A/N: Alright, another chapter down :) Please tell me what you think so far and your ideas on what's going on with Leo.
Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.
Donatello hummed happily as the sound of sizzling bacon and the smoky scent wafted from the pan. He turned to the eggs in another pan and stirred them up, lest they burn. The biscuits in the oven were nearly golden brown and they too exuded a delicious scent. Raphael breathed in a deep breath, allowing the smell from Don's cooking to fill his head with euphoria. His stomach rumbled and he took a swig of a glass of orange juice that he had pilfered from the fridge. He exhaled and glanced at Michelangelo. The orange masked terrapin was lost in thought, staring at the wood grain of the kitchen table. Raph raised an eye ridge and stared at him. Mikey hadn't noticed. Raph reached over and flicked his brother's forehead with a finger. Mikey flinched and shot a glare at him.
"What was that for, Raph?" He muttered as he rubbed the spot on his forehead. The older turtle sipped his orange juice. "Well, it ain't normal t'see ya thinkin' so hard. I'm curious Mike. What's got ya' so quiet and thoughtful?" Raph asked. Don glanced back; his curiosity was piqued as well.
Mikey shrugged at the question and leaned back in the chair. "Hardy har'har', Raph, I do use my brain. Anyways, I've been thinking," He began. "Always a dangerous thing with you…" Don trailed with a chuckle. Mikey shot a look in Don's direction. His purple masked brother smiled innocently. Mikey huffed in irritation. "Never mind, you guys are mean."
"Aw, sorry Mike, ya' know we're just messin' with ya'." Raph said with a chuckle. Mikey gave him a sidelong look. "Okay, we won't interrupt or make fun o' ya, so please share yer' thoughts with us." Raph said with a sip of his orange juice. Mikey sighed. "You better! Anyways! I was thinking about how Leo never… I don't know… tries to be better than us. He's always all like 'good job' and stuff, and he never bothers with anything other than training and meditation. Remember when we were kids? All four of us used to be doing stupid stuff all the time. We would pull pranks on each other, and Leo always wanted to do anything but train. It's weird. I never thought about it before, but, Leo used to be the one to always skip practice when we were little. What changed?" Mikey asked his brothers with an extremely puzzled expression. Don and Raph exchanged glances. Don turned to the stove and turned it off.
"That's a good question." Don said. He opened the oven and, with an oven mitt, he removed a tray of biscuits. He closed the oven door and set the tray on the counter. "I never really paid much attention to it, but you're right. Leo used to never like training. He always wanted to use my computer back then. Well, at least before the accident. After that… he just wouldn't touch it. He would always hide in the shadows and we didn't see him very often." Don mused. Raph and Mikey had stiffened at mention of the "accident". It was a sore subject around the lair, one that no one wanted to mention, especially if Leo was around.
"Ya' know, I didn't think…" Raph began, but he trailed off, staring at his reflection in the orange juice. His brothers watched him expectantly. "You didn't think what?" Mikey asked. Raph drank more of his orange juice, finishing it with a single gulp. He exhaled. "I didn't think Leo was very good at fighting or even stealth. He sucked at it. He always blundered about like an elephant. Now, I remember when he got behind a computer, he could do anythin'. He was a genius. He even rivaled you, Donnie." Raph yawned. Don chuckled. "Yeah, he was pretty good with a computer. I'd be out of a job if he had stuck to it. He was also a bit of a hot head like you Raph."
The red masked terrapin grumbled something unintelligible at that.
There was a moment of silence as they remembered their childhood memories. Most were happy, some were painful. Don glanced about. "Well, breakfast is ready. If Leo would just hurry up in the shower we could eat."
"Don't wait on me, I'm done."
The three brothers stiffened and turned to spot Leo leaning against the wall with a towel hanging from his shoulders. His blue mask was fitted snugly over his snout and his belt was tied about his waist with a perfect knot. His katanas were gone though. He had likely left them in his room on a weapon rack. The three brothers knew that Leonardo loved his weapons. His katanas were just his most prized. Based upon his relaxed posture, his brothers safely assumed that he hadn't heard their earlier conversation. They were all too glad for that. Leo always got upset whenever the "accident" was mentioned.
-.-.-.-.-.-
The darkness was close around him. As night had brought its cloak over the surface, so it had to the subterranean lair. Sweat beaded his smooth skin as muscle rippled underneath it. His body was bathed in shadow, only the faint flicker of candles illuminated his silhouette. His hard silvery-gray gaze darted over the expanse of the lair as he moved in fluid grace. He watched for the tell-tale signs of watchers. He did not want his brothers to see what he worked on in the early hours of the day and the late hours of the night. They already knew he spent most of his past time training his ninjutsu. However, they were unaware of his other pastimes. He straightened his form, his spine was erect, his shoulders squared. In his mind's eye, he conjured the images of foot ninjas as his opponents.
One ninja stood in front of him and hurled a solid left punch at him. Leonardo turned his torso underneath the punch but his unpadded left knee shot out and struck the ninja's unprotected right side. His knee impacted with the ninja's ribcage with multiple cracking sounds emanating from the illusionary ninja. Leo continued the motion and turned about to face a charging ninja, wielding a katana. He moved his right foot forward, turning his body so that his right side faced the ninja. His feet were shoulder width apart and his knees were bent inwards while his feet were turned in as well to form an imaginary triangle. Leo held his empty hands up and he watched his opponent's charge carefully. Leo's left foot slid back and perpendicular to his right foot. Leo's torso moved out of the ninja's path, but his extended right leg remained in place. The ninja brought his katana down, but he hesitated at Leonardo's sudden move and tripped over his extended leg. Leo moved quickly, slamming an open palm in the center of the ninja's back, between his shoulder blades. There was an imaginary crunch of bone and the ninja dropped lifeless to the ground, his spine having been cracked by the force of the blow.
Leo turned towards his final opponent his features were set into an expression of fierce determination. Leo entered a fighting stance. His knees bent nearly to a set of perfect right angles. His arms were spread before and behind him, his hands were open and his fingers closed. He waited for his opponent, his gray eyes calculating. The final foot ninja raced forward, gripping a katana in both hands. He brought the blade over his head as he charged, ready to bring it down and cleave Leonardo in half. The blue masked terrapin's left arm swept out swiftly in a chop. His muscular forearm struck the underside of the ninja's wrist with a crack that made the imaginary ninja drop his katana. Leo's other arm whipped out like a coiled snake and he struck the ninja's sternum with a side chop. An audible series of cracks emanated from the ninja's chest cavity and he toppled to the ground lifeless.
Leo straightened, he faced the empty lair, sweat dripped from his chin and streamed down his body. He closed his eyes and exhaled a deep breath. His shoulders sagged. He felt a smile crease his features. Oh, how he had missed this!
Ninjutsu was spectacular. He loved it, but it could become boring for a martial artist like Leonardo. So he began learning other forms of martial arts. He never trained anything other than ninjutsu in front of his brothers. They would think he was trying to show them up. Things would turn overly competitive and someone would get hurt. No, it was better to keep his extra training to himself.
Leo's fists had been taped, as well as his knees and heels. He only used the tape when he trained in Muay Thai. He figured that if Raphael ever chose to partake in other martial arts, it would be Muay Thai, simply because of its harsh physical strikes. The common strikes practiced by a Muay Thai fighter included the knees, elbows, punches and kicks. It was a much harsher version of boxing. Leo enjoyed the rigor of training in Muay Thai. It was a martial art that required ferocity. No holding back. Leo would never have trained with his brothers in Muay Thai. It was too dangerous. One accidental strike could mean extreme danger. He trained in private, for many years. He was no master, but any Muay Thai practitioner would be wary to challenge him. Of course, Leo knew he could not get far if he only practiced strikes with no opponent, so he trained with Leatherhead in secret. The other mutant understood Leo's reasons for keeping his training a secret and helped Leo in any he could.
Leo, wearing his tape and katanas, lowered himself to the ground in a split. He leaned forward, stretching his muscles and allowing them to cool down. He also practiced jiujutsu, a form of martial arts that had branched off of ninjutsu. Leo appreciated jiujutsu. The throws and strikes involved allowed him to experiment with his ninja training. He had integrated some of it into sparring with his brothers. They were only somewhat surprised by the few times he had used a jiujutsu move. It was so similar to ninjutsu, that they never questioned Leo about it.
He shifted his weight to his outstretched arms and then to his hands, which rested with palms flat on the ground. He lifted his body into a hand stand, moving his legs together as he extended his arms as far as he could. There was still one other martial art that he found himself constantly entranced by: kenpo. Its fluidity and free form kept his form graceful and deadly. When he had first practiced it, he had known that he was built for it. Quick but graceful, deadly but controlled, kenpo was a favorite pastime of his. It kept him moving and he used it whenever he could, as long as it was not with his brothers.
Leo slowly bent his elbows, lowering his body. He could feel the muscles in his upper arms and shoulders tighten with the movement. He closed his eyes and exhaled, holding the position. When was the last time he had gone sparring with Leatherhead? He knew it had been a long time. He extended his arms and pushed off the ground, shifting his weight back, so that he rolled onto his shell and came to his feet in a crouch. He stood and rotated his neck, sensing more than a few kinks. He padded over to the kitchen and grabbed a white Tupperware off the counter. He then walked to the entrance of the lair, passing the pool of water. He dug his shellcell out of the holster in his belt with his free hand. Leo dialed a number and his phone buzzed quietly as he entered the sewer tunnels. His gray eyes scanned the shadows of the tunnel he walked down cautiously. He couldn't quite place it, but he sensed something from the shadows. Something familiar. A wave of déjà vu filled his head with a fuzzy-warm sensation. He recognized the feeling as the same that had bothered him about the mirror just several hours earlier. The sound of a crunch echoed through the tunnel. Leo stiffened. He had heard that sound before. Silence, accompanied by a steady dripping sound, quickly filled in the void left by the crunch. Leo tensed, his gray gaze darted about. What was going on?
"Leonardo? Hello?" A deep voice broke through Leo's thoughts. He glanced down at the shellcell in his right hand, still listening intently and cautiously for any signs of danger. He furrowed his brows. The bright screen of his phone said that he had been connected with Leatherhead for about two minutes.
"Sorry, LH, I didn't hear you. I was just calling to ask if it would be okay for me to drop by for some Muay Thai sparring. I know it's late and unannounced and I don't mean to impose or any," Leo began with all sincerity. "Leonardo, it is no bother at all. I welcome you. It has been too long since I last had a visitor. Please come." Leatherhead's voice interrupted kindly.
"Alright, thanks, LH. I'll be there shortly." Leo replied, he hung up and placed the phone back in a holster on his belt. He gave a last cursory glance over the shadows about him and hurried off, wondering if he had heard the crunch sound or if it was just part of his imagination.