Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Leo was actually sort of excited by the idea of going undercover.

Sure, it was dangerous, and could go wrong at any second, but there was just something so freeing about a completely solo mission.

The application had been easy enough to fake, and to his pleasure he had qualified on the medical skill test, (who's the family medic NOW, Donnie?!) leading him right to his first day's training.

He was in a gilded waiting room, wallpaper sparkling and an overuse of neon colors blasting his eyes from a nearby painting on the wall. Gentle hip hop played from an unknown source, and Leo squeezed his application papers slightly, sweat beading up on his palms. It felt like he had been waiting hours, but only minutes had ticked by on the giant clock to his left.

He had begun to count the number of flowers on the rug when someone walked in, startling him to sit straight in his seat.

The yokai was short, with pale periwinkle skin, and small, oval-shaped glasses, eyes completely hidden by their glare. A prim white doctor's coat hugged his features, and Leo noticed the heavy scent of alcohol clinging to it. Most unsettling, there was a splatter of blood staining his upper left collar that grew more and more distracting as he approached.

Leo snapped back to attention, realizing he had been asked something. "What did you say?"

"I said excuse me, are you here for the Nexus medic position?" The glasses flashed, as if the newt's eyes were narrowing at him from beneath them. "I see you have the proper paperwork...Leopold?"

An undercover name may have been a little overkill, but he and his brothers had all deemed it necessary, partially because it was downright hilarious. Leo slapped on a confident smile, thrusting the papers out of his sticky hands. "Yes sir, that's me. Leopold Hamatso, your newest Nexus medic in-training!"

The yokai straightened his glasses against his snout, mouth never moving from a perfectly straight line. "Excellent. We recently lost two medics and are in need of a replacement."

Leo wasn't sure he liked the tone there, it gave him a lurking feeling that the medics hadn't simply resigned in search of different work. "Happy to help..."

The yokai turned with a swish of his coat, motioning to the door. "Come, follow me. We begin immediately." Another flash of his glasses and he slipped out the door, leaving Leo struggling to catch up to where he was speed-walking down the hallway.

"What're we-"

The yokai cut off the question. "My name is Dr. Grant Elsis, you will call me Dr. Elsis. We work in the clinic just next to the cool-down room, and you will train on the job. I believe in learning through experience." He straightened his collar, drawing Leo's eye back to the blood stain.

Leo pushed down the wondering horror at what could've caused such a bloodstain, instead brightening into a smile. He was of the opinion that almost anything could be fixed with a little dash of confidence, so he widened his feet further into his stride. "On-the-job. I like it!" He waited a beat, trying to bait out more information. When the doctor remained silent, he prodded. "There's not like...anything I get to have a little heads-up about though?"

Dr. Elsis stopped so suddenly that Leo kicked the back of his heels, almost set off balance. The door in front of them looked like any other door in the endless hallway, except that from behind it could be heard the screaming of the crowd and the blur of an announcer. The doctor's head swiveled back towards Leo.

"Don't upset the patients."

That was Leo’s only warning before Dr. Elsis pushed the door open and strode inside without another glance. The sound got slightly less muffled, and Leo noted absently that though they were in a room directly next to the arena, it still had annoyingly fancy wallpaper that exuded a falsely luxurious atmosphere. He didn't doubt that the walls had been scrubbed clean of blood more than once.

Dr. Elsis had crossed the room to an extensive shelving unit of medical supplies. Leo whistled low as he surveyed the neat organizational system, printed labels and stacked drawers filled with bandages. It was impressive, especially compared to the medbay's comparatively meager supply back home. 

"Have you never worked in a professional office before?" The doctor was looking at him, eyebrows raised above silver glasses. Leo startled a little, but quickly leaned an elbow on a table to appear cool. He decided against lying, this time, at least.

"You can tell that easily, huh? I'm self-taught." He flicked his eyes away to the far wall. He was surprised to find it covered in large windows providing a view of the ground level of the arena, where two fighters were engaged in combat. The fight stole his attention completely, and he flinched again when Dr. Elsis tapped his shoulder.

"We are provided a view of the fight to watch for injuries. No other reason." The doctor chided, turning briskly around with a 'follow me' flick of his finger. "Let's hope your so-called 'self-taught' experience will serve you well, as we've got no other options."

Dr. Elsis walked him through the room, the rules, the supplies, and where to take different patients to use certain tools. Leo paid careful attention, taking mental notes on what things he could bring back home to improve the medbay. 

The Nexus medical office was set up for fast treatment, expecting over a dozen patients every few hours. This meant the room was full of treatment tables rather than gurneys, and more serious ailments would have to take themselves elsewhere. The thought of slapping a time limit on healing reminded Leo achingly of his brothers.

Mikey hated the medbay with all his heart and soul, complaining that the room was boring and quote: "smelled sad". The instant his little brother started feeling a smidgen better, he would insist to be moved, and completely overdo it out of sheer happiness. It was a good thing that laughter seemed to be Mikey’s secondary medicine, or Leo wondered if he could've ever kept him in the bay long enough to heal when they were kids.

Raph was squeamish, which was a more foreign problem to Leo, but there was always Mikey to be the ever effervescent distractor and entertainer, keeping Raph from thinking about it all while Leo worked out of his eyesight. If it came to a long stay, Leo always found Raph trying to sneak away and do things himself so he wouldn't have to be waited on by their other brothers. It took much convincing that maybe the brother with the broken leg shouldn't walk to the kitchen to get a drink with no help, even if he was the oldest. 

Donnie was usually an alright patient, though he too insisted on leaving the medbay as quickly as possible, more to get away from Leo than anything else, in his words. He was an insufferable know-it-all, so constant arguments about Donnie’s own treatment were just something Leo had learned to ignore. Donnie had said from the beginning he didn't want the title of medic and Leo knew he never would. His twin just liked being difficult.

By the end of the walk-through the fight was coming to a close, and Leo felt confident in his ability to handle whatever the Nexus could throw at him. He would prove to the unconvinced Dr. Elsis that he could roll with the punches. Or, as a more accurate metaphor, roll with bandaging up the punches.

A door to the far left of the windows swung open, and Dr. Elsis and Leo looked up in unison. 

"Need a bandage." The yokai grunted, stepping through the door and infiltrating the sterile environment with arena dust and dripping blood.

Leo analyzed the deep cut on his forearm, blood matting his striped fur maroon where it slithered down his arm and onto the tile. The skin had split clean open, and Leo suspected it came from one of the opposing fighter's many horns. He wagered it'd take about three or four stitches, and some of the thinner bandages from drawer...four. 

Woah, he really had managed to pay attention during that walk-through.

"The nurse will attend to you." Dr. Elsis responded, gesturing to Leo. The tiger-man's gaze focused on him, but Leo stilled, waiting for further instruction. At his glance, Dr. Elsis only walked to the back of the room, adjusting his glasses once so they flashed in his direction. Leo understood. He was on his own.

"Come sit on this table, I'll stitch you up." He led the tiger towards a treatment table, finding the tools while the large cat hopped up to sit.

"You did not treat me yesterday." He remarked dully, the same low, gravelly voice scraping past Leo’s ears.

"Yes, I'm the new trainee, Leopold Hamatso, at your service." He swept his arms into a dramatic half-bow, making the fighter sniff out a gruff chuckle. "Do you fight often?" Leo took the tiger-man's forearm, and the question answered itself in the form of several, old-healed scars. They were pink and stretched bald between the fur, doomed never to grow soft again.

"Tuesdays and Wednesdays."

Leo began making tight, neat, stitches, and the conversation lapsed while he focused. It was hard to tell if it was nerves or ninja-sense, but he could feel the doctor watching him from afar.

"You haven't seen hell yet, have you?"

The deep voice startled him again, suddenly thrust out of the quiet focus-zone he'd achieved. Leo finished tying off the stitch, looking up at the dusty fighter. "What do you mean by that?"

The tiger shifted, pulling his arm back to inspect the stitches, quiet for a moment. "You have soft hands. A gentle touch, meant to heal. Not a kind I've felt for a long time."

Leo scrunched his snout up, caught somewhere between pride and offense as he started wrapping the injury. "I've got glimpses." He sniffed. "Of hell, I mean. I'm just cool enough to keep my hands soft." The bandage ran out at the perfect time, and he set down the empty roll to secure the wrap. 

"Well then, I wish you luck when hell inevitably finds you again." The yokai’s yellow eyes gazed out the windows at the current fight, reflecting in them the arena's light. Leo did his best not to shift on his feet uncomfortably. It felt weird to be analyzed by a stranger, and it felt worse knowing there were two pairs of judging eyes upon him.

Speaking of which, Dr. Elsis re-entered the situation, grabbing the empty roll and inspecting Leo’s work. "Good."

He left it at that.

...

The day passed without incident, and Leo had memorized the office's layout before lunch, taking care of every patient that got sent his way.

It was relatively easy work: treating scrapes, bruises, one nasty bout of head trauma and a bad second-degree burn. Still, Leo felt a little relieved when the day's fights were over, a small bell chiming from the hallway's sound system. 

"That's it?" He turned to the doctor, who was stacking away loose bandages and burn ointment. Leo was leaning the backs of his elbows against a treatment table, watching through the windows as an elite team of bellhops swept and re-turned the dust.

"Not even close. Tomorrow is a brawl day, and you won't get a second off your feet. Injuries are worse when the fighters get a free-for-all." The periwinkle doctor pushed up his glasses like that wasn't a worrisome statement, the glare still constantly shielding his eyes no matter the angle. "You will do well though. I'll lock up, and you can collect the day's payment at the front desk." He shooed Leo forward as he flicked off the lights. "Room 308." He clarified, pulling out a wrist lanyard of keys.

"You pay per day?"

Dr. Elsis peered over his glasses for the first time, small silver pupils pinpointing themselves at Leo. "Can't pay anyone for a week if they don't stay that long."

Leo burst out a laugh, letting it ring as he watched the doctor lock the door behind them. "Okay, el Medico, I believe you. But if you're trying to scare me off, it won't work!" He tossed the last part over his shoulder, already striding down the carpeted hallway. 

The lab-coated newt didn't even raise his voice. "Call me Doctor Elsis."

Leo turned away to mutter to himself under his breath. "Eh, he'll come around. They always do." And he flashed a pearly grin as he pushed open the door to get his payment.

…

“Guess who just got paid for going undercover? Uh this guy!”

Leo proudly jabbed a thumb into his plastron, lifting his chin to accept accolades.

Donnie only scoffed. “We all got paid, dum-dum. In my case, a pretty penny.” He waved a fat stack of cash in Leo’s face arrogantly, flashing a brilliant smirk.

“Whaaatt??” Leo’s jaw dropped, looking back at his own meager-seeming stack in disappointment. “Mikey, how much did you get?”

His bubbly orange brother for once looked sort of tired, his usual energy just a little distilled. “I don’t know. I haven’t counted it. Probably less than you.” Mikey stepped around him, beelining for the couch as he allowed his own cash to be taken from his hands. Leo counted it quickly.

“Dang little bro, you aren’t kidding. Did they work you hard at the hotel?”

“Like a dog.” Mikey mumbled grumpily, face squished against a pillow already, one eye closed. “Being a bellhop is the worst.”

“And that’s such a shame Michael, really, but guess what I did today!” Donnie pulled up footage from his gauntlet, and on the pixelated screen two incredibly souped-up cars crashed directly into each other and exploded immediately. “They gave me complete design freedom at the Demolition Derby!”

“I always forget Big Mama runs that place.”

Leo looked up at Raph as he entered, scanning his hands for any cash. “Did you get paid, big guy?”

Raph shrugged, running a hand at the back of his neck. “Not yet. They said they’d pay me once I had my first arena fight. Today it was just trainin’.” 

“Oh. Then Donnie did get the best pay…” Leo grumbled, glancing over as Donnie continued to replay the footage obnoxiously. However, the softshell stiffened and suddenly stopped.

“Oh yes! I almost forgot! The undercover part of the undercover mission.” Donnie pulled up a new holographic screen from his gauntlet, this time a recording, and with a click it began, a white line moving up and down with the patterns of a familiar voice.

“No, you iddily-idiot! I cannot attend tomorrow's demolition, I have something very important to attend to!” Big Mama’s voice screeched through with a crackle. Another voice responded murkily before it came in again. “I’ve found a piece of that fizzy-whizzle armor, that’s what. Now will you just shut up and go back to running this place!? I want those cars crash-washing into each other righto! Hop to it! Yes, dearie, literally!”

The recording morphed into static and ended abruptly.

Donnie looked up, smirking again. “How do you like that for reconnaissance!?”

Raph clapped his hands together happily. “That’s great, Dee. I was sneaking around corners and I heard one of the other fighters talking on his crystal phone-thing about a job involving something secret . I’m gonna see if I can get brought along as backup, because I bet the job is retrieving the armor piece!”

Mikey raised a pointed finger from the couch, still talking through the pillows. “It is. The bellhops are all preparing for some kinda mission, we had to clean the whole safe to make room.” His hand flopped back down. “Ugh, it was so much work.”

Raph looked towards Leo. “So, Leo, what did you find out?” Donnie stared as well, and even Mikey seemed to shuffle on his pillow so he could hear better.

Leo stiffened, searching frantically around the room like he could suddenly procure undercover information. Sweat dampened his hands as he squeezed them together. “I…uh…” He paused, trying to think of a way out. “You know, in the medical world, there really isn’t much talk of secret plots and stuff, so…you know…”

Raph just stared, still confused. “So...what?”

Donnie leaned closer, peering at him suspiciously. “Leo…did you not do any reconnaissance?”

Raph’s eyes widened at this.

“Fine! You’re right, I completely forgot to do any sneaking around, and I didn’t discover squat about the dark armor. Are you happy!?” Leo squawked, folding his arms and turning the other way.

“What were you doing then? That’s the whole point of the mission!” Raph exclaimed. “We still don’t know when or where the heist is happening; we need more info, Leo! You have to stay focused!”

Leo brooded, looking down at the floor with his arms still crossed. “It’s fine, Raph, I’ll find out a bunch of stuff tomorrow, okay? Lay off.”

Raph sighed. “Okay. Everyone get some rest. We'll wake up fresh and get the information we need. Undercover Day Two, yeah?”

Chapter Text

Leo hated to say it, but the doctor was completely and entirely right. Brawl day was horrible.

He was constantly dashing around the office, never a moment of free time as he wrapped bandages, stitched wounds, and administered medicine. Fighters of all sizes and temperaments came through and the room was quickly a mess. Perfect organization scattered; floor matted with fur, scales, dust, and blood.

At least seven times Leo misplaced the curved stitching needle, and bandages streaked several work tables while more and more patients squawked in annoyance.

"I need stitches!"

"In extreme pain over here!"

"What are you even doing right now?! I want medicine!!"

Leo hated the constant back and forth, the constant anxiety and the constant absence of thank you's. He had the displeasure of discovering that most nexus fighters were complete and utter jerks.

"I'm sorry, I appreciate your patience, I'll numb you up right away."

"You'll have to forgive me, sir, but we just ran out of pain meds, can you walk?"

"Look, buddy, I'm not authorized to give you steroids, it's not up to me."

Worst of all, Leo wanted more time. He wanted to help these yokai, wanted to make sure the older gentleman with the raspy cough got a follow up check-up, wanted to yell in the drunkards' faces that a Nexus deal with Big Mama was not the answer.

But that wasn't within his job description.

By midday, Leo was so tired he felt sick. Heh. Sick in a doctor's office. It would've been a slam dunk of a joke if he actually had the time to say it to someone. Instead he dabbed antiseptic at a cyclops's bleeding forehead, trying hard to block out their whines of annoyance.

"Watch the eye, kappa!"

"Not a kappa..." He replied tiredly, for about the 14th time that day.

Regardless, he refocused on the injury and made sure to heed the fighter's eye as he wrapped their head in bandages. The roll ran out before he had finished, so he leaned around the large cyclops to throw it.

"I need another roll, Doc!" Leo yelled as the cardboard tube clanged into the office's small trash can. It settled on top of several others, a true testament to the sheer amount of injuries he had bandaged in the past few hours. There was no response, and the office was too crowded to find the doctor among the many patients. Leo grunted in frustration, wishing he could somehow retrieve a new roll and simultaneously hold the un-finished edge of the current bandage to keep it from unraveling.

"You said you needed more bandages?" A strange voice accompanied the offered roll of white wrapping, and Leo’s gaze traveled up the arm to their face, absolutely caught by surprise and...something else. A lump rose in his throat, all words leaving him at the sight of the yokai.

He was hot. And cool. And some indescribable twist of both.

“Dude?” The stranger spoke again, hand with the offering still hanging in the air. “Bandage?”

The fighter was a rabbit yokai, although he didn't seem to be wearing the kind of garb most sane people would wear for a brawl. A loose white tank top left his biceps on full display (Leo's eyes lingered on that for far too long), with a forgotten blue jacket tied around his waist. He wore a scabbard for his katana, which was shining clean from what Leo could see of it. Why take your weapon into a fight and not use it?

“Thanks.” He said finally, accepting the offering and looking away quickly. “I can, uh, help you in a second, sorry.” He began finishing the cyclops's bandage, but in the corner of his vision the stranger smiled.

“I can wait.” He replied happily, hopping up onto the near table and swinging his legs. Rather than chainmail pants or armored leggings, he was only wearing shorts: baggy, knee-length khakis that looked well-worn.

After the cyclops had grumpily walked off, Leo turned to him. He had to ignore the lump in his throat. He had to stay in medic mode; he was on the job, after all. “How're you hurt?” He asked professionally, trying to find some part of the rabbit to look at that didn't make his heart beat irregularly.

The fighter grinned toothily and pulled up a corner of his shirt to reveal a nasty gash through his abdomen. Leo had to hold in a horrified gasp. Not only was it concerningly deep, but it was caked in dust and now at risk of infection. It was a wonder how the rabbit managed to look so chipper, what with that painful of a wound.

“I don't like to sugar coat it, so I'm gonna tell you that that's pretty bad, guerrero.” Leo began collecting his supplies, washing his hands at the near sink and keeping his eyes on the injury. “You shouldn't have let it get so dirty, and you shouldn't be moving around.” He scolded lightly. The rabbit obediently stopped swinging his legs but remained smiling. Leo turned to collect more stitching thread. “Alright, now if you’ll just hold your shirt out of the way then I can–” He turned back to find the stranger pulling the tank top over his ears, revealing a strong, lean chest. Leo's face felt hot and he swiveled his head, tilting his eyes away too late. “You didn't have to take your shirt off.”

The rabbit's energy didn't dampen in the slightest. “Thought it'd be easier for you without it in the way.” He turned, facing the gashed side of his abdomen toward Leo expectantly. “Ready when you are.”

Cautiously Leo approached, dabbing the antiseptic bottle onto a cloth. “Okay, well I have to clean it first. This is gonna hurt, so just, be prepared.” He advised.

The rabbit grinned and gave a thumbs up. “Oh don't even worry, I'm pretty good with pain.” He waved the comment off, angling himself again. “Hit me with it.”

Leo felt how the stranger flinched at the first touch of the cloth, but true to his word was silent during most of the process as Leo cleaned and stitched. His worries only continued when he inspected the wound further.

“What's your name?”

“Usagi Yuichi. Or, uh, since we're in America, Yuichi Usagi, I guess?”

Leo leaned in to examine the wound. “Well Usagi, I'm worried that the cut was deep enough to hit your liver. There's no telling if you'll come back here, but it would benefit you if I could see it again in a couple days to check if it's healing properly. If it's not you may need to seek surgery.” He glanced up for a moment, noticing the rabbit’s wandering attention. “Hey, are you hearing me right now?”

The rabbit seemed to snap back into focus, eyes back onto Leo’s. “Sorry, I'm bad with long speeches. Could you summarize for me?”

Leo squeezed his snout between his fingers, exasperated. “I need to see you again in a couple days.”

“Like a date?”

“Yes, like a–” Leo looked up frantically, blush spreading across his cheeks. “No, not like that! I'm worried about the severity of your injury!” He looked away again. “Look, is there somewhere we can meet so I can make sure you won't die from this?!”

“Wait what's your name?”

“Leonard–” Leo paused, sweating. “Leo.”

Usagi sat back on one hand, using the other to rub his nose. “Yeah, we can chill. There's a place in the Hidden City called ‘The Neko Club’; that roof. Midnight this Thursday?”

“Um, yeah, that’ll work.” The fighter began to hop off the treatment table, but Leo stopped him, putting a hand on Usagi’s chest. “Hey, slow your roll, I haven’t even bandaged you yet.”

“Oh.” Usagi shrugged, scooting back again. “You can if you want, I guess.”

Leo removed his hand, trying to ignore the static electric buzzing that was zipping through all his fingers in every spot where he had touched the rabbit. What was he doing again? He turned towards his tools, shaking his head. Bandaging, that was it, yes.

He pulled out a long length of the white fabric and began securing it around the wound. Reaching to get around the rabbit's back, Leo leaned close to Usagi’s chest to grab the end of the bandage, and his face nearly brushed the soft fur there. That same staticy, electric feeling began to heat up his cheeks, and he worked faster, rushing to finish the wrapping with a neat piece of medical tape. He looked up, brushing sweat from his forehead.

Usagi was just smiling at him.

The rabbit jumped from the table, unhindered this time, and picked up his forgotten tank top to shrug it back on. Leo was staring, he knew he was, but he just couldn’t look away as Usagi’s head pushed against the neckline until it slipped past, and his hands tugged the shirt down against his khakis. He tightened the jacket around his waist and gave a thumbs up. “Well, thanks for the stitches, Leo.” He patted his wounded side as if it had fully healed, and Leo caught how his shoulders tensed for a second, revealing the pain in the gesture. What an idiot.

“Well, it’s…my job.” He responded awkwardly, trying again to look anywhere but at Usagi.

“Right, yeah.”

They stood there for a moment, both apparently unsure what to do next.

“Why didn’t you use your katana in the fight?” Leo blurted suddenly. 

However, before Usagi could respond, Dr. Elsis popped up out of nowhere, glasses flashing. “There are other patients that require your attention, Mr. Hamatso.”

Startled, Leo jumped backwards into the table, his hip crashing against it as the roll of bandage fell to the floor. “Sorry, Dr., sir!” Frantically he dashed to the floor to retrieve it, but when he came back up he noticed Usagi heading for the door. “Hey, wait!” He took a few steps, nearing the rabbit as he looked up. “Don’t forget, Thursday at midnight, okay?”

Usagi grinned widely, his buck-teeth showing. “I won’t forget. And hey, I’ll tell you why I fight without my katana.” He winked, and something inside Leo split, like broken wires were fizzing underneath his plastron, spouting sparks in every direction.

“Yeah?” He managed, wondering if he was about to throw up butterflies.

“I’ll see you then.” said Usagi. And he walked forward and the door swung closed.

“Mr. Hamatso?”

“Yeah, Dr.Elsis?” Leo replied, still staring at the door as the fizzy feeling finally began to fade from his body.

“I will not hesitate to cut your pay.”

“Right! Sir, I will get back to work right away.”

Leo turned back around, trying to find his footing after the strange interaction with the rabbit had left him off balance. He got back to work, but his focus was spacey, his mind far away. Dr. Elsis had to startle him out of multiple reveries, and he couldn’t seem to remember the symptoms of a concussion when a ram yokai complained about possibly having one.

What about that guy had made him so jumpy, anyway?

…

“Alright, bozos, what did you guys find out?”

Leo sat with Donnie on the couch as Raph pulled out the standing whiteboard, rolling it into the TV room with a sense of grandeur. To the side, Mikey lounged in a beanbag, still wearing his bellhop outfit. Evidently he had been too tired to even change out this time.

“Well, Big Mama is definitely going on a secret mission to retrieve the dark armor.” Mikey began sleepily. “She was talking about it on the phone during her… ugh–” Mikey shuddered. “–spa treatment.” His eyes grew wide in recollecting horror, and then he yawned, eyelids lowering.

“Okay, that’s good, but what happened to you, Mikey?” Raph said, turning away from writing on the whiteboard. “They can’t be working you like this every day, how do the other bellhops survive?”

“Adrenaline potions.” Mikey mumbled tiredly. “You know, if I could just take a couple energy drinks, I would–”

“No, Michael, we all know what you’re like with energy drinks.” Donnie cut in. “We don’t need a repeat of last year’s Thanksgiving.”

“There was just so much food that needed cooking–” Mikey defended weakly.

“No, Donnie’s right.” Raph said, silencing the small orange turtle. “You’re taking a sick day tomorrow, you need rest.” At this Mikey slumped back in the bean bag, and after a few moments his eyes closed, whether out of annoyance or tiredness Leo wasn’t really sure. Raph turned back to the whiteboard, uncapping the marker. “Now, I managed to get put on the team for the retrieval, and they filled me in. They’re planning to steal a piece of the dark armor that’s hidden in Central Park. Besides me, there’ll be eight other guys there, and, remembering what Mikey said, Big Mama herself.” Raph wrote as he talked, setting up the situation with simple strokes of the red marker.

“So we’ll come and crash the party, right?” Donnie said excitedly. “I did some ‘rewiring’, shall we say, on multiple vehicles today that might come in handy.” He scooted towards Leo, buzzing with anticipation. “They respond to my command now!”

Leo blinked, trying to process the plan drawn out in red before him. “Wait, wait. When is this happening?”

Raph and Donnie's eyes both slid over to stare at him, and he shrunk a little beneath the gaze. Being out of the loop absolutely sucked.

“This Thursday night.” Donnie monotoned.

“Like, Thursday Thursday? Like this Thursday?”

“Yes, that’s what I said.” Donnie crossed his arms. “Raph, didn’t I say this Thursday? I’m positive I said this Thursday, it’s this Thursday night.”

“Yeah, Dee, you did.” Raph still stared at him. “Leo, have you still not uncovered any information about this?”

Leo tucked his hands into his armpits, trying not to let anything show on his face. “Thursday night, of course! How could I forget when I totally found that out during my undercover ninja-ing today!? How silly, of course I know what’s going on, Raph, you really think I’d get distracted again when I specifically told you I wouldn’t!?” He pasted on a smile, and both Raph and Donnie looked at him, unconvinced. Leo said the next part quietly, speaking from the side of his mouth. “Though I should probably let you know that I won’t be able to make it.”

“What!?” Raph roared in confusion, taking a step back.

“I knew it! You didn’t do any snooping again!” Donnie accused, thrusting a pointed finger at Leo.

“I tried! There was just–” Leo stopped himself, remembering Usagi and the way that buzzing feeling had felt, zipping through his cheeks and flushing them with pink. “...there were… things keeping me from focusing, okay?!” 

Raph still looked bewildered. “What things!?”

Donnie laughed, slinging an arm over Leo’s shoulder. “Were you just having too much fun playing dress-up medic?” He sniggered, doubling over.

“Shut up, Donnie.”

“I’m just saying, you must have been really distracted. Maybe by a hot yokai? Is that what it was?”

When Donnie’s face neared his, Leo clobbered it with his palm, pushing him away. “Shut up, Donnie.”

Raph sighed, running a hand along his face. “Look Leo, whatever it was, it’s fine. But why can’t you come on the mission?” He motioned toward the whiteboard. “You know, the really important one we’re trying to plan right now!? What could be more important?”

Leo faltered, unprepared to give an answer.

“I’ll see you then.” Usagi’s voice echoed in his head. 

The cut was too deep, dangerously deep. If it wasn’t treated, Usagi could very well develop life-threatening symptoms. Leo had to go. And then there was the way the rabbit had winked, and the whole thing with the katana, and when Leo’s hand had touched his chest, and–

“Leo? Bud?” Raph had come closer, peering into his face with concern. “Are you okay? Didja get heat stress or somethin’? You look all red; all the blood’s in your face.”

Off to the side, Donnie muttered, “That’s a point for my second hypothesis, then.”

Leo glared at his twin. “I’m fine. Look, maybe I did get a little carried away with getting to be a real medic for a bit, but I’m actually learning new things! It’s been sick! And that pun is sooo intentional.” He paused, raising his eyebrows. At the ensuing silence, he continued. “So I got asked to do some extra hours at the office, and I want to do it. Is that so wrong?” Leo put on his most innocent eyes. He was lying. Why he was lying about the rabbit, he didn't know, but he was lying about it and that was that. The words had already come out of his mouth.

 Raph stared at him for a moment, then sighed. “Okay Leo. It’ll be harder without you, but I guess we can do it with just three, if you really wanna go. It’s not like the undercover thing is gonna last much longer after Thursday, anyway.” He joined Leo and Donnie on the couch, the cushions dipping under his weight as he sat down between them. “And it is pretty cool that you know how to do all that nurse stuff. I still think it’s gross.” 

Leo laughed, scooching closer. “Hey Raph, that’s doctor stuff to you. I always have to be in charge of diagnosing you freaks, along with bandaging you up.”

“Yeah, yeah, you like it.” Raph scrubbed the top of his head in a noogie, and Leo pushed him away, laughing again. “Speaking of which, we better prescribe Mikey with a good night’s sleep. He fell asleep right away, poor dude.” Mikey’s eyelids fluttered a little as he gently snored, cuddled up against the bean bag fabric. “We should get that stupid uniform off him first; he looks just like one of Big Mama’s cronies, it’s weird.”

Raph got up, and as the dent in the couch slowly puffed back out, Donnie slid over to Leo.

“I see what you’re doing, and I am not putting away that second hypothesis, you hear me?” He whispered, threatening. “If you met a hot dude, I will be the first to know.”

“That’s…totally not ominous at all, Donnie…” Leo rolled his eyes.

Chapter Text

It was a long, slow day of work on Thursday.

The clock on the wall above the viewing window, which unfortunately Leo decided to notice for the first time, ticked through each minute like it was covered in glue. With no brawl the patients came fewer and further apart, so Leo spent most of the day restocking and organizing, waiting for each agonizing minute tick of the clock as it slowly counted down.

Eight a.m. 

Sixteen hours until midnight. 

960 minutes. 

57600 seconds.

Ew, was he really using his free time to multiply? Donnie would be proud.

But what else was he supposed to do? The only interesting thing that happened all day was really not something he wanted to dwell on.

It had all started with some panicky, sweat-sticky snake woman.

“Help!” She gasped, pushing through the door on the side of the arena and dripping blood all over the place. Leo and Dr. Elsis both snapped into action, rushing toward her to identify the injury. “My hand!” She procured her bleeding hand, letting it hang limply from her wrist. “I think it’s broken!” she spit out, voice pain-tight.

“Here, sit down, let me look at it.” Leo guided her to a table, sitting her down while Dr. Elsis hung back. Carefully he took her scaly hand, maneuvering her fingers and brushing away a bit of the blood. On further inspection, he discovered the wound to be different than he had supposed. Rather than being cut by a blade, it looked like the hand had received blunt-force trauma. There was a nasty gash across one knuckle. “What’d you get hit with?” 

“A nunchuck!” Her voice raised a pitch and cracked. “What does that have to do with anything!?”

Leo made an effort to soften his frown, already stemming the blood flow with a little piece of cotton. “You might have broken your hand. It’s not bleeding too bad; we’ll do an x-ray and then I’ll know for sure, okay?”

It was almost funny, really, how shaken up a person could be by an injury. This snake woman must’ve been years older, but she clung to Leo’s arm like a child as he guided her across the room. It was a good thing years of caring for Mikey had left him unphased; in comparison to him, her level of panicky clinging was absolutely nothing.

“Lay down right here, okay? We’re gonna need the doctor for this one.” He turned to Dr. Elsis. “Could you start up the machine, el Medico?” The poor woman shivered on the table as Leo positioned the camera above her hand, laying it gently flat along the detector. “This part doesn’t hurt, I promise.” he reassured.

“I’m not scared!” she snapped, sounding less confident than Leo supposed she hoped.

With a beep, the machine began the scan, a low vibration emanating from the control before it beeped again, signifying completion. Leo swore he saw the snake woman let out a held breath.

“Let’s see it then.” Dr. Elsis straightened his glasses, striding towards the machine’s screen confidently. Together they looked up at the black and white image, and Leo surveyed the thin, curved bones of the snake woman’s fingers.

“What do you think, Doc?”

The newt leaned toward the scan for a moment, glasses reflecting the screen’s white light. He stepped back, brushing off his lab coat. “I can’t identify any fractures. It’s likely a sprain.”

The snake woman sat up, looking at her hand. “It’s just a sprain?” 

Leo blinked. He looked at the doctor, then at the screen. There was no way it was just a sprain. The swelling was too prominent at the base of the knuckle, and the blunt hit had been strong enough to break skin. 

It also may have helped that Leo had treated a knuckle hit by nunchaku once before. And that time, the hand had been fractured. He remembered clearly: Donnie had taken a bad hit from Mikey,  and he had whined about it for weeks because it hurt to hold a screw driver. It was only when Leo dragged him back in for a second x–ray that they discovered it: A tiny, fractured line in Donnie’s index knuckle. The swelling had gotten worse without treatment, and it didn’t help that Donnie had been trying to use his “sprained” hand. 

Leo leaned back towards the scanned photograph. “You…sure?”

Dr. Elsis’ glasses flashed in his direction. “I gave my diagnosis, Nurse Hamatso.” 

The sentence had a bite to it that Leo wasn’t eager to venture towards. But in the side of his vision, the snake still cradled her hand, clenching her jaw slightly. 

“I just think you should take another look.” He said, coaxing. He set a finger to the diagram, guiding the newt’s eye to a dark, blurry line near the edge of the ring-finger knuckle. “Look, right there. I think if we took a scan from a different angle it would show up better, but that’s a fracture. I’d bet my lucky rock on it.” 

Dr. Elsis looked between him and the scan once before his brow hardened. He leaned towards the photo. There was a long moment before he finally said, “I believe you’re correct, Mr. Hamatso.” 

Leo wanted to fist pump, but sweat crept up his palms. “I’m sorry, I just wanted you to be sure of the diagnosis, I didn’t mean to–”

“Stop.” Dr. Elsis held a hand up, silencing him. “I appreciate your ability to point out my mistakes. Treat her for the fracture.” He instructed, turning away. His voice was so carefully blank that Leo didn’t know what to make of it. 

He turned back to the snake woman with a nervous smile. “I hope he doesn’t cut my pay for that, am I right?”

She ignored the comment, reaching her good hand toward him for support as he helped her off the x-ray table. “Thank you.”

Leo looked away from her, focusing back on the clock. “Don’t mention it.” 

Fourteen hours until midnight. 

“It’s… just my job.”

…

"Mr. Hamatso?"

Leo looked up, pausing his sweeping of the neat white tile. The clock had ticked down and the clinic had finally cleared out, leaving just the doctor and nurse in the stark space. There hadn’t been much to clean; just wiping down the x-ray machine and mopping up some dust. 

Two hours to midnight.

"Just Leo is fine, Dr. Elsis. What is it?" He hoped it wasn’t about the whole x-ray situation; that still brought back the embarrassing urge to apologize.

The newt adjusted his glasses, eyes beneath them flicking up and down as though summing Leo up. "I was wondering if I could ask you something, Leopold."

"Shoot."

Dr. Elsis straightened his coat, watching Leo as he resumed his sweeping. "You did very well, today, and on brawl day you did better than I expected, to be truthful. I'd even go as far to say that you work best under pressure, which is a rare and useful quality to have in the medical field." He looked to the side, then right at Leo. "What I'm saying is that I'd like to take you on full time. We need medics like you, Leo." Dr. Elsis's icy eyes revealed themselves for a moment, staring at Leo seriously.

"I..." Leo really didn't know what to say. This wasn't a profession, it couldn't be. It was an undercover mission, and a temporary one at that. There was no 'going full time' in his options, no future where he became head doctor after taking over from Dr. Elsis ten years down the line. This was all fake. This name was fake, this job was fake. 

Seriously, full time? In truth, it was ironic. Being asked for more hours was exactly what he had lied about. 

“That…means a lot, really.” Leo rubbed the back of his neck, setting the broom against a counter edge. “I guess I just need to get some things figured out first. Could I think about it?” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t quite the truth. Leo just couldn’t turn him down, not yet. He’d come clean about the undercover thing when he quit on Friday. That was the plan. That had always been the plan.

“I understand.” The newt picked up the broom, storing it beside the door. “You may go. Please let me know once you make a decision.”

“I’ll be sure to.” Leo paused as he took off his gloves, standing at the sink. “Hey… el Medico, which way to the Hidden City from here?”

“There’s a portal down this hall on the right. Have you… not been using it to commute?” Dr. Elsis replied, puzzled.

Ah. That. “Oh, I live…up-top, actually…” Maybe that was a little too confidential, but Leo was sick of lying.

“Oh.” For a moment it seemed that the yokai was about to pry further, but then he shrugged. “I was never much into the cloaking brooch life myself.” He flicked the lights off, ushering Leo out the door. “I suppose you have a date to catch then?”

“What!?” Leo shrieked. “I’m just meeting up with someone!” 

Perhaps that was a bit of an overreaction, judging by the small smile that appeared on Dr. Elsis’ face.

“I believe that is what a date is, Mr. Hamatso.” He said, the little quirk of his lip disappearing as fast as it had come. “I wish you luck.” He turned down the hall, keys jangling in his hands. “See you tomorrow, Leopold.”

…

Leo walked the streets of the Hidden City, taking in the assortment of creatures that strolled along the cobbled path. Nighttime didn’t look like nighttime here, but that wasn’t exactly novel for a native New-Yorker such as himself. Even this close to midnight it wasn’t out of the ordinary for lights to be on everywhere, people filling the streets. Though it was ironic that two cities that never slept would end up right above and below each other.

He had located the building labeled The Neko Club a few streets back, but continued to explore while he waited for midnight. It would seem overeager if he arrived an hour early, wouldn’t it? For some reason, the anticipation of the meeting sizzled through his skin, warm heat prickling up at the thought of Usagi. He convinced himself he was nervous about the rabbit’s injury; it really had looked bad. He wanted Usagi to be okay, that was all.

But why was he specifically coming to meet Usagi just to check? 

Leo rationalized this easily: he had done well in the brawl, he was most likely a good fighter. Good fighter = Good ally. That was just strategy at its finest, plain and simple.

In imagining them becoming allies, Leo’s mind wandered. What if Usagi came with them on patrol? What if he knew where the dark armor was and helped them find more pieces? What if they ran across New York’s skyline at dusk, sunset colors reflecting off of a katana just like they reflected off Leo’s odachi? What if as Usagi and him jumped rooftops together, they got just a little too close and their fingers brushed together? What if–

Leo jumped back suddenly as the fantasy popped like a bubble, his attention taken by a speeding animal as it sped right past him, nearly clipping the tip of his snout. “Sorry kid!” A yokai yelled from its back hastily.

Leo shrugged, shaking the rest of the thoughts away. A possible alliance was too far away in the future anyway. At the moment, Usagi didn’t even know his last name.

A half hour later, Leo stared up at the fire escape of The Neko Club. This side of the building was quiet and dark compared to the flashing neon lights at its front where club-goers danced in and out, drunk on loud music and alcohol. 

He took out his odachi, staring at the silver of the blade for a moment. The strange symbols carved into it had barely begun to light with blue before they dimmed, dying out with a flicker. Leo sheathed it, shaking his head. Nothing wrong with getting to the top of a building the old fashioned way, he supposed.

As he began to scale the brick, more thoughts crept in unbidden. His brothers were probably out on the mission by now, without him. The thought of them getting hurt without him there made something in his stomach squirm, but, somehow, the thought of them doing just fine without him there almost made it squirm worse. Leo tried not to dwell on that too much. It wasn’t like his portal skills were much of an asset anyway, he thought bitterly as he pulled himself up the final ledge.

The top of the building was just like the top of any other building, besides the fact that party music vibrated up through the cement beneath his feet. He walked a few paces, sitting down on an ac unit and looking around. He’d still arrived too early, huh? It wasn’t like he had a watch, so he’d really just been guesstimating ever since he clocked out of the office. He sighed, twiddling his thumbs. After a moment he opened his front pouch, sorting the collection of bandaging and supplies there. All good. Was this stupid? Had Usagi even planned to really come ? Or had he just said that to–

“Hey.”

Leo’s smile was automatic and immediate, and in his desperation to tamp it down he almost frowned. “Usagi! You came!”

This time the rabbit was wearing a baggy shirt and jeans, loose earbuds sticking out from the collar of his shirt. He smiled and waved, and Leo had to tamp down another smile as he realized what was so different: his ears. While they had been tied down against Usagi’s head at the Nexus, today they were standing up tall from his head, fur fluffy around their edges as they perked toward him, alert. “Of course I came, I’ve got a raging injury you need to take care of.” He laughed, and Leo watched his ears flick in different directions as his body shook with the chuckles.

Usagi laughed, and suddenly there was nothing else in the world that mattered. Leo wanted him to laugh again, so his brain diverted its energy towards coming up with a joke that was good enough. Before he had thought of a sufficient pun, however, Usagi was coming closer and Leo needed to clue back in.

“-and oh yeah, sorry, I didn’t think about the whole shirt thing again, look, I’ll just pull it off so you can–”

“No wait!” Leo tried, but Usagi was already pulling his shirt past his ears and Leo was just watching, wide-eyed. The rabbit chucked the shirt to the side, standing in front of him. Leo swallowed, trying to blink in natural intervals. Joke, he was going to make a joke, right? “Wow. They should call you muscle-bunny. At this point you’re just showing off, guerrero.” The words tumbled out before he could over-analyze them, but Leo made efforts to recover as he threw a smirk on his face.

Usagi did laugh again, and Leo’s heart flipped over itself in happiness. The rabbit flexed a furry bicep, looking down at where Leo was sitting with a near-identical smirk. “What can I say? These guns just can’t be contained.” He tapped a soft punch to Leo’s plastron. 

Warmth bled from the contact and Leo’s smirk softened into a genuine smile before Usagi suddenly winced, retracting his arm and touching a hand to his side. The bandaging there had gone gray and frayed, and to Leo’s dismay, there was a shadow of reddish-brown seeping through. 

Right, the injury. The whole reason Leo and Usagi were here.

Leo jumped up, motioning for the rabbit to sit down in his place. “Sit.” He instructed, anxiety evident in the word. Usagi waved away his offered arm and smiled again, but his hand didn’t come away from the bandages as he lowered himself to sit.

“I’m fine, dude, stop looking like somebody died.” He insisted.

Leo didn’t look up, already intent on unwrapping the layers of gauze to inspect the current state of the injury. His brow furrowed as the wound was revealed to have several stitches missing, the old blood leaking from it drying into a crust. He frowned, setting the dirtied bandages aside. “I haven’t seen you in any fights since Tuesday…” He muttered. “What have you been doing in two days to get it like this?”

Usagi seemed to shy away from the show of concern, looking away and fiddling with one of his earbuds. “Just…training, like I always do.”

Leo began digging through his pouch. “Well, as your unofficial operating medical practitioner, you’re now banned from training.” He said matter-of-factly. He didn’t let up when Usagi raised an eyebrow at that, instead beginning to pull materials from his pouch with a business-like air. “And I do not mean that lightly, conejo, you’re banned from anything that might pop your stitches. I’m going to have to redo the whole row now, gracias a ti!”

Usagi leaned over to look at the wound himself, making a silly half-grimace at it as if he knew anything about how bad the popped suture looked. He shifted. “You speak Spanish a lot. Are you Hispanic?”

“Wha–?” Leo paused. “No, I just like the language, I guess. Do you speak anything else?”

“Hai, watashi wa nihongo o hanashimasu.” 

Leo quirked his head, and Usagi smiled at his confusion. A little part of Leo melted further. 

“I said I speak Japanese.” Usagi clarified, one ear twitching in amusement.

Leo glanced down again, busying his hands with a small bottle of peroxide. “Geez, you’re actually bilingual. It’s more of just a side thing for me.”

At the first touch of the cloth, he felt the rabbit flinch, Usagi’s torso contracting away for just a second before Leo felt him still. 

“I mean, I grew up speaking Japanese, so it’s not a fair comparison, really. Is Spanish useful?”

Leo nodded. “I think so. It’s pretty common here in the Hidden City, but then again, so is Japanese.” 

Silence lapsed as Leo continued to touch up the wound. Suddenly Usagi flinched again, and this time Leo flinched in response, pulling his hand away. 

They both froze for a moment before Leo looked up, studying Usagi’s eyes. “You’re not...actually good with pain, are you?”

Usagi was quick to look away, scoffing. “What told you that? I think I take it like a champ.”

Leo gently padded the cloth at the wound again, glancing up into the rabbit’s face. “Well, maybe you do, but your eyebrows bunch up. And…” He pressed the cloth into the cut again, watching carefully. “...your shoulders get all tense.”

“How do you know–” Usagi looked at his shoulders, bewildered, and appeared to manually relax them, looking down at Leo with wide eyes. Then he crossed his arms, furrowing his brow. “What are you, a cop?”

Leo chuckled, pausing the cleaning for a moment. “No, I just know how to look for body language.” 

Usagi popped one hip, peering down judgmentally. “And why do you know that?”

“Well…” Leo didn’t exactly know how to say that Donnie had been nonverbal until age 8, or that Mikey had a hard time telling people when he wasn’t feeling good, or that Raph would go berserk if he was left alone for more than ten minutes. He didn’t know how to explain that Donnie had the easiest tells whenever he tried to lie, or that Raph liked to hide his injuries, or that their father kept a lot of secrets Leo knew he wasn’t telling them. Words may have been Leo’s favorite things in the world, but he had learned very early on that they weren't the only way people communicated. “I guess I just…picked it up at some point.”

Usagi unexpectedly smiled, huffing a quiet laugh as he looked down at where Leo had begun to stitch. “Well, you know… it makes you a pretty good nurse.” 

Leo’s cheeks warmed, and he leaned his head into his work to hide them. Usagi looked away again, out into the bright lights of the street below. Leo could’ve sworn he saw the tips of his ears go pink.

It was quiet for a bit.

“Dang, your hands are warm.”

Leo looked up as he finished tying off the stitch, carefully pulling his fingers away from Usagi’s side. “Sorry.” He turned away, retrieving the roll of bandage. Again that persistent electricity pounded in his chest, hot and distracting.

But not nearly as distracting as Usagi. 

Usagi had begun talking again. “So, isha, what’s the verdict? Am I on my deathbed or what?” The rabbit splayed his hands towards the now-neat stitch line cutting through his fur.

Leo began unfurling new bandaging. “It’s still too early to tell, and you popping your stitches was an unforeseen setback, but I think you’ll be okay. If you haven’t had any other symptoms…I’d guess it was deep but not life-threatening.” He wrapped the white fabric around the rabbit's torso, maneuvering easier than before without the office’s annoying configuration of treatment tables. He tied it off with a grin. “There. Now just don’t reopen it, okay?”

Usagi stood up and stepped away to retrieve his shirt. “I’ll try my best. Oh–” His pocket buzzed, and he retrieved a phone with a teal phone case, setting it to one ear. “Sorry, one moment.” Usagi walked a few paces away.

Leo sat down on the ac unit, the now familiar lightning still zipping through his arms and legs. What did he do now? How long would Usagi be on the phone? If he was going to heal properly without Leo’s help, did they even need to see each other again?

Usagi began walking back, still speaking into the phone. “Kitsune, I’m hanging up. I’ll talk to you later, I promise, just– No, it’s not like that. Yeah. Okay, I’m serious, I’m hanging up now, yeah, bye.” He tapped the screen, smiling at Leo again. “Older sisters, am I right?”

Leo laughed, thinking of how disastrous it would be if April called him right now. Or spirits forbid, his brothers.

“Oh, yeah!” Usagi held up his phone. “Can I get your number?”

Time froze for a second and Leo didn’t even process the second that it took to retrieve his phone, his own sparkly blue case glittering against his palm. His tongue felt thick and in the way. “Yeah, for sure, bro.” he croaked, opening up his contacts.

“Sweet.” Was all Usagi said.

They exchanged numbers, and Leo stared down at the new contact, his plastron feeling as if it was about to burst. “Awesome.”

Finally he pocketed his phone and Usagi smiled, bright like the way sunshine felt on a clear day and perfect like no other smile could compare to. “Okay then, I’m gonna– I gotta go now…” Usagi began to back up but managed to trip over something, flinching and picking it up from the ground. He smiled crookedly. “My katana. Forgot I brought that.” His ears were pink again and he slid the harness across his t-shirt. “I’ll have to tell you about it next time, sorry.” 

Leo didn’t respond, his thoughts already latching onto the words next time, repeating them over and over like they were a sweet candy he could suck on.  

The rabbit had begun walking towards the edge of the roof, giving a tug to his shirt to get it to lay flat. “Anyways, I’ll see ya, Leo. And thanks for the stitches… again.” He flicked a finger off the top of his head, winking. “I’ll text you, mkay?”

Usagi reached the edge and leapt off it, tense muscles bouncing lightly from the concrete and out of sight. 

“Mkay!” Leo yelled back, a little too late.

He couldn’t stop himself from rushing to lean over the edge of the building. Sure enough, the rabbit hadn’t heard him, already walking back along the street with ears up and the katana glimmering on his back.

Leo watched the rabbit’s sword sway in its harness, really focusing on it for the first time. It had a dark, purpley sheen to it that he hadn’t noticed before, drawing his eye even when so many other thoughts crowded his brain.

Because he’d gotten Usagi’s number, because he’d made him laugh, because they’d talked and it had been wonderful, and his heart was beating warm and fast beneath his chest and–

In fact, there was probably only one thing that could’ve possibly distracted him from staring at the rabbit’s cute, flicking ears as he departed, and it was…

Well…

That the rabbit’s katana looked just like a piece of the Dark Armor. 

Chapter Text

Leo managed to portal most of the way home, only having to walk a few blocks before a manhole appeared and he removed its cover, slipping down onto the ladder’s first rung. 

By the sound in the living room, he could tell his brothers were already back, which was a little strange, considering it was only 2am, and missions usually took almost the entire night. He reached the concrete floor of the tunnel, checking his phone in the low light. No messages. From his brothers…or Usagi.

Not that Usagi needed to message him already, or ever, he reminded himself. He might never hear from him again if the wound healed correctly. And that would be that.

But Usagi had said that he’d text him. He’d said.

He checked his notifications once more before he rounded the corner to the living room.

“Hey, Leo.”

He looked up, assessing the situation in one sweep.

1. Everyone was sitting lamely on the couch, still wearing full gear.
2. Raph’s brow looked a notch deeper.
3. Mikey had just said “Hey, Leo.” without an exclamation point.

“What happened?” Leo asked immediately.

His brothers were silent for a moment, before Donnie rolled over to face him from the couch. “Mission failure. It was a third-party bandit situation.”

Leo frowned, plopping down into a bean bag. “What?”

Raph shifted in the recliner. “Somebody swiped the piece before we even got there. Before Big Mama even got there.”

Leo swallowed, throat dry. 

Mikey stirred in his own bean bag, looking up from his half-hearted comic reading. “You should have seen it, Lee! Big Mama opened up the chest just to find it empty ! We were all so sure it was going to be there!”

“Woah, what? A chest ?”

Donnie fixed him with a look. “That’s what happens when you don’t do your reconnaissance , Leon. The rest of us all knew a piece of the dark armor was supposed to be in a chest dropped in the lake at Central Park. It wasn’t completely empty though, the filthy brigand had the audacity to leave a note .”

“A note? What did it say!?” Leo pressed.

Raph and Mikey looked at each other, and Donnie rolled his eyes with a sigh. “It basically said: ‘Better luck next time.’ It was signed by someone calling themselves ‘The Cat’.” Donnie said, making air quotations.

“What do you mean basically ?”

Raph answered. “It was written in Japanese.”

The air constricted in Leo’s throat. Japanese? Could it be…?

No, he was blowing this out of proportion. Just because Usagi spoke the same language didn’t mean he was the mysterious thief, it could be anybody! Besides, Usagi wasn’t a cat, so signing off as ‘The Cat’ wouldn’t make any sense. But the katana...had that just been a trick of the light?

He checked his phone again. No messages. “Well, that’s a bummer. Does this mean we’re still undercover?”

Raph sighed. “I guess so. I don’t see how else we could get more information about who the bandit is or where they might’ve put the piece. Big Mama’s sure to pick up the trail.”

“Nooo.” Mikey groaned, already looking exhausted again. “If we’re going undercover again, I wanna trade jobs.”

“Mikey, I told you, I gave you the job that’s the least dangerous. You’ll keep it and you’ll like it, little man.”

Mikey puffed up, angry. “Why do I need the job that’s the least dangerous!? I can do anything you guys can do, and–”

As Raph and Mikey began a full-out squabble, Leo found his fingers opening Usagi’s contact. His fingers floated above the keyboard, watching the line blink in the empty text box. What would he even say ? Why was it all he could think about?

“What’s that.”

Leo jumped, startled by how silently Donnie had moved to crouch behind his bean bag. Frantically he closed the tab, tucking his phone away. Luckily he hadn’t put Usagi’s name in his phone yet, so all Donnie had seen was a number. “It’s nothing! Just…you know…cleaning out my spam texts and stuff.” Leo assured him lamely.

“Okay, Pinocchio, let me call it then.” Donnie rapidly began typing the number into his gauntlet. 

Stupid genius brother and his stupid photographic memory.

Leo wrapped a hand around his gauntlet before he could finish, voice low. “Okay, stop! I’ll tell you.” Leo glanced over at Raph and Mikey, who were still deep in debate. “Just…not here, okay?”

Donnie just looked at him, stunned, and nodded his head.

…

The door to the lab sealed behind them with a cold mechanic hiss, and Donnie immediately  turned on Leo with an interrogative air.

“Who is he !?” he demanded. “Why did you lie about him!?”

Leo put his hands up in panic. “Woah! That is a lot of assumptions, Don-Tron. I mean, who said I lied about him…o-or– her?”

Donnie stared pointedly.

Leo rolled his eyes. “Fine, it’s a him. But who said I lied? I just…conveniently left out certain parts.” They walked further into the lab, and Donnie stayed standing while Leo hopped up onto one of the work tables, sitting with a knee up to his chest. “Wow, you never let me in here. I like what you’ve done with the place, what is it, new…wires?” He fiddled with the mess of wires strewn across the tabletop.

“You’re stalling.”

Leo sighed. “Alright, fine. Since I know you’re just gonna hack his phone number anyway, I’ll give you a head start. His name is Yuichi Usagi.”

Donnie quirked an eyebrow. “Usagi, huh? I’m guessing he’s a rabbit then?”

Leo startled. “What!? How did you know!?”

Donnie flicked his forehead, though it didn’t have any real power behind it. “Usagi means ‘rabbit’, Leon.”

“Oh.” Leo leaned back, eyes wide. “That’s funny.” He set a hand to his head. “I’m gonna have to make fun of him for that now.” He stared off into a distant point, thinking about the blinking text message bar. He checked his phone again. Nothing.

Donnie had meandered toward the pile of wires, fiddling with them just as Leo had been earlier. After a moment, he pushed himself up to sit on the edge of the table, right next to Leo. “So…you…like him, then?” He was still holding a wire, twisting it awkwardly in his grip.

“I…uh…I don’t know.” Leo shifted. Heat crept up his neck. “I don’t know.” Finally he forced himself to put his phone down, looking up. “What’re you doing , Dee? I figured you’d either be training missiles on this guy or laughing your head off at me by now.”

Donnie smiled softly. “Both valid and intriguing options, dear brother. But you aren’t normally this…quiet. It’s freaking me out a little bit, if I’m being honest.” The softshell succeeded in twisting the wire to its breaking point, the fine threads of metal breaking free from the insulated casing. “Just…why’d you lie about it, Leo?”

Leo looked down at his lap, feeling guilty. “It…it just feels different this time, Donnie. It’s different than a crush on a comic book character, or deciding which guy deserves the rose on The Bachelorette, this time it’s somebody real. Somebody I can see and touch.” 

Somebody he wanted to see again. Somebody he really wished would text him. 

“Well…you know, it’s not different to us, Leo.” Donnie began. “I don’t care if you go hang out with some random rabbit guy, I just want to know . And maybe if you let Raph and Mikey know, we could work out a way for you to come on the next mission? Because, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, but without you, it went bad. Like really really bad with two really’s.” Donnie said seriously, looking him in the eye.

Leo chuckled, nodding his head. “Okay, I get it, I do. I’ll be there at our next mission, but I…I need a little more time before I fully come clean. Can you keep it a secret? Just for a little while, for me?” He put on his best pleading face, and Donnie rolled his eyes.

“Fine.” He grumbled.

“Thank you! Oh thank you Donnie, thank you!” Leo patted him excitedly and together they hopped off the table, heading for the door. 

Donnie looked up to the sky, exasperated.

“Really, Pinocchio, how are you ever going to become a real boy?”

…

It was another quiet day at the office that morning.

If quiet was a synonym for loud and horrible.

Leo would like to say that the first brawl day had given him some good preparation and experience for the next one, but really it went about the same. It made sense that Dr.Elsis was so desperate for another full time worker; the office was clearly understaffed. There were just too many wounds for four hands to fix.

And that was when someone bloody practically threw themselves onto his treatment table. 

“Oh thank spirits, please help!”

That someone just happened to be Yuichi Usagi.

Leo reeled. “Usagi!? What happened!?” The rabbit had a streak of blood coming from his side, staining his khaki shorts with maroon. It had soaked through his shirt, where he was currently trying to staunch it with a furry hand. 

Leo immediately pulled his palm away, ripping through the shirt and staring at the shocking amount of blood pouring from the wound. The entire line of stitches had disappeared. “Usagi! What the heck, man!?”

“That’s not good, huh?”

“No it’s not good! I said no training and you thought fighting in a Nexus brawl would be a good idea!?” Usagi had pushed his hand back into the wound but Leo carefully peeled it away again, clearing away some of the blood. With his other hand, he prepped a thick roll of cloth. “Stop trying to staunch it with your hand, you’ll infect it.” Leo pushed the rabbit’s fingers away, and Usagi obediently put his hand down, but he looked paler and Leo could hear his breaths coming shorter. “Hey. Breathe, man. I have to staunch it properly before the stitches, so take a deep breath and grit your teeth or something.”

Usagi’s brows knitted together just before Leo pushed the thick cloth against the wound, putting pressure against the flow of blood. Usagi hissed out a pained breath.

Slowly Leo counted under his breath, trying not to focus on the feeling of Usagi’s heartbeat pumping through his hand as the agonizing seconds passed. He needed to stop the bleeding. He needed Usagi to be okay.

Finally his shoulders sank in relief as he removed the pressure, relieved to see that the blood was beginning to clot. “Okay.” Leo wiped the sweat from his brow, finally breathing out a held breath. “You’re okay. You’re okay.”

Usagi was now lying on his back, but his pale face cracked into a smile. “Yeah, I’m good. I take it like a champ, remember?” 

“You’re an idiot.” Leo griped, but he bit his tongue, cringing. “No, sorry. I don’t really mean that, that’s not professional conduct and I don’t know you that well–”

“It’s fine.” Usagi grinned. “I’m kinda being an idiot.”

Leo chose not to respond, focusing on stitching the wound and bandaging it, his fingers moving in a flurry as more wounded fighters walked in through the door. He taped off the bandage, glancing anxiously at the influx of waiting patients before he looked the rabbit in the eye. “Look, Usagi, we really need to talk about why it’s important to rest when you’re healing, but I just don’t have time right now.”

“That’s fine.” Usagi said immediately. “I’ll text you. I’m sorry I didn’t text last night, I meant to.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “You…did?”

Usagi smiled. “Yeah, I did. And tonight I will, I promise. I meant what I said about there being a next time.” He motioned to his bandage. “And I mean without the reason being a life-threatening flesh wound.”

Warmth flooded Leo’s cheeks. His mind threatened to split off in a thousand directions before he stood straight, regaining his composure. “We’ll see, conejo. That will only happen if you actually let it heal.”

Usagi gave a mock salute. “Understood, isha.” He stood, and another patient slid bleeding into his place. “I’ll text you, and at the same time, I will totally be resting.”

Leo glanced at the row of patients. At this point, he wasn’t sure if he believed him, but now was just not the time to debate it. “Okay. Bye, Usagi.”

“Jaa mata, Leo.” Usagi waved with a grin. “That means goodbye!” 

The door shut, and Leo turned to the next injured fighter, a grin of his own sneaking onto his face. Even though he was frustrated that Usagi wasn’t taking proper care of himself, he just couldn’t help smiling when he thought of him. His chest still crackled with electricity.

The patient on his table gave him a sneer. “What are you smiling at, bub?”

Leo ignored him, getting back to work on the bloody injury across his leg. As he went to grab the suture thread, his phone pinged, so he pulled it out.

A message notification. From an unnamed contact.

[hey leo!]

[...]

[this is usagi :3]

Chapter Text

“Focus, Leo!”

Leo looked up from his phone, barely jumping away in time to miss the ball of fire pummeling towards him. He jumped, pushing back into a defensive stance with the phone still in hand as he pulled out his odachi. “I am focused!”

Purple scales shimmering, the dragon reared its head for a deafening roar. Leo looked back down at his phone, texting one-handed.

(you’re resting, right?)

Three dots appeared next to Usagi’s contact, and Leo waited patiently for him to finish typing.

“No you are not, Leo; who are you texting!?” Raph yelled, exasperated. His bulky red form crashed into the dragon and it screeched in response, wobbling on its claws.

[i’m a rabbit of my word, isha, of course i’m resting]

“No one!” Leo yelled back reflexively, not looking up.

(prove it)

“Leo!” Mikey screamed, jumping in front of him to stop the hurtling fireball he had been too distracted to notice. He waved his kusari fundo, slicing the ball of fire neatly in half. Huh . And they say you can’t fight fire with fire.

Leo scanned his brother for injuries, relieved to find none. He let out a breath. “Thanks, Mikey.” 

Mikey nodded. “You gonna get in on this?”

“Um, yeah, I’ll be right there.”

Usagi’s three dots had reappeared, but after a moment a photo file popped up in their place. Leo squinted at the square of black, confused. The image must not have loaded correctly.

(usagi that’s a black screen)

[...]

[uh…duh. i’m sleeping. in the dark. like people do when they REST]

Leo physically rolled his eyes, already typing back as the dragon screeched again. He ducked to avoid another fireball, absent-mindedly sheathing his odachi to have two-handed texting capabilities. But before he could send the message, Usagi said more.

[what are you doing right now]

Leo paused his typing, looking up. Raph, Donnie, and Mikey had cornered the dragon with a barrage of attacks, and were now advancing slowly as it continued to spit weak fireballs. Right. He had finally started consistently texting Usagi, but…the undercover mission was still underway. Usagi fought in the Nexus, which meant he probably had a contract with Big Mama, and that meant…it meant he could never find out Leo’s true identity. And battling a dragon in the street kinda gave the whole ‘ninja bros who protect the humans of New York ’ thing away.

Leo pressed his thumb against the camera, effectively blacking it out before sending the photo. It was probably exactly what Usagi had done, which made the whole exchange ridiculous. But he had a reason to hide what he was doing. Did Usagi?

[oh my gosh you’re sleeping too?]

[twinsss]

[probably should let you get to it then]

[ttyl?]

“Leo!” Raph’s reprimanding tone broke into the conversation, and Leo looked up sheepishly, quickly locking his phone. 

“Heya, big guy…”

Raph shook his head, pinching the bridge of his snout. “What the heck was that!? We coulda used your portals back there!”

At this Leo soured. “Raph, they don’t even work often enough to be useful. And what are we doing out here anyway? It’s a holiday! We get work off for once, and we have to fight a dragon!?”

Raph frowned, Mikey and Donnie finally coming up beside him. The dragon was unconscious, tied up with Mikey’s weapon in the background. “We’re protectin’ the city. There’s no breaks from that, Leo. You should be glad we had the day off so the civilians didn’t have to deal with this.”

Leo looked away, feeling guilty.

Donnie interjected uncertainly, as if unsure whether he was interrupting. “Um, Raph? I’ve finished analyzing the dragon’s mystic signature and my code indicates it came from the Hidden City. We’d better return it back down there.”

Raph turned to him. “Right. Where’s the nearest portal? Will it even fit through the one at the construction site?”

(yeah ttyl, gtg)

Leo pocketed his phone, pulling out his odachi again with a resigned air. “Look, I’m sorry I wasn’t a big help today. How about I try to portal the dragon straight there?”

Raph turned back to him, and smiled. “That’s what I’m talking about.” He began to walk back toward the dragon. “Mikey, you come help me get it…”

“Texting Mr. Rabbit-Who’s-Name-Directly-Translates-To-Rabbit?” Donnie said suddenly once Raph and Mikey were out of earshot.

Leo jumped. “Gah! Not so loud! You said you’d keep it a secret, remember!?”

Donnie raised an eyebrow. “I don’t see what the point of that is, but whatever. Can’t you just text him when we get home?”

Leo furrowed his brow. “I have to make sure he’s resting. I mean, it’s Labor Day, so he can’t be fighting in the Nexus at least, but…he said he reinjured himself training before, and how can that be? I mean, what is he doing that he can’t let anyone know about?”

“Well, his records indicate the only place he’s affiliated with is the Nexus. Basic medical info, blood type, date of birth. That was all I could scrounge up.’ Donnie shrugged.

Leo fixed him with a judgmental side eye. “Donnie.”

“It was just a little background check! Is that so against the law?”

“It is if you hacked into his medical records , Creepatello!” Leo was gearing up to elbow Donnie just as Raph called him over.

“Lee! Come do your thing!”

Leo flicked his head back to Donnie, glaring. “ No more snooping on Usagi. None. Got it?”

“No promises.” Donnie deadpanned.

“Leo! Come on! It’s waking up!”

Leo traced two fingers from his eyes to Donnie’s, a silent warning of: I’m watching you. Donnie put on an innocent face.

It was rude, Leo decided. He didn’t need Donnie prying into Usagi’s personal life, because he knew Usagi was a good guy. For pizza’s sake, Leo was hiding who he was, so Usagi had just as much a right to his own privacy. 

Leo could trust him, he was sure of it.  

Besides, he’d been given no reason to suspect Usagi of anything. 

Right?

…

“Focus, Usagi!”

(no that's WAY too insane. fr?)

[yeah i legit had to look away from how sparkly she was, cuz like, unicorn ppl can blind u in less than a second]

Usagi grinned, trying to find the right emoji.

“Yuichi Usagi, I will break that phone while it’s still in your hands!”

Usagi glanced up, noting the murderous expression on the black cat’s face. Delicate white fur framed her eyebrows and chin, painting a delicate diamond onto her forehead that seemed to point towards her golden eyes. She had gotten closer, raising the bokutō so that its tip rested just inches from his heart. He rolled his eyes.

“Chizu, it’s cute that you think I’m not paying attention, but you might want to keep better tabs on your own phone.” He revealed the stolen device, dangling it in front of her face. “Boom. Get pick-pocketed.”

Chizu looked alarmed, patting her outfit for a second and then glaring at him as she snatched the phone from his hand. “Ugh. You’ve been spending time with that street thief, haven’t you?” She sneered, pressing the wooden katana deeper towards his chest.

Usagi leaned into it, smirking. “Kitsune is smart. And funny. You’d like her more if you had even an ounce of either of those things.”

(so what happened in the fight? did you win?)

[yeah, i totally won. the secret to beating a unicorn is to let them THINK they’re winning. they’re nutso about pride]

“Hey! What did I just say!?” Chizu pulled her bokutō back, preparing to thrust it forward, but Usagi was already two steps ahead as he drew his own, deflecting the blow with a simple twist of his wrist. Chizu’s blade slid into empty air, and she hissed, recorrecting to bring the practice katana in a sweeping arc towards his left shoulder.

[and puns. unicorns hate puns.]

Usagi smiled, fending off the blow with one hand while he texted. Leo’s three dots flashed, loading into new texts.

(man that’s actually kinda disappointing…)

(they must think puns are kinda CORNy)

Usagi laughed out loud, bokutō sliding against Chizu’s with a resounding scrape.

“Ugh! You’re infuriating!” She growled, trying to stab at him with her wooden blade. “We’re supposed to be sparring!”

Usagi looked up, playfully swinging at her. “We are.”

“Lady Fuwa would disagree.”

“Lady Fuwa doesn’t need to know.” Usagi challenged.

“Chizu!” A voice screeched suddenly, putting them both off guard. It was none other than Lady Fuwa, crossing the dojo to stalk towards them. Her snow white fur was puffed and trimmed, obnoxiously well-cared-for, and as usual, her scarlet eyebrows were turned downward, prominent on her face like two drops of blood. “Your allotted training session was over two hours ago. What are you still doing here!?”

Lady Fuwa had a way of speaking that made one feel as though they were always being accused of something. For Lady Fuwa, this worked out quite well, because she very often was accusing people.

Chizu sheathed her bokutō, giving a slight bow of respect. “I apologize, Lady Fuwa. I lost track of the time, it won’t happen again.”

Usagi didn’t bother sheathing his own katana, only lazily drawing the tip to the ground. It wasn’t as if any attention was going to be paid in his direction.

“Oh Chizu, you’re too gullible!” Lady Fuwa laughed shrilly, doubling over. “As if I care about silly old training limits! It amazes me really, how often you work yourself to the bone!” She grinned, patting Chizu on the head. “I love it when my pupils have a good thirst for violence. Especially you, Chizu, you’ve always been one of my favorites.”

“I live to serve your will, Lady Fuwa.”

The pompous cat’s grin widened. “You may return to your spar.” 

“As you command, Lady Fuwa.”

For the first time since entering the room, the snow-white persian cast a glance towards Usagi. “Show some respect, rabbit.” She sneered, glaring down at him.

Usagi looked back at her darkly and finally gave a stiff, unwilling bow. “As you command, Lady Fuwa.”

Lady Fuwa’s eyes were piercing. “That’s better. I’d assumed you would be more careful to know your place after that failed mission to retrieve the armor piece. I always knew it would be a mistake allowing a rabbit into our ranks. You’re a disgrace to the entire Neko Ninja clan.”

Usagi didn’t respond, staring at her, steely, as if daring her to take it further. If she really didn’t want him here, she would have kicked him out long ago, but she’d allowed him to stay all these years, despite it all. He was easily one of the best fighters among the clan’s ranks. 

Lady Fuwa would sooner die than admit it, but she needed him.

“I am partially responsible for that mission as well, Lady Fuwa.” Chizu spoke up. “Allow me some of the blame.”

Lady Fuwa turned to her, smiling again. “No matter. There will be other chances for the rabbit to prove his worth. I hear that awful spider is already on the hunt for another piece.” Her grin grew sickly and she looked upwards in delight. “I hope it’s driving her crazy to think that we’re one step ahead. I just love the thought of Big Mama ripping her own nasty hair out, don’t you?”

Chizu and Usagi were both silent.

“Well, I’d better go off to teach the young ones, their katas are as sloppy as a wet noodle. So very unlike you, Chizu, you were always so talented. Jibun no tatakai ni modoru!” With that, the cat slunk away, tucking her arms behind her.

Once the circular dojo door had slid closed, Chizu turned to Usagi. “I don’t know why I’m letting you get away with this. How are you hiding it?”

“I told you,” Usagi said lowly, “The piece disguised itself as my katana. Lady Fuwa would have to have the eyes of a hawk to notice. And she’d have to have a brain to put two and two together.” He pulled out his phone again, intent on reading through the slur of new texts.

Suddenly, however, Chizu’s bokutō slapped against the screen, knocking it from his hands and slipping upwards to rest beneath his chin before he could try to pick it up. He met her eyes; the golden irises were wide and serious.

“I mean it, Usagi.” The black cat promised. “You better know what you’re doing, because one day I’m gonna get tired of covering for you.”

…

Chizu had been covering for Usagi for a long, long time.

In fact, he was pretty sure she had been covering for him ever since they first met, all for the purpose of repaying a debt. Because that was the day he had saved her life.

Usagi was seven years old when he ran away from home.

It wasn't like it was his real home; everything in his life had always been a replacement. 

“Your parents are…gone, Usagi, so you'll be living with your Auntie now, okay?”

“Your old clothes were lost in the fire, but we'll get you some new ones, alright?”

Even Usagi’s destiny had to be replaced.

“I’m keeping you safe, Yuichi. You'll get used to a life of farming.”

But Usagi didn't get used to it. He was supposed to be a samurai. He was supposed to be a fighter. And so he decided when he was seven that if his Auntie wouldn’t teach him, he would find someone who would.

The streets of Neo Edo weren’t the most inviting place, as it turns out, and there weren’t a lot of senseis on the lookout for child prodigies. At least, that’s what Usagi considered himself to be, at the time. And what happened next had only proved it.

A scuffle in an alley. Some unlucky yokai was getting shaken down, probably, and Usagi didn’t know if he had the energy to care. But curiosity got the better of him and he peered around the corner.

It was a little girl, in full ninja gear. Only her eyes peeked out of her mask, and Usagi could see her white brows pinching together tightly. The two men had her by her arms and legs, and she struggled in vain against them.

“We’ll teach you to spy on us, little kitty.” One of the men said, pulling his fist back. Before he could think, Usagi acted, flying toward them like a ninja star as he used the alley clutter to vault. 

The fight was only a blur of fists and color in his memory now. But Usagi still remembered what had happened after it was over. 

He had turned toward Chizu with blood running down his face and offered his hand.

And wordlessly, she had taken it. 

…

“You know what? I hate her. Yeah, I said it. I don’t care that she took me in when I had nowhere to go, she’s always pretending I don’t exist. I mean, no offense, but I’m the better sword fighter of the two of us, and yet you’re the favorite. Fuwa wouldn’t say it, but we all know she’s training you to be her successor, and what do I get? ‘Show some respect rabbit ’ blah blah blah! Ten bucks says she doesn’t even care to know my name anymore.”

Usagi rolled over on his futon, peering into the darkness towards the shadowy form that was Chizu. She was intentionally ignoring him, her body turned the other way.

“Shut up, Usagi. Go to sleep.”

The room was floored with rice mats, giving it a lasting earthy smell that was pleasantly stale. Soft moonlight filtered through a circular window, illuminating a small patch on the floor of their sleeping area. Usagi didn’t like sleeping. It was too still, too quiet, and worst of all, it was boring. 

He thought a minute, then sat up, beginning to tie on the belt with his saya.

“What are you doing…” Chizu droned tiredly.

“I’m going to go visit Kitsune. You want to come?”

Chizu huffed. “No. We’ve got a full day at the Nexus tomorrow, and Lady Fuwa’s gonna want info about the next piece.”

“You are zero fun, you know that?”

She reached out to whack his legs when he walked by. “Shinu na yo, nagai-mimi.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know, you tell me every time: Don’t leave a fox to guard the henhouse; I’ve got it. Kitsune is ‘not to be trusted’, or whatever. We’ve known her for months now, I don’t know why you’re still like this.” Usagi rolled his eyes, slipping on a t-shirt and reaching to slide open the circular door.

“She may be teaching you to pickpocket, but she’s probably doing it to you too, when you’re not looking.”

Usagi began to slide the door closed. “Shut up, Chizu.”

…

Usagi slid the trapdoor carefully open, flattening his ears to the side of his head to block out the noise.

The Neko Club’s music was always blaring day and night, which made excellent cover for the underground dojo hidden below. However, it made entering and exiting through it extremely annoying. Stealthily he exited the coat closet, squeezing through the crowd so he could find the nearest window.

And then someone green brushed his arm.

Panicked, Usagi’s pulse thrummed against his chest, and he glanced upwards so fast his neck whiplashed. “Leo!?”

An ugly snaggletooth flashed a sneer at him. “Leonard. Loathsome Leonard.” Usagi did a double take, realizing this Leo-look-alike was in fact not the real Leo. The yokai only had the same green skin and a reddened scar across one eye. He peered at Usagi, suspicious. “Hey… how did you get in here?”

“I’m sorry,” Usagi said quickly. “ I thought you were someone else.” He backed away, hurrying to blend back into the crowd. Finally he found a window, jumping out into the quieter streets.

The mere thought of Leo finding out he was a member of the Neko Ninja Clan worried him. What would Leo think? How would he react? Usagi was well aware of the tarnished reputation of the ninja. He had always hoped to be a respectable warrior— a samurai, but the only clan who would take him was Lady Fuwa and her dishonorable ninjas. At the time, it hadn’t mattered to him. A sensei was a sensei. Fuwa was cruel, but it had only made Usagi work harder. He had risen above them all, and one day, he would prove it.

“Usagi! Hey!”

“Kitsune!”

The fox was waving him over from a stand selling apples by the barrel. Her green eyes were startlingly bright, and she had a sharp quippyness to her features that always reminded Usagi that she had the ability to steal from him any time she wanted. It was a good thing that Chizu was wrong about that.

She tossed her fox tail behind her, smiling broadly. “I haven’t seen you in soo long, dude! What’s the hot gossip?” She zipped around to his side, fingering his katana’s hilt where it sat in the saya. “What’s with the new sword?”

Usagi fist tightened around the dark brown sheath, and he raised an eyebrow, laughing. “You can tell that fast? I haven’t even pulled it out!”

“I have pickpocket eyes. I see everything.”

He smiled, sliding the katana out. Its straight edge glimmered in the lantern light, reflecting purple when viewed at certain angles. “I swiped it on my last mission. Pretty sick, right?”

Kitsune gasped in delight. She stepped forward to admire the weapon, and Usagi shifted it this way and that, giving it a swing as he showed it off. It was truly a work of art. The blade was perfectly balanced; the grip fit perfectly in his palm; even the hamon had an ornate, curved perfection to it. Usagi couldn’t stand the thought of such a blade being only a disguise for the original armor piece. When he had first picked it up, it had forged itself as though it had simply been waiting for a worthy wielder to arrive. That’s when he knew that he couldn’t go through with turning it in to Lady Fuwa. The powerful blade was meant to be his. He had felt it.

“Wow, Usagi, you don’t skimp when you steal something. This is nice.” Kitsune awed.

Usagi sheathed the sword, smug. “It wasn’t really stealing. I mean who’s gonna miss it if it was sitting in a chest at the bottom of a lake?”

Kitsune giggled, and together they began walking along the marketplace plaza, browsing the many wares. The fox seemed to know everyone, throwing greetings to several stall owners while simultaneously pocketing their stocks of brightly colored berries. They turned down the street and she popped one in her mouth, offering another to Usagi.

He reached for it, but suddenly felt something twinge in his abdomen, a sharp pain spiraling from the tightly stitched wound. He winced, grabbing at his side.

“Sagi? You okay?”

He lifted up his shirt, checking the neat bandages for blood stains. Thankfully, nothing had popped. Yet. “Fine.”

“You’re still dealing with that nasty cut?” Kitsune raised an eyebrow, leaning towards the bandages. “Last week it was all bled through though, right? At least it’s looking better.”

Usagi let his shirt drop, nodding. “Yeah, Leo’s redone them twice since then. I can’t let anything happen this time. I promised him.”

“ Woah. Wait. Have you been messing your injury up on purpose just to see him again? You are head over tail for him, aren’t you?” Kitsune pushed her shoulder up against his, bouncing her eyebrows.

“ Kitsune! No, I haven’t been–look, he’s just a medic that happens to also be a cute guy, okay?”

“You’re saying ‘cute guy’, but my ears are hearing ‘boyfriend’!”

Usagi flushed, and was about to refute, but his phone pinged.

(u awake? :o)

Kitsune jumped towards the screen, hanging onto his forearm. “Oh spirits, is that him!?”

“Yes, it’s him, now shush, okay?”

[yeah. couldn’t sleep. u?]

(same. its nice to know that someone else is up)

(it gets so quiet down here at night)

“Aw, he’s a night owl just like you, Sagi, that’s adorable!”

[down here?]

(...)

(i live underground)

(is that super weird idk)

“Yeesh, what a weirdo. I have to know more!” Kitsune squealed. “Like: family. Does he have siblings? Is he a loner like you? Well, you have me as a self-instated honorary sister, and Chizu’s kinda like your ninja sister, right? Hey, where is Zuzu anyway?”

Usagi looked up from his phone, brushing his bangs out of his face. “She didn’t want to come. Goody-two-shoes needs her sleep and all that.” He rolled his eyes, then stopped, looking away. “And…Leo hasn't said much about family. Might be a sore subject.” Honestly, a lot of Leo’s personal life still lay in mystery, but Usagi couldn't complain. As long as Leo was willing to keep secrets from him, he didn't have to feel guilty about keeping his own.

“Snore .” Kitsune's voice interrupted his thoughts loudly. “Oo, what if he's secretly one of those new mutants, you seen those guys!? They look like yokai, but they're bent on world domination, or like– eating babies or something. The whole medic story could be a cover-up!”

“Kitsune, that is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.” 

The recent increase in mutants was…strange. Usagi didn't know much about the local news, but he knew it must be connected to why Big Mama had suddenly begun collecting the armor. And why Fuwa wanted it too. If someone was trying to create a mutant army, it meant something big was coming. Something dangerous .

And the armor was powerful enough to stop it. With the sword in his hands, he understood that now.

But Leo? His job couldn't be a cover-up, because Leo was actually good at patching people up. He had looked so frazzled when Usagi had last seen him–bloodstained up to his elbows and covered in sweat. Someone who was just pretending wouldn't care that much.

She shrugged. “Just saying. Sounds more like the kinda type you'd go for.”

Usagi flattened his ears back, annoyed. “I crush on a criminal one time–”

“You walked up and started flirting while he was getting arrested!”

“I didn’t see the handcuffs!” 

Kistune snorted, raising an eyebrow, and Usagi folded his arms, stern. 

“Look, I am very capable of dating a normal guy. Leo is just a regular yokai with a regular job, and I guarantee that he doesn’t even know anything about the whole mutant situation.” Or the dark armor. Usagi hoped, at least.

The fox backed off. “Okay, Sagi, I believe you. You know me, I just want to cover all the bases when it comes to my otōto meeting new people.” She hopped up onto a crate to reach his bangs and ruffled them, overtly affectionate.

He pushed her away, grumbling. “Yeah yeah, don’t make this a sentimental mush-fest. I gotta go, okay?”

“Aw, alright. Tell Zuzu I said hi. She never comes around, and she is way cooler than you.”

“Hurtful.”

Kitsune pressed what was left of the stolen berries into his hand, then pushed him to go. “Jaa mata, Sagi! Come see me again soon!” She waved goodbye happily, still standing on the crate. As Usagi turned down the street, she yelled after him. “And text your boyfriend back, you left him on read!”

…

Leo laid in the dark, squinting against the brightness of a screen in his quiet bedroom.

(idk is that weird)

His last text shined back at him. He rubbed his eyes, wondering where Usagi had suddenly gone to not text him back.

Not that he cared. Friends didn't always have to text you back; Usagi had a life outside of this text conversation, he knew, and it was stupid to worry about it. 

But that didn't stop the nagging anxiety that maybe Usagi had stopped texting because he’d finally lost interest.

That happened a lot to Leo. People liked him at first– he was talkative and confident, smart and quick-witted. But after a while…well, he'd been told enough times throughout his life to know that he was just too much. Not a good long-term trait.

But Usagi…Usagi was different. Leo thought.

He pulled out his switch, looking for a welcome distraction from the pitch black as the screen went blank.

And then his phone lit up.

[its not weird]

[i live underground too]

[srry i disappeared, i got caught up with something]

Leo audibly sighed in relief, electricity racing into his hands as he hurried to text back.

(its fine)

(im playing stardew valley now)

Which wasn't true, because Leo had abandoned the game immediately, glued to the screen as he watched Usagi’s three dots.

[oh cute!]

[i actually don't know anything abt that game but ive heard it's cute]

(oh its SO cute)

(Raph’s more into animal crossing but I like stardew)

[Raph?]

Leo bit his lip, realizing how easily he had let the name slip.

(oh he's my big bro)

[...]

[cool]

[do u have any other siblings?]

Leo paused, trying to decide how much he could say. It wasn’t like saying he had brothers would suddenly reveal that they were undercover ninjas working to stop Big Mama from collecting the armor, right? It was too late at this point, he decided; he better just come clean.

(yep)

(3 bros)

[all older?]

(no im in the middle)

(raph says I've got middle child syndrome BAD lol)

He sat quiet for a bit. It would be okay to ask Usagi about his family now, right? Finally he typed the words.

(what abt u?)

Usagi’s three dots danced on the screen for a while this time. Leo returned to Stardew, half-heartedly harvesting his crops. Usagi’s text loaded after a few minutes had passed.

[I was an only child]

[but now ive got like 2 “honorary” sisters??]

[idk how to explain]

Leo smiled.

(no i get it)

(i’ve got an honorary sister named April)

(my fam jokes that she got the braincell)

[lol]

[so true]

Leo didn’t have much else to say, and the conversation lulled. He was finally feeling tired, which was bad timing, as usual (it was already 5am), but he put the switch away, rolling over and tugging his body pillow towards him. He pulled his legs around it and slipped one arm under it, resituating with his phone held out in front of him. He was drafting a goodnight text when a new message popped up.

[hey]

[i really wanna see u again]

Leo blinked, heat creeping into his cheeks. He stared at the screen, wondering if the words were actually real. He liked Usagi. And…it was beginning to feel like Usagi liked him.

(yeah me too)

[tomorrow? we could meet up after you get off work?]

(yeah totally)

[awesome, it’s a date!]

Leo jammed his head into his pillow, unsure whether to fist-pump or scream. He settled on neither, texting with shaking fingers.

(rlly awesome)

[:3]

[ok i’ll see u then]

[gn Leo]

(gn Usagi)

[<3]

Chapter Text

Working on the weekend was the absolute pits.

It was Saturday morning, and instead of sleeping in till noon and waking up to eat an entire stack of toaster waffles, Leo was restocking tongue depressors and rolls of gauze and alcohol wipes into little plastic drawers. For what seemed like hours on end.

There wasn't much else to do. Dr. Elsis had been strangely silent today; sullen. They hadn't spoken since much earlier when he had told Leo to start on the in-depth restock. Leo didn’t understand why. Even the fights seemed quiet today.

He looked up toward the glass wall, stealing a glance at the arena. There were only two fighters in the ring: a golem-like creature made of stone, and a witch with long, flowing sleeves. Her magic was pink, zipping around her aura in little sparkles of soft, wispy clouds.

Leo saw the doctor step up next to him in the corner of his vision. The newt’s eyes were also on the fight.

"What's up with these weekend fights, Doc? Why so quiet?"

Dr.Elsis sighed heavily, and he pulled his glasses off to polish them with the edge of his coat. Leo remarked internally that he had small eyes. It was weird how people with glasses always seemed to have small eyes, was that just a trick of perception?

"It's your first weekend. You know why we only work till 5 today?” Elsis asked softly. Leo shook his head, eyes going back to the fight. The doctor's mouth was a straight line. “It's because today's fights decide who will proceed to the death matches."

Leo’s mouth went dry, watching the witch struggle under the heavy weight of the stone golem.

"After 5, all medics are released for the night. No use treating the injuries of a corpse." Something in Elsis's face looked bitter and coldly hateful. Leo had never thought to consider that he may not support Big Mama's way of running things. The doctor turned to face him once more. “We all come to this profession for different reasons, Leo. I came to keep people alive.” He paused, setting his glasses back onto the bridge of his snout. “Sometimes I feel that means I came to the wrong place.”

Leo didn't know how to respond. He could barely speak past the lump in his throat, and as the witch collapsed, he turned away from the glass.

Dr.Elsis spoke up once more. “I don't mean to pressure you, but I wanted to ask again– have you given any consideration to my offer?”

Leo froze, trapped in a web too deep, wanting more than ever to say yes but unsure how to move forward. It was all a mess; it wasn't supposed to last this long. Now he had no idea what answer he could, should, or needed to give.

“I… can't, Dr.Elsis.” is what came out. “I'm sorry. I might not be continuing in this job and if I do, it would have to still be part-time. I just can't. I'm sorry.”

Dr.Elsis gave a soft grin after a moment, though it seemed a bit grim. “No need to be sorry. I'd be happy just to keep you on part time if you're able. You're a good nurse, Leopold.”

Oh, Pizza Supreme, he could breathe again. It was like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

Leo chuckled softly. “It’s Leo, el Medico, I mean it. No one calls me Leopold.” The statement came out a bit too bluntly and Leo bit back further explanation. One weight could be lifted, but there was still too much at stake to go dumping off a pound of lies at once. Fluffy white ears flashed through his mind, and the thought of Mikey and Raph not knowing about any of it made him feel hot with guilt.

“Really?” Dr.Elsis’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Well, alright. Waste of a good name, in my opinion.”

…

Usagi lived for the thrill of the fight.

The rush of adrenaline, the taste of sweat and the pounding of blood–Usagi couldn’t get enough of that fizzy-all-over feeling that made you feel like a shaken up soda bottle.

It was the same feeling he felt whenever he was around Leo. Inexplicable. Unexplainable. Just the inherent knowledge that if Leo was there, nothing was impossible. 

Usagi stepped back from the wing chun, running a new drill set mentally. The dark brown poles seemed to stare back at him, ominous. The wooden base, with its sprouting branches, was a complicated training instrument meant to teach you how to reguide the energy of your opponents’ attacks. Usagi had spent long hours perfecting his form, oftentimes with Chizu or Lady Fuwa behind his shoulder sharply correcting him. It was not the thrill of a fight. It was boring.

Which is why it was sort of hilarious when someone came up next to Usagi and started using a wing chun wrong.

The Nexus training lounge was a large gymnasium space with multiple boxing rings, all manner of cardio machines, and weights that ranged everywhere from 3 pounds to 2 tons. Today was a weekend, which meant it was sparsely occupied. As an uncontracted fighter, Usagi was only allowed to fight on brawl days, so there wasn't much else to do on a Saturday besides work on his form. Chizu was somewhere across the space, having commandeered a rice mat to practice her katas.

There were 5 wing chuns in this area, all lined up next to each other, so it was quite impossible for Usagi to ignore the tall fighter who stepped up to the one beside him. And then promptly began smacking it around.

Worn red mask tails fluttered against a spiked shell, arms and legs the size of Usagi’s head bulging with each movement. It seemed the obvious conclusion that this guy must be an experienced fighter. However his poor technique was quick to give him away.

“Hey. Uh, red guy.” Usagi began to regret his choices as the fighter turned towards him, having to tilt his chin down to meet Usagi with his eyes. This dude was a turtle! (A giant, muscley one, but a turtle.) Red crescent stripes flashed through Usagi’s head.

“What?” The red turtle asked, and Usagi twitched his ears, wishing they were untied so he could’ve given the illusion of standing taller.

“I don't mean to sound critical, but you're using the wing chun wrong.”

The turtle had gone back to his absolutely horrid routine, which consisted of punching the wooden rods with absolutely no manner of form. He stopped, and the wooden base of the wing chun creaked as if in relief. “Huh?” He looked between the training tool and Usagi. “This thing has a name?”

Usagi raised an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah. Have I seen you before?”

The fighter scratched the back of his neck, peering down at Usagi curiously. After a moment he rocked back on his heels, fidgeting with his hands together. It was strange how such a big guy could manage to look so awkward. “Yeah, I've seen you in the brawls. Across the arena. Never got a chance to fight ya, so that's kinda funny.”

“The name's Usagi.” Usagi said. This couldn't happen to be one of Leo's brothers, right? Talk about coincidences.

“Oh. Uh. I'm Raph–” Usagi’s began to widen in surprise just before the stranger ended the word with a ‘t’. “Raft. That's my name.”

Now Usagi was seriously confused, eyebrows shooting up. “Your name is Raft?” Now that was a coincidence that was too unlikely. But why would Leo’s brother be going by a different name? And only changed by one letter?

The turtle looked uncomfortable. “Yeah, “Raft Hamatso. Totally my real name. Yep. Awesome. Cool.” He skirted past Usagi awkwardly, motioning towards the weights at the other end of the lounge. “Well, I'll see ya around, yeah?”

Usagi let him go, still puzzled. “Yeah. See ya…”

Once Usagi had finished his drills, he came to bother Chizu, who was sitting cross-legged on a mat, eyes closed. The white spots in her fur shone against the deep black just like a dusting of snow. Usagi snuck up behind her stealthily so he could get close enough to yell into her ear. “Hey, Yuki-chan!” He was barely prepared for her to immediately pull him over her shoulder, smashing him face-first into the rice mat before he slipped from her clutches, laughing.

“Do you want me to kill you!?” Chizu snapped, eyes on fire.

“I thought you would like hearing your old nickname.” Usagi defended, still rolling on the floor with the wind knocked out of him.

“Oh, because I liked it when I was twelve!?”

Usagi sat up, considering. “Yeah, you're right,” he wheezed. “you didn't really like it then either.”

Chizu bristled, crossing her legs again. “Why are you being annoying?”

“Look at that guy.” He pointed, and Chizu swiveled her head so that they were both watching ‘Raft’ where he was pumping iron. 

“What about him?”

Usagi hadn't really explained the whole ‘Leo Situation’ to Chizu yet (because she would totally flip out), but he'd get around to it eventually. Eventually. He snorted. “He was using a wing chun wrong. Didn't even know its name.”

Chizu remained composed, but her eyes took on a sharp glint. She hummed. “He's very strange indeed. We crossed paths in the arena last brawl. He hits hard, but he's impatient. Doesn't know proper footwork.”

“Are you always creepily analyzing people's fighting styles?”

In response, Chizu grabbed him and pinned his arm backwards, and he immediately tapped out, desperately patting his hand against the rice mat. “Ow ow okay, fine!” Usagi dropped his smirk, rubbing his arm. “I just think something’s fishy about him. Like, if you don’t know proper fighting form, what are you doing in the Battle Nexus, you know?”

Chizu closed her eyes, trying to return to her mediation. “They let all sorts of common grubs fight at the brawls. I would stay worried about the information we’re meant to gather. Lady Fuwa is expecting us to relay the location of the next armor piece, and soon.” 

“Yeah.” Usagi settled into a cross-legged position mirroring the cat’s, but his eyes didn’t close, still spying anxiously on the strange turtle. “I know.”

…

Leo was waiting outside the portal to and from the Battle Nexus, anxiety-riddled and extremely nervous. He picked at the string coming undone from his blue hoodie, fidgeting for a moment before moving his hand to stick it firmly in the front pocket. It would've been bad enough if it was just his first-ever date , but on top of that lay so many other things that he couldn't quit thinking about everything somehow going horribly wrong. What if Usagi found out he was undercover and decided not to trust him anymore? What if Usagi wasn’t who he seemed at all, and he was going on a date with a serial killer? What if Raph and Mikey found out at the worst possible moment and messed everything up? What if Usagi had fought today, ripped his stitches, and been sentenced to a death match!?

So when Usagi finally came strolling nonchalantly out of the portal, Leo may have given him a bit of an abnormal greeting.

He rushed at the rabbit, immediately reaching for a fistful of his tank top and pulling it upwards to reveal the bandaged wound beneath. Seeing the clean bandages still tight and only minimally frayed, Leo sighed aloud, letting his forehead press against Usagi’s shoulder. “You're okay.” He breathed in relief.

“Well, hello to you too.” Usagi’s voice came, a smile loosely hidden within it.

Realizing what he’d done, Leo jerked his head away and dropped Usagi’s shirt, cheeks flushing. “Sorry, I just– You didn't fight today, did you?” Stepping back, he could see a grin light up Usagi's face, chipping away the layer of Leo’s anxiety like it was a block of ice.

“No. Believe it or not, I've been trying to follow doctor's orders this time around.”

“Nurse's orders.” Leo corrected him with a soft smile. “But I'm glad. It looks like it's finally beginning to heal. You still need new wrappings though; let's do that now before I forget.”

“Your wish is my command, isha.”

Leo was too filled with warm, zipping electricity to reply.

They scaled a building, this time a random dressmaking boutique, and settled against its wooden sign, out of sight. Leo rifled quickly through his fanny pack, retrieving the roll of fresh bandaging.

As Leo unwrapped the old layers of gauze, he cleared his throat, breaking silence. Sweat prickled in his palms. He couldn't tell if this was awkward or not. When Usagi’s life was in danger, it was easy to simply get the job done, but now Leo couldn't get the idea out of his head that he was touching Usagi. On a date with Usagi. Gently his fingers were peeling back layers, knuckles brushing against matted fur. And Usagi kept looking at him. What did that mean? Was there something about Leo that required that amount of looking ? He didn't know if that was a point for awkward or a point for not-awkward. He cleared his throat again. “You should learn how to do this yourself. It'll heal faster with new bandages everyday; I can lend you a roll and teach you how.”

“Umarekawattara, anata o motto hayaku mitsukeru darō.”

Leo looked up, meeting Usagi’s vibrant brown eyes. “Que?”

Usagi laughed, scooting forward and grinning his dumb grin. “Let's do it! Teach me, oh great Sensei.” He bowed, and then twitched back upwards suddenly, a pained look on his face. 

It was good to see him wear his pain more plainly, Leo thought as he chuckled. “Woah now, save the bow for a real master. This should be a basic skill.”

Usagi nodded, but then raised an eyebrow. “Wait…how will I practice if I'm already all wrapped up?” He said, gesturing to the new neat bandages around his middle.

“Um…how about you practice on me?”

…

Usagi felt fizzy.

Whatever he did he couldn't keep his eyes off Leo– Leo’s skin, Leo’s eyes, Leo’s stripes, Leo’s perfect smile.

Usagi’s smile was nowhere near that perfect. His buck teeth were chipped. When he laughed his lips pulled back and revealed his gums. But he smiled anyway, because Leo kept making him laugh.

“You suck at this! It's hilarious how bad you are at this, conejito, no, no, stop, stop.” Leo's warm fingers clashed against his; firm hands guiding him to fold the bandage evenly.

Usagi felt fizzy; all full of sweet bubbles and bottled happiness.

So his fingers kept slipping.

“Gomennasai, gomennesai.” Usagi laughed, dropping the edge of the strip of fabric entirely. “I thought of one: Why did the doctor learn guitar?” He mimed strumming invisible strings. “Because he was trying to start a band-age!”

Leo grinned his perfect grin, laughter lighting his face. “Oh, oh! When I said I didn't want stitches, the nurse just looked at me and said: suture self!” Leo bent over laughing, his eyes shut tight with mirth. They laughed together, and Usagi felt like he had never had more fun.

Then Leo sat back up and took a breath, looking him in the eye. “Okay. You ready? You got this; just focus, guerrero.” He motioned down to his plastron, which was shoddily wrapped with Usagi’s steadily improving handiwork. He handed the end to Usagi, smiling softly. “Fold in the end and secure it, and you pass my master class.”

Usagi nodded, taking hold of the fabric with determination. He tucked the edge in against Leo’s plastron, (which he had been initially surprised to discover felt quite similar to wood). He tied it off, feeling fizzy all over again.

“Good job.” Leo praised, admiring the neat fold.

“Would you believe it if I told you it’s my first day?” Usagi smirked in response.

A scoff that melted into a chuckle. “Hardly.”

Usagi stood, offering Leo a hand up. “Alright. Now, not that I don’t love learning new things, but let’s get the main event underway, yeah?”

Leo accepted the hand, standing up with a confused look. “I didn’t know there was a main event?”

Usagi began climbing down the side of the building, tamping down his smile as Leo followed suit. “You’ll see.” He jumped down into the alley, disappearing into the dark shadow cast between the buildings.

“Usagi? Dude, what–”

As Usagi rolled his motorcycle into the light, he watched Leo’s jaw drop, face going slack with shock. He glanced back at his bike, proud of its pristine, glossy appearance. A small part of him hoped Leo was impressed.

Okay, a large part of him hoped Leo was impressed.

“You like it? I thought we could take a little joy ride.” Usagi bit his lip, turning back to Leo, who was still recovering from his stunned silence.

“Yeah.” Leo breathed, a smile overtaking his face. “Yeah, let’s take a joy ride.” He stepped forward, admiring the shining handles, brushing a hand over the front tire. “This is so awesome. Like, so awesome.”

Usagi straddled the seat without hesitation, scooting forward and patting the seat behind him. He rubbed his thumb against the choke lever, looking at Leo expectantly. “Come on then. I’ll give you a tour of the city. Hard to see much when you live underground, right?”

“Right.” Leo only had a moment of hesitancy before he caved, sitting behind Usagi.

The moment he was situated, Usagi squeezed the throttle, and the engine roared, the bike thrusting itself forward into the street. He felt fearful hands immediately wrap tight against his abdomen, and Usagi clenched his jaw against the spike of pain underneath his bandages. It sucked to be the best fighter you knew, yet have the worst pain tolerance possible. The motorcycle sped forward, wind whipping against his face, but his cheeks crept with warmth despite the cold. After a moment, Leo’s arms released the hold, and a voice spoke behind him.

“Sorry! You started so fast!”

Usagi turned a corner, looking back at him. “It’s fine!” The pink in the turtle’s cheeks made fizzing bubbles start up again.

Usagi guided them through the city, picking empty streets so that he wouldn’t have to avoid pedestrians. A few turns later, the bike began up a mountainous path, and the winding road took them high above the shops and buildings. 

“Just wait’ll you see this!” He yelled, and he pulled the bike to a drifting stop at the top of the cliff. The engine sputtered off, and he pulled the kickstand down, stepping to the ground. “I present: the best view in all of the Hidden City!”

Leo stared forward, over the edge of the cliff. Shakily he slid off the bike, stepping up next to Usagi to peer down at the view. Usagi followed his gaze.

It was a spectacular sight, seeing the Hidden City from above. Soft lights of green and yellow shined far through the darkness, curving rooftops and spiked observatories layered with each other like a complex collage. Far below, its inhabitants could be seen milling about, looking as though they were the size of little dolls from this distance.

Usagi sat down on the grass of the cliff, hanging his feet off the edge.

“Wow. That’s…breathtaking.” Leo said, slowly sitting down beside him. “I’ve never seen it like this before.”

They sat in silence for a bit, breathing quietly into the air.

Usagi nudged him. “Ima made kore o minakatta no wa bakajanaino?”

Leo raised an eyebrow, or rather, one side of his mask slid upwards. “Okay, I understood at least part of that one. Bakajanaino, you’re calling me an idiot.”

Usagi looked up, surprised. “Well hold on, you aren’t getting the full context. I basically said you’re an idiot for not seeing this view earlier. I…didn’t know you spoke some?”

Leo looked away, pursing his lips. “Well, you’re not gonna believe this, but my dad actually uses Japanese occasionally. Our last name…it’s Hamato. Used to be a clan in Japan. I know, it’s whack. I should’ve learned Japanese but instead I learned Spanish. Just to be different.”

Usagi snorted at that, but it made some sense. What didn’t make sense was the name, now weighing all too heavily at the forefront of his mind. Raft Hamatso. Raph Hamato. Did Usagi dare ask? He took a breath, meeting Leo’s eyes. “Leo, I wanted to ask… I saw someone in the training lounge today and he looked sorta like you. Your brother doesn’t happen to fight in the Nexus, does he?” Right as the look on Leo’s face changed, Usagi felt guilty. He shouldn’t go poking around Leo’s personal life. But he had to know.

“Um, yeah. He does. But did you–I mean, did you talk to him, ‘cause like, there could be a lot of different turtles hanging around the Nexus so it might not be him.” Leo’s eyes shifted away and back, obviously uncomfortable.

Usagi decided to drop it. “No. No, just saw him from afar.” He let his own eyes wander, and they sat again in silence for a bit.

“Speaking of,” Leo spoke up, “I had a question for you. You never told me about the fighting-without-a-katana thing. What’s that about?” He motioned to Usagi’s saya, and Usagi glanced at the hilt. He had been keeping it tucked in its sheath to keep it hidden. The first few days at the Nexus with it just strapped onto his back had made him too nervous to use it at all. All those prying eyes. He wished he hadn’t said anything that day. He wished he hadn’t pretended to be mysterious and cool when he so obviously was not.

“Oh, that. Yeah, I’ve been trying to train my hand-to-hand combat recently. Too much time with a sword, and you forget how to really fight, you know?”

Leo nodded. “Oh. Yeah, I get it. Cool.”

Great. This date was going down in awkward flames. “Cool.”

…

Leo had never ridden a motorcycle before. He’d never thought that there was a right way to ride a motorcycle; the movies always made it look so easy. Get on and go. But sitting on the seat again, settled behind Usagi and staring at his blue-colored hair tie, Leo couldn’t swallow down the trepidation of the descending mountain that lay ahead. If Raph knew about this, he would so be dead for not wearing a helmet.

“You ready?” Usagi’s voice asked, the motorcycle roaring to life.

“Yep. Totally.” Leo lied, knuckles tightening around their grip on the sides of the seat. It was the only place on the bike he could find a handhold, and he needed a handhold. Pizza Supreme, he must’ve been coming off as such a wimp.

“Alright!” Usagi let the bike tip forward, beginning the long descent. “Ikuzo!!!” He yelled in excitement as the bike began to pick up speed. The engine roared, and Usagi bent forward as if he was well-seasoned to the experience. Leo held onto the sides of the seat for dear life. How could he jump between rooftops and fight villains no prob, but this scared him? With a jolt, the motorcycle jostled violently as it skipped over a stray rock, and upon instinct Leo’s arms locked around Usagi’s middle. Embarrassing. The bike still speeding down the mountain, Leo stiffly tried to let go, but was surprised to find a soft hand pulling him back. Wordlessly, Leo let his arms be guided to rest right beneath Usagi’s chest, and warmth grew at the back of his neck. He leaned with Usagi now, facing the wind together as if they had become one with the bike. 

They sped off the last bit of descent, back on the streets. Usagi took the turns with smooth, practiced steering, and Leo finally relaxed a bit, having fun. “Faster!” He yelled over the wind.

“You sure!?”

“Yeah!”

They entered a new street, and the bike sped up a ramp onto the side of a concrete aqueduct that looked as though it was running dry. Slowly the engine grew louder, the pitch of its roar getting higher every few hundred feet.

“The aqueduct gives us a straight shot!” Usagi shouted excitedly. “Let’s get up to 150!”

Suddenly Leo saw a flash of red and blue out of the corner of his eye. 

“Usagi! Look!”

Usagi and Leo both glanced backward to find a motor cop was hot on their tail, speeding across the aqueduct with an angry look on her face. Oh heck no. Leo was not getting arrested on his first date. He pressed his plastron to the rabbit’s back, squeezing him lightly around the middle.

“Conejito! Floor it!”

Usagi leaned forward again, and the motorcycle practically skipped across the concrete. But the end of the long watercourse could already be seen ahead. “The ramp off is really steep, I’ll have to slow down!” Usagi said. “But if I do, she’ll catch us!”

Leo glanced anxiously back at the officer, then ahead at the nearing drop-off. Finally he stared at Usagi’s hair tie, brow set. “Keep going. Trust me.”

“Leo, what–!?”

Leo slid his odachi from his belt, muttering underneath his breath. Please, portal spirits (if that was a thing), give him a win.

The off ramp was coming in seconds. The police officer yelled something that couldn’t be made out. The motorcycle rocketed forward.

“Leo!”

And a portal swallowed the bike.

“Chikushō!”

Leo blinked his eyes back open, staring ahead as the bike skidded through Wall Street, slowing down with a sudden screech of the brakes. Usagi looked back at him quickly, his entire face a question. After a moment, they pulled into an alleyway, away from the bright lights and nighttime New York chatter.

Usagi pulled up the kickstand, jumping off the bike in confusion. “What…what just happened?” He looked left, then right. He fished in the pockets of his shorts, retrieving a small pendant attached to a wrist strap. When he slid it on, a swirling vortex of green enveloped him, and the Usagi that reappeared out of it was a very different one than Leo was used to. “We’re in the human world. I don’t remember there being a gateway there, so what–” He continued talking as though nothing had changed, but Leo gaped at his cloaked form, skin pale and white hair whisked up into a thick ponytail. 

Usagi…if he was a human. His scarred eyebrow was still identical, his bangs fluffed in the exact same way, but his ears, tail, and fur had disappeared. The last time Leo had seen someone transform with a brooch it had been Big Mama, and he hadn’t really paid much attention to how it worked.

Usagi stopped talking, likely noticing that Leo was completely zoned out. “Hey. Isha.” He gestured at his wrist pendant, and then to his new form. “Where’s your cloaking brooch?”

Leo snapped out of his distraction, trying to move past the loss of a few of Usagi’s defining features. He shrugged. “Uh…don’t have one.”

“Oh.” Usagi shrugged. “Yeah, I don’t really ever come up here either. Living underground in two ways, am I right?” Usagi strode forward and grabbed the handles of his bike, pushing it carefully behind a dumpster. “I'll come back for it.” He said, stepping up beside Leo. “Come on, there's a gateway a few blocks from here.”

Leo stepped forward, unsure. “But I don't have a disguise.”

Usagi grinned, and hooked a finger around his cloaking bracelet, loosening the wrist strap to allow Leo’s hand in. “We can share mine.”

Leo tried not to gape again, but he could hardly believe the idea of having his first cloaking experience on a random Saturday night on Wall Street. With Usagi. 

He and his brothers loved to daydream about what their human forms would look like, brainstorming hairstyles and laughing about the extended fashion choices that would be available to them. It was impossible to think he could know right now. 

Though he wouldn't know everything, he supposed; there wasn't really a mirror nearby. 

And he wanted to have his hand near Usagi’s. There was something electric that pulled him forward, and before he knew it his hand was slipping into the loop beside Usagi’s, a swirl of magic enveloping him.

Well. 

He didn't feel different. He looked down at the back of his hand. Where he was so used to seeing green, his skin was now warm and brown, and when he turned his wrist toward him there were five fingers, the lack of melanin there making his palm a paler shade. Usagi’s hand closed around it.

Leo looked up in amazement.

“Sorry.” Usagi said, sheepish but not letting go. “Should've asked. Can I hold your hand?”

Leo could barely nod his head.

Their fingers intertwined (they both had five right now, which was entirely confusing and wonderful at the same time) and they began walking, the shared bracelet keeping their held hands close.

They were holding hands.

“So…” Usagi started, swinging his arm and moving their held hands just slightly back and forth. “You can portal.”

Man, Usagi was sharp. But then again, Leo figured it would be pretty hard not to come to that conclusion when your date’s glowing sword had sliced through the air just moments before a portal appeared.

Leo swallowed, watching his feet pound along the concrete sidewalk. His cloaked-to-look-like-they-were-human feet. Dark blue socks covered all but the toes and heel, just like his normal socks did. Weird. “Yeah. Shoulda said that.” 

They were holding hands. Should he be worrying about that more? Was there a right way to hold hands?

“Nah, it’s cool, it just freaked me out a little bit. Are you, like, a witch? From witch town? Magic power and all that? No offense, but you don’t look old enough to have a portal seed license.”

Leo laughed, bringing his other hand up to his mouth to bite his thumbnail. “No, it’s all the sword, I think.” Truthfully, he didn’t know. That’s what happened when you stole things from a creepy goat hermit’s house, he guessed. Thievery didn’t exactly come with an instruction manual. “I’m not actually that good at making the portals do what I want.”

Usagi smiled. “You seemed good at it back there. We were totally gonna get arrested.” He bumped his shoulder into Leo’s, making him look up. “It was cool! You just pulled out your sword and whoosh!” He laughed, motioning a sword swipe with his free hand.

They passed a store, and Leo’s eye caught on his blurry reflection. Human feet, human hands, human shoulders, human– No. He looked down at the sidewalk quickly. It didn’t feel right to experience a cloaking brooch without his brothers. What if he saw himself human and then…didn’t like what he looked like as a turtle? Usagi must’ve noticed his distraction, because he felt the hand around his tighten.

They were holding hands.

“Are you good?” Usagi asked. His grin was softer.

Leo didn’t know what happened. One minute he was going to say ‘yes fine’ and the next he was admitting, “I’ve never seen my human form before, and I um– don’t really want to?” He cringed internally at his own stupid voice, almost wanting to shut his eyes tightly so he didn’t have to watch Usagi respond.

But Usagi’s mouth widened, eyes sparkling. “It’s your first time!? Dude! I thought my human form was so ugly the first time I cloaked, it was hilarious! Your’s looks good though, trust.” Usagi bumped their shoulders together. “I’m not really used to it yet either, honestly.” He said, looking thoughtful. “The Hidden City in Japan doesn’t do cloaking stuff at all. It’s like everyone just collectively pretends humans don’t exist.”

Leo bumped his shoulder back, considering that. A place where yokai didn’t even acknowledge humans? Sounded impossible. Humans, at least New York humans, from what Leo had seen of them, couldn’t help getting involved. “Weird. Did you live there a long time?”

Usagi seemed to hesitate, and Leo mentally kicked himself. How was it possible that he kept running into so many conversational roadblocks? Was asking about Usagi’s personal life entirely off-limits!?

“My… clan …moved here when I was thirteen.” 

Leo relaxed. That was normal information. “Cool. Yeah, I’ve lived here all my life. Though the human world and the yokai world haven’t always been so… intertwined.” He looked left and right, almost expecting mutant silverfish to pop up and start rampaging the street. It happened often enough to him and his brothers that it was a valid concern.

“I know, right!?” Usagi replied. “It’s out of control! I mean, mutants can’t just start stomping down into the Hidden City pretending to be yokai! They’re dangerous!” He huffed, then ran his free hand through his bangs.

“Uh…yeah…” What the heck did that mean? Most mutants were dangerous, sure, but what made them so different from yokai? Was Leo… different?

“Sorry, I shouldn’t…” Usagi rubbed his neck, looking unsure. “Not all mutants are bad. Just…humans don’t have the best record, you know?”

Ah. It wasn’t the mutant part Usagi was afraid of…it was the human part. Which wasn’t great, but– understandable. Though Leo made a mental note to break the whole ‘I’m a mutant’ thing to him later.

“Ooh, look! Street pretzels!” Usagi said suddenly, pulling his hand forward. Leo stumbled to follow, cheeks heating up. Usagi pulled out his wallet, smiling at him. “You want yellow, or–” He looked at the cart’s sign, which clearly only advertised one kind. “Uh, dark yellow?”

Leo smirked. “Well, I would’ve preferred unicorn-shaped with rainbow sprinkles, but since that’s not an option, yeah, I could settle for yellow.”

They took turns eating the hot pretzel, licking salt off their fingers and swinging their held hands back and forth. Leo’s palm had grown a little sweaty, but he didn’t notice as much when their fingers pressed together. Thinking about the fact they were holding hands too much was making him dizzy.

They seemed to have finally jumped the last awkward-conversation hurdle. They laughed and joked and talked down the last two blocks, quipping puns back and forth and trying to trip each other at unexpected intervals.

“Woah! Almost got me, ‘cept for I have cat-like reflexes!” Usagi smirked, pulling his leg up just in time.

“You can’t have cat-like reflexes, your name literally just means rabbit!”

“Nihongo ga wakaru to omoshirokunaku naru!”

“Oh no juegues esa carta conmigo!”

They stared at each other. Then they both laughed out loud, laughing so hard they bent over at the same moment.

“I didn’t understand a word of that, why is it so funny!?” Usagi wheezed.

Leo gasped a breath, still bent over. “You sound so type-A when you speak Japanese, it’s hilarious !”

“What, I do!? No I don’t!”

Finally they came around the corner of an alley and their laughter died down. Usagi pulled the wristband off, their cloaked forms vanishing in a puff. Leo was glad to see Usagi’s buck teeth again. Wait, did that mean he’d been looking at Usagi’s mouth before?

“Well, it’s late.” The rabbit said, breaking into his thought. “I’d better split. I had a good time tonight.” Usagi looked downward, scuffing his foot along the ground.

Leo glanced down at his fingers, a little relieved that there were once again only three. “Me too. We should– we should do it again, sometime.”

“Yeah, let’s try not to almost get arrested next time. How about you provide the ride?”

Leo nudged the hilt of his sword with his hand so that it swung on his hip. “No promises from this hunk of metal. As testy as a faulty carburetor, as Donnie always says.”

“Donnie?”

Leo shrugged. “Another brother.”

Usagi grinned his grin. “I learn more about you everyday, Leo Hamato.”

Leo smirked. “Everyone likes a man of mystery, no?”

“I sure hope they do.” Usagi paused. “Chizu.” He said suddenly. “That’s one of my sisters.”

“I’ll have to meet her sometime.”

“I’ll have to meet your brothers.” Usagi opened the gateway. “Sometime.”

“Adios, conejito.”

“Jaa mata, isha.”

Usagi leaned forward and pecked him on the cheek. “I’ll text you.”

Then he vanished through the gateway, and was gone.

…

And just like that, Leo’s first date was over.

Leo wandered towards his room in the dark lair, drunk on happiness. He floated towards his bed, sighing against the cushions and closing his eyes. What a night.

Then a voice grated into his consciousness.

“So, where were you?”

Chapter Text

“So, where were you?”

Leo jumped, spinning around to find Mikey, of all people, sitting on top of his nightstand. At 2am.

“Mikey! You scared the crap outta me!”

Mikey looked unimpressed. He was holding one of Leo’s Jupiter Jim figurines, moving the elbow joint up and down, idly fidgeting. “You were so off in la-la-land you didn’t notice me one foot away, bro. I’m not being scary, you are.”

Leo scoffed, getting up to flick on the light. Mikey squinted his eyes, flinching back and doing that tell-tale ‘I’ve been sitting in the dark too long’ rapid blink. “It was dark in here.” Leo informed him. “And I wasn’t in la-la-land, this is my room, broski. What are you still doing up?”

Mikey moved onto the figurine’s legs, now pushing the legs into the hip joint so that Jupiter Jim was doing the splits. “I could ask you the same thing. Donnie said you told him you were taking a late shift at the Nexus, but I don’t believe it. No texts. No calls. You’re on your phone constantly lately, and yet the group chat’s missing like 25% of it’s daily dose of memes! Something’s fishy, and I’m not talking about the branzino dinner that you missed tonight.”

“Aw, Mikes, you made branzino? That’s so fancy!” Leo ad-libbed, trying to process all that information. Donnie had covered for him? Oh, Leo just knew he would be cashing that debt in at the worst possible time in the near future.

“Don’t skirt the question!” Mikey said shrilly. “My branzino was fantastic, but what did you really miss it for?”

Leo splayed out his hands placatingly. “Calm down, Mikey, it was just a late night at the office. No need for Dr.Delicate Touch and all his… biz …” Leo gestured vaguely at Mikey’s insane perch on his nightstand.

Mikey folded Jupiter Jim’s legs up, setting him down with a small slap against the nightstand. “This!? Oh, this is not Dr.Delicate Touch. You want me to get all delicate, I’ll get – hold on, what is that?” Mikey’s lecture stalled, his eyes locking onto Leo’s nearby hand. In one swift movement he snatched up Leo’s palm, bringing it close to his face to inspect it. Slowly his fingers pinched against Leo’s skin, lifting up something small, feathery, and white.

Leo bit his lip, looking down quickly. 

It was fur.

“Oh. Mi. Gosh.” Mikey said slowly, letting go of Leo’s hand. “You were holding hands.”

Leo threw his hands up. “What the shell, Mikey!? How could you have possibly guessed that first try!? I work in a medical office, it couldn’t just be like…leftovers from doing bandages on some fur-monster!? No!? How !? I legit do not understand how your mind works!”

“You wash your hands before and after you do anything with first aid, Leo, I’ve watched you do it a bazillion times, there’s no way you’d just leave a mess on your hands like that. But don’t get me wrong, I am shocked out of my mind right now. Did you just come back from a date!?” Mikey stared at him, wide eyed.

Leo cringed. “Um, I– well, I– I mean, I don’t know, I think so?”

Suddenly Leo’s curtain swished, and both he and Mikey jumped as a third person entered the room.

“Leo, you’re back.” Donnie greeted him blankly. “And…Mikey…” He looked uncertainly between them, then settled on Leo. “How did your… late night shift …go…?”

Leo shot him an unimpressed look. Right, Donnie was terrible at covering. That was probably why Mikey had seen through it so quickly. “He knows, Dee.”

Donnie's jaw fell open, then he seemed to recover, and he swiveled, facing Mikey. “Oh thank goodness, finally I can badmouth that rabbit to somebody. His internet history is not pretty, let me tell you–”

“He’s a rabbit!?”

“Donnie! What did I say about stalking!?” 

Mikey jumped off the nightstand, grabbing Leo by the shoulders and shaking him. “You have a boyfriend and you didn’t tell us!?” He let go, hands flying up to his head as his face twisted from shock to confusion. “But… I thought…you’re always saying how gross you think romance is?”

“Well maybe that’s ‘cause I never actually experienced it…?” Leo shrugged, not honestly knowing the answer himself. His relationship with Usagi was…different. He didn’t feel like they’d ever be gifting each other roses or sitting down for a candlelit dinner like in the movies. Him and Usagi just weren’t like that…and Leo didn’t think they had to be.

Mikey leaned ‘discreetly’ towards Donnie. “So what’re the chances he gets dumped? Be straight with me, Donald.”

Leo glared. “I can hear you!”  

“I calculate a 75.3 repeating chance he gets dumped. According to global statistics, and factoring in Leo’s charming personality.”

Leo soured. “Rude. See, this is why I wanted to keep it a secret . Now I’m gonna have to put up with you two mocking me all the time, and Raph–ugh, Raph.”

“Right! We should go tell Raphella, now that the cat is out of the metaphorical bag, after all.” Donnie made for the door, but Leo intercepted him, karate chopping right in front of his plastron.

“No! Raph’ll never let me stay out if he doesn’t think I’m working on the mission!” Leo whisper-yelled. “And I do not want to sit through his stranger-danger-this-is-why-we-have-a-buddy-system lecture for a second time; that was three hours I’ll never get back from my life!” He looked desperately between Donnie and Mikey, who looked undecided. “Come on , guys– back me up, just for a little longer. I’ll tell Raph myself once me and Usagi are a little more established. I’ll even introduce him to you guys, I promise. Please ?”

“I guess…” Mikey picked up the action figure again.

Donnie nodded. “I concede. We’ll keep up the lies and deceit if you wish.”

“Don’t phrase it like that, now I feel bad!” Mikey swiveled the figure’s head around anxiously.

Donnie raised an eyebrow at Leo. “You sure you don’t want to just come clean?”

Leo snatched Jupiter Jim from Mikey, staring Donnie down. “Look, just keep the secret, okay!?”

An awkward silence ensued, and Leo stared at JJ’s spacesuit, carefully folding his legs and arms back into place.

“Ok, fine. So…” Mikey started, “What happened tonight with Usagi?”

Leo walked over to set JJ on the shelf, now reliving the events of the night, memories colored in brilliant shades of red and blue. It was like he could still feel the kiss on his cheek, warming up his skin in one blushing spot. He didn’t turn around.

“Well, we got chased by the police.”

…

Usagi may have been messing around with the dark katana in the dojo.

The dark katana. He’d decided to start calling it that since he hadn’t decided on a good name yet– it needed to be something cool. Something impressive. Something better than Naitosutikku , which was what Chizu had sarcastically suggested. 

Usagi widened his stance, swinging the dark sword this way and that, enjoying the balanced weight of the handle in his palm. It just felt right in his hand; he’d been wanting a reason to use it. It seemed to whisper with long-waiting power– power that needed to be released. He began an assalti, flowing smoothly through the motions with the blade as his guide.

The dojo was floored with wooden planks, neat and smooth beneath Usagi’s feet. The assalti was like a dance, almost as though the sword was leading him rather than he leading it. His knuckles tightened against it, the blade swinging pleasantly through open air. As it moved, so did Usagi, and together they waltzed along the length of the dojo. 

His thoughts wandered to Leo.

Leo had a magic sword too, which was unfathomably cool. They both had magic swords! Was that not totally a sign that they were right for each other? 

Usagi had been in a few relationships in the past, although he should really call them what they were: unsuccessful ventures. In Usagi’s defense, it was hard to date successfully when you were part of a secret ninja clan of all female cats. And, like he'd defended to Kitsune, he had sort of a bad luck streak for finding the worst guys. 

But not this time. Leo was cool, and fun to be around, and he liked puns and was funny and sweet and he was so cool . Usagi just liked being near him. He wished he could've told Leo about the dark katana, because the turtle might know more about it if he himself had a fancy glowing portal sword. It looked like an odachi– Usagi had forgotten to ask.

He looked down at the dark katana, realizing he had paused in his step, frozen mid-assalti. Right. Focus.

He couldn't tell Leo about the dark katana, because he didn't want to drag him into his stupid neko ninja problems. He stepped into the next position, extending the sword forward.

The fur prickled along the back of his neck suddenly.

“Usagi!”

Usagi yelped, caught off guard. In the split second before he recognized the intruder, the sword grew hot, and a strange sensation fluttered through his wrist, going halfway up his forearm before it quit.

“Chizu! I thought you were–” Usagi froze, having caught a glance of his right arm, which was, alarmingly, no longer holding the katana . Instead, a sparkling wrist cuff of the same dark metal sat shining along his forearm in its place. It was made of three plates of armor that rested against each other, shimmering like strange scales. The other side of the gauntlet closed protectively around his wrist. Usagi stared at it, flabbergasted. “Chizu. Look what you did!”

Chizu looked alarmed. “What I did!? Spirits above, Usagi, you can’t just wear the dark armor around the dojo! What if I was Lady Fuwa!?”

Usagi peered curiously at the gauntlet, excited. “I think it just returned to its true form. This is so exciting, it’s never done this before!” He brandished his forearm forward, pretending to block something heroically. “Oh this is so sick. I freaked out for a sec when you came in here, it must have transformed to protect me, right? I knew the piece chose me, I totally called it.”

“Or, it’s just doing whatever it wants because for the fifth time it did not choose you.” Chizu said dryly, rolling her eyes.

“It glowed! It got all purpely and shiny and it was like, totally calling out to me!”

Chizu looked unamused. “Trick of the light.” Then she shook her head. “Look, whatever, just put it away. Lady Fuwa could come in here any second, and I have a feeling she’ll recognize it when it’s like this.” The cat tapped the gauntlet on Usagi’s wrist, frowning.

Usagi sighed, staring at the ornate wrist guard with disappointment. It looked way too cool to just take off. But it was definitely a bad look, he could see that. “Fine. I’m glad you came in here, cause if that old cat finds out, I am so dead.” He reached to remove the metal piece, but the dark armor remained stubbornly stuck in place. “Chikusho.”

“What?”

“It won’t come off.”

“What? Isn’t there, like, a latch?”

“No, there isn’t a latch, Chizu. It’s the dark armor!” Usagi pulled at it harder, now a little frantic.

Chizu grabbed his arm, her own hands feeling at the gauntlet’s sides. “Just make it change back then!”

“I don’t know how!”

Chizu’s ears flicked suddenly and she stopped, back going stick-straight as she froze. “Someone’s coming.” Her eyes grew wide and serious. “Usagi, change it back.”

Usagi panicked, trying desperately to think sword-like thoughts. Why couldn't it just change back when he needed it to? He felt his own ear twitch as footsteps sounded outside the dojo door. The sliding door moved along its groove, creaky and wooden. He looked up at her, desperate. “Chizu, hide me!”

The door stopped, and a young kitten entered the dojo. Her metallic hood was up over her ears, but her heterochromic eyes sparkled dazzlingly against cream-colored fur. She stopped in front of Chizu and Usagi, the latter of which she regarded with open disgust. Usagi frowned. This particular young one took after Fuwa– and not in a good way.

To Chizu, she bowed politely. “Our lady requests your presence, Chizu. I was sent to fetch you.”

Chizu, who was standing awkwardly in front of Usagi’s right arm, bowed slightly and smiled. “Of course, Hana, thank you. You may let her know I'll be there in just a second.” Hana nodded, but she stayed rooted in the spot, now staring shrewdly at Usagi. She tried to lean to the side to see around Chizu, but the black cat moved to block the little kitten's view, chuckling nervously. “You may go, Hana.”

Hana raised a brow, folding her arms crossly. “What are you hiding?”

Usagi stared hard at the gauntlet, desperately wishing it could disguise itself in any way possible. He would take anything– an invisibility spell, a teleportation trick, anything to keep this nosy little cat from tattling on him– a yo-yo. 

He was holding a yo-yo.

Usagi noticed the metal buzzing, and then it stopped. The transformation was complete.

Well. A yo-yo. That was new.

“Fine, Hana.” Usagi said, giving a dramatic, defeated sigh. “It was a secret, but I guess I’ll show you.”

Chizu looked back at him, panicked, then confused as he procured the yo-yo. Like every other form the piece took, it was dark purple and shiny, with an ornate design carved into the side. Still, there was no way anyone would guess it held dark power. It was almost laughable how stupid it looked.

Hana studied it suspiciously. “It’s… a yo-yo.” She said flatly.

“Not just any yo-yo,” Usagi rebutted, “A trick yo-yo.” He slipped his middle finger into the string’s loop, letting the metal circle bob once before he cupped it into his hand. “Wanna watch me walk the dog?” Usagi had to hold back a smile as he saw Hana’s eyebrows raise.

Though Hana’s eyebrows must’ve raised despite herself, because she was quick to put on a sour expression. “That’s so lame.”

“Usagi, you don’t even know how to walk the dog.” Chizu piled on. “Let Hana get back to her training.”

Usagi glared at her, now a little miffed. He could totally do a yo-yo trick if he wanted to, it wasn’t that hard. “Fine then. I guess neither of you will get to see me do awesome tricks.” He sniffed, rolling up the yo-yo string completely and sticking it in his pocket.

“Thank the spirits.” Chizu said dryly.

“Fuwa’s expecting you.” Hana reminded.

“That’s right. Hana, why don’t you come with me and I’ll walk you to shokudo?”

Chizu stepped towards the kitten, but Hana shot towards the door, eyes flashing. “No thank you.” She snapped, sliding the door back along its groove. “Ninja don’t need chaperones .”

The wood frame slapped along the doorway, and Hana’s shadow receded. Usagi and Chizu looked at each other.

“Really takes after Fuwa, that one.” Chizu admitted.

Usagi chuckled, shaking his head. “You know, she actually reminds me of you. You were so uptight when you were a kid.”

“That’s not being uptight, she’s just–” Chizu defended quickly. She stopped, looking at the closed door. “She’s just…doing what she’s told.” For a moment, Chizu almost sounded…morose. The black cat stared for a moment longer, then she shook out her shoulders, facing Usagi again. “So, a yo-yo?”

Usagi pulled out the dinky–looking toy. He really hoped it would turn back into a sword soon. But with his current luck, the jury was still out.

“Yeah. A yo-yo.”

…

Usagi tucked the yo-yo into his ninja suit, scowling. It had been stuck in the form of a stupid toy for three days . He was beginning to think Chizu was right; perhaps the dark armor simply did whatever it wanted whenever it wanted.

He sat down, pulling up the dark black socks to cover his feet and tucking his gloves into his sleeves. The good thing about going on missions was that every inch of him was covered. When you were a ninja, you didn’t have to worry about anyone recognizing you. Usagi tucked his ears against the back of his head, pulling on a mask so that the horizontal hole lined up with his eyes. Chizu came in just as he was fussing with his ears, trying to ensure they wouldn’t create a strange-looking bump at the back of his skull.

“Aw, you just make the prettiest little kitty, don't you?” Chizu grinned at him smugly, flicking the little fake cat ears at the top of his mask.

He huffed at her and stood up, fussing with the hood in the mirror. It really did make him look like a cat; the little triangular ears fit unexpectedly naturally against the top of his head. His mouth and nose were covered, so only his brown eyes blinked back at him, a little of his white fur poking through at his brow. Fuwa didn’t care for any member of her clan looking out of place, and Usagi had to agree that he wouldn’t rather his ears stand out in a sea of cats’, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. 

“Ugh, this is humiliating every single time.” He groaned, grabbing a normal katana and sliding it into his saya grumpily. He looked to Chizu, who was already geared up, pulling the mask over her mouth and nose to match him.

“I think you just won’t admit you’ve grown to like it. I understand; cats are the superior creature.”

“Yeah sure. Who wouldn’t want to throw up hairballs.”

“I don’t– I haven’t –” 

Usagi side-eyed her, raising an eyebrow, and Chizu’s protests sputtered out. 

“Whatever. At least I’m not a smelly rabbit.”

They joined the throng of ninja gathering in the dojo. They were part of a group of about fifteen that would be sent to fetch the latest armor piece that had been located. As long as it wasn’t a sword this time, Usagi would be happy to do as he was told. He needed to do something to get back on Fuwa’s neutral side at least . Getting on her good side was impossible if you were anyone but Chizu, unfortunately. He watched the puffy white cat come to stand before the group, sweeping her glare directly at him for a moment.

“Tonight, my ninja, we capture a piece of the dark armor and best Big Mama once and for all.” Lady Fuwa began, sweeping her paw grandly to the sky. “Thanks to Chizu’s infiltration of the Battle Nexus,” She smiled in Chizu’s direction, pointedly avoiding eye contact with Usagi, “we have gathered intel on the whereabouts of the next piece. Big Mama’s cohorts in the Foot are planning to collect it tonight, so you must get there first. In the case of a fight, remember your training. Anyone who disgraces the clan will meet my wrath!” She clenched a fist, eyeing them all carefully. “Now go! Get the piece!”

The group moved as one, filing out of the lair with stealthy precision. Once they were out onto the streets, Usagi fitted himself into the shadows, following Chizu’s directions. They reached a portal and shuffled through, emerging just outside an abandoned building in New York.

It was raining, the darkened sky creating deep shadows against the concrete. The building must've been about five stories tall. Eroded concrete crackled at its edges, the bricks worn gray next to empty windows. As they snuck inside, Usagi got pushed to the back of the group by all the cats pushing forward to get out of the damp downfall. 

Inside, drywall peeled from the walls, floor tiles cracked and worn. The lights were off, but as Usagi peered around, he could tell it must’ve once been an office building of some sort. Chizu led the group with a stealthy grace, slinking down the dark hallway.

Usagi didn't know why she bothered. They had obviously gotten there first.

“The piece is somewhere in this building; it might be on the top floor. Everyone spread out and look for it.” Chizu said quietly, her jaw moving her face mask up and down a little bit as she spoke.

Usagi rolled his eyes. “You don't have to whisper, there's nobody–”

The lights flicked on.

Distant voices grew quickly clearer.

“Aw, nice, Donnie, you got the power on. Now let's–”

At the end of the hallway, there was a squeaking screech as four brightly colored turtles rounded the corner and sputtered to a stop.

They looked as bewildered as the Neko Ninja felt, and each group stared at each other for a frozen moment.

Usagi peered over triangle-tipped heads to identify the intruders. Purple, red, orange…

Oh no.

Usagi ducked his head behind one of the cats, holding his hand up like a sun visor at his eyes. He didn't see me, he didn't see me, there's no way he'd recognize me, he couldn't-

“You guys don't happen to be normal citizens, do you?” The orange one spoke up. “Just out for a leisurely stroll…in an abandoned building… in ninja costumes …?” His arms sagged to his sides, voice falling flat. “You're here for the dark armor, aren't you.”

Nobody moved.

“Ninja fight!” One of the cats yelled.

Chaos ensued.

Frantic, Usagi dashed towards Chizu as their group collided with the turtles, fists flying.

“Chizu! Help! I can't be seen!”

“Usagi, this is not a good time to be weird, we– wait, is that the red turtle from the Nexus brawls?” Her head turned back to watch three cats who were trying to take the giant turtle down at once. He shrugged them off like pesky flies, impatiently fighting through the horde.

Usagi grabbed Chizu by the shoulders, placing her in front of him so he could avoid Leo’s line of sight.

“Yes, I'm worried he'll recognize me– us.” He replied, happy for an excuse for his strange behavior. “And, you know, destroy our cover at the Nexus!? That's a valid reason to be weird.” Usagi covered his eyes with his hand again, shrinking. He did not have the time to unpack the Raft-Raph thing, or whatever that alluded to in relationship to Leo’s status at the Nexus. He’d yet to even hint about the blue turtle to Chizu, and now was not the time to get into it.

Chizu looked exasperated. “He's not gonna recognize us; we're all suited up, and you look like an entirely different species!”

She tried to move from his grip but he held her shoulders firm.

“Well he'll recognize me. We talked; we were all up close and personal; he's gonna remember what my eyes look like.” 

Chizu wriggled from his grip. “Whatever. Go be weird somewhere and don't help out. I'm going to make sure we get the piece!” And with that, the black cat jumped into the fight, leaving Usagi to flatten himself to the wall, desperate not to be noticed.

He needed to lie low. He'd sit this one out, that’s what he’d do. It would all be fine. As long as Leo didn't see him. 

Usagi was trying to inch his way unnoticed along the hallway when he spotted a descending stairwell. Perfect.

The basement.

…

Leo kicked his knee up into a ninja's stomach and they dropped to the floor, clutching their gut with a groan. He sheathed his sword, bringing his com up to his mouth.

“Raph, where are you? Where are Mikey and Donnie, it’s a madhouse in here!” Leo suddenly ducked to the side as another ninja ran through the hallway, heading for the second floor stairwell.

Raph’s voice scratched through. “I'm blocking the stairwell door on the third floor, Mikey’s fighting the ones that get through, and Donnie went up to the fifth floor to find the piece. Donnie, you alright!?”

“Status update:” Donnie's voice echoed flatly through the com, “the piece is not here.”

“What!? ”

“It's not on any of the floors. My goggles would've spotted it.”

Leo tucked and rolled from his hiding spot, sprinting to the other side of the hallway to avoid being seen. “What the heck!? But Raph got the info, it has to be here! Where have we not looked yet?”

“Well, I believe logically the only spot left to look is the base–”

Mikey interrupted Donnie excitedly. “The basement! I told yall it was gonna be in the basement! Creepy things are always in basements!”

Leo could practically hear Raph’s frown. “Donnie, I don't think you'll be able to get down there easy. They're all over us here, we can't hold ‘em all back!” There was the muffled sound of fighting in the background; Leo could even pick out Mikey’s war cries.

Leo clicked the com. “Look, I'm on the first floor, I'm the closest. I'll head down to the basement and find the piece. They must not know where exactly it is either; there’s barely anybody in my area.”

“Sounds good. Donnie, get down here and help us. If we hold ‘em off they won't think to go down to the basement!”

Leo silenced his com, sprinting toward the stairs leading to the basement. The narrow flight led to dark, metal doors. As he pushed them open, a damp, quiet atmosphere greeted him.

The basement was more of a concrete bunker, with only one small cone-shaped light hanging in the middle of the ceiling. Compared to the bright white lights of the office building, Leo had to squint to see to the end of the dimly lit space.

“Anybody down here?” He asked the empty bunker, voice echoing against the concrete. He peered into the shadows surrounding the dingy yellow light, making his way across the room. If there was a ninja cat lady in here, they were probably going to ambush him, which didn’t sound fun. He slid his sword from his belt quietly, stepping carefully through the dark.

At the end of the room, Leo spotted a storage container lined with metal drawers, like the kind that would hold file folders in an office. Through the cracks, he could just catch a purple glow leaking from an item inside. It must’ve been the piece.

As Leo reached for the drawer, however, a shadowy shape separated itself from a hiding spot along the walls, forcing him to move backwards in surprise. The figure stayed just out of range of the circular pool of gloomy lamplight, staring at him. Leo screwed up his eyes, trying to see better. He could just make out the faint outline of cat ears. He pointed his sword at them, daring them to move aside.

“Sorry, kitty-cat, but I can’t let you guys get the dark armor. We, uh–I’m gonna be honest, we don’t really know what you guys want, but if you’re collecting armor pieces it can’t be good. So just step aside, and things don’t have to get ugly.” He said, motioning with the tip of his blade.

The ninja didn’t move, remaining in the darkness. After a moment, Leo caught a glimmer of silver as they unsheathed their own blade.

Leo hardened his brow and stepped back, motioning them toward him with a free hand. “Alright, come and get it then.”The ninja’s blade fell against his so quickly and harshly that Leo was pushed backwards, out of the pool of light. He shoved his odachi against their katana, pushing them off with a bit of effort. They struck again, metal scraping across metal, and Leo barely deflected their thrust in time. Man, this guy was good. Or– this girl. Leo didn’t mean to make assumptions.

The fight tore back his focus, his opponent’s quick slashes setting him off balance as he fumbled to hastily block them.

“Dude, swordsman to swordsman, you are killing it man. Really getting to the point , yeah?”

The shadowy shape of the cat seemed to pause for a moment, then they shook their head, parrying Leo’s latest blow with ease and striking back.

Their fight led them dancing just around the circle of yellow light being cast from above, and Leo was becoming more curious about who the strange, silent ninja was. He began trying to guide them into the light to see their face.

“What, not a fan of my cutting remarks?” Leo jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the cat’s swipe as they pushed him back towards the dark. Leo’s odachi raked against the katana. “All fighty no talky?” It took several attempted thrusts to finally get the upper hand, but then Leo began pushing the ninja backward, slowly inching their body under the lamp. The top of their head was illuminated, then their hooded ears. Leo pushed his sword harshly against theirs, struggling to make further headway. “Seriously,” He gritted, his muscles burning into the hilt of his sword, fighting the stranger's blade, “No offense to your friends, but you are way better with a katana then they are, guerrero.”

This must’ve made the ninja stumble, for the opposing force of the katana weakened a bit, allowing Leo to push them further, their forehead now visible in the pool of light. White fur. 

Suddenly Leo’s feet were swept out from under him, and as he fell ungracefully to the concrete the cat jumped up to cut the lamp’s cord. The cone-shaped cover crashed to the ground, bulb shattering as the room went pitch black.

Leo scrambled to his feet, now unable to locate the ninja at all. “Great, now neither of us can see!” He blindly tried to stare into the darkness, feeling forward with his sword carefully.

A few feet away a soft glow lit up, giving away the ninja’s position. The spherical object’s purple luminescence cast a glow through the stranger’s fingers, and Leo watched mesmerized as the circle bobbed downwards on a string. Wait, was it a yo-yo? It looked like the dark armor, but… a yo-yo? And how could the cat have had time to reach the piece in the storage drawer in this darkness?

The ninja’s dim form advanced, their face still enshadowed. Leo shook his head, trying to focus.

“Fine. Magic weapons it is.” At Leo’s mental touch, the odachi’s symbols lit with blue, casting a strong luminance through the black. Leo waved it once, disappointed that it still wasn’t quite enough light to see the stranger’s face.

Shaking off the thought, he lunged his blade toward the opponent, but they didn’t fight back as he expected. Terrified, he struggled to redirect his swing in order to avoid cutting them, only to hear a sickening thwang as his sword met something hard.

Leo felt his odachi get pushed to the side, and he was bewildered to find the stranger now wearing a glowing purple gauntlet around their wrist, which explained what he had just hit. Leo backed away, seriously confused.

“What is going on!? Who are you!?” 

Leo jolted with a start as light spilled from the staircase, the metal doors crashing open. The ninja jumped away, disappearing. Raph, Mikey, and Donnie ran towards him, looking concerned.

“Leo! Did you find it!?” Raph asked anxiously. “The foot arrived, and now it’s a warzone up there. We gotta bail.”

Leo shook his head. “It was here, but a ninja got it.” He glanced backwards into the darkness, but there was no sign of the stranger anywhere. “You’re right, let’s just get out of here. I mean, it’s not like they have every piece…”

“...Yet.” Donnie finished grimly.

“Yeah…” Leo sighed. “Yet.”

Chapter Text

Usagi now had two pieces of the dark armor.

And this time, not even Chizu knew. 

He had blamed the disappearance of the piece on a mistaken location– after all, the cats had searched every floor of the building before the Foot arrived. It was perfectly explainable that all three parties vying for the piece had just…gotten wrong information. There was never a piece in the abandoned office building in the first place. That’s what Usagi pretended to believe.

Because he had the piece.

He didn’t know how it happened, it was just a fast rush in the dark to get away from Leo and then…there it was. Sparkling in the file drawer. Calling to him. Usagi swore he had heard voices this time– a faint whispering that seemed to guide him towards the glowing metal. All he knew is that the piece wanted him, it was pulsing, and suddenly it was in his hands.

It was a smaller piece– a finger guard that must’ve been attached to the rest of a gauntlet at one time. However it had quickly transformed into a much more casual adornment: a ring.

Sitting in the dojo, Usagi marveled at its purple sheen against his knuckle, wondering not for the first time about its origins. Who had created the dark armor? Could it really have been intended for a specific purpose? Maybe the yo-yo and ring were really the true forms for the pieces. Maybe they’d been created to protect people. 

Or maybe they were only capable of creating harm, like Leo had alluded to.

Usagi buried his head in his palms, feeling his ears flop over his forehead. He really didn’t know what to make of Leo and his brothers being after the armor. Obviously they were trying to keep other people from getting it, but why? Why did so many people want it anyway? He had too many questions and not enough answers, which meant…well, it meant Usagi would have to do something he really didn’t like doing.

“Chizu!” Usagi announced, throwing open the sliding door to their dormitory with zeal. “We’re going to the library!”

...

(hey)

Leo waited a few minutes, hoping Usagi would jump into the chat. There was nothing, so he set his thumbs to the keyboard again.

(wyd?)

Leo stared at the screen, sighing. Usagi had been taking longer to text back recently, and it had him entirely on edge. Was Usagi losing interest? Was Leo not interesting enough? He thought for sure things had been going well, but their texting had become quite infrequent as of late. He didn’t want to push too hard and seem needy, but he couldn’t pretend like it didn’t worry him.

(you busy?)

[...]

Leo blinked and smiled, readying his thumbs to blast off several texts once Usagi responded.

[yeah srry]

[hangin w/ my sisters]

[ttyl?

Of course. Leo slumped back in the beanbag, trying not to feel too hurt. It was natural for Usagi to have a life outside of him. He wasn’t the ‘ center of the universe ’, as Donnie and Raph so often liked to patronizingly remind him. And besides, Leo had plenty going on without a boyfriend in the mix. He had…hobbies. Yeah.

(ok have fun)

Leo wandered the lair a little bit, trying to find something to busy himself with. No one was at their Nexus job over the weekend, but Raph had gotten his first round of paychecks (which turned out to be a hefty sum), so April had whisked him and Donnie out of the house to go spend it. Mikey had stayed back to try a new recipe, and Leo had unofficially stayed back to watch him. ( Of course their littlest bro could take care of himself, but nobody wanted a repeat of the Oil Fire Incident of 2016. Mikey would never live that down.) Leo decided to go bother him.

“Heya Mikes, whatcha makin’?” He slid into a barstool at the counter, spinning around on the chair by pushing off with his foot.

Mikey glanced up, pan sizzling. “Perfect, you’re here. Chop the green onion, will you?” He nodded towards a wooden cutting board laden with scallions on the counter. “I’m making eggs benedict.

Leo saluted, bouncing from his seat. “Yes chef! Anything you say chef!” He washed his hands at the sink, passing by to flick water at an unamused Mikey. Then he grabbed his favorite knife from the drawer– a lovingly dulled paring knife with a scratched blue handle– and pulled the cutting board towards himself.

Leo liked helping Mikey cook. The kitchen always smelled good– sometimes spicy and flavorful, sometimes sweet and aromatic, but always delicious. The soft lights caught the steam in the air, gently shifting in the open space. Most of the time he was relegated to dish duty, because Raph and Donnie had sensory problems and Mikey was a little brat, but his favorite job was cutting up and preparing ingredients. There was just something about blades that he understood.

He’d cut about a handful when Mikey piped up. “Hey, Leo… what’s Usagi’s favorite color?”

Leo paused, turning toward the boxshell at the stove. “Why do you need to know?”

“Just ‘cause.” Mikey shrugged, not looking his way.

“Don’t play with me, hermanito, I see that look.” Leo quirked a brow, watching Mikey turn his face away. “And I am not letting you make him a friendship bracelet. Usagi’s too cool for that. Besides, it’s blue, which would mean you’d basically just be making a duplicate of mine.”

Mikey turned towards him now, shamelessly beaming. “His fav color’s blue!? You have the same fav color; that is so cute!”

Leo held his knife back to the board. “It’s not that crazy, blue’s like the most popular color. You’re the weird one for liking orange, I mean who likes orange?”

Mikey gasped, clearly offended. “For your information, my favorite color is warm yellow , but orange is a perfectly likeable color! It’s the only color that doesn’t rhyme with anything, and there’s a fruit named after it!” he argued indignantly.

“La-ame!”

Mikey grumbled. “Look, whatever. If you don’t want me to make a friendship bracelet for Usagi, I won’t. But you gotta give me more details, Leo!” he whined. “What does he look like?”

Leo very purposefully chopped a crispy stalk of onion, looking away. “He looks…” Hot. Gorgeous. Cute. Leo’s brain struggled to fill in the sentence correctly. “... normal. Can we talk about something else?”

“Oo, you got it sooo bad!”

“I do not!”

“Do too!” Mikey countered sweetly. “Do you have a picture?”

Leo kept his eyes on the cutting board. “If I did, I wouldn’t show you, apestoso. You’ll meet him soon enough; I promise.” Leo bit his lip, having a bad feeling that that promise was going to blow up in his face in the near future. It was true though, he didn’t have any pictures. Usagi kept his home life really close to the vest, so they hadn’t really pressed each other to exchange pictures since their stand-off on Labor Day. And imagining Usagi’s face grinning brightly through a selfie viewfinder made Leo’s cheeks crawl with heat.

In the corner of his eye, Leo saw Mikey cross his arms grumpily. “No fair! I know next to nothing about him! When’s his birthday?”

Leo paused. “I…uh…I actually don’t know.”

Mikey turned completely away from the stove, spatula falling limp at his side in shock. “You don’t know his birthday!? ”

Leo looked away uncomfortably. “I don’t know, it hasn’t come up yet– should it have come up? Is it bad that I’m dating someone when I don’t even know their birthday?” He turned back to the cutting board, cringing to himself. He probably should’ve kept that last sentence to himself.

“It’s not bad, I mean, it’s not like the end of the world, but like–” Mikey gesticulated incoherently, waving the spatula around. “His birthday could be today for all you know!” 

Here Leo raised a brow again. “It is not Usagi’s birthday today.” He retorted.

“How do you know?”

“Because he’s not a September guy. I would feel it. In my…bones, or whatever it is we have underneath all this shell stuff.

Mikey had returned to his pan. “I don’t know…I mean, late September would make him a libra. Famously compatible with, oh, which star sign was it again?” Mikey dramatically feigned curiosity. “That’s right, a leo.”

Leo plugged his ears. “La la la, I don’t believe in astrology Mikey! I don’t even care! Do you see this!? This is me not caring!”

Mikey turned to look at him. “Oh you soooo do care.” He teased, pointing the spatula at him.

Leo laughed dryly, trying to pretend like he didn’t care. He really didn’t believe in astrology…but it was still fun to think that he and Usagi had personalities that worked well with each other. And what if Usagi’s birthday really was coming up? Should he do something for him? What would Usagi even want as a gift!? He shook away the thought, forcefully trying to expel thoughts of the rabbit as he finished up the green onions and brought the cutting board to Mikey.

“Oh, so the dish boy can cook?” Mikey said, taking it from him and engaging in their usual bit. “Not bad, not bad. But next time I expect the dishes to be clean first.” He giggled, falling out of his chef persona and sliding the cutting board to rest on the stove. “I’m just kidding, you do them a lot, I’ll take care of ‘em this time.” He nodded back at the sink, which was moderately filled with cooking utensils.

“Thanks, Mike.” Leo smiled. “Good luck with your eggs benedict.”

Mikey was already sprinkling the green onions across the prepared food. “Thanks, they’re basically done now. I’m gonna cook ‘em when everybody gets home.”

Leo saluted again, taking a dramatic bow. “You’re truly an inspiration, chef! I aspire to be as talented as you one day, chef!”

Mikey smirked. “In your dreams, dish boy.”

…

The Kuroi Yōroi

The Kuroi Yōroi, informally referred to as the Dark Armor, is a mystic suit of armor that is thought to be scattered in pieces throughout the Hidden City and the Human World. Not much is known about the armor’s origins, but there are legends that it was once a full panoply owned by human Foot Clan leader Oroku Saki.

In the most popular version of the tale, Saki foolishly made a deal with a race of alternate life forms to receive the Dark Armor and use its power to defeat a siege brought on by an enemy clan. After donning the armor, it is said Saki became unbeatable, showcasing an almost animalistic brutality that led to the murdering of hundreds. At this time, humans and yokai alike began to refer to him as the Shredder.

The Shredder murdered and pillaged, causing much chaos throughout Japan until an unknown woman brought his rampage to an end. Much history regarding Shredder’s end has been intentionally destroyed or hidden, so scholars can only speculate the events that led to the separation of the armor pieces. Today, there are those among the yokai who spread rumors regarding the Kuroi Yōroi, whispering promises regarding its violently magnificent power. However, with only lore and legend as a record, how can one ever know the truth?

See more in A Hidden City History: Forbidden Fates.

“Great spirits, this is boring! I’m falling asleep over here, ‘Sagi.” Kitsune lifted her head from the library table, giving him a bleary blink. “All these books say the same exact thing!” She smacked a lazy hand against the book sitting open in front of her.

Usagi sighed. “I know, but what if this one has like one more teeny-tiny detail? One of them must explain more about what the armor did.” Usagi set the book down, gesticulating absentmindedly. “Like, does it just make you stronger physically, or is there, like, a mental aspect of it too? The biography we read on Saki really didn’t make him seem like the genocidal type, and then he gets the armor and just goes berserk? Like, what happened there?” Usagi slumped, secretly feeling as bored as Kitsune had expressed. They’d been studying at the Mystic Library for over an hour and he’d yet to really learn anything factual about the armor. It really was all speculation– even in the history books. 

Chizu, who was sitting beside him, pushed a different book in his direction, tapping a padded finger to a specific line of text. “I wouldn’t say Oroku Saki was a saint before. Look, he sentenced one of his wives to death for, and I quote: ‘disobedience and insolence’. I mean, he sounds like kind of a gross guy.”

“Well, it was 500 years ago, so even nice guys might’ve been dirtbags to their wives.” Kitsune argued, idly tipping in her chair with a rhythmic creak. “Feudal Japan was a patriarchal era.”

Usagi bridged his nose with his fingers, leaning against the table. “Okay, valid points. But whether or not Saki was a dirtbag, it’s still weird that he went on a rampage long after he had successfully saved his clan. What was it they said in that other book we looked at– like, he was never seen not wearing the armor? If that was the case, when was he eating and sleeping?”

Usagi picked up another book from their monstrous stack, thumbing through its pages. He’d been quick to discover that the history of the dark armor was a vicious, tangled rabbit hole. Heh– rabbit hole– ironically fitting. But the book was right; all they had to go off of was legend, and legends were… unreliable , to state it plainly. Some of the books even contradicted each other, saying things like ‘Shredder was a different person altogether and Saki died long before his rampage’ or ‘The armor swallowed Saki’s soul and effectively drained away his life force in order to awaken a demonic being’ and other nonsense like that. Most distressingly, there was no further information regarding the young woman who had defeated the Shredder long ago. What sort of power could have been strong enough to split the most powerful set of armor in history into a million shattered pieces? At this rate, Usagi was developing more questions than answers.

He stared again at the darkly colored ring on his finger, considering. Should he be worried about the armor…controlling him? It couldn't really do that, right?

He looked away, staring hard into the lines of his book. That was nonsense. It wasn’t like the armor was sentient. As far as he was concerned, he was the owner of both pieces he had now, and he could choose how to use them: for good. And maybe also to keep them out of Fuwa’s hands, because she was an idiot who only wanted the armor because Big Mama wanted it.

“Look,” Chizu spoke up, breaking him out of his thoughts, “Let’s take a break and come back to it fresh. If Kitsune keeps tipping her chair like that, we’re gonna get sent to the kiddy room.”

The fox yokai looked up sheepishly, the wooden squeak of her fidgeting coming to a stop. Then she smiled. “Great idea! Usagi, I need the goss on your boyfriend. What’s the lore update, is he super weird?” She crossed her arms on the table, leaning toward him expectantly.

“He is not weird, Kitsu, stop–”

“I’m sorry,” Chizu interrupted, “Boyfriend!? Again?”

Usagi gave her a guilty look. “The other guys weren’t boyfriends, Chizu, Leo’s the only one I’ve been on multiple dates with. But don’t freak out, because I promise he is not weird. We actually get along really well, we just… click. I don’t know how to explain it.”

“How come you didn’t tell me?”

“Cause you’d freak!”

“Do I look like I’m freaking?”

Usagi studied Chizu’s surprisingly placid countenance. “Well…no.”

“With you, Usagi, it’s always nonsense. One learns to expect it.” Chizu sniffed matter-of-factly. “His name’s Leo, then? Where and when did you meet him?”

Kitsune jumped in before Usagi could respond. “He’s a battle nexus medic , can you believe that!? Remember Usagi’s whole stomach-gash-wound thing? It’s basically healed now but that was Leo ! He bandaged him up all cute and then they started going out and they’re perfect for each other; it’s adorable! And Usagi told me that he–”

“Kitsune!” Usagi stopped her, heart thumping. “Thank you for the recap, but things actually haven’t been going… great …recently.” He rubbed his shoulder with one hand, looking away uncomfortably.

The fox’s eyes grew indescribably large, leaning further towards him with a sad look on her face. “What happened?”

Usagi patted his pants pocket underneath the table, thinking about the eerily quiet text chat. “Well… have you ever found out someone wasn’t who you thought they were? Like, you think they might be lying to you?” Usagi bit his lip, anxiety rising. Leo was after the dark armor. What if…their interactions had been a setup from the start? How could he believe Leo after seeing him as he really was– a ninja – a shifty, night-stalking vigilante who was scarily good with his sword? How could he look at him the same way having felt their blades clash together in the most amazing fight he’d ever had, swords pushing and pulling against each other beautifully, sweat giving a gentle shine to Leo's biceps, and– (wait, had he been attracted to that? ) He looked up at Chizu and Kitsune, palms sweaty. “I mean, what do you do about that?” 

Kitsune’s eyes were still large and sad, and her eyebrows furrowed. “That’s a hard one, ‘Sagi. I…I don’t know.” She looked across the table to Chizu, eyes searching.

Chizu unexpectedly met Usagi’s eye and said suddenly, “Do you trust him?”

Usagi didn’t respond immediately, really considering it. 

Did he trust Leo?

“I don't like to sugar coat it, so I'm gonna tell you that that's pretty bad, guerrero.”

“You’re not actually good with pain, are you?”

“You’re okay. You’re okay.”

“Keep going. Trust me.”

 Suddenly Usagi heard himself responding, “Yeah. I… I do.” 

Chizu nodded. “Then you gotta give him the benefit of the doubt. He’ll tell you everything when he’s ready. I mean, have you told him you’re a neko ninja?”

“No.” Usagi admitted.

“See? Give it time.”

“That’s…surprisingly wise, Chizu.”

Chizu punched his shoulder, giving him a look. “It's not surprising, I'm wise all the time. You’re just too much of an idiot to notice.”

“Yeah, Usagi,” Kitsune reached across the table to punch him as well, “Zuzu’s always wise!”

Chizu laughed, grinning at Kitsune, who started to snicker.

“Oh yeah?” Usagi said, raising his eyebrows. “Tell that to her hairballs.” He laughed obnoxiously, and Kitsune joined in as Chizu’s fur spiked up in annoyance.

“I do not throw up hairballs!” She retorted indignantly. Her fur was completely raised now, sticking out horizontally at all angles in a black and white puff.

“Oh Zuzu, you’re just so cute when your fur puffs up like that!” Kitsune was practically snorting now, and there was a sound of fluttering from the rafters.

Usagi looked up, face falling as he heard Chizu begin to argue back. He jolted out of his chair. “Guys, shut up, the hush bats, the hush bats!”

Chizu and Kitsune also turned their gazes to the ceiling, horror dawning. The red eyed creatures were fluttering towards them in a great winged cloud.

“Grab the books!” Kitsune yelled. “Run for it!”

…

The arena door made a distinct scraping noise against the tile as it opened, causing Leo to pause in his task.

The incoming patient was a great lumbering fellow– a large, moss-covered golem with five eyes scattered above a set of carved lines that must’ve been his nose and mouth. His footsteps vibrated through the floor, stone body clunking heavily against the tile. He looked this way and that about the clinic. Then he spotted Leo.

“Davy?” The yokai addressed him with thick, muffled uncertainty. There was a distinct gravelly undertone to his slow cockney accent.

Leo set down his filing, stepping toward the fighter and shaking his head.  “I’m sorry, my name is Leopold, not Davy. I can totally help you, though. How are you hurt?”

The golem twisted, revealing one of his stone arms hanging limply to the side. Leo analyzed it for a moment, noticing that it looked as though it was dislocated from the shoulder socket. He’d never relocated stone before, but how different could it be from bone? He guided the golem to a treatment table, reflecting that he seemed to be in no pain, judging by his dead expression. 

It was slightly unsettling to Leo whenever he treated yokai that felt no pain. Golems, gargoyles, and some forms of phoenixes were the usual culprits of this strange ability– he’d spoken with a Stymphalian bird about her unfeeling metallic feathers, and had ended up using a broken pair of forceps to bend a few of them back into place. He’d never say it out loud, of course, but in that moment it had felt more like he was fixing a piece of furniture than healing a patient.

“Davy fixin’... me up… righ’ good… la’ time. I need… me shoulder… pop’ back inna place… all oe’r again… can… Davy… do it?” The fighter spoke up. His voice was extremely muffled and slow, almost like the stone impeded him from speaking clearly. He sounded a lot like an old man, Leo thought, but he could be centuries old and still be young– age was an interesting concept for yokai.

Leo frowned. “We don’t have a Davy at this office… but I’m going to fix you right up, okay?” He met the golem’s eye, trying to smile in a comforting manner.

After a moment of hesitancy, the golem simply nodded.

Leo stepped over to him, staring upwards for a moment at the colossal stone man sitting on the treatment table. “I’m just gonna…” Leo hopped up onto the table, having to stand to reach the golem’s shoulder. He surveyed the stone limb, spotting what must’ve been a golem’s equivalent to the glenoid cavity, and tapped him. “Alright, I’m ready to relocate your shoulder now, so just relax. Let me know if anything feels uncomfortable and we can stop at any time.”

“Don’... fee’ much… any’ay.” The fighter mumbled in response.

Leo nodded, carefully pulling up the golem’s limp arm by bending his elbow. He grit his teeth as he hefted the stone– it weighed a ton, reminding him that he needed to stop neglecting his bicep game when he worked out. It took both hands to pull the arm into a 90 degree angle, and then Leo slowly began to swivel it back up and into its socket. When it was lined up, Leo gave it a push, but the joint didn’t quite click. He tried again, pushing harder at the socket– it was stone after all, could he even do this? Leo finally decided to risk a harder push, and he was thankful that the fighter gave no outward reaction to his huffing and puffing as he recklessly leaned his entire body weight into the golem’s shoulder. To his satisfaction, there was a scraping thunk as the arm finally clicked into place, and he stepped back, wiping sweat from his brow.

“Whew. There you go. Popped right back in. You good?”

The golem’s head swiveled towards him, and he nodded slowly, rolling his relocated shoulder and flexing his previously limp fist. “Can’t… fool… me… Davy… knew i’... was you.”

Leo frowned. “No, I’m really not Davy. I’m–” He sighed, seeing that the corners of the golem’s mouth indent had started to turn downwards in an argumentative frown. “You know what? It’s fine. You can call me Davy if you want.”

The golem’s brow furrowed. “Well o’ course… me ‘s… gonna call you… Davy…” he responded, confused. “’S… your… name!” 

Leo helped the fighter off the table (well, helped was a strong word, the golem was quite capable with two working arms now) and shook his head, trying not to laugh. “Yeah, that makes the most sense, doesn't it? I’m glad I was able to help you. You be careful not to dislocate it again out there, all right?”

“I’ll… try me… bes’....Davy.”

“Good.”

When the fighter had finally lumbered out of the office, Leo returned to his filing, smiling slightly to himself. He looked up when Dr. Elsis emerged from the supply closet. “Hey el’ Medico, you just missed the patient. Totally thought my name was Davy.”

The doctor straightened his coat. “Yes, that was Howard; he’s been in before. I believe he’s convinced that everyone who’s ever worked here is named Davy. Not sure what put him on the notion…as we have no Davy in our records at all.”

Leo shrugged. “Maybe it’s easier for him to remember.”

“Perhaps.” Dr. Elsis shrugged in return. “Regardless, I have something important to discuss with you, Leo.” The newt began to pace through the office, and Leo sat a little straighter, wondering what could possibly be weighing so heavily on the doctor’s mind. “Here at the Nexus,” he finally continued, "there is an annual observation that must take place to evaluate our skills in the medical office. If we do well, we may receive more funding for medical supplies and wages, and if we do poorly, well…the opposite will occur. It's happening tomorrow, and I really need you to be on your best behavior.”

Leo relaxed, waving a flippant hand in the air. “Come on, Dr. E, you don't gotta worry about me, I'm like your best worker!”

Dr. Elsis adjusted his glasses, face blank. “You're my only worker.”

“Exactly! We got this in the bag; we're a well oiled machine! All we have to do is pass a little evaluation? Easy peasy.” Leo boasted, leaning an elbow on the counter. “I just relocated stone , how hard can impressing some observer be?”

“That's the problem, I'm afraid. The observer will be Big Mama herself.”

Leo coughed, mouth suddenly so dry it was like he’d swallowed sand. “ What! ?”

Dr. Elsis stopped pacing, watching the current fight through the windows. “She’ll find a reason to cut our funding. It's not like the medical clause in most fighters' contracts holds much weight anyway. I’m not sure if our best behavior will even make a difference.” The newt frowned, hanging his head.

Leo stood up straight. “I won't let that happen! I'm the best suck-up I know, ask anyone. I'll convince her!” What was he saying!? Big Mama would recognize him immediately; he couldn't come in, it would mess up– “I promise I'll do everything I can, Dr. Elsis.” Leo bit his tongue, cursing himself internally. Seriously, what was he saying!?

“That means a lot, Leo. Thank you.”

“Of course.” Leo mumbled. “It's uh… about closing time, yeah?”

As Leo wiped down the tables and stacked away all the bandages, he fretted about his promise. If he really did walk into the observation tomorrow, there was no doubt in his mind that Big Mama would find out about their undercover operation. But what could he do? Was there somehow a way he could just…look like someone else for a little while…? 

Leo suddenly shot upwards, banging his head on an overhanging cabinet as an idea popped into his mind. He rubbed a knuckle to his forehead, the plan growing with a smile on his face.

Turns out, he knew someone who had just the thing.

…

“Room 308…Room 308… spirits, was it 803 …?”

Usagi wandered the hallway anxiously, somehow sure he had gotten the wrong room number from the lady at the front desk two floors down. Maybe it was a little creepy to meet Leo right as he came out of work, but he needed to apologize for being so… blegh in their texts. He needed to see Leo, to wrap his arms around him and kiss him on the cheek. He grinned, thinking about how flushed that had made the turtle last time.

But right now he was lost. The inner-working hallways of the Nexus were more complicated than they seemed, with a hypnotic wallpaper that was obnoxiously pasted on every wall. This hallway’s doors didn't even have numbers, so Usagi was definitely in the wrong place. And then, as he rounded the next corner, he saw the fluttering coattail of a bellhop up ahead.

Usagi frantically hailed them. “Hey! Do you have a moment!?”

The yokai in the red suit turned, eyeing him from the end of the hallway. And as they tipped their hat, Usagi nearly choked on air.

It was Leo's orange brother. Another turtle. In the Nexus. Working a Nexus job. He was so stunned he nearly missed their response as they strode towards him, a smile on their face.

“How can I help you, sir?”

Usagi blinked, breaking from his stupor. “Woah, ‘sir’, no, don't do that, I'm just a Nexus fighter, man.” He laughed nervously, trying to appear casual even though he was totally lost and now utterly shocked. “Look, I’m a little turned around; do you happen to know the way to Room 308?”

Leo's brother didn't stop smiling. “That I do!” He pointed a finger in the air proudly. “Had to memorize the floor plan on my first day. If you keep going down this hall, you'll come to an elevator, and then you’re gonna wanna press the floor 4 button. It'll actually take you to floor 3, but we have a basement level so the numerical system in the elevator is totally screwed. Then it'll be the eighth door on the right.” He eyed Usagi, a smart twinkle in his pupil.

Usagi got the distinct impression that this kid knew things. Too many things.

Usagi laughed again, thinking about how this was coincidentally the only brother Leo had yet to mention by name. “Wow, you really know your stuff. Thank you…um, I didn’t catch your name.”

“Oh, you’re welcome! I'm Mike, from the bellhop department. You can call me Mikey though.” The twinkle in the turtle’s eye persisted as he offered his hand.

Usagi shook it, now unsure whether that was his real name, or a fake one like ‘Raft ’s. If two of his brothers had fake names, did that mean Leo had one too? The thought concerned him.

Mikey adjusted his bellhop cap on his head, golden buttons glistening. “And you are?”

“Oh, my name’s Usagi.”

Mikey snapped his fingers, looking as giddy as a kid in a candy store. “I knew it! You’re dating my brother Leo, aren’t you?!”

Usagi stepped back, face growing red from the sudden blunt question. “Uh, well, yeah, how did you– has he been–”

“Oh he’s told me all about you.” Mikey grinned, but this time the smile turned a little evil as it spread across his face. “He really likes you, you know. Which is why there’s something I need to be sure about.”

Usagi froze. “What do you mean you need to be sur–”

Before he could finish, Mikey’s hand whipped forward, grabbing a fistful of his tank top and yanking him forcefully to eye level. His previously warm brown eyes somehow managed to look absolutely murderous, and Usagi’s heart jumped at the sudden threat. This kid was scary .

“I want you to promise me you won’t break his heart, Usagi, or I will personally break you, you got it!? ” Mikey’s voice was suddenly hard as daggers, and Usagi couldn’t move from the tight, twisted grip he held him with. “Promise me, Usagi.”

“I promise.” Usagi squeaked, holding his hands up in surrender. “I promise I won’t break his heart, I promise.”

MIkey’s eyes pierced right through him. “Good. Now when’s your birthday.”

Usagi jolted, once again off-put by the blunt question. But Leo’s brother hadn’t yet let go of him, and he feared for his life should he decline to answer. “September 30th?” He finally said nervously.

“Ok, thanks!” Mikey released him, a smile returning so quickly that Usagi wondered if he had actually just hallucinated the entire interrogation. “It was really nice meeting you Usagi,” the turtle continued, “I hope we see each other again real soon!”

Usagi was just starting to get his breath back. “Yeah, uh, nice meeting you too, Mikey. And, uh…thanks, again.”

“No problem. Good luck finding room 308!” Mikey replied cheerily, saluting as he continued along down the hall. “And remember, you hurt Leo I hurt you m’kay!?”

The turtle motioned his fingers to his eyes and then to Usagi, and then rounded the corner, leaving the rabbit alone in the hallway with an unsettled chill down his spine

Behind the door to Room 308 was a cashiering counter where Nexus workers came to receive their daily pay. According to the lady at the front desk, Leo would be visiting it as a medical worker at the end of his shift. 

Which was still 10 minutes away.

Usagi twiddled his thumbs, leaning casually on the counter, occasionally eyeing the lady behind its plexiglass. She was an older yokai, with pale yellow skin and sagging, baggy features beneath her gray perm.

“What are you here for again?” She pestered, noticing his gaze.

“I’m, uh…waiting for someone. You said that was alright a few minutes ago.”

The lady frowned. “It was alright for the first five minutes. Now you’re being distracting.

Usagi sighed. “Sorry– I can wait outside, if you’d like.”

The yokai tutted, somehow still displeased by this suggestion. “Just wait by the door, young man. Your anxiety is a noxious aura; it’s clouding up the atmosphere.”

“Sorry.” Usagi apologized again, moving to the wall beside the door. “I promise I’ll be out of hair, as soon as he–” The door opened, and as soon as Leo had a foot in Usagi rushed towards him. “Leo! I–”

Pain exploded against his nose and Usagi reeled backwards, clutching his snout.

Leo’s hand quickly retracted from the karate chop, looking instantaneously guilty. “Usagi! You scared the crap out of me! Oh my gosh, are you okay!? I’m sorry, my reflexes–” He started laughing, unable to hold it in as he stepped toward Usagi apologetically. “I’m so sorry– here, let me see, let me see–”

Usagi obediently dropped his hands, letting Leo look at his bleeding nose. Leo rushed to the counter, where the lady wordlessly pushed him a box of tissues. He returned, pressing a tissue into Usagi’s hand and apologizing again.

“It’s fine, Leo, I’ll live.” Usagi laughed, pressing it to his nose and watching it come away soaked in red. “It’s my fault, I forgot about your cat-like reflexes.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you–” Leo nodded, then looked around. “Wait, what are you doing here?” He grabbed another tissue, pressing a clean one into Usagi’s hand.

Usagi took it gratefully. “I wanted to come see you, ‘cause I feel like I’ve been ghosting you over text and that’s super dumb, because I really like you and you shouldn't feel like that, and oh my spirits I met your brother! ”

Leo’s face paled. “Oh my gosh which one!?”

“ Mikey, and he was scary as all goodnight, isha. He, like, interrogated me and I was legit scared for my life. Why didn’t you tell me he worked at the Nexus?”

“Well, he– we– well–” Leo rubbed his neck, looking sheepish. “It’s, uh, kinda embarrassing because we all work Nexus jobs. Don’t want to go running into your brother during your 9-5, you know? Oh my gosh and he interrogated you? I’m gonna kill him . I am so sorry about that, that’s just how Mikey is sometimes, he’s like an angel and a devil wrapped all into one. Little brothers, you know?” Leo looked quickly to the side, muttering something under his breath.

So Mikey was his real name, Usagi decided. He laughed again, amused by the embarrassed look on Leo’s face. “He was still really nice though. I’m glad I met him.” He comforted, finally able to take the tissue away from his nose as the blood let up.

Leo set the tissue box down, looking relieved. “I’m glad too. He’s been pestering me about what you look like since I told him I was dating someone a few days ago. At least now he’ll be satisfied.” He shook his head. “But, hey, thanks for surprising me like this. It is really good to see you; we need to go out again soon. Especially now that you’re practically all healed up.” Leo motioned to Usagi’s abdomen, and Usagi looked down, noting that it had been a while since the injury had caused him any pain. “You’ve done a good job re-wrapping it regularly; that means we can take off the bandages soon.”

Usagi blushed. “Yeah. Thanks.”

The noise of someone clearing their throat drew both Leo and Usagi’s attention to the counter, where the old lady pushed an envelope across the desk sourly. “Are you going to take your paycheck and leave already?” she grouched. “The aura in here just got so smotheringly flowery I think I might retch.”

Usagi giggled despite himself, and Leo snatched up his paycheck, ushering them both out the door as he tossed a “Sorry about that!” over his shoulder. Once the door closed, he giggled too, smiling at Usagi fiendishly. “That lady is always going on about ‘aura’ and all that nonsense, and we stunk it all up! That’s so funny, oh, Usagi, you gotta visit everyday, that was hilarious!”

They strutted together down the hallway, beginning to toss puns back and forth until Leo’s hand closed around Usagi’s and lifted it up, brushing a gentle hand on his knuckle. Usagi grinned, feeling fizzy. “Is this a new ring?” Leo asked suddenly, meeting his eye.

Usagi’s stomach dropped, suddenly all too aware of the purple ring and its suspicious resemblance to the dark armor. Would Leo know? He glanced to the side, summoning a lie. “It’s, uh, a new cloaking ring I got. Figured it was more sleek than my cloaking bracelet.”

Leo’s face paused, obviously cycling through thoughts in his head. Then his eyes lit. “Oh, cool! That’s perfect, because I was gonna ask if I could borrow your cloaking bracelet, actually. I need to cloak for a work thing and I thought, hey, I know someone with cloaking jewelry. And you got a new one, so that’s totally perfect! Would you mind if I borrowed your bracelet since you got a new ring?”

Usagi relaxed, happy that Leo hadn’t recognized the piece. “Yeah, no problem. Here.” He took off his bracelet, slipping it onto Leo’s wrist and tapping the gem. “You just flip it like this and it’ll turn on.” he instructed, flipping it so that the magic enveloped Leo’s form. He took an extra moment to stare– Leo’s human form was unexpected, but just as handsome as he normally was. “You really do have a good looking cloaked form, you know.”

Leo went red, the color coming to his cheeks more visibly in his human form. “Heh. I would make a pun about my skincare routine, but it’s way too dry.”

“That sucked so bad.” Usagi told him as he flipped the gemstone back, the magic dissipating.

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“Well I’d like to see you do better, conejito.”

“Well maybe I will.”

Another round of puns ensued, and then they were standing in front of the Nexus exit portal, the green glow illuminating the red stripes on Leo’s face.

Usagi looked at Leo.

“I’m really sorry I haven’t been texting back.” He said, voice low. “It’s just… scary sometimes.”

Leo’s hand came forward, cupping around the back of his neck gently. “It’s okay. I’m scared too. But we’re gonna figure it out together. That’s what they do in the movies, yeah?” He leaned forward and quietly kissed Usagi on the cheek.

Usagi’s brain fizzed. 

So that’s what it felt like.    

“I’ve got another one.” Leo said. “Are you a magician? ‘Cause whenever I look at you, it’s like everything else disappears.” Leo stepped closer, and Usagi slid his arms around his neck. Leo smiled at him. “I love you.”

“That’s not a pun.”

“Nope, it isn’t.”

Usagi saw Leo’s eyes dart downwards towards his mouth. And time held still when he leaned forward and their lips met.

Usagi was pretty sure that every single bubble of happiness rose to the surface within his body, popping like fireworks in his chest as they shared their first kiss.

And as they pulled apart, he breathed, brushing a thumb against Leo’s bright red stripes.

“I love you too.”