on a window. He scaled the side of the building and appeared on top of the apartment building. He knew his brothers, mostly Raphael, wouldn't stop trying to figure out where he goes at night.
The thoughts of his brothers went away when he heard Leolani climbing the fire escape. She walked over to him and looked at her watch. He was right on time as usual. He was very punctual for a turtle.
"So how has your night been so far?" Leolani asked cheerfully. "I sense that there is something on your mind."
The leader turned around, looking towards downtown New York. He didn't want Leolani to see his worried expression on his face.
"My brothers…" he simply said.
That was enough for Leolani to understand. She knew that it was harder for Leonardo to keep this secret. She was having trouble of her own. Her problems though were not dreadful as her turtle friend's. She lived alone. She had privacy and nobody was telling her not to see Leonardo for the sake of her family's safety. She had it easy compared to Leo.
"Leonardo if this relationship is causing a strain on your personal life I don't want to be a bother," She could barely get the words out. Her heart was aching at the thought of not seeing Leonardo again. Those same feelings that she vowed to bury were coming up again.
Leo turned around and grabbed onto her shoulders softly. He always admired how she looked. She looked innocent, sweet, and beautiful under the moonlight. The thought of losing her, even if she was just a friend, was unbearable. He didn't want to think about it.
"We're in this together," Leonardo reassured her. "I'll deal with my brothers and Master Splinter when the time is right I promise. But in the mean time let's not focus on that."
She shook her head and she was surprised Leonardo was still touching her. She placed a hand on top of his and looked into his eyes. She quickly lunged for him before she stopped herself and embraced him.
The blue-masked turtle was shocked and so was Leolani. She was mentally cursing at herself for making such an irrational move. The teenager was about to remove herself from her position until she felt cold big arms wrapped around her body. Leolani's face was becoming warm and she knew Leo could feel her warmth.
Hopefully he doesn't notice.
Leonardo could sense her face heating up. He didn't know if it was just her body temperature, or maybe deep down he did know she was blushing. He kind of chuckled to himself at that humorous thought.
Why would she do that anyway?
The leader was also surprised that he was embracing the human girl. He didn't mind though. He liked this feeling. He loved the feeling of another human, a girl for that matter, who wasn't screaming in terror and threatening him to stay away. Leonardo instantly thought that maybe, just maybe he found his match.
"Oh just wait till Master Splinter hears about this," Raphael said to the embraced couple, while his other two brothers were behind him.
Leonardo and Leolani quickly jumped away from each other. Leo knew he couldn't hoodwink his way out of this one.
A/N- I hope you guys liked this chapter and/or story. I see many people view it and it would mean a lot to me if you guys tell me what you think. You don't have of course, but it's just a thought. I'll try to get another chapter posted at the end of the week. Happy Reading!