Chapter 21: Rough Night.

Dinner was a quiet affair. There was an awkward tension and build up of angst between Venus and Leonardo, shown through the quick glances at one another. The rest of the family was also quiet; taking in the surprising news that Venus was their sister. "So," Saringai started, wanting to interrupt the silence. "I guess we'll have to rearrange the bedrooms." Venus and Leo sadly looked at each other. "I would prefer it if there was only two to a room since the floor space is quite small. So who would like to share a room with me?" Saringai graciously offered. There was no response. "Don't all ask at once," the leopard murmured.

"Venus should," Michael said simply.

"Now Michelangelo, Venus is new here and she ought to have the opportunity to get to know her brother's better. After all, she's soon going to be fighting beside you, not me. It's not fair on her," Saringai stated. Michael just pouted.

"How about Leo moves in with you, and Venus and Michael swap rooms?" Raphael grumbled while picking at his food. The leopard gave his student a look.

"I'm not that gullible. There is no way that I'm having both you and Michael sharing a room. You two cause me enough headaches at night as it is!" Saringai said.

"I'll move in with you, Master," Donatello volunteered. "I mean, it makes sense cause I'm usually up late at night completing my self-projects with you anyway," the cheetah explained. Saringai agreed to this while Michael mouthed 'What are you doing?'

"Then it's settled. Donatello will move in with me, and Venus will take Don's old bed," Saringai concluded. All seemed to agree to this new arrangement except for Michael, who looked like he had just seen a ghost.

*****

Michael sat huddled amongst the branches of his bedroom wall as Venus moved the last of her stuff in. He cringed with fear when the cootie-ridden female picked up his nunchucks off the floor and placed them gently on his bed. She looked at him curiously. "Are you going to come down from there?" Venus asked, eyebrows furrowing at his bizarre behaviour. He vigorously shook his head as an answer. Venus shrugged and sat on his bed, much to his terror. Michael involuntarily gave a yelp in shock.

Venus looked at him again; eyes soft as she began to feel awkward and unwelcome. She decided to climb up the branch in order to sit beside him, but Michael swiftly moved further away. He frowned to himself when his stomach began to growl. He was getting hungry; hungry enough to scour through the dinning room. In desperation, Michael leapt to another branch and jumped down onto his bedroom floor, being careful not to step on any of the areas Venus 'infected'. He was about to move into the dinning room when something held him back. His eyes traveled down to his wrist where Venus held on to it.

Michael screamed and wrenched his hand from her grasp before panicking and backing himself up into a corner. "Gees, what's your problem!?" Venus asked angrily over the top of Michael's heavy breathing.

The male cheetah pointed a shaky finger towards her. "Coo…coo… Cooties!!!" he managed to say. Venus snarled at his immaturity.

"Michael, I do not have cooties!" she yelled, hoping that the louder the said it, the more she'd be able to get through to him.

"Yes you do! You're a girl! Girl's are gross!" Michael denied her reasoning. A cruel smile spread her lips. She lunged at him and touched the top of his head, shoulders and arms. He screamed again and flailed his limbs in defense. He bolted past her and grabbed his pillow to use as a shield. She lunged at him again, causing him to whack the fluffy bed accessory around. Venus picked up her pillow and did the same, turning the immature argument into a pillow fight. It didn't take long for the feathers to escape their material confines, as they fluttered through the air creating a regretful mess.

After ten minutes of intense senseless whacking, the two stopped and glared at each other. "Cooties!" Michael accused.

"Oh my gosh! You are so immature! I can't believe that you are older than Leo! Actually, I can't believe that you two are even related… Wait! I'm related to you!" Venus realised.

"And I'm related to a disgusting girl!" Michael said out of shock and disgust.

"Gross!" both of the cheetahs said in unison. They turned their backs to each other and crossed their arms while pouting.

*****

Leonardo entered his bedroom. He was depressed, no doubt from the breakup he endured earlier that day with Venus. It was now a rather late hour of the night, but he couldn't rest his troubled mind. Leo sat on his bed and looked over at Raphael. He was sitting in the darkest corner, twirling one of his sais on the ground; the longest prong twisting into the floorboards. Raph didn't even notice Leo. It was as though he was trapped in his own world, like a dark cloud had descended upon him. A snarl was written across his face.

"Raph?" Leo asked uncertainly. Raphael didn't respond and kept twirling his weapon into the ground. "Raph?" Leo tried again, only to get the same answer. "Raph, you're scaring me," he said voice low, beginning to quiver. "Raph what's wrong? Why won't you answer me?" Leo tried again, getting worried and stressed. He didn't need this. Not now. Not after what he had been through today. He had already lost the most important person in world and he didn't want to lose another. "Raph, please. I need you!" Leo tried again, tears beginning to fall down his stressed face. He couldn't cope with all of this. "What's wrong with you!? Why are you acting this way!!" Leo raised his voice, the tears still coming. "God dammit I need you, please!!"

Leonardo looked away, letting the tears roll down the curves of his face. Raphael continued to ignore him; allowing the monster deep inside to take control of his feelings and emotions. Leo wiped at his face and stared towards his brother again. "You know, I'm jealous of you," Leo started. Raphael locked eyes with him. Leo had his attention.

"At least you can move on. I can't. I have to see her every day, constantly being reminded about what I can never have. Hell, every time I look at my scar I will remind myself of her. I know that Rachel is gone, but at least you don't see what you can never have in front of your face every day," Leo continued, trying to compose himself.

"I never got to tell her how I felt. I didn't tell Rachel earlier because I was uncertain about the species difference. I felt slightly uncomfortable. But now that she's dead, I wished that I had been bold enough to say that I loved her," Raphael said softly, eyes becoming swollen with grief. He tried to ignore the lump of sadness that had formed in his throat. Leo sat one the floor beside his brother and gave him a hug, crying into his shoulder.

"At least Venus is still alive, unlike Rachel. She sacrificed herself for Venus, so that you two could be together. I hated both you and Venus for that," Raph admitted as he comforted Leo. Leonardo looked him straight in the eye with a sorrowful and confused face.

"Raph…" Leo managed to croak out. "I'm sorry."

"I'm the one that should be sorry Leo," Raphael said softly and meaningfully, as though he had realised something when he looked into his tear-stained brother's face. "I got so jealous that I forgot that you're my little brother and that Venus has also lost Rachel as her best friend," Raphael continued and held Leo close to him, tears slowly coming down his face. "I'm sorry, bro. I'm sorry… I don't want to fight anymore," Raph whispered as the tears dripped to the floorboards.

"Me neither," Leo whispered back.

"Friends?" Raph asked, wiping his face.

"Friends," Leo agreed, turning the tears into ones of happiness. The anger that had once taken over Raph's soul quickly began to disappear as he reestablished his strong friendship and trust with his younger brother. They stayed in their brotherly embrace for a couple of minutes, glad to have each other to stand by in their greatest moments of despair.

"I still can't believe that you slept with your sister," Raph said after a few minutes, smiling. He then laughed when he thought back over the whole relationship. Leo knew that Raph was only kidding and didn't mean to be harsh or cruel. He smiled, slowly discovering the funny side of the whole incident.

"Should go on Jerry Springer," Leo said smiling.

"Yeah. The show would be called 'I didn't know we were related!'" Raph continued, smiling. Though it still hurt to talk about the subject, Leo found that it felt somewhat good to treat it lightheartedly. Yet it didn't take long for the frown to return. Raphael noticed this. "Leo…" he started, not knowing exactly the right thing to say. Michael was the one who was good at doing this sort of thing. He always knew the right words to say, which was one of the reasons he was the leader.

"Leo, you didn't know. It wasn't your fault. How were you supposed to know? If you guys didn't date then Venus could still be slaving away over at Shere Khan's big ass palace. Besides, any one of us could have made the same mistake that you did," Raphael said, hoping that he said the right thing. A slight smile came across Leo's face as he nodded to Raph's reasoning.

"Yeah, you're right. How was I supposed to know?" Leo agreed.

Leo and Raph were startled by loud voices coming from the next bedroom over. "I'm drawing a line on the floor. That half is yours while this half is mine!" A voice said, most likely Michael's.

"Well that's fine by me! Why would I want to go on your side of the room anyway?!" said the other voice, most likely belonging to Venus.

"I don't know! But you can keep your cooties and girl germs on your side of the room!" Michael yelled, his voice traveling into the room next door. Leo and Raph smiled to each other.

"Looks like we're in for a rough night," Raph commented simply.

"You mean Michael and Venus are in for a rough night," Leonardo corrected.

*****

Venus stood in the center of Ikhaya Labantu. A cool breeze whipped through her fur as she made her way towards Shere Khan's stall. Rachel wasn't occupying the store; Galileo was. A cruel smile spread his lips. "You'll be mine one day," Galileo said with wickedness. Two strong arms grabbed her from behind. She looked at her captor and shook with fear when she found out it was Shere Khan himself. "No Galileo. Venus is mine in every way," the tiger said cruelly. He bent down to whisper in her ear. "And if you ever escape, then you know the consequences."

Venus woke up with a shock. It had been the second night in a row that she had had a nightmare. She looked over at her new roommate who was sleeping heavily after the evening's intense arguing. Venus's heartbeat was racing and seemed like it wasn't going to slow down anytime soon. She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep, but the terrifying images were still there. It had seemed so real. She knew where the dreams had originated. Her horrifying ordeal with Shere Khan was coming back to haunt her, as though the issue was left unfinished. She knew what she had to do.

Venus slowly and carefully made her way through the dark rooms in order to reach Leonardo. She was surprised to find him lying on his bed eyes open, still awake. Leo noticed her presence. "Venus?"

"Yeah, it's me," Venus whispered, not wanting to awaken Raphael.

"What's wrong?"

"I had a nightmare," Venus whispered simply, then moved to sit at the end of his bed. Leo sat up to look at her more clearly. "Leo, I need to tell you something," Venus started.

"What is it?" Leo whispered curiously.

"I don't know how you're going to respond to this," Venus said uncertainly. She was still shaking from her dream.

"What ever it is, I'll be here for you," Leo said before taking his hand in hers for comfort. She smiled inwardly at his small gesture.

"On the night before I joined you guys, I was raped by Shere Khan," Venus whispered as the tears began to swell up in her eyes.

*****

Raphael stared at a large, unknown building. He had never seen it before, but he knew he was still in Lesotho as the mountain ranges were clearly behind him. "Hello," a sultry called. He looked around and found Rachel standing a little distance away. He smiled and took one step towards her. She screamed in pain as he did so, and slowly began to disappear. Raphael desperately tried to run to her, but he didn't move an inch in space. After a few moments, Rachel had vanished completely. Raph spun around and found Sebastian staring at him with a gloomy expression. "You don't understand," the young tiger said simply. "Don't understand what?" Raphael asked, trying to control his inner fury. "I loved her," Sebastian continued. "You don't understand," the tiger repeated. "Please, tell me what I don't know," Raphael said, becoming impatient. The tiger stood wide-eyed as a single sai appeared and embedded itself in his stomach. His voice became choked as he fell to his knees. Raphael rushed to his side, wanting answers. "Tell me. What don't I understand?" the cheetah pleaded, but Sebastian was already gone.

Raphael's eyes flickered open. It had all been a dream. A noise distracted him from his confused thoughts. He looked over and saw Venus with Leo. She was crying while Leo was comforting her, though he held a stern face. Raphael wondered what had happened; though he figured and wrongfully concluded that Venus was upset with Michael.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" Venus asked Leo with a fearful whisper. Leo nodded his head kindly.

"I'll stay awake until you fall asleep. How about that?" Leo offered, knowing that she felt like she needed protection. Venus gave him a hug and laid down on the bed. She pushed the disturbing thoughts to the back of her mind, hoping to have a peaceful nights sleep. Venus was more relaxed now; knowing that Leo was by her side.

Raphael looked on from his pillow. He knew that it was just a harmless offer to sleep in the same bed for comfort, but he began to wonder how easily Leo was letting go of Venus, if at all. Raph knew that Venus was scared, but it didn't really help the separated couple if she kept coming back to Leo one way or another. Raph sighed and closed his eyes, too tired to think anything more about the matter, figuring it would just pass with time.

*****

Saringai sat anxiously in his room, awaiting his visitor. It was daybreak, and Donatello was busy upgrading his laptop in the dining room, so he knew that the cheetah would not return for a while. To waste time, Saringai checked on his other students. He found them all still sleeping, yet he wasn't surprised when he found Venus and Leo in the same bed. Saringai knew their breakup was difficult and it would take some time for them to get over one another.

He returned back to his room and jumped out of his skin when he found Raifu waiting for him. "What did you want to speak about?" Raifu asked while twirling his sai.

"You know that makes me nervous," Saringai said, gesturing towards the weapon. Raifu stopped spinning the sai between his fingers and returned it to his belt loops. "I was wondering if we should tell them the truth. You know, about how we are related to each other," Saringai asked.

"Why?" Raifu asked simply.

"It's because of Leonardo and Venus. Donatello did a blood test and told the two they were siblings. I just don't think it's fair to let them believe that," Saringai said, remembering the sight he saw just moments ago with the two.

"I know that it's unfair on them, but what other choice do we have? You yourself complained about how Leo wasn't paying attention in lessons because of Venus. We need them to be warriors right now, not lovers. I know this is harsh but they can wait, Shere Khan can't," Raifu said.

"I just worry that the longer we wait, the more damage will be done," Saringai implied.

"Master? Where's Ve-" Michael walked into the room and stopped short when he saw the two leopards. He was taken aback for a moment before looking towards Saringai for an explanation.

"Michael, um, this is my-"

"Friend. I'm a friend," Raifu interrupted. The leopard grew silent as he watched his son. It hurt him to deny his rights as a father, but he knew deep down that it would only complicate matters if he didn't. He blushed slightly as he noticed an expression on the cheetah's face that he recognised as his own.

"Michelangelo, I'd like you to meet Raifu. Raifu, this is my oldest student, Michelangelo," Saringai introduced.

"Nice to meet you sir," Michael said and bowed after shaking hands with the new comer.

"Venus is in Leo's room. And I hope that tomorrow night you will both have a more peaceful nights sleep, instead of having a three hour argument over whether cooties exist or not," Saringai said bluntly. Michael blushed in embarrassment before excusing himself out of the room, after taking one last peek at Raifu.

Raifu smirked while Sarinagi sighed. "Three hour argument?" Raifu said smiling.

"He gets that from you," Saringai admitted.

"I guess they all have a bit Raph in them," Raifu said with a wicked grin. Saringai groaned in admittance.