Raphael's P.O.V.-
Training was weird the next day, but not for the reasons I suspected it might be. To not only my surprise, but my brothers' surprise, Leo was performing rather… sloppily. He was constantly missing moves and falling behind. There'd be a lull between him and the rest of us; he'd notice and hurry to catch up. Of course, it didn't take long for our master to call him out.
"Yame!" I'd heard that before; only this time, it wasn't my fault. We all got down on one knee and patiently watched as Splinter approached the now nervous Leo. He peered up at him anxiously; our master's glare, meanwhile….
"You appear to be distracted today, Leonardo," Sensei said with firmness. Leo winced. "What?! Oh, s-sorry! I didn't realize…. Uh, sorry, Sensei; I'll pay better attention," he added with a desperate grin. Splinter wasn't buying it; I almost felt bad for him as our father narrowed his eyes onto him- almost. Heh, it's funny. When I'm distracted with thinking about Athénaïs, my movements get better! When he's distracted with who knows what- probably something stupid- he gets worse. How's that for ironic justice?
After a very, very tense moment, our father folded both his hands on his staff in front of him. Boy, was His Majesty sweating bullets over here. "Is there something you'd like to tell us, my son?" Ha! I remember him asking me that exact same question a while ago. Now it's Leo's turn to be raked over the hot coals….. Hey, wait a minute. Why was Splinter asking him this? Leo wasn't one to hide anything; he's an open book. An embarrassingly open book. So then why….? I was suddenly keen on hearing my eldest brother's response. I'm sure it's nothing like my little secret to protect, but still. Any dirt on Leo is good dirt.
"N-No! I mean, no…. T-There's nothing I'd like…. er, got to say." I couldn't help but smirk at Leo's bungled attempt at an acceptable answer. Splinter's eyes narrowed once more, like he was sizing him up. Then, to my mild shock and horror, I turned my head to find our master now looking right at me. He gazed between Leo and me contemplatively. We also blinked to each other, deeply confused; Leo seemed just as puzzled as I was that Splinter was acting this way. It's like he was silently accusing us of conspiring something together, which was the exact opposite of the reality of the situation. A moment later though, he pronounced that training was over and we were allowed to go. It was getting late out now, so we were bound to wind down soon anyway. We left the dojo together, with me peering over my shoulder at the still-distracted Leo. His eyes were low and hands waving unconsciously at his sides. Now that it was brought to my attention, I did notice a change in his demeanour today. But like hell if I was going to say anything.
Luckily, I didn't have to. Donnie stopped once we were in the main room to spin around and address our leader. His hands planted firmly on his hips as he eyed Leo intently. "So what's up with you?" "Huh?" Leo flinched, gazing up at Donnie; his eyes were still sort of in a daze. "Dude, you've been out of it all day." "No, I haven't." "Really? What'd you have for breakfast, then?" Our purple-masked brother raised his eyebrow. Leo's mouth shot open to immediately reply, but no words fell from his lips. This also slightly alarmed me and Mikey, who hadn't taken the matter seriously until now. Donnie folded his arms in a show of victory. "See?"
Leo thought for a minute before waving his hand dismissively in the air. "Look, there's nothing wrong with me, ok? I'm just having an off-day; that's all," he claimed and began to walk away. I noticed however, that he wasn't heading towards his room. He was going to where the manhole cover was. My feet turned in his direction as I placed my fists on my hips expectantly.
"Where do you think you're going?" I demanded in a harsh tone. I wanted to sound stern but in actuality, I saw my window of opportunity beginning to open. For the first time in almost two weeks, Leo wasn't breathing down my neck. He'd finally gotten his own life- thank god. Which meant that I could return to mine…. A very excited smile started to blossom inside me, and at the centre was a single name. I bet you can guess who's.
Leo looked back at me; first in surprise, then dread, then understanding. "Out. Stay here; I won't be long." "Can I come?! I've been stuck down here all day," Mikey whined. "We've all been stuck down here," Donnie shot the youngest an unimpressed side-glare. "No! I just going out for a little bit. It's nowhere special." This was when I was starting to lose my patience. I knew I had my first chance at freedom nearly in my grasp, but I couldn't stand the double standard. His hypocrisy drove me up the wall. So he can come and go as he pleases, but god forbid I go out on my own without telling him where first? No one got under my skin like our oh-so-righteous captain.
"Why can't we come then?" Donnie looked to share the same scepticism as me; albeit if not as angrily so. "I'm just going to check on something," Leo replied. "On what?" I spoke again, crossing my arms in a defiant fashion. "Why do you care?" Leo shot me an irritated glare. My eyebrow twitched irately. His ego was getting too out of control in my opinion. "Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you act like it's such a big deal when I go out, but you can leave no problem." Leo sighed exasperatedly.
"It's not like that, Raph. I just wanna check on something; what's so suspicious about that?" "Cause you haven't gotten off my shell in two weeks?" I retorted in a heated tone. By now our brothers have wisely decided to witness quietly from a short distance. Leo meanwhile, took an angry step my way; his hands were balled into fists. "I wasn't "on your shell". Unlike you obviously, I trust you." "Oh you do, do ya? Then why don't you tell me where you're going now?" I fired, growing angrier by the minute. Leo's glare also sharpened indignantly. "Because it's none of your business! You should know what that means; you've used it enough times yourself," he remarked, and I wanted to clock him square in the face. Screw this jerk! Mikey's gulp could be heard from here, not that Leo and I stopped glaring at each other.
"Yeah, you're right; it was none of your business. And I don't need you constantly checking up on me, and I don't need to ask your permission for anything. I'm old enough to have my own life now!" I shouted, achieving what felt like an emotional catharsis. Donnie and Mikey gawked at me with their mouth hung open; even Leo looked at me aghast. But the eldest very quickly regathered his composure, straightening his back up. "I know you are; we just want to be part of it. And don't forget, we got our own lives too." "We do?" Mikey blinked at us astonished. Donnie looked at him but didn't say anything; I think he was too bewildered. Me, on the other hand….
My hands curled into fists incensed. "Then focus on your own life and stay out of mine. You're really getting on my nerves lately," I growled in a low voice. Leo looked equally as enraged at me. "As it just so happens, you've been getting on mine too, Raph. Remember, I'm the leader; I'm the one in charge here." "You know, I'm getting pretty sick of that high-horse attitude of yours." "Yeah? Well I'm…..!"
Before either of us could continue, all of our shellphones went off in unison. "Hey, did you guys just get a mass text from April?" Donnie inquired as we all pulled out our phones. "Yeah." "Yep." "Uh huh." "Well, does yours also say that the Purple Dragon are attacking Murakami-san's noodle shop?"
Those….. those words…. I'd never heard anything like them before. It wasn't the words themselves that were so foreign to me, but my physical reaction to them. All rage I felt towards Leo just seconds before instantly melted away; it's like our fight never happened. Instead all thoughts, emotions, fibres in my being were redirected to the safety of the noodle shop- and her….. Mostly her…. Only her. The idea of Athénaïs in any sort of danger was indescribable. It just wasn't possible; it didn't seem to fit reality that anything bad could happen to her. No one could hurt her to my reasoning. And no one would hurt her in real life; not while I'm around.
If I hadn't been so wrapped up in my own drastic feelings currently, I would have noticed the horrified expression on Leo's face as well. "Let's go!" He shouted louder than I'd heard in a long time. He didn't have to say it twice. Within the blink of an eye, we were making a mad dash for the exit- all my thoughts centred Athénaïs. On her, and how I would destroy anyone who would try to harm her.