Disclaimer: no recognizable characters are mine.
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Sometimes I ask myself if I've done right by my adoptive sons. I raised them, taught them what I could of the world, and trained them in the arts of ninjitsu. To what end? To avenge my master. That task is years passed, and now I worry my single-minded cause was a mistake.
They took to their training well--what other options did they have? And they completed my request. Thirteen years of training for one moment. I do grant that their schooling has continued to serve them well, in the various experiences they've been subject to.
But looking back and watching them now, I wonder what path Fate would have them traverse if I hadn't forced her hand aside.
If I squint my eyes, sometimes I can picture what they may have done, may have become. In the background, away from human eyes, of course--I don't delude myself into thinking without me they could go unnoticed and unprosecuted!
Donatello, with his quick mind, may have been better born in a different era. He reminds me of a tinker, a jack of all trades, master of none. He immerses himself in knowledge and embraces technology because that field was easiest to do in our hidden home. If he had had the time lost to physical training, who knows how far ahead his thoughts would be?
Who we call the youngest, Michelangelo, has such a flair for life. Even through the hardships we've endured, he has the knack of connecting with people more easily than his brothers. It is easy to see him in the entertainment industry--costumed, of course. Or as a chef, too, he could have excelled; his culinary efforts rival Donatello's technological inventions . . .
Leonardo. My star student. We all assume he is the eldest, due to his seriousness and dedication, although we have no way to know that as an absolute truth. That small fact makes me ponder if the mantle of leadership was placed on his shoulders at too young an age, and forced him into his role. I like to think he needed the training and responsibilities more than the others, or he would have nothing, but the truth is, I don't know what he would have chosen for himself if left alone . . .
It's hard to admit, but I believe the hard physical endeavors have sculpted Raphael most of all. With his energy and yes, his rage, focused into conflict, without training he would be a very dangerous individual. An unstable individual. As it is, his desire for justice helps keep him in check, even if it puts him at odds with the others. I do truly believe my teachings have instilled some limitations; otherwise, I imagine that, left on his own, he would be uncontrollably brutal, and probably not alive with us today . . .
So I think of the past and of what might have been, and doubt myself--a soft rap on the door breaks my thoughts.
"Master?"
"Yes?"
"Are you okay? You've been in there quite awhile. We were getting worried." The others outside the door murmured agreements.
The mutated rat called Splinter stared at himself in the mirror a moment longer.
"Master?"
The reflection in the mirror winked, and a sad smile crossed its face.
"I'm coming, my sons."
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Fin.