Disclaimer – Well, again, I'm powerless to stop the fact that I don't own the TMNT's. If I did, I'd share such wonders with all of you.

Most of this chapter will be Splinter's POV and told in the first person early on.

The Temper That Almost Ate Manhattan

by reinbeauchaser

Chapter 3 – A Numbing Tail Tale

Raphael shook his head, "No way, you're always patient, Sensei. Well – except for when me and Leo fight. Oh, and Mike's pranks," his face brightened suddenly, "and that time Mike laced your tea with some of that vodka he found in the sewers!" Just thinking about it caused a smile to edge the turtle's snout. He tried to control it, he really did, but it just kept growing, and growing, until…

A sullen voice interrupted his recollecting, "I was not amused by that, Raphael." Now, the rat seemed offended, "And your lie at the time about the tea having a 'special blend' of spices didn't help the matter."

Raph pressed his lips together to keep from smirking, realizing his father's disdain. He finally managed to say, "Yeah, I know. But we had to explain the taste and who would have thought just a little liquor would make you tipsy!"

"Rats are not supposed to drink alcohol, Raphael, there is a reason for it!"

"Yeah, you get tipsy."

"Enough!"

"Sorry, Sensei, but I don't think I'll ever forget that."

Splinter sighed and chuckled wearily, "Nor will I, I'm afraid and I'd like to, believe me!" the rat continued, though, "Nevertheless, I had a temper. And as much as I would like to forget that, too, I feel now is the time to share such things."

Raphael settled back a bit, knowing all too well that when his father slipped into 'story mode', it was going to be a long session. He just hoped his tail didn't fall asleep in the process. He absolutely hated it when that happened. Unable to feel anything, he couldn't control it, so it would hang loose rather than stay curled up under his shell the way he liked it.

And, of course, Mike couldn't resist and would end up making Raph the literal butt of his jokes. Raph could only hope that, whatever Splinter planned on sharing, there would be enough time to recover.

In any event, Splinter began his account…

"I know I have told you and your brothers about how I found you, about Yoshi and the horrible thing that Oruku Saki did to him and to Tang Shen. It is what fueled your training, to avenge their death and to bring honor back to our family.

But, I have never told you this, Raphael. Some of it might be familiar to you, but what happened after my master's death and shortly after I found you and your brothers will be new. It is during this interim when I felt anger for the very first time in my life. It is something I have tried to put behind me, but now I see it is important to share this with you. Especially after what almost happened this morning."

Raph's momentary jovial mood tanked and he lowered his head in shame. Splinter, however, tsked, "No, Raphael, I have forgiven you, please let it go."

His son looked up at him and sighed, giving in to his father's request, and then the rat continued, "Now, as I was saying…

"Before I found myself thrown mercilessly to the world and before that awful day when Saki came, I had been a peaceful rat. I never bit anyone or soiled where I should not. Compared to other types of pets, I was considered most civilized.

Because of this, my master and I were so close in our relationship that I knew when he was sad, but I also knew when he was afraid. When he took Tang Shen and myself and escaped from Japan, I was fully aware of his fear about getting away. A man, a friend, had threatened him. I was only a rat, and just six months old, so I could not understand all the nuances of human relationships. Although in human years I would be an infant, in rat years, at six months, I was nearly twenty. Still, even though I was ignorant of many things, and whereYoshi had me since I was two month old, I knew him very well.

As it turned out, New York City was a busy place for me and I was glad that my master had taken an apartment on a quiet street. Where we lived on the fifth floor, it was even more so.

We were happy living there and sometimes Shen and Yoshi would let me out of my cage. I loved climbing into the various cupboards and exploring the apartment. I would even hide behind the couch or even in their cushions! On more than one occasion, I had surprised Shen when she would sit down on the sofa. I would poke my head out from between the cushions and startle her. I always found that quite amusing. Still, she was always afraid of squashing me, so I ended up in my cage more often than I liked. I was a mischievous rodent, to be sure."

Raph smiled, "I bet you were a real pest, too."

Splinter raised one eyebrow and cleared his throat. Raph shrugged, "Sorry, couldn't resist."

"You should try harder to, my son!" Splinter admonished and then continued with his story.

"Nevertheless, Raphael, that fateful day came when Saki paid Tang a visit. Before I could even register who he was, for he did look vaguely familiar to me, she was dead - violently and without mercy. I had seen with my own beady eyes her death, and not more than a half-hour later, Hamato Yoshi's. During the ensuing struggle, though, Saki and Yoshi toppled my cage. The force of my cage falling to the floor broke it open and allowed me to escape. In response, I did my best to avenge my master and his wife's death, but failed, as you know. As it was, I barely escaped with my fur still attached, but not before the murderer sliced off the tip of my ear.

Still nursing my wound and after managing to find my way out of the bloodied apartment, I wandered the alleys, now lost and alone. Despite my situation, I felt somewhat placated with the scraping wounds I had left behind on Saki's face. It would be the only evidence of avenging my slain master and his wife. I truly hoped it would scar, further reminding the monster of his horrific deed. I even hoped that my actions would haunt his dreams the rest of his life.

Now, though, I had graver concerns. For the first time in my short existence, I found I had to fend for myself – and I was scared. I was also very angry. After all, I had been a respectable rat, a good pet, and had a fine loving home. I had been kinder and gentler than Yoshi's friends in Japan had predicted. After all, humans considered rats as unclean, yet Yoshi loved me and treated me like an equal. I felt that life had taken an unfair turn in my fortunes and I felt greatly resentful.

Nevertheless, although it hurt to find myself so rudely tossed to the world, the loss of my friend hurt even more and fueled my growing anger. It consumed me, the image of my master's wife so abused and then Yoshi cut down so cowardly; their deaths dogged my dreams night after night.

I soon learned to take to the shadows as I waddled along the edges of buildings. I instinctively slept during the day and at night, keeping to the darker areas the way my more wild relatives would. It was not a mystery to me why Yoshi had chosen a rat for a pet, rather than a cat or a dog. Rodents habitually and naturally stick to the darker areas of their world, if only so they will not become dinner to such animals. In that way, though, I shared a bond with my now deceased master. The shadow warrior and the ways of the rat are not too different, after all.

As it was, I learned quickly enough to recognize sounds that either put the fear of death in my heart, or a hope for a meal. Trash bins could often provide a feast, but in that way, I would also run across predators. Cats were my worse enemies, since they could climb as well as I could. I could run straight up a wall eight feet, if the bricks were especially rough, but a cat motivated by hunger can spring just as high! I learned very quickly how to survive.

And very quickly, my anger over losing my master and my home grew worse.

I was only a rat, though, and had very little power to exercise my rage, and so my all-consuming need to find shelter and food eventually overwhelmed my emotions. In any event, I found my way into the sewers, where the sounds of my own kind beckoned me.

However, there are ways among the wild population of rodents that is like a foreign language to one who is tame. Consequently, even my own kind rejected me. I was far too civilized, far too trusting, and where they lived from meal to meal, I was competition. In a very short time, I found myself as isolated as one can get and still be surrounded by their own species. So long as I kept my distance from them, they left me alone. This, of course, only added to my disparaging mood and I sulked more than I ate.

The image of Saki, though, kept haunting my dreams and I wanted vengeance! I wanted to pay back in kind what he did to my master and friend. I might have been powerless as a lowly rat, but in my dreams and imagination, I was unstoppable. I thought that at the very least, if I ever did find him, I would slip into his home and soil as much of his exposed food as possible. I imagined chewing through every cord in his house, every rug, every towel, every piece of furniture, but staying just out of sight and in the shadows so he would not see me. I knew about traps because in my travels I had seen the end-results of such horrific things. I could also tell good food from poisoned, so in that way, Saki would be powerless to stop me. Even if he did indeed succeed in killing me, the damage done to him would be well worth the effort. I would have my revenge and die an honorable death!

Nevertheless, the day came when I found you and your brothers. I did not know what you were at first, since I had never seen a turtle before, but it was a day that changed my life, and in more ways than I had ever imagined – even in my dreams."

Raphael looked shocked, "You…didn't know what a turtle was?" He seemed thoroughly offended.

Shaking his head, Splinter admitted, "You must understand, Raphael, I had spent my entire life with a human and in a cage, more times than not. There were ponds in Japan, yes, but I remember little of that part of my life." He smiled wryly, "Most of my time was spent in the dojo of my master's house, watching him work his katas and enjoying some of his tea, along with the rice cakes that Shen would make." Shrugging, the rat added, "You should be glad, though, that I was an intelligent rat and that I found you first!"

"Why's that?" Raph asked, "Oh, yeah, you rescued us…duh!"

Splinter looked at his son knowingly and wondered if he should tell him what almost did happen. After all, the wayward rat was starving at that time and it wasn't uncommon for his species to take advantage of any opportunistic meals – however alive they may be.

Instead, the master wisely decided against it, as he figured to add nightmares to his troubled son's dreams would be cruel.

Consequently, he concurred with Raphael, "Yes, I – rescued you."

A/N I always found it hard to believe that Splinter – as a lowly rat – would know what a turtle was upon first sight. He's been a pet all of his life and a singular one at that. Also, most rats live only 3 years if that much, so at 6 months of age and kept in confinement, he would have led a very sheltered life.

And if you want to know in human years how old a rat is, a rat ages one year every ten days. That means, at one year of age, they are about 36 years old in human terms. That's why rats can breed at three months or even sooner, and repeatedly thereafter. It's what makes them enormously successful in thriving and why they are the bane of any compact city such as New York. They're like the energizer bunny, they keep on going and going and going and…

As for food – well – rats are omnivores, that means they can eat both protein as well as non-protein foods. Here is a site to confirm this, just in case you doubt me. Wonderclub(dot)com(forward slash)Wildlife(forward slash)mammals(forward slash)brown(underscore)rat(dot).html

Enough said.