Chapter 2

The Lost Ninja

Mikey always knew about being a social kame, even with the villagers calling him stuff like "weirdo". He didn't' care, he had fun. And that was one of the reasons he loved the nun chucks so much. They were wild.

Like him.

Despite all that, he knew that practicing nun chucks in the village upset the others and the whispers of 'ninja' would start up again. The last thing he wanted to do was make his brother upset. Even though Leo never saw it, He would protect him as much as his big brother protected him if he could. So that's why, when he practiced, he'd pack a bag and travel a little bit outside the village to a spot that Leo had pre approved. It was just out back, next to the river ( a constant source of the fishermen who stopped by)and close enough that Leo could check up on him whenever he wanted (which was quite often)

Mikey caught the swinging chokun-bo under his armpit. With a satisfied grin he released it again sent the end swinging through the air. It wasn't much, but after months of bloody noses, bruised pits, black eyes, cracked wrists and bruised heads actually, a fair number of blackouts where he'd find himself in his room with Dorinbo-Dono showing smelling salts under his nose. He was grateful for Miyamoto for not telling Leo on him ( He was already tired enough from getting 10 lectures a day from things to not sleeping on scrolls to catching his sleeves on fire). But Miyamoto had taken it upon himself to show him a few tricks. Which had surprised Mikey quite a bit. After all Miyamoto Munisai was a great swordsmen. When Leo and Mikey had first came to live in Miyamoto's house, he used to enchant Usagi, Leo and Mikey with tales of his battles. Leo always loves the dramatic speeches Miyamoto memorized. Mikey just loved the violence.

Mikey dropped the nun-chuck and stuck it into his belt. Before shooting his fists out in powerful blows (He assumed they were powerful, he didn't exactly have a dummy to work with). He knew Leo also wouldn't like it if he spent more time on his nun chucks then his kata's. Speaking of lectures, Mikey dropped his pose long enough to hurry over to the bag he had brought out with him and thrown against the boulders ) and felt around (past the snacks, and the secret sneak bombs he had saved from Leo's cleanse) and pulled out a orange horo, pulling it over his shoulders and pulling the hood up. The last thing he wanted was to drink a galleon of tea because of getting sick.

He settled into fighting position when something caught the corner of his eye up the river, flowing in his direction. It appeared to be a large black mass, carried along aimlessly. But Mikey couldn't bring himself to look away. He padded closer to the edge of the river as the object bobbed closer, whatever it was it appeared to be made of clothing. That's when something bobbed out from under the cloth

A hand

It was a person!

Mikey (using his usual "I'll think of the consequence's when I'm in the hospital later) quickly jumped right into the river, the cold striking him instantly but he ignored, "Mister hold on!" he swam over and reached out, catching the blob the best he could but the extra weight cause him to be drug after it. Mikey reached out with his other hand and grabbed the shore the best he could and pulled them both in. He heaved the body onto the shore before pulling himself up and laying flat on his face, the wind instantly causing him to shiver all over again, "_sh-shs-shell." But rolled himself over. The person in the black cloak was still flat on his stomach but there were no signs of life. Mikey quickly crawled over, "Mister! Mister are you ok?!" but there was still no movement. He was about to pick up a stick and start poking it ,but that considered 'inhumane'. He pulled himself a little closer and reached for the persons shoulder (at least he assumed that what it was) and carefully rolled the person over. Revealing a rat, older in age. Eyes shut but he appeared to be breathing. His fur was dark gray and there were several scars on his muzzle, even his ear was nicked.

Mikey looked back to the village and considered yelling for help, but he slid closer and took the old rats arms (covered in bandages and draped it over his shoulder), but the rat simply moaned in his sleep. Mikey carefully lifted the rat up to his knees then up to his feet. He looked back at the village. It wasn't too far, "Its ok Mister, I got you." he assured him again before beginning his journey

(#)(#)(#)(#)

Leo sat down heavily against the Miyamoto house, wiping his forehead on the sleeve of his dark blue kimono. One thing you could always expect from sparring with Usagi, was that you didn't want to move for the next ten years.

"Leonardo-san."

Leo raised his head to see Usagi holding out a wooden spoon full of water, "Thank you Usagi." he took it and drank from it gratefully.

Usagi sat next to him, "It is accurate to say we are friends, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Then as your friend it is my duty to ask you what is on your mind."

The kame considered lying, but it didn't feel right. Especially to his best friend, "I asked your father if I could join the guard."

The Guard were the warriors that helped protect the village. Even though it was a small , fairly unimportant town it still received its fair number of attacks from bandits. And even then the guards were the villages best warriors, "Judging by your reaction, I'm assuming my father said no?"

Leo nodded. But it wasn't really a mystery why. Since Leo had fist met Lord Miyamoto he had sworn to repay the debt that Leo felt he owed him. After all, not all village heads would allow 2 strange orphans to live in their house, let alone let them build a house for them. But Miyamoto Dorinbo never accepted anything. No matter what he did. He even gave Leo the job of tending to the horses to earn money.

The idea to join the guard had seemed perfect at the time, but once again, his attempt to repay his debt was rejected., "I guess there's only one reason he wouldn't want me in the guard, or in his debt."

"Because you believe that you and Michelangelo come from…" he let the word die off and let Leo nod to assure him he was correct. But even in the gap, the word still bit Leo in the chest Ninja. The thought made Leo's stomach churn. Ninja. Unhonorable criminals that lowered themselves to work for the highest bidder. Over the years he had heard the villagers whispering it behind his back. But he never blamed them, he and Mikey were strange. Everything from their kite, their silent footsteps, and the games they played (Mikey called it, 'ghost hide and seek'). In all their years Leo had never even seen any other kame. But that just mean that they didn't have any other family, and he had grown to accept that.

"Do you really feel that strongly against ninja? Even after the stories my father told us of the war. Of the ninja he fought alongside-"

"Yes," there was no hesitation. Leo knew the ninja of who Usagi talked of. Even if he didn't know his name, Miyamoto dono never told them that. "Because one ninja can not change the face of all their sins." he stood up ending the discussion. The last thing he wanted to do was bum out Usagi, "Lets just forget about it for now, Ok?"

There was a pause before Usagi nodded and followed him. Leo was about to pick up the discarded wooden sword when he saw something out in the meadow a strange mass moving with a limp. At first he thought that it was one of Mikey's drawings that had come to life ( he had a thing for strange made up creatures). That's when he recognized the orange horo as Mikey, but no the black cloaked figure he appeared to be carrying by him, "Mikey?" he called before running in his direction,

Mikey's head popped up from looking at the stranger to him now Leo could see that the two were soaked to the brim were , "Leo! I found him in the river-"

"I can see that." he was finally close enough. Judging by the way the figure was hunched over, he was probably just a bit taller then Mikey ( that meant he was shorter then Leo) and currently passed out. Leo got closer and took the strangers other arm, already he could feel how boney it was. He lifted the arm further when the cloak fell further away and he saw it.

A thin dagger hung from his waist, But the sight of the blade, he definitely recognized it. In many drawings that Dorinbo-Dono had shown him of the War it was a knife that was used by ninjas. And that's exactly what he was but even that was minimal in comparison to the blood that almost entirely covered it. Somewhat dry, it definitely meant this rat had killed someone recently. Leo could already feel his heart racing in fear. Not for himself, but the fact that his little brother was currently supporting a murdering ninja, "Mikey." he asked quietly, causing the young kame to stop in his steps, "I need you to put the rat down and come over to me ok?"

"what? Why? He needs help-"

"I know, we can get him help in a bit, just come over here." he knew he was scaring Mikey. Judging by the way his light blue eyes had widen. But right now the most important thing was to get Mikey away from the rat

There was the sound of approaching footsteps and Dorinbo-dono rushed on by Leo and took the strangers arms and looked over to Mikey, "Do as your brother says."

Mikey blinked confused and lifted the rats' arm off his neck before going over to Leo's side, "Leo what's the big deal-"

But Leo just gave him a hug, relived. It was short lived as he then pulled Mikey behind him, "Dorinbo-Dono he has a knife on him, a ninja knife-"

Dorinbo waved for him to stay silent before lowering the rat to the ground. He glanced over at Leo with a warning glance that Leo understood. The kame put a hand to the hilt of his sword, ready to jump over and defend his family,

The old rabbit carefully drew back the rats cloak and took the blade from his belt, luckily the rat wasn't awake to stop him. He turned to Usagi (who Leo had failed to notice approach) and held the knife by the hilt to hand to him. But when Usagi reached to take it Dorinbo froze and pulled it back over to himself, looking at the black hilt with wide eyes, "I know this blade."

"Father?" asked Usagi

But Dorinbo turned back to the rat and held his head up with one hand and pulled the rat's hood down, "This is, I KNOW this man! Hamoto Yoshi! Grandmaster Splinter!"

"Your old friend?" asked Leo (using his elbow to keep Mikey behind him)

"Yes, from the War." Miyamoto gently pulled him back up, "I thought he died years ago, but it looks like he needs help NOW.'

"I KNOW!" Piped up Mikey from behind Leo, "I was trying to get him help when Leo freaked out!"

"You did good Michelangelo." he turned to Usagi, "Son, please go and get the village doctor. Tell him to meet us in our house."

Usagi nodded and hurried off. Leo hesitated before taking the rat, (Splinter was it?) By the other arm and helped support the old rats weight. In Leos mind, this didn't change anything. A ninja was a ninja, but , as he helped Miyamoto carry the old rat towards the house, he knew he had to trust Dorinbo.

(#)(#)(#)(#)

Mikey dipped the cloth in the wooden bowl, before wringing it out and placing it on the still resting rats head. He didn't know if the rat had a actual fever, but he'd seen Leo do it many times. The doctor had been by earlier (Leo and Miyamoto had laid the rat named Splinter down in a spare bed) and said that he expected the old rat to be ok after plenty of rest. The doctor was also able to conclude that the rat had been through prolonged malnourishment in some sort of confinement (they had found that the rats wrists were rubbed raw by some sort of metal). But Mikey didn't feel right leaving his side, Leo tried to talk him into coming back with him to their house but he refused. It was one of the few times Mikey would openly disregard what Leo told him to do, he was so sure he'd get a lecture from that. But Leo had simply sighed and left (and the only reason that Leo left Mikey alone with the rat was because Miyamoto assured them that the old rat wouldn't hurt anyone).

When Mikey pulled the blanket even further up the rats shoulders the door slid open behind him, Leo knelt beside him and he felt a blanket being pulled over his shoulders that he tried to push away, "I'm fine Leo-"

"You wont change into the clothes I brought you and you're shaking like crazy Mikey. This is a compromise." Leo reached around Mikey' shell and began to rub his arms in a attempt to warm up. Which he didn't notice till he saw Mikey grinning up at him, "what?"

"I didn't realize your motherly instincts were going off, haha-ni."

Leo rolled his eyes and stopped rubbing his arm long enough to shove his head, "mini-menace." before glancing back at the sleeping old rat, as much as he hated it, there was one thing he couldn't deny, "you did good today , if you hadn't been by the river he might of never been found."

"Yeah. Do you really think he's that ninja Dad told us about? In his stories?"

"I don't know. Do you want me to get you some food?"

Mikey shook his head

"You should, you get grumpy when you don't eat."

"I'm not a child and I'm not hungry."

Leo smiled sadly, Mikey was always like this (especially when he was hungry). He'd play in the fields and come back with a wounded animal begging for Leo to save it. But , more often then none, Leo would end up having to bury the poor creature while Mikey sobbed his eyes out. Leo wrapped his arm around Mikey's' neck and hugged him close, "he'll be fine aka-chan, and I know you're always hungry so how about I get some food for all three of us. Is that ok?"

Mikey paused then nodded. Leo made sure Mikey was holding on to the blankets on his shoulders before standing up and walking out. Before looking back to the sleeping rat. Already he was thinking of the stories Dorinbo had told him over the years, and they were plentiful. Especially on nights when he would take the three of them (Usagi, Leo, and Mikey) out into the valley for a small trip (they never went anywhere far, sometimes to a neighboring town). He always told of the ninja he fought alongside, a strange rat who came out of nowhere and swore to his allegiance to their cause. Mikey knew Leo had no love for ninja's but Mikey was fascinated.

A small moan drew Mikey's attention . At first he thought it was his stomach (after all, he was hungry) before he realized the rat had began to move. Slightly at first but then the rat moved his head around, as though trying to awaken. Mikey rose up on his knees, "Mister? Mister are you ok?"

The rat moaned again, moving his arms to try and sit himself up. Mikey could already see the rat was unable to open his eyes (they were swollen pretty bad). Mikey quickly reached out and put his arm around the old rat's shoulders, "I'm right here mister, and I have some tea the doctor told me to give you I'm going to help you sit up so you can drink it, ok?". he waited for the rat to nod before helping the rat up to a sitting position and reached over to the kettle that Leo had left and poured it into the cup with one hand (luckily Leo didn't make him drink all of it) and held it to the rats lips. At first the rat flinched slightly at the objects at his mouth before reaching up and taking it, "thank you." his voice was raspy and heavy, as though he didn't speak very often. The rat smiled in relief , " thank you young man."

"You're welcome mister." he smiled. More then anything he liked being called "young man" he'd have to remind Leo later.

The rat's ears twitched and turned his head in Mikey's' direction. Apparently it was still too painful to open his eyes (even though it looked like he truly was trying to), "Where am I?"

"You're in Miyamoto-sans village, Murakami village."

"did you say Miyamoto? Miyamoto Dorinbo?"

Mikey nodded, then realized the rat couldn't see it, "Yeah, he's the head of the village and you're in his house now. He said he knew you. He said you were Hamoto Yoshi,"

The rat flinched slightly, "Yes, that was my name at one point, but I have not gone by it in many years." the rat leaned forward on his elbows slightly, "But it is good to know I made it to my destination, strange I could of sworn I was in a river-""

"You were!" if Leo were here, he'd probably not approve of Mikey interrupting him, "I pulled you out!"

The rat smiled slightly, "Thank you young man."

Mikey smiled before his eyes fell on the bandages on the rat's arms, even though they were re-bandaged they wounds still looked painful, "Miyamoto-san also said that you go by Master Splinter, can I call you that?"

'You may."

"Ok, can I ask what happened to you?"

Splinter seemed to be confused for a moment before he used his free hand to run over his arm, wincing slightly, whether it was in pain or memory Mikey didn't know, "I was a prisoner, held by Lord Hebi for the better part of 10 years."

"I've never heard of him."

"I expect now, you sound very young" the corners of Splinters mouth twitch , "But that is good. "

"Why are you looking for Dorinbo-Dono?" once again, his curiosity would get him lectured later.

"I am in need of his help." Maser Splinters smile fell, " I am looking for my sons."

"Are they ok/"

"I," there was a pause, Master Splinter bowed his head slightly as though composing himself, "I do not know. It had been many years, not since Hebi took my home from me."

"How do you know they're still alive?"

Master Splinter sighed, causing Mikey to wonder if he was being too annoying but the rat resettled a smile "I just do, I believe all four of my sons are still alive and there is not a force on this plane that will keep me from finding them."

Mikey felt his heart go out to the old rat, as often as Mikey dreamt of the ninja from Dorinbo's stories, he never imagined him to be so human, and so wonderful. If Mikey still had a father, and if he was still alive, he'd like him to be like Master Splinter. HE reached forward and placed a hand on the rat's gently. The rat's head suddenly jerked in shock, looking in direction of his hand. Mikey was about to ask him what was bothering him when he saw the rat's eyes began to flutter frantically, "Wait! Master Splinter the doctor said to take it easy," he felt Master Splinters hands reach up and touch his shoulder, saying a name. A name that caused Mikey's' heart to stop.

"Michelangelo."

(#)(#)(#)(#)

It took Leo a bit to get food ready in their house, mostly because he could barely cook rice without cooking it (a anomaly he couldn't quite explain) but he was able to get some fish and beef cooked right ( at least he hoped they were) before he headed for Miyamoto's house again with a tray of food, when a voice broke through the air and spread out even beyond the walls of the house,

"LEO!"

Leo dropped the tray and ran forward bursting through the front door and heading right for the room that Mikey's frantic scream had come from and threw the door open, instantly he was rammed in the chest by his little brother who was babbling frantically, Leo gripped him by the shoulders gently, "Mikey, calm down what happened-"Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Dorinbo-dono running forward

Mikey looked from Leo to the room with wide eyes, "Just -just." before grabbing hold of Leo's hand and dragging him into the room. The old rat was now sitting up, his crusted eyelids were bleeding from when he forced them open , but his onyx eyes filled with emotion when they fell on him. At first Leo wondered if he was looking at Miyamoto ( who adjust arrived) but no. He was looking right at him so the words , full of love and emotion, that left his mouth caused his heart to stop.

"Leonardo, my son."

a/n

Quick lesson, I want this story to be as accurate as possible. So I've been doing a bit of research.

In Japanese, if a child doesn't know a stranger they will call them the closest to their family members age. So "Oji-san" instead of "Mister" showing that Splinter is close to Dorinbo's age. Hopefully I can keep this up