Non-Mutation (Book Four)

Chapter 6: Cherry

Art credit to Aleksei Vinogradov or avvart :)

Cherries are said to represent feminine chastity and purity as the fruit ripens on the tree, but once plucked represents the loss of innocence and virtue.

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Raphael feels restless despite the recent Purple Dragon attack. The mission got his blood pumping, but he needs something more. He needs a constant guarantee of something to make his life exciting again and he doesn't want it to involve pizza, video games, or any combination of both.

Leonardo and Donatello spar in the dojo beneath Splinter's watchful eye while Michelangelo and Destiny watch from the sidelines as they recover from their own sparring match. Sarina sits next to Splinter with a notepad, jotting down observations about the training before her with intense curiosity. Raphael leans over and sees that she has scribbled a hasty sketch of Donatello's face in the corner of her page, surrounded by little hearts, and he rolls his eyes as he looks away just as Splinter takes a glance at her writing. He nods in approval when she tilts it towards him, making her smile.

Raphael starts to tap his foot as he leans against the wall, arms crossed. His boredom is becoming an illness, he swears by it, and he knows that he is going to lose his mind if something exciting doesn't happen soon. Sparring and training is a great way to release pent-up energy, but there is only so much training that one guy can take. He needs entertainment or else he'll end up moody and someone will get hurt.

Specifically, that someone will be Michelangelo.

Leonardo gains the upper hand in the match and Donatello hits the ground with a grunt. Leonardo sheathes his sword and extends his hand to help his brother up. They share a brief smile as if to tell one another that they did well before joining their siblings.

Master Splinter gets to his feet, beckoning for Sarina to join him as he stands before his students. He launches into his spiel of the day with Sarina piping in the occasional comments about what she observed. Raphael doesn't pay attention to any of it. Their words are muffled and his thoughts are far away, stuck on more important things. For example, the Purple Dragons.

His fingers curl into his palm as he grits his teeth. The fact that they have evaded his team twice is enough to make his blood boil, but that smirking glint in that girl's hazel eyes just puts the icing on the cake. The next time he sees her, he's going to rip that stupid cloth off her face and smack that smirk right off.

"Hai Sensei!" the others chirp and Raphael scrambles to join in, lagging behind the others by half a syllable.

Splinter waves his hand, dismissing them to their own devices, and they hurry out of the dojo in a clammer of chatting and laughter. Raphael shuts everything off the second he gets the chance and it takes only a moment before those eyes flash in his mind again and set his veins on fire.

They're eyes. There's nothing special about them, he thinks to himself. They are two optic organs, a highly-evolved mechanism in animals that allows them to see, but the eyes of that girl just so happen to be a pretty mixture of brown and green.

He can't stop thinking about them no matter how much he tries. They reveal every emotion, every facial expression, and he's forced to read them. That invisible smirk that she always gives him is mocking yet playful, teasing him, urging him to go further and come after her.

She's manipulative, that's what. She is a mouse taunting a hungry cat by peeking her little head out of her mouse hole, slipping out of reach when the feline pounces. Raphael knows he's the cat, but he'll be damned if he'll let the mouse toy with him like that.