Prologue: Part Three
By the time Leonardo caught up with Diana, she was already topside, and a bit past one of their common exits. Her hands were in her pockets, and her head was bowed, so her fiery curls curtained her face. When he softly cleared his throat behind her, she paused, though she did not turn back.
He didn't move. He simply stood and drank in the details of her relaxed frame, a little hard to see due to dark clothes and environment, with his sharp eyes. He didn't want to upset her any more than she already was, what with how his silence is now a part of him. "...hey..."
She still didn't turn. What stood out the most from his angle were the occasional glints off of her brilliant hair. "Hello, Leo."
He sighed softly, then spoke, "I came to apologize for my brother."
She finally turned at this, to look over her shoulder with an unreadable expression, "You need not...he did nothing wrong."
He lowered his eyes, "..Regardless, his actions have caused you distress. That in turn brings me distress. Please, accept my most humble apologies. He's young.. and youth is not known for it's wisdom."
Diana turned the rest of the way, now, and tilted her head. Her face looked as if it were sculpted from porcelain instead of flesh and bone as she regarded his strong figure, standing there in the city's night. "Whatever dishonor you see having taken place is forgiven...he is not the one who discomfited me...I did that to myself...truly, you need not worry."
When he met her eyes, his own stoic, strong features seem to melt a little. There was a hint of compassion and fire sounding in his voice, even if he still looked as if he's trapped within the shell of his own body. "...Diana..."
Silently, she watched him, pondering. The depths of her bright green eyes hold such secrets, and a fire, subdued, but very much there, "...hai?"
He was always more a man of action instead of words, and in that moment, he wasn't sure of what to say. It was as if he held an injured bird, and was afraid it would try taking flight. "Wh- What is it?"
She pursed her lips, and debated on what to say. What felt like an eternity passed before her soft voice finally sounded. "I lead your brother on...he has a fragile heart and I fear I wounded it..."
And suddenly the air was thick with a strange tension. Enough to urge him to grip his sword for reasons he couldn't quite discern, but he stepped closer with a soft sigh. "...it's alright. Mikey's.. he's sensitive, but he gets over things quickly. He's over emotional. You've done no real damage."
She nodded slightly, "Good then..." A soft sigh whispered from her lips. "I am still sorry for ruining the mood, as it were.."
Leo's mouth curved itself in a slight smile, "It's alright.. ...I've done it more than enough times.."
His smile is echoed with one of her own, "I am in good company then, hai...?"
A chuckle rose from him, and the tension finally evaporated. "...Yeah. I suppose you are..."
The grin grew a bit more on her lips as she stepped a little closer, "Thank you for following."
His dark eyes again lowered respectfully as he nodded. "Arigatai.. I felt it would be the right thing to do. I- ..I don't like seeing people distressed."
"Noble of you...you seem very honorable."
He fought the smile trembling on his mouth, but lost that particular battle. "... domo arigato. You also seem to be one of honor. It's an honor lacking in the world I find. ...Are you trained?"
She couldn't help but wonder if that color entering his cheeks was a blush; it was rather endearing. Those thoughts she kept to herself, though. "The world does lack a great deal of honor, hai. And yes...I am, in various arts...though I've no official ranking." The idea of rank, she dismissed with a shrug. "Mo tells me you and your brothers have quite a bit..."
"Hai. ....we are trained extensively. Although, so of us take it more seriously than others. ...Ninjitsu is my world and Bushido the breath of life." Deep within the earthy depths of his eyes, there lay the steel of resolve, and an enchanting hint of carefully restrained blaze. "One does not need an official rank in order to be an expert at their craft."
The jewel green of Diana's eyes gazed piercingly into the deep brown of his, as she again nodded. "Dedication can be a wonderful thing...and hai." A wry smile curved her lips, "I know I need no rank to be expert....it has gotten me through many difficult situations, as your art, and faith, has you."
He found himself straightening his body, and lifting his chin as he folded his hands behind his shell. Inside, he respected her strength, and deeper down, he wondered why Mo hadn't introduced them sooner. "You have a great amount of strength and resolve.. It makes me curious about your training.."
The smile spread into her eyes. "I will tell you the story, if you will promise not to share much of it...would you perhaps care to go somewhere less open...?"
For a moment, Leo glanced concideringly back at the sewer grate, before he returned his gaze to the woman standing before him. "..You have my confidence. ....lead the way."
"Domo...come, this way..." Quietly, she led to a fire escape up the side of a nearby building, before again glancing back at him with an ironic grin. "I take it you would prefer to remain out of sight, hai?"
He found himself mirroring that grin back at her. "..hai. You guessed right."
And he followed her across the rooftops for about half a mile. She moved as if she were as experienced in this sort of thing as he, and that was odd, especially for a human. When they reached the old, four story building, and as she wrestled with the door to the roof access, he watched her from the shadows, and his eyes glinted in the light. He couldn't deny he was impressed.
Finally, she succeeded in opening the sticky old door, and led into the recesses of the building. It was old, but well kept, and there wasn't much hallway until she opened the door into her and Mo's apartment. The small dwelling was far from expensive, but it was comfortable and safe. It held only a light couch, a coffee table and an end table for furnishings, and a beautifully painted picture of an aerial view of a river-front hanging on the wall opposite the couch. On the table lay a book with a bus transfer towards the beginning acting as a marker.
Leo's sharp gaze drifted over the room, and he drank in the details in an effort to ascertain some information on his new friend's personality and interests. He soaked in the peaceful, lived in feel of the place, not very common in a city such as New York, but the lack of history made him wonder. "It seems nice... quiet."
Diana couldn't help the small smile spreading over her lips as she closed the door behind them. "Thank you...we enjoy it. Would you like something to eat or drink...? We've many teas, juice, and water...no milk, as neither of us can stomach it."
He smoothed a hand over his head, and smiled at the choice of book, The Sorcerer's Stone, by JK Rowling. It was a series he'd been meaning to tackle, as Mike had sung its praises, but simply hadn't had the chance to yet. "..ahh.. yea. I'm not fond of milk either, actually. Tea would be nice.."
"You strike me as a green tea type...unless you'd like something else? We've a large variety...some of them home grown..."
His eyes widened at the words home grown, "Ahh... Well.. perhaps you can surprise me?" He shot her a grin before settling on the couch and carefully lifting the book. "So, is this yours or Mo's?"
A soft chuckle rose from her throat as she headed for the small, open kitchen. "Mo's, now...I've been teaching her how to read better, and she is up to that level. I enjoyed the books, so I figured she would, too.."
He lifted his head sharply at that, "...Mo can't read?" A thought rose to the surface of his mind.
Steam rose from the mugs of hot tea Diana emerged from the kitchen holding. The vapors carried with them the scent of warm spice. Softly, she settles by him and sets his before him on the table. "She can read the fundamentals...or rather, she could barely read them when we crossed paths...she's progressed very nicely since.."
While his eyes were focused, they were not watching the words as he flipped through the pages of the book. "She should talk to Raph, you know. ...he has problems with reading. He always has. We don't know exactly what it is."
Delicately, she sipped from her mug as she tilted her head to the side. "Oh...? Perhaps I will mention that to her..."
Finally, Leo set the book down with care and took the mug in his hands, sipping at the warm liquid within. "It bothers him. Especially since the rest of the family is kind of literary. ..he feels it sets him apart. Perhaps he's right. ...This is really good. You grew this?"
There was a slight nod as she watched this fascenating humanoid turtle at her side, "I can understand that...Mo felt much the same when we first met...but she was kept from learning to read well through her life by those who kept her...perhaps we will be able to find a way to help him as well, if he wants it." A smile spread her lips at the compliment then. "Hai...some of the herbs I grew...the mint notably...others I purchased from a trusted vendor. I am glad you like it."
A soft smile warmed his features as he sipped again, "So.. you wanted to tell me- ??"
Brilliant green eyes blinked, and her smile grew oddly shy. "Ah...my martial history. I began studying when I was perhaps eight or nine years of age...I had fled from my parents' house for a while, during one of my groundings..." Those eyes, once warm and friendly, grew dark with unpleasant memory. "I was still in a little pain from the last beating from my father...but I had to get out of the house." She shrugged her shoulders gracefully. "In any case...I'd found myself in front of a local Aikido and Iaido dojo...so I went in, and watched the classes...and eventually enrolled."
For a little bit, he was silent, before he spoke in a tone echoing the darkness of her gaze. "He hit you? .....Di, what happened?"
Another smile spread, but this one was anything but happy or warm. Only sadness and carefully restrained anger were held within this expression. "My family was...not kind to me. I am the eldest, and not a boy...nor particularly feminine in their eyes. My father beat me and...did other things...to try getting me to obey...my mother did some beating as well, but usually it was mental and emotional manipulation..locking me in closets and the like when I misbehaved. It did not take much. My sister was their ideal daughter, and favored greatly over me."
Rage began to bubble within him, and choked words from his throat. He exercised hard won control and swallowed it down, so he could speak. "...Honor binds me to speak respectfully of your family."
She was warmed by his respect, and that showed in the curve of her lips and the softening darkness shrouding the steel of her eyes. "I appreciate the sentiment...forgive me if I do not." Again, she shrugged. "I may be blood, but I do not claim them in my heart.
"In any case...I studied and worked at the dojo up until I was fifteen years of age...learning to defend myself from my father and others...when I was stolen out of my school, into a different world..." At this point, she slowly lifted her eyes to meet his. "That is where my life began getting strange."
"....I don't believe that blood runs thicker.. I think there's more to it than that. My father is obviously not a blood relative. In fact, we aren't sure if my brothers are either. But they are family. ........" He fell silent, though, and watched her with intensity as he listens to her story.
She nodded to this, and smiled softly. The gentle look entering her eyes was at direct odds with the icy metal her gaze possessed when speaking of her blood family. "Hai...this is why I consider Mo my only family, at the moment. With time, I would be honored to consider you and your brothers as the same..." She smirked. "But on with the story, ne? I was given a sword...an enchanted sword which grants me certain powers, which I rarely use...amongst them, the means to travel between worlds...I helped those I could in each one until I was finally able to return home...in each world, I learned a bit more about different martial arts...and in most cases, practiced them extensively...I've kept myself up since returning a year or so ago." She ended with a modest shrug and a sip of warm tea.
He found himself absorbed in her words, in this quiet woman's story. She was attractive, honorable, a martial artist, moral, brave and strong. A lady who, best of all, carried a big sword. If he wasn't sitting so calmly he'd be wetting himself by now. "..uhm." He shook himself out of the daze he found himself in. "Can I see it?"
Diana watched him, amused on one level, absorbed by him on another. She nodded, though, and held out her hands, the skin of which smooth save for the calluses of a fighter, and a massive scar crossing each palm. She closed her bright eyes, and the air itself shimmered. The sparkling glow grew into light, which then solidified into a beautiful katana-esque sword sheathed in a smooth wooden scabbard. The hilt was wrapped in soft black leather, and circling the hilt by the guard were five stones. Purple, blue, red, yellow, green and white. Spirit, water, fire, earth, wood and metal: the Far Eastern elements.
He froze as his wide eyes took in the weapon, and was utterly speechless for several moments. Finally, he managed to breath out a rushed whisper, "Ohohoh...that's so cool."
She chuckled with a bright smile. "Domo...I thought so the first time it happened, too. Thank you again."
Quickly following the initial reaction, of course, was, "...can I hold it??"
A soft laugh again rose from her throat before she offered it to him with a slight bow. "Of course."
Respectfully, he took it from her, and unsheathed it. He tested its feel and weight with a small swish of its deadly sharp blade which appeared silver, but was actually far, far tougher than that particular metal. A slight tingle ran up his arm when he took it in hand. "....God.. it's beautiful.. the perfect weight and it handles so well.."
"Domo...it has served very well over the years...bound to me, as well." Her smile was soft and warm as she watched him.
Carefully, he resheathed and returned it to her. "You must be quite the swordsman.. er.. swordswoman..as it were."
She accepted her blade back with a small bow, and let it fade out to wherever it went when she does not use it. It never was very clear where it was kept in the ether of the universe. "I have my strengths, hai..." Curiously, she tilted her head. "You've experience with the sword as well?"
A wide grin spread across Leo's face. "...they are extensions of my arms.. naturally I've left them at home." He shook his head. " ....I wasn't expecting to come out so far tonight."
Another smile curled at her lips. "We will perhaps need to spar one day...or at least show our talents, hai? If you are uncomfortable unarmed, we do have several other weapons stashed around the place...Mo is quite accomplished with most I know of, as she was bred, then raised to fight and kill exclusively..."
"...Diana.. I'm surprised at you. You think I'm unarmed?" With a smirk, he popped his brows at her. Is that a cheeky spark within his eyes?
She arched her own brows with a soft laugh, "My mistake then!"
Leo leaned in close to whisper softly, wearing a silly little grin, "One of the most important lessons my father taught me.. assume nothing."
With a grin and head-tilt, she murmured in return, "He sounds as if he is a very wise gentleman. And strong to raise sons as strong as you four."
His cheeks again grew dusky as he lowered his eyes briefly, before he again brought them up to her. "Indeed. Very wise.. but you're the strong one, having raised yourself."
She found herself sinking into the dark depths of his eyes for a few timeless moments. She felt her cheeks warm, and knew how obvious her blush was with her pale Irish complexion. "My thanks...I simply did what I needed to survive..."
".....exactly."
A small smile spread upon her lips again, and she shrugged modestly. How did he manage to throw her so far off balance, and send all words fleeing? She had to say something, however, and the only thing she could think of was, "Thank you."
With his usual smooth grace, he gently took her hand, and kissed the back as a gentleman would. There was no sly glance to make it appear anything but innocent, as his brothers would have been tempted to show, but it still held all the impact he intended. "I should go, my brothers will me expecting me, and I suppose I've got to clean ice cream out of the bathroom."
Her gem-bright eyes rose to him with a small smile, as she concealed the subtle affect the soft kiss to her hand had. "Hai...I've...business...to attend to, myself. It was a pleasure meeting you, Leo...hopefully there will not be too big of a mess to deal with."
He finished off the last of his tea, smirk on his face. "..oh. I'm sure there will be."
She chuckled very softly. "Good luck, then."
After he set the mug down, he stood and bowed deeply to her. "Arigatou.. I shall see you again shortly."
With a smile, she stood as well, and returned the formal bow. "I look forward to it."
"Oyasuminasai...Diana-chan." Those were his last words to her, before he vanished out the window and into the night.