🥷

Leonardo could feel his mind clear up like clouds evaporating on a sunny day. Deep breath in. Deep breath out. All his worries seemed to melt away as he focused his concentration on his breathing and the silence spinning around the room. He could almost feel his spirit separating itself from its physical form, transitioning into a void of nothingness. Relief rushed through his veins as he managed to achieve stillness.

Typically, he could stay like this for at least twenty-five minutes. Maybe even longer if he could. It just depended on the day and his mood.

"The instructions say to cut horizontally. Not vertically!" Donnie's voice rang from the kitchen.

"What does it matter? We're going to eat it anyway!" Raph, who's voice Leo assumed also came from the kitchen, rebuffed.

"Yeah, but what's the point of following a recipe if you don't follow the instructions?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize there was a correct way to cut pork!"

Leo's ears twitched, but he still kept his eyes glued shut. Deep breaths only.

"GUYS! I can't find the sesame seeds!" Leo heard Mikey holler at the top of his lungs. "They're not in the pantry and you guys said they would be!"

"Because they are!" Raph insisted. The loud sound of cabinet doors opening and slamming shut followed not too soon after. "You guys just keep misplacing shit all the time!"

Leo clenched his fists. Just remember what Sensei said. Try letting the sounds just be in the background and stay aware of the sensations of your breathing.

"And you guys call me weird for keeping my things organized," Donnie scoffed.

"Because it's almost psychotic how you organize your wardrobe," Raph retorted. "Actually, no. What's psychotic is that you put a right sock then a right shoe, and then a left sock and a right shoe."

"So?"

"In a mentally stable person, a person would put on a sock then a sock, then a shoe and a shoe."

"Says the one who sleeps with socks on when the room is more than a hundred degrees. If you ask me, there is something wrong with you."

CRASH! There was a sound equivalent to cans and canisters tumbling all at once before an "ow" was uttered. Then came more shouting and clattering noises.

It looked like Leo was not going to get his thirty minutes of peace today. He shot his eyes open, feeling disappointed that he was not able to block out his brothers constant bickering. He noticed how his father, who sat with his legs crossed across from him, was still meditating.

Man, how does he do it? The master was always more experienced than the student, Leo supposed.

Leo had been doing meditation for as long as he could remember. He had seen his father/Sensei go so far deep into a trance that the longest he had gone without being disturbed was for an hour. He even wondered how was it possible for a person to be disconnected for a great length of time. It was a skill he had yet to master.

As if sensing his son's broken meditation state, his father opened his eyes. "You came out of focus, Leonardo," his father, Yoshi, stated the obvious.

Although Yoshi was past his 40's, he still kept himself in relatively good shape, as Leo could see his hakama outlining his muscles. He had some streaks of gray in his dark hair and stubble, but Leo never thought of him as old. Leo probably imagined that when his father was younger, he attracted many women left to right. And while his father said it was true, he only had eyes for one woman: his mother, Tang Shen. It was not easy, according to Yoshi, but as time passed, she came around.

"I'm sorry, Sensei." Leo stared down into his hands. "I'll try harder next time."

"There is no need to beat yourself over it, Leonardo. It just takes time," Yoshi comforted him, smoothing out his robe.

"I know. It's just I thought I almost had it."

"All you can do is practice, my son."

"Practice makes perfect, am I right?"

"Even with all the practice in the world, one cannot achieve perfection. Mistakes can only be minimized, not depleted."

Like always, his father's wisdom never ceased to amaze Leo. He aspired to be as wise as him someday.

"Now, let's go help your brothers with dinner before there is anymore arguments over prepping ingredients."

Leo chuckled. "You heard it all?"

"Of course," Yoshi said. "It is not hard to hear such ruckus."

The father and son stood up from the tatami mat and left the dojo (the room they were in) together. When they arrived at the kitchen, all they found was Mikey sprawled on the floor next to dozens of strewn cans and containers, and Raph and Donnie arguing in front of an uncut pork belly sitting on top of a cutting board.

"Never mind," Mikey groaned, reaching for a nearby jar. "I found the sesame seeds."

"I told you so!" Raph snapped, taking a break from Donnie to glare at his younger brother.

"Well, maybe you guys shouldn't put it so far in the back!" Mikey complained, rubbing his bottom.

"What are you talking about? It's always near the front because I know your eyesight is worse than Donnie's!"

"Was that a compliment or an insult?" Donnie murmured to himself.

"It is not! I can see perfectly fine!" Mikey retorted, getting into Raph's face.

"Not according to today!" Raph countered.

"Yamero!" Yoshi decided to end the arguing. Raph and Mikey knew better than to continue, so they zipped their mouths shut.

"I will never understand how one can squabble over such petty matters," Yoshi sighed. "Back in my day, things were more simpler."

"That's probably because there were about half as many people on this planet than there are now," Raph said.

"The world changes everyday. But unfortunately, there are some things that never change. Let us cook dinner now, shall we?"

"And let's do it without debating over which way is the best way to cut pork and making a mess searching for sesame seeds," Leo stressed.

Everyone saw no argument there. A few minutes later, there was a knock coming from the front door. The family looked at each other. They weren't expecting anyone.

"Hey, I'm stuck here," Raph mentioned, holding a knife while using his other hand to point a finger to the onion on the plastic board waiting to be diced.

"Don't look at me." Donnie put his hands up.

"Someone has to keep an eye on the meat," Mikey pointed out.

Leo rolled his eyes. "I'll get it." He dried his hands off with a towel and made his way to the living room.

He unlocked the door and twisted the doorknob open, but when he did, he was hit by surprise when the face staring back at him belonged to his older sister, Miwa. Her ebony hair was pulled into a ponytail, with her wispy bangs only allowing slits of her forehead to be seen. Her makeup was done not too heavy, but also not too light; the bronze eyeshadow perfectly accentuated her amber eyes, which under the porch light, appeared to look like pools of honey. She was completely dressed in black— everything from her jacket to her goth platform boots.

"Konnichiwa," Miwa smiled upon seeing her brother's surprised look. "May I come in?"

"Nee-Chan?" Leo embraced Miwa when she went in for a hug. "Oh my god. It's good to see you."

"You act as if I've been deployed overseas," Miwa laughed.

"It might as well be. We haven't seen you in a hot minute."

"I swear, I haven't forgotten about you guys. How could I? Anyway, shall we go in?"

Miwa kicked off her boots and entered. Mikey walked to the living room out of curiosity for who Leo had greeted, and once seeing it was Miwa, his eyes lit up and he couldn't help but smile. "Guys! It's Nee-Chan!" Mikey gave the biggest hug to his sister.

"How you doing, squirt?" Miwa chuckled, patting Mikey's head.

"We haven't seen you in forever! I was starting to think you wouldn't ever come back."

"No, don't think like that, Mikey. You know that I would visit more often, but my job takes up a lot of my time. And now that university for me has started, I'm afraid I'll be as busy as ever."

"I know. You have responsibilities and duties. I've read all the Spider-Man comics and watched the movies. But hey, you wanna join us for dinner?"

"Well, shit, that's the only reason why I came here," Miwa joked, then laughed a second later. "I'm kidding. But yeah, I accept your offer."

"Look who showed up guys!" Mikey skipped to the kitchen, with Miwa and Leo not too far behind.

"We heard, Mikey," Raph grunted. He used his sleeve to wipe his eyes. "Screw. These. Onions. Donnie, is there a way to cut onions without getting all watery?"

"Use a more sharper knife," Donnie suggested.

"How about I just close my eyes and calculate blindly?"

"There would be a highly undesirable outcome."

"I dunno. It beats letting my eyes sting for a second longer." Raph set the knife down. From where he was standing, he glanced over at his older sister. Something about her showing up unannounced rubbed him the wrong way, but he kept what he was thinking to himself. "You couldn't have called to let us know that you were coming?"

Miwa played with the cuffs from her jacket. "It's not really a big deal. This is still my home."

"Was your home. You moved out, did you forget?"

"Okay, but I still have my room here."

"Uh-huh. A room that's only collecting dust for God knows who long."

"That's beside the point. Aren't you happy to see me? Just ten seconds in after seeing my face and you already have your grumpy face on."

Raph gripped the knife harder, feeling an extra inch of annoyance on the side. His sister's answer didn't make him feel stabby, though. "Welcome back. We missed you," he muttered.

"Otousan," Miwa acknowledged her father in Japanese. The two hugged.

"It is lovely to see you again, Miwa," Yoshi smiled. "Though, I do agree with Raphael that next time it best to give us a heads-up if you are planning to visit. If we had known, we would have made more food to go around."

"ii desu. Besides, I think it'd be good to reduce my intake." Miwa showed off her body with a hand motion. "At this rate, I'll be more muffin top than woman."

"I don't know. It looks like you've lost weight to me," Donnie doubted.

"Now you're just saying that to make me feel better."

"So, Mimi," Leo broke in, using his sister's nickname, "what have you have been up to? School and work holding up alright?"

"You know how it is." Miwa unwrapped a piece of gum from her pocket and popped into her mouth. "Rush week is bound to start, so no doubt we'll get a couple of hazing incidents. And as for the job? Eh. It's a balance of good and bad days."

"I just realized you never told us what your job is," Raph frowned while washing the cutting board. "You mind sharing?"

"Oh, that's right! I work as a bartender for this swell nightclub near NYU. That, along with the gig my band and I have going on the side, I'm making some decent money. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll own the nightclub of my dreams in a few years."

"Anybody in your life?" Donnie inquired.

"I think you know the answer to that."

"Really? It would be another explanation for why your visits are less frequent."

"Between school and my job? Ha. I don't have the time."

"On the topic of love lives-" Mikey piped up, having this ridiculous grin that reached from ear to ear, "-Donnie definitely has one!"

Mikey revealed a letter with a red wax seal from his back pocket. Leo, Miwa, and Raph's eyes sparkled with interest. With Donnie, the poor guy looked like he was going to pass out.

"You went through my things?!" Wisps of Donnie's hair escaped from his little ponytail.

"I only went into your room because I was going to return your hoodie, but then I saw the envelope peeking out underneath your pillow, so I got curious! No one hides letters unless it's a secret. . . Ooh! A secret admirer, maybe?"

"Give that back! It's a private matter!" Donnie screeched and chased Mikey around the kitchen.

"Wow, I've never seen Donnie worked that up over a letter," Miwa looked slightly amused. "She must be important."

"That's assuming if he was lucky to pick up some girl," Raph snickered.

"This is no different than when you guys snooped around my room and found the letter intended for my 6th grade crush," Leo recalled, remembering how Miwa and Raph teased him by reciting every sentence while making kissing noises. They never let him live it down.

"Question: what did you do when you gave her the letter?" Miwa reminded.

Leo sighed. "She thought another student gave it to her."

"And then what?"

"He confessed he liked her. She felt the same. I believe they got together the following year."

"So was the letter worth it?"

"Well, maybe not when I learned of that, but-"

"Exactly."

"Hey, 50% of couples statistically split up," Raph said. "You'll get your chance soon."

Yoshi, who was a witness to the chaos unfurling before him, shook his head and went to get himself a glass of water. Teenagers.

Back in the living room, Mikey and Donnie were playing a game of cat and mouse. Mikey threw whatever objects he could get his hands at Donnie, but he either got out of the way or threw them back.

"MIKEY! I'm serious! Give it back!" Just when Donnie was an inch from grabbing him from behind, Mikey proved to be way quicker.

Mikey ominously chuckled. "Let's see what your secret admirer's letter says!"

Donnie's eye twitched furiously. "I don't have a secret admirer!"

"And now for the grand finale!" Mikey mimicked a drum-roll noise. He ripped open the envelope just as Donnie tackled him football-style to the floor. Everyone else piled into the living room to watch the somewhat amusing spectacle.

"Inside is. . ." Mikey was confused when inside was not a letter of any kind, but black sand pouring out into his hand, ". . .black sand. . .?"

SMASH! The siblings turned around and saw their father, with his jaw open so wide, a swarm of flies could buzz in with no problem. Shattered pieces of glass were scattered away from his feet. Even from where the siblings were at, they could visibly see their father shaking.

This made them nervous— maybe even concerned. They had never seen their father like this before.

"Where did you get that?" Yoshi asked the words slowly. His face was a mixture of 'I cannot believe what I'm seeing' and 'please tell me it's not true.'

"Yeah, Donnie, what kind of stuff is your secret admirer into?" Mikey asked.

"I told you, I don't have a secret admirer!" Donnie snarled, getting off of Mikey. Donnie gave his attention to his father. How was he going to explain? April had told him not to tell anyone, and now because of his brother's snooping, secrecy was out the window.

"Um, Dad-" Donnie frequently looked back at the television screen. "It's just a letter from a friend-"

"AHA! So I was right about the secret admirer-!" Mikey shouted in triumph, but then Raph covered his mouth.

"You talk too much," Raph said bluntly.

"You did not answer my question, Donatello." Yoshi's sounded deadly, as if he were seconds away from smacking Donnie. But in reality, his eyes were widened and his body begun to break out into a cold sweat. He needed an answer, and he needed it now. "Where. Did. You. Get. It?"

Donnie stammered something along the lines of: "A-April gave it to me, but only because her friend was in possession of it first! Her friend was the one who asked her to ask me if I could analyze the envelope, so April brought it to me on behalf of the person."

"April came over? When?" Miwa queried.

"If you were here, you would've known," Raph grumbled.

"What is the person's name?" Yoshi demanded.

Donnie gulped. "Look, it was one of those 'don't ask, don't tell' situations and April didn't bother to give me a name, so-"

"DONATELLO!"

"Okay, okay! I may have done a little research on the side! After many trials of elimination and cross-examination, I deduced that the friend who had the envelope in the first place is Talia Elbaz."

Donnie pulled out his phone and searched up something on the internet. He showed it to his family, which was an article covering the grand opening of GenTech Labs taken place a year ago. The published photo featured Genesis Elbaz, her husband, and their daughter, Talia.

"Hang on!" Raph snatched the phone and zoomed in on the image. "She goes to the same school as Mikey and I!" He pointed to Talia.

Mikey rushed to Raph's side to see the photo for himself. "Woah, dudes! I didn't know she was a celebrity!"

"I'm surprised you guys didn't know," Donnie said. "Her parents are a big deal in the medical community, which is why they're one of the richest people in New York City. Well, at least Genesis was. She was murdered in their mansion five nights ago, while her family was forced to leave their home."

A string of silence followed.

Donnie threw his hands up in the air. "Am I the only one who watches the news these days?" He sighed. "Not only that, but it was confirmed that Genesis had ties to a criminal organization, and people are saying that's probably why she was killed."

"You must find Talia," Yoshi urged. The blood had completely drained out from his face. "She is in danger."

"What are you so afraid of, Dad? It's just black sand." Mikey tried to make light of the situation.

"It is not just black sand, Michelangelo!" Yoshi snapped, his outburst causing his children to flinch. The siblings were so strangers to their father raising his voice, but him doing so while at the time looking frightened? Something was wrong here.

"You're starting to scare us here, Dad," Raph admitted.

By observing his father's reaction, Leo knew it all. "You know what the black sand means, don't you? You know who sent this, right?"

Yoshi turned away. For years he had allowed his children to live in pure bliss, unaware of the true horror that awaited them out there. He was foolish to believe his family would be safe from them. He should've learned from the first time.

"There is no time to explain," Yoshi said seriously. "It is imperative that you find Talia."

"With all due respect, Dad, this is Manhattan and she could be anywhere-" Donnie started to say, but he took back his words when his father narrowed his eyes sharply at him, "-but I'll figure it out."

"Ask April to find out," Miwa proposed. "If Talia trusted her with an envelope, that must mean they're besties."

"But what are we supposed to do when we find her?" Mikey asked. "It's not like we can suit up and pose as dark knights and tell her she's in danger."

Everyone stared back at him. Mikey blinked. "What?"

Yoshi sighed heavily. "For so long no one knew about our secret abilities. Generations of hiding who we truly were in the shadows had brought us here. And while secrecy is the first utmost rule to our clan, I am willing to risk it tonight."

His children looked at each other. Did this mean. . .?

"That is right." Yoshi nodded. "Wear your suits. Gear up. Find the girl. Whatever you do, watch each other's backs. I have a strong feeling you will encounter dangerous forces tonight."