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Over time, Draxum had developed better relationships with his creations. These were mostly brought about by similar interests and passions. He shared something with each other, the turtles, and with the human girl they claimed as a sister. For Donnie it was tech and physics, for Leo it was chem and med, and for Mikey it as… just everyday things. Draxum had yet to find something with April and Piebald—who publicly went by Venus now—but they seemed to get along well enough, so that was fine for now.
For Raph? It was training.
He and Baron trained often, the older teaching Raph new moves and testing him. They sparred often, and Draxum was not surprised but very proud of Raph’s agility and strength.
Today, however, Raph seemed… off.
He was unhappy often, his younger brothers pissed him off to no end, and while he tried to keep his temper and be kinder, he still found it hard to control. He had to, because of his size, Raph had said. Draxum wondered how much more pushing it would take before he snapped and beat Leo up. He already hit his brothers often, but beating them up? Genuinely? That was not something he wanted to do.
Unhappy? Common. Unhappy in this specific way? Still common but he usually fixed his face before others could see. The fact that he was letting his melancholy leak into training with Draxum, something he rarely got to do anyways, was not great. Draxum stopped him mid going ham on the punching bag.
“What’s going on?” Draxum asked. While he was worried for Raph, he was also “emotionally constipated” and Mikey said. He didn’t ask in a worried tone, is what he was trying to say. Raph looked at him defiantly before sighing.
“Raph’s been a bad brother.” He said, shoulders drooping.
“How so?”
Raph sat down, and Barry sat next to him after a moment of hesitation. “I think I’m being too mean to Leo. But you don’t understand!” Raph got up again, throwing a punch to the bag again, even more aggressively than before. “He gets on my nerves, Drax! So, so, so much. And I’ve been abandoning Mikey and Donnie, too.” He sighed, letting the bag fall back and stopping it with his hand. “Leo should be leader, but he’s not ready for it. I’m trying to support, I really am, and I think he’s a good one! But he just… needs to get slapped around. Every time I do it, though, he doesn’t care! Raph trusts him, Draxum, I really do. But… why.”
“I see.” Draxum nodded. “I understand.”
“Oh?” Raph looked at him, sensing Draxum didn’t just mean that he understood what the younger was saying, but he understood the feeling through experience.
“I… respect Lu Jitsu,”—Barry grimaced when he said this, as if it physically hurt—“but I understand that neither he nor I taught you in time. If I was around, perhaps you wouldn’t have…” He shook his head. “It is not your fault Raphael. What is your fault is how little sleep you are getting. I know you don’t have insomnia.” It became clear he wasn’t going to elaborate on his understanding.
“I know.” Raph sighed. “I have stuff I need to do! I just… lose track of time.”
“Try taking naps, they are good for you, especially if you’re out there playing vigilante.”
“What?” Raph looked up at him in surprise. “You know?”
“Yes, you aren’t subtle.”
“I’ve… met some people in the Hidden City.” Raph admitted. “I’m not on my own.”
“Ah, yes. The Nightwatchers, correct?” Barry smirked. “I don’t think your brothers know. April, maybe, but not them.”
“I know, and I’m thankful.”
“They probably think you still masquerade as the ‘Red Angel Of Preventing Harm’.” He raised an eyebrow. “Really?”
“If I go around as a solo vigilante sometimes they won’t realize when I’m not alone. I mean, I go with Casey when I’m R.A.P.H. so it’s not even solo—she’s an honorary Nightwatcher too.” Raph sighed, looking guilty. “They don’t know about it because they don’t think I’d work with anyone but them or Case. I know the Mad Dogs are irreplaceable, but I love the Nightwatchers too. All Raph’s life I’ve only had my siblings—April and later Piebald included in this. It’s nice to have friends like the Nightwatchers. Raph don’t have to be the big brother. Raph can just be… Raph.”
“But you… also don’t like it.” Draxum noted. He wasn’t touchy feely, but he was trying so hard to follow what Mikey had told him. He wanted to be there for his oldest… son.
“Raph loves it! I just feel guilty. Raph don’t want to hurt them, but my work with them, in the Hidden City especially, is so freeing. The cops have started noticing. Draxum, they call us heroes.” He smiled with pride. “Maybe if we have an identity reveal they’ll stop mixing me up with bad guys! Then I can get a job there! I wanna be a crime fighter for real. Or an investigator detective thing! I wanna get a job and get paid, too.”
“You want independence."
“I’m sixteen, about to turn seventeen.” Raph sighed. “I want to stop being so dependent, but I also don’t want my siblings to think I’m abandoning them. Raph already basically is! At least they couldn’t care less about vigilantes in the hidden city.”
“You will not abandon them if you grow up, Raphael. You want freedom and less responsibility. That is not a bad thing.”
“But I already have less responsibility! Leo’s leader now! I’m just being selfish…”
“Leo may be the leader but you’re still the oldest.”
“Third oldest, but Pie and April don’t live here.”
“Right.” Draxum put a hand on Red’s shoulder. “You are the next clan head, it is understandable if you feel pressure from all of this. Your father… failed to raise you properly in the past, and you had to help the entire family.”
“I’ve been studying, you know. About ancient Japan and our clan. I’m learning Japanese. It’s so fun, but… I feel like it’s really difficult. It reminds me that my future, my forever job, is to protect and lead the clan. I want to become a special opps agent or investigator, not be stuck here!”
“That is understandable. I was the head of security, and I can tell you some things to help you get better. As well as things that get you on the city's good side.”
“Thanks!” Raph’s excitement was palpable.
“I will not tell anyone about this, but if you need any medical help, I will be there. It’s time for lunch though, so we should go.”
“Raph’s gonna go put this stuff away.” Raph stood up. While he left he said one last comment, and Draxum didn’t know if it was intentional or not. “Bye, Ma!”
Draxum was left stunned. Maybe he had listened to Mikey too well.
Either way, a smile bigger than almost any he had had before appeared on his face. Two out of five (six? Splinter did call April his daughter) may sound bad, but Barry was still happy.
He wished he could’ve made his older sister smile like that.
He wished he could’ve lifted the weight off her shoulders.