Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT 2012.
It had been a week since Donatello's revelation. From what we had heard from him, we learned to understand him more with his sense of maturity. My brothers and I did our best to be patient with him, listening to him whenever he seemed bothered or uneasy. Mikey made sure that Donatello had something to smile and laugh about often so that he would let go of his sad memories. Shell, even Raph would go to the genius to learn how to perform the hijutsu, proving that he can be a tolerant and determined student and that he acknowledges Donatello's skills and experience in a good way.
Sensei was also there to help. He would invite Donatello to meditate with him, a practice to clear one's mind of troubled thoughts. What's more, he had volunteered to spar with Donatello every once in a while since he knew and can keep up with the level of ninjutsu the genius was capable of. Of course, April didn't want to be left out. She was the one who would talk with Donatello about scientific and technical subjects and would offer a hand in some of his projects. She had been delighted when he had shown her how his TSJ actually works.
As a response to our efforts, Donatello had opened up more, sharing his knowledge and expertise with us. He had eventually become less and less bad-tempered and in turn, was more thoughtful and gentler. He had participated more as team member, providing us with useful gadgets and helping me formulate battle strategies. But most importantly, he had learned to accept us as his new family, showing care and affection towards all of us and actually turning into an elder brother figure for me and my siblings. Especially for me.
Yet his outburst about me taking all the blame was still existent in my mind. It played over and over again like a scratched-up phonograph. I wanted to ask him about it in private, about what it truly meant, but I couldn't since I never had the chance to.
Until now, that is.
I was watching him from behind a water tank as he sat on the edge of the rooftop, his feet dangling over the edge. I had followed him here when I saw him sneak out of the lair with something in hand. Now that I observed him closely, he seemed to be drinking from whatever he had brought with him as he looked up at the full moon in the night sky above.
"Leo, you know it's cold out during autumn nights. Wanna sit right next to me for warmth?"
His invitation caught me off-guard. Seriously, I had made sure that I had trailed after him silently, like a creeping ghost. After all, I AM a ninja. I'm not supposed to make my presence known to my target. This just proves Donatello's skill superiority over mine.
Defeated, I jumped down from where I hid and approached him. This gave me the opportunity to see him clearly and I gasped at what I saw in his left hand.
"Sakazuki?" I breathed out, meeting his relaxed burgundy gaze with my surprised ocean blue one. "You…you drink sake?"
"Oi, I'm old enough for it already," he replied, chuckling. "Adding up all of the time I spent travelling and staying in different dimensions, excluding null-rifts since there's no time there, I can claim that I am approximately eighteen years of age. A minor."
I sat right beside him, still gaping at him.
"Besides, I'm not like some humans with alcoholic beverages," he added, "I don't just guzzle down all of the sake at once. I'd like to take my time and think while I appreciate its taste and soothing effects. Also, I have a high tolerance for alcohol."
To emphasize his point, he brought the jet black sakazuki to his lips and sipped its contents a little, sighing in a satisfied manner afterwards. There was a moment of silence between us as he turned to the moon again, taking in some sake every once in a while sparingly. Rubbing the back of my neck, I forced the words out of my throat.
"I have a question to ask – "
"Ask away, Fearless," came his nonchalant answer.
I inhaled, then exhaled, calming myself down.
"I…still remember what you said to me that night, before you saved us from the Kraang and all. What did you mean by 'stop claiming that you caused this shit when someone else did'?"
I saw the hint of red on his cheeks and I doubt it was from the alcohol. He coughed, clearing his throat, before turning to me.
"So you still kept that in mind, huh?" He inquired and I nodded. "Well…back in my dimension, when I returned there thirty years later, I…blamed my Leonardo about everything. I told – no – yelled at him that Shredder's supremacy, the world's corruption, my family's disbandment and Sensei's and Mikey's deaths were his entire fault. 'Cause he wasn't a good leader, I said. 'Cause he was a pathetic excuse for a ninja, I spat out. And he took all of it, everything I had accused him for, to heart."
Another eye-opener from Donatello. I felt my eyes widen twice in size again.
"I was too angry, too stressed out, too sad, too…too much of everything," he continued, unshed tears glistening under the moonlight. "I shouldn't have said that. That shouldn't be what he should have heard from me. That was the last time we ever spoke to each other again, before…he was killed."
He set his sakazuki down to his left rather forcefully, the sake spilling a bit.
"Kami, I'm such an asshole! What kind of a brother am I? I should've forgiven him and Raph for what they had done, when they were still around. They were the only family I had left, but I pushed them away, consumed by my thirst for vengeance. I…I…I shouldn't have gone in the first place! My family had just fallen apart because of my absence. That's the exact opposite of what I wanted! Shell, it's even worse! GODDAMNED WORSE!"
With his head bent down, he punched the area on his right vehemently several times over, the concrete cracking from the abuse. Since I was next to him, I grabbed his wrist, stopping his fist from hitting the rooftop. It took all of my strength to just keep his fist in midair.
"Settle down, Donatello. Settle down," I soothed, barely hiding the panic in my voice.
His whole body was trembling as he sobbed quietly, his shoulders convulsing up and down. I scooted closer to him, minding the fissured concrete, with his now open hand in mine. I noted that his knuckles were swollen and bleeding a little, probably half-broken from all the punching. At this, I frowned.
"Hang on," I stated quietly, reaching into my belt.
Sure enough, I found what I was looking for and pulled out the roll of gauze. Immediately, I began to dress his hand, wrapping the bandage around his knuckles to halfway down his palm. I then tied it in place when I was finished and put away what remained of the roll. Donatello was still crying.
"Hey, you were asking what kind of a brother you are, right? I'll answer that question, in behalf of Raph and Mikey. You are a good brother to all of us. Sure, you were a jerk to your real brothers, but to us, you're first-class, compassionate and always there to help. You're the ideal brother to us, though you have some temper and geek issues to deal with. Plus, you have a new family to take care of now – Me, Mikey, Raph, Master Splinter and even April."
I leaned against him, resting my head on his right shoulder.
"And you're the best Oniisan I ever had, Donnie."
His body shuddered again, but this time, it was because of a hearty chuckle that was music to my earholes. He placed his bandaged hand on my head. I pictured the warm smile he wore as he whispered to me.
"I'm the only Oniisan you'll ever have, gaki. Yet for that, I'm thankful. Arigatou gozaimasu, all of you, for being my family."
/
"What the shell are we doing here in the dojo, Sensei?" Raphael asked, sighing jadedly. "I thought that we had already finished our exercises!"
"No offense, Sensei, but I agree with Raph," Leonardo admitted as he shifted into a cross-legged sitting position.
"Yeah," Michelangelo agreed, slumping forward with his elbows on his knees. "And where's Donnie, anyway?"
Splinter stroked his beard in amusement as his sons now took notice of their eldest brother's absence. As if on cue, the door slid open and in came Donatello with ALL of his weapons in his arms.
"Gomen nasai, Sensei, for being late," he apologized as he set down his weapons, their clangs and tings echoing throughout the dojo as they met the tatami. "I had a pretty hard time gathering all of these bad boys up. Had to make sure they were cleaned and ready to use, too."
The old rat nodded in acknowledgement then turned back to the other three turtles sitting on the tatami. As expected, they were gawking at the array of arsenal before them.
"I will be busy in training Miss O'Neil the ways of a kunoichi," he informed, his lips tugged into a sly smile, "so from now on, Donatello here will be the one who will guide you with your exercises."
The three younger mutants' lower jaws dropped to the tatami in disbelief.
"I am truly honored, Sensei," Donatello said with a deep bow. "I shall mold my brothers into better ninja. You have my word on that."
He then stood up straight and gazed at his shocked and speechless siblings, a nasty smirk gracing his features.
"In the dojo," the brainiac began, still smirking, "you will address me as your Senpai. You gaki got that?"
Leo, Raph and Mikey had the same thought in mind as they watched him twirl his bo, surrounded with a radiant atmosphere of smugness.
Oh shell.
/
"YOU TWO ARE FAILURES!" Shredder roared.
Before him, Chris Bradford and Xever kept their heads bowed down as they knelt in front of him. Infuriated, the armor-clad tyrant paced back and forth in front of them.
"WHY IS IT THAT YOU IDIOTS CANNOT PUT A STOP TO THOSE TURTLES?"
A gruff chuckle pierced through the tensed moment, before Shredder's disciples could even voice their reasons.
"Let me handle your enemies this time, Shredder-sama," offered a figure who stood in the far dark corner of the room, his white, emotionless eyes the only part of him visible. "I shall make sure that Hamato Yoshi's pupils will never live long enough to meet adulthood."
Shredder turned to the mysterious persona. The figure then stepped into the dim light, revealing himself to be a tall, mutant turtle dressed in heavy, full-body armor. He wore an ebony bandanna mask and what was exposed of his olive green skin was pelted with deformities from burns and scorches.
"Ah yes, I haven't known you were there, Kagekiri," Shredder said, the rage in his voice disappearing and replaced with pride. "You truly are my finest student."
The man then came to the mutant and placed a gloved hand on his shoulder.
"Very well. I shall pass onto you the responsibility to destroy our enemies. Make me proud, my son."
As a response, Kagekiri grinned, uncovering the gap among his pearl white teeth.
A/N
A quick update right before the Prom! ^^
Guess you're all wondering who this Kagekiri guy really is, huh? Well, I know some of you know who he is, but I also know that you WANT TO KNOW how and why he's here when he's supposed to be dead, right? XP XDDDD
This chapter ends the mark of Part One for Good Ol' Days. The next chapters, basically Part Two, will be all about the turtles' fight against their newest enemy, which will be especially hard once they find out about his identity. O.o
Yes, there will be more action in Part Two.
And sadly, this will be the last chapter to contain the Japanese Vocab Corner. It will be replaced by what I will call Responses To Reviews, or R2R for short. Practically, it will be my answers to each of your comments, so if you have any questions about me or Good Ol' Days, except those regarding about future events in my Fanfic, better post 'em with your reviews! :D
I've been thinking about this Fanfic's theme song/s or something like that and I've come up with three:.
Good Ol' Days by The Script for Part One.
Dead Man Walking also by the Script for Part Two.
Alones by Aqua Timez (AKA Bleach anime Opening 6) for the whole Fanfic. I chose it because of its tune and the meaning of its lyrics, though it's J-Pop so it's in Japanese. ^^lll
For anyone interested in the third song, here's the link for YouTube: watch?v=kC-TVF9UUuY
Japanese Vocab Corner
Sakazuki – A nearly flat, bowl-like cup for holding sake
Sake – Japanese rice wine
"Gomen nasai" – "I'm sorry" or "I apologize"
Senpai – Upper classman, or, in Japan, what you call someone of higher rank than yours.
-sama – A Japanese title equivalent to the English "Lord" or "Lady", depending on the gender
Kagekiri – Translates into "Shadow Cutter"
Longest A/N yet! :O