A/N: As promised, here is the next chapter, the longest one in this story to date, full of brotherly fluff and action. Information on the Muramasa sword is from Wikipedia and other sources on the web. To those who have written reviews, thank you so much! And if you have not, please do! I have virtual treats for those who do.
Please note: Character thoughts are in italics.
Disclaimer: I own the computer I write this fic on but I do not own the turtles.
Chapter 7-Two Against One
It had been many weeks since Leonardo's run in with the orange masked turtle. Ever since, none of the criminal activities by the Purple Dragon or the Foot Clan were interrupted. It was like the talkative turtle had simply dropped off of the face of the Earth.
Frustrated with the hyperactive turtle's absence, and wanting to blow off some steam, Leonardo found himself in the dojo for the third time that day. He stood in the shadows, watching the four members of the Shredder's Elite Guard finish their practice session. Leo had to admit, they wore nice hats. Out of all of the ninja's who worked for Master Shredder, only the Elite Guard had earned Leonardo's respect. These four were the most accomplished ninja's in the Foot Clan and were the deadliest of it's warriors.
Sometimes Leonardo fantasized what it would be like to be part of such a formidable team. Leonardo fought well, but every ninja has their weaknesses. And while each Elite Guard was a formidable opponent when alone, their true strength emerged when they fought together. Each ninja's weakness played on the next ninja's strengths. When they worked as a team, they were unstoppable.
Like Leonardo, the Elite Guard rarely interacted with anyone unless ordered to do so. But unlike the black banded turtle, the members of the Elite Guard were never alone, they had their own brotherhood. They had each other. It was rare to find one of them alone. The Elite Guard trained together, they ate together and they rested together. The four members functioned as a single unit. They were their own mini family within the large and vast Foot Clan family. The loyalty of the Elite Guard was never questioned. They worked for and obeyed only Master Shredder. Everything they did was to fulfill the Shredder's wishes. Including when they sparred with Leonardo.
The leader of the Elite Guard cleared his throat, staring patiently at the sword wielding turtle. Master Shredder had ordered the accomplished warriors to periodically spar with the mutant turtle. Snapped out of his thoughts Leonardo unsheathed the two katanas from his back and walked to the center of the dojo floor. Two of the Elite Guard's moved to the side to watch, while the other two went on an offensive attack against the black masked turtle.
Originally, only one Elite Guard would spar against the young reptile. But as his skills improved the Elite Guard shifted to sparring two against one. The turtle had become quite the skilled warrior and could now easily defeat any one of the Elite Guard in solo combat. The leader of the Elite Guard watched as Leonardo defeated both of his brothers. The black banded turtle was becoming victorious more often during the two on one sparring sessions. It looks like we're were going to have to start sparring three to one soon. Master Shredder will be happy to learn that the turtle's skills were continuing to improve.
As the Elite Guard left the dojo Leonardo stepped to the middle of the room. The periodic sparring sessions made him a stronger fighter, but is also had it's disadvantages. The Elite Guard knew the turtle's fighting style just as well as the Shredder did. If he had to fight all four of them at once, Leonardo wasn't convinced that he could defeat them by himself.
The dojo seemed much larger now that there was only the one turtle inside. Leonardo began his cool down stretches as he let his mind once again wander. He sometimes wondered what it would be like to be the leader of a team of warriors, instead of always facing his opponents alone.
It's taken many weeks since returning with Master Splinter and Michelangelo to Earth, but Raphael was finally starting to feel like he was home. Upon his return the red masked turtle embarked on a punishing training regimen with Master Splinter to develop his ninja skills. His favorite part were the weapons lessons. Master Splinter had the red masked turtle trade in his knives for a pair of sais and his skills were improving rapidly.
Raphael had instantly fallen in love with the two pronged batons. By varying his grip he could strike and block far more effectively than with his mere fists alone. They were quite useful for disarming his opponents. His offensive reach was extended considerably for they were easy to throw at a distant target when needed. And they had the added advantage of trapping and blocking weapons, something he could never do well with his old knives. The sais worked particularly well to trap swords and Raph had even managed to snap one of them during the last sparring session. The sais fit his fighting style perfectly.
On the Triceriton homeworld, Raphael was able to walk freely among the residents, therefore the majority of Raphael's time with Master Splinter was spent on learning the art of stealth and invisibility. How to blend into the shadows and move quickly, silently, and secretly. To only be seen by his opponent when Raphael chose to be seen and not a moment before. And while Raphael's skills were improving, he still had a long way to go.
Michelangelo had taken it upon himself to 'help' his older brother learn the art of invisibility, by pranking the red banded turtle. The orange loving turtle reasoned, when his brother became good at stealth he would be able to detect Mikey before the water balloon fired. Which is why the energetic turtle now found himself running at top speed around the lair, trying to escape a wet and rather angry Raphael.
"Mikey I'm going to kill you when I get my hands on you!"
Michelangelo let out a chuckle as he taunted his brother. "Relax Raph, it's just water. Besides, no one can detect Michelangelo, the Battle Nexus Champion and master ninja of stealth and invisibility! My skills are unparalled."
Raphael let out a chuckle of his own as he tackled the mischievous turtle to the floor. "But your evading skills are not."
Mikey let out a girlish scream as his shell hit the floor. Raph used his greater strength and weight to his advantage and had pinned both the playful turtle's arms and legs. And try as he might, the orange turtle could not overthrow his stronger brother.
After struggling unsuccessfully to pry himself loose Mikey began to plead with his older brother. "Raph, you're heavy bro, let me up!"
The red turtle's teeth flashed in a wicked grin and he refused to budge, instead he tightened his grip as he continued to hold his squirming brother beneath him. "Not until you say it."
Michelangelo let out a sigh. He had already learned that his hotheaded brother was quite stubborn and did not give up easily. Raph would keep him pinned all day until he caved. "Raphael is the top ninja turtle."
"And?"
Mikey squirmed again, but Raphael's grip was solid. "And Raphael is better than me in every way."
Satisfied with the younger turtle's answers, Raphael smirked and released his hold on his brother.
Michelangelo jumped to his feet, glaring at his older sibling. But he could not stop the smile that spread across his face.
Raphael rose to his feet. Reaching out he hit Mikey on the back of the head.
Rubbing his head, Michelangelo whined. "Oww, what was that for."
Raphael turned to walk to the kitchen, but not before he smugly replied. "Because I can."
Michelangelo had to admit, his aggressive older brother had a strange way of showing affection. And the nunchaku wielding turtle wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
This was an exciting night for Raphael and Michelangelo. Master Splinter had finally deemed that Raph's stealth skills were good enough for a rooftop patrol. It was time for Raphael to see the city that was his true home. And Michelangelo was more than happy to be the tour guide.
As they leaped among the rooftops Raphael had to admit, New York City was pretty amazing. It was so big! The buildings were so tall! And all of the people! Even at night, when most cities would be winding down, this one was alive and bustling! The red loving turtle found the energy of the city intoxicating. But even more important, was the sense of familiarity about the city. It felt like he was finally where he belonged. After all these years on the Triceriton homeworld, the sai wielding turtle had finally returned. It felt like home.
Michelangelo had been playing the role of tour guide all evening, and the two brothers only had one or two more stops before they would return to the lair. "And over there is the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They are currently setting up for a temporary exhibit on Japanese swords."
The orange masked turtle turned to jump onto the next roof, when Raphael's voice stopped him.
"Hey Mikey, what are the museum's hours again?"
Turning to face his brother Mikey shrugged. "I dunno bro, but it is certainly closed by now."
The red masked turtle grabbed his sais from his belt. Sparring with Michelangelo and Master Splinter was fun but it was no replacement for the thrill of a real fight. The thought of his very first rumble back on Earth made the blood in his veins pump faster. With a gleam in his eyes he began descending down to the loading dock where he thought he saw movement in the shadows. "That's what I thought."
Michelangelo began to panic. It was their first night out of the lair, they weren't cleared to fight topside yet. Splinter would surely punish them both. He took off after his older brother as he called out. "Raph, wait"
Mikey joined his impulsive brother in the shadows behind a few shipping crates. He could see Raphael's muscles were tensing up, it was clear that the red masked turtle was just itching for a fight.
He whispered as loud as he dared to his impatient brother. "Raph, wait. We can't just go charging in there."
Raphael felt his temper starting to rise as he argued with his younger brother. "And why not Mikey? We're supposed to protect the innocent, defend against crime and all that, right? I only saw one shadow. It'll be two against one. Come on, this'll be easy. What could go wrong?"
Finished with his argument and unwilling to wait for a response, Raphael leapt into action.
Famous last words Raphie. Michelangelo reached for his nunchaku and jumped after his brother.
Leonardo had thought tonight's solo mission would be boring. He was looking forward to admiring the swords that would be put on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Sometimes his assignments for the Shredder involved stealing one thing or another and tonight's assignment was for the Muramasa sword that would be on display. Swords by this school of swordsmiths were believed to be cursed and filled with a bloodthirsty spirit. Muramasa swords were reported to be great destroyers. If the sword's desire remains unquenched in battle the wielder was said to be driven to experience murder or attempt suicide.
As the black masked turtle's eyes searched among the new arrivals for his target, he felt the shadows behind him move. For a brief moment, Leonardo thought he sensed a familiar presence. Orange? But then he felt a much larger, angrier presence. Clearly, whomever was hiding in the shadows was itching for a fight. Well if it's a fight they want, they are going to be in for quite a surprise. He turned on his heels while reaching for one of his swords as the shadow charged at him.
Raphael's perfectly planned forward strike to the dark figure hidden in the shadows was blocked by a katana. The bottom of the sword peered into the light, showing a green hand holding the hilt. Mikey had mentioned that our eldest brother was a swordsman. This must be Leo!
Raphael stepped back and paused for a moment in shock. "Leo?"
He then found himself dodging the sharp blade as the figure walked into the light. Adjusting his stance, Leonardo's body automatically continued attacking as his thoughts began puzzling over the sight of the red masked turtle in front of him. Another turtle? Just how many of these guys are there?
Michelangelo skidded to a halt at the sight before him, he couldn't believe their luck. "Leo?"
Leonardo glanced at the orange loving turtle as he briefly paused in his attack against the red one. Why does everybody know my name? Taking a step back, he scrutinized the two reptiles as he twirled the sword in his hand once, waiting for his opponents next move.
The three turtles began to slowly move in a circle, looking at each other warily.
Wanting answers, Leonardo decided to break the silence first. "What do you two want?"
Thrilled that the black masked turtle had finally talked to him, Michelangelo's words ran out in a rush. "Leo, we are your brothers. I'm your brother Michelangelo, but Mikey for short. I'm your youngest brother. And the hothead over there is our older brother Raphael. Well actually he's my older brother. Raph is your immediate younger brother. You are actually the eldest."
In his excitement, Mikey started moving closer to the sword wielding turtle, oblivious to his muscles tensing up.
Nothing the orange turtle said was making any sense to the black masked warrior. How do they know me? And what does he mean I have brothers? Just how many of these supposed brothers do I have? Does the Shredder know about them?
Raphael stayed silent as his energetic brother rattled on, hoping to get through to Leonardo. While Raphael shared in Mikey's enthusiasm in trying to talk Leo into going back with them to the lair, Raph understood warriors. And he was closely watching the sword carrying turtle's body language, which was not showing that he believed everything Mikey was telling him. In fact, the longer Mikey rattled on, the more Leo started to tense up.
He's not getting through to him. Raphael slowly started to shift into an offensive stance.
Oblivious to his older brother's body language, Mikey's words continued to rush out. In his excitement the orange masked turtle was no longer paying attention to what he was saying. "And you can meet Master Splinter who is our real father. And we are going to unite together to fight against the Shredder."
Fight against Master Shredder? These turtle's really are crazy! I don't know what's going on, but these two cannot interfere with my assignment. Coming to the conclusion that these two ninja turtles were foes and not allies, Leonardo waited for the orange masked turtle to take another step closer. Then he flipped his sword so that the hilt was facing the turtle's eyes, throwing blinding powder into his face.
Mikey jumped back in surprise, rubbing his eyes frantically while he coughed. "Dude, what the shell?"
"Mikey you ok?"
Alarmed, Raphael charged the black masked turtle. That was uncool, brother or no, you are going down.
"I'm fine." Mikey choked out continuing to rub his eyes.
The sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the loading dock. Leonardo was used to battling a larger and stronger opponent from his sparring sessions with Hun. Yet the red masked turtle had far better skills than the blonde behemoth and was able to land more than one blow as he countered the sword carrying turtle's attacks. And those sais were proving to be rather effective against his sword. This guy's not bad.
Raphael may have had strength on his side, but he began to feel like he was beginning to lose the fight against his sword wielding brother. Every move Leonardo executed was smooth and precise. Raphael prided himself on his fighting skills but clearly his older brother was better. The sai wielding turtle felt like he was fighting a turtle version of Master Splinter. And it was becoming quickly apparent that the black turtle's endurance was far superior to Raphael's. If they didn't do something soon, Leo was not only going to kick his shell into next week, but he was also going to get away before they could convince him to listen to them. "Bro, just stop and talk for a minute."
Leonardo blocked the red turtle's strikes as his eyes roamed the crates around the loading dock. Seeing the crate he needed, he send a solid kick to the sai wielding turtle's chest, knocking the wind out of him.
Mikey's eyes cleared in enough time for him to see Leo knock Raphael down. "Raph!"
Panicked that his older brother was hurt, Michelangelo grabbed one of his nunchaku and began spinning it in his expert hands. All thoughts of talking pushed aside, he stood in front of Leo, inadvertently blocking his brother's target. The black banded turtle narrowed his eyes as he struck out. These turtle's were really starting to piss him off. He bent at the waist to avoid the orange turtle's strike for his head and used the hilt of his katana to add extra strength to his punch. Mikey used his forearm to block the strike but stumbled for a second as he struggled to regain his footing from the force of the blow.
Regaining his breath, Raphael's temper soared and he charged the two warring turtles with a roar. Leonardo bent his right arm behind his back so that the sword blocked the attacking sais while he pivoted his left leg to execute a snap kick into Mikey's side, pushing him back. He then flipped the sword in his right hand and drove his fist hilt first into Raphael's jaw, drawing blood.
Hoping his eldest brother could be as easily distracted as Raphael, Mikey began to taunt his opponent. "You're not bad bro, but I've seen better."
Leonardo's eyes narrowed dangerously, his glare making the orange turtle take a step back in panic.
The black banded turtle growled his response as he stood tall and slowly pulled the second sword from his back. It was time to finish this fight.
"Maybe with one sword. But NOT WITH TWO."
Oh shell, that was the wrong thing to say.
Leonardo twirled the two swords, charging the wise cracking turtle. Mikey was barely able to dodge the blades as they flew past his head and arms. It suddenly felt like Leonardo had four arms and not two. For every strike he dodged another one seemed to land until the orange loving turtle found himself flat on his shell, his head spinning.
With the orange turtle out of the way, Leonardo turned his attention to the red turtle who had recovered from the blow to his jaw, his eyes shooting daggers at Leo. Raph immediately leapt towards the black turtle hoping to at least momentarily stun him while Mikey recovered. The only noises that could be heard in the warehouse were the clank of metal on metal and the soft grunts and groans from strikes as they met their targets.
Mikey rejoined the group but the two younger brothers kept getting in each other's way. They were not used to fighting together and in their confusion they didn't realize that the black masked turtle was pushing them closer and closer to his target. With the crate now in reach, Leonardo sheathed one of his swords and threw a few shuriken above his head. Puzzled by the unexpected move, red and orange looked up in just enough time to see the large stack of crates begin to tumble towards them, the rope that was holding them severed by the shuriken.
Leonardo leapt up and snatched the crate with the Muramasa sword with one hand as he used his other hand to push off of a passing crate and tucked into a roll as he hurled his body away from the two stunned turtles.
Raph and Mikey couldn't react as fast as their strategic thinking brother and found themselves covering their heads as the crates started to fall on top of them.
Raphael had one last thought before a crate hit him in the head, hard. Who does this guy think he is, Fearless?
A loud crash echoed throughout the loading dock as Raphael and Michelangelo were buried underneath the wreckage.
Before tonight Leonardo had been hoping to run into the orange turtle again and maybe even get some answers. But that hot headed red turtle was another story. He was the type to fight first and talk later. Leonardo looked over his shoulder and hesitated for a moment, surveying the mess. The crates might knock out the two turtles, but they were not heavy enough to kill them. Working for the Shredder, Leonardo was no stranger to death. Yet for some reason he couldn't place his finger on, he did not want to kill these two turtles. He paused, waiting for signs that they were merely stunned from the falling crates. Once he heard their groans and saw the wood start to move as they began to shift their way out of the wreckage Leonardo leapt into the shadows to return to Foot Headquarters with the stolen sword.
Unknown to the black masked turtle three dark figures had silently watched the entire fight from their perch on a nearby rooftop. For a moment the three figures glanced at each other. Pulling out a device from his pocket, the leader's soft voice broke the silence. "Mr. Mortu, we have a problem."
A/N: Whew this chapter was a doozy. I hope you enjoyed it! Gee, I wonder if you can guess which brother will pop up in the next chapter? Until then, please write a review! Virtual chocolate covered strawberries (or fruit of your choice) to those who do!