Prologue: Part Five
Spring was finally in its prime. The sun's light was warm and energizing; a nice contrast to the bright tease of winter. The warmth was always a relief, and cause for celebration. Diana was settled on the rooftop of their building, clad in long sleeves of a light fabric and jeans, despite the warmth, while Mo was down below, tormenting Don from the sounds of it.
She smirked as Don called Mo a heretic from below, and Mo retorted with the question of what's so heretical about waxing his head, before she heard them taking off at a run. It was good to have more people in her life again. The fact these people weren't human was more of an advantage than a disadvantage, as she felt more at home with them than she did with most of those within her own species.
Just then, she felt a muted presence at her back. It took her barely a second to identify who that peaceful feel belonged to. "Hello, Leo." She turned to grin at him over her shoulder.
And there he stood in the sunlight, a surprised expression on his face. His voice was soft when he spoke, "How'd you know it was me??"
The question broadened her grin into a smile. "You've a certain feel to you...it just requires one to know it."
The color of his cheeks darkened a little at that, "Oh... what do I feel like?" Yep, that sounded real good, Leo.
She only chuckled deeply in her throat at that, "Quiet. It is hard to describe beyond that, really..."
He relaxed a bit at that, "May I sit?"
Her eyes smiled up into his as she nodded. "Of course."
With a respectful nod, he stepped over and settled by her. "Arigato. How's your day been?"
She was struck by how much paler his skin looked in the sunlight. There was no way she could tell whether the light tone was because of lack of sunlight or lack of meat in his diet. It didn't really matter, though, he looked healthy enough to her, calm and focused. Attractive in an entirely different way than in the darkness of shadows. "It has been nice enough, I suppose...yours?"
Leo found himself wincing as Don screamed and ran by below, fleeing Mike's water balloon assault. "...loud. He's a dead man when he gets home." He glanced back up to her and was struck by the details the sunlight brought out in his rooftop companion. The flame it brought out in her brilliant curls, the feint, unexpected freckles peppering her nose and cheeks. The scar lining her jaw-bone on the right side of her face. He said nothing.
She cringed, unbothered by his scrutiny, and shook her head. "Poor guy doesn't seem to be having much fun, apparently..."
He smirked, "Sure he is. ...Don's a strange one. ....What about you. I'm sorry their loudness is disturbing your mediations."
"I do not mind...it's actually nice to have some life around here."
A soft smile alighted upon his face, "Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't mind it too often. They can be a handful but as long as it's not like this all day. ..I narrowly escaped it too. Raph found Mike's sash of water balloons." He shook his head. "Thank god for my training."
The rough, though pleasant, sound of her laugh filled the air. "I can imagine...home seems a bit dangerous for you."
The smile turned again into his usual smirk, "You could say that..." He breathed in deeply and leant back. It seemed almost as if he were basking in the warm spring sun.
She watched him, amused, as she stretched her legs out before her. "The warmth is lovely, isn't it."
"Hai..." For a moment, he was silent. "I was 12 years old the first time I saw the sun.. and then I didn't see it again fully for nearly another year...It's almost hard to believe that now I can enjoy it like this.. heh." Again, silence fell over him.
Diana slipped her sunglasses off to watch him there, her brilliant eyes squinting a little at the sunlight. It had to be terrible, denied something as elemental -as essential- as the sun. It was bad enough being shut in a room so much as she grew up, but at least that room usually had a window she could draw warmth and comfort from. Her voice was again soft when she next spoke, "Oh...? I...would imagine it would be hard coming topside when there are not many who would understand..." She nodded slightly, "You are welcome here whenever you desire...I wish there was more I could offer..."
Leo shook his head, "I need no more than this. This is enough to make me happy. ....it was hard. We weren't allowed to go topside by ourselves until we were in our early teens. Even then, we couldn't go alone and -never- in the daytime or on the streets."
Fair brows furrowed slightly as she listened to his voice and words, watched the fine nuances of his expression, before she nodded a little. "That had to be very hard, hai.."
He smirked, "How things have changed." He looked down to his brothers and Mo. Oddly enough, Raph was absent from the chaos below. "...Heh. The first time Raph went off on his own, he got in -so- much trouble. But I guess Splinter couldn't keep him down there forever...He still refuses to stay with the group. Heh. We're learning to plan around it."
"Mm," Diana intoned, "Probably why he's not down there tormenting your other brothers with Mo, then.."
"...I don't think Raph's fully comfortable in the light. It's not that he doesn't like it. It's just.. in some ways he can be fairly reserved. Personally, I think he should be out here though. Sunlight's good for him... it helps lift his spirits. I see it every year that we're at the farm." The word 'depression' was very carefully danced around. He'd never use it.
Again, the gemlike eyes were hidden behind the shelter of dark shades as she slid them back on. She folded her arms behind her head and lay back again on the rooftop they shared, "I wonder if perhaps he doesn't like the possibility of being seen...I assume the farm is pretty cut off from the masses, ne?"
"None of us like that possibility. Myself, the least. Sensei drilled it into our heads an an early age that we were to never be seen. Not just because we're ninja, but because we're mutants. ...Very far away. It belonged to a friend of ours...a couple of them. But they had to move away from New York to protect their daughter, Shadow. ....It's taken it's toll on all of us, but we're starting to adjust. At least we still have the holidays, right?"
She frowned, but nodded. "Mo can relate to that...between growing up in the labs and needing to stay low profile after escaping." She shrugged a little, brows lightly wrinkled, the only sign it distressed her before her skin smoothed. "I do not care so much, outside of being able to do my job...the only people I wish not to have any interaction with already know it's best just to leave me alone." There was a pause, "I can imagine...it is always hard losing loved ones, no matter how long or short the period of time." She offered him a bit of a sad smile, before reaching over to give his sun warmed shoulder a soft squeeze.
The gesture brought out a small smile, "Domo arigato, Diana-san. I understand what is for the best though. Besides, we're making friends it seems. ....It's good for them." He motioned to the three below.
His smile was echoed, and she nodded. "Hai...it is very good to see, as well..."
"Mo hasn't had many friends either, I take it?"
Di shook her head and sat up to look at the girl, before returning her gaze to him. "Iie...I am it, as far as I know...she was created and raised to kill...naught else."
His frown was accompanied by a slightly startled blink, "...she's a strong spirit.. I'm impressed. How did you happen to cross paths?"
SUCH a wicked grin crossed the red-head's features, "She was sent to kill me."
The former frown was suddenly replaced by a huge grin of his own, "..Alright. Spill it."
That brought the irresistible laugh to the surface, "My father had discovered I was still alive shortly after I returned to this world...and as he has some very powerful friends, he was able to get Mo assigned to my death. She did find me...and by then, I had gathered my strength again, and had begun making a life for myself here...she cornered me in one of the worse neighborhoods, and we fought...I very, very narrowly won, though not without needing some medical attention afterwards." She shrugged. "I did not kill her, either, obviously...we kept in covert contact once she recovered from her punishment for not bringing back my head...and I helped her escape."
Leonardo's eyes were narrowed now, but the anger was kept under a tight reign of control. "...why kill you though.."
Any remaining mirth had now drained from her demeanor, "I know things about him...things he did to me, and things he did to other women...which he does not want getting out in any circumstances. He thought I'd died when I disappeared...as that was the easiest explanation...and when he discovered I was still alive..." She shook her head again. "He wished to make the lie truth."
A frightening coldness slid over his eyes at her words, but it melted the moment he returned his gaze to her. "Does he still pose a danger to you?"
She marveled internally at this transformation, then smiled softly, her voice quiet, "Iie...unless he loses fear of what he knows I can do to him...he is no danger."
Slowly, he nodded, then reached out to gently place his hand atop hers. "If he ever poses danger to you again, please believe that I will assist you in whatever way I can."
When she felt the warmth of his hand cover her own, she turned it so she could squeeze his hand in gratitude. "Domo....I will remember that..."
That squeeze jolted something deep within him. Something long caged and asleep, but slowly awakening. A strange feeling twisted in his belly: the apprehension of falling the ledge of a 40 story building as you stand there, but the knowledge of the incredible rush you get when you leap to the next building over. It was a feeling he loathed and loved in the same breath.
Through all this, she watched him contemplatively. There was the subtle change in his eyes, and she found herself wondering at it. But the pregnant silence was becoming too long, and she cleared her throat softly. When she broke the quiet, her voice was still soft, "Tell me about your father...?"
He blinked, as if snapping from a trance. "Ahh..Sensei? Heh.." Suddenly, he felt rather stupid as he cleared his throat quietly. "He's like us.. a mutant. ...He's raised us since he found us in the sewers, ..hungry, squawking infants.. He is the wisest and most noble man I know of, and I hope to someday equal even an ounce of what he does."
Her lips curved into a gentle smile as she listened to him, his hand still within the warmth of hers. "He sounds like a wonderful man...I should like to meet him one day, if possible, or meant to be...you four are lucky to have him."
"...I will see to it that someday you do."
She bowed a little, formally, but was cut short when a water balloon flew up from below and doused them both with cold water.
Leo dripped, ".....they're dead...."
Diana herself twitched, and pulled the clinging shirt from her chest before he could get too much of an eyeful, "...very."
He found himself catching a glimpse of the womanly figure beneath the clinging fabric and his face deepening to crimson in reaction. "Er.... Hmm." He looked in the other direction. He saw nothing. Nope. Not at all. Great act.
She couldn't help but smirk at his reaction, and got to her feet, hunched down in case of any more attacks, "I think I'll go change my shirt...and see if perhaps we've something in the apartment to get revenge with..."
"...an excellent idea. ...I'll wait here."
She nodded, "Hai...I will not take long..." Commando-style, she ran for the roof-access and disappeared inside, shaking her wet hair out a little.
For his part, Leo leaned against the ledge of the roof, out of the sunlight, and out of water balloon range. He closed his eyes, and wondered what exactly is wrong with him.
Below, Don giggled by his brother, "Didja hit'em, Mike???"
Mo sniggered, on Mike's other side, "We are soo dead...."
Between them, Mikey was swiftly loading another water-laden balloon into a now overstretched pair of underpants on the clothesline. His own skin was soaked, and shimmered in the sunlight, accentuating the smooth curves of the perfect musculature lining his body, "Yea well. They deserved it.. sitting there looking all dry and making eyes at each other!" He snickered.
Mo snorted, "Jealous...? They're so cuuuuute.."
The mischievous turtle made a face, "Ugh... I'm sorry, but the idea of Leo shacking up with anyone, quite frankly, makes my skin crawl. ..Probably hers to."
"Here here..." Donnie agreed.
"Bombs away!! HAHA!!"
Diana had just made her way back to Leo, again running commando style, but this time toting a pair of full super-soakers. He grinned wickedly to her as soon as he saw her. It was such a perfect look on his face, just like Mikey's, but with more impact as this particular variety was so seldom seen on the usually stoic face. "Ahh!" The balloon hit him full in the plastron, and showered her with wetness as well.
She erked and shook her head, handing him his water-weapon over, "Here..."
"...so very dead." He accepted the sloshing gun, and fell into his comfortable 'leader' mode. "Alright. Diana, you take the left, I'll go around the back and scale the side of the building and surprise them that way. they'll never see it coming. When I give the signal we attack from both sides." His grin was dark, but playful, "It'll be a soaking like they've never had in their lives."
Her grin was downright wicked as she nodded and fell back. "Hai...it will be sweet." With a wink, she disappeared to take up her station, posturing as a sniper would.
He smirked and gripped the water gun. The fact the toy was a gun in the most technical of terms went against the vow he took long ago not to use those particular weapons, as cowards relied upon them. But it shot only water, right? It had to be okay. During these thoughts, he slipped to the building he'd chosen and easily scaled it to his spot. For a few moments, he made a face as he watched Mikey load another balloon into the knickers, but he shook himself out of it, and waved to Diana. On his mark.
Ready...
Aim...
FIRE!
Twin beams of compressed water shot at the group below, the only warnings being their hiss as they left the muzzles. One nailed Mikey, and the other nailed Mo. While Mo dove for cover, thoroughly soaked, Don ran for it in a slow motion imitation of dying under fire. Mike, however, was startled into a run himself, straight into the clothes line he was using as a slingshot.
Of course, he ended up snarled in pantyhose and underwear, bouncing gently, though still getting pummeled with water, "AHHH!! AHAHA!! LEO!! LEO STOP AHAHAHA! NO!! HEHE!! NO PLEASE NOOOO!!"
Once they both run out of water, Leo chuckled and watched Mike as he gently bounced on his make-shift sling, a completely soaked mess, sporting a pair of oversized panties as an oh so fashionable hat. "......So.. feel like launching anymore water balloons at me?"
Diana's soft snigger floated from her hiding spot, where she now leant back against the building, barrel of the empty gun pointed skywards.
Mikey winced and sways a little, "Ugh.. actually now I feel kinda like puking.."
"Considering those undies belong to an old lady with incontinence problems..." Mo inched away, quickly.
"...AHHHH!! HELP! PLEASE!! SOMEONE!!" The tangled turtle struggled against his bonds.
Diana shook her head with another laugh as she watched the other girl creep up to Mike and delicately pluck the unders from his head with forefinger and thumb, then fling them back onto the line.
Leo looked over from blowing 'smoke' from his gun and burst loudly into laughter. "Oh my god!!" Don was crawling away, pretending to 'die'.
The red-head continued to laugh as she props the gun on her hip, "Poor Mrs. Smith...Mikey, you'll need to spring for some new drawers for her..." She shook her head as Mo at least attempted to help Mike down from the snarled line.
The dark girl cackled and patted the top of Mike's head after he fell to the pavement with a thud, then stepped back to wring out her shirt.
Mikey grinned up at Mo. "Hehe.. wow.. soaked is a pretty good look for you." He winked.
Mo snorted and nudged Mike with a toe, "Thanks, Mikey...next time I get caught in a downpour I'll think of you."
His grin turned wicked, and it showed itself to be the same one Leo had displayed not long ago. Mike just seemed to have more teeth and freckles. "Haha.. yea. I'll think of you too, babe." He looked to Donnie, who was still catching his breath. "Too bad Raph's not here, eh, Don?" He sniggered.
Don's eyes widened and he let out a giggle.
Mo's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "...shaddap." She shook more water off on the already sodden turtle before she flounced for their building.
Leo just rolled his eyes, "Knock it off, guys." He proceeded to use his katana to pick the rest of the undies off the ground and deposit them back on the line from a distance.
"Boysboysboys..." Di smirked before disappearing inside briefly. She returned with a towel draped around her shoulders, and three more for the guys. One she draped over Leo's shoulders, and tossed the other two to Mike and Don. Mike was aware enough to catch his, though Donnie ended up confused as to why it suddenly got so dark when his landed on his head.
Leo smiled quietly and bowed a little as she draped the towel over his shoulders, lowering his eyes respectfully. It took his brothers less than two seconds to recognize the look on their eldest sibling's face, "Ooooooohhhhh!!"
"So very very dead..."
Diana rolled her eyes and responded in a quiet voice, "There is always time, Leonardo-kun..."
He smiled a little and nodded to her comment, "Hai..."
"...so..." Mike spoke up, "what now. You guys wanna head back underground..s'cooler down there.. Dindins?"
She smirked, "Perhaps we will meet you down there...do you wish us to bring anything...?"
Quickly, Leo shook his head before Mike could respond, "Ah.. no.. That's fine. You are guests in our home."
Di tilted her head, then nodded with a slight shrug, "If you wish. We are willing to help in whatever way we can...what else are friends for, ne?"
"Bring cake!" Mike spoke up, anyway. "..or meat. Something with meat."
"Mike." Leo sighed and shook his head. "...sorry.. Friends are for company and conversation. We'll see you later, Diana."
She chuckled, then shrugged again with a wry smirk, "Alright...hai..."
Leo motioned for the other two to follow, shaking Mike by the bandana tails as they went.