A/N: Hey guys! This my first fanfiction, so any suggestions are welcomed! I've always wanted to write a fanfic about TMNT, with this following storyline, so hopefully it came out okay. Thanks for reading!
And I DO NOT own Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or anything affiliated with them, unfortunately.
It's when his eyes do this thing, where they almos' glaze ova', like they ain't seeing what's really in front of 'em, but they still hold this passion. It's at that moment, when we all know we've plunged into dangerous waters. It takes so much to push him over the edge, seriously, it's prob'ly happened a good five times in all our years, but when it does happen, it's scary. Hey, I know what it's like to lose ya' temper, but this, it's somethin' else. When Mike gets angry, and finally loses his grip on his seemingly never-ending, stupid positivity and light, all hell breaks loose…
"Guys, stop watching TV and meet me in the dojo, we're going to go over some katas." announced Leo as he freakin' struts into the livin' room like he owns the place.
"With Master Splinter? We already had practice, why is he going over another one?" asks Don as his head popped out of his lab.
"No, he's at April's helping her train, this one will be with me. You guys seemed a little sloppy during practice, so I thought another one was in need, set you back straight." he replied with a smile, as if he actually thinks we wanna go through anotha' two gruelin' hours of katas. Yeah, I don't think so. So I speak up, gotta stand up for my two little bros.
"Leo, we don't need another freakin' practice, our moves are just fine, stop tryin' to push us harder than we need to be." I protest. It's been a good four months, since he returned from South America, an' the whole time he's been actin' all high an' mighty because he spent a couple years by himself in a jungle. Don't gemme wrong, tha's cool and all, but it don't give you tha' right to boss us around like ya' little workers. We're brothers for God's sake.
"Raph, I'm not 'pushing you harder than you need to be', I'm trying to help you. It'll just be a little extra work, so your moves in battle can be precise and more effective."
"Leooooo, c'mon! Just take a little break, relax, have some fun! 'All work and no play makes Leo a dull boy'!"
"Michelangelo, this is serious! What if one of you guys' feet accidentally slip when performing a Full Cross jump kick, or a Bronze Eagle flip? That could mean a Purple Dragon getting a hit on you, which could mean getting hurt, and I can't see you guys get hurt out there."
"Leo, first of all, I highly doubt, with all of my heart, one of us will 'slip' on a Full Cross jump kick, that's just pathetic, dude. We've gotten hurt before, and we're still up and standing! The PD's will certainly not bring us down, have a little faith! I'm quite offended, actually, thinking we couldn't hold some little Dragons!" ended Mikey while puttin' his hand over his heart, an' staggerin' back, actin' as though he'd been stabbed, with his stupid, little smirk on his face.
"I'm not joking! Is that what this is to you, Michelangelo? A joke? You're always trying to cover up the truth of our situation with silly humor. It's time to face the light. Ever since I left, you guys have been slacking off, now that I'm back, things will be more in order now." he spat righ' back.
Don an' I saw each other, havin' the same look on our faces. This could be bad, back when we was kids, Leo an' Mike always got along real well. They always agreed on stuff, never fought, pretty weird considerin' their opposite personalities. Anyways, with them, you almost always knew there would be harmony. Almost. It's when they butted heads, when things got scary. Always ended up with someone in the makeshift infirmary Masta' Splinta' had. That's also kinda how we discovered Mike's "temper".
When I looked back at Mikey, I could kinda tell he was hurt, slight sadness invaded his eyes, but it was gone quicker than it came.
"Leo, I know when to be serious. And who are you to tell us we're slackin' off? You stop trying to act as though you're higher than us, we're all brothers here, dude!" Mikey yelled, I could tell he was really startin' to get angry.
"You think you know when to be serious? Sorry Mikey, but I doubt that. Always laughing and humoring yourself while on missions, disrupting our stealth! It doesn't help. Better straighten out your own shell soon, you're bringing us down."
"Leo! Stop, this is getti-" Don tried to stop what we both knew what was to come, but he was cut off by Mike.
"No it's okay, Donnie, I got it, I understand now. Leo thinks that I'm bring you guys down. That I'm slowing all of your paces. You know who's the one slowing us down here, Leo? You. You left us for almost two years, one year of that included us waiting every, single, freaking day for your "independent" ass to walk through that goddamn door. Let me tell you something, that door never opened. Not until four months ago. Do you think four months will make up for two years, Leo?! Do ya?! Because I got some news for you, buddy. You can't just walk back in here and act like nothing's wrong. Everything is wrong, Leo! So before you start trying to 'straighten our shells', maybe you should check your own." he yelled, walkin' away, his back to all of us.
His yells resonated through the lair, an' it wasn't his happy, thriller yell, either. It was his scary one. His "calm before the storm" scream. We all saw his eyes jus' quiverin' over the edge of losin' themselves. It's what Leo said next, that decided their plunge into the pure, red anger.
"Stop kidding yourself Michelangelo, you're a liability."
That's when the last straw was drawn. No matter what kinda fight we're in, we almos' never use that word. It's kinda the breakin' point, like a curse word to us. It's really a low blow, an' we all know it. Masta' Splinta' always tries to tell us that each of us help the team, each have our own… "assets". Sayin' you're a liability? That's like saying we don't need you in this fight anymore, you're useless.
Mike stopped dead in his tracks, not movin' a single muscle. "What?" he spat.
"I said you're a lia-" whatever Leo meant to get out, it never made it. Mikey grabbed his nunchucks, an' spun them above his head at a ridiculous pace, while runnin' full speed towards Leo. One second, you almos' think you're outta the woods, and he ain't mad no more, the next, he's got this look to kill. That's how Mike works. As I see him rush by, I could see the pure anger an' rage, pent up inside his little body. Leo pushed him, an' there was no goin' back.
As Mike, brought down his chucks, Leo blocked them with his withdrawn katanas, swipin' him back. "What do you bring to this team?! Nothing. I'm tired of treating you like a baby, it's time grow up, Michelangelo." Leo screamed as he swung, but Mikey was lost in his own anger. He took his nunchuck an' wrapped it around the sword, pullin' back, sending it clattering to the other side of the room. I saw fear, quickly flash on Leo's face, finally realizin' Mike was furious. He finally saw the potential for danger.
Mike swung, Leo blocked. Mikey raged, Leo feared. Don an' me tried to interfere, but that could only make things worse. We had never seen Mike fight like this, only when he got in this state of anger, he was dominatin'. Leo had lost both weapons, and was desperately tryin' to block Michelangelo's rapid punches an' kicks. Mikey long forgot his nunchucks, now jus' usin' his fists an' legs. He kept hittin' him in the weak spots, like the ribs an' face. Leo was goin' to go down, quick. Mikey swept his leg under Leo's, but Leo jumped. What Leo didn't see comin', was Mike flippin' over him, mid-flip, kickin' Leo in the shell, sendin' him flyin' forward.
As Mike whipped around, he grabbed Leo's katana that was on the ground, an' like a fox, ran over an' swiped down towards Leo, he had no control. But I saw this comin', an' as he was about to make contact with Leo's rough skin an' the deadly sharp metal, I tackled him.
I knew what it was like to lose control, only seein' red, needin' to release the fire that is threatenin' to spill over you. Everyone's containment of their rage has different limits, but it's always there. You feel like you're wakin' up after you've calmed down, realizin' an' regrettin' so much, what just happened.
Mike struggled under my weight, I placed my knees on top of his plastron. He tried kickin' an' punchin', I'm not sure he was even aware it was me on top of him. I locked his hands down on the ground with mine.
"Let me go!" he screamed.
"Michelangelo, CALM DOWN!" I raged right back. I even used his full name. He needed to see what happened. Leo was layin' bruised an' bloody on the ground, I needed to help Mike, like he always did for me, it was my turn.
It was when I punched him across the face, hard, trying to get him to land his feet back in the space of reality, when he finally saw what he did. He first looked up at me, with fierce eyes, an' then, it all melted. He looked over, and saw Leo. He looked around, an' it really dawned on him. I could feel the regret, coming off of him in waves. Oh, how I understood.
I got off of him, knowin' he would be safe. He sat up, usin' his knees for support, an' lay his bloody hands on the cold, cement ground, limp beside him. Tears started streamin' down his cheeks.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I-"
I engulfed him in my arms, "Hey, hey, hey, it's okay, Mike. It's okay." He needed a hug. He needed someone to understand. He needed a brother.
A/N: I took a little different approach on Raph's character. Instead of his usual brooding, rough and tough persona, I made him more of an understanding brother. And it was hard trying to put his accent into the writing! And I know Leo acts like a total jerk in here, but I had to, to make it work! Trust me, I love Leo to death. I hope you guys enjoyed, please review! Thanks!
-ThirteenColonies