Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Yuichi Usagi, a trained samurai at birth, wandered the streets of the Hidden City after having lost everything. At a young age, his parents had passed on, leaving him to go and live with his aunt. It was there that he learned how to truly become a samurai. However, the universe was very cruel to him, seemingly taking away everything that was near and dear to him. Unknown to him, his Aunt had been fighting an illness that was worsening by the day. It was only until one morning when he found his Aunt's lifeless body in her bed, laying in her bed, that he realized he was on his own from then on out. He was quite young when this happened, around the age of 9, left alone in the world, with no family, no friends, no one to care for him.

7 years later, he finds himself, wandering the streets of the Hidden City, donning a hoodie attached to his samurai garb to hide his appearance on public. Not that he was scared but the sight of a young rabbit with a katana strapped to his waist was rather weird, at least, in his opinion. But currently, he was out and about looking to buy more strapping to wrap around his arms and legs as the current ones were getting old and tattered. He kept his head down so as to not attract any attention to himself as he was quite mindful of his surroundings. However, he must've had a lapse in his concentration as he accidentally bumped into someone.

"My bad. My mind was somewhere else." Usagi quickly apologized before turning on on his heels and continuing his walk.
"No...problem?" The figure responded, watching him walk away. "That was weird...but WHO'S READY TO GET SOME PIZZA?" Leonardo yelled catching up with his brothers.
The 4 of them rocked up to the entrance of Run Of The Mill Pizza. It was one of those ordinary days...you know, wake up, get absolutely nothing done, eat pizza, sleep. The turtles entered the restaurant and sat at a booth for 4.

"Hueso! Uno Momento por favor" Leo called, beckoning over the bony owner of the restaurant.
"What can i do for you Pepino" Hueso asked.
Leo looked at his brothers before confirming his order," We'll have a Hawaiian Pizza in your buggest size"
"Nope. Absolutely not. How many times must I say pineapple on pizza just does not work." Donatello protested.
"Oh how can one be so dumb?" Leo sighed.
"Leo's right Donnie. Hawaiian is a gift from the gods." Raph smiled, imagining a steaming hot pizza in front of him.
"Yeah D! who in his right mind would hate the blend of flavours." Mikey added.
"This handsome specimen" Donnie replied, pointing his thumbs at himself.
" You and your eyebrows wish you were handsome." Leo snickered, making Raph and Mikey hold in their laughter.
"Sorry to interrupt this...uh... family moment but your order please?" Hueso pushed.
"Ugh fine. We'll have the Meat Sup-" Leo was abruptly interrupted by the wall infront of him exploding.

Emerging through the wall flew a hooded figure. Leo scanned the intruder carefully. He had seen that hood before but he couldn't exactly remember where despite the encounter being a few minutes ago. This so-called "intruder" didn't exactly look like an actual intruder. He had dust stains all over his body. As he climbed to his feet, he clutched his arm while wincing in pain.

"MY RESTAURANT!" Hueso yelled, falling to his knees.

The rabbit stood on his feet, trying his best to ignore the pain as he brandished his katana.
"Why can't you guys just leave me alone?" Usagi sighed
"No can do Rabbit. Big Mama's had her eyes on you for a while." A giant owl and fox stepped into the restaurant through the hole that was made.
"Tell her to find someone else. I'm never fighting in that arena again."
"Well, maybe you'll be more agreeable when you're out cold." The fox said leaping at Usagi for an attack. Usagi, putting his training to good use, dodged the attack aimed at his feet, jumping high into the air. Only for the owl to launch himself at the airborne rabbit, shoulder barging him straight in the chest, sending Usagi flying straight at the turtles' table. Reacting quickly, Usagi backflipped mid-air and landed on his feet atop the turtles' table but due to the change of momentum, his hood swung back, revealing a white rabbit with a few battle scars across his face. Leo looked up at the rabbit and immediately felt his heart pound.

"Sorry about the table. These two have been attacking me like this for a while. I'll get rid of them soon." Usagi apologized to the turtles.
"Not if we have anything to say about it." Raph stated, standing up from the table and pulling out his tonfas," we'll give you a hand cuz if anyone hates Big Mama, It's Raph."
"Uhh-y-Yeah! Come on, guys!" Leo exclaimed, pulling out his own weapon.
Usagi looked at the turtles in surprise. Ever since his aunt... He's never had anyone else to help him.
"Thanks." Was all the rabbit could say before leading the attack.

Usagi threw his katana at the huge owl, making him jump out of the way to avoid it, resulting in the katana planting itself into the wall behind. Usagi picked up his pace, dashing not to the airborne owl but to his katana.
"Where is he going? The enemy's above him." Leo thought.
Usagi then jumped onto the hilt of his sword, using it as a diving board of sorts, placing his weight onto the sword before getting flung high into the air, a few feet above the airborne owl. Spinning in the air, Usagi kicked the owl into the wall behind him, making him bounce off it. Raph in turn smashed his tonfas together, making a giant red fist appear around his real one. "Fresh out of the oven!" Raph yelled, slamming his giant fist into the owl, making him crash back into the wall he just bounced off, knocking him out cold.
"Ohhh... so that's what he was doing..." Leo stared at the duo, completely oblivious to the attack headed his way.
"You'll get your head cut off if you keep staring, you know?" He heard the rabbit's voice near him and snapped back to his senses, registering the danger he was in as he turned to the fox man. However, the attack aimed at his neck was blocked by Usagi's arm, slicing open the rabbit's arm in the process.
"Sh-Shit." The rabbit hissed as his arm recoiled in pain. Leo felt his blood boil for the first time in his life. Why? He didn't know.
He immediatley turned to the fox, pointing his odachi at him.
"Ready to get your ass kicked?"
"Oh please. You couldn't hit a paralysed giraffe with that thing." The fox laughed
"Oh I know. But I'm not the only one here." Leo stated as he and his brothers surrounded the fox and gave him hell.

Chapter Text

Leonardo and his brothers loomed over the unconscious fox they had just defeated.
"For someone so bad at fighting, he was really cocky." Donnie said.
"I know right? Maybe my bulging muscles terrified him." Leo flexed his arms
"Or maybe that hideous face." Donnie added
"I know you with your eyebrows are not saying that." Leo laughed
"We're good guys. Like really good. Maybe even stop-Draxum-from-gathering-the-pieces-of-the-dark-armour-and-saving-the-world good." Raph added
"Raph! ix-nay on the armour-yay in ublic-pay!" Mikey hissed.
“Oh right.” Raph laughed

The turtle brothers laughed, revelling in their victory before a sudden thought entered their minds. The rabbit that helped them was sat against a booth clutching his arm that had been slashed by the fox's arm. Raph lowered himself to check up on the rabbit.

"Hey little man, Thanks for the help."
"I have to thank you guys. Those idiots have been after me for so long." Usagi added.
Leo managed to get a really good look at the rabbit now. He had snow white fur, his ears tied into a makeshift ponytail atop his head, his outfit seemingly hugging his petite frame, his bunny teeth slightly longer than the rest of his teeth. What caught Leo's eyes the most was the scars trailing up the rabbits arms and the scar up the rabbits cheek. He looked like he had been through many, many fights and the fact that he had the scars to show for it meant that he was a formidable fighter. However, as Leo scanned the rabbits features, he had felt his face gradually heating up. He had never experienced that feeling before. He did remember once when Mikey was sick that Donnie had said he was burning up so maybe that was it. Maybe Leo was sick...

"Hey, you, with the sword. You doing okay?" Usagi called
"Huh? Oh me? Yeah I'm fine." Leo added, his heart seeming the speed up with every word he spoke
"You're not hurt or anything right. I didn't mean to drag you guys into my mess."
"Don't worry your fuzzy little head." Leo joked, making Usagi chuckle at his joke. It filled Leo with unknown satisfaction," I'm more worried about you. You got your arm messed up because of me."
"Oh this? I'll be fine. I've had a lot worse." Usagi replied.
"Can you just give me a minute? Brother Huddle!" Leo shouted, invoking a gasp from his brothers.
"No way!" Mikey gasped
"He invoked the Brother Huddle!" Raph also gasped as the 4 huddled together in a tight circle.

"Guys, I feel really bad for this guy. He got hurt protecting me."
"Your point being?"
"Let me patch him up...at home"
"It's official. Leo's gone mad."
"Come on, Donnie. Look at him. He looks worse for wear."
"Leo's right. Thanks to him, Leo came out okay." Mikey added.
"He looks like he can take care of himself."
"That being said, I feel like I owe him for saving me," Leo turned to Raph," Isn't that what we do? Help People?"
Upon Hearing those words, Raph sighed.
"Yeah, it's what we do. He can come."
"Score! Brother Huddle adjourned" Leo added, turning around to face Usagi.

"As a token of appreciation, aside from being in my presence of course, let me patch you up. It's the least I could do for saving me."
Usagi took a moment to think about the offer. He had always been able to patch himself up, despite being quite bad at treating himself. He was awfully tired from running from these creeps all day and he didn't even manage to get the wrapping for his arms and legs.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt to get a little help every now and then." He thought to himself before replying," I appreciate the help. I'll take you up on that offer."
Leo extended his arm to help the rabbit off the floor.

"I'm Leonardo, the most handsome guy in town, aka Neon Leon, aka God among Men." Leo's introduction was cut short by Usagi bursting into laughter. His laugh sounded...comforting for whatever reason.
"or just Leo is fine..." Leo muttered as his brothers joined Usagi in laughing.
"Papa Bear over there in the red is Raphael or Raph, Grumpy Eyebrows in purple is Donatello or Donnie and Bundle of Joy in orange is Michaelangelo or Mikey. To whom do I owe the pleasure?" Leo asked.
"Yuichi Usagi." The rabbit replied…

Usagi stepped through the blue portal that Leonardo had opened to the Lair. Safe to say, Usagi had never seen a place this big before.
“Woah…”
“Pretty cool right?” Leo smirked
“It’s…Amazing! You guys live here?”
“Pretty much. It’s pretty good for a place in the sewers.” Raph replied
“Uhh did you say sewers?”
“Got a problem, short and fluffy?” Donnie remarked
“Don’t mind Dr Frankenstein. He’s incapable of being nice or having feelings in general.” Leo teased
“Hahaha you’re pretty funny yknow?”
“Guilty as charged.” Leo tried to keep his face from heating up, failing miserably.
“Well now that we’re here, I will be in my room-”
“You mean your nerd cave?”
“How dare you violate the sacred space known as the nerd cave. Later, losers!” Donnie walked away.
“I’m kinda hungry since we never managed to get our pizza so Mikey, you’re up!” Raph stated
“Prepare to eat the most delicious pizza known to man!” Mikey exclaimed, trudging off to the kitchen with his hand held above his head, Raph clumsily stumbling after him.

Usagi turned to look at the remaining turtle.
“Well, I guess it’s just the two of us” Usagi added. Leo flushed at the thought of being left alone with the handsome specimen of a rabbit.
“Y-Yeah i guess so… Lemme take a look at your arm.” Leo grabbed Usagi by the unharmed arm and dragged him to his room.

“This is your room?” Usagi commented.
“I know. Cool right?”
“Uhh if i say no, will my arm not be treated?”
“I.Am.Offended” Leo gasped
“Relax, I’m just kidding. It’s pretty nice.”
“So glad to have someone who understands the art of interior design.”
Usagi giggled at Leo’s comment.
“Oh right your arm! Just take a seat on the bed.” Leo told Usagi as he rummaged through his room for his medical equipment. Usagi did as he was told, taking a seat on the bed. He intently watched the turtle as he searched his room. He had to admit, this turtle made him feel different. Not a bad kind of different but the heart-racing, face-heating kind of different. He was certainly one of the more handsome yokai he had seen in his life. He didn’t even realize he was staring until Leonardo spoke.

“Mesmerized by my dashing good looks?” Leo smirked with his hand on his chin
“I’m actually more shocked at how disfigured your face looks.”
“Well consider yourself untreated.” Leo said, crossing his arms before both of them burst into laughter.
"Lemme take a look at that arm.” Leo said, beckoning Usagi to raise his arm.
Usagi raised his arms and blushed slightly when he felt Leonardo gently hold his arm, carefully examining his wound. He watched as Leo put a liquid on a cotton ball and turned to Usagi.

“This is going to sting a little.” Leo said. Usagi replied with a nod as the cotton ball was pressed into the wound. Usagi hissed in pain for a few seconds before getting used to the burn.

“A little was a bit of an understatement.”
“Sorry about that but it’s all over now. All that’s left is to bandage it.” Leo added, wrapping the bandage around the wound and tying it firmly.

“Aaaand there we go. All patched up!”
Usagi looked down at the wrapping. It looked and felt better than any medical work he had done on himself.
“Where’d you learn to patch people up like this?”
“Oh I dabble.”
“Ok Doctor Strange.”
“Hey I take that as a compliment.” Leo chuckled before the room filled with silence for a few minutes.
“Uhmm is it alright if i can get a change of clothes? My outfit’s pretty messed up.” Usgi asked.
“Y-yeah sure lemme look for something.” Leo jumped, his face slightly red at the fact that this adorable rabbit was about to wear his clothing. He returned a minute later with a blue T-shirt that said “It is what it is” across the chest and gray sweatpants. He turned around from his wardrobe to see Usagi untying his ears, allowing them to flop down both sides of his face, making him look at least 20 times more adorable in Leo’s eyes. Leo was so entranced by the rabbits appearance that he didn’t notice the skateboard lying on his floor as he stepped on it and tumbled on to the bed

“Ooff are you o-” Leo said, using his arms to prop himself on the bed. Underneath him was Usagi lying flat on the bed, their faces mere inches apart. Both of them grew more and more red the longer they stayed in position before one of them spoke.
“H-Hey…” Usagi stuttered.
“H-Hi,” Leo wasn’t even capable of thinking before the word came out of his mouth,” You look really…cute with your ears down.”
If it was a competition to get flustered first, Usagi had won by a mile. His face heated up, looking as red as a tomato while he tried to conjure up a response in his head.
“U-Uhhh y-yeah it-it’s more c-comfortable when the-they’re down” He giggled, resisting the urge to lift his hands to cup the turtle’s cheeks. However, Leo listened to the urge, removing it from the bed and moving it slowly to touch Usagi’s cheek.

Leo’s hand was centimeters away from the rabbit’s cheeks before he heard Donnie yell from his Lab,” Guys! I’m picking up weird mystic energy in town!”
This was enough to shake the two from their trance. Leo straightened up immediately, rubbing the back of his neck,” Ahaha I-I’d better go check that out. See Ya!” Leo dashed out of the door, leaving Usagi a blushing mess on his bed.

Trying to get his mind on the task at hand, Usagi began to change into the clothes Leo gave him.

“WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT?!” The word rung in both the turtle and the rabbits minds as they prepare to move to the next chapter of their encounter…

Chapter Text

“What’s going on, Dee?” Leo rushed into the main room, his heart still reeling from the situation he was in a few minutes ago.
“My genius built apparel has picked up mystic traces in a shopping mall. This might be a part of the mystic armor that Draxum’s after.”
“Well…what are we waiting for?” Raph asked.
“Uh bup bup. Are we forgetting something?” Leo chirped, earning a questioning look from his brothers. Leo sighed at their cluelessness and pointed up to his room. Out of the door stepped Usagi clad in Leo’s clothing, ears now tied up.

“Now before you say anything…He asked for a change of clothes.” Leo said, turning back to his brothers. They all shot him a look that screamed,”Oh, Really?”

“I have no issues with him tagging along. He was pretty good in the last fight.” Mikey added.
“Same here. Who knows if we’ll need the help.” Raph replied.
“Then I guess he’s coming along.” Leo cheered as he made his way to Usagi to tell him the good news.
“Does my vote not count at all?” Donnie asked
“Well it’s three to one and we all know you’d say no.” Mikey replied.
“Fair play”

Leo walked up to his room to see Usagi fiddling with his top.
“Not your style?” Leo entered.
“It’s just a bit itchy.”
“Want me to scratch that itch for you?” Leo smirked, hoping to get a reaction out of the rabbit. Boy, did he succeed. Almost immediately, Usagi’s face flushed bright red, making the rabbit turn to face the side, hoping to hide his reaction from the turtle.

“Red’s a good colour on you, cottontail.” Leo laughed before addressing what he came here for.
“Me and the guys are going to investigate some weird stuff in the city, wanna come with?”
Usagi thought about it for a moment. He didn’t want to be a burden for the turtles and was hoping to get out of their shells as soon as possible.
“I guess I’m down. Quick question though, how important are these clothes to you?”
“They’re my prized possessions. I mean, just look how good you look in them.”
“I must admit. Blue isn’t really my color.”
“How dare you insult the single best colour known to man.”
“What are you gonna do about it, huh?” Usagi stuck his tongue out
“Welll…I uhhhh…”
“Cat got your tongue, stripes?”
“You’re evil. Good, but evil”
“Usagi 1, Leo 0” Usagi cheered, sticking his arms high in the air.
“Hey now, I seem to recall a snow white rabbit turning as red as a tomato a few seconds ago.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Usagi crossed his arms and closed his eyes, making Leo laugh in response.

“Ahem…If you two are done flirting…We have some snooping to do.” Donnie commented, making Leo and Usagi snap out of their little interaction. Leo turned to Usagi,” Don’t worry about the clothes.” before grabbing his odachi and heading to the main room.

All the brothers plus Usagi gathered, ready for the mission. Raph gave Leo a nod and Leo sliced the air, blue lightning following his blade as a portal opened right where his blade was swung. Each of them filed into the portal, one after the other, stepping through it to enter a shopping mall that was closed down. Once everyone was through the portal, Raph took charge and assigned each person to a floor to look out for the mysterious mystic source. Usagi was assigned to search the third floor. He had basically searched every nook and cranny before hearing a voice that didn’t particularly belong to any of the turtles.

“Look it’s here!” A raspy voice echoed from the corridor. Usagi peeked his head around a corner that he had hidden behind. Two figures, one really big guy and one lanky guy with what looked to be flames on their heads were peering through a cage. He squinted his eyes to get a good look at what they were looking at behind the cage. It seemed to be a metal glove with a ring on it. To Usagi, it didn’t look that special but the suspicious duo looked like really bad people.

I need to warn the turtles

But, Usagi had no idea how to give them a signal that wouldn’t alert the duo until he had a rather bright idea pop into his mind.Taking a hold of his sword and making use of the very dim lighting around him, he tilted his sword to make reflective signals to the turtles on the other floors. Raphael was the first to take notice, looking in Usagi’s direction. He nodded and touched what seemed to be his ear.

“Usagi found what we’re looking for.” Raph said through the earpiece he was given by Donnie.
“Why didn’t he call out for us then?” Donnie questioned.
“There has to be a reason why he can’t speak.” Leo answered as he peered up from the second floor railing to see a gigantic figure looming over Usagi. Leo internally panicked. Usagi clearly hadn’t seen the person behind him and it looked like he had no time to react even if he did. Lucky for him, Leo was the greatest ninja in the world.

Leo took out his odachi and sliced the air, creating a portal behind him. Usagi had seen this and wondered what the blue turtle was after. He turned to look at the suspicious duo only to find that one of them had disappeared.

“Seems like I found myself a rabbit.” A deep voice from behind him said, making Usagi whip around. He turned to see a large fist flying straight at his fist. He had no time to block it, no time to react at all. That was, until a blue portal appeared in front of his face, blocking his view, mere inches from his nose. It then clicked in his head. Usagi turned around to where he last saw Leo and his suspicions were confirmed. There, he saw the rest of the big guy’s fist through the portal on the second floor but Leo was nowhere to be seen.
“INCOMING!!!” Usagi heard Leo yell as he whipped back around.

Leo came flying through the same portal that the guy had punched through and delivered a flying kick to his face, sending him flying backwards.

“I think that makes it Usagi 1 Leo 1.” Leo smugly added.
“I’ll allow it…just this once.” Usagi replied.
“How about we teach these guys a lesson?”
“You read my mind”

Leo dashed at the brute, sliding under him and kicking the back of his knees, making the brute stumble to his knees. Usagi followed up by delivering a swift knee to his chin, before back flipping and landing on his feet. An idea popped into the rabbit’s head as he called out to Leo

“Hey stripes! How good are you at pinball?”
“Pinball?... Ohhhh I like where this is going.”

Leo proceeded to kick the brute in the back, pushing him towards Usagi. Usagi replied by using the hilt of his sword to punch the brute in the stomach. The two continued to knock the brute back and forth between each other before he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

“I’d say I won that one.” Usagi snarked, looking down at their opponent.
“You wish. He was seeing stars after I hit him.”
“For a big guy, he was embarrassingly weak.”
“I know right. Well you know what they say, big things come in small…” Leo was interrupted by Usagi putting his hand over his mouth.
“Do not even finish that sentence.”

“GUYS!” Mikey called, grabbing Leo and Usagi’s attention.
“The ring! They’re after the ring!” Donnie added, wrestling with the smaller figure over the glove. Raph jumped into the tussle, making both of them release the glove, sending it flying high into the air. At once, everyone jumped for the glove, well everyone except Usagi. All the rabbit had to do was pull out his yo-yo and sling it towards the ring, slipping it off the glove and bringing it back to him, making everyone fall to the floor in a confused mess.

“The hell was that?” Raph exclaimed, looking towards Usagi.
“Oh! Uhhh magnetic yo-yo?” Usagi shrugged.
“You are just full of surprises!” Mikey cheered, making Usagi giggle.
“We got what we came for! Let’s bounce!” Leo said, opening a portal, allowing everyone to escape.

Little did the turtles know that the ring wasn’t the prize up for grabs….

Chapter Text

The gang had arrived safely back at the Lair, ring in Usagi’s hand. The room erupted in cheers as soon as the portal had closed.
“WE ARE THE BEST!” Donnie yelled, doing a little dance that Leo and Mikey joined seconds later. Usagi couldn't hold his laughter back as he watched the brothers dance around the room. He handed the ring to Raph and was about to take a seat when it hit him.

He hadn’t been home in a few hours

He abruptly stood up from the couch, catching the attention of the turtles.
“Usagi?” Leo questioned.
“Leo…I…I have to get home. Thanks for patching me up.”
“Ohhh…I see…” Leo’s face fell. He looked utterly devastated, like a child who had just had his favourite toy taken away.
“Do you really have to go?” Mikey asked, also a bit saddened by the imminent departure of his new friend.
Usagi stood up and patted Mikey on the head,”Yeah Mikey, I gotta get home.” Mikey pulled the rabbit into a hug, surprising Usagi.
“Stay safe out there. It’s nice to know not all yokai are bad.” Raph said, placing his hand on the rabbit’s shoulder. Usagi looked up at the oldest turtle and a small smile made its way onto his face before he turned to face Donnie.
“You’re good in a fight…” Donnie crossed his arms and sighed.
“That’s about all you’ll get from him.” Raph chuckled.

Mikey released the rabbit and Raph removed his hand from his shoulder, leaving one last turtle to say goodbye. For the both of them, this was the hardest one to depart from.
“Leo?”
“Hey” Leo’s voice sounded soft and full of pain
“Your clothes. I can return them before I leave.”
“Keep them.”
“But you said…”
“Usagi.” Leo’s voice raised a little higher than he would’ve expected.
“Don’t worry about the clothes. Keep them as…something to remember me by.” Leo trailed off at the end of his sentence but it rang loud and clear in Usagi’s head.

The rabbit beamed at the slider turtle, making Leo’s face flush incredibly red. Mikey, who was watching from the sidelines, gasped and covered his mouth out of a sudden realisation that he had. Leo coughed loudly before turning to face Usagi.

“I can drop you off somewhere near your house, if you want.” Leo suggested.
“I’d like that.” Usagi agreed as he made sure he had all his belongings before leaving.

Sword,check.
Yo-yo,Check
Own clothes,Check
Usagi was ready to go. He walked to the centre of the Lair, where Leo was waiting for him.
“Where to, Bunny Boy?” Leo attempted to cover his sadness with humour.
“That pizza place we met at is fine.”
“Oh you mean Huesos? Easy Peasy.”

Leo swung his sword, a blue portal appearing in its wake. He stepped through, followed shortly by Usagi. A swirling sensation later, he found himself at the door to Run Of The Mill Pizza with Leo standing next to him.

“I’ll never get used to that.”
“Sometimes speed is better than comfortability.”
“Oh? Using big words now? How you’ve grown.”
“Is that an insult to my intelligence?” Leo placed his hand on his plastron in mock offence.
“Maybe. Depends on how smart you are~” Usagi giggled behind his arm.

Silence followed the conversation. Neither of them really wanted to leave each other. It was the first time in Usagi’s life that he found people like him. People who cared for his well being. It was Leo’s first time feeling attached to someone this strongly. He could live off of seeing the rabbit every day but alas their time together had come to an end.

“So I guess this is it huh?” Leo spoke. Usagi’s face dropped at the sound of Leo’s tone.
“It…doesn’t have to be. Maybe we’ll see each other again.”
“That’s a really big maybe.”
“I believe it’s written in the books somewhere.” Usagi looked up and smiled straight ahead before beginning to walk. He turned around and flashed a smile at Leo,” Until next time, Ninja” Usagi commented as he continued his walk before he completely disappeared into the crowd of the Hidden City.

Leo had remained at the door of Hueso’s for a few more minutes before making a portal and returning home. He trudged through the portal, his mind full of images of his bunny friend. All the smiles, the laughs, the jokes. Leo could never forget a face like that. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn’t even realise that he had entered his room.He flopped down onto the bed, face first and grabbed his pillow. Sleep was just about to grab hold of him before he heard a knock at his door.

“Please don’t be Donnie. Please!” Leo pleaded in his mind before allowing the visitor in. Luckily, it was Mikey.

“Hey Leo. How you holding up?”
“I…don’t know”
“Wanna talk about it?”

Leo could spend all day talking about Usagi. There was so much about him that he didn’t know but that intrigued him even more. He might as well get all of this out of his chest now before he gets too attached. So he gave Mikey a nod of approval.

“Tell me what’s up big bro.”
“Well…I know he’s only been gone a few minutes but…I miss him already.”
“How so?”
“Every Time I was with him, my chest felt tight but like in a good way. He laughed at my one-liners, he saved my life, he made me smile…”
“That deep huh?”
“I don’t know what to call this feeling. I always want to be around him and spend time with him. It gives me a comfort I’ve never felt before. I’ve never experienced these types of feelings before since he’s our first friend since April.”
“Wanna hear what I think?” Mikey interjected. Leo looked at his younger brother and nodded.
“I think you’re feeling this way because you like Usagi.”
“Of course I like him! We all do! Well, I don’t know about Donnie but I’m sure you and Raph like him.”
Mikey laughed at his brother's response. Even though he was older, he could be quite oblivious.

“Not like that Leo. I mean you like him MORE than a friend.”
“What do you mean?”
“Ever heard of love at first sight?”
“Yeah of course I hav-Oh OHHHHH”
“That would explain why you feel that way for him.”
Leo’s face flushed red as he realised the gravity of Mikey’s words and his feeling.

He liked Usagi

“Leo?” Mikey called, snapping him out of his trance
“Yeah?”
“I think you should go for him. If you really like him, you’ll see him again. I’m sure of it. Take it from Doctor Feeli-OH?” Mikey was interrupted by Leo tackling him into a hug.
“Thanks for helping Mikey. I feel much better now.” Leo spoke in the hug. Mikey smiled and returned the hug, before standing up to leave to let Leo have some alone time.

Leo laid in his bed, thinking about his most recent conversation with Mikey. He felt giddy upon the realisation of his feelings. He knew for a fact that he was not going to get a wink of sleep that night…

Usagi walked up to the door of his apartment. The room was quiet. Eerily quiet. He unlocked the door and barged in, only yo find that all of his possessions were missing.
“Shit” Usagi silently cursed as he scanned the room for any indicator as to who took his stuff although he already had an idea as to who the culprit was. He noticed a piece of paper on the kitchen table. He approached it and picked it up, reading the note in his mind:

“If you wish to ever see your pathetic excuse for a pet again or any of your belongings in one piece, you’ll know where to go~ Love, Big Mama.”

Chapter Text

Usagi came to a stop in front of a large building. He looked up at the skyscraper, at the huge words, "Battle Nexus Hotel.”

He really never wanted to set foot in this place again. Not after what he had been through. Big Mama had her ways of making a deal sound better than it actually is and Usagi only blames himself for falling for her trick. Regardless, he had his head on straight this time around. He was here to get Spot and his stuff back. That’s all. No more deals.

Usagi took a deep breath in and yelled at the doors.

“BIG MAMA! YOU WANTED ME HERE SO I’M HERE. GIVE MY STUFF BACK AND LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!”

He was met with silence. What was he expecting? Big Mama was not the type to just respond to his every whim. It was useless trying to persuade her. But Spot was trapped in there somewhere and he couldn’t leave him, not even if the world was ending. So he waited.

Usagi sat down and crossed his legs in front of the hotel. If this was a game of patience, he wasn’t gonna let Big Mama win.

30 mins later, sleep was beginning to take it’s hold on him. The fact that he hadn’t rested since meeting the turtles was really starting to show. An image of Leo flashed into his mind at that thought.

“What was that?” Usagi thought. He knew that he liked the turtles. Their whole gang was fun to be around. They gave Usagi the feeling of friendship for the first time. But why did Leo pop into his head? Sure, he was funny and cool and athletic and hands….

Usagi’s train of thought derailed as he felt a sharp pain in his neck. He pulled at the source and held it up to his eyes. A dart. Suddenly, his vision started to sway.

“Shit…It’s…poison…” Usagi stuttered, his bodily functions deactivating one by one. He groggily stood up and tried to flee from the hotel but his legs gave out. He hit the floor with a thud and his vision faded to black…

Usagi awoke in a dark room. His vision was still a bit blurry but from the look of it, it seemed like he was in a cell. Great. He tried to move away from the wall that he was propped up against but was promptly stopped in his tracks. He looked back to see his hands cuffed to the wall behind him. He had no way to escape. Admitting defeat, he laid his head back against the wall and stared at the ceiling.

His ears twitched at the sound of the cell door opening and his soul sank as he heard the voice of the person who entered.

“If it isn’t my precious rabbity boo” Big Mama cooed.

Usagi lifted his head off the wall to look at Big Mama. His eyes blazed with fury.

“Ease up a little! It’s not every day we get to see a champion return to the Nexus.” Big Mama smirked.
“Don’t. Call me that. I’m done being your guinea pig.” Usagi growled.
“Tsk Tsk do you really think you can talk to me like that when I have your precious pet in my grasp?” Big Mama replied, clapping her hands loudly. Usagi’s heart dropped when he realised why she did that.

A bellboy entered the room, holding a struggling Spot by the neck in one hand. In the other was a knife. He handed the pet and the weapon to Big Mama and a wicked smile grew on her face. Spot tried his hardest to put up a fight, kicking his little feet aggressively and snapping his teeth at Big Mama’s fingers.

“SPOT!” Usagi lunged forward, quickly being pulled back by his chains, making him tumble to the floor.

“He’s a vicious little thing, isn’t he?” Big Mama remarked, making Usagi unsure if she was referring to Spot or himself.
“Leave him alone!...please.” Usagi’s head fell, his ears nearly touching the ground.
“You’re in no position to make demands my boy.” She brought the knife up to Spot’s neck.

“If you want your pet to live, you’ll listen carefully.” Big Mama said. Usagi lifted his head to glare at her. This was the exact thing he wanted to avoid.

“I don’t want you to return to the Battle Nexus.”
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“Stop fucking around and get to the point.”
“How I miss your witty remarks.”

Usagi’s blood was boiling. He had roped himself into another one of Big Mama’s schemes. She had the audacity to hold Spot captive while knowing what he was capable of. He was so absorbed in his anger that he didn’t even notice Big Mama kneel down to his level, still holding Spot tightly.

“Now that’s a sight for sore eyes. I haven’t seen that look in your eyes since the championship fight.” Big Mama smirked.

Usagi couldn’t take it anymore. He spat at Big Mama’s face, the projectile landing on her cheek, making her recoil backwards, facing the cell door. She straightened, wiping her cheek before an evil laughter echoed in the room. Usagi couldn’t see her face but the laugh she was making was shaking him to the bone.

His fear must’ve blinded him because in a second he had collided with the cold cell floor. Big Mama had whipped around and kicked him square in the jaw. Usagi stumbled back onto his knees, the room spinning. She was stronger than she looked.

“Let’s try to keep this respectful, hun.”
“Just tell me what I have to do.” Usagi mumbled, admitting his defeat
“Now, I said I don’t want you to return to the Battle Nexus…but your skills are still useful to me. You’re going to be my personal hitman or for lack of better words, my assassin.”
“You want me to go around killing people AFTER specifically leaving the Nexus because I didn’t want to kill anymore?”
“You think you have a choice?” She drew the knife closer to Spot’s neck, the blade touching the dinosaur’s neck. Usagi glared at Big Mama. He was helpless…

“What’s the verdict, Champion.”
“Don’t ask me like I have a choice. Just give me my pet back.” Usagi mumbled, utterly defeated.
“Looking forward to working with you.” Big Mama smiled as she turned to leave the cell.
“Hey! What about Spot? GIVE HIM BACK!” Usagi yelled at Big Mama’s retreating back. She only responded with laughter before turning to face the rabbit through the bars of the cell.

“Since when did I say I’d give him back?” She adjusted her glasses before ordering the bellboys standing guard to lock the door.

“SCREW YOU!” Usagi screamed, livid with hatred for his new boss. It didn’t take long for his anger to turn into tears.

He sat against the cell wall, knees huddled up to his chest, sobbing into them. It was at this moment that he wished he had Leo by his side. Who knows if he’ll ever see him again. All he had to keep him comfort was his tears and he had never felt more lonely than he ever had since he was born…

Chapter Text

Cheers erupted in the stadium. Thousands of spectators yelling their support for the fighting parties. Usagi's chest pounded in sync with the cheers. His breathing was heavy. His left arm had gone limp. The fresh scar up his cheek leaking blood down his neck.

His vision narrowed to his opponent in front of him. A jet black wolf with piercing green eyes was staring him down from across the arena with a devilish smile on his face. For the first time in his life, Usagi felt true fear. His heart pounded against his ribcage, all of his instincts telling him to get the hell out of there but his feet wouldn’t move. In an attempt to conceal his fear, Usagi brandished his katana, lowering himself into a defensive stance.

The wolf’s laughter filled the arena

“How cute. Little rabbit is scared of the Big Bad Wolf.” The wolf snickered, banging his sickles together with each word he spoke. Usagi swallowed hard. The chances of him surviving this were insanely low. He was rooted to the spot with no way to escape (Thanks to Big Mama).

“You just gonna stand there? Or should I personally deliver your demise?” The wolf smiled. Not giving Usagi even a moment to think, he launched himself at the rabbit and that’s when everything went dark for Usagi.

When he came to, the arena was silent. He looked around to see the spectators staring at him with a mixture of emotions. Some in shock, some in disbelief, some in awe. The silence was deafening. Suddenly, the announcer’s voice boomed through the stadium…

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE WINNER AND YOUR NEW CHAMPION, THE SAMURAI RABBIT!”

Usagi’s head shot up to Big Mama’s booth as the announcer spoke. Their eyes met and Usagi could feel his hatred boiling from deep within. Simultaneously, the crowd burst to life with cheers of Usagi’s title. Usagi felt a rush of exhilaration as he pumped his fist up to the sky in victory. However, as he brought his hands back down, he noticed the limp body of his wolf opponent on the floor just a few feet behind him. He stared at the body for a few seconds before noticing the trail of blood leading from the wolf’s body to his own. The rabbit looked down at his hands to find that they were completely stained with fresh dripping blood.

The rabbit’s heart quickened and his breathing became a lot heavier…

Usagi shot up from his bed, panting heavily. He immediately went to check his hands, only to see that they were clean. The rabbit clutched his head.

It was just a dream.

Yet the dream was so vivid. Usagi remembers that day like it was yesterday. He remembers struggling to breathe when he was being escorted out of the arena, he remembers how long it took to completely wash out the blood stains from his hands, he even remembers the sleepless nights trying to forget his first victim. He vowed then and there that he would never kill again.

Yet here he was, on job for Big Mama, specifically for killing. His attention shifted towards the door of his new room. Luckily, Big Mama felt nice enough not to keep him in the prison cell and get him an actual room albeit quite the cramped space. As if they were waiting for him to wake up, the bellboys outside Usagi’s door knocked.

“Big Mama wants to see you. 10 minutes.”

A groan escaped Usagi’s lips. As much as he didn’t want to do this, Spot was in danger. So he steeled himself and prepared to go meet his employer.

The bellboys led the rabbit to Big Mama’s office.
“Wait here.” The servant commanded before entering the office. Usagi didn’t bother replying, knowing that his response wouldn’t change a thing so he waited. A minute later, the door swings open and he is invited in.

He’s met by Big Mama, sitting at her unnecessarily large desk.

“Good evening, Yuichi.”
“It’s Usagi to you.” The rabbit snarled.
“Hey now, let’s keep this friendly, yeah? There’s no need for hostility between partners.”
“ Partners? More like Master and servant.”
“It’s good you know who holds all the cards here.” Big Mama walked up to Usagi and booped him on the nose. God, he hated that woman.
“What am I here for?” The rabbit gestured to the room.
“You have your first target tonight. However, I can’t have you doing jobs for me looking like you sleep in a dumpster, so I prepared a little something.” Big Mama said, clapping her hands.

Instantly, a goat yokai donning glasses burst into the office. He seemed to be carrying something in his arms. What it was, Usagi couldn’t be bothered to care enough. The goat passed the items to Big Mama before promptly exiting the office in a rush. Big Mama turned her head towards Usagi before beckoning him to her. As he approached, he was able to get an idea of what she was holding. They were clothes.

“Now I want you to wear these whenever you’re on the job. No exceptions.” Big Mama stated, making sure to emphasise the last bit. She handed the stack to him and told him to get changed as soon as possible and wait in front of her door. Usagi left the office without so much as a word and got changed in his room. Before exiting, he inspected himself in the mirror.
His outfit was both complex and simple. He was given lightweight sandals with knee high socks which connected to the pants. The pants were secured to his waist by a belt that was suited with compartments to fit many smaller weapons. Covering his torso, he had a short sleeve compression shirt with arm length bands from his upper arm to halfway through his fingers, leaving only his shoulders exposed. On top of the compression shirt, he had a navy blue short sleeve crop top hoodie to hide his identity from anyone who might recognize him from his arena days. This unfortunately also meant that he had to fight with his ears down. The last item he had was a mask that he could attach directly to the front of his mask but he decided to leave it off until he actually had to go out.

As he waited outside Big Mama’s door, he thought about what kind of enemy he might be facing. He had a suspicion that Big Mama may be leading him to his death but he had faith in his own abilities to keep him alive. Wait, didn’t the turtles mention that they know Big Mama? Does that mean…

Big Mama’s presence was announced by the click of her heels on the marble floor as she approached the rabbit. She was being followed by the same owl Usagi had beaten up in the restaurant.

“Looking good, Usagi.” Big Mama added to which Usagi just rolled his eyes.
“Get to the point. Who am I after?”
“A pesky bear has stolen from me and avoided the many warnings I have given him. Here’s a picture.” Big Mama handed him a photo of a bear with a scar down his eye. At least he was recognizable.
“Teach him a lesson, would you?”
“And what do you expect me to kill him with? My bare fists?”
“You’ll have your sword. Besides, being unarmed hasn’t stopped you before, has it?” Big Mama smirked as the owl handed Usagi’s katana and yo-yo. Usagi decided to take a step further to test his boundaries.

“I’m keeping my weapons, even after the jobs done.” He stood his ground, prepared for Big Mama to refuse.
“Fine by me. I know you won’t do anything to me. Not when I can get your precious pet killed at any moment.” Usagi’s chest burned with rage.
“You bit-”
“Time is of the essence. Your target will be around the docks at this time. Good luck.” Big Mama said, tossing a coin at Usagi's feet. Usagi’s eyes widened, realising what it was. A portal opened under his feet and gravity took a hold of him to pull him through.

“Oh, your mask has a voice changer in it, so suggest you wear it! When you’re done, there’s more portal coins in your belt pockets!” Big Mama called at the falling rabbit as the portal closed above him.

The rabbit landed hard in a crate that had a horrible smell. He looked under him to see what he landed in.

“Fish? Seriously? It’s gonna take so long to get the smell out.” He pulled himself out of the crate and patted himself down. He heard a voice echo through the air and immediately hid behind cover. He peeked around the crate he was hiding behind to identify the source of the voice. It was him. The target. He looked to be on a phone call. Usagi put on his mask and surveyed his surroundings. There was no one else there.

“Perfect. Let’s get this over with.” Usagi thought as the bear ended his call. The rabbit stepped out of cover and announced his presence.

“Hey you!” Usagi yelled, surprised by how different his voice sounded through the mask. It was deeper and more…menacing. The bear turned around and squinted at him before letting out a small chuckle.

“Hey kiddo, what are you doing out here by yourself?”
“Kiddo? I’m 5’6!”
“Keep telling yourself that kid. What’s going on?”
“I’m here to kill you.”

The bear blinked before bursting into laughter, clutching his stomach. Usagi couldn’t help but feel a bit offended. Sure he was small, but he was fierce too!

“Good banter but let's be serious here. You lost?” The bear asked, putting a hand on Usagi’s shoulder. Usagi looked at the bear’s hand before rolling his eyes. Within a second, he grabbed the bear’s arm and flipped him over his shoulder, slamming the bear into the floor.

“Still think I’m a kid?” Usagi snarked as the bear stumbled back onto his feet.
“What the fuck? What are you?” The bear growled.
“Let’s just say I’m a messenger. Big Mama’s got a bone to pick with you.” The bear’s eyes widened at the mention of his employer.
“So that’s what this is about? Well, maybe she’ll leave me alone when she sees your mangled body at her doorstep.” The bear ripped off his shirt.
“Pfft as if. Also please dress yourself, we’re not animals. I mean we are- but you know…”
“You talk too much for an assassin.”
“Well excuse me. I don’t wanna have a fight with your ugly ass.”
“Just shut up already!” The bear charged at Usagi, throwing an incredibly predictable punch at the rabbit which was dodged with ease.

“Let’s make this fun. How about you come at me with everything you’ve got while i only get to use my feet. How’s that sound?” Usagi added
“You little!” The bear swung punch after punch, missing the rabbit and getting more frustrated. All the while, Usagi was enjoying himself. Since being captured, this was the only source of exhilaration he could get despite the fact that he had to kill him. Usagi, however, got very bored of the fight very quickly because the bear was just too predictable. All he did was swing and miss. After about the 12th miss, the rabbit decided it was his turn.

He dodged a hook aimed at his head by ducking under it. He then planted his left foot and swept the bear off his feet. While the bear was airborne, Usagi rolled under the bear and kicked him higher into the air. Thanks to him being a rabbit and his training, his speed and jump height were on a different level. He compressed his body and sprung up, higher than the bear was flying. To gain speed, he started to flip, rapidly gaining speed as he rotated. Just as he reached the same height level as the bear, he slammed the heel of his foot into the bear's chest with a resounding crack echoing through the sky, sending the bear crashing into the floor.

Usagi landed next to the limp figure on the floor.
“Guess I won. Although…” Usagi leaned closer to the bear, grimacing at the sight of his lifeless eyes,” I may have gone overboard. All that’s left is to dispose of the body and head back.” Usagi grabbed hold of the bear’s collar and dragged him towards the ocean, tossing him in. Suddenly, his ears twitched at the sound of a crack from behind him.

Around 10 minutes earlier at the Lair…

“I’m so BORED.” Leo sighed to the ceiling, lounging on a bean bag.
“Read a book or something. Why must you disturb me?” Donnie groaned.
“I just wanted to come and hang out with my 3rd favourite brother. Is that too much to ask?”
“Ouch, he said with real sadness and zero sarcasm”
“Any updates on the armour?”
“I’m close but nothing yet.”
“Ok but how close is close?”
“Close enough to kick you out of my room.”
“Damn Dee. I can tell when I’m not wanted. I thought we had a connection.” Leo fake sobbed.
“Connections are meaningless when I can comfort myself with science. And pizza.”
“Finally something we agree on. Not the science bit.”
“Shut it you Hawaiian loving heath-” Alarms blared in Donnie’s lab.

Discarding the conversation, Donnie clicked through his computer, finding the source for the alarm.

“Donnie, what’s going on?” Raph burst through the door, followed by Mikey.
“There’s commotion at the docks.”
“Should we check it out?” Mikey asked.
“Might as well. We’ve got nothing better to do.” Leo picked up his odachi and swung through the air. One by one, he and his brothers stepped through. However, it wasn’t as subtle as he had wanted it to be as he stepped on a twig as soon as he stepped out of the portal.

“Guys look!” Mikey pointed towards a hooded figure by the water. As if Mikey had called out to them, the hooded figure turned their head towards the turtle.

“Hey you! What happened here?” Leo yelled as they made their way towards the figure. Without a response, the hooded figure started to bolt away from the turtles. The Mad Dogs immediately gave chase, finding the behaviour quite suspicious. However, the figure just seemed to be getting further away. How were they so damn fast? The last they saw of the hooded figure was when they dove into the water and seemed to disappear into thin air.

“Uhhh what the hell was that?” Leo turned to ask his brothers…

On top of Big Mama, Draxum, The Foot Clan and The Shredder Armour, The Mad Dogz now had to find out more about this hooded stranger that can disappear whenever they like to? Great, what an amazing start to the week.

Chapter Text

A bright purple portal opened up in Big Mama’s office,startling the Battle Nexus owner. Spilling through the portal came the white rabbit along with at least a tub full of water. Usagi collided with the floor, drenched in water.

“Oh my” Big Mama gasped, looking at the poor sight of the shivering rabbit stumbling to his feet.
Usagi took a few minutes to compose himself. Of course he hadn’t really planned to jump into the water for an escape, much less use the portal coin without knowing if it could even work underwater but he couldn’t risk the turtles even getting so much as a clue to his identity. Especially Leo. He couldn’t stomach the possible reaction he might receive from the slider if they ever found out who he really was.

“The job’s done.” Usagi coughed, struggling to get the water out of his lungs.
“Where's the body?” Big Mama asked, without so much as moving from his desk.
“I’d say it’s about 15 feet underwater right now.”
“Did you confirm that he was dead?”
“I’m pretty sure broken ribs, punctured lungs and being knocked unconscious underwater was evidence eno-”
“Usagi.”

Shivers travelled through the rabbit's cold body. He could instantly tell Big Mama was not happy.

“Next time. You CONFIRM your kills. I will not repeat myself.” Big Mama demanded, a cold look piercing Usagi’s soul. All he could do at that moment was nod. Shortly after, Big Mama dismissed him. However, Usagi had no idea what he was in for as Big Mama proceeded to send him on mission after mission every day since the incident for two weeks straight…

Leo was beginning to think he would never see the rabbit again. It had been THREE whole weeks since he last saw Usagi and it was starting to show just what kind of effect it had on him. Just when he had just figured out his feelings too(with the help of Mikey). Maybe this was a sign that they weren’t meant to be anything other than strangers. Leo found himself sitting in his room staring at the ceiling thinking the very same thing. He would give anything to see Usagi at least once more to soothe his heart. While he knew that he did indeed have feelings for Usagi, Leo had no idea what it was supposed to feel like since he’s never had a real crush yknow, being a mutant turtle and all. He hoped seeing the rabbit would give him an idea of what it would really feel like around him. He doesn’t know why, but his body feels lighter at the thought of meeting the rabbit one more time. Images of the rabbit’s snow white fur, his buck teeth showing whenever he smiled, his chestnut brown eyes shining in the light. Leo could fill his head with images of the rabbit all day.

Unfortunately for him, Raph decided it was the right time to come and check on his little brother.
“Leo?”
“Hey Raph.” Leo replied, not looking away from the ceiling
“Is everything alright?”
“Hmm?” Leo sat up from his bed to look at Raph,” Yeah? Why ask?”
“I dunno really. You seem distant these days.” Raph rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
Leo hadn’t even noticed that he was being distant. With his family no less. Was he seriously that preoccupied with Usagi? Despite feeling bad, he still wasn’t ready for Raph to know about his feelings so he scrambled through his mind looking for a valid excuse to give.
“I’m just… worried about the dark armour situation. We’re running out of time.”
“I feel the same. Not to mention this new guy we saw 2 weeks ago. It looked like he was dumping a dead body in the water.” Raph shivered
“It’s weird honestly. We’ve never seen that yokai before and there’s only one person who comes to mind when it comes to having people do work for them.”

“Big Mama” Raph and Leo said in unison.

That was the only logical reason. No way could it be someone working for Baron Draxum because that guy never works with anyone. The Foot Clan would have been a sensible option except for the fact that they brand everything they wear with a massive orange footprint, a feature that was not present on the masked stranger at the port. The masked figure had a small frame, so that cancelled out all the other mutants that the turtles have faced before. Leaving the only person in The Hidden City with enough influence to hire anyone she desired to work for her…

“Still Big Mama’s got like a gazillion workers. It would take forever to find out who this person was.”
“Well Raph, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll see him again soon.” Raph turned to leave Leo’s bedroom.

“Wait, Raph.” Leo called, making his brother stop at the doorway to turn around.

“Thanks for checking in. Don’t worry about me.” Leo said. Raph just gave him a soft smile before exiting the room, leaving Leo once again alone with his thoughts. He hadn't even realised that he was feeling tired and before he knew it, he had passed out on his bed…

Usagi had been sent day after day on missions for Big Mama. He hadn’t had proper sleep in two weeks, He hadn't eaten a proper meal in ages. He was just down in the dumps overall. He was currently in his room, having just returned from a mission. He was trying to wash blood stains off his white fur but was struggling to do so. He really hated this job. Big Mama had offered him false hope at getting his pet back and Usagi jumped straight into the trap like an idiot. He wanted to scream, curl up against the wall and just sleep but before he knew it, he was being summoned once again by Big Mama…

Usagi entered the big office. Big Mama turned to look at him before scowling right at the rabbit.
“Oh my. You look a bit worse for wear.” She commented. Ignoring the blood stain on his face, Usagi looked like a skeleton. His eyes carried dark, heavy eyebags. His skin looked like it was getting looser and looser. He couldn’t even open his eyes fully thanks to the lack of sleep.

“What’s my next job?” Usagi replied, ignoring Big Mama’s comment
“This job… is a bit different. You’ll be investigating someone for a month to two months.”
“What do you mean?”
“Do you know of a particular Baron Draxum?”
Usagi remembers hearing the name from the turtles but no way in hell was he going to admit that.
“Doesn’t ring a bell.”
“Well, he is an evil scientist based above ground. I hear he’s currently fixated on collecting the scattered pieces of a mystic armour. I need you to stake him out.” Big Mama looked at the rabbit.

“What? That’s it? JUST stake him out?” Usagi prodded, believing there was more to the mission
“I need you to assess whether he is an asset or a liability. If and when the time comes, you’ll approach him to either kill or invite for collaboration with me.”
“And you trust me to make that decision myself?” Usagi scoffed.
“While I do trust you, you’ll need to be relaying information with me through this.” Big Mama tossed a disk shaped object with a button in the centre to the rabbit. The rabbit surveyed the object before looking back at Big Mama.

“Why can’t I just come back here to relay my information?”
“Reconnaissance missions are all about believability. It’ll prove useful for you to gather information as both an assassin and a regular citizen. If anyone sees you coming here regularly, it’ll raise some eyebrows.”
“So you’re saying, I’ll be away from here for up to two months?”
“Try not to look so excited about it. You’re still on a mission.”

Regardless, Usagi was finally gonna leave this shithole.

“When do I start?”
“Whenever you’re ready” Big Mama smiled, prompting Usagi to sprint off to his room to gather his belongings. Within ten minutes, the rabbit had packed all his belongings into a small duffel bag and was headed to the door, where he was stopped by Big Mama.

Usagi skidded to a halt, looking Mama dead in the eye. Big Mama returned the glare before sighing and pulling something out of her pocket. It was an envelope. His head tilted curiously while accepting the package handed to him.

“Inside is a credit card,a business card of mine and more information about Draxum.” Big Mama added. Usagi just looked at Mama. He couldn’t believe she had an ounce of kindness in her. Although he wasn’t gonna let that change his impression of her.

“I’ll cover the expenses of the Credit card, the business card will help you get into…many places, and the info on Draxum is about his next target for the armour.” Big Mama stated. Usagi blinked at her.

“What? Sending you out there with nothing is like feeding you to the wolves. I may be devious but I’m not heartless” Mama defended herself. Usagi just rolled his eyes, pulled up his hood, put his mask on and left the hotel.

Usagi had to make the most of this freedom that he had. Hope brewed inside him. An encounter with Leo and his brothers would be the perfect thing to help him out of this conundrum.

Chapter Text

It’s been three days since Usagi’s been sent on this mission after Draxum and he’s had no leads. He managed to return to his apartment, finding it in the exact same state as how he left it: completely robbed of everything except the bed and fridge. Big Mama certainly had her ways of sending a message out to the people she’s after. On his second day out, he wandered through the streets of the Hidden City, hoping he would hear at least a tiny piece of information on Draxum’s scheme but to no avail. He was beginning to think this guy just existed in people’s heads.

Disregarding his mission for just a little bit, he went out to fill his apartment back up; make it more homey. Thankfully, he had Big Mama’s credit card to fund all his expenses and he had absolutely no regret spending as much as he wanted. He had just finished sprucing his apartment back up and was now changing into his mission gear. If he couldn’t find the answer in the Hidden City then he would have to go topside for some answers. Hopefully he’d get lucky and hear at least something about this so-called ‘Baron’.

Rooftop after rooftop, Usagi surveyed his surroundings, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Luckily for him, it was near midnight so he was able to traverse the skyline at whatever speed he preferred. However, the night sky was so mesmerising, Usagi couldn’t stop himself from taking a little break. A tiny break wouldn’t hurt, would it?

Usagi laid down on a rooftop, mask to the side and hood down, staring at the stars above him. He had never been above the surface, well apart from when he was with the turtles, but they only travelled between places using Leo’s portal so he never got to see the night sky. It was a sight to see. He had never dreamed of seeing so many lights in the night sky, scattered around like spots on a dalmatian. His mind wandered deeper into his memories. Pictures of an old white rabbit smiling at him, flashed into his head. It was his Auntie. From what he remembered, she was quite the character. Strict with the training but wholesome whenever it came to everything else. He vaguely remembers the training she gave him that turned him into the fighter he was today, the former Battle Nexus Champion. It was thanks to her that he found unorthodox ways to fight; ways that suited how he wanted to fight, not how he was expected to fight as a samurai.

However, a vision that he couldn’t explain flashed into light in his head. It was his Auntie, looking at him in terror. She had a massive gash across her cheek and was gripping her katana close to her body, in a defensive state. She looked to be saying, more like yelling, something at him but no sound came out of her mouth. Usagi’s head began throbbing ever so slightly. The last he saw of that vision was his Auntie leaping at him before feeling a massive throbbing in his head.

The rabbit sat up, gripping his head. His face was scrunched up from the pain.

“What the fuck was that?” The rabbit questioned. He had no recollection of that ever happening in his life. Did Big Mama do something to him while he was asleep? Sure, there are dark spots in his memory but he had a pretty good idea of what had led him to this point in life.

Usagi’s train of thought was derailed by a loud bang, coming from a clearing several rooftops away. He peered down from the roof into the clearing. It looked like a garden? The place was full of people, dressed in black and in the distance, he could see a small group rapidly approaching the bigger group. Maybe this was what he had been waiting for. The answer may be right in front of him. He put on his mask and pulled his hood over his head before dashing straight towards the commotion.

About 20 minutes before…

“Ok guys you know what we’re here for.” Raph stated.
“Yessir! This is gonna be so great!” Mikey squealed.
“Remind me again why we're looking for the world’s smelliest plant.” Donnie remarked
“Well my good sir, big boy Raph here thought he could beat my high score at Pacman. Unfortunately for him, I was feeling a bit devious.” Leo said with a devilish smile.
“Riiight”
“Guys! I think it’s in there!” Mikey called, pointing towards a room with glass walls.
“You are right Angelo. My goggles can see the plant in there.”

The group of 4 entered the room and almost immediately were met with the horrible stench of the plant in the centre.

“Lord have mercy that is fuc-” Leo started
“Language!” Raph interrupted
“Raph, you sniff that thing, you’ll lose all of my respect. Not that I had any.” Donnie added, covering his nose.
“Horrible day to lose a bet. To Leo of all people.” Mikey stated, keeping his distance from the plant.
“A bet is a bet.” Raph walked up to the plant, held it by the leaves, stuffed his ENTIRE head in it and took a huge whiff of the plant.

“Keep it down, Vomitello. Keep it down!” Donnie’s cheeks puffed up.
“Respect. Disgusting but respect.” Leo crossed his arms.
“Let me go nex-”
“SURPRISE ATTACK!” A voice from behind Mikey cut him off. He instinctively dodged, leading to the Foot Clan recruit aka Cassandra slicing the smelly plant in half. She was immediately drenched in the liquid spraying from the plant.

“Not a great way to end the day.” Leo remarked, running from the now smelly Cassandra. Donnie tapped along his wristband and within seconds, S.H.E.L.L.D.O.N came flying into the room, crashing into Cassandra ejecting her through the glass.

“Seems like we’ve got company.” Raph said, pulling out his tonfas.
“The night just got a lot more interesting.” Leo added, charging out of the room with his odachi drawn, his brothers following closely behind.

The turtles jumped into the fray, alarming their enemies. From afar, Mikey had spotted Baron Draxum waiting by the sidelines, not engaging in the fight.
“Guys, Draxum’s here. A piece of the armour has to be here.” Mikey called to his brothers. Raph gave Donnie a look to which the purple brother nodded.
“On it!” Donnie replied, fiddling with his wrist and pulling his goggles over his eyes.

Leo hadn’t felt such release in a long time. He was able to get all the pent up emotions out in this fight. He gracefully danced through his opponents, dodging and parrying blades while delivering his own strikes. He was really in the zone. However, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a figure in black fall from the sky, landing on one of the soldiers. It was him, the new guy they met two weeks ago. First, Baron Draxum and the Foot Clan are working together and now Big Mama’s involved? At least this new figure seemed to be on their side as they too were fighting the foot soldiers running at him.

Leo found himself mesmerised by the way the new person was fighting. Something was familiar about it but he couldn’t put a finger around it. He hadn’t even noticed the kick aimed at the back of his head before he heard someone yell his name.

“Leo!” Mikey wrapped the chain of his kusari-fundo around the Foot soldier attacking Leo and chucked him to the side.
“Thanks for the save lil bro” Leo said. Mikey replied with a smile before running off again to fight his own battle.

Leo once again turned his attention to the masked fighter, remembering to pay attention to his surroundings, only to see that they had completely disappeared, leaving a trail of bodies in their wake. He quickly scanned the battlefield, noticing that more than hale the Foots forces had been whittled down and Baron Draxum had entered the fight, currently facing the rest of his brothers. Leo decided it was best to join his brothers in the fight with his brothers because Draxum was a very dangerous man when he was determined.

The Mad Dogs dodged vines shot at them by Draxum, unable to find an opening wide enough to initiate their attack.

“All these vines are stretching us thin! Get it cuz-”
“Not the time Leo!” Raph called, barely getting hit by a vine aimed between his eyes.

All of a sudden, the onslaught of vines stopped. The turtles looked up at Draxum confused. The baron just had a smirk on his face and a finger pointed behind the turtles. The Mad Dogs turned around to reveal the masked fighter stood behind them.
“Reinforcements huh? About damn time. Dispose of these pests.” Draxum commanded
“I’m not here for them. I’m looking for you, Baron Draxum.”
“You’re not even worth my time. If you want my attention, you’ll deal with these nuisances first.” Draxum stated before turning his attention to the golden statue in the centre of the garden.

This was not the situation Usagi was hoping for.

He stood there, looking at the group of turtles tense up. Well all but Leo tensed up. Leo just let out a small chuckle and walked to the front of the group.

“I don’t know what Big Mama’s offered you but we can’t let this guy get what he’s after.”
“I don’t have a choice. You don’t know the real Big Mama.” Usagi replied, thankful for the voice changer in his mask.
“We can sort something out with her. Just don’t get in our way”
“I’m going to have to respectfully decline.”
“Your loss.”

Leo and his brothers drew their weapons and launched themselves at Usagi. Usagi really didn’t want to hurt the turtles. The only people to show him kindness since his Auntie but he had no choice. He sheathed his sword and took a deep breath in, recalling a memory from his samurai training with his Auntie.

*Flashback Starts*

“Auntie, what if I don't want to hurt people. What happens if I have to fight my friends?” Little Usagi asked.
“Well my little cottontail, I can teach you away to defeat your opponents without having to hurt them.”

*Flashback Ends*

Usagi held his index and middle fingers on his right hand up and calmed his body, letting his breath escape.

First came Donnie, swinging his tech-bo at Usagi’s feet. Usagi hopped onto the weapon and firmly pushed his weight down once he made contact with the weapon, causing Donnie to stumble forward. As quick as lightning, Usagi pressed three points across Donnie’s plastron before pushing him to the floor. Donnie tried to lift himself off the ground but his body wasn’t doing what his brain was telling it to do. Three to go.

Next came Raphael. The massive turtles threw a straight jab, aimed right between Usagi’s eyes. The rabbit shifted to the right, using his left hand to parry the blow while allowing it to keep it’s momentum. Usagi then firmly pressed two points along Raph’s arm before lowering himself to press one more in the lower region of Raph’s plastron. Two down, two to go.

Third came Mikey. He was a fighter that was a lot stronger than he looked but still preferred to keep his distance. He swung his kusari-fundo at Usagi. The rabbit caught it with his left hand and was immediately pulled towards Mikey. Using his other hand, Mikey prepared a punch that was meant to collide with the side of Usagi’s head. However, the rabbit let go just as soon as the punch was thrown, using his own momentum to grab a hold of Mikey’s arm and flip him face first into the ground, pressing 4 points along the turtle's shell. One left.

Last was Leo. Seeing how his brothers were defeated, Leo took precautions to not wildly swing at the rabbit. He circled the rabbit, opening portals to try surprise the rabbit with a fast attack before quickly disappearing into another. However, the rabbit’s movements were so smooth, it was like fighting against water. Dodging effortlessly, parrying the strikes flawlessly. It was like fighting a snake. Leo opened a portal above the rabbit’s head, hoping to get the jump on him but the rabbit evaded. Usagi grabbed a hold of Leo’s hand and pulled him to his feet. Without hesitating, he swept him off his feet and as the turtle was falling he pressed four points around his body: two in the plastron, one in the neck and one in the centre of his head. Just like his brothers, he collapsed to the floor, paralysed.

Usagi looked behind him to see the four brothers he once dared to call friends squirming on the floor, helpless to do anything. The rabbit was grateful that his Auntie had taught him how to target pressure points but he was saddened by the fact that he had to use it on his “friends.”
Nevertheless, the mission had to be done, for Spot’s sake.

“W-What are you?” Leo asked, trying his best to move from his position on the ground.
“I’m…desperate.” Usagi replied, turning to approach Draxum.

“I did your dirty work.” Usagi said.
“Congratulations. You want a medal?”
“What I need is an answer. Big Mama-”
“No”
“You didn’t even hear what I had to say!”
“I don’t care. Big Mama is a vile creature. You’d sooner find me dead than ever collaborating with her.”
“So…does that mean I can kill you?” Usagi growled. He’d had enough of all this waiting around. Every day he spent away from Big Mama meant another day went by without knowing how Spot was doing. Rage began to fill the rabbit’s head. Draxum noticed the change of atmosphere and laughed.

“A tiny thing like you? Kill me? It’s a shame. You’re a pretty good fighter but your usefulness has expired. But you did help me out, so here’s your payment.” The smile plastered on Draxum’s face was enough to strike fear into anyone on the planet.
“BEHIND YOU!” A voice yelled from behind Usagi. The rabbit tried to turn around but was too late.

A vine, as sharp as a knife, pierced through Usagi’s side from behind. Heat flooded the rabbit’s body and blood splattered all over the grass. The rabbit screamed in pain, stumbling forward from the impact, only to be met with another vine, this one as hard as a rock, slamming into his cheek. His mask shattered and flew off his face as he was blasted backwards. His helpless body rolled several metres, trailing fresh blood in its path, before landing in front of the turtles. His heart thumped loudly against his ribcage, red liquid flowing out of his fresh wound. He tried to apply pressure to the wound as best he could but he was not a medic. If he didn’t get help soon, he was gonna die.

Leonardo and his brothers were horrified by the scene that had just unfolded in front of them. Draxum was now retreating with what looked to be the second last armour piece in his hands. The shivering body of the masked fighter splayed out in front of them. Thankfully, Leonardo was able to get feeling back in his body, despite being the last one to be paralysed. He rose from the ground and slowly approached the figure on the floor.

White fur. Chestnut brown eyes. Pink nose.

It couldn’t be him, right?

Leo was staring at a dying Usagi on the ground, gripping at his waist to control the bleeding.

“U-Usagi?” Leo choked.

The rabbit opened his eyes and were instantly met with blue one’s, only this time they didn’t carry the same spark he had remembered. Leo’s face screamed of betrayal and distrust. Usagi knew he had fucked up, he just didn’t want it to end up like this.

“I-I’m sorry, Leo.” was all the rabbit could say.

Leo wanted to cry. He really wanted to but he and his brothers needed to get out of there before they draw too much attention to themselves. A quick glance at his brothers told him that everyone was doing fine and that it was time to go. But he couldn’t move. His brain was screaming at him to leave the rabbit and go home because he deserved what happened to him, but his heart was telling him to fix the rabbit up. Leo took a moment to decide before leaning over the rabbit and picking him up from the floor.

Leo’s brothers’ got up from the floor and made sure they were each alright before turning to Leo, who was hunched over something on the floor.

“Leo?” Mikey asked.

The slider straightened up and turned to face his brothers. In his arms was a limp Usagi, on the brink of losing consciousness. It seemed like the slider didn’t mind Usagi’s blood smudging onto him as he Pulled out his odachi.

“Is that?” Raph asked, cut off by Leo’s nod in response.
“He needs help.” Leo added lowly, looking at the rabbit in his arms.
“Didn’t he just paralyse us? Not to mention, it’s because of him that Draxum’s one step closer to completing the armour!” Donnie protested.
“I-I know Dee. But I’m sorry. I just can’t leave him here.” Leo sliced the air, creating a portal to the Lair.
“Leo! Think about it for a minute! What if this is a setup to get Usagi on the inside? Gain our trust and then give Big Mama and Draxum info on us!” Donnie yelled.
“Donnie’s right,Leo. We’ve seen him get rid of a body. He could easily take us out when we’re least expecting it.” Raph agreed.
“Guys! Look at how hurt he is! Sure, he’s done some bad things but I refuse to believe that the Usagi we know is that kind of person. I’m sure Leo does too.” Mikey argued.
The three turned to look at the slider who was absentmindedly staring at the rabbit.
“I don’t know what to think right now. But he’s in need of medical assistance and no one’s gonna give it to him. So I will. We’ll deal with whatever comes next when it comes because that’s who we are. We’re heroes and heroes help those in need.” Leo said and without another word stepped through the portal.

Leo stared at the rabbit in his arms. His body was getting colder by the minute. He clung tightly to Leo’s body, huddled to the closest source of warmth he could find. Leo’s thoughts raced through his mind but one rang through his head loud and clear…

There has to be a reason for this…

Chapter Text

The room is dark. So dark. Silence rang through Usagi’s ears. Where was he? How’d he get there? How does he leave?

Usagi stares further into the room and notices a figure, face covered by a wide straw hat. If Usagi could feel his legs, he would’ve moved to investigate this figure but since he was only able to move his head, that idea was thrown out the window. However, the figure started to shake or more accurately, aggressively vibrate. On queue, Usagi’s head began to throb.

“Yuichi…control…instinct…danger…coming…”

The speech was broken into pieces Usagi couldn’t understand. With each word said, the rabbit’s head throbbed harder. The figure was now approaching Usagi. Now would be a great time to move. Hands gripped his shoulders and violently shook him…

Usagi shot up from wherever he was lying. He’d been having extremely weird dreams these past few days and didn’t know why. He hadn’t even noticed the throbbing in his head had stopped, replaced by an itchy sensation. He reached up to his forehead and his fingers came into contact with cloth. Bandages.

The rabbit looked around him. He looked to be in a makeshift medical facility. He traced along the wall with his eyes until they landed on something familiar propped up against the wall. A large sword. Leo’s sword specifically. Then it came back to him.

Their run-in with Baron Draxum had gone south and Usagi clearly remembers being impaled and sucker-punched by a pair of vines. To be taken out so quickly and in such an embarrassing way really struck a chord in his heart. Draxum was not what he was expecting. To be honest, Usagi was expecting something similar to his usual targets: predictable, easy to fight.
But Draxum was different. Usagi had never felt rooted to the ground as much as when Draxum flashed him that evil smile before…you know.

Usagi moved to sit up in his bed,stopping when the pain in his side flared up.

“You ought to be more careful.”

Usagi’s head whipped to where he heard the voice. At the entrance stood none other than Leo, holding a tray in his hand.

“L-Leo…”
“Don’t speak. You just woke up. We can chat later when you’ve had enough rest and…when I'm ready.”

Usagi’s mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. He understood why Leo felt the way he did. Usagi had kept his job hidden from him and even attacked him, prioritising his job over his friends. If anything, Usagi deserved it. Everything had gone so badly since he left the turtles three weeks ago and he just wished it hadn’t come to this.

“There’s water and pills for the pain on the tray. Take two and rest up. You should be able to be up and running by tomorrow.” Leo said, shaking Usagi out of his thoughts, placing the tray he was carrying down on Usagi’s bedside table.

The slider turned to leave the room shortly after.

“Leo!” Usagi called. The turtle stopped at the exit but didn’t turn around to look at the rabbit.

“Thanks. For helping me.” The rabbit finished. All Leo did was look forward and give a little nod before leaving the room. Usagi buried his face in his hands and audibly groaned. How could things get so bad? He was finally starting to feel like he had met people who accepted him and he just had to mess it all up.

Usagi could deal with all of his feelings tomorrow. Pain in his head was starting to resurface so he quickly took his pills and downed the glass of water before laying back down onto his bed and letting sleep get a hold of him…

Luckily for Usagi, he managed to get a good night’s rest. No weird dreams. No mysterious memories or figures. Just peaceful sleep.

“He’ll wake up anytime now, Leo”
“I know, just give me some time.”
“You can’t keep running away from this.”
“Raph I-”
“I understand you’re hurt. But we need to get back on track. There’s only one more armour piece. Maybe Usagi knows about it.”
“Ok. I’ll ask when he wakes up.”

Usagi really didn’t mean to eavesdrop but it was those voices that dragged him out of his sleep. It sounded like Leo and Raphael. He had managed to catch the entire conversation, thanks to his ears and his sensitive hearing. He didn’t even realise how hurt Leo must’ve been after…his reveal. The rabbit was quickly shaken from his thoughts when Leo walked into the room again.

“You're awake? How’re you feeling?”
“Better than yesterday. Still sore tho.”
“Well you did get stabbed so I don’t blame you.” Leo let out a soft laugh. Usagi smiled a little. At least they were still able to talk to each other. Speaking of which…

“Leo. I need to explain.” Usagi started.
“Are you sure? I don’t mind waiting for you to rest up a bit more.” Leo replied. Usagi nodded.
“Yeah I’m sure. Could you get your brothers too? They deserve to know as well.”
Leo nodded and pulled out his phone. He pressed on it for a few seconds before putting it away again. Seconds later, red, orange and purple entered the room.

“What now?” Donnie groaned.
“Usagi’s got something to say.” Leo replied.
“Coming clean are we?”
“Shut it, Donnie.” Leo snapped, Usagi’s and Donnie’s eyes widening at the response.

The turtles gathered around Usagi’s bed and waited for him to start speaking.

“I…was a Battle Nexus Champion. Before I came to the Hidden City, I had received a lot of training from my Auntie before she… Anyway, after that, I trained myself when I arrived at the Hidden City and I came across a flyer for the Battle Nexus. Long story short, Big Mama couldn’t let go of me and bound me to her. But after an incident at the championship fight, I couldn’t take it anymore and ran away from the Nexus. It wasn’t long after that I met you guys.” Usagi fought back tears, his voice breaking as he recalled his past.

“What about after you left?” Leo asked.

“After I left you guys, I went back to where I stayed. Big Mama had taken everything and requested to meet with me. So I went. She poisoned me and held me captive. It turned out that she needed me, not for the Battle Nexus but to do her dirty work. She blackmailed me into being her hitman.” Usagi continued.

“So that was you at the docks…” Raph muttered. Usagi sighed and nodded.

“I hated killing people for her. It was the main reason why I left the Battle Nexus because I…killed someone for the first time.” Usagi choked. He didn’t miss the way Leo’s face fell at his tone.

“Around two weeks in, she sent me on a mission after Baron Draxum. She’s looking to collaborate with him. If he were to refuse, I had permission to kill him. But you can see how well that went.” Usagi gestured to his wounds. “That’s when I saw the fight in the garden and how I ended up here.” The rabbit finished.

His story was met by silence and wide eyes. Leo was sitting at the foot of Usagi’s bed, face down to the floor, hiding his facial expression. Donnie, despite trying to hide his expression, had hints of disbelief scattered on his face. Mikey stood next to Usagi’s bed, slightly shaking as he stared at the rabbit.
“Usagi?” Raph cut through the silence, causing the rabbit to look up at the huge turtle.

“I believe you’re a good guy and Raph is almost never wrong with his intuition but you mentioned Big Mama blackmailing you. If you don’t mind me asking, what bargaining chip did she have on you?” Raph continued.

“S-She has…Spot” Usagi tried his hardest to hold back the tears pricking his eyes. At his response, Leo whipped his head up to look at the rabbit, his face darkened by what looked like remorse.

“Spot?” Mikey asked.

“My pet dinosaur. Since my Auntie, he’s been the only support I ever had growing up. He’s like a baby brother to me. Mama threatened to kill him if I didn’t agree to her terms.” Usagi added, letting his tears go. He knew he looked pathetic but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to get back to his normal life again.

He was met by more silence before Leo spoke up.

“Guys, could you give me and Usagi a minute?” Leo asked his brothers. Nothing else needed to be said. The three took their que and left the room.

“Leo-”

“I missed you, you know.”

“I-”

“I was so sure we’d meet again and we could become friends. But it seemed like this is what the universe had in mind for us.”

“I’m so sorry, Leo. Big Mama-”

“Hey. I understand. I’m not upset at you. My head’s just scrambled right now. I am happy that you’re back safe and sound.”

“I don’t-”

“Usagi?”

“I don’t deserve this…” Usagi buried his face in his hands as tears flowed down his cheeks.

“You guys are the closest things I have to friends since I was born and I betrayed your trust. I attacked you, all for my own selfish reasons.”
Usagi felt a pair of warm hands grasp his own, gently prying them away from his face.

“It wasn’t selfish. You wanted to save a loved one. That’s the opposite of selfish. You did what you thought you had to do to reach your goal. Even if it meant paralysing this gorgeous face.” Leo gestured to himself as he smiled. Usagi couldn’t help but laugh at Leo. Despite the situation, he always had a way to lighten the mood with his horrible jokes.

“Thanks Leonardo.” Usagi gave the slider a small smile.

“I’m more than just a pretty face, you know.”

“Yeah, you’re also incredibly stupid.”

“Ouch” Leo placed his hand on his plastron in mock offence, making Usagi giggle.

“Hey bunny boy?”

“Hmm?”

“I promise you. We’ll help you get your pet back. Whatever it takes.” Leo said with conviction.

Usagi couldn’t help but give Leo the biggest smile he could. He was really happy that he had met the turtles. Maybe this meeting went better than he had expected.

The moment was interrupted by Donnie bursting through the door.

“The last armour piece is at Big Mama’s Hotel and she’s gonna sell it in an auction in five days…”

Chapter Text

Ever since Donnie found out how to track the last piece of the mystic armour, the turtles and Usagi had not stopped planning. Even April got involved in the whole situation. Not really because they asked her to join but because she was April. There was no way they were going to infiltrate Big Mama’s hotel without getting her involved. This led to a really weird first encounter with April for Usagi.

“Who the heck is this?”

“This is Usagi.” Leo gestured to the rabbit, who stood shyly, shifting from foot to foot. He didn’t miss his chance to give her a small smile and wave.

“Ohhhh this is the guy Leo can’t stop-”

She was abruptly stopped by Leo’s hand clasped over her mouth. Leo was so obviously embarrassed but he tried his best to hide it behind an uneasy laugh. Usagi couldn’t help but smile at the interaction. Even though April was a human, he could see just how close she had grown with the 4 mutants. It was almost comforting…

“Hi, it seems I have a reputation around here.” Usagi smirked at Leo, who rubbed the back of his head

“You bet you do! I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Hopefully good things.”

“Trust me, they were more than good-”

“OKAY. Let’s get to discussing the plan? Donnie? Help me out here.” Leo whispered that last bit to his twin to which the purple brother just rolled his eyes and brought up a screen from his wristband for the others to see.

“It’s been 4 days since I so graciously found the last armour piece for us. No applause necessary,” All three of his brothers groaned, “Anyway, where the piece is located is in an impenetrable part of the hotel. Completely mystic proof and built like a bomb shelter. Being Big Mama’s lackey,” Usagi couldn’t help but feel a tad bit offended at the amount of venom Donnie added to that part of the sentence, “He verified that Big Mama lets absolutely no one into that specific room of the hotel.”

“Wait, so how do we get the armour?” Mikey tilted his head in curiosity.
“Well Angelo, I have devised the most genius plan, worthy of a Nobel Prize, some might say. A plan so articulate that-”

“JUST GET TO THE POINT!” Everyone yelled at Donnie, causing him to recoil in shock.

“My genius will never be appreciated.” He sighed before continuing. “As you know, Mama’s having a big auction where the armour piece is being sold as one of the items. We are going to infiltrate and find out where the armour piece is being kept. After we verify it’s location, we will wait until a bell boy is sent to grab items from that room it’s being kept in. We’ll take him out, get the armour piece and leave.”

“Y’know you may be hideous but at least you got a good brain.” Leo answered.

“I beg your pardon. Need I show you my beautiful statue of myself in my room?” Donnie bit back

“I don’t think I can handle seeing two of you at the same time.” Leo retaliated. Usagi couldn’t hold back the snort that escaped but he tried to hide it by covering his nose with his sleeve. Sadly, it didn’t go unnoticed. Leo turned to him with the most stupid grin on his face while Donnie shot him a glare that screamed, “ If it weren't for Leo, I’d have my hands around your neck right now.”

Usagi shuddered but shook it off. He didn’t really understand why Donnie never took a liking to him. He barely even talked to him so it baffled him.

“Wait Donnie, when is Big Mama’s auction happening?” Raph asked.

“Oh tomorrow.”

“TOMORROW?” The entire group screamed.

“What?”

“There’s so little time left. We still have to get disguises, map out the place, decide on groups in case we need to split up.” Mikey added.

“Pfft relax. I’ve got the place mapped out. April’s the only one who’ll need a disguise anyway.” Donnie replied.

“What do you mean?” Raph chastised

“Well it’s an auction. So naturally we’re attending as potential buyers. There’s a huge banquet party happening before the auction. We’ll arrive then and carry out the plan. Don’t worry, I’ve hacked the system so that our names appear on the guest list. Well, all except Bugs Bunny over there.” Donnie points his thumb at Usagi.
“Donnie! Why didn’t you put his name on the list?!” Leo questioned.

“He should be able to enter the venue regardless. He personally knows Big Mama. It’s no big deal.” Donnie shrugged, turning away from the malicious glare Leo was giving him.

“Anyway that’s all we need to know for tomorrow.” Donnie ended, closing his projection.

The group nodded and went off to prepare everything necessary for the mission, leaving Usagi in the middle of the Lair with nothing to do. He wanted to help but he was clueless as to how. He was involved in the plan…somehow but was unable to do anything.

He felt useless

Trying his best to shake off the dreadful feeling, he found a spot on the floor and crossed his legs as he took a seat. Maybe meditating would help. Truth be told, he sucked at it. Never could he stay attentive enough to fall into a trance. There was always something to distract him but he tried nonetheless.

A figure flashed in his mind as he entered a meditative state. It was the exact same figure from a few days ago. Out of nowhere, he appeared in front of Usagi and spoke,

“Yuichi, something is going to happen that will rile up your instincts. You must learn to control your instincts rather than let it control you.” The voice spoke.

“Huh? What do you mean? What’s going to happen?” Usagi asked, desperate to find out more about the supposed future he would encounter.

“Danger and turmoil is on the horizon. Once you learn how to control your instinct, it will blossom into something truly amazing.” The figure continued.

“How can I be so sure that my head isn’t playing tricks on me? Who the hell even are you?”

“You’d best show some respect when speaking to your elders, boy.” The figure lifted his head to reveal the face he had been hiding beneath his broad hat’s shadow.

It was like looking into an old wrinkly mirror. A snow white rabbit, just like Usagi, stood in front of the young man. He had a scar over his left eyebrow but apart from that, their features were almost identical.

“You’re-”

“Time waits for no one. You must prepare for the challenges you will face. Good luck, grandson.” The figure pressed his palm against Usagi’s chest and pushed firmly. Almost immediately, Usagi was hit by a rushing sensation as he was forcefully ejected out of his own meditation.

At present, Usagi’s mind was reeling. First, he successfully managed to meditate, like how cool was that! He’d definitely have to reward himself with some food later on. Second, he was met by the legend himself, Miyamoto Usagi, in said meditation. He remembers his Auntie telling him the countless stories of the fearless rabbit warrior, who could infiltrate the most secure buildings or hold his own against hordes of evil yokai.

But the most pressing thing was the message he had received, What kind of danger would het encounter? Did it have to do with tomorrow’s mission? Also what’s this about his instincts?

So many questions unanswered remained in the rabbit’s head. He’d have to meditate again sometime later to get the answers he wanted.

“Usagi? Everything okay?” A voice snapped Usagi out of his thoughts. He turned to see the youngest brother staring at him from his seat on a bean bag.

“Mikey? How long have you been there?”

“Oh like 10 minutes.”

“10 minutes!? How long was I meditating for?!”

“A little under an hour.” Mikey checked the invisible watch on his wrist.

“Oh shit. Did you need anything from me?”

“Well yeah. Even though you are technically Big Mama’s worker, we’re still attending a party. Which means, you need to get spruced up.”

“Spruced up?”

“I’m talking makeover. I’m about to turn you from zero to hero baby!” Mikey cheered, jumping up from his bean bag and grabbing Usagi by the hand before dragging him to the bathroom. Out of all the brothers, Mikey certainly had the best style, Leo as a close second. If there was anyone who could give someone a decent makeover, it’d be him.

__________________________________________________________

Leo had just about gotten everything ready for tomorrow. His suit was prepped and ready to be worn. His odachi, polished and positioned, not because it was important but because he literally had nothing else to do. Eventually he decided to pack necessary medical supplies into a small pouch in his suit jacket.

There was nothing left.

He decided to check on the others. So he left his room and headed into the main room. However, no one was to be found.

“Where did everyone go? Mikey!-” Leo was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a door opening not too far from him.

He turned his attention to the door to see Mikey come out of the room with a huge smile on his face.

“Come on! Come out! I wanna show everyone how good you look.” Mikey said into the room.

Leo walked up to his brother.

“Hey lil bro have you finished…”

Leo’s sentence trailed off as Usagi stepped out of the bathroom. It would be an understatement to say his heart was racing right now. Leo’s stomach was literally doing backflips in his torso and Leo loved every second of that feeling.

He looked at the rabbit as he emerged from the door. He had red eyeliner along the corners of his eyes, slight blush patted onto his cheeks and ears down. He looked perfect. Heck, even more than perfect.

“Oh mi gosh” Leo gasped.

Usagi could feel heat rising to his cheeks. He hadn’t expected Leo to be the first person he’d see after his makeover. It made his heart skip in weird ways.

“H-How do I look?” Usagi shyly asked.

“Amazing. Good job Mikey.” Leo looked like he was hypnotised. You could eat a pizza in front of him and he still wouldn’t budge. Mikey just watched everything unfold from where he stood, smiling that he did a fantastic job and that he got to witness his older brother hypnotised by his rabbit crush.

“T-Thanks. A-Are you okay? Your face is really red.” Usagi commented.

“Oh yep. Yup. Everything’s good. Everything’s fine. Why wouldn’t it be fine? Mikey can I get your help with something?” Leo stumbled all over his sentence.

“Sorry Leo but I gotta get ready for tomorrow.” Mikey sang, sticking his tongue out to Leo as he left the room.

Usagi turned to Leo, wanting to ask him something.

“Do you think I should keep the eyeliner? I kinda like it.”

“YES! Ahem, I mean yeah it’s alright.” Leo tried his best to hide his excited answer but Usagi caught it, laughing at the sudden outburst.

“You ready for tomorrow? It’s make or break.” Usagi asked, the conversation taking a serious tone.

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” Leo sighed…

What the turtles didn’t know was that they were walking into a literal mosh pit of their worst enemies and what Usagi doesn’t know is the big surprise Big Mama has for him…

Chapter Text

The day had arrived. This operation was big for both the turtles and the rabbit. This was the last piece of the mystic armour that Draxum hadn’t collected yet so it all came down to the success of this mission. As for Usagi, if the mission went well, he’d have Spot back and finally be free from Big Mama’s clutches. Safe to say…

Everything was riding on this mission.

Usagi stepped out of the bathroom, having done his eyeliner and put on his suit. It was black with a blue collar and the Miyamoto Clan logo on his chest. If he were to be honest, he has never worn clothes as fancy as this since he was born. The quality of the fabric was top tier, all credit to Donnie, although Usagi would never admit it to his face but damn he looked good.

Leo, however, was positively shining. He wore a blue suit with a white collar and a black tie. He paired the outfit with classy shades and an expensive looking fedora. If he were to step into a room of Kings and Queens, all attention would still be directed towards him.

“Looking good, Leo.” Usagi commented.

“This,” Leo lowered his shades enough so his eyes were just visible and winked at Usagi,” Is what style really looks like.”

“Funny. You kind of look like my toothpaste.”

“Ha Ha, very funny. I wouldn't expect you to understand the sheer superiority of my fashion sense.”

“You sure you’re not one of those 9 doctors who recommend toothpaste? Don’t worry, I won’t tell your brothers.”

“Tell us what?” Just as Leo was about to respond to Usagi’s response, the rest of the gang walked into the main area of the lair, all dressed up, concealing their weapons in cleverly designed pockets Donatello put into their outfits. Usagi was grateful for Leo’s insistence that Donnie make him a suit as well. Not that he’d ever admit it but regardless he was satisfied.

“I was just saying how Leo is a few feet away from the nearest toothbrush.” Usagi sneered.

“I told you that colour combination was ridiculous but nooo you have the superior taste.” Donnie snarked at Leo

“Is the roast session over? I’d like to head to the party with at least a bit of dignity. Don’t worry baby, you look awesome to me.” Leo whispered that last bit to his suit, caressing the sleeve of the outfit.
“Alright. We have 10 minutes till the banquet party starts. Everyone have their weapons? Good. Remember the plan. Get in. Locate Usagi’s pet AND the armour piece. Donnie takes out the lights. Grab them both and peace out.” Raph recalled, making sure the whole team was listening.

“Looks like this is it.” Mikey sighed.

“Come on guys. We got this!” April pumped her fist into the air.

“Let’s do this. Mad Dogz style.” Raph said, slamming his fist into his palm.

Without further encouragement, Leo took out his sword and slashed the air, a blue portal opening in its wake.

_______________________

The group walked up to the very well decorated entrance to the Battle Nexus Hotel. Big Mama really pulled out all the stops for this auction. Shimmering lights could be seen flashing from the outside. Voices could easily be heard as more and more wealthy yokai gathered to partake in the auction. Not to mention the menacing bouncer posted at the entrance, staring down passers-by as they walked past the hotel.

“Uhh guys. They look super scary.” Mikey stuttered, hiding behind Raph.

“Relax Miguel. It’s time for Leo to strut his stuff. I got this.” Leo puffed up his collar and confidently strolled towards the exit.

“How long do you think it’ll take before he realises I didn't tell him the name I signed him under?” Donnie questioned.

Usagi turned to look at Leo's attempt to smooth talk his way into the venue. He was failing. Miserably. Just as the situation looked like it was about to take a step into violence, Usagi appeared behind Leo.

“Heyy Ben, Harry. How you guys been? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Usagi comedically greeted the bouncers.

“Ugh great it’s you. And who the hell is Harry? I’ve told you a million times before, my name’s Barry.”

“Eh potato potato. Anyway, this guy here is actually a guest Big Mama request I bring over. His name should already be on the list.”

“What are you even doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be on some secret mission?”

“Big Mama invited me here. Apparently my target might be making an appearance at this auction soo…” Usagi not-so-whispered the last part to the owl at the entrance.

“I dunno Usagi. I’ll have to check with Big Mama.”

“Fine by me. I just don’t want to have to clean up the mess after I hear a certain owl got eaten for disrupting Mama on her special day but hey, you do you.” Usagi sneered, a devilish grin growing on his face.

He watched as the owl visibly shuddered under the thought of becoming spider food.

“Yeah ok whatever. Take him in.” The owl finally gave in.

“Thank you. Oh and also he comes with a package.” Usagi waved as he walked in with Leo.

The owl’s jaw dropped as he saw 4 more guest trail behind them. Oh, if only he could take a picture of how stupid the bouncer looked right now.

“You.Are.” Leo started.

“Amazing? I know. Being an insider has its perks.” Usagi remarked, grabbing a glass from a passing waiter and downing the contents of the glass without a second thought in an attempt to look cool. Only to be horrified by the taste.

“What the fuck are they serving here? Was that gasoline?” Usagi coughed.

Leo himself grabbed a glass from the waiter and gave it a sniff.

“Dude, it’s alcohol. Like really strong alcohol.” Leo stated after analysing the glass.

“People drink that for fun?? What kind of twisted party is this?”

“Well what’d you expect at an adult banquet party?”

“I dunno. Water, for starters!”

The pair were quickly met by the rest of the group. They planned to split into pairs. Leo and Usagi would cover the Main Hall, Donnie and April would go upstairs and Mikey and Raph would go downstairs, to the lounge. If they encountered any trouble, they were to immediately contact anyone through their concealed communications devices on their wrists.

Leo and Usagi took to the bar. Not to order any drinks but to scope out the area. The pair sat down and looked around for any suspicious bellhops walking around. The noise of conversation was quickly drowned out by the loud music being played in the banquet hall.

“Usagi, it looks like there’s a hallway to the left. There’s a guard standing by the door. Something important must be there, right?” Leo asked.

No response

“Sagi?”

Leo turned to his right to find the rabbit, face down on the counter. He reached for his shoulders and shook him. Thankfully, the rabbit immediately shot up, but he didn’t look the same. His eyes were half-lidded and he was wearing the goofiest smile possible.

“Ohh hey Lee.” Usagi said, his words slurring more with every second that passed.

“You Ok, Usagi?” Leo questioned, choosing to ignore the flush that arose because of the sudden nickname

“Me? Never been better. Where’d you get those markings by the way?”

“Markings? Whic-” Leo couldn’t finish his sentence. In fact, he couldn’t physically speak.

The rabbit had reached his hand to cup Leo’s cheek, sliding his thumb along the red crescents that adorned the slider's face.

“Hmmm pretty.” The rabbit hummed, not taking his eyes off Leo’s face. Externally, Leo looked like it was an everyday occurrence. Internally, his bodily functions were shutting down. His stomach felt like it was doing somersaults and his heart was racing. The rabbit that had made his way into Leo’s heart just called him pretty and is still caressing his face.

Leo found himself leaning into the touch, more than backing away. His eyes comfortably slid shut as he enjoyed the moment he was in. It was like the world had stopped and just the two of them were there. It didn’t help when Leo felt the warmth on his cheek disappear as Usagi retracted his hand.

“Lee, I want to say thank you.” Usagi began.

“For what?”
“For being the first person I could call my friend. The first person who I could talk to, laugh with, cry with. Before meeting you, I was pretty sure I was gonna be alone for the rest of my life. But now, I really cherish every moment we have together. So thanks.” As Usagi spoke, his hand slid down to wrap around Leo’s own, intertwining their fingers.

Leo could’ve sworn his heart stopped working. His face felt awfully hot and his head was spinning. To make things even worse, a small weight made its home on Leo’s plastron. When he looked down, the first thing he saw was fluffy ears. The rabbit had nuzzled his way into Leo’s chest when he wasn’t looking and had the audacity to look so cute while doing it. Something was definitely up with Usagi.

Then it hit him.

He tapped on his communicator and waited for a response.

“Yes, Leo?” His twin’s voice materialised

“Uhm Donnie? Usagi’s drunk and I don’t know what to do with him.”

“You have to give him some water and let him puke it out of his system. Wait, why are you guys drinki-”

“It wasn’t on purpose. He picked up a glass he thought had water inside and well, here we are.”

“Wait, we can use this to our advantage. Take him to the toilet in a less crowded area and snoop around.” Donnie said, cutting off the line almost immediately.

So Leo picked up the rabbit and hauled him to the hallway he had noticed earlier. The bellhop saw the pair approaching and put up his hand, a gesture telling them to stop and turn around.

“Look, he’s about 2 minutes away from unloading his lunch and I don’t think it would look good for Big Mama if someone made a mess of her floor. Especially tonight.” Leo argued, taking a page from Usagi’s book.

The bellhop seemed to consider the situation for a moment before sighing and letting them through, telling them to be quick. They had made it through the hard part. Now to get Usagi to a toilet and do some snooping.

Around 5 minutes later and several unsuccessful attempts, Usagi finally managed to rid his system of alcohol and started sobering up.

“Sorry. And thanks.” Usagi said, finishing the last of the water Leo had brought him.
“Don’t mention it.” Was all Leo could say, his mind still spinning from before.

The pair left the toilet, making sure that the coast was clear and started searching for Spot. Luckily, Usagi still knew his way around the hotel so it wasn’t very long until they came up to the door of Big Mama’s office.

“Donnie. We’re in front of Big Mama’s office. Waiting for you.” Leo called in

“Great. Mikey and Raph just located the vault. Lights going out in ten seconds. Prepare yourselves.” The purple brother responded.

The pair pulled out their flashlights and prepared to enter the room. Surely enough, ten seconds later, the place went dark. Taking their cue, they switched on their flashlights and entered the massive room. Big Mama was nothing short of a collector. She had several stands of glass containers, holding many different treasures she had gained throughout her endeavours. Ranging from small stones to knives, all of it was showcased so Spot had to be there.

Box by box, the pair searched and came up with nothing until one box remained. It had to be this one. The pair approached the box and Usagi’s heart dropped like an anvil. Lying there was Spot’s cold, lifeless body. On the casing was a sticky note that read,

“Surprise, bunny boo!”

Shrill laughter echoed through the office. Leo turned around, instinctively pulling out his odachi. His face fell when he came face to face with none other than Big Mama.

“Oh my! If it isn’t my precious turtly boo~”

“Ugh not you again.” Leo groaned.

“Surely you didn’t think you could stage a heist at MY hotel now, did you?”

“You never know till you try.”

“Well? Do you like my present, Usagi?” Big Mama smiled, maliciously

The rabbit didn’t reply. He only turned around to look at Big Mama for a brief moment before falling to his knees.

“Oh? Seems I’ve struck a nerve. Let me tell you it was quite fun. Hearing his little screams for help.”

“What did you do?” Leo gasped, the grip on his odachi, loosening by the second.

“Something that had to be done. I rid my prized possession of his ridiculous attachment to that putrid pet.” Big Mama replied

“Who are you to decide who he can be attached to! You don’t own him!” Leo yelled

“Oh please that rabbit has nothing to his name besides Battle Nexus Champion. I practically made him.”

All the while, Usagi was kneeling on the ground, mind empty. Spot was dead. His companion since before he could remember. Gone. Forever. Emotions swirled within him. Sadness, grief, contempt…

Rage…

“How long…”

“Pardon? You’re going to have to speak up.” Big Mama chirped, showing zero remorse for her actions.

“HOW LONG HAS HE BEEN DEAD!?” Usagi screamed, not even looking away from the floor.

“Oh sweetie. I killed him the day I sent you on your first mission.” Big Mama laughed.

Something snapped inside Usagi. His shoulders shook aggressively as his vision went black, soon replaced with red. His hands gravitated towards his katana, vibrating with rage as he clenched the sword in its sheath. In what could only be described as a flash, Usagi disappeared from his spot on the floor, reappearing almost instantly in front of Big Mama. If it weren’t for her bodyguard, he’d have sliced her head clean off. However, the bodyguard replaced her in that fate, a fresh wound in the neck spraying red liquid as he crumbled to the floor.

“There’s the animal I was looking for.” Big Mama said calmly.

“I’LL KILL YOU!” Usagi growled, almost sounding too evil to be recognised as the sweet bunny he usually is.

The samurai made his approach again, moving too fast to be seen by the untrained eye. Eager to defend herself, Big Mama swiftly removed her cloaking broach, revealing her horrific eight legged form. Still, Usagi approached unfazed. He was too blinded by rage. He carelessly swung at Big Mama, throwing precision and accuracy out the window, going straight for the kill with every strike he threw. However, Big Mama was no easy target, using her number of extra limbs to her advantage, she caught Usagi right in the stomach, kicking him through the wall of her office, through several other walls, into the banquet hall.

Leo was close behind him, hopping through the new holes created in the walls to reach his friend on the other side. Multitasking, he dialled his brothers on his communicator.

“Guys! Usagi’s gone berserk. Big Mama…She killed his pet.”

“Sorry Leo! It seems like Draxum had the same idea we did. He’s not giving u- WOAH!?”

The floor of the banquet hall burst open, sending Raph crashing into the sparkly chandelier and Mikey into the ceiling. Leo entered the now destroyed hall, filled with panicking guests and covered in shattered glass.

Usagi spared no time recovering from the blow he just received, now locking his sights onto anything that crossed it. That included the guests. The rabbit pounced bringing his sword down unto an unsuspecting yokai when a loud clang reverberated through the room.

“Usagi! Snap out of it!” Leo braced his sword against Usagi’s own, struggling to push against the surprising strength of the rabbit.

The bunny merely growled as he pushed Leo back and scanned the room. His instincts were screaming at him to kill any and everything. He gripped his katana tighter as he readied his next attack when Draxum floated into the hall on his vine.

“You pesky turtles have interfered long enough! Give me the armour piece and I promise I’ll make your deaths quick.” The Baron growled, thrusting a hand forward at Raph. A vine shot at breakneck speed towards Raphael.

“Mikey, catch!” The red brother yelled, tossing the armour piece to the orange one before slamming his tonfas together, pushing back against the vine pressed against him. Mikey jumped to catch the piece but was slammed into the wall behind him seconds after he caught it. Baron Draxum descended on the orange turtles, seconds away from snatching the piece from him when Usagi appeared out of thin air behind Draxum, his katana already swinging towards his neck. If he hadn’t noticed, Draxum’s head would’ve been rolling on the floor but he was lucky to escape with a scratch on his cheek after dodging the strike.

“It’s just one thing after another.” Draxum sighed, forcing a vine to burst from directly beneath Usagi, carrying and slamming him into the ceiling before yet again calling a vine to descend from the ceiling, slamming Usagi into the floor, literally seconds after. This time, he went to smash Usagi flat between two vines from the ceiling and the floor but the rabbit was not going down easy. As the vines approached him, he stopped himself from being squashed by pushing against the upper vine with his hands and the lower vine with his feet.

As the rabbit was just about to give way, Leo dove for him, tackling him out of the press and portalling both of them to another area.

“Guys! Take care of Draxum. I’m gonna calm Usagi down.” Leo yelled before disappearing into the bright blue portal.

The two collided into the ground and rolled. Neither wasted time getting back to their feet. Leo immediately dropped into a defensive stance. He didn’t want to get caught off guard, especially now that they were alone.

“Usagi! Listen to me! You need to snap out of it!” Leo could barely finish his sentence before the rabbit dashed at him, katana aimed at his throat. Leo managed to dodge it by the skin of his teeth but didn’t want to take a risk like that again.

“Look. I know you’re angry…”

CLANG

“I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone special…”

CLANG

“But I want to help you…”

CLANG

“Let me help you…”

Sparks flew as Leo parried another strike. His strength was faltering and he wasn’t going to last much longer in this fight. The rabbit made his approach and met Leo’s katana once again. He prepared to push against the turtles but lost his balance as he felt no resistance. Instead, Leo dropped close to the floor and swept Usagi’s feet from underneath him. Wasting not a second, Leo grabbed Usagi by the collar and spun around, slamming the rabbit, back first, into the marble floor beneath them, making him release his katana

“You mean too much to me now to not help you through this.” Leo cried as the rabbit scrambled to his feet.

The slider dropped his odachi and approached the rabbit. As soon as Usagi stood up, Leo wrapped his arms around him, refusing to let go despite the rabbit punching and clawing at his back.

“I’m here for you. We all are. Let us help.” Leo whispered into the rabbit’s ears.

The punches slowed down until they came to a complete stop. Usagi’s vision faded from red back to normal and he clenched at the nearest thing to him. He wrapped his arms around the turtle and sobbed into his shoulder. The pair fell to their knees as Usagi could no longer hold himself up.

“He’s gone, Leo… I can’t believe it”

“Shhh I know. I’m here.”

“She just killed him. I…I never got to say goodbye.” Usagi cried, shoving his face deeper into Leo’s shoulder, if possible. The rabbit tightened his hold on the slider, clinging onto the closest source of comfort he could find. The slider didn’t reply verbally. He just brought a hand up to the rabbit’s back and slowly rubbed in circular motions. It always helped to calm Mikey down.

Several minutes of silence later, Leo looked down at the rabbit to see that he had fallen asleep in their embrace and in that exact moment, the pair were interrupted by the rest of the group entering the hallway. Leo looked over his shoulder.

“Hey guys, di-”

“We lost. Draxum has the final piece of the armour…”

Chapter Text

Usagi’s eyes flashed open

He immediately sat up from his lying position, taking in his surroundings. He was currently in a clearing, somewhere in the woods. Several metres above his head was a shrine gate, a path of stone leading from it deeper into the clearing. The rabbit got to his feet, his head slightly throbbing, the reason as to why, he doesn’t know. But all he does know is that something, something inside him is telling him to follow the stone path.

So he does. He walks along the path, watching as his surroundings warp around him to a field of cherry blossoms. In the distance, he notices a lone table, accompanied by two seats, one of which is taken by a figure clad in blue. As he approaches the table, the view of the mysterious figure becomes clearer and clearer. The person sitting across the table… is himself.

Usagi blinks once, then twice, trying to make sure he wasn’t hallucinating. There’s no way he could be sitting across from himself. It just didn’t make sense.

“Sit” The figure said.

Despite his sense of discomfort, Usagi felt oddly compelled to do what he said. He took the seat he was offered and stared blankly at himself(?), unable to stop the words on his mind from leaving his mouth.

“Who…are you? And why do you look like me?”

The mirror image smirked and laughed heartily, seemingly enjoying the current situation in spite of how obviously weird it was.

“I’m you.” The lookalike simply stated.

Okay, now Usagi had no idea what on earth was going on. He’s currently sitting across himself on a table in the middle of a cherry blossom field in the middle of who knows where. What the fuck was going on?

“That doesn’t make sense. I’m me. You can't be me.” The real Usagi commented, unsure of how to proceed.

“That is true…but also false.”

“What?”

“I am you and you are me. Well, it's more of the first part than the second but we are one overall.”

“Okay wait, I’m going to need an explanation.” Usagi stated, trying to stifle his growing confusion

“That’s why I’m here.”

Usagi nodded and looked on expectantly, hoping an explanation would clear up the…whole situation

“Think back. Every close call, every close encounter, every miracle. That was me.” The lookalike added.

“Huh?”

“It’s better if I show you. Stand up.” The lookalike sighs, getting up from his seat.

Usagi followed suit and stood next to the lookalike, ready to see what he was about to be shown.

In an instant, the ground beneath their feet fell, replaced by nothingness. The pair floated as the world seemed to spin around them. Usagi was taken aback, unable to process what was happening until the world came to a halt around them.

“Take a look.” The impostor pointed ahead.

In front of them was an image, from a third person perspective. It was the championship battle…the first time Usagi killed someone. The impostor snapped his fingers and the image became a video, playing the memory in front of them.

Usagi really didn’t want to relive this experience, especially after what happened at Big Mama’s. But, he needed answers. Why was he here? Why was he talking to himself? His thought were interrupted when the impostor spoke,

“In this fight…Do you remember your vision going dark?”

“I-Yeah actually”

“And what happened when you regained your vision?”

“The wolf was dead on the floor and…I was covered in blood.” Usagi shuddered at the recollection of an unpleasant memory.

The impostor didn’t respond, snapping his fingers again, causing the memory in front of them to flash into another, older memory.

It was his Auntie, katana drawn, facing him. He’s seen this somewhere before. Once again, the imposter snapped his fingers, playing the memory. It was different this time around. He could hear what his Auntie was saying.

“Yuichi, you have to control it. Before it controls you. Fight against it. I don’t want to have to forcefully fight it for you.” A pause. “But if I must, I will.” His Auntie lunged at him and the memory stopped.

“Do you remember this?” The impostor asked.

“N-No. I’ve seen it in a dream but I couldn’t understand what she was saying…”

“Ever wondered why our Auntie is missing an ear?”

“No…”

Yet again, he was met with no response. The impostor just snapped his fingers again and the scene changed to one he had never seen in his life. Another snap brough the memory to life.

It was a vivid scene of a house on fire. In the memory, he was being held by a white rabbit he didn’t recognize. She seemed to be crying? A scream echoed from the house and the video stopped.

“Wh-What is this?” Usagi’s voice was shaky

“Recognize that rabbit?”

“No?”

“That’s our mother…”

Usagi’s heart suddenly felt like it weighed a hundred tons. He tried to say something but his throat felt extremely sore and he wasn’t in the right headspace right now.

“Our house burned down when we were young. We lost both of them that day.”

“What are you trying to show me?”

No response. Just another snap. This time the memory was one Usagi knew…because it happened this very day. A snap sound played the memory.

Usagi had just encountered Spot’s dead body. He still remembers the whirlpool of emotions he felt…before his vision went dark. The memory played up until the point that Big Mama transformed.

“I’m sure you remember this?”

“What are you getting at?”

“I’ve been with you since you were born. The fire, our Auntie’s missing ear, The championship battle and Big Mama. I did all of that to protect you.”

Usagi’s heart dropped to his stomach.

“What?” His voice was shaky, mixed with shock and anger

“I am your inner anger. I started the fire because our parents…”

“You did what?” Usagi hissed, his voice laced with anger.

“I killed our parents. After seeing how much it affected you, I decided it was best another family member did not die at my hands. And so, when your Auntie tried to get rid of me, I decided to leave her with a reminder of me. But then you had to go and get injured at the championship match, proving that killing our attackers was the only right option to keeping us safe so I incapacitated you while I did the job for us…”

“Stop…” Usagi shuddered.

“You need to accept me, Usagi. Give in to your anger.” The lookalike approached the rabbit.

Usagi squeezed his eyes shut, clutching at his head, begging for everything to stop. The words, “Give in” circled around him, entering and filling every crevice of his mind.

“STOP!” Usagi’s eyes shot open. Only now the scenery had changed. The lookalike was nowhere to be found and he was surrounded by white lilies. Looking right at him was his ancestor, Miyamoto Usagi.

“Yuichi…”

“Miyamoto…I-”

“I know, child. You have been through a lot. Your anger is warranted.”

“But I…killed that bellhop…The wolf…My parents…” Usagi dropped to the floor

“Dwelling on the past will only make your suffering worse…”

“W-What should I do?” Usagi was on the verge of tears.

“Accept it”

Usagi’s head shot up.

“What?”

“Don’t run from your problems. Accept them. Strive to be better. Only then will you rid yourself of unnecessary feelings. Remember what I told you before? You will blossom when you tame yourself”

Usagi’s eyes widened. He just had to accept it? But he killed those people. People who deserved to live. How could he possibly accept it?

“You cannot change the past. But you can make your future…”

With those last few words, Miyamoto faded into nothingness. The world around him began to crumble. Usagi knew what he had to do. As the scenery around him disappeared, he got to his feet, determination pumping through his blood.

He was met face to face with his anger.

“Give in…” The lookalike whispered.

Usagi took a deep breath and exhaled slowly,

“No. I don’t need you anymore…”

“What? You’re alive today because of me!” The lookalike’s voice raised.

“I know. I’m thankful for that. But I don’t need your protection anymore.”

“What about the people you killed? All those lives you took?”

“Lives you took…No, I took those lives and I don’t know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself for that but I’m going to live my life, atoning for those lives I took and the damage I did.”

A crack began to spread across the lookalike's body, shocking both Usagi and the impostor.

“You will be nothing more than a murderer!”

“If that’s the case, then so be it.”

The crack spread.

“You will never live long enough without me! You need me! Together we are unstoppable!”

“There is no We anymore. I thank you for keeping me alive this far but I can take it from here. I’m prepared to die at any time to make up for my mistakes. So for now, I’ll start by creating my own future.”

Light shone through the cracks on the lookalike’s body. The impostor let out a deafening screech as the light from within intensified before breaking his body apart. Instantly the atmosphere cleared up, painting the world around Usagi a bright blue colour. In place of the impostor was a bright blue ball, unmoving. Usagi lifted a finger to touch the ball and instantly felt a rush through him, knocking him out cold.

_____________________________

Usagi shot up in his bed, once again surveying his surroundings. It was the familiar sight of Donnie’s lab. He was once again on the med bay bed, only this time he wasn’t really in pain. Just tired. Really tired.

He climbed out of the bed and made his way to the main room, where he saw the turtles lounging.

Mikey was the first to notice the rabbit, gasping loudly at the sight of him.

“Usagi!” Mikey gasped.

Leo immediately shot his head over the couch, smiling once he laid eyes on the rabbit.
“Hey guys…Miss me?” Usagi joked, feeling lighter than usual at the sight of his friends.

The group immediately got up to receive the rabbit, crowding around him within seconds.

“You doing okay?” Raph asked, to which Usagi nodded.

“You were out for a while. You’re probably hungry! I’ll whip something up in the kitchen!” Mikey exclaimed before rushing off to the kitchen.

“It’s good to have you back, Cottontail.” Leo remarked.

“It’s good to be back, Stripes.” Usagi smiled back, holding his arms out as an invitation for a hug.

Leo immediately took that offer, wrapping his arms around the rabbit.

However, as soon as the two made contact, their bodies repelled each other, sending both flying across the lair in opposite directions. Both Leo and Usagi crashed hard into the wall, dropping to the floor shortly after.

Usagi stumbled to his feet, staring at his hands briefly before looking across the room at Leo…

“What the hell was that?”

Chapter Text

Leo sat in the lab, alongside Usagi, both awaiting Donnie’s eventual return to them with the “results” he promised. Sure enough, Donnie enters the lab, but he isn’t empty handed. He’s holding a makeshift dummy in his arms.

“Uhh Dee? What’s that for?” Leo asked, his voice shaking

“Usagi, stand up and unsheathe your sword.” Donnie ordered, placing the dummy across from the rabbit. Not wanting to disturb the process, Usagi stood up wordlessly and whipped his katana out.

“Right. So I want you to attack this dummy with your sword…” Donnie stated.

“Seems easy enough.” Usagi replied with a scoff.

“Without moving from where you're currently standing.” The purple turtle continued

“The fuck?” Usagi questioned

“How is he supposed to do that? He’s standing 10 feet away from it!” Leo argued

“Hush, Leo. I wouldn’t be asking for something if I'm not positive I’ll get the result I want.” Donnie replied.

“Yet somehow you always ask me to play smash bros with you after I consistently whoop your a-”

“There is no need for unnecessary comments. Usagi, if you would please.” Donnie interrupted, trying to get back on the right track.

“I’ll give it a shot.” Usagi held his katana up, wound his arm back and was about to chuck his katana clean through the dummy’s head if not for Donnie clearing his throat.

“Try to keep hold of the sword maybe?” Donnie sarcastically raised his figurative eyebrows at Usagi, trying to push a point through the rabbit’s skull.

Usagi mocked Donnie’s tone before refocusing on his target. How could he possibly attack the dummy from so far away? He wasn’t allowed to throw his sword so what now.

“Ah fuck it” Usagi thought as he swung a slash at the dummy, the path of the sword cutting across it’s chest.

Leo’s eyes widened as he looked at the dummy, now missing the top half of its body. He slowly turned his head to look back at the rabbit, who looked just as shocked as he did.

“What did you just do?”

“I have no idea.” Usagi replied.

The both of them turned their heads to Donnie when they heard a chuckle erupt from his mouth.

“Yup. Just as I suspected. Usagi has mystic powers now.”

“WAIT WHAT?!” The both of them yelled at the same time, making Donnie wince at the combined volume.

“I don't know how it happened but he’s similar to us. His powers have been dormant since he was born. Well until now.”

Both Leo and Usagi looked at each other and blinked before returning their gaze to Donnie.

“It seems as so his powers are related to lightning,” Donnie observed the dummy, the section where it had been sliced was sizzling and cracking as if a bolt of lightning had hit it. “The weird thing is that’s not the most odd thing I found.” Donnie continued.

“What do you mean, Dee?” Leo questioned.

“Follow me outside.” Donnie said, beckoning them with his hand to follow without looking away from his tablet.

The trio walked out of the lab and into the main room of the lair. Mikey and Raph were there, watching a Jupiter Jim episode together. They both noticed the three leaving the lab and called out to them.

“Hey Don, how’s the tests going?” Raph asked.

“You might want to see this for yourself.” Donnie replied.

Unable to hide their curiosity, Mickey and Raph got up from the couch and stood behind Donnie.

“What’s this about, Dee?” Leo groaned

“You two see the two dummies I’ve placed in front of you?” Donnie questioned.

Both Leo and Usagi nod their heads.

“Alright. Now remember how when the two of you tried to hug, ew by the way, you were promptly blasted away from each other?”

“Yeah, my back still hurts from that.” Usagi groaned.

“Well that’s because your mystic powers interact in a way I have never seen before.”

“How so?” Usagi tilted his head, making Leo have to hold back a giggle from how cute the action was.

“That’s what I’m about to show you. Now I want you guys to hold each other's hands. Only one. Not both.”

“Is this a prank? Are you trying to embarass me, Donnie cuz if so, not cool man.” Leo stated, trying his best to hide the blush creeping onto his face. Meanwhile, the rabbit behind him had burst into flames, his face as red as a tomato. Raph and Mikey snickered at the sight.

“I wish I was, Leo. Now just do it.”

As they were told, Leo lifted his right hand and took Usagi’s left hand in his, both of them avoiding direct eye contact with each other.

“Disgusti-”

“YOU TOLD US TO DO THIS!” Leo snapped back at Donnie’s remark.

“Notice anything different then?” Donnie asked.

“Other than how soft Usagi’s hands are, No”

The fur on Usagi’s face puffed up as he kicked Leo in the shin. The blue turtle was met with the glowing red face of the rabbit.

“Worth it” Leo thought to himself before Donnie brought him back out of his thoughts.

“No you gay disaster. I mean, notice how you haven’t been blasted away?” Donnie raised an eyebrow.

Leo’s eyes widened as he looked down at the joined contact.

“Oh yeah! We haven’t!”

“Now hold the other hand.” Donnie continued.

As soon as Leo’s other hand made contact with Usagi’s, they both flew backwards into the lair walls once again. Donnie keeled over, clutching his stomach in a pathetic attempt to stop his laughing.

“Really funny Don. I kind of expected better from you.” Leo muttered as he stood back up.

“I’m sorry that was too good!,” Donnie wiped a tear from his eyes before continuing,” After figuring out the Usagi has mystic powers, I stumbled upon this.”

“Hold the phone. Usagi has powers?” Raph asked, genuine confusion plastered on his face.

“Apparently.” Usagi said as he walked back to where he was before.

“Surely you have an explanation as to why that happened, right?” Mikey looked at his purple brother.

“Oh Angelo, when do I not have an explanation for anything?” Donnie smiled childishly at his youngest brother

“Hope you have an explanation for why you won’t shut the fu-” Leo started but was quickly silenced by Raph’s hand over his mouth.

“Please continue, Dee.”

“Thank you big Red. As I was saying, Usagi’s powers are affiliated with lightning. And since he’s untrained in mystics, it's constantly flowing through him. When he makes contact with Leo, in other words, the one handed holding, Usagi’s power flows into Leo…” Donnie explained

Everyone listened attentively and nodded their heads, Raph’s hand still clasped over Leo’s mouth.

“When they connect the second hand, Usagi’s power flows back into himself. Think of it like a light switch. When the switch is off, the circuit is incomplete, i.e when they hold one hand. When on, the circuit is complete, i.e then they hold both hands. That leads to an overload in mystic power and boom: Blasted away.” Donnie finished

Raph finally removed his hand from Leo’s mouth.

“Did you seriously just say ‘i.e’ in real life? Twice?” Leo asked, sarcastically.

“The things I do to help you understand.” Donnie sighed

“So what are the dummies for?” Usagi chimed in

“When I found this out, I also noticed that when you're in contact with each other, your mystic power amount nearly doubles.”

“That’s crazy” Mikey gasped

“So I want to test that out. Give each other a hi-five, wait ten seconds and punch the dummies in the head. Got it?” Donnie said, pulling the goggles that usually rested atop his head over his eyes.

Leo and Usagi nodded at each other. The two slapped hands, waited ten seconds and punched the dummies at the same time.

Nothing happened.

“Well that was a bust.” Leo sighed.

“Not exactly,” Donnie replied, “Do the same thing but now, immediately after you hi-five, punch the dummies.”

“If you say so.” Leo shrugged.

The two once again slapped hands and immediately punched the dummies. At first nothing happened. All the dummies did was recoil from the impact. However, about 3 seconds after the initial punches, the heads of the dummies exploded, sending hay flying across the room.

“Holy cow.” Mikey gasped.

Leo and Usagi looked on in shock.

“Figures. A delayed impact.” Donnie stated.

The entire group turned to face the purple one as he removed his goggles.

“After making contact with each other, Usagi’s fast mystic power, combined with Leo’s potent power, mixes and sends a ‘bomb of mystic energy’ into whatever you hit. After three seconds, it expands, delivering the second blow.” Donnie explained.

“Umm wow. This is a lot to take in.” Usagi comments

“You said it dude. Too much science yap for me.” Leo replies.

“Do you two know what this means?” Raph enters

Leo and Usagi shake their heads.
“This is a card up our sleeves. Draxum doesn’t know about this. We can get the jump on him when he eventually comes out to assemble the armour.” Raph added.

The red turtle was correct. With this newfound power, the group could finally stand a fighting chance against the inevitable final emergence of the Baron Draxum…

Chapter Text

It turned out Usagi was a quick learner, a REALLY quick learner. With some help from Splinter, the turtles had gotten a little bit better at using their powers. Leo could finally make stable portals with his odachi, Raph was finally able to coat his whole body in his hologram etc…

Usagi, however, made leaps and bounds in his development. Not only did he discover how to control his mystic energy but he’s also managed to use it to his advantage in battle. Within a week and a half, he had learned to use his powers to make himself faster in combat. Adding to that, he’s able to, while not for long, coat his yo-yo in electrical energy for an extra bang in his punch.

“It never occurred to me exactly why you fight with a yoyo of all things” Leo snickered in the middle of his spar with Usagi.

“Are you looking down on yo-yo’s right now? I expected better, Leonardo.” Usagi retorted, crossing his arms with a huff.

“Oof he used your full name. That’s gotta be embarrassing.” Donnie chuckled, watching the spar from the sidelines.

“Remind me why you’re here again eyebrows.” Leo sighed, parrying a strike from Usagi.

“I need to see how your mystics react to each other now that you’ve had some practice.” Donnie replied.

“Right…Definitely not because you had no one else to bother right now.” Leo commented

“You know me so well.” Donnie added, looking back down at his tablet.

“I suggest you pay attention to the fight, Blue.” Usagi said.

“Wha? Of course I'm paying att-Woah??” Leo barely managed to dodge a lightning fast swipe from Usagi’s yoyo.

“That’s what you get for looking down on my beloved yoyo.” Usagi said, reeling back his yoyo, spinning it around his fingers to build up speed before swinging it at Leonardo.

The yoyo crackled with electricity as it flew through the air towards Leo’s face. Moving as fast as he could, Leo ducked under it, the yoyo flying past where his head used to be moments ago.

“Missed me” Leo stuck his tongue out from his crouched position.

“You may want to verify that fact before you speak.” Usagi commented, yanking his hand back.

The yoyo jerked backwards, its string coiling around Leo’s legs before tightening, trapping his legs together and knocking him onto his face.

“Wanna say that again?” Usagi added, sticking his tongue out at Leo.

“Fair play. But you’re not the only one with tricks up your sleeve.” Leo replied, throwing his katana blade first at Usagi’s forehead. Usagi barely managed to dodge the blade, tilting his head away just in time for the blade to fly past.

“Now who’s missed?” The rabbit laughed.

Leo simply replied with a chuckle before blue energy crackled around him. In seconds, his body glitched before Usagi’s yoyo went limp. Leo had vanished from his yoyo prison, reappearing behind Usagi, odachi in hand, already swinging the blade towards the rabbit’s throat. Usagi had barely any time to react, unsheathing his katana, spinning it in his palm and blindly swinging it behind to where he thought was the right spot.

In a gust of wind, both of them halted, both blades inches from each other's necks.

“Gotta admit, I’m impressed.” Usagi chuckled, his voice shaky from an adrenaline rush.
“Learned that one from you.” Leo replied with a confident smile, as if a blade wasn’t inches from drawing blood from his neck.
“I don’t teleport?” Usagi replied, trying to ignore the feeling of warmth bubbling in his chest at the sight of Leo’s smile.
“I mean recklessly throwing your weapon away.” Leo added with a chuckle.
“Okay first, Ouch. Second, It isn’t reckless. It’s more of a tactical chuck.”
“Right…” Leo dragged out his reply.
“You just don't see it the way I do. If I don’t know what I'm doing with my weapon, how can the enemy know?” Usagi justified, sheathing his katana and crossing his arms
“That. Has GOT to be one of the dumbest things I have ever heard.” Donnie piped up, walking towards the pair.
“Haters. All of you.” Usagi grumbled, looking to the side

“Anyway, it looks like your energies no longer repel each other. You can go back to being all touchy feely as long as it is at LEAST 3000 miles away from me.” Donnie added, looking up from his tablet with an unimpressed face.
Usagi’s face flared red as Leo yelled an exasperated , “Donnie!” before turning away to hide his own blush.

“That’s good to hear because we’ve just received news.” Raph said as he entered the area.

The three turned towards Raph, expectant looks on all their faces.

“Draxum’s hijacked a train. He’s assembling the armour. If we’re gonna stop him, it has to be now…”