This is just me setting down some backstory. It's a little bit of a glimpse into what Leo was doing between his flashback chapter and the first chapter, but mostly it's backstory. The next chapter of the story proper should be forthcoming soon.

The sun was dying in the west, sinking below the mountains which Leonardo had once called home.
"That is enough for today. Time for rest." His teacher, The Wise One, said absently and Leo collapsed onto the dirt beneath him. As with every preceding day of his training, those words were music to his utterly exhausted ears.

The fire crackled in the hearth and the kettle whistled. The Wise One set a bowl of stew before his student as Leo poured them both mugs of tea. They ate in silence, absorbing the nourishment necessary to replenish the energy burnt that day, however, when The Wise One turned to the tea he cleared his throat and began to speak. As he did every night, Leo made sure to perk up and listen. When his teacher spoke, the student was to treat every word as a lesson.

"Did you know that today is my daughter's birthday?" the old man asked, his voice catching a bit.

"No, Wise One." Leo answered, "I didn't know that you had a daughter."

The teacher nodded. "You speak the truth Leonardo. I had a daughter." The teacher let out a sigh, "She is gone now. And my pupils, all gone. None left to a man in his old age."

"I am here, Wise One." Leo offered.

The teacher huffed, "Yes. And you will leave too! Do not deny it." Leo opened his mouth to offer some apology or explanation, but was stopped. "No, I do not hold it against you, Leonardo. Your family has greater need of you than I. But now, while you are here, it is not too much to ask for the young man to listen to the tale of the old and carry it with you when you go. This place needs someone to take some of the sadness away when they leave."

Leo nodded and the Wise One began his tale…

"Once, I had a daughter. She was the sun. Her mother, beautiful as a moonbeam, slipped away as she rose. My little Shen. It was for her that I kept living instead of simply surviving after my wife passed. I smiled again for her, and she taught me to forget my sorrow. When she was grown enough that it would not be a danger to her, I took on an apprentice. Yoshiko was the youngest son of a barely successful merchant. He had little aptitude for his father's trade and so his family sent him off to learn the art of war in hopes that he would make a name for the family in blood and glory. I trained him up as best I could, but his parents' money and dreams turned to dust as he found more joy in the simple sustenance we drew from the land than the gold he could draw from the blood of his sword. And, to my delight, my daughter found her joy in a simple farmer who I knew had a good heart. His parents cut him off completely and utterly. But they were happy together in the life they had chosen.

Since then I have only taken two students—yourself and one other.

Yoshi came to us already a warrior. He was a veteran of the Triceraton Wars and had made a name for himself standing beside the king's son. However, he had recently fallen out of favor after discovering that his old comrade-in-arms had used dishonorable means to obtain his position.

It was an accident that led him to my doorstep. He was lost, hunted, sick, and hungry. My daughter and her husband took pity on him and nursed him back to health. After he regained his strength, he made himself useful. He worked on out farm for several months before I even considered taking him as my pupil. Yoshi turned out to be the most dedicated student I ever had. His zeal for learning kindled a similar fire in me. He stayed and trained for nearly three years and was closer to true mastery than any of my previous pupils. We were happy, the four of us, for that brief period of time, hidden away from the rest of the world. Perhaps that was our fatal mistake. We had no idea what was taking place in the Capitol City, that Oroku Saki was climbing his way to power with the help of his young wife. We had no idea that he would be looking to tie up loose ends or the lengths to which he would go to ensure that his dishonor remained hidden. It was foolish of us and we paid dearly for it.

I was away when the soldiers came. Yoshi and Yoshiko fought to give Shen time to flee. By the time she found me in the fields it was too late. Yoshiko was dead and Yoshi was gone. We thought that he had been taken. I suppose that I may never know how he escaped and I do not care. My Shen pined away for her husband. Not even the child growing within her could lift her spirits and she perished attempting to bring new life into the world. It was wrong of me, but I could not bring myself to care for the child. As far as I know, she grew up happily in a village, untouched by the sorrow that taints my life and all I love.

Leo stared at his tea. "I'm sorry, master." He said, aware that his platitudes were vastly inadequate.

"Feh. Words will not bring my family back." The Wise One said, quaffing the last of his own tea. "I did not tell you that story for my sake. Tell me, Leonardo, what did you learn?"

Leo opened his mouth then closed it. "I can't think of anything overly cynical." He confessed.

The Wise One unceremoniously smacked him on the head with his walking stick. "Think, warrior. That story belongs to someone else as well. What became of the loose end?"

Leo rubbed his head. "You said that Yoshi was taken by Oroku's men."

The Wise One raised a finger, "We thought he had been taken. He escaped into the mountains, changed his name and built a life for himself."

"How do you—?" Leo's question was cut off by a pointed look. Realization began to dawn. "My father?" He whispered. It wasn't really a question. He hoped that it was, but in his heart he knew. Suddenly everything made sense. He knew why his family had been attacked, torn apart.

"What do I do now?" he asked.

The Wise One smiled, "That, young one, is entirely up to you."

So, the backstory, just like the rest of this story, is wildly AU. It's mostly based upon the 2k3 episode "A Tale of Master Yoshi" with the twists necessary to fit it into this AU. Thanks for reading! :)