Leonardo Hamato (WIP)

by Leonardo Fri Apr 22, 2016 4:00 pm

Name: Leonardo Hamato

Nick Names: Fearless (Leader), Splinter Junior, Lame-o-nardo, or just plain Leo

Age: 18 years old from date of mutation - Splinter says is September 29th 1996

Gender: Male

Species: Mutated Red Ear Slider Turtle

Occupation: Vigilante, Ninjitsu Student, Leader and role model for his family

Place of Residence: The Lair under New York City

Nationality: American breed, hatched, mutated and raised

Spoken Languages: English and Japanese

Eyes: A slightly darker shade of blue than Mikey's

Height: 5' 5"

General Appearance:
At five-foot-five and one-hundred and seventy pounds, Leonardo is a pretty imposing mutant turtle. He may be shorter than Donatello in height and less muscular than Raph, but Leo carries himself with a presence that makes up for this. Their 'baby' days normal turtle markings faded during mutation, though like all turtles, he sports a hefty brownish green shell (carapace) and mustard yellow chest plates, (plastron) and a tail the red ear markings are covered by his blue mask. His plastron has a few nicks and scratches from battles, but he also has a chunk of shell missing from an earlier battle. A bit of Hamato Yoshi's DNA that mixed with the mutagen that caused the mutation gave them an upright posture as well as two fingers and a 'thumb' on each hand as well as three distinct toes and re evolved teeth.

Some features of his repilian beginnings have scaled down, his grassy-green skin -- like his brothers -- is microscaled so it feels softer and smoother than wild turtles, but is still pebblish to touch as well as stronger and thicker than human skin. Unlike his wild non-mutated cousins, he can thermo-regulate, however extreme cold weather will slow him down. If he cannot get to warmth, he will go into a hybernative state that could last up to a week if no warmth is found.

As his normal 'gear', he wears elbow and knee pads, a belt which can hold hidden weaponry as well as his tPhone, cream-colored wrist and feet wrappings, white bandages around his fingers, and a strap over his shoulder which allows him to carry his twin-katana blades on his shell in their sheathes. His most distinctive article of 'clothing' is his ninja mask -- a bright blue piece of fabric with holes cut in it for his eyes that ties around his head and drapes down over the top part of his shell.

Character traits:
As the Alpha turtle, the Leader, Leonardo is overall a strong willed, very tactical, courageous and devoted student of his sensei, and is his own toughest critic, often putting pressure on himself at times more then necessary. Leonardo was named after the Italian polymath, painter, engineer, inventor, writer, anatomist, and sculptor, Leonardo da Vinci. He will always fight for what he believes in and as Alpha is very protective of his family. Tries to teach and guide his brothers as much as Master Splinter and this overbearing, over protectiveness annoys his brothers, most specifically Raphael often, but not the only cause, of arguments and at times even dominance battles between them. But Leo is selfless, dedicated, trustworthy and loyal, willing tosacrifice himself at all costs if it meant keeping those he cares about safe and always willing to help others.

May consider himself mature, but as all young men can at times be silly and playful. And has a sarcastic, dry sense of humour. Also a bit of a SciFi Nerd. And is a little bit obsessive compulsive about cleaning, his room and the dojo are always clean because of this.

Leo speaks softly most of the time and has a tight reign over his emotions, through meditation and focusing on his ninjitsu training. It always there for his brothers if they want to confide inhim and on occassion sit with them if they have had a bad night on patrol and need the company. Sometimes he needs this himself and tries to ignore it, though his brothers and Splinter know him too well.

Likes:
- Training -- out of all of is brothers, Leo trains the hardest, most often, and puts the most effort into it.

- Tea -- Nothing can relax Leo more than a nice warm cup of tea. He's partial to the herbal variety, but he's pretty much willing to try any tea once. Including some questionable ones that Splinter gave them when they were sick as youngsters.

- Meditation -- a really great way to relax and clear his mind. Leo will meditate when the stress becomes too much with family or to help him deal with difficult decisions.

- Pizza -- a great discovery on their first time topside. He and his brothers partake in this food pretty regularly. It's much better than "worms and algae" after all. Thanks to Murakami, Pizza Gyoza has also become a very popular meal for them.

- Space Heroes -- a TV show that really caught Leo's eye early on. He likes to model himself after the leader in it and can even quote a lot of his lines.

- Comics -- not to the extent that Mikey does, but Leo has his own collection of Space Heroes comics that he absolutely treasures.

- Hanging out with his brothers -- even if they annoy him sometimes, it doesn't change the fact that he would be lost without them. He'll play video games with them and just be there for them for whatever they need.

- To be a good leader -- after asking Splinter assigned him that role, Leo does whatever it takes to make sure he keeps his team safe and in line. Appreciation would be nice, but leadership does has its limits, unfortunately.

- Using heroic (to his ears anyway) lines in battle -- Leo doesn't realize how cheesy his lines are that he uses against foes. He thinks they sound heroic and cool, but really they're just cliche and lame. It really annoys his brothers when he uses them.

- Karai -- his first and only crush to date. Leo tries not to make his own crush as on her as obvious as Donnie is with his crush on April, but there are times when he isn't as subtle as he thinks. He's still not one-hundred percent sure she knows how he feels, though.

- Helping Karai -- after finding out Splinter was her father, Leo has made it his personal mission to make sure she ends up with her real family. Since her mutation, Leo wants nothing more than to return her to normal.

Dislikes:
- Failing -- one of Leo's greatest fears is letting his team down or losing a tough battle.

- Disappointing his father -- since taking up this role, he has pretty much followed Splinter's orders to a "T", but that doesn't mean he can't make his own choices. He desperately wants his father's approval, but sometimes the best course of action isn't always what his father wants. He constantly has an inner struggle between doing what's right and what he is told to do.

- Fighting with his brothers -- Raph usually comes to mind because he and Leo clash constantly, but he and Don have had their fair share of arguments as well. Most due to differences of opinion on how to deal with certain circumstances. Mikey is more of an annoyance to Leo than anything.

- When plans don't work or have to change -- just when he thinks he has things under control, they take a drastic shift and he has to come up with something else right on the spot. His father has told him that plans don't always go as they should and to "expect the unexpected".

- Disrespect -- his brothers constantly try his patience with them not waiting for his orders when going into battle or just reconaissance missions. It annoys him to no end when they go on ahead and Leo is the one that has to play 'catch-up' when he is supposed to be the leader.

- Shredder and the Kraang -- of course there are other formidable foes out there, but these are the heavy-hitters. Both want to destroy the turtles and when they join forces, it makes it ten times worse for the good guys.

- Being laid-up with an injury -- during the long recovery process after his defeat with the Shredder, he became very impatient and depressed when he couldn't do even the simplest of training sessions. It was bad enough that he had to sit on the sidelines, but when he attempted to train with the others, he re-injured himself pretty easily.

Family:
- Master Splinter (Yoshi) -- a mutated human-turned-humanoid rat who adopted the turtles as his own family. He has become their father-figure as well as their teacher (sensei) of ninjutsu.

- Hamato Raphael -- Leo's biggest rival as far as brothers go. They're the same age, but Raph is considered younger than him.

- Hamato Donatello -- his brainy younger brother, but he's also a good tactition and Leo's 'second-in-command'.

- Hamato Michelangelo -- his youngest brother and prankster extraordinaire. With Mike being the 'baby' in the family, Leo is very protective of him.

History:
As normal hatchlings, Leonardo and his brothers had been purchased out of a small pet shop by a heart and home sore Hamato Yoshi. Hamato Yoshi, whom at the time, was on his way home, came across two mysterious men in a back alleyway. He started eavesdropping on them because something didn't seem kosher about them and a rat scurried underfoot, startling Yoshi in the process. By then, Yoshi had been spotted by the men and a fight ensued. A canister of a green ooze was dropped and broken by Yoshi's feet, and the jar with the four infant turtles was also dropped, landing in the ooze. Then it happened. The ooze changed them all. Yoshi became a humanoid rat, and the turtles also became more human in stature.

Or - that is the story Splinter always told them every year on mutation day when the turtles and their father would celebrate the passing of the year together. Ever since then they had lived in the sewers. Leonardo had seen the few photos Splinter had managed to some how get and keep of himself and his brothers when they had been small and growing, but his earliest memories are sketchy and probably none of a time when he was only a hatchling pet turtle. Though it was far from a comfortable life, the five managed and like his brothers Leo grew, and as soon as he could walk Splinter was teaching him and his brothers ninjitsu.

Leonardo excelled in his training and always took it the most seriously of any of his brothers. Despite his extensive training, he did have a childhood paralyzing fear of heights -- which Splinter worked him through it. Leo was often teased for being a 'teacher's pet', but he didn't let that stop him from learning everything he needed to. Like all his brothers, Leo was homeschooled, and by the time they were approaching their teenage years, Donatello took over in giving the lessons. Sometimes the brainy brother would spout off on things that went over the others' heads, but Leo still kept up with his studies -- both general and his ninjutsu.

When Leo and his brothers turned 15, Splinter finally allowed them to go up to the surface for the first time. It was then that they discovered pizza and met their very first human friend, April O'Neil. Unfortunately, she and her father were kidnapped by the Kraang, and that's when things took a turn for the worse when it came to working as a unit. After going back to the lair, and receiving one of Splinter's many lectures, Leo was appointed the team's leader (because he asked) and then the foursome returned topside to rescue the small family. His ideas weren't always very receptive by his brothers, and it made Leo question several times whether he was the right one for the job, but they got at least part of the job done. They saved April. And now their mission was saving her dad.

Over that next year, Leo and his brothers had met, fought, and usually defeated lots of foes. One of the most difficult enemies was the Shredder, whose personal vendetta was destroying Yoshi and the Turtles. The first time they met, they barely survived the encounter., but there have been a few meetings since then that ended much better for the team. Another major threat for them was an alien race called the Kraang. They had been a constant pain in their sides for most of that year, but the Turtles came closer and closer to figuring out why they were there in the first place. The Kraang became a double-threat once they sided with the Shredder.

They also met some more allies along the way, such as Mr. Murakami (blind noodle shop owner) and Leatherhead (mutant alligator). Leo also met his first female crush who was a very skilled kunoichi. At this point, he didn't know who her father was, but even when he did find out, he still couldn't deny that he still had feelings for the girl. He felt bad for betraying her when she offered to side with them against the Kraang, and from that point on, she was just another enemy for them. Later that year, after some more various obstacles, Leo and his brothers finally did rescue Mr. O'Neil and stopped a massive Kraang invasion.

The following year, they met more enemies and allies, including another human friend who has become a very valuable member of the team, Casey Jones. He likes being in the thick of things, even sometimes more than the Turtles do, much to Leo's dismay. Leo also befriended this little girl when he interrupted her tea party before she could drink some mutagen she thought was tea. He promised he would bring her some real tea someday.

By now, Splinter had found out that Karai was actually his long-lost daughter Miwa and finally told Leo. Leo made it his personal mission to get Karai back on their side, and eventually does after more significant events take place. Unfortunately, just as Karai was settling into her new home with her real father, her thirst for vengeance against the Shredder lands her in more trouble and she's accidentally mutated into a snake. Now Leo's mission was finding her and also finding a way to change her back to human.

Leo's worst time was during another large Kraang invasion. He and Don fought over strategies on how to deal with the invasion, and their home was attacked by the Kraang which forced the family to break off into smaller groups. After separating himself from the rest of the team, Leo was attacked by the Foot, Shredder, and his warriors. Unfortunately, Leo didn't come out on top this time and fell in battle after a vicious strike from the Shredder from behind. Leo's broken and battered body was returned to the others later (minus Splinter), and they all fled the city to a secluded farmhouse upstate.

Leo's recuperating time took months, and he was in a coma for about three of them. When he finally awoke he could barely walk, let alone train. He hated being on the sidelines while watching his brothers and friends spar in the front yard of the farmhouse. Finally, when he was ready to venture out a little on his own, he had a realization that his team had become too comfortable at the farmhouse and that they needed to get back to the city. But, before that, Leo and his brothers had to be ready. That took a quest into the woods to find spiritual refinement, and it was there they had their first contact with Master Splinter since the invasion in the form of a spirit in the fire. He told his sons that they had to make new armor and weapons and head out on their own to face their own idividual adversaries. Leo's was the Shredder, of course, but it wasn't as easy to defeat him in his injured state. It took a magical being to finally convince Leo that the pain was only in his mind and he finally beat him on the spiritual plane.

With his enemy 'defeated', they all regrouped and headed back to New York. The Kraang had taken over the entire city, so moving around the city to find Splinter wouldn't be easy. They tried the lair and were attacked by Kraang probes, but as they left the area, they spotted Splinter but he wasn't himself. He was all rat and not human-like at all. It pained Leo to see him like that. With the help of April, Splinter's mind and memories were restored and the family was reunited once again. Now to get their home back. They made their new home in the abandoned Antonio's Pizzeria until they finally defeated the Kraang for good.

((To be Continued))