Katana: Whoa! Thirteen reviews! I can't believe it! Thank you all so much!

Leo: Seriously? Y'all enjoyed me being a meek, little, half mute turtle?

Katana: Um . . . Yes?

Leo: *shakes head* I am nothing like that. Nothing. What the Heck did you do to me?

Katana: Oh, I *spoiler spoiler spoiler*

Leo: What?

Katana: *spoiler spoiler spoiler*

Leo: Huh?

Katana: Oh, just read!

Because of You

MIKEY

Mikey stretched as he rolled out of bed onto his feet and yawned. He smacked his lips dramatically and glanced sleepy at the clock. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw what time it was. 11:43 am. That was late, even for him, the king of sleeping in. It must have been a late night. Mikey thought back, and then remembered what had happened. Leo.

There was something wrong with Leo and Mikey was going to figure it out and help him, even if it took him the rest of his life.

The only question was, how to do that?

The obvious answer would be to go to Leo and ask him. The obvious problem was that Leo would just be his silent self and close up even more. So that was out.

Think. Where did he go when something was wrong?

Donnie! He always went to Donnie when something was broken or when he was feeling bad. Donnie was a genius. He'd know how to help Leo.

With his goal in mind, Mikey trooped out of his room and into the kitchen for breakfast.

After a bowl of cereal, Mikey cleaned up and went to his older brother's lab. As he'd suspected, Donnie was there, typing away at his computer. The purple banded turtle was deep in concentration, his tongue sticking slightly out of his mouth as he typed at light speed. From his angle, Mikey couldn't tell what Donnie was working on, but it seemed important to the turtle. Mikey wouldn't interrupt, but what he wanted to talk about was important too.

"Donnie?" Mikey asked. Donnie didn't even flinch. "Donnie? DONNIE!" Mikey yelled.

"Yah!" Donnie screamed, jumping and falling out of his chair.

"Finally, dude. You were completely out of it."

"Well, sorry hacking into Kraang facilities takes concentration." Donnie said sarcastically, picking himself off the floor and back into his chair. "Whadda ya need, Mikey?"

"I was actually hoping you could help me with something." Mikey hedged.

"Like what?" Donnie said warily. He had been asked for favors from Mikey too many times not to be cautious.

"Well, i was wondering, about - about Leo."

All at once, Donnie's expression changed, from wary to surprised to serious. "Leo? Is this because of last night?"

Mikey nodded. "Yeah, kind of. Donnie, I'm worried about him. I've been thinking, and it's not - the way he acts - I don't -"

"I understand, Mike." Donnie smiled ruefully at him. Truth be told, he was worried too. Ever since the incident, Donnie had been unable to get Leo out of his mind, and was realizing that the way Leo behaved wasn't normal. It wasn't merely his personality, this was so much deeper. Leo almost seemed depressed, and Donnie was cursing himself for not seeing how much his brother seemed to be suffering from something before. Leo's behavior was nothing new, and he hadn't thought twice about it. But now, all he could do was think about.

"Donnie, he just looks so sad. He's always tense, and he's so fidgety, and he shys away from us all the time. He acts like he's scared." As Mikey said it, he realized, fully realized, it was true, and he too begun scolding himself for not seeing something wrong sooner. "And we haven't even noticed."

"We have, we just never thought about it." A new voice said, and Donnie and Mikey turned to see Raph standing behind them. Raph walked to Donnie's desk and joined them. "We noticed, we just didn't do anything about it."

"We're - we're horrible brothers." Mikey choked, tears shining in his eyes. "What if - what if there's something - I don't know, something wrong with him or - or something bothering him, and we never even said anything to him?"

"We did, though." Donnie whispered, not defensively, but in a pondering manner. "Remember? When we were little and he first started acting like this. We pestered him for days, asking what was wrong, why he was sad, and kept trying to cheer him up. We couldn't, though."

"And we just let it go." Raph said slowly, remembering those days so many years ago. "We stopped prying at him, and just got used to it."

"That's no excuse!" Mikey stamped his foot childishly. "We should have kept trying, at least a little, or at the very, very least realized that something was wrong. But we didn't!"

Mikey's words rang true, and weighed heavily on the other two turtles as well. It was true. This had been going on for years, and they had done nothing about it. Sure, they tried when it first started, but they gave up. They gave up on their big brother, and let him suffer with whatever it was for all this time. They gave up.

"That's it." Raph said. "No more. We're not gonna let this go on for a minute longer. I say we go into the dojo, get Leo out of there, and lock us all in a room until we get some answers." He stated boldly.

Mikey was nodding, a grin taking the place of his tears, but Donnie frowned. "Hold on Raph. That may not be such a good idea."

"Why not?" Raph protested. Mikey frowned as well.

"We have no idea what Leo's dealing with or going through. If we push him or do something drastic, it could lead to more harm than good." Donnie lectured. "Basic psychology, guys. We can't rush it or push him too hard. We need to make him feel safe, like he can talk about - about - about whatever it is. AND we need to find out what we're dealing with."

"How?" Mikey whined. This wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to make Leo better now. Leo looked so sad, and Mikey couldn't remember the last time he had seen Leo smile. He wanted to see Leo smile, right away.

"Well, the internet should help a bit. If we can put Leo's symptoms in a search engine, maybe we'll get lucky. Or, April's taking psychology. I can ask to borrow her textbook, see if I can find a condition that matches Leo."

"Any theories you wanna share, brainiac? You seem to think Leo's got a mental condition." Raph barked.

"Raph, Leo - he - he seems depressed, or like he has PTSD, or more likely both, as depression is a symptom of PTSD. He's quiet, sorrowful, spends long periods of time thinking, has low self-esteem, doesn't really eat much - haven't you noticed how skinny he is? - and looks likes he's hurting. It's been a long time since I've read anything on depression and PTSD, but I think that it sounds a lot like Leo."

"You sure?" Raph.

"Not completely. I'll need to consult the web, and April's book just to be safe. And if Leo does have PTSD and depression, then we have a problem. PTSD is caused by an event. Leo could be acting the way he does because something happened to him."

"Like what?" Mikey questioned.

Donnie shrugged. "PTSD means Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It simply means that something traumatic happened, and the victim is suffering because of it."

"What could have happened to Leo, when we were that little?" Mikey asked, puzzled.

None of them had an answer.

LEO

Leo hopped out of bed bright and early Sunday morning. A look at the clock showed the numbers 5:30, same as every morning. Leo was never late. He didn't dare be.

Leo immediately rushed straight to the dojo, taking no detours for any reason. Master Splinter was waiting for him, a familiar scowl on his snout. Leo bowed, then knelt on his knees and bowed again, this time not looking back up. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and listened to the bark of his master as the training for the first part of the morning was assigned. When his master finished with his customary title for Leo, Leo rose and bowed sharply again, not looking his master in the eye, not saying a word.

He took his starting position, and began the first kata. He completed it with ease, and moved on to the next one, which was finished quickly, and then the next one. On and on Leo went, his moves growing ever more difficult and complicated, each one preformed perfectly. Master Splinter watched with critical eyes, taking in every aspect of Leo's form, offering no distraction to break Leo's concentration.

It was around 7:15 when Leo made his first mistake. His foot wasn't quite where it should have been, too far from his other foot. This point was made as a swift kick swept Leo's leg out from under him and he landed flat on his shell. From there, several more kicks to the side were made, aimed at the soft area where Leo's shell was most flexible (allowing him to preform the moves he did). Leo bit his lip and held back a groan. Groans were complaints, and complaining was weakness. Leo could not show weakness. He could not have weakness, or else he wouldn't be able to lead his brothers.

"Up!" A scratchy voice hissed in the air. Leo complied, leaping to his feet and ignoring the impulse to grab at his side. No weakness.

"Again! 20 times." Leo bowed and preformed the kata with the correction again and again. Nothing was found wrong this time, and Leo was told to move on to the next kata.

Leo preformed five more katas before his next mistake. A hand not as close to his side as it should have been. A five-fingered hand shot out and immediately flipped Leo over. Leo landed on his plastron, and all the wind was knocked out of him. His head hit the floor with a painful knock, and air hissed through Leo's teeth. Before he had a chance to recover, a yank on his mask tassels pulled him into a standing position on his knees. Leo gasped, his lungs trying to regain precious air.

"Are you hurt, Kame?" A mocking voice asked.

"No, Master." Leo croaked. The hand let go of his tassels, and Leo caught himself before his chest and head could hit the ground again.

"Then again, 15 times, and twenty flips." Leo rose to his feet and redid the kata again the requested time, and then did the twenty flips. Not normally a hard task, but after 2 1/2 hours of non-stop vigorous workout, Leo was beginning to feel the effects of exhaustion, and the blow to the head he received when flipped wasn't helping matters, making Leo feel a bit dizzy. Nevertheless, Leo completed the task, and preformed his remaining katas perfectly.

The easy part of the training session was over. The time was 9:30.

The 2nd part of the training session was always the same. A no holds barred spar between Leo and his Master. The 2nd part of training always lasted an hour, no matter what. If Leo lost in a minute, then they went again and again until the hour was up.

Leo moved to the back of the dojo, and took up a stance. He had never won a spar with Master Splinter, and he never expected to. He never gained anything from these spars, besides bruises and the occasional sprained wrist or ankle. It was pointless, the only thing happening to Leo a beat down.

Master Splinter gestured, and Leo charged.

Finally, mercifully, the hour ended. Leo was allowed to use the bathroom for 3 minutes, and used to the time to drink some water, clean out new cuts as best he could, and shift his dojo wraps and joint pads to hide the worst of the bruises. His brothers wouldn't notice the change. They never did.

The knock to his head didn't look too bad. It was easily hidden by Leo's mask, and the headache was starting to fade. Leo thanked several deities for clearing away the dizziness. Dizziness meant his movements would be off, and anything but perfection meant more training, sparring, and cut-back food rations.

Just thinking about food made Leo's stomach growl. He hadn't had anything since dinner night before last, and that was a slice of pizza. Nothing very filling. He sighed, but seeing as he couldn't do anything about it, braced himself for the rest of his training.

He walked out of the bathroom and returned to the dojo. Master Splinter was waiting impatiently.

"You are late." Leo felt a twinge of annoyance (if he was, it was only by seconds) that was quickly swallowed by fear. He had been "dealt with" for being late before.

"I - I apologize, Master." He knelt on the floor. "I did not realize that my time was up."

"Get up, Kame." Splinter spat.

Leo stood, and hung his head. He heard a familiar sound and tensed. Oh, no. Oh, God, no. Not that. He wasn't even a minute late. But Master had always harbored a hatred for lateness. Who can you be a ninja, and protect my sons, he was fond of saying, if you cannot even show up to practice on time?

Today must have been a bad day, a day that had been significant to Hamato Yoshi. Those days, punishment and training were ten times worse. Those days, he was less likely to be allowed food. Those days, he was most likely to be locked in his room.

Leo didn't wait for his Master to speak. He unwound the dojo wraps on his arms and legs and let them crumble to the floor. He slipped off his pads as well, and stood in the position he had grown to fear. Legs apart, arms raised 90 degrees to his body. He closed his eyes and relaxed his muscles.

There was a familiar swish, and then the pain started.

DONNIE

Donnie texted April after his talk with the brothers, asking for the textbook. April replied immediately, saying she'd bring it over as soon as she could that day.

1:30 rolled around and April showed up at the Lair door. Donnie immediately welcomed her in and led her to his lab, hovering over her for a glimpse of the anticipated book.

April caught him at it, and the minute they were in his lab, she dug the textbook out of her bag and held it out to him.

"This what you want?"

"Yes! Thank you April!" He started to reach for it, but she pulled it back.

"Why do you want a psychology textbook, Donnie?" She asked.

"Oh, um, I just wanted to read it in case you need help in the class later."

April raised an eyebrow, then crossed her arms. "Okay, now tell me the truth." At his surprised expression, she added, "You're not a good lier, Donnie."

"I'm interested in it right now and I want to learn more. And I trust books more than the internet." Donnie told her.

April stared at him. "Now tell me the whole truth."

Donnie sighed. "I need information on certain disorders, alright?"

April's expression changed into one Donnie couldn't quite read. She handed over the book without a word and he smiled gratefully at her. He sat down at his desk and opened the book to dead center. It creaked and crackled as he did, and he shot April a smirk.

"I can really tell you've been using this." He joked.

"Hey, I've only had the class for a week and I've been working out of the front!" April retorted indignantly.

"Just teasing April." Donnie smiled.

"I know." She smiled back. "If you're gonna read that, where are the others?"

"Raph and Mikey are in the pit, and Leo's in the dojo with Master Splinter."

"Again." April said flatly.

"Leo loves to train, and he gets extra anyway because he's leader. Training is pretty much all he does." Donnie said absently, already flipping through pages of the textbook.

"Yeah . . . " April trailed off, not sounding very satisfied.

Donnie looked up, hearing the tone in her voice. He checked the clock. "Look, if you want to see Leo so badly, he's usually done around 2:30."

"Okay. Thanks Donnie."

"No problem." He waved, and April took that as her cue to leave and see the others.

APRIL

April sat on the benches that ran around inside the perimeter of the pit area. She stared at the television along with Mikey, but she sensed that Mikey wasn't really paying attention to the show. They were even. She wasn't either. Instead, her thoughts were once again on Leonardo.

What were the odds, that both times she went to the Lair, Leo was training? Especially when they were at two different times of the day. Donnie said Leo trained pretty much all the time. Just how much truth was in that statement?

April remembered her thoughts on Leo just last night. She had sensed that something was wrong with him, something mental. It was true, she had only been in psychology a week, but she had been in the class and around Leo long enough to notice something was up. Leo's behavior to her had been beyond usual shyness or wariness. He seemed, she didn't know, almost afraid to let her get close, almost actively repelling her. Part of that may have been living in the sewers with only his brothers for company. But Donnie, Mikey, and Raph didn't have that problem.

And now Donnie was asking for her psychology book, researching mental disorders. If that wasn't a red flag, April didn't know what was. Did Donnie and/or his brothers know what was wrong with Leo, and researching it? Or were they too searching for answers? Either way, Donnie obviously thought that the answer to Leo was in her book. What could be affecting Leo?

The TV she had been staring blankly at faded to black as the show ended, and the sudden change snapped her out of her thoughts.

The TV clock hit 2:30.

Suddenly, April got a weird feeling. She felt like her head was being squashed, like it was under pressure. Oddly, it didn't hurt. It just felt funny. Something inside her then told her to look at the space of hallway between the dojo and the area she was told the turtles rooms were. A sudden flash of green and blue surprised her, and she was flooded by emotions. Emotions she knew at once were not hers.

At first, all she could feel was pain. Lots and lots of pain. But soon, her own mind dug through the layers and uncovered other emotions. Anger, hurt, and humiliation were prominent, along with uselessness and timidity. But the most powerful emotions were overwhelming sadness, and fear. Raw, total fear.

The entire experience only lasted a split second, the length of time she saw the green and blue blur. Yet April had felt everything. She gasped and fell back against the back of the bench as the pressure on her head was released. Raph stopped punching his bag and looked up.

"You okay, April?" He asked, nonexistent eyebrows furrowing together.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." She said.

She could not say the same for Leo, for that was undoubtedly who the green and blue blur was. That peek into Leo's mind, for that had to be what had happened, had cleared away the fog surrounding Leonardo. Pieces were falling into place, forming a gruesome picture April desperately wished she wasn't seeing. For in that moment when April had touched Leo's mind, she had managed to catch a glimpse of a memory. A memory of Leo standing tall, as a sharp wooden practice sword came down again and again, slowly beating him to the floor.

DONNIE

Donnie flipped a page of April's book and sighed. It was as he'd feared. Leo's symptoms matched the symptoms of PTSD and depression in the book, almost to a T. He would double check and triple check online, but right now, the diagnosis was clear. Leo had PTSD. But still, Donnie felt like there was something missing.

An answer that raised more questions. How on Earth did Leo develop PTSD? What could have happened that had affected him so badly that it was haunting him even to this day?

Donnie flipped a section of pages on the textbook in frustration. The book opened to a random page, and a word in bold jumped out at him. Almost like he was possessed, Donnie immediately began to read the information. As he did, a sense of dread crept over him, and the further he got, the larger the feeling grew until it took up all his thoughts.

No. No, no, no. No, this can't be right. He told himself. Can it?

It all fit, though, in a horrible, twisted way. This was the missing piece, the one the brothers couldn't figure out. The book was describing Leo perfectly, right down to the skittish way he looked at people who had just approached him and his sad, haunted eyes.

This was it. This was the reason. This was what had happened to Leo.

No! No, this can't be right! He thought. Then, in a sudden burst of inspiration, he rolled his office chair over to his computer, slipped on his headphones, and Googled the song Leo had freaked out over. Donnie clicked a video and listened, really listened, to the actual lyrics, of the song. As the chorus played for the second time, Donnie couldn't deny it any longer. It was true. It was all true.

He paused the video and leaned back in his chair, feeling like he had just got hit by a ton of bricks. As he did, more memories of Leo poured into his mind, confirming the horrifying truth. Donnie's gaze slid to his desk, then to the book, staring horrified at the bolded heading.

Abuse.

Writing this was hard. Not emotional, I mean, but describing it in a sort of realistic way.

So, there you have it. Master Splinter abuses Leo. Not what some of you were expecting, was it?

Please review, the story isn't over yet, I have a couple more chapters to go before I end this.

Have a good day/night!

-Katana