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This story is rated G and should be appropriate for all ages.
They all wore the "head-kerchiefs" as Raph scornfully insisted on calling them (out of earshot of Splinter). All four were slightly cranky as the result of another practice spent yanking the things to keep them properly in place, and Mike fervently hoped what he was about to say wouldn't just cause more trouble.
"I think I know how we can make the head-thingies better." Make one of Splinter's ideas better? The other three slid glances at each other; even Raph looked doubtful. This was bordering on blasphemy. Mike was all smiles though, as he unknotted his and whipped it off to demonstrate. "See, you fold it over like this..." He folded it several times lengthwise, instead of diagonally. "Then you wrap it around your head, just over the beak..." He did so, making sure the fabric covered his ears. "Tie it in the back, with the extra hanging down...And viola!"
"...A blindfold?" Leo said wryly.
"NO," Mike said a little irritably, pulling the cloth back off. "You gotta cut two holes in it so you can see, and then it's a mask!"
"A mask?" Don sounded doubtful. "I guess it does still cover the ears, but..."
"It's dumb," Raph snapped. Mike tossed him a hurt look. He won't even listen to me at all!
"Won't that make it hard to see?" Leo worried. "If we're fighting and the mask blocks your vision to the side..."
"Not if you cut the holes right, and tie it so there are no bits sticking up." Mike frowned at his brothers' silence. It had seemed like such a cool idea when he thought of it, he had been SURE they'd agree!
Mike's voice grew more excited as he elaborated, trying to make his brothers see his vision. "We'll be heroes...with secret identities! Like Batman and Robin!"
"You can be Robin, doofus," scoffed Raph.
"Mikey, we're TURTLES. Who's going to buy that we have alter egos?" Don pointed out. "Do you know any other big green turtles around?"
"Yeah, if we wanted to pretend to be someone else, we'd be pretending all the time EXCEPT when we're fighting," Leo added. "Being Turtles is like our superhero costume." Leo wanted to smack himself when he realized he'd bought into Mike's fantasy even that much. How did he get dragged into these debates?
Even the skepticism couldn't dim Mike's building energy though. He tried to think of an example they could all connect with. "We'll be like...Zorro!" Mike snatched the bokken, startling Leo enough that he didn't make a grab for it till too late. "Battling the evil Capitan and the forces of injustice!" Mike danced back and forth, slashing and stabbing at imaginary enemies in what he imagined was fine fencing style. He swooped in and sketched a bold Z a few inches from Raph's plastron. "Ha ha!"
"Get that sword away from me before I make you eat it," Raph growled. Mike ignored him, prancing away to skewer more invisible enemies. Leo and Don shot each other amused looks.
"Ninjas wear masks," Mike said to Leo, halting close enough for Leo to reach out and grab his bokken back.
"Full face masks," Don put in.
"And anyway, that's just legends, Mikey." Leo reverently laid the bokken in its place against the wall.
"But Splinter says legends always have a grain of truth," Mike argued, refusing to give up. Leo sucked his teeth thoughtfully. "He also said ninjas probably used dark red as a camouflage color sometimes...."
"I guess." Leo was clearly wavering, and Mike quickly pressed the advantage.
"It'll get in the way less...no slipping or falling off." Mike knew exactly what to focus on to sway his diligent brother. "We can show Master Splinter when he gets back, he'll say it's better too, and he'll be so proud we thought of it," Mike said craftily. "Master Splinter always says, a good ninja thinks creatively, using what he has on hand." Mike's eyes shone with excitement. It's a good idea. Come on you guys, you know it is!
He turned to Don. "They would protect us better if they had more layers, right? Plus the edge can't flip up like this does." He tweaked the back of Don's headpiece.
Don took the cloth from Mike's hand and thoughtfully rubbed it between his fingers. "Yeah, I think it's thick enough to protect well, but not enough to really muffle sound..." He looked at Mike with an expression of respect, and Mike grinned triumphantly. He turned his pleading eyes to his third brother.
Raph was unmoved. "It's still as dumb as the original idea." He whirled on his heel and stalked off, leaving a dejected Mikey behind with his shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Stupid Raph," Mike said to himself. He kicked a small rock and listened to it *sploosh* into the channel near their front door. They weren't supposed to leave the lair without permission, but he figured this wasn't really outside, not when he was only a couple feet outside the technical boundary. This entry to their home opened into a huge chamber. The ledge he was standing on became the floor of a tunnel leading off in one direction, but in this room the ledge overlooked a drop of some 20 feet. Down at the bottom of the chamber, deep water rushed through a channel, exiting through another tunnel set lower in the wall. Mike knew he shouldn't play near the dropoff, but the ledge was wide and safe, like the front porch of a house. It was a good place to be alone, and he felt like being alone right now.
Mike scrubbed his arm over his eyes. "I won't cry," he whispered fiercely. "He's not worth it, the big jerk." Mike didn't know why his brother got to him this way. Leo and Don didn't always appreciate his clowning, but at least they were never MEAN. Raph just seemed to enjoy hurting Mike's feelings.
"Don't let him upset you," a voice said behind him. Don leaned against the door, watching him. "I thought it was a neat idea."
"You did?" Mike said hopefully, rubbing his eyes again. "And I'm NOT upset."
"Uh huh." Don came closer to put an arm around his shoulder. "Raph's just being Raph. He does what you're doing now."
Mike froze. "Does what?"
"Gets upset and doesn't want to admit it, so he gets mad instead. Doesn't think about what he says." Don might keep quiet a lot of the time, but Mike realized that he'd actually been paying more attention to what Raph was really saying than any of them.
"What's he upset about?" Mike wondered.
Don shrugged. "Maybe that he doesn't like this idea of Master Splinter's, but he knows his objection doesn't make sense and he can't win against sensei either way. Or he just doesn't want to admit he's wrong." Mike grinned at that; Raph did hate to be wrong! "Anyway, he'll eventually come around. Just remember he's not really mad at you."
"I guess," Mike said soberly. He felt a little less like crying, but still not entirely comforted. "Thanks, Donny."
Mike's spirits bounced back in the next day's practice, when he got to show Splinter how they'd turned his headcloths into masks. While Raph was out sulking, Don and Mike had ganged up and convinced Leo, and they'd all passed the time till Splinter returned on creating the masks.
Just as Mike predicted, Splinter had praised their ingenuity after carefully checking that the masks didn't obscure their vision. They didn't even get scolded for borrowing the scissors. Splinter was so pleased that he had yet to comment on Raph's absence when the Turtle slouched in twenty minutes late. Uh-oh, Mike thought. Not only was Raph late, he was still wearing a sour face, a sure sign of an argument to come. Mike winced inwardly; when Raph came to practice with that expression, Mike was usually the one who ended up with bruises as a result. Leo and Don smelled trouble too, and all three hurried to follow Splinter's order to sit in seiza for meditation.
When Raph had finally joined them in the center of the dojo, Splinter spoke. "Raphael, your brothers have decided to alter their ear-protection, and we have just finished discussing the merits of that choice. I think you should all adopt that style." Slight stress on the "all"; it was clearly not a request, but Raph scowled and balked.
"But why, Master?" He didn't pause for an answer. "It looks dumb, and I don't like it. They can wear it if they want, but it should be my choice whether I wear it or not!"
Splinter looked steadily at Raph. "Some things in your life, Raphael, will be totally up to you. But some things require cooperation. You are part of a team-"
"A TEAM?" Raph interrupted. "What, like the stupid headgear club?" Angrily he leaped to his feet, tore off the cloth, and flung it to the ground. His brothers gasped at this unbelievable insolence.
Splinter's voice was still calm, but his eyes snapped. "Pick that up, Raphael." Raph, clenching his small fists and wearing a defiant expression, didn't say another word, but also didn't move to obey. The others watched in horrified silence. Oh, he is so going to get it, Mike thought.
Splinter softly tried reason once again. "If your head covering slips in battle, your choice puts yourself and your brothers in danger. If you get an infection, you might pass it on to them." His voice grew a little harder. "Not to mention that I am your sensei and I am telling you- pick it up. And put it on."
Raphael still didn't move. Splinter paused for a moment, and then the tension went out of his frame. He looked away. "Very well, Raphael. If you prefer not to be a part of the group, then you are excused. Go into the other room and meditate until we are through."
This time, Raph obeyed. The Turtles dared not look at him, merely listening as he stomped his way out of the dojo.
"Now, my sons," Splinter said, as if nothing was wrong. "Mokuso."
Mike expected Raph to be silently gloating that night- after all, he had been totally rude to Master Splinter and hardly gotten punished at all! Mike couldn't read Don, but he could tell that Leo, although he wouldn't dare question Splinter's judgment, was simmering with resentment. Mike kind of agreed. Backtalk Splinter and get a day off? No fair! Raph sat meditating while they got bruises. But Raph seemed to be brooding, and he retreated to bed early.
At practice the next day, Raph trailed in last, but on time. His head was still bare. Splinter rapped his walking stick on the ground sharply to gain Raph's attention and asked, "Raphael, what are you doing here? I said you were excused."
Mike watched Raph's face change as he grasped Splinter's meaning. Anger flitted across his features and was gone. A day off from practice was a lark, but Splinter had realized first what Mike could now see- for all his grumbling, Raphael did not like to be excluded when all of them did something together. Splinter gestured for Raphael to go, and turned away as if the matter no longer interested him. Raph wavered for a moment, unsure whether Splinter was serious or just testing him, expecting him to go out and join his brothers on the floor.
Splinter spoke without turning to face him. "You are welcome to return when you can demonstrate your understanding of what I said to you yesterday." Raph turned and slowly started to leave the room. "And Raphael-" He faced his master's back again. "You may wish to think about your treatment of Michaelangelo as well." Anger flashed across Raph's face again, and he departed.
Busted. Mike guessed Splinter had heard their scuffle the other night. Then, how could you NOT hear Raph yelling once he got started? Mike thought of the anger in Raph's face and wished Splinter had said nothing...Raph was just going to be worse than ever now. Mike was disappointed, because he'd really thought Raph would just get the defiance out of his system and then do what Splinter wanted. Maybe it was like Don said, and he was just mad because he didn't want to admit he was wrong.
But maybe he's mad at me still. Don said Raph wasn't mad with Mike at all, but Mike didn't quite believe it. After all, it was him that Raph was yelling at, not Don or Leo, and if he was just mad in general, wouldn't he yell at them too? He could just try harder to cheer Raph up, but he doubted his brother would take it well after what Splinter just said.
"Michaelangelo! Pay attention!" Splinter's voice snapped Michaelangelo out of his ponderings, and he decided to save the rest of his thoughts for after practice.
Mike, lying facedown on his bed again, heard Raph come in and slump onto his own with a sigh. Mike peeked at Raph out of the corner of his eye, but flipped to a new page in his comic without saying anything. He studied one of the human figures in the book and began to carefully sketch on his scrap paper.
He hoped Raph would just go to sleep; his mood had not been improved by Splinter's ongoing punishment and Mike wasn't quite sure what to say that wouldn't set Raph off. Splinter had gone out on an evening supply run, and so far they'd been having an unusually quiet night. Almost unintentionally, Mike found himself sketching a young girl with a kerchief on her head. Mike giggled to himself as he drew a word balloon coming out of her mouth with the words, "Hi! I'm Raph!"
"Hey, can we turn the light out?" Raph said abruptly.
Mike stole another glance at him. "It's early...I'm drawing."
Raph grunted irritably and rolled over to face Mike. "Whatcha drawing, anyway?"
"Uh, nothing." Mike suddenly realized this might not be the best time to revive the headkerchief joke, and he covered the drawing with his hand, faking a wide yawn. "Wow, uh, you know Raph, I think I'll get to bed early too. Night!"
"Mm hmm..." Raph rolled out of his bed and whipped the paper out from under Mike's beak before he could resist, then stepped back to examine it. Mike cringed as Raph's faint grin morphed into a scowl. "What's this supposed to be?"
Mike got to his feet and snagged the paper back. "It's just a joke."
"Yeah, real funny," Raph snapped.
"Come on, Raph," Mike said weakly. "It doesn't mean anything, I was just trying to-"
"Trying to what? Humiliate me?" Raph clenched his fists at his sides.
"What? No, it's not like that!" How could Raph think Mike meant to hurt him when he was just trying to make him laugh?
"I'm so sick of this!" Raph cried. "All you do is make fun of me!"
"I'm not making fun!" Mike protested. "Raph, it was just a joke, I didn't mean-"
"Yes you did! Why are your jokes always about me?" Raph gave Mike a hard, angry shove. "You think I'm stupid?" Another shove, pushing Mike back against the futon so he lost his balance and sat down. "You think everything I say and do is a joke?" Mike sat wide-eyed and silent. "If you just don't like me, well FINE, cuz I don't like you either!" Mike couldn't stifle a gasp as he recoiled from the vicious barb. Raph reached for the drawing again, but Mike instinctively hid it behind his back, out of reach.
Raph's eyes fell on the comic book. "Raph, no-" Mike said, trying to grab it first, but his bigger, stronger brother wrestled it out of his grasp. "Give it back!" he said desperately, reaching up, but Raph held it over his head with one hand and pushed Mike back onto the bed with the other.
"Give me the drawing," Raph said coolly. Mike shook his head mutely. "Give it!"
"It's MINE!" Mike screamed back. "You...you jerk, you big bully! Leave me alone!"
"Fine!" Raph yelled. "I'll leave you alone! And you can just DROP DEAD for all I care!" Raph, eyes sparkling with rage, suddenly ripped the cover from the precious comic book, and as Mike watched in horror, tore it to shreds, which he let fall with the rest of the book. He slammed out of the room and Mike burst into tears.
Dimly, over the sound of his own hiccupping sobs, he heard Raph's angry shouts in the main room, and Leo's voice yelling back. Don slipped into the bedroom and saw Mike huddled on the floor with the scraps of paper cupped in his hands. He went quickly to kneel beside Mike and wrap him in a hug. "You were wrong," Mike sobbed, half-accusing. "He hates me, he HATES me!"
"Mikey...Mikey...he doesn't," Don soothed, but Mike wouldn't stop crying.
Leo appeared in the doorway, rubbing his cheek and frowning. "I wish Master Splinter was here," he muttered. "Raph won't listen to me and he's too big to whip." He dropped down beside his brothers and embraced them both. "Mikey, it's okay. It'll be okay." Leo attempted the soothing tone Splinter used when they were hurt, without much success. He laid his head on Mike's shell.
"It isn't," Mike whispered, sniffling. "It won't be."
The TMNT and associated characters belong to Mirage. The original stories and characters are mine. Steal my work and I will devour your soul.