運命が割り当てれば

Yuku Sue Unmei

CHAPTER SEVEN

Why was it whenever he wanted to express himself, he got into trouble? If he wasn't saying seomthing stupid, he was doing something or acting stupidly. Sometimes he had to wonder just how closely related he and Mikey really were.

Raph had been in a guilty stew all morning. He had slept poorly due to Mike's late night announcement, not to mention the tension he still felt at Nick for all the cloak and dagger the young kame seemed to be throwing their way. This was great, just great. Of course he'd have to go shoot his mouth off at the one person he probably shouldn't. He'd literally been in shock when his younger brother had stated Nick was his son.

That…was highly improbable.

Not that Raph didn't like girls; mutant he may be, but he was all male and he did enjoy looking at the opposite sex, regardless of species. But he had always been a realist; no human woman would want to be with someone like him and as far as he knew, they were the only ones of their kind. It was a real eye opener when they had been in the Battle Nexus world and discovered Roshi and his little slice of paradise. None of them were immune to girls smiling at them - at them and actual turtles like them – he couldn't help but…well, flirt. There were some pretty cute girls in that world.

That would mean he and some…some girl there had…

Say what you would about Hamato Raphael, but sometimes his bark was worse than his bite. He may act like an arrogant ass most of the time, but there was a lot to Raph that most didn't know or didn't bother to discover. Raph wasn't all sappy like Mike was, wasn't a hopeless romantic that Donnie was, and he didn't think everyone in the world was out to get them like Leo did, but Raph believed in the concept of love and family and all that jazz. It sickened him something fierce when he'd come across some guy taking a belt to his wife, all because she was fifteen minutes late from the store; or when a group of horny guys thought it appropriate to corner some girl on the street…the Hamato brothers had been taught to respect women, no matter what.

As much as he loathed Karai, Raph would never strike her, no matter how he wanted to.

Being a realist could be quite hard, especially when dealing with matters of the heart. The red banded turtle often wondered if Don ever had fits like this, knowing that however the means, love could never be defined. That wasn't Raph's problem; he just sometimes found it difficult to believe in love. Oh, he loved his brothers like no one else. He'd protect them with his life; that's what an older brother did for his younger siblings. He'd even do the same for Leo; that was about one of the only things they had in common (that he would outwardly admit to). He loved Casey too; the big lug was as much his protector as Leo was, as Master Splinter was.

He loved April like any brother would love his sister, like any son would love a mother. They all knew she was well versed in taking care of herself, but that's what brothers did – they took care of their sister and mother. He loved Splinter like any loving son, even though he knew he was the cause of the grey hairs that now appeared on the elderly rat. He knew he could be better, knew he should slow his roll and stop letting his anger interfere with everything he did. And he tried, he did try. He had nearly killed two of his brothers, all because he let his anger take over. He felt calmer now and he did what he could to make sure he'd never do anything that stupid again.

And while he knew that his heart could grow to love someone, he didn't really see a point. Humans had such a gift, being able to find someone and spend their lives together. And what did they do? They beat each other, cheated on each other, lied to each other, before getting bored and ending their marriages by divorce or 'other means'. Raph had seen many of those 'other means', saw them in the before time and in the aftermath. Wives who couldn't stand the beatings or the rapes or the abuse of their children; husbands who were so callous to murder their families in the night; brothers, fathers wanting to stop the harsh treatment of their sisters, their mothers, their daughters.

From what Raph knew of the animal kingdom – or what he stored after listening to Donnie – there were few animals that mated for life; the rest just followed biology to get as many offspring as possible. Humans were that way too, he supposed, but for someone who was on that line in between human and animal…Raph hoped he was more towards wanting a long term relationship. After all, turtles weren't known for their monogamy.

The temperamental turtle had spent most of the previous night just laying in bed, thinking about what Mikey had told him. Nick was his son. His son! Out of all of his brothers, Raph didn't think he'd ever settle down. Not that he didn't want to, he did, but again, he was a realist. If they were going to get married and pop out the 2.5 children, they would have to find human females that wouldn't care what they looked like or the fact that they were mutant turtles. And honestly, the only one he could see making that happen was Mikey, maybe Donnie, but he thought his little brother would be looking for someone to replace April.

Thinking about that made the turtle wince. For once, he thought Don actually had a chance, that out of all of them, he could have a chance at love and happiness. For another time, a small amount he could count on his hands, he had given in to hope and idealism and once again, the bitter taste of reality is what greeted him. But now…now that Nick was here, if he truly was Raphael's son, that meant that despite the odds, he had managed to find that happiness that he thought would allude him for the rest of his life.

That's when his guilt got him. He had treated the kid like crap since he had first arrived. Good impression of his father, for sure. Obviously the kid had witnessed their 'deaths', but Raph couldn't understand where this timeline came from. Clearly, what ever was happening in Nick's time wasn't happening in theirs, but why then would he come here to warn them? Squeezing his eyes shut tightly, Raph did his best to fend off a headache.

This was why he left all the sci-fi mumbo jumbo to Donnie and Mikey.

Currently, Raph was lying in his hammock, thinking over everything up to this point. He knew he would have to speak with Nick at some point, apologize for his behavior and hope that the young kame was used to it. It still didn't give him the right to say some of the things he did though. Sighing, the red branded turtle felt the only way to relieve tension was to release it and with that, he headed down to his beaten up punching bag that resided comfortably within the dojo.

Leaving his room, Raph flipped over the side, landing perfectly on his feet on the first floor. Mikey was obviously a breathing zombie, sitting in front of the monolith like that. He couldn't see where Leo and Donnie were, though he had a feeling his brainy brother was locked in his room doing who knows what. Leo…for once, the leader was a wild card. He figured he may just be in the dojo, as there clearly seemed to be someone in there, but when Raph reached the doorway, he was quite surprised to see not Leo, but Nick.

The young kame sat in the middle of the mat and seemed to be meditating. "I haven't started," he said, not turning around. "If you wanted to join me that is."

"Sorry, kid," Raph replied, gruffly. "Meditation isn't really my thing, never has been."

Nick whirled around, quite shocked to see Raphael approaching. "Sorry," he said. "Thought you were Leo."

"Nope," the temperamental turtle stated. "In fact, I was thinking the same thing when I passed by. I haven't seen Fearless all day today. I'm actually surprised he isn't in here."

"I think he went over to April's," replied the teenager. "He and Donatello; she was having issues with something or other. It's just me, you, Mike, and Master Splinter."

"Right."

The two were silent for a time, each not really knowing what to say to the other. "Hey, uh…" Raph began, rubbing the back of his neck. He sighed before taking a seat next to the young kame. "Look, um…sometimes I let my mouth do all the talking, right? And sometimes it gets me in trouble, you know?"

Nick just raised an eye ridge.

"What I'm trying to say is," Raph continued. "I haven't…really been fair to you, you know? And…I probably shouldn't have said what I did in that warehouse and…"

Nick chuckled. The big lug. "Raph," he said. "It's cool. I mean, I do know how to piss you off something fierce."

Raph looked at him in surprise before laughing out loud. "You…uh…get on my nerves quite a bit, do you?"

Nick smiled. "I think I actually get along better with you now than I did as a baby," he chuckled. "I tend to be a bit of a hot head sometimes."

"Oh yeah?" Raph asked, looking at him with a critical eye. "Bit of a rebel, huh?"

"Well," the teen blushed. "Lately I have been, with my mission and all. I'm not supposed to be here, trying to change the past."

Raph paused before asking a question that was plaguing him. "Are things really bad in your neck of the woods?"

Nick turned away slightly, before sighing. "For my family, yes," he whispered. "For the world, well…I guess not much. I may have…overeggagerated the perils."

I knew it! Raph thought, triumphantly. He had almost screamed it out too if it hadn't been for the look of defeat on the kid's face. "Not because I was trying to deceive you," Nick insisted. "You guys aren't dumb; you know as well as I do my being here could cause a lot of problems with the future. It makes sense not to tell you everything."

"Kid," Raph said, solemnly. "We can't help you if we don't know the problem. Right now, you've given us more questions than answers. What the fuck are you hiding from us?"

Again, Nick was hesitant to reveal fully what he was thinking. "The conclusion to a story that shouldn't have happened," he whispered.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Raphael," the young kame began. "You are aware that…that Master Splinter is my teacher. That's how I know what I do, how to defend myself. I have another teacher, another sensei besides him. Above everything else, they have taught me about honor and the ways of Bushido. I have brought dishonor and dishonesty to our clan, but I did not do so lightly." Turning to look at the red banded turtle, he said, "You're correct in your assumptions, Raph. I have not given you the whole story; not because I don't want to, but because I can't."

"You mean you're unwilling."

"I mean I can't," Nick stressed. "I've probably caused so much damage, it's ridiculous." Turning away, he continued. "I've watched you die; I've watched you all die on this quest of mine. They were mistakes, of course, me being in the wrong time, wrong place, but I still watched it, still tried to help to no avail. Once I realized that this was the time I should be in, I knew that I couldn't let anyone stop me."

"So why don't you tell all this to Leo?" Raph asked. "Why me? And why now?"

"Leo would understand it logically," Nick sighed. "He'd see the pros and cons of it all and understand the research that would go into something like this. You…you understand emotionally. If you had the chance to go back in time and save a family member from death, wouldn't you?"

It was slightly warmer this night than previous nights and that was saying much about the temperature in Manhattan. Two lone figures in shadows raced across the rooftops, hurrying to get back to their warmth of home. Leonardo and Donatello had gone to April Jones' place earlier in the evening – April's dishwasher was on the fritz again, though it didn't bother the young woman as much as it did her husband. It was a good excuse to get out of the house, but importantly, a good excuse for Leo to discuss the latest happenings with his brainy brother. Ever since Donnie had discovered the DNA sequences connecting the four of them to Nick, their time traveling house guest, the leader had been doing his own thinking and research.

He had gone back to the Battle Nexus, without telling anyone, and had gotten a chance to speak to Usagi as well as Lord Roshi. The two confirmed that Lord Hebi's forces had been quiet as of late, which was slight cause for alarm. The Shogun had sent spies into Hebi's lands and discovered Lord Hikiji's forces had been badly broken from a latest skirmish and were quickly trying to gather people together in order to make a bigger siege on those lands that opposed the upstart lord.

This new information was important and distressing for the elder turtle on two fronts; one, it meant that Lord Hebi wasn't attacking any time soon, not if their forces were so low. It would take time to rebuild and then plot their next attack. Two, the possibility that Hebi and Hikiji's forces could rise to the point they could topple the Shogun now seemed like a distant possibility. This meant that part of Nick's story was now looking to be reality. But it still didn't make sense to the turtle; if Lord Hebi wouldn't be attacking until much later, why was Nick in their time period?

These were questions he himself couldn't answer, but that his younger brother could. Leo had always admittedly felt the closest to Donnie; their personalities meshed better than his and Mikey's and certainly better than his and Raph's. Besides, Donnie had been just as curious as he when dealing with this teenager. So, as they headed back, Leo began to tell his brother what he had learned on his return to Edo. "So, Roshi and Usagi think it'll be some time before Hebi's forces are up again?" the brainy turtle asked, running along side his older brother.

"Right," Leo responded. "This means that Nick's story does have a ring of truth to it. I still think he's holding back though. What we need to do…"

The elder's sentence died on his lips as both he and his brother stopped immediately. Standing in front of them was Renet, but not the one they knew or remembered. She was still slender, though her outfit was more toned down from what they knew – she still wore her blue jumpsuit, though it looked as though she was wearing shorts and shorter black boots. She no longer wore a cape and upon seeing them, she removed her helmet, revealing shoulder length blondish-brown hair.

"I was hoping to run into you," she said, smiling slightly. "I know you have questions, so I'll do my best to answer. First things first, I'm not the Renet you're familiar with. Well…I am, to a degree. Just know that I am a Renet you can be comfortable with."

"When have we ever been comfortable around Renet?" Donnie asked, rhetorically.

"Always the funny one, Don," she chuckled. "Next question – where's that darling Nicky of ours?"

"Even if we knew where he was," Leo began. "Why would we tell you?"

Renet outwardly laughed. "Please Leo," she giggled. "Even if you didn't tell me, I'd still know he's at the lair, just as I could easily get him if I wanted."

"How do you know where our lair is?" asked Donnie, immediately concerned. They had never in their time knowing Renet shown her to their lair.

The time mistress rolled her eyes. "Really Donnie?" she asked. "First, I can control time and space, don't you think I could easily look up the location of where you live? Secondly, of course I know where the lair is; I lived there for two years."

Leo and Don looked at each other quickly before turning back to Renet. "Listen to me," she whispered. "I don't know what Nick's told you and I certainly don't care, but he's lying to you. Not to hurt you, not intentionally." Sighing, she turned from them slightly, pacing around her area. "He's hurt too, you know," she whispered. "He started this whole thing because he's…he's trying to right a wrong, trying to change history." She turned to look at them. "Sadly, we as his family have…tried to shield him from the truth," she continued. "What Nick believes and what has happened are two different things."

"So what exactly has happened?" Leo asked.

Renet shook her head. "That's not for you to know," she stated. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but believe me when I say it won't do you any good anyways. The important thing is…I need you, all of you, to make him understand he needs to return home. And only you four are going to make him see that. I've…done all I can." She held her septre in her hand, ready to leave, but she gave them one last smirk.

"Tell that husband of mine to stop watching so many cartoons and get the lead out." With that, she disappeared.

The two turtles just stood there, trying to process what they had just learned. "What do we do?" Donnie asked.

"We go home," was the answer. Leo turned when he felt his brother's look of confusion. "We still have pieces of the puzzle missing, Don. Only Nick can supply them."

"From what Renet just said, he doesn't even have all the pieces!"

"That's why we need to know the story, Donnie," the leader replied. "Nick may have pieces that fit in with Renet's or at least give us a clue of what she's hiding from him."

The two continued on their way home, each now wondering on the cryptic words of the time mistress. The lair was quiet when they entered, though the TV volume was low, meaning Mikey was probably camped out on the sofa again. The door to Master Splinter's room was shut and no light could be seen illuminating from behind it. They didn't hear sounds coming from the dojo, meaning Raph had probably gone to bed as well, though they both now wondered what happened to Nick if Mike was on the couch.

"I'm headed to bed," Donnie whispered, walking towards the piece of furniture. Looking over, he saw that both Mike and Nick slept soundly, the voices of damsels and monsters playing as they slept on. "They're both over here."

Leo smiled, nodding. That meant only Raph was unaccounted for. "Night Donnie."

"Night, bro."

Leo watched his younger brother head to his room before going over and turning the TVs off. Looking over, he saw both Nick and Mikey konked out as Don had said, a near empty bowl of popcorn between them. He smiled, his eyes resting on Nick. There certainly was something about the young kame; Leo didn't need to be told that this teenager was family, even if indirectly. What had the young kame seen through his journeys? What had shaped him? Who had shaped him? There was so much about the teenager that he wanted to know…what did Renet mean that knowing about his story would do nothing for them?

Pondering on this and many other questions, Leo wearily made his way up to his bedroom. He wondered if he should check on Raph or if his younger brother had gone out with Casey before they returned. Turning on his light, he was surprised to see said younger brother leaning against the wall, as though waiting for him. "Hello."

"Sup."

The elder looked around for a moment before asking, "Are you lost?"

"I've been waiting for you," was the reply.

"I can see that," Leo said, walking over. "What's wrong?"

"Nick ain't my kid," Raph whispered.

"Oh?" Leo asked, a bit amused. "Mikey was quite certain of it when he woke me up last night."

"Rat bastard," the red banded turtle seethed. "Remind me to kill him."

"Right," the leader chuckled. "What makes you sure he's not?"

"Huh?"

"Nick."

"Oh," Raph nodded. "Just cause I got to talkin' with him today. He's still won't talk, you know, but…I guess I can't fault him. He's seen some bad stuff I guess."

"I'm sure."

Raph took a long look at his brother before pointing a finger. "You're hiding something from me," he said. "What is it?"

Leo gave him a run down on his earlier talk within the Battle Nexus, as well as their meeting with Rent, though he did keep the fact that the time mistress was their sister in law under wraps. Raph listened before sighing deeply. "This mystery just keeps gettin' deeper and deeper," he groaned. "So Nick's keepin' a story from us, while Renet's tellin' ya she's keepin' a story from him. Peachy, abso-fucking-lutely peachy."

"We'll get to the bottom of it," Leo insisted. "No worries."

His immediate younger brother again looked him critically. "You already know, don't you?" he asked. "You already knew I was up here to tell you he's your son."

"On the contrary," Leo said. "The thought that Nick could be my son actually never entered my mind. Are you sure of this?"

"Are we sure of anything in this mess?"

Leo couldn't help but smirk. "I'll discuss it with him tomorrow," he stated. "Get some rest, Raphie."

The younger of the two nodded slowly, before heading towards the door. He stopped in the doorway, however, turning slightly to address his older brother. "Ani," he began. "Doushitano?"

"Wakarimasen."

TRANSLATION:

Raph: Big brother, what happened? (in regards to Nick's time)

Leo: I don't know.