Moonlight Mutation (A TMNT Fanfic)

Chapter 18: Red

"Sensei, do I really have to?" Raphael whines.

Destiny waits in the dojo, her head turned away from the entrance in a faked motion of disinterest. Her ears, however, are aimed towards the outside. Her tail remains still, not even shifting to curl around her legs or flick in annoyance, and her perked ears droop in synchronization as a sigh escapes her lips.

Of all the days to start training with Raphael, it has to be when she feels the most overly emotional. She just loves being a girl.

Note the heavy sarcasm, she thinks to herself with an irritable snort.

"Raphael, you need to stop acting this immature. You have a skill set she could use," Splinter says with all the calm that he usually possesses.

"You're also being insensitive. Have you even tried to get along with her?" Leonardo asks.

"Besides, bro, you seemed to like her fine when you were playing video games," Michelangelo starts. There's a brief pause where Destiny can't quite make out a verbal reaction, but then Michelangelo's laugh comes again. "Dude, you're being silly! Be like Elsa and let it go!"

"Do you want to get punched?"

Destiny rolls her eyes and rests her head on her hand. She exhales hard enough to make her lips motorboat, her fingertips dancing across her kneecap and flicking at the loose strings along the seams of her jeans.

Donatello's voice chimes in, "Raph, just act like it's normal training! This is...the next level for us, being teachers. It's an experiment!"

"It'd be hard enough to teach her without the sprained foot," Raphael snaps. "Sensei, this is just stupid. Can't Donnie or Leo take her for more sessions?"

"Hey...why not me?" Michelangelo whines.

"Because your training sucks."

"Raphael, enough with this pessimism," Splinter says. "You need to try before you claim that you will fail."

Destiny's hands clench into tight fists, her toes curling against the base of her sneakers as she takes a slow breath in. Outside, there's hushed whispers for a few beats she hears footsteps approaching. She looks up as Raphael enters the dojo, his face set in a stony glare but his eyes glistening with a sheen of shame.

The rational part of Destiny's brain tells her not to talk much and just let him train her. To her, the only way she can imagine avoiding any harsh words is to be silent, obedient, and simply giving him no fuel to ignite his fire. That, of course, doesn't please her in the slightest. Quiet obedience isn't her way, not at all.

"Alright wolfie, let's get to work," he grumbles, walking over to a nearby rack of equipment. Destiny doesn't say a word, causing his expression to loosen. That brief slack disappears as he glances over at her with a hard green glare. "So you're just not gonna talk this whole time?" When she refuses to make a peep, he rolls his eyes. "Suit yourself."

He picks up a few shuriken from the shelf, flicking it to himself with little effort on his part. Destiny nearly strains with the effort of silence, her entire body more rigid than an ice sculpture in a freezer.

"You look like you're about to pop," Raphael says.

"You don't have to train me," she blurts not a moment after.

"Huh?"

"You don't want to waste your time with me. I get it," she continues, her forehead creased and her arms crossed tightly over her chest. "I won't be some burden that you have to deal with."