Chapter Text
Leonardo slept contentedly on his side, breathing steady. A leaf gently sweeps by his face, tickling his nose. He smiles slightly from it, must be from one of his potted plants. Ever since he first started caring for them, he’s felt a little better about sleeping in his own room. Leo would be the last to admit it, but he missed when they were smaller and they just slept in a pile, before they (mostly Raph) quickly outgrew that shared bed on the onset of puberty. Something that would be easier to admit, was that he quickly got lonely. Though, maybe they already know that, considering his plants have names and he sometimes talks to them. Now that he’s pawing at the space beside him, he realizes his stuffed animal isn’t there. That’s a minor annoyance, but not enough of a big deal to warrant him getting up to look for it.
“Usagi. Usagi!”
Who?
Thwap.
“Ow, what’d you hit me for!?” Leonardo flails and jolts up, but his upset expression is immediately overridden. That wasn’t his voice. He blinked. Eyelashes. This wasn’t his room. This wasn’t the lair; and the air, it wasn’t tinged with the stench of stagnant water. Who was this vibrantly red-haired lion standing above him with a disapproving scowl? The way he was dressed was like from a history book, Leo squints, trying to pin down which era and from which country. Feudal Japan seemed about accurate.
“I don’t have time for your games, child. I’ve been calling since before dawn. If you are serious about becoming a samurai, you need to better show it, lest you want to repeat waiting outside my house in the rain begging for me to teach you. And I might not agree again.”
Samurai? He doesn’t remember watching any samurai movies recently. Leo’s confused, but the little hut has all the wear of a home that has been long lived in, even with its minimal furnishings. What a realistic dream. The matting was only underneath the futons, and there was a stove to cook rice or heat tea. Some wood was also put on the side, from this unfortunate period before mechanical heaters’ existence. Ah, beside him was that leaf that had blown in through the window, too.
The lion doesn’t stir from his position as Leonardo glances around the place. He can feel the eyes drilling into him, and it’s only with the rising feeling he still actually wants a reply that Leonardo finally brings himself to ask, rather than actually apologize. He had a surprising amount of control in this dream. He definitely felt that rod to his head, but everything else was just too much for this to be anything but.
“... I’m sorry, who are you?”
“Katsuichi.” The lion’s posture with his proud, broad shoulders didn’t seem apologetic for hitting him, Leo meets his glaring eyes head on in confusion, and he vaguely feels like no one should really do that, but his curiosity about the character wins out. Was Leo’s own persona just supposed to be used to this relationship as his apprentice? Leo really felt like he would have remembered this movie. If only he was the teacher instead, and he’d have all the master skills, and be chill to his student to boot, unlike certain other masters. This guy was like a statue.
“I know I didn’t hit you hard enough to trigger amnesia, come now.”
But he’s not a statue. A wooden bucket from the lion’s side flies through the air, Leonardo flails his arms and manages to catch it in a clumsy cradle. Talk about no warning, but even within the minutes of having met Katsuichi, Leonardo thinks he should have expected that. He stares at the bucket dumbly, knowing he expects something of him, but, what exactly? There’s the obvious answer, but, he just wants to be sure.
“What do I... do with this.”
“I refuse to indulge such a foolish question. Figure it out.”
And with that, the samurai turned and took steps, his clogs clicked against the floor, and stepped out of the hut. Right, it’s the obvious answer after all. Leonardo exhales, putting the bucket down between his newly fluffy white legs. He doesn’t think sleeping again is such a good idea, as much as a part of him wants to because of the place’s atmosphere. He stretches out his arms and legs to their sides, and lies down again, but not to sleep, merely to stare at the ceiling and ponder on this new information. He’s a samurai-in-training, and his teacher is a lion. Turning his head, he doesn’t see other beds, so he must be the only student? Huh. Special. Is it wrong to have an inflated sense of ego for accomplishments done in dreams? Well, probably.
If it’s a dream he can control, he’s not going to spend it doing boring things! His body teeters back upright almost as fast as it had collapsed, and Leonardo’s hand is to his chin. He lays out his options, which in boiled down form was to do, or not to do.
“So, I could ditch the stupid chore and Katsuichi-sensei whatever, it’s not like I don’t do sword training in my normal life, but also, what are the odds he would go berserk and strike me where I stand?”
There’s silence for an extended moment.
“Ehhh...”
Leonardo rubs his head with a frown. Ow, ow.
“Ugh, blood rush, shouldn’t have gotten up so fast...”
It’s still strange having more than three fingers too. His eyes fall to the smallish pair of sandals by his side, and he puts them on with curiosity. Fuzzy feet, not slippery ones. Maybe the forces above would be kind enough to not let him fumble too much using footwear? He doubted that, he had clumsy tendencies that seemed beyond the realm of understanding, but the thought still made him chuckle. It was just natural for him, and he tended to laugh it off, but it’s always nice to imagine what if he could be as cool as he pretended. That was the best he could do, when there were others who could walk their talk.
Time to get up.
Bucket heaved upward on one hand, with the other he raises a sleeve to look at this whole costume deal. The turtles wore clothes sometimes, but mostly to be inconspicuous in the night while rummaging through junk. The dream had been thorough enough to grant him a fitting period piece, clad in a blue much like his own in his normal day to day life, actually. Leo’s not sure if he feels happier in the comfort of his own colors, or if he should feel robbed he wasn’t granted something more adventurous. But he’ll take it, not like he has a choice.
He takes his first steps toward walking outside, feeling his face, patting his cheek. Soft, not sleek. And he moves his fingertips upward, feeling long ears. He thinks again, trying to picture what he looks like. But while he had a pretty good imagination, he was no Mikey. Well, it’s probably not too important what his dream self looks like. The odds are pretty high it’ll decide it wasn’t worth remembering in the morning. Which is a shame, because this whole thing so far has been a trip, and it’s only just begun. The scenes don’t clip into each other like a mess of Donnie’s code, that he’s cursing out at 3AM in the morning where the other brothers feign understanding.
Katsuichi is standing at the edge of the hill, overlooking a grassy plain. Upon seeing Leo, with his turned face he raises a brow. That alone makes Leo wish he had his shell back to just shrink in it, turn back time and try to ninja his way out the other direction. He feels he should get used to disappointing this guy.
Usagi’s face was tickled with a soft texture. He smiles to himself, figuring it was a stray leaf, before rolling to his other side. The temperature this morning is a bit colder than he’s used to, but this blanket was cozy. Weirdly softer and warmer than he remembers, ever since he’s moved in with his master he was used to it being scratchy and cheap, but dealing with it. He kinda wanted to stay bundled up today. He would extend his time for as long as he can, before he got to his “training”, daily chores for teacher.
He feels a different thing slide across his face with gentle pressure, and Usagi blearily opens his eyes. Gentle was never in his teacher’s nature, so what on earth? To his shock, an unfamiliar boy just around his age smiles widely at him, with a gapped tooth and orange bandana over his face. Usagi’s eyes are wide, and all he can do is stare without saying anything. His expression makes the turtle before him laugh heartily, high pitched, mischievous.
“Chill out, bro. It’s just a little face art.” The stranger raises a mirror proudly, revealing a face that wasn’t his own. He didn’t have his long ears or any fur at all, red lined his face around his eyes and on top of that still were scribbles of various other colors. Usagi’s rising panic flooded his better judgment.
“Who are you, what have you done to me!?” There was no shirt to tug, so Usagi grabs the stranger by the shoulders. The surprise at being pulled makes him drop the mirror, and it shatters unceremoniously. The turtle’s heart must have jumped, but he stares down at the shards then back to Usagi, looking equally stunned, mouthing something he was too afraid to say. About seven years?
“Good morning, Leo.”
Another, taller turtle spoke with a cup in his hand, a purple bandana worn on his face. His expression was calm, and yet his slightly raised eyebrow implied he had expected this ruckus or was at the least used to it. There was a staff on his back, coated in an unfamiliar, shiny material. This was bad, Usagi was outnumbered, and one of them was clearly armed. But he could not concede, that was not the way he was taught. He doesn’t entirely think his next action through.
“How big is the group that planned this!? Talk, or I’ll--”
Usagi instinctively pulls the turtle before him into an unpracticed choke hold, for lack of any better option; the lacking in his assailant’s height makes him vaguely feel guilty mere moments into the deed, but not enough to make empty threats. One should never underestimate their opponents, even when they don’t appear advanced in age. The struggle in his arms is brief and more lively than he expects.
“Okay, okay! I’m not drawing on your face again! Jeez, I’m sorry, I thought you loved my surprises! So dramatic.”
It comes out in a rush, but the one in his arms seems more annoyed than afraid. Looking up, the one in purple hasn’t stirred, this impromptu intimidation factor scheme wasn’t working. Frustration mixed with fear boils in Usagi’s chest. He releases the smaller turtle, needing another plan. Usagi raises his voice, and it echoes in the tunnel.
“Let me go! I don’t know what you want, but if you expect me to betray my master or my hometown, I’ll die first!”
Usagi grabs his nearest piece of ammunition, and chucks it. Ineffectually, for it didn’t have much weight, and plopped harmlessly onto the floor. The turtles as well as Usagi blinked in confusion, the one in orange has now elected to hide slightly behind the one in purple, but not by far. Eyeing a practice sword against the wall, Usagi tumbles over himself to grab it. It feels weird in his three-fingered hands, but he grips it as best as he can. Even seeing him go for a weapon, they don’t move, their irises just follow him with neutral observation. Usagi’s saliva sinks thickly in his throat, pointing the sword forward.
“C’mon now, you’re really doing this?”
“Don’t speak with me with such familiarity!”
He was trembling, Usagi knew that he got home safely last night. They would have had to defeat Katsuichi to get to him. Master lost to such young-looking individuals? That didn’t seem possible, but abduction while master was away was not much better a train of thought to indulge. The only positive from kidnapping is, that if they had a specific motive, they would also need him alive.
“What the heck did Leo eat last night? He picked up his practice sword instead of his ninjato.”
With the casualness of their tone, Usagi feels ever rising exasperation from the fact that they aren’t taking him seriously. Was his presence so meager? Were his actions so empty?
“Don’t look at me, Raph was fine after eating it! Speaking of which... um. Should we get him?”
“Nah, we don’t need Raphael to take him on. Take my coffee, will you Mikey?” He extends his hand, but gets rejected with a sassy finger wag followed by some accusatory pointing. These two weren’t very formal in their clan order. If he takes that into account, maybe he shouldn’t be so offended...?
“Nuh-uh, you are not knocking Leo out with your experimental bo. If I can’t do it with my food, neither can you with your actual weapon! And, may I add, yours would be on purpose!”
Usagi missed half those words, but as far as attention went, they were all out ignoring him now. He pensively backs toward the tunnel, but looking back, it went upward. That wasn’t a climb he could make, there were no rope or vines to support him. Usagi cursed internally, he would have to make a rush forward past the guards and hope there weren’t too many more of them. As for where he was, he’d have to figure that out as he went.
“I think he kind of needs the knock on the head. But if you say so, no tech bo. We don’t need that either anyway.”
“Hyahhhhh!!!”
Usagi yelled his battle cry, making the two flinch. He surges ahead, practice sword over his right. Then his foot meets a wheeled object and he begins sliding at record speeds he’s never known, his eyes are wide and he doesn’t know how to stop. The two side step out of the way before he even has the need to swipe at them (not that he could). Usagi’s heart felt like it burst and his life was flashing before his eyes, as he was sent flying through the air. He really wished he told Mariko he loved her.
The board he was on hits a bump, and Usagi slips forward face first, smashing his head against the floor, tumbling in a roll, colliding with a wall, and finally landing in the water. Usagi’s face bursts out of the surface and flails, gasping and still holding onto his weapon. The panicked splashing gets the water into a mess of puddles on the hall’s floors.
The one wearing orange grimaced.
“You right.”
“You’re not wearing your hairtie.”
Leonardo blinks slowly.
“... That’s all you were worried about?”
Katsuichi passively shifts back to looking at the horizon of dawn, sun kissing the fields of gently swaying grass. If it weren’t for his dream teacher’s presence, Leo would have liked to look at it too, they never got views like that in New York City. He doesn’t think any place looked like this anymore, in present day. The lion mulls over his words and continues.
“Just unusual. Like everything else about you this morning. Next thing I know, you’ll tell me you’ve forgotten where the river was.”
Ah, right. The beautiful land of no GPS.
“Haha, of course not! Rivers, psh, how hard can they be to find...”
Leo trails off unconvincingly, with a performed shrug. Katsuichi’s stare remains fixed on him. Internally, he chastises his brain again for giving him a fantasy that couldn’t seem to decide if it was a dream or a nightmare. Right now, it was just hitting him in all his inferiority complexes and feeling useless to somebody who he wanted to impress. At least Dad mostly left him be when he didn’t approve instead of looking down on him.
But if he really thought about it, maybe he wanted that attention.
“Well, I’m... going to go now, yeah!” Leo laughs nervously, and he’s pretty sure it was obvious. Rehearsals of bravado were futile in the face of someone whose glare seemed to force you to thinking you were inconsequential and unquestionably small. He takes tentative steps, footing awkward in his sandals; if he were in his normal feet, he could swear he probably would have already tripped and made even more of a fool of himself.
“West.”
Leo’s ear twitched. Defensively and back still turned, he puts his hands to his hips, ignoring the pain that came from inadvertently crashing the hard bucket into his own leg. Gotta look cool, never show weakness. Ignore that eye that’s just shed a tear droplet, you’re a tough man, Leon. He can’t judge what he doesn’t see. His voice comes out too loud, and he wishes he could have lowered its volume the second the sentence comes out, but he just has to make it all look intentional.
“I said I knew where I was going, Teach!”
The lion sighs. He seems to know Leo hasn’t yet moved forward, and makes another addition, quietly, but still nonetheless firm. It was only with intuition that Leo pegs it as not being entirely cold.
“I’m not going after you if you get lost.”
Leonardo pouted and made an audible huff, despite truthfully being grateful for the bit of grace he was given. He uh, had some sense of direction. Enough to get through the sewers and wander outside without Dad’s permission, eventually making his way back? Though it’s different wandering around by yourself, without others’ guidance to fall back on, and free pacing, no one to rush you that they were tired of one area and onto the next. They didn’t even have phones here to check the time here. Leo despite appearances can’t help but turn again to see if Katsuichi was still looking to frown at him some more, but he isn’t. He walks away, remaining conflicted if he liked being subject to someone’s approval or not.
The birds had already started singing even while he was in bed, and he could hear the rustling of his feet through the grass, and onto the dirt path, and it was really relaxing in theory, but still. Only a few minutes needed to pass before Leo realized it was too quiet here. And he felt more alien to this world than he ever had, wanting familiarity more than to explore the unknown by himself. Maybe he wasn’t really ready to be some independent teenager. But in this world he was granted an opportunity. He figured, he was “normal”; as normal as kids who went off to get trained by swordsmen anyway. Being able to stride out here and do a chore without having to look over his shoulder, he should appreciate having such a fantasy, in both its good and bad. It’ll make a fun story to tell his brothers later.
His brothers, huh. Leo really wished he had his brothers around, but would he recognize them here? Since he didn’t look like himself, they might look different too. But sometimes, dream people just feel like that person, even if they didn’t look anything like themselves. Could he run into his brothers here? Would they be his family on this side, too? That might be too much to hope for. Maybe he would make a new friend in the dream; not nearly as comforting as having his real family with him in a fake world, but it would be better than being alone.
God forbid his loneliness be sated by earning Katsuichi’s approval though. Leo literally shudders at all the ways he could go wrong. Those possibilities don’t take long to multiply.
“Usagi! Usagi over here!”
Leo freezes, looking behind him to see two other rabbit kids. Upon closer inspection as they walked over, they were young teenagers, probably? The girl was the one who called him, a bright smile on her face, black hair framing her shoulders, while the boy wore some grumpy frown, and he had a sword on his person. Backstories, this fantasy was intense. So he’s meeting old friends instead? He’ll take it.
At least, one old friend. The girl looked happy to see him, the guy decidedly did not.
“Oh, hi, uhh...”
Roll with it, Leo. You can make it work. Just hold on until they mention each other’s names. Fortunately, that isn’t long at all, the girl is bubbly, she must be a morning person.
“What are you doing near the village? It’s been a while. Oh, and you weren’t wearing your tie, so I doubted myself for a second!”
“Here to see Mariko?” The boy spat, not looking too happy about it. Oh, a jealous guy huh. Leo could see what was happening here, and he doesn’t like it. He’s frowning before he realizes himself doing it, but the other boy only seems to take it as a challenge and scowls harder.
“Haha, it’s not like that, Kenichi!” Mariko laughed, gently pushing the boy’s shoulder. But... she seems flushed too, playing with a strand of her hair. This is awkward. He wasn’t really angling for a love triangle plot in his dream, Leo could only hope it wasn’t about to escalate. He swallows a lump in his throat, sweeping a hand across his forehead, unintentionally combing back his newly acquired hair in the process. Not gonna lie to himself, it was a nice feeling.
“I’m just headed to get water, to make tea for Sensei. Nothing big.” Cue a confident smile, that he hoped wasn’t misplaced.
The two stared at him, and laughter immediately followed, one relatively innocent, and the other mocking. He could’ve just taken the former. But together? Extremely embarrassing.
Damn it.
Nightmare, definitely a nightmare.
“You must have your head put on backwards, Usagi, you went the opposite direction of the river near your place! Just admit it, you couldn’t handle training with that weirdo master. It’s been years and he hasn’t let you hold a training sword, you’re just free labor because you don’t question anything.”
Mariko seemed alarmed at that, voice in a whisper, “Come on Kenichi, you don’t have to word it like that...”
This Kenichi’s words are probably supposed to be venomous, and he appreciates Mariko’s efforts to mediate, but since Leo doesn’t actually know his teacher all that well, all he’s left with is trying to evade the issue and save the remnants of his feeble pride.
“He wants his tea, I’m getting his tea. I just thought, ‘hey, we’re running short on groceries’ I might as well get some more, too!”
“Grocer... ies?” Mariko tilts her head. Kenichi looks confused too.
“Um, to the market.” Flawless recovery.
“Show us your wallet, then.” Kenichi really wasn’t letting up. Leo sucked in some air and could swear he hated this guy already. He returns a dramatized pout with his reply.
“Rude. Why, so you can judge me with more classist nonsense?”
“Mostly, I just don’t believe you.”
Kenichi even seems to bend forward slightly to scrutinize him even worse. The stare between the two of them practically had knives. Leo only remembers to feel bad for the peaceful third party after he ends up breaking contact first, throwing his hands up in the air. Otherwise, they’d be here all day. All dream, whatever.
“Ugh, so I got lost! Big deal. It’s a big countryside.”
Feeling content with Leo’s concession, Kenichi’s judging lean turned to a straightened back. When he wasn’t being petty, he actually looked like a decently disciplined guy. Boring and strict. Like Donnie when he wasn’t supportive of shenanigans. He’ll still take being scolded by Donnie any day.
“You are going to be one useless samurai.” Kenichi sighed, “Come on, I’ll take you to the river. You’d waste time drawing from the village, your teacher’s waited long enough for you to get lost stumbling all the way over here.”
“Do I have to go with you?” No mincing words. Kenichi doesn’t let any offense show on his face, and simply crosses his arms. Not up to debate, he sees. Leo grimaces at his apparent powerlessness, even in verbal combat, tossing up an arm in defeat. “Fine. What about Mariko?”
Mariko looks equal parts stunned and thrilled. “You want me to come?”
But, she falters, noticing Kenichi’s flash of a concerned face. Leo notes it as a protective one.
“Ahh, I shouldn’t... It’s harder for me to walk in my clothes, I’d slow you down. Be safe you two! And come visit again, Usagi. When it’s actually the time for it, of course.” She giggles, and waves them off. Not really his type, but Mariko’s a sweet girl. He can kind of see why, unfortunately, she’s subject of being fought over in this type of time period. She looks like she has so much more she wants to say to him, and he feels bad leaving her like this.
Of course, Kenichi leads the way without so much a prompt to go, as if to avoid acknowledging his presence. Leonardo is stuck looking behind his stoic, confident stride. But he knows it’s fake, he’s heard the vulnerability behind his insults, the rush to get him away from Mariko, and feels like there’s going to be something to talk about sooner or later.
Leo’s just stuck wishing he had more to rely on than context clues.
“You better have a good excuse for this, Leo. The sun was in prime basking position before all that ruckus!” There were three of them now, and Usagi briefly considered himself fortunate there don’t seem to be more nearby. On the other hand, this one wearing red was massive, he didn’t seem like he would be easily overpowered. In fact, to be blunt, it seemed impossible.
“Unhand me! I’ll never sell out my master!” Usagi sputters between coughs of water, elbowing the large turtle in his arm when he had effortlessly plucked out the training sword from his hands.
“Okay, what anime have you been watching lately? And give us a warning next time you start roleplaying? You’re making me doubt if I should put you down, bub.” The turtle wearing orange takes the training sword from the one in red, concern apparent in his expression. The one in purple is still holding his mug from earlier, taking a casual sip.
“He... seems pretty serious, Raph. You think he’s sick?”
“Please, Leo’s probably just trying to get us roped into some spontaneous scheme as an early April Fools.”
Usagi watches the continued, animated banter between the three of them, calming down, if only marginally because he was still suspended in the air by his newly acquired shell. They don’t seem to want to hurt him. They keep calling him Leo. He should try to figure out what’s going on, maybe they can work out why he’s suddenly in a new body.
It clicks. They’ve been treating him like someone else. There is some chance they aren’t involved with his predicament at all. This body might not be a new one, it might be, literally, another person’s shell. He’s never heard of such a folk tale before, but as long as the possibility existed, so long as demons were capable of mischief beyond understanding, he had to chase it down the lizard hole. How should he even begin to word this?
“I-- you all keep mentioning ‘Leo’, but there must be some sort of mistake! I have no idea who that is. My name is Usagi.”
“Rabbit? Why Rabbit?” The red one holding him is frowning now.
“Told you, he’s trying to fool us.” And so is the one in purple.
“Listen to me, I’m serious! And, please put me down, I promise I’m not going to try run away again. You have my word as my true form, a samurai-in-training.” And he says that, thinking it’s perfectly normal, but the limits to their confused expressions seem to not exist.
“... Samurai? Jeez. Maybe he really is sick. I’ll go get the medical kit.” That was probably the first genuine expression he’s seen on the purple turtle. Red raises a hand, a signal for stalling, Usagi presumes. Although, to be honest, he might not really mind medical attention for the impact on his head just earlier.
“Nah, Donnie, let’s hear him out. If we’re really doing this roleplay, we better go hard. Just uh, don’t touch him more than you have to. In case.”
The large turtle plops Usagi back down on his feet, and he wobbles slightly. These feet are really slippery, Usagi doesn’t care for it. He looks at each of them then down to the floor, feeling far too many eyes on him than he’d like, but he supposes he had that coming with the ruckus he made just now. He breathes in, then looks back up. All his hopes were pinned on working this out as soon as possible.
“... Thank you.” He catches the purple one eyeing orange with an expression of alarm, still convinced he was this ‘Leo’ character. Usagi inhales, sitting down on the floor to make a show of his promise to not retreat.
“Dude, even the sitting... he’s hardcore.” Orange whispers, but Usagi hears it. He fidgets awkwardly. Any of his attempts at normalcy don’t seem to be working, but maybe that’s fine.
Because this wasn’t normal.
“Um, would you grant me the pleasure of your names? I really apologize for the mess I’d made just now. I... panicked since I didn’t recognize where I woke up. Or this form I was in.”
The first one to speak is the large turtle, with a thumb aimed to his face, “Raph. Your big brother.”
“Donnie. Your other big brother.” No additional body language on his part.
“Mikey! Your li’l broski.” And a bright smile on the small one, squishing his cheeks together for a second.
“... Broski?”
“That’s also brother.” Mikey waves his hand casually. These aren’t names he’s heard of back home, so he’s probably not in Japan? If the rest of the unfamiliarity of the location didn’t already tip him off. The atmosphere, while still strange, was now not nearly as tense as it was some moments ago. He felt more like a stranger who woke up in a foreign country now, rather than someone who had been abducted for malicious reasons.
“You feeling good, dude? I guess we should’ve asked that from the start. Didn’t hit your head too hard or anything? We’re kinda used to it not being a big deal...” Mikey sheepishly scratches his head at that admittance. That honestly doesn’t entirely sound good for this Leo character. Usagi thoughtfully composes his words, putting a hand on his chest.
“If you may indulge me for a moment, I don’t believe I’m the Leo you are referring to... I do not have siblings.” Those words seem to sting his present company to various readable degrees, and Usagi bites his lip. “I... can offer to help you find him, however? But I really need to tell my teacher what I’m doing.”
“And I guess by teacher, you don’t mean Pops.” Usagi turns his clueless expression from Raph to Donnie.
“It’ll be pretty hard for you to offer us to help find... you. You are most definitely, in a Leo body.”
“Yes, I... didn’t recognize myself when I woke up. That’s why I panicked and attacked Mikey-san. I’m sorry. I should’ve had more discretion.” He bows to show his apology was sincere. Another group silence followed, the looks on the turtles’ faces: different scales of frowning.
“Dude, this feels so weird. What if this is like, permanent?” Mikey has some panicked hitching in his voice, Usagi doesn’t think he’s doing a very good job trying to iron out the situation.
“We teach him to be less of a pain in the ass.”
“Donnie!”
“... Sorry.”
Raph, contrary to his words from earlier, kneels and puts a hand to Usagi’s shoulder, flashing a reassuring smile. His teeth are sharp, but Usagi trusts the look in the turtle’s eyes. This was someone who genuinely cared, even if perhaps, none of them understood what this situation was about, and he still wasn’t sure if they entirely believed him. He couldn’t blame them. Being stranded in another country was bad enough, without the addition of being stranded in another body.
“Uhh, Usagi, right? We’ll get you through this, aight? Throw us any questions you’ve got.”
“Alright.” He’s grateful for that, he needs all the help he can get. There are a lot of urgent questions. Usagi looks down to his legs, and then back up awkwardly, half feeling this was inappropriate. “To start with... do you always not wear clothes?”
“We’re almost there. Assuming you can make it through the trees without needing help; just follow the sound of water with those large ears of yours.” Kenichi has been surprisingly docile through this, even if it’s with metaphorical gritted teeth. Leo can’t help but want to mess with him because of that. It was just in his nature. He had questions for this lucid dream’s lore, and he was getting answers, one roundabout way or another. Maybe he should be asking about more important things about his persona’s history, but instead, he feels like poking at things where he probably shouldn’t.
“So, what’s up with this whole thing you’re doing? Helping me even when you hate my guts?”
“... I have no intention of spilling your insides. What sort of expression...” Kenichi cuts himself off, shaking his head. “Look, we were never really friends, Usagi. But you remain my rival. I’ve already enrolled in a swordsmanship school of my own, and made progress you can only dream of with that phony. To mess up something this menial? It insults me. Insults me enough that I had to leave behind Mariko in my sliver of free time so she doesn’t have to witness your incompetence.”
That, was a lot of words. But Leo thinks he’s gotten the gist of it, he’s a good listener when he cares to be. His intonation is strong, to make sure he hasn’t missed the important points in his very accurate summary.
“So you used up your free day, with which you had a date with Mariko, and instead you’re spending it with me? Sounds like you mixed up who you’re crushing on.” Despite trying (and he really was trying!) to deliver that flatly, he can’t resist an obnoxious grin. And Kenichi doesn’t look at him, but he must have felt it from his voice.
“I don’t care for that insinuation, Miyamoto.”
This is his first time being really able to hit on a dude in this dream where he wouldn’t immediately repulse someone, and it was both half an accident and to someone who’s already repulsed by him for other reasons. Leo makes the best choices. Well, beggars can’t be choosers. He shrugs, coy.
“Just sayin’.”
“Well, don’t.” Kenichi is prickly. Leo stifles laughter the best he can. At this point it really was just more teasing than flirting, but that works for his purposes; purposes of being entertained. There was certainly better possible company, but to Leo some mediocre company is better than none at all. He would’ve been driven nuts if he had to talk to himself the whole way and back.
“Well, I don’t think you’ll get lost from this point. Get going.”
Oh.
“What’s the big rush?” That’s a stupid question, he knows Mariko’s the answer to that and he’s stealing time from one of his precious free school days, April has told him how serious that was before; Kenichi’s glare spells out the exact same disbelief. He has to wear his best face. The one you can’t say no to because you have to wipe off the expression yourself-- Leo was good at that. He’s practiced the obnoxious nature to an art form.
“You said you’ve been training right? Show me what you’ve got. Well, no swords obviously.”
“A duel with our fists?” Kenichi scoffs, “I doubt you are prepared. But I won’t turn down a chance to remind you of your place. First one on the ground loses.”
“Oo la la.” Leo waggled his brows, he really never knew how to quit while he was ahead. He puts down his bucket to his side, with some care actually, he doesn’t need to give Katsuichi even more reason to yell at him, or judge him very quietly.
Leo loosened his limbs in his stretches, noting with some annoyance he was less flexible in this form. Kenichi looks a bit baffled at his actions, probably because of some cultural difference, but doesn’t say anything more, probably because he’ll only get even more annoyed if he verbally engages with him any further. Leo had that effect on people. He probably shouldn’t be proud of it. (He isn’t, sometimes.)
“Wait.”
The low voice of an unseen stranger makes both Leo and Kenichi flinch.
“You... There is something about you.” A finger extends to a point from the shadows of a tree. The rustling of bushes make way to someone who’s come from deeper within, and Leo’s eyes widen at the silhouette, their eyes shining a bright gold. He swallows the saliva in his throat, at the sight of a man slowly making his way with a long walking stick.
“Dad?”
Leo hadn’t meant to say that out loud. But by all accounts, the one before them looked like a younger, fitter Splinter. He still had signs of age in the messiness of his brown fur, and weary wrinkles around his eyes if one looked closely, but his gaze was focused, and aura powerful. Leo had never seriously indulged the thought of what his father may have looked like when he was younger, or if he ever was a more serious man before he learned about television. Leo’s mouth remains open. The rat’s whiskers twitch in anticipation.
“What? There is truly something wrong with you today, that is not your father.” Kenichi scowls, hovering a hand over his sword in caution. “What plans do you have with us?”
“... Not you. Him.” The dismission doesn’t even indulge giving Kenichi a sideways glance. Leonardo breaks the stare between himself and the lookalike with a blink and an awkward chuckle, a futile attempt at clearing the tension hanging in the air.
“Oof. For the record, he probably doesn’t want to be disregarded right now.” He’s pretty sure Kenichi has issues, and he’s known him for about an hour, discarding unlockable backstory. Kenichi doesn’t seem to appreciate being spoken for either, even when thinking the same thing. Leo can feel those targeted ungratefulness arrows dig into the back of his head.
“That matters not. Give me a moment.” Leo doesn’t feel threatened by this Dad lookalike, even if it’s weird to see someone that looks so much like him when they’ve never been shown his old photos. Leo contemplates once more on the nature of dreams with memories, maybe Splinter once talked about his childhood when Leo himself was tiny and barely paying attention. Even then, he can’t be THIS old, that wasn’t possible, right? But if he was, that would explain why he was so attached to TV marathons.
Kenichi, on the other hand, definitely does feel threatened, and when the rat walks behind Leo, Kenichi takes a foot back, and hastily draws his sword. His movement is fast, but the stranger’s even faster. Metal stops less than an inch before it meets wood, and the rat’s hand is on Kenichi’s forehead, fingers over his eyes; the rabbit doesn’t stir, and he doesn’t breathe, either.
“You will not remember this meeting. With I, or Leonardo.”
“You don’t remember pizza!?”
Usagi felt like he was getting used to the high pitches of despair from the youngest turtle brother. Inside a strange white box of unfamiliar design was an alien smell, but not a bad one. It didn’t look very stable, but the way they talked about its contents, the food inside must have been immensely valuable. He had to admit, their excitement, combined, was contagious even for someone who had only just met them. For the moment, he was trying to believe his entire life as Miyamoto Usagi was not an elaborate hallucination, and he was not, in fact, an amnesiac Leonardo.
The residents of “the sewer” had gathered to eat after some confused debate on the nature of shells and clothes; Usagi after some fumbled tearing and tripping could now see why it was troublesome for them to make a regular wardrobe, but they allowed him to wear a large blanket because, to be blunt, he felt naked. No shoes matched the ones he was accustomed to, so he decided to pass on those as well. And finally, he elected to not wear the bandana the rest of them shared as a reminder he was not their brother. (Leo’s was blue, like his own favorite color he notes.) He caught some whispered comments he still looked naked to them because of that, but they permitted this, and that was a point to be thankful for.
Truth be told, all this mystery had really killed Usagi’s appetite and he felt no need for breakfast, but the others insisted they could not feasibly research this without first filling their stomachs. This was all “their favorite”, and Usagi had to admit, the aroma enticed him as well. He doesn’t speak out his curiosity, just staring, awaiting how the box will open.
“Get ready to remember Leo... sagi!” That last minute swap by Raphael makes Usagi raise a brow, but he stays quiet. His strong arm effortlessly opens the box removing its top, and the full force of a mixture of unfamiliar flavors harmonize and come into Usagi’s nose. The sight itself was very strange, he had never seen flat bread come in bright oranges and reds and yellows. Atop it were other foods, many of which he couldn’t recognize. But he could identify the texture of mushrooms, and...
“Oh, dragon’s nails!”*
“... That is so much more metal than calling them chili peppers.” Donnie looked impressed, and to Usagi’s limited knowledge of his character, that was hard to do. Didn’t feel right for that to come from something as simple as vocabulary translation though. Usagi looks over the pizza again thoughtfully. He catches Raph gently nudging his side, to take the first slice. He moves his hand awkwardly, not accustomed to lack of proper utensils. They had washed their hands, but in their hunger, the ones wearing gloves aren’t removing them. Usagi tried to keep his judgments in check, he was a guest here, however unwittingly, but he feels bad for the additional laundry.
“Thank you for the food...” It’s warm. The yellow stretches and thins as it parts from the rest of the pizza, and Usagi watches it with wonder. He’s so fascinated with all the newness, he still hasn’t eaten a bite from his slow lift where the others much more quickly picked theirs, and it looked like they were just waiting for him to start the signal it was alright to go ahead. Was it out of politeness that they waited for him? Or maybe they were curious to his reactions; that seemed fairly likely.
“These were foreign ingredients, where I’m from. Where did you say we were?”
“New York, United States.”
“So is there an Old York, and that the States were once apart?”
“Yes. But less questions, more eating now, our not-brother.”
“Pizza now, talk later!” Mikey concurred with a nod. He echoes Usagi with enthusiasm. “Thank you for the food!”
Raph and Donnie follow as well. It’s not in sync, very far from it, and Usagi just laughs under his breath at that. Just earlier he was afraid of these turtles, they were merely a happy family that happened to live underground. Many of their ways were alien to him, but at their core, they were a happy family. It makes him wish he did have siblings of his own. When Usagi leans forward to take his first bite, the others do it at the same time.
It’s really good.
“Delicious.” Usagi’s smile is big and sincere. The other three grin at him. The pizza is utterly devoured in what Usagi thinks is definitely swifter than was proper, but that they also slow down for his pace, only taking seconds at the same time as he can.
“Time for training!” A raspy voice yelled from a higher up area.
“Oh, morning Pops!” Raphael shouted back. He pats Usagi’s shoulder again, beaming somewhat cheekily. “That’s our dad and teacher we were telling you about, but he’s really our dad first. I know we’ve got your whole displacement thing but, I don’t think he’d really get it. Better we stick to our daily routine. Now you can show your stuff without slipping around!”
“Ah, that’s...” Usagi falters. From the corner of his eye he can see Donnie and Mikey snickering.
How does one admit that he’s been a swordsman’s apprentice for a few years, but he’s never actually held a sword?
“... Of course.”
He doesn’t. Raphael supportively pats his back as they get up, the four of them head to their respective rooms to pick up their weapons. Well, Usagi, to Leo’s. Usagi spies the ninjato he had missed earlier, and he chastises himself for forgetting one of the most basic lessons Katsuichi has taught him: The sword is a reflection of the soul. What would he see if he looked into Leonardo’s sword? Would he see where he was, right now?
Usagi carefully picks up the blades, perfectly fit for these hands he was borrowing, and takes them into the sunlight.
Where were you, Leonardo?
Kenichi seemed to have been hypnotized, and he carefully, almost mechanically sheathed his sword. His expression lost its tension, and he turned to walk away without any further words or fuss. No bow to say goodbye or anything. Thanks to this guy who had an uncanny resemblance to father, some words, and a hand pressed onto his face. By all regards, Leo should probably be terrified and hightailing it for his life or at least hiding behind something or someone, but still, just the same as earlier, he felt safe. Maybe he felt vaguely bad for Kenichi, who’s going to inevitably be grilled by Mariko for ditching their friend, but not nearly enough to argue about something he scarcely understood.
“... Dad?”
The expression on the other curls into a smile. It confuses Leo somewhat, as he was simultaneously a familiar face and a mystery. His walking stick supports his folded hands, now that he’s turned to get a better look at him.
“No, that I am not, my child.”
“But you just sai--”
The rat chuckles, “I know. I was being funny. I really was not expecting you. I do not think the forces were either.”
Leonardo can’t help but smile at that. To be so cordial with even just someone who looked like his father, and that he was shorter than him again after how many years, it kind of filled him with some gooey, boyish joy. It would probably be too much to ask for a piggyback ride just because he could, and meet the same stalwart refusal that he was no longer as small a child that fit piggyback standards, but he entertained the idea. At least Raph would always allow it.
“How do you know me?”
“I am a mystic. I know of great warriors from a different time and world, and have the arts to summon them at will. My name is Kakera.”
“I dunno about great warrior...” Leo laughs while rubbing the back of his head. Even his name matches Splinter, funky. Kakera rubs the hairs of his chin in contemplation.
“No, you are not a great warrior.” Ouch, but he expected that so he can take it in stride. “Not yet, anyway. And no, I was not the one who brought you here.”
“So... wait, I’m not dreaming?”
“Absolutely not. Do you want another wooden clap to the head to be sure?” Leo shakes his head, rubbing the spot from earlier. Was it that obvious he had a bump, or was Kakera doing his whole mysticism thing? Who could tell.
“I don’t know, this dream has definitely been way too realistic, but taking that I’ve been placed into another world entirely doesn’t sound much better, you know? How am I supposed to just believe that?”
“Leonardo?”
“Yeah?” He looks at Kakera, but Kakera shakes his head. “You didn’t say anything? But I could’ve sworn I just heard...”
“Leonardo, it’s Usagi. Your brothers are looking for you.”