Disclaimer: Sorry, but no I don't own them. Makes me want to cry... Okay all better now.
A/N: This is just a quick fic. A brief peek inside Mira's life and how she is growing.
"No, Kazzey! You're not allowed in my room!" Mira pushed the five-year-old out and slammed the door.
He plopped on his bottom and started to cry.
Sarah came from the kitchen and frowned at the youngster crying in the hall. "Aw, what happened, Kaz?"
"Mira won't let me play." He pouted, folding his arms.
Sarah opened the door and frowned at her daughter, who was sitting at her desk with her back to her. "Mira, what have we told you about slamming your door?"
She looked over her shoulder at her mother a bit tentatively. "Not to."
"So, if you continue to slam it or be mean to your cousin, I'll just have your father take it off the hinges."
"But Mom, he's messing with my experiment." Mira whined. The youth realized her mistake the moment the words left her mouth. Her mother's eyes narrowed as she stepped further into the room to see what was on her desk. Mira felt her mother's frustration boil to the surface. "I wasn't-"
Sarah shook her head at the several beakers of chemicals on the desk. She put her hands on her hips. "Mira we have talked about this."
"But Mom-"
"No, if you continue to break the rules there will be consequences." Sarah put the corks in the beakers and collected them. "Experiments are done in the lab, not in your room."
Donnie graced the doorway. "What's going on?" He had felt his wife's frustration and came to inspect the situation.
Sarah turned towards him with an arm full of beakers. She threw a hand in the air as she stepped into the doorway. "You talk to her. She's obviously not listening to me." He frowned as she walked past him to return the beakers to the lab.
Donnie sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Mira frowned as she felt his disappointment wash over her. "Daddy, I was just-"
He put up a hand to silence her. "Mira this is the third time this week we've caught you with chemicals in your room. You know the rules." Outside, Kaz stood up and peeked around the corner.
"They weren't dangerous chemicals." Mira protested.
"It doesn't matter. We have rules for a reason Mira and you continue to break them." He sighed and Mira felt the slight hardening of his heart. She knew what was coming. "And there are consequences for breaking them."
She stood up. "But Daddy, that's not fair!"
Don steeled his nerves as he stood straighter. "It is quite fair Mira. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Now, go to the dojo."
Mira glared at Kaz as she passed him into the hall. "This is your fault!" She gave him a little shove and he fell back on his bottom.
"Mira!" Donnie's tone was sharp and she cringed. "You just added another ten laps. Now go!"
Mira darted off down the hall past Sarah who was standing in the doorway of the lab. Donnie frowned and turned his gaze to Kaz. "Are you okay, Kaz?"
He sniffled. "I didn't mean to get her in trouble."
Donnie picked him up and set him on his feet. "You didn't do anything wrong, Kaz. Mira was the one being naughty."
He nodded sadly, his little face drooping. It reminded Donnie of one of Mikey's expressions. Kaz had really begun to take on a lot of Mikey's personality traits lately. With a sigh, Donnie turned and started down the hall. Sarah caught his arm. "She's just going through a rebellious phase. Hopefully, it'll be over soon."
He patted her hand. "I know." He dragged a hand down his face. "I just wish Master Splinter was here sometimes. He'd know how to handle things like this."
Sarah drew him into a deep embrace and he let out a heavy sigh. "You're doing great, love. Every child is going to test their parents. Ours is no different." She leaned back to smile at him. "She's just going to do it in whole different way."
He smiled slightly, but she could tell he was still frustrated by their daughter's behavior. He kissed his wife's brow. "I'd better check and make sure she's doing the laps."
Sarah smiled wanly as he stepped away and headed back to the dojo, which had been where he'd started out in earlier. Leo was standing near the door, frowning as Mira ran around the room. Donnie frowned as well. "What is she up to?"
"Ten." Leo gave him a quick look. "What'd she do this time?"
"Sarah caught her doing experiments in her room again and then she shoved Kaz."
Leo sighed. "Yeah, well I remember us doing things like that too."
"Yeah, and Master Splinter was none too happy about it. I remember him making me do a hundred pullups for stopping up the sink that time with that gelatin mixture I made."
Leo couldn't help the small smile at the memory. "It did completely block the pipe and we ended up having to replace it."
"How was I to know it would turn to cement once it hit the water?" Don shook his head. "And that's exactly my point. If she'd do the experiments in the lab where I can keep an eye on her, she could avoid a lot of the mistakes I made."
Leo watched Mira make her twentieth lap. "She's got to make mistakes, Don. It's the only way to learn. She's just doing the same things you used to do."
Donnie ran a hand over his head. "Yeah and that's exactly what scares me. Do you realize how many times I nearly blew myself up and didn't even know it? If Splinter had had any clue he never would have allowed me do half the things I did."
Mira came to a stop in front of them. She stood at attention, her head down. Leo folded his arms. "Do you understand why you were being punished, Mira?"
"Yes. I broke the rules." She said quietly.
Leo frowned again. "The rules are there for your protection. And believe me, your father is lot more lenient than your grandfather would be if he were here."
She kept her head low. "Hai, sensei. May I go now?"
Leo and Donnie exchanged a look. Leo shook his head in dismay. "Yes." Without meeting either of their eyes, Mira bowed and left the dojo. Once she was gone, he sighed. "She definitely has Sarah's spirit."
Donnie finally smiled a little. "And stubbornness."
Leo chuckled. "You want to finish our match?"
Don nodded. "Sure."
They turned back to their training session as Mira headed for her room. She frowned when she found Kaz sitting on her bed. "What do you want?"
He kicked his foot. "I just want to play."
She folded her arms. "Why don't you go play in your room?"
He frowned. "Yoshi is taking a nap and Uncle Raphie says not to go in there when he's taking a nap." The two boys now shared the room between Mikey's and Raph's.
Mira heaved a frustrated sigh. "Fine, just don't touch my stuff."
Kaz grinned. "Can we play Go Fish again?"
She rolled her eyes. "You don't know all the numbers."
"I do too." He pouted, his bottom lip jutting out.
Again she sighed. It was frustrating to play any game with Kaz, unless it was something physical. She was so much older than him and far more intelligent. The games she enjoyed were too complicated for him and the ones he liked were too childish for her. However, physical games seemed to suit them both. Kaz was tall and was already more than half of Mira's height. She smiled, a little plot forming in her mind.
"How about we play hide and seek?"
He grinned. "Yeah!"
"Okay, you hide first."
He hopped off the bed and ran to the door. "No peeking!" He called over his shoulder.
Mira flopped on her bed. "I don't plan on it." She rolled onto her back with a smirk and picked up the astronomy book from her bedside table. She'd let him hide and think she was looking for him. It'd keep him out of her hair for a while – if she'd had any hair that is.
Kaz ran across the living room where Kala was folding laundry. She smiled. "I heard you and Mira had a fight. Did you make up?"
He nodded vigorously. "We're playing hide and seek."
She chuckled. "Alright, just remember to stay down here. The garage is off limits right now."
"Okay, Mommy." He sprinted away to find somewhere to hide. He looked and looked but Mira had found him in all the good places already. He glanced at the gate that led into the sewer tunnels beyond. He'd been warned not to go through there, but maybe if he hid just on the other side of it. "Yeah, Mira'd never find me there."
He walked up to the big metal gate and shook it. It was locked. He frowned and then looked at the bars. They were spaced wide enough for him to slip through. Wiggling himself through the narrow space, he paused to straighten his orange cap before continuing further. The tunnel that led up to the gate was devoid of any kind of hiding place, so he walked further down to where there was a bend in the passageway. He'd been this way with his father several times so he was somewhat familiar with the area nearest the lair. He found a place in the dark to settle down and wait for Mira.
The sound of children playing echoed in the tunnel. He looked up. Were there children down here? What were they doing? Maybe they were like him. He smiled. Maybe he could make some friends. He glanced back towards the lair and decided it would only take a minute to investigate, and he'd be back in plenty of time to surprise Mira. Without further hesitation he turned and sprinted down the winding tunnels trying to locate the source of the children's voices.
An hour later, Mira heard Yoshi babbling across the hall. She put down the book and glanced at the clock. She started. She hadn't realized it had been so long. Jumping up, she dashed into the living room which was empty. She checked all the regular places and finding no Kaz, she headed into the kitchen. Sarah and Kala were preparing dinner. Kala smiled. "Are you two still playing hide and seek?"
Mira glanced at her mother. "Uh, yeah." Well, it wasn't exactly a lie. She glanced around. "He's hiding really well this time. Have you seen him?"
The two women shook their heads. Sarah lifted an eyebrow when Mira frowned. "What is it?"
The youth shifted. Her mother could easily sense when she was lying out right. "Nothing. Oh yeah, Yoshi is awake." She glanced around. "I guess I'll look somewhere else for Kaz." Mira darted off through the lair before she could be further questioned. She hoped her smallest cousin would prove a distraction for her mother. After another ten minutes of searching, she stopped to think. Kaz has never been able to hide this good. Her eyes met the metal gate and her jaw dropped. No, surely he wouldn't have…
She moved to it and looked at the tunnel beyond, which indeed showed small footprints in the muddy tunnel floor. She gasped then immediately steadied her nerves. If she freaked out it would only alert her mother and then her father. She set her jaw and pulled at the gate. It wouldn't budge. He must've slipped through the bars.
She stepped back and examined the gate critically for a moment. They kept the gate locked to keep out the occasional sewer worker and to keep in the roaming toddlers. But she knew where the spare key was. She ran back into the living room and found it where it lay beside the television. Running to the gate, she quickly unlocked it and bolted down the tunnel following the small footprints.
A/N: Don't forget to review! It would be a great Christmas present for me!