Splinter sat by the Daimyo, watching the tournament. Mona Lisa had decided that she wanted to experience the crowd atmosphere so she sat out among the spectators. He felt a mixture of pride and envy as he watched his sons fight. The first two rounds went smoothly with all four of his boys coming through victorious. Donatello had a big grin on his face as they advanced into the third round.
Then Splinter felt his heart sink when he saw that Raphael was fighting Joi. At first his son seemed unfazed by it, but the sloppiness in his fighting told Splinter that Raphael was getting angry. He thought that the match was over when Joi brought her weapon down, but Raphael managed to evade it.
A quick glance up at the Daimyo told him that he was also watching that particular fight.
Raphael got extra aggressive as the anger swelled into rage. He landed a solid punch to Joi’s face sending her into the wall. With his other hand he brought his sai down only to meet the wall driving it in deep. Moments passed as his son stood there fuming then just as suddenly, the rage was gone. Confusion faded to a realization then a flash of fear.
Splinter looked up at the Daimyo who in turn looked at Splinter. “I am tempted to pull him from my competition.”
Splinter was speechless and simply nodded a deep bow. Looking back to his son, their eyes met. He could see how upset he was. Leonardo walked up behind Raphael and they were soon joined by their other two brothers. Distraught, Raphael ran from them.
Splinter felt the need to meditate so he excused himself from the Daimyo and headed down to the rooms. He wasn’t there long before he heard to door open then close again. He opened his bedroom door slightly to see who it was. Raphael was sitting on the floor curled up and Splinter could see the turmoil within him. Before Splinter could move to comfort him, the door opened and Donatello entered the room. Splinter thought it best to let Donatello handle his brother, but left the door open a little just in case.
He heard Raphael’s confessions of his dark thoughts and nightmares. Donatello handled them admirably offering his brother reassuring kisses and words. Their conversation soon turned to their love for each other, giving Splinter a sense of hope. Raphael admitted to the darkness within him, which will make the next few days go a bit more smoothly, and his love from and for Donatello will aid in his conquering it.
Splinter felt himself flush when the talking ended and the soft sounds of kissing could be heard. He was thankful when the gong for the tournament resuming sounded. After his sons left, Splinter made his way back up to the platform where he would be observing the rest of the tournament.
Once seated, Splinter looked up at his old friend, “There is hope.”
The Daimyo glanced down at Splinter, “So long as the soul isn’t completely consumed by darkness then there is always hope.”
The eight combatants stood ready, all four of his sons among them. The human, Tora, along with Usagi a Triceraton and D’jin were also there.
Donatello was paired with the D’jin, Leonardo with Usagi, Tora with the Triceraton and Raphael with Michelangelo. The human was quickly overpowered by the Triceraton and Donatello had few problems dispatching the D’jin. Splinter smiled brightly seeing that Donatello had just made it into the final four.
Leonardo and Usagi where more equally matched so the fighting took a little longer, but in the end Usagi proved to be the better fighter.
Leonardo emerged in the room behind them, “Damn,” he breathed. He sat down on the floor on the free side of his father to observe the fight.
Raphael and Michelangelo fought well, knowing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Splinter couldn’t hear it, but he was sure Michelangelo was trying to taunt Raphael into losing his temper. The tactic had worked three years ago, but not this time. In the end Raphael won.
Michelangelo appeared in the same spot that Leonardo had, “Ah man,” his voice almost a whine. He came up and sat down on the other side of Leonardo. “At least I wasn’t first,” he teased and Leonardo playfully hit his shoulder.
Round five quickly began. Raphael was paired with Usagi and Donatello with the Triceraton. The battles were the longest of the day, which was to be expected. Raphael and Usagi fought well together. Ultimately, however, Raphael fell to Usagi.
“Fuck!” Raphael exclaimed as he emerged.
“Raphael!” Splinter scolded. “Come and sit. Watch your brother fight.”
“Sorry.” Raphael mumbled sitting next to Michelangelo.
Donatello managed to throw the Triceraton off balance and his bo staff came down to strike at the exposed neck. There was a loud crack as the bow struck the ground and Splinter’s three defeated sons cheered.
The Daimyo stood to make his announcement. “Miyamoto Usagi of Second Earth and Hamato Donatello of Third Earth, my congratulations to you both for making it to the final round of my tournament.” The crown erupted in cheers. The Daimyo raised his hands and the crowd quieted. “Let the final round begin.”
Usagi and Donatello bowed first to the Daimyo then to each other before they began. Usagi went on the offensive and Donatello seemed to be fine with that. The white rabbit attacked furiously with both swords and Donatello blocked or dodged each attack biding his time. He waited for his opening, letting his opponent tire himself out.
When he saw his opening, Donatello switched his stance and swung his bow landing blow after blow knocking Usagi to the ground. Donatello spun his staff changing his grip then swung it down towards Usagi’s head. The bow met air as Usagi was teleported away. The roar of the crowd was matched by the roar from his sons as they shot to their feet to cheer.
Donatello stood alone center ring grinning. He seemed almost reluctant as he bowed to the crowd raising his staff high in salute to them. He then turned to the Daimyo and bowed deeply. His eyes met briefly with Splinter’s and the old rat could see the modest joy in them. His eyes moved over to his still cheering brothers and his smile got bigger as he waved to them.
Splinter saw him heave a sigh of relief before he turned to continue to wave to the crowd.
“Hey Raph,” Michelangelo nudged his brother, “remember your promise.”
Raphael looked at Michelangelo then shoved him playfully away, “Fuck off,” he chuckled.
“Raphael.” Splinter warned.
“Sorry.” Raphael apologized.
Splinter smiled at his boys. “Go find your brother, the awards ceremony will begin shortly.” With that his sons left the room leaving Splinter alone with the Daimyo and his son. “Let’s give them tonight to celebrate. Tomorrow we will approach them with your offer to help.”
The Daimyo nodded. “I can see your son’s attempts at containing the darkness within him, but I also see how strong it has become over the past three years. However, he does not appear to be of any threat tonight. We can wait for tomorrow.”
Splinter bowed, “Thank you.”
The award ceremony was full of spectators, but Mona Lisa managed to find her way through the crowd to them. She kissed Raphael on the cheek, “You did great.” Then she stood on her tiptoes to whisper something in his ear. Whatever it was made him blush and she giggled, also blushing.
Donatello graciously accepted his award from the Daimyo. There was a faint blush on his cheeks as the crowd chanted “turtle”. He waved at them and bowed, before holding the trophy above his head.
After all the jubilation was done they all returned to the Daimyo’s home for dinner. Splinter managed to pull and aid aside to instruct him in leaving a special gift for his sons in the room. The Daimyo had agreed to Splinter’s plans and had arranged for him to sleep in another set of rooms so that his sons could have a little privacy.
Dinner was wonderful and delicious, filled with the foods of many different worlds. The Turtles teased each other and continued to congratulate Donatello. Splinter enjoyed seeing them happy and so full of life. He dreaded tomorrow, but today he would let them have their fun.
What was most amazing was that Raphael allowed Donatello to be openly affectionate toward him, and even saw his normally reserved son gently kiss Donatello on the cheek once.
After dinner Splinter reviled to them the first part of his surprise. “I will be staying in another set of rooms tonight so that you may celebrate your brother’s victory today, and so that I can get some sleep,” He chuckled. “You must promise me, however, that once in the room you will remove your gear and store it in the dojo. After that you must stay out of the dojo and stay in the rooms.”
They all agreed and gave their word then said their goodnights each hugging Splinter in turn. Even Mona Lisa came up to give him a hug and a soft kiss on the cheek.
He turned back to the Daimyo after the sounds of his sons’ laughter faded. “In moments like these the darkness is barely there.”
“That may be so,” The Daimyo replied, “but, you would not have asked for my help if you believed that it was nothing to be concerned about.”
Splinter sighed, “I have been trying for nearly eleven years now, to help him overcome the darkness within, but I fear it has grown beyond my abilities. He needs a more direct approach.”
The Daimyo placed a supportive hand on Splinter’s shoulder. “Tomorrow, he will face the darkness within him head on. He will find the source and will either be overcome by it or learn to finally contain it. Either way it will be a moment of great change for him.”
Splinter nodded his agreement and with a heavy heart allowed himself to be led to his new room. Despite the quiet he did not believe that he would sleep well. He dreaded what the morning would bring.
