Awareness returned slowly, accompanied by a splitting headache that left him nauseous. He didn't move, just lay still on the slightly rocking surface beneath him. Wait. Slightly rocking? Memory returned and he sat up fast, only to immediately regret it as the world spun and all he'd ever eaten decided to make an appearance. It wasn't until he stopped retching over the side of the boat—boat, that's why the world seemed to be rocking—that Leo realized he wasn't alone.
"Feel better?" A quiet voice asked. He looked up to see an old man, dressed in sailor's clothing, watching him with curious, watery blue eyes. His hands instantly went to his head, relieved to find that his concealing cap had remained in place. The parka was gone, but his gray sweatshirt still covered the more obvious places that marked him as a mutant turtle. He managed a sheepish smile for the man.
"Yes, thank you. Much better. Um…what happened?"
"You don't remember?"
"I remember a little." He couldn't very well tell the man what he did remember, not and keep his secrets at the same time. The man's next words, though, made his heart sink.
"You were fighting with another man. I saw him come out of the shadows and attack. You both fell into the water. I came as quick as I could, but you were the only one I could find. You were bleeding, so I took the liberty of patching you up." Leo's hand went to his neck, and sure enough, a rough bandage met his exploring fingers. He'd been so caught up in being nauseous that the pain didn't register until he felt the wound. "Just clean it up when you get home, and you'll be just fine. Oh, I almost forgot…"
The man looked down and started fishing around, so Leo took the opportunity to study his surroundings. He was on a small vessel, a sailboat really, nicely outfitted with blue sails and a white body. He was laying on a leather bench. Apparently, whoever this man was, he'd been out sailing in the river and had seen the scuffle and came to help. Leo inwardly cringed. If the man had pulled him from the water, he had most definitely felt some of Leo's more…interesting…characteristics through the sweatshirt…not to mention the green skin of his neck where the bandage was applied. Lovely.
The man's short cry of triumph interrupted his thoughts. "Here you are. I grabbed this, too. Had a hard time getting you to let go of it. Must be something special, huh?" In his outstretched hand was Leo's katana. Instantly, his hand went to his side, feeling for the other hilt. The hard edge of the second hilt met his fingers and he relaxed. Both his swords were safe. The man was still watching him curiously, so he allowed another smile and sat up, slowly this time. His head still spun, but he no longer wanted to empty his stomach.
"Thank you again," he said, accepting the sword. "Actually, I have two." He paused for a second, waiting for the man to react to what he must know by now, but he didn't. "Uh…sir…well, I…"
The man interrupted him by laughing softly. "You're different, alright. But I don't have to know your whole story, just like you don't have to know mine. I'm just glad I could help. You were just defending yourself, after all."
Leo nodded, grateful. His heart gave a little pang as he remembered how he'd gotten into this mess in the first place. Stupid kid. Why don't they ever listen? He tilted his head back, drawing in the moist air and sighed. "I really don't know how to thank you…" he started, but cut himself off as he noticed where the sun now sat in the sky. Noon. That meant he's probably missed…he whipped his head around, trying to locate the docks. The boat was fairly close to the place where he fell, but to his dismay, the ship that he'd come for was no longer at its place at the docks. "Oh, no."
"What? What's the matter?" the man asked, alarmed.
"I was coming here to pick up an important delivery, but the…mishap…on the docks threw me off schedule. How long was I out?"
"A few hours, at most," the man said. He studied the place where Leo was looking and suddenly brightened. "Actually, the ship you're looking for left only about twenty minutes ago. The wind's right—I can get you out to them pretty quick."
Leonardo turned back to the man. "I…you've done so much already."
"No sweat, kid. You think an old codger like me has anything better to do? Let me help you out. It'll make an old bored man really happy."
"So I let the man take me out there and got what I came for. Then I went into the city and bought some of the stuff we're out of, eggs and butter. Though I'll probably have to go get more eggs tomorrow, these ones are shot." Leo looked ruefully down at the bag that contained the eggs, dripping slightly with yellow slime.
Raph gave a sheepish laugh. "Sorry about that, bro."
"Don't worry about it. So that's the whole bizarre story. I'm sorry to have worried you."
He blinked as Donatello rose to his feet and moved to his side, tilting his head and studying the white square of bandage that adorned his neck. "Hmm. Well done." He checked Leo's pupils and head as well. "No concussion. You were lucky, bro. Looks like your new friend knew what he was doing."
"He knew a lot more. But I don't think we have to worry about him…something tells me that he's no stranger to keeping secrets."
"So," Mike began hesitantly. "What was so important that you went through all that trouble to get?"
Leo gave a soft smile. "Well, I was going to wait until our eighteenth birthday…but since everyone is here and I'm impatient, I don't think Father will mind." He grabbed the rest of the bags, piling them carefully around his feet. "Master Splinter wanted to give us gifts for our birthday this year, sort of as coming-of-age gifts. He never had the chance to retrieve them, so the Ancient One sent me a letter a week ago asking if I still would like to have them. I agreed and he shipped them out from Japan." Reaching down, he took out the first package.
Mike blinked as Leo held the wrapped item out to him. "Me first?" At Leo's nod, he accepted the gift and slowly un-wrapped it. He caught his breath.
It was a medallion of sorts, roughly about the size of his palm. A brilliant sun was emblazoned across the front, carved with great care out of pure gold. He ran a finger over its delicate surface, speechless.
"This is the symbol of Light, Michelangelo," Leonardo said quietly. "Hope, happiness, contentment. Laughter. Love. It represents you, and what you bring to our family. Splinter-sensei wanted to make sure that you always remembered that, no matter where life takes you from here." He reached into the next bag and drew out a second package, which he handed to Don.
Don carefully opened it, with shaking fingers. In his palm rested a second medallion. Across its surface, a crane spread its wings to the sky, seeming ready to fly that second into the growing storm clouds that lined the far edge. Don ran his fingers over the surface of the purple quartz. "It's beautiful."
"The symbol of Peace," Leo continued. "Carved with the symbol of the peace crane, prepared to face the coming storms and bring order to adversity. Just like you bring peace to this family, Donatello, and how you use your knowledge and skills to bring order to this chaotic family of ours." He pulled out a third package and handed it to a suddenly nervous Raphael.
Slowly, the red-clad ninja unwound the simple brown paper to reveal his own medallion. Red as the rubies it was made of, fire danced across the surface, carved with such precision it seemed as though the flames flickered in his palm. He touched it, half expecting it to feel warm in his hand.
"Like I told you last night, this is the symbol of Fire." Leo met Raphael's eyes. "Passion, loyalty, and freedom. The ability to grant life, and take it away. Controlled, and uncontrollable. A bastion of strength, and power." Leo smiled. "You."
Raphael didn't know what to say. For a long while there was silence, as the three younger brothers tried to come to terms with their father's gift and their oldest brother's words. Uncharacteristic tears threatened Raph's eyes, and he fought them back, clutching the medallion tighter. "He…he made these?"
"With his own hands." Leonardo looked around at them all, and gave a deep sigh. "I'm so glad I could give them to you. It would have made him very happy."
"Wait, Leo!" Mikey said suddenly. "What about you? Didn't he make one for you?"
Raph looked down at the bags at his brother's feet and sure enough, a fourth package rested there. Leo reached down and lifted it up, unwrapping it with his usual careful precision. Raph looked closely at the medallion.
Carved of out of the deepest blue sapphire he'd ever seen, it was carved to look like the waves of the ocean. Just as his own ruby flame seemed to flicker in his hand, Leo's medallion seemed to be made of shifting water, the shadows created giving it life in his elder brother's palm. Leonardo stared down at it, smiling faintly.
"What's it mean, Leo?" Mikey broke the silence hesitantly.
"It's the symbol of Wisdom," Leo replied softly. "Water is ever-changing, ever-flowing. It pushes past all barriers, overcomes all obstacles. It adapts, it becomes new while remaining, in its deepest levels, the same." He laughed softly. "And Splinter applied it to me."
"But it is you, Leo," Raph said quietly. "You were right. Splinter knew us better than we knew ourselves." Leo met his gaze again and long moment of understanding passed between them. Raph realized he would always worry about Leo, about Mike and Don, and they him, but never for the reason that had crossed his mind in the last two days. That, he decided, was the best gift of all.
I had the hardest time ending this story. Don't you hate it when that happens? Now, I want your opinions--honest ones, mind--what do you think? I haven't had much feedback on this last chapter from before. I wrote it in one shot--and I have no idea where the OC came from, lol. Should I change it? Should I change the gifts? Tell me--pretty please?
As always, thanks for reading :D