Chapter 5: Style
A/N: So here's the next chapter of this tale. I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed thus far. Your kind words mean the world to me and I hope you continue to enjoy what I bring you.
Caboose: Yeah, I agree with you on Leo and Karai, and I also agree that Don and April are cute together for sure. Thanks for reading, and here's the update I promised you.
Disclaimer: TMNT belongs to Nickelodeon. I only own the plot of the story and nothing more.
April smiled as she watched the Turtles and Casey train. She was sitting out because there weren't enough opponents for her to face in one on one sparring. If Leo had been able to, he would have been her opponent, but that wasn't possible yet due to his injury. She thought about how each of the Turtles had a different style of fighting and how it was unique to their personalities.
Leo's style was all about perfection and grace. He executed the katas with a flowing movement and a determined expression to get the moves right. When he didn't, he would start again and not stop until the move was correct. Leo was the most disciplined of the brothers and the one most anxious to please Splinter and live up to his title as leader. He did like to have fun at times, but he also was the one who was the most dedicated to learning and perfecting ninjitsu.
Raph's style was all about brawling. He didn't care whether his moves were correct or not because he was all about the fight. His eyes often had an intense look as though he couldn't wait to clobber his opponent. Sometimes he'd get carried away and accidentally injure one of them, though he always apologized for it later. When he lost a match, he'd get angry and storm away in a fit of rage. But here at the farm, that had disappeared and when he lost a match, he just accepted it without any anger. Maybe everything that had happened to him had changed him for the better.
Don's strategy was all about logic. When he faced an opponent you could almost see his brain working as he devised a strategy for how to take them down. Sometimes it would work perfectly and other times it didn't. When he lost, he'd be disappointed, but he would always do his best not to worry about it too much knowing that he could learn from his mistakes.
Mikey's style was all about the athleticism and flair. He would incorporate flips and different moves into his routine, hoping to evade his opponent. His only downfall was that he often got too cocky for his own good and would lose focus sometimes in the midst of taunting his opponent which caused him to lose the match. He usually brushed it off and didn't even care when he lost because it didn't really matter in sparring.
Leo called the matches to a halt when he saw that both Casey and Raph had won. "Good job, guys," he said. "You're doing really well."
"So who faces off against April?" Raph asked him.
"Casey, you can take on April," Leo replied. "I want to see what you can do against her."
"Hey, Leo, why don't you try and spar with Raph?" Casey suggested.
Leo immediately eyed his injured leg. "I don't think that's a good idea," he said.
"Sure it is," Casey insisted. "Didn't Splinter teach you guys how to adapt to injuries in a fight? Maybe you should try to do that now with your injury. You may not be able to do much, but at least it'll give you a chance to get some exercise in."
"Sounds like a good idea," Raph agreed. "Wanna try, Leo?"
"I guess I could give it a shot," Leo answered.
"Good," said Raph. "The rules for our fight will be no kicking since you can't do that, and I'll just use one of my sais since you can only use one sword. Does that sound fair?"
Leo nodded and hobbled over to stand opposite Raph. He took out his katana for his left hand and readied himself into a battle stance while April did the same with Casey.
"You guys ready?" Mikey asked them.
"Ready," they all chorused.
"Hajime!" Mikey cried, signaling that the matches were to begin.
Raph immediately went for Leo, who dodged Raph's strike and came up with one of his own. Their weapons clashed as both of them did their best to take the other down. Leo was doing pretty well, but at one point something changed. April could sense that something was wrong, and she became concerned. Casey took her down, but she didn't care as she put all of her focus onto Leo. She saw that his eyes were wide and he was backing away from Raph.
Raph stopped and looked at his brother in concern. "Leo, are you okay?" he asked gently.
Leo continued to back away and then turned to run. He got a few steps away before his knee buckled, and he fell to the ground with a cry. He quickly turned and continued to back away, his eyes still filled with fear.
"Leo, what's wrong?" Raph asked as he walked toward his brother.
"Raph, stop!" April commanded. "Something's really wrong."
"What's goin' on, Red?" asked Casey.
"Leo's reliving the attack," she answered. "He thinks that Raph's the enemy who's come to finish him off."
"That's crazy!" Raph cried. "Leo, it's me. It's Raph. Calm down, bro. It's gonna be okay."
But Leo wasn't listening and continued to back up away from his brother.
"Raph, let me handle this," April told him. She made her way toward Leo, moving slowly. "Leo, it's okay. You're not in New York. You're at the farmhouse with all of us. Just calm down, okay? Calm down."
Leo looked at her for a moment before he began to calm down just as she asked. The fear left his eyes, ad he blinked a little before focusing on her. "April, is that you?" he asked.
"Yeah, it's me," she said gently. "Are you okay?"
"I don't know," he whispered.
April wasn't sure what to make of his response, but she knew he needed to get into the house. "Okay, Casey and I are going to help you up. Will you let us do that?"
Leo nodded. "Yeah," he answered.
April motioned to Casey, and the two humans helped Leo to his feet. Mikey picked up Leo's katana and his cane and followed them into the house. They took Leo to the room he shared with Raph and helped him to sit on the bed. Mikey came up and gave them the cane and the sword so that Leo wouldn't worry about where they were.
"Guys, can I talk to Leo alone?" April requested.
Mikey and Casey nodded and immediately left the room.
April studied Leo and noticed that his eyes were downcast as though he was ashamed of what had happened out there. She put her hand under his chin and lifted it up, forcing him to look into her blue eyes. "Leo, how long has this been going on?" she asked him.
For a minute, it looked like Leo wouldn't answer her, but then he let out a sigh. "Since I woke up," he replied.
"Why didn't you say anything about it?"
"Because I didn't want you guys to think I was crazy. At first, I figured it was nothing big and just brushed it off as a one- time thing, but then it just kept happening. I have been having nightmares at night, but I've never experienced anything like this before. I just didn't know what to do."
"I know I was able to bring you out of it this time, but how have you gotten out of the flashbacks before that?"
"I don't know. I guess I just closed my eyes for a little bit and did my best to pretend I wasn't there even though I could still feel the blows raining down on me as if they were happening. Somehow, it worked, so I just kept doing that until this time. There are times where I felt I had to leave when I felt like I was going to have one."
"You mean when we watched that movie and there was that scene where the main guy gets ambushed?" April remembered how Leo had turned pale at that scene and had abruptly left the room. She had thought that maybe he just wasn't feeling well, but now it made sense why he'd left at that scene.
"Yeah. I just didn't want it to happen in front of you, and that was the first time it would have happened with you guys there. Most of the time it happened in here when I was by myself."
"Is that why you wouldn't join the guys in Turtle Hunt, too?"
"That was part of it, though my leg did hurt," Leo responded. "I'm sorry I never told you guys about it, but I hope you can understand why I didn't."
April put an arm around him. "Of course I understand, Leo, and I'm sure the others do, too. You have your own style for dealing with things even if it may not be the healthiest one."
Leo smiled at her. "So where do we go from here?"
"Well, I know you're probably not ready to talk about any of it yet, but you'll have to eventually. Maybe if you do, the flashbacks will end. My dad had that after he was kidnapped by the Kraang, and that's why he saw a therapist."
"Couldn't he have just treated himself?" Leo teased. "I mean, he is a psychologist, right?"
April laughed. "I think that would have been a conflict of interest. Plus, I don't think he could have treated himself after that. Look, Leo, you've been through so much, but I want you to know that if you ever need to talk, we're all here for you. We don't think you're crazy for suffering as you have. We understand, and we're willing to work through it."
"I know, and I'll do my best to open up. I'm just not ready right now."
"I understand that. So do you want Raph to sleep somewhere else tonight?"
"Nah, he can stay here. It's not his fault I went to that dark place. Just let him know I don't blame him for anything."
"I will. Now, get some rest, Leo. You've been through enough today." She kissed him on the cheek and helped to tuck him into bed.
Leo smiled at her. "Thanks for everything, April. You're a good friend."
"And you're a good brother and leader, Leo. Don't ever forget that." She turned and walked back downstairs, leaving Leo to his rest. She couldn't believe this was happening and had been going on since he woke up. She had to tell the others and get their input on the whole thing.
She found everyone else sitting in the living area. Raph immediately jumped to his feet as she came downstairs.
"Is Leo okay?" he asked worriedly.
"He's fine for now," she answered.
"What do you mean by for now?" Casey asked her.
"Leo's been going through this ever since he woke up from his coma," she explained. "Usually it would happen when he was alone. That's why he left in the middle of that movie and why he hasn't wanted to join you guys with training."
"Why didn't he say anything?" Raph grumbled.
"Because he didn't want us to think he was crazy," she replied.
"He's suffering from PTSD," Don surmised. "It makes sense, given what's he's been through with the attack."
"What's PSTD, Donnie?" Mikey asked him.
"PTSD stands for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It's something that soldiers routinely get when they come home from a war. Leo's went through a war when he was ambushed, so it makes sense that he'd suffer something like this."
"So what do we do about it?" Raph demanded.
"All we can do is support him the best way we know how," April told him. "I already told him that we're here for him, but he's going to have to open up about this eventually. I figure that if he does that, the flashbacks and nightmares will stop."
"Did you know he was having nightmares, Raph?" Don asked his red-clad brother.
"Yeah, but I didn't think much of it because of what he's been through," Raph answered. "If I had known he was havin' flashbacks, I would have done somethin' to help him out."
"It's not your fault, Raph," April reassured him. "You didn't know about it."
"If anythin' it's my fault for wantin' him to spar with ya,'" said Casey. "I never should have suggested that. That's all on me."
"Leo doesn't blame anyone for what happened to him," replied April. "You can go and sleep in the same room if you want to, Raph. He's not mad at you for any of this."
"Okay that makes sense," Raph replied. "But I am gonna talk to him about this."
"Just don't push too hard, Raph," April cautioned him. "He may not want to open up about it yet."
"I'll be careful," Raph reassured her.
22222
The room was quiet when Raph came up there later to sleep. Leo was still sleeping, and Raph didn't want to wake him, but he opened his eyes when Raph came in.
"Hey, sorry I woke you," Raph apologized. "You can go back to sleep if you want."
"No, we need to talk," Leo replied. "I'm really sorry for what happened earlier today, Raph. I know you probably think I'm crazy or something, and if you do, I understand."
"I don't think you're crazy, Leo, but I wish you would have come to me sooner about this." Raph sat on the edge of the bed and squeezed Leo's hand. "I don't want you to ever think you can't come to me or one of the others if somethin's botherin' you. You know we're here for you if you need us."
"I know that, Raph, but I wasn't sure what to say about all of this. I just didn't want to worry you."
"Well, you failed on that part, but I get it, Leo. So when you were lookin' at me out there, what were you really seein'?"
Leo took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I was seeing Shredder," he whispered. "He looked just like he did that day when he snuck up behind me and delivered the final blow that knocked me out."
"Wait, Shredder was there when you got ambushed?" Raph gasped.
"Yeah, he attacked after I took down Tiger Claw, Fishface, and Rahzar," Leo replied. "I had no chance to defend myself before he struck."
Raph saw how his brother was trembling and pulled him close. "Hey, don't beat yourself up about this, Leo," he said gently. "It wasn't your fault. When we get back to New York, we'll make sure he pays for what he did to you and Sensei."
"I don't know if I'll be ready to face him, Raph," Leo whispered fearfully. "I just don't know if I can do that."
Raph saw the tears pouring down his brother's face and pulled him in for a hug. "You'll be able to because you won't be alone this time. All of us will be there with you just like we should have been that day."
Leo continued to sob, and Raph rubbed his brother's shell and whispered soothing words to him. He was glad Leo was opening up and that he was letting out the emotions he'd bottled up for so long. Maybe doing this would help him to get better, though Raph knew it would take time for him to fully heal. When his brother's sobs finally subsided, Raph helped him back into bed and tucked the covers around both of them.
"Raph, what are you doing?" asked Leo.
"I'm gonna stay with you so you won't be afraid anymore," replied Raph. "You shouldn't be alone when this is happein' to you, so I'm gonna stay with you until this all stops for good."
"Okay," whispered Leo. "Thanks, Raph."
"No problem. And I know I don't say it a lot, but I love you, Leo. You're my best friend and no enemies are gonna change that, you hear me?"
"Loud and clear."
"Good. Just don't tell the others I said it or I'll beat the green off of you."
Leo laughed, knowing that Raph really didn't mean the words. "I promise I won't say a word. Now let's get some sleep."
Raph nodded and snuggled closer to Leo's side. He was going to make sure Leo was protected at all times. Leo had spent so much time protecting them that he never realized he also needed protection from things. Raph was going to make sure that he was Leo's protector and had his back no matter what. He vowed that what Leo had suffered through wasn't going to happen again as long as he was there to have his brother's back. He put his arm around his brother and closed his eyes, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day for Leo and that he would bet back on track soon.
A/N: So that's the end of another chapter. We don't see enough of April interacting with the others that much, so I really wanted to see April talking to Leo about this given what her dad does for a living and I added the bit with Raph because I thought it would be a good thing for Leo to open up to him about this. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I will have a chapter for Mikey and already know what song I'm going to use for it. I just need to see the latest episode that'll air this Friday so that I can get a feel for why Mikey's upset and why he runs away. In the meantime, free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.