Nightwatcher: Into The Ring

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

"Raph, please, I'm trying to keep you safe!" Leo pleaded, desperately trying to reason with the ginger boy.

"Leo, you know I'm right!" Raph shouted back, one arm loosely gripping his twin brother in preparation for a fight, the other curled into a tight fist and glowing a harsh red. "You've been drilling us too hard, so I started letting off steam, how I do that happens to be none of your business!" Accusing amber eyes glared sharply into almond colored as if Raph could've burned holes into Leo's head with the fire in his eyes.

(He could've, but then he'd have to deal with the regret and the pain of losing a brother and he really didn't feel like committing murder today. Plus he dealt with enough from Yoshi and Leo as it was.)

The reason they were having this fight, was because Raph had been sneaking out after the other boys went to sleep (he was lucky it was one of the better weeks they all had) and fighting in an underground (illegal) ring as the vigilante hero Nightwatcher.

Don had only caught him because the genius had stayed up late in the lab working on the Power Gauntlets* and saw Raph sneaking out in metal armor.

"Raph?" Don asked, hurrying after the ginger boy. "Hey, wait up!"

Raph turned and his eyes widened. "Donny! What are ya doing? Yer supposed to be sleeping."

"I could say the same for you. What are you doing?" Don looked down at the armor. "And what are you wearing?"

Raph hesitated for a moment, debating whether or not he should bring his twin along. He nodded to himself and looked back at Don. "Grab yer gear, genius. I'll show ya."

Don looked at him for a second with that look in his eyes that mean the was calculating the risks, then he raced for the dojo on light feet and quickly dressed in his ninja garb, grabbing his bo staff and a few other things he'd need.

He was back at Raph's side in less than three minutes.

Raph smirked. "Ready?" He asked and Don nodded. "Ready."

TMNT~TMNT~TMNT

Don followed his brother down winding trails and twisting tunnels. When they reached a tunnel filled with strobe lighting and harsh men, Raph stopped Don and pulled him off to the side. "Okay, Donny, this is important, you need to listen to me." Raph told him, setting his metal helmet down at his side.

Don nodded, "Alright." To himself, he added, I always listen to you.

"This place, I'm going to, it's just for a few extra bucks to help Dad out this month." Don felt that made sense, their father's customers had been slow this month and Don himself had taken up a few jobs by selling custom made tech for 20 bucks or so. "It also helps me let off steam cause Leo's been drilling us so hard."

Don knew that made sense too, he'd actually fallen asleep at his desk four times this week.

"These people are big, mean, and gutsy, alright? So, unless someone's trying to off me outside the ring, don't jump in. They may look stupid, but their pretty fast. Don't jump in alright? Not tonight."

Don gave his twin a small smile and the Boy Scout salute. "Promise. Scout's honor."

Raph chuckled and ruffled Don's hair. "Okay, Boy Scout." He teased, ignoring Don's protest of "Eagle Scout!"

"Good. Now, put your hood up." Raph waited until Don complied, then picked up his helmet and put it on. "Stay close."

Don slipped into position on Raph's left, easily falling one step behind his twin, as it had always been.

The guy guarding the door inside stopped them. "Nightwatcher." He snapped, voice clipped.

"Deadbeat." Raph snarled back.

"Who's behind you?"

"He's with me."

"Who is he?"

"He's. With. Me. It don't matter if you know who he is, he's just come along to watch a match. Now let us in 'fore I tell Big Boss you ran off his best fighter cause you where too worried about a stranger that'll be staying with me." The snarl in his voice told Don that no matter what happened, Raph wasn't leaving him out here and for some reason, that made Don feel much better that it should've.

Deadbeat thought about that and then shrugged. "Fine, but if Big Boss says so, newbie's out faster that one of your take outs."

As they passed through the door Raph looked at Deadbeat and snarled again. "His name is Techno. Not Newbie."

Then the both of them were gone in a flash of shadow.

TMNT~TMNT~TMNT

Raph ushered Don into a large room with a television and luxury couch like their father had in the living room (before Don's experiment exploded when he was five and they made the lab). He pushed a button and the window to the outside darkened. Raph pulled off his helmet and sighed, running his fingers through his hair.

"Okay, so rule one. Here you've gotta call me Nightwatcher. You can't call anyone here by real name, which is why I called you Techno at the door. If they know your name, then they can find you later and a lot of the guys here are vengeful. If you have to, call me Iyasa, but not my real name, okay?"

"Okay, Don replied absently, looking around.

"Donny." The brunette's attention snapped to Raph's amber eyes. "What did I just say?" He asked, in a tone Don had often heard used when the brunette was distracted on patrols, the tone that made Raph sound like an exasperated parent with an unruly kid.

"Don't call you by name, call you Nightwatcher and if I have to, Iyasa." Don rattled off.

"Good. Rule two, stay away from the ring when there's a match going on. You'll stay in here when I'm out there fighting; it's the champion's room. Stay in here until we leave and beforehand only leave if you need to."

Don's eyes said he didn't understand why, but his nod told Raph that the brunette trusted him regardless.

Raph gripped Don's shoulder in a way that said the ginger boy needed Don's complete attention.

"Last and most importantly, the majority of these guys are criminals and rapists and muggers, so you've gotta watch yer back, alright?" Raph watched Don's eyes go from confused to disgusted in under three seconds and he thought that perhaps that was the fasted he'd ever seen Don switch emotions like that, even when the genius was upset.

Don stared out the one way window with intense, burning eyes that Raph had learned long ago to be afraid of. "I'll watch my back if you'll watch yours." He said and the burning eyes soften when they turn back to Raph, though there's still some steel inside, and Raph nods.

"I'll be fine. Just stay in here, alright?"

Don nods again. "Alright. Keep the hood up in case someone comes in. If you get into a fight you can't handle, you know what to do with this."

Raph handed Don the emergency button the genius had made after Mikey had gotten jumped in a back alley after coming home from track practice. He had made it so they linked up with the other emergency buttons Don made and told the user if one was in trouble, where to find him, and how long until medical attention would be called for.

Don took the button and then hugged Raph tightly. "Please be careful. I'd hate to have to explain to Leo how you've been sneaking out at night." Don knew it was illogical, but he couldn't shake the feeling that Raph wasn't safe down here. Don knew Raph could take care of himself, with the training and powers they had, but he'd seen the builds these men had and if they were as fast as Raph said, then maybe Raph wasn't as safe as he thought he was.

"Don't worry genio. These boys won't know what hit them." Raph grinned and a little boy came in.

"Mr. Nightwatcher? The Big Boss says you're up in three."

"Thanks Young One, I'll be right out." Raph put on his helmet and sighed.

Don smiled. "Good luck."

Raph smiled behind the mask and nodded to his twin. "Be right back." he promised, and then he was gone.

Don watched his brother walk up to the arena and shed his boots and gloves. This fight was clearly already one.

TMNT~TMNT~TMNT

The fight was brutal, heading off easy with the other man getting on two hits and a couple kicks, but Raph retaliated even easier and the match bottomed out with Raph as the victor and the other man being carried off in a stretcher.

Raph picked up his boots and gloves and walked back to the champion's room.

Don was waiting for him when he opened the door, taking the armor and moving to the couch, already talking about how well Raph did and how he could improve.

Raph smiled as Don rambled, coming from anyone else, the ginger likely would've put them in the hospital as easily as he had his opponent, but this was Don and Raph would never intentionally hurt him.

"He almost had you for a second; your left side's a bit weak. You should probably pay a bit more intention during Dad's lessons, but other than that, it was a great match." Don was practically vibrating with excitement.

No, wait, Don was actually vibrating. Raph put a hand on Don's shoulder and the vibrating stopped.

"How about we spar for a bit and you can tell me all about the flaws I need to work on."

"Sure." Don replied and dropped into ready position.

Raph chuckled and launched, ready to defend himself and win this fight.

TMNT~TMNT~TMNT

Raph huffed as he and Don headed back home.

The younger twin is mumbling under his breath, a flurry of harsh words that could rival the freeze of Leo's own power.

He'd lost his last fight. Top Dog had played a trick he wasn't expecting. Top Dog was the new champion and Raph would need to wait until the next night to challenge him.

It was so stupid. And what was worse, Donny had to see it. Raph was sure that Don would go straight to their father and Leo out of concern for his health, but even as they trekked the long cold sewers, all Don would talk about was karma and the unfairness of the fight and how low the other man had gone.

"I thought criminals had a code too. Stupid. Karma will bite him soon." Don grumbled and Raph had to taper down a laugh.

Don may look like an angry kitten when he was angry, but anyone who knew the Hamato twins knew that when Don got angry, he got angry and he got scary.

When they finally managed to get home, Don collapsed in his bed and Raph took it to mean that he was alright for the night.

That didn't stop the ginger from staying with the younger twin for a while.

Raph stayed for an hour, stroking Don's hair to renew the connection of their powers, and then he slipped out of the room and retired to his own for the night.

*Power Gauntlets are just the gloves the boys wore sometimes to boost their powers until they got a better handle on them back when they were learning and couldn't use their powers in massive amounts without fear of passing out. Because they want to be able to handle the powers themselves, they didn't often wear the Gauntlets, only against super powerful enemies like Shredder.