A/N: Good thing this next portion is so long, cuz I was DEFINITELY inactive longer than i'd anticipated, lol. Hope this makes up for it. :) But pretty soon I'll run out of pre-typed story and have to actually get back into the creative part of this, so updates will be few and far between once that happens. Blame school. /
Disclaimer: If I owned any TMNT characters, their representations here wouldn't be so flawed. Back off.

About four or five hours later, Raphael slipped out of the room and made his way silently down the stairs. He grabbed his trench coat and hat, ready to go protect the innocents of Manhattan. Seth was awakened as soon as Raphael swung his mutated legs over the side of the bed; Seth had learned a long time ago to be a heavy sleeper that could wake up at the slightest sound of movement. The skill had served him well on the streets, and even back at Master's dojo – some of the mutants there had some kind of vendetta against Seth, and he had no idea why; he just protected himself when they came in the night.

As soon as he heard Raph stop descending stairs, Seth walked out the door and to the railing. He looked down in time to see Raph – or a moving shadow he assumed was Raph – exit the lair. "Whatever," Seth muttered under his breath. He walked back into the room and decided he might as well take a look around since he was awake. "Geez, it's dark. Doesn't he have a flashlight or sumthin'? Wait, there's one in my backpack. Forgot about that…" He groped along the wall until he was back to his ground pallet, then felt around in his backpack for the flashlight. His fingers closed around it and pulled it up and out. He flicked the switch and squinted at the sudden rush of light. When he had adjusted, he stood up and began looking around. "Man, does this guy do anything besides train? It really is all exercise equipment… what's he trying to prove?" A thought occurred to him, and it struck a nerve he thought he had buried a long time ago. "Or trying to escape…" He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and kept looking around. The only interesting thing he found in the entire room was a stash of magazines that almost gave him a nosebleed. He flipped through one of them, then put them all back where he found them, making sure he marked their location in his mind.

He walked back to the center of the room to think about what to do now that he was thoroughly awake. "Hm. Maybe I can find those training rooms Staff was taking us to earlier." He covered his flashlight with his free hand and made his way downstairs, letting out a sliver of light so he wouldn't trip. He still managed to stumble the last two steps and barely keep himself from falling on the ground. He cursed and uncovered the flashlight, shining it around. He spotted the couch where the day's excitement had started, and started toward it. "Okay, so we were here… Then Staff was right there… And then we walked this way…" He started toward the doors he and Raph had been led to. He stopped when he got to where the second fight had broken out. "We were going this way, I think," he said to himself, pointing the flashlight down the corridor. He walked that way.

Soon he came to a door that preceded a large glass window/wall. He looked inside with his flashlight and saw what appeared to be a training room. There was a smaller glass window/wall on the other end, and he thought he saw a booth behind it. "Wonder what that's for…" He stepped over to the door and tried the handle. It was open. "Well that was easy. Didn't even have to pick it." He stepped inside and felt along the wall for a light switch. He found several and flipped up the one closest to him. It turned on the booth light – it was indeed a booth – but that was enough to see the switch panel he was touching. He turned off his flashlight and started flipping switches. He finally found the light switch for the room and…… was greatly unimpressed. "This? This is it?" He stepped onto the traditional Japanese sparring mat and looked around, trying to find anything that made this room special. "Maybe the training materials are in the booth, or a closet or something." Since he didn't see a closet, he tried the booth handle. It was locked. He looked inside its viewing window, but couldn't see anything that he expected to find. He stepped back over to the door and considered picking its lock. "Where are the weapons? The uniforms? Those stupid little balancing bamboo sticks? Do they just spar in here and nothing else? Surely not… They all have weapons. They have to practice with them somehow… So where are the practice versions of their weapons??" Too confused to think straight, Seth forgot about the door's lock and walked back to the entrance. "Maybe there's some locked closet I can't see that Monsieur Rat will open up tomorrow," he said, giving mock respect to Splinter. He turned off the booth and the main light, switched his flashlight back on, and went back to the ground floor of the lair.

In no particular rush to do anything at all, he made a slow scan of the area, trying to find something to occupy the time until dawn. Like there's any concept of time down here, he thought. Not even a clock. His beam fell on the kitchen, and he walked over to it. He looked at the pathetic supply of food the cupboards contained, and the almost-empty cereal boxes atop the fridge. "I think I put away some paper in one of these drawers…" he muttered to himself. He opened and closed a few drawers until he found the one with paper, pens, and other miscellaneous office items. He took out a sheet of paper and tried a few pens to find one that worked. Successful, he sat down at the table and started work on a grocery list.

An hour of list-making, video game straightening, and general puttering around later, Seth heard some movement from upstairs. It was coming from the opposite end of the chamber as Raphael's room. Seth looked up and saw a dim light – possibly candlelight – from one of the turtles' rooms. "Wonder who that is," he muttered. Then he turned back toward the main entrance at the sound of someone coming in. It was Raph; he was hanging up his coat and hat. Seth hadn't turned on any lights, and his flashlight had been off since his eyes adjusted, so Raph didn't see him. Seth watched as Raph looked up to the candlelit room, and then made his way back up the stairs. He stumbled into his room, and presumably onto his bed. Seth smirked. "Bet he doesn't even know I'm not in there." He looked back up at the candle lit room and saw a turtle shadow start to move inside, and figured now would be a good time to get back to the room.

Seth tread as lightly as possible over to his pallet on the floor, tucked his flashlight back into his backpack, yawned, and curled up under his blanket. Even though he was tired now, it still took him almost an hour to nod off; his brain kept coming up with new things to think about, his grocery list the main one among them. He was trying to think out how to go above ground without smelling like sewer, how to get the money for the food, how he could steal it if he couldn't get the money, and a myriad of other complications. At last he gave up on trying to think straight, and just went to sleep.

Roughly an hour later he was awoken by the other three turtle brothers puttering around downstairs. Seth opened his eyes groggily and mumbled to himself, "What the hell is it now?" He inhaled deeply, trying to gather the oxygen he needed to wake up. He pushed off his blanket and sat up, stretching. He looked over to Raph. "How did I not wake up to that snoring?" Seth shook his head and walked out to the railing and looked down. The others were awake and starting their breakfasts. He folded his arms on the rail and let his head rest on them. "You've got to be kidding me. I stayed up almost all night??" He moaned and trudged back into Raph's room. Seth picked out one of his cleaner t-shirts and changed into it. He put on his shoes and ran a hand through his hair a few times, noting that there was no mirror to be seen. Come to think of it, I haven't seen a mirror at all down here. Guess no one else has to worry about bed head. He considered grabbing a jacket out of his pack as well, but decided he might as well get used to the constant slight chill. Movement would warm him up soon enough. He packed his blanket back into his backpack, zipped it shut, and headed downstairs past the still-sleeping Raph.

On his journey down the steps, Seth's attitude changed from one of a tired teen to that of a tired teen with his defenses up against any slight to his honor. The three turtles he was approaching – and possibly their sensei – were who he blamed for the whole situation, including last night's incident. As far as he was concerned, he wanted nothing to do with them, and that's what he would show them. He walked in and heard a few greetings that he ignored. The rat wasn't there yet. "Coffee?" he asked, not making eye contact or directing the question to anyone in particular.

"Yeah. There's some grounds in that cupboard there," replied Donatello. He pointed at the cupboard and Seth walked over to it. He didn't thank Don or say anything else, just grabbed the grounds, found the cup measurer, and started a pot of coffee. He walked over to the edge of the counter and leaned against it, staring off into space while he waited for the coffee to brew. The brothers stared at him for a moment, and then returned to their own breakfasts.

Before the coffee had finished, Splinter step-tapped into the kitchen to the sounds of welcome from his sons that were present. The sagely rat of course noticed Seth standing alone and seemingly indifferent, but did nothing to try and bring him to join the group. He knew enough from experience that Seth simply wouldn't do it, and it would only make him feel more conflicted about refusing his latest authority figure. So Splinter set about making some morning tea while he made small talk with his sons. When it was finished, he poured the steaming caffeinated liquid into a plain cup and sat down at the table. He continued to make small talk as the steam escaped from his cup, all the while thinking of how to let Seth know that he wasn't invisible. During a break in the conversation, he looked over to Seth. "Seth, could you please bring me the sugar?" Leo, Don, and Mikey looked at each other in slight confusion; since when did Splinter put sugar in his tea?

Seth did not notice the turtles' silent confusion. He looked at the rat, then looked on the counter for the sugar. He unfolded his arms and grabbed the small jar, pulled out a spoon from one of the drawers, and handed both to Splinter. A "thank you" hit his back as he walked back over to his place, where he proceeded to settle himself once more. From that point until he had poured his coffee and added creamer and sugar – which he had to get back from Splinter, and therefore ask Splinter if he was done with it – he found himself listening in on the morning conversation between the four. Psh, he thought as he walked over to the couch with his mug of coffee. What kind of sensei puts sugar in his tea? I thought they all drank it plain and boring, so that it matches their training sessions. He lifted his own spirits with that thought, and took a satisfied sip of his coffee. It tasted weird – he blamed the tap water he had used – but it still woke him up, and it didn't taste terrible. When he had finished, he put the mug in the sink, filled it with water, and walked back over to the sofa to sprawl out on it. He had absolutely nothing else to do until Splinter decided to call him to training. I wonder when Raph will come down. I sure ain't wakin' that jerk up. Swords seems to be that anal holier-than-thou type; maybe he'll wake him up.

Seth let several minutes pass in mental silence, the mutant family behind him still eating and talking, before his mind pointed him back to the grocery list in his pocket. That was something he could do. He pulled out the folded up piece of paper and unfolded it, keeping it as silent as possible. (He didn't know why, but he just didn't want anyone to know he had a grocery list.) For the next several minutes, long past the background conversations had died down, Seth lay there, list in hand, planning how to get this done without anyone knowing he was doing it. When Seth had almost finished with the fine details of his plan, Raph finally came stumbling down the stairs. Seth sat up and looked at Raph, just to make sure it was actually sleeping beauty himself, then lay back down. He heard Raph pour some cereal into a bowl, then start eating. Judging by the lack of comment about his lateness to arrive, Seth figured that this was part of the daily routine around here. Seth folded the paper back up and returned it to his pocket; all that he had left to do was to wait for a summons of some sort to start the day's training.

Seth was starting to nod off when: "Seth, Raphael." Took you long enough, thought Seth as he sat up and looked at Master Splinter, waiting for him to continue. "Please follow me to the sparring room."

Splinter was almost out the door before Seth finally got up and strode over to catch up. Raphael had been quicker to follow, so Seth was in the back. Well, technically in Raphael's right side blind spot; Seth had found that walking where he was almost level with someone but still unseen unnerved the one he was shadowing, and made it much easier to gain a mental advantage. Raphael heard Seth's footsteps behind him. He turned to look to his left, then jumped when he checked his right and found Seth right there. Raph put some space between them so that Seth wouldn't be in his blind spot anymore. They stood silent as Splinter opened the door and flipped up the correct switches to light both the booth and the main room. That would've been handy earlier, thought Seth, remembering the time he had spent on flipping all the switches in search of the right ones. Wonder what all the others go to… He reached out to try flipping some of the switches again, just to see if something happened, but halted his movement when Splinter's voice called out. "Seth. We are waiting." Seth looked and saw both mutants already in the center of the room. He lowered his hand and joined them without looking back at the switches.

A few paces later, Seth stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged, silently asking, 'Okay. What now?' "We will begin with the partner ukemis. Raphael, do you remember them all?"

"Most of 'em, yeah."

"Good. You will teach Seth. I will watch." Master Splinter walked off the raised mat floor that made up most of the room and made himself comfortable on his cane. It was obvious that Raphael wanted to argue against his father's command, but he wisely decided against it.

"Fine," he said, turning to look at Seth. He smiled mischievously and said, "My pleasure."

"Watch yourself, mutant," whispered Seth. He smiled lopsidedly, almost sneered.

"Please," he whispered back. "I take out street trash like you on a more 'n regular basis.

"Okay," Raph said, raising his voice so that Splinter would be able to hear the instructions he was about to give. "Um, first one, ya get down on yo' hands 'n' knees – yeah, like dat. Now ya take your outside hand – yeah – and give it to me on dis side." They clasped hands. "Now I'm gonna yank straight up and you'll spin, so make sure ya slap da ground when ya come back down, else you'll get da wind knocked outta ya. Ready?" Seth nodded and Raph pulled. As the turtle had said, Seth spun like a sideways top and fell to the ground. He was so stunned at the sensation that he barely remembered to slap the ground. "Aight, now we do it again a few times."

Splinter watched the two practice the ukemi a few times, then switch. Raphael went through about five partner ukemis before he couldn't remember any more. Splinter asked from the sidelines if Seth knew any that they hadn't covered. He shook his head 'no,' so Splinter came up to them and took over for three more ukemis. When they had finished, he said, "Very good. Now, it is time for the others to begin. You may wait in the booth." The two nodded and walked over to the booth, keeping a rather large bubble space between them. They stood on opposite ends of the booth when they got in it. Together they separately observed the other turtles go through morning training. They were also doing partner exercises; after he had finished with Mikey, Don offered to partner up with Leo, since Raph was taken for the time being. Seth furtively observed his partner's face while he watched Leo partner up with another brother. Seth didn't know Raphael very well yet, but it seemed that he was agitated at the major change. Seth turned his attention back to the turtles' training, tucking away his observation for later review.

Raph and Seth were called out from the booth for sparring. Splinter told Seth that even though he was probably very familiar with this practice, he wanted Seth to sit out and watch the others spar just to see how they did it here, in case there were any differences. Seth said nothing, just sat down and complied. Splinter didn't show it, but he was starting to worry just a little about Seth's comfort with being silent. Of course Splinter had expected it, but he hadn't expected Seth to look so at ease with it. He said nothing about it; now was not the time, and patience was the name of the game. He began with Don and Mikey, then Leo and Mikey – since Don had been kind enough to offer his partnership earlier. Splinter dismissed the three to do as they pleased, and all but Leo opted to stick around and watch the match between Raph and Seth.

"Hajime," called Master Splinter, signaling for them to bow and begin. They began by circling one another, testing their boundaries with feigned punches and kicks.

There. That's where he's weakest, thought Seth. He lunged forward at Raph, countering the hold Raphael instinctively got from Seth's charge. Seth brought Raphael to the ground, Seth on top, and went for a blood and airway choke. He was mildly repulsed by the green mutated skin turning red at the face, but reminded himself that he'd seen worse on other mutants back home. He kept choking.

Raphael got out of the choke and started trying to switch the position he was in. He punched at Seth's ribs and tried to knee him in the back; anything he could reach he tried to hit. One punch too many landed him in a wrist lock. Seth leaned in, increasing the pressure. His eyes were glinting with some kind of bloodlust. "Just tap out, freak. Maybe I'll let you win next time, go easy on ya."

Raphael half-chuckled and smirked. The human had leaned in too close in his arrogance, and his face was directly in the path of Raphael's fist. The force of the left hook knocked Seth off and on his back. When Raph righted himself to take advantage of the opportunity, Seth shifted so that he was on his side and better able to maneuver and kick. Raphael, after some time of circling and testing Seth's ground reactions, got him in a leg lock. Seth was about to tap out, but he couldn't stand to lose. Not this soon. With the pain and pressure increasing on both physical and mental fronts, Seth launched his free foot upward between Raph's legs. As planned, the turtle cried out and released Seth, then promptly fell to his knees, clutching his groin.

Everyone jumped up when Seth pulled his stunt, including Master Splinter and Seth himself. Don and Mikey came running over to their brother. "He'll be fine," said Seth. "I didn't kick him that hard." Raphael looked up and delivered some choice words. "Yeah, well…" He huffed loudly and said, "Whatever. I'm done here." He waved a hand and made for the door.

Halfway there he was stopped by Splinter. Geez. This old geezer just doesn't get it! Why's he keep interrupting my amazing exits?? "No, Seth. You are not finished. Come back here, now."

Seth stared at the seriously ticked rat, then at Raph, who was still on the ground recovering. He looked back to Splinter and said, "He'll live. I'm leaving." He turned to leave again and started walking.

"SETH DAISUKE!" The sound of his Sensei's sir name stopped Seth dead in his tracks. Splinter was walking towards him. Seth turned his head to see what he had to say. "I told you to stay. Do not defy me." He had stopped with roughly two yards between them and was boring holes in Seth with the fire in his beady eyes.

Seth smirked. Then smiled. Soon he was laughing. He turned all the way around to face Splinter and closed some of the gap, matching the rat's fiery stare with his own icy one. He leaned down so that his height advantage was obvious and spat these words into the furry face: "Look, rat, I don't give a flip who the hell I defy. Even if I did, you'd be at the bottom of the list, so I suggest you give it up and leave me the hell alone. Capiche?" He flicked one rodent ear for emphasis, then straightened and started for the door once again. Once he had exited, he leaned back in to say one last thing to Master Splinter. "Oh, and if I ever hear my Master's name come out of your vermin mouth again..." He shrugged. Then he was gone.

Don, Mikey, and Raph had been watching the scene unfold with silent horror; how could someone possibly show such disrespect for their sensei? ANY sensei, for that matter?

Splinter watched Seth leave. He released his concentrated negative emotions with a long exhale, then cleansed himself with a deep inhale. He turned and started back to his sons. "Raphael, are you alright?"