This fic was mainly a practice of writing in first person, because I rarely do. I ended up using it to practice description of scenery a lot too. Tell me what you think!
I was inspired by the NEVER ENDING rains in Florida. But it seems like the season is finally coming to a close. It's good to see the sun again... :)
Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.
The sun was rising, I knew that by the hour, but the light of it was cloaked in dark clouds that covered the sky. A few rays had shone through, but they were snuffed out completely now; the storm was coming in fast. I could hear thunder in the distance, and the power behind it energized me. Streetlights still shone below, but it was too early for much activity. Still, I was thankful for the darkness the clouds offered as I scanned the rooftops wondering where my stupid hotheaded brother would've gone.
Ok. So I still wasn't over it quite yet.
Normally I had a bit more time to calm down, and I allowed that for Raphael as well. He was a big boy, and he could take care of himself. He made sure to drive that point home every chance he got.
I would have been happy to wait for him to come home like I usually did. Yes, I would be waiting, whether he knew it or not. I can't help that I worry about my brothers, they're my responsibility, but I gave up long ago trying to chase Raph down everytime he ran out. It just pissed him off more, and I never really felt better afterwards. So why was I out just before a thunderstorm rolls through trying to track him down? Master Splinter.
I could be reading a book right now.
Sensei usually stays out of it when Raph and I have a go at each other. I had assumed the leader position and so I needed to handle these issues on my own. That's fine. Raph would get over it; I would get over it. That's how it worked for us. We clashed often enough, but rarely did it get so out of hand that a few hours avoiding each other wouldn't solve it. But being leader of the team didn't make me head of the house. So an hour after Raphael had gone, Splinter left no room for argument when he told me to go after him.
Mikey wanted to come with me, but I shook him off. I love my little brother but I was annoyed and if I was going to be forced to go out in a storm to chase down one brother, I wasn't going to bring along another to risk slowing me down.
Criminal activity has been low lately. At least the normal stuff we dealt with. There hadn't been any sign of the Foot Ninja in a while. Purple Dragons were always a problem, but even they had been quiet lately. There weren't any weird robots, aliens, or monsters causing chaos in the streets. Honestly, it was about time things settled down a bit in New York. Or course it made Raph restless, and frankly, unbearable; another reason I was ok with letting him stay out a bit. Splinter wanted me to keep an eye on Raph for other reasons. He was already injured.
It happened on one of our last runs. We ran into some burglary in action. It was easy; in and out, knock out some thugs and package them nicely for the police. We didn't expect much of a fight, and it wasn't.
I always plan ahead for lucky shots. Professional swimmers can still drown, and two-bit criminals can still get a hit in. Raph thinks it' crazy, the amount of planning I'll do, and the directions I give based on that. How do you plan for chance? I always expect it, and he thinks it's more a waste of time.
Well I'm not the one who was stabbed was I?
I don't think Raph even noticed right away that his own sai was sticking out of his side. He just saw the kid was too close to him and threw him back. I dispatched the two thugs between us before he exclaimed in surprise and pain. I called Donatello, who was on the other side of him. With one strong swing of his bo the punks in front of him crumpled to the ground. Mikey backed up closer to us, dealing with the last few burglars while I yelled at Raph not to touch the sai, he yelled at me to back off, and Don yelled at both of us. Just a bit of a mess.
I helped Mikey tie up the criminals and we dumped them, and the stolen goods, back in the store where the alarm was going off. When we got back, Donnie was holding an elbow pad to Raph's wound. Mike grabbed Raph's weapons and we bailed before the cops showed. The hothead was hissing curses almost the entire way home, so I knew he would be fine.
Alright fine. I was worried. Raph has lot a lot of blood and passed out about halfway back to the lair. Splinter and Donnie got him stitched up though and he was awake the next day.
That was 4 days ago.
Which means Raph should not be out already causing problems.
I sighed and looked to the sky again. It was quickly growing darker, rather than lighter, with the storm moving in. Thunder rolled again, closer, and I felt it in my gut.
Wait. My shell cell was vibrating in my belt. I pulled it out and checked the small screen. Raph's name flashed across it, and I tapped it to open the text.
Bike gone. Casey on a date. 3 Tell Raphie he's a meathead when u find him!
I stared at the message for a long moment, then blinked. Ok, so Mikey was helping out after all. Clearly Raph hadn't taken his phone with him wherever he went, and my youngest brother had found it. I felt a little guilty for making him stay behind. I sighed again and quickly sent a message back asking him to let me know if Raphael returned. Seconds later he answered: K! With a thumbs up symbol. I tucked the cell into its place again and reevaluated my search. If Casey wasn't with him, Raph was more likely to roam around, especially out with his bike. But I hoped his injury would keep him fairly close to home.
Again thunder clapped over me, and this time I could see the lightning creep below the clouds. I held off a shiver against the cool air. This was not going to be a fun morning for me.
I felt a drop of rain on my cheek.
Thirty minutes later it was pouring, and I was pissed. Well, still pissed. And I hadn't seen any sign of my brother.
A lot of times I don't mind the rain. It's refreshing, and the thunder and electricity in the air is empowering to me somehow. But sometimes it just reminded me of getting ambushed, and tossed like a ragdoll at my family's feet. That was years ago, but this morning felt a lot like that one. It was even around the same time of the year.
I just wanted to go home, dry off, and get warm. I was starting to worry again too. The inevitable rainfall, I hoped, would make Raph retreat back home. However I still had no word from Mikey. I had my mixed feelings about the rain, but as I ran further along the rooftops watching the streets below, I wondered what Raph thought of it, if he thought at all.
A few streets over I could hear sirens, and instinctively I adjusted my direction to follow them. My pace had slowed due to the rain, but the cops didn't go very far. I came upon the scene only just after they did.
A handful of Purple Dragons were lying unconscious on the ground at the mouth of an alleyway. One or two were trying to escape down the street, and I was glad to see a couple officers already running after them. This meant I wouldn't have to. The thugs on the ground still were groaning in pain, any that had the strength to stand were already being pushed into a police van. Others who had yet to move would have to go to a hospital before a jail cell, if not a morgue. I recognized the handiwork.
I hadn't seen Raph's bike on the way to the scene, but as my eyes trailed deeper into the alley I could see that it split in the back at a T, winding off to different streets. One, I could tell, stopped short at the next street behind me, but in the other direction it T'd off again into a longer stretch that ran behind several apartment buildings. The sky itself agreed this was the right direction to go when lightning crackled horizontal across the clouds, pointing the way.
Damn it was loud.
The alley was too wide to jump, and with the police still there I had to backtrack a little ways. I found a spot to jump where I could just reach the fire escape, then climbed back up to another row of rooftops. I pumped my legs, racing towards the long back alley. I hoped Raph took his time after seeing a bit of action-something I had never wanted before. I just didn't want to have to track him down again.
I ran the whole length of the alley, and found no sign of him until I reached the next street. He wasn't there, but I glimpsed the shell cycle parked on the side of the road. I may not know how Raph felt about the rain, but I know that bike was the closest any of us would have to a child, and it was his.
New York City is a busy place, but with a storm like this, in a residential area, there weren't many people willing to go out walking around. Some were forced to, heading out to hail a taxi or catch the train to get to work as dry as possible. Either way I backed away from the street before climbing down. Even in the alleyway I felt exposed, and I stayed to one side where it was darker. The sun had moved enough now that even with the thick clouds the sky was lighter, but I still had shadows, and I kept to them.
Raphael definitely wouldn't be far now. I could've missed him from the rooftops, he is a ninja after all, and the storm made it difficult to rely on my hearing. It grumbled around me every few moments to prove it. I didn't have to walk very far though before I heard the sound of someone retching through the pounding rain.
I could have really been enjoying that book right now. It had come into April's shop and she picked it off the shelf for me. I had just started it the night before. At first I didn't think I would enjoy it very much, but our human friends seems to have a talent for picking out just the right book for me. The story was about a man in the thirteenth century Tsong Dynasty who is interested in forensics. Then his family is attacked and he is forced to flee as a fugitive.
Sounds exciting right? That's all I've gotten from the inside cover synopsis. I could have been reading that instead of walking up to my brother who was puking his guts out into the rushing waters from a gutter drain.
He was panting, holding himself up with an arm against the brick wall. A precipice that stuck out above us kept him half under cover from the rain, not that it mattered. The dark leather jacket he normally wore when he went out for a ride was soaked through. His red mask too, was dark and dripping water into his eyes that were squeezed shut as he coughed and spat out the last bit of bile. I allowed my feet to slap in the puddles as I came closer, and he shuffled backwards a bit to conceal himself. When he realized who I was, he just scowled bitterly.
"I was just headed back," he coughed again. "No need to chase me down."
I rolled my eyes. "Trust me, I'd rather be warm and dry at home right now," I said evenly. I watched Raph closely. He seemed very unsteady, relying a little too much on his arm on the wall to keep his balance. "Splinter's worried."
"Splinter's always worried," he muttered, dropping his gaze to the ground.
I didn't want to wait around for an awkward silence and even more uncomfortable conversation. Did I mention I wanted to go home already?
"Did you drive?" Well maybe Raph was as eager as I was.
"No," I answered. "Why?"
He grit his teeth. Annoyance aside, Raph really didn't look good. His breathing was loud, but I could write that up to the fight he just had, coupled with the wound he was still recovering from. But he just looked sick, and ready to fall over.
"Raph, are you-"
"Damnit!" he growled, coughing again. Apparently he hadn't quite emptied his stomach yet. When he finished he wheezed, and turned around unsteadily, only to let his shell slam against the wall. His legs were shaking, but my eyes were now focused on his hand that he had clutched against his side. Underneath it the jacket had turned a slightly different shade. My gaze traveled below where the hem sat, and I could see blood steadily trailing down the side of his leg.
"Did you get stabbed again?" I questioned anxiously.
"Idiot," Raph groaned, wincing. "Some punk got a good kick in."
"Let me see."
He undid the zipper, and allowed me to examine the wound when he moved the fabric back. The stitches were destroyed, torn out of place. The skin was ripped and open, and still bleeding. "You're getting sloppy Raph." Two lucky shots was two too many.
"Save it," he hissed. Then with less strength, "Let's...let's just go."
At least he wasn't pushing me away. I straightened up, pushing the jacket in place again and he clutched at it again, keeping the pressure there.
"Can you walk?"
He stayed silent. He seemed like he was trying to decide exactly how much walking he could handle. Finally, instead of answering, he asked me something else.
"Can you drive?"
What was that supposed to mean? "I'm not going back across town to pick up the Battle Shell to pick you up if that's what you're suggesting."
Raphael was out of his mind if that indeed was his intention.
"No moron," was his pained response. He nodded in the direction I'd come from, where the Shell Cycle was.
No. Way.
"Serious?" I asked. I couldn't tell if the pain on Raph's face was more from the gaping hole in his side or that it was his idea that I drive his bike, with him as my passenger.
I could almost laugh.
"You want me to drive that thing home?"
"No Leo, I don't," he glared. "But I'm not leaving it here, and we gotta get back quick."
His voice was straining now. I guess even Raph knew when he'd had enough. I nodded. Getting him home as soon as possible was priority right now. I took his free arm and carefully slung it over my shoulder. He groaned anyway and tried at first to hold his own weight before relenting and using the support I offered. He focused instead on keeping his footing so I wasn't carrying him completely. As we neared the street ahead, I leaned him against the building as a couple walked by on the sidewalk.
"Stay here," I whispered, making sure he wouldn't fall over. I peered into the street. Only the elderly couple was out under their umbrella and with their backs to me I could step out to the bike. Maybe a little more rushed than Raph would've liked, I kicked back the stand and steered it back into the alleyway, propping it up again when I reached him.
"Alright bro, time to go. Keep pressure on that."
"Yea," was all he said. He managed to push himself off the wall before I reached him to help. He made a motion, telling me to get on first. I did, and kept it steady as he clumsily took his place behind me.
"Think you can stay on?" I asked. I was concerned, but I couldn't help taunting a little.
"Think you can stay upright?"
"I've ridden a bike before Raph."
"This is nuthin' like pedalin' Leo."
I scoffed. "Put this on." I handed him the helmet he'd left hanging from the handles.
He made a face. "You're drivin'."
"I'm not the one about fall over where I sit," I argued. "Put it on."
"Bonehead. Have you noticed the rain?" He pushed the helmet back at me until it hit my plastron. "If you plan on being able to see anything when we get goin' you better wear it."
Alright so he had a point, but he should have been too worn out to flash me that smug look. I turned forward and strapped the helmet on without another word. The next moment the bike came to life below us, and I took a long breath. It was true I was not used to riding the motorcycle. This was Raph's thing, not mine. I heard him grunt behind me.
"I'm serious bro," he was saying. "She's heavy and keepin' her balanced is gunna take a lot more-" I looked at him again, lifting the visor and an eye ridge at him. He scowled. "Ok Leonardo, kng of balance and order. You know what I'm gettin' at. It ain't as easy as it looks."
"You call your bike a she?" I asked plainly. I was definitely smirking under that helmet.
"Damn it Leo, just go! And don't you wreck my bike!"
"I won't get a scratch on her," I said rolling my eyes and sitting forward again. I peeled out of the alleyway and onto the street. Raph wrapped an arm around my waist as we went.
He managed to stay awake all the way to the garage, and I kept my promise. The bike was fine, but I wasn't sure I wanted to do that again. Raph wasn't kidding, it wasn't as easy as it looked. Hopefully this wouldn't be a situation that happened often enough that I had to get used to it.
I had to support a lot more of his weight on the way down to the lair than before. The bleeding had slowed but I couldn't be sure of how much he had lost. I wanted to keep him awake for now, and came up with something to talk about.
"Hey Raph, what do you think about rain?"
"...What?"
I shrugged. "I just wondered. It's calming to me sometimes. Cleansing I guess."
"Yea sure I guess," he wasn't into it. I pressed him anyway and he sighed. "No, I don't really like the rain."
Well I had already guessed that much. "Why not?" I asked. We had entered the lair now. We had a room set up with all our medical supplies, and I dragged him in that direction. Mikey saw us come in, and had already gone to fetch Donatello and Splinter.
"Because," Raph mumbled, starting to go under. "Bad shit just feels worse in the rain."
I sat him down on one of the beds and helped him pull the bloodsoaked coat off, but held it against his side still. He tried to stay sitting up, but I pushed him back. Donnie was behind me already, muttering questions and gathering supplies. Raph's eyes closed and he drifted off while I explained what happened. Don started to clean the wound, frustrated at the state of his previous handiwork. He dismissed me, assuring me that Raph was just exhausted, but he needed to check what kind of damage the blow to the wound did internally. I left him to it, wanting to dry off and finally relax.
I changed my gear and hung up my mask, planning to settle on the couch with my book, but when I left my room another thought distracted me. I looked towards the living room area longingly, but turned instead back to the exit, grabbing a couple rags along the way. I found myself back in the garage, eyeing Raph's motorcycle. I spent the next hour wiping it down. I'd seen Raph cleaning it before, but I didn't do anything fancy. Despite the rain pounding down on us the entire way home, blood had still managed to stick to parts of the surface and in some places it had seeped in between the metal plates and gears. Raph would likely have spent more time on it than I did, but I didn't care. Some past mutterings of his is what brought me up here in the first place. For it to work properly at all times he kept the bike looking pristine. Foreign substances were not allowed. It was like how we all treated our weapons. Clean and dry, taken care of. They lasted longer that way, and we could always rely on them.
As I cleaned the bike I thought about Raph's answer to my question. It was unexpectedly deep. I might have been reading too much into it, but it made me think of the day I was attacked again. We'd all had several battles in the rain, and I pictured each one. Those battles did different somehow. There were exceptions of course, most of our biggest fights hadn't been under rainfall. But those that were were especially haunting to me.
My feelings were still mixed, but as I headed back below ground I shook it off. It didn't matter really. Finally I could sit down, and as I opened up my book I smirked at one last stray thought.
If Raph called his bike "her", what had he named it?
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