Coming Of Age
Rated PG-13 for some swearing.
Disclaimer: I deny any ownership of any adult or adolescent transformed shadow warrior chelonian.
Author's note: This is a Rama story I decided to rewrite as I felt that it was a bit rushed and I could do a much better job of it. Fact is I'm thinking of rewriting quite a few of the Rama stories. So if this seems familiar you have probably read the original version, this one remains mostly the same but a lot more in depth, or fleshing out. Ramica.
Chapter One: Responsibility
Rama paused, as she listened just outside of the kitchen door, holding her breath and heightening her senses so as not to miss a single thing.
" April and I are stuck Mike. I promise that we won't be gone all that long. Only until ten thirty or eleven at the very latest. I'll even bring her home afterwards if you want."
" It isn't that so much Casey, Rama could make it back home on her own from your place." Mike refuted, " it is just that Rama is a little young to be babysitting your two and…"
" Mike our babysitter cancelled and we only have a day or two to find a responsible replacement. Jeremy and Chase love Rama, and she is far more mature then most nine and a half year olds are" Casey disputed quickly cutting Mike off.
Mike scowled " I'll think about it and let you know."
Rama grinned with glee as she hastily made her way back to the couch, where she had been watching TV while doing some of her school work before dinner. She quickly plunked back down on the battered couch and began to work at her assignment until Casey passed through on his way to the door.
" Hi Uncle Casey I didn't know you were here" Rama claimed playing innocent, as she glanced up at the old friend of the family. Casey was still dressed in oily coveralls from his work as a mechanic in a garage.
Mike made a slight guffawing noise at his daughter's casual remark, a clear sign that he wasn't fooled by her ploy.
" I only popped in for a minute on the way home. Now I gotta get before April kills me for being late." Casey replied as he headed out of the door.
Rama watched him leave then turned to her dad " So what did he want dad? Really?" she pleaded.
Mike crossed his arms over his plastron and glared at his daughter " Who said Casey wanted any thing Miss busy body?"
" When Uncle Casey stops here on his way home from work, he wants something" Rama insisted very sure of herself on that count. She gave her dad a smug knowing smile.
Mike snorted a bit " Eavesdropping doesn't hurt either does it Rama?" Mike accused.
Rama gave an indifferent shrug " How else am I supposed to learn things around here?" she protested not caring to deny Mike's claim.
Mike nodded " That is what I thought."
" So what did Uncle Casey want?" Rama persisted tenaciously.
Mike smiled " If you didn't hear it and, I think you did you just don't want to go tripping yourself up, then why should I tell you?" her dad argued, " Now how much school work have you got today?"
Rama groaned seeing her dad was trying to change the subject " Just a couple pages of math, I have to read a chapter from out of the book we are working on in English and answer a page of questions on it. I also have to work on my spelling words" Rama listed the subjects.
Mike nodded and grinned " So you were good for Don today huh?" Mike knew his brother tended to give Rama more homework depending on her behaviour in class.
" Come on dad what did Uncle Casey want?" Rama pleaded eagerly.
" He wanted to know if you could care for Jeremy and Chase for a few hours a couple nights from now." Mike admitted.
Rama grinned widely " Really! Can I please?" she begged her eyes glowing with excitement at the prospect.
" I don't know Rama." Mike muttered shaking his head as he went to sit in the armchair by the couch.
" You let me go visit them on my own" Rama disputed slightly sulkily, as she shot her dad a sour look before turning away " I don't see why I can't baby sit for them."
" You aren't old enough Rama." Mike refuted.
" Yes I am dad. I can do it. I help look after my cousins don't I?" Rama insisted.
" When you look after your cousins there are other adults near by to help you," Mike pointed out, " it is far different when you have full responsibility for a child."
Rama scowled at him.
" Don't give me that look. A lot can go wrong. For instance what would you do if some one knocked on the door?"
Rama grinned, " Well first off I'd keep the door locked and I wouldn't open it. I'd tell them April or Casey couldn't come to the door then I'd pass them a bit of paper and a pencil under the door for them to write a message if they want." She answered cheekily, " then if they tried to break in I'd ninja kick them. Or I could phone the cops but then a report would have to be filled out."
Mike arched an eye ridge impressed by her answer but he wasn't about to show it. His daughter was all ready far too cocky and sure of herself as it was.
He glanced at her through narrowed eyes seeing her. Her features were all to familiar to him almost as familiar as his own. Partly due to the fact, she was his daughter and they did share many of the same looks and expressions, partly because he was just used to her after looking after her for almost ten years.
Her hair that fell just past her carapace was braided up in a single braid down the back, her greyish green eyes were round and always had a hint of mischief in them, her high cheekbones and her five fingers and toes proved her human heritage. Rama was more a mutant turtle then human though. The only mark of clothing she wore was a belt, which had a few items of interest like bits of rope, candy or things like that, as she wasn't allowed to carry weapons on her as of yet.
" So you are aware police have to do reports are you?" Mike scoffed.
" Well yeah dad," Rama mocked, " it is like on just about every TV police show there is you know."
Mike ignored her sarcasm as he shifted in his chair " What if one of the children began to choke? Or got hurt on something?"
" Like bleeding hurt or just fall down and scare themselves hurt?" Rama asked quickly.
" Bleeding hurt." Mike replied.
" Easy pick them up comfort them, while checking out damage. Clean the wound put a Band-Aid on it and then provided lots of love to injured child." Rama claimed.
Mike shook his head, sure Rama had all the answers now but in an emergency would she act. " Children can get hurt Rama and…"
" Dad!" Rama snapped in irritation, " I can handle it. I know I can. Uncle Donatello has been teaching me all about first aid in my school lessons. I could phone if I need any thing." She pleaded. " Come on dad you never let me do anything fun" she protested.
Mike shook his head he knew that Rama was well past the age of being told 'No.' Just for the sake of saying it. She wanted a reason why, it wasn't allowed, though usually the reason was a simple we need to stay secret from those topside.
Mike had offered to do the task but Casey had been set on letting Rama do it. Casey had argued that it would be good for her.
Rama seeing her dad seem to give clasped her hands under her chin " please dad" she drawled the words out as she gave him her sad face.
Mike snorted at her attempt to sway him. Yet he knew Rama already chafed at the many things she wasn't allowed to do. As his daughter got older she was seeing him far more as an ogre, whose sole purpose in life was to make her life miserable. It was a role Mike didn't particularly care for, but he knew that Rama could not be allowed the freedoms most kids her age took for granted. Worst yet, for Mike at any rate, was the prospect in three very short years Rama would be a teenager.
" I'll think about it Rama and don't go pestering me about it either" Mike cautioned.
" Yes dad" Rama hissed the words scowling darkly at him, kicking slightly at the coffee table with her foot. She wished that her dad would just let her have some fun for once in her life, and let her do something that she really wanted to do. It seemed everything she wanted wasn't Allowed by the clan.
Raph entered the kitchen and pulled out a drink from the fridge he glanced over at Mike, who was sitting at the table lost in thought, not even preparing the evening meal. " What's up there Mikey?"
Mike glanced up acting startled as if he hadn't even noticed Raph's presence until just then " Oh not much, except Casey wants Rama to baby sit for him but I think she is a bit young for that responsibility but if I tell Rama no she'll be mad at me." Mike heaved a sigh.
" So let her do it Mike. She has helped out with even my daughter and that girl is a true handful." Raph remarked as he sat down and took a gulp of his soda. " She knows enough ninjitsu that getting to and from their apartment isn't going be a problem." He added quickly.
" She is only nine" Mike said.
" Going be ten in what five months or so?" Raphael reminded his brother " she is a kunoichi and pretty smart. Give her a break let her do it and stop being so damn protective of her."
" I can't help it she is my only child" Mike said.
" Yeah I'm aware of that and she has had some close calls but it is good training for her specially with the road she is travelling." Raph insisted.
Mike knew his brother was alluding to Rama's training to become a jonin.
" You know we have got to find you a girlfriend. I always thought that Leo or Don would be the bachelors in the clan, not you."
Mike shook his head " I've got enough to deal with looking after Rama I don't need to be wife hunting."
" Remember when we were kids, we'd break every rule possible. We felt Splinter was far too harsh and unfair." Raph chugged at his drink and belched. " Ramiela has heard about topside, she has been exposed to it second hand through her Aunts and her friend Jessie. She keeps hearing of all the things she can't see and she can't do. So let her have this one thing." Raph suggested.
Mike shrugged as he raised, his head to meet his brother's gaze " You are right Raph. It is only for a few hours after all" Mike laughed, " I guess I am being foolish," Mike admitted.
When he greeted Rama with the news, she had cheered and insisted, " You're the greatest dad in the whole wide world."
Raph had watched and smiled as he heard this. He knew that Rama had secretly asked Casey to baby sit next time they needed a sitter. She wanted a chance to relax and raid a fridge without worries.
The next few days Mike drilled Rama on what she was to do in the case of certain emergencies and how to handle any thing from small to large problems. Until it got to the point that Rama became fully irritated at him.
" All right dad. I know what to do all ready. Nothing will happen I promise." She snapped through gritted teeth.
" You are still young and need to be fully ready for any situation."
" DAD!" Rama huffed, " I will not burn down the apartment, no one will be struck by lightening. Will you just get a life all ready!" she demanded.
" I do have a life it is trying to look after you, so I know I will be well cared for in my old age" Mike shot back.
Rama laughed at that remark.
" I'm not kidding Rama I don't want you or the kids to get hurt all right," Mike said as he hugged his daughter close to him.
Rama smiled " How would I get hurt looking after Chase and Jeremy?" she wondered. " Tell you what. I'll give you my word of honour as a ninja in training that I won't get hurt. I'll call immediately if I need any help Okay feel better?"
Mike shook his head his own eyes sparkling a bit with laughter " All right Rama I understand, too much. But I am holding you to that promise." He turned and kissed her on the cheek " I love you Rama."
Mike knew that he had embarrassed her by the way she shrugged out of his hold. He was also aware that she would keep her promise. He chuckled " Sometimes I feel that you are growing up way too fast girl."
Rama listened carefully as she heard April give her the run down of information for the evening " My cell number is by the phone so don't hesitate to call it if you need to. There is p-o-p and c-h-i-p-s for you if you want a snack later." April glanced at Jeremy who didn't know spelling but obviously knew enough that it had to be good enough for the four year old to ask.
" What is that mommy?"
" It isn't for you" April declared quickly as she picked him up and kissed him " Jeremy can have grapes for a snack before bed. Chase should be in bed by seven and Jeremy not much later then seven thirty."
" All right" Rama nodded.
Casey walked into the kitchen " The beer best be in the fridge when I get home."
Rama snapped her fingers and muttered softly to herself " There goes that idea."
" No long distance phone calls and no wild parties, no prank calls." Casey continued.
" Sure spoil all my fun!" Rama grumbled in a good natured way.
" One more thing I want both of my kids in one piece when I get back."
Rama gave a wicked laugh at that one " Yeah you don't expect a lot do ya?"
Both her dad and April had called up to check on her but otherwise it was a peaceful and relaxing evening.
As Rama sat watching a movie of her choice on TV in the silence of the apartment, while munching on her second bag of chips and working on her second can of soda she reflected that the baby sitting thing really wasn't all that bad.
" Don't know what dad was so worked up about, this is actually pretty easy night."
Before April and Casey were due back home Rama hid the beer in the fridge near the back and behind various UFO's ( unidentified fridge objects.)
Then she pulled some empty cans out of the recycle bin in a closet and placed them haphazardly around the apartment.
April smiled as she came in the door " So how were the children?"
" Good" Rama admitted, " Chase woke up about half an hour ago but she just fussed a little and went right back to sleep."
Casey went to the fridge starting to look for his beer when he couldn't find it he scowled at her " What did you do with it?" he growled.
" I sort of mistook it for root beer" Rama began
Casey glowered " It won't work Ramiela I don't smell beer on your breath, if you got the empties by tossing it down the drain" Casey threatened.
Rama made a face, she really ought to have thought of that, oh well maybe next time, she told her irate human Uncle where to find his favourite beverage.
He turned to rummage past stuff to retrieve a can " So you want me to see you home?" he wondered.
" No it is all right Uncle Casey I can find my own way." Rama insisted quickly. Tonight while baby sitting she had felt very grown up and mature but she knew that feeling would evaporate quickly if she was escorted home.
" Thanks for all your help Ramiela here" April reached into her purse pulling out a folded bill.
" You don't have to" Rama said.
April laughed a little " Ramiela it is customary to pay a baby sitter for their services. You earned this." April explained.
Rama gave a baffled awed look " Wow! I've got my very own money." She tucked it into her belt " Thanks Aunt April. I guess I best get home dad is probably waiting for me."
" Good night Ramiela" April called to the girl as she made her way out the window to the fire escape.
Rama usually liked standing for a few minutes on the rooftop looking at the stars but it was a cold rainy late fall evening. So she didn't bother wasting her time. From the rooftop she could jump over to another apartment building just behind and over from April and Casey's apartment building.
Rama loved jumping rooftops the giddy thrill of getting up enough speed then hurling yourself over an open area, to another rooftop always gave her an excited butterfly feeling deep in her gut. There always seemed to be a little voice that whispered to her that she wasn't going to make it and she would fall way downnnnn the hole.
Rama sort of liked that voice but she loved proving it wrong even more!
Sensei said she wasn't allowed to jump buildings that were across streets as of yet because it was a larger jump and more dangerous to do. She had to work up to it.
Personally Rama wished she was allowed to do that. After all it would save her from going down to street level and having to cross the road the way people did, thus exposing herself to anyone who might be hanging around.
Both her dad and Sensei said " You are not old enough and it is too dangerous."
One day Rama thought she'd go ahead and do it just to prove to herself she could. But she decided tonight wouldn't be a good night to try it and so she made her way down into the alley.
This was where her ninjitsu came into play she had to stick to the shadows and cross the road without being seen by people. This was actually a fairly quiet street and besides that was the fact that there wasn't a streetlight nearby the closest one was four blocks away so there was plenty of shadows to work to her advantage.
As she sidled along the building keeping close to the shadows she detected a strange noise and she furrowed her brow trying to figure out what the noise was and where it was coming from.
Cautiously she peeked around a corner, she was well used to seeing in dim lit areas, or even in pitch blackness so she didn't find it all that difficult to see a young boy wearing a dark coloured shirt and shorts playing with a ball.
She didn't see any adults around and thought it was rather strange for a little boy to be out playing at this time of night. The boy didn't seem to mind in the least he was busy playing and nattering away.
Rama looked away the kid wasn't her problem and she quickly went back to scanning the road. She was just about ready to go for it, when she heard a door opening and instantly she held herself in check.
In a moment four teens made their way out on to the sidewalk from the apartment, one of them laughed as he snatched the ball from the child and the teens began a rousing game of keep away as the boy followed crying for his ball.
One of the teens must have grown bored of the game for he cursed and tossed the ball, and the boy turned to chase after the treasured possession. With the ball back in his care, the boy began to play with it right in the middle of the road.
Rama rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath about " Stupid kids." And " Stupid parents who didn't care for their kids!" Rama knew the boy shouldn't be allowed to play on the road where traffic might not see him. Then again he wasn't her responsibility.
Besides she had to make sure that she wasn't seen; by any one for any reason. She recalled all the problems she had caused for her family when she had made a friend of Jessie a couple of years back.
'No, it just isn't worth being seen by people,' She told herself silently.
So Rama ignored the boy and focused instead on when her next break was to cross the road and get home without being seen.
She noticed a chance shortly after allowing the teens to get well out of sight. She wasn't worried about the young boy seeing her. He didn't matter.
As she started across the road she saw a truck turn a corner a few blocks down, but she knew she had more then enough time to make it across the road and into hiding before the driver saw her.
She turned her head and saw the boy still contentedly playing on the road sitting in the rain rolling the ball about between his hands.
Rama instantly changed her mind changing direction and throwing all caution to the wind as she realized there was no possible way she could leave him there to be hit by the oncoming truck.
She grabbed him by the arm hauling him to his feet. The child stubbornly planted his feet and wailed " Ball. Ball. Wan ball."
" Stop it you dumb kid!" Rama snapped, her patience ending as she scooped the child into her arms he was a big husky boy and very heavy. Suddenly she heard the sound of tires trying to grip pavement and she felt the glare of lights from the headlights. She glanced up into the bright glare of the beams confused momentarily by how quickly the truck had come upon them.
Rama gripped the boy tight and jumped as hard and as fast as she could.
She felt the hard impact of the road, and she knew that her arms and legs might end up scraped from it all, but she did her best to protect the struggling child in her arms from the worst of it.
Rama felt her body shaking and her chest heaving, her heart was beating wildly under her plastron. As she quickly looked the boy over to see if he had come to any harm. Near as she could see he might have a few minor cuts or scrapes and perhaps a few bruises as well but otherwise he seemed all right, in spite of his deafening howls.
Rama smiled, relieved that he did seem okay. Then she glanced down the road where the truck was sitting about half a block away, so far there was no sign of life from the vehicle but Rama figured the driver was all right.
Rama took a couple deep breaths knowing the driver might be getting out of the truck though, at any moment, made her realize she best make herself scarce. The last thing she needed was for the driver to see her.
She got to her feet but as she did so she noticed a sharp stabbing pain in her left leg. Funny, she hadn't noticed it hurting before. She lowered her arm until her hand felt blood on her leg. Rama winced and inhaled through gritted teeth.
She realized that the truck must have hit her after all. She also realized that she was now on the other side of the street from where she had started. When the truck lights had hit her she had jumped further into the path of the oncoming vehicle instead of going back towards the sidewalk.
" Baka!" she berated herself. Knowing that if she had jumped the right direction in the first place she wouldn't have been wounded. At least, she thought to herself, I'm on the right side of the road to get home.
She heard the truck door open and looked that direction suddenly knowing she had to get out of there " Be a good boy and wait here. You'll be all right I promise." She told him quickly.
Her left leg was practically screaming with pain, it was throbbing and hurting enough now that it brought tears to her eyes but Rama did her best to push these thoughts to the back of her mind.
Right now she had to get home before she was seen by humans, so in spite of the pain she was in, she forced herself to use her sore leg to get to the back alley and to the safety of the sewers.
TBC