Note: References to my Fanfic 'A Father's Lament' appear in this chapter, and I give kudos to Tyroth Darkstorm for his ideas for this chapter! Thanks so much my dear friend!
Chapter Forty-Seven
A Big Question
Back on the other side of the world, Kemeko and Leonardo had been travelling for a couple of days, and soon they were in the vast rocky desert of rural Japan, still a few days away from reaching the home of the Ancient One.
As the sun was starting to set, Leonardo soon arrived at a mound of rocks that looked familiar to him.
As he and Kemeko got closer, he soon realised what it was, and his eyes lit up.
"Kemeko!" he cried "This is it!"
"What?" Kemeko asked "What is it? Have you seen something?"
"Not exactly." Leonardo said as he walked over to the area then looked around, there was no mistaking it and a feel of nostalgia ran over him.
"This is the exact place where I met the Ancient One!" the blue masked turtle grinned "Even after so many years I remember it like yesterday!"
Kemeko blinked as she studied the area and frowned.
"It all looks the same to me." She said, "I wouldn't know where to look!"
Leonardo chuckled.
"I can understand that sweetheart." He said as he took off his backpack, "Anyway, shall we make camp? We've been walking for hours!"
"Oh yes please!" Kemeko agreed as she took off her own backpack and started to look through it for their tents.
After an hour and their tents were up and ready, Leonardo found some firewood and built a fire.
Kemeko sat on a mat on the ground and did some stretches.
"Oh shell." She said, "I feel so stiff!"
Leonardo wiggled his toes as he tried to get feeling back into them again after walking for so long.
"My feet hurt." He said, "Been looking forward to a rest." He then looked in his backpack for some food and he pulled out some cans.
"Got a selection here Lotus." He said as he looked at the brands, he had one which had alphabet spaghetti and the other was baked beans.
Kemeko took out a small camping pan and chose the alphabet spaghetti to which Leonardo pulled off the top and poured the contents in.
As he did, he laughed heartily.
"What is it?" Kemeko asked confused.
"Oh, nothing Kem." Leonardo replied, "Just thinking, when you were little and only just learnt to read, you used to form sentences on your plate with the letters!"
"Did I do that?" Kemeko asked as she tried to remember.
"Yes, you did!" Leonardo chuckled as he placed the pan over the fire "You used to write things like 'Hello' or 'Bye, Bye' or 'Love you'".
He wiped his eye as a single tear fell.
"I think my favourite was when you spelt 'Love you daddy' with your alpha spaghetti." He spoke with a hint of emotion.
Kemeko giggled.
"I wish I could remember." She said as Leonardo handed her a plastic bowl to eat her share of the alpha spaghetti.
"You were very young." Leonardo said as he poured the rest of the meal into his bowl and started eating.
Kemeko ate her meal in silence as she looked at her father and saw him smile warmly and she couldn't help but feel a warmth within her looking at him.
She couldn't express in words alone how much she loved him, and all through her life, she had shown him in many ways how much she adored him.
Looking back at her bowl, she saw the remaining letters of the spaghetti and using her plastic fork, she arranged them then looked at Leonardo who was drinking the last of the tomato sauce from his bowl before wiping his lips clean with a paper napkin.
"Dad?" she said handing him her bowl and Leonardo took it before looking into it and his eyes widened and he gave a small chuckle and his eyes shone damp.
Inside the plastic bowl neatly spelled was 'Love you Daddy'
Leonardo looked over at Kemeko who was smiling softly.
"Awww Lotus!" Leonardo said reaching over and cupping her cheek and stroking her chin with his thumb.
"Love you too." He whispered as a tear fell and Kemeko reached over and wiped it away gently.
Leonardo took a breath then he looked over to his bag and he reached inside and pulled out a bag of large marshmallows making Kemeko grin happily.
"I think we deserve these!" he said, "Given we're at the halfway point on our journey!"
"Sounds great dad!" Kemeko agreed.
Leonardo took out a couple of marshmallows and stuck them on two long metal picks and he handed one to Kemeko and they held them over the fire.
After a while of eating toasted marshmallows, Leonardo and Kemeko lay back on their mats and stared at the sky where a blanket of twinkling stars could be seen with no light pollution to spoil it.
"I could never get bored of this dad!" Kemeko said as she held Leonardo's hand "It's just so beautiful."
"I know." Leonardo agreed "When I came here last time, I would lie on my shell for hours at night and just stare at the sky, once I fell asleep in the garden of the Ancient One and woke up to the feel of rain!" he laughed.
Kemeko giggled and reached up with her other hand towards the sky and waved her fingers and twisted her wrist.
Leonardo looked over at Kemeko and as he did, a thought came to his head, as he remembered a conversation with Tyroth over thirteen years ago, when he first brought Kemeko to Mutopia to meet everyone.
Flashback
Leonardo walked out of the temple of the Well with Tyroth, they had been through an intense meditation session and Leonardo was concerned about Kemeko's future, both learning about her true origins and the fact she was growing up around mutants.
"A part of me still fears when Kemeko is old enough she'll be upset, or maybe not fully understand," Leonardo confessed"But I will do all I can to be there for her, and support her in whatever decision she makes, whether to continue to stay with mutants, or live life as a human, because that's what she is."
Tyroth sighed.
"She is human yes," he said "But, if she decided that she wanted to stay amongst us, there is always the well?"
Leonardo's eyes widened.
"The Well?" he asked, trying to imagine Kemeko drinking from it, yet he was unsure of what mutant she would become, and whether if she would even want to, depending on what choice she made.
Personally, Leonardo didn't want her to mutate, as he felt she was beautiful enough as a human girl and it didn't matter to him that she was a human and he was a mutant turtle, and he loved her so much, he wouldn't change her, but then again, the decision would be hers.
"I don't know Tyroth." he said, "We'll just have to wait until the time is right, and whatever choice she makes, I will be there, always."
Tyroth placed his paw on Leonardo's shoulder.
"I know." he said, "And even though Kemeko's not related to you by blood, you are more of a father than anyone else could."
Leonardo smiled then he hugged Tyroth tightly.
"Thank you so much my dear friend." he said, "For everything you have done for me."
"What friends are for Leonardo-san." Tyroth smiled hugging Leonardo back.
End Flashback
"Kemeko?" he said.
Kemeko looked over at Leonardo.
"Yes dad?" she asked.
"I can't help but wonder."
"Wonder what?"
"How you feel, growing up as the only human in a family of mutants?" Leonardo asked "Have you ever felt that you wanted to be one of us? To fit in?"
Kemeko looked at her father, then at the sky then back at Leonardo.
"Fit in dad?" she asked "But…I already fit in with all of you, as a human."
"I know." Leonardo said squeezing Kemeko's hand "What I meant was, have you ever wondered about drinking from Mutopia's well?"
Kemeko looked thoughtful and she looked back at the sky.
When she was younger, she had wondered why she was different from the others, and why she was the only human, but despite that fact, she never felt out of place since everyone loved her and treated her the same as everyone else.
Still, Kemeko had often wondered whether to drink from Mutopia's well, but she knew the consequences if she did, and that she could never turn back if she did drink from it.
"I won't lie dad." She said, "I have been curious about what animal I would become if I drank from the well."
"You have?" Leonardo asked.
Kemeko nodded.
"Not because I wanted to be a mutant." She said, "Only out of curiosity…although." She paused as a thought struck her, and she looked over at Leonardo.
"Dad?" she asked curiously, "If James and Dahlia hadn't saved me when I stabbed myself, would you have given me the water?"
Leonardo's eyes widened when he heard that.
He let the words sink in and he bit his lip and looked down.
"Lotus." He said rolling onto his side and looking at his adopted daughter.
"I won't lie to you, but if those two Mutopian medics hadn't been able to save you with their skills alone, I would have given them my blessing to give you Mutopia's Magical water."
He reached over and stroked Kemeko's hair.
"As much as it would have killed me to see your beautiful human form taken away, I would rather have you live as a mutant rather than die a human." He lowered his eyes again as they got damp.
"You mean so much to me Lotus." He said, "My turtle child, more than life itself, and if I lost you…I don't know how I would go on."
Kemeko bit her lip as her stomach panged and she lowered her free hand to her midriff where she had stabbed herself.
She thought about how devastated Leonardo was when she had done that, even though she had tried to restore honour and show the Shredder she would never belong to him, even if it meant death, but she had almost ended up breaking the hearts of those who loved her.
"Dad." She said, "Now you've mentioned it, I can't help but feel so guilty about what I did, trying to commit suicide back at the Foot Headquarters…."
"Sweetheart." Leonardo soothed.
"It tears at me a lot." Kemeko admitted "But I was so scared and angry, and I didn't want Shredder to take me alive."
Leonardo sighed and continued to stroke Kemeko's hair.
"Lotus." He said, "I know why you did it, and I'm not angry at you for it, you battled bravely and fought with honour, and I'm so proud of you."
Kemeko smiled weakly at her dad.
"Trust me, you showed just how strong and dedicated you are, and that you are a true Hamato." He tapped Kemeko's nose playfully and Kemeko couldn't help but giggle.
"If I did drink from the well, what animal do you think I would become?" Kemeko asked curiously.
Leonardo thought for a moment.
"To tell you the truth I'm not sure." He said "Well, if I had my way, you'd be a turtle, and a very cute one too!"
Kemeko blushed.
"You think?" she asked.
Leonardo nodded.
"A turtle, or maybe a cat? Given how slick you are, and how graceful you move when you fight and leap."
Kemeko chuckled again.
"I remember Aunt Amber speaking about how the well chooses the form of one's spirit animal rather than a favourite animal, so if I became my favourite animal, I would be a Panda."
"Like Tania?" Leonardo asked.
Kemeko nodded.
"I think you'd be a cute panda." Leonardo laughed "But truly, I'm glad the water wasn't needed to save you, and from my heart, you are beautiful as a human, and I wouldn't have you any other way, unless you do decide to drink from the well."
Kemeko smiled at her father.
"Thanks dad." She said squeezing his hand and looking back at the stars.
"Whatever happens Lotus." Leonardo said, "You know you have my full support, whether you remain human, or by any event you decide to mutant or are forced to mutate to save your life, I will be there, no matter what, I love you, you are my precious treasure, and I will always be there by your side."
Kemeko looked over at Leonardo and smiled softly with damp shining eyes.
"I love you daddy." She whispered "Thank you…"
Leonardo just smiled back in reply and winked.
Awww, such a sweet moment with Leonardo and Kemeko as they continue their journey to the home of the Ancient One.
Again big thanks to Tyroth Darkstorm for his ideas for this chapter!