Chapter Text
Yuichi laid lazily at his bed; facing the ceiling with an exhausted stare. His covers were scattered and his bed entirely undone. He still wants to go back to sleep but the rays of the morning sun shone through his one panel window right above his head.
It was morning and he had to wake up. Do chores and do some cool samurai duties. He has important errands... sort of.
If you count mindlessly strolling in Neo Edo in hopes of finding an opponent to fight then yes; a very important errand.
Totally.
Yuichi covered a pillow over his face and groaned. He kicked his feet in frustration as his ears straightened up. He went on like this for a while.
Spot woke up to the muffled ruckus that the samurai rabbit was making. The little tokage perked his head up with interest. He looked at his owner as, said owner, frantically whined. Spot was determined to stop this nonsense.
"Meep! Meep?" Spot said as he stayed in his own little bed.
"It's not like that! It's just-there's nothing to do!" Yuichi threw off the pillow and then faced his tokage with an exasperated sigh. "Literally nothing!"
"Meep?"
"I can't be a great samurai if I have no one to fight! O-or to challenge!" Yuichi said as he flopped back to his bed. "Ever since we defeated the Makkine, it's like every bad guy out there don't want to fight me anymore..!"
"Meep..?"
"And I don't know why!" He rolled to his stomach; looking back at his tokage. "I thought I had a kickable face! Why won't anyone want to kick it anymore?! It doesn't make sense! ARGH-!" He said as he limped his arms, hanging off the side of the bed.
Spot skipped off of his bed and went towards Yuichi. He jumped up to his bedside and then nuzzled his head to the frustrated rabbit. He gave a reassuring 'meep' as he licked Yuichi's cheek and he chuckled at the gesture. He hugged his tokage with a silent 'thanks' and Spot returned it by giving him a toothy smile.
Though, Yuichi faltered. "What am I going to do, Spot?" He said as he looked at his tokage with sad eyes.
"Meep" Spot replied flatly.
"What?"
"Meep"
"You want me to rest? No, I can't do that!"
"Meep." Spot said with a more serious tone.
"Why should I?" Yuichi said as he laid on his back again, still facing the tokage.
"Meep, meep"
"Well, if you put it that way..." Yuichi said as he looked back to his ceiling. His head filled with thoughts of the kames that are sleeping right next door. He doesn't know if they were a threat but his instincts say no. Though, that doesn't mean he should stay idle. They could still be one of the bad guys after all.
Yuichi used this as motivation to start his day. He hopped off his bed and walked towards the shower. Took off his night clothes and grabbed towels; knowing how his fur works, he made sure to take plenty. He turned the faucet and was met with icy cold water.
He howled with surprise to the inexplicable cold morning water pain.
Mikey started off his morning by showering. He really wasn't fond of water per se but after his fight with Lady Fuwa and the chaos that ensued from yesterday, he cherished it as every drop of dirt dripped off of his arms and shell. He scrubbed his body with some spare soap and rinsed with the lukewarm rain of the shower.
As he dried himself off, he heard a far away yelp. He shrugged it off and continued to walk to the dresser.
He picked out a light orange Tsumugi with red rising sun patterns at the bottom edges of the dress. Its pattern faded off midway through the clothing and its strap: a bright orange.
Mikey smiled. The Tsumugi was plain at the top parts of it but that's what he likes about it. He saw it as a canvas, waiting for it to be painted; to be full of life.
It fits him just fine.
It was nice to be back in his old clothes after all these months.
Leo was uncharacteristically the first one to be up out of all his brothers. Or rather to be out of his room, which is a better term considering that he barely slept at all.
For now, he’ll cherish the 7am sunlight, ignoring his exhaustion that's rising through his body. This isn't the first time when he'd have to deal with ‘not-passing-out’ for a few hours or for a day. He'd done this many times and he thinks he can handle it just fine.
There were times when his brothers caught him and his insomniac shenanigans. They'd force him to bed; turtle pile on top of him, make him feel cozy, all that mushy stuff. After he'd fallen asleep, they would stay there with him then would scold for a good minute after he'd woken up.
He'd admit, he likes being cozied up to but the scolding? Not so much.
He can't blame them for getting worried though. He knows he's fine. Not sleeping can't kill him, can't it?
Definitely not.
…
Ok maybe.
He really wanted to hit the sack but he's still too shaken up from the events of last night. He can't go back to bed now. Not after the mess he'd done to the manor.
Not really his mess, but as leader? It's a part of his responsibility. It's a shitty thing but he has to deal with it.
He sighed. The more he thinks about things, as more thoughts come in, he'd just be unprogressive. He literally is just sitting by at the manor’s front porch, dangling his legs over the edge like a little kid.
And so, Leo looked at the open area in front of him, it was covered with sand with a few stone plates and pebbles here and there.
Maybe a little training could ease him up a bit.
He stood up and jumped off of the porch. His bandaged feet touched the sandy ground; sediments sinking his feet by a few centimeters with every step he took. Soon, he reached a stone plate and stood on it; both feet close together.
Then in a swift, he repositioned. He took out his twin katanas and started swinging. He sliced through the air with might, accompanied with a moderate shout with every strike he made.
Swish!
He imagined an opponent in front of him. A warrior covered in polished metal armor, though rusted at its edges. Droplets of blood dripped from the warrior’s clawy hands, fingertips sharp as a tiger’s fangs. The warrior faced him with a demonic screech, eyes glowing red, fangs sharper than his swords.
He thought, this is a familiar foe…
He thought about the Oni, he thought about his old home and how it was destroyed.
The fire surrounds them both as the wooden supports of the houses around them collapse. Bits and pieces of stone and wood dropping on to helpless victims below.
He heard a familiar scream, ushering him to run.
Slash!
With every swing, it progressively becomes more violent than the last. He started to step out of the stone plate and on to the grainy sand. He flipped and turned, as if he was fighting an actual Oni.
He glared at the imaginary enemy and snarled. He swung and kicked with anger.
Shing!
He doesn't know why exactly he's being like this. But he knows that it's partly because of how he keeps things to himself until it builds up…
Until it becomes like this.
He's tired, exhausted and just entirely done with the past 2 years. Maybe it's time to let off some steam.
Kitsune was about to get some breakfast right when Leonardo started to do his training. She spotted the blue banded turtle doing his morning exercise while she was on her way to the kitchen. She decided that she's going to have some entertainment whilst having the important meal of the day.
As she munched her pancakes, she watched Leo slide and swing all over the yard. To her surprise, he was quick considering that he was a kame. Kitsune could guess that the shell behind him was probably heavier than her own body weight. So, very impressive indeed.
Not many people would mention it but Kitsune is an observant person. She'd argue that she's way more observant than Chizu. She's just quiet and would tend to dumb herself down.
It's a thing with being a thief your whole life. You can't just tell people who you are entirely. Sometimes it's good to keep a part of yourself hidden to others.
Even to the people you trust.
Or she just has some major trust issues. Who knows really?
Kitsune then felt the wooden planks underneath her rumble a bit. It was rhythmic and getting intense as seconds passed. Then there was the sound of shoji doors sliding.
Kitsune turned behind her and smiled with pancakes stuffed in her mouth. “Goof mormingf!”
“Good morning Kitsune!” Gen said right before he saw Leo doing god knows what in his yard. ``…and what is he doing exactly?” Gen said as he looked at Leo’s direction whose movements are at a slower pace. He was still quick but just a teeny bit slower.
“I donf know, frainingf I guessf?” Kitsune said with a shrugged.
Gen rolled his eyes. “Kit, learn swallow”
Kitsune deadpanned then did what she was told. She licked off the syrup from her lips then patted the empty space; insisting Gen to sit at the wooden planks beside her.
Gen obliged and plopped down. Kitsune handed him a pancake and he took it with much thanks. As he chewed, he saw Leo go to a stop but he was breathing heavily. Leo sheathed his katanas behind him. Then went to a calmer stance and bowed to no one. Gen tilted his head in confusion.
“Huh” Kitsune started. “Are you seeing anyone? Because I don't”
“I don't see anyone either” Gen said with unease.
Kitsune half-joked. “You think the new tenants are a bunch of wackos or something-”
“I can hear you guys you know” Leo said as he turned to his roomies with an unamused look. “And yes, there isn't anyone here apart from you, and you, and me” He said as he walked over to the fox and rhino duo.
“Then why did you do that?” Gen asked as he eased up a bit.
Leo stopped and looked back to where he was. Then turned to face them with a cocky grin. “I dunno, just wanted to feel badass I guess?” He said as he shook his head.
“You're weird” Kitsune jokes.
“Yeah well, wait til you meet the rest of the family” Leo said as he plopped down to Kitsune’s other side.
“We kinda did already from last night and there was definitely property damage by the way” Gen said in a half-hearted tone. “Which you also a thing that you have to pay for” he said in an accusatory tone as he jabbed a finger right at the blue turtle.
“I will, I will! Promise!” Leo said in an unserious manner. He chuckled a bit too.
Gen raised a brow and Kitsune just kept munching her pancakes, trying to avoid eye contact with any of the two.
“Okay, maybe on second thought…” Leo said nervously. “How about I and my brothers will go and make you a new gate? How's that sound? We don't got any joules at the moment so this is what we can do in such short notice” He sheepishly smiled.
Gen groaned.
“And we'll do it for free” Leo offered.
“Fine! Just because Toshiko’s not gonna like me having to run you guys dry” Gen said as he took out his hand to Leo.
“So it's a deal then” Leo beamed.
“It is a deal” Gen rubbed his temples.
“Wanna shake on it?” Leo grinned and batted his lashes.
Gen was just flabbergasted at this point but he complied. He handed out his hand right on top of Kitsune’s tower of pancakes. It almost toppled over but Kitsune managed to get a hold of it.
Leo gladly took Gen’s gigantic palm. “Deal-io Hermano!”
“What-?”
“Pancakes anyone?” Kitsune suddenly chimed as she raised a forkful of pancakes. She's just glad that things are going well so far.
Chizu saw Leo’s little morning routine and decided to observe from a distance. It was eerily recognizable and it brought back some bad memories.
Soon after, Kitsune sat down on the porch’s floor with a buckload of pancakes on her plate then Chizu decided that it was time to leave. She walked away all ninja-like back to her room, trying to not wake anyone.
She silently slid the shoji doors closed. Then went to a corner of her bedroom where a mini study area presides and started to rerun Leo’s routine in her head.
It was so similar to the routines that Lady Fuwa made her do when she was younger. It was to test one’s speed with a blade and Leo was definitely swift.
And deadly in some ways…
And that's what worries her.
When Leo first arrived last night, the first thing she noticed was his twin katanas. Which is a usual choice of weapon for ninjas. Leo never explicitly said that he was a ninja or any of his family to be one. But he did look like one despite how his travel clothes were all rundown and muddy.
In all honesty, he looked more homeless than a ninja. Which might have helped ease up Chizu’s suspicions from the night prior. He just looked so desperate and pitiful that she couldn't help but feel the need to help. Plus it made her feel guilty that she was suspecting such a guy to be a villain.
Chizu kicked a leg of her study table and snarled. It was a classic manipulation tactic, how could she not see that?
“I can't believe this” she said in an exasperated sigh.
He's definitely a ninja, she was sure of that. She then thought about Leo’s story about how he got here. How he was a traveler and how he had traveled crosscountry just to end up here. He looked honest but there was a probability that it was a lie. Did he really lie? He never really mentioned it.
Not to mention that it was super weird for a ninja to travel that far and this long at all. Ninjas usually stay in one place. A ninja would have a headquarters, a place to run to, a head to follow.
Oh what’s she thinking? Definitely a lie! He's a ninja! Of course he'd lie-
But he might be just like her. An ex-ninja that only has the habits of a ninja because that's what she grew up with. Maybe, just maybe.
Maybe he didn't lie.
Chizu bit her lip and took out a notebook to write on. She can't just tell the others about Leo and his family about her suspicions. She doesn't have any concrete proof for now but she could collect some evidence. But how?
She started to write down notes.
All that she could think of was to test the waters for now.
Mikey got out of his room quietly. The fabric of his Tsumugi flowed aimlessly beneath his knees as he strutted towards the kitchen. As he passed through the halls, he could hear shouts from outside.
He took a little peek from the cracks of unclosed shoji doors and saw Leo. Mikey stopped at his tracks and frowned at his brother. His brows furrowed as he tried to examine Leo’s movements.
He's fighting someone, an imaginary foe.
And Mikey knows who it is.
He turned away and headed back to what he was originally doing; go to the kitchen, cook some actual breakfast, then set up a table for them to all eat in.
He muffled out the pained shouts from his brother as he quickened his pace to the kitchen. The sooner he gets this done, the sooner he can help out Leo. And on his way there, he could smell the pancake batter frying on a heated pan.
Once he entered the kitchen, he saw a rhinoceros at the counter. He could hear her hum a simple melody as she worked.
Mikey greeted with a smile “Good morning Toshiko”.
Toshiko got surprised. “Woah, I didn't see you there! Good morning!” She said with a chuckle.
“I mean, I was behind you-” Mikey joked as he walked over to the rhino.
“Yeah, yeah. I'm making pancakes, want some?” Toshiko said as she pointed to the mouthful of pancakes on a nearby dining table.
Mikey gaped at the amount. “Uhm, isn't this a bit too much?” He asked worriedly.
Toshiko blinked at Mikey then looked back at the pancakes. She sheepishly smiled. “Probably”
“I guess I'm not cooking then, we gotta finish this all up before noon!” Mikey said. “And smells de-lish!”
“Thank you!” Toshiko smiled. “How about giving it a try?”
“Sure!” Mikey said as he grabbed a plate from the counter’s cabinets. He took out two flaps of pancakes, placed a softened butter cube on top, then poured some syrup.
He forked down and chewed. He hummed at the warm texture of the pancake as it melted on his tongue. “Mmm-hmm-mmm! This is a great man! Can't wait for the rest of the fam to eat this!” He said as inhaled the entire meal. “Do you mind if I get seconds?”
“Uh, duh! Literally Kitsune was in here earlier and took out like a tower of them. Go right ahead Mt. Pancake is open for consuming” Toshiko chuckled.
Mikey gave her a toothy grin and ran to Mt. Pancake. The aromatic air made his stomach grumble as the sweetness of the syrup lingered in his mouth. For some reason, he felt hungrier than before. And he had no shame in having thirds, fourths, fifths, and so forth.
After 2 years, Mikey finally felt like he had a home.