"You really think you can stop me, Raph? Go ahead, then. Try." The last word ended in a languid purr as Leo gracefully rolled to his feet, and waited.
Raphael exhaled, shut his eyes, and dredged up every trembling bit of resolve he could. The best he could do was grind out, "You ain't acting like you right now, Leo, so I'm gonna let that go. What the hell is going on?"
Leo only sneered, "Hell."
The word lingered in the dojo, like the ache after the hit.
Raphael had no warning of the fist being slammed into his jaw, other than the hiss of air, and Leo's blindingly fast strike.
Numb with pain and shock, Raphael would have toppled if his shell hadn't collided with the wall.
Agony seared through his jaw bone. Raphael grit his teeth and raised a shaking palm to the bloodied chin, and split lip.
He raised a palm full of scarlett to his bewildered eyes, and ran shaking fingers over his face. Thank God, his jaw hadn't been broken.
Rage, safe and searing, flooded through his veins, and severed the torpor. Growling, Raphael heaved himself up from the wall by his elbows.
He pivoted towards the odd scrape of sound at his left, before aiming the kick towards Leo's skull.
His toes brushed skin, the hard edge of shell as the mocking laugher burbled up. Leo dodged, twisting out of his reach.
Leo shoved one hand to the ground, put his heels to the bricks, and launched himself off the wall.
Raphael toppled as Leo slammed into him like a cannon ball.
Sprawled, and stunned, Raphael shuddered at the sensation of skin on skin. He felt his splayed fingers twitching against the dojo mat.
Raphael hissed at the realization that Leo had knocked him to the floor. Damn.
A heavy weight on his plastron, and the flesh of his elbows was being driven into his bones-
What the hell?
Raphael's eyes shot open to see Leo smirking down at him as he shifted on his plastron. Leo had pinned Raphael's arms to the floor with his knees.
Raphael struggled to wrench himself free, as Leo watched him in wry amusement.
"Get the hell off of me! What the f-"
The explicit was choked back by the jab of metal against his throat, and the stinging trickle of his own blood.
Raphael shuddered at the flicker of the candlelight against the sai that Leo held inches from his jaw.
My weapon, Raphael thought dully. My brother's going to kill me with my own weapon.
"I warned you." Leo's voice was only a sliver of breath between his rigged jaws. Leo softly chuckled, and dabbed a finger at the thin red line of blood spilling over Raph's shoulder.
Raphael trembled as the sai ghosted over his throat, carving out a shallow wound, as Leo tilted his head and smiled.
"Come on, Raph. You wanted to fight. So fight, already."
Leo relished the flicker of terror in Raphael's eyes, before his lips twisted. Raphael shut his eyes for a moment, forced his breath to slow.
"You got me pinned with my own weapon an inch away from killin' me, Leo. It ain't like I got options."
Leo's mouth quirked, as he arched one eyebrow. "I have one for you. Beg."
Raphael swallowed hard, disbelieving. "What?"
Leo's voice hardened as he jabbed the sai under Raphael's chin. "You heard me, Raphael. Beg for your life. Give me a reason not to kill you."
Raphael winced and flinched away from the stinging pain and the hot, wet red now dribbling from yet another cut.
Eyes narrowing, Leo tensed, waiting. Raphael didn't trouble himself with words Instead, he spat in Leo's face.
Leo grunted in shock and disgust. Raphael lurched upward, trying to fling Leo off, and roll away.
Leo let go of his arm in shock,and Raphael balled his fingers together, and swung. He had expected to hear the skull splitting groan, to feel Leo's head breaking over his knuckles. He never, never expected to miss.
Had the strike connected, Raphael would have scrambled to his feet and out of the humilating sprawl. Leo scooted backwards, latched his fingers like shackles over Raphael's wrist, mid-swing.
Smiling, Leo bent his arm back until the bones nearly snapped. Raphael grimaced, and tried to wrench himself free.
Leo abruptly let go of his arm with a sharp, broken breath.
The sai glittered like a star falling to the earth.
Leo hissed through gritted teeth, raised the sai, and drove it downward into Raphael's wrist.
Raphael recoiled from the searing, blinding pain, the fiery ache that kept leeching up from his bones and tendons. His fingers twitched in the growing scarlet pool like dying spiders, as he twisted his face to see the damage. No broken bones, as he flexed his wrist and fingers in agony.
Instinctively, Raphael tried to yank the limb free, only to nearly scream at the burning hurt.
Leo had stabbed him so hard that the sai had been driven through the floor. His hand had been impaled, and he couldn't move it. Raphael masked everything but the small grunt he couldn't keep back. It was as loud and revealing as a wailing cry.
Leo chuckled darkly at his agony, as he only troubled himself to sneer, "Now you're pinned with your own weapon, Raph. Still don't want to beg?"
Raphael shook his head, curtly with a glare. Silence. Only that frozen silence, as his arm grew warm and sticky from the blood burbling from his shattered wrist.
Leo narrowed his eyes, clearly displeased, as he grabbed the hilt, and shoved it downward. Raphael only rewarded him with a shaking breath and a shudder.