Raphael's Angel

Raphael's Angel: What Lies Beneath

                                               # Raphael's Angel #

                                     Chapter 4: What Lies Beneath

Mikey's POV

  Raph has been acting really weird this past week. He seems somewhat very sad. I hear him mumbling something about not being able to see someone. He comes out of his room in the morning just to get a fruit or drink, looking like he had been crying all night, and going back just to lock himself in his room all day. Now, he is out of the lair and I can finally get some clues on what's causing him to be this way.

  I know Leo is obsessed with finding answers, too. If Leo found out, he would tell Master Splinter. I would tell Donnie, bjt he isn't so good at keeping his mouth shut for a long time. That's why I can't tell anyone whatsoever. It would be too risky. I wouldn't wanna get Raph in trouble.

  I tiptoed across Raph's room, trying not to make any noise on the creaky floorboards. I had no idea what to look for, but anything will do to know what is causing Raph to be the way he is now. It sucks to see the guy you look up to to be so broken.

  Dude, this place is messy! I thought. I searched in his closet and saw a duffle bag. Without hesitation, I unzipped the bag, reavealing Raph's old Nightwatcher costume. "What? I thought he threw this thing away. And wasn't this on Splinter's shelf?" I asked myself, picking up the helmet. This must have something to do with what's going on if Raph lied about throwing it away and taking his helmet back. I placed the helmet back in the duffel bag and zipped it up again. Searching around the room for more clues, I prayed in my head that Raph wouldn't be coming home anytime soon.

  Then, I started to hear a light buzzing sound. It was coming from the duffle bag inside the closet. I ran towards the bag, searching through it frantically. Seeing a dim light at the bottom of the bag, I picked up the vibrating object and examined it.

  "A phone? Since when did Raph get a phone? How did he get a phone?" I unlocked the phone and saw the wallpaper on the home screen. It was a picture of a girl with snow white hair held up into a ponytail. She had green eyes and pale skin. Raph seemed to be taking the picture and was looking at the camera as the girl was kissing him on the cheek. He had a smile on his face that I had never seen before. It seemed rare. Who was this girl?

  This is something I could use that'll give me answers. I pressed a few buttons and ended up in the message category. The only person Raph texted was a girl. It must be the same girl in the picture. I skimmed through the messages that they sent to each other. Are Raph and this girl-

  I heard footsteps coming towards the room. Someone's coming! I gotta hide! With no better option, I hid in the darkness of the corner in the closet and waited.

  I heard the door to the bedroom creak as it opened and heard the click of it closing. Heavy footsteps roamed across the room, getting louder as they passed the closet. "Why can't I see her? She hasnt answered my text messages and she doesn't return the phone calls. What did I do to make this happen to me?" I heard Raph mumble.

  I was getting claustrophobic. Man, why did i choose to hide here? I can't handle tight spaces! I thought.

  It was getting really stuffy in the cramped space, and it seemed like the room was getting darker and darker by the minute. I moved around a little to hopefully find a more comfortable position to sit in when I accidentally hit my elbow against the closet wall. I heard a gasp followed by a low growl. I braced myself for the beating when he found me as I heard Raph stomping his feet towards the closet. There was a sudden pause. No noise whatsoever. What was Raph doing? When a couple of minutes had passed, I slowly lifted myself an inch or two off the ground. Taking a deep breath, I placed my hand on the door handle when a force pulled it open. I flew forward and partially out of the closet. I looked up slowly to see Raph's blazing eyes staring down at me furiously.

  "H- hey, Raph. What's up?" I asked nervously.

  He grabbed me by the tails of my eye mask and yanked me entirely out of the closet. "What are you doing here, Mikey?!"

  "Hey, I ask the questions here. What is the matter with you lately? You've been so sad, dude."

  "My life is none of your concern. Capiché?"

  I pried his hands off of my mask tails and stood up straight. I looked him right in the eyes and said, "It is my business because it kills to see the dude I look up to completely broken!"

  His eyes widened in surprise. He seemed speechless.

  "Who is that girl? Is she the reason why you're like this?" I asked seriously, referring to the girl in the picture I had seen on his phone.

  He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "She's my girlfriend, alright. And there's a reason why I didn't tell ya guys 'bout her."

  "Why didn't you tell us?"

  He lowered his head in shame and said in a hush whisper, "She's related to Shredder."

  "She's wha-" Raph covered my mouth before I could finish my sentence.

  "Don't say anything! Don't speak about it with anyone! Don't tell anyone, alright?! Or I will get a needle and thread and stitch your lips together!" He threatened through growls.

  I nodded and he took his hand away from my mouth. "Why would you date someone related to Shredder? Don't you know she can try to find out all our secrets for the guy?"

  "She isn't like Shredder. She's different. Trust me she is."

  I eyed him suspiciously. "What are you saying?"

  "Her mom was killed by Shredder. Her mom betrayed him and fled the Foot so her daughter wouldn't end up as a murderer like her. That's why he killed her. But, my girlfriend, Myou, was never a part of Shredder's plans. She only planned on gettin' her revenge for her mom's death." He seemed saddened by his own words. Looking into his eyes, you could see he was seeing something that he didn't even want to look at nor remember at all.

  "What does she have to do with making you look like your miserable?" I asked.

  "I always talk to her everyday on my phone, but, she hasnt answered my calls or replied to my text messages. We haven't talked in a week and I have no idea what's goin' on. I don't know if it were something I did or said but I'm just devastated. I don't know what to do."

  At this point, I pretty much felt bad for the dude. I mean, no guy, not even him, deserved to be in this kind of situation. Being the brother I was, I knew I had to find a way to fix this problem.

  "Okay, I won't tell anyone, and I'll help you try to find out what is going on with your girl." I said.

  He lifted his head and looked at me. "You're serious?"

  I nodded and handed him his phone. "I think you should keep this with you and take it wherever you go. That way, when Leo starts looking around for  some answers, too, he won't find your phone and bust you for it."

  Raph smirked and we fist bumped. "Thanks, Mikey. It means a lot that you'd help me."

  "No problem, dude." I paused and thought back at what was inside the duffle bag. "Hey, I know you're tired and all but, could you explain to me why your Nightwatcher costume is in that bag?" I asked, pointing to his bag that was laying halfway out of the closet.

  He chuckled lightly and patted me on the back. "Maybe I'll tell ya why later, Mikey."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| MEANWHILE |~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Myou's POV

  I sat on the windowsill in my room, looking up at the moon with my legs dangling on the outside and my feet barely touching the fire escape ladder. I leaned against the window frame and thought about Raph. I know I haven't seen or talked to him in a while, but how can I when my father is ill and getting worse as the days roll by? He has been in the hospital this entire time but his treatments don't seem to be helping him at all. It's only a matter of time before it'll be too late to bring him back to health. I sighed.

  I'm sorry, Raph. I'm sorry for not having a chance to tell you what's going on. I just don't have the guts to talk about it at the moment. Please forgive me...