Hello everyone! So glad to be back! Apologies on the long wait and that I seemed to just go silent. A lot has happened between updates for any of my stories and it made it hard to focus on writing. But, I know have more time on my hands so I'm hoping to get back into my fanfiction works so that all of you won't have to wait so long for an update. Oof, seeing that it was 2023 since a last update for at least story? I really have been slacking! But enough chatting from me! Let's get into the story!

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The streets are bustling with people, their voices talking over one another as groups walk by. Brown eyes watch the groups go by from the shadows, scanning and waiting for the perfect moment to move. Normally Splinter would have waited for night to fall or came better prepared but his youngest is hurting deeper than he has ever seen. A hurt that he can't believe he left to fester for so long.

How did I miss the signs?

Splinter shakes his head as he slips back further into the shadows. Wallowing in his guilt will do nothing but slow him down and distract him, which in turn will leave his youngest to suffer longer and for his brothers to be filled with anxiety.

I will help you, my child, Splinter thinks as he rushes through the shadows, silent and swift like the wind.

His eyes land on a long jacket hanging out to dry, someone who must have worn it last night during the rain and taking advantage of the sun today to dry their wet laundry.

As Splinter rushes by, he snatches up the jacket alongside a hat, shawl, and some gloves. Holding those items in his arms, he sends a silent apology to the original owners as he continues toward the Channel 6 news station. He slips the items on, using the shawl to wrap around his mouth like a scarf as the hat covers the rest of his head. The jacket, while the length he needs to cover his body is a touch too big but it allows him to wrap his tail around his body to keep it from dragging behind him. Splinter hums as he flips the collar of the jacket up for more protection. The ninja master's eyes narrow. He still needs to hide his feet.

Splinter pauses by a dumpster, eyes scanning around. His ears flick as he spots the wooden fence before him. Voices. Whiskers twitch as he slinks closer.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear ya, Babe," a deep, gruff masculine voice calls out as a muffled higher pitched feminine voice calls back. "Promise I didn't get mud on yer floor, honest. My new boots haven't even been worn yet! I just got home from work. Just gonna toss dese out here fer da sun ta back da mud off."

Splinter crouches low as he waits for the voices to disappear and the sound of the door shutting. Waiting a beat, Splinter crouches and flips over the fence, landing silently on the other side. The ninja master remains in a crouch and he swiftly zips over to the boots. His snout wrinkles at the smell coming from the boots but he puts his disgust aside for the moment as he scoops the items up. He shoots one last look over his shoulder, silently sending the family an apology. Normally, he would never do something so blatant but knowing that the man has a new pair of boots helps elevate some of his guilt. The ninja master does his best to not steal when he can help it but he has no income or someone to turn to. Or did.

Splinter leaps over the fence once more and once more in the shadows, slips the boots on.

He couldn't be more thankful for April and Casey coming into their lives and also giving him that human interaction that he hasn't gotten in a long while. Splinter had been ready to live his life in solitude in the sewers after running from the dojo that he grew up in. That is, until his little turtles appeared in his life, having been washed down into the sewers. He found them being harassed by some of the meaner rats in the sewers and had to chase them off. And then his little turtles were mutated just like him and became like human children. And that left him thinking that he would at least have them to speak to though they would never understand the world he left behind because Splinter knows that the world would never accept them as they are.

Then April entered their life and it was the first human interaction that Splinter had in YEARS and it left him craving more. Nothing sexual or weird. April O'Neil has become to him what his young turtles have become. He cares for her deeply but understood her fear upon their first meeting. It warmed his heart that she gradually grew used to them and seems to enjoy seeing them, many times coming down to the sewers of her own volition. Splinter truly thought that once she helped them, she would never want to see them again. Especially after her first apartment building collapsed due to the mouser attack.

But she didn't.

A small smile forms on the older mutant's face as he slips through the shadows once more, barely making any sound even with the clunky soles.

That reporter is so resilient and such a hard worker. April has always had that spark and was already brave and unafraid to go after the truth behind her story. It's admirable but also a bit concerning with how many dangerous situations she gets herself into.

Not that Splinter can talk. The young turtles under his care are almost just as bad. Especially his youngest.

Oh, Michelangelo, Splinter thinks with a soft huff through his nose. His whiskers twitch as the phantom metallic scent tries to enter his senses again. The ninja master quickly shoves his snout more into the scarf that smells like perfume and detergent. Please hold on a little while longer, my child. We shall figure out what is upsetting you.

Splinter's eyes narrow as he reaches the end of the alleyway and the Channel 6 building looms high in the sky just across the street. The ninja master waits for a loll of bodies in the street before hurrying toward the building. Taxis and cars honk at one another as he moves, his ears twitching at the random loud noise, picking up people throwing insults at one another. Part of him misses this. It had been such an experience when he first arrived here, using the last of his savings to fly all the way to a city so large that there should have been no way that Saki found him.

Or at least he thought he was safe.

Splinter's lips purse as he tugs the scarf further up to hide his snout. He still has no idea how Saki found him or why he poured that green goo onto them. Had he thought it toxic? That it would burn him alive? Or had he truly meant to mutate him so that he could never rejoin the human world ever again?

The ninja master shakes his head to clear those thoughts as he pulls open the doors to the news station and heads for the reception desk. A security guard sits there sipping a coffee as he reads a newspaper.

"How can I help ya?"

"Good afternoon, sir," Splinter greets politely when the guard looks at him. "I am here to see my niece, April O'Neil. It is a family emergency so I would deeply appreciate if you could call for her?"

The guard raises a bushy black eyebrow but slowly nods.

"Right… And can I get a name, sir?" The guard asks as he plucks up the phone and jabs in some numbers.

"Yoshi," Splinter says calmly, the name almost feeling strange on his tongue. "Yoshi Hamato." His mouth twitches as he says his name the American way, knowing that the guard would look at him weirdly if he said his name properly. He knows he looks like a sight so he needs to be as cooperative and less, in Michelangelo's words, creepy the better.

The guard takes another sip of his coffee as the phone rings, the aroma tickling Splinter's nose even through the scarf. His ears twitch when a soft voice responds on the other end of the phone.

"Afternoon, Ms. O'Neil," the guard states politely. "I got a guy here claimin' ta be yer uncle. Said his name is 'Yoshi Hamato'?" The guard pauses as the voice response and he nods slowly. "Righty. I'll let him know, Ms. O'Neil. Ya have a good day." The guard hangs up, brushing his black hair from his face. "Right. Ms. O'Neil said she'll be down as soon as she can, Mr. Hamato. Please have a seat over dere." He nods toward some chairs in a waiting area. "She just needs ta pass her project ta her boss and she'll be right down."

"Wonderful, thank you," Splinter says, inclining his head that the guard returns before he slowly walking over to the seats to wait.

He sits cautiously as to not sit on his tail and making sure that the jacket does not ride up and expose his furry legs. Don't need the guard thinking he's bare naked under this piece of clothe. Splinter keeps his hands hidden in his sleeves as he watches a few more reporters and some of the crew enter the building, obviously here for the evening shift if the amount of coffee one of the crew members was carry was anything to go by.

Splinter's ears twitch when he hears hurried footsteps and a familiar voice apologizing as she nearly collides with the entering bodies. Cautiously, Splinter stands from his seat and turns in time to watch April nearly sprinting toward him.

"Spl-Uncle Yoshi!" April stammers out, panting as she stops before him and just remembering that there is still the guard in the lobby. "Is everything alright? Were you and the boys able to find Michelangelo? Is he okay? How is his head?"

Splinter gently takes April's hand before she can reach up and run it through her hair and ruining the style she has it in.

"Easy," Splinter says gently as April watches him anxiously. "We did find him but it appears that he has a fever and the injury to his head started bleeding again due to him itching it."

"Oh, Michelangelo," April sighs, her face crumbling as Splinter speaks, just barely keeping her voice low. "This is why I wanted him to go to Donatello!" The reporter drags in a deep breath and squeezes Splinter's hand. "I'm so happy you four found him. But…. If you don't mind me asking… Uncle…. If you found him, why are you here? Shouldn't you be there with him?"

Splinter nods, watching the redhead closely as she speaks.

"I actually came because I desperately need to speak with you," Splinter states, his tone tender and soft. "I know you already told us that you did not wish to speak on Michelangelo's behalf about what was said between you both last night but I fear I must ask again that you tell me." Splinter holds up his free hand when April moves to argue. "I understand your feelings on the matter, my dear, but Michelangelo is incredibly ill and with some of the things he is saying while in his feverish state, I fear it will only get worse and ruin what he has been trying to tell me. I also cannot know if what he says while in this state is how he truly feels or merely what his fevered mind is making him feel or see. If I at least have an idea of what is going on, I can better prepare for when he is healthy and we can move forward together to combat what is ever plaguing his mind. So, please, April, may we discuss this?"

Splinter waits as he studies April, the redhead staring back with large green eyes and he can see her processing his words. He can tell she is weighing the pros and cons of telling him what happened and his gut twists unpleasantly. Had he done something so terrible without realizing it to Michelangelo that he only trusted the redhead with this information? That he didn't dare say something to his brothers in fear that they would disagree or he would overhear?

A shaky sigh cuts through Splinter's thoughts and April squeezes his hand.

"Alright," the redhead agrees quietly, her green eyes shining bright. "Alright. We can talk about it. Especially since it seems that it's bothering Michelangelo so much more than I thought it was after we spoke. Let me grab my keys and purse and we can head back to my apartment and talk." April then squeezes Splinter's hand once again. "But, I hope you know that it's not because of anything you did, Spl-Uncle Yoshi. So please, don't think that, okay? We'll get this all cleared up."

Splinter blinks in surprise, staring up at April. How in the world did she know that was how he was feeling? Splinter nods stiffly and pats April hand.

"Thank you, my dear. I will certainly keep that in mind."

April's green eyes flicker around as if trying to read his face before she nods, a determined look replacing the unshed tears.

"Alright, good." A small smile forms on her face. "So wait here and we'll leave. Luckily, I'm done for the rest of the day so I don't have to worry about getting in trouble for leaving." The redhead winks at the ninja master making him chuckle quietly.

"That is indeed good, my dear. I shall wait here for your return."

April nods and gives his hand one last squeeze before she heads for the elevator again.

"Everything okay, Ms. O'Neil?" The guard asks, his tone colored with worry. "Cousin sick?"

"Yeah," Splinter hears April state as she hurries on. "But we're gonna take care of him so I might not be in tomorrow, Jerry. So don't you worry."

So don't you worry…

Splinter releases a shaky sigh and he sinks back into one of the chairs.

That's easier said than done.