LeonardoxRaphael

Leonardo slung his katana over his shoulder, bowing his head respectively towards Master Splinter as he went off to his chambers for the night.We bowed in unison, Leonardo doing it at a slower and more refined pace, trying hard to be the goody-goody that he always was. Once Master was gone, I sighed and straightened up. Leo went off to a practice dummy in the dojo, and I watched as he repeatedly kicked at it.Mikey and Donnie were out for the night, hanging out in the slums of New York and probably dining on stolen pizza.I was almost sure that they were on a rooftop somewhere, having a candlelit dinner with April.Ever since they had met her, Donnie and Mikey had been lost in a sibling rivalry, vying for her love and affection.I just shrugged it off. I mean, what could you do?It wasn't like we had that many choices.The farthest I had ever gotten in a love interest was with Mona Lisa, but she'd called it off, saying that there was no spark and that my mind was always elsewhere.She told me that I was "With" her, but that I wasn't really "with" her.I hadn't understood at all. My stomach churned as I watched Leonardo.What had she meant? Though I was worried, I was also sort of relieved.Frankly, I didn't disagree with her on the.."Spark" thing or whatever it was. It still pissed me off though.

I crossed my arms, and stared on as Leo transitioned into a smooth flurry of punches.He continued for a moment, the practice dummy rocketing back and forth as he continued his onslaught.Suddenly, he stopped and stared back at me, his hands still clenched into fists.

"What?" He asked, his breathing ragged.It looked like he wasn't sure if he should glare or grin at me, so his eyebrows set into a furrow.

I didn't say anything, but grinned.I threw my arms back and forth, mocking his punches from a second ago. "A little sloppy today, eh?"

He glared at me, his mouth forming a tight line. I readied myself for another arguement, an arguement that would surely break my boredom, when he surprised me.His expression eased up into a worried frown. "Was I really?" He asked, concern laced in his voice. I noticed that he sounded a bit tired.

I hesitated, his expression taking me aback. "Shell yeah." I finally forced out, trying to sound as confident as I wished I was. I scratched at my head absently. "Your arms were too curved.They didn't connect correctly."

"Oh." He murmured, a disappointed look on his face.His head drooped as he glanced over at the practice dummy.

"You alright? You're acting iffy today."

His head snapped up at me."Yeah?Well I'm wondering when you suddenly started caring about my well-being." He sneered.

My arms dropped, and my hands clenched into fists at my sides. I stomped over to him.

"Well," I hissed at him, spewing venom into his face."It's not my fault you suck."

He glared at me, and I glared back.For a second it was a stare down.

"I'd like to see you do better." He said after a moment, breaking the silence.

I huffed. "Yeah?Then I'll show you." I walked over to the training dummy, my hands balled in fury.I could feel Leo's hot gaze searing into the back of my neck. As soon as I reached it, I threw my elbow back, and, mustering up as much power as I could, swung my fist in straight into the dummy's chest.It sunk in, throwing the dummy completely back.

"See?" I said, turning towards him."Perfect."

"Uh.. Raph?" He said the hint of a smile playing on his lips as he gestured back to the dummy.

"What?" I said, turning back to it, as it caught me completely off guard in my angered state and hit my square in the face.I teetered precariously, disoriented as the anger was knocked right out of me, and fell down, landing on my shelled butt.