Of Turtles and Lizards

Race Against Time

Raph's POV

It was three days since I'd last seen Mona and I was getting worried. Calm down Raph she promised she'd meet you here tonight. That was your agreement. If we start meeting again every night Leo will get suspicious. But...what if something had happened to her? What if she was out there, injured with no method of contacting him? I've got to stop thinking like that, I'm getting myself all worked up over nothing.

Mona...We'd been seeing each other for quite some time now. I sensed that Sensei knew about it, as did Mikey, but they kept relatively quiet. As Master Splinter said, the decision was my own, which meant I was pretty much free to do as I pleased when it came to Mona Lisa.

Leo's still mad at her, but I think he's finally accepted that it's none of his business what our relations are. Doesn't mean he won't go after her if he has a chance though, but that's not that big a problem. After all, Mona's a really strong fighter and Leo still has a lot more self-control than me, even when he's angry.

Looking back on all my experiences with Mona, I realize that Mikey was right: she'd make a shell of a kunoichi. Maybe even better than Karai. She already had the necessary skills: agility, incredible fighting skills and most importantly, a sharp and clever mind. Our last two meetings we'd had sparring matches. I have to say, even though her technique is a rather raw mix of street fighting and agility, she is one heck of a fighter. Mona has the ability to observe her opponent, determine their next move based on her impression of them. Kinda like me.

Contrary to what Fearless might think, I actually size up my enemies before engaging them. If they're new enemies that is. The guys we fight all the time like the Krang and the Foot bots, I can jump into the fray no problem because I already know all the best ways to take 'em down. Sparring with Mona? That's a whole other ball game.

Like I said before: Mona observes her opponent and uses their weaknesses against them. As any kunoichi should. Next thing I knew I began thinking back to our meeting three days ago...

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Flashback...

"Come on, greens eyes. Why're you holding yourself back? Afraid I'll beat you too easily?" The light green lizard teased as I continued to remain on the defensive. "What's the matter, Raph? You afraid of hitting a lady?"

"You call yourself a lady?" I retorted and she frowned angrily. Mona jumped into a high kick. I took advantage of the opportunity and went on the offensive. I grabbed her foot just before hit my face, throwing her off to the side and onto the ground. She pushed herself up slowly and I stepped over to her side offering a hand. She looked up at it with a scowl. "What? I won, fair and square."

Her tail flicked out and whacked me unexpectedly and I fell to the ground. The next thing I knew she was right on top of me pinning me down, her knees straddling my hips as she leaned in close to my face. "Who said we were finished?" She smiled playfully.

Oh she is playing with fire. I thought. I grabbed onto her wrists, using my superior weight as momentum and rolled over, trapping her beneath me. "Rule number one of pinning somebody in a fight: always remember to restrain the hands." I stated. "I believe I win again." I smirked at the pout on her face. Our eyes widened as we both realized what position we were in. My face got hot and I immediately jumped off of her. I gave her a hand and helped her up, both of us blushing like crazy. "So...good match and all that."

"Yeah, good match." We walked over the building's edge and sat side by side.

"You know, you're a pretty good fighter. Mind my asking where you learned your moves?" I asked in earnest.