A/N: Special thanks to Ravenshell for beta reading this story for me. :)

~ Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your heart on fire. ~

-unknown

Warm golden rays seeped through my bed of field grass. The earth, damp beneath me, smelled of soil. It had been a wretched hot summer day, humid and breezeless. Had the human side of me not been sweating, and my blood been heated from the sun's relentless shine like it would in my natural state, I would've stayed in the mowed grass back at the farm. Here, so close to the pond, it was cooler, yet I could still soak up those perfect beams of light.

And I had been, for most of the afternoon, drinking up the seconds of peace, however fleeting they may be. I'd reminisced over a variety of things, my childhood, my brothers, my home, where things began, while wondering where they were headed. I remembered the last time we were here, but not the way my brothers did. I'd been unconscious for most of it. What I recalled was waking up in a bathtub, followed by the struggle to heal and recondition my body… that and to let daggers of defeat drive the rest of the way in, right to the bone. My fingers dug into the soft black soil beneath them, the mud squishing and sliding along my palm. A bitter-tasting word, defeat, it was like a massive pill that never got any easier to swallow.

Now though, I thought, rubbing my smudge-covered hand over a patch of grass, the mud marring the myriad of green blades, it was someone else recuperating. My gaze shifted from the mess I'd made of the previously perfectly upright strands of emerald, like willowy soldiers bending beneath the weight of an opponent greater than they.

The sky was high above me, free of clouds, the sun a brilliant orange sphere with smoldering vapors outlining it. If only everything could be as clear as the sky on this day. If only I had Michelangelo's optimistic spirit, so bright and encouraging. Even as I looked over my shoulder, worried about what was behind us, he'd never stopped looking ahead. He was a beacon, constantly guiding us with his endlessly effervescent light.

Perhaps, if I was a genius like Donnie, I could cure myself of this damn ailment. Although, it would seem that it either hadn't occurred to him to create one, or he'd already tried, and even he couldn't make a solution for this… distraction.

Maybe if I had Raphael's ability to shut myself off, not that I thought it was healthy, to drive everyone away, to hold them at arm's length and never let anyone in… if I could put up walls around me, then I wouldn't be feeling the way I do.

Then I could be the clear and focused leader they need me to be, then I could see her as one of my- No. I didn't have the luxury of leading soldiers. The warriors I was responsible for, they were my family, my brothers, my friends, and what did that make Karai? My sister? My stomach turned; that was a whole other set of problems.

"Ugh, Leo, what are you doing?" I pinched the space between my eyes, and squinted them shut. Taking a few cleansing breaths I let my thoughts settle where I knew they were inevitably headed: on the exotic Japanese girl who'd thrust herself into my life with a ferocity equal to my red-masked brother. The very girl who'd tempted me from my honor the first night I'd met her. A small smile toyed at the corners of my lips. But I'd withstood her charms… that night. Sort of. I didn't steal the sword, but she had gotten into my head, and in many ways that was worse.

Those fawn colored eyes had a shine to them, a zeal for something perhaps she herself did not know. Her eyes had been bright and vibrant, although far from innocent. Her lips a thin cherry colored line, her tongue as sharp as a razors edge, and yet I'd let her lure me in… and my mouth had watered with the desire to taste her. I groaned, squirming a bit, mashing my lips against one another as the familiar ache filled them.

That hair, those black strands, intermingling with the blonde beneath, surely they must be delicate. Would I ever know? I swallowed hard, not noticing my fingers digging into the soil again. That lithe body, all curves beneath her Foot uniform. That damn black garb. I swiped more mud over the fallen soldiers, my fingers brushing my katana this time. I sat up, mesmerized by my reflection shining up at me from within the well polished steel, resting in a nest of green.

The blue of my mask was deeper than that of the sky, and I thought it a soothing, cool shade. The way my disposition should've been, had been, prior to her. My cobalt colored eyes were bloodshot, despite my afternoon of rest, probably from sitting up holding her all night. How far she'd fallen, how much she'd endured…

She'd been just a bored, lonely, rebellious girl when I met her. I knew what I was to her too. I'd been a stupid kid, caught in the cross-hairs of the first kunoichi I'd ever met, and a beautiful, mysterious one at that. But there had been something, an intuitive voice that whispered to me, and like the fool I was, my heart was open and I'd listened.

There's good in her.

How I'd come to hate that little voice. The same voice that usually guided me, and in turn I my team, successfully out of danger, it had betrayed me. It had poisoned me, or maybe she had. She'd gotten under my shell like the ant tickling my shoulder just under the ridge of my carapace. I knew it was there, but I couldn't reach it, so I'd given up, opting to endure it.

She was an unwanted distraction, a dangerous one at that. The edges of my mouth tipped up again and I ran my fingers over the blades, smudging them. She was the best I'd ever met with a katana. Sparring with her caused a ripple in my usually still waters. By the end of a match I was a tsunami inside, the clash of steel equivalent of a gusting wind, the flash of her eyes a wave rising, the set of her mouth thrusting rough waters to their peak…

"Ow!" I glanced down at my mud-covered hand, the shine of my blades blurred beneath the soil, smeared over them while a trickle of crimson worked its way from where the edge met with my palm. The bright red slipped across the mess; blood, water, light, dark… it was all connected, pushing and pulling, like the ever changing seasons and weather.

I released the blade, turning my palm to look at it. Damaged. We were damaged. She was just shy of poison, a drug, and I was hooked. Never before had anyone taken such a hold on me, and at first it hadn't been that riveting. Yes, I'd been enthralled by her feminine wiles, fascinated, curious. But my heart had not yet embraced her. Then I discovered who she was. My Sensei's daughter. She belonged with us. She was family. Part of my family, and trapped within the walls of my enemy's compound. And the voice blew in my ear again…

You can help her Leo.

We succeeded. How I loved that word. Victory. I glanced at the coagulating blood in my palm. Yes, victory tasted sweet, rolled off the tongue nicely. Some scars, in battles that rang with bells of joy at the end, those were worn with pride.

But no sooner had we brought her home than she was tempted away by the unsatisfied thirst for revenge. While I understood that desire, that need, that drive, her attempt was in haste and ended in her mutation. My gaze shifted from my slight wound, the dull throbbing more of a discomfort, an annoyance, than anything, to look at my muddy blade, smeared with my stains. Those blades sliced through the air many a time, singing a death song to an enemy, guiding them to their swift end. Yes, they were tarnished with my sins, even though I polished them, sharpened them diligently. If my blades had been quicker, if I had been swift like a cheetah, or could fly like an eagle… Maybe then… my breath hitched… my heart ached, the familiar lump worked its way into my throat and I cursed it from within.

How much she had suffered, not only the mutation, but her whole life. I'm sure her childhood was isolated. And in many ways so was my own, but I had brothers to keep me company. She had no one, no mother, no friends to my knowledge, and a villain for what she thought to be her father. What could he have taught her? To hate? Well, he failed. I caught sight of my canines amid the mess on my precious sword, and flinched ever so slightly. I would never fall into his pit. No, I was honor-bound, and she was in desperate need to live by a dignified code. She wanted better. She deserved better.

Being a mutant snake was not better. I could almost feel those smooth, cool scales beneath my fingers, see that pearl-color sheen reflecting the moonlight, her poor serpent hands lashing out at me… When she spoke I thought my heart would break for the feeble sound of her voice—she'd given up—and that look in her eyes, that despair… well, it only steeled my resolve. Time and again she'd slipped out of my fingers, but I would not give up. I sighed, shook my head, and noticed an ant trudging along carrying a wild blackberry three times its size on its back. The weight of his burdens wasn't crushing him. I swallowed my failure to Karai; I had an opportunity to help her now, and I would not let her down. Not again. I'd never give up.

A slight breeze rustled the tall blades of grass and I heard the universe whispering, a perfect echo of that tiny voice…

She belongs with you Leonardo.