Run away, little blue (TMNT)

Chapter three

This chapter was made on December 17th, 2017. It has been rewritten since November 17th, 2020. I am now a more capable writer who wishes to rewrite their previous work. Some details might change, old fans will notice, so some comments may not make sense.

You may notice the writing style change next chapter - I may have not gotten to that chapter yet, and am working on it currently. Sorry about that!

Notes for this chapter: This was the hardest to rewrite, because I realized how stupid it was that real ninja left their weapons behind, and because I wanted to give more depth into Leonardo's reasons for being upset. But I managed, so have a proper chapter for the first time since this chapter came out!

This was also difficult to write because I wanted it done by today - look at the dates of when I wrote this. Just over three years ago today this was posted. Damn!

...

Leonardo couldn't hold the tears back as he sprinted down the sewer tunnels, feet slipping slightly from the overly wet grounds. A flood had happened recently, if he remembered correctly through his haze. That's why it was like this. It was just like his life though - he reached a hand to steady himself on the sewer walls, fingers running along the grooves in the brick as he sped up practically skating around each corner. His eyesight was blurry, his face contorted into pain and guilt and utter frustration.

What would Splinter think of him now?

He prided himself on being the best ninja out of the three - and it had always made sense. Splinter would pick him to do jobs he couldn't bare to see the younger three do. Would this discovery make his father feel guilty too? That the one getting hurt - getting beaten and tortured - was actually his 'precious youngest'? The one who handled the leadership, and protected his brothers, was still merely a child compared to his brothers?

It made it worse now knowing he could withstand all of that - yet couldn't even handle being told their true age-comparison. It hurt, a little, to know he wasn't actually the oldest. Like he'd been lied to his whole life. He wanted to go to his father, but his father had been gone for months now, his life taken by the hands of Shredder. He was all his brothers had had left - how they'd leaned on him, made him feel important and needed. That was shattered, and all because of a simple age-check. Age meant a whole lot in their family - the eldest was always expected to come through with maturity and calmness, the youngest supposed to be bouncy and care-free. To keep that innocent-mind as long as possible. Now, not only was Michelangelo losing his innocent ideologies, Leonardo had missed out on a chance to have his own. Knowing this fact early on would have saved him so many hours sobbing in the Dojo, reading leadership books, or practicing with his Sensei. He could of had a happy childhood.

But then his thoughts slid to Raphael as he began to climb the rusty, tinted-brown ladder up to one of the manholes on the south-side of the city. Raphael; he would have to train hourly - daily, non-stop even, to even begin to accomplish what Leonardo had taken years to learn. He didn't have the comfort of knowing his Sensei was there to guide him, as Leo did. He highly doubted Raphael would turn to him for help anyway. He was a stubborn teenager; the most stubborn he'd ever met.

Swiping at the growing dampening marks on his mask, he scaled a particular building's walls, jumping up and onto the rooftop. It was his favorite view - one that gave him a clear shot of the ocean. Its waves softly rumbled over the bay, the water glistening in the dimming suns light. The ships and boats alongside the dock floated quietly, bobbing to the waves rhythm like a calming melody. The people below chattering softly, the cars buzzing as they drove around the city, a glow a white among the blackening sky. A peaceful night like this, spoiled by his rotten mood.

His hands gripped the rail before him, knuckles turning white at the strength behind it. "This is stupid." He growled out, eyebrows furrowing. "Why am I so upset!"

...

Raphael removed his headphones as his door opened, scowling at the youngest- no, his mind fluttered, trying to fight against old habits, the second youngest, as he poked his head into the room. "What's up, Mike."

The orange-banded turtle looked nervous, but Raph knew it wasn't from him in particular - Mikey was never nervous around him, unless he was sprinting towards him Sais raised. "Leo hasn't come back yet."

Oh. His raised an eyebrow, getting up and following his brother out the door to find Donatello below in the living room, pacing, a worried, terrified look upon his face. Raph hated it when his family worried. Worry led them no where - similar to his anger; or well, unless it was against villains, then his anger did indeed lead them somewhere. To victory. Mostly, at least. "Chill out, Donnie, for the love of all things turtle, you sure are having a real meltdown today."

"Of course I am, Raph." Snapped the purple-banded turtle, taking the older by surprise. "This is all my fault, okay? If I had just kept my big mouth shut-"

"Listen." Raphael flung himself over the railings, landing on his feet evenly. "It doesn't matter whose fault it was. Let's just go get him back. He's probably running laps in the sewers and forgot the time."

"Yeah." Donnie let out a sharp breath. "Yeah... Lead the way."

Raph reached a hand out to squeeze his brother's shoulder, looking across at Mikey, who had taken the stairs instead. The orange-banded turtle smiled weakly, eyes quite not meeting him. He too, felt guilty now. Raph ignored his own thoughts, tugging at Donnie to urge him out of the lair, Mikey following naturally. "C'mon, let's just go."

"Our weapons?" Donatello had half-a-mind among them all to stop and head back, but Raphael pushed him along.

"We don't need them - like I said, he's probably in the sewers. I think we can handle a few mice, Don."

"If you say so." Michelangelo whispered, looking back at the lair one last time before running to keep up with his older brothers.