The Shadow's Secret│TMNT

53 || Scars of our Pasts

It was a quiet drive. And usually I liked it that way, but I was so anxious and fidgety and exhausted all at the same time and I needed something to keep my mind busy before I went crazy. So I broke the silence.

"What's the story behind that scar on your shoulder?" In the rearview mirror, I caught Raphael jerk his gaze from the window as if I'd just woken him up. He lifted his right arm, glancing down at the raised scar tissue with a lopsided half-grin.

"Mikey sliced me when we were sparring a few years ago," he shook his head, reminiscing in the memory. "Idiot was trying to use a kusarigama for the first time. When Donnie told me how bad it was gonna scar I figured I'd make something good out of it and got him to turn it into a kanji."

I grimaced. "Like with a knife?"

"A kama."

"So you let Donnie cut you with an axe for the sake of a cool tattoo," I summarized dryly.

"Mikey did it," he corrected.

Mikey? Of all the brothers, why would he let Mikey do it? He must've caught my confused expression in the rearview mirror.

"He's a little more artistic than Donnie," he explained. "And Leo wouldn't've let me if he knew about it."

I just about burst out laughing. "You kept it from Leo? Wouldn't that just make him angrier?"

"Sorta."

"So he was mad when he found out?"

"Yeah. But it worked out good cuz I never coulda tattooed myself with tebori anyway. And it looks pretty sick."

I snorted. "Yeah. Must've hurt like hell, though."

Raph shook his head, laughing quietly to himself. "You have no idea," he said. "After it healed, Mikey went over it again. I would've had him do it a third time if Leo hadn't told Sensei about it."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I demanded. "Why would you want it done three times?"

"Why not? It makes it bigger."

I shook my head. "You're ridiculous," I muttered. "So what does it mean?"

"Fèn. It means anger, mostly."

I rolled my eyes. "How fitting. What about the one above your lip? How'd you get that?"

"Me and Leo were sparring a long time ago and he was rubbing it in my face that he won. So I wanted to go again, but with real weapons instead of bokutō."

"Bokutō?" I was too nervous to attempt sifting through my memories for the answer while driving.

"Wooden training weapons," he supplied. "When we were younger that's all Sensei would let us spar with. But I was mad I lost and bet Leo I could beat him if we were using real weapons."

Typical Raphael. "Did you?"

"No. Sensei came home and stopped us."

I fell quiet for a moment, unable to imagine how angry Splinter would've been. "...So Leo sliced you?" It must've been pretty deep if it scarred so bad.

"Yeah, right after I got him."

I managed to contain my gasp. "Those scars around his eye were you?"

"Yeah," his voice was low. "I don't really remember the fight, I was so mad. I don't think I meant to hurt him, it just kinda happened. Y'know?"

I nodded solemnly. "Yeah."

"I dunno if Leo meant to or not, but he got me pretty good."

I glanced in the rearview mirror, watching as he ran his thumb over the most prominent scar, his lip, and down his chin where it continued. "Got me on both sides," he said, feeling a less noticeable scar on the other side of his lip that led to another down the other side of his chin. The quartet of scars formed a broken, almost invisible 'x'.