100 Moods Drabble--> Aroused/Raphael
Title: Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright
Fandom: TMNT--Mirage Continuity
Characters: Raphael, Splinter, Donatello, Michaelangelo, Leonardo
Prompt: 007-Aroused
Word Count: 383
Rating: G
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Summary: Splinter evaluates his young students and one commands his attention
007-Aroused- Raphael
He knew at age six it was far too early to tell, and he treated them equally as he always had and always hoped to, but his ordered mind could not help but evaluate and measure each against the other. He had decided some time that year that one day he would need to establish a hierarchy which would enable them to function smoothly as a team. So he watched his young students with both pride and a critical eye. Their sparring was growing stronger every day. Kata were still rough, even the simplest ones, and he felt it would be a while before this students would approach his level of knowledge and all he could remember from his days with his Master. But someday the books he had been gathering here and there would prove invaluable...
A sharp cry snapped him out of his wandering thoughts. Raphael had knocked Donatello on his shell and was helping him now to his feet, grinning in triumph. Splinter clapped his hands, commanded they stop and bow, and then switched them around to spar with new partners. He watched carefully as Raphael dominated Michaelangelo until the latter pulled an impressively fast spin kick that sent Raphael stumbling back. Before either could regroup and launch another attack, Splinter stopped them with a word. "That match belongs to Michaelangelo. Raphael please spar with Leonardo. Michaelangelo, pair with Donatello."
Raphael faced off Leonardo and it seemed to Splinter that a switch had been thrown. He had seen the signs before but now the emerging fire was more apparent than ever . The two came together, striking and blocking. Raphael, suddenly ablaze with a feral light shining in his eyes, rushed Leonardo and managed to topple him. From the floor Leonardo attempted a sweep that Raphael neatly avoided and the instant Leonardo was on his feet Raphael had him back on the ground and pinned.
The lights had come on in little Raphael's body and mind. So often in their studies, reading and writing and math, Raphael's efforts were only enough to keep his sensei more or less appeased. But here, in the dojo, Raphael burned like a bright star. Splinter saw a passionate fighter in the making, and with that, the possibility for a strong team leader.
Time would tell.