I do not own the TMNT; however, I plan to start negotiating for their license just as soon as Peter and his people acknowledge my existence.

Chapter Six; Snap

Claws scraped on brick. At the sound Kit forced herself to take several deep breaths until her claws retracted. She wouldn't lose her temper. Not even if she was stuck with Raph and he insisted on being a complete jerk!

"What's takin' you so long? I thought the point of splittin' up the team like this was to go faster." Kit knew Raph's comments shouldn't be getting to her, she was more than up to her usual standard. But they were, and if he didn't back off soon Kit wouldn't be liable for her actions.

Just up ahead, Raphael turned and shot off another taunt. He could see how angry she was, her neck fur had fluffed out some and her entire demeanor was similar to when she was in battle. Kit would only be able to hold it in for a little longer and Raph was determined to make sure nobody else was around when she completely lost it.

They came up to one of the wider alleys on their route. It was a difficult jump made all the worse by the fact that it was a story higher than the roof they currently ran across. Raphael scaled a rooftop access and made the jump with no room to spare. Kit was right behind him, but after making the leap she fell just short and hit the ledge of the roof with her gut. Gravity drug her down and tried to pull her to the ground six floors down. Kit caught the other side of the ledge and started to climb up using the claws on her feet for extra torque.

When Raphael noticed she had fallen behind he quickly spun around and raced back to her. He tried to help her up but she actually growled at him. Taking the hint he stepped back until she swung her legs over the ledge and stood up. Her eyes narrowed till they were nearly slits as she beat dust and gravel off of her front. By Raph's guess she had had enough, so he went for the last straw.

"Pathetic, how long have you been doing this and you can't handle a simple jump?"

That did it. Her eyes shot open with shock, the white reflection they gave off at night practically glowed as shock settled into anger, anger to burn.

"What is your problem, Raph?" Kit snapped, her sharp teeth flashing into view.

"I don't got no problem, you just suck." Raph stepped forward, getting in her face.

"Back off Raph. Believe me, I'd love to beat the tar out of you right now, so just back off!" Kit stepped back but Raph followed her.

"Like you could. What are you going to do, Karate Kit, scratch me to death?"

"Whatever, okay Raph? Just back off." Kit stepped back, but she was getting close to the ledge again.

"What wrong Kit? Can't handle a little pressure? How 'bout you find a corner and just go cry?"

That did it. Raph watched Kit's eyes focus and they shifted but he still wasn't completely ready for the kick to his side. It was partially deflected by the ridge of his carapace but there was still enough force behind it to sting. An instant later Raph dodged Kit's spin kick and a punch. The momentum from her punch was smoothly shifted into another kick, this one clipped Raph's shoulder and forced him to step back, another punch and another kick. At some point Raph caught her fist in mid-punch. His own hand tingled with pain but Kit didn't even slow as she threw her body into a spin and her heel connected solidly with the softer tissues between his plastron and carapace. Raph stumbled and Kit dropped into a simple round off, her weight pulling her fist free from his grasp. Back on her feet again, Kit launched into another series of kicks and punches, many missed but still more connected. Finally, after two rapid-fire direct hits to his plastron Kit dropped down and swept his feet out from under him. Before he could regain his feet Kit was on his chest with one arm drawn back for a finishing blow.

"Stop it!" She shouted.

"Stop what!" Raph shouted back.

"Stop going easy on me! You're not even trying to fight back! You know I hate it when you do that!" Kit stood up and stepped back, her glare never letting up for a minute. Raph rolled off of his shell and got his feet back under him. "What is wrong with you? First you're on my case all day for being some kind of failure at life and then you go and let me blow up at you! Is your shell riding up your butt or something? What is it?" When she was done yelling Kit stood there trying to catch her breath and waited for some kind of response from him that would explain his idiocy.

Instead, he smirked. "You know, you cuss when you get angry enough."

"Huh?" Kit stared at him for a minute, then frowned, "I do not!"

"Yeah, not in English but yeah, you do."

Kit snorted, her expression cracked a little and a small smirk appeared. "I do not!"

Raph reached over and tousled her ears a bit before turning. "Come on, Leo will never let me hear the end of it if we keep him waiting." Kit shook her head again before following him across the roof. He looked back over his shoulder and called, "And, yeah, you do."

"Keep it up; I'll kick your shell for real this time!"

…

Leo and Mikey arrived at the meeting point only moments before Raph and Kit did. Kit was still quiet, but it was plain to Leo that she had relaxed some. Although Mikey still didn't say anything to her, he seemed to sense less tension in the air as well. They returned to the lair where Donnie was still working on a project that Leo and Splinter had agreed was worth one missed patrol. Mikey ran over to the monitoring area and started up one of his gaming systems. Kit returned to her room, but she left the door open tonight.

Before Leo could go report to Master Splinter Raph stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, "Leo, thanks for trusting me tonight."

"I admit I wasn't sure at first, but whatever it was you did, worked." Leo smiled. "Maybe I should send you and Donnie off together next time you break one of his machines."

Raph cringed, "Yeah, no witnesses against him that way." Leo chuckled and Raph moved over to his room.

As his brother went Leo couldn't help but notice how Raph rolled his shoulders and rubbed a hand over his plastron. Whatever he did to calm Kit down looked like it had been painful.

Feel free to flame the fighting. I have no talent for fighting.