Come and Dance with Me

Rated:K

Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT.

To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful – Agnes De Mille

The turtle family was busy with their own tasks, breakfast and morning practice had been completed a few hours back, Raph was now busy with some of the children in the playground doing some friendly competition in shooting hoops, Master Splinter and Leonardo were meditating, Mike was working in the kitchen mixing up a large batch of cookies. Don and Jen were both busy working on their new company Jenate Tech and some of the clients demands for it.

Suddenly, the general peace and quiet was broken by a loud rock beat blasting from the dojo, the music was loud enough it could be heard through a large section of the underground lair. Splinter laid his ears back, and muttered something softly under his breath as the first few notes came almost vibrating into the room they were in. His tail thumped the floor in irritation.

The old rat opened his eyes, "Ah yes, Ramiela is almost a teenager, Michaelangelo best watch out."

Leo chuckled a little, his niece, was going be turning thirteen soon enough "I'll go tell her to turn it down, she shouldn't have music on that loud in the dojo anyways."

Splinter merely nodded, he recalled the problems and difficulties that came with teenagers, but he had almost forgotten how much they loved to turn the volume up on music, television or anything else to drown out the world around them.

Leo rose and headed out of the meditation room and paused as he saw all three of his brothers leaning in the doorway of the dojo watching something, and not one of them moving to turn down the music from within.

Mike turned with a wide grin on his face, "Leo look at her go!" he spoke with a great amount of pride and his eyes sparkled with barely contained enthusiasim.

Leo scowled and muttered, "Can't any of you take her in hand and remind her to show respect for…"

He was cut off by a sharp dirty, scathing look from Raphael, "Leo shut yer trap and look."

Leo looked into the dojo and saw his niece, the girl's long hair was down and as she moved it whirled and fanned out around her, the soft minty green colour of her skin was offset by the darkness of her black hair.

Ramiela didn't even seemed concerned she had an audience she was lost in the moves of the exercise she was working on, clearly it was a kata and yet at the same time the other moves and the way the girl would sway or side step here or there made it look more like a dance.

Rama leaped high in the air, flipping into a back flip, she came down balanced on her right leg whirling around in a circle and doing a quick roundhouse kick, she landed and struck out with fast fists at an imaginary opponent, then arched her back into a back flip, and with legs under her on landing, pushed up swaying and moving to the music letting the beat of the song drive her.

Leonardo paused arching an eye ridge as he watched impressed with this free form display of his student.

Mike shook his head, "I can't stand this anymore the girl needs a partner!" he declared and hardly were the words out of his mouth when he was jumping in to the dojo, his hands reaching for one of the chucks tucked safely in his belt.

Ramiela spun and noticed him, a small smile played across her face, and her hand plucked the sai from her belt, she crouched, waiting for him to come to her. But as Mike closed in she back flipped away.

Mike smiled, and laughed realizing his daughter had welcomed his willingness to join her. He got her into a corner she moved a little to the left but his weapon swung, only for the girl to move to his right.

Ramiela waited as the song switched to another equally hard fast beat song, this wasn't her work out tape for nothing. She jabbed with her sai to her dad's unprotected spot but a move of Mike's wrist brought his weapon around to block the strike.

Rama moved her other weapon towards the upper arm and Mike effectively blocked it, Rama pressed in and turned so it seemed they were circling each other. Their feet sliding over the mats, then Rama broke away jumping high in the air and away from her opponent a large smile on her face.

Mike charged towards her and Rama dived sliding between his legs, Mike jumped spinning around and reached down to take her hands in his and help his daughter to her feet. Rama laughed with delight as she whirled away from him again.

Raph grinned "That girl can dance you want to try at her Don?"

Don nodded and took out his staff and headed into the dojo, he swung his weapon at her head, the air whistling as it moved by, Ramiela ducked back and limboed her way under the staff, Causing Mike and Raph to crack up laughing.

The girl tucked her own weapons away and reached to grasp the bo staff, Don pulled it away and spun the weapon, making Rama only give a mischievious little grin. "You come out here to dance but don't want to play?" She chided "Come on Uncle Donnie."

She whirled and spun on one leg over to the wall and took a staff of her own, she tossed the weapon lightly from hand to hand then behind her back. She caught it and thumped one end down on the ground in time to the beat. Her body shifting and swaying to the music like a cobra moving to the vibration sounds of a flute.

She sent the weapon spinning so it blurred before the eyes and then headed towards him, allowing the staff to hit hard against his weapon then the two became locked in a dance where low swings of the long staffs were leaped over and strikes were dodged or connected to while they moved forward then back.

One would move to the left the other to the right as if synchronized and in tune with the others moves – and in essence they were- for in battle one had to be, to save from being cut down or severly hurt it was better to learn your enemies moves before they made it.

Raph had been watching all the fun but he had enough the moves and the music Ramiela's playful ways of turning the exercise into some fun with her music calling to him – and while Raphael might insist many times to his own wife that he didn't know how to dance,- he had to join Rama in this.

"Stand back Don it's time to show her how ninja really dance." He declared.

Don back stepped as Raph came in fast and hard, he did a hard tornado kick, followed by fast strikes of his hands as he threw some punches at the girl.

Rama rolled her eyes, and chuckled inwardly she moved fluidly and with grace away from the kick and then began to block his strikes with moves of her own, or twisting her body to deflect the blows that got past her defenses.

While her dad and Don had tried to keep the beat of the music, Raph didn't seem to heed it. 'I'm going need a totally different song for him I think, or teach him to move with the beat.' She mused, to herself.

She did her best to guide him by using her own hard strikes, kicks and punches to bring him down and to the level it needed to be at to meet the time of the tempo in the music that was playing.

Mike chuckled, "He is one bad tempered ninja but he can't dance."

Though slowly with the two ninja going at the task, using no weapons just hand to hand and the dojo floor, Ramiela using as much as could to lure him to the spot where the music playing and the moves made were one and the same, or felt like it.

Leo had been watching the display, recognizing this as a form of exercise and training, but also seeing in it a form of art, beautiful and striking. Fast paced, hard hitting and then there was the feeling of peace, energy and beyond that sheer enjoyment.

' How often,' he mused, 'Did Raph or Mike miss out on lessons or did their best to have little or no discipline in training? Yet, Ramiela has grabbed all our attention and has all of us wanting to jump in and partner her with her dance.'

He recalled his original intentions of coming to turn down the music and talk with his student about it but he found after watching the display and how easily Rama worked with the music, that instead of stopping her, he too longed to join in.

Ramiela glanced up, "Sensei, come on!" She urged him, as if picking up on his unspoken words, and perhaps she had.

Raph did a back flip out of the way and turned to see if Leo would take her up on her invitation.

Seeing that her Sensei did not seem to jump at the chance she smirked slightly and reached up over her shoulder to withdraw one of the katana she carried on her back. She began twirling and moving the weapon, knowing that this might be all she needed.

Leo knew she was challenging him in some unspoken form or fashion, yet he couldn't help but answer the unspoken words that lay between them. He easily and with fluid flowing grace removed a katana of his own, and then went to join her on the mats of the dojo floor.

Rama grinned wide her grayish green eyes dancing with delight. The first ring of the swords adding a soft counterpoint to the music that played. The two stood braced close facing one another with their weapons locked.

Rama pulled away and back, with Leo pressing her, she flipped and came down near his back and he spun to face her only for her katana to start a rapid beat of tempo to the music that played.

Each strike, counterstrike, feint, parry and dodge was timed with presciscion and skill, flowing and graceful. The two ninja seemed far more locked in a dance then any of them before this.

Ramilea's breath was coming hard and fast but the smile on her face and the enjoyment and happiness that shone in her eyes said she was content in the game they were playing. A light bit of sweat was coming on her brow.

But she was willing to see this one dance through, it was not often that her Sensei would join in and now that the two of them were locked in a dance of sword, flesh and music it felt invigorating and enticing and in some ways and fashion, addicting.

Leo reached out and pulled Ramiela in with his arm and then he whipped her out spinning across the dojo.

Then the fun and enjoyment ended as Splinter looked in and declared, "Will you please turn that racket off?" He looked at Leonardo and Rama with their weapons locked and smiles on their faces he shook his head. "Here we go again," he muttered wearily to himself.

Ramiela giggled as she went to turn down the music, "Sorry Master, I just wanted to dance," she apologized contritely. "I'd like to dance again too."

"I don't mind you having fun Ramiela, but remember you must respect the dojo." Splinter scolded and glared a little at the others.

Leo placed a hand on his student's shoulder, "She was respectful of it Master and training hard enough she had all of us joining with her." He looked down at her, "If you ever want to dance like that again, I'd love to be your partner."

"And I'd be honoured Sensei." Ramiela replied. "After all, one can not trust a spiritual leader who can not dance."

"Ooh?" Leo arched an eye ridge.

"That is what Mr. Miyagi said in the movie the next karate kid."

Leo rolled his eyes, "So you wanted to see if your spiritual leaders could dance?" he half snapped.

She laughed, then, reminded him rather truthfully, "No one asked you too, you did it yourselves."

The End.