Remember [Book 1]

45 - Naomi

Days had gone by. I had kept Raph's offer of a race in the back of my head. I would've, but there's been so much to do suddenly. Donnie had asked me to help him out in the lab with a new invention he was working on, training had gotten all the more serious, and Mikito and I were still trying to quietly put our past together. Nothing was working on the latter with our limited memory as is. So instead we continued brainstorming with April on realistic and not so realistic scenarios.

With any day, though, there was training. Today me and the rest of the turtles, along with April, were resting beside Splinter as he divided us into teams to train with. Leo was with Mikey, I was with Splinter, Mikito with April, and Donnie with Raph. The order went that way, too. And it seemed like any other training day in the dojo. Leo won the match with Mikey, Splinter let me and him stop after about thirty minutes, April won against Mikito, and the fun part was possibly watching Donnie get his shell handed to him by Raph. Either the boys were showing off, or it just happened that way. 

Nonetheless, training ended, and the boys were headed out. The girls and myself stayed with Splinter to discuss our work and how we could possibly improve. I was sidetracked a moment as I heard Donnie and Raph talking just outside the dojo. My head turned slightly to see more of Donnie than Raph. Couldn't exactly hear what they were saying, but it seemed upsetting. Donnie's shoulders slumped after a moment, and Raph walked away. Disappointing indeed.

"Naomi!" Splinter's word snapped my attention right back to him. "Did you hear me?"

"Hai, Sensei," I said. "My balance needs work."

His ears flicked but he nodded. With a wave of his hand he dismissed us. I turned and practically flew down the steps. I wasn't usually one to ask about what the brothers were fighting about, but I was really wondering what made Donnie so upset. Raph could be rude and mean, sure, but… Why toward Donnie? They were brothers. Lived together. Well… I guess that explains it. Siblings could be a pain in the butt. Still my curiosity controlled me.

Heading into the lab I saw Donnie working on his newest set of inventions. The ones I've been helping with here and there. One of the extended pieces was laid out on the table, Donnie clamping black painted tarp into the metal pieces so it would stay. Even added a fresh layer of glue on each side for good measure.

"What part are you working on, Donnie?" I asked as I came up. 

He turned his head up to me then back down to his work. "The wings. Need to get them finished so I can start in with programming the fans and control."

"Want some help?"

"If you don't mind. You can work on yours if you want."

Mine was different. Only because I was the only different mutant here besides Splinter. I had more things to throw me off balance; no shell, and a tail. Donnie and I had been working on these flight suits for a while. Everyone else was generally the same, so Donnie fixed them up generally fast. Mine? So many adjustments that it became my own personal project. So I nodded and went to a different desk not too far from Donnie's. For a while we sat in silence.

"So what was that conversation about with you and Raph?" I brought it up. Why not? Donnie was always so less stressful when he was working.

A large sigh came from the turtle as he stopped working for a moment. "Just… stuff. I'm… sure you'd laugh at me, too."

"Donnie, the funniest thing to happen in this sewer since I've been down here is Raph screaming at a cockroach while trying to also beat up Mikey," I told him. "And when Mikito tripped into the pool yesterday."

Even he chuckled at that. Ah Haha! So he wasn't in that bad of a mood. That was good, then. I watched him shake his head again, chuckling all the more. "Okay, yeah. That… That was kinda funny." He stopped working for a moment. His attention went straight to the wall, taking a deep breath. "I've had a crush on April. And… Raph just continues to laugh in my face…" His shoulders slumped as he looked back down. Down past the items on his table, past his legs, and at this point pretty sure past the ground.