Hi, I'm back! Hope everyone had a great holiday season. Sorry it took so long to get this up. First, my muse decided to take a nap, and then we had Christmas, my sister's wedding, second Christmas with all of my siblings and siblings-in-law, and then we returned to work, and I started a second job that goes from about 4-6:30 in the evenings. Things have been busy. Still, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. No Leo, at least not directly, but my muse insisted this is what needed to come next. Warning: violence mentioned, but nothing graphic.

Physically and emotionally exhausted, the three turtles followed their guide in a silent, listless stupor until Mikey, bless is curious, gregarious heart, finally said, "So, Usagi, what is your connection to Bishop?"

"The connection is not with Bishop, but with your brother," Usagi replied. "I owe him a life debt; my association with Bishop is simply the means whereby I can see that debt fulfilled."

Curiosity breaking through the lethargy weighing him down, Donatello said, "Sounds like you'd have quite the story to tell."

"Indeed," Usagi concurred. "It would be my pleasure to tell you the tale, once we get you settled in your room. If you'll pardon me for saying so, you all look about ready to collapse."

"It's been a long night," Raphael responded quietly.

Reading in the red-masked turtle's response no willingness to explain any further, Usagi simply led them onward until they arrived at a rather unremarkable door. Pulling a pass-card from somewhere on his person, the young rabbit warrior opened the door and motioned for the three turtles to precede him into the room. The room, though simple in design and layout, was more than comfortable. The carpet under foot was soft and thick, and of dark enough color it easily hid the dirt and stains tracked in by the turtles' soiled feet. Keeping in mind their overall grimy state, the turtles were a bit hesitant to make themselves too comfortable until they'd had the chance to clean up some. It took but a moment for Usagi to realize what was going on.

"If you'd like, I can go fetch some refreshments for you while you clean up," he offered. "I'm sure you could use it. And when I return, the story I promised you."

The turtles were too tired to argue, so Usagi quickly excused himself to find the proffered sustenance while the brothers worked out among themselves who would shower first. When he returned twenty minutes later, Raphael and Michelangelo were waiting for him, while from the bathroom came the sounds of Donatello finishing up his own ablutions. By the time Usagi had the food laid out, Donatello was finished, and it didn't take much urging to convince the brothers to dig in.

Once the first wave of food was consumed, or rather inhaled, and the turtles were comfortably settled into their second helpings, Usagi said, "If you are ready, I would be willing to tell you the story of how I came to be so deeply in your brother's debt."

"We'd appreciate it," Donatello told him. "We don't know much about Leo's time with the Chi'Tarri, and what we have heard had been rather…unpleasant."

"While I am not certain I would call my story 'pleasant,' I do believe you will appreciate what it demonstrates in regards to your brother's character," Usagi told them. "The story starts when I was very young. I had completed my formalized schooling, and had just been assigned to master who would complete my warrior training. We were on my very first mission when I met your brother…

The Past…

Usagi looked around the room assigned to him and his master during their stay here on Konai. They were a far cry from the student barracks he'd lived in back at school, and something about them made him feel uneasy. Of course, that could simply be because that was his first Journeyman assignment, and the young samurai-in-training was scared to death he was, somehow, going to mess things up.

The bodyguard assignment chosen by Master Hatti was relatively easy and straightforward, chosen by the senior warrior specifically because of the presence of his young pupil. Lord Kioto was finalizing a trade agreement with a neighboring lord, and had brought his own young son along to continue his training. Relations between the two Lords were good, so in theory it should have been an excellent training experience for the two young men. For the first day and a half that's exactly what it was, and then everything went to hell in a hand basket.

Usagi was yanked out of an uneasy sleep by the shrill scream of his master's whistle. He was up and moving before his conscious mind processed just what that whistle meant: get your charge and get out! Within thirty seconds Usagi was fully dressed and out the door. He found a frightened young Nyoto already awake, though it took a little prodding to get him up and ready to go. Neither young man was prepared for the carnage awaiting them in the darkened hallways. Usagi's first thought was 'it smells like the slaughter house out here.' Turn out, he wasn't too far off. They only made it to the end of their hallway when they, quite literally, stumbled across the first body. Faced with the blood and carnage, Usagi was barely able to retain the contents of his stomach; Nyoto wasn't.

Running through various escape routes his master had made him memorize, Usagi ultimately decided on one he thought would serve them best. It was a bit further out of the way, but it would hopefully provide them greater cover and less chance of detection. Nyoto, unfortunately, did not agree with his choice.

"There is an exit just around the corner," he argued. "Why can't we just go that way?"

"Because whoever, or whatever, is killing people is most likely waiting out there too," Usagi countered. "It is too dangerous."

"You're supposed to be my bodyguard," Nyoto pointed out snottily. "Fighting the bad guys is your job."

"No, my job is keeping you alive," Usagi told him. "I can't do that if I get taken out by a superior opponent or outnumbered by the enemy. So I suggest you stop arguing with me and follow my lead so we can get out of here. Whoever is doing this doesn't seem interested in taking prisoners, and they could very well decide to destroy the house once they're done. We need to be long gone by then."

That seemed to put the young lordling in his place, and the pair began to make their way as quickly and silently through the house as they could. After coming across the fifth or sixth gory corpse, shock began to set in blunting the horror and fear that had been ravaging the two young men's emotions. The numbness didn't last long, however, before it was stripped away by terror-fueled adrenaline.

Usagi and Nyoto were almost to their exit point when the sound of bumping and skittering coming from behind them caught their attention. To their horror they found they were being pursued by a Kritchure. All at once, the bloodbath they'd encountered throughout the house made sense. The hive-minded insectoid race excelled at one thing: killing. They were the perfect death squad, using their razor-sharp, mantis-like forelimbs to cut down anything or anyone in their path, not stopping until whoever controlled them forced them to. And now, there was one of those organic killing machines tracking them.

Swallowing hard Usagi knew there was only one thing to do. He would give his ship's locator and remote access to Nyoto and tell him the emergency signal that would summon help from the master's back at the school, as well as the closest available warriors. If fate willed and the deities allowed, Usagi would last long enough to allow Nyoto to get beyond the Kritchure's sensory range.

Knowing they didn't have much time, Usagi set his plan in motion. Nyoto wasn't happy, but Usagi refused to waste time arguing with him. The Kritchure knew they were there, but it hadn't locked onto them yet. That would change as soon as Nyoto made his run for the exit; he would need all the time Usagi's inevitable death could buy him.

At the young warrior's word, Nyoto took off for the exit. Sure enough, the movement captured the Kritchure's attention, and the terrifying creature immediately moved after its prey. It wasn't expecting its path to be blocked by a young, half-grown warrior. Incensed at the obstruction, the Kritchure lashed out with its scythe-like forelimb, and Usagi was barely able to get out of the way.

A sense of foreboding filled Usagi. He'd heard Kritchures were fast, but he hadn't expected them to be this fast. His chances of holding off the deadly alien long enough for Nyoto to reach safety had suddenly dropped by more than half. The alien's armor-like exoskeleton made it nearly impervious to his blade, and it moved too quickly for him to make contact with its more vulnerable points. All Usagi could hope to do was weave and dodge and keep the Kritchure's attention on himself long enough to give Nyoto a chance.

The plan was working, until Usagi's feet got tangled up in some unseen debris on the dark floor. Thrown off balance just slightly, he was unable to get completely out of the way of the next strike. Being a glancing blow, it didn't disembowel him as it was intended to do, but the wound was still dangerously deep, and blood loss would very quickly become an issue.

Usagi was in serious trouble, and both he and the Kritchure knew it. With an excited hiss-click, the deadly alien moved in for the kill, only the blow never landed. Instead, it was intercepted by the most unusual looking individual Usagi had ever seen. Given the darkness of the room, Usagi couldn't make out much about his unexpected savior, but there was no missing the glowing blue marks that covered the majority of his body. Usagi wasn't certain where he had come from, given that he was hard to miss in the dark due to those glowing marks that marked his presence, but he couldn't help but be glad to see him.

The battle between the Kritchure and the stranger was almost a replay of Usagi's fight, only in reverse. No matter how fast the Kritchure moved, the stranger was that much faster. Usagi blamed his increasing blood loss causing him to zone in and out, but it seemed like the stranger was disappearing in and out of the shadows like he was some sort of shadow himself. The last thing Usagi was aware of was the oddly silent warrior moving in for the kill.

TMNT

When Usagi returned to consciousness, he was stunned to find himself back at the school, his obviously injured master at his side, three days after the attack. It took a couple days more before he finally got the whole story. After killing the Kritchure, his rescuer had bound up his wound and carried him to the waiting ship where, miraculously, Nyoto was waiting, unharmed. Somehow, the babbling, terrified youngster had managed to explain that both his father and Usagi's master were missing somewhere back in the carnage of the house. The silent warrior had, at the point, simply slipped back into the shadows, only to reappear nearly an hour later, Nyoto's gravely injured father and a slightly less injured Master Hatti in tow. After doing his best to see to the two injured adults, the young warrior, who had turned out to be a turtle of all things, had helped Nyoto send the distress call. He had then waited around for nearly a day, until help arrived. That's when he disappeared once more into the night…

Present

"It took me nearly two years to figure out just who our rescuer was," Usagi said. "Thanks to the marks, my master was able to identify him as a Chi'Tarri Shadow warrior, but that was all I knew about him."

"Why were you so interested in finding him," Raphael asked, a little more of his usual growl back in his voice.

"I owe him my life, as well as the lives of my master and our two charges," Usagi replied. "I was, and am, determined to do what I can to pay him back."

"So how does Bishop play into all of this," Donatello queried.

"His people found out I was looking for a turtle Shadow Warrior," Usagi explained. "Bishop found me and wanted to know why. After hearing my story, he said he might be able to help. I might be young, but I'm not stupid. I wanted to know why he would be willing to help me find my rescuer. He explained that his reasons were his own, but that they wouldn't interfere with the life-debt I owe your brother. That was about a year ago. About four months ago, Bishop contacted me to let me know he'd found your brother. He invited me here so that when the time was right, I could present myself to him and enter his service as his bondsman."

"Wait, his what," Michelangelo asked in confusion.

"I owe your brother my life," Usagi explained more carefully. "Since he is not here, as his kinsman I will offer my oath to you in his stead. Very simply, as his bondsman, it is my duty and my honor to guard him, with my life if necessary, from now until my debt is paid."

"And how long is that," Raphael asked.

"I owe him my life, so my life is what he'll get," was Usagi's simple response.

So, I had a reviewer who said the turtles should have met Usagi already at the Battle Nexus-this is AU: no Battle Nexus. And just to warn everyone, we probably won't be seeing Leo for a while. My muse is being absolutely stubborn on this point. However, we will see the reaction from the boys when they find out Splinter's true history. That should be interesting to say the least. So please stick with me, and we'll see how this goes.