Smoke.

Gun fire.

Blood.

Screams.

Metal.

And then I was back.

The moment I saw the man's face flicker past my vision I almost tapped out, but I knew that Raphael was right, and there was noway I was going to back out in front of him. So I numbed it all out; the feeling, the taste, the smell, the sound. I only saw. And despite the entire memory flickering in and out of focus continuously, it was as shockingly clear as water after a rainstorm.

I saw him stride toward me achingly slow. I saw myself try to shuffle away with my wounded legs. I saw him draw a katana from a sheath at his side, and drag it across the tips of the bloody, matted grass. He pressed the blade against my cheek, drawing blood there first. It was only when I threw an arm up to defend myself did he hack off my hand. He grinned maliciously, relishing in my pain. His blade proceeded to cut across my entire body, causing my blood to run like a scarlet flood through the grass.

Then it all became hazy, and it disappeared. But it wasn't over.

I watched it replay over and over again until it was easy; until I gave no emotional reaction. Then, my hold on the memory slipped. I lost control and and spiralled into another memory. I tried to shake myself from it's grip, but I was already in too deep.

I was sparring weaponless.

It was all so fast and silent that I almost didn't know what I was doing. Dodging and parrying; striking and kicking; ducking and sidestepping. It was a deadly dance of grace and silence.

My opponent appeared suddenly at my side and spoke to me.

"Raiya? Are you-" I gasped and reacted without a thought, slamming my elbow toward him. He yelled and held his face, shooting me an annoyed glare.

And I was back on the roof. Instead of an angry Japanese man, there was a turtle mutant glaring a death wish upon me.

"The hell was that for?" Raph demanded, holding his jaw. I put a hand over my mouth in an attempt to stop myself from laughing,

"Oh my god I'm sorry," I managed, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he mumbled, eyes narrowed. I let my laughter escape me in a sudden rush, unable to hold it back.

"...I really didn't mean to," I said, once my laughter had subsided, "I got dragged into a different memory where I was sparring and he appeared beside me so I elbowed his face but it was you, I'm sorry," I snickered again, "but I did it. I relived the memory and now I'm not afraid." My mood must have infected Raph because the glare was lifted from his face and he quirked a non-existent eyebrow at me, waiting. I smiled, knowing what he wanted.

"You were right. Thank you." I picked up the wooden figure resting at his side. "Now are you gonna tell me what this is?" Raphael grinned and plucked it from my hand.

"No, I'm gonna show you." He slipped his butterfly knife from his shoulder strap and flipped the blade out. He fiddled with the wooden statue, turning it over and around in his hands before settling on a position. Raph pulled one leg up and rested an arm on it to keep his carving hand steady, then started chipping small pieces off, swiftly creating a more defined shape to it.

I yawned and watched in interest, hugging my hoodie close to me.

"Is it like carving a pumpkin?" I asked. His knife stopped moving in surprise and he looked over at me, confused.

"Why the hell would anyone ever carve a pumpkin?" My eyes widened before I remembered that they probably never celebrated Halloween.

"Jeez, I keep forgetting you guys literally live under a rock. Okay, so people always carve faces and stuff on pumpkins for Halloween, which is in October, and I gave up on it like five years ago because I swear it's the hardest shit in the world. But you'd probably be good at it." He didn't reply, just kept carving.

Schick...

Raphael's talent was evident. The steadiness of his hands must've developed through wielding his sai. It was amazing how effortlessly he turned the bland block of wood into a work of art.

Schick...

Thin slices fluttered from the figure, curling like paper at the edges.

Schick...

He was completely at ease, the most content I'd ever seen him.

Schick...

Schick...

I yawned again, my eyes feeling heavy.

"Raph?" I murmured. He spoke softly, taking note of my drowsiness with amusement.

"What?" He turned the wooden figure in his hand to shape a different part of it. I shifted against the wall, extremely aware of the soreness built up in my back and shoulders.

Schick...

"I like it better when you're not a jerk." Through my hazy vision I saw his knife jerk to a stop. I smiled to myself, that was the last thing he expected to hear. The steady, calming sounds of the blade cutting away at the wood continued after a moment, creating an oddly relaxing lullaby.

Schick...

Schick...

Schick...

Schick...

I shifted again, curling up by his side and resting my head on his shoulder; exchanging the rock-hard walls for the warmth and comfort of the turtle instead. Courtesy of my exhaustion, I barely considered how he would react before I acted. Luckily, I only felt the muscles tense beneath his skin and the pause in his rhythm.

"Am I messing you up?" I asked, concerned for the safety of the potentially wonderful statue he was creating.

"No," he said in a soft, reassuring voice I would never have known he was capable of.

Schick...

I moved closer to him gratefully, knowing now that he was fine with it. I stifled a yawn.

"Good, you're a good pillow."

Schick...

Schick...

I watched for as long as I managed to keep my eyes open, but the second they fluttered shut, I was out like a light.

••• 影の秘密 •••

It only took a few moments for me to remember last night after waking up in my bed.

Raph must've brought me inside after I literally fell asleep on him. I groaned, falling back into my pillows and rubbing my face as I remembered acting like a drunken idiot purely from exhaustion.

You are so stupid. I rolled out of my bed, finding the hoodie I wore last night at the foot of my bed. I groaned, again.

Oh that's great, Raph also decided to undress me. I pulled it on over the purple camisole I wore and trudged over to my desk tiredly, flipping open my laptop. I found an unread email sitting in my inbox and I cursed.

The zoo. Olivia's going to murder me. I scrambled to read it, smiling when I read their positive comments about my resume but when I realized the date they set for an interview was in an hour, I started panicking. I cursed again and flew around my room, trying to find decent clothes to wear.

"Goddamnit why do I have no nice clothes!?" I cried, "what the hell do you wear to an interview at the god damn zoo anyways!? A bunny suit!?" A tap at my window made me jump and almost scream. He stood outside, watching me rush around in amusement. I growled and ran over to throw it open.

"Could you at least try not to be a ninja for five seconds?" Raphael raised a brow at my attitude.

"Good morning to you too, Sunshine. Or more like good afternoon." I quickly returned to digging through my closet's contents.

"The hell is going on in here anyways?"

"I have an interview for a job at the zoo in like forty-five minutes and I don't know what the hell to wear," I said, "I don't suppose you can help?" I poked my head out of my closet to see him now standing inside my room, surveying the disaster I was currently creating. His silence answered my question and confirmed my thoughts. Despite that, I still held clothes up for him to see and tossed them aside after considering his opinion.

"It looks like a hurricane tore through here," he muttered. I ignored the comment and held up a white Devocean t-shirt.

"What's up with the tribal turtle?" He asked. I rolled my eyes.

"This company donates a bunch of it's profits to Sea Turtle conservation."

"Oh well put that on then. Good enough." I nodded and closed the closet door to change, pairing it with black leggings and a Devocean cap. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and rushed to cover any acne that appeared overnight.

"Bye! Thanks for the help!" I called dashing from my room, "I have no idea when I'll be back!"

AN: How are you guys liking the ancestral memory things? Cool, huh? I didn't want to spend forever writing out five years of Raiya's relationship with the turtles before even getting to the part where she becomes a legit kunoichi, so I figured this memory thing could speed it up by a few years.

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