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Chapter Text

Ok, so Leo wasn't the best at staying quiet. Or staying hidden. Particularly both at the same time.

“Children should be seen and not heard!” Splinter would instruct, “And ninja children are to be neither!” Little Leo had nodded solemnly, taking his job very seriously. That's how Dad got him to do anything back then, disguising cleaning the kitchen or not interrupting his TV show as ninja training. But now, Leo was ready for real ninja training.

“...now for later the weather report from Northwest Karikiya.” Dad’s radio blared,

“A high pressure system over land will bring good weather overall. Tonight, the wind will be from the west by northwest, wind pressure 3, clear, with a beautiful full moon.” A full moon tonight! “Tomorrow should be clear, and also the day after.” Good weather! Leo sat up, startling a nearby bumble bee. This was it. Tonight was the night.

—

“But- but we agreed you would leave next month!” Leo stuffed more items into his waist bag,

“The weather might not be clear on the next full moon, and it is tonight!”

“Such short notice!” Splinter protested.

“You can't keep me home forever!” Now for his bigger traveling bag. In went a sweater, a book, a cat- whoops, almost put Shelly in the bag. Poor familiar. “At this rate, I'll still be here when I turn 16! And I have to leave home at 15 for my year of training!”

“Just wait another month, Blue, think it over-”

“But Dad, can't you feel it?” Leo turned around excitedly, “Tonight is my night, I know it! Please Papa?” He pressed his hands together. His father sighed, and Leo knew he had won,

“You're making your poor father's whiskers gray.” Leo wrapped him in a hug,

“Thanks Dad!” Splinter patted his shell, and pulled back a little.

“I remember when you were a little turtle, and I could pick you up and cart you around wherever I went. I could-

“Fit me in your coat pocket.” Leo finished with a smile, “I know.”

“You're all grown now.” Splinter sighed, “Not my baby Blue any longer. You grew up right under my nose, I didn't see it coming.” He sighed, patting Leo on the head. He had to stand on his tiptoes to do so, even though Leo was crouched on the floor. “I… haven't been as good a father as I could have been.”

“Dad…” Splinter held up a hand,

“Do not argue with me, I spent too much time with my television set, and not enough with you.” Leo couldn't bring himself to object. He'd grown up mostly alone, only books and a black cat for company. Thinking back on it… he couldn't remember a time when his Dad said he was proud of him. Only a wave of a hand, a “go be a ninja, Blue,” when Leo tried to show him something new. It still stung, little Leo in the doorway of the parlor, watching his Dad's shadow flicker in the light of the TV. Even when he was cooking, the radio would blast so Leo couldn't sneak in a word, though not for lack of trying. He was a talkative kid.

“Take my radio.” Dad said, squeezing his shoulder, “It's the least I can do.” Leo grinned,

“Thanks Dad!”

—

“I'd look better in blue.” Leo commented, “Or lilac-”

“Ninjas have been wearing this color for a long time, and they'll keep wearing it.” Dad said, fussing over Leo's arm wrappings.

“Can't I wear any color?” Splinter considered,

“You may keep your stripes. They match the sash.”

“Right...”

—

Dad insisted Leo took a sword that he had made, not a newer, smaller one Leo had summoned about a week before.

“This is a good sword! Reliable!” Splinter declared. Leo frowned at it. The design was simple, and it was a bit heavy for his taste.

“Do I have to?”

“You could always stay-”

“Never mind!” Leo snatched the sword. It wasn't even blue. So dull. He slung his traveling bag over his shoulder. “C'mon Shelly.”

“The name's Shelldon, dude!” Insisted the familiar.

“It's your nickname!” Leo said as Shelldon climbed onto his shoulder, “You're Shelly, and I'm Neon Leon!” With the cat now secured, Leo gave his father a final hug, and with a wink over his shoulder, he sliced his sword into the air.

Nothing happened.

“C'mon…” He muttered, “Visualize… inner fire…” Another slash, and the portal opened. Leo jumped in-

-to a tree. At first Leo thought his ears were ringing, but it was just the bells in the branches. They had been hung there to help ninjas who could fly hear where the trees were when it was dark. He had no idea why they were still up, there was no one that powerful within a million miles of Karikiya. Now their only purpose was to let Splinter know Leo had teleported into a tree. Great.

“What kind of town are we going to?” Shelldon asked. Leo brushed pine needles from his shirt,

“I've always wanted to see the ocean, so somewhere near there.”

“But it's harder for you to teleport to places you've never been.” Shelldon reasoned.

“It'll be fine~” Leo assured, “Now come on, I didn't leave home to live in a tree.”

Shelldon hopped onto his shoulder, and Leo made another portal. Focus… he stepped through-

Another tree. Also with bells. So much for being not heard.

“Ok you know what!?” He cried. Leo fiddled with the radio, setting it to his favorite station. Upbeat music began to blare as he attached the radio to his sash. Leo grit his teeth and ran-
“Leo, Leo, Leo-” Shelldon's claws dug into his shoulder, and Leo jumped out of the tree. He felt the world get sharper with fear, and he slashed down in front of him.

Leo landed in a pile of sand. Sand! He turned his head.

Ever moving water, riddled with sparking waves. The moon was peeking through the clouds over the water's body, like it was hung there just for him.

“Isn't it beautiful?” Leo breathed.

“You almost just killed us, dude!” Shelldon griped, “I can't believe.. you…” He stared at the water, “Dude… The ocean is bigger than I thought.”

“Ha! And this morning you said it was just another puddle!” Leo said with a laugh.

“It is!” Shelly insisted, but they sat there for a few moments longer, staring at the water, only moving when rain started to fall, quickly going from a trickle to a downpour.

“Get us out of here!” Shelldon whined.

“Okay, okay.” The cat nestled himself safely into Leo's bag. Leo held up his sword.

“Ok. Town..town..towntowntowntown-” He sliced through the air and jumped through,

“Town- OH NO!”

The feeling of teleportation was weird. It was walking two steps forward and suddenly the world has spun in a different direction, the air itself was different, suddenly windy, colder, and now Leo had walked two steps forward into free fall. He landed hard on the back of a-

“Dude!!” Shelldon hung onto his shell for dear life, “Why did you teleport us onto a moving train!?”

“Well, because I wanted us to fail.” Leo clung to the edge of the slick train car, legs kicking wildly off the edge, “Obviously it was an accident!!!” He looked up, eyes watering in the wind and rain. Usually Leo liked the rain, but clinging onto the side of a train hardly qualified as usual.

“Teleport us away bro!” Leo secured Shelldon, tucking him in his shirt.

“There's an opening in the top of the train car, see!” He nodded towards, not risking his grip to point. Leo heaved them forward and peeked into the small entrance to the train car. It was too dark to see anything inside.

“Better be quick!” Paws pushed Leo's head up. There was a mountain moving towards them, quicker and quicker, earth swallowing his vision. Leo jumped forward into darkness.

Chapter Text

Leo sat on the floor for a minute, watching the stone go by above him. Man, this was a long tunnel. He could be stuck here for a while.

“You okay, Shelly?” The cat climbed out of his shirt,

“That was crazy! We should have stayed at home!”

“Don't say that!” Leo sheathed his sword, “If we stayed we wouldn't be in this… uh…” He looked around, eyes adjusting to the light. The train car was full of shelves of weapons. Axes, maces, pointy helmets all hung carefully on the wall. Leo turned off his radio, which was still blaring acoustic guitar. “...lovely train.” He finished, pulling his ōdachi back out. Better safe than sorry. Shelldon sighed,

“You're right, the concerning-amount-of-weapons look is really in right now. This place is cool.” Leo checked the ceiling again. The tunnel above was still going by. Why was there even a hole in the ceiling of the train? It was raining, it would do nothing but get the weapons wet and let them rust.

It wasn't until he heard the rustle of the door handle opening that it occurred to Leo that someone had probably thought of that too.

He shoved Shelldon in his bag just in time for a crane yokai to poke its head through the doorway. They stared at each other. Man, why hadn't Leo faded into the shadows? He'd never been very good at it, but he could have tried. Nothing he could do about that now.

Oh well. Leo would have to resort to what he always did when he was clueless: pretend he knew exactly what he was doing.

“Help me with this, will you?” He asked the crane, pointing at the open sky light, “I'm not tall enough and the weapons are getting wet!” The crane stepped in. She was tall, and wearing a velvet uniform reminiscent of a bellhop. She gave him an up and down. Whoops, guess ninja attire wasn't very popular. Leo scratched the back of his neck and looked away, flashing a sheepish smile.

“The costume got mixed up and put in here. I just had to try it on.” He prayed that it made any logical sense, since he knew nothing about the train and its contents. Apparently it worked, because the crane just shook her head,

“Just make sure to put it back. And hang it up to dry while you're at it!” Leo saluted. She rolled her eyes as she reached a long wing up and closed the sky light. Dang it, he wasn't getting out that way. The crane eyed the weapon in this hand. Leo took his time pretending to follow her gaze, mind racing for a fib.

“The craftsmanship is beautiful, isn't it?” He held it out in front of him, “Designs a little plain, but it's longer than the average odachi. I mean, not the longest one I've seen, but…” The crane looked incredibly bored. Leo wondered how much she was paid.

“Right, amazing. Now put everything back and get back in uniform! You know we aren't supposed to be touching the cargo. Who's your manager?” Again, he projected sheepishness.

“So funny story, they told me their name, but I kinda forgot and it feels weird to ask-” The crane sighed.

“Whatever. Clean this up and then get back to the employee car. What's your name?” Uh. Uh. Uh.

“...Lou.” Leo answered slowly. The crane gave him a funny look,

“And Mama hired you? Get yourself a nickname, kid.”

“Um. Okay.” The crane crossed to the other side of the car, which instead of a door, sported a splatter of glowing eyeballs. Which- ok, weird, but Leo's Dad had uglier decor. The crane tapped on one of the eyeballs and-

In a flash she was gone.

“Have you ever seen a portal like that before?” Leo asked, leaning closer to inspect the eyeball wall. Shelldon popped his head out of the satchel, ignoring Leo's question,

“Man, that was too close! Why didn't you ninja!?” Leo picked him up,

“I don't know, I panicked!” He tucked Shelly under his arm, “Good thing is, we got away with it.”

“Put me down!” Leo dropped him, ignoring the grumbling.

“What even is this place, and who's Mama?” He wondered aloud. He clambered up a shelf, opening the ceiling entrance once more. They had finally driven through the tunnel, and the rain was reduced to a loose drizzle.

“Why would I know that?” Shelldon asked, “I was right there with you, dude!”

“It's rhetorical.” Shelly sputtered. Leo twitched a smile. His familiar hated when he asked rhetorical questions. So obviously he did it as much as possible.

Leo peeked over the roof of the train. He turned in a circle, finding nothing but dreary fog in the distance. Great.

“We'll have to stay here for the night.”

“In a mysterious train?” Shelldon asked, “Full of weapons? Where we entered illegally? And people know where we are?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool!” Shelly jumped towards the weapons shelf, “Dibs on the axe!” Leo caught him by the scruff,

“No stealing weapons! We have to be ninja, vanish without a trace!”

“Please, you've been drooling over that katana this whole time.” Leo glanced longingly at where it hung on the wall. It was beautiful, all engraved blades and folded steel, hamon perfectly polished.

“It’s so pretty…”

“Hey! If I don't get the axe, you don't get the sword!”

Leo startled backwards as the eyeballs began to glow again, light pulling together to form a figure. Yeah, no. He wouldn't get the same good luck twice. Leo pulled himself and Shelly through the skylight and onto the roof. He heard footsteps as he ran forward, almost slipping on the slick roof of the train. Now that there wasn't rain in his eyes, he could see it a little better. It was… purple? Weird. Leo bounded forward, skidding to a stop in front of yet another sky light. Maybe they were used to put materials in the cars? It made no difference to him. A quick prayer to his ancestors (do me a solid, just this once?) and he jumped, closing the door behind him.

Leo landed in a plush seat. He looked around frantically. The front of the car had a large screen, projecting some kind of graph.

“Next,” the yokai in front of the room was short, with large, round glasses. His voice was a flat drone, “What do you do if your finances-”

“Uh…” Leo blinked, confused, “What-”

“Sh!” Leo turned to the yokai to his right, the only other audience member. Only about half of a limb was visible behind bandages, and his eye was an ugly purple, “Trust me, don't talk!” He whispered. Leo paled, looking back at the presentation.

“-which is why diversifying your portfolio is the conservative approach to protecting your pile of gold.” Glasses dude explained. “Now let's talk about mystic treasure chests and their role in tax evasion.” Shelldon looked up at Leo, deeply confused. He only shrugged back.

Behind him, a bright light flashed. Leo turned to find another eyeball wall (was there one in every car?), with a grumpy looking crane in front of it. Uh oh.

“You!” She grabbed him by the back of his shirt, “You don't belong on this train, do you? Who are you!?”

“Excuse me.” Glasses dude had turned from his slide show, “I'm trying to teach about taxes.” The crane rolled her eyes.

“Ugh, boring!” The yokai's eye twitched. Leo gulped. “You're almost lucky I'm dragging you to Big Mama.” The crane went on, “This might be worse than the Battle Nexus.” Leo barely had the time to think the what? before an enraged screech filled the room, a mass of anger and tentacles rose, and the cranes grasp was ripped away, and out the window.

The lecturer had just thrown the crane. Out the window. Of a moving train. Leo felt himself chuckle nervously. Shelldon tucked himself in Leo's arms, which perhaps wasn't the best battle strategy, but it soothed some of his growing fear. The yokai shrunk back down to his normal size, a little taller than Splinter. He started cleaning his glasses. Leo sat down, pulling a nearby notebook closer, so it hopefully looked like he was genuinely passionate about taxes and not a stow away who was considering jumping out the train window so he wouldn't have to learn.

“Apologies for the interruption.” The yokai pushed up his glasses on his nose, “Where was I?”

“Uh… mystic tax evasion?” Leo squeaked.

“Ah, yes. As I was saying, mystic treasure chests can be an excellent tool for tax evasion, as long as they are of good quality. Some things to look out for include wood quality, rust, and runes carved by the faint of heart.” The droning went on. And on. And on. Shelldon nudged Leo, who was beginning to nod.

“Do you want to end up out the window?” He hissed. Leo shrugged, yawning.

“I'm not sleeping.” He mumbled, “I'm just putting my head down.” Shelldon rolled his eyes. Leo yawned again.

“I'll stay up.” Shelldon volunteered, “I'll wake you up if he turns around.” Leo nodded clumsily. A bad idea? Probably, but Leo had been running around in excited jitters all day, and it was 3 am. He passed out to the lullaby of a tax fraud info dump.

Chapter Text

The day had started out okay. The professor on the train didn't mind Leo sleeping mid-lecture, maybe because he'd actually taken notes (or tried to). He'd woken up to a brochure on money laundering tucked in the pocket of his bag.

Leo re-tied his sash and straightened his mask. He mounted a chair, slid the roof hatch open, and climbed onto the top of the train.

The sky was clear and dotted with clouds, the ocean bluer than anything Leo had ever seen.

“Look at the ocean, Shelly!” Shelldon yawned and didn't answer. Leo continued to stare as a town came into view. No, not a town, a whole city! Houses stacked and smushed together like they were all carved from the same piece of white birch.

“I wonder if they have a ninja there.” He thought aloud. It was advised that ninjas in training stayed away from towns with those more experienced, since they could be very protective and it was an easy way to get sucked into a different clan.

Sometimes young fighters would go to cities to find a teacher, but it wasn't typical for modern ninjas. Besides, Leo didn't need anyone's help!

The train started over a blue bridge. Leo took one last glance at the view (it was just like he'd always imagined!) before tucking Shelldon into his shirt.

“Ready?” He asked, “Set, go!” With a running start, Leo jumped from the bridge, fear waking him up as he slashed the air, and fell through the portal.

They emerged into the empty sky, still falling. Leo laughed as Shelldon screeched, his tone matching that of the surprised seagulls around them. Leo held the sword forward and felt his ninpo flare, fueled with the passion of near death and the water, its surface broken only by a boat skimming its surface. Perfect, Leo thought, willing a bright blue circle below him, landing safely on the watchtower of the ship. He turned at a surprised guffaw of a yokai sailor, wrinkly and pink -was he a pirate?- mouth dropped open in surprise. Leo offered a winning smile and a two finger salute as he fell back into a portal, Shelldon in tow.

His shell hit the metal floor of the balcony of a lighthouse, a giggle at his lips. Three portals in a row! Well, he had meant to land in the water on the first one, but it still worked out. It had to be a sign, this town was perfect!

Leo ignored Shelly's sputters of his recklessness, standing up to admire the city up close.

“Ooh, a clocktower!” Leo pointed. He loved bits of machinery, he grew up surrounded by old radios and TVs, “A city like this will be great to live in!” Shelldon climbed up to his shoulder,

“There might be ninjas in this town already.”

“And there might not be.” Leo said cheekily. He took a step onto the railing and pulled himself up, waving his arms like windmills to keep balance, “What do you say we go 4 for 4, Shelly?”

“I say-” Leo jumped, already cackling. They landed on the hour hand of the clock tower, which, to Leo's delight, was painted like a giant sun. He whooped, before gawking at the town below him. He never knew there could be so many people. Beneath him was a town square of sorts, with a giant market filled with yokai and humans bustling like ants. He could hear them, an incoherent swarm of noise blending with buses and cars, so many cars! There was a candy shop on that corner, and a hotel with a bright cursive sign on the other, and a hat shop- there were shops dedicated to hats?

“Look at how many people there are.” Leo breathed.

“Bless my hourglass!” Leo jumped, gripping at the clock hand tightly to keep from tumbling into the city below, “It's a real live ninja!” The man, presumably the clock tower caretaker, was peeking out of a little railed alcove on the face of the clock. This man knew what a ninja was, but he also was clearly surprised to see one.

“Are there any other ninjas here?” Leo asked. The man shook his head,

“No one has seen one in a long time.” Leo grinned at Shelly,

“Then our search is over, we're staying!”

“Tell me we're not landing down there.” Shelldon winced at the crowd. Leo stood, pressing himself against the clock face.

“Of course we are!”

“Uh, Leo? They're looking at us.” Sure enough, people below were pointing at him.

“I know.” Leo spoke through his teeth, “Smile so we make a good first impression!” Shelldon sat up a little straighter on his shoulder.

Ok Leo. Good first impression. Just teleport onto the sidewalk, no biggie!

Leo jumped, swinging his odachi.

The first thing he heard was the blaring of a horn. Leo yelped, jumping out of the way as the car swerved, leaving him in another busy lane. Leo panicked, a portal appearing below him and spitting him out on the hood of some poor ladies car. He jumped and rolled to a stop on the roadside, wincing as his knees rubbed against the path. He stumbled into an adrenaline fueled run, and booking it around the corner.

“Well that went well.” Shelldon huffed.

“Will you shut up?”

“Hey, kid!” Leo jumped as he turned. A police officer, badge shining, was running in his direction. He had only seen cops on TV before, they weren't really needed in the country.

“Who do you think you are, portalling around the street like that??” The officer demanded, “You were almost responsible for a big accident!” Something like shame curled in Leo's gut. He scowled,

“I'm a ninja, I'm supposed to teleport around!”

“You're supposed to obey the law! What's your name and address?” Leo tensed,

“Will you tell my Dad?”

“Of course!” Ah. Leo was about to portal away when a voice rang out over the crowd,

“Officer! Hey!” The man hesitated, glancing at Leo before snapping,

“Stay here!” And running in the direction of the shout. Leo bolted immediately.

He speed walked, heart pounding and Shelldon on his shoulder. The familiar warmth and weight was soothing, but not enough to keep away the burn on his cheeks. Maybe ninjas wore masks to hide embarrassed blushes when they screwed up. Then again, real ninjas didn't screw up.

“Hey!” The sound of an engine. A motorcycle game roaring up beside him. A… purple motorcycle? The kid spoke again, “Hello! I just saved you from being arrested, at least engage in a brief conversation with me!” Leo finally looked. The kid was dressed to match his bike, a black shirt and a purple sweater tied around his shoulders. A pair of glasses framed his reptilian face, different then Leo's, but still distinctly turtle. Dad said that turtle yokai were rare, but maybe that wasn't the case in this town.

“How did you do that!?” The turtle kept pace with Leo's walk.

“Do what?” The boy scoffed like it was obvious.

“Teleport around like that! What was it, some mirrors? A light show?”

“It was magic.”

“Ha!” Leo hadn't had a ton of social interactions, but he was pretty sure it qualified as rude as the kid kicked his legs, “Do you take me for a fool? There's no such thing as magic!”

“You literally just saw it.” Leo grumbled. The boy sputtered,

“I don't know what I saw! What kind of con are you pulling?”

“A magic one, genius!” Leo glared, “Just leave me alone!” He sliced at the air in front of him, embarrassingly having to try twice before a portal opened, too angry to focus well. He stepped through.

Leo wandered for the next few hours. He tried the hotel he had seen earlier, but they wanted identification and way too much money.

“Where are your parents?” The fox had asked, not concerned but incredulous. Hours later, Leo found himself at a park fountain, with two golden dragons curled around each other. The bottom glittered with coins, discarded wishes sunk to the floor. Leo watched them, sandwich forgotten on his lap.

“Aren't you going to eat that, bro?” Leo shook his head. “Where are we going to stay tonight?” Before he could give an answer, not that he had one, Leo heard a police siren nearby, so they made themselves scarce.

Long story short, by the time the clock tower was ringing at sunset, Leo had nowhere to go.

He found himself at a cliff overlooking the town. He leaned on the fence, studying the beautiful buildings, the ocean, so blue, everything he'd thought would be perfect.

“Why don't be find a better town?” Shelldon asked, “This place bites.” Again, Leo couldn't find an answer, stuck staring at the figures below.

“Oh no, hey there, your pacifier!” A deep voice behind him, “Ma'am, you forgot your baby's pacifier!” The hulking figure stopped beside Leo on the overlook, cutting a dangerous silhouette in the evening shadows, but his voice was soft, he was wearing an apron, and held a pacifier comically small in his hand.

“Poor kid,” He said, half to himself, sharp shell and another scaled face. There are so many turtles in this town! “Without this he'll wake up and cry all the way home. Raph better bring it to her.” Leo frowned after the woman in question, already turning the corner. That would be quite a run for whoever Raph was.

“Hey, uh.” He turned, leaning against the fence casually, “Do you want me to deliver it to her? I could get there quickly.” The turtle studied him up and down. Leo tried really hard not to look insecure, drumming his fingers against the wood.

“Sure, if you don't mind.” He dropped the pacifier into Leo's hand.

“Ok, come on, Shelly.”

“Shelldon.” The cat corrected as he situated himself into his shirt. Leo climbed on top of the fence.

“Hold on, what are you doing?” He sounded worried. Leo felt himself start to grin. He pulled his sword out with a flourish and gave wink over his shoulder as he jumped. Teleporting was so much easier in the air.

Leo tumbled to the ground, having landed a few feet too high. The woman with the stroller turned at his entrance.

“Hey!” He hopped to his feet. “You left this behind.” He gave the pacifier to the baby. The woman smiled at him, and Leo felt himself grin back.

He had to walk the steep hill up to the restaurant, ninpo exhausted. His dad always scolded him for overusing it like this, but a good night's sleep and he would be fine!

If he could find a place to sleep. He didn't even have the energy to portal home.

Not that he would, that would be so pathetic.

The resturaunt was warm, in temperature and in feeling. That's how Leo could describe the boy in red, he felt warm, and he filled the room with it. Leo met his eyes, and the bigger turtle smiled,

“Wait a minute, will you?” He served the last few customers, only a few take out orders left. It smelled like garlic and tomatoes, and all of the boxes were flat for some reason. Red finished up quickly enough, wiping off his hands on his apron.

“I thought I was dreamin’” He said excitedly, “How did you do that?” He didn't sound demanding, like the purple turtle from before, just curious.

“Magic.” Leo answered with a smile, “The lady gave me a note to give you.” Red squinted to read it on the slip of paper. Leo rocked on his heels,

“Well, I'd better be going-”

“Wait- wait a second.” Leo stopped, “What's your name?”

“Leo.” He tried not to sound too hopeful.

“The names' Raph!” Raph smiled, “Wanna grab a slice with me?” Leo blinked,

“Grab a what.”

“A slice of pizza.” His face must have conveyed his confusion. Raph's expression twisted into one of horror. He grabbed Leo by the shoulders, voice dropping to a grim whisper,

“You've never had pizza?” Leo shook his head. That was probably why the sign on the door said “Pizzeria”, right under Run of the Mill written in fancy script. Raph sucked in a breath,

“Your comin’ with me.”

“Wait, what?” 

Chapter Text

Leo couldn't believe he went 15 years without pizza.

“Now I can die.” He groaned, taking another bite. Raph grinned at him as he set a bowl of milk down for Shelldon. His quiet, ‘Here ya go little guy’ was sweet in a way that disarmed Leo completely.

“I can't believe you've never had pizza!” Raph exclaimed. He had a snaggletooth, and wore a red t-shirt with spikes sticking out of it, “Where've you been livin’, the moon?”

“Basically.” Leo watched Shelldon lap up the milk, “In the outskirts of Karikiya, just me and my Dad.” Raph sat down across from him.

“Oh yeah? What brings you here?”

“Training.” It was funny to be in a world where his family's practices weren't common knowledge, “I have to live and practice on my own for a year.”

“Oh.” Raph's brow scrunched, like he didn't like the idea, but he didn't say anything, “So where are you staying right now?” Leo felt a grin spread on his face, a default. He took his time chewing his pizza crust.

“Oh you know. Around.” Again, a furrowed brow.

“Around?” Leo grinned, reassuring,

“I'll figure something out, I always do.” Raph hummed, clearly still troubled. Leo bounced his leg under the table,

“People don't seem to like ninjas here.” He said. Raph shrugged,

“People don't like anything here. Just lay low and you'll be ok.”

“Right.” Laying low. Ninjas were supposed to be good at that. “Well thanks for the pizza. I should go-”

“Wait. One second. Raph's got an idea.” Raph said, squinting at the table like he was going to burn a hole in it. After a solid five seconds, Leo spoke,

“Uh, whats you-”

“Shhh!” Raph maintained his staring contest with the wooden surface, waving an exasperated hand at Leo, “Raph is thinking!”

“Leo is confused.” He muttered. Raph snapped,

“You should stay here! We've got a whole attic no one uses!” Leo brightened,

“You mean it?”

“Well, I'd have to check with Señor first. He's the owner an’ all.” He read Leo's skepticism well, “Don't you worry, I'm sure he'll say yes!”

—

“No.”

“But I have a letter of recommendation and everything!!” Hueso shot a dead eyed stare (heh, get it?) over the reservation book.

“A note from a random woman on the street is not a letter of recommendation. And even if it was, you cannot just live here for free! I have enough trouble with the children working here already.” He gave Raph a withering side glance. Raph just smiled nervously. Dude was sticking his neck out for Leo, he would have to make this work.

“It totally was a rec letter!” He insisted, tapping on the hostess stand, “Because she called me a delivery boy! That's what I can be!”

“A delivery boy.” He repeated without enthusiasm.

“Exactly!!” He boasted, “I can portal your pizzas anywhere in the city!” Hueso started to walk away. Leo hopped in front of him. He might not be good at sneaking, but he was quick on his feet, skirting around customers and tables,

“In today's world, the modern man-” He ducked under a tray of food a waiter was carrying, “-the modern man does not have the time or luxury to go out to dinner! Imagine, if you will-”

“I will not.”

“-coming home from a long shift. Your manager hates you, your coworker has a complex, the lunch rush was-”

“Get on with it.”

“-the last thing you'll want to do is drag your butt out the door to pick up food!” One look at Huesos face and Leo could tell he was losing him, “Look at it this way.. Either you hire me, or I go to some other pizza shop in town, and someone else will have magic delivering pizzas instead of you.” Leo had a PhD in expression readings. He watched as Hueso's shifted just a tiny bit. Yes, yes! “And you don't have to pay me!” He added, “I just need a place to stay for a while!” Hueso stared at him, considering. He gave a sigh and Leo knew he had won,

“As long as I don't have to pay you.” He tossed Leo an apron, “You get one drink per shift, uniforms are in the back.”

“Yes! Thank you, señor! You won't regret it!” Hueso only grumbled and walked away.

“I didn't think you'd be able to convince him! Nice job!” Raph held up a hand for a high 5. Leo grinned and obliged. A new job, new friend, new home, could this day get any better?

“I'll show you the attic!”

—

“If you find a white cat in the morning, its me.” Shelldon grumbled.

“Come on, it's not that bad!” Leo said as he pulled on his sleep shirt. Raph had dropped him off at the attic above the store: a dusty storage room filled with old pieces of furniture and boxes. It probably used to be an apartment, and it did have a small bed and kitchenette. Not bad, but not great. Leo's favorite thing was the view. Standing by the windowsill, he could see the ocean.

“How did you know it would work?” Shelldon asked from where he was sprawled on the bed.

“That what would work?”

“Writing that note.” He replied, “How did you know that would trick him into helping us?” Leo turned to face Shelly, leaning on the windowsill and tipping his head back.

“He's a sweet guy, Shell. He would have helped me regardless. The note was just.. a suggestion.” Shelldon looked exasperated,

“So you manipulated him.” Leo scoffed, leaving the window open and joining Shelly on the bed. He put his hands behind his head,

“It was a suggestion.” He said with an air of finality, and turned on the radio. He stared at the ceiling, listening for a few minutes.

“I've decided not to leave.” He said, quieter, “Maybe I can find more people here like Raph. Who, you know.. like me.” Liked him. Dad loved him, yeah, but.. he always had a feeling there was something missing. Like he had never really wanted kids. Like a TV was all the company he needed. At least he had Shelly. And now he had Raph. Raph liked him, at least, as much as you could a stranger you just met. He put it in a little box and held it to his chest, trying to memorize the weight, the feeling in his hands. Were there more people like Raph? He turned his head to Shelly, about to ask, but his familiar was fast asleep under his arm. Leo sighed and turned off the radio.

“Sleep tight Shelldon. We have a big day ahead.”