A/N: Just a one shot idea I had one night. Among other things, I do play a bit of piano, and the pieces described in this fic were some of my favorite. Titles and composers are listed at the end.
Raphael's Song
Raphael skimmed across the rooftops at full speed. When he jumped, he jumped as high as he could. When he ran, he pushed his legs to move faster. When he stopped, he punched whatever was closest at hand. Raphael was mad. But that's nothing new. He had stormed out of the lair and retreated to the rooftops to blow off some steam. But tonight, that wasn't enough.
It was another fight. It was always because of a fight. Raphael was a hot head and he knew it. That was why he was taking his anger out on the roof rather than one of his brothers' faces.
He'd been running around for an hour now and was breathing hard. Despite the exercise, he still couldn't calm down. He sat down on the roof, resting. After a few minutes of looking up at the stars, dim and sparse from the smog of the city.
That's when it started. A few soft notes echoed through the night air. A piano? After a few test chords, the song started. The melody played back and forth, a dance between two people, a sad song of one that pleaded one to listen and understand, but the other would hear nothing of it.
As Raphael listened to the music, he felt the anger and frustration drain from his mind. His body relaxed and he lost himself to the music. The song ended all too quickly. Raph picked himself up and looked over the edge of the building toward where the song had come from. He could see in the adjacent building where a girl sat in front of a piano, flipping through the pages of a book full of sheet music. She selected a new song and set her hands up on the keys.
This time, she launched into a sharp, fast paced tune that had her hands bouncing all over the place. Raph watched in awe at the speed she moved and the precision of her nimble fingers, never missing a note. He glanced down at his big bulky fingers, noticing that they were only really good for hitting people with.
What was he good for? Getting mad at his brothers? Losing his cool whenever something pissed him off? Why couldn't he get control over anything?
The song fumbled. Notes mashed together, the girl's fingers slipped, and the melody stopped. The girl eyed the sheet music critically. She went back a few bars, and slowly played through the section where she messed up. When she completed it slowly, she played it again. And again. As she repeated the short sequence of notes, she picked up speed until she had it down pack.
Smiling to herself, she returned to the beginning of the song and played it through. She slowed down at the part she had practiced, but she got through it with no mistakes. It wasn't perfect, but she managed to complete the piece.
Raphael determined that he had to work on his temper more. Like the girl on the piano working through a tough part of her song. Repeat and practice until you get it right. He knew he'd tried before, but practice makes perfect.
Raphael turned to head back home, his mind clear and his emotions calm. He took a deep breath and was about to leave when the girl started another song. This time it was slow but loud, dramatic and precise. Raphael hesitated before returning to the edge of the roof. He sat down, making himself comfortable before losing himself in the music.
A/N: The songs that the girl plays include La Gemissante by Jean-François Dandrieu, Fairy Dance by Edvard Hagerup Grieg, and Sarabande and Variations from 11th suite by Georg Friedrich Händel. You know, for all you music fanatics out there.