Warriors Spirit.
Chapter Two:
Raphael had grumbled the whole way home and snapped at anyone who tried to start a conversation with Mai. That was until Mai snapped at him to stop being a jerk. Raphael had promptly shut up and simply scowled the rest of the way to the lair. Much to the amusement of Michelangelo.
It took them around an hour to get Raph home and despite loud protests, Don and Mikey took him up to his room to rest. As Raphael had taken one last look over his shoulder at Mai he saw Splinter steering her to the kitchen table with Leo hot on their heels. He groaned and finally allowed his brothers to steer him to his room.
"Face it bro, cats really out the bag now." Mikey grinned earning a glare.
"Yeah Raph," Don smirked as he pulled the blanket over his brother, "hope she makes a good impression or Leo will never leave you alone on this one."
"Will you two shut up?!" Raph snapped, "This is precisely why I didn't want anyone else to know!"
"Relax Raph I was just joking!" Don shook his head. Mikey chuckled and walked out of the room.
"Where's he going?" Raph tried to sit up and Donatello pushed him back down.
"Probably to keep an eye on Leo to make sure he behaves himself." Don stopped and blinked, "I actually can't believe I said that."
"Why wouldn't fearless behave himself?" Raph asked suspiciously.
"Well. . . to be honest Leo was going to go after you and bring you home around two hours after you left. He's been pretty suspicious of your nightly disappearances." Don rubbed the back of his head. "Master Splinter told him to leave you alone and not to go after you under any circumstances. Leo was not happy."
"I bet he wasn't." Raph snorted.
"Well when he was shot down by splinter he came into my lab to bitch at me."
"There's a surprise." Raph yawned.
"Yeah well, I wasn't in the mood but then Mikey really wanted to find out where you were so since I knew I. . . "
"Wait, you knew?!" Raph sat up again and winced at the pull in his arm. "How the hell did you know about Mai?"
"Well I didn't kno what she was called or anything, but . . . I sort of followed you one night and watched you interact with her from the opposite rooftop." Don grimaced, preparing himself for a physical reward for his confession. He opened his eyes a few moments later when nothing came.
"You never said anything. Why?" Raphael lay back down again and looked at his brother as if seeing him for the first time.
"You were talking then she got up and turned some music on." Don smiled, "God knows how she did it but she got you up to dance. I don't ever remember you looking so happy. I didn't have the heart to ruin it."
"Heh, that was about six months ago right?" Raph asked.
"About that yeah."
"It was her birthday. She'd had a little to drink and declared she wanted to go dancing." Raph chuckled at the memory, "I pointed out that I couldn't exactly walk into a club so she stood up turned the music on and persuaded me to get up and dance with her."
"Big tough Raphie is wrapped around a girl's little finger huh?" Don grinned as Raph blushed a little.
"Yeah well, I ain't good at sayin no to her." Raph's blush increased.
"I'm really happy for you Raph." Don placed a hand on his younger brother's shoulder, "Get some rest Bro, You'll feel better after. Mikey and I will make sure Leo doesn't scare her off." Raph chuckled and Don could tell his brother's eyes were already drooping.
"I'm more worried about what she's gonna say to him bro." Raph snorted. "She ain't exactly a meek little girl. She doesn't care what other people think."
"Heh," Don shook his head, "I don't doubt that. Any girl who can make you behave has to be one tough cookie." Don took one last look at his brother to see that Raphael had already dropped off to sleep, "Must have lost more blood than I thought." He sighed and left to go find his family who were no doubt grilling Lin Mai.
He found them in the kitchen where his sensei and Mai were engaged in deep conversation about martial arts. Don chuckled, "Trust Raph to find a girl in New York who sounds like she knows as much about martial arts as any one of us." He thought to himself as he poured himself a cup of tea.
"How exactly did you meet Raphael?" Leo asked in a terse manner. Don turned and gave Leo a warning glare.
"Like I said I met him when he was still running around as the Nightwatcher." Mai shrugged, "There was a fight in the Bronx that month and I was in town preparing with Bella."
"Who's Bella?" Mikey asked with a grin.
"She's my best friend." Mai replied taking a sip of her tea, "She knows Raph too. Anyway, we were out for a few drinks." She ignored the disapproving look she received from Leonardo and carried on, "A bunch of idiots tried to jump us. Bella and I were about to teach them a lesson when the Nightwatcher swooped in and played the part of hero. He asked if we were ok and made sure we got back to our apartment then disappeared into the night like Batman or something."
"And that's it?" Mikey asked.
"Well, yeah. I mean we bumped into each other a few more times before we actually started having real conversations." She shrugged, "But that is the first time we met." Mai looked over her shoulder in thought, "I'm not even sure if he remembers that first meeting."
"So you think it's wise to let all your friends know about my brother." Leo scowled at her which earned him a frown in return. "And what do you mean by; 'there was a fight in town?' "
"Bella is the only 'friend' who knows him," Mai met Leo's gaze unflinching, "Bella is as close to me as you are to your brothers. I trust her with my life as well as Raphael's. And as to the fights, I earn my money by taking part in organised street fights. I've been a tournament fighter since I was a teenager and they don't hold them often in the states. On this occasion some rich businessman with more money than sense had paid off enough people for the authorities to turn a blind eye to such a thing."
"So an illegal match then?" Leo stood up to his full height and glared down at her with his arms crossed. Don was impressed to see that Mai did not seemed phased in the least.
"Only in this country." Mai shrugged, "In my country it's quite normal to have an organised fight at least once a year in the larger towns and cities. More in places like Honk Kong and Shanghai."
"I see." Leo replied tersely. The pair proceeded to stare each other down.
"So," Mikey tried to cut some of the tension that had suddenly become thick enough to cut with a knife, "When do we meet her?"
"Who Bella? She's off studying at the moment." Mai shrugged.
"What does she study?" Don asked with his interest peaked.
"I guess you could say she studies ancient history in a way, but it's a little hard to explain." Mai told them. "She'll be back in a few weeks and I know she's dying to meet all of you guys, she's been bugging Raphael to introduce us to you all for months." Mai took a sip of her tea, "Just don't let her get too involved in telling you what she does or she will never stop."
"Sounds like Donnie." Mikey snickered, earning himself a swat form the purple banded turtle. "He goes on, and on, and on, and…." He stopped when he received another swat over the head, this time harder and from Splinter.
"I do not go on that bad!" Donnie protested.
"Yeah you do Don." Leo smirked despite himself.
"Passion for a subject is not something to be frowned upon my sons." Splinter chided with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes despite his words.
"I don't mean to say Bella is boring. She's a genius in her area of study, but if you aren't used to her she can be a lot to get used to." Mai tried to explain. "We've known each other for a long time and we often travel together, a lot of people we come across don't know how to deal with her so she doesn't have a lot of friends."
"Because she's smart?!" Don exclaimed genuinely surprised.
"It's more than that but it's hard to explain without you having met her." Mai bit her lower lip, something she was prone to doing when she was unsure of something or nervous. "But she's like a sister to me so her um . . . eccentricities don't really bother me."
"It would be a pleasure to meet your friend Bella on her return from her studies." Splinter bowed his head slightly, "Now you have talked to us about martial arts and Raphael has told me you are quite accomplished in several forms of Kung Fu. Raphael has not mentioned a master but I assume that you studied under one."
"My grandfather and father taught me to begin with." Mai replied, "Then I outgrew them and eventually got bored. That's when I decided to leave to train with other masters. Eventually I found Master Zhou who I still visit every now and again." Mai look up at Splinter and smiled, "That's all there is to it really. I'm apparently pretty good but I can think of at least five fighters who can best if I'm not careful."
"Um, what happened to your grandfather and father?" Don asked despite not being sure he would like the answer.
"Oh, grandpa is still pottering around the house, his memory went a couple of years ago so he lives in the family home. My mother tends to care for him. Father trains my cousin now who is apparently very good. I'm not sure what my brother does. I know he didn't go into the family business but I also know he visits my parents every now and again so I guess he's taking care of himself."
"And do you visit your family?" Splinter asked.
"Every time I'm in China." Mai smiled, "If a fight's near the family home I'll often stay in my old room."
"And your parents never minded you risking your life whilst running around entering street fights?" Leonardo raised a brow.
"Why should they. I make enough money to live comfortably and when my parents want to retire I will have enough money to ensure I can hire someone suitable to run it." She replied with a look that challenged Leonardo to argue.
"I can't imagine Casey or April consenting to allow Shadow to do such things." Leo muttered in defiance whilst look away from the group.
"That's Raph's best friend and his family right?" She looked to Mikey for confirmation.
"Yep. And I'll bet April will be so mad at Raph for keeping you a secret." Mikey grinned.
"It's getting late." Leo declared, "I'm going to bed." Leo didn't wait for a response, not even from his master. He stormed off in the direction of the bedrooms. Truth be told he didn't really know why he was so angry with Mai. If she had been brought home by Mikey or Don he probably would have welcomed her with open arms. "So why am I so against Raphael having a girl to care for him? I should be happy."
"Yes you should my son." Leo jumped and turned to find his beloved master stood behind him in the doorway, "Lin Mai makes your brother happy. Would you really deny him that happiness?"
"No, but sensei, we know nothing about this girl!" Leo desperately sought for words to explain himself. "What if she is only getting close to Raphael just to take us all down in our beds? She's already admitted that she takes part in illegal street fights!" Leo took a few breaths to try to calm himself down. It wasn't often that he lost his cool but he felt like he wanted to yell at the top of his lungs.
"There was a time that you sought the affections of someone dangerous." Splinter sighed, "Are you not transferring the betrayal you felt during that time onto Lin Mai?"
Leo stared at his master for a few minutes trying to find something to say. Yet no matter how hard he tried, Leonardo could not find any words to deny what Splinter had suggested. Karai had hurt him deeply. He had trusted the woman and had dared to hope for something beyond a friendship. But Karai had broken his heart time and time again. She had changed since the first time they had met and she was now as power mad and bloodthirsty as her late father. He had learnt that she could never be trusted the hard way and he would never wish what he had been through on any of his brothers.
"It has been three years since your brother gave up the Nightwatcher. And he first met Lin Mai in the first few months of donning that mantle." Splinter tried to reassure his eldest son. "Raphael trusts Lin Mai with his life. No one expects you to do the same after such little time. But please, for your brother's sake. At least give Lin Mai a chance." Splinter patted his son's hand and left Leonardo to his thoughts.
Well here is chapter two. Tell me what you think. I apologise it took me so long to get this chapter out but I have been working on some complicated cosplays and really didn't have time around that, full time work and the horses! Anywho, I will try my best to get the next chapter out soon.
Toodles