A/N: Here you are, an extra long chapter about the bros! Featuring: melodramatic moments, hugs, and snugs - so basically me projecting a lot of myself basically AHAHA enjoy!

Mikey could count the number of times he'd been too scared to speak on one hand and still not make it to five. As he stood before a brother who didn't recognize him in any way, shape, or form, this was one of those times.

"Do you need… help?" Leo asked carefully, setting the knife down and wiping his hands on the kitchen towel that hung on the oven's handlebar.

Mikey just stared at Leo, his mouth probably opening and closing like a fish's. The words weren't coming to mind. He didn't know what to say, what to try.

The spot where Lady Love had bitten him smarted and throbbed, acting as a horrible reminder of the traumatic events that had just pursued. Mikey could still feel Lady Love's fingers on the side of his face, telling him to simply not care anymore.

"Leo," Donnie's voice called from inside their pantry closet. "I have no idea what possessed me to get chocolate on my way home from school today, but bam, we have chocolate now. Oh." The moment Donnie stepped out, his eyes settled on Mikey. "Who's the kid?"

Mikey inched backwards into the coat rack.

"Do you need to call your parents?" Leo offered.

Mikey shook his head wordlessly. Dang it, say something! Make words. Tell them… tell them…

What, exactly?

What could he tell them that they would believe? Hi, I'm your little brother. Mikey. Yeah, right, that'll never work!

"Do… you know me?" Mikey asked carefully.

Leo's head shook a fraction of an inch to the left at his question. He and Donnie exchanged looks.

"Should I?" Leo asked.

Okay, plan. Come up with a plan. Mikey racked his brain, trying not to be horrified by Leo's response.

"I think… I…," Mikey said intelligently. He couldn't waste time being sad about this. He needed to go back to Lady Love.

Mikey backed away from Leo and Donnie, unsure of how to tell them that he was leaving to go fix something so they'd remember they had a little brother.

"I gotta go," Mikey said, watching as his brothers exchanged perplexed glances.

Then he ran out.

Mikey ran all the way back to school, stopping at the woods and staring at the expanse of the trees that he'd been in earlier that day. The sun was setting as he stared into the trees. He took a shaky step forward.

Okay, he had to be smart. He needed a plan. He couldn't get trapped in Lady Love's webs again. Picking up a large branch from the ground, Mikey held it up like a baseball bat.

Give back the memories you stole! Mikey practiced in his head. Undo whatever jazz you did in the first place.

Mikey took a stabilizing breath, and charged in.

Only to run smack-dab into someone.

"Oof," Mikey grunted, landing on his butt. "Sorry!"

"What are you doing here again?" the someone asked, sounding alarmed.

Mikey looked up and gasped.

It was that one guy!

Their rescuer! The guy who'd cut him free of his bonds and told them to run out of the woods in the first place. The mysterious guy who could see yokai. And what was more, he could recognize Mikey. Of course, the way Lady Love's bites were… the people who knew you more deeply forgot first. He'd just run into Mikey earlier today.

The guy looked just as he had before, with his leather vest and fearsomely independent face. On his back, he carried a sleeping kid a little younger than Mikey. Was that Baxter Stockman?

"You!" Mikey gasped, pointing at him, standing up.

The guy stared, unimpressed, at Mikey.

"You saved me and my friends from that yokai," Mikey said in shock. "What are you doing here?"

"That was my question to you," the guy said slowly. "What are you doing in these woods? The spirit got a taste of you, didn't she? She'll want more."

Mikey exhaled, trying to ignore the strange wave of panic that was starting to overtake him. "I think I need to go see her again."

"Are you insane?"

"No one remembers me," Mikey explained in a rush. "My friends, my family. I'm not going anywhere until I get her to restore my family's memories."

The guy's expression shifted, moving from stoic to something almost pitying in his eyes. He looked at Mikey, the immense somber heavy.

"It's not possible," the guy said. "Lady Love is not capable of undoing the damage she does."

Mikey blinked, head spinning. Those words didn't make sense to him. He stumbled back.

"No," he said, shaking his head rapidly. "It has to be. Let me talk to her. I can… make a bargain. I can give her something in return."

"It's not possible," the guy insisted. "She will only trap you and keep you and take more from you. Everything and everyone in your life will become estranged until you have nothing to give. It will kill you. It has killed people before. Drained them. Nearly impossible to escape. Whatever you do, do not try to confront her."

Mikey didn't understand. He didn't want to understand.

And why was this guy acting like he'd had personal experience with this before?

"I don't get it. If she's so dangerous, then… something has to be done. Someone must be able to help. I need my family."

The guy stepped forward, urging Mikey to step backwards, out of the woods. "With the rare capability to see monsters in this world, we bear the burden of dealing with the ones that are like her alone."

Mikey looked back at the woods. Horror pooled in his stomach as his hopes dashed to the ground.

"If there is a way," the guy said softly. "It is not through holding conference with her. Trust me."

There was some truth to what this guy was saying, at least - there was no way Mikey could defeat her, even with his branch. She was a powerful yokai. He was just… a scrawny kid.

Who didn't even have a home now.

Mikey looked at the sleeping Baxter Stockman on the guy's back. "What's going to happen to him?" he asked. "You saved him from her, didn't you?"

The guy breathed in deeply. "I will take him to the police station and tell them I found him passed out in the woods. I will have to tell him the truth of it, when he wakes up."

"That he doesn't have… a family anymore?"

There was nothing else to it. The guy's silence was answer enough.

This was so, so wrong.

"That sucks," Mikey said angrily. "They have so much proof. They probably have pictures, contact numbers, home videos. Even if they forgot, they can't deny that they once knew him!"

"Lady Love's magic is powerful. It causes people to make excuses of the wildest types. But he is welcome to try," the guy said softly. "As are you."

Mikey felt sick, like he was going to throw up right there.

"Lady Love hurt you too, didn't she?" he asked finally. "Whoever you are. Did your family forget you?"

The guy's face pinched together, as if remembering was not something he particularly liked. Mikey wouldn't have felt brave enough to ask if the same thing hadn't happened to him.

"Yes," The guy said.

Baxter stirred on the guy's shoulder. Mikey halted, feeling horrible for wanting to flee before he woke up. He didn't know what was in store. Mikey didn't want to be there to witness him taking in the news. Maybe he was cowardly, but this was a horrible situation!

Mikey turned to leave - but before breaking into a run to clear his mind - he paused to ask the guy for his name.

The guy smiled wryly. "I go by Leatherhead."

Mikey took off, and left the broken branch behind.

When he got to his apartment, he didn't go up the steps and inside. He sat down besides the wall of the stairs, sitting on the tail of his jacket so his butt wouldn't get soaked from the mound of snow and leaned his head on the bricks. Little kids played hopscotch in this corner usually, but the street was as empty as his mind as he stared blankly at the sidewalk.

He'd lost everything.

Mikey dozed off in the corner at some point, and when he woke up, it was raining, it was dark, and there were quiet voices in his dreams.

"He's been out in the freezing rain for an hour."

"He's a random kid, Leo. Are you serious?"

"He's homeless."

"I don't know, what if he's a criminal?"

"Not you too, Donnie."

"Look, I'm just trying to be logical. You've got a big heart, but what if this kid takes advantage of that?"

"Thank you, Don!"

"We can't just leave him out there," Leo's tone was final.

And suddenly, it wasn't a dream. Footsteps scraped on the cement stairs before there was someone in front of him. Mikey blinked, too depressed to care to lift his eyes. But then he did, and he couldn't stop staring.

Leo was crouching in front of him.

"Hey, what's your name, kid?"

Mikey just stared at Leo in shock. Did this guy seriously not remember? It was so painful to even think about it.

"Look," Leo said instead. "You'll catch a cold out here. My brothers and I have a spare bedroom you can sleep in."

My bedroom, you mean? With all my stuff? Mikey wondered how the magic had warped the logic in his brother's minds. How could they look or think about that and not realize that it had been occupied by another brother?

"Oh - okay," Mikey said quietly. Then, he grew braver. "Can I?"

"Yeah, bud. And then we can call social services first thing tomorrow morning," Leo said. "They'll get you sorted."

Okay, that one hurt.

"I… I have a family," Mikey said sharply.

"Oh?" Leo's eyebrows furrowed in worry. "Aren't they looking for you?"

"I… no," Mikey's voice came out in a squeak. "Not exactly."

More than anything, Mikey wanted to shout, It's me! Mikey! Don't you remember? But he really, really didn't want Leo to un-invite him from coming in. It was cold outside.

"Okay." And then Leo helped him stand up, taking him by the hand. "You're really scratched up, aren't you?"

It was then that Mikey realized how he must have looked. Beaten up and bruised from everything that had happened today, plus he was sitting in the corner. He really was homeless, wasn't he?

"My name is Leo," Leo said as they climbed up the stairs. "This is Raph, and this is Donnie."

Raph and Donnie had been standing above them the whole time. Donnie gave Mikey a small smile. Raph didn't even look at him.

Mikey let Leo lead the way to the apartment.

"Do you live in this apartment building?" Leo asked. "With your family?"

"I… yeah," Mikey said. "I do."

"Is that why you ran into ours by accident?" Donnie asked.

Mikey stared at his feet. "I guess so."

What an awkward conversation! Mikey slipped out of his shoes and placed them in his usual spot on the shoe rack without prompting, earning curious looks from Leo and Donnie.

"So," Leo said, clapping his hands together. "Would you like to have something to eat?"

Mikey stared at Leo. He wasn't sure he could work up an appetite. How was one supposed to eat after having their life uprooted by a stupid evil spider?

Mikey nodded wordlessly at Leo. It was strangely quiet in the apartment, so unlike the usual atmosphere. Donnie moved into the living room, supposedly to turn on the TV. Raph crossed his arms and sized Mikey up, leaning on the door. Mikey looked at his hotheaded older brother for a total of half a second before he shriveled under the intensity of his gaze.

So this must be what meeting Raph for the first time must feel like, Mikey thought, observing the way Raph's coldness was an indirect way of protecting Leo and Donnie from strangers.

"I'm sorry for being a burden," Mikey said, finally remembering some manners. If he was making a first impression with his brothers, he didn't want to be 'that bratty homeless kid Leo took in one time'. The least he could do was say thank you. He did so, and Leo's response was immediate.

"It's no burden, and you're welcome," Leo said from the kitchen as he grabbed a bowl for Mikey. Raph rolled his eyes.

"If you really live in the apartment, why have I never seen you before?" Raph asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Raph." Leo's tone was warning.

"What? I'm just asking," Raph said. "What number is your apartment?"

Well, Mikey couldn't answer that one truthfully. He felt panic rising within him. He really didn't want to be called a con artist and kicked out to the curb.

"Raph, honestly," Leo scolded. To Mikey, "We have soup. Do you also want some chicken Parmesan?"

Mikey shook his head. "S-soup is fine," he said, teeth chattering. He hadn't noticed how cold he'd gotten.

"Oh, you're chilled to the bone," Leo said in realization. "Wait, hold the soup. Take a hot shower. Bathroom's down the hallway on the left. I'll grab a spare towel and some spare clothes. I think we might have some your size…"

"Oh, really? Now we're a freaking Air BnB?" Raph asked in a low voice that was just within earshot of Mikey.

Leo shot him a glare before ushering Mikey down the hallway. He opened the bathroom door and turned on the lights.

"Just a moment, let me grab you some clothes," Leo said, slipping across the hallway to what used to be Mikey's room.

Mikey was grateful, and surprised by Leo's hospitality for essentially, a stranger. He'd always known his oldest brother was kind, but seeing him from an outsider's perspective… Leo was like their father, in a lot of ways. This kind of selfless compassion was something Mikey had seen in Hamato Yoshi. Who knew Leo was so much like him?

Just the thought brought tears to his eyes.

And once the tears came, the floodgates opened. Mikey yanked his hoodie over his head just as Leo returned, to hide his face.

"Hey, here's some dry clothes and a towel. I'll place them here, okay?"

He was so nice. Mikey put on his brave face and pulled the rest of the hoodie off, dropping his tired arms into his lap.

"Thanks, Leo," Mikey said softly.

Leo seemed to falter for a fraction of a second, then shook himself out of it. "Of course," he said with a little smile. Then his eyes fell on Mikey's arms, which were littered in scrapes and slightly dark bruises. The sheer force of the webs had left their impressions on his arms.

"How did you get hurt?" Leo asked, eyes wide.

"I… fell," Mikey replied. If his brothers didn't remember him, did that mean they didn't know about yokai? He had fallen down, though.

Leo pressed his lips together in a straight line disbelievingly. "Alright. Dinner will be on the table when you get out."

Mikey took a hot shower, realizing that he'd taken a shower this morning already. Gosh, had that really been today? It felt like a long time had passed. He turned off the water and wrapped himself in a towel before stepping out. Slipping into the clothes Leo had picked for him - a pair of shorts and an orange T-shirt - Mikey took a look at himself in the mirror.

He looked… awful.

His eyes were tired and puffy. The bruises on his body were more pronounced, but worst of all, the juncture of his neck and shoulder. Owie.

Tenderly, Mikey pulled back the neckline of the sleeveless shirt he was wearing, he saw where Lady Love had bit him.

It looked animalistic. The raw red teeth marks had sliced through skin like Mikey was a chunk of meat. Part of it looked bloody, but the skin had formed over it. And it hurt. Just thinking about it, being aware of it, seemed to make it throb.

Wow. Nope. He let go of the shirt and tried not to think about that. One trauma at a time, right?

Mikey came out of the bathroom, hair damp as he walked back to the dining table in front of his soup, which was steaming hot, thanks to Leo.

Raph had retreated to his room. Leo and Donnie sat in the living room, watching television. Donnie smiled at Mikey, his eyes warmer and more welcoming than they'd been before. What had Leo told him while Mikey was in the shower?

Oh man, Mikey thought. They must be wondering about my bruises. I really do look suspicious, don't I?

Mikey thanked Leo for the soup when he was done. He was going to wash his bowl, but Leo simply took it from him. Donnie showed Mikey his room. Mikey plopped down in his pile of pillows.

"Thank you," he said to Donnie.

"No problem. So, do you have a name?" Donnie asked, leaning on the wall and looking down at him.

"Michelangelo."

One of Donnie's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

"Hm?" Mikey looked at him, bewildered.

"Or it's a crazy coincidence," Donnie muttered under his breath. "Never mind. I didn't expect you to have the name of an artist from the Renaissance. Good night, Michelangelo."

Mikey swallowed. Was he really, entirely gone from their minds?

Yes. Yes, they are. Why do I keep asking myself this.

As Donnie turned, Mikey's eyes landed on a picture frame on the nightstand. He sat up with a jolt, an idea coming into his mind.

"Wait," he said, and Donnie looked back. Pointing to the picture, he asked, "Do you remember this person?"

The picture was of all of them, before their father had passed away. Yoshi stood in the back, his arms around the shoulders of Leo and Raph. Donnie crouched in the middle, his arms hugging Mikey. Everyone had big grins on their faces. It was taken a little over two years ago, in front of a restaurant and a gorgeous sunset.

Donnie picked the picture and looked at it. "That's me and my family," he said simply.

"But that little boy in the middle, the one who you're hugging," Mikey insisted.

Donnie glanced at the picture again, but didn't look like he saw anything abnormal. "It's just a friend, I guess," he said with a shrug, as if it made sense at the time and now it didn't bother him.

"But you said it was your family," Mikey argued.

Donnie looked at Mikey in confusion. "Yeah. Still is."

"So how can you forget about that person in the middle?"

"He wasn't part of the family. I don't even remember meeting him."

The words hit like ice, spoken so casually from Donnie's lips. Leatherhead had been right. Lady Love's magic twisted people's sense of logic.

The door opened to reveal Raph standing there.

"You guys are being loud," he said. His eyes landed on Mikey. "Look. My room is the closest to yours, the walls are thin, so don't make noise and don't bother me. 'Kay?"

"Raph," Donnie said in a very Leo-like way.

Raph raised his eyebrows and shrugged, as if he were saying, 'Am I wrong?' as he slipped back out the door.

"Sorry," Mikey called. "Good night."

"Don't mind him," Donnie said. "Good night, Michelangelo."

Donnie slipped out the door. Mikey slumped back into his bed. He knew he wasn't supposed to eavesdrop, but he could hear his brother's voices from the kitchen pretty well through the vents. He leaned over the side of the bed.

"Good work being so rude to the poor boy, Raph," Donnie was drawling sarcastically.

"Hey, I don't trust random strangers at the drop of a hat like Leo, okay? And I thought you were on my side." That was Raph.

Mikey heard Leo sigh. Donnie's next words were hushed, but intentional. "Look, he's gone through something pretty bad. We know he lives in the apartments - "

"Do we, though?"

"Raph, go into a corner and text Mona until your mood's improved," Leo said, annoyed. "You had a good date with her. Why the venom?"

Right, Raph's date with Mona, Mikey remembered. So that meant Raph's grumpy attitude was because of him. Great.

Raph grumbled, "Something's just off about him, is all."

Yeah. A LOT of things are off about me! Because you all forgot I exist!

"Anyway, his name is Michelangelo," Donnie said.

Leo and Raph went silent at that.

"Sure looks like a sign," Leo murmured. At Raph's scoff, he added, "Look, tomorrow I'll call social services and let them know, okay? If he has something heavy he's dealing with in his home life, there are professionals who can remove him from any abuse."

Oh. Oh, dear. They thought he was being abused? Mikey flushed, feeling guilty as anything for making them think that and practically taking advantage of them.

"And then someone better will adopt him."

This was all too much.

Mikey rolled away from the side of the bed that was closer to the vent, and pulled the covers up to his chin.

Please let all of this have been a dream when I wake up, he prayed.

He let the feeling of hopelessness consume him.

It was sunny.

Bundled in his father's soft robes, he ran out the back door of their living room and out into the sand of the beach, letting them flare behind him like a superhero cape. This was their home a long, long time ago, when the boys had a mother and they lived by the ocean.

"Papa!" Mikey called out, and distantly he realized his voice was high-pitched, babyish. He was a little child once again, three years old, running clumsily and tripping face-first into Raph and Donnie's sand castle.

They grumbled at him. Even at 6 and 7, Donnie had been particular about his projects, and Raph had just been a hothead, respectively. Mikey squirmed off of the province he'd destroyed and continued his waddle to his father, who stood by the sea with 9-year-old Leo, speaking in gentle tones, showing him how the light reflected off the waves in the distance —

And then the ocean fell away and Mikey wasn't so little anymore. He was turning 12 tomorrow, and he was standing in the living room, staring at his motionless father slumped in his recliner in an unnatural way.

"Dad," Mikey whispered from the corner of the living room he stood in. "Dad, wake up."

The room filled with flashes of reds and blues and screaming sirens. Then they were in the hospital, and Mikey was running down the hall, after the nurses and first responders that were carting his father away.

"Dad!" Mikey screamed. Why could no one hear him? "Papa!"

Horrible emotions rained down on him, crushing him, torturing him. Mikey suddenly felt himself surrounded by water, and he was drowning. Blue turned inky black as Mikey sank. He kicked and kicked, trying to move upwards, but it was no use. Sorrow consumed him.

His cheeks were wet when he regained consciousness.

"Papa," Mikey gasped, pushing his arms out wildly, still stuck in the nightmare's remnants. "Papa."

"Hey, you're okay," a voice said, shaking his shoulder gently. "You're gonna be okay, kid."

Mikey realized that he was crying, his breath ragged as all sorts of grief attacked him. Losing his father. Losing all of his brothers. With tears already slipping out, the floodgates opened up.

Mikey turned his face into his pillow to muffle the sounds of his sobs, but it only proved effective in sending his lungs into a horrible, hiccuping state. He tried to get control over his lungs, to be able to let air in and out without making any noise, but it proved to be futile, as he began hyperventilating and crying at the same time.

It was Raph who was at his bedside, Mikey realized, as the light of the lamp by his bedside was turned on.

"S-s-sorry!" Mikey stammered through his tears. "I - I didn't m-m-mean to -"

He was a master of eloquence and grace.

"Alright, don't hurt yourself," Raph said. "I just came over here to check on you. You were crying and yelling in your sleep."

Mikey sniffed, his breaths coming up short.

"I can go get Leo or Donnie for you," Raph muttered, sounding embarrassed.

"No, don't go," Mikey blurted selfishly, grabbing part of Raph's shirt.

"Alright, then," Raph said, looking surprised. He settled on the floor, his back to the wall. "So you… wanna talk about it?"

Mikey swallowed, and nodded.

"You were shouting about your... dad," Raph said quietly. "Did he…?"

"Heart attack," Mikey murmured.

Raph stilled. Mikey knew Raph was thinking about their father now, too. Except Raph didn't think Mikey's father and his father were the same person.

"Our dad passed away that way, too," Raph muttered.

"Sometimes, I think my brain wants me to keep reliving it," Mikey said, and his voice cracked. His body shook the whole bed as sobs took over.

It was so weird. Out of all the things Mikey had seen and been through today, this was what brought the onslaught of tears. Missing his dad. His nightmares had for some reason, chosen to pick his father as appropriate subject material at the end of a day like this. Then again, this wasn't the first time. Mikey had been having his dreams turn into nightmares of the day their father died for months, hadn't he?

His mind just kept going back there.

"Me, too," Raph said, and this made Mikey lift his face from the pillows. Raph had nightmares about it, too?

"How… how do you get over it?"

"Time," Raph said. Then he smirked. "At least, that's what they all say. Right? Time heals all wounds."

"It happens two years ago," Mikey whispered. "And I know it's fine to feel sad once in a while. But today… today sucked. Everything about today sucked. And tomorrow's going to suck, too. And the day after. And it won't stop sucking."

"No, don't say that. Not everything has to suck," Raph replied, with the afterthought of, "God, I sound like Leo."

"That's easy for you to say!" Mikey cried, making Raph's eyes widen. "You don't know what this is like! This hurts!"

The door opened cautiously, revealing a Leo and Donnie in their pajamas. Leo blinked, looking at the two of them. Mikey could only imagine how much of a mess he looked like right now.

"Raph, what did you say to him to make him cry?" Donnie asked accusingly.

"Look," Raph said, ignoring Donnie and looking straight at Mikey. "You asked me how to get over it. I don't have a good answer, because I guess everyone's got their own way of coping. But someone once told me that you have to hold on to the good you have in your life, and celebrate them."

From the way Raph said it, and the way Leo's eyes crinkled warmly, Mikey could guess who that someone was.

Mikey stared at his brothers. Leo, Raph, and Donnie stood by, familiar and estranged at the same time. It was a no brainer, what the good was in Mikey's life.

After they'd lost their dad, making friends stopped being a default in Mikey's system. People didn't just pop up to sit next to him in class or at lunch anymore. It was what made seventh grade so hard to deal with. It was why Mikey shied away from dances, which he used to love. But slowly, hadn't something happened? Bradford, Xever, and Fong had been nice to him. They were weird, but they were good. And Casey! He was good, too. Renet and Klunk were really good.

Nothing, however, was more good in Mikey's life than Leo, Raph, and Donnie, who had gathered around him, even though he was a stranger to them. They were good.

Even if Mikey was never remembered by them, he'd make sure to keep them in his life. He'd make sure of it. He would befriend them and never stop bothering them, nonstop! Even if he didn't live with them anymore. Even if he was taken in by the nicest people ever! He'd hang onto Leo, Raph, and Donnie. He'd taken them for granted before today. But from now on, he'd make sure to celebrate them.

It still hurt, though. Tears rolled down Mikey's face as he stared at them.

He loved them, so, so much.

Leo and Donnie kneeled down besides him.

"Mikey," Raph said suddenly, a hand coming out to rub his back. "C'mon buddy, just breathe. Whatever it is, it'll be okay."

"No, it won't," Mikey laughed through his tears. "I won't be okay without you guys!"

So much for my inner monologue, he thought. I don't want to say goodbye.

"Who says we're going anywhere?" Raph asked, his voice low and hushed, his hand rubbing Mikey's back in soothing up-and-down motions. "It's okay, little brother."

Mikey stilled. "What did you just say?" he whispered.

But Raph was frozen. So were Leo and Donnie. Their eyes were wide and glassy looking for a few seconds. It felt like the world had stopped moving.

"G-guys?" Mikey asked nervously.

Slowly, like falling snow, his brothers seemed to take Mikey in for the first time.

"Oh my gosh," Donnie breathed out. "Mikey."

Mikey sat up slowly, hardly daring to believe it. Raph's eyebrows were furrowed, staring at the blankets as his thoughts caught up to him. Donnie's hand was suddenly in his hair, pushing it back out of his eyes.

There were tears in Donnie's eyes as he used his sleeve to wipe at Mikey's face.

"You remember?" Mikey asked timidly.

"I can't believe I couldn't… I saw you in that picture, b-but it was like you weren't loading into my brain all this time," Donnie whispered. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't understand why I couldn't remember something so important. You're my only little brother."

Raph swore. "Who the hell messed with our heads?" he demanded into the room.

Mikey's head spun. He couldn't keep himself up on his poor bruised limbs. "There was a yokai that attacked me today and she bit me and everyone forgot about me and I was so scared," was all he could get out before breaking down. "Please don't let this be a dream that I'm having."

Leo dropped to his knees besides the bed, looking scared. He never looked scared. His eyes were watery as he stared at Mikey.

"Leo?" Mikey said in a tiny voice, reaching for him automatically.

"You're my littlest brother," Leo said, all choked up. Mikey looked into his deep blue eyes, and even with the dim lighting, he found home. Leo said it again, with more conviction. "You're my baby."

Donnie moved aside, and Mikey all but fell into his arms, his tears coming out again despite Donnie drying them a minute ago. Leo's arms scooped around him, holding him close enough so that their foreheads were touching.

Mikey let out a sigh of relief, and let his eyes close, his upper body practically being held up by Leo. He felt Raph lean over and rub his back, in that familiar, needed up-and-down motion. He felt Donnie rest some of his weight over his legs in a way that was so comfortable.

How? A small voice in Mikey's head shouted. How did they suddenly remember?

He didn't have a single clue.

But answers could wait.

"Where were you bit?" Donnie asked after a quiet spell.

"Mm?" Lost in the comfort of being held, Mikey took a moment. He opened his eyes. "Oh. Here."

Normally, Mikey always made his injuries seem like they weren't as bad as they were, in order to shield himself from the overreactions of his big brothers. But the day had been scary, and all Mikey wanted was his brothers. He didn't care if they swaddled him up and made a huge deal out of everything so long as they knew who he was.

Mikey's gesture prompted Leo to reach over and pull back the shirt's neckline. For a moment, there was silence.

Maybe he can't see it because it's a yokai who bit me, Mikey realized suddenly.

But when Mikey opened his mouth to tell Leo so, he found himself snapping his mouth shut.

Leo's eyes were electric, furious.

Oh, never mind, I guess he can.

"Tell me who did this," he said.

Mikey immediately grabbed at Leo's shoulders. "No!" he shouted. "I don't want her to hurt you, too."

Leo's hands came around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Mikey thought he was trembling, but after a second, realized that it was him. He was scared of Lady Love.

"Her?" Donnie echoed darkly.

"I thought… I thought that Klunk was the only one in this city," Leo said.

"Well, we found another one. It was in the woods," Mikey muttered. "I'm sorry. It was stupid to go in to find her… but she'd kidnapped someone. I didn't think I'd actually find her."

"We've got to find answers to this yokai nonsense," Raph said, his voice shaking in fury. "This isn't some little game anymore. This is playing with lives. Messing with our heads."

"Yeah. Mikey, listen," Leo said, pulling away from Mikey just enough to meet his eyes. Mikey longed for Leo just as soon as he pulled away a few inches. "I need you to stop looking for yokai for a good while. Okay?"

Mikey laughed shakily. "Trust me, dude. You couldn't pay me enough to do that. I need a vacation."

"What we need is more information," Donnie said. "Some kind of manual. Why don't we know more about this?"

"We all need some sleep, first," Leo said softly.

Mikey clutched Leo's midsection and didn't let go. He didn't care if he seemed like a wuss. Leo let out a little laugh from the wordless affection.

"I'm not letting go of you, either," Leo said, kissing him atop the head.

No one else seemed to have any plans of that, either. They all got settled on Mikey's bed, which was a fun little squish for four people on a single twin, but they managed, draping over each other. Mikey buried his face into Leo's collarbone.

"Sleep tight, little brother," Leo said softly.

Just then, someone's phone promptly blew up, buzzing like it had been saving it for this very moment. All four brothers jumped.

"Who is that?" Raph grumbled.

"Mine," Mikey exclaimed, reaching over Leo to grab his phone off the nightstand. He saw who it was, and beamed, his heart racing.

Renet had texted him at least 30 times, and they were still coming in, asking if she could call and if he was okay and that she was so incredibly sorry that she forgot him. He texted her back quickly.

I'm okay, he wrote. Everything's fine now!

Renet's response was immediate. Oh thank god.

Mikey let out a sigh of relief. Let's meet up tomorrow at Mr. Murakami's. Lunch? he texted her. At the same time, Renet had sent him, We need to talk about what happened! Can we meet up tomorrow?

There was a pause, and Renet added, in reply to him, Yes! I'll be there! I'm really sorry about forgetting you, Mikey.

Stop apologizing, it's okay!

I'm still really sorry!

Mikey grinned despite himself. Despite the day. Despite how scary everything had been.

Leo watched him, smiling softly. "You look happy. Who turned on your sunshine, baby?"

"Renet," Mikey answered without hesitation. Then he felt incredibly embarrassed. Thankfully, his brothers didn't tease him, not even Raph.

Mikey set his phone down, and snuggled into Leo's arms, with Raph and Donnie draped on his other side. He closed his eyes. Leo's fingers came up to settle in his hair. Raph broke into quiet snores. Donnie's arm swung around Mikey's torso, effectively using him as a pillow.

Mikey held on to them all.

A/N: Thanks for reading about these characters that I have so much fun writing into niche universes :)

Let me know what you thought!

Also, up next is some nice closure and explanation! *sips coffee* WOOOO