Ch. 32-Hold On

Midori struggled to meet her uncle blow for blow. As much as she hated to admit it, the kunoichi was rapidly losing fighting ground. Not only that, but the concrete roof was slick from rain and covered in a thin layer of wet dirt, making things all the messier.

Yes, she was engaged in a battle, yes she was trying to defeat her uncle, but all the while Midori's mind was turned in a different direction. Raphael. She had saved his life, and she had expected him to jump up and get right back into the fight.

Yet that was just it. Raph hadn't moved at all. Even though Midori's mind didn't have the time to dwell too deeply on the fact, as she was currently engaged in a battle, it worried her.

Midori spun the jitte in her hands so smoothly and fluidly it would have made Raphael full to the brim with pride. She had learned from the master, after all.

Dragon's katana met the jitte with a hard clang. Midori grinned as her uncle's blade was finally exactly where she wanted it. She twisted the jitte with all her might. There was a scrape and a deep groaning sound followed by a high-pitched crack. Midori's grin turned into a full smirk. They don't call them sword breakers for nothing. She thought, spinning the jitte in her hand once more.

Ryuu took a step back, slightly stunned. Midori struck faster than the lightning in the sky above.

Dragon fell backwards and hit the ground hard. He pushed himself up onto his forearms and chuckled. "So you think that's it, hm? Did you really think it would end this way?" Dragon snarled angrily and turned his face up towards her. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and gave her a reddened smile.

Midori's lip curled up into a snarl and she pointed her mother's tachi at her uncle's throat.

Dragon's smile widened. "I know as well as you do that you can't kill me."

"Yes I can." She muttered, her eyes on fire.

"Then do it. Prove to me that you have what it takes…to be an assassin of the night."

The tip of the blade pressed even harder against Dragon's throat. For almost a full minute they stared at each other, neither moving the slightest inch.

Dragon's smile grew. It was working. He could tell that the longer they kept eye contact, the faster Midori lost confidence.

Midori stared into her uncle's deep, brown eyes for the first time in ages. The eyes that were once so comforting had turned maniacal, sinister, and leering. But the longer she stared the more she began to think about the past…about the way he used to be…Her eyes closed and she sheathed the tachi. No. I can't do this. I can't kill a man that I've known all my life. Regardless of what he did, I can't.

Cold hands shot out and grabbed her wrists and she struggled. Dragon held both her wrists in one hand and pulled her close with the other. Midori attempted to wrench herself free of his grip, but it was useless.

Dragon brought Midori to a stand-still as she felt the curved edge of a dagger press against her neck. "As I said before, it really is a shame that you must suffer the same fate as your mother." Dragon smirked and took the tachi from Midori's belt, placing it in his own. "I deserved to inherit this from our father, but your mother got it instead of me. Now it is rightfully mine."

A scuffle of movement. Faint voices somewhere near. The pounding of rain on the rooftop around him. Consciousness slowly returning…

Raph looked up. Dragon had cornered Midori. He was holding a dagger tightly to her throat. No!

Raph's vision was blurry, his muscles were weak and he couldn't move his left arm, but he pushed all of that aside. This was not the time.

Midori would not get hurt. He was going to push past all the pain and take this guy down once and for all.

No matter the cost.

Raphael used his legs to shift his weight to the right, using only that hand to push himself up off the ground. The world spun, but he shook it off. This ends now. He thought as he pounced, latching onto Dragon and pushing the villain practically to the edge of the roof. Neon green eyes darkened and determination filled the glowing irises.

Raphael glanced back over his shoulder, making eye contact with Midori. The red-masked turtle pressed his hand against his plastron right over his heart, the same way he had done the morning he'd left. I'll always be with you.

Midori's eyes widened. She wanted to move. She willed her feet to send her forward, but the command was overridden by a split second of shock. By the time she actually had begun to run, it was too late.

Raphael sheathed his sais in his belt and dodged Dragon's attack, using his sweeping technique and the kata Midori had taught him. Raphael took one last glance at Midori, who was now running towards them. He whispered under his breath, "I love you." Before both he and Dragon tumbled over the building's edge.

Raph struggled, trying to hold Dragon beneath himself for the impact, but he already injured and had lost the use of one arm so he quickly lost that battle.

Dragon held Raphael in a tight lock underneath him. The first thing they impacted with was a closed dumpster. The hunter relished the turtle's cries of pain as shell hit the thick plastic with an audible crack.

They rolled off the dumpster and again they tumbled. Raph landed on the ground of the alley with a pained groan. Dragon smirked and pounced, intending to finish this once and for all.

The sound of a blade ripping through flesh made the rain seem like mere background noise.

Dragon's eyes were wide. Slowly, the dark brown eyes traveled downward. He stared at the turtle underneath him, then his shocked eyes moved to the tachi embedded in his chest. Then, he stared back at the turtle.

Raphael's neon green eyes were dark and angry, burning with a disturbingly cool fire. "I grabbed it during the fall." He stated quietly. An emerald green hand reached out and tightly gripped the handle of the tachi. "I release you from this world as punishment for your foul deeds. May you live on in the hearts of your fellow men and serve as an example." Raph pushed himself up so that he was mere inches away from Dragon's face. "Men who betray and murder their families pay the price."

With one, swift yank the blade was freed and blood poured from Dragon's wound. Raph's eyes only grew darker and harder. "They die…without honor."

Dragon collapsed in a heap, one last shaking breath escaping him before he went limp. Raphael drew away, and stood.

"Raphael!"

The turtle looked up just in time to see Midori jump down from the fire escape above. She ran over and barreled into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Raphael hugged her back and stroked her hair softly as she tucked her head under his chin.

"Thank goodness." Midori murmured as she held him close.

"You shouldn't have come. You could've been killed." Raph growled.

"And if I hadn't, you would have been." She retorted.

Raphael's eyes were stern. But before he could argue the point any further, he realized that she was no longer looking at him. Her eyes were somewhere else…Dragon. Slowly, Midori turned back to Raphael, "You killed him?"

Raph's eyes glassed over a little, "Yes."

Midori nodded and said nothing more about it. She approached Ryuu's body. "I-I tried." She whispered.

Raphael raised an eye-ridge. "What do you mean?"

"He gave me a chance to finish him. B-but I couldn't. I couldn't do it. I couldn't." There were tears in her eyes now.

Raph put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed tightly. "I understand. It's not your fault. That's why I had to do it, love. To protect you, to keep you safe, to keep you from having to kill someone who once meant a lot to you."

Midori's mouth gave him the teeniest, tiniest, little grin of gratitude.

Raph smiled back at her…until the shock wore off. Suddenly the turtle was in agony, battling off waves and waves of searing pain. He tottered a little, his grip on Midori's shoulders tightening.

Honey-colored eyes caught the look in Raphael's eyes and her arms shot out to support him. "Raph?! Raph, are you alright?! Raph answer me!"

Midori suddenly found herself supporting most of the turtle's body weight, and she lowered him slowly to the ground. Tears began to form in her eyes. Her hand cupped his face, rubbing at his cheek, worriedly. "Raph?"

He smiled dimly and latched onto the hand that was stroking his face. "I love you." Raph whispered as he kissed her hand, lovingly. His eyes closed and his eye-ridges furrowed in a pained expression.

Midori kissed his cheek softly. Her other hand fumbled for her t-phone, holding down a speed dial. It didn't matter which one of Raph's brothers she got as long as she reached them.

The voice on the other end was Leo's. He sounded anxious and panicked. "Midori! Where are you?"

"Ninth and Baker, behind the Buxton apartment building. Get here as soon as you can."

Just as she was about to hang up, an insistent call of "Midori" brought her back to the phone. Leo's voice faded and grew rough as he slowly asked, "How's Raph?"

Midori's golden eyes glanced down at the red-masked turtle cradled in her arms. "Alive." She answered, and she heard Leonardo let out a shaky breath. Her tone grew grave once more as she went on, "Get here as fast as you can. He's injured."

She could feel the frown in Leo's voice as he stated evenly, "I'm handing you over to Don."

"Midori?"

"Yes Donnie."

The genius sounded borderline frantic. "Listen carefully. I need you to describe the injuries to me in as much detail as you can, and don't worry we're already on our way. But I can fix him up faster if I know in advance what I'm going to be working with."

The kunoichi's observant eyes swept over her red-masked lover's form. "Well, he has a shallow wound in his left side that seems to have lost a lot of blood, oh and formed a small chink in his shell."

She could envision Donatello's nod. "Okay, what else?"

"Um, his left arm is in really bad shape. It looks like it's just been dislocated at the elbow, but it could be fractured."

"Alright, go on."

"His plastron is covered in dents, scrapes and marks. I think his shell is cracked in several places. And I—" her voice broke as she cradled his head and felt the already swollen lump and crusted blood there.

"Midori? Are you alright? Midori!"

"Donnie…He has head trauma."

"How bad?" Don stated, his voice absolutely stone cold.

"I don't know. There's a big bump, and it feels like it was bleeding, but it's stopped. The blood is all dry now."

A small sigh of relief was heard before Don went on, "Good. That's a good sign. We're almost there. Don't worry, Midori. Raph's a fighter."

Midori nodded even though she knew the smart turtle couldn't see her, and hung up. Her eyes looked down at the vulnerable, unconscious form in her arms. Worry plagued her heart.

Hold on.

So how was it? And I know I said I'd only have 32 chapters, but I've extended it to 35. So don't worry, there is more to come.

Review Please! Did it make sense? I tried to make it realistic…