Moved to my laptop so I have more room to right longer chapters...yay :)
On with the chapter. I don't own TMNT.
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Safety
Hamato was sure he had forgotten how to breath as four pairs of large, tear filled eyes stared back at him. The man turned rat attempted to stand, but he was not yet used to his new form so he settled on all fours and made his way to the shivering, mutated turtles. As he settled infront of them they stilled, their bodies going stiff in fright. Hamato felt his heart go out to them. This was their first day of satience and it had to begin with pain and fear.
He was bought out of his musing when he felt a small hand grip the fur on his arm. He looked down and was met with large, deep blue eyes. The hand on his arm was equiped with three large fingers that trembled as it gripped his furry appendage. He looked back at the owner of the hand and watched as he opened his mouth and attempted to say somthing, however all that came out was a soft, babyish 'ah'. The little turtles lower lip began to tremble as a fresh wave of fresh tears fell down his cheeks. He was soon joined by his brothers, all four turtles huddleing close to Hamato, attempting to share his warmth and comfort. Without even realising it, Hamato brought them into his arms, holding them close.
They stayed like this for some time sharing a strange, mutual undertanding of the pain of their mutation. Once the embrace was over, the turtles had calmed down considerably and were no longer crying. This gave Hamato the time to realy consider their situation and for the first time since the Japan incident, a feeling of helplessness overcame him. 'What am i going to do?' There was no way he could go to the police, or anyone for that mater; they would take one look at him and deam him a freak, and thats exactly what he was: a freak.
A sound below him drew his attention back to his small companions. The infant turtles, now dry eyed, crawled around the dirty alley floor, grabbing each other and babbling in thier baby language. They were so inocent. This caused Hamato to smile. No, they were not freaks, just different, unique. The smallest turtle smiled up at him and let out a giggle, his light blue eyes wide with wonder, and that was what broke him.
Hamato vowed there and then that he would not allow anything happen to these four special children and if that meant hiding them and himself from the rest of the world then so be it. But where? Where could they hide? His red eyes scanned the alley way before finally landing on a manhole cover.
The sewers.
That was it. It was perfect. No one would suspect to look in the sewers and it was a place that most people tend to avoid. A smile appeared on his muzzle as a plan began to form in his head. Another scan of the alley revealed a large, pale blue blanket, most likely left by a homeless person.
"Convenient." Hamato muttered under his breath as retreaved the blanket. He turned back to the turtles who were watching on in confusion, cocking their heads to the side as he wrapped them in the soft fabric. The one with brown eyes inspected the blanket, taking it into his small hands and rubbing it between his fingers. The darker, green eyed turtle swatted at the fabric in anoyance, his face set in a grumpy pout. Hamato could already tell this one had an attitude.
He shook his head and tied the remaining bit of blanket around his neck, creating a makeshift carrier for the four infants. The turtles giggled in delight as he rose and made his way towards the manhole. Once there, he lifted the cover and peared down into the darkness. The smell was not appealing to his now much more sesative nose but he kept reminding himself he had no choice.
The rat man lowered himself down the ladder, carefull not to knock his passengers, but as he was about to pull the cover over he noticed the empty canister lying just in reach. He wasn't sure why, but he felt the need to take it with him, maybe he could get some clues off it. Mind set, he reached out and retrieved the cylinder before finally pulling the cover back over the hole, blocking out most of the light yet he found he could still see farely well.
"Guess there are some advantages to being a rat." He said to no one in particular. Picking a direction, Hamato began his search for safe place for them to hide.
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Hamato spent the next hour or so walking aimlessly around the sewers, hoping beyond hope that he could find a suitable place for him and his companions. The turtles had long since fell asleep, the emotional and physical stress off the day fianlly taking over. Yoshi didn't blame them. He could feel his own body protest with every step he took, demanding rest. But he couldn't rest; not until he found a safe refuge for him and the boys.
As he continued his search he found the tunnel he was in began to grow wider until it finally broke out into what looked like an old, abandoned subway. He followed the tracks until he came upon some old, rusty turnstiles that lead to another large room. In the centre of the room was a large, square pit whilst to the side was a pool of water that looked like it lead back to the sewer. He walked through the turnstiles, surprised that they still worked, and continued to explore the space. It was obvious that no one had been down hear in years and he felt his hopes rise as he checked out four additional rooms that could possibly be used as bedrooms. He also noticed a large garage where they must have kept the carriges.
His luck kept coming as he found a kitchen, possibly used by those who spent their working hours down here. He also noticed an electrical box, meaning this place had electricity.
Hamato soon came to another large room that was lit with a natural, warm light that was seeping through a hole in the roof. He found his mind wondering as he thought of all he could do with this space. A dojo perhaps?
The rat man returned to the main room and smiled. Yes, this place was perfect. Movement in the blanket caused him to look down. A pair of deep blue eyes stared back at him.
"So, what do you think?" He asked the blue tinted turtle. Said turtle inspected their surroundings before making a noise of confermation, causing Hamato to chuckle. Yoshi walked towards the pit and made his way to the bottom. Once there he dropped the canister to the floor and untied the blanket from around his neck, gently lowering the baby turtles to the floor.
The movement caused the others to awaken. Little, squeaky yawns ecaped them as they glanced at their new surroundings fith foggy eyes. Hamato stood and made his way to the side of the pit. There was something he had to do and it would be easier and safer to leave the turtles here. As he went to climb out the pit he felt a small hand grab his leg. He looked down at the freckle faced turtle that gripped his fur, his lower lip trembling. Hamato lowered himself to the childs level and placed a comforting hand on his head.
"Do no worry little one, I will return as quickly as possible." The baby turtles bright blue eyes began to fill with tears and his grip tightend. "I promise." Hamato said this so softly and sinsirely that the infant let go of his leg and crawled back to his brothers. The turtles sat huddled together in the centre of the pit, their eyes never once leaving him as he climbed out of the pit and made his way towards the turnstiles. He sent them one last reasuring smile before walking throught them and dissapearing back into the tunnel.
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Hamato continued to walk through the sewer tunnels, attempting to create a mental map in hopes of not getting lost. The thought of leaving the turtles alone in the subway made him extremely nervous, but if they were going to live down there they were going to need some essentials.
Finally, he made it to the manhole he was looking for. Climbing the ladder, he slowly slid the cover off and poked his head out. Coast was clear. He quietly slipped out of the sewer and assesed his surrounding. He felt his heart beat in anticipation as he noticed his appartment just across the street. Now he just had to figure out how to get to it. Lucky for him night had fallen, meaning there were less people on the street, but this was New York, there were still enough padestrians and vehicles to make him nervous.
Using his ninja training, the rat man stayed in the shadows as he carefully made his way to the fire escape on the side of his appartment complex. No one paid any attention to the large rat scaling the side of the building, and that was just how Hamato wanted it.
Finally, he made it to his window. He quietly pushed it oped and slipped inside. Once he was safely inside he let out a sigh of relief and survayed the room, eyeing all the boxes he had yet to unpack. Bingo. Hamato was glad he hadn't completely unpacked as it made his plan so much easier. With a look of determination, the humanoid rat began moving the boxes towards the window.
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Hamato was not sure how much time had passed, but he knew it was enough that the turtles must be getting scared with him gone. He gazed back at the large quilt he was now dragging through the sewer tunnels. The quilt was filled with boxes from his appartment; he still had more to reclaim, but for now this was all he could carry. Like with the turtles the boxes where placed in the quilt, making them easier to carry.
After to long, Hamato finally made it back to the subway. He was expecting to here crying, yet what he was met with was nothing but silence. Fear gripped his heart as he dropped the quilt and ran to the edge of the pit.
He let out a sigh of relief when he saw the turtles curled together, wrapped in the blue blanket, all sleeping contently. Reaching into one of the boxes the man turned rat produced a large pillow which he carfully placed under the slumbering infants. He returned his attention back to the box, noticing somthing had fallen out with the pillow. A book. He picked it up and read the title 'History Of Renaissance Art'. The book was old and worn, but still in decent condition. Hamato settled himslef in the bench of the pit and opened the book to one of his favourite artists: Leonardo Da Vinci.
He suddenly felt the book be pulled downwards as a pair of blue eyes peeked over the top. He watched as the little turlte studied the pictures on the page.
"Do you like it?" Yoshi asked. The blue tinted turtle didn't reply, instead he attempted to climb up next to him for a better look. Hamato chuckled softly as he pulled the boy up into his lap. The humanoid reptile continued to scan over the pictures before he turned his eyes to the rat man. Hamato looked back at him, then to the book, his gaze lingering on the artists name. It was then that he got an idea.
"Leonardo." The small turtle, who had returned his attention back to the book, looked up at him and then giggled. Yoshi wasn't quite expecting this reaction and couldn't help but laugh as well. "Leonardo it is then." Hamato said as he calmed.
The sound of laughter had roused the other turtles from their sleep and they made their way over to see what all the comotion was about. The newly named Leonardo made room for his brothers as Hamoto lifted them up one by one. All five now sat, flicking through the book until Hamato landed on another of his favourites: Donatello. This time it was the brown eyed turtle that reacted. He leaned forward, his eyes scaning over the pictures. Yoshi wasn't sure if he understood it or not but he knew exactly what to call this turtle.
"Donatello." The palest turtle smiled up at him then returned his attention back to the book. 'Two down, two to go.' The next artist they came across was Michelangelo.
"Michelangelo." Hamato muttered. This caused the freckled faced turtle to explode into a fit of giggles at the long, and appatently funny, name. The mutated man smiled at this. 'Only one more to go.'
They continued through the book untill they finally came upon the last of his favourite artist: Raphael. The darker skinned turtle had been making a show of not looking at the book, but now his bright green eyes scanned over the pages with his brothers.
"Raphael." Hamato chuckled as he rubbed the turtles head. Said turtle attempted to swat his hand away, but he didn't miss the small smile on his face.
Hamato left the book in the hands of the turtles as he moved to one of the boxes. This box contained clothes, though he doupted any of them would fit him. He carefully dug through the contents hoping to find something, anything to fit him. Even though he was now covered in fur, he still felt wierdly naked. He shook of the thought when somehting caught his eye. Carefully, he pulled a large, red robe out of the mass of fabrics. Perfect. He smiled as he pulled the robe on and tied the darker red sash around his waist, feeling much more comftably now that he was wearing some clothes.
When he returned to the pit he saw that the turtles were once again asleep, using the book and each others shells as pillows. He smlied at the sight, carefully removing the book from under their heads and manouvering himself so the he sat between them. The infants instantly reacted, all moving to use him and his robe as their knew pillow. Hamato placed his arms around them am pulled them closer before finally settling down for some much needed rest.
'Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael, this is the begging of out new life together.'
Urg it's like quarter to 5...IN THE MORNING! I've been up all night writing this *cough*and it's still crap*cough.
Anyhoo, I'm just gonna like, pass out on my bed now. Untill the next chapter. *Faceplants on pillow*