135A/N: This story is a side adventure that takes place immediately after "Samurai Tourist," and immediately before "The Ancient One," from the 2003 series.
A big "thank you" to Crystal Star Night, for their brilliant suggestion to pick up the Usagi Yojimbo: The Special Edition (paperback set). I'd probably still be stuck with writer's block without it.
Disclaimer: The rights of ownership to the turtles, and to Usagi, belong to their respective owners. None of those people are me. I am merely borrowing them for this tale.
Warrior's Walk
Chapter 1-Brotherly Concern
"And finish."
At the sound of Master Splinter's spoken command, the bodies of four exhausted ninja turtles collapsed upon the dojo mats.
The ninjitsu master chuckled to himself as he exited the dojo.
Lying flat on his shell Michelangelo let out a groan. "Dudes, even my hair hurts."
Leaning forward, Donatello's weight was placed on both his hands and knees, forming a bridge with his body. The purple clad turtle rolled his eyes at his brother's complaint. "You don't have any hair Mikey."
Unperturbed by his brother's correction, Michelangelo countered with a groan. "Well if I had hair, even that would be sore right now."
Raphael sat with his weight on his heels. Keeping his back straight, Raph's arms lay limply on either side. The tired turtle's gaze wandered up to the ceiling while he focused on regaining his breath. For once the red masked turtle had to agree with his youngest brother. "Shell that was hard."
Still lying on his carapace, Mikey's voice was laced with hope. "What did you think Leo?"
Three heads turned to stare at their silent eldest brother. Resting on one knee, Leonardo's eyes glared daggers at the floor. Frustrated with his performance at practice, the blue masked turtle rose quickly. Leonardo growled his answer. "Not good enough."
Tension radiated off of the leader turtle as he moved away from his tired siblings. Leonardo withdrew his swords and immediately began an advanced weapons kata.
Michelangelo frowned at his brother's behavior. Leonardo rarely talked to the three of them anymore.
Raphael's eyes narrowed as he watched his eldest brother. Leonardo's actions were growing more troubling with each passing day. Ever since that battle on the Shredder's ship, when they made the decision to sacrifice themselves so that the Shredder would fall. Something happened to the eldest after that day.
Leonardo continued to move through the steps of the kata, ignoring the probing eyes of his brothers.
Donatello observed his brother, flawlessly executing a difficult kata. Leonardo was always the most serious and dedicated son. Spending much of his time training, meditating, or reading.
But now?
Leonardo had managed to completely isolate himself from his family. The only time he spent with them was during practice and out on patrols. And everyone's attempts to talk to him have been brushed aside.
Raph's hands clenched into fists. He was growing real tired of having a brooding and hostile older brother. It was time he did something about it.
Rising to his feet, Raph felt a three fingered hand grip his arm, stopping his approach. Raph's head snapped to the side.
Donatello's concerned eyes met Raph's frustrated ones. "Leave him be, Raph."
Raph opened his mouth to argue but the purple masked turtle spoke first. "Not here. Let's talk in the kitchen."
With a nod, Raphael let Donatello lead the way.
Michelangelo reached into the refrigerator for three bottles of water. He quickly tossed one to each of his siblings. The two ninja caught the water with ease as they took their favorite seats at the table. Each turtle's worry for their eldest sibling hung like a heavy cloud of doom in the room. Leonardo never joked anymore. He never cracked a smile. And he never let himself relax.
The clang of metal striking metal rang throughout the quiet lair like a gunshot. Michelangelo jerked, startled by the sudden noise. Raphael's eyes hardened, as he crossed his arms in front of his plastron. Donatello winced, knowing what was going to come next.
Another clang of metal rang out from the dojo. This time followed by Leonardo's growl of frustration. A look of worry passed among the three younger brothers.
Over the years Leonardo has developed into a master swordsman. The only reason why Leonardo's swords would ring like that, was if they had accidentally collided with each other. Something that was happening with increasing frequency lately. Leonardo had begun to push himself to train harder and longer. Overexerting himself until he came dangerously close to collapsing, from nothing more than sheer exhaustion. Leo's family had to do something soon, before his new obsession with overtraining led to injury. Or worse.
Raph's gruff voice broke the silence. The rare display of worry and concern capturing the attention of Mikey and Donnie. "What are we going to do about Fearless?"
Michelangelo eagerly jumped into the conversation, anxious to help his big brother. "I don't know bros. What can we do?"
Eyes masked beneath orange and red silk met Donatello's purple clad ones, seeking answers. Donatello leaned back in his chair, analyzing the situation. "Leo's been overworking himself. It's what he always does when he bottles up his emotions. The most likely cause is what happened back on the Shredder's ship. Leo's got to let it go."
Raph snorted. "You want ol' Fearless leader to talk about his feelings? Good luck with that one bro."
Mikey excitedly leaned forward. "Wait. When Usagi was here, I overheard them talking. I think Leonardo was going to tell Usagi how he felt about what happened."
Interested in the blue clad turtle's confession, Donatello asked. "What did he say Mikey?"
Shaking his head, Mikey's orange clad eyes fell upon the table. "They were interrupted." Mikey's voice turned sad. "By me. When I realized that Gen was missing from the lair."
Raph leaned over and patted Mikey's arm, attempting to alleviate the younger turtle's guilt. "It's not your fault Mikey. We couldn't let Gen go running all over New York City."
Donatello's mind thought back to their recent guests. Usagi and Gennosuke had recently departed with their prisoner, the assassin Kojima. Donatello gazed at the space where the dimensional portal had closed, returning the two samurai to their own world.
The gesture did not go unnoticed by Raph and Mikey. Donatello had thought of something.
Raph probed. "What are you thinking Donnie?"
Donatello returned his focus back onto his two brothers. "If Leo already tried to open up to Usagi once, then he might do so again. We just have to get Leo and Usagi together for a while."
Shrugging his shoulders, Raph protested. "And how are we supposed to do that? Usagi already returned to his world."
The three ninja jumped, startled by the sudden sound of Master Splinter's voice.
"I may be able to help with that my sons."
A/N: Leo is coming up in Chapter 2. Until then, why not leave a review before you go? Virtual chocolate chip cookies to those who do!