Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Leo was a kappa. One hundred percent, bonafide, yokai of the water. A river child. A vaguely turtle-adjacent creature of legend used to scare little children about the dangers of drowning.

Him and his brothers lived in a beautiful lake just off the edge of the human town, and life there was as perfect as perfect could get, never changing and never growing old.

His day started when the sun rose, and he stretched up his arms and roll out of his bed of soft algae, swimming through the water just as easily as if he had been doing it every single day of his entire life. Which, in fact, he had. Today the water of the lake was a beautiful aqua blue, and as he looked upwards he could see the golden rays shining through it in sparkling shafts. Perfect weather, not cloudy, no rain.

He dived back down deep, where the water grew dark, and with a flick of his tail smacked his brother awake.

“Ugh, what the shell, Leo–” But before he could complain further, Leo grabbed his brother's hand and pulled him forward, swimming around him in a happy circle. “Okay, I’m awake, what is it?” Donnie groggily rubbed an eye with a scaly hand, slowly blinking at Leo as he continued to flip happily.

“The slugweed should be finished growing!”

A magnificent grin lit Donnie’s face. “Oh really?”

Leo barely contained his evil laughter. “Really really.” 

“What are you knuckleheads plotting?” Raph’s spiky form swam up between them, webbed hands shifting the water in powerful strides.

Leo smiled, clinging onto Raph’s bicep sweetly. “Nothing, Raphie, we promise! We’re just gonna go check on the garden, mkay?” 

“Okay, well–”

“Okay bye!” Leo grabbed Donnie’s hand and kicked off through the water, but he hadn’t made it far before Raph snatched his tail, stopping him in his tracks. “Ugh, what?” 

“Take Mikey with you. He does more work for the garden than you numb-skulls anyway.”

“I do what?” Mikey appeared, also swimming up from the depths. 

“Leo and Don’ are goin’ to the garden and I thought you’d want to come, since you do all the work and they just goof around.” Raph explained, motioning to Donnie and Leo, who he still held caught by the tail.

“Oh yeah!” Mikey smiled. “I’d love to go to the garden!”

Leo broke in impatiently. “Awesome, cool, yeah, can we go now?”

Raph snickered, letting go of his tail and shooing Mikey towards them. “Yeah, yeah, you can go, be safe an’ all that.”

“Bye Raphie!”

“Farewell Raphala!”

“Come on guys, can you move it!?”

…

The garden was a very pretty section of the lake, complete with underwater sections filled to the brim with blossoming aquatic plants. Mikey had figured out how to grow practically every kind of sea grass, and to add to the biodiversity, the garden attracted all manner of lake creatures from fish to crabs to nudibranchs. Delicate moss patches were growing in the dappled sunlight, and when you looked up, the surface of the water was speckled with duckweed and algae.

But Leo was here for a particular lake plant. There was a patch he was specially curating for a very specific purpose.

Swimming in tandem, him and Donnie dove towards the muddy bottom of the lake where the water grew still and cold. Among the muck, black tendrils had sprouted, slimy vines twisting grotesquely in the dark light. Almost like…slugs. Hence, slugweed.

“I…can’t believe it.” Donnie whispered reverently. “We succeeded in cultivating an entirely new subspecies of plant!” He bounced excitedly, shaking Leo’s arm. “Do you know what this means!?”

Leo smirked, rubbing his webbed fingers together. “Oh I know exactly what it means. It means some human is gonna get absolutely slugged in the face.”

…

By mid-noon Leo was beginning to tire of waiting for a target to arrive.

They had staked out in the cover of the coastal reeds on the south side, just in view of the large trees and bushes that protected the lake, to avoid being seen once the inevitable human wandered in.

But you couldn’t exactly predict when one would come, it just happened when it happened, and when it did it was always the best kind of fun.

Leo was the absolute king of getting humans to leave the lake. He took it as his personal responsibility to ensure that any that wandered too close would definitely regret it, whether scaring the pants off them or by pranking them so hard they'd never dare return. Just last week he had had the pleasure of scaring off two little boys who had been poking a stick in the water, and they had both run off screaming about ‘kappas being real!’. Oh, it was really the best.

But today seemed to be a slow day, with no humans, and sitting out of the water was drying out his scales. He groaned, looking over to Donnie. “Where are all the humans? What, do they have some stupid festival going on or something?”

Donnie traced a lazy claw into the sand in their spot among the reeds. “No, I don’t think so. Those usually have more fireworks. I always wondered why they celebrate like that, it’s so dumb.”

“Yeah, it is dumb. All the things humans do are dumb.” He huffed, setting his cheek against his palm. The sun beat down from above; what once appeared to be perfect weather turning out to be itchy and much too hot. Leo splashed water against himself, sighing again. “I don’t know how much longer I can wait, I mean–”

Suddenly Mikey’s head broke the surface of the water, showering them both in droplets. “There you guys are! Raph found a kabocha, you guys want some?”

“A kabocha, at this time of year?”

“Well, it could just be a summer squash, but it looks like a kabocha, and Raph was like 80% percent sure it was.” Mikey beamed, then fanned his face where it stuck out from the water. “Man, it sure is hot.” He lamented.

Leo flicked his tail. “You’re telling me .”

With a push, Donnie lifted himself into the water and joined Mikey, looking back up at Leo on the bank. “You coming?”

Leo splashed himself with water again, thinking about the ripe orange rind of a fresh kabocha, and crunching into that sweet, savory flavor. Eh, it probably wasn’t even a real kabocha anyway. “I’ll pass. I just know I’ll leave and miss a human; go on without me.”

Donnie sank below the surface, leaving only Mikey there. “You sure?”

“I’m sure, hermano. Go take a big bite out of the squash for me.”

Mikey frowned. “We’ll save some for you, okay?”

“Thanks, Mike.”

And Mikey’s head disappeared.

…

Only fifteen minutes had passed before Leo began regretting his choices, but just as he was deciding to leave, he picked up the sound of rustling coming from the bushes protecting the clearing. Going silent, he crouched low into the reeds and peered out, watching as a human fought their way through the hedge. 

It was a human girl, likely fifteen or sixteen, and she wore a beautiful green kimono speckled with yellow flowers. She carried a hand-held camera with her, which was never a good sign, and bright red-framed glasses reflected the light so that Leo couldn’t quite see her eyes.

Silently Leo dipped into the water. Oh, this was going to be perfect. When he resurfaced with a slimy handful of slugweed, the girl had successfully gotten past the brush and was standing in the clearing, taking pictures and generally looking as though she was snooping around.

He watched her for a moment, curious. What was she looking for?

“Hello?” She said suddenly, looking up from her camera. Leo let the silence stretch. Was there another human she expected to find here? Because Leo always knew when there was, and right now there wasn’t anyone there but her, he was sure. “My name is April O’ Neil. There’s been rumors in town that there are kappa here in this lake, and I…came to investigate.”

Interesting. Leo hadn’t really thought any of the townspeople would actually believe the stupid people he sent screaming away. Maybe he had gotten too reckless, been seen a little too much. But still, what was she here for? Did she expect to find them just like that? 

“I, uh, brought an offering.” Her voice broke into his thoughts suddenly, and he watched her pull a cucumber from her obi, setting it on the ground near the coast. “It’s said that kappa like them.” She paused. “So…” She began again, glancing his way by happenstance and then out to the lake, searching. “If you’re out here…show yourself.”

Oh he’d show himself, all right. With the stealth of a predator, he snuck closer through the reeds, careful to disguise his movements with the gentle breeze that flitted the reeds this way and that. Finally he stopped, gauging her distance carefully before bringing his arm up and launching the disgusting plant directly at her face.

It hit her square on the nose, splattering against her glasses and coating her in muddy, squelching muck. Score. She shrieked, and her hands flew up to her face frantically to wipe her lenses clean before she glared at the reed patch. “I saw that! I’ll get a picture and I’ll prove you’re real!”

She brought her camera up to her face, like an idiot, and Leo nailed it perfectly, the slugweed oozing all over her kimono and further muddying her face.

“Ugh! You rotten yokai!” She cried, looking despairingly at her camera and clothes.

Served her right. She was trespassing on Leo’s grounds.

Grumpily she tried and failed to brush the slugweed off of herself, and finally threw her hands out angrily, storming back toward the hedge. “I will be back!” She threatened, staring into the reed patch several feet from where Leo was. He snickered loudly.

“I heard that!” She warned, and, with that, pushed her way back through the bushes and was gone.

After a few minutes had passed and Leo was sure the clearing was safe, he stepped out of the water, still giggling. There on the coast sat the forgotten ‘offering’ and Leo was delighted to find it was, in fact, a real cucumber. Happily he retrieved it, practically jumping back towards the water. Just because it was possible didn’t mean walking on land was fun.

Leo was shaking with excitement by the time he reached his brothers, and he could barely contain the story enough to start at the beginning.

“Guys, guys! You will not believe what just happened, there was this human girl and I got her soooo good with the slugweed and she left a freaking cucumber, can you believe that!? I mean I got her right in the face and she was like ‘wah!’ and I was like ‘serves you right, evil witch!’ and then she left, and you know what? I’d bet a whole kabocha that she’s never coming back! You guys should’ve seen it, it was crazy–”

Raph’s hands were on his shoulders, shaking him fervently. “Slow down, Leo, you did what!?”

Donnie was cackling with laughter, but he paused, taking a breath. “He said he slugged a human girl in the face! Oh, that’s good–”

“A human!?” Raph panicked. “Leo, what did I say about the human pranks, you’re gonna get us caught!”

“But I didn’t Raphie, we’re fine!”

Raph’s brow only furrowed, and he rushed forward to check Leo for injuries like the nervous brother-hen that he was. “Is your sara intact?” He asked seriously, looking Leo in the eyes.

Leo glanced down at the brown cord tied around his neck, the small bottle pendant attached to it still full of shining lake water. That was part of being a kappa: wearing your life force around your neck. Everyone knew that if you lost it; if the water was spilled from the bottle, your life would just…stop.

“Raph, I said everything’s fine, she didn’t even see me, and her camera’s broken now–”

“Camera!? She had a camera!?”

Leo put his hands on Raph’s spiked shoulders, soothing, “You need to relax, bro. She didn’t get any pictures.”

“Still though,” Donnie jumped in unhelpfully, “If the humans are bringing cameras around here that is a very bad sign.”

“Yeah, what if they find us out and capture us all in fishnets!?” Mikey exclaimed fearfully. He shot through the water towards Raph, latching onto one of his arms, wide-eyed.

“Look, Leo, you scared Mikey.”

Leo tugged on his little brother’s arm gently. “Mikey, fishnets can’t hold us, we’d just claw through them, you know that.”

“They’d find a way.” The box shell responded darkly. “They’d take us away if they knew we were real.”

“Michael, that’s very improbable–”

“They're never gonna know that we’re real because I’ll–”

“Everyone shut up!” Raph demanded. “There will be no more pranking humans, and no more going to the surface for a week. You’re all grounded.”

Leo spun angrily, sending a strong current in every direction. “What!? That’s not fair! The only reason I mess with humans is to get them to leave us alone, you can’t just ban me from doing it!”

“I meant what I said, Leo.”

“Why can’t you just– ugh, you know what? Fine. Ground me. See what happens.” Leo muttered coldly.

“Leo, wait–”

But Leo didn’t look back as he turned with a swish and dove away, swimming off into the dark blue.

Chapter Text

Being grounded was boring.

Very boring.

And when Leo was bored, life was sure to be made miserable for everyone.

“Leo, you’ve been moping on that rock for the past hour, go do something instead of groaning every time I try to talk to you.” Raph paused in his piling of rocks, looking up at him.

“Groan.”

Raph threw another rock through the water and Leo watched as it sank down to join the pile. “Go bother Donnie or something, I don’t know, just quit annoying me.”

“I already annoyed Donnie. He said his head was gonna blow up so I came here.” Leo lazily blew air bubbles, watching as they formed from his lips and floated to the surface gently.

“Well what about Mikey?” There was another soft clunk! as a good-sized boulder joined the pile.

“I’m pretty sure I drove him up the proverbial waterfall. He actually threatened to pull up the slugweed patch so I had to bail.”

Raph swam away for a moment, looking for the next rock. When he returned he flicked an extra pebble at Leo, beaning him directly in the side of the head. 

“Ouch!”

“Now I’m annoying you. Just go find something to do, please.”

Leo rubbed his temple sourly, sitting up and glaring at him. “Oh I know, I’ll watch for humans and protect our home from– oh wait. I can’t. I don’t have anything to do thanks to you, Raph.” With that he laid back down, blowing bubbles and trying to pop them before they got too far away.

Raph sighed. “Look, Leo. You really want to ‘protect’ us that badly, just keep watch from below the water. I can’t take a day more of you like this.”

Leo laughed dryly. “Keep watch from below the water? What’s the point of that?” He stared up at the water’s sunny surface, noting how the shadowy shade from a tree danced through blue.

“The point is to stay aware without engaging. When I watch, I go to the shallow coast and get just below the water, so that I can hear what’s happening in the clearing.”

Leo paused his bubble blowing. “That’s…not a bad strat, actually.”

“I know, I have amazing ideas. Will you go already?” Raph tugged once on Leo’s tail.

Leo had already made up his mind, but he took his sweet time stretching on the rock, begrudgingly leaving only once Raph flicked another pebble at him.

As he swam off, Raph’s voice pursued him. “Don’t go above the water!”

He scoffed, swimming faster. “I know, Raph!”

“And be careful!”

“I know, Raph!”

…

Just when he had settled into the perfect coastal spot, his privacy was invaded as Donnie approached, bag of seashells in hand.

“Leo, there you are, I found a seashell shaped exactly like the Einstein shape, you gotta see it, it’s–”

“Shh!” Leo shushed, tugging him into the blindspot as he watched the land through the marbled surface of the water.

“What?” Donnie whispered.

“I’m watching.”

Donnie looked up through the water, then back at him. “There’s no one there.”

Leo set a finger to his lips. “You have to listen. They could come at any time; I can’t see the entrance.”

Donnie was silent for a moment, staring up through the water with him.

Nothing moved.

Donnie’s tail began wagging, and then he moved out of position.

“Oookay, well anyways, look at this seashell, it’s shaped just like the Einstein shape! Thirteen sides and everything!” He procured a very odd-looking, angular seashell and excitedly presented it.

Leo didn’t look over. “Oh, yeah, cool.”

In his peripheral vision, Donnie frowned. “You don’t even know what an Einstein shape is. I had to explain it to Mikey for like twenty minutes. Come on, can I please just infodump to you for a bit so you can look at it and know what I’m talking about?”

“Fine whatever, but just, quietly, okay? And stay in the blind spot.” Leo directed, pulling Donnie back into position with his tail.

“Excellent! So, for starters, its technical name is an aperiodic monotile, and what’s important is that it has the ability to tessellate space, but only in a nonperiodic way. For example, if I had a hundred more of these shells, I would be able to–”

“Shh!” Leo shushed him again. A shadow fell upon the water, then two more. Donnie looked up to the surface, eyes going wide.

Onto the beach came three humans, male teenagers who were talking and laughing raucously. 

“This place is perfect!” One yelled, high-fiving another one. The words were warbled but Leo could still make them out.

One shadow crossed closer to the lapping tide. “Yeah, but what’s the water like?” A foot dipped into the water, sandaled toes invading the clear surface and wiggling.

A low growl rumbled from Donnie.

“Got your trunks, fellas?” The biggest one said, grinning.

“They’re gonna try to get in.” Leo whispered urgently, casting a terrified glance to Donnie. “We have to stop them.”

Donnie looked conflicted, brow furrowing. “We can’t. We can’t be seen, remember? Look, I’ll go get Raph, we’ll figure something out, just stay here and keep an eye on them, make sure they don’t go in.”

Leo grabbed his tail before he could swim away, holding him. “How do I do that without leaving the water!?”

Donnie’s face twisted. “Just don’t do anything, I’ll be right back.” His brother sped away, leaving a trail of bubbles in his wake, and Leo watched anxiously as the three humans came nearer and nearer to the water. He blinked and there was another foot in the water, then two feet, then they were up to their legs and suddenly the human was waist deep in the water and what was he doing? Move Leo, move!

Leo didn’t think as he swam from the hiding spot, setting his feet on the coast. Before he could stop himself, his head broke through the water and into the air and they saw him. 

They saw him.

He saw them.

“What. Is. That.” Said one of the boys still on land.

Water dripped from Leo’s fins, his scales were glossy and monstrous and wet, and the human in the water just stared at him, bug-eyed.

It was the big one, and he looked at his friends, almost looking scared for a moment before breaking into a magnificent grin. Unexpectedly, he doubled over and began laughing as he stood waist-deep in the water. 

“It’s a kappa!” He guffawed, bending back up and wiping a tear from his eye. Leo was still standing there, not moving. “You know what I heard?” He looked back towards his friends again. “I heard that if you wrestle one and win, they’ll do anything you say.” And his eyes locked right on Leo’s as he flashed his evil grin.

Before Leo could process anything, least of all the ‘wrestle' part, it appeared that the game had already begun, as the human stomped toward him in the water and stopped, tensing to strike.

“I challenge you, kappa. And I’m gonna win.” From the sidelines, the other two humans snickered, cheering him on.

Leo’s eyes darted at them and then back at the big human, which was quite unfortunate, because that was the moment he struck. With a lunge he tackled Leo, immediately pulling his neck into a headlock. The human’s sweaty pink forearms were holding him, tightening up around his head and terrified, Leo thrashed, just managing to slip out of the hold with the help of his water-slicked scales. 

Having escaped, he looked back up fearfully to the human.

The boy just smiled, and with a jump, lunged again, pinning Leo’s arms to his chest before roughly pushing him underwater. Leo watched the air bubble out of his lips much too quickly, his chest compressing empty before he was dragged back to the surface. The human laughed. “I’m winning!” 

Here something clicked together in Leo’s brain, fragmented pieces of a statement coming together in his brain. 

If you win, they’ll do anything you say. 

Could that be true? How could it be a question? He should know this about his own kind. It couldn’t be real. He would rather die than be beholden to some human.

Leo slapped his tail around the human’s wrist and yanked, putting the large boy off balance. Chest heaving, Leo pried off the pink hand still clutching to his arm, and with a swing, punched the human right across the nose, feeling warm liquid smear across his knuckles.

The human stepped back, touching the blood streaming down his mouth with disbelief. “Finally making it a little harder, huh?”

The boy plunged forward with his fists, but now Leo was ready and he caught them, pushing back against the human’s force with everything he had. They fell towards the sand, rolling in and out of the water until they were fully on the coast. His scales now drier, Leo struggled to escape the next headlock, wriggling and smacking his tail desperately against the wet sand. 

“Gotcha now.” The human triumphed, tightening around Leo’s neck and forcing him to a standing position. “And what’s this?” One of the human’s hands felt its way towards his sara, closing around the small bottle pendant. “Do all kappas wear necklaces, or are you just a wimpy one?” Leo froze, too afraid to say anything as the human held him tight in his grip. “Well now that you’re my servant, you won’t be needing it anymore.” 

The hand holding his sara yanked.

In a single terrifying moment, his sara was ripped from his neck, and the water poured down onto the ground in a glistening stream.

And just like that, he was frozen.

Leo’s muscles locked directly into place, a tenseness like he had never known before icing through his entire body in a single second. He couldn't move. Couldn't blink.

Panic rose with one painful, static breath as the human slowly realized what had happened.

“Froze up, did ya?”

He couldn’t respond, he couldn’t twitch a single muscle. He had lost his sara.

It all felt so distant, too distant as the other humans approached his immobile body. Slowly the big one let go of his neck, stepping backwards and laughing. Each breath pressed against his chest like he was made of cement. He could feel the heat of their exhales against him as they leered closer.

"You’re right, it’s like it can’t move!”

He was trapped, he couldn’t do anything, it all was too much as they began poking his face experimentally. You were never supposed to lose your sara. He would die like this. He would be frozen until he died and his breath just couldn't quite get into his chest and the humans– The three humans had all gathered in front of him, taunting him as they began kicking his stock-still legs. They yelled at his absence of reaction, spitting in his face.

“Too scared?” They taunted. “It’s so scared it can’t move; serves it right!”

Dirt was thrown and it stung in his open, drying eyes.

His brothers. He needed his brothers. He had to call for help.

He tried to yell, but no attempt could get past his jaw, it was like it was glued shut. He fell further into panic, straining to move any part of himself and failing miserably. All around him, the humans laughed and scorned, hitting him over and over.

“Move, kappa! I dare you!”

Didn’t they know that he was trying ? He was trying so, so hard to move but he couldn’t, and he was stuck and he would die. He wished so badly that he could cry for help, he pleaded mentally for his brothers to come, for anyone to come; to help him, please just get him out of this. 

Stark compared to the bruises, he noticed wetness on his cheek.

"It's crying, what a baby! Gonna go cry to your kappa mommy, freak!?" 

He was kicked again, hard in the shin, and the whole group laughed heartily, echoing in his tympana over and over again. He was going to die. His lungs desperately heaved in his frozen chest and he tried again to cry out, but all he could manage was a whimper. Shame rotted in his gut as stood there, useless.

"Hey!" A new voice yelled. "Cut it out!" 

A human girl broke free from the bushes and stormed into the clearing, waving a baseball bat menacingly. Red glasses glinted in the sunlight.

Oh no. It was her.

"Uh, what did you just say?" The big one responded.

The girl stuck out her chin, challenging. "Leave him alone, or I'll whoop your asses." She brought the baseball bat up into a swinging position, glaring.

"You can't be serious–"

With a battle cry, the girl stormed toward the group, and struck the biggest boy in the stomach violently. He yelped and fell to the ground immediately, getting up just as quickly and bailing back through the bushes. There was silence as the other two stared at her absolutely manic facial expression.

"I don't play when I say I'll do something. So get out of here or I will: Whoop. Your. Ass. Got it?"

In a split second the group fractured, both humans running for their life in a different direction to get away from the clearing as fast as possible.

Silence began as soon as they were gone.

Leo was still frozen, he realized with alarm, and now she could torment him and him alone. He wished for the millionth time that he could scream, or run, or anything. His sara still lay shiny and spilled on the ground.

But as she neared him, he did his best to suck up his fear. Get a grip, Leo. With as much gusto as he could muster, he growled, deep and low and threatening.

To his surprise, she lowered her bat. "You really can't move?"

With nothing to do in response he just stared at her, tears still drying on his face.

“Oh. What happened?” She backed up a little, and as the glare on her glasses receded, he took in the deep brown of her eyes, accentuated by the darkness of the messy, curly bun at the top of her head.

Frantically he looked at his sara, darting his eyes in the direction pointedly until she followed his gaze to the little string necklace on the ground. She picked it up, peering at the small bottle. “This?”

He hummed an affirmative.

“Well what do I do now?”

Fill it, he hummed. All the syllables were lost, however, so it came out as more of a sloppy: “Hmm-mmh.” 

She stared at him, confused.

The lake, he hummed impatiently, darting his eyes towards the ebbing coast and guiding her to look.

“I’m supposed to…bring it to the lake?”

Another affirming hum.

“Oh, I see, I need to fill it up!” She realized happily, dipping the tiny bottle into the water until it bubbled up full. She withdrew it, approaching him. “Now I tie it back on you, right?”

As her arms lifted to tie the necklace around him, he felt so relieved he could scream. Oh spirits, he would actually be able to now, it was all over, thank goodness– She had stopped.

Why the shell was she stopping?

“Before I set you free or whatever, I’ve got a bone to pick.” Her arms retreated, and he began to hum angrily before she leveled him with a serious look, effectively silencing him. “You see now that it’s not very fun to be messed with, huh kappa?” She rested a hand on her hip. “So lay off the humans; we don’t like it either.“ She reached up again, spreading the necklace out. “And don’t go clawing me in the face or anything, I just saved your butt, got it?” 

Desperately he hummed an affirmative.

Finally the necklace slipped back onto his neck, and immediately his muscles relaxed, his whole body untightening in one beautiful, freeing second. He practically leaped for joy, immediately letting out a yell of excitement.

“I’m free!” He praised, kicking up his feet and taking off for the lake. Like instinct he slipped into the water perfectly, the water cool and relieving on his scales. He had to tell his brothers that he had lost his sara and lived! And all because of that same girl that he– Oh. Oh, shell, should he apologize for that now? 

He spun underwater once, debating. Well, they were even now, if you thought about it. Yeah, no, he did not need to apologize, no sir.

But what was that...other thing, that Mikey did sometimes?

He stuck his head out of the water, blinking it out of his eyes for a moment. He spotted the girl walking towards the bushes from whence she came. “Wait!” 

She turned to look, now several feet away from the coast. “What?”

He faltered, trying to get the stupid words out. “Um, th– ugh, thank– uh… thank you.” 

Ew, well that had felt gross. 

The girl just stared at him for a moment: his strange, floating kappa head sticking above the water. Finally, she shrugged. “Don’t mention it.” 

And she turned around and left with a swish of the bushes.

Chapter Text

The next week passed completely uneventfully. For once there wasn’t a human or kappa in sight above the surface of the water, and the sun rose and fell upon the lake just like it always did, lighting and darkening the empty clearing as the breeze swayed the reeds back and forth.

And Leo couldn’t stop having nightmares.

It was always generally the same, frozen limbs and rapid beating of the heart. Sometimes he relived the wrestling match with far too much clarity. Sometimes he would choke on the air squeezing past his immobile ribs, and sometimes he would choke because of sticky arms tightening around his neck. Over and over he woke up clutching his sara in his grasp, trying to convince himself that he could move just fine. Take deep breaths, Leo, you lived.

But tonight's dream was absolutely kicking him in the shell, because he was trapped in a morbid reality where the human was conducting him like a puppet on a string.

“Move.” The boy would command, and like a doll Leo would do so. “Attack.” And Leo would obediently lash out. “Take off your sara.”

And Leo tightened his fist around the bottle, ripping the pendant off so his body could freeze up just like ice. 

Cold. Dead. A loser and a servant.

“Le—-get—p, you’r—--ing a----ightmare–”

There was a hand shaking his shoulder, his cold frozen shoulder, and with a jolt, he shattered into pieces, feeling the oxygenated water seep quickly into his lungs. His breath was coming hard, and Raph was above him, looking concerned. He let his brother guide him to sit up on his seaweed bed.

The water was dark navy. It was still night.

“It’s okay Leo. Just…breathe.” Raph sat down beside him, and Leo felt cool scales against his own. He breathed. The rapid heaving of his lungs began to slow. “You’re here, Leo. Your sara is intact.”

Leo looked down at his hand, which had a death grip on the necklace. He loosened his fingers to see it, but didn’t let go. Raph was right. It was fine. He was fine. He leaned into Raph’s shoulder heavily, still taking deep breaths.

“I lost.”

“I know, Leo.”

“He beat me.”

“I know.”

Leo’s hands fidgeted with the cord around the bottle. “Doesn’t that mean I have to do what he says?”

“No.”

“But the legends–”

“The legends were wrong.” Raph gazed outwards, looking very far away. “I always thought that if you lost your sara…that was it.” He looked back at Leo, eyes shining. “But here you are.”

The sea grass waved in the distance, and a little moonlight reached the sandy floor, dancing around in strange patterns as the water moved.

“I don’t think I like being a kappa so much anymore.”

Raph chuckled softly. “Welcome to the club.”

“You…don't…?”

His older brother looked away again. “Leo, I worry everyday that something will happen to us. I don’t know why it’s like this, but there’s just a point in your life when you realize that the very nature of our existence is dangerous. And from then on, you’re just…a little more scared than you were before.”

The water was cold in the shallow cavern where they slept, dark and still and never changing.

“I don’t want to be scared.”

“I know. But sometimes being scared is what keeps you safe.” Raph leaned against him, putting an arm around his shoulder and rubbing the scales there, lightly.

Leo ran his thumb along the tiny glass container, watching the water glisten inside it. “We’ll be okay, right?”

Raph curled his thick tail around Leo, softly pushing his hand away from the bottle. “Yeah, we’ll be okay.”

…

By the time eight days had passed since he’d lost his sara, Leo was feeling much better. With Raph’s okay, he even felt alright going back out on the bank in the cover of the reeds, relishing in how nice it was to watch leaves drift down from the surrounding trees and come to rest on the water. He was here. The wind blew through the trees. The lake was safe.

His hand now had a fidgety tendency to rub his sara when he was thinking. He enjoyed the feeling of the glass against his fingertips, and the gentle sloshing of the water against the walls of the bottle, so physical and real beneath his fingers. If he was holding it, after all, there was no way he could lose it.

A rustle.

Leo turned away from the lake, peering through the plant life as someone began crashing through the brush. His heart rate pulsed, the warmth of his blood beating dangerously fast through his temples. It couldn’t be him, he wouldn’t come back, they were safe, they were safe, they were safe–

A green kimono with yellow flowers.

"Hey!” She sounded breathless. “Hey, kappa! I've got something to tell you!" The rest of her body broke through, and she rushed to the edge of the water as Leo ducked down, safe in the middle of the reeds. “It’s important!” She tried, shouting out at the water. Leo did not want to see her again. She would forget about him, Raph had assured. He just needed to stay hidden from now on. He would ignore her; she would leave. "It's about that boy who took off your necklace thing!"

Leo startled, peering through the reeds again to carefully view her face. She was sweating, great beads of perspiration lining her face, brows tight. 

"It's called a sara." He corrected automatically. She immediately looked towards him, having pinpointed his location. He ducked lower as she approached the reeds, carefully remaining out of sight. "Stop. Don't come any closer." He warned her, trying to stay polite. She had saved his life...sort of. 

Not really, you know, if Leo thought about it, humans weren’t even capable of kindness, right? It had all been some weird coincidence that she had freed him. It didn’t make her nice, it didn’t make her different. She was still a human, and he did not trust her.

She stopped walking forwards, still staring into the reeds with an urgent look on her face. "Fine, but just listen to me! That boy? He's told the whole village about you, and a big group is planning to come down here to find you and capture you. I came to warn you; you have to get out of here!"

Leo reeled, and with a jump came crashing out of the reeds, fear forgotten. "What!?"

The girl widened her eyes, taking in all his features again as though it was her first time seeing him. After a moment, she began again. "I told you it was important! Look, I can't swing a bat at an entire group coming down here to get you, so you’d better go find another lake to live in for a while! I don’t know when they’re coming, but you have to go, okay!?”

Once again face to face, Leo looked at the girl intently, noticing that this time her sandals were clogged with mud, stray hairs sprouting from her bun. The intense, fear-filled look on her face was real. She had most likely ran to get down here, forcing her way through the thick tree line, pounding through the mud and dirtying her kimono. All just to… warn him.

“I…can’t…” He muttered.

“What!?” She looked bewildered. “Did you not hear me!? The whole thing about the group of humans heck-bent on capturing you!?”

He splayed out his webbed fingers in a placating gesture. “I know, I heard you, but I can’t just leave. I’ve got…” How did he explain this? “... brothers.”

Her jaw dropped, mouth gaping open silently for a moment. She put a hand up to her frizzy hair, looking completely dumbfounded. “You…what?” She scratched her head, looking off to the lake in wonder. “There are more of you?”

Leo looked at the lake as well, realization dawning on him. If she was telling the truth, they were in danger. All of them. 

He turned to her, setting his jaw. “Is there anything you can do to stop them? Slow them down?”

“I don’t know if I can stop them, but I might be able to stall them. I’ll try. Will you and your brothers be able to go somewhere else? Somewhere safe?”

“I don’t know.” Leo looked down, fidgeting with his sara. “We’ve never left. It’s not a good idea to go too far from the lake.” 

His fidgeting drew the girl’s eye, and she looked at the bottle, nodding in understanding. “Right, your necklace thing.”

“Sara.”

“My name’s April, m’kay? I said it before.” April raised an eyebrow judgmentally.

Leo rolled his eyes. “No, my necklace. It’s called a sara. We can’t just leave the lake; its water is our life force.”

“Oh. Gotcha. You’ll have to hide then. Look, get your brothers and yourself hidden somewhere, and I’ll go see what I can do.” April turned to go.

“Wait!” Leo stepped towards her awkwardly. “If you manage to stop them and come back to tell me, how will I know it’s you?”

April stalled, looking back towards him. “I’ll…uh…” She raised her finger in the air, eyes lighting up. “I’ll skip a stone across the water! None of those village dolts know how to skip a stone; it’s an art, really.” She said, a little haughty. “I’ll skip a stone three times across the water, and you’ll know it’s me.” April looked him in the eyes. “Okay, kappa?”

“It’s…Leo.”

April smiled. “Leo. Okay.” She turned around again, and Leo began to back into the reeds. “I’ll do my best, but get hidden quick, okay?” She tossed the last bit over her shoulder.

“Got it!” He yelled, already leaping into the water.

…

Leo was swimming so fast that he smacked squarely into Donnie, and they tumbled through water in a streak of bubbles before Leo could detach himself.

“Donnie! Where’s Raph and Mikey!?”

Donnie rubbed his head sorely. “I think they’re down near the cave? What—”

“Great, come with me–” Leo grabbed Donnie’s arm and sped off again, his brother fumbling before swimming speedily beside him.

“What’s going on, Leo? You look like you–” He glared, face darkening in realization. “It’s that human, isn’t it!? Where is he? I’d like to show him what happens when he messes with my brother, you know–” Donnie began to threaten.

Leo shook his head. “No, it’s not him– well, it’s not not him, but it’s more than that, we gotta–”

“Leo!”

This time, Leo managed to curve the dive before he barreled into Raph, but he turned back quickly, frantically looking around for Mikey.

“What is it?”

“Where’s Mikey?”

“I’m here, Leo, what is it?” Mikey popped up from behind Raph.

Leo corralled them towards the cave, looking back up towards the surface anxiously. “I’ll tell ya in a minute, just– everyone get in the cave, okay?”

Once they were safe in the relative darkness, Leo let out a breath. He took a seat on the floor of the cavern, fingers curling around his sara.

“The humans are coming for us.” He said blankly, not looking at his brothers. He couldn’t handle their faces, not right then.

But rather than an explosion of anger, Raph unexpectedly crouched in front of him, forcing their eyes to meet. “Are they here right now?” he asked firmly.

Leo looked up. “No, they– April’s trying to stall them.”

He didn’t realize his mistake as the silence stretched.

“Who’s April?” Mikey finally asked.

Leo rubbed the back of his neck, swimming back to his feet. “She’s the, uh, girl who saved me.”

“Really?” Donnie began. “You’re actually addressing a human by its name!? You never–”

“Explain, Leo.” Raph cut off.

Leo took a slow breath. “Look, the girl who saved me came back, but this time she was crashing through the bushes, like out of breath, muddy, and she said that the human who tore off my sara had gone back to the village and spread the word.” Leo’s eyes darkened. “She said I needed to leave so that this whole group of humans wouldn’t find me and kill me, but she didn’t know that it wasn’t just me, so I–”

“Wait.” Donnie stopped him. “How do you know she wasn’t lying? Wasn’t she the one with the camera!?”

“She wasn’t lying, Dee. She got all dirty because she was frantic. She must have ran down here, she was so out of breath. I'm sure. She's just trying to help.” Leo assured.

“So you did what, Leo? Go on!” Raph encouraged impatiently.

“So I told her that I had brothers, and we couldn’t leave the lake, because of our life force and whatnot, and she said–”

“She said her name was April?” Mikey asked in confusion.

"You told her about our life force!?" Donnie cried.

“Will you let me finish!?” Leo exasperated. “She said that we should hide instead, and she’d do what she could to stall them. She said they wanted to kill me. Probably all of us, once they find out there’s more than one…”

Raph brow tightened. “You really believe she was telling the truth?”

Leo stared back. Did he? “I trust her.” She saved him.

“Hold on–” Donnie cut in, gesturing with a claw. “How are you going to know if she even successfully stalled them or not? This could all be a setup, and when we come out we’d be walking into a trap!”

Leo widened his eyes, thumping a fist to his forehead. “Oh no, the rock skipping! She said that if it was her, she’d skip a rock three times on the surface of the lake so I’d know. How will I see it if I hide too!?” He immediately turned tail, heading for the cave’s opening. He was halfway there when his tail was grabbed. 

“Raph.” He looked back.

“I think I’ll go check, okay?” Raph stared at him, serious. It was so obviously a statement and not a question that Leo just gave up and silently nodded, meeting Mikey and Donnie in the back of the cave. Raph swam out.

“Is he gonna be okay? Maybe you shouldn’t have let him go, Leo. Are you really really sure April is—” Mikey wasn’t done talking before Raph returned, a careful smile on his face.

“You’re right, Leo. Someone’s skipping rocks, three times. I think you better go, but be careful, okay?” He set a hand on Leo’s shoulder.

“I will, Raph.” He slowly walked back through the cave.

“He gets to go see this April person again!? We don’t even know what she looks like!” Donnie said indignantly.

“I trust Leo.” Raph said softly. Leo was glad he was already leaving, because his face burned. “And we don’t need her seeing all of us, even if she is trying to help.” Raph huffed.

If there was any more complaint, Leo was out of range to hear it. Outside of the cave, he could see the surface of the water was indeed dimpled by the small skips of a smooth stone. Leo confidently swam towards the shore.

“Hey.” She paused in her throwing, the pebble in her hand raised just above her shoulder.

“Did you stall them?” Leo asked, immediate.

“I did.”

He let out a held breath, relaxing for the first time since she had arrived. She’d done it. They were safe.

“How?” Leo came to sit on the sand, resting his legs in the water.

April set the stone down, sitting a few feet away. “Lucky for us, the forecast says it's gonna rain all week. They were still planning to go until someone reminded them that kappas gain magical powers in the rain.” She raised her eyebrows. “Pretty smart, right? I forgot for a second that you guys are creatures of legend. These guys will believe anything if I say I read it in a folklore book.” She laughed, smoothing out her kimono. “Wait. Do you guys gain magical powers in the rain?”

“No, of course not,” he snorted, “that’s ridiculous!”

“Says the guy with fins and a tail who wears his soul around his neck.”

Leo shot her a glare that was more of a joke, still laughing. “Hey, for a human, you’re not exactly ‘normal’ either. I mean, are you for real?” He looked up at her, laughter fading. “Helping us?” He took a breath, clutching at his sara. “I’m, you know, my brothers and I…we’re monsters to you.”

April tossed back a curly string of hair that hung in her face, trying to press it back into her bun. “I always thought yokai were real.” she mused. “My mom would tell me stories, as a kid, about Baku, the dream eater, or O’uni, the friendly witch. I mean, yeah, the idea of Ootakemaru was pretty terrifying at the time, but it wasn’t all bad…” She picked up a smooth stone, eyes widening. “Oh wow…if you’re real, is Ootakemaru real?” She trailed off, muttering. “Anyways, I just don’t think you guys deserve to be killed. I mean you walk and talk just like we humans do.” She shrugged. With a zip! she threw the stone towards the lake, bouncing it perfectly across the surface.

Leo kicked at the water. “Yeah…” Donnie could’ve easily come up with a hundred reasons why kappa were different from humans; April’s logic was stupid and flawed. But why did Leo want to believe her? To believe that...maybe they weren’t so different. “Well, thank you. For helping me. Again.” 

Dear river spirits, he was thanking her again ? He was beginning to suspect that this whole situation was actually just a complex curse someone had placed on him, making him have to say that stupid word again and again.

“It’s nothing, really. I mean, I don’t want you guys to disappear when I just found out you’re real, I have so many questions! And I can’t learn about you if those village idiots kill you first.” April tugged on the same strand of hair now, twisting it in her fingers. “Speaking of which, we need to talk about that. I stalled them, but there’s no way they won’t be charging back down here after a week. We need a real plan.”

Leo stuck a claw into his mouth, chewing at the keratin. “You’re right…”

They both sat for a moment, the soft breeze still carrying leaves down with it.

“Look,” said April, “Let’s sleep on it, okay?” She paused. “You do sleep, right?”

Not well, as of recently. “Yes, I sleep, April, I’m not a zombie.”

“Then we’ll reconvene tomorrow. We’ll figure something out to convince them to stop forever!” She paused. “Um, somehow…?” Her brow furrowed. “Like I said, good night of sleep.” She got up, brushing herself off. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Leo.”

Leo immersed himself back into the lake, nodding at her with his chin just above the water. “See ya, April.”

Chapter Text

Just like April promised, it rained the entire week.

Leo liked when it rained. It made pretty patterns on the surface of the water; little droplets billowing out into hundreds of micro-ripples that from underwater sounded just like muffled popcorn. It was beautiful– a naturally occurring white noise that managed to lull him into a state of peaceful indifference. The nightmares stopped, and Leo was finally beginning to feel like his usual self again. Even as Raph’s nervousness doubled with the new threat of possible capture, Leo had a feeling things would somehow work themselves out. For the time being, at least, the rain protected them. Thanks to April.

Speaking of which, he wondered if she had thought of any plans yet to keep the humans from coming down to the lake. Most of Leo’s ideas hinged on having slugweed or some other nasty bio-engineered plant to throw at them, but he had a feeling that it wouldn't be quite as effective as it was the first time. He was usually good at thinking of ways to scare humans off, but for once he was drawing a blank. And it was a particularly bad time to draw a blank.

“What are we gonna do, Leo!? We gotta run, we gotta– we gotta hide somewhere, we can’t just sit here! We’re like– we’re like– oh, what’s that saying with the birds and the chairs?” Raph thunked a fist to his forehead, screwing up his brow.

“I believe you are referring to the saying ‘sitting ducks’.” Donnie provided helpfully, cracking a water chestnut between his teeth noisily.

Raph nodded. “Yes! Sitting ducks! If we don’t move while we have the chance, those humans are gonna come down here and catch us! Do you not realize the trouble we’re in!?”

Leo didn’t move from his perch on the big rock, picking at his claws. “April’s gonna figure it all out; she’s gonna think of a plan. We talked about this, Raph: if we run now, we have nowhere to go. Our scales will dry out; our saras will spill, and we’ll get caught by humans anyway if we can’t hide in the lake. It’s all up to April right now. And I know she’s gonna come through.”

“How do you know she’s gonna come through!?”

“I just know.”

Leo laid back, easing his arms under his head to stare up at the rainy water surface. He wasn't sure where his newfound trust came from. It was weird– somehow, in a way he couldn't explain, April felt like a friend Leo had known all his life. Maybe it was the way she spoke: honest and brash, no matter the topic. She reminded Leo of Donnie, in some ways, and Mikey in others, and Raph, too. She felt like… a sister, part of him whispered. But she was human; how could that be? Logically, he couldn’t trust her, she could be lying– promising to help them just to make it all the more easy to trap them in the end. What if she never returned at all? 

Still looking up, Leo spotted a few irregular splashes– a stone, skipping three times across the lake. He jolted upward, and Donnie and Raph’s heads flicked towards the descending stone, bubbles streaking with it through the water.

Donnie cracked another water chestnut. “Well, speak of the devil.”

When Leo emerged, he was showered in rain as the muffled noise of it instantly became sharper. Pittering droplets plinked against the water, wetly collided against the dirt, and streaked down April’s wagasa with a calm fervor. Leo shot out of the water, sending a splash towards April that made her jump back a few feet, smiling nervously.

“April! You came back!”

April adjusted her umbrella and wiped a finger to her glasses. “Of course I did! We have to talk about the plan!”

Leo stepped onto land, claws squelching against the muddy bank. “Great! When it’s raining, I can stay out of the lake much longer before my scales dry out.” He held a hand out, feeling the tickle of rain against his palm. “So, whatcha got for stopping those guys?”

April smiled mischievously, pulling a folded kimono out of a plastic bag at her side. “I’ve got this.”

…

“No.”

Leo shook his head for the third time, waving April off and giving her a glare. “I’m not doing that. Think of something else.”

April frowned. “I don’t have any other ideas, Leo; I need you to come into town with me, and the only way you can do that is in disguise. It’ll work, I know it will!”

Leo pointed a claw to his face, making an unimpressed expression. “Look at me, April. You think you can disguise this whole situation?” He gestured to himself, then crossed his arms, pouting at the water. “Besides, even if it worked, Raph wouldn’t let me go. Walking into town– that’s like, walking right into the tiger’s mouth! It wouldn’t be worth it if I got caught.”

“It’d be worth it to keep your brothers safe.”

Leo looked up, unsettled by how quickly this particular human always seemed to shoot him right through the heart. It was the way she said things– he always wanted to believe her.

April continued, “I wouldn’t let you get caught. This disguise is foolproof; you’ll be completely safe.”

Leo rolled his eyes. “Dressed as a girl.”

“Look, will you at least consider it? We don’t have a lot of time left before the rain stops; if we do this trip we’ve got to do it soon. This idea I’ve got about your saras– it could save your lives. Think about it, Leo.” April squeezed the handle of her umbrella, staring at him with serious eyes.

Leo studied her, trying to be a pessimist, trying to hate her, but– there was compassion in her eyes; a sort of blind empathy for everything she saw that he wondered if he’d ever truly understand. He waded back into the water, flicking his tail softly in thought. “I’ll… ask my brothers, okay?”

And he dove down into the lake.

…

“It’s our only shot.” Leo argued. “I’m not sure we have many other options, Raph.”

“I know, it’s just– It’s so risky, I can’t– I don’t want you to– can’t one of us go instead?”

Leo sighed. “Your shell’s too hard to disguise, Donnie’s terrible at lying, and Mikey–”

Mikey looked up, eyes wide.

“Mikey’s not going.” Raph growled.

“I know, Raph. It has to be me.” Leo set a hand on his brother’s spiked arm, giving him a meaningful nod. “April said she’ll keep me safe.”

“Just to chime in,” Donnie spoke up, “how do we know we can trust this human again?”

“April saved me, she wouldn’t–”

“No, Leo, Dee’s right.” Raph declared, his long spiky tail flicking behind him in the water. “I’ll let you go with her into town, but on one condition: I want to meet her. I want her to see all of us.”

Mikey brightened, kicking up excited bubbles. “You mean we’re gonna go talk to her!?”

…

Leo rose so that his mouth was above the surface, calling to April to come closer to the edge of the water. “My brothers are gonna come out, okay? They want to meet you.” 

She nodded and silently came forward, so Leo signaled with his tail to his brothers below, watching April’s reaction carefully as they each came bobbing up to meet her.

Leo’s younger brother got there first, shaking water off himself in a spray once he reached the bank. “Hello! I’m Mikey!” Mikey bubbled, extending a slimy webbed hand in her direction immediately.

April shook it with a smile. “I’m April.” Her eyes wandered across his scales, darting towards Leo’s occasionally. “You’re really different from your bro, Mikey. I thought you’d all look scary and pointy, but you’re so cute!” She gestured towards Mikey’s circular markings with a grin.

Leo made an offended noise. “I am not scary and pointy!”

Mikey, ever an annoying little brother, promptly disagreed. “You have sharp elbows. It makes you look like a triangle.” He eyed Leo haughtily, seemingly pleased by April’s assessment.

“So what if I have sharp elbows!?”

April had moved closer to inspect Mikey’s fins, marveling at the bright orange spots that were flecked across his scales. “Well, to be fair, neither of you really look like the kappa illustrations they put in books. I must be the first person to ever get this close! Aw, if only I had my camera…”

Mikey chatted back, responding giddily to her several questions. Leo smiled. If Mikey liked her, that was good. Mikey only ever liked ‘good humans’– his words.

April was distracted from Mikey as she caught sight of Donnie, who rose like a cryptid from the dark, rainy water and bared his pointed teeth to snarl at her. Unexpectedly, she laughed right in his face, grabbing his threatening hand for a shake and beaming. “Now you look like a kappa! That’s what I’m talking about! You’re so weird, I love it!” 

Leo laughed aloud as Donnie reeled back, flabbergasted that his threatening intent seemed to have no effect. April wasn’t the sort to run screaming though; Leo knew that from experience.

They continued to chat, and Donnie had recovered and was spelling his name for her when Raph finally rose from the water.

Leo’s older brother slinked forward like a gator from the deep, rising like a monstrous reptilian tower covered in scales and spikes. As he stood to his full height on the bank, Leo saw April’s pupils shrink, the corner of her mouth betraying just the slightest hint of unease. She tilted her chin up towards the largest of the kappa, wiping her glasses free from rain as her jaw dropped.

“You… you are… big.” April barely breathed the last word, letting her umbrella fall askew in her shock.

Raph grinned. “Pleasure to meet ‘ya, April. The name’s Raph.”

April shook his hand, which was almost 3 times the size of hers, and smiled in return. “Pleasure to meet you as well, Raph.”

“So…” Donnie smirked in everyone’s direction, holding up April’s spare kimono from its bag and waggling it in front of Leo. “Are we gonna do this makeover or not?”

April taught Leo how to wear the kimono, wrapping the obi around his middle and folding the collar neatly. The kimono was black, decorated all over with little red triangles, and Leo felt quite strange in it. His tail was dragging down by his ankles where it was squished into the garment, his scales damp and surrounded by fabric. He sat on a rock trying to cope with these new sensations as April slid socks over his feet. She laughed at something, and Leo looked down, confused. 

“Your toes.” She laughed. “They’re perfect for tabi socks, it’s like they were made for you.” Leo looked down, noting how the socks did indeed have two separated sections; one for each of his toes. “We should start calling them kappa socks, huh?”

Next came the zori, which were flat little sandals with a separation in the middle for the two-toed socks. Leo stood, wobbling only a little on the short platforms before he began to strut. He had to admit, after the initial discomfort, he was feeling himself in the outfit a little bit. He was starting to see why humans always wore clothes. They felt… sort of fabulous .

“How do I look?” Leo asked his brothers, posing dramatically with hand on hip.

Raph and Donnie burst out laughing.

“Great!” Mikey clapped enthusiastically.

“Like a kappa in a kimono.” April rolled her eyes. “Look, we need to disguise your head. Come over here.”

April threw a black shawl over him, pulling down the hood so that it came to his brow. Then she got out a black scarf and wound it around his neck, forming it to loosely cover his mouth and nose. Leo watched his sara, pulling it out of the fabric’s way carefully. He glanced up at his brothers, feeling much stranger now that only his eyes remained uncovered. They stared back.

“You… actually look like you could pass for a human now.” Raph muttered in awe.

April stepped back to survey her work, clearly satisfied. She set a hand to her chin contemplatively. “He looks sort of like a ninja with his face covered like that.”

“A ninja?” Leo spoke, feeling his snout brushing up against the scarf covering it. “What's that?”

“A really sneaky kind of assassin who wears all black.” 

“Well, that's good then,” Mikey pitched in brightly, “Leo will need to be sneaky so he doesn't get caught!”

“Yeah…” Raph looked down, troubled, as if truly coming to terms with the risk. He looked back up at April. “You’ll keep him safe, right, April?”

April nodded resolutely, but Leo just rolled his eyes. “I can take care of myself, Raph. Don't even worry; we got this in the bag. It’ll be in and out.”

“Let’s hope so…” Raph muttered anxiously, “Just… don’t get caught, okay?”

…

Leo and April trudged towards town, and with each step further away from the lake, Leo clutched his sara tighter.

He wasn’t scared– being scared was for wimps. He was just… cautious. And rightfully so. Who wouldn’t be wary of stepping into a town full of humans who might threaten to control you? He still hadn’t quite let go of what the boy had said about winning the fight. 

“I heard that if you wrestle one and win, they’ll do anything you say.”

What had that meant? If he saw that boy again (and Leo really hoped he wouldn’t have to), but if he saw him again, would he really be able to order him around like a mindless puppet? Leo had once thought there was nothing in this world that could mess with his autonomy, but having his sara ripped off had violently disproven that. 

He shivered, not wanting to follow that train of thought. He didn’t want to think about going frozen. Not right now.

Each slogging step through the mud threatened to set Leo off balance as the mire pulled at his zori. April was struggling the same amount, but seemed to handle it more gracefully as she carefully pulled her foot towards the firmest soil with each step. Leo, on the other hand, was relatively inexperienced with walking on land for long periods. And to make things worse, his tail was trapped in the kimono skirt, preventing him from using it to help his balance.

“Alright, here’s your story.” April began, pushing a strand of hair from her face and taking another muddy step. “Your name is Lila, and you’re my cousin from a couple towns over. You’re visiting because you’ve got a really bad cold– that’s why you’re all bundled up–” April steadied him with her arm and Leo graciously accepted the help. “And you’re going to let me do all the talking, okay?”

“You act like I’m gonna say something really weird and mess things up. Which I'm not .” Leo grouched. He pulled on April's elbow, finally unsticking his sandal. The trickling rainfall was still falling all around them, but April didn't bother to cover his head with her umbrella– Leo was glad. He was beginning to like the feeling of the damp kimono against his skin.

“I didn't say that, I just said let me do the talking. You need to act natural, and naturally a cousin from out of town wouldn't be super talkative. Just keep your head down, because if you get caught I'm scared Raph will actually kill me.”

Leo smirked, even though he knew April couldn't see it behind the scarf. “I'd say he's all bark and no bite, but– well, he’s got a heck of a bite, let's just say that.”

April turned her head forward, setting her brow, and Leo looked up to see the beginning of the town street lying ahead of them. There were a couple of lanterns strung up across the buildings, and a group of kids were playing a rowdy game of kemari out in the rain. Most of the adults strolled serenely under ornate printed umbrellas. 

And everyone was human. 

Leo stared, unsure why he felt so curious when his natural instinct should have been fear and disgust. He hadn't realized how long he’d been standing still until April nudged him suddenly.

“Let's do this. Come on.”

As they walked down the well-trodden main street, Leo couldn't help glancing around at all the things humans did– where they lived, what they sold. The most he and his brothers had ever been educated on came from a few old laminated magazines that had been left behind on the bank of the lake. To be in the human town was… something else entirely.

There was community here– a sense of trust from person to person. And a collection of such varied wares that Leo couldn't help asking about everything.

“What's that?”

“It's a clothing shop. They sell clothes.”

“And what's that?”

“That one's a noodle shop. They sell food.”

“Okay, but what is that?”

“What are noodles ?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re like– you know what bread is? Okay, they're like if bread came as a floppy wet tube. Wait, actually that makes noodles sound disgusting. They're really good, I promise. It's… hard to explain.”

Leo laughed at April’s heavy sigh, and pointed toward a vendor on the side of the street. “I like what that guy's selling.”

A man stood behind a table with crates full of a variety of fresh produce. Luckily the cloth roof of his stall was blocking out the rain, keeping the squash and cucumbers perfectly dry.

Cucumbers. Leo rushed forward and picked one up excitedly. “I’ve never seen one this big! Oh, I bet it tastes so good! Are these fresh?” He motioned to April, who he had left standing in the street.

“Hey!” The vendor griped, “You need to pay for that!”

April rushed over to meet Leo, giving him a stern look and taking the cucumber. She held it out to the man apologetically. “I’m sorry, we’re not going to buy anything. She’s… from out of town.”

The man studied Leo for a moment, eyes lingering on his hood and scarf. “Uh… huh. Unfortunately for her, you pick it up, you buy it. That’s the rules.”

“That’s a dumb rule! I didn’t–” Leo began to respond indignantly, but April gave him a warning side eye, clearly communicating: stop talking. Leo fell silent.

“I’m so sorry, but we don’t have any money right now. I promise there’s nothing wrong with it; we’ll just put it back.” April attempted to return it to the crate politely, but the man’s hand pushed against the vegetable, keeping it in her hand.

“You have to buy it.”

Anger blossomed in Leo and without thinking, he growled– a low rumble of animalistic warning, daring the vendor to try that again. The man’s eyes went wide, and he froze. “Oh– uh– I mean, it’s no matter, really– you’re right, I’ll just take it right back and you can be on your way.” The vendor obediently returned the cucumber to its crate anxiously, not taking his eyes off Leo.

April elbowed Leo in the ribs, making the growl sputter out. Leo coughed, bending over to get his breath back. Man, April could elbow someone hard when she wanted to.

“I’m so sorry, she’s very sick. Thank you, and again, so sorry to bother you!” April tugged Leo away, rushing further down the street and out of the vendor’s view. She turned to him, clearly ruffled by the interaction. “Dude, you do not know how to keep your mouth shut! That was almost a disaster, Leo!”

“Well I’m sorry for putting that human in his place! He was making that rule up on the spot just to make you pay for it!”

April lowered her eyelids, clearly unsatisfied with his apology. “Look, I appreciate you bearing your teeth or whatever, but I can handle myself, and you’re gonna blow your own cover. From now on, you gotta zip it. Entirely.”

Leo nodded begrudgingly. They continued down the street uneventfully, finally coming to the doorway of their intended destination. Leo felt a shiver of anxiety as he crossed the threshold behind April.

“Hello, welcome in. What can I do for you today?” The craftsman sat at a rich wood table in the center of the shop, where warm yellow lamplight illuminated his collection of tools and materials. He was wearing a glossy leather apron, and his smile made his gray mustache bunch up between his smile lines. Leo noticed that the atmosphere of the craft shop was much warmer and dryer than the muggy weather outside, and he swore he could already feel his scales starting to dry as the door closed with a quiet creak behind them.

April shook out her wagasa, letting it fold into itself and hanging it on a coat hanger by the door. “Hello. We were hoping that you could carve something for us?”

The craftsman laughed quietly. “That’s just about my favorite thing in the world to do, so you’re in luck. What is it?”

Leo followed April as she approached the counter, and he reluctantly pulled his sara into view, letting the necklace lengthen so the man could see the tiny bottle, safely filled with the shiny liquid of the lake.

“This necklace is very important to my friend– it’s an heirloom from her– um, grandmother, so the water absolutely cannot be spilled, you understand? We just need a new cork made.”

The craftsman considered the small bottle as Leo held it out. “Yep, I can do that. Just harvested some cork oak yesterday, as it happens. It’ll be a nice tight fit– won’t spill a drop.” He turned around, retrieving some tools from the shelves behind him, then rifling around under the table until he retrieved a large log of wood that he thumped against the counter. When all the items were ready, he looked up, gazing at Leo carefully. “I’ll need you to take off the necklace, miss. Are you feeling all right? You look a little… well… green.”

On top of his natural color, Leo was in fact feeling a little woozy– a nauseating mixture of the dry warmth of the room and what was about to happen next. He had thought this was a good plan, but now, all he wanted was to walk out and never return.

April spoke for him. “She’s alright, we just need a moment.” April turned to Leo and grabbed his arm gently. “Here, let’s sit you down.”

He followed her to a seat at the side of the workbench, trying to calm his racing breath.

“Just one more time being frozen, Leo, and you won’t have to worry about the water spilling anymore. You and your brothers can leave the lake without fear.” April whispered, holding one of his hands. “Are you ready?”

Leo was not ready. Leo would never be ready. Leo did not want to go back to that state of icy terror ever ever again. But his brothers were counting on him. He puffed out a short breath, desperately trying to hype himself up. “Just do it. Just be quick.”

April looked at him with concern, her brown eyes searching. “Okay. Take a deep breath.” She reached for his necklace, and carefully lifted it over his head. 

Leo breathed deep and shut his eyes, but he could never be prepared for the awful stiffness that overtook his body for the second time. He had been trying so hard to hype himself up, but it was just as terrible as he remembered– just as constricting, just as terrifying, just as dangerous. He quickly began to regret that he had closed his eyes, because the black seemed to consume his entire focus. He was vulnerable. What if it had all been a lie? A trick to steal his sara? There was no reason April couldn’t just leave him here, helpless and frozen until the town found him out. Struggling to push down panic, Leo refuted the thoughts, reassuring himself by listening to April’s voice as she spoke with the craftsman. Leo tried to take slow breaths, but they came up shallow and static. Pressure seemed to ignite within his body, screaming for release he couldn’t give. His senses started to blur. Just when he didn’t think he could take a second longer, he felt something slip back over his head.

Leo blinked his eyes open, and April came into focus.

“You okay?”

Leo slid a hand around his sara, peering at the brand-new cork fitted to its top. “I am now.” He stared back at her, breathing hard. “I am now.”

April smiled. “Alright, sir,” she called to the man at the counter, “we’ll need a couple extra corks of that size, please.”

“Of course, miss. How many?”

“I think three more would be just right.”

…

It was all going so well, with bottled sara in hand, that Leo was beginning to feel at ease in the human disguise, walking through the human town. He and April went back along the street calmly, glad to have the hard part over with.

Leo was proud of himself– he had faced his fear, and could feel confident now that it would never have to happen again, thanks to April’s plan. The rain slowly rehydrated his scales as he walked along with a cool sense of rejuvenation. His sara had a cap now; he was practically invincible.

And then suddenly he was there.

“Hey, you’re that girl who whacked Tommy with a baseball bat!” A boy said suddenly, yelling across the street at April. Leo whipped his head around, feeling his blood pressure drop as he recognized the group of boys. The one who had wrestled him was there. Leo felt sick to his stomach.

The familiar boy pushed his two lankier friends aside, moving towards April. “Yeah… and you’re also the one who said we needed to wait because of the rain! What are you playing at ?”

He came up towards her, towering several inches above her. Leo wished he had the breath left to growl, but instead all he could do was stare at his feet, desperate not to be noticed. Why was he still scared? He had beat this, he thought.

April glared right back at the boy, standing bravely despite her lack of baseball bat. “I’m trying to keep you idiots from messing with creatures you shouldn’t be messing with.”

“Yeah?” The bully said, “How courteous of you. But you’re messing with humans you shouldn’t be messing with. Not so big without your baseball bat, now, are you?” He was smiling his awful smile, and his hair was spiked and ugly in the rain.

April didn’t back down. “Don’t even start with me. We’re just walking home; leave us alone.”

The boy turned to Leo, who stared even deeper at his sandals, keeping his face towards the ground. “Right, who’s this? I thought you didn’t have any friends?”

“My cousin.” April gritted. “Lila, ignore him.” 

Leo could hardly breathe; he didn’t think ignoring the situation was possible at this point. His nightmares kept flashing through his head. 

“I heard that if you wrestle one and win, they’ll do anything you say.”

“Wow. She’s shy, then, is she?”

“Move out of our way.” April warned him, stepping in front of Leo. Leo looked up, amazed at her bravery. He stared at the curls on the back of her head.

“Or what?" The boy challenged.

“I’ll alert an officer. You’re harassing us.”

The boy looked around, and grinned. “Huh. I don't see one. All I see is a girl who's meddling in my business, and her friend, who’s…” He peered around her to look at Leo, and for a split second they made eye contact. Time stood still. Leo looked back down at the ground, putting an anxious hand to his snout-scarf, but he knew that the damage had been done. The boy knew.  “A freak.” The bully spit. “I should’ve known your friends would be even weirder than you are.” He stepped forward again, frighteningly invading April's personal space, who continued to stand between boy and kappa. “How about we get back to our game, ‘Lila’ ?”

Leo knew his sara was intact, but he was frozen all the same.

April turned back to Leo, almost imperceptively. “Run.” She told him.

It was like a rocket had been strapped to his feet– Leo was bolting before he could even process the decision, pelting away down the street.

“Hey! Where do you think you're going!?” He heard the boy yell. “Get back here, kappa!”

Leo shut his eyes, wondering if that would be it, then. The boy had told him to do something. Would he have to obey? But nothing happened. Leo was still running, sandals making contact with the dirt at a fast pace. He could’ve jumped for joy had he not been chalk-full of adrenaline; instead all he could do was keep running. 

Though a small part of him wondered if he was a coward for not turning back.

…

“Where’s April!?"

Raph practically shrieked upon seeing him, throwing up a shower of water as he jumped to the coast to meet Leo.

Leo’s breathing was ragged, he had to take some time to catch his breath before he replied.

“She… told me… to run… I don’t… know… where she is.”

Donnie and Mikey also emerged from the lake, clearly worried by the lack of April’s presence.

Mikey threw his arms out, mouth agape. “What happened!? ”

Leo braced his knees with his hands, trying to slow his breathing. During the run, he’d ripped a line through the kimono’s skirt, and he noticed it, faintly, feeling guilty about April’s clothing. She’d saved his butt back there. Again. “I don’t know, the boy who ripped my sara off was there, and he found out I’m… a kappa.” Leo looked up at his brothers, wiping sweat and rain from his brow. “She said run, and I just… ran. It was like I couldn’t stop.” Leo’s last words struck something in his mind, but he wasn’t sure what. He was distracted by several follow-up questions just as a figure broke through the bushes.

“April!” They all chorused.

The human’s sandals were once again streaked with mud, and her hair was falling out of her bun. Leo was filled with instant relief. 

Relief that a human was okay. A new experience for him. 

She ran towards them, also catching her breath. “I couldn’t convince him…” She said urgently, “He’s coming… they’re all coming… you have to get out of here now .” The wave of panic rushed through his brothers like wildfire, and Leo tensed, ready to do whatever he needed to to get everyone safe. “Here, take the corks.” April said, handing the little bottle tops to Raph, Mikey, and Donnie. “Do you have somewhere to go?” She asked seriously, looking to Raph.

Raph just stared at her, eyes wide and worried. He looked like his panic was preventing him from thinking coherently.

“We… don’t.” Leo answered for him. “We’ve never left, April.”

April frowned, looking at them all. She glanced anxiously toward the brush. Finally she wrung her hands, looking uncertain. “Alright, you’ll have to come with me, then. Hurry; I don’t have time to explain, just follow.”

Her last direction was so stern that Leo walked after her right away. His brothers looked at the lake uncertainly, then down at the shiny new corks in their saras. Finally, Raph began to follow, so Mikey and Donnie did too.

They all followed April, turning away from their home and into the unknown.