Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

After everything was said and done, the Hamato’s lives have been peaceful. Not that Raph was complaining, his life has been great ever since they took down Super Shredder. No major threats, no world-ending events, just the occasional street thug or some stragglers from Shredder's henchmen. Other than that, it’s been years of uneventful bliss and Raph and his brothers have been living relatively quiet lives under the streets of New York.

He has his daily routines. He wakes up early to work out and take care of Chompy, and usually spends a couple of hours with Mona.

His brothers all had their own things going on too. Donnie was the same as usual, spending a lot of time in his lab, as well as hanging around with April and Casey. Mikey has actually taken to properly cooking and is now making decent meals for the family. With less crime fighting to do nowadays, he went out most nights, making graffiti murals throughout the city. Leo was a little quieter than usual and more withdrawn, mostly keeping to himself, but that was just Leo. The adjustment was a little harder for him now that he very rarely needed to fill the role of leader nowadays, but Raph knew he’d adjust, given time.

Life was good.

While most of his brothers liked to stay in nowadays, Raph still liked to go out on patrol and bust some heads from time to time, and had decided that tonight was one of those nights. As he walked through the lair, getting ready to head out, he noticed Leo sitting on the couch watching yet another Space Heroes marathon on TV. Normally, Raph would reach out to Casey to join him on patrol- he was always down to bust some heads -, but Leo really needed to get out more.

Decision made, he walks up behind his brother, slinging an arm over his shoulder. “Alright, man, get up. You and I are going out on patrol together.”

Leo startles, looking up at Raph with a look of surprise on his face. “What, you want to go out on patrol with me? Don’t you usually go with Casey?”

“Yeah, but we haven’t gone out on patrol together in ages.”

“I don’t know…” Leo trails off, looking uncertain.

“Come on, it will be fun!” Raph begs.

“Alright, fine. Let me grab my stuff.” Leo jogs off to grab his things, returning a few minutes later.

Nowadays, the streets being as quiet as they were, only two of them really need to go out on patrol at a time. If they need any extra help, they call in the others for backup, but that rarely happens anymore. Raph isn’t expecting this night to be any different as he and Leo make their way up to the surface and start following their usual patrol routine, running along the rooftops and keeping a careful eye out for any trouble.

So far it was a boring patrol. They ran for a while with no signs of danger. After about an hour Raph finally spotted something; a group of masked figures breaking into a nearby store front.

“Finally!” Raph whoops, drawing his sais. The raspy ring of Leo drawing his swords follows him as he jumps down into the alleyway, landing with a soundless thud. Raph felt more than heard Leo land behind him, but his brother made no move to engage. Fine, Raph was happy to do the honors.

“Doing a little shopping tonight, boys?” he calls, grinning at the way the masked figures froze in place. They didn’t stay still for long though; dumping the stuff they’d taken onto the ground, they drew their weapons, and just like that the fight was on.

Raph dove into the fray with relish; quiet streets were boring streets, and Raph always loved a good brawl. The largest figure met him head-on, swinging his axe up in a quick doublehanded arc that Raph had to use both sai to block. Locking the axe in place, Raph kicks out at the man's stomach, doubling him over and sending him back a few feet.

Using the breathing room that gave him, Raph gave the alley a quick glance, spotting Leo mid-kick, using the same technique to back his two opponents off so he could use his swords more effectively. Leo clearly had it under control so Raph turns his attention back to the larger opponent just in time to dodge the axe whistling towards his head. The axe blade squeals against the concrete in a shower of sparks as Raph rolls out of its path.

Using his momentum, he rolls onto his feet, flinging his sai at the man. The point of the blade met the pole of the axe, wrenching it out of the attackers’ hand and sending it spinning into the darkness of the alley. Raph smirks, but if the man was intimidated by the loss of his weapon, he didn’t show it, merely rolling his shoulders and holding up his fists.

“There’s something to be said about bringing fists to a knife fight,” Raph teases over the sounds of Leo’s fight, flashing his remaining sai in the low light. The man snorts then lunges towards him. He’s fast, much faster than Raph was expecting, and before he could pull away, the man sweeps his feet out from under him. As Raph went down, he swiped out at the man, aiming for his achilles. The man clearly expected this though; he nimbly dodges and uses the same leg to kick at Raph’s hand. Pain shot up his wrist and his sai skittered out of reach as the man landed a solid kick to Raph’s abdomen.

Grunting, Raph grabbed the foot buried in his stomach and whirled, taking the man down and using the forward momentum to roll away from him and make up for lost ground. Raph stood, rotating his stinging wrist. “Fists versus fists it is.” As he moved forward to press his advantage, a ringing clatter sounds from down the alley and something bumps against his ankle. Raph jerks and glances down, startled. Leo’s katana laid on the concrete by his foot. Raph frowns; it was unlike Leo to allow himself to be disarmed.

Thoroughly distracted, Raph glances behind him to get a read on Leo’s situation when a fist flies straight into his jaw, rattling his skull and sending him stumbling back towards the mouth of the alley. A groan shakes its way past Raph’s teeth as he glares up at the hulking man. Pressing his own advantage, the man swings again, but Raph knew a feint when he saw it, so he ignored the fist heading for his head and swept his foot forward to block the knee flying for his midsection. Growling, Raph shot out a quick series of jabs; elbow, knee, stomach, and finally the throat, sending the human to the ground with a wheeze. Not giving the man a chance to recover, Raph delivers a swift spinning kick to the side of the man’s head, knocking him out cold.

He straightened up, turning to get eyes on Leo when a cry from deeper in the alley sends Raph running. He scoops up one of his fallen sai as he dashes towards Leo’s fight in the back of the alley. As he closes in, Raph’s mind takes in the scene in rapid fire detail. Leo was being straight up tag teamed, the two men flitting in and out of Leo’s range, one delivering a swift punch before backing off and letting the other land a hit of their own. Leo was clearly getting pissed off, the onslaught making him sloppy as his fists swung wide, leaving half of his body open for the next punch heading towards him.

The punch lands, rocking his head back and sending him to the ground. As Raph raced forward, he saw the smaller man jump on top of his brother, wrapping his hands around Leo’s throat. Raph’s heart drops into his stomach as he lunges for the man, tackling him from the side with all the strength of a linebacker. The man’s grip slips from Leo’s neck as he flies to the side, hitting the alley wall hard and rebounding off of it to slump down to the ground and out of the fight.

Raph straightens up, planting himself in front of Leo and watching the remaining figure wearily. “You plan on taking this seriously anytime soon?” Raph hisses over his shoulder. His brother coughed and stumbled to his feet, the alleyway light catching on a deep gash in his thigh. “Shut up, Raph,” Leo muttered, spitting blood out of his mouth.

The final attacker, clearly undeterred by his two cohorts being brought down, doesn’t give him time to respond as the man dashes forward, knife in hand. Raph swings his own blade down, diverting the knife with the shrill screech of metal on metal. Leo ducks under their arms and throws a sharp punch to the man’s nose. The human howled, blood spurting down his face from what was definitely a broken nose. He shook it off quickly though, lunging forward as Raph and Leo met him head on.

As the two brothers settled into their own rhythm of tag teaming their final attacker, Raph kept a close eye on Leo. He didn’t know if it was because his brother was so angry or if his skills were getting rusty, but Leo’s fighting was definitely off. Even with Raph covering him, he threw sloppy punches, amateurish kicks, and left himself exposed in some way or another too many times to count.

Raph was so distracted with keeping an eye on Leo that he didn’t notice the flash of the knife until it was buried in his upper arm. Crying out, Raph stumbled to his knees. His hand found the handle of the knife and, with a fortifying breath, he pulled it out of his arm and dropped it to the ground with a clatter. Strange sounds filtered through the ringing in his ears and the cold burn in his arm. He glanced up, freezing in place at what he saw.

Leo was on top of the last man, absolutely wailing on him. The human's hands fluttered up, trying to cover his face, but Leo was like an animal, punching the man’s face over and over and over again. The man's hands fell limp, clearly unconscious, but Leo didn’t let up.

Horrified, Raph heaves himself up, keeping one hand over his wound as he runs to the pair. “Leo stop! He’s had enough!” He releases his wounded arm and grabs Leo by the shoulders, wrenching him off of the man. Leo’s wild gaze is still on the downed man, but Raph shoves him back, getting right up in his face.

Leo shoves him away with a snarl.

"Dude, what's your problem!" Raph shouts, but Leo doesn't seem to hear him. His brother is visibly shaking and his breaths are ragged. Leo stumbles backwards, gripping his head and slumping against a nearby wall.

Raph rushes to his side, heart thumping. "Leo! Leo you okay? Talk to me!"

Leo’s eyes are out of focus. He’s hyperventilating as he stares blearily down at the concrete, his hands still clenched tightly around his head with knuckles going white.

“Come on man, breathe!” Raph tries. “It’s okay, man, you're fine.”

Leo doesn’t respond, only rocking slightly back and forth on the ground. What’s happening? Why wasn’t he responding? Leo looked terrified. Raph was at a total loss on what to do, so he did the only thing he could think to do. He gripped Leo’s hand tightly doing his best to slow his own breathing and remain calm. “Hey man, it’s okay. You got 'em all you’re alright. You're safe.”

He continues on like that for a few minutes, holding his brother’s hand and reassuring him he’s safe, not knowing any other way to calm him down. He’s just about to call Donnie when Leo’s breathing starts to even out and he seems to come back to himself, looking around confusedly.

“Hey man you with me?” Raph asks, clutching Leo’s hand tightly.

Leo looks confused for a moment before his expression shifts and he shoves Raph’s hand away. “Yeah, I’m fine,” Leo grumbles, shakily getting to his feet. “Let’s just go home.” He starts walking away from Raph.

Oh that wasn’t gonna fly. He storms after Leo, quickly catching up with him. “No way! What the hell was that man?!”

“Nothing, just drop it,” Leo says dismissively, ducking down a nearby alley.

“That wasn't nothing. You totally lost it and then-”

“I said drop it!” Leo shouts, turning on him, his face contorted in rage. Leo hardly ever got truly angry, and it was unnerving to see, but Raph didn't back down.

“No! Just talk to me, man, what the hell was that?” Raph shouts.

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit!” Raph shouts.

“Leave it, Raph,” Leo snapped. “I’m going home. You can handle this mess on your own.” He turns before Raph as a chance to reply and stomps over to the nearest manhole before pulling the cover aside and slipping underground..

“Hey, we're not done here!” Raph shouts after him, but Leo has already disappeared back into the sewers. He huffs, and turns to pick his way back towards their would-be thieves, wondering what the fuck that was all about. Leo can be uptight sometimes, but this was way beyond the norm and definitely something he needed to bring up with their other brothers.

Shelving the idea for now, Raph made straight for his muscle head opponent, dragging the unconscious man to the nearest pipe sticking out of the alley wall and tying him to it tightly. The last thing he needed was for the human hulk to wake up for round two. He then jogged to the end of the alley and gave the other two the same treatment. Tightening the last knot around the ankles of the last man, he crouched in front of the humans and rolled his shoulders with a sigh, suddenly exhausted. His arm was pointedly reminding him that he had been stabbed not even twenty minutes ago, effectively ending any ideas he had about continuing the patrol solo.

Raph stood and gave the thief's one last glance, taking in their appearance once more. They were decked out in pretty standard ninja gear, with exception of their uniforms which were a deep scarlet red. His gaze lands on the man Leo had pummeled. The man's eyes are swollen shut and his nose bends the wrong direction. His face is soaked in blood, the lines between mask and skin blurred by the sticky red liquid covering his face. Raph can’t stand to look at the man for long before he turns heading for home.

By the time he’s back at the lair his left arm is thoroughly covered in flaking blood. He rushes to the medbay, cleaning and bandaging his wound with practiced ease. Once he’s properly tied everything off, he goes to check on Leo. His brother is already locked away in his room, door tightly shut with a small trail of blood leading up to it.

“Hey, man, you okay in there?” Raph calls through the door.

“I’m fine, Raph,” Leo growls, clearly not in a talking mode.

Raph heaves a heavy sigh. “You at least get yourself patched up?”

He can hear a sigh from the other side of the door. “I’m fine, Raph, I took care of it. Now will you please just let me sleep?”

“Okay…goodnight,” Raph says reluctantly and walks away from his door.

Raph made his way to his room slowly, thoughts churning and frustration simmering low in his gut. Leo’s stubbornness was nothing new to him, but that doesn’t stop it from being damn annoying. He wasn’t gonna just let what happened tonight go. He resolved to talk it over with Leo in the morning.

____________________________________________________

The next morning, Raph is up bright and early for his usual workout. When he’s done, he heads into the kitchen to find Mikey has already started making breakfast. “What’s on the menu this morning, Mikey?”

“Bacon and eggs,” Mikey says, happily humming along to the music on the radio. “They're almost ready.”

“Thanks man,” He walks over to the fridge and grabs the orange juice before shutting the door, only to find Donnie standing on the other side looking like a zombie with massive dark circles under his eyes.

“Wow, man, bag check,” Raph chuckles.

“Hahaha, very funny. What happened to you?” Donnie asks, pointing at his bandaged arm with his coffee cup.

“Ah, it’s nothing, just took hit on patrol last night. Nothing I can’t handle.” Raph says rubbing at his arm.

“If that’s all, then out of my way, I need coffee,” Donnie drones, shoving Raph to the side and making a beeline for the coffee pot.

“Did you even go to sleep?” Raph asks as Mikey sets full plates down in front of them.

“Yes.” The coffee machine beeps and Donnie fills his mug before settling down in front of his own plate.

“How much?” Raph asks skeptically.

“No comment,” Donnie mumbles into his coffee.

“Donnie…”

Donnie sighs, setting his mug down and stabbing at his food. “Yeah, yeah, I know but I’m almost finished! Then, swear to god, I’ll pass out for a good twelve hours.”

“You better,” Raph says, pointing his fork at Donnie accusingly.

Leo limps into the room avoiding putting weight on his injured leg before, mumbling a greeting before stumbling over to the toaster. Mikey quickly cuts him off before he can get very far. "Oh absolutely not! I made a nice breakfast and you are not breaking another toaster. Sit down," he scolds, turning Leo back towards the table.

Leo grumbles before sitting down in front of his plate next to Raph.

Raph glares over at Leo. "Morning," he says tersely.

Leo glares daggers at him before turning to his own plate. “Morning,” He responds, not so much as looking up from his breakfast, picking at the food on his plate. Raph huffs, so Leo’s gonna be a little drama queen then. Fine, he’ll deal with him after he’s finished his coffee. Donnie and Mikey observe the exchange without comment, Leo and Raph fighting not exactly being a new phenomenon in their household.

The brothers continue on with breakfast as usual, talking and exchanging banter while they eat. Leo doesn’t engage much in the conversation, only pushing his food around on his plate and taking small bites from time to time.

After a while Leo stands up, plate in-hand and says,“I’m gonna finish eating in my room. You guys enjoy.” He picks up his barely touched plate and walks off towards his room. Raph almost misses it, but he sees Leo dump his breakfast in the trash on the way out. Raph furrows his brow in concern.

“Is it just me, or has he not been eating much?” Raph asks worriedly.

“It’s not just you,” Mikey says as he starts cleaning up Leo’s spot. “I mean, he usually just grabs a piece of toast and dips. Half the time I find it in the trash later.”

"What about lunch and dinner?” Donnie asks.

“I don’t know, man. Come to think of it, I’m not really sure what he’s doing for lunch and dinner these days,” Mikey says.

Raph hums to himself, processing the new information. “Try and make sure he eats something else today,” he tells Mikey, who nods agreeably. Raph turns back to his breakfast as the rest of the meal passes by silently.

Once breakfast is cleared away, they go about their days as usual. Leo doesn’t venture out of his room for the rest of the day, staying holed up in his room. Later that night, Mikey approaches Raph as he’s passing by in the hallway.

"Dude, Leo didn’t eat anything else today.”

“Wait, really?”

“I brought him more food. I think he ate one bagel for lunch, but I found the rest of his food in the trash." Mikey furrows his brow in concern. “Dude, what do we do? This isn’t healthy.”

“Just keep trying. I’ll look into it a little more and then we can talk to him. I think he’s just got some stuff going on right now.” Mike frowned towards Leo’s room, doubtful. “He’ll be fine,” Raph said assuredly. Mikey nods but still shoots Leo’s door a worried look before heading off to bed.

Raph turns in. Once under his covers, he pulls out his phone and types in ‘eating disorders’. He researches until his eyes start fluttering shut. Groaning, he turns over and plugs in his phone before curling up in the covers and drifting off to sleep.

He’s up only a few short hours later answering the call of mother nature. He rolls out of bed and shuffles out of his room to the bathroom. He’s stopped before he gets there by the sight of Leo sitting on the couch watching TV. It’s not an entirely strange sight to see; Leo normally struggles with falling asleep and can often be found sitting up on the couch late at night before finally shuffling back to his bed to fall asleep.

Raph glances over at the clock in the kitchen, the time reading 1am. He hadn’t thought anything of it until now, but between this, the not eating, and his strange behavior after the fight the other night, Raph decides it’s best to check in and try to get some answers from his brother. He gives an exaggerated yawn, walking around to sit down on the couch opposite Leo.

“Can’t sleep?” Leo only hums in response, eyes still glued to the screen. He looks exhausted, lids drooping half closed and immense bags under his eyes. Raph and Leo sit in awkward silence as whatever program Leo’s watching plays on screen. Raph is only half paying attention to the show, instead shooting glances at Leo out of the corner of his eye. Raph flounders for a bit, not quite sure how to broach the subject, but as the commercial break starts Leo sighs, turning to acknowledge him.

“Did you need something, Raph?” Leo says quietly, clearly irritated by his continued presence.

“What? No, I…” Well, no getting around it now, he might as well come out with it. Raph lets out a heavy sigh. “Look, man, are you doing okay?”

Leo turns his head back towards the screen before responding. “I’m fine. Why?”

“I don’t know. It's just you seem… a little off.” Leo continues staring ahead at the screen. “Anything you need to talk about?” Raph asks, but Leo just continues staring at the tv. “You know we’re here if you need us, man. After that fight last night, I’m just-”

“I said I’m fine, Raph,” Leo responds tersely, cutting him off. As the credits roll on whatever program he’d been watching, Leo lets out a heavy sigh before standing up off the couch and gathering his things. “I’m tired. I’m going back to bed.” Leo says shortly, walking out of the room. Raph’s quickly on his feet to catch up with him.

“Hey, man, just wait a second! We gotta talk about what happened last night! If something’s wrong, I wanna help! I’m here, so just talk to me, please!” Raph begs, squeezing Leo’s shoulder for emphasis. “I wanna help.”

“I know,” Leo says casually, staring forward and shrugging off Raphs hand. “Goodnight, Raph.” Leo shuffles off towards his room, the lock clicking into place behind him, leaving Raph standing alone in the living room. He heaves a sigh before shuffling off to the bathroom and crawling back into bed.

____________________

He’s woken again a few hours later by someone violently shaking him. He's about to grab for his sai when he opens his eyes he finds Donnie staring down at him expression panicked. He shoves Donnie off as he climbs out of bed. "What the hell, dude? You better have a really good reason for waking me up in the middle of the night!" Raph growls.

"It's Leo! He-"

Donnie is suddenly cut off by the sound of Leo’s frightened screams from down the hall. Raph’s immediately on his feet, running down the hallway. Donnie was right on his heels as they flew down the hallway. Now that he hears Leo, he's surprised Leo’s screams hadn't woken him sooner.

"I was up late in the lab when I heard him screaming. He's having a nightmare, but I couldn't wake him up," Donnie explains as they run. When they got there, Leo was tossing and turning, sweat beaded on his brow. For a moment, Leo seemed to have settled down before letting out another anguished cry and violently thrashing around knocking pillows off the bed and slamming his own head back against the wall. His flailing arms knock several items off his bedside table. Donnie dives, catching them before anything can break as Raph bolts forward, grabbing hold of Leo’s shoulders.

“What are you doing?” Donnie hissed in a panic, moving the items to the side.

“Trying to wake him!” Raph shouts back, shaking Leo's shoulders, trying to wake him with no luck. “LEO! Leo, wake up, man!”

“I already tried that, Raph! He won’t wake up!” Donnie yells over Leo’s screaming.

“We can’t just leave him like this! He could hurt himself!” Raph cradles Leo’s head before his brother could slam it against the wall again.

“What are you doing? He could hurt you!” Donnie exclaimed.

“Don’t care!” Raph shouts. As Donnie moves in to restrain Leo’s arms, Raph pulls the quilt up around Leo’s head, cushioning it from the wall, as the two brothers braced themselves against Leo’s thrashing. After what seems like forever, Leo finally calms down, settling back into a mostly peaceful sleep. The wound in Raph’s arm burns as they both hesitantly release their hold on Leo, stepping back from the bed but neither of them leave the room. They watch over him wearily for any signs of another nightmare, but Leo’s sleep remains peaceful. After a few more minutes of quiet, Raph and Donnie step out of the room.

As they enter the quiet living room, Raph rounds on Donnie.“What the hell was that?”

Donnie sighs rubbing between his eyes. “I don’t know, Raph.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? You know every-”

“No! No, I don’t Raph! I don’t always have all the answers okay!” Donnie shouts, cutting Raph off. Donnie's eyes are barely half open with deep bags from several nights of little to no sleep.

“Right… sorry,” Raph says, shame creeping up his shell.

“I’m sorry too. Look, I don’t know what that was, but I’ll look into it, I promise. Just get some sleep, Raph. We’ll try talking to him in the morning,” Donnie says before retreating back to his lab. Raph finally turns in for the night, but sleep won’t come. He sits in the pit until sunrise, the sound of his brother’s anguished screams ringing in his head. Time passes in a blur; he’s not sure how many hours it’s been when Donnie wanders into the kitchen. Raph stays on the couch, his mind still playing out the event’s of last night and everything that had happened over the last several days. When Leo finally enters the room, Raph’s head snaps up and he immediately rushes to intercept him at the table. Raph tries his best to appear casual as he slides into his chair next to Leo.

“M-morning,” Raph says, voice cracking slightly. Leo gives him a suspicious look before shaking his head and turning back to his own meal of toast and eggs.

“Morning, Raph,” Leo responds in a monotone. Donnie looks just as restless as him shifting in his chair and making eye contact with Raph from across the table. “

“You sleep okay, Leo?” Donnie asks without looking at their brother directly .

“Yeah, I slept fine,” Leo says, taking a bite of his toast.

“Good, good…” Donnie says, trailing off into a stretched silence. He awkwardly laughs before continuing, “You know, I had that craziest dream last night. BeBop and Rocksteady were there but get this their heads were both pineapples! No idea why they were playing chess though...” Donnies says trailing off.

“Wow, that’s so interesting Donnie,” Raph deadpans, rolling his eyes. “You have any interesting dreams last night, Leo?”

“Noooo…” Leo squints, looking between the two of them with suspicion.”

“You sure? No weird dreams, nightmares, anything like that?” Raph presses.

“No, did you?” Leo asks, looking genuinely confused. Raph was confused too; how could he not remember whatever nightmare he’d clearly been having last night?

“Okay, you guys are being weird,” Leo says, standing up from his spot. “I’m just gonna eat in my room.” He picks up his plate and walks out of the room, once again slipping his half finished toast into the trash as if both his brother’s weren’t actively watching him. As Leo’s walking out Mikey finally joins them.

“Morning.” Mikey says brightly. Leo barely acknowledges him mumbling a greeting before shutting himself away in his room.

“Wow what’s up with Leo?” Mikey asks, looking at the other.

Once Raph is sure Leo is out of earshot, he turns to his brothers. “Okay, this is getting out of hand. We all agree something serious is up with Leo right? He’s got some serious issues.”

"I agree, but don't we all?" Donnie grumbles, pushing his food around on his plate. "Quite frankly, all of us could benefit from a little therapy after all we've been through."

Raph can't exactly argue with that. They've all seen some pretty messed up shit. "Yeah, I know that but… I think he’s got bigger issues than the rest of us. He needs help."

Donnie looks thoughtful for a moment before responding, "I agree, but- hang on a second.” Donnie races out of the room, quickly returning with his laptop moments later. “Okay, have you noticed anything more specific? Anything that would help us narrow down what exactly is wrong with him?" he asks, fingers poise over his keyboard and ready to take notes.

“Well, last night obviously,” Raph says plainly.

“What happened last night?” Mikey asks.

“Leo had a nightmare. A really bad one. He was screaming his head off and flailing everywhere, but we couldn’t wake him up. I’m amazed you didn’t hear it,” Raph says in surprise.

“I’m a sound sleeper, dude,” Mikey says, leaning back in his chair.

“He didn’t seem to remember it at all this morning,” Donnie muses, trailing off as his hands fly over the keyboard.

“He’s barely been sleeping on top of that,” Raph says “I mean, I found him up on the couch at 1 am last night, but we already know he has insomnia. Maybe it’s contributing somehow.”

Donnie nods, typing away. “Anything else?”

"I don't know…" Raph trails off thinking when Mikey chimes in. “Oh! Oh! He hasn’t been eating. He’s been getting seriously skinny.”

“Hmmm okay, ‘lack of appetite’...” Donnie mutters typing away at his keyboard.

“He was pretty reckless a few nights ago when I took him out on patrol,” Raph says.

“Define reckless?” Donnie asks.

“He was sloppy. He kept making rookie mistakes, and almost got taken down a couple times.”

“Seriously?” Donnie and Mikey exclaimed in surprise.

“Yeah, but when the fight was over, I turned around to find him wailing on one of the guys. He wouldn’t stop, I had to drag him off the guy,” Raph says.

“Really? That sounds more like you,” Mikey jokes.

“Knock it off, Mikey, this is serious. The dude's face was bloody! After I got him off the guy, he started freaking out, breathin’ heavy,and he looked a million miles away. It took me a while to snap him out of it,” Raph insists, a note of panic entering his voice at the memory.

“Raph, that sounds like a panic attack.” Donnie says seriously, looking up from his computer, concern plain on his face. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I was gonna talk to him about it first. Give him a chance to explain himself, but he kept dodging me.”

Donnie sighed before looking back at his screen. “That all?”

“Yeah, I mean everything I can think of.”

Donnie nods before turning his attention back to his screen. The brothers wait in tense silence awaiting his verdict as Donnie continues reading. After a few minutes, Donnie sighs and leans back, running a hand down his face.

“What’s the verdict?” Raph asks, leaning forward to peer at Donnie’s screen.

"Well, I’m no psychologist, but everything you've said… I’d guess he’s struggling with a severe case of PTSD, depression, and probably an anxiety disorder on top of all that, but I can’t say for sure without a proper diagnosis," Donnie said, looking over at his brothers regretfully.

Raph’s stomach dropped. His hand fumbling for a chair and collapsing into it as Donnie continued. “H-he exhibits all the major symptoms. Irritability, fatigue, lack of appetite, insomnia, night terrors and the noted withdrawal from social activities and family members. Many veterans have similar symptoms after returning from war,” Donnie says with a frown.

Raph sits with his head buried in his hands. “Why didn’t we catch this sooner?”

“We weren’t looking for the signs.” Donnie pointed out.

“He needs help guys," Mikey says seriously.

"How are we supposed to do that?" Raph asks, drumming his fist on the table.

"I could nab him some antidepressants to start, but the best treatment for all this is therapy. The meds don't do much on their own without it," Donnie says regretfully. “But first he needs to actually acknowledge there’s a problem.”

He pauses then and frowns down at his computer screen. “We need to have an intervention.” The doubt in his voice tells Raph all he needs to know about how Donnie thinks that conversation will go.

"Maybe a little less intense than that," Mikey suggested.

"We'll talk to him tonight on patrol,” Raph decides.
________________

Leo hasn’t been much of a leader nowadays.

Ever since they defeated the Krang and the Foot Clan, he’s felt adrift. They were practically adults now; his brother’s didn’t really need him looking out for them anymore. They had adjusted to their more relaxed lifestyle with relative ease, each of them falling into new routines, new hobbies, meeting new people, but even after years Leo still struggled. He didn’t know what to do with the peace, with the quiet.

The knowledge that they didn’t need him as much anymore made him realize just how much of his self-worth and identity revolved around being the eldest, the leader, the responsible one. He was left with the uncomfortable realization that outside of those carefully curated roles he had spent years building for himself, he didn’t really know who he was or what he wanted to do with his life. The knowledge left him untethered, restless, and with an empty hollow feeling inside.

His brothers were now living happy fulfilled lives; Donnie had his tech and had found a way to make money online coding. He was now pretty much single handedly financially providing for the family since the rest of them couldn’t get jobs. Mikey had started spending more time in the kitchen and had actually become a pretty decent cook after April got him those cookbooks last Christmas.They’ve actually stopped eating pizza for every meal. Even with all the major threats gone, Raph is still perfectly happy spending his time training and beating up street thugs. When he’s not doing that, he’s off somewhere with Mona.

It wasn’t just Raph; they all had other people in their lives now. Mikey talks with Reinette pretty regularly on his communicator. April and Casey don't hang around much now with everything going on in their lives. When they do come over it's to get Donnies help with their coursework. April was nearly finished with getting her degree in psychology and would probably be going for her doctorate soon meanwhile Casey, was busy working at an autoshop.

They were all well into their twenties by this point, and he was the only one with no life to speak of. Most of the time he’s left on his own, watching reruns of Space Heroes or training in the dojo. And what else was he supposed to do? He was a mutant after all; it's not like there were a lot of options for him. He couldn't go out to parties, get a job, or join the military. They would sooner dissect him than let him join up.

Leo knew it wasn't his family's fault he saw them less and less. They’ve got their own lives, and he didn’t want to ruin their happiness by burdening them with his problems.

He often wished had someone to talk to besides his brothers. Don’t get him wrong, he loved his family very much, but he didn’t always tell them everything that was going on with him. He didn’t want them to worry. He used to be able to talk to Kari, but ever since Splinter’s death she’d been distant.

Raph has taken the lead on everything nowadays; keeping the lair clean, washing the dishes, even taking out the trash when the others forget. Raph was easily managing everything that Leo couldn’t seem to handle anymore.

With all that, Leo would’ve thought he’d be happy enough, but no. Despite the relative peace and lack of action, Leo constantly felt on edge. Like there was another looming threat around the corner that he couldn’t see. He just couldn’t help it, he never felt safe. He felt like a soldier trained to fight a war that didn’t exist anymore. Like a katana with nothing to cut.

Splinter was at least partially at fault for that feeling. Leo knew the others were jealous of how close he'd been with Splinter, but it hadn't been all good. He'd never felt that he lived up to their master’s expectations; Leo could always do better, be better, push himself harder, but there was always, always room to improve.

But now that Splinter was gone, Leo felt this gaping empty hole inside of him. He felt he needed to step up more, but there was just no need. His brothers all had someone, he didn’t. Raph had Mona, Mikey had Rienette, and Donnie had Casey and April. Kari had been the closest he’d ever gotten to having anyone special.

And now all he had was himself.

Chapter Text

Leo and Mikey are hanging out in the living room watching Space Heroes on TV, but Leo’s barely paying attention, it’s one he’s already seen like a billion times. Mikey sits upside down on the couch beside him trying to catch popcorn in his mouth without much success, leaving kernels scattered on the couch and floor around them both.

Donnie passes them by, no doubt on his way to the kitchen for his third cup of coffee for the day. Raph follows closely behind him, glancing at Leo and Mikey as he passes before doing a double-take. “Ugh, Mikey, cut it out. You're making a mess!” Raph complains when he notices the popcorn laden living room.

Mikey looks around, finally noticing the mess around him as he sits upright on the couch. “Oh right, sorry, dude!” Mikey says, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“Just clean it up!” Raph says, his attention shifts ever so slightly to Leo. His gaze lingers on him a little too long and Leo suppresses a sigh. He can tell that Raph has picked up on his mood lately, but so far he seems to be the only one.

Raph pointedly doesn’t break eye contact when he addresses the room. “And hurry, we're all going out on patrol tonight. Together."

"Why?" Leo grumbles, turning his attention back to the screen.

"Why? Because it’s been forever since we’ve all gone out on patrol together,” Raph says bluntly. “I’m sure we’ll find something. We just need to get back out there!”

Leo scoffs, but ultimately follows his brothers without further protest once Mikey finishes cleaning up the popcorn. Leo heads to his room gathering his gear, as he walks out of his room to join his brother he grasps the small rabbit charm dangling from his belt, worrying it between his fingers. He'd kept the trinket on his belt ever since Miyomoto Usagi had pulled him aside and given it to him at the end of their adventure with him. Sure, he knew it didn't provide him any actual protection, but it made him feel protected, like the spirit of the Samurai was watching over him.

Once they’ve gathered their gear, they head to the surface and start along their usual route. Though he’d never admit it to his brothers, he’s missed this. He relishes the cold air in his lungs and the burn in his thighs as he runs, but he still can't shake the constant feeling of unease he feels when he's on the surface nowadays, always waiting for the Super Shredder or Krang to rear their ugly heads again.

He’s so absorbed in his thoughts that he doesn’t notice Raph has come to a stop until it’s too late and he stumbles full speed into his brothers’ shell.

“Dude!” Raph hisses, glaring back at him.

“Sorry,” Leo grumbles, taking a step back and before looking down into the alley to see what had made Raph stop.

Down in the alley, a group of thugs has cornered a man and a woman, backing them both up against the alley wall. His brother’s leap off the rooftop, jumping into the fight with obvious delight. Perhaps Leo hadn’t been the only one that had needed to get out for a bit.

He jumps down after them, easily throwing himself into the fight. He lands in front of one of the men, holding his swords at the ready. The man rushes at him with a bat, but Leo easily deflects the blow using the man's own momentum to send him head first into the wall. The man wobbles on his feet for a moment, dazed, before Leo easily finishes him off with a hit to the temple with the butt of his sword. The man falls to the ground, out cold before the fight could really even get started.

Leo looks around to find his brother’s at the other end of the alley, dealing with the other thugs. He can tell they're not trying very hard, choosing instead to toy with the men a bit. He heaves a sigh, turning to go reprimand his brothers but stops when his foot brushes against something on the ground. He glances down and sees a purse on the ground, presumably the one the men had been trying to steal. He stoops, picking it up off the ground and scanning the alley for the unfortunate couple. He finds them a short distance away, cowering together on the ground behind a dumpster. Leo sheathes his katanas and inches forward, gently placing the purse in the young woman's lap. The couple cautiously uncurl from their position, looking up at Leo as he crouches down offering his hand.

“Here, let me help you.”

They immediately recoil in horror before scrambling to their feet and shoving their way past Leo. “Ahhh, alien! Get away! Get away!” The humans scream, racing past Leo and running back out of the alley, the woman abandoning her purse in her haste.

Embarrassment and frustration roils in Leo’s stomach. He lashes out, kicking out at the woman’s purse and sending it skittering a few feet down the alley before it comes to a stop at Raph’s feet as he and the brothers make their way out of the alley. Leo’s pants heavily, unable to quell the bitterness and rage that flares to life inside him.

“Wow, man, chill. It’s okay,” Raph says, taking a cautious step towards him.

“This was a stupid idea. Let’s just go home,” Leo growls, shoving his way past Raph and scaling the fire escape.

He just wants to go home, to sleep and forget this whole night ever happened. His brothers managed just fine without him. Why did they even need him here? He didn't belong with them, and he didn't belong in the human world. Where did he belong?

Leo makes it back up to the rooftop, his brothers trailing right behind him with Raph quickly catching up with him.

“Hey, man, it’s alright, don’t let them get to you." Leo can hear the sympathy in his brother’s voice and finds it cloying as Raph places a hand on Leo’s shell. Leo whirls on him, shoving him back hard.

"No it's not, Raph!" Leo shouts. “We’ve saved them - this whole fucking planet - how many times now? And they still see us as monsters?” The realization lays heavy over Leo’s lungs and fuck, he can’t take this anymore.

“Not cool, man, he was just trying to help,”Mikey says reproachfully, stepping between Leo and Raph. “We’re all just trying to help,”

“What is this, an intervention?” Leo scoffs.

“Yes, it is actually!” Raph snarls, pushing past Mikey. “You haven’t been yourself lately, man. What’s going on with you?”

Oh, so they were doing this now? Perfect. Leo turns away from them and starts to walk towards the roof edge.

“It’s like you’ve completely checked out,” Raph shouts at his back. "You don’t seem to care about anything anymore!”

Leo whirls back to Raph. “I don’t care! What is there to care about, Raph?” he shouts back, feet leading him right up to Raph’s face.“All we are doing these days is fighting street thugs at night and sitting around the lair for the rest of the day. What’s the point?”

“No, that's what you do,” Raph snarls, poking him in the chest and pushing him back. “You could do something else. Anything! Anything besides moping around the lair all damn day.”

“I’m fine, Raph. I mean, what else am I supposed to do? You guys are always off hanging out with your friends or girlfriends. I’m just fine at home on my own.”

“Dude, you've still got us,” Mikey says, a note of annoyance creeping into his voice. “ You could try spending a little time with us.”

“I don’t need a babysitter, thank you very much. Besides, you guys apparently have better things to do.”

Mikey shrinks back at his words, hurt clear across his face. Sure, Leo’s being a little harsh, but right now he just doesn’t care. “You guys are always off with someone else,” he says. “Well I don’t need anyone else. I’d say I’m doing just fine without your pity or your nagging.”

Mikey pulls back and Donnie steps in front of him protectively.

"Hey, too far!" Donnie shouts, glaring at Leo.

“Did you even think to ask?” Raph asks, stepping in again, moving between him and Donnie. “We want to spend time with you, but you won’t give us the time of day! You won’t let yourself be happy! Leo! We’re safe now! No one’s constantly trying to kill us, that's good!”

“I know! I know!” Leo shouts, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration and turning back to Raph.“I know things are better now. We’re safe, we don't have to fight just to survive anymore! That's great! That’s fantastic, but-”

“But what!” Raph interrupts.“What do you have to complain about exactly?”

“That’s all I’ve ever known! That’s all we’ve ever known!” Leo shouts. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now!” His voice wavers, and he can feel the press of tears on his eyes.

“Move on!” Raph shouts back, sounding exasperated. “Try being happy for once in your life.”

“I don’t know how to do that!” Leo shouts. “What am I supposed to do besides what I've already been doing? It’s not like I can get a job or go meet someone! How do you think either of those is gonna work out?” He gestures down at himself.

Raph heaves a sigh. Leo can practically see him choosing a different approach. "Look, man, you're clearly struggling. You haven't been yourself in ages. Just let us help you. This isn’t what Master Splinter would have wanted."

"Like you know what he wanted,” Leo growls, rounding on Raph “Like you guys ever cared what he wanted. We’re supposed to be a team! I’m supposed to be your leader, but who am I kidding! Raph’s basically the leader now. I’m just useless baggage!”

“Leo…Don’t say that.” Mikey says, looking at him sadly.

"We just want to help, man, but we can’t if we don’t know what’s going on with you," Donnie says.

"Please, let us help," Mikey pleads.

"What, are you gonna get me a therapist? We can't do that either."

"We'll figure something out, just stop pushing us away!" Raph shouts.

“Raph, would you-”

The pain came out of nowhere. Leo felt it, sharp and stinging in his neck as he let out a sharp hiss. He brought his hand up, pulling a tiny dart embedded in the side of his neck. “What the hell,” he breathed as he felt a warm drop of blood trickle down from the pinprick. He looked up to find they were surrounded on all sides by ninja wearing the same deep scarlet red uniforms as the ones from the shop the other night. He wasn’t sure how they managed to get the drop on them, but it wasn’t important right now. “Form up!” he ordered.

They close ranks, falling into back-to-back formation to face the unknown enemy. Their attackers came at them all at once, a mass of dark red blurring across the rooftop, and Leo and his brothers threw themselves into action.

Their enemies fought ferociously, separating the brothers and ganging up on them in pairs. Leo tries to keep track of all of them in the fray, blocking several attacks ment for his brothers just in the nick of time. He’s so distracted that it takes a moment for the effects of the dart to register.

The world around him begins to blur at the edges and a wave of dizziness overwhelms him. He tries to shrug it off, but it only gets worse. He barely manages to take out the attacker right in front of him and stay on his feet as the world begins to tilt around him.

“Retreat!” Leo shouts to his brothers, his speech already slurring.

“What! We can take these guys. What’s wrong with…” Raph’s words die in his throat as Leo collapses to his knees. “Leo!” Raph rushes towards him only to be cut off by one of the attackers.

Everything starts moving in slow motion for Leo. Their attackers had clearly been holding back until now, waiting for whatever they’d shot him with to take effect. All at once they strike his brothers with a renewed ferocity, pushing them back towards the edge of the roof.

Leo’s barely aware of his surroundings now as he slumps forward on his hands and knees trying to crawl towards the sounds of his brothers. He can only make out their blurry shapes as they try to fight their way back to him, but it’s clear their efforts are futile. Leo watches on, unable to do anything as consciousness begins slipping away from him. His swords slip from his grasp as he slumps face down onto the hard concrete. The next second he feels hands wrapping around his arms dragging him away.

He tries to fight back, but he has lost nearly all control of his limbs. “LEO!” He hears Raph desperately cry out his name. He’s just barely able to lift his head up to see his brothers furiously trying to fight their way back towards him, but for every enemy they take down another one takes their place.

His brothers are the last thing he sees before everything fades to black.
__________________________

Yuichi was exhausted. They’d been traveling on foot through the mountains all day and had only just made their way out to the border region.

Rumors had reached Neo Edo several days ago that The Godless were once again at their border trying to break in, this time with a kidnapped yokai and a key. This information greatly disturbed the council who swiftly dispatched Yuichi and his friends to investigate the rumors.

Now as they crossed the border out of yokai territory, Yuichi was itching to get his hands on those bastards again. He could already see evidence of their presence in the form of wheel tracks and horse hooves in the dirt. According to the information they’d been given, the group were circling the outer regions of the border, looking for an opening. The council feared the group planned to use the yokai hostage to gain access to their lands. That would never happen if Yuichi had anything to say about it.

This Yokai, whoever they were, had put the safety of everyone within their borders at risk. They had strict rules for a reason, no one questioned them because everyone knew the consequences for breaking them; the complete annihilation of their society. Sure, he’d dreamed of seeing the outside world too, but he’d never actually do it; it was too much of a risk, especially with The Godless around.

Whoever this yokai was, their punishment would come later. Right now, their mission was to get them back and turn the cult away before they got too far into their territory.

The Godless had already made several attempts to cross the border using the yokai without success. It didn’t make any sense, if they had truly managed to capture a yokai and a key then they should have had no problems crossing the border.

Yuichi had been tracking the group for several miles and he could tell they were getting close. They weren’t exactly making any efforts to hide their presence, tracking them via the large tracks their wagon left on the muddy roads. They clearly wanted to be found. It was only a short while into their scouting mission, merely a day later, before they came upon the small camp in the morning. Yuichi stopped, signaling his friends to take cover and stay low. They took cover behind a rock outcropping as Yuchi scouted ahead, surveying the camp.

The encampment was utilitarian, with only one large tent and a central campfire. The group was traveling with two small carriages; one a supply wagon piled high with equipment, the other a small livestock trailer. Two of the men were gathered around the trailer using long sticks to poke and prod at whatever poor soul they had trapped inside.

“Useless creature,” One of the men shouts, kicking at the cage. “We should just kill it. What use is it if it can’t get us across the border?”

“You heard The Godkiller, even if we can’t use it to get in, we might be able to use it to lure a Yokai out.”

The two men, presumably the carriage drivers, walked over to their campfire, huddling around it and finishing off the remains of their breakfast. Another man emerges from the tent, joining the others by the fire and eats his meal in silence. Meanwhile, two more men stood vigilant on either side of their camp, keeping watch. Five men in total, Yuichi counts. Shouldn’t be too difficult.

Yuichi was so focused on the men around the fire that he almost didn’t notice the sound of a twig snapping behind him. He whirled around, unsheathing his sword just in time to block the blow. Okay, scratch that - there were six men. Yuichi pushed the man back, quickly running him through with his blade, muffling him as the man slumped to the ground, but it was too late. The clash of their blades had alerted the other members of the party.

The two men by the fire rushed to their wagons frantically, hooking up the horses while the two guards sprint towards him to investigate. His friends quickly joined him, forming up behind him.

“Great,” Gen mutters, appearing at Yuchi’s side and drawing his weapon. The guards were on them quickly, one coming right for him, bringing his sword slashing down on him. Yuichi deflects the blade, pushing the man back before bringing his sword down in a sweeping overhead arc. Their blades collide in a shower of sparks and the man pushes him back hard, knocking him off balance. The man lunges for another strike, but Kitsune intercepts him, swiping at his stomach with her tessen.

Yuichi falls back onto the ground, taking in the scene around him and quickly checking on his team. Gen is holding his own, easily fending off his attacker while Kitsune’s giving the guard a run for his money, but Chizu is nowhere in sight. As he frantically looks around for her, he notices the men from the campfire have finished hooking up their wagons. They jump onto their horses and take off, the attacking guards immediately disengaging and sprinting to mount their own horses.

“Shit, they're gonna get away,” Gen growls as the horses race away, far faster than they could ever hope to keep up with.

Chizu chooses then to resurface, pulling up beside them on, presumably, the dead guard's horse. “No, they are not! Get on before we lose them!” Yuichi and Kitsune quickly hop on the horse's back.

“What about me?” Gen complains.

“You're too big, we'll come back for you. Wait here,” Chizu says sternly, spurring the horse into action pursuing the retreating carts. They quickly gain on the group of guards flanking the back of the carts. One of the men turns on his mount, shooting a well aimed arrow meant for Yuichi that he slices out of the air.

“Focus on riding, we'll take care of them, just get us close,” Yuichi says, standing on the horse's back. Chizu pushes the horse faster, quickly coming up on one of the guards. Once they are within range, Yuichi swings his blade at the guard, but the man deflects the blow. Yuichi swings again, this time getting a solid hit on the blade, knocking it out of the guard's hands. Once he’s disarmed, Yuichi leaps to the other horse, knocking its rider off. He takes control of the reins and pulls his horse next to Chizu just as Kitsune finishes off the remaining guard, pulling her horse in line with theirs. They speed up quickly, catching up with both carts and each splitting off alongside one of the carts.

“Pull over now!” Yuichi shouts, pointing his blade at the driver of the cart. It seems not even the drivers are willing to give up without a fight as he sends a handful of shurikens at him. Yuichi barely deflects the projectiles and regains control of his horse as the driver attempts to run him off the road.

Yuichi makes a split second decision, leaping from his horse and grabbing onto the roof of the wagon. Using the momentum of his jump, he swings forward, kicking the driver in the chest and off the other side of the wagon. He lands on the driver's seat with a jarring thud, but quickly rights himself, grabbing onto the reins to try and bring the cart back under control.

“Woah! Woah!” he says as he pulls back on the reins hard, getting the horses to back up and veering them back onto the path. Kitsune and Chizu pull up next to him, having gained control of their own wagon.

“Everybody good?” Yuichi calls.

“Yup, we’re all good,” Chizu shouts back.

“We got the drivers and managed to hold onto all the horses too,” Kitsune says, gesturing to the men tied up on the horses behind the cart. “Should make getting back a lot easier.”

“Good, then let’s head back and see if we can’t pick up those other guys on the trail.” They turn the wagons around and head back towards the camp, making it back within minutes with the two drivers in tow.

“Took you long enough,” Gen huffs, walking up to them and looking around. “Where are the other two?”

“We knocked them off their horses, but they got away before we got a chance to double back,” Yuichi says, pulling up alongside Gen and jumping off the cart.

“Well that’s just great,” Gen grumbles, crossing his arms. “No doubt they’ll be back with reinforcements soon. We better hurry up.”

Yuichi walks around to the back of the cart, inspecting the lock on the door.

“Wanna bet the driver has the key?” Yuichi says with a smug look directed over at Gen.

“I’ll get Kitsune to search em’ for it.” He grumbles before lumbering off. Yuichi can’t get a clear look at whoever’s inside through the slits in the trailer, only a glimpse of green skin. Kitsune runs up, brandishing the missing key.

“Looking for this?” she asks, handing it over.

“Thank you,” Yuichi says before hopping up onto the back of the cart and unlocking the door.

He finally manages to open the cage and inside he finds… a Kappa? No, that's not quite right. Upon closer inspection, the yokai on the floor didn’t look like any Kappa he’d ever seen before. The top of their head didn’t look like a bowl for one thing and their skin was much smoother, though marred by scars. Come to think of it, they didn’t look like any yokai he’d seen before.

They were chained up to the floor, knocked out, and stripped completely naked except for a thin cord around their neck, off which dangles a small charm. It takes Yuichi a moment before he registers the full extent of their injuries. The kame’s skin was a tapestry of mottled bruises, painting his skin in varying shades of purple and yellow. Cuts criss-cross over every inch of skin and Yuichi can make out a spider-web of cracks across its shell. Their face was beat to hell, one eye so bruised it had completely swollen shut and lips so cracked they were bleeding. The group had clearly taken great pleasure in torturing this creature. How long had they kept them in here? Based on the smell in the cage alone, they’d probably been trapped in here for at least a couple weeks with barely enough food and water to keep them alive.

A sudden horrifying thought occurred to Yuichi: what if they were already too late? Yuichi scrambles into the cage, kneeling beside the creature checking for vital signs. He’s relieved to feel a pulse flutter beneath his finger tip and shallow breathing escape the kame’s mouth, but both are faint.

“Shit!” Yuichi exclaims, trying the key on locks around their hands and feet without much luck.

“What?! What is it?” Kitsune asks, rushing to the open door of the cage.

“They’ve got someone chained up in here! They’re hurt bad, get the med kit!” Yuichi calls out, stepping aside to look back at Kitsune. When she finally gets a good look at the captive, she gasps, taking several steps back from the doors.

“A KAPPA?! Yuichi, what are you think-”

“I think they are hurt and need help. Go get the med kit and find the key for these cuffs,” Yuichi says, leaving no room for argument.

She huffs, but rushes off to grab the kit just as Chizu walks up.

“Found this,” Chizu offers, holding out a key before flinching back wearily when she catches sight of the creature. “Yuichi…”

“I know, I know,” Yuichi huffs, frustrated

“You can’t let that thing out,” she argues, stepping away and keeping the key out of his reach.

“They’re hurt and they need help! Do they look like any Kappa you’ve seen before?” Yuichi reasons.

“No, but-”

“Good. Now give me the key.”

She sighs before reluctantly handing it over.

“Thank you.” He takes it and unlocks the chains around their hands and feet. “Now help me get them out of here,” he says, dragging them to the doors.

Chizu throws up her hands and backs away. “No way. You want help with that thing, ask Gen. I will not be involved in this.”

Yuichi scowls at her before jumping down from the cart just as Gen walks up, Kitsune following cautiously behind him with a bedroll and the medkit in hand.

“Chizu said you needed..help…” Gen says before trailing off when he sees the figure in the crate. “A Kappa,” he deadpans, raising an eyebrow at Yuichi.

“I don’t know… I don’t think so. They don't really look like one,” Yuichi says, grabbing the kame under the arms once again and dragging their top half off the back of the wagon. “Are you gonna help me or not?”

Gen shrugs, walking over and grabbing the turtle by the legs. Kitsune unrolls the bedroll by the fire and together they carefully lay the kame down. Upon further examination, their injuries are far more severe than he had originally thought.

There are several cracks in their chest plating and their shell. They are noticeably thin and malnourished. Needle marks along their arms suggest they’ve been drugged into unconsciousness countless times before. Despite their comatose state, they aren’t resting peacefully, a pained expression contorts their features.

“This is inhumane,” Yuichi spits out as he continues his examination. “Why would they do this?”

“Information, fun, who knows? They don’t exactly think of us as people, Yuichi,” Gen says calmly, taking the med kit from Kitsune.

“We need to treat their injuries first, but Kitsune, can you find them some clothes that will fit?” Yuichi asks. Kitsune scowls at him, shaking her head before presumably heading off in search of some clothing.

Yuichi sighs before turning his attention back to the kame, picking out the most severe injuries to address first; a particularly wide crack in their plastron sticking out to him. He runs his finger gently along the jagged edge, assessing the damage best he can. “I’m not really sure how to treat shell cracks…” Yuichi mutters to himself, hissing when he sees that a nasty infection has already taken hold in the crack. “Not much I can do for this one without a way to stitch it up.”

“Do the best you can for now,” Gen says, handing him a cotton swab soaked with disinfectant. Yuichi cleans the wound, doing his best to get into every nook and cranny. As he works, the turtle doesn’t even flinch.

“Damn, they must have put them on some pretty heavy drugs,” Yuchi mutters before placing a large swath of gauze over the injury with medical tape in lieu of stitches. It’ll have to do for now.

From there, he moves on to the more easily treatable injuries; cleaning out the many cuts and scrapes littered across their skin. After he's sanitized them to the best of his ability, Gen hands over the gauze and he sets to work carefully wrapping up each injury. Yuichi sighs, leaning back and taking in his handy work. It’s not the best patch job he’s ever done, but then again, he’s never had to treat anyone with a shell before. The best thing they can do now is get some food and water in them when they wake up.

Now with a moment to breathe Yuichi takes a closer look at the cord around the kame’s neck. Upon closer inspection he sees the charm is a small wooden carving of a rabbit, a recognizable one at that. He leans in, removing the cord from around their neck. “No wonder they couldn’t get in, this key is ancient. They never would have been able to get over the border with this.”

“How’d they even get one of those?” Gen asks, leaning to get a closer look.

“No clue, and we won’t know until they wake up,” Yuichi says, stuffing the charm in the pocket of his hakama. He starts cleaning up, collecting the bloodied gauze, washing his hands and his medical tools with the water from his canteen for now. As he finishes tidying up, Kitsune walks up carrying a fresh pair of clothes and hands them over to Yuichi.

“Thank you,” Yuichi says, taking the offered clothes.

“I still don’t know why you're helping them,” Kitsune huffs. “Even if they aren’t a kappa, we have no idea what they are. They could be dangerous, or this could be some weird fucked up trap The Godless came up with.”

“I’m helping them because it’s the right thing to do,” Yuichi says to her seriously before turning back to the kame and carefully lifting them, pulling the kimono over their shell, while Gen pulls on the pair of hakama. “If you're so worried, why don’t you keep an eye on them? Make sure they don’t go anywhere.”

“No way. Besides, the drivers finally woke up,” Kitsune says. “Chizu’s waiting on you to interrogate them.”

Yuichi glances back at the sleeping kame, hesitating.

“Don’t worry,” Gen says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll watch over them while you're busy.” He sets another log on the fire and settles down next to the kame.

“Thanks, Gen.” Yuichi gets to his feet and brushes the dirt off his clothes before walking up to Kitsune. “Let’s see what they know.”

Kitsune turns walking towards the woods on the other side of camp as Yuichi follows close behind. A short ways into the tree cover, they find Chizu keeping watch over the two drivers, whom she has securely tied to the trunk of a tree.

Chizu sits right in front of the pair, staring them down with a hateful glare. To the mens’ credit, they are staring her down as well, neither side trusting the other enough to look away for long. Chizu doesn’t move from her position as they approach her from the side.

“Nice of you to finally join us,” she says, never taking her eyes off the prisoners.

“I was a little busy,” Yuichi says walking up next to her. He stands there staring down at the men, now both glaring up at him.

One man looks him in the eye, spitting on the ground in front of him. “Filthy yokai. The Godkiller will destroy you.”

“Charming,” Kitsune mutters.

Yuichi stands his ground, glaring down at the man and crossing his arms over his chest. “Sure he will,” he snorts. “Cause he’s been doing such a great job at that for the last ten years, hasn’t he?”

The group hadn’t made any meaningful moves into their territory in over a decade. Ever since the yokai moved farther within their borders, it had become increasingly difficult for them to make any progress. Nowadays, they engaged in minor squabbles with the few yokai that patrolled the border, which is exactly how the council liked it. When they did strike, their attacks were clumsy and disorganized; their success often came down to pure luck. Don’t get him wrong, The Godless were a real threat, their tactics just left something to be desired; so far they had only gotten lucky once.

Yuichi shifts his weight, looking back over at Chizu. “Our guests decide to share anything with you?”

She snorts. “Please, they would never betray their precious master like that.”

“That’s okay,” Yuichi says casually, heaving a sigh as he crouches down and sits cross legged on the ground in front of the men. “Soooo, what’s the plan this time guys? Hmm? Thought you were gonna use some ancient key and an innocent Kame to make your way past our borders? You really thought it would be that easy? This is getting pathetic.”

The two men don’t respond, simply staring daggers at him without a word. Undeterred, Yuichi keeps going, “You guys are never very talkative, but you're predictable. When your boss's first plan failed he had to improvise and try and catch one of us instead right?” Yuichi gestures at himself and his friends. “Using the kame as bait was pretty clever, but it doesn’t make very much sense to run away if you wanted to capture one of us and get a real key.”

As he speaks Yuichi measures the men’s reactions; neither of them flinch. He decides to take a risk. “Unless that is, your leader ordered you to lead us back to your main base where reinforcements are waiting to easily take us down. I’d guess it isn't too far away on horseback.” Yuichi muses, feeling a sense of satisfaction when the men begin to squirm under his gaze. “Does that sound about right?” Yuichi asks, cocking his head to the side.

The two men are now blatantly avoiding his gaze and shifting in their restraints. He was right on the money. Yuichi grins smugly down at the pair. “That’s what I thought.”

“Considering your friend’s are now on foot, I wouldn’t expect your reinforcements any time soon.” Chizu adds, smirking down at the pair.

Though that might be true, they still needed to get moving soon. They weren't going to be able to get anywhere terribly fast with an injured hostage on their hands. They needed to hurry this up.

“Your boss doesn't usually do his own dirty work but he always sticks nearby. I’ll bet he’s at that base of yours.” Yuichi states, staring the men down, unblinking. “So where is it? Where is he?”

“We would never betray The Godkiller,” the man to the left snarls.

“Besides, he'll find you soon enough,” the other scoffs.

“Your leader isn't special,” Yuichi growls, getting up in their faces. They needed to speed this up, and he was quickly losing his patience. “Now, where is he and where is your base?” The human on the right spits right in Yuichi’s face, causing him to stumble back. He frantically wipes the offending substance off his face, glaring murderously at the captives who are both delirious with laughter.

“You think we’re scared of you?” one man cackles as he catches his breath. “You are nothing. An insignificant pest. He will crush you beneath his boot.”

Yuichi stands, moving forward and grabbing the man by the collar. “Your leader is nothing but a delusional, narcissistic dickhead.”

The human pulls back from Yuichi’s grasp, his face twisting up in disgust. “Filth! Your kind is not long for this earth. We should have wiped you out hundreds of years ago! Maybe then, Japan could have ascended to its rightful place at the pinnacle of humanity!”

Yuichi scowls down at the man; they clearly wouldn't be getting anything more from them..

“What do you want to do with them?” Chizu asks him, scowling..

“Leave them here. Their friends will find them eventually,” Yuichi says coldly before turning his back on them and walking away.

“Hope you're comfy,” Chizu says brightly, tightening the ropes around the pair, causing them to let out twin grunts of pain. “Cause it sounds like you're gonna be here for a while.”

As they head back to camp, their captives hurl curses at their back. Yuichi heaves a sigh, running his hand down his face. Kitsune jogs to catch up, falling into step with him as they walk back into camp, Chizu trailing not far behind.

“Well now what do we do?” Kitsune asks. “We know their boss will be out looking for us soon.”

“We’ll pack up and head out as soon as the kame wakes up,” Yuichi responds. “Now that we have the horses, we should be able to stay ahead of them.”

The girls both groan.

“Seriously Yuichi! Just leave it,” Kitsune shouts.

“We don’t know what that thing even is. It will just slow us down,” Chizu complains.

“Really? I thought you guys were better than this,” Yuichi scolds, stopping in his tracks and rounding on the two of them. “I thought you were better than them.” The two girls stop in their tracks, having the decency to look a little ashamed.

“I’m not leaving anyone behind until I have the full story and that’s final.” Yuichi continues with a note of finality.

“Okay, okay, you're right. We’re sorry, but we really do need to get going. Every moment we wait is another moment The Godless have to catch up with us. We need to leave,” Chizu says.

“I agree, get the horses and the supplies ready to go,” Yuichi says before turning back towards camp, only to find Gen walking their way. Yuichi frowns, running up to the Rhino. “Gen, what are you doing here? You’re supposed to be watching over the kame.”

“I’m hungry,” Gen shrugs, scratching at his belly. “I was just gonna grab some food real quick.”

“What if they woke up while you were gone?” Yuichi questions.

“That’s why I tied it to a tree.”

“You what?”

Chapter Text

Leo came to slowly, still feeling the drugs roll like fog over his brain, making him groggy and disoriented. His vision was hazy and twisting, and he had to strain his eyes to focus in on a… rabbit? He was right up in Leo's face, but talking to someone off to his side. Leo's head was still fuzzy and apparently still incapable of processing whatever they were saying. He attempts to shift forward, but quickly realizes he's tied up with ropes against the trunk of a tree. He shakes his head as the fog begins to lift and he takes in the world around him.

The rabbit's words finally start to trickle through his brain. "...this is ridiculous, They're injured!" The bunny was yelling at what appeared to be a rhino. As Leo’s vision clears, he takes in the two figures before him. The rabbit’s back was turned, but he could still make out some basic details; he had snow white fur and long ears tied back with a blue piece of fabric. He was dressed in a kimono and hakama with a sword hanging at his side.

Leo squinted against the harsh sunlight made all the more bright by endless days stuck in that cold, dark cage. There were two other figures standing nearby along with the rhino, a fox and a cat, all dressed in samurai clothing similar to the rabbit’s.

Who were these people? And where were the humans who had captured him? Leo casts his mind back through the haze of tranquilizers, trying to piece together what happened here, but it was no good. All he had were hazy flashes of awareness, filled with nothing but pain as his captors took joy in torturing him. His last distinct memory was of being shoved into the cage before being hit with a dart and everything went dark again. Leo turns his head slightly, taking in the clearing. The smoldering remnants of a campfire smoked lightly off to the right near a trampled tent. No sign of the humans or that damned wagon he had been kept in. His heart picked up speed, thudding though his aching head.

He shoots a small glance towards the rabbit and rhino, both still deep in whatever argument they were having and not having noticed he was awake. Keeping his movements small and subtle, Leo pulls against the ropes, searching for any give in the knots. The ropes tighten in warning the more he pulls against them, sending a sharp bolt of pain through his chest. Leo sucks in a quiet breath, willing the pain away. As it subsides into an ache, he glances down, expecting to see the long crack his captors had gifted him across his plastron, but instead finds a swath of clean ivory linen covering the wound. He frowns, looking down at himself. He was dressed in a plain brown kimono, the fabric stretching awkwardly over his shell, and his wrists and ankles were wrapped securely with that same white linen.

Leo gives the others another confused glance. They had freed him from the cage, clothed him and treated his wounds, but while the heavy metal shackles were gone, he was still being restrained. So he had, what, traded one set of captors for another slightly kinder set of captors? As nice as their actions appeared, just because they had taken care of him didn’t mean they didn’t intend him any harm. Something wasn’t adding up here, and he needed to stay on guard.

The rhino continued arguing with the rabbit. “Yuichi, why are you defending a kappa?”

“We don’t know that’s what they are,” The rabbit - Yuichi, apparently - says, frustration running clearly through his tone. “Do they look like any kappa you’ve ever seen?” He gestures behind himself towards Leo.

The rhino doesn’t even glance in his direction. ’“No, but we can’t be too careful. Even if it’s not a kappa, it could still be dangerous. It stays tied until we get answers,” they say.

“Stop calling them an IT!” Yuichi shouts.

“Fine! THEY stay tied up till we know more,” the rhino says with a note of exasperated finality.

Leo starts to lift his head higher to speak to the pair when a fresh spike of pain shoots through his skull. He lets out a groan, ducking his head back down and squeezing his eyes shut to try and stave off the throbbing in his skull. When the pain subsides, he glances back up to find the rabbit's eyes right up in his face and staring directly at him. Leo lets out a tiny gasp of shock at the proximity and tries to lean back, only for another spike of pain to shoot through his skull. He braces his head against the trunk behind him and pushes through the ache to squint at the rabbit.

Vision significantly cleared, he takes in his new captor. Rich, reddish brown eyes stare right back into his, and it takes him as second to realize that the rabbit has been speaking to him the entire time, chattering away a mile a minute. Leo shakes his head again, trying to clear the fog still lingering in his brain.

“W-” he swallows dryly and tries again. “What was that?”

The rabbit’s expression turns apologetic and he says, “Right, sorry, I guess I got a little ahead of myself. You're still feeling pretty out of it, but don’t worry, you’re safe now. We got you away from those monsters,” he beams confidently, then visibly deflates at Leo’s confused expression.

The rabbit appears mildly embarrassed, clearing his throat before saying, “Let me just start over. My name is Usagi Yuichi. This is Gen.” He points to the rhino. “And those two over there are Kitsune and Chizu,” he says, gesturing to a cat and fox standing warily off to the side. “We are samurai. We heard rumors that The Godless had managed to kidnap a yokai, so we came out to investigate. We finally tracked them down and, well, we found you.”

Leo doesn’t feel like that explained nearly as much as Yuichi clearly thought it did. “The who?”

“The Godless,” Yuichi says as if Leo should know, but he only stares blankly back at the rabbit. “They’ve been trying to wipe us out for years now. Ringing any bells?” The rabbit frowns, sounding genuinely surprised that Leo doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

“Never heard of them,” Leo says. He attempts to shrug but it only makes the ropes tighten uncomfortably around his arms. “And that doesn’t explain why exactly you have me tied up.” He looks pointedly between the rabbit and the bindings. It truly didn’t seem like these people wanted to hurt him, they were just wary of him.

“Forgive my friends, but they think you’re a kappa,” Yuichi explains with a side-eye glance at the rhino.

Well that made a little more sense, at least. “Ah, and you're not scared because…?”

Yuichi crouches down and looks him up and down thoughtfully. “Well, you don’t look like any kappa I’ve ever seen - or Yokai for that matter,” he says, tilting his head to the side. “Who are you? What are you?”

“My name is Hamato Leonardo,” Leo says, squaring his shoulders back and trying to look proud. He isn’t sure how successful he is.

“The Hamato clan. Ninja.” The rhino spat the word like it was a curse, stepping forward and drawing a short knife from his hakama. The rabbit lets out a small gasp, taking several steps behind Gen. “I thought they died out years ago in the fire with Hamato Yoshi’s death. I’m also fairly certain that they were humans not turtles.”

“Uhhh, that's a long story,” Leo says slowly, eyeing the knife warily. Okay these guys weren’t fans of ninja, good to know.

“Well, you're not getting out of those ropes until you answer the question. So I’ll ask again," Gen says hunkering down in front of Leo, placing the blade under his chin. “What. Are. You?”

The press of the knife against his throat makes his sore muscles lock into place. His heart leaps and he can feel his own pulse thud against the sharp edge. “I’m a mutant,” Leo says stiffly, trying to keep his composure.

“A mutant?” He questions, bringing the blade in closer, a soft, biting pressure.

“Like I said, it's a long story.”

Gen growls and leans forward. “Short version then.”

Leo tries to take a deep breath around the cold blade and speaks, “Hamato Yoshi is my father. He didn’t die in the fire; he moved to New York. We call him Master Splinter. He, along with all my brothers, got hit with something called mutagen that turned us into, well, this.” Leo darts his eyes downward at himself.

“It turned you all into turtles?” the rhino asks, pulling the blade back slightly in his confusion.

“Well, me and my brothers were originally his pet turtles. Sensei himself got turned into a rat.” This only seemed to confuse the rhino more. Yuichi steps forward then, pushing Gen to the side with one hand while digging around in his pocket with the other. Leo sighs softly in relief as the blade leaves his throat. He rolls the stiffness out of his shoulders and glares at the rhino, who glares right back.

The rabbit steps forward. “Okay, fine, let’s say all that is true,” he says before pulling Leo’s rabbit charm out of his pocket. “Then where did you get this?"

"Hey, that’s mine!” Leo shouts, lunging forward against his restraints. “Give it back!"

He had no idea why, but for some reason it was the one thing they let him keep after stripping him of his belongings. He had lost his swords, his mask, and all of his gear; he wasn’t losing that charm too.

“Where did you get it?” Yuichi asks again, expression stern.

"What does it matter?" Leo snaps, scowling up at the rabbit.

"Well this is why they grabbed you.”

Leo frowns at him. “What? Why would they want that?” The rabbit wasn’t making any sense. All that pain, all those weeks spent in a dark wooden box, just for a little trinket?

“Well, they clearly thought they could use you and this to get into our territory." Yuichi states matter of factly, waving the pendant slightly. "But this thing is too old to be of any use; the seals on everything have all been radically changed since the last time these were used."

"Like a key?" Leo asks, confused.

"Yeah, I guess you could call it a key, an ancient one at that, ours are very different nowadays,” Yuichi says, reaching under his kimono and pulling out a much longer cord holding a coin emblazoned with a rabbit. “I’m guessing since you had no idea what this was, it doesn't exactly belong to you.” He curls his hand around the pendant and stares Leo down. “We haven't used anything like these since my great great grandfather's time. Where did you find it?”
Leo blinks and looks the rabbit up and down, really focusing in on his features for the first time. The long ears tied back in blue, the curve of his eyes, the symbols on his kimono. "Wait a minute…your great-great grandfather wouldn't happen to be Miyamoto Usagi, would he?" he asks cautiously.

Yuichi raises an eyebrow and silence stretches between them for a moment before he answers. “Yes, he is. How do you know of Miyamoto Usagi? I thought you said you were from New York.”

“Because I knew him. Usagi-san gave me that charm a couple years ago.”

“Miyamoto? That’s impossible, he was my great-great grandfather. There’s no way you could have known him.” Yuichi says, eyes narrowing at Leo suspiciously.

“Another long story, but essentially time-travel,” Leo says bluntly, knowing there was no way of making himself sound believable. “My brother’s and I were summoned to his time by a wolf-demon named Jei. We traveled with him for a little while until we were able to find our way back home, to our own time.” He nods towards the charm in Yuichi’s hand. “He gave me that before we returned home.”

The samurai around him say nothing, all of them turning to Yuichi for answers.

Yuichi stares down at the charm in his hand eye’s now filled with wonder. "I- I don’t know how, but he’s telling the truth. My Auntie told me the story when I was little. Miyamoto crossed paths with a group of Kappa that aided him against Jei.” He looks down at the charm, holding in his palm a lot more reverently than before. “This really is Miyamoto Usagi’s key.”

Leo, taking advantage of the pause in his interrogation, decided it was his turn. “Can I ask you a question?”

Finally breaking from his trance, Yuichi looks over at Gen. They both seem to come to a silent agreement and the rabbit nods back at him.

“Those guys kept me pretty heavily sedated. I don’t even know where I am or how long it’s been,” he says, looking up at the pair. Yuichi and Gen glance at each other before looking down at Leo sympathetically.

“Where exactly am I?” Leo asks nervously

“Japan,” Gen says solemnly.

Leo's throat closes. "W-what?"

He can see Yuichi respond, but he can't hear him over his whirling thoughts. Japan! How had they even managed to bring him all the way to Japan of all places. He was a giant humanoid turtle that wasn’t exactly easy to get past customs! He was thousands of miles and an ocean away from New York and his brothers.

And his brothers! They must be worried sick. They may even think he was dead. Leo's stomach twisted. He had to get out of here. He had to get back to them right now!”

Another thought occurred to Leo and his stomach dropped.

“Wait, I was grabbed on March 30th. What's today’s date?” Leo practically shouts, and he can hear the desperation in his own voice.

“It’s April 20th,” Gen says quietly, shooting him a small frown. “It appears you have been away from home for quite some time.”

Leo sits in silence as the news slowly sinks in his mind racing. Scratch that, his brothers definitely thought he was dead. God what were they even doing without him? Had they made it out okay after the ambush? Had they been injured? No doubt they’d been frantically searching for him for weeks, but of course they hadn’t found him. He’d been dragged to Japan of all places! They'd never think to look for him here. He just hoped Raph was handling things okay without him. With Leo gone, Donnie and Mikey would need someone to lean on and keep them together if he never came back.

Leo shakes his head. No, he had to make it home. They couldn’t lose him, not so soon after Splinter. Sure, it had been a couple years, but he just couldn’t do that to his brothers. Especially with the way he’d left things. He’d been such a jerk to them that night and they hadn’t deserved it. God could they ever forgive him? Would he ever see them again? No. No. No, he had to see them again. He had to tell them how sorry he was, he’d never forgive himself if he didn’t.

His chest feels tight. Head pounding and heart racing, he frantically pulls at his restraints, completely unable to stop his shoulders from shaking. His awareness of his surroundings goes fuzzy as he gasps, suddenly feeling like he can’t get enough air. From down the dark, shifting tunnel of his blurring vision, he faintly hears Yuichi exclaim, “Shit, Gen, untie him now!”

“Why should I?” he hears the rhino grumble.

“Because ropes really don’t help with a panic attack, Gen!” Yuichi shouts, and suddenly the rabbit was kneeling down in front of him, pressing his hands down on Leo’s shoulders. “Woah, woah, hey, it's okay. Just breathe, alright?” he says soothingly. “I think you might be having a panic attack, okay? Have you had one before?”

Leo tries to respond, but the words won’t come as the band around his lungs pulls tighter. He mutely nods his head.

Yuichi doesn’t look very relieved. “Okay, I know it might not seem like it right now, but you're gonna be fine. Your brothers are gonna be fine. You’re safe right now. No one here is going to hurt you, okay?”

Leo feels the ropes come loose around him as Gen presumably loosens his restraints, but the feeling is distant through the numbness in his body. His hands tingle sharply and his chest burns.

“It's okay, you're alright,” Yuichi soothes, raising his hands up placatingly like he doesn’t know where to put them. “I promise, we will get word to your family.”

The words start to trickle though as the tunnel lightens, bringing his awareness back into the clearing. He tries to bring his rolling thoughts into order, focusing on the rough bark against his back, on the warm sun against his face. Slowly, he brings his breathing under control and leans forward heavily against his knees.

His throat feels so, so dry. “Three weeks,” he rasps. “They must think I’m dead.” He slumps forward, dread mixing sickeningly in his stomach. “Last thing I remember was being out on patrol with my brothers, before we were ambushed. Now I’m thousands of miles away from them in Japan.” He feels like he could cry.

“Hey,” Yuichi says cautiously, placing a comforting hand on Leo’s shoulder. Leo lifts his head, finding himself once again face to face with the samurai's warm brown eyes. “I promise we will get you home,” the rabbit says again, firmly squeezing his shoulder. Leo stares back at him, he doesn’t know why, but he believes the rabbit.

Leo bringing up his hand, wiping away the tears that threaten to spill over. “Really?”

“Of course,” Yuichi says, smiling warmly. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s Miyamoto’s ancestor or the conviction with which the rabbit speaks, but as he looks into Yuichi’s eyes he knows without a doubt that the samurai will do everything in his power to get Leo home safe. Yuichi turns very suddenly back to the rhino. “R-Right Gen?” Yuichi says, turning back to his friend.

Gen gives Yuichi an odd look before nodding to Leo in agreement. “Of course. We will do whatever we can to help.”

The rabbit turns back to Leo, a bright grin lighting up his face. “See! We’ll make sure you get back to your brothers safe and sound.”

“Thank you,” Leo says, returning the smile.

Yuichi awkwardly clears his throat before getting to his feet and turning to his friends. “Alright well, now that that’s all settled we should get on the road. We don’t want The Godless catching up with us,” he says, turning to the others. “Kitsune, Chizu, grab whatever supplies you can and pack up the horse. Gen, get our friend here some food and water, I’m sure he’s starving.” The others walk off to accomplish their tasks without argument, leaving Yuichi and Leo alone.

Leo sees the rabbit cast him a sidelong look. “So, you're really a ninja?” Yuichi asks, inching towards him.

“Yeah,” Leo responds cautiously. “Look, I know the ninja you probably know aren’t the most honorable people, but I promise me and my brothers aren’t like that. You can trust me.”

Yuichi looks him up and down, seemingly not convinced, but satisfied with Leo’s answer for now and asks, “What weapon do you usually use?”

Leo shifts, lifting one of his arms and pointing at the swords at Yuichi’s side. “Katannas. Those look like some pretty nice blades.”

“Thanks,” Yuichi says, slowly removing one of the blades from its sheath. Leo flinches back on instinct, but Yuichi merely rests the blade in the palms of his hands before holding it out on full display for Leo to see. The light blue cord and filigree on the handle of the blade look somewhat familiar. “This is Willowbranch,” he explains. “It was Miyamoto’s sword. It’s been passed down through my family for generations.”

Leo’s eye’s wander over the sword, recognizing its fine craftsmanship and details of Miyamoto's sword. Looking into the steel of the blade, he sees his own maskless reflection staring back at him. His hands instinctively come up to his face, patting around his eyes and wincing when his hand comes in contact with the bruising on his face. “Shit, they took my mask,” he mutters to himself, looking away from the samurai. He knows it’s stupid, but he can’t help feeling exposed without it.

“You wear a mask? What, are you trying to protect your secret identity or something?” Yuichi chuckles.

Leo smiles before answering, “Well, most ninja usually wear them. My brothers and I have worn them ever since Master Splinter gave them to us as children. I know it might sound stupid, but I feel more naked without my mask than I do without clothes.”

“No, I get it.” He smiles back, his own hands nervously fiddling with the blue cloth wrapped around his ears. “Hang on a second.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a strip of blue fabric in the exact same shade of blue as his kimono. “It’s my spare,” he explains, pointing to the piece of cloth tying back his ears. Leo notices then how similar the shade of blue is to his own.

Yuichi sets the cloth down and uses a small knife from his pocket to cut two eye holes into the fabric. Yuichi picks up the cloth, examining his handy work, nodding to himself seemingly satisfied with his work. He leans in towards him and for a moment Leo wonders what Yuichi is doing until he places the fabric over Leo's eyes, tying the fabric behind his head securely.

“There!” Yuichi exclaims, leaning back and spreading his hands out in the air beaming at Leo. “Perfect.”

Leo brings his hand up to his face feeling the mask. It doesn’t quite fit right over his swollen eye, but it does the job, and he feels something in him relax. “Thanks. Y-you didn’t have to do that.”

Yuichi shakes his head smiling. “It's no problem, like I said, it's my spare. You can keep it.”

“Thanks, I really appreciate it.”

“Besides, you're right, the mask suits you,” Yuichi says with a wink.

“Thanks,” Leo says, smiling shyly at the compliment. Yuichi smiles right back, before startling suddenly as Gen returns, clapping a hand on the rabbit's shoulder.

The rhino passes a cloth-wrapped parcel over to Yuichi, who then presses it gently into Leo’s hands. Leo unties the bundle, revealing a small biscuit and a few pieces of fruit. It’s not much, but it’s more food than he’s seen in the last several weeks. He digs in greedily, quickly polishing it all off.

“That’s all I could find for now,” Gen grumbles. “Looks like they’ve worked their way through most of their rations as well.”

“Thank you! That’s more than I’ve had in weeks,” Leo says happily, leaning back enjoying the feeling of a full stomach. Yuichi offers Leo the canteen, which Leo takes gratefully, gulping down the cool liquid.

“Here,” Leo says, returning the canteen to Yuichi before moving to stand up. “Let me help you guys pack up.” As he puts weight on his legs they immediately give way beneath him Yuichi barely managing to catch him in time. Leo groans as the world spins around him, the stabbing pain in his head coming back with a renewed vigor. “On second thought, maybe I’ll just lay right here,” Leo mutters as Yuchi gently lowers him back to the ground.

“Easy,” Yuichi says. “You're probably still feeling the effects of the drugs in your system. It might take a while for them to wear off.”

Leo sits down on the ground, putting his head between his knees and taking long deep breaths fighting back the nausea as his head spins.

“Some rest would do you some good too,” Gen says. “But we need to head out soon.”

“I-I don’t think I can walk right now,” Leo mumbles miserably as nausea churns in his stomach.

Gen hums back in agreement. “That’s alright, we have their horses now. We should be able to make much better time through the mountains that way. You can ride with Yuichi.”

“Yeah. Just stay here and rest for a bit,” Yuichi says, getting to his feet. “I’m gonna go get my own stuff ready and make sure we are all ready to go. Do you need anything, Leonardo?”

Leo looks up as his head starts to settle. “No thanks, I’m good. And you can call me Leo. That’s what my friends call me.”

“Alright, Leo. I’ll be back shortly.”

As Yuichi walks away Leo stares after him for a long, considering moment. The descendant of Miyamoto Usagi, huh? What were the chances? Maybe the Samurai’s spirit really had been watching over him, if it was Usagi’s descendant who had been the one to find him here.

Hopefully with Yuichi’s help, he would be seeing his brothers again soon. It was a comforting thought as he leaned back against the tree shutting his eyes peacefully for the first time in weeks knowing he was safe.

Chapter Text

As his friends set to stripping the camp for any remaining supplies, Yuichi was hard at work packing his own belongings. If he keeps stealing glances back at Leo, then that was nobody else's business. He just couldn't help it, he felt drawn to the ninja who was unlike anyone else Yuichi had met before. For one, he was from the outside world - New York of all places! - and he was also apparently a mutant. He had never heard of such creatures before, and from the sounds of it, there were many of them in the city. People who looked just like them, living in the outside world. He could hardly wrap his mind around it. Were the people of New York more accepting of people like him than the people of Japan, or were most humans not as terrible as he'd been led to believe? He'd never been in the outside world long enough to know for himself. The only encounters he’d had with humans were the Godless, and they likely weren’t the best the human race had to offer.  

Yuichi glances at Leo again. The turtle’s eyes were closed as he leaned back against the tree, resting peacefully.

Yuichi’s gaze ran over him, taking in his multiple injuries, and felt his mouth twist into a frown. Leo had already been through so much. The Godlesses cruelty never failed to make his blood boil. How could anyone ever treat another living being that way? It had already been over 40 years since these assholes had come to their doorstep; he didn't understand why the council wouldn’t let the samurai do something about them already. They would never be defeated if the council just kept playing chicken with them like this. 

Familiar anger simmers in Yuichi’s blood at the thought of those spineless murderers. Something had to be done about them, and soon if they were going around kidnapping people just to cross into Neo Edo. Yuichi would love nothing more than to track them down right now, but he knew they couldn’t afford to face them right now. Not with only his small team of four and an injured kame in tow. They were already going to have a difficult trip ahead of them as it was. If they were lucky, they might be able to avoid the Godless entirely, but Yuichi wasn’t going to hold his breath for that one. The cult likely knew exactly where they were headed and would be on their tail soon. 

Yuichi’s gaze focuses in on the crack in the turtle’s carapace, hiding under a thin sheet of linen, and blows out a breath in consideration. Under normal circumstances, he was sure Leo could defend himself, he was a ninja after all and he’d fought alongside Miyamoto Usagi. He had no doubt Leo was a skilled warrior, but he was currently injured and without his weapons. It didn’t matter how skilled he normally was, if a fight were to break out there wouldn’t be much Leo could do to defend himself in his current state. Yuichi shakes his head slightly. No, they certainly wouldn’t be picking fights with The Godless today. There was no time for distractions or detours; their first priority had to be getting Leo to a healer as soon as possible. 

He would keep his promise. He would get Leo home safe and sound to his brothers whatever it took.  

A hand clapping on his shoulder jolts Yuichi out of his thoughts. He jumps, hands twitching for his sword before relaxing when he finds Gen standing behind him. He shoots his friend a cringing smile as the rhino gives him an unimpressed look. Crap, he’d definitely been staring. 

“Fuck, Gen, you scared the hell out of me,” Yuichi deflects, quickly turning back around and busying himself stuffing supplies into his pack. Gen still looms over him, an immovable statue. Yuichi heaves a sigh before turning around. “Can I help you with something?”

His friend sighs and raises an eyebrow. “Don’t play dumb with me. Seems someone’s got a soft spot for the Kappa.” 

Yuichi pointedly doesn’t meet Gen’s eyes, hands randomly stuffing items into the pack. “What are you even talking about?” 

“Right, so you’ll just deface your ear ties for anyone then,” he drawls. “You know what? I think I want a mask now, gimme your other tie.” Gen makes a grab for Yuichi’s remaining tie, chuckling when he ducks away and backpedals to put some distance between them. 

“Stop that! He felt weird not wearing his mask, I was just trying to help him feel more comfortable.” 

“Hmmm, okay, so you haven’t been staring at him for the last ten minutes then?” Gen says with a self assured expression. 

Yuichi’s splutters, “I was not staring!” Gen only stares back at him, clearly amused.

”Would you stop it! We've got more important things to worry about.” 

Gen raises an eyebrow at him skeptically. “Is that so?”  

Yuichi sighs, yanking the draw strings on his pack shut. “Yes! Like, oh, I don't know, giving him medical attention and, you know, making sure he doesn’t die.” 

“Good. Just checking to make sure you knew all that,” Gen says seriously. 

Yuichi glares at him. “I know how to focus on the mission, Gen.” 

“Really? Cause I’ve known you for a long time and you have a tendency to get distracted,” Gen says, looking down at Yuichi seriously. “Remember Mariko? Oh, and can’t forget that one boy from the blacksmiths’ shop.” 

Yuichi didn't really want to remember. His attempts at courting in the past had been complete disasters and the less said about Mariko and the poor boy from the blacksmiths’ shop, the better. 

“I remember them just fine, thank you very much and I don't see what any of that has to do with our current situation.”

“Oh, please.” The rhino rolls his eyes. “Just admit it. You've got a crush on the kame.”

“I do not!” Yuichi hisses, glancing around to make sure no one else could hear them. Yuichi knew he could come on a little strong when it came to relationships. He tended to jump the gun a little, being overly eager in showing his affections. It wasn't always appreciated, but Gen was wrong, this was not the same thing. He did not have a crush on Leonardo for one; and two, they had a mission to complete. 

Gen smirks. “I bet you 8,000 yen you’ll be asking him out by the end of the week.” 

“Are you fucking serious right now?”

“Absolutely. You're a lovesick puppy dog.” 

“Whatever!” Yuichi huffs, throwing up his hands “But you know what it’s not gonna happen, you know why?”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I am laser focused on the mission at hand! I’m a professional, baby! Besides, even if I did like him, which I don’t! He’s probably straight,” Yuichi says, shrugging and stooping to pick up his bag. When he stands back up, Gen is making kissy faces at him. 

“I hate you,” Yuichi tells him seriously. 

“You should be thanking me; he's going to be riding with you.”

 Yuichi sputters, but Gen is already walking away with a short laugh. “Is that why you said he would ride with me?” Yuichi questions, running up alongside him. 

Gen snorts. “No. Look, as much as I hate to admit it, you're the best fighter out of all of us and you’ve got a protective streak a mile wide. Whether you like him or not, I know you’ll fight tooth and nail to keep him safe.” 

For a moment, Yuichi is genuinely touched until Gen keeps talking.

“And also because I wanted to fuck with you,” Gen grins. “Now, can we please just get moving?”

Yuichi grumbles under his breath as he throws the pack over his shoulder. “Alright, let's get back on the road,” he shouts to the others, prompting everyone to mount their horses. Gen follows right behind him, guiding the horses over to where Leo rests against the tree. Leo is still resting peacefully against the trunk of the tree, looking much more relaxed than when they'd initially found him. Yuichi hates to have to wake him, but they need to get moving. “Hey, come on, Leo. It's time to wake up.” Yuichi reaches out and gently shakes Leo's shoulder. 

He stirs, eyes fluttering open. His hands come up to rub at his blackened eye before he blinks up at Yuichi. “Time to go?” he asks, voice still groggy with sleep. 

“Yup. Come on, let me help you.” Yuichi offers his hand to Leo and he gratefully accepts. He pulls Leo up off the ground, but before Yuichi can get a proper grip on him he stumbles, falling against Yuichi’s chest. Yuichi quickly brings his arms up to catch him as Leo curses under his breath. He clenches his teeth and lets out a hiss of pain as he presses his head against Yuichi’s shoulder. Yuichi can feel his face go red as Leo’s hands tightly grip onto his shoulders. He shakes his head before clearing his throat awkwardly. “W-Wow, easy there,” he says, shifting his grip and wrapping one arm around Leo's waist before bringing the other one around his shoulders to support his weight. 

“Thanks,” Leo mumbles, looking like he's about to be sick. 

“No problem. Come on,” Yuichi says, making sure he has a good grip on him before moving forward. 

He helps Leo limp over to the horse, Gen giving him a smug look the whole way. What exactly was he supposed to do? Have him crawl over? Once they make it over to the horses, Gen takes hold of Leo while Yuichi mounts his horse. Once he’s settled Gen grabs Leo by the waist, easily lifting Leo up onto the back of the horse. 

“You good back there?” Yuichi asks, gripping at the reins. 

“Yeah I’m good.” Leo stutters looking unsurely down at the horse.

“You ever ridden a horse before?” 

“Oh, yeah, for sure,” Leo says tightly, gripping the saddle beneath him.

“Alright then.” Yuichi pulls back on the reins, turning the horse around to face the others. “Let's get moving.” He gives the horse a light tap on the side, prompting it to move forward.  

As the horse jolts forward Leo wobbles dangerously before lurching forward and desperately clinging onto Yuichi.

“Shit,” he groans miserably. “Sorry, head’s still fuzzy. This is a little disorienting.” 

Yuichi, startled by hands tightening on his waist, quickly schools his expression and shoots Leo a casual smile over his shoulder. “Hey, if it keeps you on the horse then I don’t mind.”

“Thanks,” Leo mutters.

The group moves along at a steady pace down the path in silence, only the sounds of the forest around them as the area starts to come back to life. The last remnants of snow lingers around the base of the trees, and small critters skitter through the underbrush. Leo doesn’t seem able to enjoy it though, Yuichi can feel him shifting anxiously and he tries not to startle when the kame grips his chest like a stress ball at every little sound coming out of the forest. 

Clearly the time Leo had spent in that cage hadn’t been kind to him. Yuichi couldn’t blame the guy for being a little paranoid, but if he didn’t relax a little he was going to break a rib or seven.  

“Doin’ okay back there?” Yuichi asks, looking over his shoulder. 

Leo startles, tearing his gaze from the dark tree line. “What? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Why?” 

“It's just,” Yuichi says, shifting in Leo's hold. “You’re kinda crushing my ribs.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” The grip on Yuichi’s waist immediately loosens. 

 “Leo, I promise we won't let anything happen to you. You’re safe,” Yuichi says earnestly. 

“I know. It's just hard after everything-” he cuts himself off, swallowing heavily. Yuichi sees the doubt and fear swirling behind the others’ eyes. He knows the feeling well. He can only imagine what Leo went through at the hands of the cult.

“I can hear everything going on around us,” he reassures, gesturing towards his ears. “Nothing is sneaking up on us.” Leo only eyes him doubtfully and Yuichi quickly jumps to back up his claim. “Look.” He points to an upcoming tree. “A family of squirrels just woke up from hibernation in that tree.” 

Just as he says this, three small squirrel heads pop out a hole in the tree. He pivots in the saddle, pointing off to the right. “And about 100 yards that way, a doe just got spooked. It should be crossing our path right about… now.” As he says this, the doe briefly darts across their path before flitting out of sight. Leo looks up at him with wide eyes.

Yuichi tries not to preen and says, “No one’s sneaking up on us, okay? I’ll hear them a mile away.”

His reassurances appear to ease Leo's worries, at least for now, as he settles back against Yuichi’s back. His hold is now much looser around his waist as they continue down the path. They move along in silence for a few minutes and Yuichi wonders for a moment if Leo has fallen asleep until he speaks up, “So tell me more about these Godless people,” he says. “Why the hell do they hate you guys so much?”

Gen lets out snort on the horse beside them. “God, that’s a long story.”

“I’d say I’ve got the right to know,” Leo replies, gesturing down at himself.

Yuichi could understand why Leo would be concerned, he was more surprised that he hadn't asked sooner. If Yuichi had been kidnapped and dragged halfway across the world, he'd want to know a little more about the people who had taken him and were now hunting him down in the woods.

“The Godless are a death cult,” Yuichi cuts in before Gen can come back with a snarky remark, distaste falling heavily on his mouth and the line of his shoulders. “Their founder, Musei, started it back in the 1950’s.”

“Musei,” Leo snorted. 

“Yeah.” Yuichi snorts. “No one calls him that though. To them, he is ‘The Godkiller.’” 

“Someone thinks highly of themselves,” Leo scoffs.

“He got that name from us when he started slaughtering our people,” Chizu says bluntly.

The smile drops from Leo’s face and he turns to look at her solemnly. “What happened?” 

“They started as an anti-shinto religion,” she says. “Musei thinks that Shinto is a relic of the past. He believes that by wiping out Shinto and its practices, Japan will be able to rise and fulfill some glorious purpose or whatever.” She scoffs, waving a vague hand through the air. 

“They started small at first,” Katsune adds. “But they quickly gained traction amongst a small minority of young people that were resentful of the old ways of Shinto for, as they saw it, halting progress through its edict to preserve and protect nature. Humans,” she spat. “I’ll never understand why they want to tear all this down so badly.” She gestures to the lively forest around them. 

“It didn’t take long for them to take those idea’s to the extreme,” Yuichi says, feeling his anger rise again. “They started committing attacks of terrorism on Shinto temples across Japan. The attacks were small, never carried out very well but they caught the attention of the human authorities in a bad way.” 

“Yeah, they weren’t happy,” Katsune snorts, smiling grimly. 

“When the human authorities started looking into them, they panicked,” Gen says, chuckling “The Godkiller realized he needed to switch up his tactics.” 

“Wait a minute, if they’re a human cult, what are they doing messing with you guys?” Leo asks. “How on earth did they even find out about you?”

Yuichi’s frown deepens. “One of his followers was on a hike in the woods surrounding our territory and spotted one of us. Even managing to get a picture. He brought it back to his master and he had his new target. One the human authorities couldn’t stop him from pursuing. If he couldn’t wipe out Shinto by wiping out their places of worship, maybe he could do it by wiping out the roots of the religion itself. By wiping out us and other spirits, they thought belief in Shinto would slowly dwindle.” 

“Not long after that, they were knocking at our doorstep,” Chizu says, her gaze never leaving the tree line. “They committed heinous attacks of violence on our people. Even back then we mostly kept to ourselves. But after several villages on the outskirts were completely wiped out, we retreated even farther within our borders. Even then, their attacks at the border and attempts to get in continued relentlessly, so far they’ve only got lucky once-”

“Since then we've remained isolated,” Yuichi says quickly, cutting Chizu off. He did not want to revisit that particular memory at the moment. Chizu looks at him apologetically, but he ignores it, carefully schooling his expression. 

Gen gives him a pointed look before helpfully changing the subject. “So, Leo, tell us a bit more about yourself. I mean, we know you have brothers waiting for you at home, but why on earth live in a place as densely populated as New York? Seems like a terrible place to hide.” 

“It’s easier than you would think to hide in a city of 8 million people,” Leo says easily. “Plus the sewers of New York are a maze. It's a pretty good place to hide out since most of the tunnels are abandoned and  haven’t been used for years.” 

Gen’s face twists up in disgust. “You live in the sewers?” 

“It's not as bad as you’d think,” Leo says defensively. “It was the last place Splinter thought Shredder would go looking for him.”

The name didn’t ring any bells for Yuichi, so he asks, “Who’s Shredder?”

“A monster,” Leo growls, his grip on Yuichi’s waist tightening slightly. “He and Splinter were like brothers growing up, but they had a falling out over Splinter's wife. It ended with The Hamato dojo in flames and the death of his wife and daughter.”

“Gods,” Yuichi mutters.

“Shredder made it his life's goal to hunt down and kill my father. That's why Splinter fled to the states, specifically New York. With so many people, he could easily hide, but he hadn’t counted on being mutated and having to raise me and my brothers.”

“Right, you said you were mutated, but what does that even mean?” Had him and his brothers been human at some point as well?

“We were all mutated when he had an encounter with the Krang outside the pet shop he bought us at. We’ve been hiding down in the sewers ever since.”

Another name Yuichi was unfamiliar with. “Who are the Krang?”

“Oh boy, that's a whole other story,” Leo says, rubbing at the back of his neck. “They’re an evil alien race that has tried to either destroy or completely take over the planet several times. Thankfully we've managed to stop them every time.” 

“You defeated an alien invasion? That’s so cool!” Yuichi exclaims excitedly. “Just like in Space Heroes!”

His friends all groan, rolling their eyes at his fanboying, but Leo lets out a bubbly laugh behind him. “Yeah, not quite. I’m pretty sure Captain Ryan has never faced anything like the Krang before,” Leo says, sounding almost boastful.

“Still, you saved the entire planet! Aren’t you guys, like, heroes or something? Why do you still hide underground?” Yuichi asks, confused. 

“Well, because of this,” Leo says, gesturing down at himself. “Doesn't really matter how many times we saved the planet, we still look like big scary aliens to the humans.” 

Okay, so things weren't exactly better for Leo and his brothers in New York. In fact, they  sounded worse, much worse if they still had to live in New York City's sewer system, despite the fact that they'd apparently saved the planet several times over. 

“Humans,” Gen grumbled from the front of the line. “Ungrateful if you ask me.”

“That,” Leo nods his head slightly towards Gen in agreement. “And the fact that the Shredder and the Krang were always trying to hunt us down. We fought against Shredder's Foot Clan for years, and he nearly destroyed the planet just as many times as the Krang in his quest for revenge.”

Chizu looks unimpressed. “To attempt to destroy so much in a petty act of revenge is the height of dishonor.”

“I’ll say,” Leo huffs, sounding tired. 

Yuichi glances back at him. “We’re gonna be on the road a while longer, why don’t you try and get some rest while you can. If there’s anything to worry about, we’ll let you know.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Leo mumbles, slumping against his back resting his head against Yuichi’s shoulder. 

They ride on in silence for a time, the only sound in Yuichi’s ears is the sound of their horses' hooves and the forest alive around them. Leo eventually drops off into a doze, his head dropping to rest against Yuichi’s shoulder, a fact Yuichi pointedly ignores as he keeps a watchful gaze on the path ahead. Mid-afternoon sunlight filters through the trees, casting the forest in a soft orange glow. The forest hums with life, birds flit from tree to tree in bright flashes of color above while squirrels rustle in the underbrush below. 

Despite the peace, Yuichi doesn’t allow himself to relax and he can see his friends do the same. Gen eventually drifts his horse forward to take point in the front, while Chizu brings up the rear with her hand placed lightly on her weapon. Kitsune pulls her horse up the line, falling alongside Yuichi. She turns her head, gaze roving over Leo. “Think he’ll be alright?” she asks.

Yuichi opens his mouth to respond when his ears twitch, moving involuntarily towards a sound coming from behind them. A soft thumping rhythm beats its way through the earth from the path behind them.  

Yuichi silences the others with a gesture. “Wait, I hear something,” he says, keeping his voice low. He tugs on the reins, pulling his horse to a slow stop as the others follow suit. He strains his ears; without the noise of his own horse, he quickly parses the source of the sound; the hooves of multiple horses barreling down the path towards them, gaining quickly. 

Yuichi springs into action, shouting, “Move!” as he snaps the reins. At the sound, Leo startles out of his doze, gripping Yuichi’s sides as their horse shoots forward into a sprint. The group races forward, Gen and the others falling into a defensive formation as they barrel down the path. The sounds of hoofbeats ring clearer and clearer in Yuichi’s ears with every passing moment. At the speed their pursuers were going, they would be on them in a matter of minutes. 

Their horse jolts suddenly as it jumps over a fallen tree limb, and Yuichi feels Leo’s grip on him tighten even further as they’re both thrown forward. The scrape of metal rings through the air as Kitsune unsheathes her fans. Following her lead, Yuichi reaches one hand down the side of the horse, grabbing for the bow and arrows strapped to the saddle before holding them back to Leo behind him. 

“Can you shoot?” Yuichi shouts over the wind whipping past his ears, not daring to take his eyes off the path ahead of them. 

Leo responds by grabbing the bow from him with unsteady hands. Yuichi isn't counting on him being a stellar shot with those injuries, but they’re not in a position to be picky. “When you see them, start shooting,” he shouts. “Take out as many as you can.”

Behind him, he can feel the kame release his hold on his waist. He chances a glance back to find Leo turned to the side, a look of wary determination in his eyes as he keeps an eye out for The Godless on the horizon. In that moment, the first cult members came into sight down the path. 

Leo doesn’t hesitate. In one smooth movement, he notches an arrow and lets it fly. The arrow head flashes in the fading sunlight as it streaks down the path before burying itself into the left flank of the cultist's horse. The animal screeches as it goes down, throwing its rider to the ground with it. 

Another jostle of Yuichi’s own horse tears his gaze back to the front. Gripping the reins tightly, he resolves to let Leo defend them as he pushes their mount faster. His ears swivel wildly as more Godless appear on the path, gaining ground on them. He hears Leo’s next shot miss, the twang and thud of an arrow hitting tree wood rather than flesh. Leo curses behind him, fumbling to line up another shot as the hoofbeats draw closer. 

The air whistles as an arrow streaks past Yuichi’s face. He startles as the human behind them cries out and the hoofbeats drop away. He looks ahead and sees Chizu twisted backwards in her saddle ahead of them, her next arrow already notched and aiming at the next cultist catching up to them. More shots are made as her and Leo work to keep their attackers at bay. 

Arrows start flying back as more cultists gain on them and start taking shots of their own. One clips Yuichi, slicing into the meat of shoulder coldly as it passes, and he hears what sounds like an arrow ricocheting off Leo’s shell a moment later. Keeping a grip on the reins with the hand on his injured side, Yuichi reaches over his shoulder and draws his katana, keeping the blade held off to the side. 

He can tell the moment Chizu and Leo run out of arrows; Leo curses softly and drops the bow before replacing his grip on Yuichi’s waist, and he sees Chizu draw her spear. He has only seconds to brace himself before the cultists are upon them. 

Their defensive formation is broken almost immediately as a flurry of horses presses in from all sides. The first man pulls up right alongside them, slashing his sword towards their horse’s neck. Yuichi whips his katana in an upward arc, blocking the blade in a shower of sparks. He throws his weight onto the blade, unbalancing the man before he kicks out, knocking the human right off his horse. 

Another quickly takes his place, lunging forward with a spear before Yuichi has the chance to catch his balance. His heart leaps as hands grip his shoulder and pull him back, the spear passing through empty air where his head had been a moment ago. A green arm flashes past his eyes as Leo reaches over him, grabbing the spear’s shaft and yanking downward with a snarl before pulling it out of the cultist's hold. Leo flips the spear and sends it forward, striking the human in the upper chest. The cultist lets out a choking sound as his horse panics and veers off into the trees, taking him with it.  

Yuichi rightens himself and looks back at Leo with wide eyes. The kame is breathing heavily, his eyes pinched closed as he presses a hand to his carapace. Before Yuichi could ask if he was okay, another horse pulls up to them. Yuichi brings his blade up then jerks to a stop when he sees Gen beside them. He has his kanabo out, the blunt spikes glistening with blood. “What’s our move?” he pants, swinging his weapon out at a cultists as the human races pass. The club lands heavily across the man’s face, crushing his nose before sending him from his horse. 

Yuichi takes the breathing room Gen is providing him to take stock of their situation. His right shoulder is burning and he can feel warm blood trickling into his fur. Leo’s breaths rasp from behind him, the hand not clutching at his chest is twisted tightly into Yuichi’s side. Gen seems uninjured aside from a cut leading across his forehead, still leaking a sluggish line of blood.

Yuichi looks up the path in time to see Katsune lean far over her horse to slash at an attacking human, who dances his horse just out of her reach. Chizu pulls her mount alongside them, using the human’s distraction to run her spear right through him. The low sound of Gen’s kanabo swinging through the air pulls Yuichi’s attention back to him as he brings the weapon down the flank of a horse whose rider had gotten too close. The horse shrieks and bolts, disappearing into the forest. 

Yuichi makes a decision, shifting in Leo’s grip. “Defend, but don’t engage,” he orders. “We need to get out of here.” 

Gen nods and pulls ahead, his kanabo dealing a powerful blow to the cultist gaining on Chizu. Yuichi sheaths his katana and doubles his grip on the reins. “Hang on!” he shouts to Leo as he digs his heels into their horse’s sides, silently urging the animal faster, faster, faster. 

The remaining cultists scrabble to catch up as they pull ahead. The wind whips through Yuichi’s ears wildly, distorting the sounds around him. Suddenly, Leo gasps from behind him and his grip on Yuichi tightens in warning. A cultist charges them from the side, coming out of the tree line. He lunges his staff forward with a shout. Reflexes honed from years of precise, granular training rear up as Yuichi swings to the side to dodge the blow. The staff passes over him harmlessly and he’s barely pulled in a breath of relief when it strikes Leo in the center of his chest with a sharp crack . Leo cries out as the blow follows through, sending him flying from the horse.

Yuichi’s heart leaps in his throat as he hears Leo hit the ground, but he doesn’t take his eyes from the human in front of him. The cultist takes another swing, the staff whistling as it flies towards his head. Adrenaline singing in his ears, Yuichi brings up his forearm to block the blow. The staff lands, sending a vibration through his bones that numbs his arm immediately. Yuichi snarls, twisting his arm around the staff to pull the rider off balance. The man falls to the ground with a shout and Yuichi yanks on the reins, turning his horse around and trampling the man in the process. 

He doesn’t look back to see if the cultist survived, instead pushing his horse back the way they came, eyes scanning frantically for Leo. He spots him off to the side near the tree line where he was slowly trying to pull himself up. Yuichi snaps the reins, racing forward to reach him. He’s only a few yards away when a human veers his horse in his path, forcing Yuichi to yank his mount to a stop before he collides with the man. The cultist swings out at him with an ax, causing Yuichi’s horse to dance back a few steps out of range. 

He can see Leo struggling to pull himself up, arms shaking as he tried and failed to stand. More cultists appear from behind him, seeming to melt out of the shadows of the tree line in the fading light. They move quickly, surrounding Leo and blocking him from Yuichi’s sight. He bares his teeth at the grinning cultist in front of him and unsheaths his katana in a single furious motion. 

“Yuichi!” Katsune calls from up the path, and he chances a glance back to see the remaining cultists racing back towards them. Glancing between the humans closing in and the last place he saw Leo, he grits his teeth and pulls his horse back. It puts him further away from Leo, but Yuichi can’t risk being surrounded and giving The Godless another hostage to leverage with. 

The cultists stream into a loose formation, forming a barrier between Yuichi and their hostage. Yuichi feels his friends draw up behind him, weapons at the ready, but neither side makes the first move. His gaze bores into the cultist nearest to him, but the man just gazes back with an amused smile on his face. Gen rumbles darkly behind him, shifting his weight impatiently, but still the cultists don’t make a move.

They’re waiting for something , Yuichi realizes just as his ears swivel towards the sound of hoofbeats approaching, picking leisurely through the forest. The cultists part for the approaching figure, averting their gazes towards the ground as the man passes them. 

Two of the humans dismount from their horses and approach Leo, harshly pulling him to his feet. Yuichi’s grip on his katana tightens as Leo hisses in pain, the humans’ manhandling clearly aggravating his already severe injuries. The kame looks sickly pale as they prop him up between them, keeping tight grips on both of his arms. 

The newcomer emerges from the forest, but Yuichi didn’t need him to leave the shadows of the tree line to recognize who this man was. The Godkiller stops just behind Leo, sitting proudly on his horse. He was dressed ostentatiously, adorned in a bright red business suit accented with a black tie. The man himself doesn’t look like much at first glance, he probably looks a lot like other men his age with receding gray hair and the beginnings of a beer gut, but Yuichi knows better. Behind the almost grandfatherly appearance and fancy attire lies a monster. The deep wrinkles carved into his face not from laughter or joy, but from years of his own festering hatred. If the rest of his appearance fooled anyone, his eyes wouldn’t. One look into them revealed black voids reflecting nothing but hate as they bore straight into Yuichi.

“Ahh, Yokai, we’ve been looking for you,” he says, casually dismounting his horse and striding toward Leo. He looks down at him, smiling faintly. “There you are, my turtle friend. We've been looking everywhere for you.” He grabs Leo’s chin, turning his head from side to side and appraising him like one would livestock at market. Leo’s body goes rigid as he glares daggers up at him. Seemingly satisfied with his examination, he roughly shoves Leo's head to the side before turning to Yuichi and his friends.

“Straight to business then, shall we?” His voice is soft, almost pleasant, but his eyes are flat, reflecting nothing as he says, “One of you and your little keys in exchange for the kappa.”  When Yuichi and the others don’t move, he waves his hand vaguely. “Come now, I haven’t got all day.”

“You're insane if you think we're giving you anything,” Gen growls, causing his horse to stamp a hoof sharply against the ground. 

“Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't get any closer if I were you,” The Godkiller says, unsheathing his sword from his belt and circling around to stand behind Leo. “Let me rephrase. Either one of you and your key comes with me, or the kappa dies.” He leans down, pressing the blade firmly against Leo's throat.

Leo snarls, squirming in the cultists’ hold, but he meets Yuichi’s eyes firmly. “Don't give him anything, Yuichi!” 

The Godkiller flicks a glance to one of the cultist restraining Leo. The man shifts his hold, delivering a swift punch to the crack in his plastron. Leo howls before attempting to double over, gritting his teeth and breathing heavily through the pain as the pressure of the blade against his neck only increases. 

The two men release their hold on Leo as The Godkiller takes him in a firm hold, supporting his weight while keeping the steel of his blade held steady against Leo’s neck. Yuichi grinds his teeth, hands itching for his blades.

“I don't know what exactly you are,” The Godkiller says down to Leo. “But you’ve certainly been useful. Such horrible manners though. No respect.” He looks back up to meet Yuichi’s gaze, his grip tightening on Leo. Leo keeps his jaw clenched, but can’t stop the hiss of pain that escapes. 

The sound set Yuichi’s blood to a simmer. “You fight without honor,” he snarls.

“I have no interest in honor, it’s an old fashioned sentiment. Honor is only meant to protect the weak and why should they be protected? If they are not cunning enough to defend themselves, why do they even deserve to live?” He presses on the blade, digging it further into Leo’s neck. “Only the strongest must be allowed to prevail. You and your kind only weaken the minds of our people, having them continue to believe in fairytales. Such fantasies only weaken the mind, distracting it from more glorious and noble tasks. Once your silly little fairy tales are gone, the minds of the people of Japan will finally be clear. They will finally see clearly and join us in our glorious mission. They will rise above all other nations of the world and fulfill our destiny as the superior race!”

“Your fucking insane if you think anyone will see you as anything other then the psychopathic narcissist you are!” Yuichi spits, voice dripping with vicious hatred. He’d heard this megalomaniacal speech a hundred times before and he sounded just as crazy as he had the other hundred times. How he ever thought the rest of Japan would ever be onboard with his insane plans just showed how truly delusional he was.

“I’d watch your tone with me,” The Godkiller growls in warning. A drop of blood beads from the blade and drips slowly down Leo’s neck. Yuichi can feel the others shifting behind him as the human continues, “Give us a key or the boy dies.” A pleased smirk pulls at the corners of the human’s mouth. 

Leo shifts minutely, pulling Yuichi’s eyes back towards him. His back was straight and his head was held high, although that may be more due to the knife at his throat than his pride. He met Yuichi’s gaze firmly, face calm, but there was something swirling in his eyes, an emotion that Yuichi didn’t know him well enough to name. Despite that, he feels his resolve harden. 

The Godkiller could not get his hands on a key. He could not have access to Neo Edo and its people. Yuichi has seen and heard and felt the destruction this man would rain down upon others. 

Nothing was worth the risk.

“You heard Leo," he says, tilting his chin up to stare down his nose at the human. “We’re not giving you shit.”

“Then the boy dies,” the Godkiller says with indifference. He draws the blade back away from Leo’s neck, but it wasn’t a relief. With a wordless gesture one of his followers steps forward, replacing the knife with a short wakizashi. The blade glints dully in the shadowed light as the Godkiller tightens his hold on Leo. His arm draws up with taunting slowness, an executioner at the ready. The emotion that swirled in Leo’s eyes before became a flood, and Yuichi is now able to recognize it as pure terror. 

That look cracks Yuichi’s resolve right down the middle. 

They couldn’t hand over a key, he would rather die, but Leo didn’t ask to be involved in this. He was taken from his home and family, dragged across the world, and beaten the entire way here. For him to suffer under the hands of these men just to be used by them yet again set that simmer in Yuichi’s blood to a boil. It was an injustice. It wasn’t fair.

He knew he wouldn’t be able to appeal for any shred of empathy from this man, but Yuichi owed it to Leo to try. “Please, just let him go,” he pleads, fighting to keep the desperation from his voice. “He has nothing to do with any of this. He's not even a Yokai! ” 

“Ah, but you are,” the human said with an oily smile, arm still poised to strike. “All I’m asking is for one of you to accompany me to the border. Is such a small request too much to ask to spare this boy’s life?”

“You would not make it three steps into Neo Edo before its denizens struck you down,” Chizu says with icy calm. “So we will save you the trouble. You won’t get a key from us.”

The Godkiller’s flat gaze doesn’t stray from Yuichi as his gaze goes flat. “Your kind doesn’t scare me,” he says without inflection. “I will raze your cities and borders. I will bring your council to their knees. I will free this country from the pollution of your influence. It is my right.”

The boil becomes an inferno as Yuichi’s temper slips. “You won’t make it within ten feet of our borders,” he hisses. “And I will put you in the ground myself before I will allow you to lay a hand on our people.”

“So he isn’t ‘your people’, then?” The human says, flicking the blade down towards Leo. “This creature's life doesn’t fall into your sphere of protection?”

Yuichi doesn’t respond and silence is damning as it stretches between them. The smile slides off the Godkiller’s face and his eyes are the coldest thing Yuichi has ever seen. “Give me the key.”

Yuichi meets that awful gaze. “No.”

“A pity.” The Godkiller’s arm comes down in a sweeping arc, and Yuichi’s gaze darts to Leo’s, meeting the kame’s eyes as the only apology he can offer. The wakizashi’s blade tears through the air, the edge racing towards Leo’s neck, but just before the sword could make contact, Leo’s head disappears. 

Yuichi’s heart jumps, not understanding what he just saw as the Godkiller exclaims, “What?” Before anyone can move, Leo’s legs kick out, striking the cult leader in the knee and sending him to the ground. His arms reach down and he pushes himself off to the side, rolling on his shell and out of the reaching grasp of the cultists surrounding him. 

Yuichi is not exactly sure what just happened but he’s not about to question it. Yuichi and Gen race forward, taking advantage of the distraction, but before they can get very far a sharp whistle echoes through the air. Yuichi’s sensitive ears ring with it before catching on the whisper of a sound from the forest. The drawing of a bow string. Yuichi moves in a flash, drawing his sword and slicing the arrow that had been headed for him right out of the air.

“Ambush!” Yuichi shouts.

The scene around him quickly descends into chaos. More arrows fly out of the woods as he and his friends close ranks and more reinforcements spill out of the forest before descending on their group. Yuichi pulls his horse back to avoid the spear one of the cultists jabs at him, and scans the chaotic scene for any signs of Leo. He spots him, apparently forgotten in all the chaos, helplessly curled up on the ground shell-up in an attempt to avoid the many stampeding hooves around him. 

Yuichi turns to his friends “Go! Don't stop until you're across the bridge!”

“Yuichi what are you-” Chizu starts to ask, but Yuichi quickly cuts her off.

“Go!” he shouts as arrows begin to rain down on them. His friends do as they're told, retreating and racing toward the bridge with several cult members in pursuit. 

Gripping the reins tight, Yuichi turns the horse around and races back toward Leo, slashing arrows out of the air as he goes. 

The few men still surrounding Leo charge toward Yuichi. Yuichi draws both katanas and lets out a guttural scream as he charges forward into the fray, swords raised high.

His blades sing through the air, slicing through the neck of the first attacker and leaving him as dead weight on the forest floor. Yuichi doesn’t slow down, giving the same treatment to the man approaching on his opposite side. Willow Branch’s blade slices through the man cleanly, sending an arc of blood in the air as Yuichi charges forward. 

His ears swivel and he throws his head to the side as an arrow flashes past. Using that momentum, he swings over the side of the saddle, heaving his katana against the blades of a charging cultist. The blades meet in a rain of sparks and screeching metal. Their swords lock and Yuichi reaches out to draw his second blade. Taking advantage of both swords, he tightly grips the handle of his tanto before running the cultist through. The man sputters for a moment, coughing up blood before Yuichi withdraws his sword, blood gushing from the wound as the man slumps back, dead. His horse takes off into the forest, carrying the corpse with it. 

Finally in the clear, Yuichi races towards Leo. “Grab on!” he shouts, precariously leaning off the side of his horse, holding an outstretched hand towards him. Leo looks up from his spot on the ground and shakily attempts to get to his feet, stumbling several times before, with great effort, managing to stand on his own long enough to reach out for Yuichi’s hand. Their palms collide and tightly clasp on to each other as Yuichi uses all his strength and the momentum of the horse to heave Leo back on. Leo immediately latches on to Yuichi, squeezing him tightly around the waist and clutching his side as he tries to catch his breath. 

“You- you c-came back,” Leo wheezes out between labored breaths.

“Hey I made you a promise, didn’t I?” Yuichi replies, pulling the reins to the side to veer their horse into a sharp turnabout. With a quick snap, they were racing back the way they came, heading towards the bridge. As he turns, he spots the Godkiller and his entourage in the distance, slipping away on his horse and leaving his forces to fight without him. Yuichi’s blood boils at the sight. Coward . 

As they race forward Yuichi chances a glance back at Leo. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m good.” Leo pants, hand rubbing at his neck, the action smearing blood across it. “But I'm getting really sick of having knives held to my throat.” 

Yuichi chuckles. “That was some trick! I had no idea you could even do that.”

“One of the advantages of being a turtle,”  Leo says, smiling slightly as he knocks a hand against his shell.

An arrow clips past their heads, cutting Yuichi’s response short. He looks past Leo to find more of the Godkiller's reinforcements close on their tail. As they race to rejoin the others, Yuichi takes stock of the situation; he can hear about ten riders in pursuit behind them and gaining quickly. He draws his tanto, passing it back to Leo. 

“Yuichi–” Leo starts to protest. 

“You'll need it,” Yuichi cuts in as another arrow whistles past his ears, leaving no room for argument as he draws Willow Branch. “Keep them from turning us into pincushions.” 

Leo makes a sound of agreement and shifts in the saddle, preparing to defend himself as the cultists make their approach. Yuichi hears the riders behind them pull back their bow strings releasing a volley of arrows.

Behind him, he hears Leo slicing every arrow out of the air before it can even reach them. Yuichi does his best to steer and avoid as many of them as possible. “We can't take another fight with these guys,” Yuichi shouts looking back over his shoulder at their pursuers trying to think of any possible solutions. 

Leo grabs his shoulders and starts shaking him. “There! Pull up to that tree!” he shouts, pointing ahead at a nearby tree.

“What?”

“Just do it!” 

Yuichi veers off to the side of the path towards the tree Leo pointed out. As he gets closer he starts to hear what Leo had clearly seen before him, a buzzing hive hanging up in the trees.

As they pass under the tree, Leo lunges up and cuts the branch with the tanto, sending the tree limb clattering to the ground, bringing the hive of Japanese hornets down in the process. The hive hits the ground, busting open in a swarm of hornets, but Leo and Yuichi are long gone as the insects envelop the cultists running along the path. The cultist and their horses go into a panic, some riders falling off their horses, others horses fleeing in the wrong direction entirely away from the hornets. 

They both howl with laughter as they watch the cultists behind them writhing on the ground as they try to flee the stinging insects. 

“Well, that's one way to get rid of them,” Yuichi giggles, wiping tears from his eyes as he finally catches his breath. He turns his attention back to the road in front of him. The cultists left far behind them for now, and Yuichi pushes the horse faster and faster, racing closer to the safety of Yokai territory.

As they round a turn, he can finally see the rope bridge up in the distance. His friends were fighting off the last remaining cultists as they inched their way towards it. Yuichi snaps the reins, pushing the horse on. As they careen forward, one of the cultists shakily rises to their feet, blood gushing from a wound on his head. Yuichi watches the man look around, taking in the scene around him before the human’s eyes lock onto his. 

The man's expression grows hard as his hand grips the hilt of an axe on the ground beside him. Yuichi watches, helpless to do anything, time slowing down to a crawl around him as the man raises the axe over his head and brings it down hard on one of the bridge supports.

Yuichi calls out to the others as the ropes give way. He sees Gen shout something to Kitsune and Chizu before they’re dashing across the bridge towards the opposite side. Leo’s hands twist into his sides and Yuichi’s breath catches in his throat as the man brings his axe down again, cutting the last remaining support. 

“Fuck!” Yuichi heaves back on the reins, skidding them to a stop just before the cliff's edge in a spray of dirt. The bridge gives a creaking groan as it falls away, crashing into the ravine below. Yuichi gapes at the void left behind, eyes scanning the opposite cliff side frantically. Did the others make it? He didn’t see them, couldn’t hear them and oh, gods, what if they didn’t make it?

Leo shouts a warning right in Yuichi’s ear, snapping him out of his horrified stupor. With his last remaining strength the man charges them, axe raised overhead, but his injuries make him slow and uncoordinated. Yuichi snarls and easily finishes the man off with a swift slice to his jugular. The man gurgles, blood running in a thick sheet down his throat before he slumps to the ground for a final time. 

Yuichi’s head jerks back to the ravine, throwing himself off the horse before he sprints to the cliffside. Heart pounding, he scans the ravine for any signs of his friends. He spots Kitsune first, who was using her claws to pull herself deftly up the hanging half of the bridge and over the edge of the cliff. Once on steady ground, she braces herself reaching down and grabbing Gen’s outstretched hand and pulling him up, Chizu waiting just below. 

The air leaves Yuichi’s lungs as his legs turn to jelly and relief surges through his chest. “Thank god,” Leo says as he hobbles up beside him, looking unsteady on his feet. Yuichi can only nod mutely. He can hear Gen cursing from across the ravine as his friends look out to him and Leo stranded on the wrong side.  

The sound of rapidly approaching hoofbeats rings loud in Yuichi’s ears as he watches their escape route hanging limply on the other side of the ravine, swinging back and forth in the breeze. Gen and the others were still looking at them, awaiting Yuichi’s orders. He grinds his teeth in frustration as he looks at the destroyed bridge. He knows he’s going to have to come up with a new plan, but, dammit, their escape was right there!

“Go!” Yuichi shouts across the ravine. “We’ll take the long way!

“Are you crazy?” Gen shouts back. “There’s gotta be another way!”

“There is no other way!” Yuichi calls before grabbing Leo’s hand and pulling him back towards the horse. “Go! Get a message out to his family. I’ll see you on the other side!” He leaps onto the horse before pulling Leo up behind him and snapping the reins. Whatever Gen shouts in response is lost to the wind as their horse jerks forward, reaching a clipped gallop with ease.

They race through the forest with Yuichi rapidly navigating them through the dense foliage. He hears the cultist come to a stop at the edge of the ravine, shouting orders back and forth to each other before he hears the telltale sound of hoofbeats following as they pick up on his and Leo’s trail. 

“Find them! Don’t let them get away!” One of the cultists shouts as the hoof beats rapidly change direction pursuing them into the forest. The men disperse, casting a wide net heading out in every direction into the forest in search of the pair.

Yuichi is on high alert, his ears tracking the movement of every horse's path through the forest. Many of them get sidetracked, some going in the wrong direction entirely as the dense foliage makes it harder for the group to track their movements, but it isn’t long before Yuichi hears the sound of two sets of hoofbeats in pursuit not far behind him. 

He takes a gamble and slows their pace, hoping to mask the clumsy sounds of their mount picking its way through the underbrush, but his hopes are dashed as he hears an arrow whistle through the air. He heaves against the reins, but it’s no use. The arrow strikes their horse square in the side. The animal shrieks as it falls, kicking its legs wildly as it brings Yuichi and Leo to the ground. Yuichi tucks his head to his chest as he hits the ground in a roll, springing up before throwing himself over Leo as the horses hoofs kick at the air around their heads. Finally getting its feet under it, the horse bolts, leaving them behind as it disappears into the forest. 

Yuichi stays crouched over Leo, tucking them both flat into the underbrush as he strains his for any sounds off the cultist who shot at them. He hears him a few hundred yards off behind them, chasing after their fleeing horse. He feels lightheaded with relief as he eases off of Leo with a groan. “Are you okay?” Yuichi pants, looking him over.

Leo grunts pushing himself up off of the ground. “Yeah, I’m fine. I just need a minute” 

They didn't exactly have a minute. Yuichi’s ears twitched at every small sound from the forest, trying to track their pursuers whereabout. His head aches and there’s a faint ringing in his ears, making the noises around him all far too muddled and indistinct for him to make out the source of any one noise.

“Let's move to some cover in case anyone else managed to follow us,” he says with a wary  glance at the dark forest around them. 

Leo nods in agreement. He grasps at the tree behind him and hauls himself up with shaking legs. He takes only a single step before his ankle folds and Yuichi quickly moves to catch him as he falls under his own weight once again. 

“Hey, I’ve got you. Don’t push yourself too hard,” Yuichi says. “Come on.” He shifts Leo’s weight and slings one of his arms around his shoulders while supporting him at the waist. Yuichi moves towards some denser tree cover nearby, gently setting Leo down propping him up against the side of a tree. 

“Okay?” Yuichi asks.

“Yeah. Fine,” Leo says again with a grimace. He clutches the wound at his side as his breaths come in shaky puffs. Yuichi moves his hand to the side to check the wound. There is a bright spot of fresh blood on the bandages, but no further damage appears to have been done. He won’t know for sure until he has time to change out the bandage later but for now..

“Okay, just hang in there.” Yuichi surveys the forest around them for any immediate danger, his ears standing at attention listening for the slightest sound out of place. He doesn’t hear any hoofbeats, but he wants to be sure. 

"I think we’re in the clear, but still,” he says, still keeping a close eye on the forest around them. “Let me do a quick sweep to double check. Will you be alright down here for a minute?" He gives Leo a subtle once-over. He’s still not looking too good, clutching at one of his bandages at his side, face twisted up in pain. 

“I said I’m fine,” Leo snaps, waving him off. “Just go.” 

“Okay, Okay no need to bite my head off okay.” Yuichi says defensively. 

“Right, sorry… Ignore me I-I’m just tired,” Leo says, slumping back against the tree. 

Okay that was fair, it had been a really long hard day and they were both tired. Yuichi  wasn't going to hold a little crankiness against him. “Okay, I’ll be right back.” Yuichi doesn’t waste any time as he darts up a nearby tree, powerful leg muscles allowing him to leap nibley from branch to branch until he breaks over the tree line. The forest sprawls out in a dark green carpet before him. The early spring wind cuts through his clothes, causing his various cuts and scrapes to sting in the icy air. Ignoring the ache, he quickly surveys the woods around him, looking for any obvious signs of the cultists presence. 

When he doesn't see anything, he closes his eyes, shutting out the visual stimuli of the world around him. He listens intently, ears flicking wildly from side to side as they pick up on every small whisper of a sound. Many different sounds come to his ears; the mating calls of songbirds crying out across the forest, the gurgling of water over small stones in a nearby creek. He tunes into the forest, listening for anything that was out of place, for any intruder or trespasser. And, there!, very faintly off in the distance, the quiet whisper of The Godkillers forces. 

Yuichi strains his hearing, tuning out the call of the birds, the mutterings of the creek, the sound of his own heartbeat until the shuffling sounds of human feet through the leaves is all he can hear. They're at least a mile or two back, fruitlessly searching a section of forest off to the east. 

Yuichi pulls his senses in as the sights and sounds around him return. He sighs in relief, suddenly exhausted as he slumps against the tree, closing his eyes for a moment as his mind goes into overdrive. None of the other cult members managed to track them through the dense foliage, that was good. It would be a while before they managed to find them again considering how densely packed this section of forest was. 

They would probably run into them again before they made it out of the woods, no doubt the cult already knew where they were headed; there was only one other possible path through the mountains, but it was a treacherous one. Especially for anyone that didn't know the mountains, but that wouldn't be a problem for Yuichi. If the Godkiller was smart, he’d give up once they made it to the mountains, but the man was a stubborn bastard and likely wouldn't back off that easily. 

Yuichi jumps down to find Leo still laid back against the tree, hand tightly clutching a stone at his side. His gaze darts wildly from tree to tree, and Yuichi finds himself slowing his pace, not wanting to surprise him. “Hey,” he calls softly. Leo jumps, his hand jerking the stone up before he meets Yuichi’s gaze and visibly relaxes. He drops the stone and heaves himself up with a shaky sigh. 

“Hey, hey It’s okay,” Yuichi says softly, kneeling down in front of Leo. “We’re okay. We lost them. They shouldn’t be bothering us for a while, but we need to get moving.” Yuichi quickly gathers their scattered supplies before replacing the pack on his chest and turning back to Leo. “Are you sure you can't walk on your own?” Yuichi asks.

“Dude, I'm fucking exhausted. I don't think I'd get very far.” Leo says miserably leaning against the tree.

Yuichi nods, already having suspected that Leo was at his limit. “Alright then, only one way to do this,” Yuichi says, kneeling and turning his back to Leo. He looks over his shoulder at him. “Climb aboard.” 

Leo blinks at him. “Seriously?”

“You got any better ideas?” Yuichi asks, raising an eyebrow. 

He apparently doesn’t because after a drawn-out pause he crawls forward and wraps his arms around Yuichi’s neck. 

“All good?” 

Leo gives an affirmative hum and Yuichi stands, wobbling on his feet a little with the extra weight. Leo squirms on his back as he wraps his legs around Yuichi’s waist, arms pulling tightly at Yuichi’s neck and putting immense pressure on his windpipe. “L-Leo… too… tight…” Yuichi warns between gasping breaths.

“Sorry,” As Leo attempts to readjust, his grasp slips, sending him toppling off Yuichi’s back and sending Yuichi tumbling forward face first into the dirt. Yuichi coughs catching his breath before rolling over onto his back and sitting up. “There has got to be an easier way to carry you…” he says, trailing off before an idea occurs to him. “Wait, can you do that thing you did before?”

“That thing?” Leo questions warily from where he’s laying in the dirt. 

“Yeah, you know, where you pulled your head inside your shell? Can you do that with your arms and legs too? It won’t hurt right?” Yuichi asks, eyes roving over the kame’s injuries. 

“Umm, yeah, sure. Shouldn’t be a problem. Why?” Leo retracts his limbs inside his shell leaving just his head out. 

“That’s so weird- but cool! Totally cool!” Yuichi stutters, unsure of whether or not he’d offended him.

“It’s alright, I guess. Pretty normal for me,” Leo chuckles casually. “Why am I doing this again?”

“Oh right. Hold still.” Yuichi pulls out a length of rope out of his bag and sets to work securing the ropes around Leo’s shell until they somewhat resemble the straps of a backpack. 

“Right,” Yuichi says, kneeling down on the ground and turning around, slipping his arms through the straps. Yuichi lifts himself off the ground with some effort. Even with the more comfortable position Leo still weighs the same and he has to brace his knees to support them both. 

“Oh yeah, that’s much easier,” he says once he’s steady on his feet. He looks back over his shoulder at Leo. “You good back there?”

“Yeah. It’s a little weird being carried like this,” Leo chuckles “I’m like a backpack.” 

Yuichi laughs. “Yeah, you kinda are.” Both boys break out into a fit of laughter. Once their laughter settles down, Yuichi grips on to the straps before starting forward. “If you’re comfortable back there we’ll get a move on.” 

Leo doesn't respond, his breathing quiet and shallow on Yuichi’s shoulder. “Leo?” For a moment, he worries something’s wrong until he hears the soft snores from behind him. Yuichi turns his head to find Leo’s head resting on his shoulder, already fast asleep. He laughs softly to himself before he starts the slow trek through the forest. 

“Don't worry Leo, I'll keep you safe.”

Chapter Text

Raph opens his eyes to the dim, early-morning shadows of his bedroom. He and his family lived hundreds of feet under New York, and although no natural light could reach them down here, he could always seem to tell the difference between nighttime sewer lighting and daytime sewer lighting. 

With a sigh, he rolls over stiffly and throws a glance at his alarm clock. 4:04PM blinks back at him, the cold light of the clock casting long silhouettes across his nightstand. He knows a losing battle when he sees one, and trying to go back to sleep is definitely a lost cause. He shifts out of bed with a groan, blinking bleary eyes around at the shadows that seem to shift and stretch as he stands.

He stumbles towards the door and grasps the icy metal of the doorknob as a whisper of a sound flutters behind him. Raph tenses as he whips his head back around, eyes scanning up and down the length of his room. Unmoving shadows stare back at him as the room falls into silence once more. He stays locked into place, hand still gripping the doorknob, as he strains his eyes and ears for any sign of an intruder. The silence stretches and nothing in the room moves. 

Shaking his head, Raph pushes through his doorway and steps out into a bright observation room. Harsh white light buzzes out of fluorescent tubes mounted into the ceiling, mixing with the cold blue from the various computer monitors stationed around the room. Faceless humans in lab coats wander the room, murmuring to each other in a discordant hum that grates in Raph’s ears. Unease prickles up his spine as he glances back through the doorway he had just entered from, but instead of his bedroom he only sees a bland supply closet. 

Footsteps sound behind him and Raph flinches back as a woman steps right past him, reaching for a box in the closet. Her face seems to shift in the light, blurring at the edges until nothing but a blank facade remains. Raph backs away from her and further into the room. He walks up to one of the men seated at some kind of monitoring station and waves his hand in front of the human’s face. The man simply continues to stare at the monitor, no acknowledgement on his indistinct features. 

Suddenly, bright lights come to life from the other side of the window, revealing the room on the other side. Raph blinks, struggling to take everything in. Complex machinery lined every inch of the room, all with dozens of wires to a chair in the middle of the room. More humans swarmed in the room, blocking Raph’s line of sight to whatever they were working on. Just as he was about to turn away, one of them shifts to the side and Raph’s breath catches in his throat. Leo, battered and bruised, was being held down onto the chair by thick leather straps. Electrodes covered every visible patch of skin, all of them running wires from his brother to the various machines scattered throughout the room. 

“ Leo, ” Raph breathes, rushing forward to press his face against the windows. Before he can rush to the door, the faceless man sitting at the monitor leans forward, flipping a switch on his control panel. Leo starts to spasm, jerking violently in his restraints, the monitors beside him lighting up with activity.

“LEO!” Raph screams, horrified. He lunges for the man, shoving him violently  out of his chair and away from the controls. As the human hits the ground, another scientist leans forward pressing another button on the control panel. Raph’s gaze darts back to the window just in time to see the wires on his brother’s head light up. Leo sucks in a breath and screams again. The sound claws its way through Raph’s head as he tackles the scientist to the ground. 

 “Stop it! You're hurting him!” he snarls in the human’s face, reaching for his sai, but before he can draw them, the scientists turns to smoke below him, dissipating into the air. 

Movement breaks Raph out of his shocked stupor as the other scientists all lean forward in tandem, each of them pressing calmly on the buttons on their dashboards. Leo's screams somehow grow louder, his eyes flying open and rolling back in his head as he violently thrashes against his restraints. Raph can only stare in open-mouthed horror at the sight.

 The lights in both labs begin flickering as every screen in the room goes static. The remaining scientists rise from their chairs, blank faces turning toward Raph. His legs feel like lead as he takes a wary step back. Behind him Leo shrieks again, and Raph feels his horror melt down into sharp, seething fury. His knuckles crack as he grips his sai and he sinks into a deep fighting stance. 

He will go through each and every one of these freaky motherfuckers if it means getting his brother out of here. 

Not giving the humans the chance to make the first move, he charges, but before he can land a single hit, the humans melt away into shadowy figures. Raph stumbles to a stop in the middle of the now empty room. His eyes dart from one corner to the next in confusion before he spots the figures reforming around Leo on the other side of the glass.

“Leo!” Raph races to the door, yanking on the handle only to find it locked. He slams his fists against the door as he watches the figures slowly encroach on Leo through the glass. “No, no, no!” The skin on his knuckles sting and split against metal as he slams them against the door again and again. Snarling, he pulls back and throws himself against the door. The metal creaks against its hinges, but doesn’t budge. Ignoring the burning numbness that was spreading across his shoulder, he slams into the door again. It gives with a shrill shriek as Raph barrels into the room. He wastes no time rushing head first at the shadowy figures. They make no attempt to fight back, simply dissipating into black smoke as his sai passes through them. Raph doesn’t question it, he doesn’t give a fuck where they disappear to as long as they’re nowhere near his brother. He flings his blade at the last human in the room, the blade passing through her head as she collapses into shadows. 

Raph rushes to Leo’s side, ripping his restraints away and yanking off any of the wires and electrodes he could reach. Leo slumps forward and Raph moves to catch his brother before gently lowering him to the ground. “Leo! Leo please wake up please!” Raph shakes his shoulders.

Leo's eyes flutter open, voice hoarse as he tries to speak. “R-raph?” He blinks up at him blearily before recognition lights up his face.

“Leo!” Raph clutches at his brother’s shoulders, pulling him close. “Are you okay? Anything broken?” He scans Leo’s body, swallowing tightly at the deep bruising and track marks littering his arms.

Silence meets Raphs stumbling questions, and when he glances up, it’s to his brother’s face,  twisted up with fury. “Where were you Raph?” he hisses.

Raph gapes at him. “I-I was searching.. am searching for you. I-I got here as fast as I could! I promise!” 

But Leo’s face only twists further, settling into something cold and cruel. “Pathetic! Only a few weeks as leader and you're already cracking under the pressure .” 

“No y-you're wrong. I’ve got it under control.” Raph was not cracking. Sure, he snapped at his brothers a little since he’d taken charge, but he was fine . “I just need a little more time. We’re so close-”

“ You don’t have more time! ” Leo screams, his voice reverberating around the room. “ Who knows what those freaks have been doing to me all these weeks.  How much longer do you truly think I have ?”

Raph is going to be sick. “Leo, I-I’m sorry I’m trying.”

“ That’s not good enough! ” Leo’s voice was warping at its edges, pitching into something alien, something monstrous. “ You left me to die !” 

“No!” Raph pleads, squeezing his eyes shut. “Leo, please, we've been searching for weeks, there's still time! We’ll find you, I promise!” 

“ What makes you think you still have time? ”

Raph opens his eyes, and looks down. Leo’s body distorts right before his eyes, skin becoming pale with rot as dead, milky white eyes stare back into his. Raph gasps and reels back, putting some distance between them.

“ You left me to die! ” Leo shrieks again, standing in harsh, jerky motions before stalking toward Raph as the room falls away around them. 

“ You left me to those freaks! ” 

His image only grew more grotesque with every passing step, flesh rotting off his bones and falling off in chunks as maggots crawled across his skin. Months of death and rot passing over him in seconds. 

“No, no, no, I’m still looking! I haven’t given up! I’ll find you, I promise!” Raph pleaded, backpedaling across the room.

Between one blink and the next, Leo was in front of him. He leans in close, deflated, oozing eyes staring right into his own. "Raph," he says calmly, and his voice has shifted back to something living. He sounds like Raph's brother again. "Don't you get it?"

Horror locks Raph's muscles into place, and he trembles as Leo leans in impossibly further. 

"You're already too late.“

Raph bolts upright in bed, sweat beading on his forehead as his hands twist in his sheets. He sits forward heavily, leaning on his knees, head in hands, as he tries to bring his breathing back under control. 

“You’re already too late.” 

The words swirled around his head sickeningly, their implications making his stomach turn. Raph shakes the whispered words from his head. Dream Leo was wrong. There was still time, there had to be. If Leo was already gone, already beyond saving he– he would know. 

He would just know.

It wasn’t real, just like every other night it wasn’t fucking real. Whatever horrible things he dreamt weren’t actually happening to Leo because they weren’t real. Ritual sacrifice, torture, cooked into turtle soup, None of them were real! He knew they weren’t! So why was he so freaked out every time? Why did his brain keep tormenting him with every possible worst case scenario it could imagine? He couldn’t keep doing this. He needed to rest or he’d never be able to find Leo. 

It had already been so long. Too long.

Raph tries to just go back to sleep, curling up into his sheets, but the jumbled thoughts in his brain refuse to give him any peace. He tosses and turns for a few minutes before rolling over to face his clock, the glowing numbers reading 4:04PM.

He huffs in frustration, slamming his pillow over his face and letting out a muffled scream. He hurls the pillow at his bedroom wall before flopping back down on the bed and staring despondently up at the ceiling above him.

Reaching his hand over, he picks up his T-phone from the bedside table and scrolls through his notifications, smiling down at the screen when he sees several texts from Mona Lisa. He truly appreciates how supportive she’s been through all of this; always going out of her way to check up on him, taking care of Chompy, and going out on patrol with him every night to continue the search for Leo. They’d spent every night since Leo’s disappearance scouring the city together, searching every warehouse and abandoned building they could find, desperately searching for any signs of his missing brother.

Raph heaved himself up from bed throwing off his covers and swinging his legs over the side. Grabbing his phone and his laptop, he walks out to the pit. He palms the remote and switches the TV on before settling down on the couch with a tired sigh. He sets his phone off to the side and pulls out his laptop. He had several different windows open, each with dozens of tabs. Rapid fire, he flips through them, trying to settle on a single lead to keep pursuing.

“ You’re already too late.”

 It's been three weeks. They weren’t a single step closer to finding Leo. 

Their attempts at researching these guys had gotten him and Donnie absolutely nowhere. They had no idea who those people were or why they had taken their brother, even after several sleepless nights of research and patrols. Even with April and Casey dropping everything to aid them in their search, they’d still come up empty. All they knew about the groups was that they wore red ninja uniforms that had no identifying symbols or features. Their motivations for taking Leo were a complete mystery. They hadn’t made any attempt to grab the rest of them, nor had they received any kind of ransom.

If it had been the government, Donnie would have seen something about it in their systems by now and he couldn’t find any trace of the group on security footage anywhere in the city. They’d just vanished into thin air. 

Raph jabs at the keys, shifting between tabs in frustration before heaving a sigh. That was it, the culmination of weeks of searching; a uniform description and a list of things the bastards didn’t do. It was a fucking joke how little they had on these guys. 

Instead of continuing down that dead-end, he settles on diving back into the many tabs he has open on mental health. Finding Leo was important, but being able to actually help him once they did find him was just as important. Raph has run through their argument on that rooftop more times than he cares to remember. His brother had already been messed up before he was abducted; he would need their help more than ever when they finally found him. Raph was going to make sure that once they found him, they could give him the help he desperately needed. 

His phone chimes beside him and he tears his eyes away from the screen to pick it up. He smiles when he sees another text from Mona, checking to see if he’s still up for patrol tonight. She still insisted on going out on patrol with him every night. Sure Donnie and Mikey still joined them, but he knew his brothers, and he could see the strain that weeks of fruitless searching was putting on them. He had a sinking suspicion that they were only going through the motions of searching, like they already knew they weren’t going to find Leo in the city and were only waiting for Raph to get the memo. He shakes the thought away and shoots her a quick text before his ears pick up on the sounds of a door slamming shut just down the hall. Two sets of footsteps echo on the concrete walls and Raph minimizes his tabs as Mikey and Donnie round the corner.  

“Hey, Raph. How long have you been up?” Mikey’s eyes linger on the computer in Raph’s lap.

Raph looks down at the screen, the clock down in the corner reading 8:00PM. Yikes. “Oh, you know,” he says, shutting the laptop, praying the bags under his eyes weren’t too obvious. “A while.” 

Mikey shifts, looking almost nervous, as Donnie scans him up and down critically. “Did you seriously stay up all night again?” 

A well-worn anger bubbles up in Raph’s stomach at his brother’s tone. He stares Donnie down, unblinking. “So what if I did? It’s none of your business.” 

“It actually is my business,” Donnie says stiffly, stepping forward before crossing his arms over his chest. “This isn't healthy man, you've gotta stop this. Staying up all night doom scrolling isn't how we're gonna find Leo.”

“You got something to say to me, Donnie?” Raph grits, staring daggers at Donnie. “Then come out and say it.”

“Yeah, I do actually!” Donnie storms into the pit and stands in front of Raph. “You’re obsessed! You're out for hours every night patrolling with Mona, despite the fact that we’ve already searched every goddamn inch of this city and haven’t found a single trace of him! When you get back you just go right back into training like you’re readying for some kind of fucking war! On top of all that, you’re hardly eating or sleeping. You don’t even fucking talk to us anymore unless it has something to do with finding Leo.”

“Only problem I'm seeing is that you two seem to have stopped giving a shit about finding our brother.”

“That’s not true- ” 

 Raph cuts him off, jumping to his feet and getting right up in Donnie’s face before shouting, “Then why am I the only one who's still looking? Why am I the only one who’s still acting like his fucking brother has gone missing ?”

Donnie’s face is immovable as he stands there, staring impassively down at him. 

“Whoa, dude, maybe tone it down a bit,” Mikey soothes, easing in between the pair. “Raph, of course we care, but-”

“But we’ve actually accepted reality unlike you,” Donnie snaps over Mikey’s shoulder. His face was a mask of logical, pained acceptance, hard and uncompromising. 

Raph scoffs, not believing what he’s hearing. The audacity of it. “So what? You've just given up on finding him?” 

“No, but I'm being realistic, Raph!” Donnie shouts, shoving Mikey to the side. “77% of missing persons are found within 24 hours, and 87% are found within 2 days! The other 4% are missing as long as weeks or years!” 

Raph turns his back on Donnie, huffing in frustration. “Do you even hear yourself right now? This is Leo we're talking about, not some helpless human. You're acting like we all haven’t been kidnapped at least once before and we all made it home safe and sound.”

“None of us were ever gone for this long Raph! Hell none of us have never been missing for more than 72 hours, most missing persons cases are solved in that time,” Donnie argues. “Leo’s been missing for almost 3 weeks! After the first 72 hours the chances of finding the person are practically nonexistent Raph! The chances of finding anyone missing for longer than a month alive are less than 1%!”

“And again, we are not people , Donnie!” Raph shouts, whirling back around. Donnie should know that better than anyone. The normal rules didn’t apply to them. Sure, Leo had been missing for longer than any of them ever had been before, but that didn’t matter. They were freaking turtle mutants; those rules didn’t apply to them!   

“It doesn't matter if we are or not, Raph! You can’t argue with statistics!”

“So that's it then?” Raph throws his arm out, pointing up and out to the sleepless city above them. He feels like he could cry. “Leo's still out there, Donnie! He's still alive, we have to find him!” 

“If Leo’s alive then where is he ?” 

Raph draws back, as Donnie’s shout echoes off the concrete walls. His brother follows after him by a single step, panting as his shoulders curl inwards, and now Raph can see that mask for what it really was, a cracked shell revealing the pain and loss pulsing underneath.

“Why hasn’t there been any sign of him, Raph?” Donnie shrills, that razor sharp pain not letting up an inch. “Leo’s not helpless! If he were okay he would have found a way back to us by now! Or at least sent us some kind of message, no matter the odds!”

Raph opens his mouth to respond, but Mikey beats him to it, saying, “Don’t you think if Leo was still alive, he would have found his way back to us by now?” His eyes were huge and pleading. It makes something in Raph’s stomach sick to see that look turned onto him. “Maybe…maybe it’s time we stop looking and accept-”

Yeah, no, Raph isn’t even gonna let him finish that sentence. “Don't say that!” he snaps. “Don’t you dare say that! Leo is alive and we're going to find him.”

Fury bubbles up inside him. How could they even suggest something like that? That Leo was nothing more than a lost cause? “We have to keep looking!”

Donnie stares him down coldly before turning and stomping toward his lab. “I think if he’s not back by now, he’s probably dead.” He pauses in the doorway, but doesn’t look back at them. “And I don’t wanna keep searching just to find my brother's corpse.” 

Raph could hear a pin drop as he stares in open-mouthed silence at his brother’s retreating back. 

“Do what you want, but I’m done,” Donnie mutters, slamming the door behind him.

All Raph can do is stand there, muscles locked, as familiar rage boils up inside him. Fuck Donnie’s facts! Fuck his statistics! Raph knew Leo was alive, and he was not going to give up on his brother so easily. A hand falls on his shoulder and Raph snarls, looking back at the offending hand that had dared touch him. 

“Raph, please…” Mikey says, looking up at him sadly. “I want Leo to be alive more than anything, but…but what if Donnie’s right? Maybe it’s time we move on, dude. Leo wouldn’t want this for us.” 

“How do you know what he would have wanted?” Raph grits through clenched teeth, shoving the hand from his shoulder. 

Mikey’s face twists up in a rare display of anger before he shouts, “You don't think I miss him? That I don't want, more than anything , to find him too? He's my big brother! Of course I do! But he wouldn’t want this, dude!” He cuts his hand through the air, a sharp, pained gesture. “He wouldn’t want us killing ourselves in our search to find him. He'd want us to be happy and healthy and to keep living our fucking lives, dude! Please, Raph!” 

Raph has heard more than enough. He sidesteps Mikey’s reaching arms. “I’m going on patrol,” he says coolly. 

“Raph,” Mikey pleads.

“If either of you still gives a shit, you can join me. But until then, stay out of my way.”

“Raph, please.” Mikey grabs for his arm, gripping tightly. 

“I’m not giving up on him,” Raph snarls, shaking off Mikey’s grip and storming for the exit.

He leaps over the turnstile, storming down the tracks before Mikey can stop him. He stomps down the tracks and out of the sewers, his brothers’ words churning over and over in his head. Donnie and Mikey were wrong. Leo was the best of them, if any of them could still be alive, still find their way back after all this time, it was Leo.

It was honestly pathetic how easily they were giving up, but Raph knew better. He wouldn’t turn his back on Leo, he’ll keep searching no matter how long it took. Months, years, he didn’t care. He will keep going until he finds his big brother. 

Once he makes it to the surface, he scales the nearest building and starts quietly racing along the rooftops. It’s not long before he can see Mona Lisa up ahead, waiting for him at their usual rooftop rendezvous. He leaps the distance between the two buildings, landing solidly on his feet and running up to his girlfriend.

“Mona!” Raph says, excitedly wrapping his arms around her and getting up on his toes to place a kiss on her cheek. “Man, you're a sight for sore eyes.”

“It's good to see you too, Rapheal,” Mona says, returning the hug. “Are your brothers not joining us tonight?”

Raph pulls back from the hug with a huff and walks over to the edge of the rooftop, eyes scanning the quiet streets below. “They're not coming,” he says, fighting to keep his voice casual. “They’re already throwing in the freaking towel. Can you believe that?” 

Not waiting for an answer, he looks up over the city, surveying the rooftops around them. “So where do we want to start tonight?”  

“Actually, I was thinking we could maybe… sit and chat for a bit first,” Mona Lisa says, her tone oddly careful. 

Raph turns, looking back to find his girlfriend nervously shifting on her feet, suddenly very interested in the ground. Raph’s senses are immediately on high alert as he rushes to her side. “Absolutely,” he says, taking her hand and sitting down with her on the edge of the rooftop. “What's going on?” 

She hesitates. “I… Rapheal, I know you want to find your brother. Your perseverance is admirable, truly, but…”

Raph frowns, already not liking the direction this is going. 

“Do you think…do you think it might be time to stop this,”  Mona Lisa says, carefully.

“Stop this? What do you mean?” Raph asks warily. There’s an odd ringing in his ears. 

“We've been searching for several weeks and found no signs of your brother. I've tried to be supportive but,” she straightens, looking into Raph’s eyes solemnly. “I don’t believe your brother is still in the city. If he was, we would have found him by now. It might be time to consider extending our search elsewhere.”  

Raph relaxes and lets out a sigh. She wasn’t calling off the search, not like his brothers were, just expanding their parameters. And she might be right, searching the city wasn’t getting them anywhere, but searching outside New York? It was a whole other world out there and not one that was safe for mutants. If Leo wasn’t in the city, where else could he be? How long and how far would they have to search to find him? New York might be one of the biggest cities in the world, but the world itself was a whole lot bigger.

Mona stands up from her place on the ledge, turning to face Raph. “We need to regroup. We should call off our search for tonight-”

“Whoa, whoa, we can’t just stop looking!” Raph says, panic entering his voice as he shoots up from his spot on the ledge. He understood that they needed to make a plan, but that didn’t mean calling off their search for tonight. Surely it was worth one more shot. One more night, then tomorrow– tomorrow they could get together and make a plan.  

“I’m not suggesting we do, I am merely suggesting we take tonight to come up with a plan of action and gather our resources. If your brother is still alive-”

“ If he’s still alive?” Raph says sharply. 

Mona blinks, then grimaces. “I’m sorry, I-I misspoke.” 

“No, I don’t think you did,” Raph growls accusingly. “You think he’s dead just like my brothers! Did they put you up to this?”

“Your brothers did not put me up to anything, Rapheal!” Mona snarls back. “I want to help you find your brother, truly I do, but you might need to prepare yourself for the possibility that you might not like what we find.”

“If you're just trying to spare my feelings, don’t bother!” Ringing fills his ears again as he stalks right up to her. “I don’t need your pity! I wanted your help, but if you don’t even believe he’s still alive, then I’m better off looking on my own!”

“Raphael, please-” Whatever she says is lost in the wind as Raph leaps across to the next rooftop. 

His knee twinges as he hits the tarmac hard. Ignoring the ache, he races along the rooftops, putting as much distance between him and Mona Lisa as physically possible. He can’t believe it, even his own girlfriend has given up on Leo. Anger pushes his muscles as he practically flies from one rooftop to the next, a chaotic stew of emotions roiling deep in his stomach, driving him to push himself harder and faster than before. 

He didn't need them, he didn't need anyone. He’d find Leo all on his own if he had to. No matter what the others thought, he would never stop searching. Even if everyone else had already given up hope, he never would. 

He scours the city all night long, searching through every dingy alleyway and dilapidated warehouse he can find, every search coming up empty, but he still doesn't stop. As the hours drag on without any leads, his frustration grows. Still he carries on, searching well into the night until the first signs of dawn begin to stream over the New York skyline. 

He finally comes to a stop, leaning heavily against a roof access stairwell. He was practically dead on his feet; his arms shook and he was one wrong step away from getting a cramp in his calf. Hours of non-stop running were clearly taking its toll. The only thing keeping him going at this point was pure adrenaline and spite.

Raph struggles to catch his breath, a mix of something that was supposed to be rage but is starting to feel suspiciously like despair was churning in his stomach as he leans heavily against the brick wall. His muscles quiver with exhaustion and his eyes threaten to slip closed.

He doesn’t know how much more of this he can take. Disappointment again and again and again, night after night. It was crushing. It was too fucking much. He just can’t do it, not alone, but he just can’t take it anymore! He knew Mona was right; they needed to start searching elsewhere, but even admitting that much felt like admitting defeat. If Leo isn’t in New York, then there was no telling where he was.

Pain welled up in him, just as physical as any wound. He couldn’t do this alone. 

“If Leo’s alive then where is he?” 

Leave it to Donnie to be the one to voice the question that’s been eating at Raph’s very soul for three goddamn weeks. 

“ You’re already too late.”

Images swirl in his mind, of Leo and scientists, of wires and agony, of death and death and death. The pain in him crests, twisting into his heart before ultimately pulling him under as he cries out, throwing back a fist and slamming it into the wall in front of him. He punches the brick again and again and again until blood flecks against the white paint in morbid contrast. The rage-despair-pain slowly drains out of him with each punch. He slumps back heavily against the wall, choking sobs falling from his mouth as his carapace slides down the rough brick. 

His lungs heave as he stares through blurry eyes at the sun beginning to peak above the horizon. He flexes his hand at his side, a stinging pain shooting up his arm. He glances down at his bloody knuckles and feels nothing. Roughly wiping the tears from his eyes, he clumsily pulls himself to his feet before stumbling across the rooftop with numb feet. He throws himself across the gap to the next rooftop, intent on heading home, but as soon as he fully lands on the next rooftop the floor gives way beneath him. 

Raph shouts as he plummets through the ceiling, sharp air whistling in his ears before he hits the concrete below. Pain ricochets through his shell as his shoulders bark against the cold floor. A haze settles over his vision as he lays on his back, staring up through the hole he’d created in the ceiling. Raph holds his body very still, not willing to move and find out if anything was broken just yet. 

After a few moments, his vision clears and the dingy warehouse slowly comes into focus around him. Large cobwebs lace the ceiling above rusted rafters and ancient metal pipes. Just another abandoned warehouse to add to the unending list of ditched places in this city. Raph knew most of their locations by heart; they were the first places he and his family had looked when Leo was taken from them. 

As Raph stares through the hole in the roof and at the lightening sky above him, the thought of the long walk back to the lair becomes more unbearable by the second. 

He was just so tired. 

He couldn’t do this alone. 

“You’re already too late.” 

He lets out a choked whine before rolling over, finally letting his exhaustion overtake him as he curls up on his side, clutching his knees to his chest. Maybe Mona and his brothers were right. Maybe his brother was dead. Maybe he was dead and all of these searching, sleepless days would lead him to was a cold, dead corpse.

The thought screeches to a halt in his mind as it fully sinks in. This was the first time he’d ever really truly considered that he might not be able to bring Leo back alive. Guilt hits him like a tidal wave, something that would drown him then and there if he dared to tread any further. Raph curls up tighter, ignoring the way his shoulder pulls and aches. 

He couldn’t think like that, not for a single moment. He didn’t care how long it took or what he found, he would keep searching no matter what.

His heart feels like it’s being torn apart in his chest as he curls himself inwards, shutting his eyes against the shadows of the warehouse and the early morning light. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he sobs, tears streaming unbidden down his face as he allows hopelessness to overtake him. 

“Raph, don’t you get it?” 

As the world starts to fade away around him and his eyelids become heavy, Raph continues to repeat the apology like a mantra. 

“You’re already too late.”

_______________________

Gen only had one thought in his mind as the wind howled past his ears; get help.

As they raced along dirt country roads, the scene at the bridge played on repeat in his head. After the ropes had been cut and Gen had finally scrambled his way back up the cliff face, his stomach had dropped when he looked up to find his friend still on the other side. Yuichi might only be a couple hundred feet away from them, but it felt more like miles as he looked out across the chasm. None of them had wanted to leave him, but the Godless’ advance hadn’t left them much choice.  

Gen watched as Yuichi raced off with the kame it tow, and he knew there was no time to waste. As much as he wanted to help his friend, he knew there wasn’t much they could do. With Yuichi trapped outside their borders, the potential danger to the citizens of Neo Edo had increased significantly. With the one clear path between Neo Edo and the human world severed, he had a pretty good idea of where Yuichi would be heading to next. All he could do was pray for his safe return and carry out Yuichi’s last order; to get a message out to Leo’s brothers, and to inform the council of the potential danger headed their way.

On horseback they made it back to the city in half the time of their original trip to the border. Upon arriving, they headed straight to the council building, pulling up right outside and quickly tying up their horses before racing inside. Gen led them straight for the council chamber doors, but they were abruptly stopped by a thin cat yokai blocking their path.

“Do you have an appointment?” he drones, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and looking up at the group. 

“No, but it’s urgent. We must speak with the council immediately!” Chizu says, moving to step around the man. He merely steps to the side, once again blocking her path. 

“You will have to wait, young lady. They are busy attending to important business at the moment. You will have to wait your turn.” The cat says, gesturing to the apparently crowded waiting room filled with yokai around them.

Gen did not have the time nor the patience for this bureaucratic bullshit right now. His best friend is currently running for his life from the very same monsters who had sworn to hunt down and kill them all. He growls, shoving the small man to the side and heading for the doors. The cat man sputters and attempts to follow but he struggles to keep up. 

“I’m sorry, sir, but I will have to insist you wait like everyone else!” The guards posted at the door raise their spears, but Gen merely bats them to the side, where they fall in a clumsy heap on the ground. “Sir, I really must insist!” the cat man pleads, coming between him and the door. Gen simply shoves the doors open and the man topples to the ground as the doors fall away behind him. He steps over the man, ambling into the chamber before stopping in front of the seated semicircle of council members. He can feel Chizu and Kitsune fall into step on either side of him, standing in a united front. 

“Hatamoto Gennosuke, what is the meaning of this?” One of the council members shouts as Gen bends at the waist, bowing in mock respect. 

“Esteemed members of the council, we come bearing urgent news.” He tilts his head up slightly, peering at the council. Their expressions are all varying looks of disapproval. 

The head of the council, Lord Raion, heaves a sigh, staring Gen down. The old lion was clearly displeased by the interpretation. “Continue, Gennosuke. What have you to report?” 

Gen stands up straight, hands behind his back as he delivers the news. “We intercepted the Godless at our border and were able to retrieve the hostage. Unfortunately, on our return trip we were separated from Usagi Yuichi and the hostage when the rope bridge was cut. They are now trapped in enemy territory, taking the long path into our Neo Edo via the Akuma Pass.”

“Who is the hostage? Who dared leave our territory?” Lord Inoshishi questions.

“It wasn't one of our people, sir,” Gen replied.

“A wild yokai? Why on earth did you even waste your time with it?”

“He's not a Yokai, sir.”

“Oh really, what is he then?” Lord Raion asks, leaning forward, a curious expression on his face.

“Leonardo claims to be something called a ‘mutant’,” Gen explains. “He's not even from Japan, he's from New York City. The Godless stole him away from his home and his brothers, thinking he was yokai, and brought him here.”

“If he is not one of ours, then why exactly is Usagi Yuichi escorting him into our territory?” Lord Inoshishi questions harshly.

Gen fought to reign in his disdain at the boar’s dismissiveness. As if an injured person wasn’t worth saving just because they existed beyond their borders. “Leo was severely wounded and in need of medical attention,” he says stiffly. “If we had left him there, he would have died of the injuries the Godless had inflicted upon him.

He turns pointedly away from Lord Inoshishi and addresses Lord Raion directly. “We need to get a message out to his family so they can safely retrieve him.” 

“Out of the question!” Lord Inoshishi shouts, aghast. “We cannot allow outsiders into-” 

Before Lord Inoshishi can continue, Lord Raion raises his hand, silencing the other yokai. He trains his eyes on Gen, his serious gaze boring into him. “This Leonardo will only be permitted into Neo Edo due to his injuries, but his family is not to be contacted. He can inform them of his safety himself when he is once again outside of our borders.”

“Lord Raion, please,” Gen says, fighting to keep his voice level. “Can’t we at least send them a message that he’s alright?”

“Even allowing the kame in is a risk,” the old lion dismisses. “Sending a message to his brothers that could be traced back to us is an unnecessary risk.”

“Lord Raion,” Kitsune says, stepping forward and bowing deeply. “With all due respect, Leonardo was taken from his family over three weeks ago. If any member of your family were to ever go missing for that long, wouldn’t you want to be informed of their safety as soon as possible?” Her tone was light and guileless, but Gen knows better. She hadn’t survived on the street all those years without becoming a skilled manipulator. 

For a moment Gen almost thinks it will work as he sees a hint of softness work its way into the old lion's facade, but he quickly seems to steal himself. “I understand where you are coming from, young one, but we can not put our peoples safety at risk just for this one mutant. It is unprecedented.” 

Gen really hated these old fossils sometimes. They were so high and mighty, claiming to be the only thing standing between the people of Neo Edo and the Godless when it was the Samurai putting in all the hard work protecting their borders. None of these council members would ever willingly stick their neck out for anyone else unless it benefited them.

 Gen chewed that thought over for a moment when an idea occurred to him, maybe there was something that could convince the council to break their sacred little rules. As Kitsune deflates in front of him, Gen steps forward, commanding the council's attention. 

“From what Leonardo told us, he and his brothers are all very accomplished warriors. They have been defending New York from aliens, the Foot Clan, and a multitude of other threats since they were fifteen. I'm sure if we reunited them with their brother, they would be more than happy to help us take the fight to the Godless." 

“Ha! Like we need the help of these mutants to deal with the Godless,” Lady Kuma says haughtily. 

“You clearly do,” Chizu says, stepping forward. “Since the council's apparently too chicken to let any of us go outside the borders on our own to deal with them ourselves.” 

Several council members balk, staring down at Chizu disdainfully. She lifts her chin at them defiantly, and Gen scrambles for something to say before this conversation could go to hell even further. 

“Maybe a couple of mutant kappa are exactly the help we need?” he reasons. 

“Excuse me, did you say kappa?” Lord Raion asks, ears perking up in interest and looking around at the other members of the council. 

“Yeah, Leo and his brothers are turtle mutants. We initially mistook him for a kappa,” Gen says, confused by the council's sudden interest. 

Hushed whispers break out within the council, member’s quietly arguing amongst themselves until Lord Raion calls everyone to order. “Quiet now!”

“You said this boy had a key on him. Where exactly did he acquire such an item?” the lion asks curiously. 

Gen takes a deep breath, knowing this wasn’t going to go over well. “Leonardo claims it was given to him by Miyamoto Usagi himself.” 

Scoffs sounded across the cavernous room. 

“Impossible,” Lord Inoshishi shouts. 

“Blasphemous!” Lady Kuma cries.

Chizu steps forward, directly addressing Lord Raion “Do you recall the story of Miyamoto, the kappa, and the wolf demon Jei?”

“Yes, we all know the story,” Lord Raion answers cautiously.

“Leonardo claims the kappa in the story were him and his brothers. Jei summoned them back through time to Miyamoto’s era. The Ronin gave Leonardo his key as a parting gift if he ever wished to return to Neo Edo.”

“And you believe him?” 

“I saw the charm myself. I have no doubt it belonged to Miyamoto.” 

Raion and Kuma exchange a silent look. The Council members close ranks and deliberate amongst themselves in hushed whispers for a moment as Gen frowns at them from the sidelines. Suspicion pricks at the edges of his mind. Sure, they’d given them a pretty solid argument, but not nearly good enough to have the council changing their tune so quickly.

Something else was going on here, he could feel it, and Gen had learned a long, long time ago to trust his instincts when they spoke to him.

After a few moments the council members turn back towards them. “Very well,” Lord Raion says. “We will contact Leonardo’s family, but they are only to be provided with our location if they agree to aid us in our fight against the Godless upon their arrival.” 

Chizu scowls and opens her mouth, but Kitsune shifts to bump her shoulder in warning, stopping whatever Chizu was about to say. Gen grinds his teeth as an old and familiar frustration fills him at these people and their games. To demand cooperation from the Hamatos by withholding information on their missing sibling smacked of dishonor. He fought to keep his face neutral, knowing damn well that this meager concession was all they were going to get from the council members.  “Very well, Lord Raion.” Gen says, bowing stiffly.

“How do you suggest we contact these brothers of his?” Lord Inoshishi asks, a note of amusement in his voice. “We have no means of contact with the outside world.” 

Gen hesitates, not having considered that problem. He glances at his friends but neither Kitsune or Chizu seem to have any ideas. 

Lady Tora, quiet throughout the previous conversation, clears her throat from beside Lord Raion. “Might I make a suggestion?”

The other council members scowl in her direction, but Lord Raion nods for her to continue.

“Request an audience with baku,” she says, addressing Gen directly. “They walk through the realm of dreams and nightmares, they should be able to get a message out to the brothers.”

“Thank you, Lady Tora, that is a wonderful idea,” Lord Raion says before turning back to the group. 

“Wait a minute!” Gen sputters, holding up his hands. “You want us to summon baku . Isn’t that a little dangerous for us to be doing without good reason?” 

“You will be fine,” Raion says, unconcerned. “I’m sure between the three of you, you have plenty of nightmares to offer them in exchange for their cooperation,” He waves them towards the door, a clear dismissal. “Now run along, we have other matters to attend to.”

“What about Yuichi?” Kitsune cuts in. Gen can see her barely restrained glare in the stiff set of her shoulders. 

“Unfortunately there is nothing we can do for him now,” Lady Tora says, not unkindly as sympathy shines in her eyes. “Any rescue efforts would never reach them in time to be of any use. Besides, Usagi Yuichi is a skilled warrior. I have faith he will see both him and this Leonardo safely returned.” She settles back into her chair. “For now, find baku and get a message to Leonardo's brothers.”

"When you are done, report back here,” Raion says. “We will have a team of carpenters ready to accompany you to the border in order to repair the bridge.”

“What if the Godless are still around?” Gen asks through clenched teeth. 

“I'm sure they're far too busy tracking down Yuichi and Leonardo to be concerned with our repairs,” the lion replies. “In any case, it will need to be rebuilt in order for his brothers to enter our territory. For now, you will oversee the reconstruction of the bridge and escort these kappa warriors in once it is complete.” 

Gen’s temper feels like it's hanging by spider thread as he gives them a final wooden bow and turns to leave, Kitsune and Chizu falling into step behind him. 

“Good luck, my friends,” Lady Tora’s voice follows them out solemnly. 

Gen and the others don’t reply, the echo of the heavy doors swinging shut seemed answer enough. 

They quickly head out of the building and back out onto the street. It was well into the night when they had gotten there, and by now the moon shone overhead and Gen suddenly feels every hour he’s been awake, every hit he’s taken in their clashes with the Godless. He stops in front of his horse, sighing deeply and attempts to roll the tension out of his shoulders. The scowl hasn’t left Chizu’s face, and Kitsune kept shifting back into the balls of her feet, restless. He hated dealing with the council, hated their arrogance and their lack of empathy. Speaking to them always left a bad taste in his mouth, and he could tell the others felt the same. 

Shaking his head, Gen pulled himself onto his horse, the others doing the same beside him. Chizu has added a clenched jaw to her scowl, and Gen decides it’s up to him to lighten the mood. He turns toward them, plastering a grin filled with false bravado on his face. “So, sleepover at my place?”

“I don't see a better option,” Chizu grumbles. “Let’s just get this over with.” 

“Yeah, I don’t want to stay in Gen’s smelly house any longer than I have to,” Kitsune complains.

“Hey, it’s not that bad,” Gen grumbles. His friends simply throw him twin doubtful looks before snapping their reins and starting down the path towards Gen’s place.

They all follow each other closely, making good time arriving at Gen’s home. Once there, they quickly unpack their things and get settled for bed, laying out their bedrolls in a line next to each other on the floor of Gen’s living room. As the girls get settled on their bedroll and kneel before their pillows, Gen hangs back, hesitating.

He clears his throat. “Isn’t it sorta a bad idea to call on baku without first, oh, I don’t know, actually having a bad dream first?"

The girls glance nervously at each other.

“I don’t like the idea but we don’t really have a choice," Chizu says, grim understanding settling over her features. "The baku will undoubtedly require a price for its services. We can only hope the cost will be small."

"And if it's not?"

"I'm more than prepared to face those consequences, if it comes to it," Chizu replies, confidently. “Are you?”

Gen had never thought of himself as someone with big dreams or aspirations, he was quite content with his life as it was, but the idea deeply unsettled him.

“Look, I'm pretty sure between the three of us we’ve all got a big enough stockpile of nightmare fuel to satisfy a baku," Kitsunes says, impatience creeping into her voice. "Now, can we please go to sleep and get this over with?"

Gen grumbles but kneels down on his bed roll and situates himself in front of his pillow. They all lean forward bowing deeply over their pillows.

“Baku-san come eat my dreams, Baku-san come eat my dreams, Baku-san come eat my dreams,” they all repeat in unison, remaining bowed over their pillows until the mantra is complete. Once they're finished they rise as one before tucking themselves beneath their covers hunkering down for the night.

“Welp, this will be fun,” Kitsune says cheerily, rolling over and pulling the blankets up over her head. “See you guys in there.”

Chizu does the same, rolling over and blowing out the singular candle lighting the room. As the room is plunged into darkness, Gen shifts onto his side and pulls his blanket up over him.

He's not sure when exactly he falls asleep, but when he opens his eyes again, he finds himself standing on the edge of the cliff back at the remains of the severed rope bridge. He looks around him, finding Kitsune and Chizu standing at his side. Unlike the scene that played out only a few hours prior, the cliffs and mountains were covered in a thick layer of fog. Small figures skitter about within the fog and Gen’s hand goes to his swords on instinct only to find his belt empty. He flexes his empty hands and moves so he's back-to-back with Chizu and Kitsune. 

His eyes dart around tracking the movements of whatever creatures linger within the fog. As he looks out over the ravine, the silhouette of Baku slowly approaches, walking on air through the fog as it moves towards them. 

Gen relaxes slightly. The creature approaching them resembles something like a pig with a long snout rather than the monstrous depictions of the beast he'd seen growing up. The creature slinks up to them calmly, sitting down in front of them and tilting its head at them. The fog drifts lazily around its head, undisturbed by the spirits movements. 

“Strange. I'm rarely called upon before one has a nightmare, let alone by three of your kind at once,”  the baku says in a lilting voice. "Are you all plagued by the same terrors?"

"No, we actually have a rather unorthodox request," Gen says cautiously.

"Oh," the baku says, something wild momentarily flashing through its eyes. "Intriguing. Continue.”

“We require your help contacting someone," Gen says, looking down at the creature, keeping his expression calm and respectful. "We recently came across a kame while patrolling along our border. He was separated from his family by the Godless and taken far away from his home; New York City.”

"Hmmm,” the spirits hum seemed to vibrate in the air, hitting Gen’s ear as a deep bass. “And how am I meant to help with such a task?” A dangerous gleam enters their eyes, a pair of small tusks begin to peek out from beneath its trunk. “I am a devourer of dreams, not a messenger. Can the kame not simply contact his family himself?” 

"Y-yes, but it’s a matter of great urgency,” Gen says, trying to keep his voice even. “The council requires his brothers’ aid in securing our borders. We have no means of contacting anyone so far away.”

The baku rolls their eyes before standing up pacing around them. Gen can feel Chizu and Kitsune shift beside him at the spirits' proximity. “Of what concern are your earthly borders to me?” the creature continues. 

As the baku stalks around them, their form seems to shift under the watery light of the fog, growing larger and more monstrous looking with every step; its fur lengthening, its claws sharpening, and its eyes lighting up with a fiery hunger. 

“My only wish is to feed upon nightmares,” they crone in that reverberating bass. In the distance, thunder rumbles. “Of what concern is this kame’s fate to me? What makes you think it necessary for me to deliver such a message? What would I even get out of performing such a task?”

The baku’s facial features contort as it stalks circles, continuing to grow until the beast before them resembles the horrifying chimera it’s depicted as in the stories from Gen’s childhood. 

Gen is completely frozen in place as the baku looms over them, slavering jaws hovering just inches above them as it hungrily looks them over. 

Kitsune shoves Gen to the side, stepping forward confidently. “Losing a family member is everyone’s worst nightmare. To lose a sibling… well, I can only imagine what horrors haunt his brothers’ dreams. I’m sure they would be grateful if you helped ease the burden on their minds.” 

The baku sits back on its haunches and looks down at Kitsune consideringly as they lick their lips. “Intriguing, but what are a handful of kames’ sufferings to me when I have the whole of Japan's nightmares at my disposal?”

“Our message will act to summon the Hamato clan here to aid in our fight against the Godless” 

The baku draws back, head tilting as their too-large eyes gaze at them. “Hmm. The Godless, you say?”

“You know of them?” Chizu asks.

“I do not deal in the human realm,” the creature replies with no small amount of distaste. “But the Godless feature in many yokai nightmares. A cruel, heartless lot only bent on destruction. Yes, I know of them.”

“Then you know that they continue to ravage our lands year after year,” Gen says, stepping forward slightly. “It’s time we put a stop to it.”

The spirit tils its tusked head, amused. “And what do I care what they do to your lands?”

“It is as you said,” Chizu cuts in, looking unimpressed. “You don’t deal in the human realm, only yokai. Akagi Musei and his dogs draw closer to our borders as we speak. They aim to destroy all yokai and anything connected to Shinto.” 

She tilts her head back at the spirit. “If they succeed, who’s dreams will you feed on then, Baku-san?”

The spirit is quiet for a moment, contemplating, then says, “And you believe this Hamato clan will be able to defeat those human fanatics?”

“Yes,” she replies with steely confidence. “The Hamato’s are fierce warriors. They are known in our stories and legends dating back centuries. If we can get them here, we believe they can help us put down the Godless once and for all.”

She and the spirit of nightmares stare each other down, the silence between them balancing on a knife’s edge for a few long seconds. Gen finds himself waiting to see who will give first with bated breath. 

The spirit blinks, and Gen knows they have won. 

“Hmmm, very well then,” the baku says. “But there will be a price required from each of you.”

“Whatever the price,” Chizu says solemnly, “we are willing to pay. Are you certain you can find the kame’s family?” 

The baku drifts forward, sniffing each of them in turn. Gen does his best to stay still and not flinch away. “Hmmm, yes, the boy's aura hangs heavily about all three of you. But tracking down his brothers using his aura will be…difficult.” 

“But it is possible?” 

“It is, but as I said, you will have to give me something in return.”

“We’ve all had our share of terrible nightmares over the years,” Kitsune speaks up, gesturing over at the rest of them. “We’re all more than happy to let you take your pick, Baku-san.” 

“What you ask for is no easy task,” the baku says, staring at Kitsune with unblinking eyes. “It will require a great price.” 

“What do you want exactly?” 

“This will require something a little different,” they say, finally breaking their gaze. Gen could swear that the fog around them was growing thicker. “ I don't want your nightmares,” the spirit continues. “I want one of your hopes and ambitions. They hold much potential energy, you see. Energy that I will need to complete such a task, but once given up, you will never be able to achieve these goals.” 

The price is listed guilessly, as if it didn’t matter to the spirit one way or the other if they agreed or not. Gen, Kitsune, and Chizu all share concerned looks, unease etched into each of their features. 

“Do not worry,” the baku says, amused. “When you waken, you won’t even remember what you had given up.”

As if that made things any better. Gen has to reign in his expression before he scowls at a powerful nightmare eater within its own domain. The baku chuckles, as if they know exactly what Gen is thinking as they get up and continue circling around them. The fog suddenly coalesces into a mirage of images as the spirit walks past. Within the misty gray depths, Gen can see all of their dreams and nightmares alike, spread out like cards on a table; something to be picked up and examined at will. He does his best to keep his gaze from focusing on them too hard, not wanting to invade his friends’ privacy. 

The baku walks amongst the images, taking a good long sniff from each of them as it passes. When it comes to Gen, the creature pauses before moving closer and taking a long sniff. 

“Interesting,” the baku says, shifting back and examining the mirage of images around him. “It seems this one has already given up his hopes and ambitions. All that remains are nightmares.”

Gen feels his shoulders stiffen. “What are you talking about?” he demands, an edge entering his voice.

“Mmmm, yes, I remember you now,” the baku says, taking a long sniff. “You called upon me many times as a child, one too many times perhaps.” 

Gen could only gape at the creature, his mind whirling too quickly to speak. He feels Kitsune and Chizu shift closer to him, closing ranks. “What are they talking about, Gen?” Chizu asks quietly. But he could only shake his head as the creature grins at their stunned expressions. 

“Well,” the baku drawls. “I did say you would not remember what you had given up.” They drift closer, the sharp point of their right tusk just grazing Gen’s nose. Chizu’s hand clamps around his wrist, squeezing tightly. “All those childish hopes and ambitions,” they say silkily. “What are they, really, if they can be given away so easily?”

Kitsune gasps, but Gen can barely hear it through the ringing in his ears. His body feels locked into place as his heart pounds and his mind churns. When? When had he called upon this creature? What could he have possibly given up? How could he have? He knew he’d had a bleak childhood; years spent cold on the streets, the loss of his mother, the abandonment of his father– he didn’t like thinking about it. 

He remembered the nightmares, though. Remembered the sleepless nights and the grief that seemed unending. He remembered the hunger and the exhaustion, the shaking hands and the leaden eyes that wouldn’t feel so heavy if he could just get some sleep! 

Understanding suddenly washes over him, and he feels his heart squeeze in his chest. In his mind’s eye, he could see the child he once was, so alone and too burdened by fate. Yes, he could understand exactly why he had done it. What were the hopes and goals of a vague future to a child who would do anything to not have to suffer his own nightmares night after night? 

Gen sucks in a breath through heavy lungs and pulls his thoughts back to the present. The creature grins down at him. “Such a scared little child,” they drone lazily. “Always hungry, always desperate for some shred of happiness . You would do anything to make the nightmares go away.”

Yes, he would have, Gen realizes. Even if it had meant giving up any ambitions that would have kept him going. Gods, how many times had he called on the baku? How much had he lost over the years to the creature's ravenous appetite just because he couldn’t bear a few nightmares? Gen couldn’t even remember what dreams he had lost, any hopes he’d ever had for the future drained out of him at a very early age. 

The creature pulls back suddenly, causing Gen to startle. “No matter,” they say casually, as if they had not just upended everything Gen thought he knew about himself, about his hopes and dreams. “The others will simply need to give something considerably more… significant to make up for your lack.” The baku drifts past him in a cloak of fog, heading for the girls. 

“Hey, wait!” Gen calls desperately, rushing to put himself between his friends and the approaching spirit. “This isn't their fault!”

This wasn’t right. He couldn’t make them pay for his mistakes!

The baku didn’t slow its stalking gait towards them. “It may not be, but I still require payment.” 

All-powerful dream creature or not, Gen will be more than happy to rush this damn thing before he’ll allow Kitsune and Chizu to pay its tolls on their own. His face twists into a snarl and he tenses to do just that when a gentle hand grips his shoulder.

“Gen, it’s okay,” Kitsune says, a sad smile on her face. 

“It’s not okay! You guys shouldn’t have to pay the price just because I fucked up!” 

“It’s not your fault,” she says firmly, sympathy and understanding shining in her eyes. “You were just a kid.”  

Gen stares at her, disbelieving. He looks to Chizu, who just gazes back at him calmly. She dips her head towards him, saying, “We don’t blame you for this, Gen. We will pay the baku’s price.”

“You don’t even know what they’re going to ask for!” he pleads, desperate for them to reconsider. To back out of this farce of a deal.

“Nevertheless,” Chizu replies. “We will pay it.” 

Gen gapes at them, resignation leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. “I-I’m sorry…” 

Kitsun just smiles and pats his arm lightly. “It’s okay.” 

While they had been talking, the creature had been examining the girl's dreams closely, pacing in tight circles before coming to a stop. “Mmm, yes, yes, I think these will do,” they say as the fog reshapes in front of the girls, bringing the hazy images within into sharp focus.

The baku approaches Chizu first. The image before them is of a much older version of her, dressed in a headmistresses uniform as she gazes upon a crowd of young pupils going through sword drills. “Ahh, you wish to become the headmaster of your old school. Make things better for the children than they were when you attended.”

“Shame it will never come to be,” the baku says, gathering up the mist. The dream coalesces into a bright glowing ball of light that hangs in the air before them. Gen can see Chizu’s shoulders drop as the point of light drifts away from her and encircles the baku’s head. 

The baku then turns and strolls towards the next image, the mirage of an older Kitsune already having formed before them. She walks forward confidently, a crowd of young children playing at her side. As they walk out the door to the orphanage the children follow her, vying for her attention the whole way and remaining constantly at her side. 

“Ah, you seek to give comfort and security to children headed down the same path as you. Show them there are better, safer ways to survive,” the baku says conversationally as the images before them also form into a ball of light. “Such a shame. You would have been such an inspiration to them.”

Gen’s heart was going to fall right out of his chest. He hated this, he absolutely hated this. He knew his friends’ hardships, he hated being the reason they had to give up on such hope in their futures, but as he eyed the floating lights he knew the deed had already been done. 

The lights hover in the air before the baku leaps up, swallowing them in one big bite. They hum in a deep bass that rattles in Gen’s chest. “Mmmm, delicious.” The baku sits back on their haunches looking very satisfied and much less monstrous after eating his fill. “Now, what is the message, so I may deliver it.”

Gen takes a deep breath and tries to pull himself back together. It takes everything he has to keep his voice even. “We will wait for the brothers at Tenshi Pass. From there we will escort them into our territory and deliver them to their brother.” He hesitates, then clenches his jaw and says, “And you are not to tell them of their brother’s location unless they agree to aid in our fight against the Godless.”

The baku looks back at Gen, blinking slowly. “After all of this, you would have me deny them this information if they do not agree to your terms?” 

“They are not my terms, they are the councils’,” Gen grits out, unable to keep the disdain out of his voice. “You may ask whatever you wish from the brothers in exchange for this information.” 

“Hmmm, very well,” the baku says, a gleam entering the creature's eyes that makes Gen uneasy.

“Will you let us know when you get their answer?” Kitsune asks excitedly.  

“I will deliver the message, nothing more. Whether they agree to the terms or not is their decision.” 

“But how will we know that they received our message?” 

“I suppose if they don’t show, then you’ll have your answer,” the baku says dismissively.

It’s not ideal, but Gen wasn’t going to argue with the all powerful dream spirit any more than he had already, The last thing they needed was to pay more prices. 

“Thank you for your assistance Baku-san,” they all say, bowing in unison. 

“You can thank me when they arrive,” the spirit says, grinning with too many teeth before they took a single step backwards and disappeared  into the fog.

Chapter Text

Raph races along the rooftops, chest heaving as the icy night air burns in his lungs. His muscles sear, burning in agony, but he can’t stop. He just can’t. Leo’s assailants linger just out of reach several rooftops ahead. 

He’s so close.

He can see Leo's mask tails flapping wildly in the wind before flitting just out of sight. He can’t let him get away, not again, not when he was right there!

He puts on a burst of speed as a mix of desperation and rage pushes him forward. He hurtles across the rooftop, his eyes never leaving the wisp of blue fabric.

Even as he runs and pushes his legs to carry him faster, faster, faster , Raph knew this was a dream. He’d re-lived that fateful night more times than he could count. The nightmares of Leo being tortured and maimed were always horrible, but reliving the night he was taken again and again, night after night, was pure torture. 

It always went the same way; he'd chase them across the rooftops with everything he had, but Leo inevitably slipped through his fingers. He knew it was stupid, but maybe, just maybe, if he could save Leo here, he could save him in the waking world too. He couldn’t explain the feeling, not even to himself, so each and every time, he ran. 

They wouldn’t get away. Not this time. 

Raph growls, putting on a renewed burst of speed and leaping to the next rooftop. He sails through the air and lands hard, knees and carapace scraping against the rough tarmac, as he somersaults forward before rolling on to his feet, never breaking stride or losing an ounce of momentum. 

As he draws closer, he can see Leo’s limp form hanging off one of their backs, coming into sharper and sharper focus the closer he gets. 

It isn’t long before he’s practically right on top of them. The ninja are about thirty yards - twenty, ten, five - and Raph reaches out, fingers straining. He’s almost there, can almost touch him.  

His fingers brush against blue cotton when a shadow ripples past in his peripheral. On instinct he pulls back and lashes out with his sai, but they pass through nothing but empty air. The movement throws him off balance, sending him tumbling forward hard onto the rooftop. He tries to roll with the fall, but in that moment his calf seizes and he stumbles, losing his momentum. He picks himself up off the ground, vision slowly coming back into focus, as he watches the hint of blue fabric disappear into the distance. 

“No! Leo!” 

Raph quickly scrambles back into a sprint, desperately trying to make up the ground he’d lost. He shoots to the edge of the roof, launching himself off the edge and across to the next building. As he flies through the air, time seems to slow down, the chasm growing ever wider with every passing second. Leo's mask tails disappear from view as he plunges into the darkness below. The buildings seem to stretch away from him as he falls into the darkness of the void. For a breathless moment, he simply hangs in the darkness, invisible wind passing him by. He's not entirely sure how much time passes before he sees ground rapidly flying up to meet him.

Raph's limbs flail mindlessly in the rush of air, desperately trying to slow his descent. It doesn't do him any good as he smacks face first into the dirt. The air feels like it’s been punched out of his lungs, and he groans as he rolls over. Spitting the dirt out of his mouth, he lays there for a dazed moment as a spiraling void spins in the sky above him. 

He pushes himself up with aching arms as his mind clears and his surroundings slowly come into sharper focus.

He’s in a forest. Fog hangs in a thick, misty blanket over the trees, the endless gray stretching as far as the eye can see. New York born and raised he may be, but this wasn’t like any forest Raph had ever seen. Detritus litters the ground like ash, every inch that he could see is barren, any shred of life long ago drained away from this place. The trees were skeletons of their former selves broken, gnarled, and rotting away. Wind blows through the trees, making the branches rattle and crack, throwing eerie shadows in every direction. Despite the gale, the fog doesn’t shift. 

It’s not the forest's appearance that sends a shiver down Raph’s spine, but the silence. The kind of silence that pressed on his eardrums and made him all too aware of his own heartbeat.

Nothing living was meant to be here. 

He gets to his feet slowly, eyes wearily tracking over the trees around him as he tries to peer through their shadows. His hands drift to his sai, but he’s only met with empty sheaths.

“Perfect," he grumbles, not letting up his stare at the tree line. The wind picks up, whispering through the branches as indistinct shadows weave through the fog in long silhouettes, setting Raph’s nerves on edge. 

With no other options, he takes a step forward, settling on a direction and cautiously inching his way ahead. As he walks, he can sense movement from every direction, not just the wind but something else. Something alive. His instincts, finely tuned to a razor’s edge, screech that he can feel eyes tracking him out of the fog. Movement in the corner of his eye has him whipping around. He sinks into a fighting stance as his eyes lock on two solid shadows coming at him from out of the haze. 

Raph tenses, readying himself for a fight, but Donnie and Mikey are the only things that emerge from the fog.

Donnie startles. "Raph?" 

"Raph! Oh my god, are you okay?” Mikey calls, before running up and wrapping Raph in a tight hug. He pulls back just as quickly, and reaches up to poke him on the side of his face. “Is that really you or am I just, like, dreaming you?"

Raph slaps Mikey’s hand and shoves him away. "Would you quit it! Yes it’s me, you moron.”

"Where have you been?" Donnie demands, panic creeping into his voice as he reaches out to him. "When you didn't come home before sunrise, we thought something happened! We sent Casey and April out to look for you!"

Raph shoves him off too, his brothers’ harsh words from earlier still grating against his raw nerves. "I'm fine,” he says, his voice clipped. “I was too tired to walk home. I passed out in some warehouse."

"Oh thank god..." Donnie says, relaxing for a moment before his face contorts with rage and he grips Raph’s shoulders. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" 

Raph reels back, ready to bark right back, but Donnie just keeps going.

"You can't pull shit like this! Not after what happened to Leo! Fuck! What if something had happened? What if they'd taken you too, Raph? We wouldn't have known until it was too late!” His voice is rising higher and higher with every accusation, but Raph can see the tears starting to brim in his eyes. “This is why you have your fucking T-phone! This is why we stick together !"

Something achingly close to guilt settles in Raph’s stomach. He feels like an idiot. All those weeks of searching for their missing brother, and it hadn’t even occurred to him that they’d freak out when he didn’t make it home last night. If either of them had pulled something like that, he’d have gone ballistic. 

Raph peels his hands out of his brother’s tight grip. “Alright, alright, you’re right, D. I-I shouldn’t have just run off like that. I should’ve checked in. I’m sorry.” 

Then he shoves him, making his brother stumble back a few steps. “But I’m still mad at you!” Raph snarls, as tears burn in the corners of his eyes. “I mean, after all this time, after everything we’ve been through, I can’t believe you’re just giving up on Leo like that! All your talk about us sticking together? Donnie, he’s our fucking brother!”

Raph tries not to yell, he really does, but it’s a lost cause as a flood of emotions from the night before hits him like a tidal wave, making his voice come out choked and harsh. “I-I mean, don’t you want to find him? Whether…” Raph hesitates, his voice catching on the words. “W-whether he’s a-alive or not, don't you want to know what happened?”

Donnie looks back at him, seeming genuinely taken aback as he nervously shifts his weight back and forth. “Raph, I…” 

“Come on, dude, ” Mikey encourages, nudging him forward. 

Donnie glances at him before he straightens his shoulders. “I’m sorry, Raph, I-I didn’t mean…of course I still want to look for Leo, but…” He stumbles over his words before everything comes out in a flood. “Raph, you’re barely eating!  Barely sleeping because you wake up screaming from nightmares every single night! You won’t even talk to us, all you do is train and search for Leo. It’s just, y-you were just starting to act so much like Leo before he disappeared– it was scary. To watch you spiral like that. Like Leo." 

Donnie grimaces and twists his hands. “It felt like we were losing you too.” 

Raph sighs, all his bubbling anger draining away. "You haven't lost me, Donnie. I’m right here." 

"I know that, but you and I both know we lost Leo long before he was taken from us. I-I just don't want to lose you like that." Donnie says, looking at Raph solemnly. "We both still want to find Leo, but not if it means we lose you in the process."

"You're not gonna lose me, okay?” Raph throws up his hands, frustrated. “I just don't know what else to do with myself, not while Leo is out there somewhere in who knows what kind of trouble!” 

Mikey opens his mouth to say something, but Raph cuts him off. 

“Look,” he says firmly. “ I’m sorry I scared you guys. I promise I’ll work on taking better care of myself, but I'm not giving up on Leo either, even–” he swallows.  “...even if I don't like what I find."

"Even if we don't like what we find,” Donnie corrects, smiling softly over at Raph. "I didn't mean what I said earlier. I still think it might be a long shot, but I'm not giving up on him yet.”

“Hey, we'll figure this out together. Just please don't forget to take care of yourself too. Wherever Leo is, he wouldn't want you doing this to yourself.” Mikey says. 

Raph nods, throat tight, when something blurs past in the fog nearby. Raph and his brothers are immediately on alert, falling into a defensive formation on instinct. He flexes his empty hands, wishing more than anything he had a weapon on him.

“Dude, what’s going on? Where are we, exactly?” Mikey whispers, looking around them warily.

“I don’t know,” Raph says. “I just dropped out of my dream into this creepy ass forest.” 

“This better not be those stupid beaver things again,” Donnie grumbles, fingers twitching to where his bo staff normally rested. 

“Hmmm, such tormented minds.”

The voice reverberates around them in a heavy bass that rattles Raph’s molars. He whirls, catching a glimpse of an animal slinking just out of sight. 

“Such delicious nightmares.”

That’s just ominous enough that Raph decides to attack first and ask questions later. He lunges toward the shadow, fist poise to strike, but the creature fades into the gray backdrop before he can even make contact. 

“Who is that? Who's there?” Raph demands spinning around in a circle for the source of the voice

On the edge of his vision, Raph spots a figure moving about in the fog. He faces it and settles into position, readying himself for an oncoming attack.

“Whoever you are, we don't have time for games. Show yourself!” he shouts into the gray. For a moment, all he’s met with is silence, the wind quiet and the fog eerily still before them.  He almost thinks it's gone when the creature shows itself, slipping out of the fog without a sound.

For such an imposing voice, it’s smaller than Raph expected. More like a mix between a pig and elephant than the monster he'd imagined. Despite it’s size, Raph doesn’t relax his stance as the creature lazily approaches them. It doesn't look very intimidating, but he’s learned not to judge a book by its cover, especially when it comes to monsters or spirits or whatever the hell this thing is. Raph puts himself between it and his brothers. 

“I mean you no harm,” the creature says, looking up at them and sitting back on its haunches. 

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it,” Raph snaps. “Who are you and what do you want with us?” 

“Who I am is of no consequence. We will not meet again,” the creature says calmly, looking up at them. “I come with news of your brother, Leonardo.”

Raph can feel his brothers freeze behind him as his heart leaps in his throat. 

“You know where Leo is?” Mikey says excitedly. 

“Where is he? What have you done with him?” Raph shouts, taking another swipe at the creature just for his hand to simply pass through. The spirit’s image shifts at the disturbance,  seeming to dissipate into the fog. It reappears moments later stepping out of the mist on the other side of the clearing, before settling down calmly amongst the trees. 

“Patience, I have the answers you seek,” the creature says before turning into the curtain of fog disappearing once again into the mist, its voice reverberating around them. “Follow me. I will show you.” 

Mikey and Donnie make to rush forward, but before they can get very far, Raph grabs them by their shells, stopping them in their tracks.

“Wait a minute,” Raph says, keeping his voice low. His senses are on high alert as he scans the trees for any signs of the creature. 

“What are we waiting for, Raph? Let’s go!” Donnie demands, looking over at him in confusion. “Isn’t this what you wanted?” 

“Yeah, Raph, that thing knows where Leo is!” Mikey says, grabbing Raph’s hand and trying to drag him towards the tree line. 

“Yeah, we finally have a lead!” Donnie says excitedly. 

Despite Mikey’s pull, Raph doesn’t budge. He tightens his grip on both of their shells and hisses, “Yeah, real convenient don’t you think?” 

His brothers only stared back at him in confusion. “Oh come on,” Raph glares at them. “You're really telling me you don’t find this a little suspicious? All that searching, and some pig with a trunk walks out of a creepy forest in a dream claiming to have the answers we’ve been searching for weeks for, and you're just going to believe it? 

“It’s a tapir actually,” Donnie says.

“Not the point, Donnie. I'm not buying it.” Raph shifts to the side a bit, keeping a wary eye on the tree line where the creature disappeared. He didn’t care what that thing said it knew. With Leo gone, Raph was the one responsible for looking after these bozos, and that creature was setting off all kinds of alarm bells in his head. 

He wasn’t going to just run in blindly without considering the consequences. 

“So what, you think this is some kind of trap?”  Donnie asks, eyes nervously watching the trees 

“We have no idea what that thing even is,” Raph hisses. “I want to find Leo, but we need to be smart about this and not just follow some random creature into a creepy forest.”

“What did it say it was, again” Mikey asks. “A taper?”

“A tapir,” Donnie corrects, looking pensive. “It looks familiar, but I can’t remember where from.” He shakes his head. “It doesn't make a difference either way, Raph. If there is even the slightest chance that thing knows where Leo is, then we have to take it.” 

“Yea– I mean no! – argh , I don't know! I just have a bad feeling about this,” Raph exclaims, throwing his hands up. “It could be a trap or something! That thing could be working for the guys who took Leo for all we know!” 

“I think we have to take that chance, dude,” Mikey says, resting a hand on Raph’s shoulder.  

“Look, I don’t like it anymore than you do, ” Donnie frowns, not looking fully convinced himself. “But this is the closest we’ve gotten to a new lead in weeks.” 

“You really think we can trust it?” Raph asks, eyeing the forest again. The fog hangs like a heavy curtain, remaining still in the breeze. He can see no sign of the tapir creature, but his senses bristle all the same. They’re definitely being watched. 

“I don't think we have any other choice.”

Raph doesn’t let up his stare on the tree line as he turns his brothers’ words over in his mind. What was the right thing to do here? What if this thing was playing them, and Raph would be leading his brothers right into a trap? What if they got hurt? 

What if it was telling the truth? What if this was their only shot at finding Leo?

 “Okay,” Raph says reluctantly. “But stay close and be careful.” 

He firmly latches a hand onto each of them before leading them into the gloom. The fog swirls under their feet, seeming to grow thicker the further they venture into the trees. Soon enough, Raph can no longer see the ground beneath his feet. 

They take slow, measured steps forward, moving with caution through the hazy forest. As they stumble blindly, the fog clings to them with every step. Raph pulls his brothers in closer, huddling them together. He can feel Donnie and Mikey’s grip on his tightening in return, none of them wanting to become lost in the eerie dreamscape. 

It’s not long before they emerge in another clearing. This one is completely devoid of fog but otherwise appears identical to the one from before. For a moment, Raph wonders if they've gotten turned around before the creature appears in a wisp of mist at the center of the clearing. 

“Took you long enough,” it drawls lazily. 

Raph snarls under his breath clenching his fists at his side, reining in the rage that threatened to boil up inside him before stepping forward. "Enough games,” he says, voice steady but authoritative. “If you know where our brother is, then show us.” 

"Yeah, tell us where our brother is, you frea-” Donnie quickly cuts Mikey off before he can finish, plastering a hand over his mouth and dragging him back.

"S-sorry about him,” Donnie stutters. “Now please, tell us, is our brother okay?" 

The tapir smiles back at them before getting up and ambling forward. As it draws closer, mist streams in from the forest, the breeze pooling it in the center of the clearing. The wind picks up steadily, quickly becoming a gale that howls in their ears. Raph pushes his brother back towards the nearest tree, the wind whipping the tails of his mask in his face, before bracing himself against them as they cling to the bark. 

The tapir takes another step, but the whirlwind doesn't let up. If anything it seems to grow stronger, causing the trees to creak and groan under the onslaught. He can faintly hear Donnie shouting something, but his words are whipped away into the gale before Raph can make them out. Ears ringing, he grits his teeth and curves his shoulders against the pounding squall. 

Just as Raph is sure the vortex is about to rip them from the tree, the spirit takes its final step before sitting down in front of them. The tempest cuts out, falling away so quickly it gives Raph whiplash. The ringing in his ears is deafening in the silence that follows as Raph pants and slowly relaxes the grip he had on his brothers’ arms. Glancing back to make sure he hadn’t lost anyone in the gale, Raph squares his shoulders and faces the tapir. 

The creature’s grin widens at his glare. Before Raph can say anything, the fog around them starts to pull towards the center of the clearing, collecting in thick gray sheets before coalescing into a figure.

Leo sits at the center of the clearing, leaning back against a log in front of a fire. He's dressed in a simple kimono and haori, covered from head to toe in bandages. He’s injured, dirty, and looks absolutely exhausted, but alive.

 He’s the best thing Raph has ever seen. 

“Leo!” Raph races forward, Donnie and Mikey close on his heels. He throws out his arms, moving to tackle Leo into a hug, only for his image to dissipate beneath him. Raph freezes before Donnie and Mikey careen into his back, causing them to stumble. 

“No, no, no!” Mikey shouts, scrambling over Raph's shoulder before trying to grab at the remnants of the hazy image.

“What happened? Where is he? Is he okay?” Donnie demands, rapid-firing questions one after the other. Raph can see every worst case scenario playing out behind his eyes. 

The spirit moves, causing Raph to tense as it strides forward. The mist churns in the air around it, and he watches, shocked, as Leo's image reforms a few feet away. While Raph and his brothers stare at the apparitions, the tapir steps forward. “Your brother is safe for the moment,” it says, settling down on the ground next to the mirage of their brother.

“‘For the moment’,” Donnie hisses. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Is he gonna be okay?” Mikey asks nervously. 

Mikey and Donnie start shouting over each other, firing off a million frantic questions a second, but Raph doesn’t hear any of it. All he can do is stand there frozen as he stares at the image of his brother. 

Leo is right there . Living and breathing and alive, but not unscathed. His skin is gaunt from lack of food and water, every inch of his exposed skin is a pale sickly green covered in bruises. What little skin isn’t bruised is covered in bandages, and Raph spots a large patch of gauze peeking out from beneath his kimono. 

“ Silence. ” The tapir’s voice booms through the clearing, bringing Raph back into the present with a jolt. Donnie and Mikey jump back and Raph rushes forward, pulling them away from the glaring spirit. 

The tapir settles back on its haunches and the fog calms. “Pesky little things,” it huffs in annoyance.  

“Who are you calling little?” Mikey scowls. The tapir grins at him, a sinister gleam enters the creature's eyes. Raph gives Mikey a smack upside the head. 

“Dude!”

“You really think it’s a good idea to insult that thing, genius?” Raph hisses, hauling Mikey further away from the creature before stepping forward. “Sorry about him. He’s kinda an idiot sometimes.”

“Hey!”  

“But you did say you knew where our brother was,” Raph talks over him, taking another firm step toward the creature before gesturing towards Leo. “So tell us. Where is he?” 

The tapir clearly isn’t cowed, grinning up at Raph with an amused expression. “I’m not at liberty to say.” 

Raph snarls. “And why not?” 

“I was to deliver a message, but am not to inform you of his whereabouts unless you agree to certain… conditions ,” it says, the gleam in its gaze growing, giving it an eerie, wide-eyed appearance.

Raph doesn’t like that look one bit and asks warily, “What conditions?”

“The yokai who asked me to contact you are not keen on revealing their location to just anyone. Their society has been closed to outsiders for many years. In exchange for information on your brother, you are to travel to their lands and aid them in a conflict against a human faction that has been plaguing their borders.”

The tapir falls silent, and Raph and his brothers wait expectedly. When the silence stretches, Raph says, “What? That’s all you have to say?”

“Yeah,” Donnie cuts in. “Who are these guys? And what conflict would they even need us for?” 

“Do you agree to meet these conditions?” is all it says.

“No,” Raph snaps. “We aren’t agreeing to shit. You haven’t given us any information.” 

“Then there is no need to continue this conversation.” The creature sweeps to its feet in a roil of fog. With a wave of its trunk, the image of Leo dissipates. 

Panic settles in Raph’s stomach as the spirit turns towards the tree line. He takes an aborted step forward. “Wait, wait!”

The tapir pauses and the fog settles once again. Raph’s jaw clenches, but he manages to grit out, “Please. We just want to find our brother.”

“That means nothing to me,” the creature says simply. “Do you agree to meet these conditions?”

Raph exchanges a look with his brothers. Donnie is frowning at the baku and shrugs when he meets his gaze. Mikey is nodding quickly, gesturing between Raph and the spirit. 

Raph turns back to the creature. “So you’ll tell us where we can find Leo if we agree to help these…’yokai’…fight a group of humans?”

“Correct.”

“And that’s all you’ll tell us?”

“Also correct. Do you agree to these conditions?”

Raph doesn’t need to look behind him to know that his brothers were nodding at him frantically. He scowls at the creature, mind whirling as he struggles to come to a decision. He didn’t like this, not one fucking bit, but he knew now that they weren’t going to be able to find Leo on their own. They were in over their heads, and probably have been from the very beginning. But they didn’t know anything about these yokai, or even where this secret society was located. It could still be a trap. 

What was the right move here? How did Leo deal with this leader shit?

Raph takes a deep breath and prays he’s making the right choice. “Okay. We agree.”

The spirit doesn’t even look smug at their acquisition, if anything it looks bored as it says, “Your brother is in Japan.”

“Japan?!” Raph and his brothers shout in unison. Raph suddenly feels the weight of three weeks of searching pulling on him. Fucking Japan! All those weeks of combing through the city, every alleyway, every abandoned building, every possible lead– all for nothing. 

Leo had been in Japan this entire time. They had never even come close. 

That sealed it for Raph. They weren’t going to find Leo on their own. If this thing will help to deliver Raph to his brother, then he will agree to any conditions it has. 

“You are to travel to Japan where the yokai society dwells,” the tapir continues. “You will find the entrance to their borders at Tenshi Pass located in the Kita Alps. Their samurai will be waiting there to escort you across. Do not try to enter the pass without them; the magical borders will never allow you to cross on your own.”

Tenshi Pass. Raph commits the name to memory, and a quick nod from Donnie assures him that his brother was doing the same. 

Mikey shifts on his feet restlessly. “So that’s it? We can go to Japan, kick these guys’ butts, grab Leo, and bounce?” 

“Not quite,” the tapir purrs. “Now there is the matter of my payment.”

Raph bristles. “What payment? We already agreed to your terms.”

The creature grins, and Raph is sure it has more teeth now than it did before. “Those were the yokai’s conditions. I require payment.”

The fog starts to move again, growing heavier until it pools around their feet. Raph’s heart kicks into speed and he backs up towards his brothers. 

“We haven’t agreed to give you anything,” Donnie says, eyeing the fog nervously. 

“I do not need you to agree,” it says as it stands, growing larger as the gray mist swirls. “I will take my payment regardless. I am quite famished.” 

“So go grab a pizza,” Mikey grumbles, ignoring Raph’s warning look. “How is that our problem, dude?”

“I require compensation for delivering this message to you, and I do not eat mortal food. I require something a little more… unique .”

Raph is almost afraid to ask. His hands felt empty and useless without his sai. “Oh yeah? And what would that be exactly?”

The creature smiles, a savage gleam in its eyes before it disappears in a wisp of smoke. Its chuckle reverberates through the forest in a deep, bone rattling bass that echoes in the fog. The brothers form up, frantically looking for any sign of the spirit. Suddenly Raph hears its voice right next to his ear, practically breathing down his neck. 

“ Nightmares .”

Raph shouts, jumping away from his brothers and swiping his fist back blindly through the air where he’d heard the voice just moments before. When he looks, he sees that Donnie and Mikey have done the same, each frantically looking for the creature. 

“And on rare occasions, dreams.” 

The creature's booming voice fades into the backdrop as it slowly reforms behind Donnie. Raph whirls to face it before tensing. It looks nothing like the harmless animal from before. Instead, where there had once stood a small pig-like creature, there was now a monstrous chimera. Sharp tusks protruded from beneath its trunk and paws with sharp claws branching out of what once was a pair of hooves. The spirit smiles down at them, a row of sharp teeth peeking out from beneath its lips. 

“Oh boy,” Donnie breathes, eyes wide with terror as he turns to face the beast. Raph and Mikey rush up, bracketing their brother between them. “Uh, hey, guys? I know where I’ve seen this thing before. It's from Japanese mythology; this thing is a baku, a devourer of nightmares.”

The spirit, the baku, looms large over them, shaggy fur hanging around its neck like a lion's mane as it stares down at them.

“One dream from each of you, that is all I ask,” the baku says, its voice returning to normal.

“No way in hell,” Raph snarls, shifting into a fighting stance. “That wasn’t the deal.”

“That wasn’t a request,” the baku hisses before tendrils of mist shoot out, wrapping around their necks and hoisting them into the air and yanking them around to encircle the creature. “And this isn’t a negotiation; you have already agreed to the terms of the deal. Now, I will be collecting my payment, whether you like it or not.”

Raph can feel the tendrils around his neck thicken until he and his brothers are encased in a pillar of swirling mist. Raph struggles against his bonds and can see his brother’s doing the same, but it's quickly obvious they’re wasting their time; the restraints might as well be made out of steel. The tendrils tighten as the creature drifts over to Mikey.

“Mikey!” Raph shouts, straining against his restraints, trying with all his might to break free as the creature draws closer to his little brother. “You stay away from him!”

 A tendril of mist shoots out from the mist, wrapping tightly around Raph’s mouth.

“I will do what I like, boy. Now be quiet,” the baku says, turning to Mickey. Raph watches helplessly, his stomach crawling into his throat, as the monster inspects his little brother. 

“Back up, you creep!” Mikey shouts, desperately trying to squirm away from the creature. 

“I will not harm you, little one. Now cease your wiggling and hold still.” A band of mist snaps up, holding Mikey’s head in place. The creature leans in close taking a good long sniff. Mikey clenches his eyes shut, a small whimper escaping him. The mist around them churns, a mirage of images appearing around the pair. The creature exhales, opening its eyes and staring down hungrily at Mikey.

“Ah, there it is,” it says as an image begins to form in the mist beside them. 

Raph watches, horrified, as the images focus, revealing a vision of Mikey sitting on the steps of a school in broad daylight, dressed up in some kind of uniform. He’s surrounded by a group of humans, happily chatting away with them as several hundred other students pass them by going about their days like normal. 

“Ah, you wish to truly be accepted by the humans,” the spirit says with a chuckle. “Adorable. Let me reassure you, there wasn't much hope of this one in the first place.”  

The baku gathers up the image, the mist swirling into a vortex before condensing into a bright ball of light before it turns and ambles over to Donnie. Raph snarls and starts struggling again, but the bonds just tighten further until his arms and throat ache.

 The creature stops in front of his brother before it leans in and inspects him closely. Donnie cringes and tries to bend away, but he gets the same treatment as Mikey as a tendril snakes up to hold him in place. The baku inhales again before exhaling, another image forming in the mist.

An image of Donnie and April, both of them sitting on the bench at the farmhouse. Donnie’s arm is wrapped tightly around her shoulders. April is leaning into his touch, smiling happily up at him. Raph frowns at the vision in confusion before he glances at Donnie, who was blushing furiously.

“Donnie, seriously, you're still not over that?” Mikey exclaims. Seriously, Raph thought Donnie had finally let go of that stupid crush the second April and Casey had moved in together, but apparently he’d been wrong. 

“I am– mostly, I–” Donnie stutters, stumbling over his words before the baku interrupts.

“Oh it was never just about the girl, was it?” it says, stalking around the image. “You don’t cling to the girl, but the hope that you could ever have anything resembling a normal life. She was the closest thing you ever got to any sense of normalcy and she continues to slip through your grasp.”

Donnie stares miserably down at the image, the baku’s words visibly churning in his head. Raph grimaces under the gag. 

“I think it’s long past time you let this one go,” the creature continues before gathering up the mist into another ball of light.  

The baku then turns to Raph, the beast's ferocious eyes grew wider, more focused, as if it were peering into his very soul. He meets the creature's gaze head on with a glare. Whatever it wants from him, Raph can take it. He doesn’t try to move away, holding his ground and staring down the creature as it draws near. The baku doesn’t react, simply closing its eyes before taking a long sniff. Images whirl to life in the mist around them, but Raph’s eyes remain locked on the creature. The tense moment seems to stretch on forever as the baku continues to breathe in his scent. 

Raph’s starting to get impatient when the creature exhales its eyes snapping open locking onto his own. “ Ahhh .” The creature smiles with too many teeth and Raph can’t help but flinch back at the sight. His skin crawl, dread pooling in his stomach, as the smoke swirls before him. He wonders what precious part of himself the baku has decided to take from him. The mist forms next to him and he glances at it. His stomach drops. 

In front of him is an image of him and his brothers in the pit back at home. They're sitting together, watching television, laughing and joking about whatever show is playing on screen. All of them look happy and healthy, simply content enjoying each other's company. Leo sits with them, grinning from ear to ear. The burdens of the past several years gone from his shoulders, replaced by a carefree ease that Raph hasn’t seen on his brother in ages. He can’t help but smile at the happy scene in front of him before he’s broken out of the vision by the baku’s booming voice. 

“Your only hope is for your whole family to be home. Safe and happy,” it says, taking in the scene passively before the image slowly starts to dissipate, becoming fuzzy around the edge as the mist gathers. 

Raph's chest constricts with panic and he fights against his restraints with renewed vigor as the dream forms into a ball of light floating towards the monster. 

“Hey! Not cool!” Mikey protests. 

“Yeah, our dreams were one thing, but that one seems kind of important!” Donnie shouts. 

All signs of their previous resignation and distress are gone, replaced by unbridled fury as they loudly berate the creature. 

The baku’s voice cracks over the clearing. “ SILENCE! ”

Donnie and Mikey don’t back down and continue shouting at the spirit, but Raph can barely hear it over the ringing in his ears. He can’t breathe, can’t speak. His blurry vision focuses on the floating pinprick of light  as tears sting his eyes. He heaves against his bonds, barely noticing the tendrils dug into his skin. He had to do something– anything ! He couldn’t let this fucking thing take something so monumental. The baku could take anything it wanted from him, and Raph meant that. But this? This wasn’t just taking a piece of him, but also of Donnie, and Mikey, and Leo too. All of their peace, all of their happiness as a family rested in that vision, not just Raph’s own. 

He needs this gag gone. He needs to scream. He needs to say something to get him and his brothers out of this cruel farce of a deal. 

“Hmmm, a shame it will never come to pass,” the baku says. The lights hover above them for a moment before they lunge upwards. 

Mikey cries out and Donnie screams “ Stop! ”, but the spirit ignores them, extending its neck and swallowing the lights down in one long gulp. Raph stares in numb horror, feeling something fragile in his chest break as the glowing orbs disappear. 

“Mmmm, delicious,” the baku hums. As it licks its lips, the columns of smoke holding them up collapse, dropping them to the ground. 

For a moment, Raph can’t move. All he can hear in his ears is static as he stares blankly down at the ground. His heart is a rock in his chest and his lungs feel heavy as silent tears run down his face. His mind struggles to wrap itself around what they just lost. What did it mean for them moving forward? What did it mean for Leo? How can they find him in a future where he will never be back home with them? What did it mean, what did it mean, what did-

With great effort, Raph raises his head to find his brothers surrounding the baku, rage twisting their faces as they circle it. His eyes lock on the creature and the despair flooding his chest is quickly drowned out by a rage that boils hotter than anything he’s ever felt. He launches to his feet and charges the demon, fully prepared to rip this monster’s throat out with his teeth if he has to.  

“How could you,” he howls, throwing himself at the creature. The baku merely stares at him, unblinking, as it dissipates around Raph’s swinging fist. Donnie and Mikey take their swings right behind him, causing the spirit to pull into a fine mist. It reforms behind him and Raph whirls to face it, screaming, “He’s my brother! You had no right to take him from me! From us! ”

The creature looks down at him, unimpressed. “Be grateful, boy. Whether you realize it or not, I have given you all a great gift. If you are wise, perhaps you will realize that someday.” The baku turns back towards the forest, “Your distress is pointless; you will not remember what you have lost, only what you have gained.” 

The baku turns away from them walking back into the forest melting into the fog once again.“Oh no you fucking don’t!” Donnie snarls before lunging at the spirit, but like before it simply fades into a fine mist before reappearing further down the clearing. It tilts its head at them and says, “I tire of your presence. Be gone.” 

With a flick of its trunk, the baku disappears. The forest suddenly shifts around them. The wind picks up again and the light bends, stretching the silhouettes of the trees towards them like grasping claws. Raph stumbles as his head grows light and his vision darkens. He backs up, reaching behind him for his brothers as the wind shrieks in his ears. Donnie and Mikey grip his hands tightly as they buckle under the gale. 

The shadows of the trees race towards them, and right before he and his brothers are overtaken, Raph hears the baku’s voice in his ears with crystal clarity, as if it were speaking to him in a quiet room.

“ Letting go of your dreams doesn't always have to be a curse. Sometimes doing so can reveal a new path in life.”

Raph startles awake. He bolts upright which sends searing pain shooting up his shell. Hissing, he turns his head to assess the damage and finds a crack on his carapace, right in line with the one on his plastron. The pain is a dull throb in his shell, but the injury doesn’t look serious. Just one more battle scar added to the collection. 

Raph sits up slowly, the sound of a helicopter passing overhead grabs his attention and he looks up to find the dark night sky above him through the hole in the warehouse ceiling. The dream from the night before slams into him like a tidal wave, and he straightens with a jolt, not even noticing the sharp pain the movement causes. 

They knew where Leo was.

They knew where Leo was! They had an actual fucking lead, after weeks of nothing!

Raph’s mind flashes back on that vision of Leo and his injuries, and knew that they needed to move fast. He pulls himself up off the ground, ignoring the pounding ache in his shell as he runs out of the warehouse, heading straight for home. He sprints across the rooftops as fast as he can, eating up the distance between him and the lair, before slipping into the sewers. He leaps over the turnstiles and races into the living room to find Mikey and Donnie already in the middle of the pit, arguing about something. Whatever Donnie was about to say is cut off as they both whip their heads over to look at him.

“Raph!” Mikey exclaims, racing up and pulling him into a tight hug. “You're okay!”

“Yeah, Mikey, I’m fine,” Raph says, returning the hug.  

“You guys saw that too, right?” Raph asks.

“Creepy dream demon telling us that Leo’s in Japan? Yup.” Mikey says.

“This is insane! I can’t believe Leo’s been in Japan that whole time!” Donnie throws his hands up as he paces back and forth in front of the tv. “We should have expanded our search ages ago.”

“We can’t think about what-if’s right now,” Raph says, prying Mikey off of him. 

“Uhh, dudes, how are we supposed to get to Japan with, y’know, this whole situation?” Mikey gestures down at himself.

Raph immediately turns to Donnie. “When’s the next flight to Tokyo, Don?” 

Donnie stops his pacing to glance at him, before he snatches his laptop off the edge of the pit and starts typing rapidly on the keyboard.

Without looking up from the screen, Donnie says, “First one we have any chance of safely sneaking onto leaves in 3 hours.” 

“Alright,” Raph says, a plan quickly forming in his mind. “Donnie, figure out the best way for us to sneak past security and get on a plane. Pack any and all tech you think you might need to get us past security and customs. We need to slip in completely undetected.” He turns to his youngest brother. “Mikey, pack up whatever food you can that will keep on the plane. It’s a long flight to Japan and we're gonna want something to eat.” 

“At least a 14 hour flight to be precise,” Donnie chimes in, his eyes still laser focused on the screen in front of him, fingers still frantically typing away.  

Mikey gives two thumbs up. “Right, a lot of food and some sleeping bags.” 

“Thick ones. The cargo hold is gonna be pretty cold,” Donnie adds, before shutting his laptop and standing up.

Raph looks between his two brothers, hope blooming bright in his chest. It feels like he’s been trapped under the waters of a fucked up nightmare for weeks, flailing and struggling to keep he and his brothers’ heads above the tide. Now it feels like he’s finally surfacing.

“Everybody knows what they need to do?”

 They both nod back. 

“Alright, go pack your bags; we need to get a move on. I’ll call April and Casey to give us a ride to the airport.” 

As his brothers run off to their assignments, Raph does the same, grabbing a duffle from his room before running straight to the dojo. He pulls out his T-phone and calls April, putting the phone on speaker as he gets to work. He shoves an arsenal's worth of weapons inside the bag and starts reaching for anything else they would need, smoke bombs, rope- there was an ax here, would they need an ax? – when the line picks up and April's tired voice answers, “Hello?” 

“April! You and Jones need to get over here now!” Raph shouts, shoving several lengths of the rope inside the bag.

“Raph– what? It’s like 3am,” April yawns. “Wait a minute, where have you been?! Don’t you know we spent–”  

Raph cuts her off. “Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a huge douche and I shouldn't have run off like that, you can yell at me later. Right now just wake up Jones and get your butts over here! We need a ride to the airport! We’ve got a lead on Leo! I’ll explain more on the way.” He zips up the duffle and throws it over his shoulder. Snatching up the phone he heads for the pit at a jog, energy practically buzzing up and down his spine. 

April’s phone clatters - Raph assumes she dropped it - then he hears the raspy sound of shuffling of sheets as she says something to Casey. After a little more fumbling, he hears her voice again, “Oh my god, Raph, that’s amazing I can’t believe you found him!” She's clearly on speaker now, and he can hear the sound of dresser drawers slamming open as they scramble around the room. “Hang on a minute, did you say the airport?” 

“Where the hell is he?” Casey’s muffled voice asks from somewhere in the background. 

Raph takes a deep breath. “Japan.” 

“Japan!” The speaker and Raph’s phone crackles at the volume. 

“Raph, what the hell is Leo doing in Japan?!” April shouts.

“It’s a long story, I’ll explain on the way,” Raph grabs another duffle and races to his room. 

“Wait, how do you even know all of this?” she asks, sounding incredulous. “How do you know he’s there?” 

“Some freaky dream demon came to us in our dreams and gave us Leo’s location,” Raph says, throwing chargers, his laptop, and anything else that could be useful into the bag. For a moment, all he hears is silence from the other end of the line before April hesitantly says, “Okaayyy…Raph, I know you're worried about Leo, I am too, but are you sure this information is… reliable?’ 

“April, it showed us Leo?” Raph says, a defensive edge creeping into his voice. He knows he’s been frantic these past few weeks, but he wasn’t gonna let them judge him for being worried about his older brother. 

“Yeah, but how do you know that was real?” April asks bluntly.

Raph has to take a short breath to reign in his temper. “I don't know– Donnie can explain it better, I just know , it's like I could-  I don't know, feel his presence there. It was him, April. I know it was.” 

Silence falls for a long moment, Raph can practically see the two humans sharing a hesitant look. He grips the phone and says quietly, “April, it’s the best chance we’ve got.”

April’s sigh crackles in his ear. “Okay,” she says, sounding tired. “Okay, you're right. Give us a few to pack, we’re coming with you.” 

“No,” Raph says, a little too quickly. 

“Excuse me?” April says, an edge of her own inserting itself into her voice. Raph winces. 

“Sorry, sorry. Look, I appreciate it, but you and Casey can’t come with us.”

“But we can help,” April argues.

“I’m sure you could, but the people who found Leo…well, it’s complicated, but the yokai who found him don’t sound like they are on good terms with humans. I don’t know much about that whole mess, but I don’t think it would be a good idea to bring anyone else with.” When she doesn’t say anything, he adds, “Besides, don't you have midterms on Friday?” 

“Well, yeah, but Leo…” 

“We’ll be fine, April,” Raph says reassuringly before sitting down on the bed, taking a moment to steady himself. “We can handle ourselves. You guys can catch up with us on a later flight when you're done with midterms. With pillows, airplane food, and everything. We’re gonna be in some shipping crate in the belly of a cargo plane, strapped in tight and eating whatever Mikey can fix up. It’s gonna suck.” 

April sighs. “Okay, but you guys be careful. We’ll be there as soon as you give us the call.” 

“Thanks, April. We’ll see you soon.” Raph says before hanging up the phone and zipping his last bag shut.

He takes a deep breath, looking down at the duffels spread across his bed. This was really happening, they were going to Japan. In a few short days, they would be seeing Leo again. Nerves flutter in his stomach, down his hands. He could hardly believe it; this could all be over soon.

He swallows and sits up straighter. He needs to get his act together and keep his head on straight, but first there was one last thing he needed to take care of. Raph pulls up Mona Lisa’s contact before hitting the dial. He had a lot of apologizing to do after their fight earlier. As much as he’d been on board with the idea of searching the world over for Leo with her, sneaking the three of them on an international flight to Japan was going to be hard enough. Trying to sneak a six foot tall alien salamander on board would be nearly impossible. Besides, he needed someone he could trust to stay behind to look after the city and Chompy.

The dial tone rings for a moment before the line picks up. 

“Raphael! Are you okay?”

“Hey, yeah, it’s me. I’m fine, but boy, do I have a lot to catch you up on.”

Chapter Text

“Hey. Hey, Leo, wake up.”

“Hmm…” Leo mumbles as he slowly returns to consciousness. Opening his eyes, all he sees around him is dense forest, the last remnants of daylight shining through the branches as they slowly pass by. His head is resting against warm fur, and the sway of Yuichi’s gait threatens to lull him right back to sleep. His eyes droop as he struggles to stay awake as he slowly turns toward the source of the voice. He finds himself looking at the back of the rabbit’s neck as the rabbit smiles back over his shoulder at him. 

“I think I found a good spot to set up camp for the night,” Yuichi says. “I'm going to set up and see if I can catch us some dinner in the nearby stream.” 

Leo blinks slowly, gears turning in his head as he struggles to process the rabbit's words. 

“You with me back there?” Yuichi asks, amused. 

“Yeah, yeah, camp dinner. Sounds good,” Leo mumbles, eyes drifting shut once again as he settles his head back against the nape of Yuichi’s neck. 

The samurai chuckles. “You okay if I leave you here for a bit to take care of all that?” 

“Hmmm… yeah sure.” . 

He is jostled slightly— and oh, yeah, there’s the full body ache he was waiting for, ouch — as Yuichi gently removes him from his back, placing him down against the trunk of a tree. 

“Okay, I won’t be long. Just get some more rest.” He bounds off, presumably to set up camp. 

Leo lets his limbs fall back out of his shell and settles back against the bark of the tree, resting his eyes once more. As he settles, the sharp ache in his plastron eases into a deep throb; incredibly unpleasant, but bearable. He’s not sure how much time passes before he hears movement in the woods. Jolting back into awareness, he grabs for his katana, years-honed instincts guiding him. He tenses as his fingers skitter over his shell where his swords normally rest, and comes up empty. He stares in the direction of the rustling warily, before Yuichi emerges from the brush, a large pile of wood and a spear full of fish under one arm.

“It’s just me” Yuichi calls quietly before settling the wood on the ground beside him and sticking the spear full of fish firmly in the ground. 

“Right. Right.” Leo forces his muscles to relax and leans back against the tree, now wide awake with the adrenaline pumping through his veins. He takes a slow breath and watches as Yuichi quickly sets to work preparing the camp around them. The rabbit crouches and kindles a small pile of branches before pulling out a couple shards of flint from his hakama.

 “Is starting a fire really a good idea?”  Leo asks, eyeing the pile. “Won't it give away our position?” 

“I wouldn't worry about it.” The stones crack together in a shower of bright sparks. “By the time the fire gets going it will already be dark. Besides, with all these trees in the way, the only view of the night sky they'll be getting is of the one directly above them.” He leans forward and blows on the kindling, smoke billowing from the pile. 

Leo sits back and watches Yuichi as he works. Brows furrowed in concentration, he coaxes the smolder slowly.  Leo almost laughs at the dumb expression on the rabbits face, but quickly brings a hand up to cover his mouth, not wanting to break Yuichi’s concentration.

Warm light springs from the kindling as fire finally catches and Yuichi triumphantly throws his hands up in the air. “YES!” 

The glow of the small fire slowly creeps to the larger pieces of wood as Yuichi continues to stoke the flames. “That's a new personal record. Four and a half minutes!”

“Wow, you’re pretty good at that,”  Leo says, genuinely impressed. 

Yuichi shrugs nonchalantly. “Yeah, well, I’m out in these woods a lot.” He carefully adds a larger piece of wood to the pile, guiding the kindling into a proper fire. “I’ve had to set up camp hundreds of times before.” 

Once the fire is fully going on its own, Yuichi gets to his feet and brushes the dirt off his hakama before walking over to the spear full of fish he'd stuck in the ground. He roughly tugs the spear from the dirt then walks over and places the fish on the stick over the fire. 

“Feeling better?” he asks as he sits beside the fire, watching the fish intently as they cook. 

“Yeah, thanks, the nap really helped,” Leo replies, crawling closer to the warmth of the fire. He shivers and holds his hands out towards it. “So what’s the plan?” 

“Well, that bridge was our fastest route home and now it's sitting thousands of feet at the bottom of a ravine, so we'll have to take the long way around,” Yuichi says, turning the fish on the stick .

Leo is pretty sure he’s not going to like the samurai’s answer, but asks, “And what's the long way round?”  

“We need to travel north to Akuma Pass,” Yuichi says, pointing northward into the woods. “It's the only other route through the mountain, but it's a long and treacherous one. It will take us about four days on foot to get back into yokai territory.” 

“Great,” Leo mutters, running a hand down his face. It was bad enough that they'd been separated from Yuichi's friends, but they'd also nearly quadrupled their travel time. With the cultists right on their tail, it wouldn't be an easy trip, especially since they’d lost what little rations they had when their horse ran off with the rest of their supplies. 

Yuchi nods, looking grim. “Yeah, we’ll need to be careful. They know that's where we will be headed, so it’ll be pretty hard to avoid them entirely.”

Leo slumps back against the log, staring into the fire as his brain works through every worst case scenario. A lot could go wrong out in the woods; and with their already limited supplies, a four day trip certainly wouldn’t be easy. 

He sees Yuichi glance at him from the corner of his eye before the rabbit straightens and rolls his shoulders. “Ehhh, will be fine,” he says casually, leaning back and turning the stick over the fire. “I said hard, not  impossible. I know these woods like the back of my hand. If we're lucky, they'll never even know we slipped past them. We just need to keep our strength up and we'll be fine,” 

Yuichi pulls the spear from the fire and carefully removes the fish before placing them on a large pair of leaves. Looking pleased with himself, he walks over and hands one to Leo.

“Thank you.” Leo accepts the food as Yuichi settles down next to him with his own meal and they both dig in. The fish doesn’t have very much flavor to it, but Leo doesn’t really care. He’s just happy to have food, period. 

As they both eat, Leo finds his mind wandering back to his brothers in New York. Leo knows Yuichi’s friends said they would get word to them that he was safe, but how on earth were they going to do that? From what they had told him, their society was completely cut off from the rest of the world and had no means of communicating outside of their borders. How did they plan to get a message to his brothers? They weren't exactly easy to get a hold of either. He had been gone for weeks at that point. What were they doing? We’re they alright? Did they even know he wasn’t even on the continent?

Before his thoughts could spiral any further, Yuichi shifts beside him. He glances over and sees the samurai wiping his hands off on his hakama before he suddenly turns and kneels in front of Leo. 

“Okay, time for me to have a look at that,” Yuichi says, washing his hands off with water from his canteen and pointing at Leo's chest. 

Leo was suddenly very aware of the gauze peeking out from just underneath his kimono. “Oh, right,” he says, undoing the tie of his robe, letting the fabric settle around his waist. The wound prickles in the exposed air and he suppresses a shiver. 

Yuichi leans in close, peeling back the layer of gauze and tape. Leo lets out a hiss of pain as the makeshift bandage separates roughly from his plastron. Yuichi looks up at him sympathetically before leaning in closer and examining the wound, squinting in the dim light. “Does it feel any worse than before? You put a lot of strain on it during the fight.” 

“It doesn't feel great,” Leo hisses out through gritted teeth. “But it’s not any worse than it felt before,” he waves his hand vaguely, “everything.” 

“Well, it seems to be doing fine,” Yuichi says as he scrutinizes the wound. “It was already infected before we found you, but I don’t want it to get any worse.” Yuichi pulls a bottle and some linen from his bag. He upends the bottle onto the strip of fabric until it is soaked. He then dabs at the crack gently before applying pressure. Leo sucks in a breath at the sting and clenches his fists at his sides as he holds himself still. 

“Sorry,” Yuichi says apologetically as he tosses the used cotton ball into the fire behind him before moving to grab fresh gauze from his bag. Then he pauses.

“You wouldn’t be able to tell me how best to patch this, would you?” he asks, looking sheepish. “I can't say I've actually treated a turtle shell before.”

Leo chuckles. “Thankfully, we haven't had to deal with major shell repairs before, but Donnie had a few ideas as to how it could be done.” 

“What were they?” 

“Most of his ideas involve staples, screws, or wire. Maybe resin to fill in the gaps if the wound didn't fully close,” Leo says calmly, though the thought of screws drilling into his shell sends shivers down his spine. “None of which we’ve got right now. I’d say our best bet for now is just making sure we keep it clean and covered.”

Yuichi is frowning but nods. “Got it.” He leans forward and smooths the gauze over the wound. “I’m sure between your brother and my auntie we can figure something out. But for now this will have to do.” 

Yuichi leans back and stores the bottle back in his bag. “Is Donnie one of your brothers then?’ he asks curiously.

Leo smiles. “Oh yeah, he's sort of a tech genius and our backup medic if I'm out of commission,” he says, not doing anything to stop the admiration from bleeding into his voice.

Yuichi smiles back. “Well, I'm sure your brothers will be happy to see you alive and well after all this time. Especially your father, he must be worried sick about you.”

Leo flinches slightly at the mention of Sensei. Even after all this time, the loss of his father digs at something deep in his belly. “Ah, Splinter is… no longer with us.”

Yuichi cringes. “Oh, I'm so sorry, I-I didn’t realize…”

“It’s okay. It happened a few years back, we’re all still just… processing what happened in our own ways.”

“Forgive me, you don’t have to answer, but how did it happen?” 

Leo glances up at the rabbit, finding his kind eyes staring back at him with concern. He looks away, shifting his gaze to the forest as he gathers his thoughts. He says, “It was Shredder. H-he finally succeeded in killing my father. I didn’t see it happen directly, but we watched Shredder toss his body off a ten story building.” 

He hears Yuichi draw a sharp breath, but he doesn't look over at him as the yokai says, “I’m so sorry. That must have been awful.”  

Leo nods. “Y-Yeah, it was hard, but…but at least we got to give him a proper burial. Shredder didn’t live long after.” His face twists into a grim frown. “I made sure of that.” 

Yuichi shifts uncomfortably beside him, an awkward silence settling between them.

Leo stares at the ground, suddenly very aware of how much he’s tanked the mood here. Sure, when Sensei died they had taken the time to give him a proper burial, but when they’d learned of Shredder's survival, their mourning had been cut short. Taking down the Shredder had been cathartic in the moment, but it was short lived. At the end of the day, they had still come home to a home devoid of their father’s presence. 

He had thought he’d finally know peace once Shredder was gone, but the only thing killing him had achieved was guaranteeing their safety. It did nothing to fill the gaping hole left behind by their father’s absence. They

had leaned heavily on each other in the following days, taking care of each other's injuries and turning to one another for support. Even after the success of the mission, there had been a lot of tears. Looking back, Leo wishes he had handled their grief differently. 

He wishes he had handled a lot of things differently.

“I know I don’t know you very well, but…” The rabbit trails off, hesitation clear in his features before continuing, “But I sense there might be something more that’s bothering you. You don't have to talk about it, but I can lend a sympathetic ear.” Yuichi points up to his ears as they move, facing directly towards Leo. He can’t help the laugh that bursts out of him, and it takes a moment for him to collect himself. When he looks back at Yuichi he finds the rabbit's eyes trained on him, waiting patiently. 

Leo stares back for a moment, before the words start tumbling out of him. “I- I didn't exactly leave things off on the best note with them before I was taken.”

“What do you mean?” 

“We got into a fight, and I was a bit of a jerk. I know they were only trying to help, but I just… I didn't want to hear it.” His stomach churns with a mix of regret and embarrassment. “I didn't want- I just couldn’t take their pity , and I snapped at them when they tried to help.” 

“We’ll figure something out, just stop pushing us away!”

Raph’s final words to him ring in his ears, rattling around his skull. Leo grimaces and turns away from Yuichi to face the fire. He knows they were just trying to help him, but even now he feels something like resentment at their clumsy attempt. He was supposed to be the big brother, helping him wasn’t their job. He was supposed to be the one watching out for them, not the other way around. 

“I don’t really know much about having siblings, but I’m sure it wasn’t nearly as bad as you think,” Yuichi says.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Leo's eye briefly darted over to the samurai before quickly settling back towards the flickering flames. Yuichi was right. He knew his brother’s wouldn’t hold it against him, not really, but he wouldn’t feel good about the whole mess until he made things right with them again. 

He glances at Yuichi again. He may be continuing to bring down the mood, but it felt nice to finally get these feelings off his chest, and Yuichi didn't seem to mind. He’d only just met the guy this morning, why was he dumping all his baggage onto him? Still, something about the rabbit set him at ease, made it easier to open up. Maybe it was because Yuichi didn't know his family, and was too removed from Leo’s problems to cast any judgment. 

That thought barely passed his mind before he found himself saying, “They thought I wasn’t… adjusting well to sensei’s absence. They were having an intervention or something, I don’t know…” He trails off. “I just didn’t want to hear it. It all just felt so— patronizing.” ” 

How did he even begin to explain everything that had happened? That he misses his father terribly while also resents him for reasons he didn’t even know how to put into words? How, even now, living a peaceful life, he could feel so scared and directionless, never truly feeling like he was good enough. How did he explain all the things that had come before that had left him so- so damaged .

“I know what that's like,” Yuichi says quietly. 

Leo’s head whips towards him. “You do?” 

The samurai holds his gaze for a moment, a deep sadness shadowing his face. Then he sighs, shifting forward and staring into the flames. “I lost my parents to the cult when I was very young. They were both samurai; honorable warriors fighting to keep the Godless away from our borders.” 

Leo’s stomach clenches. “What happened?” Then he rushes to add, “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

Yuichi snatches up his fishing spear and starts fiddling with it. “It’s fine. I used to live in a village on the eastern border of Neo Edo. Place was so small it didn’t even have a name. I lived there with my parents and some extended family; aunts, uncles, cousins, all that.”

He uses the tip of the spear to draw idle circles in the dirt. “Anyway, it was simple, but a good life, y’know?” The tip slows until it rests in the dirt as Yuichi falls silent for a moment. “We still don’t know for sure how the Godless got in,” he says quietly. “I’d like to think that none of our own were stupid enough to cross the border just to fall into the cult's hands, but I can’t think of any other way they would have been able to get in.

“They attacked in the middle of the night while we were sleeping,” he continued flatly. “It was a massacre, we didn’t stand a chance. My mother was cut down while trying to keep them from entering our home. My father dropped me out of the back window and told me to run, so that’s what I did.”

Yuichi stares into the fire, his gaze calm but distant. “That was the last time I ever saw them.” 

Silence falls heavily between them, thick with old grief. Leo feels like his gaze is boring holes into the side of Yuichi’s face, but the samurai doesn’t meet his eyes as he starts tracing in the dirt again. 

“I’m sorry,” Leo breathes.

Yuichi glances at him, and the grief Leo sees there is well-worn and smooth with time. “Thank you, but it’s okay. I was five when it happened; I’ve had time to make my peace with it.”

Leo nods, and wonders if the hole that his own father has left behind will wear down into something easier to fit around one day, the way it has for Yuichi. Then he asks, “Where did you go afterwards?”

Yuichi smiles slightly, and some of the grief lifts away. “My Auntie found me, days later in a neighboring village. She had fought with our family, and lost a leg and an ear in the process, but managed to escape. She took me in and I’ve been living with her ever since.” His smile grows, becoming rueful in a way that makes him look boyish. “She did her best after that, I still don’t know how she managed after everything. I didn't exactly make things easy on her; I was kinda a shit kid, but in the end I like to think we helped keep each other sane.”  

He tosses the spear into the fire, causing a shower of bright sparks to fly into the air. “All I’m trying to say is, after what you went through, I’m not surprised that you might be struggling to cope. Anyone would be.”

Leo grimaces. His problems with his brothers seem so small in the face of what Yuichi just told him. He simply cannot imagine that kind of loss. “I know. It’s just that I’m their older brother. It’s not their job to take care of me.” 

“Well, who else are you supposed to go to for help if not your family?” Yuichi asks simply. 

Leo doesn’t really have a good answer to that. 

Yuichi raises an eyebrow at him. “Do you think just because Auntie had to take care of me that it meant that she wasn’t allowed to mourn the loss of her family or her leg?”

Leo looks away, but Yuichi doesn’t let up as he asks, “Was she not just as deserving of help as I was?” 

“You both got help?” Leo asks hesitantly.

Yuichi nods. “As soon as we moved to the farm, she signed herself up for physical therapy and got both of us a therapist.”

“You guys have that kind of thing?” 

“Yeah, why wouldn’t we? Don’t you?” 

“Well, I mean the humans do, but we… there isn't exactly a mutant therapist that any of us could go see.”

“Ahhh,” Yuichi hums, looking at him sadly. “Well, maybe when we get to Neo Edo, you could give it a shot.” 

“Sure. Maybe,” Leo says doubtfully, trailing off and staring into the flame. A yawn overtakes him as he sinks back against the log, his eyelids becoming heavy.

“Get some rest,” Yuichi says, turning to open his pack and handing one of the blankets over to Leo. “We’ll get going again first thing in the morning.” 

Yuichi pulls his own blanket tight around his shoulders and curls up on the ground not far from Leo. 

Leo lets out another big yawn before wrapping the fabric tightly around himself and curling up on the ground. His mind turns thinking over the conversation. His brother’s were all he’d ever known; the idea of burdening them with his problems didn’t sit right with him even now. Still the idea was worth at least some consideration. 

___________________

Yuichi wakes up bright and early the next morning, awoken by the sounds of song birds high up in the trees and small creatures skittering through the underbrush. He looks around, lazily taking in the state of their meager camp. The coals smolder, burning red hot from the fire the night before.

He stretches before dragging himself up off the ground and stowing his blanket back in the pack. Leo is still resting peacefully on the ground beside him, tightly curled up inside of his blanket. Yuichi smiles to himself, he’ll let him rest a bit longer while he checks the traps he’d set the night before for some breakfast. Padding into the underbrush, he doesn’t have to search for long; the first trap he comes across already has two pheasants caught in the snare. 

Yuichi carefully frees the animals before putting them both out of their misery with a quick twist of their necks. He checks the other two traps. but both come up empty. He heads back for camp, briefly stopping to grab some herbs he hadn’t noticed the night before from along the path. When he returns to camp, he quickly stokes the fire and sets to work preparing the birds. He makes quick work of their heads and feathers before he secures them on a spit over the fire. As the meat sizzles and pops over the flames, he rotates the stick idly as his mind wanders.

They had a lot of ground to cover over the next few days and none of it was going to be easy; the Godless weren’t the only things lurking in these woods, there were also other yokai to worry about. The few wild yokai that inhabited this region were relatively harmless. Mostly. Kind of. But it was the ones in the mountains that Yuichi knew they had to be very careful around. 

There was a reason his team usually avoided Akuma Pass, and it wasn’t just due to the rough terrain; the yokai in those mountains were some of the most vicious Yuichi had ever encountered. Once he and Leo made it into the mountains, they would have to stay on their toes. Yokai would be laying in wait around every corner waiting for their next unlucky victim. 

Yuichi experimentally pokes at the birds and finds that they are nearly done. A sleepy groan emanates from behind him and he turns to find Leo sitting up, looking around in a daze. 

“Oh, you’re awake,” Yuichi exclaims excitedly, his ears perking up. “How’d you sleep?”

“Okay, I guess,” Leo says, groaning as he rolls his neck and stretches out his arms. 

“How are you feeling?” His eyes drift to where the bandage peaks out from beneath Leo’s kimono.

“I’m feeling much better,” Leo says, as his eyes drift over to the food cooking over the fire. Yuichi can actually hear his stomach growling as he eyes the food. “So what’s for breakfast?” 

Yuichi chuckles before turning back to the birds and removing them from the fire. “Pheasant. I set up a trap last night and found two in there this morning.” He plops down next to Leo before breaking the spit in half and handing one of the birds over to him. “Eat up. You need to keep your strength.” 

“Thanks.” Leo bites into the bird, letting out a satisfied groan as soon as the meat hits his tongue. He greedily digs in, taking several more large bites. “Wow, this is really good!” he says between bites.  

Yuichi tries not to preen, and before he knows it,  the turtle has finished off the bird, leaving nothing but bones. Leo leans back against the log before letting out a satisfied belch.

Yuichi laughs. “You enjoy yourself?”

“Yes, that was amazing,” Leo grins. “God, that was like a real proper meal. How’d you get it to taste like that?” 

“Just with some herbs I found nearby.” Yuichi shrugs in a way he hopes is casual, trying to play off the way his stomach swooped at the compliment. “There are a lot of useful plants out here if you know what to look for.” 

“Well, it tasted great,” Leo says, throwing the bones into the fire and stabbing the stick into the ground beside him. He turns towards him, suddenly serious. “So what’s the plan?

Yuichi blinks a bit, startled at the sudden change in mood, before he nods and stands up. Chewing the last bit of his pheasant, he points the bare stick off towards the trees to their left. “We need to head north,” he says. “Should be about a day and a half hike. If all goes well, we should get to Akuma Pass by mid-afternoon tomorrow.” 

Leo’s gaze follows the direction where Yuichi is pointing and nods slowly. “Okay, sounds like a plan.” 

Yuichi stows what little remaining supplies they have in his pack before turning to stamp out any coals still burning in the pit, going so far as to douse them with a little water for extra measure. The last thing they need out here is a wildfire. 

He turns to find Leo crouched by the fire pit, holding his pack up to him. The watery dawn light casts the bruises on his outstretched arm in a grim light. Yuichi eyes him for a moment before he takes the pack and swings it over one shoulder. “Thanks.”

Leo turns away and starts sweeping dirt and leaves over the remains of their fire. Covering signs that someone camped here. Smart.

Yuichi uses his distraction to look him over more closely. He looks better than he did when they’d found him, but that sets the bar so low Yuichi will just get angry if he thinks about it too hard. Leo still looks visibly gaunt and pale, his shell looking almost oversized on his frame, and there was a slight tremble in the muscles of his arms. Though the drugs in his system had worn off, Yuichi could see that Leo’s muscles were still weak from weeks of being cooped up inside that cage. Without a little physical therapy, he would likely still be weak for quite some time.  

“Are you good to walk? I’d rather not have to carry you the rest of the way.” After their talk last night, Yuichi gets the impression Leo won’t appreciate his weakness being thrown back in his face, but they were in one hell of a situation here and they had to be pragmatic about this. 

In lieu of responding, Leo shifts on the ground and moves to stand up. Yuichi quickly rushes forward to help but is waved off.

“I’ve got it,” Leo pants before bracing himself against the log trying to pull himself up off the ground. “I need to do this on my own.” 

Yuichi ignores him and reaches for the edges of his shell. As he moves to hoist him up, Leo bats at his hands. 

“I said I’ve got it,” he snaps. 

Yuichi is fighting every demon he has not to roll his eyes right now. He understood the defensiveness, he really did; if Leo couldn’t walk on his own then he has no business hiking through the forest, but that didn’t mean he can afford to brush off help when it’s offered. 

“What did I just say last night about accepting help when you need it?”

“I don’t need help just to stand . We have miles of forest to hike through. If I can’t do this then you’d be better off leaving me behind.”

Yuchi scoffs. Yeah, like that’ll fucking happen. “Didn’t you say you were the eldest of your siblings?”

Leo pauses and squints at him suspiciously. “Yeah?”

“Then stop being such a dramatic baby and let me help you up.” 

Leo blinks at him then barks a laugh, and the tension of this weird pseudo-argument dissolves. “Spoken like an only child” he says, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth. “I promise you, little brother dramatics are much worse than this.” He shifts his legs under himself and holds out a hand. “But fine. Help me up.” 

Yuichi grips his hand and pulls. The muscles in Leo’s legs twitch and jump as he stands, but they hold firm as he settles on his feet. Yuichi supports him for a moment before releasing his hold.  

Leo is a little unsteady at first, but manages to get his footing. He shifts around for a moment, testing his legs to make sure they can bear his own weight. 

“Yeah, yeah, I think I can walk,” Leo says almost giddily, and takes a few steps forward. His legs wobble slightly, but he is walking, so no complaints from Yuichi. It doesn’t last though as Leo’s next step sends him stumbling forward before face planting into the dirt. 

Okay, he takes that back. Yuichi rushes forward, helping Leo pull himself back up off the ground but he’s brushed off again with a frustrated groan. 

“No, no, I can do it. I just…” Leo trails off, panting harsh, frustrated breaths. 

Yeah, they’re going to have to find an alternative here. Yuichi searches the ground around them before his eyes linger on the tree line. Yuichi straightens up, leaving Leo’s side and walking over to a nearby tree. He leans down, picking up a long stick that was half hidden in the underbrush. He walks back over to Leo, kneeling down and offering the stick to him. “Here,” he says, pressing it into his hands. “Try again.” 

Leo grasps the makeshift cane tightly in his hands as Yuichi firmly grips his shell once again and heaves Leo back onto his feet. 

The stick digs into the soft dirt under their feet as he takes a few steps forward, leaning on it heavily for support. 

Yuichi feels elated, relieved, and smug all at once. “See,” he grins Leo hobbles around now, now walking forward much more confidently than before. “You just needed a little help. You’ll have your strength back in no time.”

Leo tries to scowl at him, but Yuichi can see a small smile hiding in the corners of his mouth. “Thanks.” 

“Great.” Yuichi claps his hands and rebinds his pack before turning and walking towards the tree line. “Let’s get going then.” 

He can hear Leo's shambling steps as he clumsily follows after him. It takes everything in Yuichi not to turn and offer him help as he stumbles along behind him, but Leo had a point; he was never going to build his strength back up if he kept leaning on Yuichi every step of the way, and he would need that strength soon enough. 

Slowly but surely, Leo’s steps become steadier, his strides growing more confident with each step as he got used to the walking stick. When Yuichi glances back to check on him, he sees Leo's head turning in every direction, eagerly taking in the sights and sounds of the forest. It was a nice contrast to the nervous, jumpy attitude he had the day before.

Following his lead, Yuichi finds himself tuning into the forest himself as it buzzes with life around them. One of the advantages to being so far from humans was the abundance of wildlife; many of the animals here have only ever known Yokai like himself, and have very little fear of them. A flash of color draws Yuichi’s eyes to the canopy above where small, brightly colored birds flit in and out of view, their feathers flashing in the morning sunlight. 

Yuichi’s gaze is still fixed upwards, but his right ear swivels back when they round a bend in the path and he hears Leo suddenly halt behind him. The bend had opened up into a small meadow, the clearing blanketed with hundreds of wildflowers that catch in the leaf-filtered sunlight as it shines through the peach trees, their petals delicately falling from their branches. Leo stands stock still, mesmerized as he takes in the picturesque scene before him. 

“Enjoying the view?” Yuichi smiles, turning to look at Leo.

Leo startles, blinking at him. “Uhh, oh, sorry,” he says, looking slightly bashful. His head starts swiveling around again as he takes in the clearing. “It’s just… I mean wow .” 

“It’s okay,” Yuichi laughs, his eyes lingering on Leo’s pleased smile before pulling his gaze away and walking further into the meadow. He feels almost giddy. He rarely is able to travel outside of Neo Edo, and he’s never been able to show anyone these forests he knows so well.

He could do without being hunted through them by murderous fanatics, of course. But still, it’s nice.

“These mountains are quite remarkable aren’t they?” he says. “Every inch of them is rich with natural beauty.”

Leo stiffly kneels down, examining the various wildflowers.  “I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere so beautiful,” he mutters, gently holding the bloom of one in the palm of his hand before letting it drift to the ground. When Yuichi offers him a hand, he takes it easily, allowing himself to be pulled back onto his feet. 

“Not many views like this in New York, I imagine,” Yuichi says as they pick their way across the meadow, eyes scanning the tree line briefly. 

Leo snorts. “You're telling me. Heck, I’ve never even been to Central Park before!”

“Seriously?” 

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not exactly safe for us to go during the day and see it. If we do go out, it’s usually only at night. Not the best time to truly appreciate the park, you know?”

A thought suddenly occurs to Yuichi and he’s almost afraid to ask. “Leo, uhh, have you ever been in a forest before? Like, at all?”

“What? Of course I have,” Leo says incredulously. “We spent a lot of time in the woods at April’s family farm house after the Krang invasion, and I spent like a week out in the woods when I was traveling with your ancestor Miyamoto.”

Yuichi doesn’t know who April or Krang is, but the Miyamoto thing was a good point. For a second there, he was afraid he was stuck out in the middle of nowhere with someone who had zero outdoor survival skills. “Right, right. I just thought, with you living in the sewers and all that.” He waves his hand vaguely. 

“That what?” Leo asks, crossing his arms over his chest. “We were a bunch of hermits?” 

“No, no, but I mean, you don’t exactly blend in with the humans,” Yuichi says defensively. “I just assumed you might not get out much, is all.” 

Leo rolls his eyes. “If anyone's sheltered here, it’s you bunny boy. You guys haven’t gone far outside your borders in, what? 50 years? I’ve been outside of New York plenty of times. Heck, I’ve even been to space ,” Leo says, looking rather smug. 

“Bullshit!” Yuichi scoffs. 

“It’s true! You really think I helped stop all those alien invasions and I didn’t end up in space at least once?” 

“Okay if that’s true, then how did you get up there?” Yuichi tries to sound challenging, he can’t help but let his curiosity bleed through.

Leo grins. “Oh boy, so we were dealing with these guys called the Triceratons, right? And they…” He rambles on telling Yuichi stories of alien bug warlords, bounty hunter sharks, and mountain sized lava space turtles. Yuichi was already staring at him with wide eyes, but then he goes on with stories of epic space battles and desperate, last ditch plans to save the Earth. Yuichi can’t help but butt in with a million questions because seriously, what the heck was a Aeoulon? 

Yuichi is absolutely riveted. Most of Leo's adventures were even crazier than the best episodes of Space Heroes. Every story reminds him of a different episode, and Yuichi would accuse him of lying, but Leo is speaking with such detail and conviction that he knows instinctively that the ninja is telling the truth. 

They walk along right beside each other as Leo talks, his hands gesturing wildly as he tells his story. “And then-- WHOA!” Leo trips over a root sticking up out of the ground and Yuichi lunges forward to catch him around his front before he can hit the ground. 

Leo’s hiss of pain sounds in his ear as his shout echoes across the mountain side, coming back strangely warbled and indistinct, like one voice layered over many. The noise continues to repeat long after any normal echo would have stopped, sounding off kilter and eerie.

Yuichi eases him straight, mindful of the bandages under his palm, until he is steady on his feet again. Leo is panting slightly as he looks warily towards the forest around them. 

“What the hell was that?” he asks wearily. Yuichi swears he sees a flash of white in the corner of Leo’s eyes, but when he blinks it’s gone. “It didn’t sound natural.” 

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Yuichi says, easing his hands off Leo’s plastron. “Probably just the yamabiko.” 

Leo frowns back at him. confused. Right, Yuichi forgot just how unfamiliar he was with these kinds of things; he was from New York, for crying out loud, of course he wouldn’t know the first thing about the creatures that lingered in these woods.

“They’re just one of the wild yokai that live out here,” he says. “They are pretty rare, but completely harmless. They just think it’s funny to mess with sound and freak people out.” 

“You're sure they’re not dangerous?” Leo asks nervously, clutching his cane and looking out into the forest. That anxious, jittery energy from the night before filtering back into the tense line of his shoulders. He scans the tree line quickly, as if just realizing that they’re out in the open and exposed. 

“Positive,” Yuichi is quick to soothe. “They wouldn’t hurt a fly. I’ve never even seen one.” He tugs on Leo’s arm, urging them back down the path.  “They prefer to keep to themselves.” 

He soon hears Leo’s following footsteps, as he falls back in line behind him. They walk for a little bit longer, the sounds of the yamabiko still echoing through the trees around them. Yuichi can tell that Leo is starting to struggle though, every other step he’s stumbling, feet dragging sluggishly along the ground as he barely manages to stay upright. 

It’s not long before Leo loses his footing completely. Luckily, Yuichi has had one ear pointed back at him ever since he first stumbled back at camp, so he was able to turn in time and catch him before he face planted in the dirt. A broken nose is the last thing the poor guy needs. Leo stumbles slightly, panting and leaning heavily into Yuichi’s side.

“Okay, I think it's time we stop for a little break,” Yuichi says. Leo mutters something, sounding frustrated , but Yuichi ignores him as his ears pick up on the sound of a nearby stream.

“Here come on.” He wraps one of Leo’s arms around his shoulders, lifting him off the ground and walking in that direction of the stream. It’s a short walk, thank the gods, even emaciated as he is, Leo is heavy. He pushes aside some branches, revealing the small creek bed. 

Yuichi stumbles them both forward awkwardly before settling Leo down against a nearby boulder. He leans back against the boulder, eyes closed as he concentrates on bringing his breathing back under control.

Yuichi eyes him in concern. He isn’t sure what a healthy mutant turtle is supposed to look like, but he’s pretty sure this pale, almost gray cast to Leo’s skin isn’t it. “You good?” 

“Y-yeah, yeah, just need to rest for a bit,” Leo wheezes, his breathing labored as if he’s struggling to get air in and out of his lungs. “Catch my breath.” 

Yuichi does a quick scan of the area they’re in. Shrubs line the riverbed, and the trees stretch tall above them. Not too exposed. “Okay, you hang out here. I’m gonna go see if I can find us something to eat,” Yuichi says, patting him on the shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

Leo waves him off, sinking back into the rock and visibly trying to reign in his breathing. 

Yuichi glances over at him one last time before he reluctantly picks his way along the edges of the creek, keeping his eyes peeled for signs of food or small animals, while also keeping his ears swiveling towards the forest. If there was food to be found, it would likely be right along the creek bed where there was an abundance of water available. It doesn’t take long before he finds a few berry bushes and wild cucumbers a few dozen yards downstream. He plucks more than enough food for the both of them, stowing away some in the pack for later. When he’s done, he makes his way back over to Leo, finding him still sitting back against the boulder, looking much more at ease than before. 

“Better?” Yuichi asks, offering out a cucumber to Leo.  

“Much,” Leo grabs the cucumber and takes a big bite as he settles back into the rock. He gazes down the flowing creek, looking thoughtful. Yuichi lays the berries out on a clean rock within arms reach before settling down on the ground next to Leo and taking in the peaceful scene. 

The stream gurgles pleasantly beside them as they eat, dragonflies zipping about along its edges. Trilling birds sound from the forest sound just nearby.

The relative peace is broken when Leo shifts beside him, moving to stand back up. “Whoa, whoa, what do you think you're doing?” Yuichi says, quickly moving to stop him. 

Leo frowns down at him. “I was just gonna wash off. I’m covered in like three weeks worth of dirt.” He gestures down at himself.

Okay, he had a point, he was absolutely filthy. Yuichi and Kitsune had done their best to clean him up after they'd first found him in that filthy cage, but wiping him down with a wet rag was no substitute for an actual bath. 

“Okay, fair, but stay close,” Yuichi warns, eyes scanning the surrounding woods.

Leo gives him a sardonic look and waves his walking stick pointedly. “It’s not like I can go far.” He turns and hobbles to the side of the boulder facing the river before leaving his staff against it and starts loosening the tie of his kimono.

“Right, I-I’ll just be over here,” Yuichi says, flustered as he quickly turns his back, giving Leo a little privacy as he undresses. He takes a few steps away from the river and faces the tree line before settling in to keep watch. 

He can hear Leo throw his clothes onto the boulder behind him before wading into the river. The sound of splashing immediately follows, and Yuichi tenses to turn back around before Leo says, “Shit! It’s freezing!”

Yuichi huffs as his shoulders relax and he goes back to watching the tree line. Dramatic turtle. “That’s because it’s ice melt, genius,” he calls back. “Enjoy it while you can, you’re not gonna get another opportunity to clean off for a while.” 

Leo grumbles, but a few seconds later Yuichi can hear the water shift as he sinks deeper into the river, soon followed by the splashing of water as he starts to wash himself. Yuichi turns his focus to the sounds of the forest, allowing Leo his privacy. He can still hear the distant calls of the yamabiko ringing off in the distance, distorting the sounds of the forest around them. He strains to hear through it, casting his senses farther out into the forest, reaching to catch any sounds that might give away the position of the Godless. He hasn’t seen or heard any sign of their forces all day, and it sets his nerves on edge. It was unlikely he would hear the Godkillers main forces. If he was smart, he would have sent out scouting teams like last time to track their movements. If they are out there, they were far stealthier than Yuichi would have given them credit for. 

He almost wishes they would just show themselves. Yuichi has always been one to act rather than wait. Sneaking through the forest, constantly keeping watch and looking over his shoulder had to be more stressful than the confrontation he knew was coming. He heaves a sigh, bringing his awareness back into his more immediate surroundings. The river behind him is strangely quiet, the sounds of Leo washing himself having stopped.

“Hey, are you done back there?” Yuichi calls. Silence follows his question as the current gurgles behind him. Yuichi swivels an ear towards Leo’s direction and listens. Under the sounds of the flowing water, the chirping birds, and the fluttering breeze, there should be the sounds of a grown mutant turtle rustling in the water. But there was nothing. Yuichi whips around, eyes scanning up and down the river. 

The current flows in undisturbed rivulets, and Leo is nowhere to be seen. 

An uneasy feeling settles in the pit of Yuichi’s stomach as he sweeps his gaze up the riverside. Leo’s clothes lie where he left them on the boulder, but the creek bed is empty with no sign of him anywhere. “Leo?” he calls, cautiously creeping forward as his ears stand at attention. His hand moves to rest on the hilt of his sword. “Leo, I swear to the Gods, if this is some kind of joke it isn’t funny.”

His voice echoes over the water, and there’s no response. 

Yuichi’s mind kicks into overdrive as he starts jogging down the river’s edge, scanning it up and down. Shit, shit, fuck, did the Godless grab him while he wasn't looking? Did he lose his footing in the water? He wasn’t that weak right now, right? He could barely walk a few miles without falling on his face, of course he wasn’t strong enough to swim against the current! And Yuichi got embarrassed and took his eyes off of him and Gods, he was such a fucking idiot — 

His mind whirls through a million different possibilities, his heart is pounding, and he’s about two seconds from jumping into the water to search for him when Leo resurfaces, bursting out of the water a little ways downstream with a ragged gasp of air as he flails against something in the water. 

“Leo!” Yuichi has his sword in hand in a flash as he lunges down the riverside. As he draws closer, he can start to make out the form of the small creature clinging to Leo’s back. A flash of teeth and green-tinged skin makes Yuichi freeze in place, stopping just before the water’s edge. 

It’s a Kappa. A fucking Kappa. 

“Get off of me, you little creep!” Leo snarls, wrestling with the Kappa, trying to loosen its hold on his neck. Every time he appears to get a grip on the thing, it manages to slip out of his hold, all the while lashing out at Leo any chance it gets. Small gashes open up along his arms and neck, and Yuichi forces himself to move. He wades into the water, letting the current lend him a boost of speed as he closes in on the struggling pair. 

When he reaches them, Yuichi reaches out and grabs hold of the creature's arm. He throws his weight back against the current, pulling at the creature’s hold with all his might. The Kappa stubbornly clings to Leo, tightly latched around his neck as Leo finally manages to get a firm hold on the Kappa’s shell, muscles straining as he tries to pry the creature off.  

“Get off !” he shouts. Another gash opens on Leo’s neck as the creature bears down with a gurgling growl. 

Muscle’s straining, feet slipping on the soft silt of the riverbed, Yuichi tightens his grip and heaves at its arms. 

Both of them suddenly detach, sending him and Leo stumbling into the water. Yuichi’s head goes under for a moment before he pushes up to the surface with a gasp. His heart is pounding and he feels a wild edge to his mind as he looks around frantically for Leo. Where was he? Where was the Kappa? Where—?

He doesn’t have to wonder long as Leo resurfaces a moment later, sputtering. He watches him stumble upright before reaching over his shoulder and gripping the Kappa, who still had its teeth clamped on the side of his throat. Leo growled then pulled, ripping the creature from his neck before rearing back and throwing it down stream. 

Yuichi stares at him, mouth hanging open, before Leo sways a bit then stumbles forward. Yuichi rushes to meet him, grabbing him by his forearm and quickly pulling them both towards the riverbank. Leo’s legs give as they slog out of the water, nearly pulling Yuichi down to the dirt with him before he wraps a supportive arm around him. 

His legs feel like lead, so he quickly eases them both to the ground before grabbing Leo’s shoulder. “Leo, are you okay? Talk to me!” he says urgently as his eyes scan the water, searching for any signs of that thing coming back for them. Not willing to make the same mistake twice, he pushes up onto his knees and shuffles around, placing himself between Leo and the water’s edge.

Leo sputters, river water running from his mouth and sounding like he was trying to cough and catch his breath at the same time.“Y-yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just need a minute,” Leo wheezes, slumping forward onto the river bank and coming face to face with the Kappa’s detached limbs, still gripped in Yuichi’s other hand.  

“Gah, what the hell is that,” he shouts, rearing back from the offending limbs. Yuichi blinks down at them, feeling strangely distant. Right, the arms. The arms of a Kappa. The arms of the Kappa that he had ripped off. He’d almost forgotten he was holding them. Should he be horrified or disgusted right now? He sees Leo look up at him, absolutely bewildered, before he pants, “Yuichi, what the hell was that thing?”

Before he can answer, a deep, gurgling voice speaks up from behind them. “Can I have my arms back?” Yuichi whirls around, sword already in hand as he heaves to his feet and plants himself in front of Leo. 

The Kappa stands in the water, body perfectly still as the current cuts around it. It stares up at them impassively, empty holes gape where the creature's arms had been minutes before. Yuichi’s stomach suddenly decides it feels disgusted as he stares at the open wounds. He tosses the arms behind him, hearing them land further up the shore. He forces his gaze up, meeting the creature’s unblinking stare as it repeats, “Can I have my arms back?”

“I- what?” Leo splutters from behind him, still sounding like he was trying to catch his breath.

It blinks at them slowly, one eye then the other. “Can I have my arms back?” it says again, not even looking impatient at having to repeat itself. Its voice flows like deep water. Like a current set to pull you under. 

“Have your arms back? You just tried to drown me!”  Leo shouts angrily. Yuichi sinks down into a more solid stance, scanning the Kappa for any sudden moves. 

But the creature doesn’t lunge for them. It doesn’t move at all, it just blinks again, only one eye this time, as it seems to consider Leo’s words. “Okay. Can I please have my arms back,” it says, like that would somehow solve its predicament.

Yuichi can only stare at it, dumbfounded, and judging by the silence behind him, he assumes Leo is just as confused as he is.

Yuichi opens his mouth, closes it, then tries again. “To answer your question,” Yuichi says to Leo without breaking the creature’s gaze, “that is a Kappa .”

“Wait, that's a Kappa?” Leo asks incredulously, before climbing to his feet and roughly grabbing Yuichi by the shoulder, trying to turn him around, but Yuichi doesn’t budge, not willing to take his eyes from the creature for a moment. “You thought that I was one of those?” Leo shouts, pointing a finger towards the creature. “I look nothing like it!” 

The creature was about half of Leo's height with short scrawny limbs and a ring of hair around the top of its head, encircling what looked like a bowl of water. Though it did look somewhat like a turtle, it and Leo really looked nothing alike.

The Kappa seems to suddenly come alive, breaking its perfect stillness against the current as it leans its head back and considers Leo with a petulant frown. “Yeah, how insulting!” it says, shifting like it was putting invisible hands on its hips and inelegantly jerking its head to get its damp hair out of its eyes. “I'm much more handsome.”

What the fuck was even happening here? Yuichi’s head was starting to hurt.

He saw Leo roll his eyes. “Seriously, how did you think we were even remotely the same thing? Have you actually ever seen one of these guys before?” 

Yuichi shushes him and redoubles his stance as the Kappa shifts closer to them. Leo clearly didn’t understand the danger they were in here, but that thing’s casual attitude wasn’t going to fool Yuichi. Okay, so maybe he hadn’t exactly seen a Kappa in person before, but so what? He’d heard plenty of stories about them from other samurai while growing up, and he’d seen plenty of photos and drawings of them in books, as they murdered innocents. It didn’t matter that he’d never actually ever seen one in real life. Everyone knew they were vicious killers who couldn’t be trusted.

Leo rolls his eyes again, this time at Yuichi. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”

The tip of Yuichi’s katana doesn’t waver as he stares  down the creature. Leo nudges his shoulder and scowls at him disapprovingly when Yuichi chances a glance at him. He can’t help but shrink a little under his gaze. He’s not sure why, but it reminds him of the glare his Auntie gives him when she thinks he’s being particularly stupid. “Okay, fine, I haven’t seen one before. But we didn’t know what else to think when we found you. They’re the closest things we know of to a turtle yokai. There’s not really anyone like them on our side of the border.”

Leo’s disapproving gaze doesn’t falter and Yuichi scrambles to defend himself. “But I don't have to have seen one to know that they are vicious killers!” Yuichi turns on the Kappa and brandishes his sword. “It tried to drown you! I say we keep the arms and let it figure things out from there on its own.”

Leo's expression doesn’t change as he turns his attention back to the Kappa. “Why did you attack me?” 

“I was hungry. You looked like food,” the Kappa says simply, peering behind Leo at its limbs splayed out on shore. “Can I have my arms back or not?” 

Leo looks over at Yuichi for a moment, his gaze flat and unimpressed. Yuichi shifts uncomfortably and looks away, feeling oddly shamed. Leo sighs before walking over and picking up the Kappa’s arms from the dirt.

“Leo, what do you think you’re doing?” Yuichi says, moving to stop him, but Leo ducks under his arm and brushes past him. 

 “Alright fine, if you can have them back,” Leo says, holding out the arms. 

“Leo!” Yuichi shouts, aghast. Doesn’t he realize how dangerous that thing is? It tried to drown him a few minutes ago! 

The creature skitters forward, rising gracefully out of the water before racing up the shallows towards them. It lunges at Leo and its fast, too fast. Yuichi shouts, his sword lifting up before he realizes he’s moved as he throws himself forward.  

He freezes. 

The creature is jumping uselessly up and down, seemingly trying to reach for its arms with limbs that it doesn’t have. It doesn’t do much good as Leo, who was about double its height, holds the arms well out of reach. 

“You can have them back only if you apologize,” he clarifies in a scolding tone. 

“Yes, yes, I am very sorry for my actions, please accept my apology,” the Kappa says eagerly, before bowing deeply. The lack of arms makes the gesture look ridiculous. 

Yuichi still would like to know what the fuck was even happening here. 

Seemingly satisfied, Leo walks forwards and loops the creature's arms back through their holes. “Okay, here you go. Better?”

“Yes, thank you very much,” The Kappa says, bowing to Leo once again.

Maybe Yuichi was drowning in the river and this was some weird near-death hallucination.

Leo looks at the creature thoughtfully for a moment before a smile spreads across his face. “Look, if you're really that hungry then we have some cucumbers you can have. I hear they’re your kind’s favorite.” He says the last part nonchalantly, as if it’s not the most bizarre thing Yuichi has ever heard him say. He stares at him in bewilderment as Leo turns back towards camp. 

The creature's eyes light up as it flaps its webbed hands and bounces on the balls of its feet excitedly. “Really?” 

“Yeah, sure. But you can only have some if you promise not to hurt anyone again,” Leo replies as he picks his way down the shoreline towards their belongings. 

“Yes! Yes! I promise,” the Kappa says excitedly, toddling past Yuichi as he follows. 

Yuichi’s feet feel frozen in place. “Leo,” he says nervously.

“What? Kappa like cucumbers, don't they?” Leo asks casually, looking back over his shoulder at him. “Besides, we have more than enough, I think we can share a few.”

Kappa like cucumbers? Where the hell had Leo heard something like that?

Leo arrives at their pack fishing around until he pulls out a handful of cucumbers, handing them over to the creature. 

“Oh, thank you, thank you,” the Kappa says, bowing to Leo repeatedly as it backs towards the water. 

“Don’t mention it,” he replies before grabbing his clothes off the rock, not even looking at the creature anymore. “Just don’t cause any more trouble, okay?”

“Of course,” The Kappa says, nodding emphatically before scurrying back to the river. It slinks under the flowing current, seeming to disappear just as suddenly as it came without a single disturbance in the water. 

Yuichi stands off to the side, sword still in hand, only relaxing once the creature has disappeared back into the water. His stiff muscles slowly unwind, and he feels almost lightheaded as he stares at Leo in shock. 

Leo is attacked by a Kappa, one of the most dangerous yokai Yuichi knows of. He rips its arms off, then Leo starts chatting with it and looks at him like Yuichi is the one being an idiot, and then offers the creature a cucumber? And it accepts? Then just leaves?

What the fuck?

“Alright, we should probably get going again,” Leo says, pulling his kimono back on.  

“Y-Yeah,” Yuichi says, turning ever so slightly so Leo is just out of view in his periphery, not wanting to take his eyes off of him completely again. While Leo puts the rest of his clothes back on, Yuichi keeps a very careful ear and eye out on both him and the water, a part of him fully expecting for the Kappa to resurface the moment they let their guard down. But the creature doesn’t make another appearance, and the water stays calm. 

Once he’s dressed, Leo grabs his cane and, without another word, brushes past Yuichi, continuing in the direction they’d been traveling. Yuichi rushes over quickly, picking up the pack from the ground and jogging after him. It doesn’t take him long to catch up, but Leo’s pointed silence is immediately uncomfortable. 

“Well that was… strange,” Yuichi says hesitantly, fidgeting with the string on his bag and watching Leo from the corner of his eye. “Still, that could have gone a lot worse.”  

Leo doesn’t respond, walking on in silence, his jaw tightening as he stares ahead. His cane thuds regularly against the ground as he walks.

Yuichi has never been one to bear awkward silence gracefully, so he continues, “I mean, I’ve never heard of a Kappa acting like that. That was a pretty stupid risk you took back there,” he chuckles.

Nothing. Yuichi swears the sound of Leo’s cane hitting the ground is becoming pointed. 

Okay, new strategy. “You’re lucky to still be alive, but I mean… that was pretty cool, the way you handled that,” Yuichi admits, glancing over at Leo out of the corner of his eye. 

Leo hums noncommittally, his eyes firmly focused on the forest ahead of him as he walks along the path. A slight scowl is starting to settle in his expression.

Yuichi wilts, something uncomfortable churning in his gut. He might not know Leo very well at this point, but it’s obvious he’s irritated with him, though he can’t fathom why. Was he pissed that Yuichi hadn’t noticed the Kappa sooner? That he hadn’t looked out for him better? He glances at Leo wearily out of his periphery, noticing the blood beading through the fabric of his kimono. 

“That thing got you pretty good,” Yuichi says. “Maybe we should stop for a minute so I can clean you up.” Yuichi reaches a hand out to Leo's shoulder, leaping at the chance to bring himself back into Leo’s good graces, but the mutant’s arm flashes out, shoving Yuichi’s hand away with far more strength that he’d have thought possible. 

“I’m fine,” Leo snaps before he continues on, hobbling awkwardly as he speed walks ahead on the cane, his footsteps stomping the ground with far too much aggression.

Yuichi is left standing alone in the middle of the path as he blinks at Leo’s retreating form. Okay, correction; Leo wasn’t annoyed, he was pissed . Once Yuichi recovers his wits, he jogs ahead, catching up with Leo in no time. He down a little as he cautiously falls into step beside him.  

They both trod along in silence for a while. The tension between them is incredibly uncomfortable, so Yuichi shores up his pride and musters the courage to ask, “Did I do something wrong?”

Leo comes to an abrupt stop ahead of him, Yuichi quickly doing the same before continuing, “Look, I don’t know what I did to upset you, but whatever it was, I’m sorry.”

Leo still doesn’t respond, and Yuichi can feel the uncomfortable squirming in his stomach turn to irritation. “Dude, what’s your problem?”

That got a reaction. Leo side-eyed him coolly, as if Yuichi was the one being childish. They stare at each other for a long moment. Yuichi scowls at him and crosses his arms, feeling defensive all of a sudden. Finally, Leo opens his mouth and says, “‘There’s not really anyone like him on our side of the border’”, he parrots Yuichi’s words from earlier, a dangerous edge to his voice. “What did you mean by that?” 

Yuichi blinks at him in confusion, something he finds himself doing far too often in this turtle’s presence. “I just meant there’s not really anyone like him in Neo Edo.” 

Leo hums. “And why not?”

“Because they’re dangerous,” Yuichi states, gesturing back towards the river. “Obviously.” 

“So are you,” Leo shoots back. “So am I. What makes Kappa so special?” 

“Kappa are wild yokai.” Yuichi sounds out the words like he’s talking to a child, sick of feeling wrong-footed and wanting to get a rise out of the other. It kind of works, Leo’s gaze narrows at his tone, but otherwise he doesn’t react. It’s annoying, and Yuichi finds himself saying, “They’re not civilized like we are.” 

Leo’s expression goes flat, and yeah it sounds really bad when Yuichi puts it like that. “I don’t mean it like that,” he rushes to say. “Our wild cousins are just…different. They’re unpredictable and dangerous.” 

“Who said that?” 

“I- Everyone?” Yuichi gestures vaguely. “The Council? My Auntie used to tell me that Kappa would eat me if I didn't do my chores. Stuff like that is common knowledge!” 

“That Kappa back there didn’t seem capable of eating anyone,” Leo says, waving his hand up at his neck. “It was barely able to break the skin.”

“And?”

“And you are wrong about them. Kappa aren’t mindless killers, they can be appeased with a lot of things; cucumbers, bowing - hell, you can even scare them away with farts. They’ll even protect temples and shrines if you show them a little decency.” 

There he goes again, saying bizarre things. Everyone knew Kappa weren’t to be trusted. And what kind of yokai was scared away by farts? Still, Yuichi can’t deny what he saw at the river. Leo went face to face with a Kappa and walked away with only a few scratches. And the Kappa had just…swam away, even after Yuichi had torn off its arms, happy as can be. When Leo had offered it the cucumbers, it had reminded Yuichi more of an overeager kid than a rabid murderer. 

Yuichi glances sidelong at Leo, his scowl fading. “Why do you care so much about this?” 

Leo sighs, suddenly sounding very tired. “I have some experience with being shut out of society for being different. And if that is how Neo Edo views Kappa, I can’t help but wonder what kind of welcome I’ll be walking into when we reach your borders.” 

“Nothing is going to happen to you when we get to Neo Edo,” Yuichi says immediately, feeling lightning zip up his spine at the thought. “You’ll be with me.” 

“That’s not the point.”

“Then what is your point?”

“My point ,” Leo says impatiently, “is that if you and the rest of Neo Edo were wrong about the Kappa, what else are you wrong about?” 

Yuichi opens his mouth to respond when a rustling crack sounds from deep in the forest. His ears cut towards the trees as all his attention leaves their conversation, honing in on the sound. 

Beside him, Leo has gone still. “What do you hear?” he asks, shoulders tense and eyes scanning the tree line. Yuichi holds up a silencing hand, straining his senses. For a moment he thinks he’s imagined it when he hears the sound again clear as day, the sound of axes chopping followed by the splintering of wood and the resounding thump of a tree falling to the forest floor. The sound is followed by a rustling sound growing clearer by the second. It was footsteps. A lot of them.

Yuichi grabs Leo’s arm and starts herding him towards the nearest tree crouching low, his ears still twitching as he tries to locate the source of the sounds. 

Leo sinks slowly to the ground, looking relieved to be off his feet. “Yuichi?” he asks, keeping his voice low. “Care to fill me in here?” 

“Shhhh, gimme a minute,” Yuichi hushes, holding a finger up to his lips. From what he can hear, he’d guess they are setting up camp. “There are people up ahead. Sounds like they’re setting up camp about a mile to the North.”

Leo looks grim. “The Godless?” 

“I don't know.” Yuichi strains his ears, trying to listen for anything that would indicate the identity of the campers. He can hear the sound of hammers driving spikes into the ground, and the grunts of men unloading supplies. Their voices are too far away and indistinct to tell if they were cultists or not, the sounds all muddled together in one big cacophony. He huffs, leaning back against the tree. “I can't tell for sure from this far away, but it's unlikely such a large group of regular campers would have ventured out this far.” 

“Better safe than sorry, we’ll just go around,” Leo says pointing to the West. 

Yuichi shakes his head. “We can't. There’s a sheer cliff face just over there.” He points in the direction Leo had indicated. “It cuts across the entire valley. And the terrain is far too rough in the East. Going that way would set us back by a whole day. We can’t afford that kind of delay.” 

“So what do we do?”

“I don’t know.” Yuichi slides down the tree and into a sitting position as he racks his brain for a solution. “We could try to sneak around their camp.”

But this time Leo is the one shaking his head. “They’ll have scouts and patrols,” he says flatly. “They’re tightly scheduled, almost military. I tried to make a run for it when they first caught me, but I couldn’t find any gaps in their rotations.”

Yuichi frowns, an uncomfortable feeling settling in his gut. He sees Leo turn his eyes to the path ahead of them, gaze drifting up to the treetops. The setting sun casts the forest into harsh silhouettes, stretching long shadows over them. After a few moments, Leo speaks up again, “May I make a suggestion?” 

“Go for it, I'm open to ideas.” 

“We can sneak past them by cutting through the trees right above them.” Leo says, pointing up into the tree branches overhead. “Humans never think to look up, it’s how my brothers and I can travel by rooftop. They'll never even know that we were there.”

Yuichi stares at him. Wasn’t this guy supposed to be the leader of his clan? That was the stupidest idea he’s ever heard. “That’s the stupidest idea I've ever heard,” Yuichi says bluntly. “You seriously want us to go right through the heart of enemy territory?  

“Hey, I'm a ninja, remember? ” Leo grins, patting Yuichi’s arm reassuringly. “It’ll be a piece of cake.” 

“Sure, for you, but I'm not a ninja, remember?” Yuichi hisses. “Also, may I remind you that you are injured and can barely walk? Now you’re wanting to trapeze through the trees? Be so for real right now.”

He looks pointedly at the strip of gauze peeking out from the other’s kimono. Leo shifts, grin fading as he tugs the robe tighter around himself. 

“Do you really think you can manage something like that right now?” Yuichi asks, tone dropping in concern. 

Leo shifts nervously beside him, fingers of one hand drumming against the ground. “Do you really think we have any other choice?” he replies quietly, looking back up at Yuichi solemnly.  

Yuichi sighs, dragging his hand down his face. He considers their routes again; the dropping cliffs to the West, the crumbling hills to the East, the delay of backtracking South, and finally this one obstacle just one mile to the North. No, no they really didn’t have a choice, did they? “Fine,” he says, standing up from the ground and surveying the forest ahead before holding out a hand to Leo. “But we need to be careful, no delays. We slip through as quickly as possible.”   

Leo clasps his hand with a strong grip, squeezing briefly as he’s hauled to his feet. “No problem,” he grins. “You can use those big ears of yours to help us avoid trouble.”

Yuichi glares over at him, Leo only staring smugly back at him, saying, “We’ll be careful, promise.” He switches his cane from hand to hand, looking almost excited. “Just follow my lead and keep quiet. Think you can manage that?”

Yuichi was very much not excited. “I think so, but-”

“Alright then time to disappear,” Leo says, an eager smile on his face as he takes a single step back and vanishes. 

Yuichi blinks at the empty space in front of him, beyond confused. “What- where?—  I…” Yuichi’s ears catch on the barest whisper of movement above him and he heaves a sigh. He leaps up into the forest canopy, bounding deftly to the top. Once there amongst the leaves, he looks around for Leo but the turtle has already vanished from sight. For a moment, Yuichi worries he’s already been snapped up, dragged away by the Godless without a sound. He's almost ready to call out for him when a hand wraps over his mouth. Yuichi freezes up, hand going to his sword, but he’s stopped by another hand resting on his. 

“Shhh… no talking,” Leo’s voice says from behind him. The grip on him loosens and Yuichi turns to find the ninja behind him. He glances up and startles, Leo’s eyes are glazed over with some kind of film. A secondary eyelid? The film glows a milky white in the dusky shadows of the canopy, making him appear otherworldly and deadly, like a predator lurking in the shadows. The sight sends a chill down Yuichi’s spine. It was kinda hot. 

Wait, what—

“Let’s get moving,” Leo whispers, barely audible over the rustling breeze, before darting ahead over the branches.

It takes Yuichi a second to recover, heart beating fast like a hummingbird in his chest, before he shakes it off and races after the turtle. Leo moves nimbly through the treetops, drifting from branch to branch so smoothly that even Yuichi is barely able to hear his movements. Still, he can see it’s taking him a great effort to do so as he takes long pauses between branches, leaning back against the bark as he catches his breath.  

After a short while, Leo comes to a full stop just ahead of him. Yuichi races ahead to meet him before settling down at his side, shooting him a questioning look. Leo barely turns to acknowledge him, white eyes trained down on the forest floor. When Yuichi looks down he finds a scattering of tents set up just ahead. Two Godless soldiers pass beneath them, presumably going about their patrol. Yuichi frowns down at them, grim. Shit, Leo had been right; those bastards had set up camp right in the middle of their path hoping to cut them off.

His hand drifts to his sword as he stares unblinking down at the two unsuspecting cultists. He shifts his legs under him. He could take them out right now, it would be easy—

Leo gives him a nudge, breaking Yuichi's concentration. When he glances over at him, Leo gives a slight tilt of his head forward before setting off through the treetops once again. Yuichi takes a deep breath and steals his nerves before starting off after him. 

He follows close behind, careful to match Leo’s exact path, keeping an ear and eye out for any guards within their vicinity. He darts his eyes down from time to time, keeping tabs on the hoards of Godless troops moving about beneath them. Gods, how were there so many of them? The last bit of intel they had gotten on the group had reported a fraction of the forces here now, and who knew how many others there were? They stretched all the way to New York City, apparently.

Yuichi feels like a live wire. He can hear every sound from the encampment below, every raised voice, every snapped twig causes his anxiety to wind tighter and tighter. His ears twitch and his muscles jump with every noise, setting his nerves on edge. He leaps to the next branch, but as he lands the limb gives a brief groan of protest before snapping beneath his feet. He desperately reaches out for something, anything he can grab a hold of but it’s no use as he plummets to the forest floor, wind whistling past his ears as he watches the branches stretch away above him.

Suddenly, two arms wrap around him tightly and he’s being pressed against a hard armored chest. Leo twists in the air, turning his back to the ground rushing up to meet them. They hit the forest floor hard, Yuichi feels his nose give a slight crunch as his head whiplashes into Leo’s shoulder. Leo’s head has disappeared into the protective confines on his shell, but Yuichi can still hear the pained gasp from within as he lands bodily on top of Leo's chest.

Before Yuichi can even react, Leo’s arms around him tighten as he rolls them up and hauls them around the nearest tree. He pulls Yuichi down, tucking them both low to the ground. Leo’s arm feels like an iron band around his chest, hard and unmoving. He shifts to sit up, not wanting to put any pressure on Leo’s injuries, but the arm around his tightens further. 

Yuichi glances up and grimaces. Leo’s face looks gray in the moonlight, and there’s a halting hitch to his breathing that he’s clearly fighting to suppress. Yuichi is about to ask if he’s okay when footsteps sound at the edge of his hearing. He freezes and feels Leo’s body tense in response. 

“You hear that too?” A man’s voice whispers from a few meters away. 

“Yeah,” another voice responds, just as quiet. “Circle around.” The footsteps branch off before drifting closer, each coming in from the opposite end. They’ll be surrounded in seconds. 

Yuichi squeezes Leo’s arm, pulling his attention from the tree line down to him. Fierce white eyes stare down at him, but Yuichi doesn’t let that distract him and he silently points towards the source of the noise and mimes two people splitting up and coming towards them, praying that Leo will understand what he’s trying to say.

He does. Leo’s head whips around, blank eyes scanning the forest floor. Yuichi’s ears twitch as one of the cultists steps on a stick, cracking it under his boot. They’re close, too close. Leo suddenly leans forward, Yuichi’s back arching awkwardly from where he’s pressed against the other’s chest, as he reaches down with his free hand and snatches up a pine cone. 

Without hesitation, he turns on a pivot and launches the pine cone far through the trees. It lands in the leaves with a rustling thud, startling a nearby squirrel and causing it to skitter off deeper into the forest. The footsteps pause for a long moment before Yuichi hears one of the humans murmur, “Stupid squirrels.” 

“Getting too touchy out here,” the other says. “I fucking hate nature.” 

The footsteps start up again, picking their way back towards camp before veering off, presumably continuing their patrol route. Yuichi sags against Leo’s chest, muscles feeling like jelly as the adrenaline rushes out of them. Then he remembers who he’s laying against and tries to jerk upright, but Leo’s grip once again stops him.

“They’re gone,” Yuichi whispers to him. “They’re back on their route.” 

The tension drains out of Leo’s shoulders and he lets his grip relax. Yuichi slides out of his hold and turns to face him, scanning him for new injuries. He doesn’t seem worse off than before, some blood is beading through the linen bandages across his plastron, but it doesn’t look like Yuichi landing on him has opened the wound any further. 

“Are you hurt?” Leo whispers. Yuichi blinks at him and takes quick stock of himself. His nose hurts, and when he reaches up to check it his fingers come away bloody. After a few cautious pokes, he determines it’s not broken and nods to Leo. “Is your back alright?” he asks quietly, already reaching for the lip of his shell. Leo lets him and leans forward slightly to let him look over his back. It looked fine to Yuichi, not even a scratch. Turtle shells were really tough apparently. 

As if he’s reading Yuichi’s mind, Leo says quietly, “Don’t worry, my shell can take a hit.” Then his eyes narrow and he glances up towards the canopy. “We can’t stay down here, we have to get back up.”

Yuichi nods and reaches out to haul him back to his feet. Leo sways for a moment before he locks his knees and steadies himself. They climb back up the tree much more slowly and stiffly than before. Yuichi is panting by the time he reaches the top and listens intently for any more approaching patrols as he waits for Leo to join him. 

After a few minutes where they both catch their breath, Leo takes point and they continue on, picking their way over the branches much more carefully than before. Yuichi can see Leo testing the limbs, pressing his weight firmly against each branch before moving forward and allowing Yuichi to step on it. They continue on without incident, drifting closer and closer to the main encampment. Tents have been erected and multiple fires dot the camp, giving the entire clearing a dark orange glow. Murmuring voices drift upwards as the cultists set about various tasks, which is fine by Yuichi as the added noise helps to mask the sounds of them crossing the branches high above the camp. 

Yuichi’s body feels wound tight, like rocks were jammed where muscles should be. His heart beats loudly in this chest, fast and fluttery, and it's a wonder that the humans below them can’t hear it. He expects them to be spotted at any moment in a hail of shouts and fired arrows, but it never comes. They cross over the main encampment without incident and are approaching the outer edges where just a few tents set when a faint voice from off to their right catches Yuichi’s ears.

“Have our scouts returned yet?” 

Yuichi’s body locks into place, rabbit instincts overriding all thoughts until he feels frozen. The voice lingers just on the edge of his hearing, but he would know it anywhere. It’s haunted his nightmares since he was five years old. 

“Yes, sir,” a woman’s voice replies. 

“And what did they find?” The Godkiller asks. 

Ahead of him, Leo paused, sensing that Yuichi wasn’t following. He glances back at him, and Yuichi doesn’t know what his face is doing, but whatever his expression is makes Leo turn right around and pick his way back to him. Yuichi’s hand shoots out, gripping Leo’s bicep tightly. Leo frowns at him, clearly confused, and Yuichi flicks one of his ears towards Leo then swivels it towards the ground. Like before, Leo seems to immediately understand what Yuichi is trying to say and settles down more firmly on the branch, his stark eyes keeping watch towards the ground while Yuichi strains the edges of his senses to the two humans far below them. 

“We only found what we believe to be traces of their camp from last night, but no other signs of them,” the woman was saying. Her voice has an odd quality to it, a stiffness that Yuichi can’t place. “The route to the pass is narrowed down by cliffs and rock slides on either side. They will be bottlenecked into keeping to the main trail, which will force them to travel in the same direction as us. As such, they won't be able to avoid passing our camp.” 

“You posted the guards,” The Godkiller says, not making it sound like a question.

“Yes, sir. They are running regular patrols to keep an eye out for them. When they pass through, we will know.”

Yeah, sure they would. Despite himself, Yuichi can’t help the smug smile that pulls at his lips. He jumps slightly as Leo reaches over and presses them both flush against the tree trunk, eyes tracking one of the cultists’ patrols unerringly as they pass right below them. The humans pass by without looking up, and Leo peels his gaze away from their retreating backs to give Yuichi a pleading look. He points a finger firmly towards the branches leading out of the camp, but Yuichi ignores him, shaking his head side to side as he strains to listen further. 

Their situation here was precarious at best, he knew that. But they had no idea of the cults' next move, and any information Yuichi can glean about their plans may be vital. 

“Good,” the Godkiller’s smoky voice drawls. “I’d prefer to get my hands on the rabbit before it gets to the mountains. It’ll have the advantage on that terrain.” There’s a shifting sound and a wooden squeak. as if someone has stood from a chair. Heavy footfalls sound for a few moments before turning and starting again in short paces. They must be in one of those tents, Yuichi realizes, eyes scanning the ground, trying to suss out which tent they were in.

“What did you find at Tenshi Pass?” the Godkiller continues. 

Yuichi’s ears twitch. Why did they still have people posted at Tenshi Pass? The bridge had been cut, and even if it hadn’t been, they had no key to cross with. What was the point in sticking around?

Another faint squeak as someone- the woman probably- shifts in their seat. “The rhino, cat, and fox were seen arriving on the other edge of the ravine late this evening,” she says. “We believe they’re there to supervise and guard the construction of a new bridge.”

Yuichi curses silently. Gen and the others were rebuilding the bridge. But why? It would take several days to repair, and there were other entrances along the border they could use if they had to leave Neo Edo. Why take the risk of repairing Tenshi? They may be safe on the other side, but as soon as they crossed they would be sitting ducks for the Godless lying in wait.  

“We have troops scattered through the area,” she continues, echoing Yuichi’s panicked thoughts. “They will lie in wait for them to cross to the other side once the bridge is repaired.”

Yuichi’s mind whirls. Shit, he had to find some way to warn his friends, but he had no way of getting a message to them, and they certainly couldn't turn back now; they'd be easy pickings for the Godless’ scouts. 

“Good. What’s the status of our weapon?”

Yuichi’s thoughts come to a screeching halt, his mind back pedaling as both of his ears swivel to point unerringly at the last tent at the edge of the cluster. Weapon? What weapon?

“Tests have been effective so far, but the dispersal device is not quite ready and still needs further testing. Protective equipment for the troops should be ready to roll out by the end of the week.”

“May I see a demonstration?” The Godkiller asks, a note of curiosity entering his voice. 

“Of course, sir.”

Two sets of footsteps sound over each other for a few moments before the sound of squeaking wheels catches Yuichi’s ears. He can hear the woman’s lighter footsteps as she approaches the object. “Found one of these little critters near our camp. The perfect test subject for our purposes.” There’s a heavy rustling sound, like a large piece of fabric being pulled away from something. Distantly, Yuichi feels Leo grip his arm, shaking him slightly, but he barely notices as a headache blooms in his temples. He pulls his senses taught, every iota of his attention focused on that tent. 

A very familiar warbling noise hits his ears. It’s a yamabiko, he would recognize its echoes anywhere. It cries out, the sound muffled by the walls of whatever container it’s been placed within. The chair squeaks again as someone settles into it. 

“Proceed,” the Godkiller says cooly. 

A moment later there are clicking sounds, followed by a midtone hiss, like water or some kind of pressurized gas escaping a canister. Whatever it is, it elicits an immediate reaction from the yamabiko. There’s a scrabbling sound followed by a hollow thump, as if the yokai was trying to move away from the source of the hiss. Thuds sound over and over again, and Yuichi has no trouble imagining the mountain yokai throwing itself against its cage as it tries to escape.

The hissing continues, and suddenly an ear splitting screech fills the air, causing Yuichi and Leo to both flinch. The cry warps strangely through the forest as the echoing quality the yokai is known for twists in on itself, becoming shrill and discordant. The murmurings from the main encampment fall silent as the forest itself stands on edge. The scream veers off into high-pitched choking noises that set off a strange ringing in Yuichi’s ears. Leo’s grip on his arm twists sharply as he whispers in a tense voice, “What’s happening?” 

He sounds afraid, but Yuichi can’t even spare him a glance. It’s like his entire being is focused in on that tent. The sharp ring of claws against glass fill the gaps between the yamabiko’s rasping breaths. There’s another click then the hissing grows louder. A high keen spills from the tent, the sound so desperate, so agonized that it twists Yuichi’s heart in his chest, before all traces of the yamabiko disappears from his hearing, leaving only the sound of hissing gas and an aching void where the creature’s breathing once was. A low, watery gurgling filters through the ringing in Yuichi’s ears for just a moment, and then there is nothing. 

Nothing. There is nothing . Yuichi leans even further over the branch, stretching his hearing as far as it can possibly go, praying to every god he knows of that the creature will stir. Leo’s grip on his arm tightens as he pulls him back from the freefall below, but Yuichi doesn’t even notice because he can’t hear the yamabiko, there is nothing, nothing , nothing— 

“Yuichi?” Leo whispers, his voice tight.

Yuichi gapes silently at the tent, horrified. His body feels cold and completely numb at the same time. For a few long, agonizing moments there is only the sound of that horrible hissing, before there’s another click and the sound abruptly cuts off. 

In the terrible silence that follows, the Godkiller purrs, “Excellent.”

Chapter Text

Leo races through the treetops, hurtling stiffly from limb to limb as he tries to catch up with Yuichi. Unlike before, when Yuichi had been holding up the rear, he was now in the lead, darting over the branches well ahead of Leo. He didn’t know what Yuichi had heard back at that camp, but whatever it was it clearly hadn't been good.  

When the pained cries had ceased and that thick silence had fallen over the camp, Yuichi had seemed frozen in place for just a moment before he moved, shooting off like a bullet for the outskirts of the camp. Heads below craned upwards at the noise, but Yuichi was long gone. Leo had thrown himself into the shadows of the canopy  and held himself statue-still, bleeding into the backdrop until the searching eyes below shifted away. He held position for a few moments more, before scrambling after the samurai, keeping as quiet as he can. 

He’s been struggling to keep up ever since. He hears Yuichi more often than he sees him, and Leo wants to shout at him to slow down and for the love of god, be quiet!, but with the Godless only a few dozen yards away he doesn’t dare. He skitters from tree to tree, chest burning, and keeps his eyes on the moon-lit flashes of white and dark blue ahead of him. A running leap from a twisted limb closes the distance between them, and Leo pushes his stiff legs to keep pace with the yokai.

After a few breathless minutes, well clear of the human camp, Yuichi throws himself from the treetop gracelessly, landing on the forest floor with a heavy thud before he lurches forward and keeps going, not looking back or breaking stride for even a second. Leo drops down right behind him, stumbling as he lands and jarring his right knee on the packed forest floor.

A groan shakes its way past his clenched teeth, and he loses a few precious seconds as he takes stock and makes sure it’s not dislocated as an old familiar throbbing pain flares up in his knee. He didn’t think it was, but it was definitely bruised and he’d definitely aggravated his old injury.  Leo looks back up to see that Yuchi is gone again, disappeared into the darkness ahead, the rustling of his hurried steps growing quickly faint. Anxiety pools in Leo’s chest and he lurches upright before stumbling after him. 

A busted knee sucks, but getting lost in this forest on his own would suck a lot more. He knee protests loudly, but he grits his teeth and pushes the pain to the back of his mind, stumbling forward to catch up, his limp smoothing out with each step.  

He only has to go forward a few paces before the yokai comes back into view, moving noticeably slower than he was before, but not slow enough for Leo to easily catch up. 

“Yuichi! Yuichi, wait! Slow down!” Leo hisses, trying to keep his voice as low as possible. He scrambles forward as he desperately tries to catch up with the rabbit, but Yuichi doesn’t slow his pace. After several more clumsy steps through slippery leaves and thorny foliage, Leo  reaches for the cane strapped to his shell and uses it to push on. He rushes forward, straining his already aching muscles as he pushes himself faster and faster, closing the distance between them.

“Yuichi, would you please just stop!” Leo shouts, frustration bleeding into his tone as he reaches out towards the rabbit, snatching the corner of his kimono and yanks him to a halt. “What the hell was that about? What happened back there?”

Yuichi rips his sleeve out of Leo’s grip and whirls around to face him, his face twisted into a harsh glare. Leo has to stop himself from flinching back when Yuichi gets right up in his face and hisses, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Leo blinks at him, taken aback. “Tell you what?”

“That the Godless have some kind of fucking chemical weapon!” Yuichi shouts, pointing an accusing finger in his face. 

Leo pushes his hand away and glares back. “What are you talking about? Talk to me. What exactly did you hear?”  

Yuichi’s gaze darkens and he takes another step forward. “I’m talking about the poison that I just heard them use to murder an innocent yamabiko!” he seethes. “How could you not tell me?”

“Because I didn’t know about it!”

“Bullshit!” Yuchi snarls. “You were with them for weeks! You’re telling me you sat there watching them that whole time and didn’t know anything about this? Do you think I’m fucking stupid?” 

Leo gapes at him. He can’t believe what Yuichi is accusing him of; as if he would ever be involved with what those freaks were planning. “Yuichi.” He tries to keep his voice calm, but he doesn’t think he’s succeeding as he says, “They kept me drugged and sedated the entire time - I don’t remember a damn thing. All I remember are hazy moments when they woke me up just to beat me for their own entertainment!”

Yuichi flinches, taking a step back away from Leo and glaring over his head towards the camp. He growls in frustration and nervously runs his hands over his ears as he starts pacing back and forth. The rabbit’s breathing is heavy, his eyes trained on the treeline and wide with panic as he practically buzzes with agitation. 

Despite the yokai’s accusations, Leo feels something in his chest twinge at seeing him like this. “I didn’t know, I promise. I wouldn’t have hidden something like that from you.” He’s pitched his voice down in that soothing way that always worked wonders on Mikey, hoping to calm the samurai down. 

It doesn’t work. Yuichi’s gaze snaps back down to him as he glares. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter now. We just need to keep moving and get to Neo Edo as soon as possible. I have to warn the council of what the Godless have planned.” 

The rabbit pushes past him continuing forward through the woods without another word. Leo watches him go for a second, heart pounding, before he grips his cane tightly and moves to catch up. A stiff silence falls between them and Leo was loath to break it, but they were in the middle of enemy territory and one of them had to be the adult here. So, he tamps down on the bubbling, offended anger in his chest and asks, “What’s the plan? Do you know a safe place for us to stop for the night?”

Yuichi keeps his fast clip forward without so much as a glance in Leo’s direction. “We’re not stopping,” he says curtly. “We keep going.” 

“What?” Leo exclaims before stumbling over a protruding tree root. His knee pulses with a deep ache as he goes down, landing face first to the ground. The ache in his chest spikes, immediately drowning out the pain in his knee and he hisses as he quickly pulls himself up. Yuichi’s steps don’t even pause as he continues his march through the trees. 

“Yuichi,” Leo wheezes, rubbing at the tears that had sprung in his eyes. “You can’t be serious. We need to rest . We can regroup in the morning, come up with a new plan, but we can't just—“

“We will rest once we've made it to the other side of Akuma Pass,” Yuichi snarls, cutting him off. He pushes his way through a dense patch of branches, shredding flowers and leaves as he blazes past. 

“Yuic—” One of the branches snaps back in Leo’s face, causing him to stumble back, face stinging. The anger bubbles back up and he has to pause for a second to take a deep, calming breath. Once he regains his composure, he pushes his way past branches and scowls at the rabbits back.

“Are you crazy?” he hisses at him. “I know this is important, but we can’t just march all the way to Akuma Pass without stopping! ” 

Leo needs to get through to him. They both need to rest, to actually think and make a plan. He can already feel a burning fatigue settle into his limbs from the long day, a dull throbbing soreness radiating from deep in his muscles. He’s really regretting his earlier need to show off when they first started making their way over the treetops. His breathing comes in raspy pants and it doesn’t sound like Yuichi is doing much better ahead of him. They’re exhausted, and Leo knows no good decisions will be made when they’re running in fumes. 

Looking at the still set of Yuichi’s shoulders, Leo is suddenly reminded of Raph and switches tactics, lending his voice a pleading edge. “Yuichi, please—“

“We keep moving,” Yuichi interrupts again, a stubbornness leaking into his voice that clearly says discussion over . “The Godkiller doesn’t want us getting into the mountains before him. He knows I’ll have the advantage on that terrain. We need to beat him there.” The ring of the samurai drawing his sword seems to echo in the still night air. The rabbit snarls, dogged determination in his eyes as starts hacking and slashing his way past a thick patch of branches.

Leo grinds his teeth, jaw creaking. Yuichi was apparently the leader of his team and seemed to be good at it, but Leo isn’t seeing any sign of that now. The yokai was going to get them captured and killed if they didn’t just stop and think for one damn minute! Leo wants to keep arguing, but his legs burn and he can’t catch his breath as he barely keeps up to Yuichi’s quick pace. He glares at his back instead; if the rabbit isn’t going to see reason then Leo wasn't going to waste air he didn’t have arguing with him.

Instead, he focuses on keeping up, muttering curses under his breath as he follows the rabbit down the path in the ever growing darkness. Though his coordination had started to improve throughout the day, the long hours of hiking was starting to catch up with him. His footsteps dragged, kicking up clouds of dirt with every step as he did his best to follow in the rabbits footsteps. 

He’d never admit it out loud since it was his idea and all, but their sprint through the treetops had left him more drained than he’d anticipated. His whole body ached with over exertion, the wound in his plastron throbbing in a way that set his teeth on edge. He needed a break, but he apparently wouldn’t be getting one. Yuichi wouldn’t just leave him if he fell behind, right? Leo didn’t think he would, but as he watches Yuichi growl and hack away at another offending branch, he decides he’d rather not test it.

Suddenly Yuichi veers right, stepping off the path and starts a stomping stride through the woods. Confused but too tired to object, Leo follows. This new path is uneven and overgrown. Leo heaves his legs forward as his muscles start to quiver in protest of every step. It wasn’t long before he found himself climbing over boulders, gnarled roots, and fallen trees, struggling to keep up. 

He pulls himself up over a particularly large boulder, heaving himself up and gritting his teeth at the burning pain that shoots through his plastron as he does so. 

Leo pants, straining his muscles as he struggles to pull himself up over the ledge with fingertips that tremble and ache. Although he didn’t hear what happened back at that camp, he understands Yuichi’s need for urgency, he really does, but the terrain is growing more and more harsh and he isn’t sure how much longer he could keep this up. 

“Yuichi,” he gasps. “ Hnnn… w-what gives? What about the path we were on? There has to be an easier way.” 

Yuichi doesn’t pause, merely glancing back at him. “We’re taking a shortcut through wild yokai territory,” he says shortly. “Should save us some time.” 

Leo pauses to stare at him, but Yuichi has already turned away and keeps walking. Great. Just great. What was his freaking deal with the ‘wild’ yokai? Seriously, only a few hours ago he was going on and on about how ‘wild’ yokai were all uncivilized blood thirsty killers and now he wants to just waltz right through their territory? 

“I thought,” Leo puffs, “you wanted to avoid them ‘cause they’re all bloodthirsty monsters.” He may be exhausted beyond reason, but he has no trouble throwing a mocking edge into his voice. 

Yuichi glares back at him. “I do. But this is our best option at the moment.” He turns away and continues blazing the path forward.

Leo scowls at the rabbits retreating back. Oh yeah, wild yokai are super dangerous and must be avoided at all costs, but can be totally ignored when it is convenient for him. “Hypocrite,” he mutters under his breath. 

“You know I can hear you, right?” Yuichi snaps over his shoulder, causing Leo jump slightly. 

Right, super hearing. He really needs to remember that. 

As they continue forward, the trees shift and rattle in the nighttime breeze, their shadows morphing in unnatural ways that Leo can’t deny sets his nerves on edge. Yuichi's ears flick constantly back and forth, tracking the sounds of the forest that Leo’s hearing isn’t sensitive enough to pick up. The woods are alive with the chittering dozens of unknown creatures that all send chills down his spine. His instincts buzz and he can practically feel eyes tracking them from out of the shadowy depths. He swears he can see shapes moving out of the corner of his eye, but every time he turns to investigate he finds nothing, only tricks of the light and shadows playing games with his head. He doesn’t know what exactly the rabbit is hearing, but whatever it is has his nerves set on edge as Yuichi quickens his pace, pushing them both faster and faster through the forest.

Leo is squinting warily at a rustling bush nearby when a low rumble of thunder off in the distance startles him out of his musings. He glances up to find storm clouds rolling in, cresting over the mountain tops. He eyes the large black clouds as they roil over the peaks, the storm slowly gathering steam over the valley. Looks like they have more things to worry about than whatever wild yokai might be in the forest. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to get caught in a downpour, much less getting struck by lightning. 

Leo tears his gaze from the roiling clouds to Yuichi’s retreating form, barely visible in the darkness. Surely he’ll be willing to see reason and find shelter now. Right?

“Hey, uhh, should we be worried about that?” he asks cautiously, pointing to the heavy clouds. 

The rabbit pauses, looking back at Leo then follows the direction of his finger up to the storm just as another rumble of thunder shakes through the sky. He stares at the clouds for all of half a second before looking back at Leo, his expression flat. “Should be fine,” the rabbit says, casually waving his hand in the air before continuing down the path.

“Are you sure?” Leo sputters. “Shouldn't we stop and find shelter? I mean, if we get caught in a downpour and—“  

“No,” Yuichi says firmly, cutting him off. “It’s too dangerous to stop here.” His voice sounds firm, but Leo can see him glancing up at the sky almost anxiously, his profile visible in brief flashes from distant lightning. “Besides,” he continues. “It should just stick to the mountain peaks.” 

He doesn't even sound like believes himself; his voice quavers as he eyes the storm. It’s not exactly filling Leo with some much needed reassurance here. Leo beats down his steaming anger with a stick and tries again, “But what if it doesn't—”

“Then we'll worry about it then—“

“Interrupt me again,” Leo challenges, beyond annoyed. Seriously, what was with this guy? He tries to hobble forward and catch up so they can have this conversation on even ground, but he can’t. If anything, Yuichi seems to speed up. “Stop and listen to me for two seconds!” Leo snaps. “We. Need . To. Find. Shelter.” 

The samurai glares at him balefully over his shoulder. Impatience pours from his voice as he says, “No. You’re the outsider here; you don’t know these paths like I do. We need to keep moving.” 

He turns without another word, continuing forward. Leo eyes the gathering clouds again before gripping his cane tighter and continuing down the path, too out of breath and focused on keeping Yuichi in sight to argue further. It was getting darker and darker by the minute, only the dim light of a partial moon lighting their path. 

The trees around them grow more twisted and gnarled as they make their way up the foothills until Leo is forced to climb over giant mounds of knotted roots, barely managing to keep his balance with the help of the cane. He can feel his knee and plastron protest with every rock he’s forced to climb over and every limb he crawls under. Leo knows Yuichi can hear him struggling, the rabbit's ears twitch back towards him every few minutes, but the rabbit doesn’t slow his pace a single degree. 

As they make their way farther through the forest, a thick fog rolls over the valley, turning the world a soft and muffled gray. It isn’t long before Leo can barely see the ground beneath his feet, the fog kicking up in misty swirls as he drags himself onwards. Yuichi becomes a smudged blur ahead of him, white fur that glowed in the moonlight shifting to a sooty gray that blends in with the landscape.

Yuichi seems undeterred, continuing quickly over the steep terrain. Leo periodically darts brief glances up at the storm, keeping tabs on the clouds as they roll across the night sky, threatening to block out their only source of light in the darkness. The scent of rain wafts in on the breeze, the air around them humming with the energy as the clouds grow darker and darker on the horizon. Every now and then, lightning flashes, lighting up the fog around them with a misty glow. Leo uses one of these flashes to orient himself, glancing around at the sparse trees and rugged shrubs. When the light fades, and he turns back to the path and eyes Yuichi’s smudged form far up the path ahead of him, barely more than a blur in the backdrop.

Shit, he’s falling behind. He pushes forward, ignoring the burn in his limbs, and curses under his breath. He regrets every single decision he’s made in his life that has led him here. Here on this stupid mountain, chased by a stupid cult, following a suicidally stupid rabbit who was still going too damn fast! 

“Yuichi,” Leo rasps around heaving lungs. “Would you slow down?” His voice sounds thin and muffled in the fog, echoing back at his ears strangely. His raspy panting seems too loud in the stillness as he stumbles along the path, pushing aside branches as he goes. 

The rabbit doesn’t even turn, simply forging ahead on the path even as his ears flick back in his direction. Leo’s about to call out again, when he hears a brief rustling in the bushes right beside the path. He freezes. 

“Hey, Yuichi, I think there’s something out there…”   

A flurry of movement in the corner of his eye causes Leo’s gaze to snap back to the path. His eyes flit back and forth rapidly, looking for anything out of place, but he only sees Yuichi making his way forward, shoulders stiff. 

The rabbit doesn’t acknowledge his call, busily hacking away at a particularly dense patch of foliage. Leo frowns and opens his mouth to say something, when the bushes shuffle again. 

He stays where he is, straining his hearing, but the bushes are still and silent. He’s about to dismiss it as his sleep-deprived brain playing tricks on him, when he hears the sound of a twig snapping in the underbrush. The rustling starts up again, grows rapidly closer and Leo’s hand tightens around his cane and he stumbles back. He turns, attempting to flee whatever creature is coming at him out of the trees, but he doesn’t get far; his foot catches on a gnarled root. He twists and manages to land on his back instead of his injured plastron just as something launches from the underbrush and hits him square in the chest.

The air leaves his lungs and a sharp pain spears through him as the thing on his chest bears down on the crack in his chest. He cries out and flails, swinging his arm up and shoving the creature off of him. He heaves to his feet, but the muscles in his legs cramp and tremble, sending him right down to his knees. He wheezes, pain settling over his mind in a blanket as thick as the fog around him. His chest throbs as he gingerly attempts to pull himself up off the ground. After several fumbling attempts, he manages to push himself upright and finds himself face to face with a… lizard. 

No, that wasn’t right. It looks more like a dinosaur- and a small one at that- and there’s more than one. Several of the creatures walk around him, playfully nipping at one another and sniffing Leo curiously as they pass. Leo blinks at them dazedly. He dimly remembers seeing a few of these things in Miyomoto’s time, what were they called again? Tokage lizards? 

The lizard that had jumped at him creeps forward, sniffing at him curiously, which Leo cautiously allows. He doesn’t know much about these things, but he remembers them being fairly harmless the few times they had encountered them. As the creature inches closer, Leo remains still, not wanting to startle the animal and all too happy to take a moment to catch his breath. Soon enough, the lizard is clamoring into his lap and pushing right up in his face, sniffing at his mask. Leo can’t help the laugh that escapes him as the creature's nose brushes against his own. The animal startles back slightly, but doesn’t venture far. It tilts its head at him curiously as it cautiously inches closer once more. 

Slowly as not to startle the creature, Leo reaches his hand out. When the animal doesn’t shy away, he brings his hand forward, scratching under the lizard's chin. The effect is instantaneous as the creature closes its eyes, a happy little growling churr emanating from the back of its throat. Leo chuckles; these things were actually kinda cute. The lizard crawls closer, settling into Leo’s lap as he continues scratching at its chin. 

The moment of relative peace is interrupted by Yuichi’s stomping footsteps as he heads back down the trail towards him.

“Leo, what’s the hold up?” he calls, a note of annoyance ringing clearly in his voice as he emerges from the fog. When the rabbit's eyes land on the creatures his face pulls into a snarl. He storms toward them, snatching up Leo’s discarded cane from the ground

and raises it above his head. For a wild moment, Leo thought that the yokai was going to take a swing at him, but then the cane swings down and to the side as Yuichi swipes at the tokage.

“Get out of here!” he shouts, pushing the creatures aside. The lizards scatter, barking and chirping at them as Yuichi chases them back off into the woods. Leo stares at him, aghast by the sudden display of aggression. The tokage in his lap chirps and he tightens his grip, clutching the lizard close to his chest. Yuichi takes a swing at the bushes, his face twisted into a snarl that flashes in the lightning above - and in that moment, Leo doesn’t recognize him. 

Something wasn’t right here. 

Leo understands that they’re in a bad situation. He understands that Yuichi heard something terrible go down in that camp, and he absolutely understands the yokai’s need to warn his people as soon as possible. But Leo wouldn’t have made it this far if he ignored his instincts, and right now they were buzzing that something is wrong, wrong, wrong— 

“Bunch of parasites. Shoo! Get out of here!” Yuichi shouts, shaking the stick in the air as he finally scares off the last of the lizards. 

Leo unsticks the lump in his throat and hauls himself to his feet, clutching the tokage close. “What is wrong with you?” he hisses. “They weren’t doing any harm!”

“Yeah? Well, you won’t find it so cute when that thing and its friends keep following us begging for food,” Yuichi says, scowling down at the creature. “We don't have time for this, we need to keep moving.” 

He takes a step towards them and Leo tenses, shifting the tokage to the side and out of direct view of Yuichi’s glare. “Back up,” he warns. “It’s not hurting anyone.” 

The small creature bears its teeth at Yuichi, which really isn’t helping his point. It growls as the samurai draws closer. Yuichi stares daggers down at the snarling lizard before meeting Leo’s gaze. “Just leave it,” he says. “We need to keep moving and it will only slow us down.” He tosses Leo’s cane to the ground and turns, pushing past a dense thicket of branches and once again disappearing from sight.

Leo stares after him until the tokage shifts in his grip and he glances down. “Sorry, little guy, I gotta go.”

The creature tilts its head at him and Leo’s heart squeezes at the cute display. He glances up at the path ahead, checking that Yuichi isn’t paying attention, before he digs around in the pockets of his hakama for the handful of berries he’d saved from the creek. He sets them before the lizard. “Here, it can be our little secret.”

The little creature immediately digs in, happily munching on the berries with a deep churring noise. Leo lingers for a moment longer, wishing he could bring the little guy with them. But for all that Yuichi is being an unreasonable jerk right now, he had a point that the tokage would just slow them down.

He sighs and grabs his cane before starting off back down the path after Yuichi. He takes one last look at the small lizard, still munching on the berries, snout stained with berry juice. “Bye, little guy,” he says, smiling before turning and pushing his way through the branches. 

For once, it doesn’t take long for Leo to catch up. Yuichi is standing just on the other side of the bushes, scowling at him with his hands crossed over his chest, looking impatient and annoyed. Leo slows and raises a brow at him challengingly even as wariness settles over him. 

Yuichi meets his stare with a sneer, the hazy moonlight glinting oddly off his eyes, and that feeling of wrongness from before becomes a solid weight in Leo’s stomach.

“Took you long enough,” Yuichi says.

When Leo just stares at him silently, he huffs and turns away before heading down the trail. He marches ahead, feet pounding into the ground in a rather childish display of anger. He huffs loudly in annoyance, glaring back at Leo impatiently every few yards as he follows behind. It was bizarre, childish, and completely unlike the yokai Leo has gotten to know over the past couple of days. When he turns away for the third time, Leo doesn’t take his eyes off his back, suspicion heavy in his gaze.

Something is wrong, some innate part of him whispers. Something is wrong.

“Yuichi,” Leo calls, keeping his voice level, testing the waters. “Slow down. I can't exactly keep up right now.” 

Yuichi scoffs, barely sparing him a glance before continuing on. “Just walk faster. It’s not my fault you're slow.”

Yeah, they aren’t getting anywhere at this rate. Leo puts in a burst of speed, ignoring his leaden legs, and manages to get ahead, stepping right into Yuichi’s path. For a second, Leo thinks the yokai is going to bowl him over, but Yuichi jerks to a stop right in front of him, glaring balefully. 

Leo glares right back. “What’s your problem? You’ve been a complete asshole ever since we left that camp.”

Yuchi rolls his eyes and moves to step around him, but Leo plants his cane into the ground, blocking the way. “No,” he says firmly. “You’re going to listen to me. I get that you’re worried about your people, but that’s no excuse for how you’ve been acting.” 

Yuichi grins down at him, eyes gleaming. “And how have I been acting?”

“Like a dick.” 

He laughs, and the sound sets off a steaming anger in Leo’s stomach that pushes the wariness right to the back seat. “Here’s what’s gonna happen,” Leo says through gritted teeth. “You’re going to get your head out of your ass, we’re going to find a place to camp, and we’re going to rest until sunrise. Then we will continue on.” 

“No. We need to keep moving. It’s not my fault you’re dead weight. Keep up or don’t - not my problem either way.” 

“It’s too dangerous to keep going in the dark like this. Even if you ditched me and went solo, you’d have to stop eventually.” 

“Why are you so eager for us to stop, Leo?” Yuichi asks with a hard smile, stepping right up in his face. “Trying to give your master time to catch up?” 

Leo’s jaw drops for a bare second before he snaps it closed. He careens his head upwards, matching Yuichi’s glare beat for beat as anger and something like betrayal swirls in his stomach.

“ Excuse me?” 

If Yuichi notices the dangerous edge in Leo’s voice, he ignores it. He looms over Leo and crosses his arms, the line of his shoulders screaming with aggression. “Admit it, you’re working with them. You’re one of their spies!” 

“How dare you,” Leo seethes. “I already told you I didn’t know about the weapon!” 

“Sure, that’s what you say—“

“ Why would I be working with them! ” Leo explodes, shoving Yuichi back a few steps. “They hurt me! They attacked my family and took me from my home! They dragged me across the world and kept me in a fucking box for weeks! How dare you accuse me of working with those monsters!” 

Yuichi throws back his head and laughs. 

Something in Leo’s chest folds; Yuichi punching him straight in the face would have felt better. He glares to cover up any hurt that may flash across his face, but Yuichi’s grin widens as if he saw it anyway and thought it was hilarious. 

This wasn’t the same yokai who rescued him the day before. It wasn’t the one who defended him against his own team and helped him to walk. 

It certainly wasn’t the one who held out his hand and told him it was okay to ask for help.

Told you, his instincts say. Something is wrong.

Leo wants to take a step back, but makes himself stay in place. He fights to keep his voice calm, not wanting to give the yokai any more ammunition. “What happened to ‘I promise to get you home safe, Leo’? Remember that?” 

Yuichi rolls his eyes, as if Leo were being the unreasonable one. “Yeah, that was before I knew you’d be such a pain in the ass. Seriously all you do is bitch and moan.” His voice takes on a high, mocking edge. “‘ Yuichi, I can’t keep up, Yuichi, slow down, Yuichi, my knee hurts. ’ Seriously, do you ever stop complaining?”

Leo blinks and draws back.

Got him, his instincts sing, triumphant. 

“How do you know my knee hurts?” 

Yuichi pauses, looking wrong-footed for the first time since all this started. “What?” 

Leo stares right at him, unblinking. “My knee. I injured it while chasing you through the woods. You were ahead of me and didn’t see it. How do you know about it?” 

Yuichi stares at him silently. Leo leans forward, and he doesn’t know what his face is doing, but whatever it is it causes the yokai to shy away. 

“ Who are you ?” 

Leo doesn’t wait for the creature before him to answer. He grips his cane and swings upwards, aiming for the soft underside of its chin. Just before the staff can connect, its hand shoots out with almost inhuman speed, grabbing ahold of the staff and roughly wrenching it out of Leo’s grip. The force sends him right to the ground, and he hisses as every single one of his injuries makes themselves known. 

The crack in his plastron is an aching pit in his chest. He wheezes, struggling to catch his breath through the pain and the dust as he tries to quickly regain his feet. He wobbles for a moment, but manages to find his balance before he topples over. He winces, clutching the wound in his plastron as he struggles to steady his shaking limbs before glaring ahead at the creature murderously.

“Where is Yuichi?” 

The creature grins widely, and the expression is so off-putting on Yuichi’s face that Leo’s stomach turns. 

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” it sing-songs, before it cranes its arm back and flings Leo’s cane far into the darkness of the forest. Leo uses its moment of distraction to lunge forward, but the creature's gaze whips towards him and it moves again, its form a white and blue blur in the darkness as it deftly dodges Leo’s clumsy grab and disappears. 

Leo stumbles to a halt, looking around wildly before laughter overhead pulls his gaze upwards. The creature wearing Yuichi’s face is hanging upside down, grinning down at him. Its feet stick to the underside of the limb like glue, in complete defiance of gravity. What the fuck? 

The yokai’s laughs and laughs, swinging idly back and forth. Leo makes a grab for it as it drifts closer, but misses, sending the creature into hysterics. The laughter seems to morph, warping and going up in pitch until it’s completely unrecognizable from any sound Leo has ever heard. His tympana strums and he takes a single, unbidden step back. 

The creature laughs impossibly harder at his retreat, swinging around the branch a couple times before standing on it upright. It giggles and jitters, bouncing up and down on the branch, violently shaking the limbs of the tree. Leo is just wondering how he’s gonna get the creature down and shake the answers out of it, before a loud crack sounds from the branch and it gives away. The creature falls like a stone, landing hard on the forest floor with a reverberating thump. It lays there, unmoving, and Leo’s head rings in the resulting silence. 

“What the hell,” he murmurs, inching forward. He slowly reaches his hand out towards it, but before he can make contact, the rabbit’s form disappears in an explosion of leaves, sending Leo stumbling back. 

A furry, mid-sized creature emerges from beneath the leaves, staring mischievously up at Leo as it cackles.  

A tanuki, Leo realizes as he stares at the creature in shock. Then he groans, a fucking tanuki. 

Goddamnit, these guys were the fucking worst, and if one of them was here, then one of its friends had taken the real Yuichi. The tanuki couldn’t speak in this form; he wouldn’t be getting answers about where they took him anytime soon. The bare edges of panic flutter at the edge of his mind. Yuichi could be anywhere in these woods.

Leo was so, so tired. 

His impending spiral is cut off as the creature leaps, landing heavily on Leo's shoulders causing him to stumble under its weight. “Hey! Get off of me, you little—” He is immediately cut off as the tanuki tugs at his mask tails, turning the fabric around his head and covering his eyes.

 “Hey!”

 His hands grab at the creature, desperately trying to get it off of him, when the creature springs off his shoulders, sending him stumbling forward and careening straight into a tree. He falls back hard, the tanuki’s wild laughter ringing in his ears, as he gives a miserable groan of pain. 

He sits up and fixes his mask. Frustration steams and spits in his chest, building with no outlet. He was so sick of this! He was sick of being in pain, he was sick of collecting injuries, and he was beyond sick of floundering his way through insane situation after insane situation! 

He has to pull himself together. He was supposed to have better control over things than this! 

The creature happily bounces up and down on its tail just a few feet in front of him, still laughing hysterically. Leo snarls and lunges forward, reaching out for the creature and missing by a country mile. The frustration stemming in his chest graduates to a roiling boil. He shakily gets to his feet, stumbling forward on feeble legs as tries to get his hands on the tanuki.

“Get back here!” He shouts after it. “Show me where Yuichi is!” 

The tanuki points a taunting finger at him, cackling maniacally before bouncing out of sight beyond the tree line, its laughter fading off into the distance. 

Leo grits his teeth and stumbles after it, tripping through the underbrush. His legs felt like lead, his muscles were acid, and god, he was so tired . He quickly pushes himself upright and follows the tanuki further into the dense forest. 

He tries his best to follow the rustling sounds of the tanuki, but his steps are slow and sluggish as he stumbles forward awkwardly through the underbrush without his cane. He knows only a few yards in that he has no chance of catching up, and sure enough, the sounds of the tanuki’s laughter fade out of his range. He continues forward desperately, scrambling along until nothing but silence closes in on him from all directions.

Shit, shit, shit! Which way had it gone? Leo comes to a stop. The urge to circle wildly until he picks up a trail was strong, but he forces it back. He has to keep the trail they were on at his back; Leo wasn’t arrogant enough to think he would survive being lost in these woods, not with the condition he was in. 

The precaution does nothing to help the anxiety buzzing through his veins, however. “ Yuichi!” He risks calling out, trying to keep his voice quiet and carrying. He doesn’t want to lead the Godless right to him, and he definitely doesn’t want to attract any more batshit yokai, but what else is he supposed to do? “ Yuichi!”

The forest remains eerily silent, his voice echoing across the woods. He scans the canopy above, straining to catch any signs of Yuichi or the tanuki, but it’s no use. Deep nighttime shadows paint the forest in an inky blackness that his night vision just isn’t good enough to pierce. Cool fog rolls thickly on the forest floor, smudging the darkness further into a hazy blur.

Leo risks calling for Yuichi one more time. When only his own echoing voice answers, he resigns himself to finding the samurai himself. He didn’t think the tanuki would hurt him, not seriously at least; Leo remembers them being more troublemakers than anything, but that didn’t mean he could just leave him in their clutches, even if he was acting like a complete asshole. 

That thought brings Leo up short. Was Yuichi being an asshole, or was that the tanuki the whole time? He didn’t know when exactly the tanuki had grabbed Yuichi and made the switch. Was it just after the camp, or later? Surely it wasn’t before they snuck through the camp, right? Leo suddenly wasn’t sure, and the thought that the tanuki could have been fooling him this whole time sat like a rock in his gut. 

He shakes his head; he needs to get moving. Leo crouches down slowly, careful to keep the path directly behind him and far too aware of his aching knee as he starts swiping at the fog. Swirling mist curls in the air as he clears a section on the forest floor. Running his hands through the underbrush, Leo’s fingers snag on a sharp rock. Jackpot.

He grips the rock and pulls himself back onto his feet. Keeping his feet planted, he pivots to the side and uses the edge of the rock to score a line in the tree. The soft inner bark shines wetly in the moonlight, perfect to mark his way. Satisfied with his rudimentary plan, he takes a deep breath and pushes forward, continuing in the direction he last heard the tanuki. 

He picks his way through the forest, marking his path on every tree within arms reach. Only a few yards in, something under the fog catches his foot, and his arms pinwheel wildly for a moment as he fights gravity and his swelling knee for dominance. He rightens himself at the last second, sending up a prayer of thanks to anyone listening for not having him eat dirt for the ninth time today. Feeling ground with his foot, he lands on something lumpy and soft. He reaches down and pulls Yuichi’s pack from the fog.

“Damn,” he mutters, eyeing the shadowy tree line warily. A flutter of blue in the corner of his eye draws his gaze to a tree just ahead. A torn scrap of blue fabric sways in the breeze on a nearby branch. Leo grips the pack tighter, feeling a surge of hope. Good, he is definitely on the right track. He really needs to come up with a plan here. He was hopefully close to where the tanuki were keeping Yuichi, but he isn’t in any shape to just storm in and grab him. Of course, all of that is assuming his luck will hold and he’ll be able to find him on his own. 

Leo has never thought of himself as lucky. 

With no other options presenting themselves, he continues his shuffle forward, wracking his brain for a plan. He needed some way of finding that damn rabbit or he’d be left completely stranded. A sudden rustling from the bushes startles him out of his thoughts, his senses immediately shifting to high alert. His hand reaches over his shoulder, searching for his katana on instinct, before remembering with a deep pang that his sword was long gone. Before he can panic, a small, long-bodied creature toddles out of the bushes. Leo squints through the darkness at it, then laughs quietly. 

The little tokage from before scurries over the leaves before bumbling softly into Leo’s legs. He crouches down, reaching a hand out towards the lizard. “Hey there,” he murmurs, smiling as the tokage nuzzles into his hand. Then it chirps again and scuttles back into the bush, leaving Leo to blink after it. 

It’s back just moments later, dragging Leo’s walking stick out of the bush. He grins, “Thanks, little guy. I really needed that.” He gently pulls the stick from between its teeth and gives the lizard a pat on the head before hauling himself back up with the help of the cane.

Leo sighs with relief as the stick takes some of his weight, easing the burn in his legs. Well, that is one thing checked off the list. If he could just get Yuichi back then he will consider this a somewhat not-terrible night. His eyes search the forests fruitlessly once more before turning back to the lizard and heaving a sigh. 

“You wouldn’t have any idea where they took him, would you?” he asks sarcastically. The lizard tilts its head at him consideringly and, to Leo’s surprise, walks up to the pack and starts sniffing it intently. After a few moments, it makes a snuffling sound and starts walking forward with its nose glued to the ground. It quickly disappears into the underbrush ahead, and Leo can once again only blink after it. 

There’s no way that worked. Could this thing actually track Yuichi? Was it trying to get him to follow? His question is shortly answered by a chirp from the underbrush as the lizard reemerges. It looks at him with what Leo would swear is impatience, as if it was telling him to hurry up. 

Well, it’s not the strangest thing he’s ever seen. 

“Uh, right, okay. I’m coming,” he says, scrambling to gather the pack and his walking stick. He also snags the blue fabric from the tree before hobbling along after the tokage.  

It’s a bit of a struggle with his knee, but Leo takes great pains to never lose sight of the little lizard as he picks his way through the dense foliage. Soon enough, he can see the dim glow of firelight in the distance, and the unmistakable laughter of the tanuki. Leo smiles broadly down at the little lizard, heart lifting in relief. 

It’s not long before the camp is in sight. Keeping low so as to not give away his position, and with the tokage sticking close to his side, Leo peers through a gap in the bushes. The tanuki are set up in a small clearing, tucked away amongst the trees. Several of the yokai meander about; laughing, dancing, drinking, and generally causing a ruckus around the small fire burning in the middle of the camp. Leo scans the clearing slowly, mentally marking every tanuki he sees until his eyes land on a familiar looking rabbit trussed up in a tree to the far left of the camp. 

Yuichi jerks against his bonds in a pathetic attempt to dodge as the tanuki appear to use him as target practice, repeatedly pelting the rabbit with rotten fruit. Yuichi cries out every time he’s hit, but not much noise escapes past the gag in his mouth. Judging by the fierce glare he’s directing at them, Leo bets he’s calling out in rage more than actual pain. The samurai’s clothes are already splattered and stained with the rotten fruit juice, they’ve clearly been going at it for a while now. 

One of the tanuki takes a running leap before hurtling an apple core at him. Leo winces as it hits Yuichi right in the nose. The tanuki howl in laughter, the sound bouncing eerily against the dark trees.  

Keeping an eye on Yuichi through the leaves, Leo settles back on his haunches and considers his depressingly few options. He knows that fighting these guys isn’t one of them; they were way too slippery and hadn’t had any problems laying him and his brothers out to dry the last time they ran into them. He was in no shape for a fight right now anyways, but Miyamoto had said there was a right way to deal with these creatures, didn’t he? Shit, what was it again? Right! An offering, he has to make an offering. 

He turns, quickly pulling Yuichi’s pack off of his shoulders and digging through its contents until he finds what he’s looking for. He pulls out one of their cucumbers from earlier, taking a brief second to stare down into the bottom of the bag. Their food supply was dwindling rapidly, all that remained at the bottom of the bag was one singular cucumber and a few berries. They would definitely need to find some more food again soon, but that was a problem for Future Leo. Right now, he had more pressing matters to worry about. 

He turns to the tokage, whispering, “You stay here. I’ll come back and get you when the coast is clear.” The lizard stares up at him for a moment before settling down on its belly. Good enough. Offering in hand, Leo emerges from the bushes slowly, keeping his steps whisper-quiet. 

Every single tanuki in the clearing immediately turns in his direction, their gazes locked on to him. Leo stills as Yuichi’s eyes follow the direction the tanuki are looking. They widen as they land on him, and he starts to frantically strain against his bonds. Leo shoots him a warning look, which the rabbit ignores, and moves slowly forward, hands held high above his head. He stops just short of the ring of firelight before easing down into a kneel in front of one of the tanuki. His knee aches, but Leo is careful to not let any discomfort leak into his expression, keeping his face open and calm.

“I come with an offering in exchange for my friend, please.” He bows low, taking the cucumber and placing it on a smooth stone at the feet of the tanuki in front of him. 

A low chittering sounds around the clearing, pulsing against Leo’s hearing in a deep bass that was undercut by Yuichi’s muffled shouting. He doesn’t react to the noise, holding the prone position for a few long moments before the tanuki takes a step towards him. The yokai eyes him curiously before leaning over and collecting the offerings. Vegetables in hand, the tanuki shuffles back to join the others and complete silence falls over the clearing. 

After a long pause where nothing else happens, Leo cautiously gets to his feet. The tanuki, who only moments before had been pelting Yuichi with rotten fruit, suddenly turn and start untying the ropes binding him to the tree before backing away. Keeping the tanuki in his peripheral, Leo rushes over to the rabbit’s side as he shakes off the last of the ropes. He lands on his feet hard, listing slightly before Leo shoots out a hand and steadies him. The tanuki quickly scramble towards the fire, kicking up a trilling giggle that seems to jump from one yokai to the next until the clearing is once again a wall of noise.

Yuichi rips the gag from his mouth and starts forward, fists balled and glare firmly in place. “Stupid little—“ Whatever he was going to say is cut off with a wheeze as Leo elbows him hard in the side. When he had taken that first step, the tanuki had all turned as one towards them, the laughter petering off back into silence. Leo keeps his expression blank and his hands open and empty even as he takes one careful step between Yuichi and the other yokai, hoping to block him from their unblinking stare.  Behind his back, he makes a sharp cutting gesture with his hand, signaling to Yuichi to shut the fuck up. Sure, he gets why he’s pissed, Leo is plenty pissed himself, but now is so not the time to be hurling insults and picking fights with these things. 

Yuichi huffs, but seems to get the message because he doesn’t say anything more. Leo turns his focus back to the tanuki, bowing respectfully. “Thank you, honorable tanuki, for releasing my friend.”

There’s a pointed pause where the tanuki don’t move, so Leo elbows Yuichi again, harder this time, until he seems to get the idea. “Right,” Yuichi grits, sounding like the words were being pried out of him through sheer willpower alone. To his credit, however, he bows lower than Leo had. “Thank you, honorable tanuki.” 

As one, the tanuki bow back before disappearing in a flurry of leaves, taking the rest of the camp with them until only an empty clearing remained save for Yuichi’s swords, standing upright in the middle. They even took the fire, and Leo and Yuichi both jump as the clearing is plunged into darkness. Echoes of laughter linger at the camp’s edges and it wasn’t until the sound faded completely did Yuichi’s swords list over before clattering to the ground. 

They both breathe a sigh of relief. Leo tries to unclench his muscles group by group, feeling like he’s aged a decade in the last half hour. He looks over his shoulder, peering through the darkness to find Yuichi scowling down at his kimono as he tries to brush off some of the larger chunks of fruit still clinging to his clothes. He’s pointedly avoiding Leo’s gaze and for now that is just fine with him. Leo walks over to the swords in the middle of the clearing before he pauses, eyeing them suspiciously. They look the same as they had before, no weird markings or anything obvious like that. 

As he stares down at the katana, he has an idea. Settling on his knees once again, he stretches out his senses, sending tentative wisps of spiritual energy towards the swords. Doing this has always felt like plunging his head into icy water, and he shivers in the warm humid air of the forest. His energy levels were far too low for anything beyond a surface-level check, and honestly he hasn’t had much luck on developing his spiritual senses in general, even if he were at full strength. 

Splinter had started his spiritual training shortly after the venom incident with Karai, recognizing his natural aptitude. It was like opening up a second sight; a whole new arsenal of abilities now open to him, the power flowing like a deep river current through his very soul. It had been absolutely exhilarating. 

When he’d started his training, the skill had seemed to come to him as naturally, like he was born to do it. That wasn’t to say it had all been easy, of course, there had been occasional blocks in his progress, but he had been progressing at first. After a while, however, he could feel his connection to that new world slowly starting to dwindle, bit by bit, the flowing river reducing inch my inch until it was merely a trickling stream. The withdrawal had been so subtle at first that he hadn’t thought anything of it.

And then Splinter died, and suddenly that world was closed to him. It was like a dam had come down between him and an ocean of possibilities lying just beyond his plane of sight, leaving all his progress dead in the water. He’s spent years chipping at that wall, but it doesn’t seem like he’s even made a dent in it. 

Despite the block, he can do this much; so he stretches out the edges of his soul until it meets the inherent spirit that resides in all things, and greets Willow Branch. The other sword reaches back as well, surprising Leo with the strength of its spirit; this sword, Edgewing apparently, is well-loved. The spirits of the two katana both chime in a way that drifts beyond sound, a frequency that tunes into the very world around it. The notes are clear and ringing, in perfect harmonization with each other and the sound is a cool balm to Leo’s own spirit as something inside of him chimes back. No signs of corruption or malice, and he’s surprised by the relief he feels to find that the two swords are unharmed. 

Leo pulls back just as the energy drain leaks at the edge of his awareness, knowing all too well the consequences of pushing those limits too far. He has what he needs anyway; the swords are fine. With that, he scoops them up before turning back to Yuichi, who was still fiddling with his clothes.

“Well. That was… unpleasant,” the rabbit mutters as he peels a rather large chuck of peach off the sleeve of his kimono, face turned up in disgust. Leo walks back up to him and offers his swords. Yuichi’s expression immediately lights up as his hands dart out to grab them. “Oh, Willow Branch, thank the gods!”  

“Are you alright?” Leo asks. 

“Yeah, yeah, the little bastards just wanted someone for target practice, I guess. What about you? You’re limping, did they hurt you? How did you even find us?” 

Leo waves the stream questions away. “I’m fine, just fell and banged up my knee. And I had some help finding you.” 

Yuichi frowns in confusion as Leo turns away and hobbles back to the line of bushes at the edge of the clearing. “You can come out now,” he calls quietly. 

There’s an immediate rustling from the bushes as the tokage rushes out, making a beeline for Leo’s legs. He smiles down at the little lizard before glancing back at Yuichi warily. 

None of the disgust he saw on the doppelgänger from before shows on Yuichi’s face now, much to Leo’s relief. He just looks surprised and mildly intrigued 

“Is that a tokage?” Yuichi asks, moving forward before crouching down by Leo’s feet. He moves to touch the yokai, then pulls back quickly when the lizard bares its teeth at him. Yuichi looks put-out and shoots it a sullen glare before looking up at Leo. “Where did you find it?” 

“On the path. There was a whole cluster of them, and this little guy seems to want to stick around.” 

Yuichi groans. “You didn’t feed it, did you? It’ll follow us forever if you did.” 

“You sound like the tanuki,” Leo snips, daring Yuichi to start catching an attitude again. At his feet, the tokage growls, as if sensing Leo’s change in tone.

But Yuichi just holds up his hands in a pacifying gesture to the both of them. “Harsh, but fair I guess. Is this the help you mentioned?” 

Leo relaxes, and he feels the tokage’s tail curl lightly around his ankle. He eases down next to Yuichi, giving the lizard a light scratch under its chin. “Yeah, it got your scent off your pack and lead me right here. I don’t know if I would have found you without it.” 

Yuichi gives a surprised hum. “Didn’t know they could do that.” His fingers twitch, like he wants to reach out to the lizard again but is holding himself back. Instead, he dips his head in a slight bow and says, “Thank you for your help.” 

The tokage blinks up at him, then flashes its teeth again. Leo snorts. Tough crowd. Yuichi huffs then stands, groaning slightly. “C’mon, we need to get moving.” 

Leo stays right where he is. “Oh, you have got to be kidding! You better have head trauma or something for even suggesting that. We’re setting up camp, right now.” 

Yuichi has his hands back up before Leo even finishes, looking contrite and more than a little embarrassed. “Look, you were right, okay? I shouldn’t have pushed us so hard. I didn't mean for this to happen, and I’m sorry. But Leo…” His face crumples. “What I heard back there- that yamabiko—  it was terrible. I just– I can’t let what happened to my village happen to Neo Edo, okay?  We have to get back to my people. I have to warn them.

Leo’s heart twists. “I know,” he reassures, reaching up to place a hand on Yuichi’s arm. “And we will, I promise. But we won’t be able to warn anyone if we get ourselves killed on the way there. We have to be more careful.” 

Yuichi grimaces, and there was some kind of battle waging behind his eyes as he stares off into the forest. Finally, he nods. “Okay. Okay. But we can’t camp here.” 

“Yuichi,” Leo warns.

“I’m not rushing us,” he says quickly, flapping his hands. “Those tanuki aren’t gone, I can promise you that. It’s genuinely a bad idea to set up camp in their territory.” 

Leo glances around the clearing, trying to peer through the darkness. Fatigue pulls at his muscles and his mind. He just wants to sit down for like, five seconds. “They seem pretty gone to me.” 

“Well they’re not.” Yuichi glares over Leo’s head at the tree line. “Their shapeshifting isn’t limited to only people. They could be posing as those trees, or that pile of leaves over there.” He points to the ground a few feet away. 

Ah, right, Leo had known that, but now that the adrenaline of the last hour was draining out of him, he’s finding it hard to string his thoughts together. “Right…” he mutters. 

He feels Yuichi’s gaze on him, and looks up to see the concerned frown on the yokai’s face as he takes a step closer. Leo straightens his slumped shoulders. “Right,” he repeats with more conviction. “Okay, so no staying here. Where should we go?” 

“We need to find our way back to the path. From there, we can get out of yokai territory and find some shelter.” 

Leo nods, his skull feeling like a bobble-head on his shoulders. “I marked a trail back to the path.”

He points towards the bushes. “It starts over there.” 

Yuichi grins sideways at him. “Quick thinking, for a turtle anyway.” 

Leo snorts, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. “Oooh, slow turtle jokes. How original.” 

Yuichi’s grin broadens, tilting into something boyish and charming that wiggles at something in Leo’s chest. When he offers his hand, Leo takes it easily and allows Yuichi to pull him carefully to his feet. 

He sways. He’s never been more aware of every single muscle in his body than at that moment. “Let’s just hurry. I don’t know how much longer I can keep going like this.”

Yuichi grimaces then nods, stepping forward and clearing the brush to the side to allow Leo through. Leo walks ahead as Yuichi hangs back, letting him take point and set the pace. They pick their way back through the woods slowly with Yuichi urging them to take periodic breaks to allow Leo to catch his breath. The little tokage happily follows along at Leo’s feet the entire time. 

Despite the relatively short distance, they’re both breathing heavily as they pass straight through the faint trail they had been following before. Yuichi leads them in a straight line away from the area, pushing towards the original path they were on before Yuichi had veered them off course. Looking ahead, Leo can see where the trees on either side of the trail start to peter off, the dirt and grass path giving way to a rocky trail edge that skits the upper edges of the foothills before dropping off into steep, rocky slopes that trail into another stretch of trees far below. It should be beautiful, but right now Leo would trade a solid five years of his life to never have to look at a single tree again. 

Yuichi squeezes his shoulder then moves to retake the lead, visibly relaxing as they leave the wooded area behind. “That’s more like it,” he says, glancing back at Leo who gives a tired thumbs up. “Shouldn’t be too much farther now, I promise. We should be out of yokai territory just on the other side of this hill.” 

The rabbit gestures ahead to where the path veers upward as they approach the crest of the foothill. It’s really not all that much of a climb, but Leo’s muscles ache in protest at the mere thought of ascending it. The tokage at his feet nuzzles into his leg, chirping up at him in concern. Leo smiles down at it and takes a fortifying breath; only a bit farther to go. 

“Alright, let’s go.” He tightens his grip on his cane and follows. It's well into the night now, dawn only a handful of hours away judging by the moon’s position in the sky. Leo’s eyes are growing heavy with the need for sleep, his footsteps dragging more with every step, but he finally manages to drag his shell to the top of the hill. The moment he’s over the crest, he leans over for a moment, trying to catch his breath.

“You good?” Yuichi asks, resting a hand on his shoulder, eyes filled with worry. 

“Y-yeah, yeah, I’m good. Just…tired,” Leo huffs, leaning heavily on the cane.

“I know. We should be in the clear now, we just need to find a good place to set up camp, okay?”

“O-okay.” Leo takes a deep breath and pulls himself up a little straighter.  

He sees Yuichi’s gaze linger on him for a moment, darting between his plastron and his leg, before he looks away and scans the area ahead of them. Leo follows his gaze, not able to see very far in the darkness despite their new elevation. 

“I think I see a good spot just down th—“ Yuichi’s words cut off with a gasp and Leo feels him go rigid beside him. Leo’s gaze whips in the direction he’s staring, and can just make out dark clothing and unmistakable human silhouettes gathering onto the path downhill. 

“Shit, they got ahead of us,” Yuichi says lowly. Willow Branch rings as he draws the blade and plants himself in front of Leo.

Of course they did , Leo realizes, his mind kicking into overdrive. Their mad scramble out of the cultists’ camp had definitely set them on alert. They would have sent their scouting parties further out to look for them. Scouting parties who would have had no trouble catching up while Leo was off-path, looking for Yuichi and the tanuki, and setting up an ambush. His heart picks up speed, adrenaline wiping his fatigue from his mind as he whirls around, and sure enough, more cultists have formed a line on the path behind them, cutting off their escape.

They’re boxed in, nothing but the steep hillsides to their left and the forest to their right - and Leo has no doubt there are more Godless in those trees, just waiting for them to make the fatal mistake of running. 

Yuichi reaches back, silently pressing Edgewing into Leo’s palm. Leo’s hand tightens around the sword, but he doesn’t draw it as he waits with bated breath, not daring to make the first move. 

This was beyond bad. This was a bloodbath waiting to happen, and with the condition they were in, Leo knows this can only go one way.

The moment stretches into a short eternity. Leo can hear Yuichi’s knuckles creaking as he tightens his grip on his sword. No one moves, Leo can’t even bring himself to blink as the stand-off plays out. 

And plays out.

And plays out.

The Godless stand below them, silent and statue-still, not making any move towards them. Leo feels Yuichi shift against his back, nervousness and agitation radiating from him in waves. The little tokage snarls at his feet, looking for all the world like it’s ready to take the Godless on all on its own. Leo quickly nudges it behind his leg with his foot, stomach sinking as he sees one of the human’s eyes track the movement.

They were waiting on something, Leo has no doubt about that. The bad guys never stand around unless they have you right where they want you. His gaze darts around wildly, flirting from the humans to the path to the tree line and back, searching for anything out of place. What was it? Were they waiting on reinforcements? Was their master on his way himself? Leo’s stomach turns at the thought of being at that man’s cruel mercy again.

“Let us pass, and we won’t hurt you,” Yuichi calls out. His voice is calm and steady, at complete odds with the ridged muscles pressed against Leo’s shell. 

The humans remain silent, and Leo swears he can see a flash of teeth in the moonlight as one of the grins up at them. 

He’s just wondering if they’re going to be forced to make the first move after all, when he feels Yuichi’s shoulders twitch. Leo risks a glance back and sees his ears pointed off to the left. Yuichi’s head is turned to the side, a flash of lightning overhead illuminating the confusion on his face as his gaze flits back and forth between the cultists and whatever has caught his attention. 

Movement in the corner of his eye brings Leo’s head back to the front so quickly his neck cracks. The Godless are finally moving, not towards them but away, footsteps near silent as they step slowly backwards. Leo tenses, knowing that whatever their plan is, it’s going to come to a head very soon.

“What’s that sound?” Yuichi asks, his voice a bare whisper. 

Leo frowns and strains his hearing, stretching his senses until he can find— there ! A low beeping sound, just on the edge of his hearing. It’s a monotone drone that starts speeding up right as Leo’s mind makes the connection. Shock floods him and he sucks in a sharp breath. Yuichi flinches and whirls towards him, but Leo is already moving. 

He drops the sword and throws himself at Yuichi, narrowly missing Willow Branch’s edge as he wraps him in an iron grip and flings them both down.

He doesn’t even have time to register hitting the ground when the bombs go off. The sound splits across his tympana and the world cuts to silence. Yuichi jerks in his arms as the ground shakes apart under them, but Leo just grits his teeth and tightens his hold. 

And then the ground shifts as something deep below them gives way, and a second later they’re falling. Leo’s heart jumps in his throat as sheer terror threatens to lock his body into place. He fights it, pulling Yuichi impossibly closer and curls as much of his body as he can over the other as they plummet down the slope. 

Wind, rocks, and small saplings whip past Leo’s face, leaving burning lines in their wake, their own bodies uprooting bushes and small trees as they fall into an uncontrolled slide. His shell scrapes along the rocky edge as they pick up speed. He sees Yuichi’s hand fling out in a desperate attempt to slow their slide, but the gravel and underbrush shred at his fingers until he’s forced to let go. He brings his arms up instead, and Leo’s vision becomes blocked with dirty white fur as Yuichi wraps his arms around Leo’s head in a vain attempt to shield it from the hard ground as they careen down the slope. Around the terror and the adrenaline singing in his veins, Leo has a second to hope that they can just ride his shell all the way to the bottom.

Then the lip of his shell clips a small boulder and he knows it’s over. They bounce once, then hurtle into a wild roll, turning over and over each other as they slide faster and faster. Leo feels Yuichi’s grip on him tighten hard enough to bruise and has no doubt he’s doing the same in return. His left arm snags a bush, his right foot is slammed into a rock. Yuichi is rolled under him and he catches a fleeting glimpse of wide brown eyes just in time to watch a rock split the yokai’s forehead. Blood flies up from Yuichi’s eyebrow, leaving warm flecks across Leo’s face. 

And then they hit the tree line. They’re jarred as one of Yuichi’s legs slams into a trunk, jerking them out of their roll to send them spinning to the side. The force pulls Yuichi’s body from his own, and Leo strains to pull him back in. He sees Yuichi shout something, but the world has been a silent void since the explosion, so he doesn’t notice the tree until they hit it.

Yuichi is torn from his grasp and Leo loses sight of him almost immediately as he streaks past tree after tree. 

So much for being careful, a near-delirious part of him thinks, and he doesn’t even have time to agree before his head cracks against a passing rock and everything cuts to black.

Chapter Text

Yuichi hits the bottom of the slope hard, his left arm clipping one last tree for good measure as he slides to a stop against a large boulder. 

Ears ringing, he lies there for a few long moments, statue-still and terrified that he’ll move to find his sword arm or one of his legs broken; a death sentence waiting in the wings. His body is one large, screaming bruise, and through the pulsing adrenaline and his racing heart, he can’t tell how bad off he is. What if his arms are mangled and he’ll never lift Willow Branch again? What if his ankles are shattered and he’ll be stranded, left to rot right here in this valley? 

His heart beats impossibly faster as a buzzing anxiety lands hard in his stomach. The feeling is like a trigger, and his mind immediately flashes back on his Auntie, on the calming exercises she taught him back when things were bad and he couldn’t breathe past the nightmares and the loss of his parents. He draws on those lessons now, taking deep, even breaths until his head clears and the anxiety shrinks into something more manageable. 

Slowly, so slowly, he moves his body one limb at a time. They all scream at him, but more-so in a ‘took a few too many hits in a brawl’ type of way and less ‘permanently disabled and left to die’. That helps to push the rest of the panic back and Yuichi sits up with a groan.

A groan that he cannot hear. 

The world around him is muffled; a high-pitched ringing sounds from all around him.The anxiety comes roaring back as Yuichi flinches and reaches towards his ears. They don’t hurt, but his hands come away red, small droplets of blood beading the pads of his fingers. He reaches up again and snaps his fingers right up against the hollows on his ears. His hands tremble uncontrollably, but he’s pretty sure he’s doing the motion correctly as he snaps again and again. 

Nothing. 

The breathing exercises make another appearance as he beats the looming panic attack back. Okay, okay, stay calm. Whatever happened on that cliff - an explosion? seriously, what the actual fuck - must be what is causing this. It was probably temporary. Maybe Leo would know how to help it—-

Leo!

Yuichi’s heart leaps into his throat and he’s moving before his mind can catch up. The world spins and the nausea that surges in his gut sends him right back to his knees. He’s hunched over, panting, when he sees a thin stream of blood flowing from his head and forming a small pool in the dirt. Frowning, he reaches towards his head again, feeling along his face until he finds the source of the blood; a gash in his brow. The wound feels deep and is still bleeding profusely, but to be honest he can’t even feel it over all of his other aches and pains. He’s not sure if that’s a bad sign or not. He feels kind of light headed, and nausea still swirls in his stomach. The disorientation of not being able to fucking hear doesn’t help at all.

Head trauma or no, he has to get up. He has to find Leo. Taking a few more deep breaths, Yuichi waits for the ground to stop spinning and eases to his feet, holding a hand over his brow to stem the flow of blood, and takes in the valley they’ve landed in. 

Fog hangs in a heavy white curtain, much thicker than it was when they were higher up in the foothills. The forest floor is littered with debris, fallen trees, uprooted bushes, and boulders nearly double his size are scattered about the clearing in a landslide of earth and rock. Yuichi gapes at the destruction. It was a stroke of pure dumb luck that they weren’t crushed by this mess on the way down.

Just as he has that thought, his eyes land on Leo’s hazy form through the fog. He’s only a few yards away, face down in the dirt and pinned beneath the trunk of a tree. 

Yuichi lurches forward, vision going double as he stumbles towards the turtle. " Leo ,” he rasps. His own voice scraping over his vocal cords is the only indication that he’s made any sound at all. The ringing in his ears is so sharp and all-encompassing that his own voice can’t even pierce it. He clumsily hobbles over to the downed tree and his friend trapped underneath. “Leo,” he says again, louder this time, at least he thinks so. He falls to his knees beside him and grips his shoulder, shaking gently. 

“Leo?” There’s a lump in his throat and he’s sure his voice is a trembling mess. Leo doesn’t stir, lying unmoving, and Yuichi’s stomach plummets.  

He heaves to his feet, brushing away the smaller bits of debris before grabbing ahold of the tree and lifting with all his might. His shoulders pop and flare with pain, but he pushes past it, convinced with everything he has that if he doesn’t get this tree off of Leo right now then he was going to lose him and then he’ll be stuck out here on his own, hunted and injured and alone and he can’t do this again— 

The tree shifts. He pushes harder and manages to tip it over the crest of Leo’s shell. He lets go, allowing it to roll over the other side of his shell and onto the ground. He drops to his knees again, arms burning, and reaches to turn Leo over with hands that shake. Leo's eyes are firmly closed and he doesn’t appear to be conscious despite the pained expression that twists his face, but he’s alive and Yuichi feels the roiling anxiety in his gut lessen. He leans in close, palming each side of Leo’s face. “Leo! Leo, wake up!”

Lightning flashes overhead, momentarily blinding his night vision. He shakes his head, blinking rapidly as the ground vibrates with what he assumes is thunder. Out across the valley, the clouds above finally break open in a torrential downpour that soaks them both immediately.

Yuichi isn’t going to get into how unfair all of this is, not if he wants to hold off the anxiety attack lying in wait at the back of his mind. 

Despite his jostling and shouting, Leo doesn’t stir. Shit, shit, shit. They needed to move. The Godless would no doubt be making their way down the foothills after them. Yuichi’s eyes turn upwards to investigate, quickly confirming his fears as he finds multiple human silhouettes standing imposingly at the top of the slope. His eyes lock onto one of the soldiers, watching as the man's hands slowly shift toward the grappling hook clipped to his belt.  

Yuichi cuts his gaze away and stares down at Leo, stomach turning. He really doesn’t want to move him, but they can’t stay here and they definitely don’t have time to wait for him to wake up. Yuichi quickly leans down and braces one arm under his neck and the other under his knees before he takes a deep breath and heaves him up. Spirits, he’s heavy! And Yuichi has no doubt he would weigh more if he were healthy and not half-staved. He staggers a bit before he locks his knees and steadies himself. He glances back up towards the cliff side and finds it empty. 

They’re out of time. Yuichi doesn’t want to be anywhere near this slope when they reach the ground. He tightens his grip on Leo and takes off. 

He knows almost immediately that they weren’t going to make it out of the valley before the Godless will arrive. He tries to push himself faster, but he just can’t. It feels like he’s pulled every muscle in his body on the fall down, and Leo’s added weight makes it hard enough, but the rain is what’s really slowing him down. Every couple of seconds he has to adjust his grip on Leo, the torrential downpour making the turtle's skin slick and difficult to grip.  And Gods, this damn ringing!

He never realized how much he relies on his hearing until now. Muffled, blurry noise filters through, but he can’t tell where it’s coming from through the droning ringing in his ears. The rain is blurring his vision, his ears are useless, and he can’t tell where they are for shit. The Godless could be right on top of them any moment now and he won’t even hear them coming! 

As he staggers through the forest, his eyes frantically searching for somewhere, anywhere they can hide. With every step forward he can feel his energy draining as the fall and the sleepless night finally catches up with him. The knowledge that the cultists are right behind them is the only thing that keeps him going. He jumps at shadowy outlines in the fog and small animals in the underbrush, the loss of his hearing driving up his paranoia. 

The mud is definitely a problem; it doesn’t take a master tracker to follow the giant footprints he’s leaving behind them. He stumbles forward blindly, trying to put some distance between them and their pursuers, adjusting his grip on Leo for what feels like the millionth time. The visibility is low as the rain continues to pour down.

He suddenly has an idea, and after a moment's consideration, he gently places Leo down. His arms sag with relief, but Yuichi ignores it as he darts back the way he came before veering sharply left. He darts wildly in random directions, trying to double up their tracks and confuse their pursuers. He doesn’t dare go too far and it may not be enough to throw the humans off their track, but it was the best he could do. He runs back to Leo, scoops him up, and pushes on. 

After a while, Yuichi is not even sure he knows what direction he’s going any more. He can feel his strength start to wane, each step unsteady as his muscles protest under the strain. 

He’s not sure how much longer he can keep this up. 

Not long, apparently. When his foot next hits the ground it slides out from under him, slipping on the slick mud before he falls face first. Yuich tries to pull himself up, but Leo’s weight lies heavy atop him. After a bit of adjusting he manages to shift Leo's bulk off of him and pull himself up from the mud. Another idea strikes him and he immediately throws himself back down. He rolls on the ground, coating his body and clothes in the dark mud, covering his bright white fur and blue kimono that made him far too easy to spot. He’s getting desperate, he knows that, but at this point he’s willing to do anything that will keep them away from the humans tracking them. 

Completely drenched, he considers Leo for a brief moment before deciding against coating him too. His dark skin and shell should conceal him well enough, and Yuichi doesn’t want to get his open injuries any more filthy than they already are. 

Movement in the corner of his eye has him on his feet, sword drawn in an instant. He scans the trees slowly, peering through darkness and pouring rain. 

Nothing.

He’s just about to turn back to Leo when he sees it again, the slow shift of a shadow against the gloom. He locks onto it, unblinking, and falls into a fighting stance, slipping in the wet mud. His legs are shaking beneath him, heavy with exhaustion, as he struggles to stay on his feet. 

The Godless scout steps out of the fog, longsword drawn and eyes locking onto them. The man has a plain face, with dark eyes and brown hair. He’s smirking, his features flat and cold, as he opens his mouth and starts speaking.

He stops and looks at them expectantly, but Yuchi can’t hear what he said and doesn’t bother responding, simply sinking deeper into his stance as he shifts subtlety in front of Leo. 

The man’s eyes follow the movement and drift down. His smile grows colder as he speaks again, gesturing towards Leo with the tip of his sword, and yeah, that’s enough. 

Yuichi’s blade is up in a flash, but before he can even take a step forward, a shift in the fog to his right sends his gaze cutting to the side. Two gray blurs flit towards them through the mist, almost too fast for Yuichi to track. Before either he or the human can move, they fly from the fog and land squarely on the man’s shoulders. He flails, swinging his sword wildly, but is quickly overwhelmed as the creatures latch on and drag him off the fog. 

The whole thing happens in a handful of seconds and Yuichi is left gaping at the place the human once stood. Shit there are wild yokai in this valley. They need to move now. Yuichi hastily sheaths his sword and grabs Leo, throwing him roughly over his shoulder as he sets off. 

He’s only a few yards ahead when more tall silhouettes step out of the fog, and Yuichi knows they’ve been caught. His instincts scream as they pick up on the cultists’ presence pressing in on them from all sides, cutting off any hope of escape. There was no use in running. His only option now was to make a stand, praying to the gods to give him the strength to fight them off. He drops Leo to the ground, no time for gentleness, and brings a trembling hand up, swiping the mud from his eyes before locking his knees and drawing his sword. 

Fear and adrenaline floods him, sharpening his vision even as his hands shake around Willow Branch. He grits his teeth and straightens, glaring into the gloom.His gaze shifts as the humans slowly emerge from between the trees, their swords raised. There are ten of them; few enough to make up a scouting party, but too many to survive in his condition. If they are speaking, he can’t hear it, but he snarls at them anyway and hefts his katana threateningly.

Steel infuses his spine and he locks his knees. Nothing has changed since their last stand-off; these people will not get their hands on either of them. Yuichi will not be used to gain them entry into Neo Edo. Neither his life nor Leo’s was worth more than the thousands who live beyond the barrier. Yuichi didn’t care what it took, they’ll have to kill him now or he’ll turn his blade on himself; either way, they will not take him alive. 

But as much as he’s fully prepared to die for his people, he’s not going down without a fight. He sends a desperate prayer up to the gods as the cultists encircle him. He doesn’t dare make the first move, instead keeping his eyes trained on every minute movement of his opponents. The tension in the air is palpable, the Godless shifting around them.  

Finally, one of the men lunges forward, but Yuichi doesn’t even get the chance to turn in the man's direction before a white blur streaks from out of the forest, snatching up the man in one fell swoop before disappearing into the mist. The other humans freeze, looking around the shadowy woods in utter confusion, but Yuichi doesn't drop his stance, remaining tense and on alert. Whoever the newcomers are, they are fast - faster than even Yuichi’s rabbit reflexes. His heart goes into overdrive and he slowly shifts closer to Leo. Before any of them can react, two more figures drop out of the trees, landing right on top of two of the cultists. The men crumple beneath their weight, hitting the mud with a splash and lay there, groaning. When the figures stand and turn towards him, Yuichi almost drops his sword. 

Before him stands himself and Leo, both of them staring back at him with wide, unnerving smiles on their faces. 

Yuichi gapes at the two in utter confusion before he starts and chances a glance down at Leo, who was still lying beneath his feet, and then back up at the pair in front of him as they grin impossibly wider at him.

What the… Yuichi doesn’t get to finish his thought as the pair turn away and lunge at the remaining cultists. The humans seem to get over their shock and the group descends into chaos. as several more versions of himself and Leo drop down from the trees.The duplicates are on the Godless’ forces in a flash, the soldiers quickly breaking rank in the mayhem as the doppelgängers quickly overwhelm their forces.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Yuichi snaps out of his stupor and ducks down, grabbing Leo beneath his arms and dragging him along through the mud as the Godless scouting party falls behind them. Yuichi’s muscles creak with tension as he shuffles them towards some bushes, but nothing makes a grab for them. Despite this, Yuichi doesn't let his guard down, keeping his eyes trained on the fight. His ears swivel wildly as he instinctively tries to orient himself, but if anything the ringing only grows louder.

His breaths rasp and his whole body burns as he finally manages to heave them both into the bushes, pulling Leo’s legs under the cover of the leaves and crouching over him protectively. He peers through the leaves as the final cultist falls under the bodies of three Leos, the duplicates’ wide grins twisting Leo’s features into something unrecognizable.  The last human doesn’t get up and the group of a dozen Yuichi’s and Leo’s all throw their heads back, mouths wide open in what he can only assume is laughter, before they all disappear in an explosion of leaves.  

A small group of tanuki is left standing there, and Yuichi’s mind slowly starts to put the puzzle pieces together; the tanuki followed them. All the way out of their own territory. But why? Yuichi lowers himself further over Leo and shifts them further back into the bushes, praying he’s being quiet. 

Either he wasn’t quiet or the tanuki can sense him using other means, because the moment he moves they shift as one towards their hiding spot. Yuichi freezes as one of the tanuki walks forward. He grips Leo’s shoulder with one hand and lifts his sword with the other as it approaches. The tanuki stops just before the bushes and merely stands there, peering down at him through the leaves for a long moment before it shifts its gaze down to Leo’s prone form. The tanuki ambles forward, eyes locked on Leo, but Yuichi stands, planting himself in front of his friend, and raises his sword in warning. 

“No! You leave him alone!” he snarls. 

The creature merely cocks its head to the side, a smile pulling at the corners of its mouth before it disappears in an explosion of leaves. Yuichi turns, looking around frantically for any signs of the creatures and finds several of the tanuki have slipped behind him and are gathered around Leo, mouths moving in a chittering fashion. Two of them disappear, transforming into a woven bed of leaves, and, before Yuichi can make a move, they’re all reaching for Leo. 

“Hey! What are you doing?” Yuichi shouts, raising his sword and rushing forward to stop the creatures when he’s cut off by a tug on the leg of his hakama. He doesn't dare take his gaze off Leo, merely glancing out of the corner of his eye to find one of the tanuki at his side. The creature looks up at him beseechingly, tugging at the cloth once again, trying to pull Yuichi along with them. Frowning, he looks back up and watches as they gently lift Leo onto the makeshift stretcher, even arranging his arms and legs into a more comfortable looking position. 

It was completely unlike how they had scooped him up before, whisking him out of the darkness without so much as a sound. They weren’t forcing him to follow, merely encouraging him to do so.

He wasn’t keen on trusting these creatures, but given their situation, he didn’t have much choice. He remembers how Leo had walked into that clearing with nothing more than some cucumbers and a willingness to cooperate. “ You’re wrong about them” , he had said of the kappa, had proven with the tanuki. 

Maybe it was time to put that claim to the test. 

Yuichi cautiously sheaths his sword, though he can’t help but keep his hand resting lightly on the hilt, a lifetime of his Auntie’s warnings pushing against the ringing in his ears. The tanuki all nod at the same time and start shuffling forward, carrying Leo’s stretcher between them. He moves to follow when movement from the bushes pulls his attention away. He blinks, dumbfounded, as the little tokage from before shuffles out of the bramble, looking dirty and a little worse for wear, dragging Edgewing of all things behind it. Yuichi feels rooted in place as the creature toddles near and drops the sword at his feet. The tokage casts him a baleful glance, looking wholly unimpressed with Yuichi’s very existence, before skittering past and falling into step with the tanuki. 

Yuichi’s confused gaze drifts from the sword, to the tokage, to the tanuki, and back before he sighs. Scooping Edgewing up, he follows. They move along at a fast pace, the tanuki calmly guiding him along through the forest, bearing Leo along with great care. 

As they walk, he’s suddenly reminded that this day has lasted eight years and his footsteps drag. His soaked clothing are a heavy weight on his tired shoulders. He’s not sure he has another hike in him, and is just wondering how long the tanuki plan to walk when the procession comes to a sudden halt. 

They’re at the base of a tree, the tanuki pausing to gently lay Leo down before pulling back a blanket of leaves at the base, revealing a small den tucked away beneath the roots. They lift Leo once again, carrying him forward into the hollow. One of the creatures pulls ahead, a small lantern appearing  in its hand, illuminating the den with a dim glow that casts the space in a cozy warmth. It’s a simple space, barely more than a hole in the ground, but at that moment Yuichi doesn’t care. It’s warm, it’s safe, it’s dry, and he’s way too exhausted to be picky.

One of the tanuki gently nudges him forward and Yuichi practically stumbles forward into the small space, awkwardly ducking his way through the entrance of the den. Once inside, he immediately slumps to the soft dirt, all of his exhaustion hitting him at once, and he wants nothing more than to close his eyes and just be unconscious for a while, but he can’t - not yet.

Groaning, he manages to peel himself up off the ground and watches through drooping eyes as the tanuki gently lay Leo down on a bed of leaves. He pulls himself forward on his hands and knees to the turtle's side. He lays a hand over Leo’s plastron, gently covering the crack that looks larger than it had before, and feels the even rise and fall of his breaths. Relief washes over him at the sight. Leo’s safe and they’re both out of danger, and Yuichi finally feels like he can breathe again.  

The little tokage crashes in after them, tail whipping the net of leaves out of the way. The tanuki quickly scatter, darting out of the small den one by one until only a single one remains. It sets the lantern down beside Leo’s prone form and looks over at Yuichi expectantly. 

He’s never been the type to need the same lesson twice. He throws himself at the tanuki’s feet, bowing deeply until he is practically prone on the floor. “Thank you, honorable tanuki. You saved our lives, and I owe you a great debt.” 

Okay, maybe he was laying it on a little thick, but it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that they never would have made it out of there alive without the tanuki’s help. The tanuki doesn’t outwardly react, merely bowing back before darting out of the den and pulling the blanket of leaves back over the entrance, concealing them from the prying eyes of any Godless that might still be searching the area.

Yuichi can only sit there in the silence of the den, staring numbly at the exit as he struggles to wrap his mind around the events of the last few hours. To go from being kidnapped and replaced by the tanuki, to being saved by them and in a life-debt. What the actual fuck.

He barely has a moment to catch his breath before his eyes catch on the movement of the tokage across from him. The creature sniffs at Leo curiously before curling up on the side of his carapace. The turtle twitches slightly at the movement and Yuichi’s heart leaps.

“Leo?”  He hunches over him, eye searching over the turtle for injuries. The tokage is immediately on alert, its teeth flashing in a snarl. He raises his hands in surrender, trying to show the creature that he's not a threat. 

“I’m not trying to hurt him, I promise,” Yuichi rasps, not entirely sure if he's getting his message across without the ability to hear his own words. He tries inching his way forward slowly, but the creature doesn’t allow him a single inch, teeth gnashing out at him in warning. “Please,” he pleads, hesitantly bringing his hand out towards the tokage. “I need to help him.” 

The creature continues to bear its teeth at Yuichi as he moves his hand closer before bringing it to a stop and leaving it there for a moment. His fingers hover just out of the creature's range. The tokage looks unimpressed, its body still poised defensively next to Leo. Yuichi moves closer, offering his hand, muddied and bloodied as it is, and closes his eyes. 

It's beyond unnerving to willingly cut off another sense, but he doesn’t dare insult the tokage by taking back his offer. He needs this creature to let him look over Leo. For a moment nothing happens, his hand hanging out in the still air of the den, but then he feels it, a tentative nudge of the creature's nose against his hand as it investigates. He doesn't move, allowing the tokage to look him over before peaking an eye open.

The tokage nuzzles his hand with a churr that vibrates up his arm. When their eyes meet, the distrust in the creature's eyes has thawed by a few degrees. Yuichi moves his hand, petting the lizard's head as it nuzzles into his hand. 

“Yeah, see? There you go. I'm not going to hurt you or him. I just want to make sure he’s okay.” Yuichi isn’t sure what the little yokai got from its inspection of his hand; he isn’t even sure what made him offer it, some kind of instinct had told him it was the right move. 

The tokage settles back against Leo’s carapace and Yuichi leans back over him, eyes running over the length of his body checking for any obvious critical injuries. He doesn't see anything obvious, but it's hard to say for sure in the dim lighting of the den. Exhaustion pulls at him as he struggles to remember his field first-aid training. His eyes fall on a small cut along the side of Leo’s head, the clotted blood glinting wetly in the lantern light. Okay, okay, above all else he needs to check for a concussion. Yuichi pries open one of Leo’s eyes and looks at his pupils. 

They seem normal, they’re the same size at least. He grabs the lantern nearby, bringing it closer and noting with relief that his pupils react to the light. It didn’t mean he wasn’t concussed, but it is a good sign, although he won’t be able to know for sure until the turtle wakes up. 

Okay, next is to check for broken bones. Yuichi pulls himself upright and gently starts squeezing and articulating Leo’s limbs, feeling carefully for anything shifting out of place. His left knee is visibly swollen, and yeah, that crack in his chest has definitely gotten bigger, which can’t be good. No broken bones though, and Yuichi is willing to take any win at this point. 

Despite all his limbs being in one piece, having them moved had to have hurt, but Leo doesn’t even twitch at Yuichi’s administrations, which is stressing him out. “Leo?” he calls, trying to keep his voice quiet and not sure if he is succeeding. He gently shakes the turtle by his shoulders. Nothing. “Leo, please wake up.”

He’s not even sure if he was speaking loud enough to be heard. For all he knows, Leo could have hearing damage too. He reaches for Leo’s kimono, gingerly peeling aside the fabric to inspect his wounds. The gauze on his plastron was soaked through with fresh blood. Most disturbing of all, the crack has extended past the bandages. Shit. 

He quickly sets to work stripping the turtle's sopping wet clothes, modesty be damned, and tossing them over into the corner of the den. He carefully peels away the bandage over the crack with care, examining the wound in the dim light. The gash in his plastron has widened significantly, extending farther up his plastron and nearly all the way down to the top of his thigh. The initial signs of infection Yuichi had noticed what feels like eons ago has settled into something deep and inflamed, the edges of the crack taking on a jagged, flaky look. He swallows hard and presses against it with tentative fingers, the armored plastron bending softly under his touch. 

“Oh…Oh, Leo. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen,” he whispers, the buzzing anxiety from before quickly rears its ugly head, as his eyes well with tears. Yuichi goes through his exercises, taking long even breaths as he tries to bring his rising panic under control. He did not have time for this. Leo needed him. He needed to get his shit together now . He shakes his head roughly and takes one long, deep breath before letting it out and looking down at Leo. 

“D-Don’t worry. I-I’m gonna make it better.” 

He might not be able to hear himself at the moment, but speaking the promise aloud helps alleviate the knot of anxiety in his chest. He quickly sets to work, cleaning out the wound with the last of the cleaning solution from his pack before reapplying it. That done, he turns attention to Leo’s other wounds, which were relatively minor - small mercies.

As he applies the last of the bandages, his eyelids start to droop, his shoulders slumping forward in exhaustion. A sharp headache settles between his eyes as he squints at his handy work, making sure there were no remaining injuries he had neglected. Satisfied, he sighs and leans back as the exhaustion of the night fully washes over him. He strips the soaked clothing on his shoulders, the weight of the mud clinging to his fur suddenly too much to bear. He carefully lays the wet fabric to the side in the corner of the den to dry before curling up on the opposite side and starring over at Leo. 

He will be okay. The damage isn’t severe. He will be fine. They both will be fine. 

His eyes begin to slip to half mast and his mind slowly goes static. He never takes his eyes off of Leo.

Chapter Text

The first thing Yuichi registers as he belly-crawls his way to consciousness is that he still can’t hear. If anything, the ringing has gotten louder; the strange, internal not-sound spears a pounding headache into his temples. 

The second thing he registers is the presence of a warm body beside him. He unconsciously curls into it as it presses closer, nuzzling into the hair on his chest. Gods, that felt nice, he thinks as he lazily peels his eyes open, investigating the figure curled up beside him. 

His eyes fly wide open. Leo is wrapped tightly around his chest, his face nuzzling into the fur there. Yuichi blushes  furiously, his brain pointedly reminding him about their lack of clothing. His eyes frantically dart around the den in search of his discarded hakama, clocking it in the same place he left it last night. He gently extricates himself from Leo's grip, the turtle’s face twisting at the movement, but thankfully not stirring beyond that.

Yuichi retreats, retrieving their clothing from the unruly pile in the corner. Leo’s kimono shifts and Yuichi nearly has a heart attack when the head of the little tokeage pops out from beneath the fabric. The lizard's mouth opens briefly, presumably chirping at him, before scampering over to Leo's side, who immediately curls into the lizard, wrapping his arms around the creature like it was a stuffed animal. Yuichi shakes his head slightly at the sight, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He turns back to pull on his own filthy kimono and hakama, before turning his attention back to Leo. He doesn’t bother with dressing him, simply draping the kimono over him and the lizard's sleeping forms as he continues to doze.

Yuichi gazes down at the pair and settles back on his haunches, unsure of what to do next. Waxy streams of light filter into the den through a scattering of holes in the ceiling, casting the cramped space in a hazy gloom that deepens the bruising on Leo’s body, the shadows under his eyes. The clean bandages Yuichi had applied the night before laid stark against the dirtied one he had originally applied three days ago — and gods , how has it only been three days?

His eyes stray unerringly to the crack on his chest, the yellowed light revealing the same deep-set infection he observed the night before. A wave of guilt threatens to overwhelm him. Gods, how could he have been so stupid ? His carelessness had nearly gotten Leo killed! Had nearly gotten them both killed! If it hadn’t been for the tanuki they both would have been done for. He’d been in such a rush to get back and warn the council of the Godless’ plans, that he hadn’t even considered how reckless he was being. If either of them had gotten captured, it would have been over. Their lives would have been forfeit, and Neo Edo wouldn't have gotten any warning at all. His people wouldn't have stood a chance 

He tears his gaze away and shifts towards the entrance as jittery energy zips up his spine. He cautiously peels back the blanket of leaves and peers outside. From what he can see of the angle of the shadows on the forest floor, he’d guess that it was late afternoon. Gods, they’d been out for a while. He strains his ears, trying to pick up on any kind of noise from outside, but nothing pushes past the all-encompassing ringing. 

He slips back into the den, slumping back down on the ground as he tries to pull his thoughts together. He wonders what happened to the scouts from last night. Did the tanuki kill them? Yuichi hopes so, but they hadn’t been nearly as malicious as he had expected when they took him off the path the night before, their behavior more mischievous than deadly. That didn’t mean the tanuki didn’t kill the Godless scouts, but Yuichi has no way of confirming either way. It will be safer if he assumes the scouts are alive and were able to report what happened back to their master. If that’s the case, then the surrounding woods would likely be filled with cultists. 

Adding to their laundry list of problems, his hearing loss is an insurmountable issue. He’s relied on his hearing all his life, he didn’t know how to live without it. A thought whispers in the back of his mind that it was permanent, that he would never hear anything again just this endless droning ring that blocks out all other sounds, his voice, his thoughts, his—

Yuichi takes a deep breath, counting rhythmically in his head before releasing it slowly, willing his heart to settle. He needs to get a grip, but for once his spiraling thoughts have a point. His eyes aren’t enough, he won’t be able to hear the things hunting them coming. Venturing out with his senses shot to hell like this was a huge risk.

Indecision weighs him down as he slips away from the entrance and grabs his pack. A cursory look reveals just how low they were running on supplies. A few pulverized berries and a single cucumber rests next to his empty bottle of antiseptic. It was a depressing sight, to say the least. They are going to need food, water, medicine, all things that would be a lot easier for him to go out and acquire if he could actually fucking hear!  

His gaze drifts back to Leo, who hasn’t moved an inch, and swallows hard. They can’t afford to sit here and hope things will magically get better. He needs to gather supplies, scout the area, see where the Godless were, and try to gain some semblance of control over the situation. Leo is in no state to move ( and who’s fault is that?) , and he can’t just wait for his hearing to come back ( what if it doesn’t, what if it’s permanent—). 

Yuichi takes another slow breath and hardens his resolve. He will just have to be very fast and very careful. He really doesn’t like the idea of leaving Leo here alone, but he didn’t think they could afford to wait. Yuchi needs to find some kind of medicine for that infection, and Leo will need food and water when he wakes. He’ll at least have the tokage with him. Yuichi knew the yokai will be a poor guard if the Godless were to find them, but if the little guy could find his sword and track him through the woods last night, then Yuichi has to trust that it would find him again if anything happens. He sends a quick prayer to the gods that Leo will be okay on his own for a little while, just in case.

He leaves the remaining berries from the pack waiting atop a leaf at the center of the burrow, scratching a note into the floor of the den incase Leo wakes up before he returns. He also leaves Edgewing next to him, just in case. 

He crawls over to the exit, shifting the blanket of leaves away to gaze outside the den. He can’t see anything moving, just short forest shrubs and a scattering of trees. He scans the ground around the tree, looking for footprints or any other signs that the Godless were nearby and finds nothing. He slowly starts to climb out of the den, but before he can fully step out he feels a tugging at the leg of his hakama

He glances down to find the tokage, its teeth clenched tight on the hem of his pants before releasing its grip when Yuichi turns in its direction. The yokai’s snout is absolutely covered in berry juice. It licks its lips as it looks up at him expectantly.

Yuichi gapes at it, then looks back into the den and at the empty leaf where the berries had been. “That wasn’t an offering to you,” he whispers, or he hopes he’s whispering anyway. “Those were meant for Leo.”

The tokage doesn’t respond, just continues to stare up at him. 

Yuchi stares back, expression flat. He knows what happens when you give food to a tokage. But the berries weren’t intended as an offering, so maybe it didn’t count? Yuichi takes a single step out of the den and watches as the tokage immediately scampers after him. 

“You’re going to follow me forever, aren’t you?” he asks, resigned. He takes another step and the tokage follows. “No, no, no, you stay here with him,” he says firmly, trying to nudge the lizard back into the den. “I need you to look after him for me.”

The lizard merely tilts its head to the side, examining him but makes no move back towards the den. Instead, it  scrambles forward, brushing up against his legs as a happy little purr reverberates through its body. Yuichi sighs, rubbing his ear absently. “Fine, whatever. Do what you want. Just be quiet, okay?” 

Yuichi moves through the forest, keeping his footsteps light and his eyes laser focused on his surroundings in an effort to make up for his lack of hearing. As he scans the forest for threats, he keeps an eye out for any signs of food. He doesn’t see much— or well, much that he can take advantage of right now. Pheasants and other game animals cross his path, but he doesn't make any moves on them. Hunting was out of the question, it would be far too loud with just his katana, plus he’s not confident that he could outpace a running animal in his current state. He needs an easy and quietly attainable meal.

The tokage darts ahead of him dipping in and out of the underbrush with ease, chasing small creatures through the leaves and causing Yuichi’s heart rate to spike in the process. 

His nerves feel raw and exposed like a stripped live wire. He tenses up at the slightest of shift from the brush, nearly jumping out of his skin at the movement of every animal that passes by. He hates this. He hates being so unaware of his surroundings. He’s always had the utmost confidence in his abilities, and this sudden vulnerability chafes. He hates this whole goddamn situation. 

He rounds a bend in the path and comes to a stop, eyes falling on a bush absolutely overflowing with berries. Jackpot. He scans his surroundings warily, looking for any signs of movement from the forest, but coming up empty. Okay, the coast appears to be clear, but he better be quick. He moves to take a step forward, but he’s stopped by another tug at the leg of his hakama. Yuichi whirls, hand going for his sword before his eyes land on the tokage, once again tugging at the fabric around his feet.

Yuichi scowls at it. Sure, the little lizard had been helpful so far, but he didn't have time to play games with it right now, he had a mission. “Would you cut it out?” He kneels down and grabs the yokai, tugging until it releases its grip on his pants.

After one last look around, Yuichi creeps forward, crouching down beside the bush and pulling off berries by the handful before stuffing them inside his pack. He feels another tug and darts another look over his shoulder to find the tokage once again pulling at the fabric. Its feet dig into the dirt as it furiously tugs on the hem of his pants with all its might. 

“What the hell are you doing?” he hisses, struggling to not raise his voice in frustration. The yokai releases his pants and opens its mouth in what Yuichi presumes is a chirp before its head snaps suddenly to the side. Yuichi doesn’t even get the chance to finish his reprimand before the tokage is leaping onto his chest, sending him tumbling back into the thicket of bushes. He flails, squirming in the pointy limbs, trying to get his bearings as the lizard lays heavily on his chest, preventing him from getting up. 

He opens his mouth to shout at the creature when a pair of shadows passes over top of the bushes. Human-shaped shadows. Yuichi’s prey instincts kick into high gear as he freezes in place, not daring to move a muscle. The shadows shift closer and Yuichi can feel the rapid beating of his own heart as he watches a hand reach out through the small gaps in the leaves. 

The human’s fingers are a hair’s breadth from his face when the tokage darts forward, jumping out of the bush and barreling into the man’s chest, knocking him straight to the ground. 

Yuichi’s useless ears lay flat against his skull in an effort to make himself smaller as he sinks low to the ground. He sees the boots of two cultists through a gap in the leaves, scuffling around in the dirt as one tries to pull the tokage off of the other. He feels frozen, paralyzed with fear as he cowers beneath the branches. He is a trapped animal, waiting helplessly for his inevitable discovery. 

One of them must have gotten the tokage off, because in the next moment Yuichi watches as the little yokai is thrown across the clearing. His stomach twists as it hits a tree hard and falls to the ground. One pair of boots moves towards it, and Yuichi is willing his body to move, just move, come on! 

He doesn’t move. He stays right where he is, still as prey caught in a cage, awaiting its demise. The human draws closer, raising a leg to kick at the tokage, when the yokai jumps up and scuttles away, disappearing into the underbrush before the human has a chance to follow. 

Yuichi doesn’t even breathe a sigh of relief, not daring to make even that small of a sound. His muscles feel like crumbling iron as he watches the cultists stand there for a few moments, and Yuichi can’t hear them, he can’t properly see them, he doesn’t know what they’re saying, if they’re looking at him, do they know he’s here? He doesn’t know! He doesn’t know! He can’t hear! 

The boots don’t move closer. Hands don’t reach down to grab him. They shuffle for a minute more, then turn and walk away. Yuichi remains right where he is, pressed into the dirt, feeling breathless and hunted. After several more frozen minutes, he shores up his shredded nerves and risks a glance out from between the leaves. The small area surrounding the bushes appears to be clear, but how can he know? His eyes aren’t good enough, he needs to hear them coming, he needs— 

Yuichi moves, throwing himself out of the bushes and making a break for the trees in the opposite direction that the cultists have gone. His breaths rasp in his throat and burn in his lungs, and some rational part of his brain is screeching that he’s being too loud, that they will hear him and follow, that he’s leading them right back to Leo and their hiding place. He shuts that voice out and tears through the forest, veering his course in a wide arc that will take him right back to the den. Sunlight dapples through the canopy above, casting shadows that play tricks on his mind, seeming to jump out at him from their depths as he blurs past.  

Yuichi doesn’t know how long he runs; it’s as if he blinks and suddenly the den is in sight. He scrambles through the opening, shaking and panting as he tries to bring his ragged breathing under control. Everything is as he left it; Leo is still unconscious but seems fine. He’d have thought that making it back to the den would head off the panic pounding in his chest.

It doesn’t.

The ringing in his ears only seems to grow louder as this anxious pressure in his head rises. At least he’d gotten the berries, he thinks reaching to the pack on his shoulder and finding… nothing. His breathing picks up as his hands dart over his hakama. His pack was gone. He must have dropped it, either in the bushes or during his idiotic race back to the den. The pack had the berries in it! The one fucking thing he’d gone out for, and he’d left it behind!

His hands shoot up, gripping the fur on his head. He pants, trying and failing to reign in his panic as a headache forms in his temples. What was he going to do? How was he supposed to do anything without his hearing? He couldn’t even gather some fucking berries! 

What if he’d lost his hearing for good? How could he be a samurai if he was deaf? How was he supposed to hunt for food, or gather medicine, or fight, or the hundreds of other things necessary for their survival when he couldn’t even hear the sounds of the small lizard following along at his feet? 

And the lizard! Oh gods, where was the lizard? He was so stupid! Stupid! Stupid ! The tokage had been trying to warn him, of course it had! When has it ever been anything but helpful? And his stubborn ass had ignored it! It had spotted trouble long before Yuichi had, and he’d just refused to listen. The lizard had distracted the Godkiller’s scouts so he could get away and now, gods, he’d probably gotten the poor thing hurt thanks to his stupidity! Leo was going to kill him, assuming he doesn’t just die in his sleep because Yuichi couldn’t even bring him back any food or medicine.

Yuichi’s chest tightens, his body shaking with barely restrained sobs as tears roll down his face. He curls inwards in a pathetic attempt to soothe himself, rocking back and forth and fighting to put his Auntie’s breathing exercises to use, but it’s not working because they’re both going to die out here in this fucking den where no one would ever find them!

A nudge at his hand breaks him out of his panicked haze. He looks up to find the tokage right there in front of him, staring up at him with wide eyes. It looks alright, a little more dirty and scuffed up than before but otherwise whole. Yuichi is far too overwhelmed to even respond, he just blinks at the yokai with swimming eyes. Before he can even think of doing anything else, the little creature forces his way between Yuichi’s arms. It curls up in his lap, a warm and heavy weight that settles against his aching legs. The little tokage nuzzles into his torso, purring in a way that reverberates deep in his chest. It’s…nice. Soothing. 

Yuichi uncurls slightly, shifting so he can stroke a hand along the lizard's smooth scales, the repetitive action is like a balm on his fried nerves, freeing his mind from the spiraling panic. The tokage churrs and settles down further, going boneless in his lap. “T-Thank you,” he chokes out past the lump in his throat. The tokage looks at him thoughtfully for a moment before turning to the side. As quickly as the lizard had crawled into his lap, it's gone again, clambering over his legs and scampering across the den. 

“What-” Yuichi turns to see the yokai now curled up at Leo’s side, nuzzling into him as the turtle attempts to push himself up off the ground before falling back with a wince, hands fluttering up to the wound in his chest.  

“Leo!” he gasps, scrambling over to the turtle's side. Leo's eyes are blurry and unfocused as he frowns up at Yuichi. He looks concerned, or is he in pain? The turtle’s lips move, but whatever he’s saying doesn’t penetrate the ringing in his ears.

He swallows past the lump in his throat and shakes his head, feeling his eyes sting with new tears. “I-I’m sorry, Leo, I can’t hear you. Something happened to my ears in that explosion.” 

Leo seems to have no problem hearing him, because his expression twists from concerned to a deep worry. His hands reach out for Yuichi's ears, trailing the blood soaked fur with a feather-light touch as Yuichi tries his best to hold still and get his tears under control. Leo doesn’t try to speak again, he just frowns at the flakes of blood on his fingertips thoughtfully. He then seems to come to some sort of decision because he shifts and attempts to peel himself up off the ground. 

Yuichi starts and moves to push him back down. “No, Leo, wait — you need to stay down.” 

But Leo simply pushes his hands away and, with trembling arms and visible effort, forces himself into a meditative position in front of Yuichi. He watches Leo close his eyes and he starts to speak. The rhythm of his lips move in concert with his hands as they form a variety of gestures in the air. Yuichi is definitely no lip reader, but he seems to be…chanting? His lips only move in short, choppy syllables. 

Yuichi moves to stop him, to get him to lay down and rest, when the turtle’s hands begin to glow with a faint blue light. Leo reaches out towards him, and he holds himself very still as he places his hands on top of Yuichi’s head.

He keeps chanting in a steady rhythm as the glow spreads until Leo’s whole body is radiating with the same light. Yuichi tries to hold himself still, but he can’t help but jump when he feels a whisper-light touch against his spirit. The feeling is gone almost immediately and the light flares slightly. The pain in Yuichi’s ears spikes in response. For a moment, the ringing is almost unbearable, harsh and discordant, before it dissipates and the words Leo’s speaking miraculously start to filter through.

“Rin..pyo…to…sha…kai…jin…retsu…zai…zen…”

The glowing light slowly fades as Leo's hands drop. He opens his eyes and gives Yuichi a small, strained smile. “Better?” His voice is a hoarse and gravelly thing, but Yuichi can hear it.

He can hear it. 

The lump in his throat is back and Yuichi struggles to breathe around it. He hesitantly brings his hands up to his ears and snaps his fingers. He’s shaking so badly that he has to try three times before he can do it, but there it is, the sound ringing sharp and clear in the small den.

“How—“ He swallows and tries again. “How on earth did you…” 

Before he can even finish his question, Leo’s eyes roll back in his head and he slumps back to the ground.

“Leo!” Yuichi surges forward to catch him. The tokage races to his side, sniffing Leo and chirping in concern. “No, no, no!” His hands shake harder than before as he checks for a pulse. It’s there, slightly too fast but strong and steady. Yuichi wants to sink through the floor in relief.  

Yuichi stares at the steady rise and fall of his chest as his mind churns with questions. Namely, what the fuck was that? Leo had just fixed his hearing! How had he done that? Could he do that this entire time? Why hadn’t the idiot healed himself? Whatever the turtle had done must have been incredibly draining. Leo is definitely out cold and his face is waxen and pale, though his expression seems more peaceful than it had been before. 

Yuichi feels…conflicted, to say the least. Leo is once again unconscious, and Yuichi absolutely hates that he is probably the cause. Again. He hasn’t forgotten the explosion or the terrifying, spinning fall down that cliff; Leo had used his own body to shield him without a second thought. And whatever he just did here to fix his hearing has clearly harmed him in some way. They haven’t known each other for long, but Yuichi can already see a concerning pattern developing here. 

He’ll have to backburner that thought for later though. In the meantime, he settles in and listens. He can hear! He barely had to strain himself to hear the noises of the forest outside. The rustle of the leaves and the shuffling of the dozens of animals in a three mile radius. 

Most crucially, he can hear the Godless. The distinct sounds of human footsteps beating in steady rhythms far off in the distance. Closer, he can hear four pairs of them, marching steadily through the area, about two kilometers West of their hideout. And if he can hear their patrols, then he can predict their routes.

Yuichi takes a deep, centering breath as gratitude and relief flow through him. He picks up one of Leo’s hands and cradles it in his lap. His chest buzzes with something warm and bright. “ Thank you,” he says fervently, giving the hand a gentle squeeze. 

A nudge at his leg pulls Yuichi out of his thoughts as he looks down to find the tokage at his side once again, its gaze darting pointedly between him, Leo, and the opening to the den. 

Right, okay, time to focus up, Usagi. 

Leo seems stable and as comfortable as Yuichi can make him, but they still need supplies. Thanks to Leo restoring his hearing, that was much more doable. He needed to get back out there. He gives Leo’s hand one more squeeze then pulls himself stiffly to his feet. Fatigue has made a home deep in his muscles, but he ignores it and takes another steadying breath before crawling his way back towards the exit. A tug at the leg of his hakama gives him pause and he turns to find the little lizard once again biting at his heels. 

“Alright, come on,” he says easily, stepping out of the den and holding the blanket of leaves aside to let the little creature follow. 

First things first, he needs to get his pack and those damn berries he nearly got captured for. He makes a small reminder to be embarrassed by his major freakout later as he follows his previous path through the forest, keeping his steps light and his ears up. He also spares some attention for the tokage following along as it darts in and out of the underbrush, unwilling to leave the little guy behind for a third time.

He is relishing the return of his hearing, the forest seeming to come alive around him, whereas before it seemed like a colorful, shifting void. He keeps a careful ear out for the sounds of human footsteps he had clocked before. They’re closer now, about half kilometer away and have changed direction, shifting more Southwest. Far enough that he can do what he needs to do, but close enough that he will need to keep careful track of them. His ears swivel left as he picks up the rustling of a pheasant a few dozen feet away, and he wonders if it would be worth it to hunt now or if he should just stick to foraging. He could set up a snare easily enough, but he’s not sure if he wants to commit to the hours of waiting it would take for anything to trip into it. The sense of jittery anxiety that plagued him the night before makes itself known once again. He shouldn’t have pushed them as hard as he did, he knows that now, but they’re still on a steep timeline here. They need to get on their feet and moving as soon as possible. 

He’s so wrapped up in his thoughts and tracking the humans that he nearly walks right into the tokage. He skips back a step and blinks down at where the little yokai has stationed itself in the middle of Yuichi’s path, staring up at him unblinkingly. He raises a brow at it and tries to take an experimental step around it. The tokage chirps once in warning, and Yuichi, not willing to make the same mistake twice, immediately scans the area for any threats. He doesn’t hear or see anything out of place, so he kneels down and gets on the lizard's level. It’s there that he sees it.

It’s made of a strange matte black metal, clearly human-made. Circular with sharp spikes that curve upward like a maw of teeth. The setup is laying flat on the ground, hidden by the leaves and secured to a nearby tree by a thick black chain. It was unlike anything Yuichi has ever seen. He reaches for it cautiously, but before he can touch it the tokage chirps again and nips at his fingers in warning. He pulls back immediately and settles back on his haunches, looking at the device consideringly.

“You’re pretty good at spotting trouble, aren’t you?” he says to the tokage. The lizard's tail thumps heavily against the ground. “Heh, you know, I kind of like that. Spot. What do you think? If you’re gonna follow us forever, you’re going to need a name.” 

The tokage looks unimpressed at Yuichi’s pun, but wags its tail at the name, so he is going to take that as glowing approval. “Alright then. So, Spot, any idea what this thing is?” 

Spot predictably doesn’t answer. Yuichi glances around for a moment and swipes up a small rock. He glances over at the tokage again, feeling strangely like he was asking his Auntie for permission. The yokai just blinks at him, so he shrugs back and tosses the rock at the device. 

Faster than he can react, the maw snaps closed. Yuichi jumps and shoots to his feet, snatching up the tokage as he backpedals away, just as an alarm sounds from the trap. Yuichi flinches as the sharp drone fills his ears and all the other sounds of the forest cut out at once. 

Half a kilometer to the Southwest, four pairs of footsteps change direction and start running. 

Yuichi tightens his grip on Spot and leaps straight up, landing deftly on a branch above. He bounds up the tree and throws himself into the shadows of the leaves as the footsteps rapidly draw closer. High above, he hugs Spot to his chest and creeps across the branches, moving from tree to tree the same way Leo had shown him above the Godless camp, back before an already bad situation was shot to hell and spiraled out of control. 

Feeling like he had put a healthy distance between himself and the Godless closing in, Yuichi settles in and listens. 

The running steps come to a sudden halt, heard just under the shrill of the alarm. The scouts are silent for a few moments, before there’s a huff and the noise of the alarm is cut off, leaving a vacuum of sound in its wake. 

One of them speaks, sounding out of breath. “I told you the sensitivity was set too high. Some leaves set it off and sent us running for nothing.” 

“And I told you that we shouldn’t have set the trap in the first place,” another says. “What if the rabbit had tripped into it and died? Did you not see what the master did to Kitashi?” 

“No, I was part of Scout B. What did Kitashi do?”

“Damn fool set off the TNT and nearly killed both the rabbit and turtle.” 

“I was there when they returned to base,” another cut in, a male with an accent that Yuichi can’t place. “The master tied a stick of dynamite to Kitashi’s head and set it off, right there in the middle of camp.”

“As is his right,” the second voice says coldly. “The rest of that squad is lucky that the rabbit survived, or they would have undoubtedly found themselves headless as well. They ought to throw themselves at the feet of their ancestors in gratitude.” 

“What was left of the rest of the squad,” one mutters. “Only Kitashi and three others from his patrol made it back. I don’t know what that rabbit did to them, but they’re still scrapping Anderson off the forest floor.”

“Tanaka says they were ambushed by dozens of clones of the rabbit and turtle. Sounds like she’s lost her mind, if you ask me.” 

“I believe her,” one of them says. Yuichi hears him spit on the ground. “These woods are full of unholy creatures. Who knows what wicked tricks these freaks get up to.” 

Yuichi hears the metallic creak of a spring being forced open and the rattle of a chain. “Forget the rabbit, I was hoping to see that fucking lizard caught in this thing.” 

“We will not ‘forget the rabbit’,” a fourth voice cuts in sharply. “Our master’s plan hinges on finding it. Now stop fooling around and get back into formation!” 

The voices fall silent and there’s a light shuffle of leaves as the humans spread out and walk away, continuing their path Southwest. Yuichi relaxes and loosens the tight grip he had on Spot. The tokage gives a disgruntled chirp, but doesn’t try to wiggle out of his grip. Tokage probably can’t climb well. He eases out of the tree, landing lightly on the forest floor. The cultists continue on, none the wiser of his eavesdropping. Not that they revealed much, other than confirming that the tanuki did kill those scouts from before. 

He places the tokage on the ground and continues on, eyes scanning the forest floor for anything they can use. Having been up in the trees gives him an idea. He jumps back up, causing the tokage to squawk in protest. Back amongst the leaves, he quickly spots a bird's nest and helps himself to the five small eggs nestled inside before jumping back down. 

Now that he’s not constantly scanning the treeline and jumping at shadows, he finds what he needs quickly. The forest is lush with herbs. He gathers medicinal plants like knotweed and ginger. He sniffs the air and follows a trail to a small stream of water. It’s just a trickle against the rocks, not enough to wash his filthy clothes, but he doesn’t hesitate to fill his empty medicine bottles. Nearby, he also stumbles across a patch of gobo and daikon, wasting no time in stuffing his kimono full of the roots. By the time he made it back to the berry bush, Yuichi has his arms full of various foods and herbs. His pack is laying there underneath the thorny bush and he snatches it up with vindication. Pack full and feeling better than he has in days, Yuichi heads right back to the den, the five eggs cradled carefully in his palms. 

When he crawls his way back into the den, Leo is still out. Spot follows in right behind him, darting over to curl up into Leo’s side once again. It starts a low rumbling churr that Yuichi can feel in the ground under his knees as he gets to work starting a fire at the edge of the den near a gap in the roots. He keeps it as small as possible and stokes it carefully, making sure the smoke properly vents out. The flames add a warm glow to their hideout, pushing away the gloominess. Yuichi palms one of the bottles of water and places it amongst the embers. 

He then darts out of the den and scans the ground until he finds two smooth, flat rocks. He snatches them up and ducks back inside before carefully balancing the larger one between two thicker sticks over the flames. He leaves it there to heat the stone while he gets to work.

Settling in, he lays out his supplies on the floor of the den and quickly sets to grinding the knotweed with a sprinkle of water against the other rock until he gets fine paste.   Once he gets the consistency he’s looking for, he shuffles closer to Leo. Using the water from the other bottle, he rinses the crack in his chest, watching grimly as blood and yellowed puss runs out of the wound. It takes over half the bottle for the water to run clear, but eventually Yuichi concedes that it was as good as it was going to get. He has no clean linen to dry the area so he just applies the paste directly to the wound, praying that it will do something to draw out the infection. 

By the time he’s done, the water is boiling. He picks the bottle out of the fire carefully and snaps the ginger into small pieces before shoving them into the bottle to brew. That done, he turns to the food he had gathered and starts cleaning the radishes and stripping the herbs. The methodical work is more soothing than any breathing exercises, and he feels himself start to relax further. He’s almost finished rinsing the last of the berries when he feels another tug on the sleeve of his kimono. 

He immediately stops what he’s doing and looks down at the lizard, giving it his full attention. “What is it?” Spot simply tugs harder. “Spot, what are you…” As he turns, he sees Leo shifting on the ground behind him. His brow furrows as his eyes slowly open and he gazes blearily around the den.

“Leo!” Yuichi practically shouts, scrambling to the turtle's side and hovering nervously. “H-How are you feeling?”

“Uh, better.” His voice is rough and sticky sounding and Yuichi is already reaching for the water. “Still a little tired.” He takes the water with a grateful nod and drains half of the bottle in one go before handing it back. “Thanks.” 

“Can you sit up?”

“Yeah, yeah, totally.” That isn’t at all convincing, and he resists the urge to fret as Leo pulls himself slowly upright. Yuichi immediately shifts into medic mode, shifting closer. 

“How’s the pain?” 

Leo waves a hand vaguely. “It’s fine.” 

Yuichi rolls his eyes. “Super convincing tough guy act. Wanna try again?” 

He huffs a laugh. “You sound like Donnie. Pain’s about a six, but it really is much better. Sleep definitely helped.” 

“Not sure if I would call unconsciousness sleep, but I’ll take it.” Yuichi leans in and holds up a finger. “Here, can you follow my finger?” 

Leo gives a nod, wincing slightly before following the movement of Yuichi’s finger back and forth. His pupils follow the movement smoothly, thank the gods. The last thing the guy needs is a concussion. The pit of anxiety simmering in his stomach lessens a bit, and he settles back in relief. “Okay, okay, good. You’re good.”

Then he punches Leo in the arm.

“Ow! What the hell was that for?” 

“Mind explaining what the hell that was earlier?” Yuichi hisses. “What was with all that glowy shit? How did you fix my hearing? Why’d you just pass out? You scared me half to death!”

Leo blinks back at him for a moment before finally seeming to register Yuichi’s rush of questions. “Oh, it's something my dad taught me. It’s called healing hands.”

Yuichi frowns in disbelief, mouthing ‘healing hands’ silently. Leo said it so casually, but Yuichi has never seen anything like it before. The glowing light, the chanting; that hadn’t been a prayer or a summons, it had been actual spiritual power. Yuichi had felt it; the brief brush of another’s soul against his own, chasing the silence away. 

Leo blinks at him tiredly, apparently not feeling the need to explain himself further. “That…sounds like an incredibly useful ability,” Yuichi says slowly, frowning at him. “Why haven’t you used it before now?” 

Leo leans back, relaxing into the earthen wall of the cave. “Well, as you saw, it's incredibly draining. I used it a lot in the beginning, when they first took me, but over time it took more and more out of me until I just couldn’t anymore.” He gestures down at himself. “After the hit to my plastron, I’ve been saving up the energy to try and heal it.” 

“And that energy is…gone now?”

“Oh, yeah.” He blows out a breath and sinks further against the wall. 

Yuichi’s gaze flits to the crack, soft and seeping with infection. “Then why did you use it to heal me?” His voice is sharper than he means it to be, but he’s once again thinking about that fall and living shields and the implications of it all. 

Leo frowns at him, perplexed. “Why wouldn’t I heal you?” 

“Your wounds are infected, don’t tell me you haven’t noticed.” 

“It’s fine.”

“It is not!”

“You couldn’t hear ,” he stresses. He waves his hands again, as if to brush off this conversation, and his tone lightens as he says, “Can’t have you that severely handicapped, Cottontail. Somebody here has to be at one hundred percent to keep us safe.” 

His eyes are saying to drop it and his blasé tone grates on Yuichi’s ears, it’s so stiff and forced. All of this definitely isn’t helping the sinking feeling in his stomach. 

“And how long will it take to build it back up?” 

“No time soon,” Leo says bluntly. “Infections are tricky. It’s not enough to heal the wound itself, there’s a lot of complicated internal aspects of the immune system that I will have to divert the power to as well.” 

He pauses then and stares at the wall stonily before saying quietly, “I used to be better at it. It used to come easier to me, but ever since—“ He cuts off and runs a hand down his face. “Whatever. The point is, that was all I had in me for now. But it’ll be fine, I can use it in spurts to keep the infection back. I’ve been doing it for days now.” 

He says that as if it’s supposed to make Yuichi feel better. He glances down at the knotweed paste on Leo’s chest. His efforts at fighting that infection seem pathetic in the face of this power, if Leo had not wasted it on him.  “You’re no fool. I know you know how dangerous infections can be out here. My hearing could have waited.” 

Leo scoffs as his expression hardens. “It didn’t look like it could wait. You were crying and in the middle of a panic attack when I woke up.” 

Yuichi feels blood rush to his face as embarrassment prickles hotly in his chest. He breathes past it and says, “You should have healed yourself.” 

“Well, I didn’t.” 

They stare at each other in tense silence. Yuchi has spent the past day worrying about the guy, he doesn’t want to fight with him. But there’s something wrong about this whole thing. The healing abilities, all that talk about energy levels, and again that damned fall. Yuichi doesn’t like the picture it paints. 

Leo’s gaze cuts away, breaking the stalemate. “Is that food?” he asks hopefully. 

Yuichi's stomach decides at that moment to growl traitorously. He sighs and tucks the conversation in the back of his mind, to be pulled out and examined later. “Yeah, I was able to get a good haul.” 

There’s a shuffle as Leo tries to get to his feet. He grunts and his face twitches with pain, so Yuichi pushes him back down, exasperated. “Leo, seriously, would you just sit down? The food’s not even ready yet.”

“Don’t you want to get going though? What time is it?” 

“It’s almost sunset, we’re not going anywhere tonight.”

His head whips up.“Sunset! How long have I been out?” 

“Umm.” Yuichi glances back at the late afternoon sunlight filter through the cover of leaves at the entrance. “Not including the few minutes you were awake to heal me, you've been out for a little over half a day.” 

Leo looks stricken at the information, but Yuichi hadn’t really been thinking about it. He’d spent the last few hours so twisted up in worry about Leo and just staying alive that it hadn’t even occurred to him that they were going to lose an entire day of travel. Rushing is what got them to this point anyway, so he says, “Don’t worry about it. You needed the time to recover and the woods around here have been crawling with Godless soldiers. It’s not safe to head out now. Hopefully by tomorrow they’ll think we moved on, or assume we’re dead, either one works for me, honestly.” 

Leo squints at him suspiciously. “You don’t want to get back on the road?” 

“No,” he says, even as his insides squirm at the show of doubt. “We covered a lot of distance last night. We can afford to rest and call it a day.” 

“Now,” he continues, turning to pick up the bottle of brewed ginger and tossing it to the turtle. “Drink this.” 

Leo fumbles the bottle and shoots him a look before he opens it and takes a careful sniff. He hums and takes a long sip before letting out a pleased sigh. “Mmm, ginger.” 

Yuichi smiles slightly and turns back to his food prep. He  finishes stripping the herbs and a quick touch confirms that the stone over the fire was hot to the touch. He’s just about to crack an egg onto the stone when a hiss makes him look back. 

Leo was sitting up straighter, the empty bottle of ginger tea beside him, and was poking cautiously at the wound in his chest. “It got wider?” he asks quietly. 

Yuichi’s mouth twists down as he looks at the crack grimly. “Taking a tumble down a hillside will do that,” he says casually, trying to lighten the mood. “But that knotweed and the ginger should help with the inflammation, and y’know, that healing thing you can do. We’ll get you fixed up good as new when we reach my aunt’s house.” He picks up the bottle and refills it from the other one. “I’ll make you some more tea.” 

Leo settles back against the wall and gazes around as Yuichi sets the bottle back in the fire. “So where are we? I don’t remember anything after that bomb went off.” 

“I still can’t believe they had bombs,” Yuichi mutters. 

“Seriously! What was up with that?”

“Beats me, I’ve never seen them use anything like that before.” 

Leo hums consideringly, picking idly at the dried paste. “Stop that,” Yuichi admonishes, causing him to jump. . 

“Sorry. So what happened after we fell?” 

Yuichi gets him up to speed while he seeps the ginger, leaving nothing out. He tells Leo what he remembers from the fall and reassures him that he walked away with no injuries other than his hearing and the cut on his brow. He tells Leo about finding him unconscious and snatching him up to make a run for it out of the valley. He talks about the rain and the mud and the fog and being cornered by the Godless scouts. Leo straightens at that.

“Did they hurt you?” 

“No, the tanuki swooped in for a last minute save.” 

“The tanuki?”

“Yeah, they transformed into a bunch of copies of us and started attacking the scouts. It was kind of hilarious actually.” Well, it is now that he’s talking about it. In the moment it had been terrifying. He describes the tanuki leading them to the den and his first disastrous trek outside. 

“You pretty much know everything else, you woke up and fixed my hearing - and thank you for that, really. Thank you.” Leo waves him off, looking flustered in a way that catches Yuichi right in the chest. He clears his throat. “After that I had a lot more luck foraging. Eavesdropped on some scouts, but didn’t really learn anything. Got the stuff we needed then came right back here.” 

“Good work.” Yuichi tries not to preen at that. “Are the Godless still nearby?”

Yuichi’s ears swivel towards the entrance for a moment then he says, “No, they’re out of my range by now. The den is well hidden and you’re— we’re safe for now.” 

The ginger comes to a soft boil and he pulls it from the fire and sets it aside to cool. Silence falls over the den and Yuichi picks at the dried mud on his kimono before glancing back at Leo. “Listen, I’m sorry about before.” 

Leo looks over at him, still petting Spot. “For what?” 

“Everything,” he says meekly. “How I acted back in the foothills. For rushing us and pushing your injuries. For getting caught by the tanuki.” 

“You already apologized for all of that. I get it, we need to get back before the Godless go through with whatever they have planned.” 

Yuichi shakes his head. “Not like that though. You were right, we won’t be able to help anyone if we’re dead. We’ll go at your pace from here on out, so don’t push yourself too hard. I promised to get you home safe, and I meant that.” 

Leo looks at him consideringly for a moment, then says, “When did the tanuki take you? I’m trying to decide how pissed off I’m supposed to be.”

“I— uh,” Yuichi sputters, feeling heat creep back in his face. “It was right after we talked about the storm.” 

Leo hums noncommittally. “Alright, so you were still being a dick.” His deadpan expression breaks as his mouth quirks into a smile. “But not a massive dick, so we’re good. On one condition.” 

Yuichi snorts and tosses him the bottle of tea. Leo catches it easily this time and sticks his tongue out at him. “And that is?” 

“You have to teach me how to cook.” 

Yuichi laughs, startled. “Deal. It’s just eggs, but come watch and learn.” 

He crawls toward the fire, Leo following behind him with only minimal wincing as he settles down next to him.

Yuichi pulls out one of the eggs and carefully cracks it over the surface. He settles back and lets it sizzle for a minute, wondering what Leo planned on actually learning from this; it was literally just eggs. After the whites cook down he sprinkles some of the herbs, throwing in a couple slivers of ginger for good measure. 

They sit in silence as the eggs cook. Leo sits statue still next to him, watching raptly. It’s the dorkiest thing Yuichi has ever seen and it takes every ounce of will he has not to grin like an idiot. After what he deems to be enough time, he uses a wide flat stick to pry the egg off of the surface, carefully depositing it atop a large leaf and handing it over to Leo with a dramatic flourish. 

“Ta-da!” 

Leo lifts the egg up to his face and inhales deeply before taking a bite. “Mmmmm, that’s delicious.” 

Yuichi flushes at the praise, quickly shifting off to the side making room for Leo. “Alright, now it’s your turn.” 

Leo’s eyes widen as they look between him and the eggs in surprise. “Whoa, whoa, hang on” he laughs. “I was joking, I’m genuinely a terrible cook. It would be a waste of food.” 

Joking, right. Like he wasn’t just watching Yuichi’s every move. “You said you wanted me to teach you to cook, right? So just do what I did, you can’t be that bad.” 

He is that bad. Like, it actually hurts to watch. 

Yuichi looks down at the decimated eggs Leo hands him, all broken yolk, burned whites, and slivers of shell mixed in with way too much ginger. 

Even Leo is blinking at it uncertainly. “Uh, bon appetit.” 

“…Thanks.” Yuichi manages to dredge up a forced smile as warm yolk drips off the leaf and runs down his hand. Okay, he can do this. It’s just an egg, no problem whatsoever. Just take a bite, easy. 

Actually, no. He can’t do it. He is not putting that in his mouth. “It’s, uh—  I’m sorry, I’m not eating this. How do you fuck up an egg this badly.” 

Leo grimaces. “I warned you.” 

“We’ll… work on it,” Yuichi says diplomatically, placing the dripping leaf to the side “I’ll handle cooking duties for now. No sense in wasting food.” 

He cooks up the rest of the eggs, and sears the daikon on the side. When it’s done, he dishes them out and they both dig in. For a while there’s only the sounds of chewing and the chirping of insects. Yuichi has never been one for extended silence and casts around for anything to talk about that isn’t their current depressing circumstances. 

“So,” he says. “You have any hobbies?” Okay, not his best work, but it’s all his brain is coming up with.

Leo finishes chewing and says, “Sure. I like to meditate, and I read some. I spend most of my free time practicing in our dojo though. You know, forms, katas, things like that.” 

Yeah, that’s definitely the kind of answer Yuichi expected out of the guy. He needs to dig deeper. “I know you’re good at the ninja thing and all, but that can’t be your whole personality. Come on, what do you do for fun?”

“Meditating is fun,” Leo sniffs haughtily, but Yuichi clocks the playful smile at the corner of his mouth. 

“Sure.” He rolls his eyes. “Sitting in complete silence, riveting stuff. What kind of books do you read?” 

Leo’s smile widens into something fond. “My brothers and I like comic books. My youngest brother, Mikey, is obsessed with this one called The Last Ronin. I had just started reading it when, you know, all this happened.” 

“Sounds cool. There’s not a lot of comics around here, and only a few human books. Paper media didn’t last long once the borders closed, so most of our human entertainment is the more solid stuff - records, CDs, TV, things like that.” 

Leo hums at that. “Wow, I haven’t used a CD player in years. I guess it makes sense that your guys’ stuff would be old school.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with the classics.” Yuichi echoes his haughty sniff.

 Leo laughs then perks up. “You mentioned Space Heroes before.”

Oh, be still his beating heart. “Uhh, yeah, it’s only the greatest show ever made.” 

Leo positively lights up at that. “Thank you! My brothers hate it. Especially Raph, he says it’s stupid.” 

“It sounds like Raph has bad taste.”

“Agreed,” he laughs. “Have you seen the whole show?”

“Yeah, my auntie loves human TV. She was able to snag the whole VHS set before the borders closed. You should see her collection, if it was made before the year 2000 then she has it.”

“What did you think of the finale?”

Yuichi leans in. “ Wild .”

“Wild, I know! When the space transponder exploded and they cut to commercial? Evil.”

The conversation flowed animatedly from there. Leo is a true Space Nick, just like him, and gesticulates wildly as they trade theories and favorite scenes back and forth. He’s also a huge Captain Ryan fan, which Yuichi wholeheartedly approves of. He’d always had a bit of a crush on the captain, but he doesn’t dare tell Leo that. 

“No, no, no. The whole point was to signify his undying dedication to his crew. His character arc was him becoming a big softie. The themes, Leo! The themes!”

“Not only would Captain Ryan not say that, he would not, under torture, admit that.”

“I can’t believe I’m arguing with a fake fan.”

Leo throws his disastrous egg scraps at him, his grin so wide it’s almost dazzling. The tokage ambles up and sniffs curiously at the discarded eggs.

“Spot, no! You don’t want to eat that,” Yuichi says, moving to pull the egg out of the lizard's reach, but he needn’t have bothered. The tokage takes one sniff of the egg before visibly gagging and darting away to take refuge at Leo’s side. “Great, even the lizard hates my cooking,” he grumbles.

He looks so dejected that Yuichi can’t help but break out into laughter at the sight, nearly spilling his own food in the process. 

He sees Leo smile over at him then do a double-take. “Hang on, did you just call him Spot?”

“I, uhh, yeah? I guess I did? What about it?” Yuichi asks, feeling strangely embarrassed, 

“Haha, oh my god! ” Leo laughs incredulously. “You named him?” 

“I, uhh, w-well I couldn’t just keep calling him ‘thing’, now could I?” 

Leo shoots him a smug grin and says, “Why Spot?”

“Because he’s good at spotting trouble,” Yuichi mutters, blushing furiously under his fur. Was it a bad name? He doesn’t worry for too long, though, as Leo just laughs good-naturedly and scoops Spot into his arms. “Oh my god, that’s great! Spot!” The tokage churrs happily in his arms, touching its nose against Leo’s own. “He likes it! I think it suits him.”

Leo sets the lizard down and pulls the pack close, rooting around before pulling out a handful of berries. The second he holds them out, Spot is rushing forward. It gobbles them up in the blink of an eye, his snout smeared with berry juice. Leo laughs, licking his thumb and wiping the mess from the tokage’s face. 

“Did that really hit the spot, Spot?” he asks, chuckling to himself as he wipes away the tokages face, shooting a conspiratorial wink towards Yuichi.

Gods above, he is such a dork. Completely out of his control, Yuichi finds his smile melting into something softer. He shifts over until he can lean against the den wall and feels himself relax for the first time in days as he watches them in the warm light of the fire. He relishes in the peace, in his full belly, in the rumbling churr of the tokage that he can now miraculously hear because of this turtle and his strange powers. 

Spot nips playfully at Leo’s fingers and chirps at him. Leo opens his mouth and chirps back and the sound has all the effect of a cannon ball to Yuichi’s chest. It was the most adorable thing he’s ever seen, and affection warms him down to his toes. 

Yuichi has all of two seconds to process this, before he shoots straight up and gapes at the mutant. Leo doesn’t look up from Spot as the two churr back and forth at each other. The whole scene goes for silver as the second most adorable thing he’s ever seen, and oh .

Oh, shit. He is so fucked.

Chapter Text

“Leo.”

“Mmnn.”

“Leo, come on, time to wake up.” 

“I’m up, I’m up,” he mumbles, pushing himself up off the ground and blearily opening his eyes to the dim gloom of the den. The events of the last day spring straight back into his mind, and he can suddenly feel every scrape and pulled muscle. He shifts stiffly, sitting up and gently scooting Spot away from his legs. The den is still dark, the dim glow of the coals the only source of light in the small space. His jaw pops as he yawns widely. He squints through the gloom, just barely making out Yuichi’s outline.

The rabbit's ears twitch and he turns towards Leo, smiling.  “Oh good, you're awake.” He brushes the ash from his clothes and crawls over. “How are you feeling?”

His head hurts and there’s a strange, deep ache radiating from his plastron, but he just says, “Fine, still a little tired, but other than that I’m good.”

“Good, then it’s time to get moving.” 

“What time is it?”  Leo asks, shuffling forward to follow.

“I’d say maybe 4am.” Yuichi says, picking up his pack from the ground and throwing it over his shoulder as he crawls towards the entrance.

Leo groans, but crawls forwards to join him.

“Yeah, I know,” Yuichi says, smiling at him tiredly as he rubs the sleep out of his own eyes. “Don’t worry, we’ll call it an early night, if we can.” He pulls back the blanket of leaves covering the entrance aside and peers out. His head and ears flick rapidly from side to side. “Alright, we’re clear, but stay close. We aren’t taking any chances.”

Spot crawls past them and quickly darts out ahead of them. Yuichi shrugs at Leo then crawls out after it, squeezing his way through the opening before turning and offering his hand out. Leo wiggles out most of the way, his bulkier shell catching on the roots, before grasping Yuichi’s hand and letting him pull him up. The rabbit steadies him carefully as Leo gets his bearings. He wobbles slightly, spots dancing in his vision from standing up so quickly.  

“Whoa, you good?” Yuichi asks, supporting his weight as he sways slightly. 

“Yeah, yeah I’m good. Just stood up a little too fast.” Leo waves him away and gingerly puts his weight back on his feet. His knee immediately burns and the muscles around it cramp. He falls to the ground, fingers digging into the flesh around it. Fuck, he hates this. Why the hell can’t his stupid body just walk on its own.

“Are you okay?” Yuichi asks. “Do you need me to get you another walking stick?”

“No, no, I’m fine. Just an old knee injury acting up. It’ll level out.” Leo slowly gets back to his feet and just stands in place for a moment. He still feels a little light headed, but it doesn’t take very long for the spots to clear from his vision. He stands up a little straighter and manages to maintain his balance. He takes a step forward, waiting a moment to see if his knee will protest at the movement. It aches terribly, but holds and he shoots Yuichi a thumbs up. “Lead the way.”

Yuichi looks skeptical, but doesn’t comment on it further, instead turning his attention back to the trail. “Keep close and step where I step. The Godless have set up these weird traps. They look like black metal circles with teeth that will snap closed if you step on it.” 

Leo knows exactly what kind of trap he’s describing, and his stomach twists to imagine any yokai or animal falling into one. He follows close behind, making sure to match Yuichi’s footsteps closely. Spot follows along right at his side, occasionally brushing up against his legs or darting off into the underbrush, always returning to his side with some new snack in his mouth. It certainly didn’t seem like it was planning on leaving them anytime soon, and Leo was just fine with that. 

He yawns, slowly moving along behind the rabbit as his footsteps drag. He’d gotten almost a full day's rest and a full night’s sleep, but it didn't really feel like it. If anything, he felt more sluggish than he had over the last few days, though that was probably more due to the early wake up time than anything else. 

They walk in silence, both of them too tired to strike up a conversation at this early hour. The sun is a mere whisper to the east, the sky still dotted with the slowly fading lights of the stars above. The setting moon lights the path ahead in a silvery glow. The forest around them is eerily quiet, fog already covering the forest like a blanket and obscuring the path. The sound of crunching twigs beneath their feet is the only thing to be heard in the pressing silence

After a time, the world begins to lighten slightly with the promise of the rising sun, Leo can see Yuichi’s ears start to twitch as they pick up on the sounds of the forest slowly coming to life around them. The samurai looks back to check on him frequently, keeping a slow pace and making a point of taking periodic stops to give Leo the chance to rest.  He tries not to let that get to him. He knows Yuichi feels bad about the day before, and he knows that it’s his injuries that are slowing them up, but he can’t help the little voice in the back of his mind that recoils at the rabbit’s coddling. He was supposed to be better than this, stronger than this.

So, he does what he’s always done when faced with his own weakness - he doggedly pushes on, waving away Yuichi’s next suggestion to rest even as his head pounds and his knee grinds. The sooner they arrive at the pass, the easier it will be to slip past whatever nasty surprise the Godless might have waiting for them. Leo refuses to be the reason they don’t catch up in time. 

It's not long before he can see a mountain emerge from the fog on the horizon, looming large above them. Leo moves to continue up the path, but pauses when he realizes Yuichi isn’t following. The samurai has veered to the side and is walking towards a dense path off the main trail.

“Shouldn't we be going the other way?”  Leo asks, pointing ahead.

“Yeah, but we need to make a quick detour.”

Leo shoots him a disbelieving look. The last time they took one of his detours he ended up kidnapped, cornered, and blown to the bottom of a ravine, with Leo dragged along behind him the entire time. Yuichi must have realized how it sounds too because he immediately rushes to say, “It won't take long, I promise. We need to pay our respects to the mountain kami for safe passage. We can’t enter their territory without permission.”  Yuichi beckons him with a wave and continues off down the dense wooded path. Leo follows. 

As they push forwards, he starts to see signs of habitation around them. Ropes decorated with papers are strung up between the trees, and a stone path slowly reveals itself from beneath the dense undergrowth. The air seems to hum, a deep base that vibrates in Leo’s bones in a way that was both familiar and not. He tilts his head curiously as he tries to pinpoint the source, but no matter how hard he listens or how closely he peers at his surroundings, he can’t put a finger on what this feeling - no, this energy is.

He glances at Yuichi, but if the rabbit notices the feeling in the air then he doesn’t show it. The stone path continues forward ahead of them before transitioning into a set of stone stairs that ascends a small hill. Just before the start of the stairs, stands a simple wooden torii. Leo blinks at it, taken aback. The torii seems to shimmer and shift, its image burning in negatives behind his eyelids like sunspots.   

The connection is a light bulb in his head. The vibration is spiritual energy. That is why it feels vaguely familiar, but he’s never felt anything quite like this. It’s almost…raw. Pure. Leo tentatively reaches out with his spirit and almost jumps when the pathway comes alive. Rivulets of energy branch out from all things, from the trees to the insects to the dirt under their feet. All of it branching together to flow forward, towards the torii, which itself blazes with spiritual energy like a beacon. An entry to a shrine.

Leo can feel the familiar hum of spiritual energy in the air as they grow closer to the shrine

“Come on,” Yuichi said, striding toward the arch.

Leo hangs back, eyeing the blazing energy of the torii warily. Sure, dad had guided him in his spiritual training, but he had never really gotten into the nitty gritty of the actual practices of Shinto itself. The most that he and his brothers know how to do is pay their respects at the family altar, and his knowledge of Shinto doesn’t really extend beyond yokai mythology and his limited spiritual training. The practical parts of everyday worship are an absolute mystery to him. With the level of spiritual energy radiating from all around him, the last thing he wants is to accidentally do something disrespectful to whatever god rests here.

Yuichi’s left ear twitches towards him and he turns back in confusion. “Hey, what's wrong?” 

“There’s a lot of spiritual energy here,” Leo says, sounding almost dumb-founded as he stares down at a particularly bright stream of energy that blooms out from under his feet. It too joins all the others, connected and indistinguishable, and flows towards the torii. There’s one under Yuichi’s feet too, although it’s noticeably dimmer than his own.

“Well yeah, it’s a shrine. Of course there is.”

“Right,” Leo says slowly. “But are you seeing all this?”

Yuichi glances around, his shoulders going tense. “See what?”

“There’s this…” He waves a hand around vaguely, not sure how to explain. “Energy? Life force? I don’t know, but there’s a lot of it flowing towards the shrine.” He points to the ground and follows one of the lines. Yuichi tracks the movement, but his brow is furrowed and his gaze doesn’t seem to focus on anything in particular.

“I don’t see anything, but it makes sense if you think about it. You used spiritual energy before to heal my hearing, so I guess it’s no surprise that you can sense it here so close to the shrine.”

Leo frowns up at the torii. “Hmm. Maybe.”

Yuichi waves him on. “Come on, let's get going.”

When Leo still doesn't budge, Yuichi frowns. “What is it?”

“My dad, uhh…never really showed us how to do all of this stuff,”  Leo says, gesturing to the shrine in front of them. “There weren’t exactly any shrines in New York he could take us to.” Leo avoids looking at him, watching as the energy stream of a nearby beetle branches off to join his own, feeling awkward and inadequate. Gods, he can see all this spiritual energy around him, can feel his place in it’s order, but he knows nothing about it. It feels wrong somehow, to draw upon this power that he’s never felt a need to truly learn about and connect to. How pathetic.  

When he looks up he finds Yuichi smiling at him warmly before walking towards him. “It's all right, just do exactly what I do, okay?” 

Leo nods, slowly following him forward, Spot trailing close behind them. The rabbit stops just before the arch, bowing deeply and Leo mimics the movements. 

“Okay, now step forward with your left foot,” Yuichi instructs, demonstrating the action and stepping forward beneath the arch. Leo does as he's told, putting his left foot forward and following Yuichi as they ascend the stairs. He tries to keep himself calm and centered as he passes under the torii, feeling like an outsider but not knowing what else to do. The vibration suddenly pitches upwards, sharpening into a ringing chime before it cuts out. The humming in his bones, the glow of the torii, it all stops, leaving into the bright streams of energy behind. The silence left behind should be eerie, but Leo can tell the spiritual power isn’t gone, just changed into something blanketing and warm in the air around him. 

The pain in his knee, in his chest, in his head, disappears. 

He takes a deep breath, loosens his shoulders, and follows Yuichi. They walk up the stairs slowly, the wind rustling softly in the trees. The energy from before is still there, but much more diffuse. When they make it to the top, a small clearing spreads out before them covered in a blanket of wildflowers and wild foliage. Only the faintest whisper of the stone path is visible beneath the blanket of plant life leading to a simple weathered shrine sitting at the other end of the clearing. The wood is faded and dulled with age, but it still radiates power like a roaring bonfire nonetheless. Yuichi continues forward along the path without hesitation and Leo follows hesitantly behind him, eyeing the energy nervously. Even back when his spiritual abilities were at their peak, he’d never seen a spiritual aura this imposing, this powerful. They walk forward along the path in silence, even Spot following quietly at his side, seemingly sensing the sacred nature of this place.  

Just before the altar sits a small basin carved into a stone pedestal. It’s filled to the brim with rainwater, a small stone ladle sitting on the edge. Yuichi reaches out, picking up the ladle with his right hand and scooping up a cup full of the water. He pours the water over his left, then right hand. He then returns the ladle to his right hand and pours water into his left hand again before bringing it to his mouth. He swishes the water around for a moment before spitting it out on the ground. He then washes his left hand a third time. 

Leo is watching the ritual closely to commit the order to memory, so when Yuichi rinses his hand the second time and a faint glow runs with the water from his palm to the ground, he notices immediately. The glow is different from the rest of the spiritual energy he’s seen so far, although he doesn’t know exactly how. He watches, awestruck, as the energy is seemingly pulled from Yuichi’s skin, mixing seamlessly with the water before flowing away from him. The glow seeps into the ground before gathering in a puddle beneath the rabbits feet. By the time he rinses a third time, the flow of energy under his feet is almost as bright as Leo’s own. 

Yuichi dumps out the remaining water, the glow beneath his feet slowly dying as it drifts away, flowing back down towards the staircase and away from the shrine. Yuichi turns back to Leo offering him the ladle. “Got all that?”

Yuichi looks…different somehow. Brighter. Leo doesn’t know what to think of it. “Yeah, sure,” he says, nervously taking the ladle. He copies Yuichi exactly, pouring the water over his hands in the exact same manner and rinsing out his mouth before returning the ladle to its pedestal. He watches the water carefully as it flows off of him. There’s…a lot coming out. Flickering rivulets of glowing energy stream out of him, forming a large pool at his feet. He eyes it nervously, unsure why it’s so much larger than Yuichi’s, but knowing it can’t mean anything good. Like before, the energy seems to gather before it shoots back down the path, disappearing into the gloom of the trees. 

Leo releases a breath he hadn’t known he was holding. He doesn’t feel any different, so he stretches the tension out of his shoulders and tries to relax. Yuichi continues toward the altar itself, but Leo has a hard time moving himself forward. The spiritual power in the air thickens as they move closer to the shrine, completely overwhelming his senses. The feeling condenses into something he can only describe as a presence . Like there’s suddenly a being the size of the mountain itself bending down to peer over his shoulder. He shivers in the humid heat and forces himself to take another step. Despite its small size, the altar before them burns like a supernova, almost violent in its power. It’s so bright he fears it may vaporize him if he gets too close. 

 “Leo?” 

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just… a little overwhelming.” He doesn’t dare do anything to disrespect this - Being? Spirit? God? - more than he probably already has, so he swallows hard and joins Yuichi in front of the altar. The samurai seems perfectly at ease as he continues forward. He stops just shy of the stone pillar and reaches into his bag, pulling out several items of food he’d gathered the day before and placing it on the altar. Leo raises an eyebrow questioningly. 

“An offering for the mountain kami,” Yuichi explains before bowing deeply, clapping twice, and keeping his head bowed in prayer. 

Leo comes up beside him and repeats the motions. He stands there for a moment in silence before peaking an eye open to look over at Yuichi, who remains unmoving with his eyes closed. He’s not exactly sure what to do here, he’s never really prayed before. What was the proper way to do this? Sure, he’d gone through all the motions, but that was really only the half of it. Was it rude to go right into asking for protection? Should he offer something in return? No, they’d already done that with the food right? 

He settles on the only way he’s ever interacted with the spirit world and tentatively sends out wisps of his own spiritual energy towards the shrine. He tries to convey feelings of gratitude and reverence, things he assumes a god-spirit would like as it brushes up against the spirit of the mountain contained within the shrine. At first he doesn’t feel anything, just the constant radiating energy of the mountain's spirit but then he feels it. The spirit of the mountain presses back against his own, indomitable and unyielding in its power, shaking his spirit to its core. The resurfacing of a long-buried primal fear of the danger that lurks within the mountain's peaks and valleys. A reminder that a failure to respect the mountain would result in their demise. Leo acknowledges the warning, mentally promising to be cautious as they press forward. He strengthens his spiritual offering and humbly asks the mountain kami for safe passage and to grant them protection on their journey. 

The energy in the air seems to shift then, although Leo has no idea how to put the change into words. There’s no malice behind it, only a gentle warning. A sudden breeze picks up across the clearing, ruffling his kimono with ripples of spiritual power beyond his comprehension. The flow of his own spiritual energy gutters out, like a stream suddenly blocked by a rolling boulder. 

“ Do not give away pieces of yourself so easily,” the leaves warn. 

Leo doesn’t know how to respond. He’s not sure he would even if he did. 

Yuichi rises beside him a short time later, bowing one final time. Leo does the same before turning and silently following the rabbit back down the path away from the shrine. They descend the stairs and pass under the arch once more. Yuichi turns around, bowing one last time before the torii and Leo mirrors him.

 “There, now the mountain kami should watch over us and grant us safe passage,” Yuichi says, turning to look at him with a bright smile on his face. “You did great.”

“Thanks,” Leo mutters somewhat shyly before a thought occurs to him. “What about the Godless?”

He chuckles. “Being anti-shinto and all, I doubt they even bothered. The mountain kami’s blessing will hopefully give us a bit of an advantage over them.” He gestures forward. “Now come on, our crossing point shouldn’t be too much further ahead.”

They walk back along the path just like before, Leo churns over the events of the past few minutes as they make their way back to the main path. That was… Leo didn’t know how to put it into words. Transcendent? Enlightening? Whatever words his mind conjured, they didn’t seem to measure up to what he had just experienced within the sacred grounds. He felt different. More steady, maybe. And when he reaches out with his spiritual energy once again, the energy flows a bit easier. Like a single chip was taken out of the dam separating him from the spirit world’s ocean. 

It was eye opening to say the least. He feels disconnected by this new world, almost embarrassed at how little he knows. How much of his own spiritual growth had been limited simply by the fact that he lived inside of a concrete jungle his entire life? 

He’s pulled out of his thoughts as they finally stumble back onto the main path. Yuichi’s pace slows as he keeps low and his footsteps light. His ears swivel around wildly, searching for any signs of danger. It’s not long before Leo can start to hear the roar of the river just up ahead of them. Yuichi breaks off the main path, motioning for Leo to follow. It isn’t long before they reach the edge of the ravine hidden amongst the bushes that run along the edge of a sheer drop. 

The sun hasn’t risen yet, the valley only lit by the dim glow of the rising sun off to the East as it slowly crawls its way closer and closer to the horizon. The shadows of the trees engulf the river bed in shadow, the rapidly flowing current roars just out sight beneath a thick blanket of fog. Jagged rocks and boulders peek out from the mist, lying in wait just beneath. The river bed lays spread out beneath them, the water flowing in a deluge over the rocks and stones. Leo follows the current downriver with his eyes and spots  a massive waterfall, the roar of the water plummeting into the ravine below audible even to his ears.  

“All we need to do is get over there,” Yuichi says, pointing to the other side. 

Leo frowns at the rapids. He doesn’t see how they were supposed to get across. The ravine was far too wide to shoot across any kind of tether line, and the current was far too strong to even consider crossing on foot. The second they got in past their knees they would be swept downstream and over the falls to their deaths. 

He looks over at the rabbit skeptically. “Right. And how exactly do you plan on getting there? ‘Cause I don’t see any way of getting across that doesn’t end with us going over the edge of that.” He points to the plummeting drop. 

Yuichi smiles at him before turning and parting another branch in the opposite direction. What Leo sees on the other side makes his stomach drop. Just downstream sit two large boulders on opposite sides of the river and what has got to be the world’s oldest trolley car strung up between them on a weathered line of corded rope.  

“You can’t be serious.” He feels his face paling as he looks over at Yuichi, but the rabbit doesn’t even blink. “Oh, come on! That thing looks fucking ancient.”

“It’s our only way across,” Yuichi says, shrugging before he turns away and starts inching along the edge of the riverbank, careful to remain hidden within the foliage.

“There’s no way that thing can hold our weight,” Leo protests as he follows along behind the rabbit. 

“Back when my people still used this thing, they would bring an entire cow across it,” Yuichi says, waving him off. “It’ll be fine.” 

Leo rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure that might have been true twenty years ago. That thing definitely hasn’t been touched since then. Not to mention we will be completely exposed out there.”

“Look, I don’t like it either, but we don’t really have a choice here. This is the only way across.” 

Leo glances back at the gondola skeptically, then sighs and follows along behind the rabbit. Yuichi’s ears continue to twitch back and forth as they walk. “What do you hear?”

“Right now, nothing,” he replies. “That's what worries me. This place should be crawling with Godless troops, but I don't see or hear any sign of them. It doesn’t look like their main forces are anywhere near here. If there’s anyone out there, they’re staying quiet and hidden.” 

“You sure?”

“Yes, if there’s anyone here, they would have to be a small group. The Godkiller can't bring all of his forces across here, there’s too many of them. They'll have to go farther upriver to find a spot where they can safely cross.”

Leo goes quiet, staring out across the ravine, trying in vain to search for any signs of surveillance that Yuichi might have missed, but he comes up empty. Yuichi is right, the trolly is their only option. Sure, they can try hiking up stream right through the Godlesses’ main camp, but that Leo just doesn’t have it in him for another confrontation, not to mention it’d be an extra day of hiking. He isn’t sure how many more delays he can afford in his condition. He can use healing hands to hold off the infection for a while longer before it’ll be useless. Once his reserves of spiritual energy run out, he has no doubt it’ll all be downhill from there. 

“They could be lying in wait further into the mountains,” Leo suggests halfheartedly, suddenly tired despite the early hour. “I mean, they know we'd be expecting something here, right?”

“Maybe…I don't like it one bit.” Yuichi trails off, his eyes searching the treeline one last time before he sighs. “We move ahead, carefully. If I tell you to run, you run. Got it?”

Leo gives a placating nod, knowing good and well that he won’t be abandoning Yuichi at the first sign of trouble, orders to run or not. He follows Yuichi out of the bushes and they both inch forward cautiously as they make their way out to the gondola. They aren’t immediately ambushed or shot down, so Leo takes that as a win, but his mood sours the second he gets a closer look at their ride.   

The boards that make up the whole thing look brittle, the wood worn thin in several places along the siding. Not to mention the fact that it was small, like barely enough room for the both of them and Spot to comfortably sit down in small. Leo eyes the whole setup skeptically. “You sure this thing is safe?” 

“It should be good enough to get us across, and that’s all we need for the moment,” Yuichi says as he climbs inside the small crate before turning and offering his hand out to Leo, who grasps it and boards the gondola. The whole things groans under both of their weight and he leans in Yuichi for balance as it sways. His knee burns fiercely, but after a moment he settles. Spot hops in right after him and curls up tightly in his lap as Yuichi prepares for them to leave, the entire crate bouncing slightly with his movements. 

Once he seems satisfied that everything is set, he looks at Leo before releasing the handbrakes and sticking his leg out of the basket, pushing them off towards the other side. They are sent gliding down the wire and out towards the middle of the river. Leo's nerves feel like a  livewire, buzzing and anxious, as he scans their riverside carefully. They are out in the open and far too exposed, the forest across the river largely shrouded in a thick fog. It makes his skin crawl, and he can tell Yuichi doesn't like it any better by the way his ears twitch and his fur stands on end.

In seconds, they reach the middle of the river, the cart slowing to a stop as the rope bows under their weight. 

“Now what?” Leo asks, keeping up his lookout. 

“Now we pull.” He hears Yuichi roll up his sleeves and grab the rope attached to the other side of the river, and the creak of straining rope as he pulls hard. Leo glances back and sees Yuichi standing with one foot braced on the side of the cart, rope looped around his fists, and the large muscles in his arm flexing under the strain. He quickly turns back to face the riverside. 

He scans the shore and the treeline again, but sees nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe Yuichi is right and the humans have moved further upriver. He thinks about moving to help Yuichi pull them across, but quickly decides against it as the cart sways with every movement, the wood groaning beneath their feet. All Leo can really do is lean back against the railing and try to relax. He closes his eyes and listens to the roaring river below in an attempt to calm his nerves. 

It works for all of two seconds before Spot startles in his lap, raising its head to look at the opposite shore. A low, rumbling growl sounds around bared teeth. “Hey, Spot, what’s…” He looks up to find Yuichi’s ears standing at attention, and his eyes trained on the forest ahead. 

“What do you hear?” Leo asks, a nervous edge creeping into his voice. The rabbit's eyes never leave the tree line as he stares intently into the fog on the other side. In his lap, Spot continues to growl deep in his chest as he, too, stares daggers into the mist. 

Leo can only sit there in silence, his eyes glued to the treeline as he holds his breath and waits. Slowly, figures start to emerge from the fog, a lot more than Leo would have liked. He whips around, moving to grab the line and pull them back towards the opposite bank, but freezes when he finds just as many waiting on the shoreline. They're cornered. The rabbit's eyes flit back and forth between the two approaching forces, expression grim. For a long, drawn out moment both forces stand motionless, staring each other down silently. 

Then the moment is broken and the Godless move. Both groups move together as one, latching on carabiners with practiced ease before leaping off the edge. They race along the taught cord at breakneck speed, and Leo has to grip the sides of the cart as the added weight causes the gondola to swing wildly. “Yuichi, what’s the plan?” He can’t help the note of panic in his tone as the humans close in. 

Yuichi’s head whips back and forth rapidly, and Leo sees the gears in his head turning as he rapidly works through their options. He glances down at Leo and his eyes flicker down to his chest for a brief second before his gaze hardens. He unsheaths Edgewing and hands the sword hilt-first over to Leo, eyes boring into the Godless Leo knows is fast approaching behind him. “Pull us to the other side as fast as you can. I’ll keep them off of you.” Yuichi doesn’t wait for a response before he draws Willow Branch and leaps out of the cart and onto the rope in one smooth motion. “Shout if you need help,” he calls over his shoulder before darting forward and down the line. 

Leo lays Edgewing at his feet and turns back, grabs the rope, and pulls. The muscles in his arms immediately start to burn as he throws his weight against the pull, and the cart starts to inch across. Ahead, three more humans leap onto the line, and Leo almost loses his footing as the cart is thrown back on the recoil. The Godless close in, eating up the distance much faster than Leo can pull them to safety. The meeting of two blades clashes from behind him as Yuichi meets his first opponents head-on. 

They’re not going to make it, Leo knows this, but there’s nothing for him to do but try to get them into more even footing as fast as possible. He snarls at the approaching Godless and pulls. He hears Spot growl menacingly at his feet, stance wide and ready for a fight.  

He tries, he really does, but he barely covers a quarter of the distance before the soldiers are on him. The first attackers blade comes down on him in a vicious arch. He dodges, stepping back while making sure to keep a secure hold on the rope as the cart swings. The Godless soldier keeps his balance flawlessly, leaning into the swing and allowing his blade to arc towards Leo’s neck. Edgewing is at his feet and Leo throws up a desperate hand to block the blow, when suddenly Yuichi is sailing over him. The samurai lands deftly in front of the Godless and counters the humans blade in a screech of sparks. He shoves the man back hard, sending him over the side of the line while simultaneously slicing through his tether. The man plummets into the river below with a short cry that is quickly swallowed by the current. The cart swings violently and Leo desperately clings to it as they sway back and forth. Nausea builds in the back of his throat, but he pushes past it and continues to pull the cart forward. 

A glance ahead shows Yuichi clearing the path ahead of them, his natural balance and the bottleneck created on the rope allowing him to keep the humans at bay. Leo continues to pull the cart forward, hand over hand, and  slowly inches them forward along the line. He’s made a good bit of progress when there’s suddenly the cold press of a blade at his throat. He freezes. 

“Even think about moving, and I’ll slit your throat,” a voice growls from behind him. Leo does as he’s told, remaining perfectly still. Spot doesn’t though. The tokage rushes forwards and clamps its jaws around the human’s ankle.

The blade shifts slightly away from Leo’s neck as the  man shouts and shakes his leg, trying to dislodge the angry lizard. “Get off, you mangy little—” He doesn’t get to finish his thought as his hold loosens just enough for Leo to slam his head backwards right into the man's nose. There’s a satisfying crunch as the human rears back and falls off the line. His tether jerks him to a stop mere feet above the swirling rapids. He glares up at Leo in fury then starts climbing back up. 

Leo doesn’t give him the chance. He snatches up Edgewing and cuts the man’s tether, sending him into the current below. Behind him, more Godless run down the line towards them. “Yuichi, I could use a little help here!” he shouts as he lunges for the rope and starts pulling the cart forward once more, all the while casting furtive glances back to gauge his attackers’ progress. He looks ahead and sees Yuichi kick back his current opponent and cut his tether before he pivots and throws himself back towards the cart. 

In the next moment, another human has closed from behind, shaking the cart as he attempts to climb aboard. Leo jumps up, snatching Edgewing off the ground, and whirls to face his opponent. The whistle of a blade cutting the air is all the warning he gets. Leo throws himself to his knees, curving beneath the man's blade before flipping his katana and sending it upwards into the human’s chest. There’s a strangled gurgling sound and he glances up to meet wide green eyes before he pulls his blade out and shoves the man over the edge of the cart. 

Before he can regain his feet, he’s thrown to the side as another Godless leaps into the cart and delivers a swinging punch to Leo’s jaw. He goes down hard, ears ringing, as hands grip the back of his shell and pull. He shouts as he’s lifted and thrown bodily from the cart and to the rapids below. His hand flies out and catches the lip of the cart. He jerks to a stop and dangles. The cart veers down under his weight, causing the Godless soldier to have to catch himself with his arms or be thrown overboard as well. 

The human sneers down at him and raises his blade. Between the rapids, or his hand getting chopped off and then the rapids, Leo knows which choice he prefers. He loosens his grip—

“Leo!” 

Yuichi is there in an instant, disarming the man and sending him over the side. Leo feels the human’s sleeve brush past his shoulder as he  plummets into the river below. Fingers grip his wrist and, in a stunning display of strength, haul Leo back onto the gondola. The cart sways and Leo clings tight to Yuichi’s hand in his. Jesus, the rabbit was strong. 

“You good?” Yuichi pants. 

His vision is swaying in time with the cart, and his plastron pulses with his heartbeat, but he just says, “Yeah, thanks for the save.” 

Yuichi gives him a quick nod, and says, “The path ahead is clear. You pull us to the other side and I’ll keep the others off your tail.” He turns and darts off behind him to finish off their remaining pursuers.  

Coast finally clear Leo settles back down into position, chancing a quick look back toward Yuichi who appears to still be holding his own, before turning back around. He grabs the rope pulls with all his might. In seconds he falls into a steady, if painful rhythm. One hand over the next he inches the cart along, arms and knee and chest burning with every shift. He checks on Yuichi every now and again, and at one point watches him do a backflip to dodge the arc of a swinging axe, before landing on one foot and using the other to kick the woman in the chest, sending her into the river so fast he can barely track it. Yuichi doesn’t even wobble, keeping perfect balance through every motion, and it’s in that moment Leo realizes that Yuichi didn’t need the cart. He could have carried himself across the line with little effort, outrun the Godless, and disappeared into the fog before the humans would have any chance of catching up. Leo is holding him back. Again.

Stomach sinking, he turns back to the rope and throws himself into moving this stupid cart across this stupid river. After what feels like an eternity, he finally makes it to the other side. He grabs Spot and Edgewing before clambering out of the cart and back onto solid ground. The tokage immediately scuttles into the nearby bushes, keeping itself out of sight. Leo takes a moment to catch his breath, then turns to check on Yuichi. 

His heart drops.

Yuichi is being held aloft, flailing wildly against the Godless gripping each of his limbs, as another ties his knees together. Leo watches, horrified, as the human gripping Yuichi’s sword arm brings the flat side of his axe down on the rabbit’s hand again and again until Yuichi is forced to release Willow Branch. In some sense beyond sound, Leo hears the katana screech as its separated from its master and disappears into the river below. Yuichi throws back his head, screaming and cursing as the Godless slowly start making their away back down the line, away from Leo. 

Leo feels frozen in place. He feels sick. This had never been about getting the both of them. They didn’t care about him, they wanted Yuichi. They wanted his key, only using Leo as a distraction to keep Yuichi’s attention split so they could grab him at the first opportunity. 

For a split second, he debates hopping back into the gondola, but immediately dismisses it. He would never make it over to Yuichi before they were able to drag him off to the other side. Yuichi’s enraged cries echo across the ravine and ring sharply in Leo’s ears. Their eyes meet across the river, and the pure terror in the rabbit’s eyes physically hurts to behold. His expression shifts then, twisting into something pleading and darting between Leo and the gondola ropes. He’s asking Leo to save him. 

Leo breaks his gaze, eyes flitting around frantically for some way to get to him. The edge of Edgewing glints off the rising sun, startling him. He stares down at it for a split second before his gaze lands unerringly on the ropes. The pleading look in Yuichi’s eyes, the flickering glances between him and the trolley lines. Leo’s head whips up and he meets Yuichi gaze once again in horrified realization. The samurai stares steadily back.  

He isn’t asking to be saved. 

Leo remembers being held down by cruel hands. Plastron burning from a swift blow and a blade at his throat as his life was negotiated by strangers. 

“Give me the key.” 

Yuichi’s gaze back then; angry, horrified, and firmly resigned all at once. 

“No.”

Leo thinks of Gen, Kitsune, and Chizu, and the thousands who must live beyond Neo Edo’s borders, and in that moment he understands the aching resolve he saw in Yuichi’s eyes that night.

Better to be dead than used by these people.

Leo doesn’t hesitate. He brings Edgewing down in a shimmering arc, slicing through the gondola lines and sending the group across into the rushing currents below. 

He looses sight of Yuichi immediately, the rapids swallowing him just as carelessly as it had the others. Nausea hits him like a battering ram and he drops Edgewing from hands that have gone numb. What has he done? He felt so sure of his actions mere seconds ago, but now doubt and crushing guilt threatens to drown him. Yuichi’s legs were tied, he will not survive that current and Leo will not survive in these mountains, not by himself. He’s killed them both. 

He opens his mouth — to scream, to rage, to cry, he doesn’t know — then snaps it shut as a faint cough brushes the edge of his hearing. His head snaps to the side and he sees Yuichi downriver, clinging to a rock that just barely crests over the river’s current. 

Without a second thought Leo dives head first into the rapids. The cold water is a shock, but he shakes it off. He breaks above the surface looking around wildly until he spots Yuichi once more. The current swiftly carries him right to the rabbit’s side. 

He slams into the rock hard, latching onto it with one hand as the other hand shoots out to grab Yuichi’s collar. His arms shake and burn as he tries to pull him up, but try as he might, he can't raise Yuichi’s head fully above the raging current. The rabbit sputters and coughs, trying to speak past the water forcing its way down his throat, but nothing makes it past. Leo feels him shift, and tightens his grip as he sees Yuichi’s grip start to slip.

“Hang on!” Leo shouts, trying once again to pull him up, but it’s no use. Yuichi’s fingers slip and the rabbit’s body becomes deadweight, dragging Leo right off the rock and into the current after him. Shit! Shit! Shit! Leo sucks in a breath and twists his fingers into Yuichi’s kimono as they’re dragged under. He kicks his legs and flails with his free arm as he fights the current. The crack in his chest spikes with pain and his knee screams as it clips a passing rock, but he doesn’t dare stop. He pulls and pulls, lungs heavy, until he finally surfaces. He sucks in a deep breath then dives, hooking his arms under Yuichi and using his own buoyancy to lift him to the surface. 

Yuichi immediately and predictably pushes him further under, instinctively using him as a platform to stay above water. Leo had predicted this and waited for a few long moments for Yuichi to catch his breath and curb his panic before attempting to resurface. To the samurai’s credit, he gets himself under control quickly and starts kicking his legs, cueing Leo to come back up for air. He breaks the surface and shifts his grip on Yuichi’s kimono, continuing to tread water as he tries to keep them both above water.

Yuichi clearly can’t catch his breath; he lets out a series of jagged coughs, breaths hitching between each fit. He definitely took on water. Shit, they won’t be getting anywhere like this. Despite his every instinct screaming otherwise, Leo lets the current drag him behind Yuichi before wrapping his arms around him. He rolls them both over onto their backs so the rabbit's head stays above water as their feet kick away beneath the current. 

The new position doesn’t seem to help much; Yuichi’s body spasms, the coughs grow increasingly violent, and the jostling threatens to send them under again. The current is picking up speed the closer they get to the drop off, and Leo frantically searches around him for another anchoring point. His eyes land on a large rock coming up ahead of them. Shifting his hold on Yuichi, he moves into position, shooting his arm out to latch onto the rock as they pass by. 

His fingertips graze it and miss as Yuichi is jerked to the side, the force nearly tearing the samurai from his grip. They both go under again, corkscrewing wildly in the current.  Sharp rocks whip by as they pass, feeling like they’re shredding at Leo’s legs as he tries to pull them to the surface once more. Yuichi suddenly jerks in his arms, then goes limp. Leo resurfaces them a moment later, but Yuichi doesn’t move, doesn’t even cough, and Leo’s heart jumps in his throat. 

He doesn’t see the next rock coming and hits it hard, his hand scrambling for purchase on the slick surface. For a moment, he thinks he has it in a firm grip, but it doesn’t last before his fingers slip. He searches around for another handhold, but there are no more lifelines left. He can see the drop off now, growing rapidly closer. 

Panic surges and he kicks frantically beneath the surface, fighting futilely against the current as he holds Yuichi, still terrifyingly limp and unresponsive, close to his chest. 

He tries to work their way parallel to the waterfall, inching them closer to the riverside, but somewhere in his screaming hindbrain he knows they’re not going to make it. 

Dread fills him and weighs his muscles down like sandbags. No! No! No! They aren’t going to die, they aren’t ! The world starts going static around him as the sound of his heartbeat fills his ears. Panic drowns his senses as his vision starts to tunnel. He can’t die here! He has to see his brothers again, he just has to! If he dies out here, his brothers will never know what happened to him. His body will sit at the bottom of this waterfall, rotting away until there is nothing left. That is what awaits him, after every close call, every near miss, every victory and defeat, every blow taken and dealt, this is all that is left; the raging current just before the long fall, and then it’s over. 

His mind howls in protest. His vision tunnels as his world narrows to a single point: the riverside. He claws at the water desperately, pushing them on with arms that grow steadily numb. Everything that he is latches onto his goal, with the stubborn, dogged focus that has led him and his brothers to the other side of a bad situation countless times.

He is disconnected from his body, ignoring the pain and the fatigue, ignoring Yuichi’s dead weight and the ache that reaches down from his plastron and prickles against his heart. Something brushes up from behind him, and he ignores that too. He doesn’t even blink, not daring to take his eyes from the shoreline, his goal. 

The something from behind gives a little push forward, and he uses it to cut across the current. Even as the edge of the waterfall starts to recede from view, he doesn’t stop. His nerves don’t calm in the slightest. He has to keep moving. He can’t stop even for a second, or they will go right over the edge. The long fall and the river bottom rot. He pushes forward, not slowing for a single moment even as he starts to feel solid ground beneath him.  

Sand scrapes against his fingers and knees. He keeps moving. He only has one hand, the other is weighed down, held back by something heavy. He tries to shake off the weight, but his fingers are twisted into iron clamps and he can’t let go. He keeps moving. 

His body gives out long before his mind does, dropping him to the sand with a heavy thud. His eyes slide shut against his brains commands to get up and keep moving! But his legs won’t move and his arms won’t lift. His grip tightens on the weight holding him back, wet fabric attached to something large and warm. A hand, cold and smooth, grips his wrist and squeezes, forcing his fingers from the large and warm thing. He lets it go. 

Moment by moment, he pulls back to himself. His breathing is labored, his lungs feel like iron weights in his chest. He curls in on himself, becoming fully aware of the sun-warmed sand beneath his cheek. A small weight clambers up his side and rests on his shoulder. It starts purring so loudly the sound seems to vibrate through to his very bones. It’s…nice. Settling. He slowly moves a hand up to rest against the purring thing. Smooth scales meet his own and the purring grows louder. His other hand clenched tight around a patch of grass at his side. 

Grass. 

The world starts to slowly come back into focus around him, the bright sun illuminating the sand and the trees as he takes in his surroundings. A wet, rhythmic sound filters its way through the ringing in his ears and he frowns. Lifting his head is a pure test of will, his neck feels like iron, but he does it and looks towards the sound.

The first thing he focuses on is Yuichi, and he nearly slumps back to the ground in sheer gratitude that he didn’t let him go during that panic attack, or fugue state, or whatever just came over him. Leo’s bleary gaze drifts up, and he shoots to his feet, throwing the purring thing off of him. A figure, small and dark, is looming over Yuichi’s prone form, striking him repeatedly in the chest.

Leo lunges for them, shouting, “Stop!” His head swims and nearly falls onto the creature. He grabs onto its shoulders, fingers slipping on scaled skin. “Get off him!” 

The creature doesn’t even glance at him. Not pausing in its assault, one leg whips up, catching Leo in the stomach with shocking strength. He flies back and hits the sand hard. Winded, he struggles back to his feet. He didn’t save Yuichi just to lose him like this. Not for the first time, he feels a sharp pang at the loss of his swords. 

He scrambles upright, and pauses as his vision finally clears. The creature leaning over Yuichi is a kappa. Its hands are stacked in the center of Yuichi’s chest, pumping in sharp, steady motions, before it pauses and presses its mouth to Yuichi’s. Leo’s muscles turn to jelly, relief surging through him as he sinks back to the ground. 

The yokai isn’t attacking them, it’s helping. Leo stays where he is and watches numbly as Yuichi’s body jerks limply under the compressions. Another set done, and the kappa leans over, pinching Yuichi’s nose and pressing its mouth against the rabbit's as it tries to breathe life back into his friend. And then the whole thing is repeated, again and again. Leo’s mind feels fuzzy, his gaze unblinking, as Yuichi remains limp and lifeless. He fumbles for healing hands, reaching deep into the dried up wellspring that is his spiritual power, but nothing comes up. His energy is spent, washed down the river and over the waterfall in his fight to pull them out. All he can do is kneel there and watch as the kappa makes a wet, frustrated sound, and compresses harder, leaning its weight into the motion. 

Leo’s vision starts to tunnel, the bruising sounds of the compressions overtake everything else. No, no. Yuichi can’t just die, not after all of that. The same guilt and despair he felt after cutting the lines comes crashing back down on him. Leo needs him to be okay. And not just for his own survival, he needs Yuichi to be okay. He fights back the grief and the haze as he forces his feet to carry him forward, crawling his way back over the pair as the compressions beat, beat, beat in his ears. 

Compress. Breathe. Nothing.

Compress. Breathe. Nothing.

“Yuichi,” Leo rasps.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Leo opens his mouth, and he has no idea what he’s about to say or do, when Yuichi spasms beneath the kappa’s hand. He makes a horrible gurgling sound then rolls over and violently coughs up a stream of water onto the dirt.

“Yuichi!” Leo feels like he’s going to pass out. The emotional whiplash alone nearly sends him to his knees.

The rabbit tries to sit up, hacking and wheezing loudly, before he gives up and sags back down onto the ground.  

Leo feels his stiff muscles unclench and he crawls forward until he can grip the samurai by both shoulders. “Yuichi, Yuichi, are you okay?”

Yuichi’s whole body twitches and shudders sporadically. He squints up at Leo, as if the dusky light from the rising sun was too bright, before responding in a strained, raspy voice, “Yeah, yeah, I-I’m fine.” He slowly pushes himself up onto his elbows and looks around. 

His knees are still tied together, the course rope pulled tight and nearly disappearing under the folds of his hakama. The pure fury that erupts in Leo’s chest is startling. He ducks his head to hide his expression and keeps his touch gentle as he quickly unties the knots. Yuichi’s legs fall to the side. the muscles shaking minutely. 

By the time Yuichi looks back at him, he’s managed to school his expression into something open and reassuring. When Yuichi speaks, his voice is tight, as if fighting back the instinct to cough. “ You- you saved us? How the hell are we alive?” 

“I helped you.” 

They both jump at the voice coming from behind them. Leo turns and oh, right, the kappa. In the rushing pitfalls of fear then grief then relief, he had completely forgotten the other yokai was there. The kappa ambles right up to them and stares down at them curiously with eyes that blink at different intervals. Leo can’t tell if it was the same yokai as before, back in the stream, but it’s definitely a kappa nonetheless. 

Yuichi looks like he wants to lean away from the other yokai, but is either holding himself still or he simply doesn’t have the energy to move. “You helped us,” he says flatly. 

“Yes,” the kappa says. 

Yuichi looks at Leo, as if for confirmation, and he nods. “You were unconscious and swallowed a lot of water,” he says. “ The kappa gave you CPR.” Leo looks up at the river yokai. “That was you in the water too, wasn’t it? You help push us ashore.” 

“Yes,” it says again. 

Yuichi suddenly grips his shoulders with surprising strength for someone who was just unconscious five minutes ago. The look he gives Leo is deathly serious and he feels himself tense. “Wait, wait, wait,” Yuichi says. “By CPR, do you mean mouth-to-mouth?” 

“Uh, yeah?” 

Yuichi’s fingers on his shoulder spasm as he looks at Leo then the kappa then back again. He looks absolutely mortified as his ears swing down to cover his eyes. Awkward silence falls for five long seconds then, “You should have just let me drown.” 

The tension in the air cracks right down the middle and Leo throws back his head and laughs, perhaps harder than the joke deserves, but Yuichi looks so embarrassed and straight up aggrieved that he can’t help it. Yuichi scowls and swats at his shoulder. “Are you done?” he snips, but Leo can see him fighting back a smile. 

Leo suddenly really wants to see that smile. He lunges forward and wraps the rabbit up in a tight hug. He hears Yuichi take a sharp breath tensing up before he hesitantly returns the hug. “I’m glad you’re alright,” Leo says, emphasizing the words with a squeeze before pulling back. 

He gets what he wanted, Yuichi’s sullen expression tilts into a bashful smile and Leo feels oddly triumphant. The feeling withers immediately and he grips Yuichi’s shoulders tightly. 

“I’m so sorry,” he says, voice cracking slightly. 

Yuichi blinks. “For what?”

“For cutting the ropes. For not trying harder to get to you when the Godless had you. I’m so sorry.” 

Yuichi slowly picks Leo’s hands off his shoulders and holds them tightly in his own. “Don’t be,” he says firmly. “You were perfect. You did exactly what I needed you to do.” 

Leo feels his breath whoosh out of him. Relief starts to prickle at the edges of his mind, but he has to be sure. “That was what you were asking for then? You wanted me to cut the lines.” 

“Yes.”

“You could have died. You would have died, if you hadn’t happened to catch that rock.” 

Yuichi looks uncomfortable, as if he’s about to say something and doesn’t know how Leo will take it. “I know, and I was okay with that. I’d rather die than be their key into Neo Edo. Better to be dead than—“

“—used by those people,” Leo finishes. 

Yuichi looks relieved. “ Yes . Yes, exactly.” 

And Leo does understand. He understands down to his bones, and he’s so, so relieved that he read Yuichi right when he cut those lines. He doesn’t know if he’d be able to live with himself if he had guessed wrong. Leo nods at him and they stare at each other for a moment. The air is oddly electrified, like something has fallen into place between them and for a moment they understand each other on a level they hadn’t before. 

But as much as he understands, he can’t get the sight of Yuichi plunging into the river out of his head. The crushing guilt that immediately followed.

He can’t do that again. 

“We won’t be used by those people,” Leo repeats carefully. “But we won’t be sacrificed for them either. If they grab you again, I will get you back. I swear.” 

Yuchi opens his mouth to argue, but Leo cuts him off. “I understand, I really do, but you’re not a pawn to be tossed aside when things get hairy. I need you, we’re in this together.” 

Yuichi is quiet for a moment, his gaze considering and warm. “We need each other. You’re not more replaceable than I am.” 

“Glad you agree,” Leo responds pointedly.

Yuchi gives a light laugh and holds out his hand. “You’re right. If we’re making it out of this, then we’re making it out together. Got it?”

Leo clasps his hand in a firm shake, feeling more steady and hopeful than he has in days. “Got it.” 

Yuichi opens his mouth, but before he can speak it the moment is interrupted as Spot wiggles his way between them, breaking Leo’s grip on his hand. The tokage is holding Edgewing in its jaws, which it promptly spits into Leo’s lap. Above him, Yuichi huffs a laugh and says, “You really have a knack for that, don’t you, little guy?” 

Leo looks up in confusion and notices the kappa, still rooted in the same spot and staring down at the drama unfolding before it. “Why did you help us?” Leo asks, still thoroughly confused as to why this random kappa had taken it upon himself to help them. 

“Mountain told me to help, so I helped,” the yokai states, like it was the simplest thing in the world.

“The mountain?” Leo asks incredulously.

“The mountain kami,” Yuichi supplies helpfully.

Leo blinks in surprise, thinking back to that unassuming shrine and the kami who’d gently rejected his offer of spiritual power. Who they had asked for safe passage. A part of Leo hadn’t thought their prayers would be answered, although he was careful to not think it too loudly at the time. But oh my gods, their prayers worked. They actually worked. Wow. Okay, that was — Leo did not have the time to unpack that right now. 

“Mountain also said you had cucumbers,” it says, looking giddy like a child trying to contain its excitement

Ah, well, that would also do it.

“Also you dropped this.” The kappa turns towards Yuichi and holds out Willow branch.

“Oh, thank the Gods,” Yuichi exclaims, reaching out to take the sword and quickly resheathing it. He inclines his head respectfully to the kappa. “Thank you for returning it to me.” 

The river yokai mirrors the gesture and straightens. “No problem,” it says flatly, still staring at them, it’s eyes searching Leo for any signs of food. “So, do you have any cucumbers?”

Yuichi looks at the creature and turns to look up at Leo. He simply rolls his eyes, smiling at the Kappa’s antics. “Sure gimme a sec,” Leo says walking over to where they’d left their supplies on the rock where the gondola had previously been before returning with their pack in hand reaching inside and pulling out a cucumber for the guy.

“There you go,” Leo says, holding the cucumber out toward the creature and bowing slightly in respect.  “Thank you for your help, honorable kappa.”

“Anything for the Mountain.” The yokai bows back before eagerly snatching up the cucumber and racing off to the edge of the river. It plunges back into the current without so much as a ripple, disappearing into the icy water.

Leo shakes his head, turning around and surveying their surroundings before turning back to Yuichi. “Well, it seems like all of the Godless are gone now still…” 

He eyes the surrounding forest wearily as the wind whips through the trees. “Are we… in the clear?” 

“Yeah, I think so,” Yuichi responds. “Hang on.” He closes his eyes, ears twitching atop his head, as he listens intently to the sounds around them. “Yeah…yeah, I think we’re good. I can still hear a few across the river to the North, but they are headed upstream, probably relaying what happened here to their master. They could send reinforcements, but with the gondola broken, there’s no way they’re making it across that river on their own anytime soon.” 

“Thank god,”  Leo says, kneeling down in front of Yuichi. His chest still aches terribly and there’s a dull throbbing permeating out from the crack in his plastron. His knee trembles and burns from the overexertion, but it's nothing he can’t handle. He isn’t so sure about Yuichi, though. 

He eyes the samurai doubtfully. It hasn’t escaped his notice that Yuichi hasn’t attempted to stand up yet. “You think you're ready to go?” he asks carefully. 

“Yeah, sure I’m fine…” Yuichi says, groaning as he tries to push himself to his feet, one hand pressed to his chest. He immediately stumbles as he’s seized by a violent coughing fit.

Leo manages to catch him just in time and frowns worriedly as the rabbit shivers slightly under his soaking wet kimono. “Are you okay?” 

Yuichi rubs at his chest, wincing as he straightens back up again. “Yeah, I'm fine. Chest’s just… a little bruised that’s all, but I’m fine.”

“There’s the tough guy act again,” Leo says, smirking at him. “Come on. I think we could both use a bit of a breather after all of that.”

Yuichi lets out a chuckle that turns into another coughing fit. Leo waits patiently for it to pass. “Okay, fine,” Yuichi concedes. “Bit of a break wouldn’t hurt before we get going again.” 

Leo pats him on the shoulder and stands, eyes scanning the nearby treeline for a suitable place to rest. He alights on a large cedar tree a few yards into the forest, with long branches that cast a heavy shade from the morning sun. Perfect.

“Alright, stay still, don’t aggravate your ribs. I’m gonna take us over there.” He points to the tree. Yuichi doesn’t look jazzed by the plan, but another aborted attempt to stand up stops any further complaints. 

Leo grabs the pack and throws it over his shoulders before moving into position behind Yuichi. He wraps his arms under the rabbits’ and carefully drags him along the short distance to cover under the cedar before laying him down. He crouches, keeping his hands on Yuichi’s shoulders as the rabbit's whole body shudders with chills. The faint chattering of his teeth can be heard just under the rustling of the leaves. 

That won’t do. These wet clothes need to come off.

Leo reaches for the tie of Yuichi’s kimono and the rabbit flinches back, his hand shooting out to grab a hold of Leo’s wrist. “What do you think you're doing?” Yuichi asks, the rabbit's face flushing bright red. Gods, Leo hopes he isn’t getting a fever. That’s the last thing they need right now. 

“You've already almost died twice in the last half hour. I am not letting you die of hypothermia,” Leo explains matter of factly.

He reaches for Yuichi’s ties again but the samurai bats his hands away. “Thank you for your concern,” he says, pointedly avoiding eye contact. “But I think I can manage on my own, thank you.” He waves towards some nearby bushes. “You should do the same. But, y’know, over there, okay?”

Leo’s not sure what the big deal is, but chalks it up to a cultural difference and just laughs. He turns around and walks over to the bushes and sets to work methodically stripping out of his kimono and hakama. When he’s done, he folds the clothing over his arm, holding them out in front of him as a sort of covering since Yuichi seemed to care about modesty so much. By the time he returns, Yuichi is already wrapped up tight beneath his bedroll, his clothes laid in a neat pile next to him. Leo bends over to pick up the clothes before walking out of the shade, laying their clothes out in the sunlight to dry.

He trudges back over, grabbing his own bedroll and laying it out before promptly slumping onto it. “Keep watch for us, Spot,” he mumbles tiredly. The tokage chirps in acknowledgement, turning around and plopping down on the ground facing the other side of the river, his eyes glued to the treeline. 

“Good boy,” Leo mutters as his eyes slide shut.

Chapter Text

“Raph. Raph! Wake up.” 

Raph groans promptly rolls over to block out the offending voice. 

“Come on, dude, it’s time to get up.” Someone shakes his shoulder gently. Raph huffs, rolling over and cracking an eye open to find Donnie leaning over him. “It's time to get going. The airport is mostly shut down for the night, and I think I found our ride out of here.”

Raph pushes himself up off the hard wooden floor, stretching out his aching muscles as he brushes off the hay still clinging to his scales and takes in their dismal surroundings. Donnie had miscalculated slightly; turns out sneaking into the cargo hold of the more direct passenger flights had been out of the question. Too much security and not enough space for them to all fit comfortably, especially not without being spotted. They were stuck taking shitty cargo planes in order to more easily avoid security, but even then it wasn’t easy getting on board. 

With their original flight plan scrapped, Donnie had immediately set out to secure them more appropriate transportation and accommodations. The crate he’d found wasn’t exactly first class. It was a simple thing, just an old wooden shipping crate he found tucked away in the back of the hanger built for transporting livestock, the words “New York Zoo” printed in big blocky letters on the side of the box with straw bedding strewn across the floor. To any passing airport employees, it would simply look like the NY Zoo was shipping three very large tortoises. 

After some quick alterations to the crate so they could come and go, Donnie had done his magic. Within a few minutes, he’d hacked into the transport logs and changed the shipping manifest, created their new flight plan, and registered the crate under a new shipping destination to get them where they needed to go. Before Raph could catch up on all of that, they were hopping in and settling down for a long ride as they were loaded aboard the first cargo plane.

They had to follow a much less direct flight plan, which none of them were happy with. They hopped all over the map, stopping off in Vancouver, then Honolulu and Manila, before finally landing in Tokyo earlier that afternoon.

The whole ordeal had taken them a little over two days thanks to long layovers and other mechanical issues slowing their progress. Being cooped up for that long certainly hadn’t put any of them in the most chipper of moods. They’d squabbled nearly constantly throughout the entire trip, fighting over food, space, Donnie’s tablet, and anything else under the sun. The constant bickering grated on Raph’s shredded nerves. It was like they were teenagers all over again. 

They finally landed in Tokyo around three in the afternoon on the third day. The moment the wheels touched down on the tarmac, they all collectively agreed to pass out for the next several hours until it was dark. This was a diplomatic decision on Raph’s part; anything to keep them from being at each other’s throats for the rest of their journey. In the stuffy darkness of the crate, and without the massive amounts of turbulence and near constant roar of plane engines, Raph had gone out like a light the second his head hit the hay.

“According to my scanners, the coast should be clear,” Donnie is saying, looking down at a device in his hands and then back up at Raph. “Should only be a handful of security guards left patrolling the buildings. We should be able to avoid them pretty easily.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Raph responds as he turns to collect his bag from their pile in the corner of the crate, giving Mikey a gentle kick in the arm as he does. “Come on, dude, time to get up.” 

Mikey groans in the exact same tone that Raph had, rolling over and pushing himself to his hands and knees. Eyes still closed, and clearly not fully conscious, he crawls over to his bag in the corner and starts rooting around inside. His hands fumble blindly for a few moments before pulling the bag up to his face and finding it completely empty. 

His eyes snap open with an expression of open grief. “Dudes. I’m starving!” he moans, dramatically falling back to the floor and shaking out his already empty pack above his head. “We need to get more food like, asap. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to last.”

To Mikey’s credit, he had stuffed his bag to overflowing with all the food that would actually keep, but they were three grown mutant ninja turtles and with their extended travel time, the majority of their food had run out half way through the second day. Every time they’d landed after that, they’d had to sneak out and steal whatever scraps of food they could from unsuspecting airport workers. 

“Mikey, we don’t have time to get food right now, we need to get out of here first.” Donnie says as he types away at the device in his hands

“Not even pizza?”

“I don’t know if they have pizza in Japan.” 

“No pizza ?!”

“Would you cut it out, Mikey,” Raph snaps, shoving him aside and standing over Donnie’s shoulder. “So what are we working with here?”

“I see five heat signatures at the moment, but there might be more,” Donnie replies, turning around and stowing the device back in his duffle bag before pulling out another, larger bag. He hefts the absolutely massive bag onto his shoulders and turns toward the door. “Plus a slew of security cameras, but I’ll take care of those.”   

Raph thinks his brother might have gone a little overboard on the packing. He’d packed every imaginable gadget and dodad, filling his bag with supplies until it was practically overflowing. Satellite phones, signal jammers, cloaking devices, heat vision goggles. You name it, Donnie has it. To be fair, most of the junk has already come in handy. The only thing he hasn’t used so far was the medical equipment and Raph is not about to argue against him bringing that. Leo had already looked pretty rough when they’d seen him in their dreams. There is no telling what state he’s going to be in when they finally find him. Raph feels a lot better knowing Donnie has half a hospital packed away in his bag to deal with whatever they may find. 

Raph hefts his own bag over his shoulder and joins Donnie where he’s crouched under the opening of the crate. Mikey grabs his own bag too, shoveling their massive pile of discarded food wrappers inside before shouldering it and shuffling towards them.

Donnie cautiously opens the crate, a crack peering out the small opening. Raph moves to leap out, eager to be free of a confined space with his two chaotic brothers, when Donnie’s hand shoots out to stop him. 

“Wait,” he whispers, blocking Raph as he holds out the small device in his hands through the crack in the door. 

What exactly were they waiting for? He opens his mouth to argue out of habit, but shuts it when Donnie points through the opening of the box up into a corner of the warehouse. At first Raph doesn’t see what Donnie’s motioning towards, but then he sees it - a blinking red security camera trained on their cargo crate. Donnie turns on his device and aims it at the blinking red light. Within a few seconds, the light goes dead as the camera goes offline. 

“Okay, that camera is on a loop, let’s go,” Donnie says, making his way out of the crate as Raph and Mikey follow silently after him. 

“Just that one?” Raph asks, gazing warily around the warehouse they’re in."

“Yeah, taking out all the cameras at once would look incredibly suspicious to whoever’s watching them. I’ll need to take them offline one by one to avoid rousing any suspicion. We’ll need to take things slow so I can make sure to cycle them properly.”

Raph nods, accepting his brother’s expertise. A younger him would have bitched and moaned, running in shuriken blazing and taking out all of the cameras in one go the old fashioned way, but he knows better than that now. He’s learned to trust Donnie’s brain when it comes to stuff like this. Punching his way through his problems hasn’t gotten him anywhere in a long time. Especially not since Leo was taken. They need to be smart about this, there’s too much on the line for anything else.

“Okay, you take point,” Raph says, scanning the warehouse for any more cameras. “Take out any cameras before they get a chance to spot us.” 

Donnie’s quiet for a long moment before Raph turns and finds Donnie staring at him with an expression of mild shock. “Really?”

The dubiousness in his brother’s voice is equal parts annoying and hurtful. Was it really that hard for his brothers to believe he could be rational from time to time? They are here to rescue Leo, and being reckless will only end with them on a dissection table in some Japanese Government lab and they sooo do not have time for that.  

“Really,” Raph says, pointedly keeping the irritation from his tone. “We don’t have time for stupid mistakes. If we're gonna do this, we’re gonna do it right. Now lead the way, genius.”  

Donnie perks up a bit, turning his attention back to the winding stacks of the warehouse. “Alright then, follow me and stay close.

They creep their way forward through the stacks, Donnie holding up the front and deactivating any further surveillance while Raph and Mikey keep an eye and ear out for any other signs of danger. They silently weave through stacks of shipping crates and palettes, keeping a swift and steady pace forward, only pausing occasionally to let Donnie take care of another camera on their path. They are almost to the exit when Donnie holds up a hand, bringing Raph and Mikey to a halt behind him. The sound of approaching footsteps tap from around the corner. They silently leap out of sight among the crates, blending seamlessly into the shadows just as a guard turns the corner. The man moves leisurely down the corridor, swinging his flash light back and forth as he glances passingly at the stacks. The man lingers in the area for a moment, his flashlight trained just above the boxes they were hiding behind before he mumbles a quick “all clear” into his radio and moves on down the hall.

Once the glow of the flashlight fades away, Raph jumps down, Mikey following behind him. When he doesn’t hear Donnie following, Raph frowns and  turns back to the stacks. He sees Donnie perched at the very top of the pile of crates. Raph can only see part of his head, but he seems to be staring off at something in the distance.

“Donnie,” Raph whispers. 

His brother’s head snaps away from whatever he’d been looking at and his gaze locks onto them. “Come on up,” he whispers back, waving them up. Raph and Mikey quickly climb up to join him on the top. 

Donnie is laid out flat on top of the boxes, a pair of binoculars in hand and his gaze trained on their exit. Two guards stand posted on either side of the warehouse hangar doors, keeping careful watch as a few airport workers silently load a semi-truck. 

“There,” Don says, his binoculars emitting a quiet beeping noise. He lowers the goggles and points towards the semi-truck. “That’s our ticket out of here.”

Raph eyes the small group of humans loading up the truck and standing guard. “Okay, and how exactly are we supposed to get in there without being spotted, genius?” 

“Simple, we just need a distraction,” Donnie replies, tapping away at his device for a few moments before all the cameras in their vicinity suddenly go dark. He stows the device back in his bag before pulling a shruikan from his belt. Donnie holds the projectile up, tongue sticking out of his mouth as he lines up his shot, before sending the shruikan flying. It slices cleanly through one of the overhead lights, sending the whole fixture crashing to the ground in a storm of broken glass and hazy fluorescence.

Every single human in the warehouse startles and starts moving towards the fallen light, now popping and sparking on the ground. “Let's move,” Donnie hisses before jumping down from the crates. Raph and Mikey follow and they swiftly make their way across the tarmac towards the truck, sticking to the shadows as much as possible the whole way. Donnie hops in with Raph right behind him. He drops his pack and turns to help Mikey aboard, but finds him over at an employee break table, sniffing at one of the guards’ plates of take-out.     

“Mikey,” Raph hisses. “Come on! Leave it.”

His youngest brother glares at him, staring him right in the eye as he reaches out snagging the take-out container off the table before racing to the truck. He sticks his tongue out at Raph as he climbs aboard the truck, deftly dodging Raph’s attempt to hit him upside the head. 

Once they are all safely inside, they crawl back behind all the junk already piled up, tucking themselves in the very back of the trailer and out of sight of the guards. They sit in silence for several long minutes before they hear the sound of the trailer door sliding shut, plunging them into darkness. A few moments later, the truck engine revs to life and they’re on the move.

While Mikey sets to work chowing down on his stolen take-out in the corner, Donnie taps away at his tablet, the bright screen the only light illuminating the small cabin.

“Alright, so where’s this thing taking us, Donnie?” Raph asks. “Truck depot? Another warehouse?” 

“Definitely not. Places like those are bustling with activity 24/7. No way we sneak our way past everyone there to another truck headed where we need to go without being spotted.”

“Oh please, we’ve gone through places like that plenty of times back in New York. What makes you think we can’t handle this?”  

“Umm, because, Raph, we aren’t in New York. Tokyo's population is 14 million people. That’s nearly double the population of New York with three times the surveillance. I’m not confident I can hack my way past that much security and have it go unnoticed. We need to be very, very careful to avoid cameras.” Donnie fiddles with the piece of tech in his hands, a pinch between his brows. Raph knows how hard it can be for Donnie to admit he can’t do things sometimes, just as he knows how hard it is to swallow his own pride and actually listen to him. 

“Plus we don’t want to be spotted by these human warriors that baku thing told us about,” Donnie adds, looking down at his tablet.  “I can only speculate, but they are likely the same group of people who took Leo. If they hate these yokai people so much, then it makes sense they would have confused Leo for one of them and snatched him up too. The only thing I still don’t understand is why they didn’t take the rest of us.”

Their small space grows grimly quiet for a moment. Raph wracked his brain for something encouraging to say, “That doesn’t matter right now, Don. We just need to find him and bring him back home, safe and sound.” 

Donnie looks up from his tablet, worry still creasing his brow. “But Raph, there are so many variables that we don’t know. Who exactly are these people that took him? Who are these yokai that we agreed to help? What condition is Leo in?” 

This is familiar ground. Those very same questions have been carving grooves into his mind for days. Winding and circling over and through each other as he asks himself again and again and again; did I make the right decision? Is this what’s best? It’s hard, seeing those same doubts twist a frown onto his brother’s face, so before Donnie can continue spiraling, Raph cuts him off. “We can only find out when we get there. No use worrying about all of that right now. We’ll figure that all out when we find Leo.”

Donnie shakes himself out of his thoughts a second later and says, “Yeah, I guess you’re right.” He doesn’t sound sure at all, the same defeat that has echoed across the lair for weeks is creeping back in. Raph is just about to try his hand at a pep-talk, when Donnie shakes himself out of it and says, “Probably best not to draw their attention.” 

“Right,” Raph agrees. “So, where is this thing taking us?” 

Donnie opens his mouth to answer when the truck suddenly jolts to a stop, cutting off whatever answer he’d been about to give. They all quickly take cover as the door slides open once again, rapid-fire Japanese filling the air as the workers drift into the cabin. Raph feels he and his brother’s tense, but the men seem to unload only a couple boxes before their voices drift out of range, presumably dipping back inside whatever building they were delivering to. Donnie quickly pulls his other device back out. “Stay quiet. I’m gonna make sure we're all clear.”

Raph and Mikey hunker down behind the boxes until they hear Donnies voice once again from outside the cabin. “Clear.” Raph jumps out of the trailer, taking in the dingy back alley street they’d ended up in. It doesn’t look like anything special, just a narrow alley for businesses to load and unload their merchandise.  

“Umm, where exactly are we, Donnie?” Raph questions. Before Donnie can answer, Raph hears a squeal of delight from behind him and turns to find Mikey digging through one of the boxes in the truck. The whole thing is overflowing with Japanese snack foods, beverages, more than they could possibly want.

“Oh man, D, you're the best!” Mikey gushes, stuffing his pack full with snacks once again until it’s nearly bursting. 

“Alright, alright, you can thank me later,” Donnie says, glancing around nervously. “Just hurry up before those guys come back.”

Once Mikey is done loading up his bag, Donnie quickly ushers them farther down the alley. 

“Okay then, time for some stealth hitchhiking,” Raph says, eagerly eyeing a nearby truck behind one of the other buildings.”

But Donnie is shaking his head. “No. Too big of a risk until we make it farther outside of Tokyo. We can try to catch another truck once we are farther outside the city limits.”

“Okay, then how the hell are we supposed to get out of a city like Tokyo without being spotted?”

“Simple,” Donnie says, making his way over to one of the manhole covers in the alley and lifting up the lid with a flourish. “It’s time to get familiar with Tokyo's sewer system, boys. I hear they're much nicer than the ones in New York.”

______________

Leo trudges forward along the dirt path, his feet dragging as he moves, kicking up clouds of dust in his wake. Their little break by the river hadn’t exactly left him feeling refreshed. For the first few hours he’d felt somewhat fine, his muscles were maybe a little sore and tired, but when hadn’t they been over the past few days. Now, several hours into their trek, his body seems to be turning against him. He feels like he’s burning up, and he’s constantly struggling to catch his breath. The farther they make it up the mountain, the worse he feels. Maybe the air is getting thin. Yuichi seems to be doing absolutely fine, but that could be because he’s used to the terrain. Leo would have thought that climbing mountains and scaling skyscrapers would be similar enough, but as his rasping pants fill the silence between their footsteps, he can see that’s not the case. 

He watches as Yuichi leaps lightly over a tree that had fallen across their path, and tries to be quiet as he heaves himself over it. It’s actually unfair how quickly Yuichi had managed to bounce back after his little dip in the river. Leo had awoken around noon to find the rabbit already dressed and darting around their little makeshift camp, gathering up their supplies with the energy of someone who’d had a solid 12 hours of R&R. Not long after that, they were back on the road and Leo feels like he’s been walking for days and days. 

When they’d first gotten going again, Yuichi warned him to stay alert for wild yokai in the area, as there were a lot more of them in the mountains. Leo had initially rolled his eyes at the rabbits paranoia for beings who were just like himself, but as they continued onwards, Leo realized that Yuichi hadn’t been kidding. The mountains are absolutely crawling with yokai. With every step along the path, he spots a new creature moving about within the shadows of the forest, or sitting beside the trickling stream running parallel to their path. Thankfully, the majority of them appear to be harmless, or at least not interested in bothering with them. Regardless, he tries not to let his gaze linger on any one of them for too long, not wanting to draw trouble. 

The path slopes sharply upwards and the burn in Leo’s legs and chest reaches new heights. His next few steps are stumbling, and before he knows it, his ankle folds neatly beneath him and he falls, panting, to his knees.

“Leo!” Yuichi and Spot race towards him. The samurai leans down and helps him get back to his feet. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. The altitude is just…getting to me a bit is all,” Leo wheezes as he tries to catch his breath, pausing for a moment to prop himself up against the bark of a nearby tree, Spot nuzzling at his feet as he collects himself. Weeks-long frustrations simmer in his gut. He’s beyond tired of feeling like this, like he can barely take two steps without being a burden. 

Yuichi looks him up and down skeptically before placing his palm to his forehead. It’s so pleasantly cool, even through the fur, that Leo can’t help but lean into it. “You’re burning up, and I’m pretty sure that’s not a symptom of altitude sickness.”

Leo forces himself upright and away from Yuichi’s cool hands. “I’m fine, really. I’m good. It’s just a small mountain. I can keep going until we make camp. You said it wasn’t much farther, right?” 

Is he rambling? He thinks he might be rambling, and Yuichi’s deepening frown just confirms it. “Leo…”

“Yuichi, I’m fine, really,” Leo reassures him. Sure, he feels like shit, but it isn’t nothing healing hands can’t fix when they make camp. “Now, how much farther away is this place you were talking about?” 

Yuichi stares him down for a few seconds before sighing and thankfully dropping the subject. “Shouldn’t be too much farther ahead, though it will involve a lot of climbing.” 

“Climbing?” Leo squeeks. 

Yuichi grimaces at him and pats his shoulder consolingly. He then stands and veers to the side of the path, pulling several tree branches aside and pointing through the gap it creates up at the cliff face. Leo doesn’t see much of anything at first, only dense foliage obscuring the solid rock, but then he spots it. 

Just below the lip of the overhanging rock sit several buildings nestled into the rock face, their foundation driven directly into the stone of the mountain and well hidden amongst the thick vegetation. The building itself is humbly ornate, made of dark weathered wood and artfully sloping rooftops. 

“Oh my gods, that’s incredible!” Leo gapes, staring up at the temple looming above them. 

“Yeah, I know,” Yuichi chuckles. “We can camp up there for the night. Actually sleep with a roof over our heads for once.” 

“That sounds amazing,” Leo sighs wistfully. One of his hands drifts up to press against his aching plastron. He sees Yuichi’s eyes track the movement and whips his hand away, smiling over at the rabbit. “But how on Earth did they,” he gestures vaguely at the structure as a whole. 

“No idea. These buildings are ancient and whatever yokai built them didn’t leave behind the instructions on how they did it. All I know is that it is extremely tucked away, and the Godless have no idea it’s even there. So it’s the perfect place for us to set up camp.”

Leo gazes up at the buildings in awe. Several other buildings are scattered about the hillside with the same look as any other Japanese temple, with sloped red roves and traditional Japanese architecture. How anyone ever could have built something like this all the way out here, let alone up there, is a feat beyond his comprehension. 

As they grow closer to the shrine, Leo can feel the now familiar hum of spiritual energy in the air, reverberating through his bones as they make their approach. The trail leading up to the temple doesn’t seem nearly as well kept as the last shrine they had visited; the path is nearly completely overgrown with vegetation, blocked by fallen boulders and creeping foliage. More than once, Yuichi has to chop his way through the dense foliage with his wakizashi. When they finally make it up to the torii, Leo can hardly make out the massive structure. The entire arch is covered with vines from top to bottom, causing it to blend in with its environment. The original red paint on the wood has long faded away, only the barest hints of the pigment remaining on the surface.

It has clearly been a very long time since any kind of priest actually tended to this temple. It must have been abandoned centuries ago. As they make their approach, Leo can see the same flow of energy he saw at the last temple making its way towards the arch from the surrounding forest, but something is off. Despite the plentiful flow of spiritual energy absorbing into the structure, its essence seems…weaker somehow. The shrine’s bright aura blinks in and out of existence, reminding Leo with a pang of the flickering fluorescents of the New York subway system. The torii’s spiritual connection is frayed somehow, like a glowing welcome sign with faulty wiring. The energy isn’t connecting like it should, but he can’t tell why.  

Frowning around at the flickering energy, he slowly looks up to the top of the torii to find a massive blue head sitting atop of the arch staring down at him. Shock zips through him as he practically jumps right out of his shell. He reels back, tripping over a tree root and falling flat on his shell. What the hell is that? When had it gotten up there? He’d been looking at the torii the entire time! How the hell had he missed a giant blue head materializing atop of it? 

“What is it?” Yuichi asks, turning around to check on him. Leo quickly scrambles to his feet, grabbing a hold of Yuichi’s arm and dragging the rabbit back away from the creature as it stares down at them. 

Yuichi has Willow Branch out in a flash of razored steel, pulling his arm from Leo’s grasp before planting himself firmly in front of him. “What? What is it?” Yuichi asks frantically as he sinks into a low, defensive position. 

Spot is at Leo’s side in an instant, a low wary growl emanating from the back of it’s throat as it stares up at the creature. The thing is grotesque; a thick mane of fur encircles its monstrous features, and long fat tusks protrudes from beneath its upper lips. Its breaths come in long, deep gusts of air as its wild eyes leer down at them from atop the arch. The deep red eyes of the creature seem to bore into him, unblinking and all-encompassing. Some deep and innate part of Leo tells him that it would be a mistake to look away, so he doesn’t. 

Yuichi reaches with his free hand behind him to grip his arm, shaking it urgently. “I don’t hear anything coming. What’s wrong?” 

Not shifting his gaze an inch, Leo reaches forward, pointing over Yuichi’s shoulder and up towards the yokai on the torii. He expects the samurai to jump and exclaim like he had, but Yuichi doesn’t react beyond growing more tense, his fingers tightening on Leo’s arm. 

“What is it?” he asks again. “I don’t see anything.” 

“Uh,” Leo stammers. “It’s a yokai, I think? Big, blue, giant teeth that look like they’ll shred me if I blink. Ringing any bells?“ 

Yuichi let’s go of his arm and his posture eases slightly, though Leo doesn’t hear him resheath his sword. He steps to the side, and Leo can see him glancing between himself and the torii in his peripheral. “Um, yeah, actually. I think it does.” Leo can hear the confused frown in his voice and has to fight the urge to glance at him. 

The blue yokai’s eyes seem to grow wider, as if anticipating Leo’s slip up. He strengthens his back and keeps staring, ignoring how his eyes are starting to burn. “Care to share with the class?”

“Well, it’s been a really long time since I’ve been out here,” Yuichi says, now also staring up at the torii. “But I vaguely remember running into some big blue yokai when I was a kid. Can’t remember what they’re called, but I think they guard abandoned temples or something. I would’ve thought they’d have cleared out by now though, what with this basically being Godless territory and all.” 

“Well, it definitely hasn’t cleared out,” Leo says flatly. The guardian yokai, looking strangely amused despite its expression not changing, blinks once. Does that mean that Leo can blink now? Or is it a trick? He’s not sure and decides to err on the side of caution and continues their silent staring contest. “It won’t stop staring at me. What do I do?” 

Yuichi hums and shifts back and forth on his feet. “I can’t remember what I said to them when I was a kid, but if it’s still guarding the temple then I guess we should ask for permission before entering.” 

“Try it. My eyes are burning.” 

From the corner of his eye, he sees Yuichi bow, prostrating low to the ground, and says, “Honorable yokai, we humbly ask you grant us sanctuary within these sacred grounds, and allow us to take shelter in your temple's walls for the night. We promise to treat these sacred grounds with the utmost respect.”

Silence falls over them for a moment, and the only thing Leo can hear is the yokai’s heavy breathing. It seems unimpressed, blinking at him again. Yuichi, still bowed low, elbows Leo in the shin. Taking the hint, Leo sinks to his knees but doesn’t bow fully, still not daring to break eye contact with the creature. 

“Honorable yokai,” he says. “We humbly request sanctuary. We swear to treat these sacred grounds with respect.” 

A hum reverberates through the air, carding through the leaves and into the spaces of his kimono. It’s a sound beyond words, but as his own spirit hums back in response, he recognizes it for the request it is. Instinctually, he gathers a piece of his spiritual energy and is moving to offer it to the yokai before he stops himself. 

He remembers the shrine and its warning to not give pieces of himself away. The energy floats there as Leo and the yokai stare at each other in stalemate. The answer comes to him in a flash, and he lets the energy go, sending it straight into the ground. On offering, not to the yokai, but to the temple itself. The humming grows louder as the glow disappears into the dirt and a swath of bright green grass springs up under his palm. He hears Yuichi gasp and sees the samurai side-eyeing him in confusion, but Leo knows he wasn’t the one to cause the grass to grow. The energy emanating from the temple seems to swell, spreading Leo’s offering deep into dormant roots. 

The creature eyes him intently for a moment, the sound of its heavy breathing the only noise that permeates the air. Leo swears he can almost feel the creature's breath on him. And then it shifts, subtly loosening a tension Leo hadn’t even realized the yokai was holding. The creature’s very aura shifts as well, feelings of pleasure and satisfaction brushing along Leo’s senses as it’s ferocious energy tempers before it starts to fade out of existence. Leo finally blinks, eyes watering, and when he looks up again, he finds the yokai is slowly fading into nothingness before his eyes until it’s gone. Leo stares warily up at the empty space above the arch, the image of the creature lingering in the back of his mind like a warning.

The temple ahead glows weakly in the evening light. The flickering has slowed. 

“What did you do?” Yuichi asks. “Is the yokai gone?”

“No,” Leo says slowly, peering around the torii. “I can’t see it anymore, but I doubt it’s gone. I just offered some spiritual energy to the temple, and it seemed to like that.” 

Yuichi hums thoughtfully, “Well that explains why the council said the Godless have never made it past this point. I don’t exactly see them stopping to pay their respects to that thing.” The rabbit turns, bowing once more towards the temple. He mutters something in rapid-fire Japanese that Leo can’t hear well enough to translate, then straightens. “Well then. Ready to go?” 

“I guess so,” he responds, eyeing the seemingly endless stairs laid out before them. He feels…good. Satisfied. Like he was able to solve a complicated puzzle. The grass the temple grew is soft and bright under him his palm. He brushes his hands through it wonderingly then stumbles to his feet. 

“It will be a bit of a climb to get up there,” Yuichi says, eyes flickering down to the crack in Leo’s plastron. “You sure you can handle it?”

“If it means sleeping under an actual roof for a night, I think I can manage.” Leo says as he wipes at the sweat beading on his brow. “Let's do this.”

Yuichi grins at him and they both turn to bow once more in front of the arch before stepping forward and ascending the stairs to the temple grounds. Once they make it to the top, Leo finds the shrine to be much larger than the last one they’d visited. Several elaborate buildings lined the pathway, weather worn with wood cracking with age as a variety of lichen worked their way deep into the structures. Yuichi passes them all, casually  continuing his way down the path. Behind the building is a secluded little grove with a faded red wooden gate on the other end. He walks up to the gate and pushes it, holding it open for Leo while he uses his foot to sweep away any debris laying in the path. Normally this kind of coddling would chafe at Leo’s pride, but in this instance he finds the gesture strangely endearing.

“Thanks, Cottontail,” he teases. Yuichi stumbled at the door for a moment before shaking his head and following him up the path. 

Calling the hike up to the actual temple ‘a bit of a climb’ turned out to be a gross understatement. The whole path is a steep uphill the entire way. They stumble over gnarled tree roots laid out across the hill like a climbing wall, and haul themselves up steep stairways that are carved into the rock. At several points, Leo’s afraid he might fall right off the side of the mountain as they pick their way along chains set into the solid rock-face, edging along the narrow lip just below their feet. There are a number of points where Leo is sure they’ve gotten lost, the trail is so unclear and indistinct, but Yuichi keeps a steady and confident clip, appearing familiar with the area. 

Yuichi has to stop and help him several times with scaling some of the steeper terrain, helping pull him up or providing a steadying hand as they shuffle along narrow rock faces. Despite the exhaustion and the burning pain that sinks deeper and deeper into his chest, the trip is worth it for the literally breathtaking views alone. More than once, he has to stop to catch his breath and finds himself getting lost in the stunning vistas out over the mountains.  

Yuichi helps pull him up over another boulder, the temple just coming into view up ahead. Leo stumbles, feeling a little light headed as he tries to regain his balance, and falls into the rabbit's side. “Easy there,” Yuichi murmurs, gripping his shoulders as he steady’s him back on his feet. “You good?”

Leo wheezes and just gives him a silent thumbs up, struggling to catch his breath. He looks ahead at the final stretch to their destination. A small shrine sits in the middle of the path to the temple, radiating with the same flickering spiritual energy as the torii. 

As they reach it and cross the threshold, he sees a little altar sitting in shambles, its delicate roof caved in and the small hand basin beside it smashed into rubble by some unknown force of nature. In lue of the basin, Yuichi pulls out one of their bottles from the pack, pouring the water over his hands and repeating the same ritual from this morning, before handing it over to Leo. He follows Yuichi’s lead, the same familiar spiritual energy flowing off of him and back down the mountain out of sight. 

When he turns his attention back to the shrine it seems brighter, the flickering of its aura steadier as they move forward. As Yuichi and him bow in prayer before the altar, Leo tries to get a better sense of the spirit contained within the shrine, but as hard as he tries, he can’t get a read on the energy within. Its aura is too disjointed and scattered for him to tell what kind of spirit it is. The only thing he can glean is an immense sense of gratitude. Gratitude for their patronage, for Leo’s humble offering, maybe even for simply being there at all. 

He can’t imagine how lonely the spirit within must be. All those years alone without worshipers as its holy shrine, slowly falling into ruin as the solitary years pass. As Leo straightens up, he takes in the shrine once more. Its aura is not fixed by any means, but it is more stable and solid. That feeling of satisfaction from before swells up within him. It feels good to have helped, even in such a small way. 

They both straighten up and stand there in respectful silence before moving on, Leo taking one last look at the dilapidated shrine, bowing once more, then follows Yuichi up the hill. 

 As they make their way up the final stretch, a faint drizzle starts raining down from the sky above them. They make it under the overhang just in time to avoid the rain as it starts to pour. Yuichi hops up onto the narrow wooden ledge of the building and turns around offering a hand out to Leo, pulling him up and immediately laying a steadying hand on his carapace as he stumbles on shaking legs. Yuichi throws open the sliding doors of the temple to reveal the small space within.

The room inside is sparse, several blankets scattered around a small fire pit that sits in the center of the room, the other bits and bobs scattered about the room are tucked away in various corners. It’s not much, and the  space smells faintly of mildew, but otherwise it looks pretty homey and Leo nearly weeps when he sees several thick futons rolled up and tucked away in one corner. 

As they slowly makes their way inside, Yuichi darts about the room. throwing open the other windows and doors, allowing the space to air out a bit before setting to work getting a fire going. Leo steps back out onto the narrow porch, sinking down in an exhausted heaps and just stares out over the sprawling forest beneath them as thick fog rolls in from a storm he can see over the distant mountain tops. It’s serene, settling something deep inside as he leans back on his arms and closes his eyes, letting the calming sound of the pouring rain wash away the stress of the day. 

The still air and methodical sounds of Yuichi working behind him are soothing, allowing him to clear his mind and sink into a light meditation. He turns inwards, checking himself over. His wounds fall into a ramshackle tableau, weeks of injuries layering over each other in various states of healing. His bruises are fading, and his muscles feel much better than they had days before. The scratches from the river kappa are gone and his knee no longer aches, thank every god. His plastron, however, remains worrying. It aches deeply, the crack feeling like it reaches down deep inside of him, shredding through vital organs and arteries. It hasn’t, he knows he’d be dead by now if it had, but he can’t shake the feeling that the injury stretches beyond its own bounds. Like a poison spreading from the source. 

A cool breeze brushes across him, wicking away the sweat building on his forehead, and calming him once more. He sinks deeper, turning away from surface-level feeling and towards his innermost self. Here, away from the pain of a mortal body, he feels good. The spiritual energy radiating from the temple feels faintly like it’s infusing into him. Not enough for him to heal himself, but enough that he feels his aches and pains ease slightly. He moves deeper within until the dam stretches before him, tall and insurmountable. It looks largely the same as it has for years, blocking him from the well of potential resting on the other side. He scowls up at it, kicking the wall lightly. To his surprise, chips of stone flake away and fall at his incorporeal feet. 

He blinks and kicks out again, harder this time. More chips rain down, but try as he might, he can’t produce more than that and the dam remains solid. But now that he’s looking closer, the whole things seems more worn than he remembers. Small hairline cracks stretch across the stone, spreading out into the hazy distance on either side. He steps forwards and reaches towards one—

He jolts back into awareness as Spot clambers into his lap, nuzzling into his side with a deep purr. Leo smiles down at it. “Hey there, buddy.” He straightens up and pets the tokages head. He glances over his shoulder and sees Yuichi hard at work by the fire, the fresh scent of seared daikon and herbs wafting in on the air.  

Leo pulls himself up off the deck and makes his way back inside with Spot following along at his feet. Yuichi has already set out the futons close to the fire while he works on dinner. The rabbit smiles at him as he approaches, pulling a small bottle out of the coals and handing it over to Leo as he sits down. He gratefully grabs it and takes a swig, the pleasant taste of ginger dancing across his tongue. 

Leo hums to himself, leisurely sipping on the bottle and continuing to take in the view as the food sizzles away on the stones behind him. A comfortable silence falls between them. After a few more minutes, Leo finishes off the bottle and hands it back to Yuichi just as he finishes pulling the food out of the fire. He takes the bottle, handing Leo a wooden plank loaded high with daikon and a pheasant the rabbit had picked up earlier while they were hiking. Leo digs into the food and it’s as delicious as ever.  Yuichi refills the bottle, placing it back amongst the coals before settling into his own meal. The fire crackles away between them while Leo polishes off the rest of his plate, setting it to the side and looking back out over the valley spread out beneath them. He can see the entire path they have taken up to this point. The river spread out far beneath them. The forest where he’d first met Yuichi is stretched off into the distance, miles and miles away. It’s hard to wrap his head around just how far they’ve come.

“This place is incredible,” Leo says, still wistfully staring out the window.  

“Yeah,” Yuichi agrees, shifting closer to Leo's side and staring out over the valley. “The mountains are beautiful, but we need to remain alert.” 

Leo glances askance at him. “Were we not already being alert? Or is there something else we should be worried about?”

“The forest yokai are one thing, but the wild yokai in these mountains are legitimately dangerous.” He gestures upwards towards the mountain trail. “When you think of big scary monsters, these are the guys you should be thinking of. We don’t want to mess with them.” 

Leo rolls his eyes. “Haven’t you said that about literally every single yokai we’ve come across?”

He holds up his hands. “I know, I know. Maybe you’re right and not all wild yokai are bad, but you don’t know these mountains like I do. There are yokai out here that I have seen pull my fellow samurai limb from limb. I’ve seen many of them try to kill my friends several times over right before my eyes.”

The air feels heavy with a sudden tension, and Leo has to fight the urge to scoff and brush off Yuichi’s warnings. He wants to dismiss them as the same bigoted nonsense as before, the same nonsense that’s been dogging he and his brothers’ footsteps all their lives. But Yuichi’s gaze is serious and solemn, something haunted lingering in the downward turn of his mouth, so Leo swallows down the urge and says, “Okay, I— yeah, understood.” 

Yuichi eases back, clearly relieved. They settle back into silence, watching as the sun finally sinks under the horizon until the glow of the fire is the only source of light for miles. Leo scans the forest below, looking for the tale-tell signs of camp fires. He sees nothing, and can’t help the paranoid shutter that goes through him. The Godless could be anywhere down there. They could be on the move towards them right now, maybe that’s why he can’t see any signs of them setting up camp. Maybe they’re already here, and they’ve surrounded the temple, waiting for them to let their guard down before they deliver the killing blow. Maybe—- 

Movement snaps him out of his spiraling thoughts. Spot nuzzles firmly into his hands and Leo realizes they’re shaking slightly. He takes a deep breath, letting reason force the paranoia back. The Godless are not here. They can’t be. Yuichi had all but confirmed that the Godless have never made it past this point before, how could they with that blue yokai beast in their path. The Godkillers troops are miles down river right now, likely trying to bring all of their wagons and horses across through shallower waters. By the time they make it back here Leo and Yuichi would be long gone.

They’re safe here. 

He pats Spot lightly in thanks, and glances over at Yuichi. The rabbit is settled on his futon across from him, having pulled Leo’s rabbit totem out and is turning it over in his hand, expression distant and clearly deep in his own thoughts.

Here, in the dim glow of the fire, he looks so much like Miyamoto that Leo almost does a double-take. The two were so similar, yet so different at the same time. Miyamoto wanted what was best for others, and Leo didn’t understand where Yuichi got his suspicion against his fellow yokai from. Leo knows he shouldn’t be so quick to dismiss his concerns. Sure, Yuichi has misjudged the yokai they’ve met so far, but that isn’t necessarily his fault. There is clearly something more going on with the culture of Neo Edo as a whole, and Leo strongly suspects that this council of theirs is skewing their information in some areas.

Yuichi is right about one thing, however. He knows these mountains and Leo doesn’t. If his adventures with Miyamoto had taught him anything, it was that sometimes he needs to step back and let more knowledgeable people take charge from time to time. 

“It’s pretty cool right?” Leo asks, attempting to break the silence. 

“Hmm? Oh yeah, pretty cool,” Yuichi says, smiling slightly and rubbing his thumb against the wood. “I can’t believe Miyamoto really gave you this.” The rabbit's voice is laced with awe as he speaks, eyes still carefully considering the tiny charm.

“You haven’t really asked me much about him since I first told you about meeting him,” Leo states, letting the unasked question hang in the air between them. 

“I didn’t want to pry. Besides, we've had much more important things to worry about.” Yuichi says in an attempt at being nonchalant, but Leo’s not buying it. He can see the barely restrained excitement simmering just below the surface; his leg bounces up and down on the hardwood floor and his ears twitch slightly as he continues to examine the trinket in his hands.   

Leo suppresses a grin and says casually, “I don’t know, I just thought you would be a little more curious is all. Seemed like he was a pretty big deal to you and your people when I first told you about meeting him. But if you're not interested in learning about my time traveling adventure with your ancestor, that's cool I guess.” Yuichi’s leg bouncing grows faster. “I mean, I guess he wasn’t all that special. He probably wasn’t really all that different from any of the other ronin of his day.” Leo braces himself. 

“Are you kidding me!” Yuichi shouts, rising to Leo’s bait just like he knew he would. “He was one of the greatest samurai of all time! The most honorable ronin who ever lived!” He pushes himself up onto his knees, gesturing emphatically. “Even in the face of crushing defeat, he still made certain that his master, Lord Mifune, received an honorable burial. He refused to commit seppuku or to take on any other master. Instead, he became the most honorable ronin there ever was. He set out on pilgrimage across our lands to protect the innocent from harm!”

Leo watches as he rants on. The firelight positively dances in his eyes, making him seem more dynamic and alive in that moment than anyone Leo’s ever known. He’s handsome, Leo realizes in a distant way, before he brushes the thought aside and chuckles, “I guess you really admire him then.” 

Yuichi’s blush glows darkly against his fur. “I, uhh, yeah. I mean, he’s my hero. My entire family has taken the path of the samurai in his honor.”

He trails off for a moment, looking thoughtful, before continuing, “Many ronin of that time were dishonorable thieves and mercenaries. Hiring out themselves to the scum of the earth, but not Miyamoto. He only ever sought to protect the weak and innocent, maintaining law and order wherever he went. He was a model citizen of Neo Edo.”

Leo can’t help the snort that escapes him. Yuichi’s words cut off and he looks over at him quizzically. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Leo laughs. “But he definitely didn’t maintain law and order. I’m pretty sure he was wanted by at least half the country when I knew him.” 

Yuichi gapes at him, looking a very amusing combination of bewildered and outraged. “That’s not true. He worked with the feudal lords to round up all of the mercenaries.” 

“He definitely didn’t do that. And I bet he’s rolling in his grave over being called a ‘model citizen’.” 

A defensive edge creeps into Yuichi’s voice as he says, “So what, everything I’ve ever read about him is a lie? All of his journals I have back at home, all of our history books talking about my ancestor, is just a bunch of bullshit?” 

Sensing an approaching argument, Leo works to smooth ruffled feathers. “Not necessarily. All that stuff about him wandering around and helping the downtrodden was absolutely true, but that often put him on the wrong side of the law.“ 

“Why?”

“Well, for a few reasons, but mostly because he kept meddling in the plans of corrupt lords and other people in positions of power when they were trying to screw over their own citizens. Not all lords or politicians are looking out for the best interests of their people.” 

“That’s not true,” Yuichi says again. “Those people were thieves and mercenaries. They’re not the same as the people who lead us.” 

“Yes,” Leo says slowly. “But sometimes those thieves and mercenaries are just people backed into a corner and trying their best to survive.” 

“That’s not what our history says. That’s not what the council says.” 

Leo holds out his hands, placating. “But that’s what he said.”

There’s silence for a few moments as Yuichi’s expression goes from defensive to sullenly contemplative. “But why would they lie? Why tell us he was the pinnacle of all good and moral yokai if he wasn’t?” 

Leo has a few ideas on why this so-called council of theirs would benefit from changing history to suit their needs, but he’s not about to broach that particular subject here and now. He’s not a yokai, and he’s not a citizen of Neo Edo. He’s on the outside looking in on a society and culture that he knows nothing about, and he has a feeling that his status as an interloper isn’t going to improve when they cross the border. 

Instead, he shrugs and says, “I dunno. I can only tell you what he told me.” 

Yuichi grunts and looks away, and in the awkward pause left behind, Leo regrets bringing it up at all. “I could tell you about him. The real him,” he offers. Yuichi looks up at him quickly, an unreadable look in his eyes, and Leo stumbles. “I mean— only if you want, obviously.” 

Yes,” Yuichi says quickly, before coughing and adding a lot more casually, “I mean, yeah. That’d be cool.”

Leo grins at him, charmed. “Cool. Well, At first glance he seemed like he was exactly how you described him. Stern, serious, compassionate, honorable, the model samurai, but there was more to him than all that."

“He also had a bit of a temper sometimes, but that might have been mine and Kintaros fault more than a character trait," Leo says sheepishly, feeling a renewed pang of shame about his behavior toward Miyamoto during their adventure, but forces the feelings aside. Yuichi isn’t asking about his own shortcomings after all. "He also had a bit of a mischievous side, if the stories he told us about himself were to be believed."

"Really? Like what?" 

"Apparently one time, he dressed up in women’s clothing with another samurai in order to sneak inside of some treacherous lord's castle.” Leo tells the story as he remembers Miyamoto telling him, all those years ago. He mimics the ancient samurai creeping through the gates, throws his voice around dramatically as he describes him getting caught by patrolling guards, gesticulates wildly as he races out of the castle grounds, dress hiked up around his knees. And if he embellishes just a bit to make Yuichi throw back his head in laughter, well, sue him. 

Leo laughs right along with him, sending a sharp twinge of pain through his chest as his breath slowly comes back to him. Wiping his tears out of his eyes, he continues, "Oh man, I haven't even told you about the stories he told us about himself as a little kid. He was an absolute terror."

"Oh come on, he couldn't have been that bad," Yuichi grins.

"He stole a wakizashi off the body of a dying soldier on the battlefield," Leo says, deadpan. Yuichi’s eyes widen in horror as his face blanches, but Leo quickly rushes to reassure him, ”Don't worry, he brought it back, but only after the man's ghost haunted him until he was so overwhelmed with guilt that he returned it."

Yuichi sags slightly, relief flooding his frame.

"Still almost lost his hands though," Leo continues. "Some samurai found him when he was returning the sword to the battlefield. Only reason they didn't cut them off is because Lord Mifune swooped in to stop them."

Yuichi blinks. "Lord Mifune? The Lord Mifune?”

"Yup, the very one. He told his men he could sense Miyamoto’s ‘honorable nature’ and let him go."

"Whoa. That's wild.” 

"Yeah, he might have started as a snotty little brat, but he still turned out to be a pretty decent dude. And, I mean, the guy was a total badass, obviously.” Yuichi leans forward, practically hanging on Leo's every word and he can't help but like having all the rabbit’s attention on him. “He’s easily the most skilled swordsmen I’ve ever met. Dude fights like a mad man —I’ve never seen anything like it. I'm still not sure how he did half of the stuff I saw him do.” 

He chuckles, giving Yuichi a sideways glance.“You look a lot like him.” 

“What, devastatingly handsome?” Yuichi says, tossing Leo the charm and puffing out his chest and raising his arms in what Leo can only assume is an attempt to make himself look more heroic, but just winds up making him look silly.

Leo snickers and looks down at the charm, glancing between it and the yokai before him.  The resemblance really is obvious, but he can’t see any of the harsh edges of the sculpture in the face of the samurai before him. Compared to what he remembers of the ronin’s features, Yuichis’ were much… softer. Certainly less harsh than the near constant scowl of his ancestor. 

Yuichi is still young, If Leo had to guess, he’s probably just a year or two younger than himself. A tuft of fur on his head, hanging over his face like bangs, the only mark maring his otherwise unblemished features is the gash he’d gotten on his brow only a few days ago, which has already scabbed over and healed to a pale pink mark. It was nowhere near as bad as the long scar over Miyamoto's brow, though Leo suspects that it will likely leave a scar. 

Yuichi has already gone through a lot - too much, especially at such a young age - but those struggles haven’t hardened him like they had his ancestors. Where the similarity really shines through is in the rabbit's soft welcoming smiles, just like Miyamotos the few times he’d let that part of himself be seen from behind closed doors. And even then, Yuichis’ is far brighter than any smile he’d ever seen grace the ronin's face.

“Sure,” Leo laughs and watches as Yuichi practically preens. “It’s crazy that we met at all. I mean, what are the odds that you’re the one who saved me?” He’s sure Donnie would be able to tell him the actual statistics, if he were here. “I'm sure Neo Edo has many other samurai that could have come to my rescue, but you and your friends are the ones who found me.”

“Would it be horribly cliché of me to say that maybe it was fate,” Yuichi says, turning slightly looking Leo right in the eye. “I don’t know about you, but it just sort of feels like we were destined to meet. Like you and Miyamoto did, now you and me.” 

He supposed in a world of Gods and spirits it wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility. He understood. He felt drawn to Yuichi in a way he can’t say he’s ever felt drawn to anyone else before. “I guess anything is possible,” he says, smiling over at the rabbit before a huge yawn escapes him.  

Yuichi chuckles. “I think it’s time for bed.” 

“Agreed, bedtime,” Leo says, moving to roll over onto his side. 

“Hang on a second. I distinctly remember you saying you were going to do your healing thing before you went to sleep,”  Yuichi chides. 

“Ah, right.” He’d gotten so caught up in their conversation, he’d completely forgotten about it.  He sits back up, doing a mental check of his spiritual stores. They are fuller than he expected, and his earlier suspicions that the temple is helping him out are confirmed. He’s nowhere near 100 percent - hell, not even 50 - but he does feel a bit better and definitely has more to work with than he would have otherwise. 

He sits up a little straighter and slowly breathes in. 

Yuichi shifts nervously across from him. “Do you mind if I watch?”

Leo’s a little surprised at the question. His brothers had never been interested in anything spiritual. “No, but I mean, why would you want to? There's not gonna be much to see. Just some glowing and then I’ll probably pass out.”

“I’m curious, sue me.“ Yuichi’s voice is casual, but his gaze is heavy and intent on Leo’s face. “I was too busy being completely shocked last time to pay too much attention to what you were doing. How does it work exactly?  

“Well.” Leo rubs the back of his head, not used to explaining healing hands. He can’t imagine it’s very interesting to someone with no spiritual power. “It’s mostly me reaching for my spiritual energy and redirecting it. My cells and immune system do most of the work, I’m mostly just using an incantation to channel the spirit and boost those systems.” 

Yuichi looks anything but uninterested, leaning forward as he asks, “What’s the incantation?”

“Rin, pyo, to, sha, kai, jin, retsu, zai, then zen.” Leo keeps his voice flat and without any rhythm or intent, not wanting to draw out the power before he is ready. 

“To face the soldier, to fight the foe, the effort to move as one, to appear before,” Yuichi recites, blinking at Leo in obvious surprise. “It’s the kuji-in .” 

Now it’s Leo’s turn to blink in surprise. “Yeah, it is. I don’t know much about it beyond it’s intent, my master didn’t get too deep in the cultural meaning.” 

“They’re shinto mantras,” Yuichi explains. “And taoist too, apparently, not sure about that though. They’re supposed to be connected to your chakras, but that’s all I know, really.” 

Leo hums, taking the information in. “That makes sense. The spiritual energy definitely flows through the daidans, so the chakra thing sounds right.” 

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Yuichi leans back and waves a hand at him. “Show off.” 

Leo grins then straightens even further, bracing himself for the energy drain he knows is coming. He rests both hands gingerly over his chest and centers himself. “Rin...pyo…to…sha…kai…jin…retsu…zai…zen…”

He repeats the mantra a few times until a faint blue light trickles through his fingers, casting Yuichi’s face in a gentle glow. Then Leo lists forward, his eyes suddenly feeling as heavy as the drain hits him like a ton of bricks.

“Whoa, whoa, easy,” Yuichi, rushes forward to catch him before he can faceplant into the floorboards. ”I got you.”

He gently lowers him onto his bedroll. Leo’s limbs feel so heavy. Spot nuzzles under his arm, curling up next to him and Leo throws a heavy arm over the lizard in turn, causing Spot to  purring happily. 

“Rest,” Yuichi says softly, smiling down at him as Leo’s eyes fall closed. “I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

Chapter Text

Leo’s eyes flutter open the next morning to the sounds of birdsong and the crackling embers from last night's fire dimly glowing in the darkness of the temple. 

He hazily stares into the firelight, wrapping his blanket more tightly around himself as he happily basks in the warmth. He doesn't remember the last time he felt so comfortable. The temple is definitely better than the damp forest floors they’d been sleeping on the past few nights. 

The ache in his plastron from the night before has significantly diminished, his fever seems to also be gone for now, thankfully. He's tempted to just curl back up into the blanket and drift off back to sleep when Yuichi’s absence by the other side of the fire finally registers. Leo slowly sits up, rubbing at his eyes in an effort to wake himself up, as he searches the small room with a half-lidded gaze for any signs of the samurai. The small temple is empty, but Leo has a pretty good idea of where Yuichi might be when the savory scent of breakfast wafts in through the door leading to the deck.  

He stands clumsily, wrapping the blanket tightly around his shoulders as he shuffles across the floorboards towards the doorway. As he steps out of the temple, the rabbit is already looking in his direction, Spot’s head popping up from Yuichi’s side. Leo smiles softly at them, feeling a surprising amount of affection swell in his chest at the sight. 

“Morning,” Yuichi greets, offering a cup of steaming liquid out to Leo, his other hand holding out a plank of wood stacked high with fresh eggs and daikon. “How’d you sleep?”

“Fantastic.” Leo stifles a groan as he settles down stiffly  beside Yuichi on the ledge, letting the blanket fall from his shoulders as he gingerly stretches his muscles. Spot ambles over to Leo’s side, plopping down and resting his head on his thigh. “It’s been forever since I’ve actually gotten a proper good night's sleep.”

Yuichi makes a show of rolling out his shoulders. “Tell me about it. Give me a roof and four walls over roughing-it any day.” 

Leo hums in agreement as he pets the tokage happily purring at his side. A thick morning mist has already settled over the valley like a blanket, the treetops sticking out of it like small islands in a sea of clouds. The cliff side is slowly illuminated as the sun rises up over the distant horizon, the first glimpses of light shining on the trees of the valley, painting a picture reminiscent of old Japanese woodblock prints.

“This is beautiful,” Leo murmurs as he settles back against the wall and takes a sip of his tea. He swallows and looks over at Yuichi in surprise. “Is this dokudami?” 

The rabbit's ears perked up slightly as he smiles happily over at him. “Yeah, I found some on the temple grounds this morning when I was foraging. It has medicinal properties. I know it’s no healing hands, but it should help you feel a little better. I saved some in the pack for later.”

Leo takes another long sip, breathing in the scent of nutty herbs as he does. He takes another sip, this time really examining the flavors. There is a subtle minty zing to it, as well as a light natural honey flavor that seems enhanced somehow. 

Yuichi must have picked up on his confusion because he quickly answers the unasked question. “I added some honey I found to make it a little sweeter.”

Sure enough, laid out next to the eggs on the plank of wood, are several large chunks of honeycomb.

“Where on earth did you find that?” 

“Oh, you know. Around.” Yuich glowers at a nearby tree and not so subtly scratches at the multiple bee stings covering his arm.

Leo fights to suppress the grin threatening to break free. “Was it worth it?” 

“Definitely. I don’t think you understand just how good this honeycomb is,” Yuichi replies with mock seriousness, taking a large bite out of his own chunk before reaching out and grabbing another piece holding it out to Leo, who looks at the offered piece with slight trepidation.

“You just eat it? Wax and all?”  

“Yup, go ahead, it's great.” Yuichi says, his hand still hanging in the air between them.

“Thanks.” Leo takes the sticky chunk from his hand. He’s never had anything like it in his life, but his stomach growls hungrily at the sight. He brings the honeycomb up to his mouth and takes a hesitant bite. He blinks at the delicate sugary flavor dancing across his tongue.

“Oh my gosh, this stuff is amazing!” He greedily takes another bite, then another, quickly finishing off the honeycomb. He licks his fingers clean and reaches for another.

Yuichi throws him an amused grin, then asks, “How do you know about dokukami tea?” 

Leo swallows around the chunk of honeycomb, taking a moment to clear his mouth before answering. “My dad taught me all about tea. It was kind of our thing, something we bonded over. Whenever he could manage to find some, he would bring some new blend back to the lair for us to share.” 

Leo trails off, his mind drifting back to those quiet moments he’d shared alone with Splinter, enjoying a cup of tea together in the kitchen. His brothers had never quite gotten into tea in the same way he and their father had. Sure, they would have a cup every now and then to humor them both, but Leo had once seen Mikey literally toss his full cup over his shoulder while Splinter’s back was turned, so the tradition stopped pretty quickly after their father died.  

“I haven’t had dokukami, or well, any tea since…”  Leo can't bring himself to finish the sentence, but he doesn't have to. Yuichi hums in understanding, a soft smile playing across his face. 

“Is it as good as you remember?”

“It’s better,” Leo takes another long sip. “That raw honey really complements the umami taste.”

Yuichi raises his eyebrows, looking impressed before his expression turns sly. “Well, I’m glad you like it. Maybe — I mean, if you're interested, and all of this Godless mess is cleared up— we could go to the tea house together when we get back to Neo Edo.” 

“Oh, dude, yes! That would be amazing! I bet your tea is so much better than anything I’ve ever had in New York,” Leo chuckles. 

Yuichi turns away quickly and starts packing up their plates. “Oh, yeah, sure. That… that sounds great.” 

He sounds very unenthusiastic all of a sudden, but before Leo can ask what was wrong, Yuichi clears his throat and stands before offering a hand out to Leo. “Think you're ready to get back on the road?”

Leo clasps his hand. “Absolutely.” 

Once their supplies are packed and the fire properly smothered, they make their way out of the temple. Yuichi jumps down off the porch turning and offers out a hand again, helping Leo gently lower himself to the ground. 

Instead of walking back down the hill like Leo had expected, the rabbit turns back towards the solid cliff face walking further into the recesses of the cave. 

“Uhhh, Yuichi, I’m pretty sure down is that way,” Leo says pointing back down-hill.

“It is, but we’re not going that way. This is a short cut.”

He turns and catches sight of Leo’s confused frown, then beckons him closer. “You’ll see.” He continues along the rock face, moving back behind the building. He squeezes his way into the narrow gap between the rock and the temple wall, sliding along the narrow passage. Leo hesitantly follows after, his shell just barely small enough to allow him to squeeze through the gap. He makes sure to keep a close eye on Yuichi ahead of him, and equally careful to match his footsteps. Up ahead, Yuichi pauses before stepping forward and seemingly disappearing inside of the rock face.

“What the…” Leo frowns and inches forward. He notices a gap in the rocks just up ahead where Yuichi had disappeared, only visible now that he was right up on it. He pushes himself through, his shell scraping loudly against the rough rock. Inside, he finds that the recess in the rocks opens up onto a tunnel. It’s incredibly dark inside, only the faint, watery light from the crack in the cliff side offering only the barest hint of illumination, casting a dark glow on rough-hewn walls lined with unlit torches. He can barely see Yuichi, who is using his slate to try and light one with short, jerky motions. He finally manages to get a good spark and the flame catches instantly on the dried kindle, revealing a long and dark corridor ahead of them. 

“What is this place?” Leo asks, his voice echoing unpleasantly against the stone. 

“Like I said, it’s a shortcut. It’ll take us right where we need to go,” Yuichi explains, carefully cradling the torch in his hands.“We’ve got loads of hidden passages and hideaways scattered about these parts that help us keep one step ahead of the Godless.”  

“How do you know all of this?” 

The rabbit taps the side of his head, smirking over at him. “It’s all up here. Part of our military training. Before we‘re allowed to go out into the field, all samurai have to memorize the map of all of the secret routes and tunnels in and out of the border zone. Can’t be carrying around a map in my pack and risk it falling into the Godless’ hands.” 

Fair point. Yuichi turns, holding out the torch ahead of them and creeping his way forward along the dark corridor. ”Stay close. I haven't taken these tunnels before myself. Hopefully nothing’s decided to make this place its home.”

With that comforting thought, Leo rushes ahead, keeping right in step behind the rabbit as Sport chirps and trails behind them. The tunnel is long and narrow, every inch of the walls littered with spiderwebs, however most of them burn away in the flame of the torch. Despite that, the tunnel is oddly familiar in a lot of ways. The darkness, the cool stone walls, the sounds of trickling water and small skittering feet. The feeling of the New York sewers hits his chest like a battering ram. He misses his home and his brothers so much. He wonders for the hundredth time what they’re doing right now. If they’re alright, if they’re looking for him the way he knows he’d look for them.

The wave of grief that washes over him isn’t surprising, he always feels sad when he thinks of his family these days, but the sorrow that’s pressing into him now is nearly enough to take him off his feet. He has to lock his knees to keep from stumbling, bite his lip to keep from sobbing out loud. He’s immediately on guard because what the hell is this? These emotions, they don’t feel right. It’s like they’re twisting up inside of him. His brothers aren’t dead, his home is likely right where he left it, so why does he feel so much grief, and regret, and rage and fear? 

Something is wrong, but before Leo can open his mouth and call out to Yuichi, they round a corner and a blinding light streams in from the opening at the end of the tunnel. The screaming emotions roiling in his chest quiet down, although they don’t disappear completely, instead settling as a deep ache in the back of his mind. Yuichi walks forward towards the edge of the overhang, giving no indication that anything is wrong. Leo follows after him in the exact same manner and peers cautiously over the ledge.

His stomach drops. 

Below them is a small valley and what looks to be the remains of a village, nestled between the mountains. It was probably once a beautiful town, but all that remains  now are the burnt out skeletal husks of the buildings that once stood there, their wood splintered and slowly rotting away with time. The land around the village is a deep black, soot-streaked and burned, the very ground reduced to ash much like the homes it once held. 

The sight of it and the violence and desecration it implies, sets the waves of grief/sorrow/fear off in his head. He has to breathe deeply and work to push the foreign emotions down before he can speak. “What is this place? What happened here?” 

He doesn’t do a good job at making himself sound normal and not like he’s choking on someone else’s rage, but thankfully Yuichi seems to be struggling with his own emotions too much to notice. Is he feeling these emotions as well then?

“This is— was one of our old villages,”  Yuichi says, his voice cracking slightly as he corrects himself. “I’ve never actually been here before.”

The wave recedes again, and Leo finds he can focus more on Yuichi’s expression. He looks pained, but not particularly devastated, so Leo assumes he’s not getting the same emotional feedback he is. “Really?” he asks, forcing his tone into something more even and casual. “I thought you guys only lived inside of your borders.”

“Well, now we do,” Yuichi replies quietly. “Back before the Godless, we used to have several villages scattered about in these mountains. Thousands of our people used to live out here before the Godkiller came into the picture. Samurai, fishermen, traders, anyone who regularly had to go outside of the boundary lived in those villages. They provided Neo Edo with all kinds of stuff from the outside world.” He looks back down towards the village with a frown. “But all of them are ghost towns now.”

Looking down, Leo can imagine the life of the village that once stood below them. Children running through the streets, their parents chatting jovially with the merchants selling wares, the delicious scent of food wafting out from the restaurants lining the road. None of the warmth in the happy scene in his head is present in the destroyed sight before them. As he looks a little closer, he can see a faint haze hanging in the air, draping over the village in hazy wisps. He squints, wondering if his eyes are playing tricks on him. It’s as if the village itself has its own spiritual aura, but that can’t be right. Individual buildings can have their own auras, like the temples and shrines they’ve come across, but an entire village? How was something like that even possible? 

Leo’s not sure what his face is doing, but Yuichi glances at him and quickly rushes to reassure, “Don’t worry, all the villagers were evacuated before the Godless made it here. Everyone made it out fine, the council made sure of it.”

That’s good to know, but it doesn’t answer the questions swirling in his head. He squints down at the fog again, but it doesn’t seem to be doing anything, so he puts it out of his mind for now. “So what’s the plan? Where are we headed?”

Yuichi quickly snaps back into focus as he points down towards the village.“We need to get over there.” Leo follows his finger and sees the burnt, skeletal remains of an abandoned temple. It’s shrouded by dead trees at the far edge of town, the little of the structure that remains is pressed right up against the sheer rock face, sitting still amongst swirling dark fog.

“There’s another hidden tunnel inside,” Yuichi explains. “It cuts right through the mountain and ends at the border. It was the village’s shortcut into Neo Edo back in the day. Come on, this tunnel over here should bring us out right onto the village.” 

They retreat back into the cave and turn down another branching path of the tunnel system. The soft patter of Spot’s feet echo off the shadowed tunnel walls. 

It’s a pretty short trip down to the base of the valley. They emerge into a narrow street between the husks of two burnt out buildings before walking out into the cobblestone street. The village is even more eerie up close. A light breeze blows through the valley, stirring up ash and dried debris in the air that whips stinging particles into their eyes. Old shop signs squeak back and forth on rusted hinges. Leo can’t help the unsettling feeling that crawls its way up his spine. He doesn’t like this one bit. Something here is very, very wrong.

He takes a careful step onto the street and is nearly bowled over by another torrent of sorrow and panic and why/why/why. The emotions sit like a rock in his gut, not his own but felt all the same. He only has a brief second to take a breath before they disappear again. Leo’s next exhale is shaky as he takes another step, following after Yuichi. His gaze darts around the empty street warily, the spiritual fog now brought into focus as it hangs in the air, clear as day. The energy seems to move in a subtle wave-like motion, emanating out from some unseen place within the town. He’s seen a lot of strange things since being dragged into this country, but this isn’t anything like the energy he’s seen anywhere else, even within the temples they’ve visited. 

He’s certainly never felt anything like it in New York, but then again, his spiritual powers have never been this connected before. And the feeling of this place! Normally spiritual energy feels cool against his spirit like flowing water, but the energy here felt…oppressive. The edges of the spiritual fog lick at the boundaries of his own aura, seeping with volatility and malice. He thinks that’s what’s most unsettling about the maelstrom of emotions battering the edges of his senses. Beyond the fear, and the grief, and despair, the sheer amount of rage cycling in the middle of it all is enough to root him to the spot. 

Yuichi notices immediately that he’s fallen behind and turns back with a frown. “Hey. You okay?”

No, he very much is not. “Yuichi, I don’t think we should be here.” Spot seems to agree with him, the little creature wrapping itself tightly around his ankles, darting quick glances around at the shadowed buildings. 

“Why?”

“I don’t know. There’s— we need to turn around and go any other way. The spiritual energy here— I don’t know what it is, but it’s off, very off, and we don’t want to stick around and find out why.”

Yuichi’s hand had drifted down towards Willow Branch as Leo spoke, and now he turns, taking in the abandoned village with a careful gaze. Leo doesn’t think Yuichi can see the fog or feel the battering ram of emotions that he can, but he’s clearly taking his warning seriously anyway. Leo doesn’t remember the last time someone’s just taken him at his word. 

“Okay.” Yuichi’s voice has gone low, as if there’s an enemy right around the corner. “It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s that we literally can’t. If we don’t go through here then that leaves us climbing over the peaks, which adds at least another several days to our trip.” He glances down at Leo’s chest and grimaces. “You don’t have that long.” 

Okay, he can’t say the rabbit doesn’t have a point. Leo can already feel the pain in his plastron returning with a vengeance. His limbs ache terribly, and his fever from yesterday is creeping back in. Whatever energy the temple had infused into him is fading fast. Still, none of that changes the fact that this place is practically screaming for them to turn back. 

“We’ll stay alert,” Yuichi bargains, stepping beside Leo and pressing their shoulders together. “This is a spiritual thing, right? If you sense anything dangerous, just let me know and we’ll make a run for the temple. Sound good?

That did not sound good, but Leo nods in uneasy agreement. Yuichi keeps a hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword and strides forward. Leo takes a second to scoop up the tokage still shivering around his ankles, and encourages him to curl up around his neck. Spot’s weight on his shoulders is soothing to his nerves and he feels his heart slow slightly. Whether it was for Spot’s benefit or his own didn’t really matter, the last thing he wants right now is for the little guy to run off on his own. 

The feeling of unease only grows steadily as they move through the village. The fog hangs heavy in the air, close and cloying as it seems to almost cling to him as he passes through it, causing Leo’s steps to drag as he feels his emotions run away from him once more. He does his best to breathe through it, but the emotions he’s feeling from this place are so strong, so visceral, that he’s having a hard time keeping his own feelings separate. 

A figure steps out of the fog and onto the path next to them, and Leo flinches hard. He whirls, causing Spot to scramble to stay on his shoulders, but he hardly notices as he draws Edgewing. Yuichi whips around at the sound and has Willow Branch out just as fast as he darts back to Leo’s side. 

“What is it?” 

Leo doesn’t answer, too busy darting his gaze this way and that for the shadow he’d just seen. Nothing. The street is empty. “Do you hear anything?” he whispers. 

Yuichi’s ears swivel wildly as he takes another step closer. “No.” 

Doubt begins to settle in as another wave of fear breaks against the edges of his mind. Tentatively, he reaches out with his spirit and tries to get a sense of any auras in the area. He’s never really done this before, and isn’t sure if he’ll be able to sense anything, but feeling the energy radiating from the temples and shrines they’ve visited so far has given him an idea of what to look for, so he reaches out further. 

It’s a mistake. He was right before; the fog itself has its own spiritual energy, and that energy surges towards him now. It latches onto the reaching tendrils of his spirit, digs its claws in, and pulls. 

Flashes of images race through his mind; children running through the streets, laughing, playing, screaming; the red glow and crackle of roaring flames; voices overlapping over each other in conversation, panic, and shouting; a child’s toy is dropped on the ground and immediately trampled by dozens of running feet. 

The images flash past in a nauseating parade, but it’s the rage that nearly sends him to his knees. It’s a club to the head, it’s drowning in a shallow stream, it’s all encompassing and he can’t tell the difference between what he feels and what they felt. Spot is whimpering in his ear and Yuichi’s hand is twisted in the fabric on his shoulder. He’s shouting something, but Leo can’t hear it over the fire and the screams. 

He scrambles for his spirit and wrenches it out of the fog’s grasp, pulling his own energy back into his body so tightly it sits like a hard lump beside his sternum. The images (memories?) stop immediately, leaving a murmuring echo in its wake, as if a crowd is standing right behind his shoulder, whispering over each other. Leo takes deep, gasping breaths as he comes back to himself. The hand on his shoulder shakes him hard, jolting the last of the haze from his mind. 

Yuichi stands in front of him, practically curled over Leo as he hefts Willow Branch in a guard position in front of them both. Leo sees his sword hand trembling faintly. Yuichi’s voice is tight as he says, “Are you alright?” 

Leo’s mind is too frazzled for him to be anything but honest. “No,” he rasps. “Yuichi, there’s something wrong with this place. The fog—“ 

Another wave of spiritual energy hits him hard. A trilling scream starts in his ears then rises, higher and louder by the second, never pausing for breath as it reverberates in his head endlessly. A headache blooms behind his eyes and his knees scrape on the cobblestones as he collapses and presses his forehead hard into the ground. Spot chirps nervously, barely heard under the piercing drone, and curls tighter around his shoulders as sweat drips down his brow. Yuichi’s grip on him tightens painfully as his voice join’s Spot’s beyond his hearing. The scream— and Leo wonders deliriously if it can even be called that anymore— tears through his head like a chainsaw as a blinding pain spikes behind his eyes. New sounds join the assault, hundreds of shouts and cries overlap against a backdrop of splintering wood and roaring flames. 

Leo can’t help it, he lashes out. His spirit curls into claws and shoots out in all directions, raking into the fog. It doesn’t do any good, the fog latches on eagerly and noise grows impossibly louder. He grinds his forehead into the ground and screams. Yuichi’s hands come up to grip the sides of his face, but he shakes him off and throws his spirit outwards again, reaching for anything, anything, anything to make it stop!

His spirit meets a cool wash of blue. The screams and the flames fall away immediately, leaving behind the sense of being gently cradled. 

Then—

ᶫLͤeͦo?

“Leo?” Yuichi’s voice is trembling. Leo peels his watering eyes open and finds that he actually is being cradled. He’s still bent over on his knees with Yuichi’s hands bracketing his face, holding his head up and away from the gravel. “Leo, come on. Just— just breathe.” 

He doesn’t need to breathe. Not while his spirit is being infused with that cool, calming blue. Its energy is a tuning fork, sounding a clear and steady note that cuts through the screams. He wants to listen to it forever, to live in it—

Yuichi’s hands fall away to grip his shoulders once more and Leo comes back to himself with a snap. His spirit retreats as if struck and resumes its tight position behind his sternum. The sudden silence makes him tense, but the screams don’t start up again and he releases a shaky breath. Spot nuzzles under his chin, urging his head up. He drags his gaze upwards and gasps. 

Lining both sides of the street in neat rows are the silhouettes of dozens of yokai. They stand, statue-still like the guard of a procession, their shadowed forms faceless and indistinct in the watery light of the fog. As one, they turn their heads stiffly towards them. Between one blink and the next, they disappear, leaving an empty street behind. 

It doesn’t matter that they were only there for a second, Leo’s seen enough to know that they are.  

Spirits.

Ghosts. 

He pulls his gaze away from the street to look up at Yuichi. He looks scared, but Leo can’t even begin to comfort him. Leo opens and closes his mouth silently a couple of times, and something hardens in the samurai’s eyes. “Can you stand?” Yuichi asks stiffly. 

Leo nods. 

“Okay. Come on, we’re getting out of here right now.” 

Yuichi picks up Spot and places him in Leo’s arms before he helps him to his feet. He then bends down and scoops up Edgewing and resheaths it for him. Shooting a poisonous glare at the fog around them, Yuichi wraps his free arm around Leo’s shoulders, pulling him close as he leads them off the street and towards a nearby alleyway. Leo takes this all in with a distant confusion, feeling like the fog has seeped into his brain. He didn’t even know it was possible for something else’s spiritual energy to affect him this much. 

The lump blocking his throat clears as they step off the street and he digs his heels in, bringing them to a halt. “Wait.” He needs to tell Yuichi what he suspects is going on here. He deserves an explanation, Leo just doesn’t know how to put it into words. “There are…” He swallows dryly and tries again. “There are spirits here. Hundreds of them.” 

Yuichi’s eyes dart around the dilapidated buildings around them. “Spirits like mokumokuren?” 

Leo suddenly flashes back to Raph playing Seriko on their ancient CCTV years ago, complaining loudly about the very same yokai jumping out of corners and killing his character. He shakes his head. “No, no, Yuichi, listen to me.” He snakes a hand out from under Spot and grips his friend’s arm. “Spirits like people. Other yokai. I can see them, I can feel their fear and their rage. Yuichi, they’re so, so angry. Something terrible happened here, I don’t think they passed peacefully.” 

Yuichi looks down at him, and Leo can see the new information turn over in his head as he becomes lost in his own thoughts, emotions swirling behind those large brown eyes. Confusion, fear, and dread march openly across his expression before his gaze flattens in understanding. Yuichi opens and closes his mouth several times before finally saying, “Come on. We can cut through here to get to the temple.” 

He gently guides them over to a narrow alleyway between the husks of two burnt out buildings. The foundations that remain stretch tall above them like a maw as various bits of burnt debris clog the path below. The arm Yuichi has over his shoulder squeezes him tightly before he slips ahead of him to clear the path as much as possible. He stomps pillars into ash and chucks debris out the way with more violence than is necessary, but he’s clearly upset and Leo isn’t about to stop him. He almost regrets bringing up the ghosts and everything their existence implies. 

Soon enough, they come up on a pile of rubble far too large for Yuichi to efficiently move on his own. He steps up onto the pile of debris, testing its integrity by bouncing up and down a few times before reaching a hand down to Leo. “It’ll hold,” he says quietly. “Should spit us out right by the temple.” 

Leo eyes the rubble with trepidation for a moment before taking the offered hand and allowing himself to be hauled up. Yuichi makes sure he's on steady footing before turning and carefully making his way across the rickety pile, Leo following closely behind. They get over half way across, and it seems like the pile of junk will actually hold, until Leo hears something snap at the bottom of the pile. The rubble beneath their feet practically disintegrates and they both go crashing to the ground, landing hard into one of the adjacent buildings.

Leo groans, pushing himself up off the ground and coughing on a cloud of dust and ash. He heaves himself into a sitting position, hand braced over his burning plastron as he slumps back against one of the crumbling walls. Spot toddles over to him and we wastes no time in scooping the poor tokage back into his arms. Across the room, there’s a dry crunch and a sharp gasp that has him lurching to his feet, aches forgotten as he looks wildly for Yuichi. 

“What is it? What’s—“ Leo’s mouth snaps closed. 

In front of Yuichi, huddled into what used to be a closet, sits the charred remains of two vaguely humanoid figures. The larger is curled around the other, much smaller, form. Their mouths are open wide, showcasing rows of stark white canines that almost glow in the low light. Their scorched skin is black and paper-like, resting delicately over ashen bones. The head of the smaller figure— a baby, Leo realizes with a jolt of nausea— is tilted upwards, the empty blackened sockets of its eyes seem to stare at them accusingly. 

“Wh…w-what are they doing here?” Yuichi’s voice warbles as a fine tremor starts in his shoulders. “We…we were told everyone made it out.” 

Behind them, beyond their sight but not beyond Leo’s senses, two hundred and twenty-eight faceless spirits stare silently. 

Leo swallows hard and grips Spot tighter. The tokage makes a low keening noise, but otherwise stays perfectly still in his arms. “Yuichi—-“

The samurai whirls towards him, eyes shining and pupils blown wide. “What happened here?” he demands. “You said there were hundreds of them, but we were told that everything made it out! The council told us that no one died! So why are they here ?” His voice climbs higher and louder as he whips a hand towards the two curled up corpses. 

Leo doesn’t know what to say. The lump is back, closing his throat completely. 

Yuichi doesn’t wait for an answer. He steps in close, a desperate edge cutting into his voice as he chokes out, “What happened here, Leo? You said you can see them, right? Can you talk to them? Find out what happened?”

Leo blinks at him, surprised. Can he talk to them? He doesn’t know. He had spoken to Splinter once, but his father wasn’t a yokai and Leo doesn’t think he was a spirit in the same sense that these people are. Despite those doubts, Leo finds that he does want to try. Maybe that’s what those voices were out on the street. Maybe they don’t mean any harm and are just trying to communicate. 

Yuichi must take Leo’s hesitation for reluctance because he rests a hand over Leo’s own and pleads, “Please, Leo. Please just try. I have to know. If—“ his voice falters before he tries again, “If the council lied to us, then I have to know.” 

Leo’s eyes drift reluctantly down to the two bodies. A tingling of decades-old grief twinges in the back of his mind and he finds himself nodding. “Okay. I’ll try.”

Behind him, the spirits’ stares grow heavier. 

Yuchi looks so relieved that Leo is suddenly convinced that this is exactly what he’s supposed to do. “Thank you,” he says, giving Leo’s hand a squeeze. “Be careful though. If they attack you again, just signal me and we’ll get out of here.” 

Leo nods mutely as his gaze flickers back down to the closet. He passes Spot off to Yuichi and kneels down in front of the corpses. He doesn’t dare touch them, but his experience outside, awful though it was, gives him some idea of how to proceed. Where there had before been claws, now he curls his spirit into questing fingers that reach out slowly. He rests them, incorporeal and feather-like, on the larger yokai’s hand and his awareness of Yuichi and the burnt out village f a l l s ā̸̩̾ w̴̢͔͠ a̶͎̭̍͝ y̵͉͙̆̕ …

You kick down the front door in a hail of splintering wood and storm into the home, making quick work of overturning the place, smashing tea pots and tearing down the modest ink paintings that line the walls as you go. Your gaze is dark and flat as it flickers over shadowed corners searchingly, but you don’t see any sign of the home’s occupants. Stopping in the center of the room, you cant your head to listen for movement, but it’s hard to hear anything over the sounds of bleating screams and roaring fires emanating from the streets. 

You're just about to turn and move onto the next house when you hear it. A quiet whimper, quickly stifled but not quick enough to save them. You turn lightly on one foot and stroll leisurely towards the far corner of the kitchen. A small cupboard sits wedged between two walls. You’d have thought it’d be too small to hide anyone, but you suppose that beasts would find a way. 

You grasp the handle and pull the door open with exaggerated slowness, grinning at the gasp that sounds from inside. The demons crouched within look like tigers. The larger one stares up at you with wide yellow eyes and curls tighter around the whelp in her arms. The infant squints into the light from the fires burning outside and starts to shriek, a caterwaul that grates in your ears. 

The she-demon doesn’t even blink, continuing to stare up at you with her disgusting eyes. Her mouth opens and she whispers, “Please.” And that’s enough of that. You’re not interested in anything this thing has to say.

 You bring your blade down in a short arc and bury it in the demon’s throat. She gasps and chokes as blood waterfalls down her neck, soaking the infant in her arms immediately. The whelp‘s eyes shoot open and stare up at you, yellow and unblinking, just like her mother. You sneer down at it. Unnatural creatures. 

The infant wails as you cut it down, and you don’t realize it in that moment, but that sound is going to follow you for the rest of your life.

You’ll hear it as you walk out of that house, tossing a touch onto the hardwood as you go.

You’ll hear it as you follow your master towards a bitter loss. 

You’ll hear it as you and your brothers and sisters regroup and travel the Americas. 

You‘ll hear it, two decades later, as you reenter this cursed country and start the hunt anew. 

You’ll hear it as you close in on your prey in the foothills and help your squad leader plant TNT into the cliff side. 

You’ll hear it as you corner the rabbit demon in a rain-soaked valley. The thing in front of you will brandish its sword, hands shaking and white fur coated in blood and mud as it pathetically tries to shield the injured turtle from your gaze. 

You’ll hear it as a creature unknown to you grips your shoulders and pulls you deeper into the forest faster than you can react. 

You’ll hear it as a clawed hand hurtles towards your face, ending your life in a single savage 

blow———̴̨̨̝̥̭̪͈̦̩͒͌͝—̷̧̟̪͌̏̓͂̎͠—̶̡̛̫̤̣͑̈́̃̾̒̕̚͜—̸͖̱͙̮̥̣͎̠́̃̃́̒͋͘͘-̷͓͚̳͈̜̾̉̓͐̑̈͒͗͝

Leo lurches forwards onto his hands and knees and vomits right there in front of the closet. Yuichi is crouched beside him in an instant, not seeming to care about the sick soaking into his hamaka. “Leo! Are you okay?” 

He can’t answer. How can he, when can still hear that baby’s endless wail? It echoes in his ears, down his spine, and into his soul. His head feels like it’s attached to a noose as he raises it slowly. The infant yokai is still there. Her tiny head has shifted, turning to face him with her empty-socketed gaze, and as she shrieks in his mind, he realizes he had misunderstood her gaze the first time. 

Not an accusation, but a curse. 

“Leo?” Yuichi sounds on the verge of tears as he shakes Leo’s shoulder and babbles, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you to do that. I just— fuck, I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Talk to me!” 

Nausea churns in his stomach, and he thinks he’s about to throw up again when movement catches his eye. The paper skin of the mother yokai flakes away in a hail of ash, and Leo watches, horrified, as a tiger-shaped silhouette rises from the corpse. It stares down at them, as faceless and still as the ones Leo saw in the street. 

Then, with an almost imperceptible movement of its head, it looks at Yuichi. 

Faster than Leo can react, the spirit lunges forward. Leo moves a millisecond later, his training kicking into high gear as he grabs a hold of Yuichi, dragging him out of range. He manages to avoid the blow aiming for Yuichi’s throat, but is not fast enough to stop the spirit from sinking its claws into Yuichi's shoulder. Yuichi screams as blood arcs out of the wound, quickly soaking his sleeve. Spot tumbles to the ground, but Leo scoops him up a half second later and tosses him into his shoulder. He pivots, directing a wild blast of spiritual energy at the yokai and drags Yuichi forward, pulling him through a nearby hole in the wall. 

“What was that?” Yuichi gasps, clutching awkwardly at his shoulder. Leo stumbles forward with the samurai in tow, nearly losing his footing as he tries to fight off the turmoil of emotions the spirits are trying to squeeze through his mind. 

“Don’t look at them, just get to the temple now!” He shouts. He only has a vague idea of where they’re going as he whips them around alleyway after alleyway. They slide around a corner behind another burnt-out shop and Leo screeches them to a halt, Yuichi running straight into his back. A shadowed spirit stands, stiff and unmoving at the end of the alley, blocking their way back into the main street. The baby’s wail rings in his ears and he’s frozen. Yuichi reacts much faster, twisting his free hand tightly into Leo’s sleeve and pulls them into an offshoot alley. He takes the lead, pulling Leo forward almost faster than his feet can keep up. Spot’s claws dig into his shoulder as the little tokage doggedly hangs on. 

They’re spit out into another alleyway, and Leo is immediately lost in the maze of buildings and side streets. For every clear alley they dart through, there’s another with a spirit in it, blocking their way out. Leo tugs against Yuichi’s hand every time one appears and the samurai immediately reroutes them down another side street, forcing them deeper and deeper into the village. They’re being drawn inwards. Almost like—

“They’re trapping us in!” Yuichi shouts, coming into the thought at the same time Leo had. Leo doesn’t know what to do about it though! He doesn’t dare touch them again. 

They come out of the alley into an open space surrounded on all sides by soot blackened buildings when Yuchi stops so suddenly that Leo rebounds off his back and hits the ground. He groans and pushes himself onto his knees before he sees them.

A mass grave, if one could even call it that. Hundreds of yokai corpses, some burnt down into ash and bones, some left to rot, their skin dry and leathery where its stretched taunt over their faces, have been dumped in a shallow pit dug into the courtyard. Willow Branch falls from Yuichi’s fingers with a metallic clatter as he takes a single step forwards. Leo opens his mouth to tell him to stop, then chokes as the spirits’ voices fill his head with the impact of a sledge hammer. He folds immediately, clutching his head and screaming helplessly as they get louder and louder and LOUDER ——̴̨̨̝̥̭̪͈̦̩͒͌͝—̷̧̟̪͌̏̓͂̎͠—̶̡̛̫̤̣͑̈́̃̾̒̕̚͜—̸͖̱͙̮̥̣͎̠́̃̃́̒͋͘͘-̷͓͚̳͈̜̾̉̓͐̑̈͒͗͝

S̷̱̔̂ Ā̸̡̨͗ M̷̝͍̓͆ Ú̴̪ R̴̨̬͗̿ A̶̬͂ Ĩ̸̢   ̷̖̈́̄T̸͎͇̑ R̷̡͔̈́͠ A̶̭̿̊ S̷̩̅ H̶͈͆

Ṗ̴̤̀̈͘  A̶̧̖͗̾̃͐͠͝  W̴͔͍͍̭̯̃̔̑͊͘̚ͅ  N̵̩̝̪̝͔̈̌

T̸r̴a̷i̵t̶or̷s, l̸o̵ok̷ ̷a̵t̷ ̴w̴h̵a̸t̵ ̷t̵h̵e̸y̸’̷v̵e̵ ̴d̵o̴n̵e̵!̷

In the distance, a baby wails.

                     Ṱ̸̨̧͔̹̣͉̩͓͇͖̒ r̴̨̟̼̪̒̈́̑͂̔̒̽̂̀͝ͅ a̴̗̹̱̻̙̟̰͋̌͜͜ ǐ̷̥̟̻̜͂͗̎͂͑͘ t̶̛̛̺͕̟̩̆̋̍̍͌̐̿̑ ŏ̴̬̫̤̼͌̑̓͗͐͐ r̴̪̈̌͋̊̈́͋͂͠

T̴̠̺̰͓̣͖̗̲̬̦͋͂̔̂͐̄͝ͅR̴̲̲̝͒́́A̷̖͙͑͌̒̊̚͠Ï̵͙̭̣͓͌̈̋̀͒̌̆͛͘͝ͅT̷̹̺̙̟̪̥͂̍O̴̝̮͛́͊̽̒Ȑ̵͍̗̟͂̂͂̈́

  And wails.

          T̶͓͛̇̀̊̿͌́͐̓̈̇͒͒͛̊́̈̔̑̚͝  R̸̨̺̯̺̞̰̭̪̟̰̘͓̹̰̰̤̞̘̗̗̱͒͗̃̒̋͌͌͜͝  A̵̳̬͎̯̝̞̯͎͙͎̘̲͈̠̅̔́͐͠ I̵̡̢̩̯̜̩̮̗̙͈̦̤͈̦̖͙͒̀̅̅̋́̃̈́͑̓̈́̂͊͌̅͛̎͘̕͜  T̸̨̳̞̱͖̚͜ Ǫ̸̨̩̲̼͔̝̻͔͉̩̩̩̗͔̺̀̉̂́͂͑̚  Ṛ̴̲̞͍̪̳̗̯̮͍͉̜͊̌͗̉̐̍̕

 T̵̢̡̢̝̹̥̫̟̬̼̦̜̱̼̬̭͈̠̟̹͚͎̟͉͇̦̥̰͚́͜ͅ ̸̡̨̨̡̮͈̜͉͖̠͑̃́̈̿̔̈́̄̊̈͋̕R̸̨̡̡̛̛͕̫̹̻̺̞̖̖̠͓̙͔̗̝̳̮̟̥̥̯̖̠̘̻̀̌͗͂͒̏͛̏̾̂̒̅̑̍̿͗̄́̽͌̐̇̒͑̿̅͜͝ ̷̢̦͖̹̗͎͆̈́̽̃̀̎̎̏̎͐͘͝Á̴̦͕̼̜̻͔̍͒̑͛̇̂̈́͗̈̀͘͝ ̸̨̧̢̥̘̳̦̹͍̪̗̘͓̰͙͚͎̹̬͖͎̥̟̜̦͍̥̯̭̼̰̺̫̭̘͎̙̅͊͑I̵̢͍̳͇͈͖̅͆̓̂̋̊̍̊͛͝ ̵̡̧̞̬̙̹̭̫͖̯͉̮͓̥͖̰̤̺͕̫͙̻͓͚̘̩̱̱͍̞̟͓̟̤͊͌̂͋̀̔̋̈̆̋̃́͂́͂̕̚͠T̵̡̻̬̠̱̥͖̬͔̬͇͉͚̠͕̹͓̽͂̉̐̋́̀̅̚͝ ̸̮͍͙̤̗̞͔̫̖͎̫̬̳̭̍͂̔̃͛̓̓́̇͝͝Ờ̸̛͕͇̼̹̺̥͕͈̫̻͈͖͚̞̞͖̲̭͔̯͎̹̥͎̥͂͑̌̋̔̀̾̈́̒̄̈́̂͑̋͌͐̾́̽̈́̋̃̀̅͐̅̏̏͋̅́̕͘͜͠͝ ̷̱͋́̿̂̎̚͜R̶̨̢̻̳͉̻̳̲̺͓͚͚͚̣̠͚͕̬̯̬̥̞̞̥͈͎͖̬̥͍̯̳͂̑͊͛̏̂͐̄̉͑̇̅́̒̅̏̓͋͐̃̋̾̔̏̐̎̈́̃̆̃͋́͋̆̒͘̕͜͜͝͝͠ͅͅ

                And wails.

ᶫLͤEͦO!

The blue is back, cool and painless and the best thing he’s ever felt as the voices retreat. Even the baby’s cries have stopped. Leo blinks at the ground, ash fluttering into his eyes as he finds himself lying on the cobblestones. “Leo, get up!” Yuichi’s voice is raw and pleading and right in his ear. The samurai is curled tightly over him, his hands on Leo’s own and pulling hard, trying to force them away from where Leo has them clamped tightly over his head. “Please,” he sobs. “Please get up. We have to get out of here!” 

Leo nods shakily, too nauseous to speak. Yuichi drags him to his feet and let’s go. The moment his hands leave Leo’s own, the blue disappears and the voices return and that’s when he makes the connection, staring at Yuichi in wild shock as the samurai wipes his eyes and scrambles for his sword and Spot, who’s keening fearfully on the ground. The voices bleed into his ears, the fog clings to his soul, and it h̶̼͚̚̕ú̴̠́r̷͇͘t̴̟̽s̸̙͒̄ !

Leo lunges towards Yuichi, fingers and spirit, both, grab his hand and hold on desperately. The blue washes over him and the voices disappear, but Leo doesn’t have the time to think about what this could mean. They need to go, now! The ghosts line the pit of bodies in straight rows, and they’re staring at Yuichi with their featureless faces, hauntingly still but so full of rage that Leo wants to pick him up and run forever, if only he had the strength. 

As one, the spirits’ heads turn slowly to follow their movement. Fear that’s all his own sinks into his chest and he squeezes Yuichi’s hand hard. Yuichi doesn’t seem to mind one bit, he laces their fingers and squeezes back. His shoulders are shaking and his voice is choked as he whispers, “Okay. Okay, l-let’s get out of here.” He throws Spot over Leo’s shoulder, and pulls them both forward at a run. 

They swing around the pit, staying as far from the edge as possible. The spirits track their movements, but otherwise don’t chase after them. Leo shouts as Yuichi barrels right through the row of ghosts with him and Spot in tow, whether he can’t see the spirits or is too panicked to care, Leo doesn’t know. He tenses as they break through the line, fully expecting another attack, but nothing comes. The blue is cool and comforting in his hand and his mind stays clear. 

They leave the pit and the spirits behind, darting back through the alleyways. The sound of slapping feet and their rasping breaths are the only thing Leo can hear. They whip around another corner and Yuichi hauls them towards the exit. A spirit materializes at the mouth of the alley, but Yuichi doesn’t hesitate as he pulls them out onto the street. 

They run through the spirit, and Leo thinks for a wild second that they’re in the clear when the ghost’s hand darts out faster than he can hope to react. Pain cuts into him as the spirit’s fingers brush against his throat. The touch is cold and feather-light, but Leo feels the skin underneath split immediately. He stumbles with a shout, and is nearly sent skidding to his knees as Yuichi panics and puts on a burst of speed. 

Leo keeps to his feet and whips his head around, expecting the spirit to be chasing after them. The ghost has disappeared, but Leo hardly notices as he stares behind him in shock. His blood arcs in the air by the mouth of the alley, hanging suspended and glimmering in the heavy gray mist. The droplets stay there, still as if being cradled, before the fog swirls and swallows them whole. 

He almost trips again and is forced to look away. Heat floods his head as his fever surges forward with a vengeance, but it’s his own spirit that hits him hardest. His spirit—his soul feels…heavy. He stumbles again, and Yuichi peels his grip out of Leo’s own. Leo jumps and scrambles to grab his hand again as a whisper starts up in the back of his mind, but Yuichi wraps his arm around his shoulders instead, supporting him as he pushes them both forward at a breakneck pace

The village whips by in a blur, but Leo’s focus is so torn between Yuichi’s arm and the fog clinging to him as he runs that he doesn’t even notice the torii until they’re right up on it. The temple comes into view up ahead of them, atop of which is a familiar blue and tusked face that makes his stomach drop.

“Shit, there’s another one of those things on top of the torii!” Leo gasps, voice thin and breathless. Yuichi skids them to a stop, breathing hard. Leo stares up at the guardian yokai, locking eyes with the creature once more. The staring contest doesn’t last very long, however; Yuichi tightens his grip and drags them towards the torii without a second thought. “We don't have time for that! Just keep running and don’t stop!”

Leo let’s Yuichi lead him and maintains eye contact until they pass beneath the arch. The moment their feet step onto the other side, a terrible, bellowing roar pierces the air. Even Yuichi jumps at the noise, his head swiveling back and his eyes widening in horror as he appears to finally see the massive creature. It crawls off of the torii with murder in its eyes and it’s fast , much faster than Leo would have ever thought possible for a beast of its size. He can feel the creature's aura burning with the fiery rage of a thousand suns, scorching and terrible. 

Leo turns back as the yokai’s footsteps thunder after them. The fog rolls in just behind it, and Leo swears he feels it dragging at them, slowing their steps as they pull themselves closer and closer to the temple entrance. The second they reach the massive doors, Yuichi lets him go and grabs one of  the handles and pulls. The door creaks open with a loud groan that just barely covers the voices that are already filtering into Leo’s mind. 

“Go!” Yuichi shouts, and Leo doesn’t need to be told twice. Just before Yuichi can pull the door shut, Leo catches a brief glimpse of the yokai still barreling towards them. The fog, thicker and darker than it was before, rolls towards them like a tsunami. 

The door closes with a bang. The blue yokai roars loudly, the sound vibrating Leo’s bones. “Quick, get something heavy to block it!” Yuichi pants, throwing a barricade bar into place across the entrance before picking up a piece of charred wood off the ground. He reaches up and  starts scrawling some kanji that Leo doesn’t recognize on the inside of the door with quick, sharp movements. Leaving him to whatever he’s doing, Leo rushes to the side of the hallway and quickly sets to work pushing a heavy wooden shelf up against the door. 

Behind his thoughts and down a long and dark tunnel, a yokai infant wails through her final moments. 

l̶̡̫͖̰̠̰̹̀̉͑ő̸̧̨̘̦͇̺̼̬̬̏́͂s̴̨͍͙̣͔̫̝̯͕̪̲͖͖̆̃̈́̂̑́̽̔̕͘k̷͍̠̰̜̤͈͈̪̦̝̈́̉̍ķ̵̝͉̫̗̤̣̮̉̈́̑̎̆̑̐͑̓̇̕ḵ̴̲̈́͆͒̒̿̽k̷̡͉͔͙̙͖̗̪͛̾́͆̌̍̈́̅̈́k̴̨̗͉͕̻̮̫̼͇̫̺̰͔̼̈̈̿̓̇̍̀́͜͠k̸̝̖̪̩͛̈͗̐̀͑̈́͋͝ ̴̢̛̖̺̾͌̔̓̐̂̍̐̀̀̍̚͝͠ẇ̴̢͈̪̪̮̯̹̪̼̙̦̘̣̈͜ḧ̴̢̛̤͍̩̠̪̼̟̫̮͈̂͌͗̈̌̎͐̀̈̈̚͜s̸̛̛̩͛͗̄͋͒͝͝j̴̨͙̱͍̥̻̾̽͆̈́͊̄͗ş̶̥̻̟͈͆̃̐̇̀̋̐̚ ̴̻̖̀̇̂̃͗͗̄͝t̷̡̛̹̰̣̞͍̟͓͚̪͐͆̒̇̚̚ͅh̷̢͎̖͎͙̺̱̖́̿̎͋͗͋̀̓̃͛͘͠a̸̞̠͋͆̉͛̉͌̍̍̅͆́̓̔̚ą̵̧͚̼̝̞̦̣̗͉͙̱̥̌͐͂̽̾̋̽ä̴̰̳̠̼̖͕̘̝̖̼̰̘͈̒͒́́̅̔̎̀̀͘̕d̴̨̺͈͉̟̗̉͑͒͒̑͊̽o̵͚̹̹͇͉̗͊̈́̈́͊̀̋̉͗̽͛̈̕n̸̛͚̝̺͕̺̦̭̖̗͇͛́̍̒̀̓̿̈́̓̇̋͜͝, the voices say. 

Leo has to fight the instincts to throw his hands over his tympana. He yells over to Yuichi, “What is that?”

“An ofuda, should at least slow down the spirits.” Yuichi quickly finishes off the last symbol before racing off to the other side of the hallway and pushing another shelf in front of the door just as another massive roar shakes through the weak foundations of the building.

“Come on!” Yuichi shouts, grabbing Leo’s hand, much to his relief, and drags him and Spot down the darkened hallway. Behind them, the doors rattle violently as fog seeps through the cracks. 

They run deeper into the temple. Leo flinches at the sounds of splintering wood from the temple doors, but Yuichi doesn’t even twitch, keeping his eyes trained steadfastly forward as he throws open the doors to the last room at the end of the hallway. It’s dark inside and the air is heavy with a metallic rot that tickles the back of Leo’s throat. He takes a deep breath through his mouth and releases Yuichi’s hand so that he can drop another bar into place across the door. Yuichi immediately sets to work, scrawling more kanji on the door.  

L̸̨͙̙͈̎͆́̓́͝ö̵͍́͜o̷̧͓͕̬̪̟͆k̶̛͚̀̂̐̒͋ .̷̗̰͊̄̾̇ “ the voices whisper. “ ̶̤̜̞̄̀̑̐̄͘L̷̢̮̜̜͌̐ơ̸͕͛̌̈́͝͝ơ̷̧͇̭̳̄ḱ̵͔̰͖͙͓ ̸̢̜͕̫͉̒̌͘a̴͖͈̗͓͆͋̂͠t̸̢̨̪̺͔͒̽̂̐͝ ̵̙̬̲̯̻͈͂̆̐̾w̵̝̉̔̾h̸͔͚͎̞̋͊̊̊a̴̪̙̗͎̱̓̄̍͝͠ț̴̡̫͈̌̃̅́̑̓ ̸͓̽̐͛̌t̵̠̄̀͠h̵̢̡̰̯͂̏é̶̡͈̰̼́̉̀y̶̮̽̋́̾̚’̵̣̜̾̌̃̚v̷̢̡͇̏̕e̴̳͋̅ ̶̟̀́̇̓̆͒d̸͔̗̈́̒̽͠o̴̠̭͕͔͆̔̾̒͘n̵͖̱͖̋̚ê̶̄ͅ,̷̦̮̮̂͊

Leo braces himself and looks, expecting more corpses and sightless eyes. 

There are no bodies, the room is empty. 

It’s not a relief. 

“L̶̼̆o̶̠̓o̵̹͛ḳ̶̕” , they sob. “ L̶̼̆o̶̠̓o̵̹͛ḳ̶̕ ̶͔̿ à̷̹t̵̟̐ ̸͎̿ w̶͇͌ḧ̷͍́ạ̸͗t̵͕͆ ̵͈̆ t̸̟̿h̶͉͠e̴͍̔y̷̼͑’̵̲̃v̴̠̓ē̵̻ ̶͚͋ d̵̈͜o̶͇̒n̴̨͘e̶͙͂.̴̹̎”

At the back of the room is a solid stone wall with no door or tunnel or exit to speak of. Every square inch of the stone surface is smeared in bloody handprints, streaking trails that run up and down the entirety of the back wall and spilling out onto the wooden panels at the room’s edges. And it’s not just the walls; the floorboards are completely rotted through with old blood that stains the wood an unsettling shade of brownish-red. The smell of it invades his nose, and gods, he’s going to throw up again. 

His body moves on autopilot, drifting closer to the wall. He can’t look away, drawn inexplicably to whatever these spirits are trying to show him. 

“Look at what they’ve done,” they plead. 

His foot brushes against the edges of the carnage. Flakes of old, dried blood cling to his toes like rust. The scene plays out behind his eyes, as vivid and visceral as if he were there himself. 

Dozen villagers stream into the temple, running from the fires and the screams and the human-demons chasing them. They know where they’re going, know exactly where the entrance into the tunnels are. 

A short cut into Neo Edo.

Their way out.

Leo watches as the first of them enter the back room and run headlong towards what appears to be a sheer rock wall, but they know it’s an illusion and that salvation lies just beyond. A ram yokai, uninjured,  runs faster than the others and pulls ahead, fishing out a simple wooden totem from his kimono. Leo sees it glint in the torch light, looking very similar to the one he got from Miyamoto. The yokai raises the totem and races towards the wall, expecting a small flash of light as the barrier into the tunnel accepts his key. 

There is no flash. He hits the wall hard and rebounds off, falling to the ground as the others behind him storm into the room. 

Leo watches as each of them tries their own keys. 

He watches as. They. Don’t. Work. 

He watches, stunned and horrified, as these people realize they’ve trapped themselves in this temple, their escape route taken from them. They claw at the walls, falling over each other in their panic. 

“Why!“ they scream. “Why, why, WHY!”

He watches as Godless soldiers kick down the door and bring their blades down on them. Blood soaks the floors, the walls, the sealed-off border into Neo Edo. 

“WHY! WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS!”!̸͉́̀̀

“TRAITORS!”

                        T̶̡̜̩̘̺̭͗̏̒R̵̞͉̲͓̪͐Ȧ̴̘͆̂͆I̷͍̝̫͎͌̈́̋̎͐̈́T̶̨͚̫̍Ṍ̷͇̖͈̄ͅR̷̝͚̣̩̍͋̄̇͘Ś̴̨̮̩͎̻̈́̌

L̶̗͋̈̽̈́Ô̸̟̺̗̙̻̰̝͎̟̆Ǫ̶̲̪͚̫͙͕̖̩̦̩̭̍̽̈́͋̿̕K̸̢͎̣͚̬͖̻̀͂ ̷͙̹̻͔͖͍͖̫̖̬̻͉͍̊̃̇̈̚͠͝͠͝A̶̦̘̻̪̲̖̓̆̇̄̉̕̚T̵̜̮̞̠̼̬̝̻̯̞̞̃̉̀̍̏̈́͑̂͋̈́̈́̀̕ ̸̡̛͈͍̪̳̺̇͗̿̔̓̔͐̿̿͌͘͝W̵̧̰͕̩͕̪̩̜͔̑̏̀͋́͠Ḩ̴̝̞̜̩̹̻̤̆̀́͜Ḁ̸͇͕̹̠̱̮̬̫̤͔̆͂̆̈́̋͜T̷̨̛͚͇̫̻̜̜̪̣͓̞̯̈̊̂̐͑̌͠ͅ ̵̨̲̯͙̙̭͇̗̻͗̆͆̀͐̐̚͝T̶̯̳̣̯̪̣̥̙̊̏̉̅͋̅̐̀͘̕̕͝ͅH̸̖̪̯͖̐̅͗́̕ͅE̸̘̘̺͕̠̱͛̐̌͜͠Ỳ̵̨̗̦̙̗̪̥̭̬̤̽̎͆͒͋̽̀̾̍͒̚’̴̢̢̨̟̗̲͖̏V̸̡͍̺̙̓́͆̔̑́̌̒͜͝E̴̢̼͓͓̗̬͎̣͕̮̽͛̿́͒̌̃̈́̊͗͘͠ ̷̦̭̮̣̤̲͓̬͐̓̑̊̿͂͑̿̚͜͝͠Ḑ̵̢̨̫̭̦̪̪̗̪̫̭̉̓͂̇̈́̈́̎̉̐͌̚͠͝Ơ̶̢̛̛̘̖̞̜̙͙͕̑͐̾̏̄̅̆̈ͅNE

They’ll do it to you too.

Leo’s vision spins back into awareness. He feels untethered. Lightheaded and beyond his limits. Another bellowing roar startles him out of his stupor as the entire building shakes. Ash rains down from the rafters above, and Leo is sure he can hear the splintering of wood at the front of the temple. The guardian yokai’s thundering footsteps barrel down the hallway moments later. 

”Okay,” Yuichi pants as he finishes the kanji scrawl and turns away from the door. “Don’t worry, this is definitely it—“

Silence falls, and Leo can’t bear to turn from the back wall. He doesn’t want to see whatever expression is on Yuichi’s face as the silence stretches, broken only by loud, damning footsteps heading their way. In the corner of his eye, he sees fog start to leak into the room. 

He hears Yuichi take a deep, shuddering breath, then the samurai stumbles past him, cringing as he steps onto the stained floor but pushing forward regardless. His hands, his shoulders, his whole body, shakes as he fishes for his totem; a steel coin, small and easily overlooked. His voice trembles just as much as his hands as he says, “The entrance is here. It’s just… hidden. They must not have…known where it was.” 

They knew where it was. They just weren’t allowed in. 

Look at what they’ve done. They’ll do it to you too. 

Something hits the door with a deep bang! The guardian yokai’s enraged roars fill the air as it throws its body against it again and again. The door creaks and the wood starts to splinter. 

“Yuichi,” Leo breathes. Fear threatens to pull him under as a large crack runs down the center of the door. Fog clings, heavy and sticky, at his feet. 

“I- I know, okay! I know! Just give me a m-minute, it’s here,” he snaps as he frantically moves the coin around against the rock. “It’s here.” 

“I don’t know if we have a minute.” The next hit against the door shakes the temple around them. Leo whips his gaze around the room, desperately searching for a way out. He feels trapped. Cornered, just like those yokai decades before, and look at what they did to them. 

They’ll do it to you too. 

“Yuichi…” Leo warns, looking back over his shoulder as Spot curls tightly around his neck, chirping nervously as the door buckles. 

The walls shudder, large chunks of burnt wood fall loose from the ceiling, forcing Leo to scramble out of the way. He hits the back wall next to Yuichi and tries not to feel the blood under his hands. There’s a wail in his mind, whispering in his ears, and fog in his lungs. He clings to the wall, not daring to take his eyes away from the encroaching danger. Yuichi’s hands dart around in blur, slamming the coin on different parts of the wall again and again and again. The wood beneath the kanji symbols splinters then breaks. Leo catches sight of one single, beady eye through a gap in the wood. 

“It’s not working!” Yuichi shouts in frustration, now slamming the coin against the wall in desperation. When Leo glances over at him, it’s like he’s seeing double as flashes of the villagers going through the same frantic motions are juxtaposed against Yuichi banging his fist against the barrier. “Why isn’t it working ?”

They’ll do it to us too, Leo thinks in hazy panic. He swears he can feel the walls starting to close in around him as the room blurs. The edges of his vision go fuzzy, his heartbeat a fleeting tempo in his chest. 

This is it. They’re going to die here. They’ve trapped themselves, just like those people had, and now they were—-

Leo freezes. Another aura enters the room, slow and unrushed. He flinches as it brushes up against his own, but It’s not the guardian and it’s not the fog. Dread floods him; he’s at his limit, and he knows he can’t face another spirit. Not after everything he’s seen. Not when a murdered baby cries endlessly in his mind. He takes a single, faltering step back, but as the presence fills the room and pushes back the fog, recognition finally sparks. 

The indomitable spirit of the mountain glances against his spirit, huge and all-encompassing. Leo feels the phantom flow of water over his hands, the painstaking ritual Yuichi had taught him. 

A prayer for safe passage. The acceptance and the blessing that had followed. 

The roar of the guardian yokai cuts out as Leo feels a massive explosion of spiritual energy from behind him. He whirls around to face the wall just in time to see the mountain's energy sinking into the barrier like a tidal wave, lighting up the wall with veins of golden spiritual energy that spread and flow through the cracks in the stone. The energy immediately flows together, converging into one central point. 

Leo doesn’t hesitate. He lunges forward, snatching Yuichi’s hand and guiding it and the coin towards the point of light. The moment it connects, the spiritual energy within swells. The bright point surges like a beacon, and Yuichi gasps as he sees it too. The coin glows brightly and flashes in response as the two exchange energies. The glow shifts in a kaleidoscope of colors within the wall and Leo can see Yuichi’s ears twitch as something inside the wall audibly unlocks. The mountain’s presence disappears as quickly as it had come, leaving the room feel small and empty. 

“Ha ha ha! It worked.” Yuichi laughs in delirious relief, throwing his hands up in the air, but as the guardian roars anew, he knows now isn’t the time to be celebrating.

The door gives way with a deafening crack, the wood splintering off in all directions under the assault, The guardian’s huge frame fills the doorway as two vicious yellow eyes lock onto them. Leo feels himself freeze up under its stare. The yokai’s gaze seem to pierce his very soul, locking him into place as the whispers start up again. 

Yuichi grips his wrist and pulls. “C'mon!” The whispers stop and Leo’s knees unlock as he stumbles after him. The guardian lunges for them with a shriek, ripping through the doorway as black fog pours in after it. Spot keens in his ear, and Leo feels his body start to freeze up again. Yuichi swings around and practically tackles him through the open barrier. 

They tumble inside the tunnel, spilling to the ground as the yokai streaks towards them. Almost as soon as they pass the threshold, the entrance slams shut behind them with a loud slam, cutting off the guardian’s roar of fury. 

Leo’s ears ring in the sudden silence. He coughs in the cloud of dust kicked up by the debris and can hear Yuichi coughing right above him from where he’s perched to shield Leo from any falling debris. Leo can feel every centimeter of where their bodies meet as the blue washes over him once more. It’s his spirit, he realizes in distant amazement. The high, clear chime of Yuichi’s aura silences the voice and the wailing, enveloping him within its protective glow. Leo’s own spirit reaches for him, unbidden, and chimes back. The notes bump against each other awkwardly, disharmonious and out of tune, but entwining all the same. 

Deep in his mind, a small crack splits down the center of the dam.

Chapter Text

After the dust clears and he can finally breathe again, Leo opens his eyes to find Yuichi crouched protectively over him. Small rocks and debris rain down on them from above. Leo squints into the dim light of the tunnel, eyes darting frantically over Yuichi, searching for injuries. His eyes are clamped shut, muscles tensed into steel wires. His kimono is torn to absolute shreds, what little of the garment that remained is hanging off of one shoulder by a few meager stitches, exposing a long gash that still bleeds sluggishly. Leo’s throat feels dry as his eyes trace the cut from shoulder to collar bone, distantly aware of Yuichi’s very exposed chest.

Yuichi peels his eyes open, taking stock of the space around them before looking down at Leo. 

“Are you okay?” 

His voice is raspy and his warm brown eyes are shimmering like bright burning embers in the dim light of the cave. His spirit is cool and blue, infusing gently with his own, and Leo suddenly notices tiny specks of that same fiery blue dancing within the warm brown. 

“I-” He swallows dryly. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” He gently pushes Yuichi upright, feeling suddenly claustrophobic and trying to put a little more space between them. Yuichi rolls off of him immediately, and Leo misses the feeling of his spirit against his own. 

He gets to his feet with a groan, one hand pressed tightly to his plastron. It practically radiates heat against his palm, a heat that’s reflected in his face as his fever returns to the forefront. He stares warily at the closed off entrance to the tunnel. He can no longer hear the roars of the guardian yokai, and if it’s still throwing itself against the entrance then he can’t hear that either. He squints into low light and can’t even see any seams in what appears to be a sheer rock wall. 

Speaking of light…he frowns, surprised that he can see anything at all in a sealed-off tunnel. He turns around to face the passageway and gapes. Hundreds of small stones are scattered within the matrix of the rocks around them, painting the tunnel in a flickering glow, brighter than any torch. The colors of the light seem to shift, flowing between fiery reds, blazing oranges, and cozy yellows; mimicking the flickering of a flame. 

When he finally pulls his attention away from the glow, he sees Yuichi bend down and scoop up a still shaking Spot, gathering the small yokai in his arms and stroking his scales in an attempt to soothe him. Spot isn’t having it though, wriggling in Yuichi’s grasp until he sets him down. Spot then beelines for Leo, curling tightly around his ankles. The tokage shakes and whimpers, and the light of the stones casts Yuichi’s fur in a warm glow that only seems to emphasize the bright red blood streaking across his chest. Leo’s heart twists at the state of them both and opens his mouth to— comfort, apologize, he doesn’t know.

Before he gets the chance, Yuichi lunges forward and pulls him into a tight embrace. He freezes up as electricity sparks in his veins and a blanket of blue drapes over his spirit. Yuichi grips him tight as fine tremors shake through his arms. He’s crying, Leo realizes, and immediately brings his arms up to return the hug. His ears buzz and his heart pounds with remembered terror, and Yuichi isn’t the only one shaking.

The samurai pulls away a moment later. Leo immediately misses the contact as the buzzing at the edge of his hearing falls away. Yuichi sniffs and wipes his eyes. “Are you okay?” he asks again, gaze flickering between Leo’s neck and chest. 

“I’m fine, really. Are you okay?” 

“Just a little tender.” Yuichi pulls his eyes away from Leo and looks past his shoulder towards the tunnel's entrance. His expression twists painfully and the tremors turn into outright shaking. He starts pacing in sharp, jerky movements. His mouth opens and closes silently a few times, but Leo already knows what he’s going to say. 

“What the hell was that back there?” Yuichi’s voice is cracked and splitting at the seams as he turns his pleading gaze on Leo. “What the fuck happened to all those people? The council told us that they all made it out safe, but they didn’t! The Godless killed them! Slaughtered them like animals! Why? Why would they lie to us about that?” 

Why! the ghosts had screamed. Traitors! 

Yuichi looks so devastated, so aggrieved, that Leo wishes desperately that he had the right answers for him. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t know why. Why those people were left to their terrible fate, their only means of escape taken from them. He can speculate, but he’s not sure the samurai is in the right frame of mind for his theories. 

There’s a lump threatening to block his throat as he says, “I don’t know, Yuichi. I’m sorry. I…I wish I had answers for you, but I don’t.”

Yuichi’s expression twists further and he turns away. Leo swallows hard. In the back of his mind there is a baby wailing, fainter than it was in the village, but there all the same, and growing louder by the second. His stomach drops as he becomes aware of it, but he just…doesn’t have the bandwidth to deal with it right now. He tries to push past it and focus. “Yuichi,” he tries, reaching for the rabbit’s shoulder. “We’re fine. We made it through and we're all okay. Let’s just focus on that right now.”

Yuichi whirls around and bats Leo’s hand away. “Are we? Are we fine? Do you not understand what this means? The council lied to us! An entire village, murdered! And they hid it from us! What else have they lied about?” 

Leo stays silent, but Yuichi doesn’t seem to notice as he resumes pacing, Spot curling in a tight ball around Leo’s ankles.

“Why didn’t they escape?” Yuichi shouts, gripping his head with both hands. “The tunnel entrance was right there! How could the Godless have stopped them so completely? Every one of them should have had a key to get in!” 

Look at what they’ve done!

“None of it makes sense,” Yuchi mutters. “If the humans had managed to stop them from escaping, then why didn’t the Godless ever make it into Neo Edo? They had the yokai and their keys, they should have had everything they needed to storm the city decades ago. So why didn’t they?”

“Their keys didn’t work.” The words are out of Leo’s mouth before he can stop them. Yuichi’s pacing halts.

“What?”

The wailing grows louder, it’s hard to speak over the noise. “They didn’t work. The keys. They were locked out.” 

“Of course they worked. Mine did, why wouldn’t theirs?” 

They’ll do it to you too. 

“Yours didn’t work either.”

Yuichi’s expression darkens, and neither of them are in any state to handle this conversation, but Leo doesn’t dare to keep this information from him. 

Not with everything it implies.

“Your key didn’t work, Yuichi. The entrance was sealed. Your key isn’t what opened the door. It…it was the mountain kami. I saw its spiritual energy unseal the tunnel.”

But Yuichi is already shaking his head, as if to dislodge Leo’s words from his ears. “That can’t be right. That was the key activating the door, not a kami.” 

“Yuichi, I saw it with my own eyes. I saw the spirit, it—” 

“I don’t think you know what you saw.”

Leo blinks, taken aback. “Excuse me?” 

“You’re not a yokai, all of this is new to you,” Yuichi says, voice hard with denial. “You don’t even know how your own spiritual powers work. There was no kami, the key worked.” 

Annoyance flares within him at Yuichi’s patronizing tone, and only a lifetime of dealing with three very annoying brothers gives Leo the ability to breathe through the feeling and not react. “Yuichi, listen to me. The ghosts- the spirits- spoke to me. They showed me what happened.” 

He steps closer and reaches for one of Yuichi’s hands. Their fingers lace together, as natural as breathing, and Leo can feel him shaking still. “The Godless chased them into the temple,” he says, voice going soft as the wail fades away. “They made it to the tunnel, but when they tried to use their keys, the entrance closed off.” The lump is back and his voice cracks. “The Godless caught up with them and they died.” 

Yuichi’s grip on his hand tightens with every word. His mouth is a thin, quivering line. Leo squeezes his hand back and continues, “When you were hitting your key against the barrier and it wasn’t opening, it wasn’t because you didn’t know where the keyhole was. It’s because the barrier was sealed.” 

Yuichi’s breathing is picking up, his hands shake in Leo’s grasp. “But,” he rasps. “But why? The tunnel was their only entrance into Neo Edo. The council controls access to our barriers. If theirs was sealed, then that would mean…” 

Leo feels sick. “I’m sorry—“ 

With absolutely no warning, Yuichi rips his hand out of Leo’s and bolts. He’s fast despite his injuries, and is down the corridor and out of sight before Leo can react. 

“Yuichi, wait!”

He scrambles down the tunnel, tripping in his haste to catch up. Spot follows along right at his feet, chirping urgently. He rounds the corner and can’t see any sign of him. He tears forwards, heart thumping in his throat. No, no, no! He can’t lose him again. His own feet slap loudly on the stone floor, and he has to strain to listen for Yuichi’s footsteps, growing fainter and fainter with every second. 

God, I’m so stupid! Leo thinks hysterically. Why the hell had he told him? Neither of them were ready to talk about that, and Leo had known it! There’s a screaming wail in his ears that grows louder and louder the farther Yuichi runs from him. He rounds the next corner and there’s no one. Even the sounds of Yuichi’s footsteps have disappeared, leaving only the noise of Leo’s breathing behind, too loud, too fast, and he can feel the fingers of paranoia settle in his chest. He grew up in the sewers, darkness and tight spaces were always par for the course, but now, left behind for a second time, he feels the walls closing in. 

Anger starts to simmer low in his gut. Yuichi can’t just run off without him again! Leo can’t even stomach the idea. They’re supposed to be a team! Yuichi promised him they’d get out together! As he runs down the tunnel, he throws his spirit forwards, desperate to make contact with Yuichi’s aura that has become so familiar in the last— God, how long has it even been since they stepped foot into that cursed village? An hour? How could everything have gone so wrong so quickly? Leo’s going to be sick. 

Images of the burned pair in that closet flash behind his eyes; her small fingers burrow into his mind as she sobs and sobs. Leo’s head swivels wildly, searching the shadowed crevasses for the faceless spirits that have surely followed them here. His spirit reaches as far as he can go, yearning for contact, but he can’t feel him. Is Yuichi even still here? 

He comes to a skidding stop as the corridor splits off, branching into several different tunnels. He doesn’t know what to do. He doesn’t know where he is. “Yuichi!” Leo shouts down the corridor, his pleading voice echoing off the empty walls. “YUICHI!” 

He’s leaving you behind.

No, no, Yuichi wouldn’t leave him. He’d promised.

He’ll leave you just like they left us.

These are not his thoughts, the spirits are getting to him, reaching out through hundreds of feet of stone. He knows this. He does , but as a lead weight tightens into a pit in his stomach, he can’t help but wonder if they’re right. If he’s been abandoned, just like they were. Left to rot here in the dark. His knees hit the ground and his fingers dig sharply into them as he fights to get his spiraling thoughts under control. He needs to get a grip, to be better than this. He can’t have fallen so far as to be cowering here in the dark. But Yuichi has left him, and there’s a sobbing cry in his mind, and those two things are all encompassing, threatening to block out all rationale. 

A small spike of pain pricks his leg, stopping his thoughts in their tracks. He looks down to see Spot with his little jaw clamped firmly on the skin of his calf. It barely hurts, but the sting is clarifying, pulling him out of the panic attack waiting just around the corner. The darkness at the edge of his vision fades, bringing forward the soft light from the stones that Leo suddenly realizes has been here the entire time. Gratitude for the little yokai brings tears to his eyes. “You’re so good at that,” he whispers wetly. In response, Spot lets go, chirps once, then scampers towards the split in the tunnels. 

“Spot!” He quickly jumps to his feet and darts after the tokage. Spot veers off towards the far-right tunnel and disappears into the darkness. Knees shaking, Leo follows him closely, easily keeping pace with the little yokai despite how his head swims. Spot makes a small chirping sound and comes to a dead stop, nearly getting trampled as Leo stumbles behind him. 

There’s an alcove built into the wall, small and lonely. Spot noses at the base and clambers inside, and that’s when Leo finally registers the sound of sniffling coming from within. He kneels down, peering through the darkness to find Yuichi curled up tight around the tokage as his body shakes with wretched sobs. The alcove is shadowed against the light of the stones, allowing Yuichi’s fur, normally a glowing white, to nearly disappear into the darkness. It doesn’t look right. Without Spot, Leo would have missed him entirely and he knows down to his very bones that Yuichi is not someone who should be left to grieve alone. 

Yuichi‘s breaths are coming out in short panicked gasps. Leo’s whole body twitches at the sound, and he has to viciously tamp down the urge to reach out with his spirit. Yuichi clearly ran off to get some privacy, but God, Leo wants nothing more than to rush forward and wrap the rabbit up in his arms, to provide him with any kind of comfort in the face of his whole world being turned upside down, but what can he even say in the face of everything they’ve just seen? Yuichi doesn’t even look like he’s aware that Leo is here, but he has to do something. What was that thing Yuichi had done before to help calm him down? Oh, right. 

Leo sits down and starts taking long, exaggerated breaths, holding it for a few seconds intermittently before letting it out again. And again. And again. Rinse and repeat. 

There’s nothing he can say that will make this better, so he just sits there. Breathing and making sure that Usagi Yuichi knows he’s not alone. 

It’s almost meditative; the silence of the cave, the gentle gemstone glow. Eventually, Yuichi starts to mimic the rhythm Leo has set, a tentative dance. Leo slowly reaches out a hand, placing it lightly atop the rabbit’s knee. The buzzing in his ears fades, and a small bit of satisfaction lights up within him when Yuichi doesn’t pull away. The cool-blue of his spirit washes over his own, and despite his relief, Leo frowns. Where before Yuichi’s spirit had been like the flow of a stream, calm and comforting, it’s now gray, turbulent waters that churn with the yokai’s despair. Leo’s heart aches in response as his own spirit rushes forward to wrap Yuichi’s up, clumsily tangling their spirits together in the hopes that he can provide him with some kind of comfort. 

He doesn’t know if it helps. He doesn’t even know if Yuichi can feel the brush of another’s spirit against his own, but slowly, so slowly, the samurai’s breathing evens out. Tension seeps out of his shoulders as he uncurls and blinks down at Spot. The tokage chirps encouragingly and Yuichi’s hand strokes along his scales as he finally looks up. 

When their eyes meet, there’s a pleasant jolt that starts with Yuichi’s spirit and echoes throughout his own, but the feeling is immediately overshadowed by the grief Leo can see in his eyes. It’s like getting punched in the stomach, and Leo finds it once again difficult to speak. 

“Are you okay?” 

Yuichi’s gaze cuts away as his mouth twists into a tight line. “Yeah. I’m fine.” With quick, brusque movements he passes Spot off to Leo and climbs out of the alcove. He stands above Leo stiffly, shoulders hunched and arms circled inwards. Still, it’s a relief to see him back in the light. 

“I’m  sor—”

“Stop. We’re not talking about this.”

Leo grimaces, but tries again. “Yuichi, we can’t just not talk—“

“I know!” he snaps, but the anger seems to flee before it can get a proper foothold because his voice goes wobbly and quiet as he says, “I know, Leo. I know. But I…I can’t. Not right now, okay? Please.” 

And what is Leo to say in the face of that other than, “Okay.” He reaches up and grasps Yuichi’s hand, pulling him down until they’re both sitting shoulder-to-shoulder. Yuichi sits easily, but his body is stiff and he’s expertly avoiding eye contact. Leo is shifting to face him more head-on when their shoulders bump and Yuichi lets out a sharp hiss. His hand grasps his shoulder, and Leo realizes with a sickening jolt that he had forgotten about the claw marks. Yuichi’s hand comes away smeared with dark blood. He stares down at his hand numbly, face oddly expressionless in a way that makes Leo immediately uncomfortable. 

“That looks pretty nasty,” he says, forcing a tone of casual-calm that he certainly doesn’t feel into his voice. 

“I didn’t realize it was this bad,” Yuichi mutters.

“Mind if I patch you up?” 

Yuichi nods mutely, letting the pack fall off his shoulders and handing it to Leo before slipping out of the sleeves of his kimono, allowing the tatters to pool at his waist. Leo scoots closer and prods gently at the wound, wincing at Yuichi’s soft hiss. There are two long cuts that stretch from Yuichi’s shoulder to the center of his back, resting in jagged lines between his shoulder blades. The blood glints wet and ruby red in the flickering light of the stones. They’re a lot deeper than Leo would like. 

“You’re going to need stitches.” 

Yuichi just shrugs, like it doesn’t matter to him either way. Leo ignores the way that makes his stomach turn and gets to work. He uses a small trickle of their dwindling water supply to clean the wound, then rips the remains of Yuichi’s kimono down to fine, individual threads. That done, he fishes out the small repair kit from the bottom of the pack and starts threading the single needle he finds in it. When he’s done, he glances up and meets Yuichi’s eyes. The rabbit nods shortly and Leo nods back.

It doesn’t take long. Yuichi’s back is very toned with hard muscles that close easily as Leo stitches the deepest parts of the cuts closed. Once he’s done, he finds himself sitting back, gaze drifting from the stitches to the hard planes of muscles he can see. 

“Done?” Yuichi asks, jolting Leo out of his staring. 

“Yeah, yeah,” he coughs, embarrassed. “Give me a sec to bandage it and you’ll be good.” 

He’s as gentle as possible as he takes the remaining sleeves of Yuichi’s kimono and uses them to wrap his shoulder and upper back. Yuichi’s shoulder twitches and jumps and Leo runs a soothing hand down his back. It must work because Yuichi goes very still under his hands before the tension seems to bleed out of him. Encouraged, Leo keeps his hand resting lightly against Yuichi’s lower back and the rabbit blows out a breath. 

“Sorry,” he murmurs. 

“Don’t be.” Leo tightens the bandage and knots the ends then settles back. “There, all set.” 

“Thanks.” Yuichi slowly rotates his right shoulder, testing the bandages as Leo circles around and settles down in front of him. Spot, apparently considering his work with Yuichi done, climbs out of his lap and into Leo’s own. Yuichi’s gaze roves over Leo searchingly,  eyes catching on Leo’s throat. “Your neck.” 

Leo brings his hand up and prods the wound there, the pads of his fingers coming away smeared in blood. It’s mostly surface-level, thank god, but still stings sharply at his touch. 

“One of the spirits managed to nick me, but don’t worry, it's just a scratc-” The words catch in his throat as Yuichi leans forward and gently runs a hand along the column of his throat, tracing an outline around the cut with a look of worry that sets Leo’s heart hammering in his chest. 

Before he can say anything, Yuichi reaches behind him, scooping up the water jug and several remaining strips of fabric. He cleans out the wound with a look of deep concentration in his eyes, completely ignoring Leo’s protest to not waste water on a scratch, before grabbing a strip of fabric and wrapping it snugly around his neck. Leo can only sit there, frozen in place, as his stomach does strange little flips inside his plastron as the rabbit patches his wound with infinite care. 

Why is it so hot in here? 

Yuichi eyes the bandage like it’s personally offended him as his hand slides down to rest on Leo’s shoulder. “This is, like, your third neck injury. Why do people always seem to go for your throat?” 

Leo sees an opportunity to lighten the mood and lunges for it. “Dunno” he says. “But it’s a real…pain in the neck.” 

Yuichi blinks at him, aghast, then breaks out into peals of hysterical laughter. Leo is taken completely by surprise as his heart stutters at the sound, his insides going all warm. His fever must be flaring up again because his face is on fire. Yuichi’s laugh gets a hilarious, whistling wheeze to it and that sets Leo off and now they’re both doubled over, laughing uproariously. 

It’s not that funny, he knows that, but after everything they’ve just gone through, it’s such a relief to just laugh at a stupid joke. It’s nothing but a bandage, a temporary stop gap, but Leo can feel the shaky tension that’s been knotting up their spirits slowly smooth out, and for the first time in hours, he feels like he can take a proper breath. 

It’s that moment that the wail starts up in his mind. It’s faint, just on the edge of his hearing, but Leo’s stomach still twists at the sound and his laughter stops in its tracks. Yuichi’s laughter eventually petters off as well and they settle into a silence that is leagues away from the comfortable quiet that they had shared before. Leo already misses it desperately.

Yuichi grabs for the pile of scrap fabric and tosses it inside of the pack before gingerly peeling himself up off of the ground. Leo moves to follow, but finds Yuichi offering a hand out to him before he can get very far. 

“Come on, we need to keep moving.”

Leo carefully takes the offered hand and lets himself be hauled to his feet. He can’t help but linger for a moment, relishing the quiet in his mind. Yuichi blinks at him and Leo hastily lets go. He throws the pack over his shell, not wanting Yuichi to continue carrying it with his injury. 

“So, uhh,” Leo says as they start moving back the way they came, Spot sticking close to Yuichi’s heels.  “I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s up with these weird rocks?” He runs a hand along the tunnel wall. The stones are cool to the touch, despite the firelight they emit. “I’ve never seen anything like them before.”

“Mm? Oh, the village used the tunnels for mining back in the day before…” He takes a shaky breath. “Well, you know.” He stops and plucks one of the stones from the ground, holding it out to Leo in the darkness. 

Leo takes it and turns it over in his hand examining it closely. Other than the glow, the rock itself isn’t anything that special. He imagines they would look like any other stone in the daylight, rough-cut with no luster or shimmer. 

Yuichi fishes his totem out of his hamaka, and Leo realizes for the first time that the coin pulsates in tandem with the surrounding stone. He then pulls out Miyamoto's totem, holding it out and showing Leo how its small stone eyes are lit with the same firelight glow.  

“The stones are the key?” Leo asks, completely baffled. God, what Donnie wouldn’t give to get his hands on these things.

“Not exactly. I don’t know how it works, just that the stones have spiritual properties that the priests can imbue with some kind of blessing that lets us come and go across the border as we please.”

“That’s amazing,” Leo says, staring into the eyes of Miyamoto’s key. Tentatively, he reaches a spiritual hand towards the glow and can faintly feel the spiritual energy contained within. It feels just like the mountain kami. Leo pulls back quickly, and swears he can see the light in the totem’s stone eyes twinkle playfully. 

“The beauty of some things isn't always obvious at first glance,” Yuichi says in a tone that suggests he’s repeating the words from memory. Leo glances over and their gazes lock. Yuichi’s expression is tired and solemn, but the tiny blue flecks in the samurai’s eyes stand out against the warm brown.  

“Y-yeah.” Leo stutters, his cheeks going warm.

Yuichi takes the keys back and stuffs them in his hamaka before continuing down the corridor. Leo stares at his retreating back, and as his heart pounds and the heat slowly fades from his face, a gentle suspicion takes root in his mind. 

“Let’s go,” Yuichi calls as Spot quickly scampers after him, followed closely by Leo’s own trudging footsteps. It’s not long before they’ve made it back to the crossroads. 

“So what’s the plan?” Leo asks, squinting into the dim glow. The curse is loud in his mind and he’s having a hard time speaking at a normal volume. 

Yuichi points down one of the larger corridors. “We need to keep moving down this tunnel. According to… to the map the council gave me, it runs the entire length of the mountain and should spit us out right on the other side. It’s not much farther to the border from there.”

Yuichi eyes the corridor ahead of them in uncertainty, for the first time in their long journey seeming unsure of the path ahead. After what they’ve just seen, Leo definitely isn’t down to follow this council’s directions, but he doesn’t see any other choice. Leo steps up beside the samurai, barely resisting the urge to grab his hand as the curse wails and wails. Instead, he settles on gently bumping their shoulders. Yuichi looks up at him and Leo gives him his best encouraging smile. “Sounds like a plan. Let’s get moving.”

Yuichi's smile is a small and brittle thing, but Leo will absolutely take what he can get. Spot chirps loudly between them and seems to take the decision into his own little hands, sauntering confidently down the tunnel Yuichi has pointed to. They both chuckle and keep moving. 

They’re quiet as they walk, each lost in their own thoughts. Spot chirps as he zigzags back and forth, sniffing curiously at every stray pebble he comes across. Every few steps, he’ll pick up one of the glowing stones and scuttle back to drop it proudly at Yuichi’s feet. The samurai’s smile is a touch warmer at that moment, and even that sends a soft and fuzzy feeling through Leo’s chest. 

He finds himself casting considering glances at the samurai, trying to piece together the last few minutes in his head. Leo knows he’ll never win any awards in emotional intelligence, but he’s not an idiot. 

He thinks of Karai and his fumbling crush. As much as he still wishes to sink into the ground and disappear anytime it comes up, he can’t deny what he felt before their shared relation was revealed. He thinks of his pounding heart, his flustered feelings, the heat in his face, and the pieces fall into place like a gentle rain.

He thinks of Yuichi, who is funny, capable, and strong in his convictions. Who he can talk and banter with as easily as breathing, and likes the same shows as him. Yuichi, who has been in his corner from the moment they met. Who promised to get him home; who told him it was okay to ask for help; who’s spirit saved him over and over again back in that village. 

He thinks of the feeling of Yuichi’s hand in his own, warm and solid. 

If what he had felt for Karai was a crush, then what he feels for Yuichi is in a league of its own. In these last few days, the yokai has grown to be the closest thing Leo has ever really had to a best friend, but this goes beyond even that. Back there in that darkened tunnel, something between them had felt… different. Yuichi’s spirit was cool and blue and rang like a tuning fork. Not a mirror of Leo’s own, not yet, but he can feel the sparking potential between their spirits like a live wire. 

There is a connection here, that much is undeniable.  

Leo’s heart pounds. The realization isn’t really a surprise, more like the pulling together of the pieces of who he is as a person. A suspicion that has lurked in the back of his mind for a very long time, finally coming to light. 

It’s…new. Scary. Exhilarating. He’s never had much luck with building relationships. Whatever abilities his brothers possess that allow them to make friends and allies is something he clearly lacks, and he’s always been okay with that. Or, if not okay, then resigned to it. He’s always just assumed that those kinds of relationships aren’t on the table for him.

Until now. 

Leo eyes Yuichi consideringly from the corner of his eye. Corralling his own spiraling thoughts is becoming more and more difficult as the infant cries ceaselessly in his mind. With every step, the sound grates at his already fraying nerves, a building pressure behind his eyes that promises a headache as his psyche strains. 

As confused as he is right now about his own emotional state, he can’t blame the heat in his face solely on Yuichi. His heart feels fluttery in his chest, too fast, too irregular, each beat sending an aching pulse through the crack that splits his plastron. He’s breathing hard, much harder than he should be at the slow pace they’re walking. It’s like there’s a weight sitting on his sternum, pushing his lungs inwards as the stagnant air of the caves rasps against his throat. 

He’s not even going to consider the rest of him; his whole body feels like a mass of bruises and scrapes. His little bit of spiritual healing from the night before is long gone, and he doesn’t have much to spare now. He’s not healing himself anytime soon, but…what about his mind? 

The thought almost brings him up short, but he forces himself to keep an even gait, not wanting to tip Yuichi off to the problem. Would that work? Could he use healing hands to lift the yokai’s curse? It was a spiritual wail after all, he reasons, and his own spiritual energy gathers at his fingertip easier than ever before these days. 

The wail spikes, as if hearing his thoughts. It’s like a building tempest in the back of his mind, promising destruction if allowed to grow. He flinches at the noise, drawing Yuichi’s concerned gaze immediately. It takes more effort than it should to wave him off, and he has to fight to keep his expression light and unbothered as the cry grows louder and lou̶d̷e̵̜̭͂r̷̹̘̉.

Leo throws his spiritual energy at the curse, and knows at once that it’s not enough. If anything, the curse latches onto his attack like an offering, absorbing Leo’s feeble energy as it shrieks. If he were at full strength, Leo thinks he could, if not banish, then at least quiet the wail. But as he is now, there’s nothing he can do but take a deep breath and try to ignore her haunting cries. 

Yuichi steps lightly around a fallen stalactite and their shoulders brush for a brief second before he falls back into step at Leo’s side. That half second is an ocean of relief, the calming of the storm, and then it’s over and the tempest rolls back in with prejudice, as if angry at the interruption. Leo’s arm is moving before his mind can catch up, reaching to grab Yuichi’s arm. Yuichi can stop this, stop the noise and give him some peace. If Leo can just hold onto him, he can use Yuichi’s spirit to–

Leo snatches his arm back before he can make contact. What is he thinking? He can’t latch onto Yuichi just because the samurai’s spirit can, for some reason, beat back the curse. Leo hasn’t even told him about it! His hands practically itch for the samurai’s, for that cooling blue, but even if Yuichi allowed the contact, that simple gesture has so much more weight he knows. More implications than Leo has it in him to explain right now.  

Putting aside his own personal feelings, it would be wrong to ask that of Yuichi. It would be far too much like using him.  

The wail in his mind shrieks its victory, and Leo tightens his jaw and tries to ignore it. 

He just feels…worn down. Reduced. He needs this to be over. 

For both of their sakes, he thinks, taking in the exhausted slump of Yuichi’s shoulders, the tight line of his mouth.  

Spot’s pattering footfalls come to a skidding stop ahead of them, causing Yuichi’s ears to stand at attention. The tokage lets out a little whimper that breaks Leo out of his thoughts. The little guy races back towards them, running straight for Leo and taking refuge behind his legs. His hackles are raised as he stares down the corridor ahead of them. Leo scoops him into his arms, and the lizard immediately crawls his way up around Leo’s neck where he curls up tight.

Yuichi’s ears swivel wildly, on high alert as he listens for whatever had just spooked the tokage. He takes a few cautious steps forward, and Leo knows he has picked up on some kind of trouble when he freezes. Before he can ask what’s wrong, Yuichi turns towards him and brings a finger up to his lips in warning as he waves them forward. Leo follows hesitantly. Spot curls tighter around his neck, but doesn’t emit so much as a whimper as they continue down the tunnel.

As they move, the glowing stones around them become more and more sparse, their light slowly fading as another glow starts to permeate the space. The glow of the rocks from the tunnel doesn’t reach nearly as far as it had before as the new source of light starts to overtake that of the other stones. It’s completely unlike the warm light from before; whatever is causing this is an angry red that lacks any kind of warmth. With it is an accompanying aura that dances just at the edges of Leo’s awareness. 

As his eyes and spirit search the darkness, he notices that the sound of their footsteps has changed; they echo differently than before in a way that Leo can’t fully put his finger on. The difference only becomes more pronounced with every step, and he makes a concerted effort to keep his footsteps light and even as they enter a large open cavern. The terrible, reddish glow faintly lights the path ahead of them, the light slowly growing stronger as they continue forward. The strange aura still hangs just out of reach, too intangible and amorphis for Leo to get a proper read on. He can see the path ahead of them slowly narrowing out, and it’s not long until the both of them are pressed against the rocky wall, carefully edging their way along only the narrowest of ledges.

The glow brightens; its diffuse light casts out across the featureless void around them. With every step, the presence of the unknown spirit grows closer, but it’s difficult for Leo to sense it over the wails still rebounding inside his head. As the sound grows louder, he finds his eyes drawn to Yuichi’s hand, but shakes himself out of it before he can reach out. 

Even in the dim light, he can’t see very far ahead. There’s just Yuichi and the cavernous drop lurking inches away. It’s unnerving; even the New York sewers are more brightly lit than this place. Leo clings to the wall as they carefully edge down the path, a steady drip drip of water echoing throughout the cave. 

The strange aura neither grows nor fades, no matter how far they creep along the ledge. Leo bends his focus around the wail and slowly starts to get a more tangible read on its presence. He holds his spirit tightly under his sternum, hesitant to reach out to whatever is in here with them. 

After what happened in the village, he doesn’t want to give anything else the chance to latch onto him.

As if hearing his thoughts, the aura suddenly expands. Waves of spiritual energy hammer into his own with so much force it feels nearly physical, almost knocking the wind out of him. The energy radiates with pure, animalistic rage that completely overwhelms him. The touch of its spirit against his own sends a shudder down his spine as it agitates the curse, and the cries of the tempest grow. His fingers dig hard into the stone, and he grinds his teeth against the pain, fighting to stay silent.

He can’t keep going like this, he needs to find a way to lift this curse. The yokai’s cries are heartbreaking. She was just a baby, and he wishes more than anything that he could have saved her and given her a chance to live. Instead, all he’s done is throw his spirit at the echoes of her terror, twenty years too late. 

Somewhere past her screams, Leo dimly registers the red light now flooding the cave. The source emanates from somewhere directly beneath them, but he can barely focus on anything beyond the deafening cacophony in his mind. The pulsating glow only seems to heighten the pain, his headache spiking with each flare. The aura flickers with the light, taking on a dark hue to match. A red of fear-anger-rage-danger that sets the the tempest off, the child’s fear reaching new, hysterical heights, and it’s deafening and it’s horrible, and… and Yuichi’s hand is on Leo’s shoulder, his nails digging into Leo’s scales, as Yuichi’s spirit wraps up around his own. 

His mind quiets and the sudden silence makes his knees weak. The relief is short-lived, however. The grip on his shoulder tightens, and Leo registers the tension in Yuichi’s body as the sound of breathing from somewhere far below finally reaches his ears. 

The sound is deep; a vibrating bass that shakes across his shell, interrupted intermittently by a series of strange clicking sounds. Leo reaches up to return Yuichi’s grip as his heart starts to pound. There is something very, very large down below. Now that he’s actually attuned to the creature's presence, he can feel the ebb and flow of its breath on his skin, and can smell the acid stench of rot that follows. It’s so bad he has to bring a hand up to smother the gagging noise he involuntarily makes. 

He finally glances over at Yuichi and finds the rabbit staring down with a look of abject horror etched across his features. Fear wells up inside of him as Leo gathers the courage to finally look down the chasm, and immediately regrets it.  

The beast below them is absolutely massive, its long, segmented body curled up in a pile, overlapping on itself many times over as its hard exoskeleton glints like metal armor. Hundreds of spindly legs run the entire length of its insectoid body, all of them shifting at random intervals. Its antenna twitches in its slumber, its mandibles clicking together, creating the sound Leo had heard before. The sinister red light emanates from the creature's head, a bright and angry warning even as the rage radiating from its aura promises nothing but suffering. 

Leo tries to take a step back, but his shell immediately hits the wall. Fear washes over him, until he notices the steady up and down movement of the creatures breathing, and it's unshining eyes dark with slumber. Leo lets out a quiet, shaky breath. It’s asleep, thank the gods. He’s not equipped to handle any other bloodthirsty monsters today. If it were awake, they surely wouldn’t stand a chance. His theory is quickly confirmed as he examines the cave further, finding yokai skeletons of all shapes and sizes littering the floor of the cavern, piled high all around the creature like trophies. The sight sends a chill down his spine.

Yuichi meets his gaze, both of them visibly trying to restrain their panic as they look at one another. The samurai’s eyes are wide with terror as they dart back down to the creature one more time before looking back at Leo and then ahead of them. Right, all they need to do is get past it as quietly as possible, and they will be fine. Maybe. Hopefully. 

Yuichi’s hand lifts off of his shoulder, and Leo is completely unprepared. The shrieking curse and the seething aura are a flood in his mind, threatening to sweep him away. He braces himself against it, digging his mental heels in, as he takes a deep, centering breath. When Yuichi continues across the ledge, Leo is right behind him, forcing his mind to focus on nothing other than putting one foot in front of the other. As they make careful progress, Leo can see the faint but promising glow of warm coals filtering out from the corridor ahead. They’re almost there! Just a little bit farther…

Another wave from the aura hits him hard, the wails ratcheting up to an earsplitting shriek in response. Pain spikes his head and Leo gasps-- it feels like his skull is splitting down the middle. His hands fly up to his head instinctively, trying desperately to block out the noise. The sudden movement throws him off balance, sending him stumbling on the thin ledge. Leo barely registers the sound of rock crumbling beneath him before he is falling backwards. His stomach lurches, but before he can make a sound, Yuichi’s hand shoots out, catching a hold of the lip of his plastron. They both hiss in pain as he jerks to a halt. Leo’s mind goes quiet once more, but he can’t even appreciate it as pain radiates from his plastron, the crack splitting it pulsing wildly with every beat of his heart.  

The falling rocks hit the bottom of the cavern with a resounding crash, and the sounds of breathing from below stop. He can hear Yuichi suck in a sharp breath, then Leo’s being hauled back onto the ledge.   They both cling to each other, pressed into the wall and holding their breath as the creature shifts below them. Leo can barely hear over his racing heart, but as seconds pass in which they don’t die horrible deaths, it starts to slow. Much to their relief, it merely settles back down, the entire cavern shaking slightly  as its breaths deepen once more.

They both relax before continuing to inch their way forward, each of them taking careful steps to make sure the ledge can support their weight. Yuichi doesn’t let go of his hand, and Leo is monumentally grateful as he puts all of his shredded focus on moving as quietly as physically possible. The path slowly widens out ahead of them, and soon enough, they have crossed the chasm and re-entered the tunnel.    

They remain quiet for a good long while, Leo not daring to let his guard down until he can see Yuichi and Spot’s posture relax. Yuichi’s ears go slack, draping back down against his back, before he turns to look at Leo. 

“Fuck,” he mutters, voice trembling. “Okay, we should be good.” Despite his words, he twists his head to look back towards the cavern and whatever lies beneath. 

Leo feels like he’s run a marathon. He presses a hand against his plastron, noting the wetness seeping through the bandage with distant dismay. “Holy shit, what the hell was that thing?” Leo asks in a harsh whisper, still not daring to raise his voice. 

“That was an Ōmukade. They're basically giant centipedes. Our legends suggest that they were the ones that carved out most of the tunnels, but that was way back in Miyamoto's day.” Leo sees his throat bob as he swallows hard. 

“No one’s seen one in centuries,” he continues, a hint of nervousness entering his tone. “We thought they were extinct, but it looks like there's at least one still around. Thank every god it’s asleep. I don’t know what it would take to actually wake that thing up, and I’m not really sure I want to find out. They used to fight dragons.” 

“I’m sorry, dragons?” Leo hisses incredulously.

“Don’t worry, they aren’t around anymore either. I mean, as far as we know. If there are any left, they’re probably lying dormant, just like that thing.” Yuichi finally tears his gaze away from the cavern and pulls Leo forward. “Still, best not to hang around and risk waking it up.”

They maintain a fast clip as they move down the tunnel. Yuichi still has Leo’s hand clasped tightly, and doesn’t seem inclined to let go, but as Leo’s heart slows and the adrenaline fades, he can feel guilt pricking at him. He can’t keep doing this. He wants to hold the rabbit's hand and take shelter in his spirit forever, he really does. He wants to wrap himself up in this blue aura until his mind is quiet and his own, but he can’t. Not without Yuichi having the full knowledge of the liberty Leo is taking. 

Leo doesn’t know how any of this works. He feels out of his own depth, as novice as when he picked up a katana for the first time. Is his spirit brushing against Yuichi’s spirit as gently as Yuichi’s brushes against his own? Or is he latching onto the samurai’s aura like the baby has latched onto him, with twisting, desperate fingers? Leo doesn’t know. He doesn’t know if he’s taking something from Yuichi, the same way that strange, clinging fog took something from him.  

With heavy reluctance, Leo pulls them to a stop and pries his hand out of Yuichi’s. The blue embrace is ripped away and Leo nearly flinches as the cries return. Thankfully, they’re not nearly as overwhelming as they were back in the cavern, but still here all the same. 

He needs help, he decides. He won’t make it to Neo Edo like this. The cries shake his resolve down to rubble. He can’t stomach listening to her final moments over and over again – and it’s only been a few hours! He doesn’t understand how that Godless soldier lived with it for twenty long years. 

He doesn’t understand how that man lived with himself period, after what Leo saw in that vision. The way he cut those two down, taking their lives with barely a thought. That’s all they want, Leo thinks. To take lives, take cities, and take what isn’t theirs. 

And here Leo is, doing the same thing and taking what isn’t his. But he’ll be damned before he takes anything else from Yuichi, all because he’s too stubborn to ask for help. 

Yuichi looks oddly crestfallen, eyes following Leo’s hand until it hangs at his side. He sounds embarrassed as he mumbles, “Sorry. I-” 

“No, no, I’m sorry,” Leo interrupts. “It’s nothing you did. I just…” 

He hesitates for a moment, and debates backing out at the last second. He doesn’t want to drop another problem at Yuichi’s feet, but Yuichi, as he’s always done, and as Leo suspects he may always will, turns his attention to Leo immediately. His expression is expectant and concerned, and Leo feels his resolve crumble immediately. 

 “I just– there’s something I need to tell you,” Leo says. “Something I should have told you a lot sooner.”

Yuichi’s eyes follow him as Leo leans his weight against the tunnel wall and uses it to slide slowly to the ground. He sighs in relief as Spot climbs off his shoulders and toddles over to Yuichi. The words tumble in Leo’s head as the baby cries and cries, grating on his concentration. Gods, he doesn’t even know where to start. Yuichi quietly settles down beside him, and Spot curls up in the rabbit's lap. 

“Are you okay?” Yuichi reaches out, then hesitates and settles for stroking Spot’s scales instead. “Is this… is this about what was messing with you back on the ledge?”

“Sort of.” Gods, why is he so nervous all of a sudden? No, he knows why; it’s because what he’s been doing is a violation. An invasion of privacy, and an unintended comfort that he has no right to take advantage of. 

“We’re a team, remember? If something is wrong you can tell me.” Yuichi’s voice is steady as he looks at Leo, his hand still methodically running along the tokage’s back as he speaks.

Yuichi is right, they are a team. It’s strange; Leo isn’t used to having that with anyone outside of his own family, and even then he still tends to keep things close to his chest. But this is Yuichi, who matters in a way that Leo can’t fully articulate just yet. This is Yuichi, and Le o needs to be honest about what’s happening to him for once in his life. The curse is a serious handicap, whether he admits it or not, and if they’re going to make it to Neo Edo, then Yuichi needs to know about anything that may hold them back. 

Even now, Leo’s hands unconsciously drift towards Yuichi’s. He quickly catches himself and pulls back. Yuichi clocks the movement with narrowing eyes and Leo sighs. “Back in the village, you remember that burnt home? The one with the bodies in the closet?”

Yuichi nods, expression grim.

“When I tried reaching out to them, something…reached back. I don’t know what it was exactly - some kind of attack or –” She wails and wails, and Leo feels a lump rising in his throat. "I-I don’t know, but it stuck." 

The hand stroking Spot’s back freezes. “Stuck?” 

“I can hear that baby,” Leo rasps. “Ever since we left that house, I can hear her crying. I thought they would stop when we left the village, but it hasn’t.”

“ You can hear crying…in your head?”

Defensiveness rears up, ugly and sharp, and Leo really doesn’t need to go through this again. “I’m not imagining it,” he snaps. “It’s real. I can hear her right now. It’s like a—“

“Curse,” Yuichi breathes. 

The defensiveness flees quickly followed by relief, a nd Leo’s shoulders sag once more at this yokai’s immediate and unquestioning belief. The warmth opening up his chest is a hole he will never crawl out of. 

“Yes. Like a curse.” 

Yuichi’s gaze is poisonous, but Leo knows him well enough to know that anger isn’t aimed at himself. “Is it hurting you?” Yuichi asks. 

Well, it technically isn’t. Not physically. Her tempest roars as if in response, and he fights to keep his expression even.

“No.”

“Don’t lie.”

It’s easy to forget that Yuichi knows him just as well. It’s strange how used to it Leo finds himself becoming. He chews over his words for a moment before admitting, “It’s a lot. Distracting. Loud.” He takes a deep breath as she sobs and sobs and sobs. “She didn’t deserve to end up like this.” 

“None of them did,” Yuichi agrees. “And you don’t either.”  A myriad of emotions flies across the yokai’s face, finally settling on something close to despair. “I’m sorry.”

Leo blinks, taken aback. “For what?”

“I was the one who told you to try and communicate with them. I’m so sorry, Leo.”

“Don’t be. I would have reached out to them anyways.” 

But Yuichi is shaking his head. “I promised you that we would leave at the first sign of trouble. Instead, I told you to do something unsafe and made things worse. I’m so, so sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” Leo says, exasperated. “You’re not responsible for my actions, and you were the one who got us to the temple. This isn’t your fault.” 

Yuchi huffs and mutters something under his breath, before straightening. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Leo looks over at the rabbit, his eyes drifting down to the hand resting on Spot’s back. He’s not sure if he should even ask. It’s not just an imposition, the glide of Yuichi’s spirit against his own is…intimate. But the cries drone endlessly, he needs this to stop. He needs just a minute of silence, a second, anything. 

“Yes.” Leo tentatively reaches out toward Yuichi’s hand, a single fingertip coming in contact with the rabbit's fur, but even that is enough. The cool blue of Yuichi’s spirit instantly washes over his own. 

And there’s silence. Leo feels like he could cry. 

“Do you feel anything?” he asks.

Yuichi frowns. “Yeah, I can feel that.” 

“No, like, spiritually. Do you feel anything beyond my finger on your hand?” 

“No, but spiritual stuff has never been my thing. What do you feel?” 

“Your spirit,” Leo says as he stares down at the rabbit’s hand, not daring to look up at him. “I don’t know why but now, and when we were back in the village, anytime we touch it’s like our spirits…mesh? Or intertwine? I don’t know, but as long as we are touching, the curse is quiet.” 

Gods, this is so embarrassing. Pleading to hold the guy's hand like he’s still a little kid who needs to cling to his dad as they walk down the dark tunnels of the sewers. 

“So, it’s quiet right now? You don’t hear the curse?” Yuichi asks, pressing into the point of contact.

Leo nods. Yuichi nods as well, seemingly more to himself than anything and then immediately snatches Leo’s hand up, lacing their fingers together and squeezing tightly. 

Oh, okay, this is happening. Leo sucks in a surprised breath as a gentle wave crests over him, pushing the tempest out to sea. The rabbit’s spirit envelops his own once again, and the disharmony Leo hears lessens, just a touch, as if the merge is purposeful instead of the notes bumping at random. 

Spiritual stuff isn’t his thing, my foot, Leo thinks. He suspects that Yuichi has a lot more control over his spirit, whether the samurai knows it or not. 

“I guess we need to stick together now more than ever,” Yuichi jokes, holding Leo’s hand in a vice grip. “I’m so sorry I put this on you.”

“Yuichi,” Leo warns.

“I promise once we get back to Neo Edo we’ll find a more permanent solution.”

The thought of not dealing with this until Neo Edo makes his stomach drop. They can’t just hold hands every second from now to then, but at least he’ll get bits of respite. 

“I’ve never had to deal with this spiritual stuff before,” he says, also looking down at their hands. “There wasn’t much spiritual energy in New York, and what little there was, well, I was never able to interact with it like I’ve been able to here. I’m sure if I had more experience maybe I would have known better, but I didn’t. You don’t need to apologize for a shared mistake.”

“Still, I am sorry,” Yuichi says. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner or just keep holding on to me? I wouldn’t have minded.”

“I didn’t want you to feel obligated, and I certainly didn’t want to keep doing it without your permission. It didn’t feel right to take advantage without telling you.” 

Yuichi’s answering huff sounds suspiciously like a scoff, then he asks, “What does it feel like? My spirit.”

Leo finds himself blushing slightly at the question as he fumbles for an answer. “I don’t know, it's kinda hard to describe.” But it isn’t, not really, Leo suddenly realizes. “It feels like the ocean. Cool, almost cold, but in a nice way. It’s blue, fun fact, and there are currents and tides that shift with your emotions.” 

He can feel those currents now, swirling in patterns that Leo can’t read, but flow all the same. Yuichi’s spirit is in startling good harmony, although there’s a discordant hum vibrating at its edges. Despite that, its flow is simple and unblocked. It’s very obvious that the inharmonious sounds Leo hears as they hold hands is from his own spirit, which splits itself into a rip tide any chance it gets.

“It blocks out all of the background spiritual noise,” he continues. “Except for what you and I are feeling in that given moment.” 

The currents shift once more, gaining a slightly downward pull. “Wait, I’m sorry, you can sense my emotions?” Yuichi asks nervously, his grip on Leo’s hand loosening slightly. “What kind of stuff are you able to sense, exactly?” 

“Oh, don't worry, it’s not much,” Leo reassures, glad that Yuichi finally seems to grasp what an intrusion this really is. How much Leo is asking of him, just by letting him hold his hand. “It’s not anything I couldn’t figure out by just looking at your face. I can feel your emotions shift and change, but I can’t, like, read your mind or anything. Promise.”

“Oh, okay, good. Let me know if that changes,” Yuichi says, letting out a nervous laugh. “I know we’re friends and all but I’d prefer that my private thoughts stay private.”

“Of course,” he hastens to say. “I’m sorry, I know this is a lot.” He reluctantly loosens his hold and starts to pull away. In the distance, a tempest wails. “If you don’t want to do this anymore—“

“No, no!” Yuichi snatches Leo’s hand back and grips tight. “Happy to be of service.” 

Leo chuckles into the silence. “Well, let me know if that changes. And thank you. It really does help.” 

With that, Yuichi pulls them both to their feet and they continue on, Spot trotting along beside them. A comfortable silence settles between them. The rabbit's hand is warm in his own, their fingers easily slotted together like two pieces of a puzzle. He can’t help but feel slightly giddy, his mind lingering on the contact as they continue on through the warm glow of the tunnels. The warm hole in his chest grows, twisting up in knots every time he looks down to find their fingers still tightly entwined. 

It’s hard not to let his own thoughts run away with him. A part of him still worries that Yuichi doesn’t completely understand what he’s offered. It feels like a violation to look into his spirit and see the currents of who he is, but Leo finds his inner eye drawn to them anyway.  

Leo shakes his head and pulls his attention outwards. He needs to chill out. This doesn’t mean anything, the guy is just being nice and helping him out. 

There's no way of telling how far they’ve gone or how much time has passed with no natural sources of light in the darkness, but it doesn’t take long for sweat to bead Leo’s forehead. If Yuichi notices Leo’s hand growing clammy, he doesn’t comment on it. There’s an ache in his bones, and a yawning hole in his chest that is moving out of the comforting realm of warmth and settling into something hot and fevered. 

The more time drags on the more his footsteps start to drag right along with it as he grows more and more sluggish with every step. They continue along the tunnels uninterrupted for what feels like several hours. Yuichi tries to fill the silence, but Leo is too tired to prattle on. When his breaths start to rasp and his steps become stumbling, Yuichi immediately pulls them to a stop, features etched with worry. 

“Dude, are you okay?” Yuichi squeezes his hand, not letting go even as Leo braces himself against the wall of the tunnel, Spot chirping in concern at his feet.

Leo can’t answer for a few seconds as he struggles to catch his breath. “Been better.” And oh, his voice sounds like shit. Definitely not reassuring. 

Yuichi moves in closer and presses his free hand to the sweat soaked scales of his forehead. “Gods, you're burning up,” he hisses, his brow furrowing in concern as he considers the corridor around them. “Okay, we’re stopping for the night; you need rest.”

“No, no I can go for a little longer,” Leo says as he feebly tries to push himself off the wall. He’s so tired of his stupid injuries always slowing them down. Yuichi would never say it, but they have likely lost at least a day's worth of travel thanks to Leo slowing them down.  

Yuichi stops him before he can get very far, pulls him closer and supports some of his weight with his other hand. “I’m sure you could, but we’ve made it far enough for today. We’re not taking any chances where your health is concerned, understood?”

Leo wants to argue, wants to say he's fine, but the half-determined, half-pleading look Yuichi sends him is the final straw. A fuzzy warmth blooms in his chest. Coming from anyone else, he’d find the concern grating, but with Yuichi he finds he doesn’t mind. It’s kind of endearing. 

“Understood.” Leo gives a shaky thumbs-up as he leans into the samurai’s side, praying he won’t notice the splash of warmth that tinges his cheeks. 

There’s a small alcove nearby and Yuichi leans Leo against the wall before ducking inside. A shriek, piercing and grieved, hits Leo hard. It’s like someone screams right in his ear and he flinches, both hands coming up to clamp on the side of his head. It only lasts for a second before Yuichi is back, prying one of Leo’s hands away and gripping it tightly with both of his own.

 “Sorry, sorry!” he says. “Come on, we’ll camp here.” 

They crawl inside and Leo takes in the small space. It’s not much; there’s just barely enough room inside for all of them if they press together, but after that moment outside, Leo is far from complaining. There’s a quiet trickle of water audible from inside; a tiny stream cutting through the stone at the back of the little den. Its water is hot to the touch, and if Leo weren’t so tired he would question that. 

Setting up camp merely consists of laying out their bed rolls beside one another and getting comfortable. Yuichi and Spot crawl in right behind him. It's cramped, but they shuffle around to make it work. Spot curls up between them and settles down with a snorting sigh. Yuichi spends a few minutes digging through the pack before pulling out a handful of berries and a few plums. He doles them out and Spot immediately sets to work devouring the berries.

Leo bumps one of his plums up against Yuichi‘s in thanks before taking a bite. It doesn’t take very long for him to finish eating, but despite the sparse fare, he finds himself full, bordering nauseous. 

There’s a scuffle towards his left as Yuichi tries to wrangle the little tokage to clean off his face. Leo chuckles and settles back against the wall. The heat from the damp stone feels amazing on his skin. Where before he had been overly warm, now there’s a pervasive chill. They must have gone further underground, though Leo doesn’t remember there being a slope to the tunnel's path. 

Yuichi finally releases Spot with an annoyed huff before turning to Leo. “Just relax, I’m gonna take inventory.” He shifts away to get their pack, but makes an effort to not break contact for even a moment. Leo watches him work hazily and lets his thoughts wander. 

He thinks about when they met, a week ago now that feels like months. He remembers a blade at his throat, the samurai’s hostility and suspicion, quickly melted away into consideration and interest. He remembers Yuichi promising to get him home, and then digging his teeth into that promise through every roadblock. 

He thinks of everything Yuichi has done to support him. Every reassurance against Leo’s insecurities, every blade he’s thrown himself between. His spirit, a lifeline. 

Yuichi’s unwavering faith. The tight squeeze of his hand in Leo’s own. The lingering glances that Leo sometimes catches in the corner of his vision. 

Leo lets a sardonic smile lift one corner of his mouth. He’s a fool, just like always. Yuichi is kind, through and through. A genuinely good person. It would be wrong to read anything more into it than that. 

Now that he’s noticed his interest in Yuichi, it’s impossible to ignore, but he just doesn’t have the bandwidth to put up with this right now. There’s too much going on, too much at stake to complicate things further. 

It’s best to put this out of his mind and play it cool. 

Leo sinks further against the wall and pulls his thoughts from one unpleasant topic to the next.

“We need to talk about what happened back there. In the village.” 

Yuichi’s hands still. The currents come to a sudden halt, a shift from a moving ocean to a stone-still lake. There’s a ripple breaking the mirror-smooth surface, emanating directly from the disharmony Leo had noticed earlier. There’s a stiffness to Yuichi’s shoulders. Leo hates that he put it there. “I know. Believe me, I know. But we have to talk about it.” 

Silence draws out between them and Leo almost thinks Yuichi is going to ignore him before he finally speaks up. 

"What exactly is there to talk about? I mean all those people…” Yuichi‘s voice cracks right down the middle as he trails off. Spot is at his side in an instant, worming his way into his lap and curling up tight. Yuichi runs his hand over the tokages scales as the lizard purrs, and takes a deep, steadying breath as some of the tension visibly leaves his shoulders. “How is talking about it supposed to fix anything?" 

That’s…concerning coming from Yuichi, who hasn’t let a single thing lie since Leo has met him. 

"It won’t,” Leo says evenly. “We can’t fix what happened to those people. But we can try to find out why it happened.”

Yuichi’s gaze meets his, and Leo tries to convey everything they’re not saying. “Maybe if we figure that out, we can make sure the same thing doesn’t happen to us.” 

Yuichi’s expression twists and he looks back down at the pack in his hands. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Leo. I’ve been turning it over in my head for hours, but I’m no closer to an answer now than I was before.”  

Leo opens his mouth to respond, but then Yuichi says, “You said that you saw what happened when they were locked out. What did they show you, exactly?”

Leo’s nausea grows at having to relive what he saw, but Yuichi deserves any answers that Leo can give, so he recounts everything he can remember, sparing nothing.

As he listens, Yuichi’s grip tightens, twisting into the leather until it creaks. When Leo is done, he asks, “And you believe them? You believe they showed you everything exactly how it happened?”

The shock, terror, and grief those people had felt echo in the air even now. They’d wanted so badly to be heard, even by a stranger, twenty years later. There is no way to fake what Leo experienced in those moments. 

“I believe them.”

And Yuichi believes him. “I just don't understand how they could let it happen.“ The word is spat with a sudden vitriol, but Leo isn’t surprised. He’s been waiting for the anger.

“The council knew the Godless were a threat long before their troops ever started to attack our borders,” Yuichi continues. “ All those people should have been warned and evacuated long before their forces made it this far inland. Why weren’t they warned?” 

The answer is easy for Leo, who’s an outsider with no ties to these people. Who has seen many forms of cruelty in his life. “They didn’t want them to know.”

Yuichi’s response is hissed through clenched teeth. "Why?"

“In the human world, corrupt governments are a dime a dozen. They do shit like this to their people all the time. It’s because of greed, I think. Some kind of personal gain. I don't know exactly how your whole government system works, but my bet would be that there was something your council stood to gain by leaving those people behind.“

Yuichi doesn’t respond, gaze distant as the tokage at his feet tries and fails to get his attention. 

Leo tries a different direction. “How much influence does this council have? Is there, like, layers to your government, or is it just them?"

“Just them. They control everything, like they’ve always done. We’ve had a council in place for centuries.” 

“How are council members decided? Are they voted in?”

Yuichi frowns over at him. “No, there are six council members, all from the top six noble families. They’re born into the position. They make our laws, and samurai like me and my team enforce them. They write our history books. They control our borders. They promise to maintain order and keep us safe from the Godless.” 

Yeah, that sounds about right. “And they lied.”

“And they lied,” Yuichi agrees flatly, something dark and flinty in his eyes. “What else have they lied about?” 

And that is the question. 

“Have you considered the possibility that your key won’t work when we reach the border?” Leo asks hesitantly. 

“I have,” Yuichi mutters, ideally fiddling with the pull string of the pack, and pointedly avoiding eye contact. “I just… it doesn’t make any sense. Why would they do that?”

“Cutting off a loose end.”

“They’ve never done that before.”

Leo merely raises an eyebrow at him and Yuichi grimaces, his shoulders slumping. “Right.” Then he explains, “Any changes made to the barrier in the past were a whole thing. Like, with priests and the distribution of new keys. There’s a whole ceremony and everything.” 

“Unless there’s another way to do it that they’ve not told you about.”

“Maybe,” Yuichi concedes. “But it’s dangerous to extrapolate like this. If we’re going to pursue this, then we need to find hard evidence before we start grasping at straws. My key may work perfectly fine.” 

“Trust me, I really hope it does,” Leo says genuinely. “I just think we need to lay out what we’re gonna do if it doesn’t.” 

The dim glow of the rocks cast Yuichi’s face in harsh planes. He looks so, so tired. “There is no laying it out, Leo. If it doesn’t work, then we’re fucked . I can’t help you, you’re sick, and I can’t — With Tenshi Pass down, Gen knows I would have taken this route. It’s the only other entrance. Maybe, if we don’t show up—But who knows how long that will— No, I won’t consider that possibility. It will work.” 

He’s getting visibly upset; the lake is gray and turbulent. Leo wants it to be an ocean again. He leans forward and takes Yuichi’s hand, rubbing across his knuckles with his thumb. Spot takes the opportunity to climb into Yuichi’s lap and starts purring loudly. 

A poignant silence settles between them, the only sound filling the small space, the sound of trickling water and the quiet purring of the tokage between them. After a few breaths, Yuichi calms. His spirit still isn’t back to normal, but the lake is smooth and calm, despite the dark clouds overhead. 

A shiver passes over Leo and he leans back against the wall, closing his eyes and soaking in its warmth. He’s tired too. 

“You need to heal yourself,” Yuichi says, apropos to nothing. 

“Hmm?” Leo peels his eyes open with some effort. 

Ah, right. A quick cursory check finds his stores depressingly low. The spiritual drain of that morning's encounter, and the strain of their little adventure within the tunnels, have left him very little to work with. 

“It’s not going to do much,” Leo murmurs. “I barely have any spiritual energy left.”

The rabbit's face falls, before quickly lighting up. “Can I give you some of mine?”

“What?” Leo splutters. “No. Absolutely not.”

"Why not?"

Leo can only look over at the rabbit in shock as he tries to process the question. Can Yuichi give him spiritual energy? Leo doesn’t know, has never considered it, and with the state he’s currently in, he won’t be considering it now.

"I don’t even know how I would do something like that, let alone what it might do to you.”

"Can't you just try? I mean, how is it any different than this?" Yuichi asks, holding their clasped hands up between them.

It’s very different, but Yuichi clearly doesn’t understand the gravity of his suggestion. "It's different because I'm not taking anything from you with this. Using your spiritual energy would be like tapping into your life force,” Leo says. “If I fucked that up -  if I took to much - it wouldn't end well. I'm not trying anything like that without some proper training first."

"Fine," Yuichi huffs, pulling his hand away from Leo's, causing him to twitch as a wail picks up in his ears.

Yuichi quickly realizes his mistake, snatching Leo’s hand back up in his grasp before the cries can grow any louder. "Shit, I'm sorry," Yuichi sighs. "But okay, you’re right. I just hate all of this. I want to help."

"Thank you, and you are helping, trust me. But I'm not going to potentially put you out of commission for what will likely only be temporary relief.”

Yuichi makes a huffing sound but concedes. “Well, do what you can. Some healing has to be better than nothing.”

“Fair,” Leo mutters tiredly. “Kinda need my hand back for a second though.” 

"Oh, sorry.” He lets go and immediately rests his hand atop Leo’s. "This okay?"

"Yeah, that's perfect." 

It’s an effort to pull himself upright and into his usual meditative position. His whole body feels heavy, and he almost sways right into Yuichi’s side before straightening. He closes his eyes and centers himself digging deep for what little remains of his spiritual energy as he chants the mantra.

Energy pours out of him and races towards the wound in his plastron. It’s like dumping a bucket of water into a crater, and Leo knows immediately that the energy drain isn’t going to be worth what little healing he’ll receive, but it’s too late to back out. His vision grows fuzzy and he can faintly feel soft hands lowering him back down onto the bedroll. 

His spirit is an ocean once more, it’s waves gentle and mesmerizing. 

Yuichi’s hand entwines with his own, chasing away the wailing screams as everything fades to black. 

His eyes open on a scene of pure carnage. It’s blisteringly hot; his skin feels like it’s melting off. 

He stumbles down the burning streets, buildings collapsing all around him, sending up showers of burning embers that only spread the flames further. He frantically races down the streets, trying to find his way out through the thick smoke blanketing the entire village. He can’t see more than a few feet in front of him, but he catches glimpses of figures racing past in the smoke. Godless soldiers on horseback; priests running; a mother and her children stumbling by in a blur. 

It isn't long before he becomes hopelessly lost, stumbling blindly, hacking and coughing through the haze. He’s lost all sense of direction as he slowly starts to succumb to the cloying smoke. 

He doesn’t notice the pit coming into view ahead of him. He manages to stop himself in time, flailing wildly and falling to his knees just at the edge. Lifeless faces stare up at him, their final moment of terror etched into their features for the rest of eternity.

Bile rises in his throat at the sight. The sound of footsteps approaches from behind, and he turns to find the Godkiller staring down at him from atop his horse as his troops surround him,  unloading body after body and dumping them into the pit. 

The man- no, the monster above him stares down at Leo, with flat, dead eyes. 

Suddenly, there are hands on his shell, pushing him forward towards the pit. He tries to dig his heels in, but it's no use as his feet slide across the dirt as if it were polished glass. 

Their hands are stiff and cold as they push him over the precipice into the blazing pit, and then he’s falling into the abyss.

ᶫLͤEͦO!

Leo wakes to hands on his shoulders, shaking him awake. His eyes snap open. Yuichi is leaning directly  over him, eyes wide. When their gazes meet, Yuichi slumps down on top of him with a sigh, his grip on Leo’s shoulders loosening.

“Oh, thank the gods,” he says shakily. “Are you okay? What was that?”

“Nightmare,” Leo rasps, throat dry and aching. “Just a nightmare.”

“Just a nightmare,” Yuichi mimics, sounding equally exasperated and freaked out. “That wasn’t like any nightmare I’ve ever seen. You were screaming bloody murder. I thought— I don’t know what I thought.”

“Sorry. I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”

Yuichi slides off of him and sits down to his left, maintaining contact the entire time, for which Leo is endlessly grateful. “If you go back to sleep, do you think you’ll have another one?”

He hears echoes of carnage even now. Sees hollow eyes. 

He’s so tired. 

“Probably.” 

He reaches up with his free hand to rub at his temple. His hand shakes and Leo sees Yuichi track the movement. He opens his mouth to respond, then seems to hesitate, eyes conflicted in the dim light. Leo’s mind feels too scattered and hazy to pick apart the look the samurai is shooting at him.

“Have you..” He trails off and in the silence, Leo starts to drift off. Flames flicker behind his eyes and rocks shred at his fingertips as he falls and falls and falls—

Spot whines loudly right in his ear, jerking him out of the doze with a gasp. Yuichi’s grip on his hands tightens and he straightens up, expression determined.

“Have you ever heard of the baku?”

Chapter Text

Leo opens his eyes to a very familiar scene.

The village streets are just as desolate as before with heavy fog that flows through every alleyway and thoroughfare. The flames from his previous dreams are replaced by the same eerie silence and cloying fog he’d seen in the village. Its haze seems to settle into the very foundations of the buildings themselves. 

He groans, pulling himself up out of the dirt as his eyes search the empty streets wearily. The fog around him starts to shift, flowing and pooling on either side of the desolate streets before coalescing into the forms of the villagers. Hundreds of them line the streets, their spirits extending far out of sight into the hazy horizon. They all stare him down silently, their flat, blank eyes boring into him with a promise of something, though he can’t say what. Their stares don't hold the same vengeful malice as they had before, but there is something else there. Sorrow? 

He turns around in circles as the spirits start to whisper under their breaths. The murmuring voices are too indistinct and garbled as they talk over one another for him to actually make out what any of them were saying. His stomach drops as the baby's cries join the barrage, and all of the voices suddenly ratchet up in volume along with her. Higher and higher until there’s nothing but a deafening cacophony in his ears. He closes his eyes against the onslaught, desperately trying to center himself and block it out. 

He is so, so sick of this. 

“Quiet,” he pleads, his voice no higher than a whisper. Tears drip down his face as he falls to his knees. The fog rolls in, thick and humid as it swallows him up. 

Leo curls in on himself and throws his spirit forward — wild, desperate. 

“Please, please, just be QUIET! ” His voice is a deafening boom that travels out across the village. The sound wave pushes back the spirits and the fog, shredding at the voices until fade into whispers and then go silent. 

The infant yokai - the baby - her keening wails continue ceaselessly, piercing the air and pitching up so high the sound sends a stab of pain through his head that leaves his ears ringing. His own spirit falters and pulls back, and the ghosts and the fog roll back in as he gives up ground. 

Leo is just about to force himself to his feet when they and the fog come to an abrupt halt. It’s like they hit an invisible wall; even the fog stops its creeping crawl and collects listlessly at the spirits' feet. The baby's cries slowly taper off until her voice is nothing more than a faint whimper off in the distance.

After hours and hours of noise, the world is suddenly very quiet.  

Leo watches, shocked, as the wall of fog seems to rear upwards, swirling with a sudden malice as if angered at being held back.  There’s a flicker in the corner of his eye and he turns just in time to see the shadowed shape of a person disappear down a nearby alley. Leo climbs to his feet and stares after them warily. The figure looked different than the rest of the spirits, moved differently too. 

The fog swirls, growing more and more dense until it blocks the villagers from view, leaving just the shapes of their blank white eyes glowing in the darkness. Not wanting to get any closer, Leo turns and races towards the alleyway after the figure, only to find a dead end and no one else in sight. He’s only confused for a brief moment before he hears a booming voice coming from behind him. 

“Impressive, young one.” 

Leo whirls around to find a yokai towering over him in its monstrous glory, razor sharp tusk dangerously close to his chest. There’s a mist that hangs around it like drapery, alight with a soft gray glow of spiritual energy that feels similar but at the same time worlds different from the fog from before. Its beady eyes stare down at him through the haze with an air of expectancy. 

Leo considers himself to be fairly well-versed in Japanese yokai, but he’s never heard of the baku before now. The way that Yuichi had spoken of it makes it sound like nothing more than a fairy tale; meant to reassure children so that they can sleep peacefully without nightmares. It sounded harmless enough, but Leo has long since learned to not underestimate anything he meets out here. Yuichi’s description certainly hadn’t done the creature justice. It’s much more intimidating in person.

The yokai leans down, dark eyes examining him closely. Its large form practically radiates raw spiritual energy that Leo has no problem sensing, even in this dream-like state.

The creature eyes him curiously before recognition seems to light in its eyes. “Ah. You must be the turtle so many have been searching for.” 

The baku moves in close, its trunk extending outwards as if to examine him. Remembering the last half-dozen times a yokai has tried to touch him, Leo stumbles back out into the street, scrambling through the dirt in a feeble attempt to get out of grabbing range as the kami moves closer. But rather than reaching for him again, it closes its eyes and inhales the air around Leo’s head deeply before opening them once more. 

“So much raw spiritual talent. Such a shame you don’t seem to have the slightest idea of how to wield it.”  

Leo stares up at the creature, completely baffled, before something it said earlier finally registers. “Wait - searching? Are you talking about my brothers? Do you know where they are?”

A small flicker of hope lights in his chest. “Are they looking for me?” 

“That is no concern of mine.”

“But—“

“State your business.” The kami glowers down at him, making it crystal clear that it lacks the patience for his petty personal requests.

Leo tamps down on his annoyance and disappointment before turning and giving the yokai a stiff bow. “Of course. Baku-san, I was having some bad dreams and my friend… well, he said you could help.”

The baku stares down at him, its gaze calculating like he was trying to decide if someone like him was even worth the effort.  “Hmm…yes, I can assist. But your problem is more complex than just a few bad dreams, isn’t it.” It’s not worded as a question. 

“What do you mean?”

The baku flicks its trunk in the direction of the fog. A faint point of light becomes visible as he summons it out of the haze. A glowing orb, no larger than a baseball, flies right into his waiting trunk. The wail emanates from the tiny point of light, the sound warbled and ringing as it resonates through the barrier surrounding it. Leo stares down at it, curious and disconcerted at once. Seeing it like this, the curse seemed such a small thing to have been causing him so much trouble. 

The baku holds the orb up and tilts its head at Leo in a  silent question. 

“I picked up a curse back in the village,” Leo explains.

“That is not the only thing you appear to have picked up,” the baku says, its gaze drifting just beyond Leo’s shoulder. 

Leo stiffens and whirls around, but there’s nothing there but a foggy dirt road. He huffs and turns back to glower at the baku. It gazes back at him, unblinking and amused. 

“What exactly did you want from me, kappa?” 

“I just want the nightmares to go away. Just for tonight, at least.” He tries to keep his tone even and respectful, but can’t help the tinge of desperation that creeps in. 

The baku hums, the sound a deep, rolling bass that rattles Leo’s plastron unpleasantly. “I can do much more than that, you know.” The yokai leisurely strolls around Leo in a way that puts his nerves on edge. He feels like prey being stalked by a predator under this creature's piercing gaze. 

“What do you mean?” 

“I can rid you of your nightmares, but I can also get rid of this nasty little curse.”

Leo’s eyes widen as he looks back at the ball of light that hovers between them. He could be rid of the curse, his mind silent once again. But as he looks back over at the baku, he finds himself hesitating at the ravenous gleam in the creature's sharp gaze. “Both,” the yokai continues, “however, will require a price.”

“A price.” Of course there’s a catch. Leo eyes the beast with trepidation, an uneasy feeling creeping its way up his spine. “What kind of price?”

The kami sits down in front of him, its dark eyes staring deep into his own. But as intimidating as this kami is, it’s not as intimidating as the temple guardian yokai so Leo meets its gaze evenly.

“It is a simple exchange. One hope or dream in exchange for making the nightmares go away. I’ll even banish this curse, so it never plagues you again.” 

The baku moves the glowing orb off to the side, the point of light hovering in the air beside him. With another flick of its tail, the mist around them whirls up into a frenzy. A mirage of images form from the mist and float around them. Leo sees his own visions and dreams of the future pass him by, whipping around in a hazy cacophony of images that leave his head spinning, but there is one constant across all of them. One thing he can’t possibly let go of, not ever.

His brothers, their faces bright and glowing, look back at him from every dream and hope, each of them shining like beacons in the darkness. Complicated and flawed as they may be, his family is his pride and joy. 

And this yokai expects Leo to give them up. 

“No.”

“No?” it questions, the gleam in its eyes disappearing as its eyebrows draw together. “You summoned me to assist, did you not?”

“My apologies, Baku-san, I did call you here,” Leo says, bowing slightly at the waist before straightening back up. “But I cannot accept this price. Thank you for your offer, but I’m afraid I must respectfully decline.”

Now the baku is the one glowering. “One does not summon me lightly, kappa. You would not have successfully called me forward if you were not prepared to make a deal.” 

Leo is prepared to make a deal - even Yuichi’s vague explanation stressed that this was part of the process. But he’d thought he would at least have a say in the terms! If this thing thinks it can reach inside of Leo’s mind and pull out vague threats against his family, then it has another thing coming. Leo would rather hear that yokai’s cry in his mind for the rest of his life than give up his brothers. 

He doesn’t voice any of that, however. Instead, he reaches for the only thing that could possibly be of interest for this creature and says, “I was hoping we could make a different arrangement.” 

The baku blinks, the first time it’s done so for this entire conversation. “What do you have in mind?” 

Leo closes his eyes, blocking out the world as he digs deep within himself, reaching for his spiritual energy until he stands in front of its current. The dam looms tall and solid behind him, but his focus is on the sputtering stream at his feet - more of a trickle than a proper flow of energy. It hasn’t replenished much at all after the healing he’d done before bed. If he takes more of it now, he likely won’t be able to heal himself again, but these nightmares, this curse - it makes him far too vulnerable. Any healing he does will simply be undone by his own exhaustion. 

Yuichi said he didn’t mind holding his hand to keep the curse at bay, but there’s no guarantee that he will always  be available or willing to do that. If they run into trouble again or get separated, the curse is likely to be more of a liability than even his injuries, if their race through the village was any indication. If giving up a little more spiritual energy meant quieting the curse… it’s worth it. 

He’s never done something like this before, and he knows that there isn’t a literal current at his feet, it’s just how his mind is contextualizing the energy in this mental space. Hesitantly, he crouches down and reaches for the energy, surprised to find that he can gather it quite easily. As draws the energy from himself, he can feel the drain in his body even in this strange spiritual plane the baku operates in. Pain lances through his chest, and Leo gets the sense of something stretching out from the crack in his plastron, reaching down deep and digging thorns into his body, around his heart. 

He grits his teeth and keeps pulling until the current suddenly releases a single pulse of bright red. The color is so bright and shocking against the blues and blacks of his mental space that Leo halts the flow of energy. The red disappears just as quickly as it appeared, but Leo doesn’t want to risk pulling more. He opens his eyes to see he’s summoned a sapphire blue ball of energy into his hands. It’s a measly, flickering thing, and he can only hope that it will be enough to satisfy the kami. 

“I know it’s not much, but it's all I have to give. Can you at least get rid of the curse? I can deal with the nightmares.” They’re nothing new, after all. 

The baku’s eyes widen as it looks down at the sphere, expression puzzled. 

“Why?“ it asks. “Surely a hope or dream is a less significant price to pay in your situation.”

Leo looks over to the various points of light still floating in the air beside him. Images of many happy futures flash past. The majority of them focus on his brothers, but a certain white-eared rabbit sneaks his way into a few of them, though those images were much less distinct. He looks at each of the images in turn: Raph and Mona Lisa getting married; Donnie working with the utrom to get all the technology his heart desires; Mikey working at Mister Murakami's and getting free food for life. 

All dreams he has for his family, but not necessarily for himself. He already has everything he’s ever wanted. What more could he need? He was the head of their clan, the most skilled warrior out of all of them. What else did he exactly have to reach for? To hope for? He finds his eyes once again drawn towards the visions of Yuichi. They remain indistinct, nothing more than blurry collections of images in the mist, the only clear figure in any of them is Yuichi himself. Even so, every image sparks with some distant promise of hope. Hope for a brighter future that Leo might be able to have. His mind drifts back to the temple on the other side of the river and the words of the kami, what felt like a lifetime ago now. 

“Not too long ago, someone told me I shouldn’t give away parts of myself so easily. I think I’m finally going to take their advice.” Leo pulls his eyes away from the images, looking back up at the creature and inclining his head respectfully. 

“I’m starting to think that I have been giving away parts of myself for far too long. I truly appreciate the offer, but this is all I am able to give. That is, if you are willing to accept. Do we have a deal?”

Leo holds out the energy toward the kami.

The baku examines the flickering light for a moment before he turns, taking in the swirling mass of Leo’s innermost thoughts with a keen eye, staring into the images for several long seconds. The kami hums deep in its throat before turning back to look at him, its expression blank. 

“Few deny my requests after calling upon me,” it says, voice gentler somehow, though rather bemused. “You truly are a curious creature. Very well, I accept your terms.”

The baku’s trunk reaches out and Leo’s orb of spiritual energy lifts from his hands and drifts over to hover just beside the curse. The glowing orbs float between them, the yokai’s cries still faintly audible from within. The baku reaches out for the points of light, tossing them up in the air and opening his mouth wide. Both orbs disappear down his throat with a snap. The cries of the child peter off as they disappear down the kami’s throat before going quiet.

Hearing her cries fade away is disturbing, and Leo wonders what will happen to that fragment of her spirit in this creature's care. He hopes she will find peace. 

The baku gives a satisfied hum before looking back down at him, a slight, blue-ish gleam entering its eyes as he considers Leo for a moment longer before… smiling?

Before he can worry about that, the baku straightens and flicks its trunk once more. With a faint whooshing sound, a new orb forms in between them. Leo squints at it suspiciously, then blinks in surprise. Inside is his nightmare from before; he sees himself inside, shoulders curled inwards as the shadowy villagers close in. He can still hear their distorted whispers leaking out from within. 

With little fanfare, the orb floats upwards and the kami swallows it. 

Leo gapes up at the baku. It meets his gaze, looking faintly amused. He glances over his shoulder back towards the edges of the baku’s influence. The fog is still there, a dark and swirling mass that prods at the barrier even now, but the outlines of the villagers lining its depths are gone. 

“Why’d you… that wasn’t a part of our deal.”

“There is balance in all things, little turtle. You are strong in spirit and character, and your spiritual energy is pure. The trade must be fair, and your offering has greater value than what was given in return. I am simply balancing the scales.” 

The kami stands as it speaks, the mirage of images fading back into the dreary backdrop of their surroundings. “There is much untapped potential within you. I’d hate to spoil what that future might hold by stealing away your ambitions.”

Leo isn’t exactly sure whether he should be flattered or concerned by the kami’s interest in him as it walks away, heading back towards the alley from which it had originally emerged. 

It disappears into the depth of the dark alley in a wisp of mist. The second it’s gone, the fog floods back, causing the world around him to fade into obscurity as the haze floods his view. His vision goes dark around the edges, and he can feel the steady press of consciousness returning. In the few seconds of liminal space between sleep and awareness, something moves in the corner of his eye. A vague silhouette moves within the fog, the same figure as before. He turns to get a better look, but before he can catch a glimpse he slips back into dreamless slumber.  

Leo jolts awake, eyes flying open as he bolts upright so fast it sends a twinge of pain through his plastron. He groans, clutching at his stomach as he tries to breathe past the sudden rush of pain.

“Leo!” Yuichi is at his side in an instant, his eyes looking him over feverishly as he helps him sit up. “You okay? Did you have another nightmare?” 

Leo rubs the sleep out of his eyes. “No, no, I’m fine. How long was I out for?” His body still aches down to his very bones. It can’t have been that long if he’s still feeling this tired. He prays that he had at least gotten in two or three more hours. 

“You actually slept through the night,” Yuichi says cheerily as he turns back around toward the pack on the floor and rummages through it. “You were out like a light until just now. I guess the baku really helped with the bad dreams, then? I didn’t hear a peep out of you for the rest of the night.” 

“Yeah, actually,” Leo mutters, rubbing the back of his head as he steadies himself. “It was a little difficult to deal with though. It wasn’t terribly interested in offering any kind of charity.” 

The rabbit pauses in his search, turning back to look at him. “Wait, you actually remember talking to the baku?” 

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t I?”

The rabbit gawks at him for a few seconds, his face a mask of confusion as he stares.

Leo frowns. “Is that a problem?”

“No— I mean…I don’t know. I’ve just never heard of anyone actually remembering their conversation with them after they wake up.”

Yuichi is quiet for a few moments before looking back at him, his voice serious. “So what happened then? What did he actually do?”

The silence in Leo’s head suddenly registers. Yuichi sits far away from him on the other side of the alcove, as far as he could possibly be from Leo within the confines of the small space, and yet his mind remains blessedly silent.

He can only stare dumbly over at Yuichi for a moment. Holy shit. The baku had actually done it, he’d taken away the curse. As silence settles between them from the unanswered question, Yuichi’s serious expression becomes pinched before seeming to realize his mistake. He practically lunges across the alcove and grabs Leo’s hand. “Shit, sorry, sorry.”

Leo can still feel Yuichi’s spirit entwine with his own the same as before, the ebb and flow of his spirit are like cool waves against the surf, but now there is nothing to hold at bay. 

No curses, no cries, no ghosts - just their spirits flowing against one another. 

He gazes down at their hands, reluctant to let go. “It’s okay. I only spoke to it for a few minutes, but we managed to arrange a deal.”

“A deal?” 

“Yeah. The baku was pretty hungry for dreams, both good and bad. It asked for one, some kind of moment in the future in exchange for getting rid of the nightmares, but I…” 

Leo thinks back to the happy faces of his brothers within the visions and the blurry images of the samurai before him. 

“I just couldn’t give any of that up.”

Yuichi’s features are etched with concern. “I’ve always known that the baku asked something in return for his help, but I never realized that the price was so high.“

The price was high, far higher than Leo was willing to pay. And those who have paid it don’t even remember what they had given up. How many people have traded away their own futures just for temporary peace? 

And Yuichi was so familiar with the ritual to summon the baku, like he’s done it many times before. What has he given up? What did he get in return?

Leo knows Yuichi won’t be able to tell him even if he asks, but the thought twists his stomach anyway. The baku did what Leo needed it to do and more, but now he wonders how much faith he should put in a yokai who would do such a thing to those desperate enough to seek it out. 

“So what deal did you come to?” Yuichi asks, breaking Leo from his thoughts. 

”I offered up my own spiritual energy in exchange for him lifting the curse.”

Yuichi looks at him in utter disbelief as his jaw drops to the floor. “The curse? It can do that? I thought it only dealt in nightmares.” 

Leo just shrugs. He has no idea what that kami is capable of, and now that he feels more clear-headed and rested than he has in days, he can see how only those who are truly worn down would call upon it.

To mess with forces far beyond their understanding. 

Leo looks back down at their hands. He had kind of wanted to lie about the curse. Telling Yuichi the truth would mean losing his excuse to stay so close to him. He rubs his thumb over the back of the rabbit's hand, savoring the feeling of their spirits flowing against one another and the warmth of Yuichi’s hand in his own, giving him a sense of comfort far beyond just the spiritual.

It feels good, the best thing he’s ever felt, if he’s being honest. But he can’t just take advantage of Yuichi like this.

With one last squeeze, he pulls his hand from Yuichi’s grip. “It worked, Yuichi. The baku got rid of the curse. It’s gone.” 

Yuichi looks down at his own hand, expression too complicated for Leo to read before it smooths out and he meets his gaze. “Tell me everything you remember. How exactly did it lift the curse?” 

“I don’t know,” Leo admits, still not quite believing it himself even though he had been there. “It just sort of… ate it. One minute the curse was a crying ball of light, and the next the baku swallowed it and it went silent.”

A complex jumble of emotions crosses Yuichi’s face, his expression shifting too quickly for Leo to pick up on any one emotion.

“Did he…do you still feel our, uhh…connection from before? Or is that gone too?” He sounds tentative as he  looks down at their separated hands.

“No. I could still feel your spirit when we touched just now, but don’t worry, you don’t have to do that anymore,” Leo reassures ruefully. He feels bad for ever forcing that on Yuichi in the first place. “I know that was a little weird. But, hey, at least you don’t have to hold my hand anymore, right?”

“Yeah. Totally.” Yuichi shifts back a little, putting some space between them. Leo’s about to ask what’s wrong when the rabbit speaks up again, “How are you feeling otherwise?” 

As soon as he says the words, Leo is immediately reminded of the deep, dull ache in his plastron and burning fever that still runs through him. Damn. Healing hands is becoming less and less effective as his spiritual stores drain, and after his trade with the baku his reserves are lower than ever. 

Pulling inward, he sees the stream of his spiritual energy has been reduced to a weak trickle, a drop in the bucket compared to what he’d had available when he’d healed himself last night. Without the spiritual boost of another temple, he can only pray that it will restore itself enough for him to heal himself one last time later tonight. 

They’re almost there. He can make it a little further. 

“Not well, honestly, but I think I can still manage.”

Yuichi frowns, pulling out their last small bottle of ginger tea from his pack and holding it out to Leo. “Here, drink this. It’s cold, but it should help a bit.”

As Leo leans forward for the bottle, Spot crawls up in his lap as Yuichi’s other hand comes up and brushes against Leo’s forehead. He must not like what he finds because his expression goes pinched.  

“You’re still running a fever.” 

He shifts closer and Leo tries his best to keep still as the samurai presses into his personal space. His fur is warm and dry where it presses up against his clammy scales. Yuichi’s spirit brushes against his own at the contact, cool blue and making his heart flutter in his chest. Yuichi grabs Leo’s hand and rests two fingers firmly against his wrist, searching for a pulse. The tense expression on his face doesn’t let up as he says, “Your heart rate is way too high. Did healing hands even do anything last night?”

“It did, but it’s definitely becoming less effective.” Leo shifts away from Yuichi as he tries to collect his thoughts. “I’m running out of juice. Near as I can tell, it's just temporarily stopping things from getting any worse at this point. My spiritual stores aren’t restoring quickly enough to fix much damage.”

“How long do you think you have?” Yuichi’s eyebrows furrow with concern, his eyes drifting down to the crack in his chest. 

Leo tugs on his kimono, pulling the fabric tighter around himself. “I don’t know. I think I’ll be okay until tomorrow. I highly doubt I’ll get another use out of healing hands.”

“Are you sure?”

“Pretty sure. I’ll try again tonight, but it’s not looking likely. I can walk, though. I won’t hold us back from reaching the border. That’s all that matters right now.”

Yuichi’s mouth thins out into a deep frown. It looks like he wants to say something more, but he only sighs. “At least the council's information was accurate enough to get us through the tunnels in one piece. Let’s just hope their info continues to hold up.”

He straightens up out of Leo’s space and says, “Alright. We need to get moving, but eat something first.” 

He fishes out the last few berries and pieces of fruit from his pack. He tosses a few of the berries to Spot, who snatches them out of the air like a dog, and hands the rest to Leo. The fruit is mushy and bruised in places, and the berries are crushed and withered, but food is food and Leo is in no position to be picky. 

It doesn’t escape his notice that Yuichi handed it all over to Leo, leaving none for himself. He glares at him and pointedly tosses half of the fruit into Yuichi’s lap. The rabbit glares and tosses it back. This goes on for a few seconds before Yuichi says, “Stop playing with your food and eat.” 

“Don’t be an idiot,” Leo says. “You’re just as exhausted and injured as I am. You’ll need something to get you through this last leg.” 

“I’m definitely not as injured as you, and the fact that you think so tells me that you need that food more than I do. Eat, Leo. We don’t have much further to go, and unlike you, I got a full night’s sleep last night.” 

Leo doesn’t believe that for a second. Yuichi’s eyes are lined with deep dark circles that he can even see through the dusting of white fur on his face. The cut across his shoulder is clearly inflamed, and his back is curled inwards in a clear show of fatigue, so unlike the smooth posture of a swordsman he carried effortlessly when they first met. 

He looks exhausted and like he didn’t get a wink of sleep last night. Leo thinks back to when he woke up from the baku’s realm, and of how Yuichi had been leaned against the wall beside him in a sentry position, eyes already on Leo the moment he woke up.

Stupid rabbit. Leo didn’t know it was possible to feel so warm and so concerned all at the same time. 

He picks up the berries and stares at Yuichi consideringly, content to wait him out. It won’t take long, Yuichi doesn’t do well with tense silence. Three seconds of pseudo-standoff later, Yuichi scowls and moves to speak again and Leo throws the remaining berries straight into his open mouth. The samurai makes a hilarious “ urk” sound as he swallows them. 

Their empty pack sails across the alcove and hits Leo right in the face as Yuichi guffaws.

“Has anyone ever told you you’re kind of an asshole?” the samurai laughs. 

“If you ever meet my brother Raph, you two can complain about it together,” Leo says primly as he eats the bruised fruit. 

Yuichi rolls his eyes, still smiling. “Can’t wait.” Then his nose curls as he smacks his lips. “Those berries taste like shit.” 

“Why do you think I gave them to you?” 

Yuichi snorts, snatching the pack up and whacking Leo lightly upside the head once more before moving to store their meager supplies. 

Spot makes a sniffling noise from the ground beside Leo, tail wagging happily and snout smeared with berry juice. He huffs a laugh and licks at his thumb before wiping away the mess while the lizard squirms under his hold. 

As soon as he’s done, the tokage scrambles right out of his hands and out of their little hole in the wall, back into the warm glow of the tunnel outside. He pokes his head back in a few short seconds later, staring them down and chirping impatiently. 

Yuichi chuckles. “He’s right, we should get going.”

Once all of their supplies are secure, Yuichi throws the pack onto his back, wincing slightly as the bag brushes up against his stitches. Leo tries to reach out and take it instead, but Yuichi is already crawling his way out of the hole before he has the chance. He follows, squeezing his way through the opening and allowing Yuichi to haul him to his feet. The abrupt action sends a shock of pain up through his shell that has him doubling over and leaning onto Yuichi for support.

“Shit, sorry. Too fast?”

“A bit,” Leo grits out. He doesn’t think he’s ever felt this bad before in his life. His head swims, his skin prickles with chill, and it’s like there’s a tight band around his chest, causing his breaths to come out short and fast. He tries to center himself and that works a bit. His breathing evens out and the pain fades from a stabbing pain to something sharp but bearable. After a few more seconds, he slowly straightens up.

“Thanks.” 

“Yeah, no problem.” 

Leo goes to step away, but finds Yuichi still holding his hand, grip firm. His spirit doesn’t have the same effect that it did before; there’s no curse to push away, no voices to drown out, but Leo still finds the contact pleasant. The sensation of cool ocean currents wicking away the heat simmering under his skin. He wants to bask in this feeling, wants to run spiritual fingers through the surf. 

He has half a mind to protest and remind Yuichi that he doesn't have to cling to him anymore, But Yuichi is a big boy, he knows what this contact means and if he wants to let go then he's more than capable of doing so. 

Leo honestly doesn't want him to. He can’t help the way his shoulders sag in relief as their spirits entwine. It doesn’t do anything to relieve the physical pain, but he still finds comfort in the samurai’s touch all the same. If he’s cool with it and Yuichi is too, then he sees no reason to stop. 

Spot chirps from the corridor ahead of them, stomping his little feet at them impatiently. They both chuckle and Yuichi pulls Leo along beside him as they continue down the corridor. They walk down the tunnel for a while in comfortable silence before Leo starts to see a hint of daylight coming from the tunnel ahead of them. The  warm glow of the stones fade as more and more light floods the tunnel, until eventually they emerge from the narrow corridor out onto a wide open cavern. Bright sunlight streams in from a large opening at the top of a short cliff, a jagged pile of rocks their only path leading up to opening and back out into the bright light of day. 

“Finally,” Yuichi breathes, releasing Leo’s hand and making his way over to the pile. Leo follows his lead as they both climb up the incline, traversing the rock slide with great care, doing their best to avoid loose stones and helping each other over some of the larger boulders. Before long, they make it to the top. Yuichi climbs over the final rock and turns to offer out a hand to Leo. He grabs on and is hauled over, slipping on a loose stone and stumbling backwards in the process. Thankfully, Yuichi’s hand shoots out and catches him before he can get very far. 

“Whoa. easy there. We don’t need you getting any more cracks in your shell.”

The sunlight is almost unbearably bright after hours underground. It takes a few squinted seconds for his eyes to adjust, and even then he still has to blink through sunspots. When Leo looks up, Yuichi is before him, haloed in the soft glow of sunlight streaming in from above. His white fur against the bright sun makes it look like he’s glowing from within as he smiles down at him. Leo swallows past the lump in his throat as the rabbit helps him straighten up, heart thudding. 

The image is ruined as Yuichi winces at the pull to his shoulder. He tries to hide it, but since Leo’s revelation yesterday, he feels almost hyper-aware of the samurai’s spiritual presence and feels the ripple of discomfort through Yuichi’s spirit. He frowns and reaches out for the bag the second he is steady on his feet, tugging it off the rabbit’s shoulders. 

“Hey, what do you think you're doing?” Yuichi protests, wincing in pain even as he pulls the bag back.

“I think I’m holding on to this for now.” Leo gives the rabbit a teasing smile as he tugs the pack back while gently resting his other hand on Yuichi’s forearm. “You won’t be ripping those stitches on my watch. I worked hard on them and the last thing I want is you hurting yourself again.”

The rabbit's mouth opens and closes several times before he eventually mutters, “Yeah, okay,” under his breath. He averts his gaze as he relinquishes the pack, looking oddly put-out. Leo tries not to look too smug as he takes the bag and throws it over his shell before taking the rabbit's hand once more. Their eyes meet for a brief moment, color flushing on Yuichi’s face as Leo looks over at him.

He manages to collect himself in the next second before looking out at the mountainside laid out before them.

“Right, okay. Let’s try to keep an eye out for food and other supplies as we move along. We should be able to make it to Auntie’s by tomorrow morning if we can keep time.”

He moves forward, pulling Leo along beside him as they carefully make their way up out of the recess and emerge back out onto the brightly lit mountainside. 

Leo can’t help but stare. He’s spent most of his life tucked away in the sewer, only ever going up to the surface at night. He is used to moving in darkness, but it had only taken a handful of hours underground to make him miss the feeling of sunlight on his skin. Turning around, he sees towering peaks dotting the landscape behind them. 

“Did we just cross under all of that?” 

“Yeah, it’s a great shortcut. I don’t think either of us would have made the trek over that terrain. The tunnel cut our travel time by half. The Godless’ main forces likely won’t follow us from here. Too much work to get all their soldiers and supplies over those peaks. Still, we should keep an eye out. I don’t expect The Godkiller will have given up that easily, and he’s likely sent scouting parties after us. If we can make good time, hopefully we’ll be long gone before they can make it anywhere near us.” 

Despite the fact that they hadn't gained very much elevation in their trek through the caverns, it is noticeably colder here than it had been before they entered the tunnels. A thin blanket of snow covers the peaks and the surrounding forest. The snow is patchy, already mostly melted away by the warmth of the sun's rays, but still absolutely freezing. Leo shivers, wrapping his arms tightly around his carapace and tugging the fabric of his kimono tighter around his frame. 

As they start back down the mountain, the throbbing ache in his chest only seems to settle deeper and deeper into his bones with every step. Infection is the last thing he can afford right now, but with healing hands growing less and less effective, he knows there will be no staving it off. He can only hope that he will be able to hold out for a little while longer. 

He’s not going to make it.

The thought has been swirling around the edges of Yuichi’s thoughts for days now. From the moment they took the plunge into that river and through every stumbling step since it's been growing, pushing its way to the forefront until it can no longer be ignored. It’s the wound in his chest, Yuichi knows it. What started as a painful-looking but otherwise innocuous injury has grown into a dark and jagged opening in Leo’s plastron, weeping at its edges with streaks of discoloration branching out of it. 

Yuichi isn’t a field medic, but he knows signs of blood poisoning when he sees it. 

It doesn’t take long for Leo’s pace to slow. His footsteps drag through the underbrush and his lungs wheeze audibly. Yuichi slows his steps to match and helps him along with a steady hand whenever the terrain becomes just a bit too uneven for him to handle. Leo scowls through every moment of this, and Yuichi can sense his mounting frustration,m. Yuichi really can’t blame him, he knows that if he were in the ninja’s shoes he’d feel the same way. 

It’s a horrible thing, your body turning against you. 

Watching him struggle hurts, and after only half an hour Yuichi folds and forces them to rest. Leo’s glower is practically murderous, so Yuichi plays up his shoulder injury until his scowl smooths out into a knowing look. Okay, emotional manipulation may not be Yuichi’s strong suit, but the stubborn turtle is finally sitting down so he’ll take the win. 

It takes far too long for Leo to catch his breath. If anything, sitting makes his face pale further and he looks woozy. All of it - the time wasted, Leo’s rapidly deteriorating health - makes Yuichi feel jittery. They’re so

close. He can see the route they’re taking in his mind, knows that the crossing point is just over these mountains, if only they can make it there.

This can be over. He can hug his Auntie; get Leo the medical attention he so desperately needs; can sleep in a proper bed. He wants it so badly and has to fight back the urge to pull Leo to his feet and get them moving, but one look at Leo’s trembling hands stomps that urge into the ground. 

Leo must see his look because he gasps out a quick, “I’m…I’m fine.” 

His hands shake and shake and Yuichi can’t stand it so he snatches them both up and squeezes tightly. Something unwinds in Leo’s shoulders and Yuichi feels a tingling thrill in his chest. He knows Leo is likely only allowing this because of whatever effect Yuichi’s spirit has on his own, but Yuichi is far from complaining. He’s wanted to hold this strange and stubborn turtle’s hand ever since that night in the hollow of that tree, when Leo had talked Space Heroes like a series veteran and smiled so wide his eyes squinted. 

Oh, yeah. Yuichi is long gone, but he can’t even bring himself to care as Leo squeezes back and shoots him a wane smile. The ninja stands a moment later and only sways a bit before straightening. 

“Come on,” he says, still panting lightly. ”I don’t…don’t want to slow us… down. We’re so close.” 

His words echo Yuichi’s own thoughts and he fights back that jitteriness once more. They need to move, and they need to keep moving until they reach the end. 

Leo takes a step and immediately stumbles. He’s pale and exhausted and — he’s not going to make it.

And Yuichi folds once more. He waves Leo back down, keeping his tone casual. “We can wait a little longer. My shoulder is killing me.”

Leo’s expression is flat and unamused. “Yuichi.” 

“Just fifteen more minutes, that’s all I’m asking. Please, just sit back down.” The turtle looks like he’s going to keel over. Spot, bless him, makes a firm chirping noise and plops down beside Yuichi before looking up at Leo expectantly. 

Leo rolls his eyes, but Yuichi clocks his sigh of relief as he settles back down until they’re pressed shoulder-to-shoulder. Silence settles between them and Leo’s eyes slip closed. It only takes a minute before his breathing deepens. He doesn’t seem to be sleeping, but he’s clearly pulled himself inwards. Yuichi tries to do the same, but meditation has never been his thing and he feels too wired to even attempt it now.  

The instinct to jump up and race towards the border is almost overwhelming. Traveling outside of the barrier is dangerous and only permitted for specially trained groups such as Yuichi and his squad. But no amount of training or special permissions can stop the creeping anxiety that sets in the moment he steps out of the protection of Neo Edo. The Godless have them trained well; every yokai’s need to run to the safety of the border has been so deeply ingrained that it’s practically instinctual. 

Those instincts clash sharply with the tangled up emotions he experiences every time he looks at Leo’s injuries. Rage, protectiveness, and regret swirl in his chest. His hatred for the Godkiller has lived in his heart for longer than he can remember; sometimes it feels like he was born with it. That hatred is there still, but it’s sharper than it’s been in years. 

Akagi Musei and his dogs are here. In this very forest, looking for them. It takes everything Yuichi has to not take Willow Branch and hunt them down himself. To take revenge for Leo and the abuse he suffered so needlessly; for those poor villagers who were shut out by those who had promised to protect them; for his parents who never stood a chance. 

He doesn’t give in to the impulse. He has Leo with him, and he’ll be damned before he leaves him out here on his own. And even if he didn’t have someone else to worry about, he still wouldn’t track the Godkiller. There’s no way he would survive a direct confrontation. There is something off about that man. A human never should have been able to push all of yokai-kind to the brink as he’s done, and yet here they are, hunted to near extinction. 

A nudge at his elbow breaks him from his thoughts. Spot blinks up at him, his snout swinging from Yuichi to Leo and back again. Yuichi glances over and finds him in the same position as before, his arm pressed firmly along Yuichi’s side. His eyes are still closed, but his serene expression has become troubled and pinched. 

Yuichi shifts to face him fully and watches as Leo’s expression smooths out the moment their arms lose contact. Yuichi feels a pang at that and wonders how this spiritual stuff works. What is Leo getting from this supposed connection? What does it feel like? It must feel like something, otherwise what’s the point? So what was up with that look on his face? 

Surely Leo can’t hear his thoughts. Right? Right, no, Leo wouldn’t keep something like that from him. Yuichi feels his face flush regardless and casts around for something - anything- to say and break the awkward silence. Is it awkward? It feels awkward, but Leo looks unbothered now that they’re not touching anymore, which sucks because he seemed to like it before now, and seriously, what was with the look? No, yeah, it’s definitely awkward, he needs to say something—

“So, you have a girlfriend back home?”

May every kami strike him down.

Leo’s eyes practically fly open. “I’m sorry?” 

“Uh. Y’know, just, do you have anyone special back home? You’ve told me about your brothers, so I was just wondering…” He trails off, face hot like an idiot. 

Leo avoids looking at him, shoulders stiff and face flushed. Great, now they’re both uncomfortable. 

“Sorry if that’s too personal! I—you don’t have to— I was just wondering,” Yuichi stutters as he tries to salvage the conversation. “I mean, with the whole mutant thing… I just thought it might be a little harder to—“

“I’m not dating anyone,” Leo says before Yuichi can embarrass himself further, thank every god. ”There’s not a lot of, uh, non-human people in New York. Small dating pool and all that. I just haven’t found anyone who’s clicked.”

That makes zero sense to Yuichi. Who isn’t clicking with this guy? He’s an expert in Space Heroes lore, is amazing under pressure, and handles Edgewing like an old master. What’s not to like? 

“Their loss,” Yuichi can’t help but say. He’s about to beat himself up for that, but Leo’s shoulders loosen and he tosses Yuichi a small smile so, win # 2. 

“How about you? Do you have anyone back in Neo Edo?” 

Yuichi definitely should have seen that coming, but the question still catches him off guard for some reason. Not exactly wanting to get into his convoluted dating history he settles on the simple answer. “No, not at the moment. I mean, I've had a few relationships, they just haven’t panned out.”

Leo smirks. “Their loss.” 

Yep, that’s the feeling of Yuichi’s insides melting. “Thanks, uh, you too.” 

You too? Gods alive, what is wrong with him? He’s so glad Gen isn’t here, he would never hear the end of it. 

Leo’s smirk softens into something amused and he looks away, face fever-flushed - wait, that is a fever-flush, right? Yuichi decides to quit while he’s ahead and shoots to his feet, offering a hand down to Leo. 

“Come on, let’s keep moving.” 

Conversation comes to a standstill when it becomes apparent that Leo can’t walk and talk without wheezing. Yuichi and Spot do everything they can to make the trek easier for him. Spot scouts ahead and gives a series of quiet chirps if he runs into any obstacles. Yuichi alternates between pulling Leo along by their joined hands and darting ahead to clear the path as best he can, hacking at the underbrush with his sword. It's exhausting work and he feels his fur drip with sweat as the sun makes its meandering way across the sky, shifting the snow from bright whites to mellow oranges as it starts to set. 

Leo looks like it’s taking all of his will power to keep his balance and put one foot in front of the other. His skin is pallid and waxy and dripping with sweat. His knee makes an audible popping noise with every step, and maybe Yuichi is just exhausted, but he’s placing it in the top five worst sounds he’s ever heard.

The entire time, Leo's hand never leaves his own and he looks slightly calmer for it. The contact still makes Yuichi slightly giddy. Okay, okay, sure, he’d made a promise to bury his feelings, but despite everything else going on, the evidence is mounting that Leo might actually like him back, maybe. He’s noticed small things here and there; a flush across his cheeks here, a lingering stare there. All the harder to ignore with his rapidly deteriorating condition.

He’s not going to make it.

No, no, stop it, Yuichi. Leo is going to be okay, and now is not the time to be thinking about a crush. He has so many other important things he should be worrying about right now. His feelings shouldn’t even remotely be on his radar. He should be focusing on finding food, water, and whether or not Leo would be able to put one foot in front of the other by tomorrow. 

They've been traveling along a small stream for a while now, the slow trickle widening out and joining up with a wider river as they push their way past a thicket of leaves and out onto the river bank. The sun is starting to slink behind the mountain tops, casting deep shadows on their path and Yuichi knows it’s going to get much colder here soon. It seems as good a place as any to stop and make camp for the night.

He can’t help but sigh in relief. His legs feel like lead and the cut across his back has built itself up into a fiery line of pain. His fur is stained a rusty red and the skin underneath is puffy and inflamed, practically straining against Leo’s messy stitches.  

“Alright, I think we can stop here for the night. We both need some real rest.”

Leo’s expression twists. “Wait, no, there’s still some daylight left. We can go for a little longer.” 

“Speak for yourself, I’m dead on my feet here. C’mon, we’re both exhausted. This is a perfect place to make camp.” 

Yuichi stumbles forward and helps pull the pack off of Leo’s shoulders before dropping it unceremoniously to the ground. He helps ease Leo to the ground then sags to his knees beside him. He doesn’t think he’s ever been so worn down. Even his lungs feel tired - he didn’t know that was possible. And he’s starving. That handful of sour berries is long gone. What he wouldn’t do for one of Auntie's bento boxes. He knows Leo and Spot are probably just as hungry, but Yuichi just doesn’t have the energy to forage. Hunting is definitely out of the question, and they can’t risk a fire anyways. Not with the Godkiller’s forces so near. 

Leo must know this too because he doesn’t make any moves at gathering firewood. Instead, he paws around for the pack with hands that still shake and upends its contents into the dirt. Their meager supplies tumble out, adding a nice visual of how screwed they are. Leo shifts onto his knees - and there’s that popping sound again, Yuichi feels like he’s going insane - and lays out their bedrolls side by side. Yuichi slumps over onto his side as Leo does the same. They close enough that their arms can touch if Yuichi were to shift over just a bit, so he does exactly that. 

Leo is asleep almost immediately. Yuichi desperately wants to follow his example, but fights to keep his eyes open. Their enemies are in these mountains. They can’t just sleep without someone to keep watch. He’s just about to go through the herculean process of sitting up when Spot churrs and sits beside him. His little head turns towards the tree line, gaze focused and unwavering as he settles into watch. 

"You are a shining beacon of yokai-kind,” Yuichi says with complete sincerity before falling asleep. 

When he wakes, dawn is about an hour away and there’s a mosquito biting his face. He swats it away and sits up. He feels…not at all rested. Longer scouting missions have taught him that this feeling will not go away until they’re somewhere safe with a warm bed and warm food. Until then, the exhaustion is just going to build upon itself until they can’t go on. He needs to stave that end off for as long as possible and find them something to eat.

The mountain air is frigid and he wishes his kimono wasn’t in tatters. The benefit of not having a fire is that there’s no light to ruin his night vision, so he sees Spot easily in the darkness. The tokage hasn’t moved an inch, still staring steadily into the trees. Yuchi pats him gratefully and stands with a muffled groan - or maybe not muffled because Leo’s eyes shoot open and his hand darts out to grab Yuichi’s ankle. 

“It’s okay,” he whispers. “I’m gonna find us something to eat.”

Leo doesn’t respond and doesn’t let go of his ankle. Yuichi frowns and squints down at him. It’s hard to make out details in the dark, but Leo has a strange expression on his face and there’s something off about his gaze. 

“Leo? Are you okay?”

Leo blinks up at him and releases his ankle with a raspy, “Yeah.” His voice is dry and papery and his gaze is still distant. Yuichi adds finding water to the top of his priorities. 

“You good here while I forage a bit? I’m not going far.”

Leo nods and gives a shaky thumbs up. Unease prickles in Yuichi’s stomach as he steps away. He hopes that some food water will help, maybe he can even find some herbs. 

He doesn’t find much. A few handfuls of berries, some water from a small stream, and a handful of knotweed. He carefully walks back to their little camp and finds Leo upright and slightly propped up against a log, eyes half-lidded as he gently strokes Spots back. The tokage is asleep at his side and Leo’s eyes scan the tree line. His gaze is unfocused, but Yuichi can’t tell if that’s because of fatigue or is yet another sign of  deterioration. 

Yuichi purposefully kicks a stick as he approaches and sees Leo tense, eyes immediately turning in his direction in the dim moon light before landing on him and lightning with recognition. Spot’s head pops up and his eyes hone in on Yuichi immediately. Or rather, hones in on the berries he’s carrying and turns in his direction. Spot jumps to his feet and scrambles over Leo to get to him. His tail slaps right against Leo’s chest and the turtle’s howl of pain echoes across the forest. He shoves the tokage away and rolls over onto his side, clutching the wound. 

Yuichi dives for him, dropping the berries as he clamps a hand over Leo’s mouth, muffling the gritted groaning sound he’s making. Yuichi’s head whips up as his eyes scan the forest feverishly. His ears stand on end and twitch at the slightest sound. Leo freezes under him and their camp goes silent as Yuichi listens, listens, listens. 

Every sound sends his heart into overdrive. There’s a dry rustle of leaves to the southeast— Godless? No, no, it’s a squirrel. Paranoia pricks at him as his mind threatens to label every sound as a threat, but with great effort he pulls himself together. If there were any humans nearby, he would know. He would, he would.

He releases Leo as fast as he can, whispering apologies as he looks him over. “Leo, are you okay? Talk to me.”

It takes Leo a few more grunts up pain and strangled breaths before he answers. “I’m- mgghhh –I’m fine. Just hurts.” The turtle hisses through clenched teeth, trying to push himself up out of the dirt. Yuichi moves to help him sit up and lean back against the log. His ears remain alert for any sounds coming from the forest, but his heart rate is slowing. Leo’s eyes remain skewed shut, his fists clench at his sides as he tries to breathe through the pain. Yuichi grabs one of his hands, squeezing it tight and watching as the pain passes and he starts to relax. 

There’s a whimper from beside them and they both look down to find Spot cowering next to them, head lowered as he gently nuzzles at Leo’s side, chirping rather pathetically.

“Hey, it’s okay, buddy. You didn’t do anything wrong,” Leo murmurs, his tone soothing as he grabs a few of the dropped berries from the ground and encourages the tokage closer. Spot cautiously creeps forward, sniffing at the berries before gobbling them down in one bite then curling up into Leo’s side. Leo chuckles softly and within seconds, Spot is happily churring as he nuzzles into his hand. 

Yuichi is too busy trying to look at the injury to enjoy the moment. He squints into the early dawn light and sees a dark spot on the fabric of Leo’s kimono. 

“Alright, take this off. I need to take a look at that.” 

Leo looks confused for a moment before understanding finally dawns across his face. Yeah, there’s definitely a distance to his gaze, but Yuichi only has the bandwidth for one crisis at a time right now. Leo shrugs the fabric off his shoulders and what Yuichi sees makes his breath catch. 

It’s worse. It’s so much worse than before. 

The shell around the wound is a pale, discolored yellow that streaks outwards from the gaping hole like a creeping fungus. The crack appears wider than before, and upon closer examination, he finds small bits of shell flaking away at the edges as if something is eating away at it. On the surrounding bits of his shell are festering sores as the infection eats away at the untouched sections of Leo’s shell. 

He’s struck speechless at the sight. He’s never seen anything like it. He pulls his eyes from the wound and looks at Leo, taking in his hazy eyes, his discolored face, the heat radiating off of him. A festering anxiety winds up inside of him, twisting Yuichi’s insides into a tight knot.

He’s not going to make it.  

He’s not going to make it.

“Yuichi.”

Gods, all he has is some water and a few straggly bits of knotweed. It’s not going to help. He needs more, he needs a doctor, but all he has is Yuichi. What use is he against something like this? He’s not going to make it. 

“Yuichi!”

He tears through the pack, throwing items out and hoping against hope that something - anything - will magically materialize that could solve this. He’s not going to make it.

He throws the empty pack against the rocks and snatches up the knotweed, cursing under his breath as he frantically searches for something to use as a mortar. Gods, he is so fucking useless. These herbs are going to do fuckall, and he has nothing else that can help. He can only sit here and watch as the turtle slowly dies in front of his eyes. He hasn’t felt this helpless since he lost his parents.  Why couldn’t it have been Gen here with him? Or Chizu, or literally anyone else. Anyone would have been a better option than him. 

“Yuichi, calm down. I’m fine, really—”

“No, you're not!” Yuichi shouts, the floodgates finally crashing open. He can’t even care about the noise or the Godless or anything else. Not in the face of this. 

“Stop pretending you’re okay ’cause you’re not, Leo! You're dying!”

He shoots to his feet, frantically wiping away at the tears that have started flowing down his face as he paces back and forth. His mind feels like it’s spiraling deeper and deeper towards that dark place inside him. He’s five years old and his father’s voice rings in his ears, screaming at him to run. He’s six and his parents are gone and he can’t sleep through the nightmares. He’s twenty-two and nothing has changed. 

“I promised I would get you home safe and I’m failing you! There’s— there’s absolutely nothing I can do about this.” He growls in frustration, digging his palms into his eyes, desperately trying to staunch the flow of tears as he sinks to knees beside Leo’s head. 

"You're right, there's nothing you can do so stop worrying,” Leo says, setting a comforting hand on his knee.  “I’m still able to move. I can still make it to the border. I won’t hold us back. That’s all that matters right now. ”

“Stop saying that!” Yuichi shouts. “That’s not all that matters! You matter! You matter so fucking much! Gods, what do I have to do to drill that into your head? You matter to your friends! You matter to your brothers! You matter to me! I can’t watch you do this to yourself. I can’t lose another person that I….” 

Yuichi’s trails off, his voice cracking as he buries his face in his knees and tries to get himself under control. Something nuzzles at his arms and he looks up to find Spot sitting in front of him. Right, he needs to get it together. This isn’t helping anything. 

It takes him a few more seconds to collect himself. When he looks back up at Leo he finds him staring with a bewildered expression on his face. It’s like his surprise has chased away the fog in his eyes as he sits up, spine ramrod straight. Yuichi is confused for only a moment until his own words finally register. Oh.

Warmth floods his cheeks as an awkward silence settles between them, neither of them daring to break the tenuous silence. After a few seconds, Yuichi just can’t take it anymore and buries his face in his knees once more.

“I matter to you?”

His almost hopeful tone makes Yuichi’s head pop up. He half expects there to be a joking smirk on the other’s face, but Leo is looking at him with nothing but sincerity. 

“I— yeah, of course,” Yuichi says slowly. “You matter to me. A lot.”

“In what way?”

“In a bit more than just a friend way.” 

Okay, it’s out there. Horrible timing, but no one can ever say that Usagi Yuichi doesn’t shoot his shot. His heart pounds in his chest as he tries to gauge his reaction. Leo is very quiet for several long seconds, expression pensive, and Yuichi starts to wonder if he’s said the wrong thing. 

The awkwardness is genuinely agonizing, so he quickly stumbles to correct himself. “I’m sorry. If you're not interested, I won’t be offended.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” Leo says, his voice uncertain as his cheeks flush from more than just the fever. “I… I think I like you too… in that way…”

“You think?” 

“Yeah, or I mean, I’m not really sure.” He suddenly becomes very fascinated by his own hands in his lap. “I’ve never felt…” He takes a deep breath and says all at once, “I’ve never had someone else matter to me like this before.”

Right, okay, Yuichi is really springing a lot on the poor guy, isn’t he. This is exactly why he had wanted to wait to do this.

“Right, no, that’s fine. I get it,” Yuichi says, gently bumping against him, drawing Leo’s attention. “I’m sorry, I messed this up. I wasn’t even gonna bring it up ’till we got back to Neo Edo, but, well, if it wasn’t already obvious, I sort of have a talent for putting my foot in my mouth.” 

Leo snorts and gives him a considering look before he reaches out and grasps Yuichi’s hand. Yuichi’s heart feels like it’s about to beat out of his chest. Leo doesn’t look at him, instead looking down at their joined hands and runs his thumb through the fur on the back of Yuichi’s hand. 

“How about we just pretend this didn’t happen?”

The words are so incongruous with the gentle caress of his thumb that Yuichi skips right over panic and lands straight in confusion. “What?” 

“You get a do over,” Leo hastens to explain, squeezing Yuichi’s hand tighter. “We can just pretend this little conversation never happened and we can talk about this properly when we’re both safe under a roof in Neo Edo. I think we already have enough to worry about right now don’t you?” 

If they make it there , Yuichi can’t help but think. His eyes are drawn back to Leo’s chest where the crack is hidden once again hidden under layers of fabric. Leo follows his gaze and his expression is grave before he lifts their joined hands up between them and squeezes hard. 

“Hey, none of that. When we make it back to Neo Edo, we’ll talk.” 

“Right. of course, when we make it back to Neo Edo.” Even as he says the words, they ring hollow. The sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach only growing at the words. 

He’s not going to make it.

Leo’s responding smile is wane. A strong breeze blows past, causing him to shudder and pull his kimono closed. Yuichi’s breath mists in front of his face, and he wishes he had a blanket or something he could offer him. He’d give him his own kimono if it weren’t it tatters. Morning is still a couple of hours away, and he knows it will take a while for the temperatures to rise in the shade of the mountains. 

Leo shivers again and that just won’t do. Yuichi grabs his bedroll and drags it over to Leo’s until the two overlap. 

“Come on, we can still get in a few hours of z’s before we get going again.”

Leo hesitates. 

“Don’t overthink it,” Yuichi says. ”I’m warm, you’re not, and it looks like it’s going to be a cold night.” 

He eyes the dark clouds far off on the horizon warily as the wind decides to drive his point home, giving another strong gust that has Leo wrapping his arms tight around his torso. Not wanting to pressure him, Yuichi just lays there until Leo makes up his mind and slowly eases down beside him. 

“Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

They eat their meager gathering of berries and Yuichi manages to get him to drink one of the bottles of water despite him complaining about being nauseous. It’s just one symptom to add to an ever-growing list, and Yuichi feels worry settle deep in his gut. 

Afterwards, Leo settles down but remains stiff and keeps a bit of distance between them, and yeah, Yuichi is also feeling incredibly awkward, but as Leo’s shivers turn into a steady tremor his worry wins out. Yuichi reaches out, wrapping an arm around Leo and pulls him in closer. The turtle's skin and shell are icy and damp even as heat practically radiates from him in waves. Yuichi tries to not let on how worrying this is, keeping his arm relaxed and casual as he tries to share as much of his body heat as possible. Leo tenses for a moment before he seems to register the warmth and wraps his arms around Yuichi, pulling him in close. 

It’s warm and more comfortable than he’s felt in days, but Yuichi can’t relax. His worry grows teeth as he casts around for anything else that might help.

“Can you use healing hands?”

“Can’t. I’m all out of juice…” Leo murmurs, trailing off as his breathing evens out, soft snores following a moment later. 

Yuichi sighs, disappointed but not surprised. It may be for the best anyways; he doesn’t know what he would do if Leo passed out on him now and didn’t wake up, not when they were so close to the border. 

Spot hops up into the log just above their heads and fixes his gaze on the surrounding forest once more. Yuichi reaches up to pat at his foot, but pulls back quickly when Leo shudders. 

The heat from their bodies is cloying and there’s a distinct smell of rot clinging to Leo’s skin. Yuichi hugs him tighter and tries to quiet his own racing thoughts. He’s going to be okay - he’s going to be okay - he’s——

He’s not going to make it.

Chapter Text

“Raph. Come on, dude, wake up. It’s time to go.”

Raph lurches awake and shoots up, his sai whistling towards the neck of the offending voice before he’s even opened his eyes.

“Whoa! Chill, dude, it's just me!” Raph can feel Mikey’s hands grab his wrist in an iron-clad hold as the metal of his blade rests against his throat.  

The blade disappears just as fast, stowed back in his holster as Raph cracks open an eye. “Sorry, sorry,” he pants, struggling to get his bearings. “Bad dreams.” 

He rolls onto his side and squints up at the sky. The sun is already high over the horizon, hanging over the expansive distance of forest they’ve been traveling through the past few days. A quick glance around the campsite reveals that the majority of their belongings are already packed up and ready to go. Donnie is hunched over and zipping up the final bag. 

“Why didn’t you wake me earlier?” Raph demands, glaring at Mikey. 

It’s Donnie who answers. “We can handle cleaning up camp on our own, and God knows you need the rest.”  He stands, slinging the backpack over his shell before pulling out his GPS. “It shouldn’t be much farther now. We should be able to make it to the entrance of the pass just before noon and meet up with these ‘yokai’.” He raises a hand, making quotation marks in the air on the last word as the device in his hand hums to life. He falls silent and turns away slightly as he analyses the screen. 

Raph grumbles but gathers himself up off the ground, quickly rolling up his sleeping bag and stowing it away in his pack. “Alright then, what are we waiting for? Let’s get going.”

After packing up the rest of their supplies, they get back on the road. Donnie leads the way forward with Raph and Mikey trailing close behind. After two days of hiking, they are well into the mountains by now. The landscape around them is vast and Raph finds something about it rather familiar. The trees, the mountains, the woody scent hanging in the air, it all reminds him of the time they had spent with that rabbit back in an alternate version of feudal japan. Hell, they'd been running around that version of Japan for three whole days. It makes sense that he would find it all familiar. Still, the similarity nags at him, scratching at something in the back of his brain that sets him on edge. 

It had taken them the better part of a day to make their way through the sewers and to the outskirts of Tokyo. After finding a nice alcove tucked away beneath the surface, they had hidden until it was dark enough for them to venture out into the human world once more. Hitchhiking at night severely limited their options for transportation, but it also lowered their chances of being spotted. They’d spent the better part of the following night strategically stowing away on trucks that were headed toward their destination.

It hadn't always been straightforward; they had found themselves doubling back several times from their intended route when they boarded the wrong truck. After a while, conventional transportation had gotten them as far as it could without risking discovery. They stopped off at the edge of a small rural town before heading out into the mountains. They’d all had some experience out in the woods after their time at the farm house and that little adventure with the rabbit samurai, but they were still by no means experienced hikers. Thankfully, Donnie’s tech meant they didn’t have to do any of their navigation the old fashioned way, which made up for their abysmal skills in that department. Along with a decent amount of research Donnie had done on the flight over, he had pretty much managed to map out their route through the mountains in advance. Still, they had a long way to go and no easy way of getting there. They had managed to cover a sizable distance yesterday before stopping to set up camp, but for every day that passed, the worry in Raph’s gut tightened.

Nearly two hours in, Mikey groans, pulling Raph out of his musings. “Ugh, how much farther is it?” Raph turns to find his brother unnecessarily pulling himself up over the edge of a particularly large boulder on an otherwise clear path.

“Would you quit it?” Raph says, turning to grab a hold of Mikey’s shell and quickly pulling him down off of the rock, sending him stumbling off balance and face first into the dirt. 

His brother groans, rolling over and flopping over onto his back staring despondent up at Raph. “But I’m starving and my legs are killing me.” Mikey’s stash of snack food had run out just the night before, leaving them with nothing to eat for breakfast unless they wanted to take their chances forging. “We’ve been hiking for days, man! I’m so over it!”

“I know, Mikey, but you just need to hold on a little bit longer,” Donnie says reassuringly, holding his device up in the air. “According to my GPS, we are almost at the rendezvous point, though my signal is getting really spotty. We’re probably not going to be able to count on any kind of signal once we make it over these so-called magical borders.” 

“Have you let April and Casey know that we’ll be out of contact?” asks Raph. He doesn’t want to unnecessarily worry them if he can help it. They’ve already lost one friend, and Raph has no doubt that  if April and Casey went too long without hearing from them, then they will raise absolute hell until they get them back. While he appreciates it, that isn‘t exactly what they need right now.

“Of course. I sent them a text a few minutes ago,” Donnie explains. “Told them that if they don’t hear from us within a week, that’s when they should start to worry.”

Raph raises a questioning eyebrow, but Donnie simply waves him off. “I’m sure we’ll know more about what’s going on by then and find a way to get a message back out to them.” He fiddles with the controls on his device. “Besides, maybe we can use the fact that they know we’re here as some kind of leverage to make sure these guys let us back out of their territory again. I mean, I’m sure the last thing they want is more crazy humans storming their borders.”

Okay, he has a pretty good point. They know absolutely nothing about these people who’ve asked for their help, or what exactly they are walking into. For all they know, these humans they are supposed to help fight are the only thing between these creatures and total world domination. Raph knows that’s unlikely, but with the clusterfuck that is their general lives, he can’t rule it out completely. 

“We’re almost at the rendezvous point now,” Donnie says, switching off the GPS before stowing it back in his bag as they step out of the forest and onto what appears to be a cleared dirt road. A rope bridge hangs over a chasm not far ahead, and Raph sighs in relief. This is the first sign of civilization they’ve seen in a while. He glances around warily, but there doesn’t appear to be a soul in sight. Wasn’t someone supposed to be meeting them here? Unease settles in his gut, and he can tell his brothers are unsettled as well as they all eye the path with clear unease. 

“Stay close,” Raph murmurs. “We need to be ready for anything.”

Donnie and Mikey both nod and all of them close ranks, their senses on high alert as they step out onto the path. As they walk forward, Raph’s hands rest on the hilts of his sai. Further ahead, he can start to see more signs of activity around them. Hoof and paw prints litter the path, crisscrossing in every direction, and one or two scattered tools lie at the bases of the trees.  

Something shifts in the shadows in the corner of Raph’s vision. He makes a point to not turn towards it or give any indication that he’s noticed, instead he drops his second lids and scans the area slowly. He can faintly see shapes moving in the forest on either side of them, but they disappear into the gloom before he could get a good look at them, but that’s alright. He doesn’t need to lay eyes on them; his training and instincts give him all the warning he needs. They’re being tailed. He subtly glances over at his brothers, gauging whether or not they were picking up on the activity as well. On the surface they both appear relatively calm, but he can see the stiffness in their posture as their hands ever so subtly drift closer to their weapons. 

The first attack comes from the trees as a shuriken whistles through the air right at them. Donnie’s bo is a dark blur as he blocks them with ease, the sharp metal embedding in the wood of his staff. Raph and his brothers all immediately fall into formation, weapons drawn and eyeing the treeline warily. The forest in front of them remains deathly silent, the only sound is the whisper of the wind rustling through the leaves. 

Raph glances at his brothers, and with the merest flicker of his gaze upwards, they all get the message. Mikey throws down a smoke bomb and they all shoot up into the trees as one, disappearing amongst the shadows of the canopy with practiced ease. They dart over the branches, making sure to move silently until they find what they’re looking for. Raph scans the forest floor below, and there they are. Three ninja are scattered about, all wearing a red uniform and clan insignia. Raph recognizes the symbol on sight. It's been burned into his memory from that day on the rooftop. 

These are the people who had taken Leo. 

He feels a wave of relief wash over him even as his blood starts to boil. This is it. Their risky gamble over the ocean has paid off.  After weeks of searching, they’d finally found these bastards and Raph is going to make them pay for taking his brother. He has no doubt that if these assholes are here, then Leo isn’t far behind. 

Raph is about to give the others the signal to attack when something hits him hard from above. Human hands clad in red grip his head tightly. He barely has a chance to react before the branch beneath his feet cracks and they both plunge towards the forest floor. Air and branches whip by until Raph manages to shift at the last second, pushing his attacker off and pivoting so his shell takes the brunt of the landing. 

He skids back a few feet on his shell then rolls back onto his feet, watching as the human across from him clumsily stumbles to his feet. The reprieve doesn’t last long before the man’s gaze seems to come into focus and he lunges. The human is built like a tank and surprisingly heavy. He tackles Raph right off his feet and straddles him, arcing his blade down in a flash of steel. Raph just barely manages to draw his sai in time to block the blow, stopping the blade just millimeters before it can pierce his face. Thinking fast, he bucks his hips upwards, throwing the man off balance and uses his momentum to wrench the blade from the human’s grasp.  

He can dimly hear the sound of his brothers fighting from somewhere in the trees above, knowing they can handle themselves. He flips the human off of him and quickly rolls over, regaining his feet just as the other man starts to stumble upright. Raph doesn’t give him the chance. He slams his elbow into the man's face with a satisfying crunch and kicks him back. The man smacks into a tree behind him, his head hitting the trunk with a loud crack before he slumps to the ground. 

Raph stands there, panting lightly as he stares down at the limp body before him. He practically jumps out of his skin when the sound of unraveling chains comes from above. He manages to jump back just in time to avoid another man falling down right in front of his face. He pulls back a fist, ready to knock the daylights out of him, until he registers that the human is trussed up within the chain. The man’s eyes are wide with terror, his mask pulled off and shoved in his mouth as he hangs upside down. 

The sound of laughter reaches him from the trees and he looks up to find Donnie and Mikey smiling down at him and waving.

“Hey, Raph! Got a present for you!”  Mikey calls down as they both jump from the tree. Mikey's weight acts as a counterbalance on the other end of the chain, sending the human flying back up into the branches with a muffled scream. 

Mikey lands lightly on his feet and lets the slack out of his chain. The man falls back to the ground with a loud thump . Raph can’t help the grin that stretches across his face at the sight. He grips the chains wrapped around the human’s chest and flips him onto his back. “I love presents.” He turns to Donnie. “We in the clear?”

“Yeah, that should be all of them. Though one of them did manage to slip away deeper into the forest. Probably returning to their base or wherever else they’re grouped up at” Donnie’s gaze darts around nervously. “It’s probably best that we get out of the open.” 

Raph nods, looking back down to find the guy making a rather poor attempt to caterpillar-crawl away, even as Mikey reals him in closer. Pathetic.

“Come on, Mikey,” Raph says, starting back out towards the dirt road. “Bring my present with you. Me and him are gonna have a little talk.”

Mikey happily obeys, dragging the man behind him on the chain. As they make the short walk back out of the forest, the human is dragged roughly through the underbrush, shouting obscenities at them through the gag the whole way. 

Once they make it back to the road, Mikey tosses the other end of his chain up over a sturdy tree branch, happily humming to himself as he tests the hold before turning a mischievous smile on the man. A second later, he leaps up, grabbing onto the chain and yanking downward. His body weight sends the man flying up into the trees. Mikey gives a devious little cackle before securing the other end of the chain to a nearby branch and returning to Raph’s side. They all stand there for a moment, watching the man hanging upside down, spinning in circles and swaying back and forth, his eyes desperately darting around as he tries to orient himself.

The rage that Raph has been holding back suddenly surges over him and he storms forward, grabbing the man by the collar and ripping the gag out. 

“Where’s our brother, you fucking sicko?” he snarls. It’s tame considering he’d much rather beat the guy to a bloody pulp, but right now he needs to be smart. Beating this man within an inch of his life won’t get them the answers they need. 

The man blinks at him a few times, confusion clear in his eyes, before they light with recognition and his face twists into a scowl. “Filthy kappa.” He rears back and spits in Raph’s face. Raph growls, stumbling back a few steps as he wipes spittle from his cheek. Tamping down his anger is a herculean effort but he manages it, taking a few seconds to breathe before gritting out, “Mikey.”

Not needing any more prompting, his brother jumps onto the rope, cackling with glee as he throws his weight back and forth until both him and the man are swinging around in wild circles. Mikey's laughter continues even as the man’s face starts to go pale from the motion. 

It only takes a few minutes before he warbles through clenched teeth, “Stop. Please.”

Raph watches with smug satisfaction as the man pleads. “Sure, I can tell him to stop, but only if you tell me what I need to know.”

The human’s upside down glare looks ridiculous. “Never.” 

Raph shrugs, “Alright then. My brother gets to keep having fun until you change your mind.” 

Mikey giggles, swinging around with even more enthusiasm than before as Raph turns his back on the display to mutter to Donnie, “They’re definitely the same people who took Leo, right?”

Donnie’s expression is grim. “Obviously. The uniforms all match up and everything, but if he’s not gonna talk, I don’t really know where we are going to go from here.” 

“These guys aren't really the ones we need to be talking to either,” Raph adds.

Donnie nods in agreement. “We probably can't put too much faith in anything we manage to coerce out of him. What we really need is to talk to these yokai.”

“Agreed, but where the hell are they?”

Somewhere behind him, he hears gagging quickly followed by a retching sound as the man empties the contents of his stomach out onto the forest floor. Raph glares at the man before turning around strolling back over towards him as he heaves and coughs. The human’s face is pale as Raph grabs him and pulls him in close. The stench of bile clings to the man along with a few flecks of vomit sticking to the corners of his mouth as he dazedly looks back at him. “Alright, buddy,” Raph growls. “You ready to talk yet?” 

The man sneers back at him, but before he can answer, Raph spots movement out of the corner of his eye coming from the other side of the bridge. He lets the man go, leaving him to swing freely, as he grabs his sai and turns to face the incoming strangers. If all of this has been some stupid fucking trap, Raph is gonna tear these grifters limb from limb. He widens his stance, weapons at the ready, but the figures don’t speed their way toward them or draw a single weapon. They continue toward them at a steady pace, carrying a white flag between them. Confused, Raph glances at both of his brothers only to find the pair of them looking back at him expectantly. 

Right. He is the one in charge here, the one making the decisions. 

Great. 

This could be a trap. They could have come all this way just to be captured by an even more deadly enemy, but for some reason, he doubts that. Leo proves that there are much easier and less convoluted ways of picking them off the streets, as much as Raph is loath to admit it. Still, he finds himself hesitating to reshealth his weapons as they continue their approach. He growls under his breath and sinks into his stance. Trap or no trap, it doesn’t really matter. They need answers, and he bets they’ll have a better chance of getting them out of these people than their captured soldier.  

Reluctantly, Raph sheaths his sai but keeps his hand resting on the hilt in warning. His brothers follow his example, stowing their weapons as they all stand at attention as the group approaches.

As they grow closer, Raph can more clearly make out the approaching silhouettes of a rhino, a fox, and a cat. It’s not exactly what he had expected, and they look nothing like the pictures Donnie had shown them of yokai on the flight over. If anything, they look more like a group of mutants he might find back in New York. 

The small group comes to a stop about twelve feet from them, all three of them bowing respectfully. They look rather official, decked out in Samurai garb with swords at their waists and weapons strapped to their back. Raph feels his heart start to pound. These have to be the people they’re here to meet.   

“You must be Leonardo's brothers,” the rhino says, straightening his large bulk and looking them over. “Well, I can see the family resemblance.” He chuckles, but Raph and his brothers are not amused, eyeing the guy up and down. He reminds Raph of their frenemy, Rocksteady. The two share some resemblance, but he can tell this guy is definitely closer to their age than the grumpy old rhino they know.

Raph crosses his arms. “And you are?” 

“My name is Gennosuke. We are the ones who had the baku send you a message. These are my colleagues.” He gestures to the fox and cat standing behind him.

“Chizu.” The cat inclines her head and bows slightly in acknowledgement. 

“And Kitsune.” The fox bows with a bit more flourish, a bright smile on her face. “Pleasure to meet you,” she says, as she straightens back up. “We have been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”  

“Filthy yokai!” Their captive shouts from behind them, spitting on the ground and snarling like a rabid dog. Raph watches the samurai’s reactions carefully as the rhino yokai’s gaze flickers over the hanging human, his face turning up in a sneer.

“Don’t bother with that one,” he says. “You’ll never get him to talk. His lot are annoyingly loyal to their master.” He sounds bored and resigned as he steps forward and pulls a piece of cloth out of his pocket, shoving it deftly inside the man’s mouth before he can say another word.

“Great. Thanks for the advice,” Raph says flatly. “You know, if you’re really here to help us, why the hell were you waiting over there while we dealt with these guys?” He gestures to the human and the trees beyond where the others are still lying unconscious on the forest floor. 

“Our apologies,” the cat, Chizu, says, stepping forward. “We came as soon as we heard the commotion from across the bridge. By the time we made it over here, it looked like you had everything pretty well in hand.”

Cowards. “Why the hell were you hiding out over there in the first place?” growls Raph. 

“The woods here have been crawling with Godless ever since the incident a week prior,” she explains calmly. “We could not linger on this side and risk falling into their hands until we knew you had arrived.”

Self-important cowards, then. What the hell kind of excuse is that? Before Raph can call them out on that bogus answer, Donnie steps forward, cutting him off. “I’m sorry, but you mentioned their master. Who would that be exactly?” Donnie’s hands twitch at his sides with barely restrained curiosity and impatience. Behind them, the gagged human starts wiggling and shouting muffled obscenities. 

Chizu blinks. “You don’t know?”

Donnie immediately looks annoyed, crossing his arms over his chest. “No. Your baku didn’t tell us anything. It just gave us these coordinates and told us we would find out more once we got here.”

Gen lets out a sigh that sounds tired and long-suffering. He runs a hand down his face. “Damn kami.”

“That’s a long story,” Chizu says. “We can explain everything on the ride back into Neo Edo.” 

She gestures back toward the rickety old rope bridge and the samurai turn, as if to head back towards it, but the Hamatos don’t move an inch. Raph’s temper sets to a simmer, fingernails digging into the leather-bound hilt of his sai. “Nuh-uh,“ he says. “I don't see why we should trust any of you when you had that thing withhold info about our brother in exchange for our help.” 

The rhino, Gen, straightens further and Raph matches him beat-for-beat, squaring up as he continues, “We're not doing shit until we know more. Let’s start with Leo. Where the hell is he?”

Gen opens his mouth but Chizu shoots him a look and cuts in before he can respond. “Currently beyond our reach.” 

Raph’s stomach clenches and the glare he shoots them is nothing short of lethal. He can practically feel the heat of his brothers’ own glares over his shoulder. Chizu’s eyes widen almost imperceptibly as she rushes to say, “We were the ones who first found and rescued your brother. Unfortunately, we were separated, though he is under the protection of our friend. Believe me, he’s in good hands.”

Donnie’s clenched hands slowly curl into fists. “Separated. Where are they now?” 

The small group looks between each other uneasily. 

“It’s all a very long story,” Kitsune says slowly, looking over at them sympathetically. “I promise, we mean you no harm and we would be happy to explain, but we still have a long trip ahead of us back to Neo Edo. If all has gone well, your brother should already be waiting for us inside of our borders.”

The words are said too hesitantly for Raph to trust. They were told these people had answers, but all they’ve offered so far are vagaries and half-hopes. Nothing tangible, nothing useful, and Leo isn’t here . The same squirming anxiety that has lived in Raph’s chest for four long weeks surges, alive once more. His grip on his sai tighten, causing the leather to creak as he hears Mikey’s breathing pick up and Donnie shift on his feet as they both step up beside Raph. The yokai tense as the air goes taunt and charged. 

Chizu looks at them solemnly. “We are not your enemy.” 

“An ally would tell us where our brother is,” Donnie counters. 

The samurai shoot a look at the captured human. “We can’t discuss this here,” Gen rumbles. “Our enemies have swarmed this forest and listening ears can be anywhere.” 

“Come with us to Neo Edo,” Kitsune implores. “We can speak freely there.” 

Mikey idly pulls on his chain, sending the captured human spinning once more. “You don’t know where Leo is and you want us to go to a secondary location?” He rolls his eyes. “As if!” 

Chizu’s expression goes slightly pained as her teammates shift in impatience. While the cat yokai focuses on them, Raph can see the other two scanning the trees warily, as if simply being in the forest is enough to set them on edge. “We’re not trying to trick you,” Chizu says. “It’s honestly not safe to discuss our plans here. For us or your brother.” 

Mikey and Donnie both glance over at Raph as he looks the samurai over slowly, trying to come to the right decision. The yokai look sincere, but Raph literally doesn’t know anything about these people. “Give us a sec,” he grumbles before pulling his brothers further into the forest. He sees Kitsune’s ears flicker towards them as he brings them to a stop. He’s not sure if she can hear them, but lowers his voice just in case.

“Well? Do we trust these guys?” 

“They seem genuine enough,” Donnie says, scratching his chin thoughtfully. “Everything they've told us so far seems to add up but they still haven’t given us very much to go on, and we already have so little information to begin with.”

“Dudes, do we actually have a choice?” asks Mikey, peeking over his own shoulder to squint at the group. “I mean, if what that weird dream guy said is true, we can’t get into this Neo-whatever place without them.”

Donnie’s eyes flick away from the small group to look Raph. “That is assuming Leo’s even there, but he does have a point. I don’t really see where we go from here if we don’t follow them. If we stay here, that leaves us searching hundreds of acres of woods on our own that he might not even be in. If they're telling the truth, Leo could already be inside their borders waiting for us.” 

Raph grumbles, kicking a pine cone hard into a nearby tree. He hates this. Has hated it for a long time now. But Mikey is right; they really don’t have a choice. As long as these yokai have Leo, they have absolutely no power or control in this situation.

“Alright, fine. But stay alert. We’ll use them to get across this weird border or whatever. But if they do any shady shit after that, we ditch them and go look for Leo ourselves.” 

Donnie and Mikey nod in agreement before they all turn back and walk towards the samurai before coming to a stop before them. Raph squares his shoulders and speaks. “Fine, we'll come with you, but he better be there or it‘ll be your head.”

The rhino harrumphs, looking like he has a myriad of opinions about that, but he is interrupted by the sounds of muffled speaking that draws their attention to the human still hanging upside down from the tree. 

Raph sneers at him. “What do we do with this guy?” 

“Leave him.” Gen waves a hand dismissively. “One of his own will find him eventually. Let him face his master with his failure; I hear he’s not very forgiving.” Without fanfare, the samurai walks right up to the man, knocking him out with one punch and leaving him hanging limply in Mikey’s chains before turning and heading towards the rope bridge with the other samurai. 

Raph huffs, giving the human one last disdainful glare before Mikey shrugs and lets the man’s body drop to the ground. He quickly regathers his chains before they all follow the yokai toward the bridge. 

Once there, the samurai come to a stop and face them, all of them holding out their hands and looking at them expectantly. Mikey, without missing a beat, slaps Kitsune’s hand in a low-five, causing the yokai’s lips to curl into a grin.

Gen rolls his eyes. “Neo Edo has wards around its borders that won’t allow any outsiders to enter without a key,” he explains. “You’ll need to hold onto us when we cross.”

Raph crosses his arms and glances down at the rhino’s hand with the most unimpressed look he can muster. “So give us a key then. You’re the ones who called us here.”

Gen’s large jaw twitches as he visibly grinds his teeth. “If any keys fall into our enemies hands, it would spell disaster for our country. We don’t carry extras with us like a bunch of idiots.” 

“Call up your council and get a key then. I’m not holding your hand.”

There’s a huff from behind and then Donnie shoulders past, glaring at him. “Stop wasting time.” He turns to Chizu. “If we cross over without a key, will we also need you to leave?”

“No. You can leave freely, you just need us to enter.”

“Fine.” He slaps his hand in Chizu’s and the two start down the bridge. Mikey grabs Kitsune’s wrist and guides her hand through a complex high-five/handshake/fist-bump combo before linking their arms and pulling her onto the bridge. Kitsune’s grin widens and she allows herself to be pulled along without complaint, leaving Raph and Gen to stare at each other. 

Raph plants his feet and stares the rhino down unblinkingly. Gen meets his gaze levely, expression blank, but Raph clocks a throbbing vein in his forehead and grins at him with too many teeth. The yokai rolls his eyes, drops his hand, and rests a single finger on Raph’s shoulder. Raph itches to shrug him off, but this is better than having to hold his hand, so he doesn’t. Glaring at each other mulishly, they both pick their way carefully across the bridge. 

It’s one of those single-file wooden monstrosities that stretches across a deep ravine. The gorge is so deep that the bottom is shrouded in thick fog. The bridge creaks and swings as they inch their way across despite how new the ropes under Raph’s hands feel, as if freshly built. Despite its dramatic groaning, the bridge holds and they all cross without much trouble. 

Raph didn’t know what he expected to feel when he passed through the wards, but in the end it doesn’t feel like much of anything. A buzzing feeling against his scales, zippy like static electricity; a pressure in his ears, causing him to work his jaw until they popped, but nothing else. 

The moment they stepped onto the ground on the other side, Gen removes his finger and makes a show of wiping it off on his robe. Raph picks an imaginary piece of lint off his shoulder in response and ignores the annoyed look Donnie shoots him. From there, it’s a short distance before the group turns a corner and finds a modest camp complete with a few horses and a cart tucked away off to the side of the path. Chizu and Kitsune each walk up their respective horses and climb on while Gen walks up to the cart climbing into the driver's seat and takes the reins of the horses before turning to look at him and his brothers. “You guys can ride in the back.” He indicates the empty cart.

“Fantastic,” Raph grumbles as they all move to pile into the cart, quickly getting settled before Gen snaps the reins sending them on their way.

A silence settles over their group as they trundle along the path and it grates on Raph’s already strained nerves. He keeps expecting one of the yokai to launch into the explanations he and his brothers are owed, but they remain silent beyond the quick glances and subtle gestures they trade back and forth; subtle, exclusive, a language of its own. The practiced ease they share with each other is intimately familiar, and Raph sees a flash of his own brothers in his mind’s eye, overlapping with the yokai like a ghostly afterimage. 

Anger surges through him. At them and their silence, at the humans who have apparently caused this whole situation, and, conflicting, at Leo for getting himself caught in the middle of it all. Guilt at that last thought quickly follows, but it’s not enough ease the fury that settles in his gut like a rot. It’s an uncomfortable mix of emotions and it wears his patience down in record time. 

He leans forward until his head is right over Gen’s shoulder and asks the only question that matters.

“Talk. Where the hell is our brother?”

The yokai were right, it is a very long story. By the time the trio are finished saying their peace, fields and other small dwellings have come into view ahead of them as the sun starts its slow descent towards the horizon. 

Raph lets their speech wash over him as his eyes flicker over his brothers. Mikey’s unhappy frown is growing deeper and deeper, while Donnie’s grip on his GPS tightens until its plastic casing groans. Raph is also struggling to hold himself in check as his heart pounds and drowns out their words because; “You don’t have any fucking clue where he is.”

Chizu’s right ear twitches. She looks like she’s barely hanging onto her patience, and the sheer audacity of that makes Raph’s fists clench. “He’s traveling through the mountains with—“

“ That’s not the same as knowing where he is! ” Raph roars, slamming a hand against the cart and leveraging up onto his knees, seething. “What you know is that he is somewhere in those godforsaken mountains with your friend, and they’re both running for their lives from people who are hunting them down for sport!” 

It makes a depressing amount of sense that Leo has found a way to end up in yet more trouble. As if being kidnapped wasn’t bad enough; now they have cults and councils and secret yokai societies to deal with. Why couldn’t things for once - for once - be easy for them? 

“We’re truly sorry,” Chizu replies, voice low and calm as if to salvage the conversation. As if she possibly could. “I wish things had gone differently. We had hoped that the baku would have explained more of the situation before you arrived.” 

“Yeah, well, it didn’t tell us shit!” Raph snaps. “That damn spirit wouldn't tell us anything until we agreed to help you guys with some kind of human problem. And even after we agreed, it just gave us your location and dipped without another word!”

“I really hate that thing,” Gen grumbles, from his place in the driver's seat. Raph sends him a withering glare. 

“We apologize for that, truly. It wasn’t our choice, but the council’s,” Kitsune cuts in quickly. “The baku was our best option; we don’t have any other means of communication with the outside world.”

Donnie speaks up for the first time, voice flat in a way that Raph has only heard a handful of times. “Did they hurt him? The humans.” 

Chizu hesitates, causing Raph’s stomach to do a somersault. Her eyes flicker over to Gen who rumbles, “Yes. But we treated his injuries to the best of our abilities in the limited time we had.” 

Donnie’s jaw tightens. “So he’s injured, traveling through unfamiliar mountains, and being hunted for sport. Why the hell didn't you go after them?” 

“There wasn’t anything we could do with the rope bridge cut,” Kistune rushes to explain. “After we got a message out to you, we were ordered to stand down until your arrival, and to supervise the bridge repairs.” 

“And that took a whole week?“ Donnie challenges. “Why didn’t one of you go check to see if they’d arrived? You say you’re a trained team of samurai; why would they need all three of you to wait for us and supervise the repair? You should have gone after them.”

“Those were not our orders.”

“That’s not good enough!” Donnie surges to his feet, swaying to keep his balance in the moving cart. His voice grows shrill as he shouts, “You don’t know where they are! They could be lying dead just a few yards into that forest! We could be moving away from them as we speak!”

“We have contingencies in place for situations similar to this,” Chizu says evenly. “Yuichi is a capable samurai. He is well-equipped to protect your brother and guide them both to our rendezvous point.”

Donnie scoffs, jutting out his chin to stare down his nose at her balefully. “So you say, but you don’t know for sure, do you?”

The rhino yokai makes a rumbling sound deep in his chest, glaring at them over his shoulder before turning back to face the road. “Your brother isn’t the only one out there. We’re just as concerned for our friend as you are for him. We were planning to go into town to check in, but the Godless scouts remained on the parameters, threatening the bridge’s reconstruction. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I likely would have split off to travel to the rendezvous myself.” 

The fox shoots Gen a look that Raph can’t read, then clears her throat. “Contact with the outside world is expressly forbidden. The council wasn’t going to allow us to get word out to you at all, but when we mentioned your family’s travels with Miyamoto, they were suddenly very eager to meet you.“

Gen quietly muttets something in rapid-fire Japanese that Raph doesn’t quite pick up; something about this council of theirs. But he couldn’t give less of a damn about this council or whatever internal issues these Neo Edo people have with the humans. He’s here for Leo. “And who exactly is this friend of yours that’s with him?” 

“Usagi Yuichi, our team leader.“

Raph blinks. Okay, this council nonsense may be more  relevant than he had hoped. He pinches the bridge of his nose, beyond exhausted. “Usagi?”

“Wait! Hold up! Usagi like Usagi Miyamoto? Leo’s with Usagi’s, like, a million times great-grandson!” Mikey exclaims, grabbing Raph by the shoulder and shaking him until he shoves him off. “What are the chances?”

“Incalculably low,” Donnie mutters, gaze growing distant as he mulls over the new information. 

Raph grinds his teeth and tries to keep the conversation on track. “How long have they been out there exactly?”

“This is day seven. With the bridge out of commission until today, the alternative route they would have had to take to reach the rendezvous port is much longer. If they’ve stayed on route, then they should have crossed the border late yesterday.” Despite his words, Gen’s brows are carved into deep furrows on his face that make Raph feel uneasy.

“And you know exactly where they’ll cross over at?”

“Yes. Our team has multiple rendezvous points to account for literally hundreds of contingencies. Akuma Pass intersects with the furthest Eastern port, and Yuichi’s aunt resides close to it. He and your brother will head there.” 

“The council has patrols stationed along the section of the border where they would have come through,” Kitsune adds, injecting some positivity into her tone. “If they were in need of any assistance, they would have had people on hand to provide it.” 

“So these Godless people, they are the ones your council wants us to help you take down?” From what the samurai have told them, it sounds like these people meant serious business of the genocidal variety. Raph would be more than happy to take down each and every last one of them just for what they’ve put Leo through, but he isn’t sure he trusts these samurai or this council either. Something isn’t right about their explanation. 

“Yes,” answers Chizu. “They have been tormenting our people for years.” 

“Why us?”  Donnie asks, voicing the exact question on Raphs mind. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, we have plenty of experience in these types of things, but I’m sure you have plenty of people to deal with these guys on your own. Why haven’t you already?”

“We’ve been in a stalemate for years,” Gen says, eyes on the road. “Our people have been secluded for decades and the human weaponry has evolved in that time.” He grimaces. “I hate to admit it, but our warriors are outmatched, and we are in the unfortunate position of not being able to go out and face them directly without risking them gaining access to our territory by capturing one of us and our keys.” 

Donnie shares a doubtful look with Raph, who scowls at the yokai. It doesn’t escape his notice that Gen only answered half of Donnie’s questions. Raph can see that these guys are in a bad spot, but it’s hard to have much sympathy for them considering his own family’s situation. And why them? This isn’t their problem, and these people are using their brother as leverage to get their cooperation. It all leaves a bad taste in Raph’s mouth. 

“So this council just brought us in to be their fucking pawns then. They want us to do your dirty work and deal with these guys so you don’t have to take any of the risk.”

The accusation hits just like he hoped it would; Kitsune visibly cringes at his words as Gen grips the reins tightly and falls silent. All of them avoid eye contact except for Chizu, who meets Raph’s hard stare with one of her own. 

“Neo Edo has not welcomed outsiders in nearly two decades. This is an unprecedented situation. The council has agreed to allow your brother to pass into our borders and recuperate in safety in exchange for your cooperation in this matter.” Her tone is even and formal, as if reciting a script given to her by this council or theirs. Raph doesn’t know her well enough to name the swirling emotions in her gaze, but he doesn’t miss the tension in her jaw. 

Raph leans out of the cart and over the space between it and her horse, staring her down with unblinking eyes. His voice is a soft rumble as he asks, “And if we say no? Will you try to keep our brother from us?” He puts every ounce of menace he can into the question and is viciously satisfied when Chizu is the first to break eye contact. 

“I meant what I said before,” she says stiffly. “We are not your enemy. I know the situation we have put you in is unfair, but please, come with us to our city and speak to the council. They will have better answers than we do.” 

Mikey pipes up then. “And what’s stopping us from dipping out and finding Leo ourselves?” 

”Yeah, you’ve already let us through your super secret border,” Donnie says with a tight smile. “We don’t need you to find him. What was that you said? They crossed at the Eastern entrance?” 

Gen’s tone is flat as he says, “The Eastern parameter has multiple ports, and covers many leagues with multiple mountain ranges. It would take you weeks to scour, no matter how skilled you claim to be. You will be reunited with Leonardo faster by sticking with us.” 

Mikey and Donnie both wear twin scowls on their faces but don’t say anything more. Raph’s head is starting to pound and he pinches the bridge of his nose again. 

“We didn’t have much time with Leo before he and Yuichi were separated from us,” Kitsune says suddenly, immediately drawing the attention of Raph and his brothers. She meets Raph’s eyes unflinchingly, expression sincere. ”But in just a handful of hours, I gained a lot of respect for him. He was kind; a skilled warrior who stood unflinching against his captors; and he wanted nothing more than to contact you all and make sure you were okay.” 

Raph feels his throat grow tight. “Yeah.” He clears it. “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

She smiles. “We promised Leo that we would do whatever we could to get him home. He trusted us. I’m asking you to trust us too. I promise you, we want to see him and Yuichi safe just as much as you do.” 

Raph holds her gaze for a few long seconds, but her expression never wavers. He’s never been one to doubt his instincts - none of them are, Splinter made sure of that - and right now those instincts are telling him to believe her. He sends a questioning look at his brothers, and they both nod back at him. Raph takes a deep breath and turns back to the yokai. 

“Fine. Take us to your council.” 

They make a brief stop at a humble but clean home. Gen pulls a rough iron key out of his robes, unlocks the door, and disappears inside. He returns a few minutes later, carrying a large stack of robes and pants. Apparently this society insists on them. Raph doesn’t understand why they would want to wear long, flowing fabric that can restrict their movement in a fight, but Chizu makes it clear that they will already be getting plenty of unwanted attention in Neo Edo, and they didn’t need to welcome more of it by running around “like rambunctious, unclothed children”.

The clothes are about four sizes too big for them, the fabric hanging loosely off their frames in a way that makes them look like toddlers running around in their dad’s robes. Raph grumbles but ultimately pulls on the clothes, rolling the extra fabric up out of the way before climbing back into the cart and settling back in for the rest of the ride. 

Gen pulls them back onto the road and they trundle along for a while longer. More and more buildings pop up around them as a bustling city slowly comes into view. The streets are packed despite the sun dipping lower and lower on the horizon. Voices fill the air in an overlapping cacophony as yokai rush about from building to building, shouting over one another to be heard. Several people catch sight of their little group, stopping in place and staring at them with wide eyes. Raph can feel more eyes on them as they move along, and catches several looks of distrust and even revulsion on passers-by as their gazes land on him and his brothers. Raph stares right back at them, and they look away quickly before hurriedly rushing away from the cart, whispering under their breath. 

Same deal as usual then. Perfect .

A few minutes later, they pull up in front of the tallest building in the entire city. It towers above all the rest, sloping roofs painted a brilliant red with gilded trim running along the edges. They stop a short way away from a pair of ornate doors and all of the samurai dismount and secure their horses before the group makes their way toward the building. Kitsune gestures for Raph and his brothers to follow.

“Come on, the council awaits!”

The gazes of the other yokai on the street are burning a hole in the back of Raph’s head. Mikey stares back at them owlishly while Donnie cringes and ducks away from their accusing looks. Staying out here is getting less and less appealing by the second, so Raph claps a hand on each of Mikey and Donnie’s shoulders and muscles them out of the cart and up the steps. Gen waits for them to draw close then throws open the heavy doors and steps into an equally lavish waiting room, complete with plush furniture and a front room filled to the brim with yokai of about a dozen different species. A cat behind the counter perks up at their arrival, its eyes lighting with recognition as he gets up and rushes over towards them, fretting and looking quite distressed. 

“About time. What took so long?” he questions as he rushes forward, withdrawing slightly when his eyes land on Raph and his brothers. “Oh my. Are these the kappa you spoke of? Have they no proper clothes?”

Mikey opens his mouth and Raph can practically see the snarky remark on the tip of his tongue, but Gen speaks up before he can say anything. “Nah, this is all they’ve got for now. Did the council want to speak with us or not?” 

“But—”

Gen glares down at the fussy feline, nostrils flaring and ears twitching as he stares him down. The animosity between the two is obvious, and Raph starts to wonder which one will cave first when the cat lets out an exasperated sigh before turning his back on them and briskly walking back down the hall gesturing for them to follow along. 

“Fine, I suppose it will have to do. Come, the council is eagerly waiting to speak with you.”

They follow the cat down the hall to a pair of large double doors with two imposing guards standing at either side. Both men throw the doors open at their approach, allowing them to walk through the entryway and into the cavernous chamber within. Raph is almost tempted to call it a throne room with the amount of gold and intricate wood carvings he sees decorating the ceiling and corners. Several figures sit up on high pedestals in a semicircle, looking down on the small group of yokai they are currently meeting with. The majority of them look bored and disinterested in the yokai speaking to them, though Raph can see there is at least one tiger yokai nodding along intently. One member sits up above the rest on a dais raised high above the others, an old lion with a greying mane that also appears to be paying more attention than the other members in the room. 

The lion's ears twitch at their entrance and his eyes flicker in their direction as they approach. The bird yokai standing beneath the council turns to look, and his eyes widen at the sight of them. He actually staggers back slightly, almost tripping over his own feet in the process. Before the yokai can say anything, the lion behind him speaks up. 

“Thank you, Kijiji-kun, that will have to be all for now. We can continue this discussion at a later date.” 

The bird-man looks like he wants to argue, but instead he bows hastily, eyeing Raph and his brothers nervously as he quickly retreats from the room. The fussy cat steps forward, bowing before the yokai as he gestures to their group with a flourish. ”Esteemed members of the council, I present to you Gennosuke, Kitsune, Chizu, and the Kappa of Legend.” The cat's voice echoes off the walls, his voice somehow amplified as it echoes around the chamber.

“Legend?” Donnie whispers, giving Raph a sideways  glance, as if he knows anything.

“Dudes, I think they’re talking about all that stuff we did with Usagi,”  Mikey hisses from his other side, an edge of giddiness entering his voice. “We’re living legends, dudes!”

Seriously? Sure, they had traveled with the guy for a while, but that hardly made them legends. 

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we weren’t in an alternate dimension when we met him,” Donnie murmurs, eyes flicking up towards the council briefly. “If they're still telling stories of Miyamoto Usagi to this day, it makes sense that he would be a legend, and us too, I guess, simply by association.” 

“Thank you, Kinji, you may go.” The lion’s voice booms across the hall and all three of them straighten, turning their attention back towards the chamber in front of them as the cat gives another shallow bow before hastily rushing out of the room. The doors slam shut behind him and then the full focus of the yokai above turns on them. 

As if on cue, Gen and his team step forward and bow deeply before the council members. 

“Hatamoto Gennosuke, report,” the lion yokai says, his voice booming across the chamber as he stares down at the trio.  

“Yes, Lord Raion,” Gen says, straightening up. “The bridge repairs took longer than anticipated thanks to interference from the Godless. They were finally completed early yesterday evening, but we remained on the other side of the pass to wait for the Hamatos’ arrival, as you requested. They arrived early this afternoon. We were alerted to their presence when we heard the sound of battle on the other side of the ravine. By the time we crossed over to investigate, the Hamatos had already dispatched the Godless soldiers who had been laying in wait. We brought them back here and explained our situation to them on our return journey.”

The lion nods then turns his attention to Raph and his brothers. He sweeps his arms wide in a welcoming gesture as Gen and the others quietly step aside. 

“Ah, the kappa who Gen was telling us so much about. Welcome to Neo Edo. We are so glad you have finally arrived. We humbly thank you for coming to our aid.”  

A bear woman scoffs off to the side on a nearby pedestal. “Aid. Must we truly rely on these wild yokai?”

“Um, mutants, actually,” Donnie corrects. 

The woman glares down at him, lip curled into a faint sneer, as if that were somehow worse. Donnie’s head retreats into his shell slightly under her piercing gaze. Raph hates her already. 

Before any of them can respond, a boar grumbles from high up on another pedestal on the other side of the chamber. “Semantics. You're finally here, that’s all that matters, though it took you long enough. Now, we know you’ve had a long trip, but we really must move swiftly—”

“Hold up,” Raph interrupts, not willing to waste another moment with this charade. “Let’s make this very clear, we won’t be doing anything for you people until we see our brother.”

The lion raised a furry eyebrow before turning a disapproving frown upon the samurai. “Did they not explain?” 

“Oh no, they explained alright. They explained that our brother has been out there somewhere in those mountains, injured and being hunted down by the same exact death cult that kidnapped him in the first place. They explained that you wouldn’t send anyone out to look for them for some unknown reason, but I think it’s because you're just too scared shitless to let anyone else go out there and play into these humans’ hands. Which is, quite frankly, a bullshit excuse considering one of your samurai is already out there for those people to use as a tool.” 

He can feel Mikey and Donnie both start to tug on his elbow pads, desperately trying to get him to stop. And he should stop, he knows it, but he can’t hold back his frustration and anger any longer. Fuck these guys, and fuck their diplomacy. Their issues with the humans has nothing to do with Raph’s family and can wait until he has Leo back. “They said that my brother and your samurai should be back by now. Where are they?”

The lion hesitated for a bare second then says, “They are not here at present.” 

Raph is pretty sure the whole room can hear his teeth grinding. “Then bring them here. When we see him, then we can talk.”

The lion stares him down as a few of the council members exchange disapproving glances. Those who aren’t glaring look uneasy, but Raph holds his ground. He doesn’t care if he’s being a dick. Neither he nor his brothers are going to help these people with shit until he sees Leo with his own eyes. 

After a few more moments of stare-down the lion breaks the silence. “You misunderstand. We have not yet heard from Yuichi Usagi or your brother. The last we checked yesterday, they had still not arrived at Usagi-sama’s home.”

“What?!” The samurai all exclaim at once. Raph is almost relieved that they seem as shocked as he feels. He doesn’t know what he would have done if they had been lying to him the entire trip here, but it wouldn’t have been pretty.

Donnie shifts next to him, hands fiddling with his pack straps nervously, expression pinched as Mikey grabs his elbow with both hands and squeezes. Raph himself isn’t even surprised; it’s been clear from the get-go that these people do not have a handle on their situation in any way. 

That doesn’t doesn’t stop the fury that douses him.

“Why the hell didn’t you lead with that?” he growls, glaring up at the lion, who he assumes is the head of this council. The yokai doesn’t respond and Raph’s demand can barely be heard over the din of the others shooting off a loud myriad of their own questions. 

“Silence!” The head councilman’s voice booms across the chamber, quieting all of them at once. The old yokai takes a deep breath, settling back into his chair and letting out a heavy sigh. “There, that’s better now. We will answer your questions one at a time. You will not shout over each other like children.” 

Raph opens his mouth, but Gen beats him to the punch by stepping forward and asking, “Lord Raion, have your search parties reported back?”

“We have not sent out any additional search parties,” Raion responds. 

“And why the hell not?” Gen bursts out, his voice booming off the chamber walls like a canon. The rhino's voice drips with venom as he takes a menacing step forward, fist clenched tight at his sides. Chizu and Kitsune make an attempt to stop him, but it’s a half-hearted attempt at best that’s undercut by the glares they shoot up to the council members. “Why didn’t you send anyone to inform us? If they're still out there, then they need our help!” 

“You forget yourself, Hatamoto Gennosuke,” the boar yokai glowers. “We have soldiers patrolling along the border looking for any signs of them. That is perfectly sufficient.” 

“No, councilman, it isn’t,” Gen growls, a vein throbbing in his forehead once more. 

“Yeah,” Donnie pipes up, stomping forward until he is at the head of their group. He points an accusing finger up at the council. “I'd argue their absence is of far more immediate concern to your people's safety than whatever it is you want to discuss. This needs to take priority.”

The council members all exchange glances at his words. A bear yokai speaks up from the right of the semi-circle. “We cannot risk—“

“If Yuichi and Leo aren’t already here then the Godless might have already taken them both!” Gen shouts. 

“They wouldn’t even need one of us, Lord Inoshishi,” Chizu reasons. "The Godkiller could stroll across our borders without resistance.”

“Our squadrons don’t merely exist to run damage control when Usagi gets himself into trouble,” Inoshishi sniffs. “They are ordered to prevent anyone else from getting through.” 

“How many are there?” Kitsune asks. “A small patrol force will hardly prevent them from getting through if they have an army chasing them.”

“We need to stop them from being chased in the first place!” Gen exclaims. “We need to actually send someone out there to go look for them, instead of sitting here on our asses—”

“That’s enough, Hatamoto Gennosuke,” Raion demands, his patience clearly worn thin. “Be silent.”  

The old lion looks down at Raph and his brothers. “We are truly sorry we cannot do more to help, but I’m afraid we’ve done all we reasonably can.” He holds his hands out towards them in a gesture of apology, voice dripping with a hollow sympathy that has Raph set to burst. 

Before he can blow up in the yokai’s face, the tiger woman he had noticed before clears her throat. “All is not lost, friends. There is a chance that they might have arrived at Usagi-sama’s home since we last checked in. I would suggest visiting with her first before you lose hope.”

Lord Raion nods along in agreement with the woman’s words, easing back in his seat as if he’s gained complete control over the conversation. 

“Of course,” she continues. “If they haven’t arrived, then the Hamato clan, as our honored guests, are more than welcome to search for their brother and Usagi Yuichi on their own.” 

The lion’s look of ease fades slightly as he slowly turns to look at the woman, expression outwardly pleasant but Raph swears he can see one of Raion’s eyes twitch. 

The tiger yokai meets his gaze serenely. “Surely it wouldn’t be of any great risk to our people to allow them that much.”

“How would you suggest they do that, Lady Tora?” Raions asks, tone going oddly formal. “Even if they managed to find them, how do you suggest they get back across our borders when they don’t have keys of their own?”

“Simple.” She swings her gaze down to Gen, Chizu, and Kitsune. “These three samurai can escort them to the crossing point and wait on the other side while they perform their search. When they are done with their search, they can simply return to the rendezvous point with Usagi and Leonardo, and these three will quickly escort them back within our border.” 

Raion sits in silence for a moment, leaning over his dias as he seems to contemplate her words. Eventually he says, “Very well, that sounds reasonable. Though I want to be clear…” The lion turns his attention back on the three samurai standing beneath him. Raph is both unsurprised and unimpressed to see them shifting a little nervously under his gaze. “Under no circumstance are you three to go over to the other side of the border to assist in the search. You’re well aware of the risk.”

Gen face screws up in anger, looking very much like he wants to argue that point, but Chizu stops him with a restraining hand to the chest before stepping forward. 

“Of course, Lord Raion.” She bows, Kitsune quickly following her example. Gen holds out for a few seconds longer before reluctantly doing the same. 

“Very good. Oh, and one other thing,” Raion says, turning his gaze on Raph and his brothers. “Once the Hamatos return, they are not to go anywhere within our borders without a samurai escort.”

Gen’s head shoots up. “But—“

“That will be all for now. You are dismissed.” 

“ You’re just letting them leave?” the boar interrupts. “They cannot go, we need to discuss—”

“We aren't discussing anything, and why the hell do we need an escort?” Raph growls. 

Raion cuts in before the boar yokai can respond. “Yes, Lord Inoshishi, they may leave. As for the escort, I assure you it is in everyone's best interest. Many of our people are not accustomed to… mutants such as yourself. Until they have had the chance to warm to your presence, I do believe it’s for the best.”

“Fine,” Donnie says suddenly, shooting Raph a look out of the corner of his eye. Raph’s hands clench as he only just manages to keep a lid on his anger. “But so help me, if my brother dies out in those mountains, you’ll have more than just the humans to deal with.” 

Raph could hear a pin drop, the room grows so silent, and he has to suppress a grin. 

“We will see you and all of your brothers again soon.” 

Raion’s voice is even as he speaks, but he certainly doesn’t look very pleased by the threat as he turns his piercing gaze upon Raph, who could swear there was a threatening edge to the lion’s words, but right now he honestly can’t give a damn. 

They’ve already wasted too much time as is.

The cat yokai from before returns, summoned by some unknown signal, and quickly ushers them out of the room. As soon as the doors shut behind them, they all race back down the hallway and out the door, despite the cat's feeble protest for them to not run inside the building.

Gen violently throws the front doors wide open, startling several people in the front room as he storms over to the cart and climbs back into the driver's seat, muttering curses under his breath in rapid japanese. Raph and his brothers waste no time climbing back in and getting themselves settled as Gen grabs the reins in a white knuckle grip. He turns back to look at them. “You boys might want to hold onto something, this is going to be a bumpy ride.”

“Where are we going?” Donnie asks. 

“We’ll check Yuichi’s aunt’s place first, and if they’re not there then we’ll head to our Eastern rendezvous point.”

He snaps the reins and they lurch forward. The horses pull the cart forward and quickly gain speed until they’re moving at a breakneck pace. It's a good thing the streets had mostly cleared of pedestrians while they were inside, otherwise they definitely would have run someone over. Gen hadn’t been kidding about it being a rough ride; Raph has to hold on to the edge of the cart in a death grip to keep from flying up into the air as the cart rattles over rocks and dips in the uneven dirt road as Gen pushes the horses as fast as they will go. Chizu and Kitsune keep pace alongside them down winding country roads. House after house passes in a blur as they leave the city behind. 

After a while, the horses start to slow as they near a simple looking farm house pressed close up to the mountain range. Clouds roll over the mountains with a haze in the air, hinting of snowfall that will likely be reaching them down in the valley if the chill in the air had anything to say about it. The whole trip takes them about an hour and Raph is immensely grateful when they finally come to a slow stop as they approach the house, his shell aching from the rough ride. 

Gen leaps from the driver’s seat, feet hitting the ground running the second they are stopped. He races up to the front door as Raph, Mikey, Donnie, and the two other samurai quickly follow.

Gen pounds on the door, causing it to rattle under his oversized fist. For a few seconds, there’s silence. Raph stares as Kitsune and Chizu’s ears flicker this way and that, clearly trying to get a read on who may be inside. Their expressions grow grim and Gen’s face screws up in worry in response. Raph feels his own stomach drop. 

The front door swings open and a short white rabbit woman stands within the threshold.

“Gennosuke, honey, you’re back!” she says, looking beyond relieved and getting up on her tiptoes to peer around Gen’s bulky form. “Have you heard anything from Yuichi? Is he with you?”

“ Dammit,” Raph hisses. He has to resist the urge to put his head in his hands. Of course they aren’t here, because nothing is ever easy. 

Leo is still out in those damn mountains.

“I knew it!” Donnie shouts, now frantically pacing behind them as Mikey watches on with pinched brows. 

Gen heaves a sigh and his shoulders slump. “No, we were really hoping he’d have made it back here by now.” He glares to the side and mutters several more colorful curses under his breath as the old woman's one large white ear shoots upwards. 

“Why?” she demands, the relief dropping from her expression faster than a stone. “What’s happening?” 

“We’re gonna go get him, Auntie,” Gen reassures her.. “Get the infirmary ready to go; I have a feeling we're going to need it.”

“Why?” She steps around the rhino yokai’s bulk, eyes flitting to and fro. Her gaze lands on Raph and her large eyes widen. “Who—-“

But Gen is already turning away, waving Raph and his brothers back towards the cart. Kitsune and Chizu both dart back to their horses. “No time to explain,” he calls back to the rabbit woman. “If they're not here, something has gone horribly wrong. Just be ready!”

“ Gennosuke ! You get back here and explain right now!”

Anything else she would have said is lost in the loud beat of hoofs as the group speeds away. Raph, Mikey, and Donnie have to clutch at the edges of the cart to remain upright as Gen pushes to horses faster and faster. Every rock and hole in the packed road nearly sends Raph tumbling, but he doesn’t care. His eyes stay locked in the back of Gen’s head, urging him silently to go even faster still. 

Their race to the base of the mountains doesn’t take nearly as long as the trip out to the house. As they draw close, the temperature drops significantly and little flurries of snow start streaming by. A thin layer of snow covers the ground as the cart skids to a stop next to a simple shack.

Gen barely waits for the cart to stop sliding before he’s out and jogging towards the doorway.

”Hey, Rhino! What are we doing here?” Raph demands, already half on his feet. 

“Just a quick stop to cover our bases. I’ll explain later, just give me a minute.” Gen calls back as he knocks on the door. Raph works his jaw in frustration at yet another delay and is gratified to see that the other two samurai look just as confused and put-out. 

The door opens a crack, but Raph can’t see who’s there from a distance. Gen has a very brief conversation with whoever is inside before running back to the cart. “Out, out.” He waves Raph and his brothers off and they jump out of the cart. Gen unhooks the horses tethers and hands them off to Chizu before pulling the cart around to the other side of the shack. Fighting his impatience with bared teeth, Raph follows him around the corner as the rhino yokai tucks the cart away within a cluster of trees, out of sight from the road. 

“Uhh, Gen? What are you doing?” Chizu asks, dismounting as Gen takes his reins back and secures his horses to one of the nearby trees.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m hiding the cart.” 

“Okay, but why?” questions Kitsune as she jumps down off of her own mount and ties off the reins. 

“Because we’re going with them, obviously.” Gen gestures towards Raph and his brothers before turning towards the tree line. 

“What?!” the two other samurai both hiss.

“Uhh, dude, weren't you given, like, a direct order to, you know, not do that?” Mikey says.

“Will you all just calm down?” Gen hisses back, glaring at his teammates. “Look, this is Inukai’s place. He owes me a favor and agreed to cover for us. If anybody asks, he’ll say we hung back inside his place to wait for the Hamatos somewhere out of the cold.”

Donnie crosses his arms, looking skeptical. “And you're sure that ironclad alibi will actually hold up?” 

The rhino yokai mirrors Donnie’s stance, crossing his arms as well. “Of course. No one will even question it; soldiers stop at his place all the time to take a load off after long patrols. It’s unlikely he’ll even need to say that much. I’ve done patrols out here and they cast a pretty wide net. It’s hard to patrol an entire mountain side and not leave any gaps.”

“Gen, this isn’t a good idea,” Chizu warns. “The council—”

“I don't give a damn what the council said!“ he snaps. “They can’t just tell me to sit here on my ass again! That’s my best friend out there, and dammit, I’m not gonna just leave him or Leo out there to those freaks if there’s something I can do about it.” 

Kitsune smiles. “I’m gonna tell Yuichi you said that.”

Gen rolls his eyes “Oh, shut up. Are you two in or not?” 

“We’re in,” she says enthusiastically, elbowing Chizu hard in the side until she, too, relents.

“Fine, but let’s try to make this quick,” she says, glancing around nervously.  

“Don’t worry,” says Gen, rounding back to the tree line. “So long as we do this right and everyone here keeps their mouths shut, the council will never know.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Mikey says, practically bouncing up and down as he races toward the tree line, Donnie, Kitsune, and Chizu following close behind. 

Raph finds himself frozen in place in a way that has nothing to do with the cold. His heart picks up and a familiar buzz of adrenaline fills his veins.

This is it. 

After weeks of waiting and worrying and tearing New York City apart brick by brick, they are going to find Leo. One way or the other. 

A sudden spike of fear causes his breath to catch, but before his thoughts have the chance to spiral, Gen speaks up from beside him. “We’ll find them.” 

His voice is a deep, bass-y rumble, made deeper still by the sound-absorbing snow falling around them. 

“Yeah?” Raph’s throat sticks around the words. “What makes you so sure?”

The rhino yokai’s gaze is steady, and the wealth of experience behind his eyes is suddenly familiar to Raph. It’s the same look he’s started to glimpse behind his own eyes more and more often in the mirror. 

It’s a look he’s used to seeing in Leo. 

“Because we have to,” Gen says simply. His mouth twists then into something hard, regretful, and deeply, deeply worried. This is familiar too. “Because I can’t consider the alternative if we don’t.” 

Gen’s gaze meets his own, and something like resolve passes between them. Raph still can’t say he trusts this guy or the other samurai, not yet, but this is close enough for now. He nods at him.

“Alright, let's do this.”