Turtle Temper

It was another day for the Hamato family. After their saving of April O'Neil from the Kraang a few days ago, Donatello has been in his lab, researching for more of the Kraang's whereabouts and what they were going to do next. However, only had just come out of hiding, they barely know anything about their new-found enemies. So tracking them down and finding out about their plans were going to be quite difficult for the siblings.

Emi, sister to the terrapin brothers and adopted daughter to a ninja master, walked out of the dojo from another daily routine of self-training after the usual training with the boys. Closing her eyes, she stretched her arms high above her head while walking towards the living area.

"Had a nice training?"

Recognizing the voice right away, she opened her eyes and turned to the source with a smile, "Yeah. It was quite satisfying. Maybe you should try it with me next time, Leo."

He chuckled, "Last time I joined you, I was sore for a whole week Em."

She shrugs, a smirk plaster on her lips with her tail swishing mischievously, "That just means you don't take your training seriously."

"No. Your kind of training is just merely too intense for me to handle."

Walking up to him, she got close to him until they were chest to plastron. With a glint in her eyes, she replied, "Well then, guess you're just gonna have to… step up your game."

Emi was so close to him that if she was paying enough attention to his face, she would have seen it flush red at their closeness. With a smile, she giggles, taking a step away from him, "I'm just kidding, Leo. I wouldn't want you to suffer through my training again."

Composing himself, he nervously cleared his throat, trying to bring his mind back on track. But it was difficult as is. Not once has he ever seen Emi act like that around him at all. It was quite… enticing.

"Leo? Earth to Leo… You still in there?"

Shaking his head from his thoughts, he focuses his attention back on his secret crush/sister in front of him. She was waving her hand in front of his face, a worried look on her's. Nodding his head, he nervously replied, "Y-yeah. I'm fine, Emi."

Not believing him, she put a hand on his forehead, "Are you sure? 'Cuz you didn't respond to me for nearly a minute now. You're not coming down with a fever are you?"

Leo blushed at her touch and was about to tell her that he was fine until Raph interrupted, "Ah, leave 'im alone Em. Leo just needs to clear his head. Especially after what happened just earlier." He smirked at his last sentence, making Leo blushed, knowing exactly what his brother was talking about.

Not understanding, she tilts her head, "What happened earlier?"

Walking up to them, Raph crossed his arms in front of him, not losing his smirk at his older brother's slight embarrassment, "It's nothing. Anyways, Donnie asked me to get you. He said something about talking to you about something. Though knowing him, it's probably about April."

She smiled, "What's wrong with that? At least Donnie's trying to get the girl."

He shrugs, "Yeah. But I doubt it'll ever happen."

Huffing, she put her hands on her hip, tsking, "Don't be so negative, Raph. You never know, she might actually like him back. Besides, he's our brother, we should be supporting him." Turning away from him, she started her way towards the lab, "Anyways, I'm going to go see what he wants."

"I'm just telling the truth!" Raph loudly spoke before she closed the lab door behind her.

Leo was about to walk to sit in the living area until he saw a smug look on his brother's face, who was now looking at him. Uncomfortable, he slowly asked, "What?"

"Nothing," said Raph, shrugging.

"Then why are you looking at me like that?"

Chuckling, Raph walked up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "Let's just say, you suck at flirting back."

Blushing in embarrassment, Leo stuttered, "W-wha-? I so do know how to flirt back!"

He laughed, crossing his arms in front of him, "Oh sure. You staring at her with a red face is totally flirting back."

Not knowing what to say, Leo grumbled, "Shut up," and went to sit on the couch, watching their baby brother playing his video game. Ignoring his brother's laughter behind him.

~With Emi~

After closing the lab door behind her, Emi looked around the brainiac's laboratory. The room was filled with many chemicals in beakers and bunsen burners on one side while there were contraptions that she knew that Donnie had created on the other. Looking around, she couldn't find the terrapin that had asked for her.

"Donnie?"

"Oh, Emi. Over here," Donnie replied from under the desk.

Raising an eyebrow, she walked up to see him picking up a couple of objects that were on the floor.

Wondering what happened, she asked, "Did something happened?"

He scoffed, "Mikey happened. As usual."

She ah'd before going back to what he wanted, "Raph told me that you needed to talk to me?"

Standing up with the objects in his arms, he set them down on the desk before answering, "Yeah. You see, I went to go check up on April today."

He stopped when he saw a smirk on her lips with a raised eyebrow, her arms crossed in front of her as she leaned on one leg. Knowing exactly what she was thinking about, he blushed and quickly replied, "Y-you know. Just to make sure the Kraang didn't kidnap her again."

Giggling, Emi calmed him down, "Donnie. It's okay. I'm not going to tease you about your feelings for her."

Relief, he sighed, "Thanks Emi." He then composed himself and stood up straight, "A-anyways. When I went to go to see her, April somehow found some information about the Kraang's next move."

Confused, she tilts her head, "How did she find out about that?"

He smiled a bit at how her ears flopped, making her look like a confused puppy before answering, "She said that she heard them when she saw two of them in broad daylight."

She frowned, "It's great that she found out about their next plan, but that was too dangerous for her. What happened if they saw her?"

"I told her the same thing. But her excuse was that it was daylight with people around, so the Kraang aren't able to do anything."

Shaking her head, she sighed, "They could have always lured her into the alleyway and kidnap her that way." Deciding to put April's safety aside, she looked up at the brainiac, "So, what was the plan that they decided to do?"

Walking to where his computer was, Donnie started to type away on it, "She didn't really quite hear what they were going to do other than the location that they were going to be at." He then brought up a map and showed it to her.

Walking over to look at the screen, she read the location and looked at the satellite area, "It's not really in an area where it's abandon. Most of the buildings are apartments with a couple of unused buildings. What will the Kraang's be doing there?"

He shrugs, "Dunno. Which is why we have to go there and find out. April said that they're going to be at the building tonight."

Frowning, she replied, "Let's just hope nothing happens tonight." Something then made her realize something, "By the way, why are you telling me this? I'm not the leader here, Donnie. Leo is."

"Yeah, I know. But if I told him and the others that April told me, they're just going to make fun of me."

Smiling, she put a hand on his shoulder, "Donnie, they're your brothers. Brothers tease each other about the girl they like. Even if you don't like it."

He slumped down on his chair, groaning, "I know."

"Anyways, if we're going to check out the place that April mentioned tonight. You should relay what you told me to Leo. We got to have a plan before encountering the enemies."

Nodding, he sighs and looks at her, "Yeah okay."

She put a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him reassuringly before exiting the lab. Leaving the door opened behind her, she could hear Donnie sigh before typing away on the computer.

"So, what did Donnie want?"

Looking over to where Raph was sitting on his bean bag chair with a comic book in hand and Leo sitting not too far next to him, she walked over and sat down on the couch next to the blue leader, "Not much other than information about the Kraang."

Leo quickly put his hands up, "Wait a minute. Donnie talked to you about gaining information about the Kraang?"

She apologetically smiles at him, "Donnie didn't want you guys to know who he got it from?"

The two brothers looked at each other, knowing right away who it was. But Raph asked anyways, "Who?"

Debating on telling them, she looks at the both of them straight in the eyes, "Don't tease Donnie about it alright?"

Raising a hand, he replied, "Turtle's honor." He then mentally smirks, 'But no promises.'

"April told him. Apparently, she saw two Kraangdroids and decided to listen in on their conversation."

Leo frowned in concern, "April should know that she shouldn't get too close to the Kraang's."

Shaking his head, Raph went back to reading his comic, "That girl is just going to get herself kidnap again."

Laying her head back, she sighed, "Tell me about it and you know how stubborn April can be, Leo."

Before he could reply, they jumped when Mikey shouted, "No! I was so close to beating the final boss level!"

Annoyed at his shouting, Raph grabbed a pillow that was near him and threw it straight at the young turtle's head, "Shut up, Mikey!"

"Ow!"

Grabbing the thrown pillow, Mikey stuck his tongue out at him before using it as his arm cushion and resume his game from the beginning. Their attention was taken away from him when Donnie stepped out of his lab, "Guys, I got word about the Kraang's next move. Come on!"

Without giving them a moment to ready themselves, he started to leave the lair already. The two brothers looked at each other and started to follow him. Leo stopped in his tracks when he noticed that Emi wasn't following him. Turning to look at her, he asked, "Emi? Aren't you coming?"

She shook her head, "You guys go on this one without me. I want to meditate with our father instead tonight."

Not wanting her to see him disappointed that she wouldn't be coming with them, he smiled, "Alright. We'll be back then."

She nodded, smiling in return, "Be safe, okay?"

He nodded before following the other two, who hadn't left yet because Raph had to go back and drag Mikey by his mask tail, who started whining about his video game.

~At the location~

They had arrived at the location that April had given to the purple terrapin a couple of hours ago and still, nothing has happened. Standing near the edge of the roof from the opposite of the building that the Kraang are supposed to hit, Donnie looked down at it with the telescope again.

"Anything?" asked Leo, wondering if there are any movements yet.

"Nothing yet."

While the two was keeping watch, the other two terrapin brothers were a couple of feet away. Raph was sitting while slowly losing his patient because of Mikey messing around with him. Having enough of his brother poking his head, he quickly grabbed a tight hold of Mikey's finger, squeezing the life out of it.

"Aah!"

Grimacing at Mikey's loud voice, Leo angrily turned to them, "Guys, when ninjas are on surveillance, they are supposed to be silent."

"Sorry, Leo. I'll scream quieter," Mikey apologized before going back to messing around with the hot-tempered brother again, laughing.

Having enough of Mikey messing with him, Raph threw him down on the roof, unknowingly breaking a satellite dish, and grabbed his baby brother, holding him in a headlock.

He growled, "Say it."

Before Mikey could say anything, Leo whispered-shouted at them, "Raph, be quiet!"

"Not till Mikey says it."

While Raph tortured Mikey to have him say that he was better than him, the two got louder and louder as which started to irritate Leo. When they weren't stopping anytime soon, he irritatedly whispered-shouted, "Okay, enough."

Mikey gasped and sigh in relief when the older got off of him, spit-free. Raph angrily walked up to them, "We're wasting our time. The Kraang aren't gonna show up."

"Have a little patience, will you?"

Donnie smiled at them, "Trust me, guys. They're gonna break into that lab tonight. I have reliable intel."

Raph smirked, pointing at him, "Intel? You mean April told you."

"You mean your girlfriend?" Mikey teasingly added, putting his hands under his chin while fluttering his eyes.

Irritated and embarrassed at his words, Donnie angrily turned to him, "She's not my girlfriend, Mikey." He then goes to explain, "She's a girl who's a friend, whose dad got kidnapped by the same aliens who are gonna break into that lab. And we're gonna stop 'em."

While he was talking, he didn't see his brothers smirking at each other before turning their attention back to him.

"Who told you guys that I got intel from April anyways? The only one who I told that to was…" He quietly trailed off when he realized that Emi had told them after he had talked to her.

"Or we'll sit out on a cold roof all night for no reason. And yeah, Emi told us," Raph replied until the door to the roof was slammed open.

Looking over, they saw a fat angry man by the rooftop entrance, "What the heck's going on up here?"

The boys blinked at being caught by a human. Instead of screaming in fright at the sight of them, the man quizzically look at them, "What are you playing dress up?"

"No, sir. We were just-" Leo started, about to explain until the man's sight went towards the broken satellite dish that was next to them.

Angry, he pointed, shouting at them, "Which one of you slimy green Ham Shanks busted my satellite dish?"

"Ham Shanks?" Raph angrily shouted, hating the insult.

Scratching his head, Donnie quietly replied, "I don't even know what that means."

"Me neither. But I don't like it."

He was going to make a grab for his sais until Leo stopped him by grabbing a hold of his wrist, "Let's go."

They were all about to leave until the man insulted them again, making Raph stop in his track, "That's right, you spineless cream puff! Listen to your mommy!"

Angry at his insult, this has resulted in Raph wanting to pulverize the man while he kept throwing insults at them. It was also thanks to their loudness of throwing insults at each other, it had caught the Kraang's attention, who were transporting mutagen in a van.

While the brothers tried to keep their angry brother from pulverizing the man, none of them had noticed the Kraangdroids climbing up to the rooftops. They had finally take noticed when Raph almost got his head blasted off by a laser from the plasma guns.

"Kraangdroids!" Leo shouted.

"Holy Toledo!"

Grabbing their weapons, Leo glared over at their tempered brother, "Way to blow our position, Raph."

It was during this kind of time, that he wished that Emi was here. She could've settled the matter before things got too out of hand. And she would have been able to warn them of the enemies. Shaking the wishful thinking away, he focused on taking care of the Kraangdroids with his brothers.

Long story short, the Kraang's escaped as they got defeated by the terrapin brothers while the man got them on video with his phone.

~Back at the Lair~

Deeply inhaling before exhaling, Emi cleared her mind of all thoughts and trouble as she meditated in the dojo. She had been in there ever since the boys have left, with Master Splinter meditating himself next to her.

The room was quiet, calm, and serene as they slowly let their mind travel into the astral world. A world that was filled with millions of stars in a world of darkness.

As Emi floated in the astral world, peace was the only thing she felt throughout both her spirit and soul until a prickling of something negative poked itself into her mind. Frowning, she tried to concentrate, trying to grasp on that negative feeling. But it was as if it didn't want her to grasp it.

Like a human teasing a dog, the feeling kept getting pulled back every time she tried to grab it.

"Emi."

A voice spoke. A voice that she recognized and yet, not able to remember where… or from whom. Deciding to ignore it, she went back to her mission at hand and tried to make a grab for it again.

"Emi, it is time to come back."

Again. The voice called out to her again. Turning away from the feeling, she couldn't help but frown when she could feel it poking at her mind. Growling, she waited patiently until it poked her again. When it did, she quickly tried to snatch it. But like water, it flowed away from her. She growled frustratedly when it got away from her.

"Emi!"

The voice was so strong that the astral world around started to disappear as she was brought out of it and back into her body. Quickly opening her eyes, she blinked a couple of times when she saw that her sight has become quite blurry.

Once she was able to regain her sight back, she looked up at her adopted father, who was looking down at her in concern next to her. Rubbing her eye, she asked, "You called for me, Father?"

He put a hand on her shoulder, "Emi, I have been calling for you many times now. Did something happened in your meditation that you did not come back from my first call?"

Frowning, she looked down at her hands, "I… I don't know."

"You do not know. Or you can not explain?"

Pursing her lips, she looks back up at him, "It's just… while I was in deep meditation, there was this feeling."

Intrigued, he let her continue as he quietly sat and listened.

"When I was meditating, all I felt was peace around me. A serenity like when our family is together. It was so warm and relaxing that I just merely let myself float while I basked in that warmth. Until…"

"Until?"

Frowning, she looks back down at her hands, "There was this… feeling. A negative feeling. This feeling just kept on poking me in my mind, taunting me, as if it's trying to tell me something. And yet, every time when I tried to grab a hold of it, it just keeps slipping away. And then, just when I thought I finally got a hold of it, it slipped away from me like water."

Humming, Splinter started running a hand on his goatee as he thought about her experience.

She looks up at him, worry making its appearance in her eyes, "Father. I don't know what it is. But I think something bad is going to happen. It may not be now, but I think that negative feeling is trying to tell me that it will happen soon."

Knowing exactly how she feels, he put a hand on her shoulder, "You may be right about it, Emi. But right now, do not let that feeling bother you or else you will let fear blind you from helping your brothers. It is like you said, whatever that feeling is trying to tell you is not now. So do not let it dwell on your mind."

Thinking about his words, she nodded, "Hai, Father."

The silence between them was then cut when they heard the boy's voices, letting them know that they were home. But instead of shouting of excitement and a job well done, there were shouts of anger. Looking at each other, both father and daughter got up from their sitting position and calmly walked out of the dojo and into the living area.

There, they saw Leo shouting at an angry Raph, "If you had listened to me and actually stopped messing with Mikey, we wouldn't have failed on our mission!"

"Hey, don't you dare put this on me!"

"Oh, I can't? 'Cuz I know that I certainly can! I mean, if you had listened to me when I said to go, we wouldn't even be in this mess!"

"He called us Ham Shanks! I couldn't let that go!"

"You don't even know what that means!"

When the father and daughter noticed that the shouting was getting them nowhere, Splinter decided to stop their argument by slamming his cane down, "Enough!"

His booming voice immediately stopped the two brothers shouting as they all turned to look at him. Splinter narrowed his eyes down at them, "What has happened on your mission?"

Looking at one another, they all sat in front of him and Emi, sitting side-by-side as Leo explained what happened. When he finished, Emi sighed. She knew that Raphael had a tempered problem but she didn't know that it was that bad where he couldn't just let it go.

Then again, she was one to talk when it came to her and her anger. She focused back at the situation at hand when their father spoke as he paced in front of the boys, "Not only did Raphael alert the Kraang, but you got caught… on video." He looked straight at the turtle at fault when he said the last part.

Defending himself, Raph looked up at him, "Sensei, he was the angriest, nastiest guy you ever met."

Mikey leaned next to him, smiling, "Except for you." That earned him a punch on the head by the hot-tempered turtle.

"Ow!"

Emi shook her head at their baby brother as he rubs his head while Raph continues, "You should have heard the insults this guy was throwing at us. They were so… insulting!"

Disappointed and angry, Splinter replied, "Oh, I did not realize he said mean things. Of course, you had no choice but to jeopardize your mission."

"Burn~," Mikey said teasingly, angering Raph even more.

Ignoring the orange terrapin, Splinter continues as he paces in front of them, "You are ninjas. You work in the shadows, in secret. This becomes difficult if there is proof of your existence in high-definition."

"Look, we know where this guy lives. All we need to do is find him and shake him until the tape pops out," Raph suggested.

"Oh, there's no tape. Video phones use flash memory-" Donnie started until he stopped when he saw the angry look on Raph's face.

Seeing this, Splinter warned him, "Anger is self-destructive."

Not looking at him, Raph replied, "I always thought it was others-destructive."

He flinched when Master Splinter shouted, "Raphael! Stand up."

Doing as he said, he stood up from where he sat. He glared down at his baby brother when he started to tease him, "Somebody's in trouble~"

Sighing, Emi gestured for them all to follow, "Dojo. All of you."

They looked up at their father, seeing him nod in confirmation, and started to stand and follow her. Once they stepped inside, they all saw her going over to the weapon racks where the bows were and grabbed three of them. She had also grabbed the Petron arrows, non-lethal that has plungers instead of arrowheads, and started to hand them to Leo, Donnie, and Mikey.

Splinter nodded at her in appreciation as he ordered the boys, "Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, take position."

Understanding what he wants them to do, they nodded and started to stand farther away from each other. Splinter than looks down at Raph, "Raphael, center position."

Doing as he said, he walked into the center of the three as they propped the Petron arrows on their bows and took aim. Once he saw that they were all in position, Splinter ordered the red terrapin, "Evade the arrows."

Seeing that that was all he has to do, he smirks, "No problem."

"Hajime!"

While the boys started to fire their arrows, Emi went to stand next to their father as she calmly evaded the arrows. They watch Raph dodging each and every one of them flawlessly. When he dodged the last arrow by Donatello, the arrow flew itself straight towards Splinter's face, resulting in him catching it in his hand.

"Ya Me!"

They stopped at his command, waiting for his next order.

"Again, except this time, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo insult Raphael."

Emi mentally grimaced, knowing that Raph won't be able to handle the insults too well.

"Wait. Insult him?" Donatello asked, pointing at the hot-tempered turtle with an arrow.

"Yes," Splinter replied.

"And he can't fight back?"

"No."

Laughing, Donnie grinned with his brothers, "I'm feeling good about this plan."

Once he was done, Splinter made them began, "Hajime!"

Taking aim, Mikey started to chuckle, being the first to insult him, "You move like a bloated buffalo."

Raph dodged his arrow by windmilling down on the ground before standing back up on the defense, shouting, "I do not!"

"And you're always whining. "Poor me. Nobody understands me," Leo insulted next.

Emi mentally sighed at Leo's words as Raph replied, "Well, you don't understa-" He was interrupted when he got struck by Leo's arrow.

"Gah!"

"And… Oh! You don't keep your back straight when doing Omote Kote Gyaku," Donnie said after. When his arrow hit him, he quickly said after, "And you're ugly!"

"And gassy!" Mikey added, laughing.

"Stop it!"

"Oh, you talk so tough, but inside, you're just a scared little baby," said Leo, releasing an arrow.

"Who needs his bottle?" Donnie taunted.

"And his diaper changed?"

"What's the matter, Raph? Gonna cry?"

"I am-Ooh-Not gonna cry!"

They all stopped firing when Raph fell from being shot in the face by an arrow. Sighing in bliss, Mikey spoke, "I wish this moment could last forever."

Getting up from the floor, Raph angrily threw his sais down, "You know what? Forget this. This is stupid."

Mikey groaned, "Agh! It didn't." He took a step back when he thought Raph was going to hurt him when he saw him turn. Instead, he went to stand in front of their Sensei.

Looking down at him, Splinter spoke, "Ninniku Seishin is the ability to endure insults with patience and humility. You cannot be a true ninja until you master it."

Mikey started laughing at him, which earned him silent growling anger from Raph. He stopped when Splinter demand questioned him, "Understood?"

Looking down at his clenched fist, Raph let his silent anger go as he responded back to him, "Hai sensei."

"You must get that video back, Using reason, not force."

He silently nodded at their father's words. Seeing his son understanding, he dismissed them all, "For now, you all need to rest. Goodnight."

They all bowed and replied their own goodnights as they watched their father walked into his room to rest. Once he has gone into his room, Emi turned to the boys and started to gather the bows from them before plucking the arrows off from Raph.

When she was done, the brothers left the dojo to go to their room for the night. Putting the bows and arrows back on the weapon racks, Emi had put them back to the way how they were before.

Turning to leave the dojo, she stopped when she saw that not all of the brothers have left. Leo had stayed behind when she was putting the stuff away. Walking up to him, she softly asked, "Is there something you needed, Leo?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, he frowned, "Do you think… If you had gone with us tonight. That none of this would've happened?"

She shook her head, "Whether if I had gone or not. I don't think it would've changed anything."

"Really? I mean… You're really great at calming down Raph. If you had been there, maybe he could have ignored the guy, we could have done the mission well, and not have been caught on video."

Understanding that he was stressed, she walked closer to him. Putting a hand on his cheek, she made him look at her, "Leo, even if I was there. Nothing would've changed. You said that the man came up to the roof because Raph and Mikey accidentally broke his satellite dish. Well, if I had been there, I wouldn't be able to do anything.

"Raph only calms down because I understand him. But with what you had explained about what happened on the mission, the man insulting you all and Raph. There would have been nothing I could've done. Raph would still go on a rampage and tried to do the man's face in no matter what."

Sighing, he put a hand over hers, "I guess you're right… I'm sorry."

She smiled, "You're forgiven."

Returning her smile, he gently squeezed her hand, "We should probably head to bed."

She nodded, "We should."

Taking her hand in his, he started to walk them to their rooms. Arriving in front of Emi's room, he watched as she opened her door and enter it. He thought she was going to close it behind her so he started to go towards his room, which was next door until he felt a hand on his.

Looking back, he saw Emi smiling up at him, "I'm glad you and the others are alright, Leo. Goodnight." She gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek before entering her room, closing the door behind her.

Frozen on his spot, Leo slowly brought a hand up to the spot that she kissed on. His heart had stopped beating a minute when he had felt her soft lips make contact on his skin. He didn't know what his face looked like right now but he can guess that a goofy smile had plastered itself on it. Giggling, he quietly fist pumped and started jumping, still in front of the girl's bedroom door.

"Why are you jumping up and down with a weird look on your face?"

He instantly stopped at the voice and quickly turned to look at the source that belonged to it. He froze stiff still when he saw that it was none other than Donatello. Quickly composing himself, Leo awkwardly coughed into his fist, "Donnie~ I thought you were in your room… asleep."

"I would be if I didn't have to go and get something from my lab," he replied. He then raises an eyebrow, "So… You going to tell me what you were doing earlier while standing in front of Emi's door?"

Standing stiffly still, Leo faked a yawn as he stretches his arms above his head, "Oh, would you look at the time." Quickly opening his bedroom door, he smiles brightly at his younger brother, "It's late. So I bid you goodnight and sweet dreams. Night!" He then slams the door closed, locking it.

Blinking, Donnie raised an eyebrow as he kept staring at his elder brother's bedroom door, "Okay…"

~Next day~

The day was the usual routine with the Hamato Family. Breakfast, training, do whatever they want, train again in the afternoon, do whatever they want again, and then when night comes, patrol.

Throughout the entire day, the lesson that Master Splinter had given to Raph last night had not once left his mind. Which made him brood about it the entire day.

The siblings have also noticed and decided not to bother him in case he might blow up on them. So when they left for patrol tonight, the terrapin brothers were cautious of their ticking time bomb.

Emi had not gone with them again. Which sadden Leo but he pushed that aside and decided to focus on their purpose at hand.

When they had left, Emi had decided to go back to meditate to grasp onto the feeling that she had felt last night. Walking into the dojo, she sat under the tree and started to close her eyes. Clearing her mind of all thoughts, she was about to meditate herself back into the astral world until Splinter broke her concentration, "I see you are meditating again."

Opening her eyes, she looks up at him and smiles, "It's the one thing I love when calming one's mind."

Chuckling, he sat next to her, "That is true." Before she could go back to her meditation, he asked, "You are not doing this because of that negative feeling, are you?"

Not like lying to him, she sighs, "It is because of that."

"Emi. I had told you-"

"I know. But I feel as if, if I don't try to at least figure out what it's trying to tell me, it would keep on bothering me in the back of my mind."

Sighing, he put a hand on her head, making her look up at him, "Whether if it is or not. It will not do you well if you keep on dwelling on this."

Knowing that he was right, she sighed, "Hai, Father."

Smiling at her understanding, their attention was soon grabbed when they heard a grumbling Raph returning quite too soon from their mission. Looking at the entrance of the dojo, she could hear the red terrapin's growls and grumbling.

She softly spoke, "I don't think the mission went well."

Splinter sighed, "It would seem you are correct."

Getting up from the floor, they exited the dojo, hearing Raph complain in the kitchen. Knowing exactly who he was ranting to, the two look at each other before walking towards the kitchen. When they got there, they could hear him complain loud and clear.

"Who does Leo think he is? So what if I got a temper? I'm still the best fighter we've got. In fact if anything my anger makes me a better fighter. You understand me, don't you, Spike? Chew on your leaf if you understand me."

Emi raised an eyebrow at his small and simple request from the pet turtle as it did as he asked.

"Yeah, I thought so."

"I understand you too," Splinter announced himself, scaring Raph.

Emi giggled as she walked into the kitchen behind their father. She stood next to him while Raph replied, "Seriously, you gotta knock or something."

Splinter ignored him as he continues, "Raphael, let me tell you a story."

"Sensei, I'm not in the mood for a story."

Turning away from him, their father asked the red terrapin's pet turtle instead, "Spike, chew on your leaf if you are in the mood for a story."

Emi couldn't help but giggle when the little pet turtle did as he asked.

"Very well." He then started, "When I was a young man, I fell in love with a woman."

Not wanting to listen to his story, Raph got up and quickly tried to make an excuse, "Oh, hey. Is it that late?"

"Sit."

Emi laughed when her brother wasn't able to escape their father's lecture. Sighing, Raph sat back on his chair as Splinter continues, "Her name was Tang Shen and I was not the only one who loved her. There was another man competing for her attention-Oroku Saki."

Knowing exactly who he was talking about, Raph quietly spoke, "Shredder."

"One day, he insulted me in front of her. He called me many things. I felt I could not let those insults go unanswered. So I lost my temper. And over time, our rivalry festered into hatred… until Shredder sought to finish me… and I lost my beloved Tang Shen."

Emi could tell that re-telling this story over again, still hurt him to this day as he turns away from his son. She looks back at Raph when he spoke, "But-But it wasn't your fault. Shredder insulted you. You had no choice."

She mentally shook her head when he had said the wrong words.

"No choice?" Splinter spoke, looking back at him. "I could have chosen to ignore him. I could have chosen to let his words wash over me… like a river over stone. But I let him anger me. It was I who made his words into weapons."

Walking up to his son, Splinter looks down at him, putting a hand on his shoulder, "That's the choice I made. What choice will you make."

Once their father left the kitchen, Emi watched Raph sit back in his seat, watching as Spike continues eating his lettuce. Seeing as how he was lost, she went to sit next to him.

It was silent between the two of them until Raph spoke up, "I know I shouldn't have let his insults get to me. But I just can't help it. My temper… it just gets to me, ya' know?"

"That may be true, Raph. But out of all of our brothers… your temper is what keeps us together sometimes," she softly replied.

He gave her a skeptical look, "What? How?"

Humming, she looks at him, "Well, let's see. Your anger tends to cause a lot of problems because once you lose it, you won't listen to any one of us if we tried to either speak or reason with you."

He narrows his eyes at her, "That's not really-"

"Your irritation of others calling you names, like yesterday, causes pain for no one understanding how you feel," she continues, interrupting him.

"Em, I don't think-"

"But it's because of these two temper problems of yours, is what makes you, you Raph," she finishes.

He didn't respond as he was confused by what she meant. And it would seem she understood his confusion by her words as she put a hand over his, "Raph. Your anger is what defines you as intelligence is to Donnie, an open mind is to Leo, and a childish yet kind and understanding is to Mikey.

"It's also thanks to your temper, that it made you into a very strong and protective brother today. The others may not see it, but as I was growing up with you all, I've noticed how you would be the one who trained the hardest. The one who tries to become strong not just to beat our brothers in training, but also to protect us when there is a situation that will put our lives in danger. So if anything Raph, instead of using the words that the man or anyone else insults you with to fuel your anger and blind you from the danger that will hurt you, use it to strengthen yourself. Make yourself stronger with that anger without losing sight of your enemies that are in front of you."

It was quiet between the two until Raph groaned, "Man, can't believe I just got taught a lesson by my own little sister."

She smiled, "Your welcome!"

Laughing, he ruffled her hair, gaining a pout from her, "That wasn't a compliment Em."

Getting a tongue stuck out at him was his only response back from the girl. Smiling, he got up from his seat and started to leave the kitchen. Emi following close behind.

When they were near the entrance, she spoke, "So, going back to help our brothers?"

Before he could jump over the turnstiles, he looks over at her, "Well you know them. They won't be able to take care of themselves without me."

She giggles, "True." Looking at him, she smiled, "Good luck and be careful out there, Raph."

Returning the smile, he gave her a thumbs up before exiting the lair.

When she couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, Emi was about to turn to watch a little Space Heroes while waiting for the boys return until she saw Splinter by the tire swing. She jumped when she saw him, her heart beating a mile a minute. Putting a hand over her startled heart, she took deep calming breaths to calm it down.

As she was doing that, she looks over at him, "Geez Father, Raph is right. You really do got to knock or something. You could literally scare someone to death like that."

He chuckles, "Apologies my dear."

Shaking her head, she walked over to the couch and sat. Splinter walked over and went to sit next to her, "What you had said to Raphael… was something I couldn't have said better myself."

Looking up at him, she smiles, "Thank you, Father. But what I told him was merely the truth. He pretty much reminded me of myself when I was younger before I met any of you."

He hummed, "I remember you telling me. A year before you came to our world I believe."

She nodded, "That's right."

"And so you believe turning his anger into strength will make him become stronger?"

"It will. As long as he is not blinded," she replied. "It's like you said, a river over stone."

It was quiet between them until Splinter stood up, "I will be meditating until the boy's get home. Would you like to join me, my dear?"

She shook her head, "Thank you for the offer, Father. But I think I would do something else. It's like you said, it's best to not dwell on it, remember?"

Proud of her maturity and understanding, he nodded with a smile, "Yes. Well then, I will let you be, Emi."

Nodding, she watched as he left her alone to go back into the dojo. Turning to the television, she grabbed the remote and started watching the Space Heroes marathon that was going on right now. Making Emi giggle that Leo was missing his all-time favorite marathon show.

~Time skip~

A few hours passed after Raph had gone to help their brothers. It was already midnight, close to one in the morning when they had all return. Hearing their shouts and laughter, Emi turned off the tv that was showing the end credits to the show and stood up when she saw them all enter the lair.

She smiled warmly at them, "Welcome home you guys."

They all looked to her and smile, saying their own 'We're home'. Mikey, on the other hand, had run towards her, falling on his knees as he hugged her, burying his head in her stomach, "Emi!"

She gasped at the sudden impact as she hugged the young terrapin back, "Mikey? Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, "No. Just miss you." He then looks up at her, "You're coming with us on all our missions from now on! It's no fun without you!"

Looking deep into the orange terrapin's eyes, she raised an eyebrow, "You called Raph a bloated buffalo didn't you?"

He gasped, "How'd you know?!"

She poked his forehead, "Because I'm psychic. That's why."

Gasping, he stood up, looking at her in amazement, "Does that mean you can read my mind? Can you? Oh! Tell me what I'm thinking right now!"

"You want to beat your video game while starving for some pizza."

He gasped before throwing an arm over her shoulder, hugging her to him, "Guys! Emi's psychic! She totally read my mind!"

The three shook their heads at their gullible baby brother. Once they all settle themselves down on the couches, Emi had them tell her how their mission had gone and after that, they all just started to chat about anything mostly after.

Remembering what happened last night, Donnie had decided to bring it up, "Hey Leo. Are you ever going to tell me what you were doing last night?"

His question caught the other siblings attention and curiosity as they looked at the two. Leo, knowing full well what the brainiac was asking, started to become nervous and embarrassed, "Uh- I… don't know what you mean, Donnie."

"Of course you do. If you didn't, you wouldn't be so nervous."

Intrigued, Raph asked, "What he do, Don?"

Before Leo could stop him, Donnie was already relaying what happened last night, which made the red terrapin bust out laughing really hard. Clutching his stomach, Raph slapped his knee while he talks through his laughter, "Oh-Oh man. I can't-can't believe I missed that! Man, I wish I could've-could've seen it with my own eyes!"

Emi and Mikey, along with Donnie, were totally confused what was going on while Leo's face was beet red in embarrassment. As Raph's laughter could be heard throughout the lair, they didn't notice Splinter had come out from the dojo and is now standing behind them.

They all jumped when he spoke, "It is late. All five of you need to rest. You may continue whatever it is you are all talking about tomorrow."

Nodding to him, they all said "Hai, Sensei" before starting to walk to their respective rooms. When the three younger siblings had gone into their bedroom, closing their doors behind them, Raph, who was still laughing, grabbed a hold of Leo's shoulder.

The blue leader was still embarrassed that Donnie had told their siblings, especially in front of Emi. And listening to Raph's laughing at what he did didn't help with his embarrassment.

A good minute passed until the laughing brother finally stopped, trying to catch his breath as he turns to the blue leader, "I can't believe you actually did that in front of Emi's door. And to actually get caught looking stupid by Donnie."

Grumbling, Leo glares at him, "Yeah, well. You would be too if the girl you like kissed you."

Raph stopped laughing when he heard that. Looking at his brother he asked, "Wait. Hold up. She kiss you? Like literally kissed you or…"

Looking away from him, Leo mumbled, Raph not quite catching any of that.

"What did you say?"

Sighing, Leo spoke a little louder to get the embarrassment done and over with, "She kissed my cheek."

His answer made the red terrapin bust out laughing again, "No way! You jumped in excitement with a stupid face because of that?!"

Cheeks a bit red, Leo glares at him, "Alright. Enough Raph. I'm glad that you're having your fun laughing at me."

Heaving as he tried to catch his breath, Raph stood up straight and put a hand on his shoulder, "Okay. I'm done." He then shrugs and smirks, "And hey, your reaction might not be as stupid if Donnie were to ever get kissed on the cheek by April."

Before Leo could reply, Emi opened her bedroom door, sticking her head out to look at them, "The two of you should really get to sleep. If Father finds out that you guys are really tired tomorrow, you both are going to get the Randori."

They both mentally grimaced when she mentioned the Randori and nodded to her, "Alright, Emi. Night."

She smiles at them, "Night. Sweet dreams to the both of you." With that, she closes her door with a click.

Looking at Leo, Raph smirked, "So, you mind reenacting what you did last night in front of Emi's door?"

Glaring at him, Leo shrugs his hand off his shoulder as he walked into his bedroom, "No. I won't so goodnight, Raph." His door clicking closed behind him.

Raph chuckled to himself before going into his bedroom, "Man, revenge for the insults is sweet. Wonder how I'm going to get Donnie next."

Not great. But meh-

BYES~!