A/N-Okay guys, so this is actually the last chapter of 'Let's Begin' (I said it would be short x). Enjoy!
Chapter 5
The training session had involved the group aiming shuriken at targets dotted around the room. Leonardo, of course hit every one, Don and even Mikey almost got them all, but Venus and Raph were struggling. Venus was trying to quell the anger she felt inside and wasn't really focusing on her targets, while Raphael just threw them anywhere in his rage.
"I hope you both now understand," Splinter rebuked the pair. "That anger leads to lack of control. The two of you must learn to get along, otherwise the team will suffer. That is all."
The rat returned to his meditation room while the others apart from Venus went into the living room.
"Venus?" Mikey asked when he noticed her hanging back. "You coming?"
"In a little while, Mikey," Venus replied. "I'm going to train some more."
"Okay. Listen Venus, Raph didn't mean what he said. He just gets a little...tetchy sometimes."
Venus smiled. "I understand Mikey."
Mikey smiled in reply before following his brothers. Venus raised her arms in front of her in a kata, before sweeping her right leg, leading into a kick from her left. Her movements were fluid and she repeated them a few times over. Then she tried a few others, each one quicker than the last, each one more complex; Leonardo had been giving her extra lessons during their sword-work sessions, so that she didn't get left too far behind. Afterwards she moved to the punch bag and began hitting it, getting faster and harder each time; she could feel her muscles rippling slightly with every hit, knowing they would ache in the morning, but she kept going before moving over to the weights.
Her sudden determination to train had been born out of Master Splinter's comments about her being weaker than the others. Well, Venus was going to earn her place on this team and not be a burden. If Raphael challenged her teachings again, she wanted to have a chance at beating him, and so pushed herself. After each of the group's training sessions, Venus would then spend some time working on her own basics and strength, lifting weights, running laps and performing katas, split kicks, leg sweeps, all manner of moves she had learnt and was still learning. A few days into her new regime she noticed her arms had become more toned and took a moment to think about how she was affecting her body; besides the fact it was aching constantly, having little time to recover at night as she seemed to spend every waking moment in the dojo, she thought about her physical appearance: She naturally had more muscle than most female humans, but this was balanced out by her strong physique due to her training as a child. Besides, she didn't want to look 'hench' like the guys.
Perhaps she had been overdoing it slightly. Venus knew her training had been fuelled by her determination to beat Raphael, and so spent her next fitness session meditating. She allowed her mind to clear and felt a sense of clarity when she let go of her annoyance for Raphael; she realised he had but hurt her pride, and she decided to let go of her negative feelings towards him, feeling a knot untie in her stomach. A wonderful feeling of lightness came over her; she took a deep breath and prepared herself to awaken when suddenly her father appeared in the darkness of her vision. Chung I was dressed in his classic green robes, his white beard tied with a small ribbon and jade bead. Venus smiled, the sight of her happy father alive and healthy, albeit old, causing a ripple of joy through her.
This changed though, when the form frowned.
"Mei Pieh Chi, what have you done?"
Venus' eyes widened, surprised at how scathing his tone was. "What do you mean father?"
"You are a Shinobi, yet you have forsaken your art to train in ninjitsu; in the ways of deception and disguise."
Venus was horrified, desperate to convince her father otherwise. "No father! Master Splinter teaches us for self-defence."
"But you have forgotten your roots. Forgotten your heritage, and the skills I have taught you."
"I would never forget, father." Venus cried, tears stinging her eyes. Her previous happiness had evaporated, swallowed by guilt at her father's disapproval. "My ninjitsu training has simply-"
"Taken over!" The old man yelled, before growing in size, looming menacingly above her. "You have failed! You have forgotten!"
"No father! I haven't, I promise!" Venus shrieked, but Chung I kept yelling, a great hurricane erupting around them as his accusations roared even louder. The whirlwind increased in speed and sped straight towards Venus.
"You have forgotten your heritage! Your blood! Your own father!"
"No I haven't father! Father! NO!" Venus cried, the storm engulfing her.
Venus jolted awake, her suddenly weighted chest heaving in panic, feeling as though all of the air had been sucked straight from her lungs. Eyes wide, she looked around the dojo, frowning slightly as she found it in a state, weapons, scrolls, weights, everything strewn across the floor. A sudden shout made her jump.
"Venus!"
Venus sprang up and bolted into the living room; it too was trashed, the sofa's up-ended, covered with dvd's and comic books. In the centre of the room whirled a mini-tornado, gaining in size and speed. She blinked in disbelief, a voice bringing her back to her senses.
"Venus, do you mind shutting that thing off?!" Donny cried, holding onto a pillar while his legs where hovering in the air. She turned to find his brothers doing the same, not wanting to be sucked into the storm.
Venus, unsure what to do, tried thinking of some sort of counter-charm; however, when she felt herself being pulled forward, she realised she didn't know how she'd conjured the thing in the first place and didn't have enough time to stand and try to remember. Focusing with a deep breath, she instead placed her arms in front of her and tried to link with the wind, something she'd never attempted before, not even with another creature with thoughts and emotions. She felt her mind latch onto something unusually familiar, surprised at how quickly she'd made a connection. However, she soon guessed why it had been so quick; within the storm, she found guilt and shame, panic and fear. What she had felt whilst her father had reprimanded her only moments before. This whirlwind, so similar to the one in her vision, had somehow been born out of her distress. Setting her terrified though slightly amazed curiosity aside, she tried to calm the storm, quelling the tempestuous emotions that fuelled it. Gradually, Venus felt the connection softening as the spiral slowly began to decrease in size as the surrounding wind dropped.
"Desist." Venus commanded, and the whirlwind disappeared, leaving the lair silent for a moment.
"Thanks Venus," Donny gasped, stretching his arms a little. Venus nodded, still slightly stunned before Raph stormed over.
"What the hell was that?!" he roared, making his brothers flinch. But Venus stood strong.
"I apologise. I am not quite sure what happened-"
"NOT QUITE SURE?! You let a frickin' tornado loose throughout the lair, destroying the living room and the dojo!"
"You don't have to be so dramatic, Raphael. They're just a little messy, that's all."
Raph stood in blunt shock before growling and drawing his sais. Master Splinter suddenly stepped into the room.
"Raphael, I suggest you go and start tidying the weights away."
Raphael glared at Venus before sheathing his blades and stalking off into the dojo.
"Now Venus, what happened?"
"I'm sorry, Master Splinter. This is going to sound crazy but I was meditating when I saw a vision of my father. I got upset and...lost control: He started yelling at me, saying I had forgotten my Shinobi roots, forsaking my magic for ninjitsu."
"But this isn't true, Venus."
"Well," Venus looked at the floor. "It has been these past few days." Master Splinter cocked an eyebrow. "I was just so mad at Raphael. He's never liked my qigong training, and every time he insulted it and myself I felt so angry. So I decided to show him that I am not weak and that I was worthy of a place on this team."
"Venus, you have always been worthy," assured the old rat, placing a paw on her shoulder. "I didn't mean to say you are weak, it is just that Raphael is very strong, the strongest out his brothers in fact. And with your lack of experience, it would have been an unfair fight. And now it seems that your extra training has taken a toll on your magical development."
"I know Master Splinter, and I'm sorry."
"Do not worry, Venus. But maybe it is time for you to cease trying to train my sons in qigong?"
Venus nodded sadly, seeing Don and Mikey agree with their father but finding the look of disappointment on Leo's face strangely comforting.
"Don't feel bad, Venus. I mean, we honestly have learnt a lot with you. It's just, we don't have the complexity that you have up here." Mikey comforted, pointing towards his head. Don nudged him before smiling at Venus.
"I suppose your right. I'd better start cleaning up the lair," Venus answered, going over to the upturned sofa. She went to lift it when Donatello joined her.
"Come on, Venus. You didn't think we'd let you clean this place up on your own, did you?"
"We wouldn't?" Mikey asked, earning a slap from Leo before they began sorting the other furniture.
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It took the group just over an hour to restore the lair to its original state. Thankfully, only the living room and the dojo had been affected. Venus, knelt on a meditation mat by the small pool, found herself staring at the dojo's entrance when Leonardo came and sat next to her.
"You know, Raph and I argue all the time."
"I noticed."
Leo raised his brow in surprise at her blunt tone. He only wanted to try and comfort her.
"Well, then you'll realise that we always make peace, simply because our spats never really matter." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "He'll get used to you, don't worry."
"Thanks Leo. But his taunts had an underlying message: I'm a burden to this team."
"That's not true Venus-" He was cut off by her knowing glare. Leo sighed. "Okay, maybe you need a little more training so that we can avoid an event like the other night. But you'll get there. And I promise to help. I will give you all the sword training you want."
"Really?" Venus asked, smiling a little.
"Sure, for a price though." He cocked a brow, preparing himself to ask this favour. "You need to keep teaching me qigong. I really think I can get better, and I do actually enjoy it. You're a great teacher."
Venus smiled. To be fair, Leo did have a flare for the art, as Master Splinter had explained at the start of their sessions. He just needed the proper training, as she did with her sword.
"Deal."
The pair shook hands before Leo nodded his head in the direction of the dojo. Venus instantly understood and moved off where she found Raphael hanging the punch bag back on its hook. He turned his head slightly at her presence.
"Hey Shinobi." he muttered, dusting his hands off. Venus took a deep breath.
"Listen, Raph I just wanted-"
"You don't have to apologise, Venus."
"I don't?" Surprise filled her face, causing Raph to smile a little.
"No, turns out you were right. I did find the qigong thing too hard, I just couldn't admit it. My mind isn't as..."
"Complex?"
"Yeah," Raph admitted, slightly surprised, "that's the word. It's not as complex as yours. I'm sorry I took my own frustrations out on you. It's a habit I don't really want to start getting into."
"That's okay. I'm sorry I didn't see that you were struggling sooner. And that I sent a tornado crashing through the lair."
"Nah, it's alright. Mikey screaming and running away from it certainly provided some entertainment." He smiled, a genuine smile tinged with guilt. Venus couldn't help but grin back.
The pair chuckled before moving back into the living room, where Master Splinter stood and smiled. He was glad that his son and their new comrade had reconciled with each other; it destroyed the tension that had risen within the lair these past few weeks.
All the brothers had to get used to Venus' presence, but for some reason Raphael had taken the longest. Master Splinter wasn't sure why, but he suspected it had something to do with her magical abilities. It is something he doesn't understand, which frustrates him unlike his brothers. Leonardo is perfectly comfortable with asking questions, Donatello mainly avoids the subject as it defeats all scientific principles, and Michelangelo simply finds it...'awesome' is the word I believed he used. But seeing the pair laughing together, the old rat had high hopes for the future. He was also pleased that Venus had held her own against Raphael's temper, although he wished she hadn't risen to his bait. It was usually only Leonardo that did that. She has pride, just like her father.
Master Splinter looked on fondly at his now bigger family. Their new lives had just begun.
A/N- That's it my lovely readers but DON'T WORRY: I have started working on the sequel called 'Home Ties' which involves some family bonding and new feelings ;) (plus something quite cool. A clue is in the name). It will hopefully be up so soon and thank you again for reading and reviewing xxx more of the latter is always helpful ;) see you soon xxx :)