a/n

*sob sob wheeze*

Raph," I got this, she says she hates Namorimo, she wants to go to bed, and this year couldn't be over soon enough cause apparently. But she still loves her readers! So she hopes you enjoy it while she gets some sleep.

Kaede could still remember the day when Raphael came to her, asking to take on her mantel of the NightWatcher. While it would be the joy of most people to have their children follow in their footsteps, it had filled her with such dread she forced herself to leave the room to keep from loosing her anger around her child. Leaving him alone in confusion. Locking herself in the dojo for several hours till her tested and thick skinned hands blistered and bled under the wood of the wooden turning fighting dummies. Hours had passed, waiting till the pain leveled her mind. Only then did she go back to her son. The thirteen year old was still where she had left him. Ever the good son, except Donnie was with him, the ten year old lifting his head from Raph's lap when she entered the room. Eyes bleary with tiredness, probably sick and tired of sitting by himself and wanting the company of the brother he called "Kuma-ni"

She waited till she was finished with dinner before talking to Raphael, as the small family sat together. While she did not mind Raph becoming the head of the Tsukino dojo, Don had expressed many years ago he wanted to be a I-sha so there was no competition for title. But she was sure Raphael knew one thing

No one would lift the mantel of the NightWatcher again.

She had tried to return to her meal and ignore the swell of horror on Raphael s' face. Truth be told, she deserved it. On those late nights early on in her 'motherhood' when the few folk stories she retained from childhood had failed her, she had dug into her memories. Searching past the abuse at the hands of her mother and instead the joy she had as her fathers daughter and as the middle child of so many sisters.

And her nights as the NightWatcher

She truly deserved to have its shadow still over her

She never denied the good she did as a bounty hunter. Getting so many criminals off the street and making them safer. But there was another part of wearing the guise. Of earning so much fear at the whisper of the 'NightWatcher'.

The Thrill of Being Feared

Adrenaline

It was like a drug through her veins, any time it faded from her system she wanted it ten times more. And the more she wanted it, the more she lost herself to it. It was all she wanted, she went months without seeing her family and neglecting the Dojo she had set up . She didn't want anything else

Till she met two little boys

It had taken a while, to draw herself off her addiction. To rebuild the Tsukino Dojo and allow it to be her only source of money. To use her own home to fight off the urge to don the identity back on and return to the night

She focused on being a mother

Focused on teaching Raph to deal with his anger and the same fighting skills she had learned from her father, she focused on taking care of a tiny little Donatello and keep him from falling ill. Though there times when even her persistence couldn't keep his coughs away.

But she never stopped

Though ti was never fully gone she made sure to bury it deep within her soul. So when it came up so many years later, she knew she had only herself to blame.

Especially when the persistence follow. Persistence that Raph could of only learned from , ironically, her. The reasoning was just, He only waned to be able to make enough money to help support Donnie's medicine. He only wanted to carry on her title. He only wanted to make her proud.

All his 'only' reasons fell on the same answer.

But she knew her son, her oldest stubborn son who she saw herself in. So a deal was made between the tow of them.

If Raphael could master the entirety of the Tsukino fighting style before his fourteenth birthday, she would start training him to be the NightWatcher. She had thought it was a flawless plan to finally get him to drop the stupid idea once and for all

Except he finished mastering the Tsukino Style with two months to spare

It was the only time she cursed her sons talent in fighting.

Course afterwards it had become a blessing many times. Especially in the aid of Donatello. But , with Raphael sixteen and almost as tall as her giant father, she still wished her son hadn't aimed for such a goal. AS she sipped her tea and absorbed the warmth of the evening. She had already prepared the rice to be cooked with a bundle of vegetables. It was Donatello's favorite meal, or at least the meal he was most likely to eat. But she didn't expect her boys for a while, Raphael had said something about taking Don around town to do some of the things he never got to do. Normally ,like every other year, Raph wouldn't of even bothered and instead would of bought something a bit more expensive instead. Like a foreigner scroll

but this year was different. The scars on Raph's shell and Donatello's arms showed that much. It made her sigh into her tea and put it off to the side

This year had been hell.

The mere thought made her fingers cramp in anger. Kaede considered heading off to the dojo and working off the anger but it was better to focus on her anger internally then work herself raw. Her sons could see the bruises on her knuckles. But the couldn't see the anger in her heart

She could faintly hear the whisper of the front door slide open. Kaede could pick up the sounds of her tiny sons footsteps entering the dojo and sliding off his sandals-

Wait

The heavy stomps that marked her oldest sons arrival were replaced by a heavy dragging sound, though she knew that sound it didn't stop her from hurrying back through the house, the faint sound of cracking clay marked where she dropped her yunomi. Throwing pen the door that separated dojo from their home

Don was standing in the dojo, taking off his heavy haten and folding it up. Looking up to acknowledge her arrival, his small smile couldn't outwieght the heavy circles under his eye

Or the fact that Leatherhead was there.

Kaede could already feel her heart pounding in his hands, fighting to take control over her body and send her into the night. Instead she took a deep breath before stepping out of the hallway, reaching and pulling her small boy to her chest in a tight hug, "Welcome home baby boy." she planted a kiss on his scalp before looking up to her friend. The fact Leatherhead could barely make eye contact with her told her everything. Enough to make her take Don's face in her hands and draw his head up, "Baby why don't you go lay down?'" she ran her hands down the sides of his face, "I want to talk to Leatherhead-"

"-I-Is Kuma-ni here?"

It took a considerable amount of control not to flinch, but whether she could hide the emotion in her eyes she couldn't know, "Not yet baby, he's probably out looking to get you a birthday present."

"B-But he-he always comes t-t-to pick me up." Dons' eyes turned back around to his teacher. If there was anything less convincing then a worried mother, it was a giant alligator who had trouble pulling off a smile even when he was happy. Kaede caught a glimpse of Don's hands moving closer together methodically in a habit that took half a year to break, her hands gently pushing them apart as she took her sons face again, crouching to set herself more at his level, "Baby Raphael is fine, alright? Now please do as your mother says and go lay down."

Don gave one last glance to Leatherehad before nodding, Kaede made sure to give him another kiss on his scalp before gently pushing him in the direction of the house. Waiting till the sound of his footsteps faded behind a closing door before allowing all traces of motherhood to fade from her face as she closed the space between her and Leatherhead, grabbing his happi, "where the hell is Raphael!?"

"I-I-I do not know, he stopped by the shop a few hours ago to check on Donatello. He made him lay down and left. Not before he told me he would be back. I have not seen him since. I waited as long as I could before walking Donatello home."

OH spirits, she could already feel her stomach rising up to the back fo her throat. The horrors of the past six months returned. The relentless nights searching through the streets, drowning herself in the darkness and blood of her enemies.

the pain of missing a child

She wanted to tell herself it was different, Donatello had been a child, not a fully trained bounty hunter who could take down a army on a bad day. All logic though, all reasoning started to drown in her mind. Weathered away by the unbearing anxiety of motherhood.

Kaede wasnt' even sure when she had started pacing. But rather then stop and stare at her feet like a fool, she broke into a dead run. Yanking open the weapons closet and drawing off anything with a blade or could be hidden, "Leatherhead your family is visiting your mother in law, correct?"

"Correct Kaede-'

"Then i need you to stay here." she stuffed a pair of sais into her obi. Could she stick a cleaver down the back fo her pants? Maybe she'd find out- SPIRITS that was cold, "I don't know where Raphael is but I am NOT leaving Donatello alone, at the mercy of monsters." Though whether these monsters would be in his mind or physical she didn't' know, either way,

"Kaede-"

"Leatherhead," she slammed the cupboard shut, everything that didn't fit was tucked under her arm, "I am not ASKING you for a favor, I am TELLING you to stay with my child. " When Leatherheads mouth opened again she was already hurrying back to the separator, going back into the house. There was no point in keeping her steps quiet, even as she hurried by the room her boy sshared.

Donatello was the smartest person she knew

Even he had to know the situation.

Kaede ran into her room and knelt down, flipping her large off the ground before taking out a knife and stabbing into the tatami floors, slicing a long line into it. After they had brought Donatello home, she had sworn to leave the name NightWatcher to her son. To make it final, she had even gone so far as the bury her 'name' . Putting as much between her and it as possible

But with a mothers fury, nothing could keep her away

She grabbed the torn tatami rug and pulled it apart the rest of the way, tearing up the floorboard and revealing the space between the house floor and the ground. Her fingers digging into the stone like dirt

"Kaede-'

Spirits, if she hadn't been so focused on digging and half her body under house she might of thrown something through his head, instead she kept her focus on the piling dirt, "Leatherhead, I'm not ASKING you to make grass into gold i'm ASKING you to watch over my SON. If I'm not back by morning, go get my father. Take Don with him, or hide him in the basement."

"Kaede I simply want to know where you're going-"

Was that really any of his business?! She could of bit his head off if she wasn't' so busy piling dirt on her floor, "Kohei District, there's a girl there Raphaels' been seeing lately. I"m going to see if she knows anything."

"And if she doesn't know?"

Kaede's finger caught something wood, latching onto its edge and drawing up a small square box. Logic told her she probably could of crawled under the house and avoided going through her floor. Logic told her to take some time and breath. Not to rush into a half baked plan on the fumes of rage

Logic was luxury she couldn't use

She tore open the box, revealing a mass of black fabric. To others it might of just been a simple cloak, but to her, it was a addiction.

It was a part of her life she so desperately wanted to forget

But now she couldn't hesitate, whipping the cloak around her shoulders. The fabric, chilled by the earth stung past her clothes and fur but barely drew recognition. She reached into the box again drawing out the last piece.

The mask

The black metal eye mask, pulled up and tied off behind her hood by the black mask straps. Moving the weapons ot tuck into the fabric, hidden from sight. Unseen from sight until necessary. She finished putting the kamas into her obi before standing up

"If she doesn't know then I'm going to tear this city apart till I find my son."

Only the Tenshi could show mercy to those who got in her way

(#)\/(#)

Aw hell...

Raph's first thought was wondering what he had drunk the night before. That was normally the only reason he could wake up with such a monstrous headache. Without even opening his eyes he could feel the world swirling around him in a daze of confusion. Ah hell, it of been something strong. he didn't even remember dropping Don off at home. Even worse, he was SUPPOSED to have stayed at home right? For Don's birthday?

Aw shit, his situation rang 'Gennosuke'. He was the only idiot who could send him into such a stupid situation. Or show him such a horrible mind numbing drink. The throbbing in his head didn't help none, that was for sure. Raph raised a heavy hand to try and rub the pain away-

He felt a small tug as cold metal pulled on his wrists. The thoughts he had used cursing Gennosuke immediately shot out of his system as his eyes flew open. His vision was filled with a blurred light, burning his sensitive retinas and making him grit his teeth. Raph could feel the same cold metal through the whale skin on his ankles and his short leather happi was gone, unattached from his whale skin pants and sending the top half of his body in a dead chill. But he still found his lack of clear vision his biggest downfall but he knew it was temporary But the absence of the cloth around his eyes made his irritation only grow. He pulled his arms and knees in with a irritated growl, someone had made dam sure that these chains could hold his weight. Especially if they were hanging him by his wrists. which was weird, he din't feel any pain in his wrists-

No

He was upside down.

The thought made his heart hammer wildly in his chest. dragging his arm up to scrub at his eyes. Though the chains barley gave hiim enough room for it, he could feel the drag on his wrists that told him where the chains were attached to the ground, and the pain in his knees that told him he was being hung from a well supported ceiling. well, he assume it was well supported to carry his heavy ass-

He heard a door slide open, they had to be in some sort of shed. it would explain the dirt that kept flying up to his mouth. A faint chuckle reached his ears and drew another growl from his lips as he scrubbed at his eyes again

"I'm surprised you took so long to wake up. I thought you were tougher then that."

Raph almost wanted to say something smart ass back, if not for his compromised state of mind. His vision clearing up enough for him to see the contrast of the room. his 'company' was standing in the doorway, form hidden by darkness and telling him how late it was. The only lightly in the room seemed to be from a hanging lantern giving sheen and casting a light on the walls around him-

Wait

Not on the walls

there were things hanging from them. Things he could hardly see but they seemed to shiver in the light. Like water, or like-

Raph felt his stomach clenched. The dark figure walked over to the wall and drew one of the shimmers off, running it over his hand and telling him exactly what they were

knives

"I got very lucky you know," the creature ran the blade over his fingers again. Testing them against his own skin. Raph didn't care, so long as he didn't test them on HIS skin he'd be fine, "it took months to collect to enough metal of this durability to withstand the strength of the Nightwatcher."

Well shit, so much for this being a random kidnapping. But to be honest he wasn't' even sure how he had gotten here. Or how this creep had gotten him off guard, or why the hell his vision wasn't clearing up. It drew another growl from him, "I'd be more flattered if I knew who you were, pal. Are you a fan?"

"A fan? " the creatures voice perked, he sure did seem to like his knife, "In a way, yes. I've seen your mark on the bounties you bring in. Good work. I could spot one of your 'victim's a mile away." victims? that was a weird way to put it. The creature moved further up the wall, running his hand over it an making the 'blades' shimmer in movement. There was no way this shrimp worked alone, there had to be others near by. Others who would come in if his 'knife friend' called for him. He wasn't sure where all this logical thinking was coming from, but he assumed it had to do with getting so much blood to his head, "Ok, so yer a fan. A fan who likes to chain up his...friends." Clear up dam vision, "So I don't guess yer here to share some tea and rice-balls?"

"I wish, oh how i could.; But the job comes job and pleasure mix, but this isn't one of those times." aw shit, that din't sound good. " Light laughter reached his ears, drawing a shiver up his shoulders. The knife was placed right back on the wall as the creature moved closer. Raph could just barely make out the dark brown of his kimono or the gray of his fur. But even in the shadows, piercing blue eyes stabbed right into his, curling in the way that could only indicate a smile,

"Lord Hebi sends his regards."