SCOUT/RAPH/MIKEY

After Leo had left with Drea, Raph, in seiza facing across from Scout and Mikey, looked to his niece. "So, I been assigned yer anger management instructor."

Her lips pursed in displeasure.

"It's not so bad." Mikey added cheerily. "Raph knows all about temper training. Like the time, he was supposed to be dodging arrows and we all got a free pass insulting him. Oh man, he looked like a big porcu-turtle."

Raph closed his eyes and evened his breathing. Let the insulting words wash over you like a river over a stone. He could hear his father's voice in his head, guiding him to be calm.

He let out a breath and opened his eyes.

"And if you ever develop a bug phobia, your Uncle Raph knows all about that too." Mikey pointed out.

A river over a stone.

"Yer gonna need to maintain yer cool in the face of provocation. Let's start off with a little unarmed sparring, strict tournament rules."

Scout eyed him cautiously as they stood and bowed in while Mikey shuffled off to the sidelines.

They circled and Raph smirked. "So, who is this Grey kid that you'd risk throwing away everything you've worked for to impress him?"

Nobody was signing. Again. But whatever. As far as Scout was concerned this was a waste of time. She didn't have an anger management problem, she had an idiot bothering her problem.

Still, her dad wasn't saying much in terms of arguing with her Uncle Leo about it, so either he couldn't change his mind or he agreed at least a little. Scout wasn't sure she wanted to know which, and it wouldn't change the fact that Leo held the golden ticket for her competing.

She was only half paying attention to either her dad or uncle, as one's lips spoke words of encouragement and the other something about her nonexistent anger problem.

Then Uncle Raph stood on one corner of the mat and bowed in, so she took up the other. How was this supposed to work anyway? What did she have to do to prove herself, and in all reality why? Grey McCoy got what he had coming to him. In fact, she let him off easy.

They each took up fighting stances, Uncle Raph moving to his left, so she shifted right. Her uncle's mouth tipped in an arrogant upturn at the corners, then his lips formed the words, "So who is this Grey kid that you'd risk throwing away everything you've worked for to impress him?"

Wait. What? What? Impress. Him. Impress. Him! Her hands flew up, angry signing. The fight had yet to begin, once it did she wouldn't have any way of clarifying. "I wasn't trying to impress him. It's him who's bothering me!"

He took her infuriated response as a chance to dart in quickly and score a point. He'd wanted two, but she recovered from the surprise of the underhanded move fast enough to defend against further aggression.

Mikey was off to the side, wringing his hands. Not signing was probably killing him. But, Leo had been clear. Scout needed to get used to her opponents, and the system trying to work her deafness against her. He or Mikey would explain that aspect of the training after he got her good and pissed off.

He resumed circling her. "Really? Ya ain't ever broke the dojo sparring rules for any other wannabe student that Leo pit against ya. Seems like ya wanted this one to think ya were a major badass."

Scout's eyes widened. That point was a cheap shot. Not. Happening. Again. And no way was she showing off. Definitely not for Grey McCoy! That wasn't who she was. Never had been. But she couldn't sign to defend herself, her uncle would just steal another point. And couldn't talk like a normie to tell him how wrong he had it. She was stuck. He got to run his mouth… Her jaw shifted.

But she didn't have to take it.

She advanced on him with a jab-cross, kick combination that he blocked with ease. Her teeth ground together. Then he grinned and her blood began to boil. He launched a counter attack that forced her into some tricky footwork in order to both block him, while giving herself the space to counter.

Three points if she could get off a spin kick, two more after that and the match was over. A kick combination could end it. And the sooner this was over, the sooner she could set him straight about this stupid boy. Whatever gave her uncle the idea that she was trying to impress anyone? She just didn't want any distractions and the kid couldn't take a hint.

She couldn't talk, couldn't just tell him he was wrong. She wanted to. So bad her lips burned. She could try. But she hated not being able to hear how she sounded. Her jaw began to ache, her coiled muscles releasing as she sprang forth to deliver her attack.

He could almost feel her frustration building up. Her mind was divided between the fight and refuting him. She would be in a hurry to finish this. Which meant...

The subtle telegraphing of her kick confirmed his suspicions. Rushing wasn't good for her finesse. At the last second, the chance to tap in another point evaded him as she recovered from the miss. To her credit, it didn't throw her off nearly as much as it should have.

"I'm just saying, ya could've finished the fight almost as quick stayin' inside the rules. But ya pulled out all the stops. Sure, seems like he's a special case for ya." Raph added with a wink, watching Scout's eyes narrow in fury.

I don't care about that boy! I don't care about that boy! I. Dont. Want. Distractions. Scout regrouped, springing into another combination and planning another behind it as she came at her uncle hard. No. Boys. Her hands flew out, each punch and kick blocked almost before she'd completed executing it. No. Distractions. Her nostrils flared, the lines of her face tight. No. Drugs. She feigned right then hit him with an uppercut on her left actually making full contact. Stepping into her momentum rather than pulling her punch, she followed through, spun around and almost landed a kick to his plastron.

"Disqualified." Raph called out, rubbing his jaw where she'd gotten him, grateful for his high pain tolerance.

He stepped back and bowed, which Scout mirrored after a moment of enraged hesitation.

He started signing again, in addition to speaking. "That coulda gone differently. If you hadn't let me talkin' shi...er crap get under yer skin. In a real competition, letting an opponent rile ya like that'll cost ya a win. And make no mistake, if they can't beat ya honestly, they'll try any other way. Understand?"

Scout's jaw was locked tight. Her mind was spinning, churning over what just happened. Meanwhile, her uncle waited for the expected response. The problem was- she lifted her hands. "No. I don't understand. I mean, I get it that I shouldn't let smack talk bother me. But what you've been saying isn't true. But something you said earlier is. You said I've never broke sparring rules before. I don't-" she hesitated, her shoulders slumping as her face fell. "I don't understand why I am now. And it's not the stupid boy."

Raph's expression softened in understanding. He had a pretty good idea why. She'd always been a passionate person before, but anger lived in her now.

"Because it ain't fair." He spoke and signed. "The world and everything about it ain't fair. The more you see it, experience it, the more the anger at it burns in you. It's in me too, Kid.

"When yer dad and I were kids, I always saw it. More than anyone else. Leo had his Captain Ryan hero worship. Don had science. Yer dad had his total disconnect from reality. They all had their escapes, but I just saw everything. The way we had to live, different than normal people. The crimes bad people committed against the helpless and weak, cuz they could. Saving those people, saving the world in secret cuz they'd hate and fear us if they knew. Bein' alone until I found yer Aunt Zoe. Ain't none of it was fair and it made me mad. Still does.

"And yer life ain't fair either. Not bein' able to hear while everyone else takes it for granted. The way those bastards took advantage of you, promisin' a lie to use and hurt you. Everything you gotta do to take yer life back and keep it. And knowin' that those bastards are still out there, unpunished and probably hurtin' others. It ain't right and it ain't fair. You got cause to be mad, and you probably always will be. Even little stuff that don't mean nuthin' can make you furious. But you can't let it make yer choices.

"I ain't sayin' don't let it out, cuz that ain't healthy either, but when there's somethin' you gotta do, you can't let it get in yer way. Yer Sofu always told me to let it wash over me, like a river over a stone. Sometimes, to do what needs to be done, you gotta let go, let it all flow passed, so you don't make bad choices or mistakes. It ain't easy, but it's important.

"If it's any consolation, yer better at it than I was at yer age." He added with a smile.

"True dat." Mikey chimed in with speech and sign, earning an annoyed glance from his brother.

Scout's brow furrowed as she mulled over her uncle's words. It's like he was reading her mind, only she hadn't realized that was how she felt until he spoke them. Everything he said was how she felt. But now what was she going to do about it? She made a somewhat sour face. "This is going to take a while isn't it?"

Both her dad and uncle nodded.

Scout gnawed on her lower lip. "This is where I come to not hold back. But I get what you're saying. Sometimes, I've got to." She rubbed her face and sighed. "I need to think about this. Same time tomorrow?"

A smile formed at the corner of her uncle's lips. "Definitely."

A glance at her dad showed an expression of relief as he nodded enthusiastically.

She bowed to them both. They returned the formality, then she grabbed her duffel. But instead of leaving, she made her way down the hall to her uncle Leo's office.

Mikey watched Scout hurry from the dojo and turned to Raph nervously. "She's alright now, isn't she?"

He let out a heavy breath. "Now? Fuck no. But she will be. She wants this and she'll get it under control, make it her strength. I did."

Mikey chuckled. "Yeah, if you can, anyone can."

"Hey." Raph glared at him, but without much heat.

Mikey's expression turned serious. "Thanks, Raph. Really."

He smiled. "Anytime, Little Bro."

SCOUT

Scout tapped on her Uncle's door. He looked up and she signed an uncertain greeting. Was he still mad at her? "Hi, Uncle Leo. I-" she hesitated, "was wondering if we could talk?"

Leo pushed the monitor aside with a sigh of relief. "Absolutely. Your Aunt Karai usually handles the budget, but this quarter, I'm...appreciating her essential contributions to the business. What's up? Did your morning workout go well?"

She slipped into the chair opposite his desk. "Not exactly," she signed. "Well, maybe. I'm not sure." Her brow furrowed. "I guess even if I technically failed, I did learn something, so there's that. What I'm trying to say is- Uncle Raph helped me realize that I didn't have this-" Her cheeks flushed with shame, her hands moving slower. "problem, before. I kind of understand where it comes from and how I feel, but not all of it and I don't know how to manage it. I thought maybe meditation might- help?" She inhaled deep and straightened. "I don't want to just struggle with this. I want to adapt. I need a plan, Uncle Leo."

Leo lit up at the word 'plan.' "I think that sounds like a great idea. Your dad and your uncles never took meditation seriously, and didn't give it a chance to work for them. But I've always found it very helpful to center myself and work through personal complications. I'd be happy to teach you."

He paused and reflected a moment. "There are other tactics. Your Aunt Zoe has found yoga to be very beneficial for her mental well-being. You could join either her or Karai's class. Or if you don't want to be around other people, you could also try your Grandmere. I know she practices yoga on her own at the warehouse. I doubt she'd mind your company." He added with a wink.

Scout nodded. All three women had their own challenges, her Aunt Zoe in particular. "I think I may try out each and see which works for me. What's a good time for you?" She glanced at the clock above his head. "I've got to go to school, now. But I'll be back here this afternoon."

Leo nodded. "I'll set aside a block of time this afternoon."

He tapped his desk thoughtfully. "And, after years with your Uncle Raph, I know that it's about more than just keeping your temper in check. You'll probably need to vent some of it out periodically or it's going to come out on its own whether or not you want it to. I think you should set up a time with your dad to do some unrestricted sparring, no holds barred. He knows you well and has the skill to let you fight unrestrained safely. I believe that will help you keep a handle on your anger when you need to."

No holds-barred were the best words she'd heard today. She signed her thanks, then excused herself for school. One way or another she was going to get control over her anger the same way she was her addiction. Nothing and no one was going to stand in her way.