꧁𝑴𝒂𝒎𝒂'𝒔 𝑩𝒐𝒚꧂

Chapter 8

"Mikey was right. . ." Raph muttered, staring down in disbelief at the purple masked softshell in front of Splinter.
"And by the looks of it, he doesn't look happy." Leo scowled, glancing at the roaring crowd surrounding the VIP balcony they resided on. Thankfully they had been allowed their weapons back, so long as they behaved.

He wanted it to be public. . . He wanted Splinter to be humiliated, the slider realized quickly. He turned his attention back to the twin, who stood there with a tense stature and angry expression. He glanced over at the newer. . Turtle? That was watching from the overseers balcony nearby. Why did she always wear that ridiculous costume?

Donatello glared at his father, clutching his bō tight and ready for when Mama called for the match to begin. Oh he was going to enjoy this. Giving the rat what he deserves for having Raph raise them so long, showing him that Leo shouldn't be the least favorite, making him realize that Mikey isn't just a baby and can take care of himself, all of it. And, maybe if he won this, they would leave him alone, see that he was better off here. They could visit, but Splinter could not. He wouldn't allow it. Leo's apology was genuine, he could tell. He may be bad at reading tone, but the slider genuinely looked upset, he genuinely looked sorry for making him feel such a way. But the rat. . . It just seemed like some lame excuse to get him back home so he could make his brothers stop worrying. He didn't trust that he genuinely meant what he was trying to say.

Suddenly the speakers made a loud ringing noise, signalling that they were being turned on and readied for the battle to begin. A voice erupted from the dark boxes, oh-so cheery and delighted. "Welcome, welcome! How splendiferous to see you all today! It is quite a special duel this evening, as our champion has decided to fight a past champion to keep the top spot! Our champion will be going against the one and only Lou Jitsu!!"

The crowd roared, jumping up from their seats and throwing their hands up in excitement. This would surely be a good battle, then, if it's two champions duking it out! And against the great Lou Jitsu no less!

Splinter swallowed, looking up at the balcony where the others resided. Oh God. . He would really be doing this. . . He would be fighting his own son—

"Now I'm sure you all might be a teensy bit confused, but I assure you, this is in fact him! Fighting with just as much vigor and intensity as he once did! Our champion has decided to challenge him for the official spot to prove that his name is merely a title!" The voice in the speakers rang excitedly, earning an impossibly loud cheer from the crowd. They whistled and whooped, jumping up and down in anticipation.

Splinter frowned, clearing his throat and stepping forward to grab the attention of the genius son. "Purple, why don't you come home. I'm sure we can figure out what's going on and why you are acting this way—"

"Silence, Splinter!" Donnie snapped, which was unusual for the turtle to do. His head drifted towards the older sibling, who stood with a worried expression on the balcony. This wasn't just for him, it was for all of them. It was for Raph especially. For making him basically raise his own siblings for so long, for making Leo have such a dependence on validation, for making Mikey feel inferior for being a younger sibling, and so much more. The terrapin. Drifted his attention back towards the rat man and suddenly winced, clutching his head and stumbling back a few steps. His migraines were getting worse, and it didn't help that he had a possible concussion from the previous duel with the lobster yokai. . .

He sidestepped an oncoming attack from the lobster's large pinchers, failing to notice the tail heading straight for his head and focusing on the pincher swinging straight for him from the other direction. When he had finally noticed, it was too late, and he felt his head hit the ground with a loud, reverberating bang. His head rang for a minute or two after, vision darkening at the edges and swimming like mad with barely any signs of clearing. He attempted to sit up, his head throbbing with a pulsing pain. His vision continued to swim, clearing up only a bit but making him feel nauseous afterwards. He returned an attack when the lobster was distracted in his celebration, succeeding with a swift blow to the back of the head.