Chapter Text
“Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” Leo proclaimed as he walked in the room.
Raph looked over with concern, Donnie didn’t even look up from his computer, and Mikey, (also without looking away from the ball he was messing with), asked “Yes, Leo?”
Leo flopped backwards onto a beanbag Donnie kept in his lab for guests and laid a hand over his forehead. “I’m dying,” he dramatically whispered.
Their oldest brother shot up and immediately checked for injuries, while Donnie asked what kind of flowers he would like at his funeral.
Mikey, (somehow the most normal one out of all of them at the moment), inquired with a “how so?”
Leo shot up and almost hit Raph in the face. He looked Mikey dead in the eyes and said “My mother is an evil witch lady.”
”So is my mother, how is this different?” Mikey asked smugly.
“Mama says I haven’t done enough to earn my keep as champion, so she’s making me compete in the runner rounds.”
“What are the runner rounds?” Mikey asked.
Leo was about to answer, but Raph butt in first with a starry look in his eyes. “The runner rounds are basically when everyday yokai are given the chance to compete with Nexus champions and legends to make it into the main competitions and gain a lot of fame really quickly, or get their butts kicked. Since the stakes are so high, these rounds are extremely competitive and can get really violent. The runner rounds have the highest overall death rates for all underground official yokai fights.” Raph stopped his excited rant and seemed to process his words. “Oh. Raph see’s why that would be bad for Leo.”
With another dramatic moan, Leo flopped backwards onto the beanbag once again. “I’m not even worried about getting hurt or anything,” he admitted, “I’m just worried I’m about to waste my time in the most boring and pointless fights ever.”
A look was exchanged between Leo’s brothers.
“I don’t want to do it.”
Mikey popped up. “Oh! I have an idea! Leo, would it help if we came and watched?”
“Watched me suffer?”
“No silly, watch you win over and over again. We could learn more about your fighting style and cheer you on.”
Leo took a moment to contemplate this. “I mean, I guueesss it would help a little to have you guys there. Are you sure you guys wanna do that though? It’s gonna be really long and really boring.”
“Hey,” Raph interjected, “We’re brothers, we would do anything for each other. Besides, aren’t all Nexus battles long, those are still fun.”
“Andddddd this would be an excellent opportunity for me to gather data on how different yokai fight. So think of this as me doing it for the data, not sacrificing my time for you if that helps.” Donnie smiled a touch after saying that. It was a genuine smile, so it felt a little odd on his face, but he could roll with it.
~
The arena roared with the cheers of hundreds of yokai. Prerounds were happening in the fighting area below and even if the actual fights hadn’t started yet, the crowd felt electric. The stands were completely filled. Donnie thought only bums and the families of the fighters came to watch these rounds, but apparently the promise of the current champion fighting was enough to unite the Hidden City for some chaos.
Raph, Mikey, and Donnie took their seats in the front row, (being brothers of the champ had its perks). Raph was holding about seven people's worth of cotton candy, popcorn, and weird mystic snacks, one of which was moving like gelatin.
Donnie pressed his noise canceling headphones a little tighter over his ears to block out the sounds of people screaming over two guys beating each other shitless.
Society was so brutal.
Before he knew the pre rounds were over and the arena grew dim. The crowd quieted aside from hushed whispers.
It was time.
A familiar posh voice came over the intercom and said “Hello all my lovely little fans, to the Battle Nexus!” The crowd exploded into cheers. “Now, I’m sure none of you want to waste any time on pleasantries, so without further ado, allow me to introduce to you the champion of the Battle Nexus, giving everyday yokai the chance to dethrone him in today’s fight, the terror of the Hidden City, our own Navy Ninja, LEONARDO!!!”
Fans lost it. Everyone, (including Donnie’s crackpot brothers), screamed at the top of their lungs as the champion entered his arena.
Leo waved and smiled at the yokai reaching out to him. He blew little kisses to his adoring fans and looked to be enjoying himself.
Well, looked to be.
Donnie thought he knew Leo pretty well at this point, so he could see the little nervous moments of his left hand, or the way his smile didn’t reach his eyes at all. It was little things that revealed how much Leonardo truly hated being the center of attention for his mother’s gain. He felt bad, but there wasn’t much Donnie could do at the moment.
One look at his brothers showed similar emotions on their faces.
They couldn’t help Leo damnit.
So they would be the best cheerleaders anyone had ever seen.
Leo came to a stop in the middle of the arena and held his sword to the sky. Donnie recognized it as the katana from Draxum’s weapon room. It made portals if he was correct. His father must have finally given his brothers the weapons he made for them. Donnie was never made one because they had believed he possessed no mystic powers.
The look on his brother’s face turned to one that was blank, cold, and analytical. He looked like he was already over all of it.
“And for our first competitor, may I introduce to you a yokai with a hot tempered passion for fighting. He’s got a fiery spirit and feisty personality, may I introduce to you, Inarius!!!”
The fire puns were obviously building up to the well built lizard yokai with flames crawling down his back. He held a dagger in each hand and the look in his eyes could have killed a weaker man.
Donnie took a chance to look over at Leo and— DID HE JUST ROLL HIS EYES?!?!?!
Leonardo was clearly irritated that this creature would even attempt to claim his ring and wasn’t even trying to hide it.
It was going to be a long night.
-
Leo hadn’t lost a single fight yet. He hadn’t even come close.
He dominated the arena and showed no mercy to those who challenged him. Though to Raph, Mikey, and Donnie, it was obvious Leo was bored. He didn’t put his full effort into his attacks, hell, he was barely trying.
Until the bunny came out.
Big Mama claimed the bunny chose to remain anonymous during his fight. Leo didn’t look at all affected by it. Except when the fight started things seemed to take a dramatic turn. Suddenly Leo seemed to be putting in a little bit of effort. Then, a lot.
Shot for shot, block for block, the yokai had no trouble keeping up. Leo’s face was suddenly strained and stressed. He seemed to be losing ground at some points.
And, if Donnie didn’t know better, he would say they were saying words to each other and there was even something exchanged.
Eventually Leo was able to get the upper hand by portalling behind the bunny and shoving him to the ground. Leo kneeled over top of him and seemed to say something. Then he raised his sword high above his head. Donnie knew killing was allowed in the Nexus but he never believed Leo would—
—Leo stabbed it into the ground beside the bunny’s head and grabbed him by his collar.
He lifted him into the air and glared at him hard and long.
Then set him down on his feet.
The crowd gasped in shock at what had just happened. People looked at each other as Leo and the bunny shook hands. The former even seemed to smile at one point.
Donnie looked at his equally confused brothers then around the crowd. And Donnie noticed a particular yokai on the front row with them.
He pulled out what looked to be a straw.
And blew into it.
A dart so small Donnnie could only see it by watching it travel embedded itself straight into Leo’s opponent’s neck and stayed there.
At the same time Leo reached out to pat the other’s shoulder, and it looked like he knocked the bunny out with the way he fell.
Leo lowered himself to the ground in shock as the bunny’s eyes closed and the crowd began to scream in excitement.
Donnie understood exactly what had happened.
And yet…
~
The massive hallway was overflowed with Big Mama's workers running around and doing their jobs. It was like being underneath a stadium, (well, they kinda were). Donnie was lucky he was wearing his noise canceling headphones because even through them he could hear the echoes of progress bouncing around him. Golf carts whirred by carrying people and things back and forth, important looking people dipped into rooms lining the walls, and at the end of it all, right outside his locker room, stood the champion of the Runner Rounds.
Leo.
Raph and Mikey picked up their pace when they saw Leonardo, but Donnie held back.
Something was off.
Leo was leaning casually against the wall looking intensely at something in his hand. But he looked sick.
His pale green skin looked somehow paler and greener. His mouth was pressed into a thin line and his eyes were squeezed tight, like he was trying not to cry.
Raph and Mikey grew close and started shouting Leo’s name. They didn’t seem to catch onto Leo’s current state of distress.
However, Leo didn’t hear them until they were almost five feet from him. He jumped hard when their shouts finally reached him and instantly turned to face his brothers. Eyes blown wide and sporting a wonky smile, he said a soft “hey guys” before a tear streamed down his face. “I messed up.”
“Wait, you did?” Mikey asked, clearly confused. “I thought you won, right?”
Raph chimed in “Ya, you killed it out there, didn’t you?”
Then, Leo laughed. It was just a small chuckle but it was unnerving considering his tears. “I don’t think,” he sobbed softly, “you get how literal that is.”
Something clicked in all three of their heads. Something, dark.
“Oh, Leo,” Raph muttered before running forward to catch a collapsing Leonardo. Leo buried his head into the crook of Raph’s neck. Mike came up behind him and began to cautiously rub his shell. Donnie held back, knowing both his ability to deal with emotions and moral compass were not good enough for this conversation. He noticed Leo had abandoned something on the ground. A piece of paper to be precise.
He gently walked past his brothers to retrieve the note and heard Leo’s wailing in the process. (The words “he wasn’t breathing” would remain forever ingrained into his head.)
He picked up the crumpled piece of paper and flattened it out the best he could.
It read “My name is Usagi. I was an assassin sent to kill you, Leonardo. Three more were hired but I know nothing about them, just that their targets are your brothers. I couldn’t kill such an amazing fighter. Please, be safe.
“I’m sorry.”
Donnie read the note twice before dropping it like it had burned him. He took one look at his dear brothers, and the sea of people who seemed to be ignoring them and busy working, pulled out his phone, and called the first number on the screen.
“Dad?”
“Yes son?”
“Ya, we have a problem.”