Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT

Raph

I was the first one up, and the sky was dim with the sun already setting. I looked over and saw Mikey was sleeping peacefully still on my chest. "Mikey? Come on bro, get up," I said shaking him. All he did was moan. "Come on kid, we gotta get movin'," I continued.

"Too early to go to movies'," he mumbled, making me roll my eyes.

"Wake up you ding dong, before I leave you here all alone in the dark with the monsters who eat twelve-year-old little boys," I said.

"No!" he whined, and his eyes shot open. "Raph!" he complained, and then he took a good look around the alley. Suddenly, his face dropped.

"Guess we're still out here huh?" he asked.

"Sorry to disappoint bro," I said, standing up and stretching my aching body.

"Raph! You're hurt!" Mikey screamed.

"Shush!" I hissed.

"But your eye!" Mikey said. Oh right. I guess that's why I could only really see out of one eye. I went over and opened the dumpster. Sitting right on top of the pile was a steel bowl with a crack in it. I looked at my reflection and saw my left eye was completely swelled shut with black skin surrounding it.

"Not bad!" I commented, examining my shiner closely.

"What do you mean not bad?! We gotta go tell someone!" Mikey said.

"And who do you suggest we tell? Remember, the cops are gonna come lookin' for us when they find out we're missing," I reminded him.

"Oh. Are…are you gonna go to jail because of…" Mikey whimpered, and my lips went thin.

"I don't know kid. Maybe," I said, and Mikey squeezed his bear tighter. "But Mikey…you gotta know that I….I didn't….Look, you know that I'd never do somthin' like that to you right?"

Mikey didn't say anything.

'Shi*, no!' That's when I kneeled next to him again grabbing both his shoulders.

"Mikey. She was gonna hurt you again and I…..I didn't want that to happen," I said. "I wasn't tryin' to…you know…. but I saw her with the belt, and I just lost control. Then, before I knew what I was doin', I'd already done it. Trust me, Mike, I'd never do that to anyone unless they really piss me off, but you…I'll never do that to you," I continued hesitantly.

"So…does this mean you'll stop hitting me when I make you mad?!" he asked, perking up.

"Hell no! You always find a way to push my buttons," I said.

"Happy to be of service!" he said, and now he stood up with me. "So, when's dinner?"

"We gotta be more sparing with food so let's get some distance first, and then we can try and go dumpster diving or somthin'."

"Fine," Mikey whined, and I went over and put my bag on. Mikey meanwhile went over to his sketchbook and picked it up.

"Thought you said you were done with families besides ours," I asked.

"I am, but I still gotta figure out what our new house is gonna be like, and what I'll put in my master suite," he said. With that, he put his bear and sketchbook in his bag. Meanwhile, I went back to the open dumpster I had left open and did a quick search inside. Most of what was inside were trash bags that stunk, and other random stuff like the broken steel bowl. Then, in the corner, I saw something shiny. Quickly, I grabbed it and pulled it out.

"Aw right!" I said. It was one of those pocket knives that you could get at any souvenir shop with your name engraved on it. This one in particular had the name 'Celia' engraved on it.

"What!" Mikey said, running over while holding his bag.

"This baby will come in handy," I said, showing him the knife. "A little dull, but I can fix that later." Afterward, I put 'Celia' in my pocket and closed the dumpster not seeing anything useful. Then I turned my attention to Mikey again.

"Lemme see yer arms," I said before he put his bag on. Surprisingly, Mikey took off his sweater without hesitation. There still was bruising and those damn handprint marks on his wrist, but it didn't look as red as it had before. "Not too bad yerself kid. Alright, put your sweatshirt back on," I ordered.

"Awww. Why can't I leave it off? That way everyone will see just how tough I am; like you," he said, flexing his muscles only to flinch due to his injuries.

"Hey, you were the one who decided to keep that sweatshirt on the past few days," I reminded.

"That was just to hide them from you! And how come you get to go around showing off your black eye, but I can't show my marks?" he asked.

"A: you ever hide something like that from me again and I'll beat the skin off ya, and B: I'm older."

"That's a dumb reason," he said, and I held up my fist causing him to squeal and jump backward.

"Let's go," I said and zipped up my sweatshirt and putting up my hood. Mikey did the same and then looked back one last time at the scattered drawings and torn up magazine clippings.

"Sorry families, but we're not up for adoption anymore. Ms. Adams has some great kids who still need homes though," he said sadly. With that, he put up his hood, and we were off again.

Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break

We made it to the South Bronx where we saw all kinds of homeless people hanging around fires and talking to each other. There were also a few people looking at us funny with hands in their pockets. "Stay close," I whispered, grabbing Mikey's hand with my left while keeping my right hand in my pocket holding 'Celia'. I wanted to cut through an alleyway out of sight, but that was suicide here. Then we came into an area where a dark car with tinted windows was parked. It looked abandoned, but there was definitely some movement going on inside, and the smell was terrible.

'Crap,' I thought, glancing at Mikey. Leaving no choice, Mikey and I cut through one of the alleyways. We stopped right at the entryway, and I did a quick scan of the area before pulling Mikey along with a slightly faster pace. All of a sudden, I heard a door open.

"Get yer ass back in here Arnold Casey…!" I heard someone shout from inside before the back door slam shut. Quickly, I pulled Mikey into the shadows covering Mikey's mouth. I saw a kid around my age walk out with dark, long hair that came down to his shoulders. He walked down the steps of his house before kicking some kind of can across the ally. Then he picked up an empty trash can and tossed it across the alley as well making a loud noise.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed in frustration.

'Been there, done that,' I thought. The teen then went over to the corner of his house and climbed in through a broken window. When he came back out, he had a golf bag full of equipment wearing a white hockey mask. He pulled out a hockey stick and started running towards the other end of the alley. As soon as he was gone, I uncovered Mikey's mouth, and we came out of the shadows.

"He was almost as angry as you get Raph," he said.

"Yeah, no kidding. Let's get outta here," I said, and we finally walked out of the alley.

"Phew! I didn't like it back there…" Mikey started, and suddenly we heard a woman scream nearby.

"Someone's in trouble!" Mikey said.

"Not our problem," I said, trying to pull Mikey down the street again.

"But we can't just walk away! You'd come to save me if I was in trouble!" he said.

"Well duh!" I said.

"Then we gotta go save her!" Mikey said, and he ran off to where the screaming was coming from.

"Mi-KEY!" I yelled, and ran after him pulling out 'Celia'. We ran into another alley and instead of seeing a woman in trouble, we saw a bunch of guys on the ground with the same teen around my age, beating up two young kids around seventeen with a hockey stick. A woman was cowering in fear in the corner motionless. Already, they were starting to bleed.

"Whoa! Dude, settle down. You got 'um," I said.

"Who died and made you referee punk? Stay out of my business!" the teen said and continued beating the two kids.

"Okay! We give up!" one of the kids said, but the teen wouldn't back down. Mikey just stood there completely in shock at what was happening. With that, I went over and pushed him off the two kids.

"I said KNOCK IT OFF!" I shouted. Meanwhile, the two kids got back up and limped/ran away.

"Great! You let them get away! Looks like you'll have to take the penalty of attending 'Class is Pain 101'; with your instructor Casey Jones. But by the look of your eye, it looks like you've already attended and failed out. That's okay, I can re-teach you," he said, now aiming the hockey stick at me.

"Look! What you did was uncalled for. You stopped them from harmin' that lady and they were on the ground," I said.

"Yeah? You supportin' the dragons? Well, that makes you one of them. So what happens if I just let you punks go, huh? You gonna go steal another purse or set another innocent man's shop on fire like you did with my old man's?! You ain't gettin' away from Casey Jones this time!"

"I'm not trying to fight you," I said.

"Well I am!" he said, and used his hockey stick to trip me up and I fell to the ground. Then he jumped on top of me, and we started wrestling with each other.

"AHHHH!" the lady screamed, grabbed her purse, and ran away.

"RAPH!" Mikey screamed.

"Oh, that's a new low tryin' to recruit a young kid like him into your group. Go home kid before it's too late," the teen said to Mikey while we continued wrestling.

"But I don't got a home," he said.

"Mikey, hush!" I snapped and managed to kick the teen off me before I got up again. "Yer really startin' to tick me off, dude."

"Good. Then maybe you'll make like a tree and get out of my way," the teen said, swinging the stick at me. Luckily, I caught it and pulled it out of his grip. Then I turned the hockey stick on him while he pulled out a baseball bat. "Don't you know you never touch an athlete's equipment? What are you crazy?"

"Don't call me crazy bub," I said through clenched teeth as we circled each other.

"Oh sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I meant to call you something else, but since there's a kid here, I'll stick to another appropriate word; a freak," he said.

"FREAK?!" I shouted, throwing the stick on the ground and pulled out 'Celia'.

"It's about time things started gettin' interesting," the teen said. I flicked out 'Celia's' blade and took a swing at him but missed. Then the teen had an opening and swung the bat at me, knocking me to the ground. "Yeah! Home run for Casey Jones!" he shouted. Then before I could think, I wrapped my arms around his legs, bringing him to the ground using his balance. I then jumped on top of him and held up 'Celia' getting ready to stab him. The teen screamed, and before I made the next move, I noticed in a window Mikey's terrified reflection looking at me.

"Wait, what am I doing?" I asked myself as my head started to clear up, and I started to sweat. Then I got off the teen. "We're on the same side dude."

"You know, you're right," the teen said, getting back up. He put his bat back into his bag and then went over to pick up the hockey stick had thrown. "Thanks, dude. You've shown me the error of my ways," he said. Suddenly, he whacked me with the stick that hit my cheek near my black eye.

"Ah!" I groaned holding my cheek. That's when the teen started running away.

"I can't believe you fell for that! Catch you later bozo!"

"Yeah…that's right! Run away, you coward!" I screamed back at him. Then I turned back to Mikey who didn't look as terrified. "Y-you alright kid," I asked.

"Uh-huh," he said. "You?"

"That kid didn't even faze me," I responded, still holding my sore cheek. "What do ya say we get out of this joint and go dumpster diving for dinner?" I asked.

"Yes!" he cheered, and the last bit of fear disappeared from his face.

Good.

Break*Break*Break*Break*Break*Break

Donnie

For once in my life, I actually beat my alarm clock that morning. I had woken up an hour and a half ago and was too excited to go back to sleep. I got up, got dressed, ate a quick apple, and was out the door. I had run through the little park that was in front of Ms. Adam's place. Not as big a central park, but still big enough to get a good mile run in. That was the park we always had our Fourth of July picnic. We didn't have it in Central Park because it was always too packed. Just before dusk, Ms. Adam's would take us into town to an old friend of hers who owned a skyscraper near where the fireworks would go off.

Anyway, I did my mile and then jogged my way over to Central Park. I just crossed over the bridge and didn't see Mr. Yoshi where he normally sat but then I saw him near the shore, kneeling and staring at his reflection. He didn't move or make a sound.

'Maybe I should do another lap before coming back. He did invite me to…'

Suddenly he turned and looked at me as if he somehow sensed my presents. "Donatello! Come sit," he said, cheerfully patting the area next to him. I smiled and ran over to join him. "I wasn't sure you would come and sit with me so early; especially with you being on summer break, correct?" he asked.

"That's right. I normally get up early with my…uh…I normally get up before the rest of my family does to go for a run. It's just something I like to do by myself," I lied.

"I see," he said. This was when I got a good look at Mr. Yoshi. He had dark circles under his eyes, and I saw his face was a little wet. Yes, he could have splashed his face with water, but it looked like something else; like he had been crying for some reason. I decided to change the subject.

"So what are you doing kneeling here, Mr. Yoshi?" I asked.

"Two things; meditation and remembering," he said.

"Oh, I didn't mean to interrupt your meditation. I can leave if you want!" I said.

"No, there is no need for that," he said before I had a chance to stand up. "I am taking in the peacefulness before too many people come here."

"Are you sure you don't want me to come back?" I asked again.

"Yes Donatello, you are welcome here with me," he assured me.

"Did you say you were also remembering?" I asked.

"Yes, I'm sure you have already figured out that I am not from this country," he said.

"You did say yesterday that you've been coming here since you came to the city, but I still had a suspicion," I said, and he gave a soft smile.

"I am originally from Japan. I arrived here a month ago for a change of scenery. Japan holds many memories for me, but I wanted to make more away from it," he explained.

"Is it just you?" I asked, and his eyes closed and bowed his head.

"Yes."

'Shoot! Don't make it uncomfortable for him already!' I thought.

"D-do you think you could tell me about Japan? What was it like? Where you still part of the Hamato clan like you told me?" Suddenly his sadness disappeared in a flash.

"Yes, of course. Japan was a beautiful place. I was born to a great man and Master; Hamato Yuuta. He taught me everything I know and the importance of Bushido," he explained.

"Bushido?" I asked. This was more of Leo's realm than mine.

"Yes. It means 'the way of the warrior' and the duty to have integrity and honor."

"Wow! How did you move to a new country all by yourself?" I asked.

"It was hard, and in a way, I'm still struggling. I had to leave my home, my clan, and everything I once knew behind."

"Do you ever miss it? The life you once had I mean?" I asked. Mr. Yoshi bowed his head and stared at his reflection again.

"Every day," he told me. "But I cannot return there now."

"I'm sorry. If you ever need anything, you can talk to me if you want. I pretty much know most of the city inside and out," I offered.

"Thank you, Donatello. I must admit, I have not been able to explore the city much since my arrival."

"I could show you! Like I said, I know all the good spots in the city and a few of the neighborhoods that aren't very good. But I suppose you can take care of yourself the way you defended me against those thugs," I told him, and he gave me a chuckle. "Have you been to Liberty Island yet?" I asked.

"No."

"We could go together sometime! Well, only if you want to, but you have to see the statue up close at least once; especially if you're living here now." I said excitedly. I'm almost as giddy as Mikey normally is.

"I would be honored; especially since you're the second person who has ever talked to me in this country."

"Second?"

"On my way here, I made the acquaintance of a man also from Japan. He just spent every last dollar he owned on the journey here, and a building near where I currently live." He hopes to turn it into his own restaurant one day."

"Cool. Tell him if he needs any help, I could always stop by. I'm pretty good with using tools," I admitted.

"I will," he said. I hope he didn't mind because Mr. Yoshi and I continued talking and learning about each other for an hour and a half. He told me more about Japan, his family's dojo, and even some important codes of the ninja. Leo would have loved listening to his stories and maybe even Raph. Before we knew it, more people were out and about. Then my phone started to buzz.

Ms. Adams: Breakfast in a half hour.

"Sorry Mr. Yoshi, but my mom needs me home for breakfast," I said, feeling the tingling in my skull due to the lie. I mean it wasn't a total lie.

"Very well. I must return home as well," he said standing up.

"Alright. Goodbye Mr. Yoshi," I said.

"Farewell Donatello. Will I see you again tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. I really enjoyed my time with you."

"As did I," he said, bowing to me and I did it back to him. "Until tomorrow."

"Until tomorrow."

Sweet! Now we got Casey involved too and before you ask, April will also be involved. I don't think you can make a TMNT series without April. It's possible, but you have a bunch of angry fans to deal with. Until next time,

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LaurenHardy13