Epilogue
Yuichi’s findings
It took a total of 2 and a half weeks for Yuichi to find everything about himself. He searched in different libraries, temples, and history museums.
In the end, a lot of what Morris said was true. The spider indeed gave the Usagi family the power of the blue flame, or so it was called. But… there was more to the story.
The spider gave the Usagi family the power of the blue flame to help the citizens indeed fend off evil things from space and other wicked demons. It was extremely effective, but it did harm the spider, making it weaker. It gave the Usagi family the power to protect others from dangerous predators that could also be harmful to the spider. The Usagi were good for the people. However… they also were the bodyguards of the spider, starting to secretly decide who could and who couldn’t get a gift… With some members of the family being manipulative, unfortunately. This caused social inequality, and some people got fewer gifts than others.
The spider just wanted to make everyone happy, giving blessings to everyone, not realizing that some people had gotten too much and abused their prosperity to make sure they would stay in power. Most of the Usagi were trying to prevent this from happening, but as a result of the manipulation by some of the family, war was coming, even with the prosperity that the spider already granted.
Because the ‘good’ Usagi didn’t see another way out… the entity was indeed almost killed, causing it to want revenge on the Usagi family, for bestowing them the power to help others and proceeding to use those flames against it. The ‘bad’ Usagi were put to death for their treason.
Yuichi was, to say the least… conflicted. He never realised that his family could also have been manipulative, preventing some people from getting blessings. He didn’t know if everyone should have gotten them or not in the first place, as Morris said. While others from his lineage weren’t manipulators, some obviously were, which made Yuichi deeply concerned about his origins.
He knew everything now, but he still had unresolved, lingering feelings about everything.
It hurt Yuichi a lot.
Yuichi gets picked up by Leo
After finding out, Yuichi went back to New York, insanely fatigued. It was an intense trip, with lots of emotions and physical challenges as well. It was night when he came back… and it was safe to say the rabbit was very tired. Leo just embraced Yuichi as he picked him up from the station, and gave the rabbit exactly the feeling of rest and home he needed at that moment. Leo knew this would be an intense trip and was going to make Yuichi as much at ease as possible when he came back. He even called off the others, as Yuichi was breaking down over the findings slightly. Morris was indeed… right about everything. Morris didn’t mention it in the crystal cave because it would most likely make Yuichi extremely mad.
Yuichi was also scared that his family caused the war by not giving all the gifts… but nobody knows, since it happened so long ago.
For the next morning, they were just planning on lying in bed together, embracing one another. Luckily, there was another topic they could talk about, which was the wedding. They were going to hold a small wedding in a small chapel. They didn’t want too many people there, as they just wanted to be with their family and friends. Luckily, Casey Jones could come, which made April and the turtles extremely happy. They finally could hang out with Casey when not in a crisis situation.
The wedding ended up being a small one, with only the turtles, Splinter, April, and Casey being there. The planning went perfectly, to say the least, as there weren’t many guests to serve. It was in a small chapel in the hidden city, which was, to be honest, very beautiful.
It was perfect for them. And the wedding started… Leo had a white colored suit while Yuichi had a black one, in contrast with his fur. This was done deliberately, as it would complement the couple.
Yuichi watched Leo slowly approach, his eyes sparkling with excitement and emotion. Standing before him, he took his hands and spoke in a voice filled with hope, certainty, and happiness.
“Leonardo, you brought light into the darkest corners of my world. You showed me that love is more than words, that it is a promise of loyalty and understanding. I promise to keep giving you my heart, every single day, and to be by your side, no matter what the future holds.”
Leo gently squeezed Yuichi’s hands, his voice trembling with emotion. Laughing a little, being the charismatic turtle that he is, he also started to speak.
“Yuichi, from the moment I met you, I truly knew I felt like myself again. You are my peace, my strength. I promise to support you in joy and sorrow, in moments of doubt and moments of triumph. I will cherish your dreams and your happiness forever.”
April was their best woman, and as she said those following words:
“You can now kiss your soulmate!”
Everyone held their breath as the two pressed their foreheads together, a silence filled with meaning. Then Leo reached out and placed his hand gently on Yuichi’s cheek, and Yuichi leaned forward, their lips meeting in a kiss that encapsulated everything.
Love, promise, and the power to get through anything as long as they had one another.
