Sorry for the late update this time round , I got a little lazy. I have uploaded the same story under a different name in another TMNT Fanfiction archive, entitled "A Place to Belong", to see which of the two archives would be more active since I was initially surprised that there were two of them. Please please please please read and review, and welcome to Chapter 6 of Belonging!

After the time-consuming and tiring chores Master Splinter had set them, it was finally the day. Or at least, that was how Mikey put it, in between jumping around and annoying his brothers. Raph had spent much time fiddling with the two small paper bags, each containing a chain bracelet with a pair of delicate sai charms strung across it. He had pondered on how to give it to Ren, but had come up empty-handed. He would have to operate on his instincts, or "gut-feeling", as he called it, again.

"Not that it did much good the last time," Raph recalled, remembering about the time his brothers had discovered him and Ren on the roof, where they had so nearly kissed. As much as he did not want to admit it, he had not dared to approach the topic of that experience, and Ren showed no sign of having gone through or even remembering it. Of course, he had denied it when interrogated by his brothers, over and over again (Mikey had been the most persistent; even after that, he had continued making heart signs with his hands behind Ren when she was not looking in order to annoy Raph- and to prove that he had been staring at Ren, despite his denial). They had mostly dropped the subject (again, with the exception of Mikey) though Leo seemed somewhat suspicious at times.

Raph sighed, still not quite clear why he was feeling this way. He had been cracking his head about the issue- his "irregularities" around Ren, and he did not entirely want to approach anyone about the situation. He was… embarrassed. Ashamed to be so unsure of himself; insecure. But Raph cleared those thoughts away. Tonight was the time to enjoy and have fun; to skate away his problems and stress. The Purple Dragons had been lying low recently, and he needed exercise. Raph smirked as he picked up his sais and twirled one of them around with his finger, feeling better with his headache clearing up. Now he shifted his thoughts to Ren (something that was quite common recently), imagining her initial surprise, then wariness, followed by happiness when she realised she could keep the skates. She would be happy, and maybe, just maybe, he'd be able to bring up the subject of the kiss without receiving an immediate rejection…

"Ready?"

"WOAH!" Startled, Raph, who had been sitting cross-legged on the floor with his eyes closed at that point of time, jumped up from his position and assumed a battling stance. Ren stared at him in slight amusement.

"You err… Surprised me," Raph mumbled, keeping the sais he had drawn out back into is belt. The orange haired teenager was still dressed in the same black hoodie and green khaki pants, and Raph was starting to wonder just how many sets of the same outfit she had in her possession.

"I can tell," was her dry reply, but instantly, she smiled, obviously excited about the trip. "So, ready?" She asked eagerly, pulling out and juggling her sais with little effort.

"Why're you so pumped for this though?"

"Well, I haven't been much help to you guys since I came here. I was just… there, taking up your time and space. But now, even though it's a small thing, I get to contribute," Ren said, throwing both sais up into the air and catching them with ease once again, finally returning them to her belt.

"It doesn't matter if you aren't much help or anything- I mean, look at Mikey, he's more trouble than help. You're family, part of us; it doesn't matter whether you're useful or not." The words were out of his mouth before he knew it, but they were true. It didn't matter whether she what she; she was part of them, a family member. Ren seemed slightly taken aback by his sudden serious words, but she smiled either way.

"Thanks. That helped, Raphael" and his heart seemed to jolt a little when she used his full name. Trying to distract himself, Raph pulled out the box containing the pair of skates he had gotten her and removed its lid.

"Woah," Ren whispered as she bent down to take a look at the skates. Black and green- two of her favorite colours, it dawned on her. Breathlessly, she traced the green patterns that resembled trailing wisps of fire so much, and smiled again.

"You sure seem impressed," Raph was happy, though a little surprised by how much awe Ren had displayed at the skates. While her description of her current life was brief, he had been under the impression that her adopted father was anything but poor- owning a large house, enabling Ren to travel around and start her own collection of weapons.

"Well, Father never showed much interest in all this modern stuff. I don't see him much in the first place, especially now. He's been busy with some project all the time. I usually just stick in the training room and train or, if I'm lucky, stay in the room and sleep. I haven't gotten much sleep these days, hanging out with you guys at night and sleeping a few hours in the morning- Shell, I'm turning nocturnal," Ren chuckled. However, she soon realised that she had just given Raph more information about her life under her adopted father's rule in the few sentences she had told him- far more than she had ever let him on. To cover up for the brief lapse, she hastily turned her attention back to the skates.

"They seem new though." Ren squinted her eyes and examined the skates even further. "Really new. Where did you find them? I don't think people would just throw brand new skates like these away, not that I had a lot of contact with them before." Raph gulped and his eyes darted around nervously, like the times he had done something wrong or lied (usually with Mikey as his partner-in-crime) and he tried to avert the questions.

"I can't remember, but you can keep 'em. I've got my own trusty skates right here anyway,"

"Really? You're joking aren't you?" As he had predicted, her first expression was of surprise, then cautiousness, convinced of it being a trick. Raph couldn't help it- he laughed.

"Ah HA! It is a prank," Ren announced in triumph, pointing one of her sais at Raph accusatorially.

"Nah, it ain't. I have no use of 'em so you can keep it. I was just laughing at how predictable your reaction is." Raph snickered.

"Really?" Ren repeated, though she grinned immediately at the revelation that it was not a joke. "Thanks!" She picked up the skates and turned to leave, hearing Leo calling her from his room.

"W-wait!" Raph stammered slightly in nervousness, reaching for the two small packages he had hidden earlier. Taking a deep breath, he handed one of them to Ren.

"What's this?" The girl mused, bending down to place the pair of black and green skates on the ground before opening the petite bag. She gasped, (then quickly smothered it, not wanting it to be deemed as a sign of weakness) holding the bracelet up by two fingers and staring at the intricate sai charms that dangled on the chain.

"I-I found this. Two of 'em. One for me and one for you," Raph babbled. Ren was silent, still looking at the bracelet she held. Raph stopped his stream of words, anxiously checking her face for any reaction.

"It's beautiful," Ren whispered, mesmerised by the realistic sai charms, and Raph mentally heaved a sigh of relief when he realised her silence was merely a sign that her interest (she refused to let him refer to it as an obsession) in weapons was acting up again.

"So I take it that you like it?" His voice was both hopeful and held just a slight trace of nervousness. But Ren, in her trance-like state, did not catch the anxiety in Raph's question.

"I love it. It's so realistic and… delicate. It's like a real weapon," She still seemed enthralled, but when Leo called her name again from the floor below, she snapped out of it with a shake of her head.

"I gotta go," she said hastily, preparing to leave. But as she picked up her skates again, she tilted her head and surveyed Raph for a while, a curious and thoughtful expression on her face.

"What?" Raph demanded, unused to her suddenly thoughtful demeanor. Ren gestured towards Raph- for him to move forward, and he did so.

"Now wha-" Raph continued, but he was soon cut off as Ren leaned towards him and gave him a swift peck on his cheek.

"Thank you," With those words, she was gone, turning and running to the entrance of his room before jumping down to answer Leo.

Raph stared after her dumbly, his eyes wide and his mouth open, right hand still hovering on where she had kissed him- as if unsure whether to touch it or not.

"WOOHOO!" Mikey hollered as he overtook Don with his skateboard. April and Master Splinter, seated on one of the larger crates looked on as the turtles, Ren and Casey sped around the large warehouse. Ren had managed to master control of the skates within a few minutes (much to Raph's initial annoyance, seeing as he could only skate properly after 5 lessons from Leo and Master Splinter) and she was soon skating around at full speed, even managing to pull out a few tricks as she did so, her short orange hair rippling in the wind. They had not spoken since he had given her the skates, (and since she had- never mind) but Raph couldn't help feeling just a bit hopeful- if she had kissed (he cringed a little at the word) him out of her own will, perhaps she was not thinking of rejection at the most immediate moment?

"Wanna race?" Ren challenged as she fell in step with Raph, grinning. The turtle blinked, snapped out from his thoughts. "You're wearing the bracelet," He pointed out, eyeing the silver chain strapped onto her right wrist. He had contemplated on wearing his, unsure that Ren would do the same and a little apprehensive of his brother's noticing it if both of them were to wear it. Ren nodded.

"Of course. I like it, it's a pair isn't it? Where's yours?" She asked. Raph pulled out the still wrapped package (which he had stowed in his belt earlier) and handed it wordlessly to her. Ren emptied the bracelet onto her palm and strung it across his wrist, over the brown wristband he wore, firmly clicking the metal clasps in place.

"There, now both of us have one," Ren grinned. Raph raised his hand up sightly and looked at the two sai charms dangling from the chain. He looked back at Ren, who was now looking around, frowning slightly, remembering her earlier challenge.

"You're on!" Together, the duo changed course- spinning around to face the other end of the warehouse, with the first mutant turtle or half snake mutant reaching it being the winner. Though, just as Raph succeeded in surpassing Ren in terms of speed, the female sai-user suddenly lunged out with her fist and knocked him aside; overtaking him in the process.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Raph complained as he struggled to regain his speed and catch up with Ren.

"Who said you can't interrupt your opponent?" Ren snorted. Raph squatted down and did a sweeping kick, but Ren jumped to avoid it. Soon, they were neck to neck, furiously skating to reach the finishing point and occasionally exchanging blows. Finally, they skidded into a stop at the end point, bending down to catch their breaths. By this time, Leo had stopped momentarily to survey the race, waiting for them at the finishing point.

"Who… won?" Raph croaked, panting.

"Both of you," Leo grinned. He offered a hand to Ren, who took it and straightened herself. "Good racing," The turtle in blue complimented, rather impressed by the feat of which she mastered the use of her newly acquired skates. Ren smiled at his words

"Can you do any tricks on your scooter?" Her eyes seemed to brighten with curiosity and interest at the question. To answer her, Leo swiftly balanced himself on the scooter handles, levitating himself up so only his hands rested on it. After a few seconds, he quickly switched to merely a single arm.

"Show off," Raph muttered darkly under his breath, rather put off by Ren's current admiration for his brother.

"Someone's jealous," Mikey teased, but before Raph could go after his youngest sibling and strangle him, the sound of footsteps suddenly rang in his ears. The others had heard it too, it soon became apparent, as they immediately paused whatever they were doing and stared at the warehouse entrance.

"Hide!" Leo whispered, and everyone ducked behind the cover of the empty crates arranged carelessly across the sides of the warehouse. Leo, Mikey and Casey hid behind the tower of crates at the right side while Raph and Ren stayed at the left. Raph moved his head slightly to peek at whoever was coming into the warehouse- not very quietly, it would seem. Ren leaned close and did the same, struggling to catch a glimpse of the perpetrators, one hand on Raph's shoulder to steady herself as she stood on her toes. While it had become considerably less common now, Raph felt his mind go blank again as her body pressed closer against his. Then his attention was taken away as the people trespassing into the warehouse were identified.

"It's the mob!" Raph hissed. Sure enough, the Mob Boss, stocky and clad in a white suit and yellow tie, was leading a gang of man in suits and ties in. Behind them was a truck.

"This is the perfect place for drug trafficking and storing our weapons!" The Mob Boss crowed loudly as his men started unloading crates from the truck.

"He's sure skilled at being subtle," Raph mocked, but Ren's grip on his shoulders suddenly tightened. "No wonder I thought there were suddenly more crates then I had last been here! They were new- they must be the drugs and weapons he's hiding," Ren said in a hushed whisper. She heard movement beside her and readied her sais, only relaxing when she realised it was Leo. The latter had snuck across the room, leaving the rambunctious pair consisting of Mikey and Casey behind temporarily, unsure of whether they'd be able to sneak away quietly enough (Casey had already proven himself rather incapable of anything that required silence) without drawing attention. Master Splinter and April also had done the same, appearing by Ren's side.

"What do we do now?" April asked. The four- two turtles, one half snake mutant and one rat, turned to look at her.

"Ain't it obvious?"

"We kick their shells,"

"And put an end to whatever dishonest activities they are doing,"

"As always," Leo waved towards Mikey- a signal for him to be ready, and the eight of them materialised near the mob at instant.

"You shouldn't handle toys you're not ready for, Ugly," Raph snarled as he brandished his sais. The Mob Boss looked back, his eyes widening in fear. "Y-You again?!" He spluttered with rage, "Get them and destroy them!" The Mob Boss howled, and, following his command, his men swarmed forward, ready to put their foes out of action. Though, now with another fighter in their midst, the mob were easily dispatched off as Leo, Don, Mikey, Raph, Ren, Casey, April and Master Splinter kicked, punched and attacked, not giving them the slightest chance to retaliate.

"This is not looking good…" The Mob Boss groaned; on his own, he would never be able to finish off all eight of them. Unless-

The Mob Boss grinned as he ran to a nearby crate and rummaged through it, producing a small but complicated looking sphere. "It's over boys!" He shouted with a dark laugh, ready to make a run into the truck to escape as soon as possible. The rest of the mob (or whatever was left of them) took one last terrified glance at their enemies before making a run for it, some even completely forgetting the existence of the truck in their haste to get away.

"Darn!" Ren prepared to run after them, but with a grunt, The Mob Boss flung the device in her direction and disappeared with the truck. It rolled near Ren.

"A bo-" Ren's eyes widened and she bolted back, but even that wasn't swift enough as the five-second bomb exploded, the impact knocking the turtles, April, Casey and Master Splinter off their feet and into a refuge of broken crates. But the one affected the deepest was Ren, who, closest to the bomb, was flung back across the warehouse before smashing into a pile of crates and disappearing into a pool of wooden splinters. Fires started, spurred on by the wooden pieces that were strewn across the place- which soon became a blazing inferno.

"We gotta leave," Raph mumbled blearily, resurfacing from the wooden mass and rubbing his head. The others were coming to, dizzy but conscious.

Then his eyes fell on the lifeless figure which had rolled onto the ground from a pile of wooden pieces. Raph squinted.

His eyes widened.

"REN!" Her body, even from afar, was unmoving and still. He hurried over to the unconscious girl, fighting against the wave of pain flooding his head as well as the raging fire. Lifting her up in his arms, he turned to see Leo and the others ready to leave. But the entrance was blocked, and Ren's breathing was becoming more ragged. Despair flooded him. What if she-

"RAPH!" A hand moved to his shoulder, to steady his panicked mind. It was Leo.

"We'll get out of this alive. All of us. Including Ren," The leader indicated the unconscious girl in his brother's arms. Raph stared at Ren silently at Leo's last words. She seemed peaceful in her state of unconsciousness. Resolve renewed, Raph nodded. Leo smiled. Then his demeanor turned serious as he called to the others.

"Windows! The corner window where we came in! Let's go!" He bellowed, and everyone ran, climbing up the pile of broken wooden crates to reach the designated escape way. One by one, they squeezed out of the small window and into fresh air. But they could not rest just yet. As the final two members of the group- Raph and Ren surfaced into the cold night, the seven of them jumped, their feet barely touching the next roof before the warehouse behind them burst into yet more flames, raining even more wooden splinters everywhere.

Raph heaved a sigh of relief, ignoring his bruised and battered body. He bent down and propped Ren's body up against the roof's railings. "Ren," He called out softly, shaking her body gently for any response.

But the orange-haired half mutant remained still- her body cold and unresponsive.