I don't own TMNT.


The next hour found the brothers whipping back and forth across the dirt path, laughing, like teenage brothers should.

"Well? What do you think about motorcycles now?" Raph asked as they actually rode back to the garage.

"Screaming metal deathtraps," Leo replied with an amused voice, "But, they're cool."

They both laughed and stopped at the door of the warehouse. Then they both snapped their heads towards the door.

"What is that?" Leo asked.

Raph grunted, "This has Mikey written all over it."

"Literally," Leo said gazing at a painting of Mikey's alter-ego, the Turtle Titan, on the door of the warehouse!

"That idiot, doesn't he realize that some human could see that and find us here," reasoned Raph.

"I think you're beginning to see things my way," Leo said as they entered the garage.

"I'll pound the dork when they all get back."

"Now that's the Raphael I know," Leo thought.

"Well," Raph said parking his bike and removing his helmet, "I better get to cleaning that off."

Leo went to interject when Raph said, "You better hurry to that training of yours."

"Oh, yeah," Leo said.

"I can't believe I actually forgot the time," Leo thought as he headed inside towards the dojo.

He took a deep breath and then took out his katanas.

"Ok, tonight is improving speed and muscle endurance," he thought and then lost himself in the rhythm of the kata he preformed.

"I'm gonna kill that idiot!" Raphael grumbled as he found himself washing off another Turtle Titan painting from the tarp that covered the Battle-Shell.

"If any more of these show up I'm just gonna tear whatever it is to pieces!" Raph thought as he was hopefully rid of the annoying image.

He walked into the living room to find that Leo was still in the dojo.

"Why is he training? We train enough," Raph thought.

Eventually, Raph walked towards the dojo and glanced inside to see Leo running through a kata, perfectly as usual. Leo sensed Raph's presence and stopped the kata.

"What is it Raph?" he asked.

"Can I join you?"

Leo looked at him wide eyed for a few seconds and then nodded. One hour later they were sparring, a big change for Leo since he was usually training alone or with Master Splinter just watching him.

"So you never answered before," Raph said as each of his sais met Leo's katanas.

"Answered what?" Leo said as he turned his wrists, ducked under the sais and shot forward.

Raph jumped back to keep out of Leo's range then ran forward until their weapons locked again.

"You told me you had to do all this training but you never said why."

"I just have to."

They both released the force they were applying into their weapons and jumped back.

"That's not an answer Leo."

Leo glanced sideways at the air and lifted his swords to catch Raph's next attack.

"Well?" Raph asked as he wrestled one sai free and struck out with it, making sure to aim for Leo's shoulder and arms.

The wound on Leo's plastron thankfully hadn't reopened during their training and sparring. Leo threw his weight to the right, effectively knocking away one of Raph's sais.

"Ok, that's enough for tonight," Leo said and sheathed his blades.

"I want an answer," Raph said as he went over to retrieve his lost sai.

Leo sighed, he didn't want to talk about the leadership training. The whole leader thing was often why the two got into arguments in the first place and Leo didn't want a fight since they had been kind of getting along. Of course that was mostly because Raph had been trying to avoid Leo all day and Leo had been sleeping because of the pain medication.

"It's a leader thing," Leo said slowly and hesitantly.

"What, being leader demands you train five times longer than us?"

"Yes."

"Oh come on!" Raph yelled tucking his sais into his belt, "I know this is getting repetitive but why?"

Leo grounded his teeth together and kept silent. Raph growled and stalked over to his blue-banded brother.

"Yo, Fearless Leader! You gonna answer?!"

"Fine! It's orders ok!? Since the day I was chosen as leader Master Splinter added morning and evening training sessions to my schedule!"

"So you train because Master Splinter tells you to?"

"YES!" Leo yelled clenching his hands into fists and breathing deeply.

His heavy breathing caused his wound to reopen again and Leo groaned while placing a hand over it. Raph of course was by his brother's side in a second, fight completely forgotten for now.

"Come on bro," Raph said, "We might want to ask Donny to sew that up later."

"April said it wasn't large enough to need stitches," Leo mumbled as Raph helped him to sit on the couch in the living room.

"I'll be right back," Raph said and went into Donny's lab to fetch the first aid kit.

He returned to find Leo was staring at the dojo.

"Can you ever forget about training for more than three seconds?" Raph asked harshly.

"Sorry," Leo mumbled and Raph mentally kicked himself.

"Great, last thing I need right now is a brooding Leo," Raph said as he sat down and treated the wound again.


I always found it hilarious that Leo and Raph can be arguing one minute but save each other's lives the next.

Try to hurt Leo and Raph assures you're skinned before you can blink.

Try to hurt Raph and Leo will turn you into a smoking sausage on a stick in a matter of seconds.

I just love that! ^_^

~Moonsetta