Chapter 8: The Truth
Press conference
A few days had passed since the incident. As soldiers secured every part of the surrounding area, a press conference started. They tried to look strong, so that the people would feel a little bit safer after the catastrophe that had just happened. However… it was of no use.
The mayor spoke, black shadows underneath his eyes. “Today, we honor our heroes. Without the turtles, we wouldn’t have a city anymore. No future.”
He paused, nodding to the cameras. “But let’s be honest with each other. This new threat… this person, this… monster, it came, it destroyed, and it disappeared.”
“MY SON IS DEAD!” HE IS DEAD!” A woman in the audience suddenly cried out, while a female security guard took her away, with one arm around her waist.
“WHAT DOES HE WANT?”
“WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO US?”
Reporters chimed in. “Is this related to the incident from 2 years ago?”
“What about the rabbit-fighter? How is he connected to all of this?”
The mayor started to inhale deeply, readying his voice. Through the sleepless nights, trying to sound calm and collected, he started his speech.
“We got through a situation like this once before with those aliens…”
Silence arose in the crowd, the people desperate for reassurance. They were reminded of the fear they felt when the mayor spoke about two years ago.
“We know there are casualties. We know people are scared. And so are we. The Turtles did everything they could, but this went beyond anything anyone could have predicted.”
People listened intently at the mayor’s words, eyes all gazing at the podium. “Currently, we are investigating the connection between the rabbit-yokai and the criminal. Onlookers believed, based on their conversation before… the catastrophe… that he was looking specifically for him.”
“HAND THE RABBIT OVER”, a man screamed on top of his lungs, everyone hearing what he said. “I DON’T CARE THAT HE IS A YOKAI! HE CAN’T STAY HERE.”
“THE TURTLES SAVED HIM. THE RABBIT-YOKAI IS A VICTIM,” a few girls yelled back at the man, one of them being a cheetah Yokai.
Citizens started arguing, yelling, screaming at each other. The mayor was escorted back by a part of the army, the other part intervening in the rioting crowd…
Everyone at the lair
The lair was quiet, with the smallest waterdrops in the sewer being audible. The glow of the screens bathed the lair in cold blue light. No one spoke. Mikey sat hunched over the couch, eyes flicking between news replays. Watching nothing. Waiting. Raph paced anxiously, not like himself at all. Yuichi was not here, he was somewhere else in the sewer, too ashamed after everything that had happened. Splinter was tending everyone’s wounds. Leo kept calling the rabbit’s phone, searching for him. He demanded answers.
Mikey, who normally was the calmest and most resilient emotionally, spoke in a monotone voice: “They keep replaying that woman… screaming about her son.”
“Just SHUT it off Mikey”, Raph snapped at his little brother, his head having bandages wrapped around it.
“I CAN’T, WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER, FOUGHT BETTER,” Mikey screamed back, the side of his face blue this time.
“DONNIE WENT BEYOND HIS LIMITS AND LOOK WHAT THAT BROUGHT HIM.” As Raph was about to stand up, Leo appeared back from the sewers… empty handed.
“Is Donnie still unconscious?”, Leo asked, closing his eyes, secretly hoping Donnie would have woken up.
“He is still asleep…” April said. She looked green, like the young woman had vomited from all the stress. After a moment of devastating silence, the normally charismatic turtle started talking, really losing his cool in the process.
“He shouldn’t have gone after that thing alone. He…”
Leo stopped himself, clenching his fist. Raph tried to interrupt, his demeanor incredibly annoyed. “Oh sto-…”
“HE SHOULD HAVE TOLD US.”
“You are right…” His voice instantly widened everyone’s eyes, making everyone look at the entrance. Yuichi stood there, old blood soaked bandages all around his chest, black circles under the eyes. His voice was trembling, but it was clear enough.
“Everything happened so fast. Big Mom gave away my…” but before he could even finish his sentence.
“OH OF COURSE YOU BLAME BIG MOM, IT’S ALWAYS BIG MOM, SUPER CONVENIENT,” Leo cried out to Yuichi. Mikey and Splinter looked away, as they could not handle any more turmoil.
Raph, on the other hand, had a very serious look towards Yuichi, almost looking at the rabbit’s soul. He used to like Yuichi… but him being at their lair put them all in danger.
We all know Raph puts his family before everything else…
April softly spoke: “Leo, maybe we should hear him out. He obviously never wanted this too…”
“HEAR HIM OUT? HEAR WHAT OUT?! THAT HE BROUGHT A PSYCHOPATH TO OUR CITY AND DID NOT EVEN THINK TO TELL US?! DONNIE ALMOST GAVE UP HIS LIFE TO DEFEAT HIM, AND HE IS STILL OUT THERE!”
“I thought I escaped him…” Yuichi, quietly answered, not making eye contact with the one who he cared so much about…
“YOU THOU-,” April intervened.. “SHUT UP LEONARDO, WE NEED ANSWERS, LET HIM EXPLAIN HIMSELF.”
The turtles, never, ever, saw April lose her cool like that. She was fuming, full of adrenaline, but even she couldn’t help but understand where Leo was coming from. Leo and the woman were the closest to Yuichi after all.
Leo seemed to quiet down, plopping down on the sofa, arms crossed. His teeth were gritting, sometimes ever so slightly looking at Yuichi.
“Like I told you, when I was 10…” but as Yuichi said those words, Leo completely lost it, throwing his sword at the ceiling to teleport closer to the Rabbit. The turtle wanted to yell closer in Yuichi’s face.
“SERIOUSLY?! IS THIS YOUR EXCUSE AGAIN?! IT’S NOT ABOUT THAT MONSTER, IT’S NOT ABOUT A BIG MOM, OR WHOEVER ELSE IS AFTER YOU.”
Desperately, Yuichi tried to get a word in to explain himself, looking for a small opening in Leo’s outburst . It was no use however…
“IT’S THAT YOU LOOKED ME IN THE EYE. YOU TRAINED WITH US. YOU ATE OUR FOOD. YOU WERE MY SOULMATE… AND STILL KEPT THIS HUGE PART OF YOURSELF LOCKED AWAY.”
As silence emerged again… Everyone, except Leo and Yuichi, was looking at each other, and Leo started to quietly speak, one… last… thing…
“I looked up to you… but you’re just a runaway with a sword.”
This triggered something in Yuichi. His head was hurting. He remembered his parent’s last words about running.
(“Keep running, you are fast, strong, agile, we are so proud of you.”)
He never wanted to run, he wanted to face his enemy, just like he tried to do. Now, he felt punished for it, his friends, his parents last wish, it crushed his soul. He thought about how he hadn’t helped his parents enough… his aunt enough… Then, his mind went blank.
Silence. Heavy. The lair held its breath. Yuichi lifted his head, slowly, like something inside him just cracked. His voice erupted, raw, shaking the room.
“THAT THING HAS BEEN HUNTING MY FAMILY FOR A HUNDRED YEARS! I WATCHED EVERYONE IN MY VILLAGE DIE. MY PARENTS. MY MASTERS. I HEARD THEM SCREAM. I FELT THEM FALL. AND I COULDN’T SAVE ANY OF THEM.”
Everyone was stunned, demeanors pale. April had both her hands in front of her mouth, the others just standing there, eyes widened, not knowing what to say. Leo especially did not have an answer to what he just heard.
“YES LEONARDO, I AM A RUNAWAY WITH A SWORD. WANT TO KNOW MY PARENTS LAST WORDS? THEY WERE ‘KEEP RUNNING, YOU ARE FAST, STRONG, AGILE, WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU’. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW LEONARDO? USING MY FEAR AGAINST ME?”
“I… Yuichi…” Leo stuttered, but before he could even begin a sentence, the rabbit continued screaming…
“THEY GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR MY LIFE. NO, NOT JUST FOR ME, BUT FOR MY MYSTIC FLAME. THE ONLY THING THAT MANAGED TO DEFEAT A SPIDER DEMON CENTURIES AGO. AND FOR A SECOND, I THOUGHT I COULD HAVE A NICE LIFE WITH MY AUNTIE ON THE FARM, OR HERE IN NEW YORK FOR THAT MATTER. BUT HE FOUND ME. AND YES LEONARDO, IT’S ALL BIG MOM’S FAULTH.”
Leo, being extremely shocked at this point, tried to reach out to Yuichi, but the rabbit stepped to the side.
“YOU WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH, RIGHT? ALL OF YOU… I HAVE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER MEETING YOU. BUT WITH THAT HORRIBLE WOMAN RUINING MY LIFE AGAIN IN AN INSTANT, I LEFT, BECAUSE I COULDN’T HANDLE SEEING THE PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT DIE FOR THE 12TH FUCKING TIME.”
Raph’s eyes were wide, he had never seen Yuichi lose his cool like that before, not even when Big Mom was at their lair a few days earlier. Mikey covered his eyes with his hand, trying to shut all the emotion out a bit. April was bawling her eyes out at this point, desperately trying not to make a sound. Leo, shivering, tried to say something, but his last remark made him feel extremely guilty.
Splinter ran towards Yuichi from the other side of the room, but unfortunately, the rabbit disappeared into the sewers again…
The turtles and April at the lair
Raph and Mikey simply didn’t talk after what just happened. They left to check on Donnie, as they had too much on their mind to also deal with Yuichi’s baggage. April and Leo on the other hand were still in the main room.
“HOW COULD I SAY THAT TO HIM?” Leo said as he threw a mystic sword at the wall.
“I told you Leo… You should have given him the chance to talk.”
“Losing my cool this bad as a leader, not even knowing his pain, his inner struggles. I should have known…”
“I know… me too… I already knew there were things he didn’t want to talk about, but I never imagined…” April’s voice didn’t sound like her usually enthusiastic one. It was sad, devoid of her carefree nature that the turtles loved so much about her.
“Let’s hope it’s not too late…” Leo said. “Besides, the threat of the human is still there.”
“Yes I agree,” April said in a very serious tone. She then went into the sewer, looking for her friend.
Splinter and Yuichi in the sewer
Yuichi was not crying, he wasn’t even angry, he just sat with his head tucked between his knees. He didn’t run away far, as he secretly wanted to make amends, to be with his friends again.
The rabbit just felt hopeless, because he didn’t know how to return after losing his cool like that. Then… Splinter came, sliding down the wall next to him.
“I think you are the opposite of a runaway, Yuichi. You are a real warrior, facing a monster like that all on your own.“
Yuichi said nothing, his head slightly tilting towards the chubby rat, his eye to the rat’s side slightly opening.
“I ran away from my own power at a young age. Then… when the time came to defeat a man named Shredder, I wasn’t ready. With regard to my sons, they made their own choice to save New York, to save you. Especially Leonardo, even though you were fighting really hard just now, he wanted to help you, as he really cares about you. He hasn’t been this upbeat since 2 years ago.”
“What happened 2 years ago?” Yuichi mumbled, his head emerging from the space between his knees.
“Leonardo sacrificed himself for the world from aliens called the Kraang. Just like you, he wanted to protect his brothers… As he fought with one of them, he was almost beaten to death… Through a miracle, Michelangelo and the others managed to save him.” Tears were swelling up in Splinter’s eyes, his hand trying to place in between him and Yuichi so he couldn’t see his vulnerability.
Yuichi stood up immediately, determined to go back. At first he thought he could say to Leo that the turtle had also kept things from him. However… knowing Leo had had so much fun these last few months with him, he just wanted things to go back to normal.
But Yuichi could not forgive him… not yet.
Leo’s words had really hurt him mentally, and he couldn’t get himself to see Leo the same way he used to for a while.
He helped Splinter up, and together they walked back to the lair. As they were almost there. April, with tears in her eyes, immediately ran towards Yuichi, hugging him tightly.
“I care about you so much, Yuichi. You are such a good, fun person to be around. I am so sorry you didn’t feel comfortable enough to tell us what you went through.”
With his eyes wide, Yuichi was shocked that she forgave him so easily. April hugged him ever so quickly, but he embraced the hug. When they were done, the rabbit, who now had tears in his eyes, spread his arms for Splinter to hug him. The rat smiled and let himself fall into the hug…
Everyone at the lair
Across the room, Raph was leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He wasn’t glaring at Yuichi, but he wasn’t relaxed either. His eyes darted every time Yuichi moved.
“He shouldn’t be near Donnie yet,” Raph whispered to Mikey. “Not until we’re sure this thing ain’t following him again.”
“Raph…” Mikey whispered back, guilt in his voice. “He’s not the enemy. Besides, that flying… thing… was hurt badly. I could feel Donnie ripping his mystic power apart.”
At first Raph was quiet. Then he muttered: “I know, but he’s not family either.”
Leo stood by the kitchen, gripping the table’s edge like it might ground him.
He finally walked over, almost tiptoïng. “Yuichi…” His voice was quieter than usual. “We’re… I am glad to have you back… Really.”
Yuichi looked sadly at Leo, not saying anything. Sighing, he started to announce everyone to listen, doing what he should have done when Big Mom appeared at the lair. April started to walk over to support him.
“I screamed… most of it just now… but there are a few important bits still missing. As you probably know by now, when I was 10, I beat the battle nexus. My auntie was angry with me, and it’s not even because I was brawling at such a young age. It’s because these things used to be recorded and broadcasted throughout the hidden city, which could give a clue to… him… “
Everyone listened intently, trying to get a clear picture of all the information that was being given to them.
“My aunt made a deal. Big Mom started to extort her money from the farm. Advertisement revenue had to be paid somehow, right? “
Leo already knew about this part and looked defeated at the rabbit. He just wished they could be like their old selves again, feeling guilty he didn’t manage to see how much the rabbit had been suffering and the fact he said… ‘that’.
“She worked hard to keep up, but her body collapsed from the strain of all the work. I blamed Big Mom for her death, so I sold the farm, moved to New York and stopped paying her. I suppose she got mad and somehow found out, through all the connections she has, that someone was looking for me. Hoping to get some kind of reward, she gave away the area where I was living… to him.”
“Get to the point, what is that monster?” Raph spoke firmly, April glaring at the big turtle’s demeanor.
“The spider I yelled about, it survived. Healing for centuries, waiting for revenge on my bloodline, it chose a vessel. With it hiding behind a human soul, the mystic flames of my weapon, that are really effective against monsters like that, can only damage the body now, which is useless obviously. This monster can even modify his DNA to stop the process of aging. Something with creating telomeres on the chromosomes?? At least that’s what I was told by my parents.”
Yuichi started to sit down, slightly looking towards the floor, but still being able to make contact with the others. April sat right next to him, holding his hand, which made Yuichi’s voice tremble, becoming emotional.
“I am so sorry everyone. Everything happened so fast after Big Mom appeared here. I should have taken a step back, and told you everything. New York is now partially destroyed because of my recklessness to try and protect you. I… just wished my parents’ last words to me were wrong… that I didn’t have to run.”
Leo stood up, looking at Yuichi. He stepped forward, just close enough to be heard clearly, not too close to overwhelm.
“I can’t go back to my apartment, I suppose I leave-…” Yuichi said, but before he could say more…
“You can stay here. With me, in my room, like the sleepover we were planning…” Leo interrupted, his voice awkwardly trying to comfort Yuichi. A pause occurred. He meant it. You could see it in his eyes. Raph was about to protest, but this time Splinter threw him an angry look, making him look at the wall instead.
“Whatever’s coming… we’ll face it. Together this time.”
Yuichi looked up slowly, his eyes weren’t filled with hope, but with caution. His voice cracked as he answered.
“You might say that now…”
It was silent, everyone was focusing on the conversation of the slider and the rabbit. He pulled his hand gently away from April’s, not out of coldness, but out of fear, of letting himself believe it.
“Look Leonardo, you are not obligated to save or help me. You all aren’t.”
Then, Yuichi, who stood up, started crying in the process. Trying not to show himself as someone who was weak, he wiped his tears away. But everyone knew how emotional he was.
“I just wanted to make sure all of you didn’t get involved. And the result? You looked me in the eye and called me a runaway.”
Silence arose, Leo knew exactly what was coming…
“And the worst part is… That was exactly what I was trying not to be.”
Leo’s face dropped, eyes closing, guilt surfacing hard.
Yuichi didn’t walk away this time. He didn’t shout. He then got more serious, looking straight at Leo as he planned to give him a piece of his mind, his tears diminishing in the process.
“Honestly Leonardo, I don’t know what to say anymore. You know what I told you when Donnie punched me when you, me, and April were in the locker room. The fact that you said that to me, in the darkest time of my life… I feel like screaming again to be honest. But, seeing how I am alive because all of you intervened and how you are letting me stay here. I-…”
Yuichi did want to thank everyone for saving his life, but he couldn’t, seeing how everyone looked at him and what the results of the fight were. Raph didn’t want to make eye contact, furiously looking at the ground. Mikey was again closing his eyes, ashamed to admit he wouldn’t mind if Yuichi did not stay after everything that had happened. April wanted to comfort him but didn’t know how. And of course, Donnie wasn’t even awake.
As Yuichi walked towards Leo’s room, ready to make his spare bed, Leo held out his hand. He tried to say something, but nothing came out.
If only things went back to normal…