“Spar with Raph, will you Leo? I am at a very critical point in this experiment.”
Feeling a stab of guilt upon seeing the disappointed look on his oldest brother’s face, Donatello turned back to his work. He would love to spend time with his brother, but interrupting his work now would not be wise lest he might lose his train of thoughts later.
“Damn it!” Renet cursed, unheard by her hosts. “Missed the spot!”
She used her scepter again. This time she arrived a few minutes earlier.
Donatello sat down at his workstation. He took his instruments and let out a soft breath.
“Okay, Donnie,” he said to himself. “Focus, this is important!”
Renet watched him as he carefully started to work. Soon she heard footsteps outside the lab coming closer. Again she stopped time. Moving closer to Donatello she held her scepter high. When she reached him, she gently put her hands on his shoulders. A small glow wandered from her fingers over to him. It started to engulf his head, his upper body, his legs, his arms and his hands. After that it spread to his work table. When his whole lab was engulfed Renet removed her hands and turned her scepter. Time started running again in the lab and only in the lab. For a moment Donatello stopped working, looking around, maybe having felt Renet’s featherlight touch. When he did not see anyone, he shrugged and started working. After an hour he put down his instruments with a satisfied look and took a sip of his coffee. Renet quickly swung her scepter and time was running again outside the laboratory. Donatello was about to go back to work when Leonardo appeared.
“Do you have time to spar, Don?” he asked. “I could use the exercise. And you could, too. Probably doubly so…”
An hour ago Donatello would have been too tense to appreciate the teasing tone his brother used. But after having mastered the critical phase of his current experiment, he smiled lightly. He was at a good stopping point and a break was welcome. As was the chance to wipe the smug grin out of Leo’s face.
“You are on, fearless Leader,” Donatello said with a grin, feeling satisfied when the leader rolled his eyes as Donatello used Raphael’s nickname for him.
They entered the dojo. Raphael was there lifting weights and looked up in surprise when his brothers entered.
“Look, what the cat brought to the dojo,” he smirked. “Didn’t think you could drag him outta there, Fearless.”
“‘He’ can hear you and ‘he’ wants to let you know that it is rude to talk in the third person about people who are present in the room,” Donatello bit back.
“A’right!” Raph made a placating gesture. “Since ‘you’ are actually here to spar with Leo, I guess I am not needed - this time.”
Donatello watched Raphael leave and bit back the retort his mind came up with. There was no need to ruin Leonardo’s day by getting into a fight with Raphael.
Leo suggested that they both trained with their favorite weapons to simulate a real fight best. Donatello agreed and grabbed his bo, while Leonardo went for his katanas before they got into positions. After the formal bow, Leonardo charged, forcing Donatello to be in the here and now immediately.
Of course, Donatello was no match for Leonardo. His brother was stronger, faster and way more determined. Nevertheless, Donatello gave his leader a hard time. He landed a few hits, dodged several and blocked a lot more. When Leonardo was finally able to disarm him and pin him down, they both were breathing heavily. The winner got up first and helped his brother to his feet.
“We should do that more often,” Leonardo said.
“I know, I need the training,” Donatello gave back, feeling a little patronized by the not so subtle hint. “I know, you are worried that I will get hurt or someone else gets hurt, protecting me, but hey… you have to admit I made you work for your victory. I might not be as strong as you guys, but I have my ways in a fight and I am still a worthy ninja, not a helpless puppy.”
Leonardo furrowed his brow’s ridge and looked at Donatello with an unreadable expression.
“I know,” he finally said. “Even though it is very telling that you felt the need to point it out…”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You defend yourself against an accusation I did not make,” Leonardo explained. “Why would you do that? Where did that come from?”
Donatello thought about his words for a while. Then he let out a breath and turned his eyes towards the ceiling with a defeated look.
“Because you would be right to make that accusation,” he admitted meekly. “I do not train nearly as much as you guys. And that is not fair. I let you guys down, worse I make life harder for you. You have to be even better to make up for my lack of skill. It is beyond me why you even care about my safety since it is my own fault. It is just that I have a lot of things to do and…”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Donnie!” Leonardo held up his hands in a soothing manner. “You proved your skills just minutes ago, you can hold yourself in a fight. We have seen that several times.”
“But…”
“And I know that there is a lot on your plate that none of us could even dream to do.”
“Well, there would definitely be more time for sparring.”
“So, you feel like you should spar more and you have the time to do it. Why don’t you do it?”
Donatello looked away. Nervously he bit his lower lip.
Quietly, barely to hear, he finally answered, “I feel so vulnerable here…”
“Here? In the dojo?” Leonardo asked, surprised.
Donatello nodded.
“But why? Are we too rough? Is it Raph? I can tell him to tone it down. You should be completely safe here.” Obviously Leonardo was beyond upset. “We could…”
“No, no!” Donatello stopped Leonardo before he could blame himself. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it?”
“You three are all so natural in here,” Donatello confessed, abashed, eyes down again. “Mikey and you are extraordinary ninjas and, while Raph may have been better off as a samurai, he still is an amazing fighter. Myself, not so much. I feel like you are the natives here and I am an alien.”
“Donatello!” Leonardo exclaimed in his no-nonsense-I-am-the-leader-listen-to-me-voice. “You are a fully trained ninja, a master of the bo and capable of putting up a good fight. I just saw that.”
“But you won!”
“Someone always wins. Well, most of the time, anyway. You are a great ninja and a valuable team-member.”
“Yes, I am a ninja, but at the end of the day I am travelling this path because it is our father’s. I am a ninja by default, you are a ninja by heart and soul.”
After the words had left his mouth, he found the courage to meet his brother’s eyes. Leonardo looked at him thoughtfully, seeming to consider Donatello’s words. Finally he nodded.
“I think I understand. I will not make you continue on this path against your will, neither will father, I am sure of it. It pains me that a great mind like yours is forced to stay hidden. You could accomplish great things and are stuck with improvising domestic appliances for us.”
“What?” Donatello was flabbergasted.
“I cannot give you a scholarship, even though you probably deserve it,” Leo chuckled. “But I can give you the free time you need to follow other fields of study that have nothing to do with keeping us alive. But please do not scratch keeping us alive completely from your schedule, okay?”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Donatello said. “Building things for my family and keeping them alive is something I consider as ‘great things’. I can follow my interests, hobbies and guilty pleasures just fine. What I want most is to help keep our family safe. Give you as much comfort and protection as I can. But while I am of use in my lab, I am a burden here in the dojo. I profit here, but I do not contribute.”
“You really think that?” Leonardo’s expression softened even more.
Donatello shrugged and nodded.
“Well”, Leonardo said. “While I agree that you are not our best fighter, you are still a great fighter. You miss a lot of training sessions, but are a master with the bo anyway. Is that a genius thing?”
He winked at his brother.
“What?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Leonardo stated as he took a few steps towards his brother until he stood right in front of him. “You are aware that we do not meet many adversaries that are wielding a bo, but those who do usually know what they are doing?”
“Yes, but…”
“Do you agree that therefore it is good to practice against someone who does, too?”
“I guess…
“And I am getting you right that your main purpose is to help us and keep us save?”
“Yes…”
“Great!” Leonardo looked self-satisfied. “I will make sure you have enough time for your scientific interests, but you will not miss training anymore, not once. We need you to make sure that enemies with staffs do not stick them up our asses. So I expect YOUR ass to practice every day! Understood?”
Startled at first at his brother’s unusual rough tone, Donatello’s face finally lit up.
“Understood,” he confirmed with a smile.
Renet smiled, too. She was pretty proud of herself. Great plan, great execution! But as much as she would love to boast about it, she had to keep her low profile.
Next Chapter