運命が割り当てれば

Yuku Sue Unmei

CHAPTER THREE

Even though it had been several years since any of them had gone to the Battle Nexus, Leo still remembered how to draw the glyph and the incantation in which the portal would open to the brilliant and vibrant dimension. The turtle was still amazed and awed at this new world, as though he relived his first time coming here all over again. There was just something so serene and peaceful about the rolling hills and mountains; the tall grass that swayed in the wind; the beauty of the bluest oceans and seas that he could never see while living in New York.

While Donnie found solace in his technology, Raph found solace in his city, and Mikey found solace is being the center of attention at all times, Leo found his place here.

It was in the training period for the Battle Nexus, as warriors from all around could still come and practice against foes from other dimensions and worlds. Leo thought of the next Nexus match – it would be coming soon, within a few months if he remembered correctly – and wondered if perhaps he and his brothers should return once more. The elder turtle smirked as he thought of the four trophies that Master Splinter displayed proudly in his room.

After they had settled into their new lair and after all their troubles seemed to die down for a time, the Battle Nexus tournament had rolled around again and Leo remembered fondly as they all had begged and pleaded with Master Splinter to let them go and participate once more. He couldn't remember the last time all four of them had used puppy faces at their master and father, but it apparently worked and Splinter relented, telling his sons that he would accompany them to make sure they arrived with little or no trouble.

As he walked towards the arena, Leo could hear the sounds of battle, instantly reminding him of the last time they were here. The Daimyo had heard about the destruction of their home and had seen to it that Master Splinter be presented with two trophies – one from Master Yoshi's win and his own trophy that had been destroyed from their first home. Mikey was lucky to be given a replacement for the one that was destroyed in Karai's attack, as well as their medals of valor for saving the Daimyo's son.

It had been a bright day such as this that Leo finally made his way through opponents, once again coming to stand across his friend Miyamoto Usagi. They definitely put on a good show, but in the end, Usagi was the victor and went on to the finals where he too lost. For Leo, it had been quite an honor – he and Usagi had never finished their last battle due in part to the treachery of the Ultimate Ninja and Drako – and he had always enjoyed sparing with the ronin. In the end, while he himself hadn't won, he was proud to stand in the Hall of Past Champions and watch as Raphael's statue was being put up.

Raph did enjoy lording his championship over Mikey – it was payback for the two years of Mikey's boasting – but Leo knew Raph had been secretly proud of that moment. They had all stood, looking at his finished statue, as Master Splinter had commented on their legacy. "Never doubt that people will remember you, my sons," he had said. And that had always been Raph's fear; that they would die off, with no one but a handful of people that would remember them, who could never tell people about them. But here, here people would see his statue and know he was a great warrior and as much as the temperamental turtle wanted to downplay it, Splinter's words and his accomplishment meant something to him.

Even when Leo had told him he was proud of him - something Leo hardly said, but usually felt – Raph had shrugged him off for being too sentimental about it, but Leo knew – hoped at least – that it meant something to his younger brother.

Now, as he stood overlooking the arena, Leo felt confident that he could learn the answers to his questions here. The blue banded turtle made his way towards the arena, watching as different matches ensued all around him. There was a large watering hole not far from where the arena was; it looked as though there were several people already there, watching another match intensely.

"That cretin is no match for me," boasted Murakami Gennosuke, as he sat watching the match. "I bet I'd have him down in two minutes flat." Elbowing the small rabbit next to him, he asked, "How 'bout it? Care to place a bet on the odds?"

"The only odds someone should care about are how to keep their money from you, Gennosuke."

Both combatants turned to see who spoke, though their expressions were mixed. Gen snorted in humor. "I thought I smelt an all day sucker," he cackled.

"Leonardo-san," greeted Miyamoto Usagi, as he stood from the grass. "It is a great honor to see you on such a fine day."

"The honor is mine, Usagi," Leo replied, smiling at the ronin.

"Are you here to partake in some battle training?"

"Actually," Leo said. "I'm here to ask for your help."

"Run into a little trouble, eh?" Gen asked, rising from his comfortable seat. "No worries, little kame. I'm your guy."

"If only I needed a strong arm," Leo chuckled.

"Is there trouble, Leonardo?" asked Usagi.

"I'm not sure yet," the turtle muttered. "I'm hoping you can clear up something for me."

"Of course," Usagi replied. "Come. We were supposed to meet with the Daimyo for an early lunch. I have a feeling that he may wish to hear of these troubles you are having."

Leo nodded. "I think you're right, Sagi."

The three made their way towards the arena and through the corridor and towards the throne of the Daimyo. "Ah," the elderly leader greeted. "Hamato Leonardo. It is good to see you again."

"And you, most honored Daimyo," the turtle said, bowing. "I hope I haven't come at an inopportune time."

"Nonsense," the Daimyo said, motioning them towards his dining area. "The son of my oldest friend is always welcomed here, as is my most noblest warrior."

"Aw," Gen replied, heading towards the area that held the most food. "It's nothing. Think nothing of it."

The others watched as the bounty hunter began heaping large amounts of food on to his plate. "He is aware I was speaking of you, yes?" asked the Daimyo.

"I am still finding things that Gennosuke is and isn't aware of."

The group converged in the dining area, equally greeted by the assistant Gyoji as they passed. The table was full of food and Gen was already stuffing his face before the group had reached the table. "Tell me, Leonardo," Usagi began. "What brings you to this dimension? I have never known you to arrive without that company of your sensei and brothers and when you have, there was trouble."

"I'm not sure it's trouble or not," Leo stated. "Earlier tonight, something happened…" The eldest turtle then began to tell his tale, how they had been ambushed by the Purple Dragons and how a mysterious teenage mutant ninja turtle suddenly appeared and saved Donnie's life. He then commented on how this new turtle knew the way to their new lair, as well as the pass code to enter it, obviously knows them and Master Splinter and he can speak Japanese. "I'm not sure what to make of any of it," the turtle continued. "All I know is there's something about him that I don't like. Maybe it's this unknown nature of this mission he's on. Daimyo, exactly how strong are Lord Hebi's forces currently?"

"While it is true Lord Hikiji's might holds strong," the Daimyo said. "I highly doubt that he could manage to take over the current shogun."

"No one knows better than I, Leonardo-san, of the villainy that is Lord Hikiji," Usagi added. "But I must agree with the Daimyo. While Hebi is certainly cunning, he is always after power and you've seen him defeated before. I doubt this kame's tale; however, I do wonder what he knows about Hebi and his minions."

"How does your father feel on the subject?" asked Gyoji.

"I think he knows more than he's telling us," the turtle stated truthfully.

"Most fathers do," joked the Daimyo.

"I think we all feel the same," Leo said. "I don't think he wants to harm us, but he isn't telling us the truth either."

"If you are still concerned, Leonardo," the Daimyo replied. "Perhaps you should seek the counsel of Lord Ito Roshi. He is always aware of what goes on with Lord Hebi."

Leo gave a glance towards Usagi before saying, "Of course, Daimyo. Lord Roshi would…indeed know what is happening."

"I can send you there myself, if you'd like."

"You're too kind," Leo replied, giving the Daimyo a slight bow. "I do hate to inconvenience you like this."

"It is no bother, Leonardo," the Daimyo said. "As I said, the son of my oldest friend deserves the answers he seeks. Enough of this for now; we should follow in the footsteps of the mighty Murakami Gennosuke and eat."

This was answered by a large belch.

The kingdom belonging to Ito Roshi was every bit as lovely as the country side that surrounded the Daimyo's arena. Leo tried to remember how often he had been in this area, in this particular temple, but couldn't come up with anything less than three or four. A small twinge of guilt came upon him as he realized his younger brother spent more time here than he did, for obvious reasons.

Usagi had agreed to accompany him to this land, always wanting to help his brother in arms, and for this, Leonardo was grateful. It wasn't that he didn't want to travel here, but he was hesitant and while Usagi never once asked, Leo felt obligated to explain in short detail why visiting the lands of Roshi gave him pause. The guards that met them knew of Usagi, thought not of Leo; however, they were familiar with Leo's brother that they only said hello and allowed the two to enter.

Leo had hoped they would be met with Lord Roshi himself, but of course the old turtle luck ran its course and the ninja and samurai were met with the Lord's daughter and only heir, Princess Dellandra. The turtle remembered quite well when they first learned on these lands – they had been completely taken by surprise to learn that there was a land that held turtles; mutant turtles like themselves, though heavy on the turtle and less on the mutant. Like Usagi, Gen, Hebi, and Tomoe Ame, these beings were anamorphic creatures that lived in this surreal time and place that was further removed from their life in the city. For so long, they had thought themselves the first and last of their kind and here was a place where there were turtles of every shape and size.

And…female turtles.

Leo would be remised if he thought that the idea of female turtles didn't peak his interest. It peaked all of their interests; mutant and ninja they may be, but they were turtles and male at that and in this point in their lives, there were some things that couldn't be helped by watching TV or reading magazines. Oh, he was quite aware of what Donnie had on that third hard drive of his – it was his duty as eldest and leader – and there were times, thankfully, that Donnie could keep a secret or else they would all be in trouble.

That wasn't to say that they hadn't been hit frequently with the business end of Master Splinter's walking stick. Leo could actually count how many times his wondering eye had gotten him into trouble on that trip.

Lord Roshi, who was ruler of this turtle-topia (as Mikey coined it), was a fairly large turtle who was the epitome of a gentle giant. He ran his lands with a fair hand and all of those in his kingdom praised his leadership. Roshi had been a samurai once, who had worked in the shogun's military until he was injured. This injury led him to meet his wife, with whom they would have a daughter, Dellandra.

"I must be very popular today," the female turtle joked, as she came into the small foyer to greet her guests. Dell, as most called her, stood at an average height of 5'4 and had the distinction of being the only turtle that Leo or his brothers had seen with green eyes. She was slightly darker than Raphael's coloring, but she was unique as she had a head of long dark hair that was currently pulled into a ponytail. "It's rare I'm visited by so many."

Both ronin and ninja bowed in respect to this young princess as she greeted them. "It is the honor of those that visit and not popularity, Hidenka," stated Usagi.

"It is I that is honored by the arrival of two great warriors," replied Dell, bowing herself. Her eyes strayed to Leo, who couldn't help but blush and look away. "I take it this is not a social visit."

"I wish it was, Dell," Leo whispered. "I'm hoping your father can tell me what he's heard lately about Lord Hebi."

"Lord Hebi?" asked the female turtle. "Why, no one's heard from him in many months. In fact, oto-san is worried by the lack of any news."

"You say you had an earlier visitor?" Usagi asked.

"Yes," Dell replied, smiling. "In fact, that's how I knew you'd be coming. She told me."

"She?"

Dell nodded. "I was surprised myself," she said. "But she knew a many things about me that…most do not know. She said that you would be coming, asking for information because of someone named Nick."

Usagi looked at Leo, wondering if this was the name of the kame that had just entered into his life. And from the look on the turtle's face, it was clear the name meant something.

"And what did she say about him?" he asked, his voice hard and suspicious.

"Not to trust him."

"This is serious," Sagi replied. "There is apparently a deceiver in our midst. Do you believe him to have planned this, Leonardo? That he knew you would come here."

"I'm…not sure," Leo said. "But this certainly thickens the plot."

"I will go and speak with Lord Roshi," the ronin continued. "Perhaps he can shed some light on this. This person may be a minion of Hebi." Usagi bowed to both before hurrying through to the throne room.

"She said you could be in trouble," she whispered.

"This person you spoke to?"

Dell nodded. "She was able to see the past and present, Leo," she continued. "That's how I knew you'd be coming."

Leo's eyes narrowed. Who would want to come here to warn Dell about a visitor in his world? This mystery had gone from the seemingly simple to the more complex.

"How are you?" she asked, nervously.

"Confused."

"I gathered," she laughed. "And…your…brothers? How…how are they?"

Leo gave her a look, accompanied by a small smile. "Are you asking about all my brothers or just one?"

"Leonardo."

"Dellandra."

The female turtle huffed, before her face crumbled in despair. "He misses you too, you know," he murmured.

"Does he?" Again with his look. "You…you must know I didn't want this," she whispered. "If things could be different…but my duties come first. He knows that."

"Yes," Leo said. "He does. Doesn't mean it hurts any less."

"Oh and I suppose I'm all sunshine yellow then," Dell retorted. "This hurts me too."

"I know," the turtle in blue stressed. "I'm not blaming you for anything. Sometimes…some times things aren't meant to be."

"You talk as though you've had the experience."

"Unwanted, yes."

The two shared a small, but sad smile. "I hope that helped," Dell replied, referring to their earlier conversation.

"It certainly didn't hurt," Leo joked. "I just wish I knew what was going on. None of this makes any sense."

"When Usagi has gathered his information from my father, I'll send him to you."

"Thanks," Leo said, bowing once more. He removed a small paddle from his belt, one that the Daimyo had given him to return to him once he was finished. He gave one last smile to Dell before moving the paddle back and forth and thus, transporting himself back to the Daimyo's throne room. Gyoji was waiting for him when he arrived.

"Leonardo," the assistant said. "I hope you were able to find your answers."

"Unfortunately Gyoji," the turtle sighed. "All I got were more questions."

November 9th

I may have been careless. No, I know I have been, but yet I can't really blame myself. I'm here, here in his world, in his time. I know the others are suspicious of me, but I couldn't very well give them the real reason as to why I'm here. As I've said, my being here goes against everything anyway, so I should probably keep my true affiliation a secret.

But…he's here.

I tried not to look bored or get overly excited as Mike showed me around a lair that was literally a second home to me, but this…this was slightly different from what I've known. He pointed to a shelf that holds the Battle Nexus trophies, of course paying close attention to his. I certainly couldn't tell him that two more will reside there when his last two brothers bring home compete in the tournament.

I did everything I could not to get excited when we got to his room, despite the fact that he was currently in it. I could see suspicion when it's right in front of me and though he was nice about it, I knew he didn't trust me as far as he could throw me. And while I understand, I truly do, I can't help but feel al little hurt by it. I didn't come here to try and lead them into something that they couldn't handle. I wanted to help them, help him!

I have no idea where Leo has gone and that worries me. I should've asked, but I didn't want to seem rude or nosey. It's bad enough that Master Splinter has a pretty good idea what's going on. I never could hide anything from him. It's…just so odd being here, seeing everything. The couch in their living area is what I used to learn how to walk; the kitchen table is where Master Splinter taught me kanji; the lab…the lab is where I perfected the invention I used to get here.

So strange.

I wonder…would I feel the same if I were to see home as well while I'm here?

Mike knew when someone was not paying attention to him.

He was usually and intentionally ignored by his brothers, so he knew when he was being ignored. But it was the whom that was ignoring him that just seemed…highly rude! He had shown Nick everything he could think of within the lair before finally settling on the area that they used for the dojo. Maybe he shouldn't have set the kid around so many weapons, but Mikey was in his element as tour guide! He couldn't help it! Luckily, it didn't seem as though Nick was gonna pounce on them at any given moment, but even the most outgoing of the turtles could tell something was not right in Denmark.

Mikey was trying to show the younger turtle the various weapons they had on display when the kid kinda zoned out on him; he seem to be looking reverently at all the weapons, like a kid in a candy store. Again, Mike's luck held as Raph was only a few feet away, punching hard at his punching bag.

For his part, Nick went over every weapon housed in the dojo as though they were shrines to the turtles themselves. He looked and fingered the bokken that one or all of them had used as children; he eyes lovingly gazed at the first pair of nunchunkas that Mikey had ever used, as well as the first bo Donnie had ever touched. It was like he was in a trance.

"Hey!" Raph called, stopping his beating and walked over to the younger turtle. "What did you say you were here for?"

Nick turned, not at all surprised with the way Raph seemed to be treating him. "I told you," he said. "I'm trying to keep you alive."

"We can keep ourselves alive," the red clad turtle argued. "We don't need no time travelin' kid to keep us outta trouble. Besides," Raph stepped right up to the turtle, glaring at him the only way the sai wielding turtle could. "How do we know you, anyways?"

"He said we were close," Mikey stated, walking up and putting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Isn't that right, Nicky-boy?"

I was taken aback and surely it showed on my face. He calls me that in my time and for him to do so again, I was completely awed. But I had to make up a story. I couldn't reveal who I was and hopefully, I won't have to. But say what you will about these two, nothing truly gets past them.

Nothing.

"Something wrong, kid?" asked Raph, seeing the stunned look on Nick's face.

"No…" he stuttered. "Nothing's wrong, just…just thinking is all. To answer your question, I already told you, Raph. I know you, in my time. We're close. We're…we're like family, but you know, family friends."

The two turtles nodded, slowly. "Hey," Nick continued, hoping to get out of this conversation. "Do you think Donatello would mind if I used his lab? I wanna make sure my time device is working correctly."

"You'll have to ask him," Raph growled. "I'm sure he'd like to see this time thingie of yours anyways."

"Ah," Nick sighed. He really did want to be alone in the lab, without supervision. He was old enough! "Well…it's kinda…classified. You know, hush hush. Um…actually, I'm wondering if I could also trouble you guys for some food. That's how I came to you guys in the park. I was looking for something to eat."

"No worries, little dude," Mikey replied, happily. "You're in the presence of the master chef. What temps ye palate?"

"You know," Nick said, sheepishly, rubbing his stomach. "I could really go for some pancakes, as weird as it seems."

"Pancakes?" asked Raph. "At this time of night?"

"Food is food," Nick shrugged.

"Pancakes coming up!"

"Hey, could you put in the brown sugar and nutmeg?" Nick asked. "It's my favorite!"

"Sure, man!" Mikey watched as Nick hurried to the kitchen to await his dinner. He turned to glance at Raph before saying, "I know you caught that."

"The fact that he's requesting food that you only make for special people," Raph answered. "Or the fact that he knows way too much about our lives and the lair? I don't trust him, Mike. Not one bit."

"He's definitely got the weird vibes going on," Mikey murmured. "Leo should be back by now. I'll feed our little Goldilocks in the kitchen and then get the 411."

Raph nodded and watched Mike leave for their 'guest'. He didn't trust a lot of people to begin with, but there was something about this guy that just rubbed the red banded turtle the wrong way. Maybe it was because he knew so much about them and they so very little about him. All Raph knew was this kid was bad news.

And he couldn't wait for Leo to prove it.