Terribly sorry; this was a day late! I wanted to re-read it once more...just to make sure. Well, here's an answer to some questions I've been receiving. This book, the plot, and the OC's are all my idea. No other writer helped me write this story. However, TheIncredibleDancingBetty did Beta Read for me so a huge thanks to her! So yeah, um, the TMNT characters do not belong to be. Happy Reading!
"I can't believe it! The nerve!" Raph growled as he paced the rooftops. "How dare they come and say they want me back then turn around and trash-talk me?"
"Raph, it's okay." Suri told him gently. "They're gone now. I heard an old saying that went something like this, "the past is just something to learn from, not re-live."
Raph stopped and starred. "And that's supposed to mean what exactly?"
"It means that we should learn from yesterday so that we're better prepared for tomorrow." Suri told him.
Raph sighed as he rubbed his head. "Sounds like something Leo would say." He admitted.
Suri blushed. "Sorry, but that's what I like to do-quote cool sayings."
Raph shook his head. "It's okay Suri, as long as you use them to help me, not spit it in my face when I'm doing something wrong."
Suri starred at the turtle, but she couldn't help but think back to the man, Casey. Even with the mask, he looked familiar. She didn't know whether it was the black hair or the muscular shoulders, but something about him reminded her of her parents.
"Suri, you okay?" Raph waved a hand in front of the girl's face.
Suri shook her head. "Yeah, sorry," she looked at the turtle. "What were we talking about again?"
Raph snorted. "Brothers. But it's obviously not as important as what you were thinking. Penny for your thoughts?"
"Oh nothing." She ran a hand through her hair. "I was just thinking back to that man. Casey, right? He said he was your best friend. How did that happen if I thought you were supposed to stay away from humans?"
"Well Casey," Raph sat down and put his chin on his hands. "Casey and me have been buds forever. I caught him about to go a little too far in bashing some heads in and stopped him. Later, I saved his life when some thugs decided to end the vigilante problem. We've been friends ever since."
"And you've never told him any of this?" Suri asked.
Raph shook his head. "Nah, Casey isn't the listening type. We get along the best because we can both bash heads without hesitating. If there's a problem, we don't wait for permission, we just go." He rolled his eyes. "That make any sense?"
"Yeah." Suri said brightly. She grabbed his hands and pulled him to his feet. "Come on, let's go home."
"So who gets to tell Master Splinter?" Mikey whispered as they stood outside their sensei's room. Faint light peeking beneath the door told them he was still up and awaiting their news.
Don and Leo exchanged glanced. Donnie shook his head.
"You do it Leo." He pushed his brother forward. "After all, you're the leader."
Leo shot his brothers looks as they bother vanished into their rooms. He raised his fist to knock when a voice stopped him.
"Enter Leonardo." The voice from behind the door called.
Leo lowered his fist. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door.
The elderly rat was kneeling on his meditation mat, eyes closed. All around him, candles burned, giving light to the dim room. Leo kneeled beside him, his head bowed.
"We found him, Master." Leo said quietly.
"And?" Splinter asked with eyes still closed.
"I handled it the wrong way." Leo told him, guilt evident in his voice. "It's all my fault."
"Harsh words were spoken, hmm?" Splinter opened one eye to stare at his son. His whiskers twitched. At Leo's nod, he stood, facing his son. "Leonardo, I knew you weren't going to be able to bring him home tonight. I only expected you to try your best. Nothing more."
"So what do we do?" Leo starred into his sensei's eyes wise black eyes.
Every time Leo looked into his master's eyes, he felt as though he was starring into space itself. Black endlessness that holds mystery and wonder, questions and answers.
"Are you just now understanding what you said was wrong, or is it my words?" Splinter asked.
"I…I…I guess I knew when he didn't return with us." Leo bowed his head again, studying the mat below him.
"Leonardo, it takes longer to mended if something is broken a second time." Splinter revealed from behind him a broken cup. Sticking the two halves together, the sides fit perfectly. "This is a relationship that isn't broken, just in need of a little reminder or love." In his other hand he took out another cup that had been glued back together.
Leo narrowed his eyes in concentration. "I don't understand. The glue is the reminder?"
Splinter chuckled and took the first cup apart. Taking one side he broke it again so that the cup was now in three pieces. "You can't fix the cup, if one half is broken twice." He repeated. He handed Leo one two pieces. "Please fix it."
"I can't." he pointed to the glue and to the other piece. "I don't have anything to hold it together or the other piece to make it whole."
"Your brother is missing a piece of himself Leonardo." He held up the broken glass. "Until he finds it, there is no point in trying to fix what can not be fixed."
Leo starred at the two halves in his hands. "So I should let Raph find the part of him that is missing before I try and fix what I broke?"
"Not what you broke." Splinter told him. "What we broke. It takes two to have an argument," he handed the blue masked turtle the broken piece. "It only takes one to start making it right."
Leo took the glue and fixed the cup. He wrinkled his nose. "It doesn't look like it did before."
"Those are scars Leonardo." Splinter took the cup gently from his eldest hands. "They will remind you not to drop it again." He balanced the cup on one finger. Leo sucked in a breath as it started to teeter.
"A relationship is like a fragile cup Leonardo." Splinter moved his hand, letting the cup fall towards the ground. Before it made contact, his tail curved around it, stopping it inches from the floor. "One slip and it can break. It breaks, that means you will have to find all the pieces."
"And put it back together." Leo finished. He bowed. "Thank you sensei, I understand now." He got up and headed for the door.
"Leonardo," Splinter said. Leo paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Remember the higher the cup, the harder the fall."
Leo nodded his head as he opened the door. He quickly jumped out of the way as two bodies tumbled in.
Mikey and Don both broke apart, sheepish grins on their faces.
Leo shook his head. "Guys, I thought we'd talked about this."
"We have bro." Mikey said as he got to his feet. He flipped his orange tails from his mask behind his shell so they draped over his shell. "It's just the remembering part we have trouble with."
"We?" Don gave Mike a look of daggers.
Mikey gave a nervous chuckle. "Um…yeah?"
Leo shook his head. He walked away from his other two brothers, going to his room. Shutting it behind him and locking it, he settled into a meditative state, hoping to reach Raph while he slept. The hotheaded turtle didn't know that while he slept, his mind was as open as a book in bold printed words.
Raph snuggled down into his blankets, ignoring the chilling wind that shot through the covers like a sword. Beside him, Sammy and another little kid, a small 10-year old boy, Adam, snored quietly, enjoying the warmth of the bodies and the blanket they all shared.
He wondered how his brothers were going to tell Splinter. All of them, particularly Leo, hated admitting to defeat, especially to Splinter. He smirked at the thought of Leo kneeling in front of the elderly rat, admitting that he had been overcome and lost.
He rolled onto his side, careful of the small children, and looked around the warehouse. Few on watch duty stood around the doors and windows, ever so often glancing out.
Raph doubted anyone, crook or not, would be out in this kind of weather.
Suri slept on the other side of the warehouse, curled up beside a few other teenage girls. Her chest moved slowly up and down as she breathed. A soft snore escaped her lips and that soft smile still evident. Her black hair was draped across her face, making her appear almost angel-like.
That how he fell asleep that night. Starring at the one girl who dared to give him love. And hope.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. A quick heads up; a future chapter may seem a bit confusing but it's a cute brotherly/father moment that will have an impact for later on in the story! Please read and review (begs)
Reviews make me happy! WHEEEEE!
