This came to mind since my recent dwellings with one-shots like 'Extreme Sitter' and 'Google Fascination'. It is apparent that I'm still obsessed over the TMNT crew that I obviously have no ownership of nor do I gain profit from writing about them. I've given you Donatello and Raphael, and then Leonardo and Raphael, now let's see what Donatello and Michelangelo have been up to in their youth.
Warning: Mischief About.
...
"Are you sure it wouldn't hurt?" Michelangelo dropped his current masterpiece: a collage of old, used coloring book pages, tied together by pieces of string, and ogled his brother.
The other frowned, reluctantly looking up from his own art that he was intently working on, and said, "Michelangelo, I've told you a gazillion times already; no, it doesn't hurt. I am sure of it. You'll have to see for yourself." The turtle huffed in annoyance and returned to his work.
It was now Michelangelo's turn to frown. His sibling seemed quite certain about himself on this matter, and him being the smarter turtle - he talked smarter anyway and knew a lot more than him - it would be safe to assume that his words were true, but somehow Michelangelo found difficulty in convincing himself to go along with their plan.
"But what about Leo and Raph? Why can't they do it?" He jerked his head in the general direction of the pair, and crossed his arms; upset with the decision.
Donatello glanced at the two who were off to one side of their den, practicing their katas - of course on each other. They went through motions of firing and dodging shaky kicks, throwing jerky punches at each other, and then when they ran out of stances; they resorted to made-up moves. They wrapped their arms around each other's neck and took to the ground, rolling, grunting, protesting, and occasionally laughing.
Donatello scoffed at them; unimpressed, "No, they would be too scared to do it," he stated as a matter of fact.
Michelangelo nodded in agreement, but he also knew that this was one of those 'he and Don' things. Their other brothers could not be included. He opened his mouth to ask 'just' one more question but the sound of familiar feet shuffling into their home made him stop to look around.
He suddenly felt safe yet anxious. Master Splinter was home.
...
Splinter smiled when he entered his den and saw his little ones in the same positions as he had originally left them: Michelangelo and Donatello making arts and crafts on the floor, and Raphael and Leonardo rough-housing. Well, maybe not those two. At least they weren't fighting.
All the activities came to an end abruptly when they became aware of his presence, and four pairs of eyes looked up at him expectantly. It was late, and they were waiting on him to return from his nightly rounds. Every night, after he had them all fed, he would find himself scouting just beyond the perimeter of their burrow, watching and listening for nearby threats or intruders of any sort. Though, in these sewers, the threats were rarely there; thus far.
The master imagined his behavior was due to his ancestral nature as a rodent, and never gave up the paranoid habit. It was a good thing. Feeling safe to be with all four of his young ones again, he allowed his tiredness to weigh him down. "Come, little ones," he beckoned them to gather around him, "I believe it is time for you to go to sleep."
"Aw man," Raphael groaned, "and I was just about to have Leonardo beat."
Splinter had no idea as to where the turtle found some of his words, but he was too exhausted to correct him, and chuckled, rubbing the disappointed terrapin's head as he ushered them towards their bed.
"No, you did not, Raphael," Leonardo objected loudly, crawling onto a worn-out, single-sized mattress. It was one of three that Splinter had discovered in an alley one night, abandoned by the previous owners, and he dragged each of them back to their home, thinking only of his sons and how fast they were growing.
"That is enough, boys," he ordered, nudging Raphael to get in his bed as well. Despite his hesitancy, the turtle went straight up next to his bickering partner and laid down for the night.
"Master Splinter, look! I made this for you," Donatello shoved a small, cream colored piece of paper into his face for him to see, and smiled proudly. "See, it's all of us," he pulled the shape apart to reveal a chain of similar figures with arms and legs which were linked by their hands.
Splinter smiled at the child, "That is very impressive, Donatello. Thank you."
Both he and said turtle climbed on top of the mattress with him at the end of all three youngsters. Now it was just one more offspring to go, and this one, he realized, was a lot quieter than the rest tonight. 'Strange,' he looked around for Michelangelo.
"Michelangelo?"
The turtle stood at the edge of their beds, looking mystified and dropped a pair of scissors on the ground just at the top corner of the mattress. Splinter, already too tired to question his actions or to demand that he put them away in a proper manner, simply said, "Come here, son. No more art for today. It is time for your bed," he patted the space beside him; specially reserved for this turtle because the others complained of having him next to them.
"Kay," he smiled genuinely and hopped down next to him, instantly rolling into a fetal position to sleep.
Splinter hummed an old lullaby as he listened to each of them fall deep under the spell of their dreams. He would fall asleep soon after, and then they would all gravitate towards him for his body heat. They were reptiles after all.
...
Splinter didn't know what made him emerge from his deep, needed slumber, but he was suddenly aware of something hovering near him. All his senses said so, and his acute sense of smell told him that it was Michelangelo moving about, however he chose not to open his eyes. The child had a tendency of looping his arms over his face, or tugging at his arms for hugs in his fits of sleep, so this was probably normal or so the elder thought, until...
"SNIP!"
His eyes flew open at the sound and they were greeted by a very surprised, extremely shocked Michelangelo, who was hovering over him with the same pair of scissors that he had failed to lecture him about early.
He was sure he had never growled like that in his entire existence, yet a loud roar escaped his lips when he shot up, clutching his nose for murder. His face twitched at the strange burning, tingling sensation that marauded through his skin, and he palpated the area involuntarily. He searched for a word to describe the feeling since it wasn't pain. No, it was numb! Alien and numbing!
"What? What is it?" Raphael flew up; ready to fight.
"Raph! Get behind me!" Leonardo demanded; now standing on his feet, pulling his sibling to safety behind him.
Splinter looked back at his sons who were all now wide awake, forgetting Michelangelo's early start. His eyes then locked on the guilty tike. 'The little, green akuryo chopped off my whiskers!'
"Oooops," Mikey muttered, dropping the scissors, and backing away in fear. His eyes were as round as saucers and his breath hitched.
"Master Splinter?" Three voices queried his strange behavior; suddenly afraid because of how his action violently ripped them out of their dream worlds. Splinter didn't look to them, instead, he stared long and hard at the lone terrapin that now had his shell jammed against the grimy wall in pure terror, and wondered what kind of punishment he should deal out to him.
"Uh-oh," he heard Donatello behind him and that brought him out of his trance.
Splinter inhaled deeply as Michelangelo swallowed the lump in his throat. He strode closer to the uneasy turtle, stared at him directly in the eye, stopped short, leaned over, picked up the scissors and exited the den, leaving his son shaking like a leaf caught in a brutal storm. He figured that in his little brain, he must have done the ultimate disgrace. Cut off his master's whiskers.
Splinter shook his head at the idea. What could have beheld the little akuryo to look at him and decide to cut off half his whiskers? He went to the edge of a drain and let the sharp object drop into the murky fluids with a plunk; satisfied that the vile device was now permanently removed from his home, and then he went back to his odd family. He should have gotten rid of it the first time Donatello snipped off a patch of his fur.
...
Back in the den, Splinter raised one paw to silence them. He didn't want to hear anything. He didn't want to frighten his son any further than he already had. It was Michelangelo, and he had to sleep next to him. The mutated rat sighed heavily. His heart laden with other worries. What if he had decided to cut off his tail instead? He shuddered. That one's curiosity was certainly a danger.
He got them all back to bed quickly, placing Donatello between himself and Michelangelo: the 'whisker chopper'. That would suffice as enough punishment for now; that and the lost scissor.
"Master Splinter?" His son whispered; turning towards him.
"Yes, Michelangelo?"
"Did it hurt?" The turtle asked, sounding pretty much concerned if not remorseful for the incident.
Soothed by the caring nature found in one so very young; Splinter sighed, "No, my son. It did not hurt...it just felt ...weird," he reassured him. "I believe...they will grow back." He hoped. "Now go to sleep," he ordered.
The turtle sighed in relief, and turned back on his side. "G'night, Sensei," he mumbled.
"Good night, Michelangelo."
...
It took Splinter a while to find the peace in his mind again to fall back to sleep, and when he finally found it, he caught it, and as soon as the drag began sucking him back into darkness, he heard a voice.
"See, I told you so!" Donatello's harsh whisper woke him up, and he saw the turtle leaning into the other's ear before Michelangelo's hand swatted him back down. Donatello didn't retaliate as he was content with his win, and settled back into sleep.
Splinter groaned. 'Little akuryo!'
...
Mischief Managed!
I've always expressed my view on Donatello and Michelangelo being equally curious; albeit for completely different reasons.
Didn't see that coming did ya? "SNIP!"
Heh heh heh
What did you expect? I have a weird sense of humor, I know. I wish it were shorter, though. I really tried to shorten it, but I just can't return to the hurried forms of writing. Sorry. I've been practicing, but I've mostly saved my descriptive writing for my originals e.g. AIR by Finding Maria on fiction press. Now I've contaminated TMNT. I'm ranting, sorry.
I bet you're wondering; why in the world would Donatello say that Raph and Leo would be too scared to do the task?
Well for one: Raphael may be aggressive towards his sibling/s, but he will never do anything to deliberately harm their Sensei. Never.
Two: Leonardo would see that as highly disrespectful, and his young mind could never fathom doing such a thing as that.
And three: I suppose both of them would have received the most punishment from Splinter for their behavior in general, so why physically mess with the ultimate punisher? No child in their right mind would do something that is worthy of punishment to the parent that deals it out the most. None. Unless they have a few loose screws!
Btw: I do not have any claim to Harry Potter either.
Akuryo - evil spirit.