The longest chapter so far. I apologise if Raph seems rather out of character these few chapters, but I wanted to write it in a way that shows he is completely unaware of his feelings, and doesn't know why he's feeling that way to Ren either since he's never experienced being so close to a teenage girl his age either (at least, I hope not. I got a little annoyed at his closeness to Joi in the Nina Tribunal Arc. Okay, maybe not just a little, but anyway, welcome to Chapter 4 of Belonging.)
"I'm sure the others wouldn't mind if I borrowed some of the clothes... they rarely use 'em anyway," Raph mumbled as he ruffled through a box of Casey's old clothes. Raph and Ren were in the garage where the Turtle's Battle Shell and Raph's Shell Cycle were stored. Casey had left a box of his old clothes there for when the Turtles needed a disguise, though, fearing Master Splinter's disapproval, he had left it at the garage. Raph was ever so pleased at his fellow bonehead's decision to do so now, instead of placing it in the sewers where he would have to go back and retrieve them. That would mean revealing Ren's existence, and even if he had her wait outside, Raph wasn't entirely certain that he would be allowed up again if he went back. He didn't exactly know why, but he would like to keep their friendship a secret from his brothers and Master Splinter. Ren was looking around curiously, but with an air of cautiousness, as if worried that she would stumble into an attack. Finally, Raph found what he was looking for.
"There!" he pronounced in triumph as he pulled out a black leather jacket and placed it beside him. He then proceeded to produce a pair of baggy dark blue jeans, which joined the pile, then a black beanie, a pair of sunglasses and two large black boots. Ren surveyed him curiously from the other side of the garage.
"Gimme a moment!" Raph yelled to Ren as he ran to the Shell Cycle, slipping on the leather jacket and jeans on his way (which was a lot harder than it sounded) and cramming the beanie and sunglasses into the jacket's pocket. Pulling on the boots, Raph began to start up the Shell Cycle before slowly riding it out of the garage. Ren followed it silently, her eyes wide but observing as she took in the details of the disguised Raph riding on the Shell Cycle.
"Sweet ride," she commented appreciatively. Raph hid his grin as he basked in her admiration for a moment before gesturing to her to get onto the Shell Cycle. He placed his own helmet over his head and handed Ren the other helmet which Don had made as an "extra".
"You still haven't told me where we're going," Ren reminded Raph, though she got onto the motorbike regardless.
"You'll know soon enough," Raph answered as the motorbike roared to life and tore down the road. Ren instinctively wrapped her slim arms around Raph and for a while, his mind seemed to go completely blank. The orange haired girl laughed in delight as they whizzed down the road, and Raph fought the urge to go faster just to hear her laughter for a little while longer.
"The arcade? You were so mysterious about kidnapping me to the arcade?!" Ren repeated incredulously when Raph finally pulled the Shell Cycle over upon reaching their destination. Raph had been full of confidence during the ride; now he wondered if it was a bad choice as he stared up at the half-deserted arcade with a burnt out neon coloured signboard on its door.
"It was the first place I thought of," Raph muttered, determined not to show his anxiety.
"Well, since we're here, let's take a look. Honestly though, I haven't been to an arcade before, at least, not for a long time." Ren pulled of her safety helmet and immediately pulled up her hood while Raph did the same and slipped on the beanie and the sunglasses.
"You look almost human," Ren teased. Raph grunted nonchalantly, though he pondered over her words in silence and wondered whether it counted as a compliment. The inside of the arcade was not as bad as it appeared, with a few people playing racing games and others participating in shooting ones. But it was not exactly "bustling with life" either. Raph hesitated, debating whether to abandon his "plan", but Ren pushed past him to explore about, her emerald eyes sparkling with curiosity. She seemed like a curious child as she looked around, dredging up long forgotten memories from her younger years in New York City- when her life had been normal. Her eyes darkened and, sensing sadness, Raph hastily grabbed her hand and steered her attention to the first game he saw- a dancing rhythm game.
"Give it a try," Raph coaxed, hoping it would distract Ren from remembering her past and mourning it.
"A dancing game? SHELL NO!" Ren growled, giving Raph a full benefit of her pointed teeth.
"What's wrong? Scared?" Raph teased, hoping she would take the bait like he always did when his brothers pulled the same trick.
It worked.
"No I'm not! I'll do it." Ren snarled as she marched towards the game, her mouth set in a grim line, as if preparing for war. Raph sniggered and Ren turned, giving him a glare that could freeze fire- the signal that he should avoid provoking her anymore. Ren reached into her pocket (careful not to display her sais, which she kept hidden underneath her hoodie) and pulled out a few old coins, which she slotted into the machine. Instantly, it crackled into life, and music blasted from the speakers. Ren looked down at the platform she was standing on. There were four tiles with bright pink and blue arrows, each facing north, south, east or west. She would probably have to match the timing she stepped on the arrows to when it appeared on the large screen and corresponded with their silhouette. The starting was easy as arrows streamed across the screen in an almost lazy fashion. Ren concentrated and stepped on the tiles at the exact moment they met their silhouettes also displayed on the screen, earning her several perfect scores as well as more confidence. Then the music picked up speed, and Ren, too, sensing the increase of speed, quickened her senses and pace to match the blasting music.
Her form was perfect as she jumped in beat to the music, even managing three tiles at one point by jumping and landing in a split position on the platform, with one hand on the tile in front of her and the other hand positioned behind her back to emphasise the sheer ease of which she did it. As she won level after level, more and more people gathered to witness the orange haired beauty's swift and graceful dance (being rather able to tell her gender after seeing her fluid movements for a while) and soon, the arcade was packed with people, most of them cheering on her. Raph grinned as he looked at Ren, positioning himself a little way from the crowd before leaning against a pillar. She smiled happily, her face flushed with exertion and for a while, Raph felt a smile spread over his face as he registered how beautiful she looked. Then he felt confusion. Why was he even feeling this way? Any physical contact with her or a close up view of her face led him to a heart that beat too fast and the inability to think. Was he ill? Raph frowned and absent-mindedly raised his hand to his forehead.
"What's wrong? Not feeling well?" Ren asked in concern, pantng slightly, suddenly materialising in front of the turtle. The game had ended after she finished the final round (with a perfect score she might like to add), and most people had already cleared away from the scene. She placed a slim hand on Raph's forehead and the turtle felt his face burn an even brighter red.
"You're burning!" she exclaimed as she prepared to lean forward and place her forehead on Raph's to check his temperature.
"I-I'm fine!" Raph spluttered, knowing it was more than he could take having Ren at such a close proximity to him. He was not used to being unsure or uncertain of himself and he hated it. He was Raphael; the aggressive and fearless turtle, so, why was he succumbing to such foreign feelings?
"Okay…" Ren raised her hands up in a mock surrender position. "I found this game that you would probably be interested in," Ren grinned excitedly as she grabbed Raph's hand and pulled him away. Raph winced as he felt his mind go blank again, though he couldn't say he didn't like the feeling of her hand in his…
"Here!" The girl announced in triumph as she reached the designated game- a physical fighting action one. The player had to attach a helmet of sorts to his or her head, and their movements would be sensed by the machine. Injuries, however, would be toned down, and if the player was hit, he or she would feel a slight numbing sensation instead. However, if they receive too many hits, their health points would run out and the player would lose. Raph eyed the machine doubtfully, though his expression brightened when Ren introduced it as a fighting game.
"Scared?"
"You wish," Raph strode over to the game and placed on the helmet as Ren handed him a few coins, which he clumsily slotted in. The screen burst into life and a wide array of characters appeared- avatars for him to choose. Raph went through them quickly before settling on Hamato Yoshi.
"He was my sensei's sensei," he explained to Ren. The first round was easy, though it Raph some time to get use to the game. As the enemy- a martial arts master avatar controlled by the computer charged forward, Raph easily dodged sideways and side kicked, knocking him down. As he got up and lunged at Raph again, Raph squatted down and positioned himself slightly before unleashing a strong uppercut that immediately earned him his victory. The opponent had never stood a chance in the first place.
"That was my move!" Ren protested in a slightly accusatory tone as she watched the turtle pull off the same uppercut she had executed in their second battle days before.
"So? Sue me," Raph retorted mockingly, though his voice held a teasing tone that meant no harm. Ren shook her head in exasperation but could not help grinning. Raph turned his attention back to the game, though not before he felt a wave of happiness and contentment wash over at having made his orange haired companion happy again. But before he could dwell on it anymore, the word 'challenge' appeared on the game machine's screen in red bold letters.
"A challenger? Bring it on!" Raph announced cockily. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ren shake her head with a sigh, though she continued playing an audience to his fight. This round was not as easy as Raph's previous overly one-sided match with the computerised player, and the challenger was no amateur, Raph realised soon enough. But neither was he a pro either that had been trained by a ninjutsu art master who also happened to be a rat. Raph dodged another punch from the challenger, who seemed to rely heavily on brute force to bring the enemy down. Acting fast, Raph swiftly moved to the back of the challenger and punched him several times before squatting down and doing a sweeping kick, which knocked the challenger over. The challenger got up with surprising speed and threw a torrent of punches down at Raph, trying to quell the latter with brute force. But Raph averted all of his strikes and dodged sideways again before returning a swifter procession of punches and kicks that finally brought the opponent down to his knees. The turtle punched his arms up into the air in triumph.
"I came, I saw, and I kicked butt!" he crowed. Ren walked forward to congratulate the turtle (well, at least in her own way, which involved a nonchalant nod as a sign acknowledgment plus an off-hand compliment followed by the line "I can do better"), but just as she prepared to do so, another person suddenly intercepted her.
"You midget! HOW DARE YOU DEFY ME!" a deep voice bellowed, belonging to a tall and large man with a blue Mohawk and a purple dragon's tattoo engraved on his bulging left arm. "I have held that record for a long time, and I'm not about to let some insolent newcomer destroy it!" The large gangster leered down at Raph, who eyed him in dislike.
"Dragons! Tear them apart! No one messes with the Legendary Lee!" The bulging gorilla, Lee, screamed in rage. Immediately, several people stood up- the purple dragon members who had followed Lee, and prepared to attack. Raph cast a glance at Ren, who seemed to be looking at the crowd in an almost bored way. Then her face broke into her trademark grin and she braced herself for battle.
"Wanna see who gets to take out more purple doofuses? I need some more exercise."
"You're on!" Together, the two charged in and the purple dragons swarmed in as well, confident of an easy fight. But they were soon proven wrong as both Raph and Ren ducked and dodged their clumsy blows before striking out in a single fluid motion, easily putting out most of the people from the fight. But as Raph busied himself with four purple dragons throwing punches at him, another one snuck up behind him, a long silver chain in his hand.
"Behind you!" Ren sprinted towards the unaware turtle and jumped.
"DUCK!" she screamed, and as Raph obeyed and squatted down, Ren unleashed one of her sais and cut through the metal chain with ease. The remaining purple dragons, stunned and scared, turned and bailed swiftly. Many others followed suit when they realised the current situation at hand and soon, only Lee was left.
"You-" Lee seemed to swell ominously, but before he could charge like an angry bull, Ren punched his face in an uppercut as she jumped. Upon landing, she pivoted on her left foot and swung her right foot in a side kick, which pushed Lee back. Raph took over and swung his fists several times at Lee's chest. When he staggered back into a machine, Raph did the finishing blow and jumped, swinging his foot towards Lee's face and knocking him off his feet. As the two panted and stopped, Lee stared at them groggily, his jaw hanging open.
"Y-you two took out my entire clan completely! That's not- that's not even human!" he screamed.
"Whaddya know? Gorilla here is right. We aren't human," Ren pulled down her hood and Raph followed with his borrowed shades and beanie. Lee stared for another moment before collapsing in a disgruntled heap, having fainted from the shock. Sirens wailed into the night as police cars pulled into the scene, which was their cue to leave. Without a word, Raph and Ren turned and fled silently through the back door, leaving not the slightest trace that they had been there before.
"That was fun," Ren laughed as she stretched her arms into the air. Back at the same rooftop, the earlier adrenaline had worn off and Raph felt more tired. Ren seemed to have felt the same too as they sat together on the roof with a little less distance between them, contenting herself with staring at the scenery instead of arguing with Raph.
"Yea, it was." Raph agreed softly, smiling and thinking back about the adventure they had at the arcade.
"I feel kinda bad trashing the arcade's reputation though, even less people would want to go there now after such a big fight broke out," Ren admitted slightly guiltily.
"Nah, Casey told me nobody goes there cos those purple dragons keep messing the place up. More people would go to the arcade now since I don't think the purple doofuses would be going back anytime soon," Raph chortled. Ren smiled in response, her last regret settled. They sat in comfortable silence for a while.
"Hey, Ren, what's your impression of me?" Raph blurted out, curious. The question had lingered in his mind for some time now, and while he was eager to know the answer, he was also somewhat uneasy of it- not that he intended to show it though. He merely stared at his feet in silence.
"Hn," The sound she hummed when she was thinking, Raph immediately registered in his head. Then his eyes widened when the fact that he had nearly all of Ren's habits and quirks memorised over the period of the last six nights sunk in. That was the extent of which he knew her. It left a funny sort of contentment in his chest.
"Even though you always act and try to talk tough, you're actually pretty kind and loving deep down. You care a lot about your brothers and sensei, even though you may seem to have little regard or respect for them at many times. You feel overshadowed by your oldest brother, Leonardo or Leo, but you still love him, and you worry that he pins too much responsibilities on himself and overly blames himself at times. And while you have an antagonistic relationship with the youngest brother you call Mikey, it's still obvious you care for him as a younger brother. You have a pretty soft spot for cats, and you hate bugs, a lot. Your favourite colour is red, cos' it's cool and courageous , and you like hanging out with your brothers, playing video games, winning Mikey in video games, fighting and winning. You're, well, fun and good company. While you seem so tough and cold, it's partially to hide your softer personality inside cos you're afraid you'll get hurt. Your love for your brothers and father is boundless; you'd do anything to keep them, all of you, safe and happy as a family, along with your human friends, Casey and April. You've got a dangerous temper, but you're able to control it over time now and you like seeming cool and full of confidence, but even you still have some insecurities you keep to yourself. I like spending time with you, and you're a pretty good sai-user. There, done." Ren finally finished.
Raph stared at Ren in astonishment, his mouth gaping slightly open, stunned that she had remembered just about every single piece of information they had exchanged over the previous 6 days/nights. Not that he minded, though. Then he hastily retracted his jaw.
"The last 6 days, or nights, almost a week, were very important to me. That's why I remember everything," Ren seemed to read her companion's mind this time round and answered.
"Though, you missed out one part on my list of hobbies," Raph teased, hiding his earlier surprise. Ren looked taken aback and frowned, racking her brains for any information she had forgotten. Her grip on her sais tightened with concentration for a while, until she finally sighed and slackened her grip; a sign that she gave in.
"I'm out, what is it?"
Raph swallowed. "Being with you," and suddenly, the distance between them, or rather, the current lack of distance between them seemed more prominent, and their faces were close enough for him to peer into her emerald eyes again, which now showed surprise. Then the distance seemed to be gradually reduced as they instinctively leaned close to one another. Ren's eyes seemed to start closing and Raph felt his heart almost stop beating all together as he wondered if this was the 'fated kiss' he had seen in so many movies and some of Mikey's comic books. He tried to think what a normal human- Scratch that, a normal teenage mutant ninja turtle, or teenager at the very least, would do, but yet again, his mind drew a big blank and he couldn't concentrate, much less think. So he followed his instincts, operated on 'gut feeling' again and their faces moved even closer when-
"Soooooooooooo, are we interrupting anything?"
"This is where you've been disappearing to all this time?"
"Rapael, you have A LOT of explaining to do."
Raph and Ren broke apart, and Raph groaned loudly at the sight that awaited him.
"Aw shell." There was Leo's stern face, Don's curious face and worst of all, Mikey's "I'm-never-gonna-let-you-forget-this-moment-for-as-long-as-I-live" face.
Leo was right, he was in for a lot of explaining to do.