Chapter 1: My feet knew the path
Chapter Text
The sky was clouded and the downpour was rough. Usagi had never been in weather like this until around a year ago, it not usually reaching these levels in Neo-Edo. His shoes padded along the sidewalk, the Moon shined harshly, lighting his way as it reflected onto the puddles in front of him. He felt heavy; exhaustion was catching up with him as he trudged back to his shared apartment. Fridays were always the worst in his opinion. He had to work the closing shift every Friday, staying behind a couple of hours dealing with obnoxious and angry customers, not to mention the additional 30-40 minutes cleaning and wiping and sweeping, it was too much, he hated Fridays.
And as annoying as double back-to-back shifts were, despite the late hour of 12 AM, he still had to go home and do his evening workouts requested by the one and only Karasu-Tengu. He was starting to regret this whole Samurai thing, he hated Fridays.
And only when life had kicked him and shoved him and made him clean baby throw-up out of a booth seat did it decide he wasn’t done. Smashing right into a wall, person, is really what set him off. He was embarrassed and tired, so you couldn’t really blame him when he muttered obscenities as he picked himself off of the sidewalk. He could hear the faint voice of the person he accidentally bulldozed, perhaps apologizing, maybe they were yelling at him back, he really couldn’t tell.
His head pounded with every passing second, he was drenched, and he wanted to go home. So he shoved past the stranger, he felt a little bad, but what more could he do really? Dust them off and buy them an ice cream? He barely had enough money to meet his end of the rent for this month. God, he hated Fridays.
It took far too long to get back to his apartment, he hardly had the energy to climb the fire escape so he opted to chance waking up his friends in the struggle to unlock the front door. As he suspected, his friend Gen was waiting for him: Kanabō in hand.
“Holy shit you scared me Sagi”. He lowered his weapon in the realization that he wasn’t in immediate danger.
“Sorry Gen, got to get better with these damn keys”. He moved away from the door, watching Gen swoop behind him to lock the assortment of locks he had installed.
The apartment's warmth allowed his sore joints to ease as he breathed in a freshly lit candle, most likely put out via Chizu. Slipping off his wet shoes and socks, he allowed his feet to grasp at the comfort of the fuzzy living room rug as he struggled with his soaked coat. A quick glance at the space put Usagi's mind to ease, taking in the newly cleaned surfaces that were littered when he’d first left this morning.
He couldn’t help the relaxed stance he adopted as he turned his attention back to the rhino behind him.
“How was it?”. Gen walked the short distance to the kitchen, pulling out supplies to make hot chocolate, Usagis face softened as he place his keys onto their four-hanger key shelf.
“Fantastic, I always do enjoy scrubbing baby puke out of booth seats”. He plopped down onto one of their bar stools overlooking the kitchen. His eyes followed the intricate backsplash and took in the sparkling counters. He watched his rhinoceros friend make his coco, grabbing two mugs from the drying rack and retrieving milk from the fridge. He saw a wince flash across Gen's face at his sarcastic response, his arm missing the mug by a little.
“We in the customer service department thank you for your service today,” He says with amusement and fake admiration in his voice. He grabbed a rag and wiped up the dripping milk.
“This is why I do it, I live to serve”, he slapped his right hand over his heart, lifting his left into the air, palm facing forward as if he were making an oath. Gen smiled at that, sliding his mug across the kitchen island.
“Ok show off”. Usagi smiled into his mug, taking a sip. The Rhino, in turn, rolled his eyes, lifting his arm up to flex.
“Takes a lot of muscle to perfect the drink slide, that better be a remark of amazement”.
“Whatever helps you sleep at night bud”. Finishing his mug and washing it in the sink, Usagi flashed a smile to Gen, knowing he would need to do his routine before getting back to bed. Swinging his bedroom door open, he nearly tripped on his haphazardly placed clothes pile, almost collapsing onto his thin mattress before remembering the sweat and grime that was festering around in his fur. Grabbing his shower cady, he went to go take care of it.
It wasn’t until 1:46 AM that Usagi lay semi-comfortably in his tiny twin-sized bed. Opting to skip his workouts -his Sensei would never know- he was out before 1:50.
He woke up mid-afternoon, his fur frizzy from sleep. It was his day off, and he was trying to enjoy it. Although it’s extremely hard to enjoy anything when your phone is non-stop buzzing on your bedside table. Dragging his sore body out of bed, he checked his phone.
36 messages from Ugly Fox
7 missed calls from Ugly Fox
1 missed call from Cattitude
“What the hell did I miss..?”. With a little more energy this time, he picked himself up, slid into his slippers, and stepped out of his room. He looked around for a sign of life, none. Checking his messages he was annoyed to find,
“Call me” ‘s and “Dude wake up, call us” ‘s. Sighing, he called his friend, Ugly Fox back. His phone picked up almost instantly.
“Usagi, what the fuck” was the first thing he heard from the other line. He made his way back to his room, sidestepping his swords to reach his wardrobe. Looking through his dresser, he picked out some comfortable yet acceptable clothes for the public as he responded.
“I was sleeping, calm down”, placing his phone down on his bed as he put together his outfit.
“Calm down? How did you sleep through all of those messages and calls, you should’ve gotten your ass up the minute Chizu called you. She doesn’t call for anything”, he rolled his eyes in hidden annoyance.
“So whats-up? Is the world ending again or something? There’d better be a good reason for you ruining my Saturday”. He began pulling up his pants and throwing on his socks.
“Meet us at the Address I sent you, it’s important so get here fast”.
“No- just tell me-”, the line clicked.
“Asshole” he muttered, tying his garments and slipping his yo-yo onto its designated spot. Grabbing Willow Branch on his way out, he slid down the fire escape and hastily made his way toward the address he was given.
When he arrived, the first thing he noticed was the surplus of Hidden City Police and 2 body bags being rushed out of the Nexus Museum. A surge of panic entered Usagi's body and he brought his speed-walk up to a sprint, ducking and weaving between cars, barricades, and other Yokai, looking for any sign of his friends. The warn-down bricks of the museum grayed due to dirt, moss trickled down the sides. His shoe soles ached at the harsh treatment as he leaped and slithered around paramedics and officers. Hot pavement seeped into the bottom of his sneakers as he almost tripped when spotting a bright orange ponytail.
“Hey!”, his roommates turned at his voice, Kitsune’s face lighting up when she saw him.
“What the hell happened?!” Usagi struggled to catch his breath having rushed over here on foot.
“Chizu she-”, Usagi cut her off, “Is she okay?!”. Kitsune gave him a dead look, dragging it out a few seconds before beginning to speak again.
“Chizu’s fine dude, I feel like I’d be way more visibly worried if she wasn’t.” She said matter-of-factly. “Anyway- Chizu called me down here so that we could go out to lunch after she wrapped up, Gen was going the same direction so we walked down together.” She stopped to take a breath.
“We get here, things are fucking crazy right? People are rushing in and out, Chizu finally comes out for a minute and says there was not only a robbery but a Murder” she emphasizes the murder part, “And-”
Gen let out an audible sigh. “Kitsune called you down here because she wants us to investigate with Chizu, help her catch the killer or something”. Kitsune eagerly nodded in confirmation.
“I think it’s a stupid idea, the amount of danger we’d be putting ourselves in is way too high, I moved here to get away from all that dangerous shit.” Gen huffed out. The fox sent him a dirty side glance, turning her attention back to Usagi, determination in her eyes.
“Come on we’ll be fine, It’ll be super fun, just like the old days. Hunting Yokai and looking absolutely smokin’ hot while doing it”. Kitsune posed at that and Usagi imagined sunglasses appearing across her face. The rabbit was leaning more toward Gen’s stance in all solemnity.
He and his friends hadn’t just decided to pack up and move to another country. It had been a long road of recovery for all of them, some more than others. Kitsune had been the most physically affected by it all, her being rushed to surgery a few minutes after the battle had ended. The Makkine Invasion took a large toll on them, on her, sue Usagi for being worried. Plus, he knew Chizu wouldn’t let her. He didn’t want to get her hopes up, Chizu cares too much about Kitsune's safety and health. And deep down they all knew that Kitsune would be hesitant to mention if she was pushing herself too hard or if she needed a break. The Fox must’ve sensed the conflict in the rabbit's mind.
“You don’t have to worry about me Usagi, I know when to take a backseat. I’m not as nimble as I used to be but I want to do this, I need to. With all the change recently I need a sense of my old-life back”, Kitsune padded him on the shoulder.
He took this into consideration, it was true that things had changed maybe too fast for Kitsune and he could believe in her sentiment to the past. He himself sometimes wished things were different, that they still lived in Neo Edo. Everyone had their own reasons for moving and he knew the unfortunate truth that Kitsune’s was mostly about not losing her friends: He caved.
“If you can somehow convince Chizu to let you help, I’m in”, he smiled at her.
“ Please , ‘somehow’, she loves me too much to tell me no”, She leaned back placing a hand on her hip, giving one of her famous Kitsune smirks.
“No”
“Please, Please, Please”
Usagi lay comfortably on the couch, sprawled if you will, fuzzy sock-covered feet perching in Gen's lap. The rabbit was scrolling through his phone while Gen read a book. He would occasionally drag his eyes away from his screen to watch Kitsune follow Chizu around the apartment while she did chores. They would disappear into the hallway, faint pleas echoing from their indented laundry space. Then they would appear again, cut through the living room to fold at the small dining table before repeating the action again. The fox had been begging her to allow her to help since they’d been at the crime scene, it was now 6:30 PM.
Her insistence was admirable but Usagi was getting tired of the “Pleases” and the bargaining, he decided to step in.
“She isn’t going to stop until you let her”, Usagi supplied unhelpfully, not once looking away from his screen. Chizu groaned in response and whipped around to face her girlfriend.
“This is so very illegal and as the only person in this room who doesn’t have to work part-time, I would love to keep my job. If I were to let you help me you have to swear that it’s only paperwork, nothing more”.
Kitsune answered with a giant smile
“I’m serious, swear on it”, Chizu held out her hand and Kitsune grabbed it to interlock their fingers.
“I swear Zuzu”, she gave Chizu a squeeze before letting go to turn to Usagi. Meeting his eyes she gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up.
“Seriously- you too?!”, the rabbit responded by giving her a cheeky grin.
————————-
It had been around a week since the start of Kitsunes Chizus's investigation. The rabbit only had time to help in-between shifts and on days off, unable to get out of it because he’d “already agreed” and it “wouldn’t be honorable”, as said by his Sensei, if he didn’t help. He also wanted to keep an eye on Kitsune.
The both of them had been picking up a lot of extra shifts lately, which meant they - although rarely - shared some shifts together; the fox took the opportunity to talk about the case rather than actually working, she’s lucky Señor Hueso is merciful.
Usagi was beginning to get frustrated, they weren’t getting anywhere. They sifted through every document, every tape, every tiny piece of evidence and all they got was a slim, muscled body and what Chizu called “Adequate Ninjutsu Skills”. The thief was dressed entirely in black and left no sign of how they broke in and all of this frustration was making his work performance low. The rabbit was irritable and Kitsune interrupting his workflow every 5 minutes to talk about the frustration in question was making him angry and oh so very exhausted; in these moments he considered just quitting and disappearing to Antarctica.
Deep down he knew that he cared more about this case than he was letting on, he’d never admit it but he enjoyed the chase and the thrill. He’d missed the feeling of hunting and training with his friends; even if he was the one who insisted they get away from it all.
He was just finishing up a table of 2 when Kitsune practically jumped him. Entering the kitchen, the weight of his fox friend sent him on alert, almost chopping her head off with his rubber spatula. He barely got a word in before Kitsune grabbed his hand, forcing him to the small windows in the door that allowed vision of the dining area from the kitchen.
“I think I have a lead”, she said nonchalantly.
“Wait, like on the case? A lead lead?”, Forgive him for his relief and excitement.
“Yeah like on the case”, she gibed. “See that table of 4 over there?”, she grabbed his head, directing it towards the table she was referring to. Green, Yokai turtles maybe? Sat scattered around the table. He vaguely recognized them, always seeming to come in during his shift yet he’d never served them before, that wasn’t his section.
“What about them?”
“The one in the blue”, he turns his head to look. A blue mask tied around his face, cutting off his red face markings from meeting in the middle of his eyes. He had, gear(?) On and Usagi could infer that he was telling a story if his wild hand gestures told him anything.
“He’s the robber I’m pretty sure”, at this the rabbit scoffed, almost snorting. Kitsune didn’t like that response, pushing his arm in an expression of annoyance.
“What’re you laughing for?”
“They come in during my shift all the time, I’ve never served them but my co-workers talk, and trust me Kit, the blue one is not the type to be able to pull off a robbery and double homicide. You’ve got the wrong guy”, it felt silly to even imagine the obnoxious customer stealing an artifact. If anything his co-workers said is true, he’d probably drop the damn thing before he got it remotely close to the window.
“I don’t see why he couldn’t, serial killers have fake personalities all the time! They seem like the nicest person then Bam , you’re in their basement with a knife wedged between your shoulder blades”, she sounded ridiculous, so ridiculous that Usagi couldn’t help but take it into consideration.
“Well why don’t you go ask him?”, he joked, pushing her shoulder. Kitsune looked at him with an unreadable expression before exiting the kitchen.
He watched in paralyzed horror as she strutted her way up to the table, his fight or flight only kicking in a few seconds later. Dashing out of the double doors he practically tackled her in the middle of the dining room like a madman. Falling to the ground in a tussle, they flipped and twisted over each other due to impact. She groaned and mumbled something about him “forcing her back into the Emergency Room”, but he wasn’t paying attention.
Instead, he took to surveying the room, the realization that he - an employee - just tackled another employee in front of a table full of customers - the rest of the dining room was luckily hidden behind intricate walls and decor -. Red-hot shame flushed his face; Antarctica was looking pretty good right now.
And as if it couldn’t get any worse, that’s when Hueso rushed through the doors the rabbit had just run out of. Usagi quickly pulled himself off of the groaning fox.
“What the hell happened here?!” Hueso huffed. Too ashamed to muster anything, Usagi took to staring at the ground. His eyes felt scratchy and he could feel the drops lying heavily on his lids, he was going to lose his job. He’d have to find another in record time and holy shit was he embarrassed. He was not only about to get scolded by his boss but he was also on the verge of bawling his eyes out in front of the entire restaurant.
“Heyyy bone-man, no biggie”, Usagi whipped his head up to see the Blue masked turtle - as he suspected - beginning to stand up with a sort of wobble to it.
“Complete accident, I accidentally spilled some of my water on the floor”, the turtle was lying for him? “Next thing we know”, he began simulating sound effects to go along with his hand gestures as he graphically acted out Usagi slipping and falling into his co-worker. Finishing off with a big boom he bravely nudged Señor Hueso before shifting his weight to lean on him.
The rabbit watched in disbelief, tears evaporating into thin air as he tried to retain a sense of reality. His ears twitched to the sound of his friend getting off of the floor behind him - with great trouble might he add - but kept his eyes ahead of him, the silence was so loud.
“Be more careful” the skeleton warned, eyes locking with Usagis in a look of apologetic sympathy, he then turns to his right. “Stop destroying my restaurant and tripping my staff Pepino”. The turtle puts his arms up in a sort of defense and waves as Hueso retreats behind the swinging doors.
Once the skeleton's body completely disappears into the kitchen, Usagi darts his eyes to the stranger in blue.
“Uh, thanks dude”, in truth, he didn’t know what else to say; Luckily he didn’t have to.
“No probs, I’d hate to see good entertainment go to waste” he teased. He continued to stand with confident stature until the other 3 turtles decided that they’d had enough. A bigger one with a red mask grabbed the blue one by the head while another one wearing purple left a cash payment on the table. ‘Pepino’, struggled and squirmed, shouting angry remarks into the red one's giant palm.
“Sorry about him, uh- have a good night” is all the bigger one says, giving an awkward thumbs up with his other hand. The 4 of them begin making their way towards the entrance, disappearing into the rain; a faint blue shining through the flood of water.
Glimpsing to the table they’d just sat at, Usagi notices a small phone with a spider web of cracks streaming down the front. Upon grabbing it, his hand can feel the smooth back of its warn-down blue case: in a flash, he’s rushing out the doors.
“Hey you-”, he stops a few steps out of the entrance. He searched in bewilderment, the group had vanished. Not a trace of a turtle in sight as he stood in the middle of the street, deluged in water.
Usagi wrung out his clothes, watching the water pile onto the tile beneath him. Letting his ears out of his airtight bun, he gazed around the break room. He took in the Mediterranean decor and the sandy porcelain his ears were dripping onto. Watching the bubbles rise to the surface of the water dispenser kept him occupied as he untied the back of his apron; Leaving him in nothing but his black ensemble of clothing. Finally, his eyes drifted to Señor Hueso’s office door, the blinds were shut tight but the lamps slight light seeped through the bottom, reflecting off of the tile.
“Hurry up Sagi” Kitsune complained in exhaust discomfort. He bit his bottom lip before turning to shove his apron into his backpack, pulling out the abandoned phone instead.
“Just a sec Kit, I need to speak to Hueso”, he gave a rough but genuine smile. She responded with a nod before swinging her bag over her shoulder and taking a labored seat on one of the staff chairs. She swung her hand in a fake exasperated ‘go ahead’ before pulling out her phone to dial her girlfriend.
Turning back to the office door, he took timid steps up to the glass and gave a few soft knocks.
“Come in”, a voice calls from inside. The rabbit dabbles with the knob before swinging it open and stepping into the office.
Señor Hueso’s office is warmly lit. It’s quaint with photographs littered along the walls; photos of his family and framed certificates on proud display. His desk was in the center back of the room, high file cabinets towered behind him as he sat snugly in his comfortable rolling chair.
Closing the door after him, Usagi walked further into the office. He nervously gripped the lost phone, trying to gain his confidence. Hueso was working away at something on his desk before he looked up to give the rabbit his full attention.
“Yes Usagi?”, Hueso sighed. Usagi chose to look anywhere but his boss's eyes, deciding to stare at the photo of Hueso and his son that sat on his desk instead.
“The blue turtle that came in earlier”, Usagi started, fiddling with the phone in his hands. Hueso nodded, waiting for him to continue.
“It looked like you two knew each other, I-”, Hueso cut him off.
“He’s a regular customer here, his name is Leonardo if that’s what you’re asking”.
“Actually I-” Usagi started, only to be cut off once more.
“If you’re wondering how I know him, I feel that is a bit personal and inappropriate”. Hueso only turned his attention back to his papers.
Usagi wanted to press, bring up that he’d left his phone but hot embarrassment flooded his cheeks for the 2nd time that night and he sensed that the conversation was over. So he instead backed away, bidding his boss a good night before exiting the office and slipping the phone back into his backpack pocket. Catching the attention of Kitsune, they both made their way to the back employee exit and began their trek home.
Upon their arrival, they stepped into an apartment of delicious aroma. Chizu was working her magic in the kitchen as a smell of Rice and Curry wafted from the stovetop. Kitsune is barely able to shove off her shoes and hang her coat before she is running to the kitchen to squeeze her girlfriend.
Usagi fakes a gag as he hangs up his coat on the rack, sliding into one of the bar stools. Kitsune responds with the middle finger before starting her complaints.
“Remember how I told you on the phone that I thought I’d found a lead?”, Kitsune prompts, stepping away to lean on the counter next to Usagi.
“Yes, I believe I do” Chizu responded, lifting the lid of the pot to stir the soup-like consistency before replacing it again.
“My suspect”, Chizu quirks an eyebrow at that, “He’s this guy from work, a customer. He fits the physical requirements and I’m pretty positive he’s a ninja: his gear speaks volumes. So obviously this guy seems like a candidate, right?”
“Mhm,” Chizu murmurs in response, grabbing 3 bowls and a set of Tupperware from the cabinets.
“Usagi won’t let me investigate him”, she pouts. The rabbit sends an offending look. He’d never told her not to, just stopped her from severely insulting the guy by asking if he had the malice to murder 2 innocent people in a museum robbery. Although her animosity pushed him to devote himself to defending him in retaliation.
“You shouldn’t be ‘Investigating’ anyway Kitsune”, she remarks, turning her attention to Usagi.
“Why won’t you?” Chizu asks curiously, glancing up from splitting the food between the dishes.
“He just doesn't seem like the robber type, trust me”, he slightly believed that; Chizu isn’t convinced.
“Plus he knows Señor Hueso personally. I don't know about you”, directing his glance towards the fox, “but I don't want to get fired for asking a friend of Hueso's if he committed first-degree murder.”, he fully believed that one. He glares at Kitsune, politely taking the dish from Chizu’s extending hands. Kitsune only rolls her eyes as she takes her identical dish.
Chizu grabs the Tupperware, attaches a purple sticky note with the name ‘Gen’ on it to the top, and places it into the fridge. Picking up her bowl and walking around to the small table that was wedged between the kitchen and living room, she took a seat and glanced at the two of them; who were now looking in her direction, awaiting some kind of input.
“Listen, I don’t care as long as Kitsune”, she points at the fox in question, “Isn’t actively investigating as I told her not to”. She blows on her food before bringing a spoonful to her mouth. Kitsune sends him a glower before bringing her bowl to the table and sitting to eat alongside her partner.
Finishing up dinner, Kitsune volunteers to do the dishes and Usagi makes a hasty retreat to his room before she could change her mind. Kicking off his work clothes and replacing them with comfortable PJs, he collapses onto his bed, deciding he’d take a shower in the morning. He rummages through his backpack pocket and pulls out the beat-up phone from the restaurant. He dramatically flops onto his bed, his ears pressing up against the headboard, and inspected the case a little.
It's vibrant blue almost blended in with his room’s monochromatic color scheme. Fun stickers littered the back of the case and cute charms with beads - colors red, purple, orange, green, and black - hung off of the top of the case. He smiled a little at the gesture, noticing the color coordination with the other turtles he was with at the restaurant. He figured they were family, or part of the same clan if what Kitsune said about them being Ninjas were correct.
Something stirred in his gut. Looking at the obvious devotion to his family or clan made him oddly defensive of the guy, more than simple sibling rivalry did. He couldn’t imagine someone so dedicated to his family would have room in his heart for such a great evil. Yet Kitsune's words echoed in his mind. People put up acts all the time, he knew that better than anyone.
The rabbit was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard a gentle tapping on his window. His heart rate skyrocketed as he jumped to the other side of his bed, slowly backing up to grab Edgewing or Willow branch, maybe even his yo-yo at this point. He throws his ears into a ponytail before swiftly grabbing one of his swords from underneath him, Edgewing, carefully making his way back toward the window that loomed over his bed.
Extending the hilt of his sword, he pulls his knees up to the mattress to get a better purchase. His heart was beating so fast he could hear it in his ears, stress filled every vein of his body and he had to resist the urge to call Karasu-Tengu like a scared five-year-old. Slowly but surely, he pushes the left side of his curtains to the side, sword readily in battle stance.
Half-Expecting some evil creep who followed him all the way from Neo Edo, and Half-Expecting to see Kitsune who thought It’d be funny to mess with him; he jolted in surprise when a bright, striped-riddled face stared at him from the other side. The familiar face waved at him as the rain continued to fall heavily onto their face.
Leonardo from the restaurant was at Usagis apartment and all he could do was stare in absolute disbelief at the turtle on the other side of the glass.
Chapter 2: We could have been anywhere, anywhere else
Notes:
I'm so sorry I disappeared for like 3 months. I'm in the process of moving as you may know and things have been absolutely hectic and crazy recently. I finally finished this chapter, this fic is NOT going anywhere I just haven't had time to work on it I'm so sorry T^T
Almost 6k words! <3
CONTENT WARNING!
There are mentions of vomiting, gagging, and a slightly vivid explanation of one's bodily reaction when puking. There's no actual vomiting, only mentions of it. Be warned if you have Emetophobia!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hamato Leonardo wasn’t very good at keeping track of his things. He lost his stuff all the time, since he was a tot even. Toys, clothes, and other rubbish of his continued to be misplaced over the years, his family urged him to learn discipline of property. Of course, Leo took in this concern and completely disregarded it, his lasting recklessness leading him to this moment.
He dripped as rain droplets slid down his reptilian scales. The striped turtle shivered with every slight breeze that swooshed across his face, and his legs burned with each continuing leap as he traversed the rooftops of the Hidden City. The familiar busy streets continued into the late night below him and he took in the semi-fresh, city air.
He could hear the faint pinging radiating off of his twin’s wrist communicator; the purple soft shell was running in tandem with him. Leo had embarrassingly asked for Donnie’s help - already have gone back to ‘Run of the Mill’ to find his lost phone on his own - and in response, his brother had begrudgingly agreed to help him, motivated by the sheer fact that he didn’t feel like making the irresponsible reptile a new one. It seemed no matter how much the genius cautioned his brother to keep track of his things, it went into one cochlea and out the other.
Donnie slowed his run, Leo adapting to the speed, and looked down to his wrist; which was blinking in a rapid frenzy signaling that they were close. He began a steady walk, his brother again mirroring, to follow the dot that began to move down across his map. Dropping to his knees, he grabbed Leo’s hand and pulled him down as well, carefully peeking over the half-walled rooftop he pointed to an illuminated window about 4 stories up.
“Your phone’s in that apartment building, specifically the one with the lights on”. He informed Leo, expecting his brother to portal to the entrance of the building and go find the apartment from the inside. Instead the idiot in question leaped over the railing and grasped at the slippery bars connecting the fire escape to the apartment's brick exterior. The soft shell watches in disbelief as Leo slips and slides across the bars, clearly struggling, before Donnie slings himself back from the railing to wait for his idiotic ‘twin’.
The ‘twin’ in question is still in a frantic struggle. Leo’s muscles ached with the pull of his arms, still sore from the showdown with Meatsweats earlier that day. Desperately and embarrassingly, he manages to pull himself up onto the next bar, his fingers slipping a little as he throws himself over. The slider's feet sting at the prickly metal floor of the fire escape and he begins his climb up the stairs.
Packs of yokai stumbled along the streets and cars moved swiftly along the roads with rare , light traffic. Leo looked over the edge before leaning down into the window frame. His heart rate spiked as he knocked softly on the glass, contemplating what got him to this point and stupidly realizing he could’ve just gone through the building. A thump from the other side of the window made Leo jump a little before he saw a slow movement in the curtains. The turtle freaked out a little before his hand flew up to his side and began to wave to the person on the other side, praying it didn’t turn out to be some douche who had plans to keep and pawn his phone or something along those lines. However, his strong suspicions were correct, the curtains parted via katana hilt to reveal a young rabbit Yokai, his ears pinned up, dressed in baggy pj pants and an oversized shirt with an older-looking samurai bunny on the front.
Leo suspected that it was most likely an employee that took his phone home, whether to steal it or out of good intentions he had no clue, until he saw the waiter he was praying not to see on the other side of the glass. The bunny staring at him back was an employee of Hueso’s, Usagi. He works mainly on Fridays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. His favorite color is blue -they’re literally made for each other- , his height is around 5 '7, and Leonardo has a massive minuscule crush on him.
In no sense was the slider a stalker, ew. The facts he laid out were ones he’d gathered over a year of visiting and observing the waiter at work. In fact, he was positive that if he knew it was him who took his phone, he wouldn’t have gone looking for it, opting to wait it out until Donnie made him a new one. Despite his desire to know the guy, Leo found the idea of properly introducing himself nerve-wracking; for the first time in his life, he was actually worried that his personality would be too much. So he’s been successfully avoiding him - until tonight - and watching from afar instead. This wasn’t the ideal situation, but admitting defeat and leaving before he got his phone back would make it 100% more awkward whenever he made his frequent stops at ‘Run of the Mill’ and it’d clue in Donnie that there was something up, he chose to keep his crush in the small confines of his brain; It was already suspicious that he was so quick to stand up for him at the restaurant earlier.
Usagi looked startled before a flash of recognition painted his face and he bent to open the window, discarding his katana to the side to do so. The rain's continuous assault on the poor turtle's face had Leo practically jumping inside the minute the glass was out of the way, he was dripping all over Usagi’s carpet and he had to hide the embarrassed flush. The rabbit was startled at the sudden boldness but turned to close the window slightly before directing his attention back at Leo, who was now admiring his room.
Usagi’s room had a faint smell of Eucalyptus and the plush floor beneath Leo’s toes had his posture relaxing and his eyes wandering. Posters littered the walls in a misplaced fashion and Leo found himself inspecting every single one. He caught himself looking at one in particular, squinting his eyes before he realized what he was looking at. He whipped his head around to meet the rabbit's eyes, pointing his finger at the band poster he was staring at.
“You like DIGG?”, he rushed out. Usagi stared at him back, pink rising on his cheeks as he nodded. He took a few steps to his closet, and rummaged around for a minute before pulling out a T-shirt with the same girls from the poster and the similar font of “DIGG; BROS PIZZA TOUR” sprawled all around it. He gave a prideful smile before giving a vocal response.
“One of my favorite bands, you?”
“I don’t really listen to them much”, he watched Usagi’s shoulders drop a little before he added on, “I am friends with them though, maybe I can introduce you sometime”. He took delight in watching him inflate again at the idea.
“No way, you know DIGG? How, when did you meet, why did you meet, are they cool, super cool? Wait!”, he took a breath before looking at Leo with wide eyes, “You’ll introduce them to me? For real? Seriously? That would be so sick, you really think you could?!” Usagi rushed out ecstatically. He practically had stars in his eyes; Leo was scared that they would pop out of his head. He recovered at the sudden flurry of questions and put on one of his signature smirks.
“Of course, although I would need my phone to contact you”, he let out in an amused tease, the rabbit realized in a shameful flush and swerved around to grab his phone. Usagi began muttering apologies, his face fur turning a reddish pink. Leo softly smiled.
“No sweat, assuming you weren’t planning on keeping it of course”. Leo was amazed at how smoothly this was going. He was convinced he'd be a blubbering mess, he mentally pats himself on the back for keeping it together; Usagi on the other hand.
“Of course not, I was planning on returning it I swear”, the waiter spoke at the speed of light, he was nervous. The poor guy probably thought he’d call the HCPD on his ass or something.
“Hey dude, all good,” he thought for a minute before continuing, “You still want to meet DIGG?”. Leo turned his phone so the screen was facing outwards, the phone app was open on a new message. Swiftly taking the phone -deja vu anyone?- , Usagi inputted his number along with his name and rushed it back into the turtle's hands. He gave an awkward smile before quickly speaking up.
“Shit, um I’m Usagi by the way”, he threw his hand out to shake Leo’s. The turtle in question took a quick glance and high-fived the sideways hand instead.
“Leo,” he smiled. They stood there for an extra few seconds until the tension became a little too much for Leo to bear. He took a quick glance at the window before speaking again.
“I’ve gotta go, my brother’s waiting for me”, He flashed a quick smile before going to open the window. With his hands on the latches, he stopped dead in his tracks when the both of them heard footsteps santering down the hallway. Leo threw himself into action, almost ripping the window open before he made eye contact with Usagi and waved goodbye. He threw himself out of the window and barely caught himself on the bars of the fire escape before he heard a door open and a female voice, very similar to the waitress Usagi had tackled earlier, drifted its way into his room. A few steps and the window was closed, curtains were drawn, and Leo could no longer hear their conversation. He jumped up and slid his way down the fire escape, calling to his brother in the process. Both Donnie and Leo met on the floor of the ally, Leo swiping a quick portal to their lair before the softshell gave him a suspecting look and walked through the portal, the red-eared slider taking a last glance towards the apartment before joining him.
^
The warmth from Leo’s shower vibrated in his bones still as he was snug under a million blankets and covers. His soft pj’s clung to his skin and he let out a sigh of relief. His mad dash to the bathroom the minute they’d gotten home must’ve given away how soaked the poor turtle was. He swears he sat under that warm shower for at least an hour before his skin started to prune (Damn human genes!) and decided to get out. His march back to his room was full of murderous stares from his wetcat-looking brother who’d been waiting for the bathroom for over 40 minutes. Not Leo’s fault he decided, if Bob the builder over there wanted to take a shower as well he doesn't see why he couldn’t build them another bathroom. Leo isn’t very well-versed in construction but he figures it couldn’t be that hard for someone who’s made a literal jetpack.
So here Leo was, the warmest he’d ever been. Some cookies and milk and he’d be living in cloud 9. The ping from his phone was just the cherry on top.
Friday 10:17 PM
<Leo: Hey, it’s Leo. Realized you gave me ur num. But you didn’t have mine, lmk if this is the right number ^^
Friday 11:34 PM
>Usagi: Hello! You have the right number, I hope lol.
>Would be kinda sick and matrixy tho if a different Leo was texting me.
Leo smiled, funny, a good trait to have.
<Leo: Fr
<For any needed confirmation it’s Leo, the sick ass turtle from the restaurant, and your house I guess oops.
>Usagi: How’d you even find my house you creep
He flushed in embarrassment and looked around his room as if checking to make sure no one else was there.
<Leo: My brother. He’s a crazy tech genius and has trackers on literally everything we own smh. Didn’t even know it was your place tbh. Otherwise, I probably would’ve waited to catch you at the restaurant again.
>Usagi: Ty btw, 4 the restaurant save. Proud to say I’m still an employee, probably wouldn’t be if it wasn’t for you ^^
Leo found himself in a wide, giggling smile before immediately dropping it, whipping his head around his room again.
<Leo: Np! Saw a damsel in distress and swooped in, it’s what I do.
>Usagi: Pfft, damsel?
Another smile, even wider than the last.
<Leo: Just telling you what I saw
>Usagi: Not a damsel, just a good friend
<Leo: Tackling your ‘friend’ in front of a table full of customers is you being a good friend? Make sure to remind me not to be friends with you lol
>Usagi: Stfu
When Leo eventually fell asleep that night, he did with a light, giddy feeling in his chest and the faint smell of Eucalyptus filling his senses, soothing him into a deep sleep.
^
The next morning was like any other. Waking up to the noises of pans clinking together and the TV blaring, Leo continues to be baffled every day that he’s able to sleep a minute in this ‘house’. Dragging himself away from the comfort of his blankets proved to be difficult but rewarding as he stepped into his slippers and out of his room, the delicious aroma of pancakes wafting toward him from their makeshift kitchen.
Stacks of fluffy goodness blessed the counters and Leo hurried to plop down in a chair next to the rest of his brothers before shoveling pancakes onto his plate. Practically drowning his food in syrup, he watched in amusement as Donnie feigned gagging across the table. Raph gave Leo a smile and the slider felt guilt bubble in his gut as his brother’s eye involuntarily twitches. The scars around it bent with the spasm as he gave Leo a ‘Good Morning’, then went to stuff the last piece of his pancake into his mouth. Leo stared back at his plate, feeling his earlier appetite deplete, though continuing to take a bite as he felt Mikey’s eyes practically burning him with their gaze.
It wasn’t unusual for his brothers, specifically Mikey and Raph, to be overly concerned with how much he was eating and taking care of himself. Just as it isn’t weird for Leo to do the same with Mikey’s hands, Raph’s eye, and Donnie’s shell. It didn’t make it any less nerve-racking though, knowing he was being watched while he ate by almost every other eye in the room, as if he was a toddler that could begin choking any minute.
He felt his hand tremble with the fork a little bit as he moved onto his second pancake, uncomfortably forcing each piece down to push back the feeling of puking. His stomach felt queasy as the taste of vomit climbed up his throat. Spasms in his stomach had him hunched over, he swallowed thickly and the burning in his throat subsided. The feeling sat heavy in his stomach and he couldn’t make it through the rest of the second pancake before pushing back his chair with a loud screech, now every eye in the room really was on the slider. He stood up with his plate, making haste to wipe the rest of the pancakes into the trash before rinsing the syrup off of his porcelain. He was quick to snatch his swords and give his brothers a reassuring smile and excuse before disappearing into a portal. He left his brothers sending worried glances at where he was just standing moments prior, all sharing a look before beginning to clean up the table.
Leo spat himself onto a rooftop for some fresh air, or as fresh as it can get in New York. Guilt seeped into his gut for the second time that morning, there wasn’t even an argument this time. He’d gotten up and left, leaving his brothers to clean up and they’d barely even said a word to him. It was a problem, one that Leo couldn’t seem to get over.
It had been 3 years since the Kraang invasion and their wounds had mostly healed. Mikey had rapidly improved, with all his physical therapy he was back to cooking, fighting, and painting to his heart's content in just over a year. Raph’s twitching became rare and Donnie was finally comfortable walking around without his battle shell all the time. And yet Leo couldn’t move on. Every time he looks Raph in the eyes or watches Mikey’s hand spasm as he’s mixing eggs, he feels like he’s going to puke. His life over the past 3 years had been an Emetophobic's nightmare. His brothers were thriving, they were moving on and yet Leo was still constantly waking up in the middle of the night from memories. Forever stuck at a standstill. And he felt like shit because of it.
He didn’t feel like wallowing in self-pity, not today. He pushed all of these thoughts out of his mind before slicing open a portal straight to his favorite pizza place in hopes of seeing a certain new friend of his.
Usagi wasn’t there. Some bullshit about it ‘not being his shift’ from Hueso. So he took to venturing the busy streets of the Hidden City. He’d decided that it was better than going home, extra watchful brother’s on his ass due to the ‘meltdown’ he’d had this morning. He weaved through stalls and crowds and found himself completely enamored by the community of Yokai freely wandering the city with their families and friends.
The Hamato’s didn’t usually pursue the Hidden City, especially after the ‘Jail Incident’. Leo gets goosebumps even thinking about it, yeesh did that cell stink. Of course over the years, their wanted posters slowly stopped showing up and their faces were forgotten, but the family still avoided the City unless they had business in it. Plus, their busy schedules didn’t leave time for it anyway. Crime surely didn’t stop after the invasion, especially with all the pillaging people and Yokai alike attempted in the confusion and vulnerability of the city post-Kraang.
So here Leo found himself, keeping an eye out for pickpockets while he explored the busy main streets of the Hidden City. He followed along the sidewalks, checking out almost every market stall he happened to pass by, despite having no money to actually buy anything; that’s until he saw a flash of white fur out of his peripheral vision.
There were very few times when he’d truly felt lucky in his life. In fact, he could probably count every ‘lucky’ occurrence on one hand, but this definitely made the list. He felt a genuine smile grace his face as he watched the rabbit duck under a massive Yokai’s arm, stopping at a produce stall to make quick and familiar-looking conversation with the stall attendant. Leo approached as Usagi handed the attendant a few dollars and stuffed his new produce into a big tote he was carrying around with him.
“Funny seeing you here, looking for more free phones?'' Leo almost chuckled at his own joke as he watched Usagi’s top knot of ears twitch, he quickly turned to meet Leo’s eye and he smiled at him before registering the snide greeting.
“I wasn’t stealing it and you know that dumbass”, Usagi pushed Leo’s shoulder before turning and continuing to walk, expecting Leo to follow him. Leo did just that.
“What’re you doing on this fine morning”, the slider attempted to make conversation. Usagi gave him a side glance before answering.
“Grocery shopping, though I thought it’d be obvious by the giant tote I'm sporting”, Usagi dug through his pockets before stopping at another stall. He handed a few coins over to the attendant in exchange for two bars of soap. Leo doesn't understand the currency in the Hidden City.
“Thought it was a clothing statement”, Leo continued to follow the rabbit as he left the stall, slipping the bars into a separate, smaller bag inside of his tote.
“Trust me, I’m not hauling this thing around for fashion”, Usagi laughed after the statement, “It’s my turn to pick up groceries for the apartment”.
“What’s on the list? I could help you, I’ve got time to kill”, Leo gave him a confident smile and Usagi searched his face for any kind of teasing. He seemed to deduce that the slider was serious and slapped a big notepad onto Leo’s chest. It was open to a long checklist, with multiple items already crossed off. It was clear that the list was compiled by many different people, 4 different kinds of handwriting to be exact, were scribbled along the paper. Some ink was obviously drier and older than others and an assortment of different ink colors was common, Leo smiled at the domesticity of it.
“This is a lot of stuff”, was all Leo could reply with, still inspecting the items on the list, noticing the little notes that one person seemed very adamant about adding.
“Who wrote the little side notes?”. Leo pointed to the margins but Usagi didn’t even have to look to respond.
“Chizu, she’s very particular with brands and variants, she likes getting exactly what she asks for. She even writes the notes on the weeks when it’s her turn to get the groceries.”, Usagi smiles at that, obviously finding it amusing,
“I appreciate it though,” Usagi looks back at Leo after sidestepping a dog Yokai, “She makes it easier to shop for her when I know exactly what she’s looking for”. Another stop at a stall.
“Hey Joey”, Usagi greets the attendant. Leo is surprised at the use of his name, not seeing a nametag anywhere on the attendant-, Joey.
“Sup Yuichi, ya usual?”. Joey turns back to grab bags of what looked like coffee beans. Usagi must’ve seen the confusion on Leo’s face.
“Yuichi’s my last name”, he supplied, “Joey likes to follow formalities”. The rabbit shrugged at this before turning back to Joey. Leo only partially understood.
“I need an extra two bags today Joey”, Usagi said with an underlying groan as Joey picked up two extras, laying 3 coffee bean bags on the counter.
“Lot of all-nighters? Not trying to hinder my sales but I could've sworn ya Rhino friend came by last week asking for two bags, ya finished all that already?”, his Brooklyn accent laying in thick with every word.
Leo let his face raise in surprise at the comment. His brothers and he were what you could call coffee addicts but even he couldn’t think of going through that much coffee in such little time, especially when the bags were above average size. Usagi gave a sigh, snapping Leo out of his thoughts.
“I don’t know how Kitsune and Chizu are going through so many bags. Our apartment’s going to smell like coffee for the next 5 years I swear”. Usagi fished some currency out of his bag before handing it over to Joey. He stored the coffee beans away in his tote before bidding Joey goodbye and moving on. Usagi adjusted the strap of his bag as Leo almost ran to catch up.
“Your friends are coffee addicts?”, Leo was genuinely curious about where all these coffee beans were going.
“Eh, not really”, that confused the slider, “Kitsune doesn’t really like the taste of coffee and Chizu tries to stay away from a lot of caffeine, but with the case and everything, they’ve been blowing through coffee like it’s nothing”. A case?
“That along with the fact that Gen likes to drink coffee before work and tends to make an extra cup to bring with him, we’ve been running through a ton of coffee as of late”. The rabbit turned a corner and Leo followed him into a small grocery.
“Case?”. Leo was intrigued. It seemed Usagi maybe wasn’t supposed to mention it though because his face quickly contorted into a self-deprecating cringe as he grabbed a basket from the front.
“I can keep a secret, don’t worry”, Leo assured him, leaning in to demonstrate his ability at being secretive. Usagi almost chuckled at this, moving down the face care aisle and grabbing a tub of cream before crossing off a few items under the title ‘Gen Skincare’. He did a bad job at stifling down a smile before biting his tongue and giving in.
“Fine, but you can’t tell like anybody, k?”, Usagi seemed to share his sentiment and leaned in as well, dropping his voice level.
“My friend, Chizu, is a detective for the HCPD,” Leo tensed a little. If Usagi realized this, he decided to ignore it.
“And she’s working on a huge case right now, double homicide,” Usagi smirked at the way Leo’s eyes widened in interest, “My friend Kitsune and I are helping her solve it”. The rabbit pulled away with a confident smile as he pulled another item off the shelf, crossing it off of his notepad.
Leo lit up at this information. He constantly found himself missing the days before the Kraang when he and his brothers would take down villains and solve mysteries. They still fought enemies, like Meatsweats and Repo; (They haven’t heard from Hypno or his weird worm sidekick in a while). Although now it was tense and orderly. They took down the villains with too much ease and Leo couldn’t find himself enjoying the fights anymore. Not when he saw how Mikey’s hands would shake with every throw of his Nunchaku or the way Donnie would flinch anytime an opponent got close to the backside of his battle shell. He refuses to think about Raph’s troubling coordination, fighting wasn’t the same. The action only held harmful reminders, and he’d missed when it didn’t.
So the thought of a real murder case caught his attention. Plus, he found himself yearning for any excuse to hang out with his newfound friend.
“Any chance I could be invited onto this case?”. Usagi’s eyebrows furrowed as he grabbed a carton of milk from a fridge in the back. He began making his way toward the counter, grabbing his wallet and depositing his tote and basket onto the marble surface. He handed the cashier what looked like a punch card that was two punches away from being full and turned to look at the slider.
“I don’t know Leo..it was hard enough getting Chizu to let Kitsune and I help her with the case, I’m not sure she’d appreciate an outsider she doesn’t know or trust”, He grabbed a couple of differently valued bills from his wallet, digging in his pockets for his last few cents before handing them to the cashier. Receiving his receipt and punch card from the cashier, he thanked them and hauled the obviously heavy tote onto the opposite shoulder.
“She doesn’t have to know, I don't even have to necessarily work on the case”, Leo offered, watching Usagi’s side glance as he double-checked his notepad to make sure he had everything.
“I could just give you suggestions, I get around a lot and I know a lot of malicious Yokai. I could help you with suspects, nothing major”, He was desperate to work on this case with Usagi. Anything would do, in reality, he was grasping for any kind of reason for them to frequently hang out, but Usagi didn’t need to know that. The rabbit groaned at himself, almost in disbelief at what he was about to say.
“Finnnee”, he drags it out, hiding the smile on his face. He then whips around to face Leo directly, making the turtle stop abruptly. He drills his index finger into Leo’s plastron, making the slider’s heart rate increase at the proximity change.
“Only” he emphasizes, “Suspect suggestions, nothing more”. He gave Leo the most serious face he could muster up. Leo nodded in agreement, ignoring the way his stomach did backflips at the wide smile Usagi gives him in return. The rabbit removes his finger and turns back around, almost knocking into a pole before narrowly avoiding it. He gives Leo an awkward smile before readjusting his shoulder grip on his tote.
“I’ve gotta head back to my apartment, groceries are gonna go bad if I don’t put them in the fridge soon, plus I've got a shift later and I’d like to- I don't know, nap or something beforehand”. Leo nods at this, giving him a small grin.
“Maybe I’ll see you later then, I’m sure I could spare an hour to drop by for some pizza”, Usagi smugly smiles at this before turning to walk down the same path they came from.
“See you, Lee”, the rabbit disappears into the sea of Yokai and Leo finds himself stunned in place, the nickname making blood rush to his cheeks before whipping around to walk in the opposite direction. He smacks at his cheeks, attempting to calm himself before ripping open a portal and giddily walking through.
The Lair is quiet when he steps through. Mikey was sprawled out on the couch, diligently working in his sketchbook. Leo gives an enthusiastic wave before he’s rushing to his room, unable to stop smiling.
Mikey watches him leave, having stopped his sketch to watch the way his brother practically skips to his room. He narrows his eyebrows as Leo’s subway door closes behind him. Leo hadn’t been the same since the Kraang. None of them had, but Mikey found himself noticing the way Leo’s hands shook with his fork this morning, frowning at the recurrence of it throughout the 3 years since. Leo’s mental struggles didn’t go unnoticed by his brothers, not by Mikey. He knew that Leo was in pain, and he knew that he’d never want to bring it up or god forbid allow himself to be helped. Mikey has heard hours of concerns from Donnie and Raph, and he could fill those hours with his own concerns as well; he could only hope that one day Leo would be willing to sit down and hear them. He could only hope that one day Leo would be willing to ask for help.
It wasn’t unusual for Leo to smile or to joke. His artificial confidence and fake enthusiastic attitude were fundamental in the way he communicated, Mikey could smell the insecurity a mile away. It was, however, unusual that Leo’s smile and excitement were raw and real. Whatever that was just now, Mikey was sure was the first time in a long time that he’s seen Leo with true happiness across his face, and he was determined to find out what had caused it.
^
“That took you an awfully long time”
Usagi had just stepped into his apartment, throwing his keys onto the key hanger before turning to face Kitsune who had watched him come in from the couch. He rotated his body to show off the enormous, heavy tote that was hanging from his shoulder, as to show why he was out for so long. Kitsune rolled her eyes at this as the rabbit walked to the kitchen, lifting the tote onto the counter as if it were a 100-pound weight. Getting up from her cozy spot on the couch, the fox joins Usagi in the kitchen, unpacking the tote to put things away and separate personal products into each other's miscellaneous cubbies that they had invested in.
“I meant it took you longer than it usually does, you go somewhere extra?”. Kitsune’s voice dripped in ‘nosy’ and Usagi found himself rolling his eyes this time.
“I didn’t go anywhere 'extra', maybe it took so long because I had to explain to Joey why we needed 3 whole bags of coffee beans for this week”, as he said this, he pulled out two of the bags, showing them off with an annoyed expression. Kitsune lights up, instantly grabbing the two and rummaging around in the tote for the third one.
“Thank you, Sagi! We’ve been going through coffee like water”, she opens the top cabinet and struggles to put the bags beside the virtually empty identical one. The two were quick with putting the groceries away, Kitsune info-dumping about some show she was watching and switching to bringing up some suspect suggestions as they put the last few things away.
“I don’t think an 80-year-old woman has the agility to murder two armed guards and then hop out of a raised window all while carrying a heavy artifact”. Kitsune’s latest suspect was a random old lady who’d given her a snide comment this morning in a pastry shop.
“She has neither the build nor height of the thief either, a salamander doesn’t match our description at all”, Usagi sighed. Kitsune’s obvious grudge was getting them nowhere. Pulling out his phone he begins to compose a quick text to Leo, asking to set up a hangout time where they could discuss suspects. He’d be lying if he didn’t like the idea of hanging out with his new friend, he found Leo a comforting presence. He was excited about their newfound friendship as well. Kitsune raised her eyebrow at this.
“Who’re you texting?”. She attempted to look over his shoulder but found her height an inconvenience. Usagi still shut off his phone and suspiciously shoved it out of her view.
“No one”. Kitsune wasn’t convinced.
“Doesn’t look like ‘No one’”, she mischievously smirked while air quoting, causing Usagi to sputter and blush at the insinuation of her grin.
“It’s not like that Kitsune, I was just texting a coworker”, the rabbit hastily prepares this excuse, trying to rid the idea of romance between him and his new friend from his mind. It was quite frankly ridiculous, he wasn’t going to let Kitsune ruin his fresh friendship.
“What for?”, she pressed on, trying to get him to break.
“What-, Because- it doesn’t matter”, struggling with his alibi, he shut down the conversation. He quickly turned to the hallway and began his way to his room.
“I need to take a nap and shower before my shift tonight, I’ll see you later”. The rabbit talks a mile a minute and his voice fades out as he gets farther down the hall and turns the corner to his room, making a dramatic display of shutting his door loudly.
Kitsune doesn’t buy his bullshit. Not only is Usagi a horrible liar but she found herself more curious than ever as to who he could be keeping from her. Usagi’s never had a lot of friends, especially not after the Makkine, and in watching her friend blame himself for it all, she was sure he’d never put himself back out there. Apart from making small conversation with the Coffee stall attendant- Joey, the fox wasn’t sure she’d see the rabbit ever make separate friends, it made her sad. And she knew it made the others sad as well. It’s hard seeing a loved one so hurt from past events, notably because he’s some of the only family she’s ever had.
Kitsune just wanted to know that he would be ok. She swallowed deeply before taking out her phone and sending a quick text to her girlfriend. Grabbing her bag and her keys, she made sure to lock the door on her way out.
Notes:
New challenge, count how many times I say 'tote' in this chapter lol. I should have more time to work on the next chapters soon! I should be all moved in by mid-July so here's to hoping for more time to write! Enjoy the mundane, sweet beginning chapters because this story gets kind of angsty.
Wanted to add real fast that this is like a "He fell first, but he fell harder" kind of story. Usagi doesn't see Leo in a romantic light (unless you want to interpret it that way), not yet at least. I'm trying to make this like Medium/Slow Burn but I'm not very good at writing romance (Im AroAce), so sorry if it comes out weird lol.
Have a wonderful day/night, love yall /p.
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