You Don't Have To Fight Alone

Chapter 8: Coping

Leo's POV

"Hey!" He exclaimed, turning and snarling as she somersaulted backwards and away from him.

She stood at attention. "Yes?"

"You can't just cut in at the last second and claim victory, it's not fair!" He yelled.

"Raph, if the foot and the krang were fighting in a warehouse, would you jump in and join or wait it out and take the victor at his weakest? Victory is a matter of intelligence, not just strength and skill." She said as she pulled a beautiful pocket knife out of her jacket.

She flipped the blade up, it was unusually thick and oddly shaped. Not your everyday pocket knife.

"And as for fair? When has the world ever been fair, Raph?" She asked.

"ARGGHHH!" Raph yelled angrily as he charged her blindly.

When he neared her, his sai was poised to attack from above and my heart skipped a beat.

This wasn't Raph's skill, it was his anger, and though it was thoughtless and brash, it was still strong. If Maria tried to deflect it, instead of dodging it, she could get seriously hurt.

But Maria must have sensed this because she sidestepped amd Raph ran forward, stabbing his sai through empty air. Then he ran again. She sidestepped.

He roared angrily and they did this about five more times, with Raph as the bull and Maria as the matador.

Finally, on his last turn towards her after being sidestepped, he stopped and huffed at her angrily.

She watched him with an emotionless face.

He growled, steam practically coming out his ears and I leaned forward ever so slightly. Then he threw down his sai and stormed out of the room.

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding.

As Raph left, I saw the tail of a very large rat slide away.

"Bravo girl! Way to win training!" April cheered and ran towards Maria, smiling.

Maria gave her a small smile before walking away, suddenly no longer red with heat from exertion or thrill. No, now her face was lined with grief.

April looked after her, but made no move to follow, ber own face clouded with confusion.

I nodded to April and went to follow Maria.

I easily caught up with the grief stricken teen and walked with her as she left our home. She didn't leave the sewers, rather just walked aimlessly around the tunnels of New York city.

Finally, she stopped as we came upon a ledge. She sat down and looked down into the water below, swirling with waste.

I sat down next to her and said nothing, it was not the time to. She should think, come to terms with what had happened, and someone should be there to comfort her, not in words, but in support. To show she had someone there for her.

That she wasn't alone.

Maria suddenly burst out crying and hugged me, burying her head into my shoulder. I hugged her back reassuringly and let her get it out of her system. She held onto me tightly for the next few minutes before she let go and look back down into the disgusting water, wiping her tears away.

"You know, Raph has the same bright green eyes as my brother." She said quietly.

I stayed silent.

"He was a troublemaker, always looking for excitement. He always stole my stuff in exchange for something." She smiled lightly. "His eyes are things I remember the most about him, they way they lit up every Christmas morning, how they sparkled withe excitement when something cool happened, the way they bore into your soul when he was angry, and how they made him just so irresistible when he was sad or disappointed. He was a real puppy dog eyes type of kid."