I don't own TMNT or Usagi Yojimbo. I guess I own Jim but... I'm not sure that's something to be proud of.

Xxxxx

I was feeling kinda depressed today and I couldn't really put my finger on why. Mikey had obviously noticed at breakfast but I hadn't want to get into it then. I knew it was Usagi that had triggered it but I wasn't sure what it was exactly. Was it because he hadn't told me he had a kid sooner? I didn't think so. I think it was more the fact that he had a kid to begin with. I couldn't help but feel this put a huge amount of distance between us as friends. I mean we didn't see each other very often but whenever we did I always felt as if there was a level of camaraderie between us. We've never been able to best each other in our sparring matches, but on top of that he was the living embodiment of bushido. And not in a scholar way like I was, no he was more authentic than that. It was something I really admired and I tried to model myself after because I always felt we weren't really that different. But this situation made it painfully clear to me that we had a lot in common perhaps but Usagi was, in reality, so far removed from me in what he did and how he lived his life.

I know our friendship and him being a father aren't really connected in any way but for some reason they'd merged themselves together in my mind. Usagi being old enough to have a child who was more than half my age already might have something to do with it. I've always seen Usagi as an equal but having his adult status rear it's head like that just reminded me that whether I like it or not, I'm still just a kid myself. Ok so maybe that's not giving myself enough credit. I was nearly 18, but even that was a far cry from being an adult, at least to me. The whole deal just made me feel so young and made Usagi seem so much older and more adult which, by default, made him my superior. I always thought we could pass and fall behind each other with our skills and knowledge, but I now faced the realisation that no matter what our skills dictated he was always gonna be older than me and therefore more experienced. And no matter how hard I tried or how much I did in my life that was something I could never best him at. He was always gonna have that experience and maturity over me.

Then again perhaps I was just moody from not enough sleep and being a little stressed by this whole situation. Maybe it was because I was use to being the oldest of my brothers who have all been my rivals my whole life. We all pushed each other and tried to out-do each other and we knew that we were so close in our level of skill it just required extra effort to be the best among us. But I was always and would always be oldest. Maybe I'm getting a taste of my own medicine. I mean I'm acting as if Usagi's suddenly turned out to be a completely different person than I thought he was! He was still the same guy, nothing has changed.

Yeah. Right. Nothing's changed. Keep telling yourself that Leo.

I stopped my rooftop run for a moment to get my bearings. I shouldn't be thinking so hard when I'm out in the open in broad daylight. I should be focusing on staying out of sight as much as possible. I adjusted my coat and wrapped it tighter around myself.

I was near the East River, heading for an abandoned Warehouse. Supposedly it was set to be demolished but this was only scheduled to happen a few months from now. In the meantime It was left to fall further and further into ruin.

I had spoken to several of the homeless people around the neighbourhood, asking them if they'd seen anything strange recently. This may sound simple but it's actually a lot harder than you'd expect and not only because I'm a 5 foot tall turtle. You had to ask just the right kind of people, the kind who wouldn't loose their cool when you spoke to them but who also were in the right mind and you could honestly believe they saw something strange and didn't just hallucinate due to drugs or a mental problem. So far I've had little success. Even the homeless people who I could speak to without freaking them out and who knew what they were saying couldn't give me any of the answers I was looking for. I had started to become doubtful I would get any answers today at all.

My last resort was to try and get out to Junk Island and speak to the professor to hear if any of his friends had seen anything or if they had heard rumours between themselves. I say last resort because getting out to the island in broad daylight was an extremely dicey thing to do. It was a far swim and any-one would be able to spot me in the open water. I could swim underwater for most of the way but I wouldn't be able to hold my breath for that long and would have to come up for air eventually. On top of that during the day there was a lot of traffic on the water which increased the chances of being spotted, as well as the chances of getting hurt.

But I kept talking to more and more people and continued to not get any answers or leads. I started getting desperate for any sort of information, so much so that the idea of making the swim out to the island was sounding less dangerous all the time. Normally I wouldn't even have considered it an option. It was impulsive, irresponsible and would mean needlessly putting myself in danger in more than one way. Master Splinter specifically told us this morning not to be rash and to think things through while he was gone.

But, every time I tried to convince myself that it was too risky and I should just accept that no-one had seen or heard anything... I pictured myself returning to the lair... and seeing Usagi eagerly waiting... and having to tell him I had found nothing.

The mental image of his hopeful expression crashing in on itself was more than I could bare. He was counting on me. I was not gonna let him down! I refused! I would get the information we needed, whatever it took.

But just as I made this decision I had a stroke of good luck. I had questioned a bag lady who was collecting cans under one of the large bridges in the city. She hadn't seen or heard anything herself, but she told me to go towards the East River's side and look for a man called 'Jim'. She told me Jim was a very private person and didn't like talking to people. Because of this he avoided the other homeless and searched out shelter away from them. This meant he often hid in strange places where other people would be too afraid or cautious to go so it was likely he might've seen something in a strange place. On top of this if he had seen something strange he wouldn't have bothered telling any-one else about it so there wouldn't have been rumours for me to have heard. It was a long shot, but it was the best lead I'd gotten all day. I knew it was unlikely that this Jim had seen anything either, but by this stage I was so eager for info I would follow any clue at all.

So now I found myself heading for the condemned building, all the while keep my eyes and ears open for any-one that might see me for what I really am under my hat and trench-coat. But tluck was on my side for once and I was able to reach the warehouse without any close calls.

The building was closed off with a chain-linked fence, but the steel was rusted and weak. I didn't even need to draw my katana to break a hole in it I could fit through. I caught my coat on the sharp metal and nearly tore it but managed to get myself loose before walking further into the abandoned lot, looking around.

The building itself was practically falling apart. It had been built out of brick which was still holding strong, but the sheet-metal roof had all but blown away and what was left of it was rusted and rotten. The windows were nothing more than gaping holes, every single one's glass had been broken at some stage and by the looks of it, it must've been a while ago. There weren't any traces of glass shards around the area, only the small cubed pieces like you'd see after a car-crash and these were scattered everywhere. I was careful where I walked with my bare feet. Wherever there was a gap in the concrete floor dandelions and other weeds had sprung up but the pollution of the city had completely stunted their growth and turned their leaves and stems a dirty brownish green. Among the debris from the building itself there were the remains of broken beer-bottles, crushed cans, cigarette butts, broken syringes and discarded sexual items I tried to ignore.

The place was eery. I could just about make out the usual sounds of the city somewhere far away; the noise of car horns, the roar of engines, screaming sirens and the voices of over 8 million people going about their lives. Here the noise was muted, it was like being inside a bubble. Dandelion seeds and flecks of rust hung in the air along with the faint scent of cigarette smoke and weed. The sun was past noon already but despite this it was still beating down hard and I was grateful for the large brimmed hat, keeping the glare out of my eyes as well as shielding my skin. Sun-burn was a strange and foreign concept to me to be honest. I've gotten burnt before but believe it or not the first time it happened was just over a year ago at Casey's farm. It wasn't a fun experience and I didn't wanna repeat it.

Everything in me was telling me to leave this place alone. It was too quiet, too much in disarray and just had a threatening atmosphere to it. I can't explain it exactly. I just, I felt it was wrong somehow. Some kind of sixth sense. It didn't feel outright dangerous, but there was something oppressive about it. I swallowed, but I kept going, looking for the man the bag lady called 'Jim'. Would any-one really consider this place to be a good place to shelter? Well, she did say he disliked people, and if you wanted to be by yourself this was certainly the right kind of place to hide out. I didn't want to spend any more time here than I needed to myself.

"Hello?!"

I instantly regretted calling out. My voice sounded booming after the muggy silence and seemed to bounce off the walls of the warehouse and the buildings outside the lot. It felt like every person in the city had heard me.

I frowned at my own nervousness. What's wrong with me? I sound like a little kid who'd gotten lost and was scared of every shadow!

...A little kid who was lost.

I felt my expression harden and I called out again, this time ignoring the uneasy atmosphere.

"Is Any-one here?!"

I listened. Apart from the sudden trill of an insect flying off a blade of grass and into the sky there was nothing. Perhaps Jim had moved on and made camp somewhere else?

"Please!" I called again. "I'm looking for a man named Jim! I was told I could find him here!"

"What do you want of Jim?"

The voice had spoken to my right and I spun to face its direction, startled. A man was inside the ware-house, leaning on the rim of a glass-less window, staring out at me as I stood in the sunlight, my left hand resting on one of my Katanas' handles on instinct.

I don't know what I had been expecting. I guess the nerve-wracking atmosphere had made my imagination kick into over-drive as to what kind of person this Jim could be. But here he was, staring at me with deep-set brown eyes. He was small and thin, or maybe emaciated would be a better word to use. His wrists stuck out from a jacket too small for him that I couldn't even tell the colour of it, it was so dirty. A torn hood from underneath the jacket was draped over his head, his greasy, tangled hair hanging in strings. His face was dirty, lined and unshaven. His fingernails cracked and brown. He didn't look dangerous. As a matter of fact he looked as if I so much as pushed him he's collapse into a bony heap. He was watching me silently, not frightened or intrigued by my appearance. At most he looked annoyed, as if I'd walked in on him having dinner or something.

I let go of my sword's hilt and broke my stance, standing more at ease.

"I need to ask him some questions," I said, keeping my own eyes on the man.

He made a crackling noise and grimaced at me.

"I don't appreciate folks dropping in unannounced. Let alone lookin' for me by name."

"I'm not here to cause trouble," I said, keeping my tone of voice even and business-like. "I'm looking for information and I was told you might be able to help me."

Jim pushed himself away from the window. "Go home kid. I ain't got nothin' for ya."

"Wait!" I said, a little more anxiously than I meant to. "Please. I need your help."

He stopped and turned back to glare at me. "And what could I possibly tell ya that's so important? I keep ta myself and do my best to keep away from people," He looked me up and down. "As well as anything else that might be in this city."

I took half a step forward but kept myself back. "I need to know if you've seen something strange recently. Specifically yesterday. I'm looking for..." I stopped.

What was I looking for exactly? I creature that could jump dimensions with a young rabbit. Yeah, that's gonna sounds sane.

"I'm looking for something that can appear out of thin air," It wasn't any better an explanation but at least it didn't sound as crazy. Only slightly crazy.

Jim gave me a blank stare. "Somethin' that appears out of thin air..." He repeated in a monotone voice.

I nodded, feeling like an idiot. "Yeah"

Neither of us said anything for a while. Eventually Jim spoke. "Ain't seen nothin' like that."

The tightness in my chest fell with a crash right into my stomach and I felt my shoulder slump. I gave a sigh. "Alright then. Thank you."

I turned, moving to walk away as I felt all the blood drain from my arms and face. What am I gonna tell Usagi?

"At least not Yesterday."

I stopped in my tracks and turned to look at him again. "What?"

He hadn't moved, his eyes still on me. "Ain't seen nuthin' like that yesterday. But a few days ago I saw somethin' strange 'round the Upper West Side."

I turned to face him again, my eyes widening slightly, not daring to hope. "What was it?"

His eyes narrowed. I could tell I was outstaying my welcome but I wasn't leaving now. Not until he told me what he'd seen.

"Please," I said, taking a step towards him. "There's a kid whose in danger! Tell me what you saw!"

This sentence didn't trigger the emotional response I was hoping for. He merely continued to stare at me. I was starting to get angry. This man's pure lack of empathy had started to tip the scale. I could tolerate a difficult person who needed persuading to talk but to have some-one not show any hint of emotion at hearing a child may be in danger and depending on what they know I found both disturbing as well as disgusting. But if this was the game he wanted to play then so be it.

I widened my stance. "I'm not leaving until you tell me."

There was a tense moment in which neither of us moved or said anything. Jim was watching me with clear disdain. I glared at him, crossing my arms. I had no intention of going anywhere.

Jim made a growling noise before he turned his head and spat irritably. "'Bout three days ago I was in the Upper West Side 'round the Park. Middle of the night. Don' normally go that way but I was hungry. 'bout halfway through I saw this blue light an' this weird glowin' circle appeared," He raised a hand and twirled a finger in the shape of a ring. "Like a donut, but the middle had this black circle. This guy walked out of it."

I blinked. "a Man?"

He nodded. "a Man. Tall guy with a clean face. Wore a suit an' tie."

"Black?" I guessed, my hands clenching into fists.

"Nah." He said. "Blue suit. Red tie."

I relaxed my hand, but only slightly. "Could you see any distinguishing marks or anything?"

Jim's face hardened but he kept talking. "Hair short, blondish-brown I think, it was hard ta see. Thin guy. He looked kinda young. Maybe 30. He stepped outta the circle like it was a damn door. The thing shrank and disappeared. He looked aroun' then turned and walked away like nothin' happened."

I could feel my heart start to race. "Which direction was he heading?"

"The hell should I know?" Jim hissed at me. "It was dark an' the middle of the park. I wasn't gonna go up and ask the guy. Best thing ta do was pretend it didn' happen."

I nodded. It was a pity he didn't see where the man was heading but it was a lead. Perhaps not the best lead but it was enough to get us going at least. I gave Jim a hasty nod. "Thank you."

I turned and started to walk away but couldn't keep my pace and soon broke into a run, ignoring the danger of the broken glass and needles. I was so anxious to get home. To get to my brothers and tell them we had a lead, to tell Usagi I'd learned something and to get away from the stagnant warehouse and the hard man who was living there. I pulled my coat tighter around myself as I climbed back out the hole in the fence and headed in the direction of home. As soon as I was near enough I opened the first man-hole I found and dropped down into the cool dampness of the sewers.

----

I trotted into the Lair, pulling off the hat and trench-coat and casually throwing them over one of the railings in our home for now, I would put them away later. I was panting slightly, having run the whole way to expel my pent up frustration and anxiety that had been building up all day and now seemed so trivial and unimportant.

The lair was quiet but I'd expected it to be. Every-one was still out hopefully collecting their own clues and information. I felt almost guilty about not being outside and still trying to gather info myself, but I felt the best thing to do now was wait for the others to get home and then compare notes. Besides I had covered so much ground with such little result I doubted any-one else but Jim had seen or heard anything of the man in the blue suit. If they had, the rumour would've spread. Homeless people gossip just as much as any-one else.

I headed for the kitchen to get myself something to drink, wiping my brow and tugging at my bandanna which was feeling hot and sticky.

"Itai!"

I blinked and stopped. Some-one was in the kitchen. I didn't know any-one in our family who would say 'ouch' in Japanese like that so there's only one other person it could be.

I started walking again and entered the kitchen, looking around.

A really strange sight greeted me. Usagi was sitting on one of the kitchen chairs, his legs crossed and his hands on his knees, his shoulders pressed forward. He was shirtless enabling me to see the white fur on his shoulders and arms bristling slightly. He had a rather pained expression. Right behind him stood Mikey who was busy pressing something against his back with both hands, biting his tongue and frowning in concentration.

"What on Earth are you doing?" I asked standing frozen in the doorway, not knowing what to make of this scene. "I thought you two'd be searching the sewers by now."

Mikey nodded but didn't look up from Usagi's back, lifting whatever he was pressing there and placing it in a different location causing the samurai to shudder and take a hissing breath. "Yeah we were gonna, but Usagi's hurt so I didn't think we-"

"What??" I immediately walked forward, alarmed.

"Dude relax." Mikey said, turning to give me a silly yet somehow comforting smile. "It ain't bad. Seems he hit his back kinda hard yesterday when he fell."

I stood myself close-by to inspect Usagi myself but there was nothing to see. Mikey was busy pressing an ice-pack to his right side just under his shoulder blade. The frost on the outside of the pack had melted and was busy soaking the samurai's fur in long streaks, making it stick to him. However I couldn't see any injuries, but I knew just because I couldn't see any doesn't mean they weren't there. Having been raised by master Splinter I knew that sometimes fur could hide all kinds of bruises and injuries.

"I am alright Leonardo-san." Usagi said, turning his head to look at me and giving me a rather embarrassed smile. "But your brother insisted he give the area some attention." He pulled a slight face, I'd almost call it a sulk. "Although personally I would prefer not getting wet again just after I have finally dried off."

I couldn't help but give a slight laugh at this. I tried to swallow it back, remembering my reason for feeling depressed this morning but when he gave me a good humoured smile I felt my uncertainty melt away a little. I shook my head at both of them.

"Mikey, did you ever consider giving him an aspirin?"

Mikey froze and blinked to himself before turning and giving me a wide smile. "Oops?"

I made a noise but I was still smiling, nothing was gonna spoil my mood at the moment. I reached out a hand to help the samurai to his feet. "Come on I'll get you something. It's much better than having ice pressed against your skin trust me."

He took my hand and got to his feet. Once he was standing I dropped my gaze and felt my brain snap in two.

"...Are you wearing jeans?!"

He blinked at me, looking confused. "Am I wearing what?"

I turned to look at Mikey, not sure whether to be highly amused or completely mortified. No. No I was mortified. "Michelangelo what did you do to him?!"

Mikey laughed at my horror. "Jeez Leo! Have a cow why don't ya? His clothes were still wet and dirty from yesterday. He'll get sick if he walks around the sewer in damp clothes. they're all I had, it's from one of my disguises"

I stared wide-eyed at him. For some reason seeing Usagi in all his samurai nobility in a pair of denims was warping my view of reality a little. I shook it off as much as I could though, there were more important things to focus on.

Usagi was staring down at the pants himself with a rather worried expression. "Are they not proper attire?"

I rolled my eyes. "No it's fine. It just means Mikey's doing his best to completely corrupt you."

"Hey!"

I ignored my younger brother's complaint. "But come on. We'll get the aspirin and then I wanna tell you what I found out."

He snapped his gaze to me, his expression instantly serious. "You have some information?!"

I smiled and nodded. "It's not much but it's a start."

Usagi wasn't discouraged in the least. He was staring at me, hard. "A start is all we need. Tell me Leonardo-san, what did you learn?"

xxxxx

Long Chapter is long.

I'm a little ahead of myself with the chapters so I might be upldating this story a little fast for a day or so. I'm sorry if this bothers any-one.

Levis. Original jeans. Original people.