Raphael woke up to a hushed conversation outside the door. "He's being completely different."
"And abandoning his responsibilities just to goof off..."
He squinted in the bright sunlight.
"It's almost like, he's lost his toughness. He's weak." Casey's voice said.

What? Weak? Since when am I weak? Raph's mind raced with questions. All he had done was taken fourty eight hours off. Of course, he had planned to help Mikey rebuild the chicken coop, and make a pizza, but that wouldn't take all day, would it?
He stared at the ceiling. What did they mean by weak...?
Raph wasn't weak, on the outside at least. He was the toughest of them all, he could- his anger lessened and his embarassment grew.

Maybe... maybe they're right, he thought as he looked down at his sleeping little brother. He enjoyed his company, he needed it, but was Mikey making him weaker? He didn't know. And troubled, went back to sleep.

"Wake up, bro! I'm starving!" Mikey shook him awake a few hours later.
"Mmmmph..."
"We got a lot to do, chop chop! Let's goooo!" He exclaimed, jumping on the bed.
"I'm up, I'm up..." he said sluggishly, the word weak still echoing in his head. He decided to ignore it. "Where to, bro?"
"The KITCHEN! Come on!" He tugged at his arm.

Mikey threw a pizza up into the air, getting flour all over himself, the counters, and the floor. "Wouldn't it be cool to open your own pizza shop? You could get free pizza any time you wanted, like any time! Wouldn't that be awesome?" Mikey blabbered, throwing the pizza again. It stuck to the ceiling.
"Well." Raph stood on a chair to get it down, "If you want to do that, first, you're gonna have to learn how to properly toss a pie. And second, better make sure your shop is a costume one because, let's be honest and real here..." He trailed off, tugging at the pizza.
"I know. I'm a mutant turtle, and people would freak out, and no one would even come there." Mikey slumped on a chair, sighing.
"I would." Raph said, putting the pizza on the counter. "You can count on me being a first and regular customer."
Mikey smiled. "Aw, really? AWESOME!" He knocked over a bag of flour, filling the room with dust. "And another thing, Mikey," Raph coughed, "You have to learn to keep your shop clean!"

April stared out the window. "They've been gone all day," Casey said. "What's with him, anyway?"
"Well... maybe he just likes the area?" April suggested.
"Pi is 3.1415..." Donnie muttered, half asleep.
"Well, whether pi is 3.1415 or Raph likes the area, he's been really different in the past few days-"
Raph climbed the stairs, about to check on everything. He stopped to listen.
"-He's gone soft. Weak. And pretty soon he'll be just a fluffy teddy bear, and then how will we ever save the city?"
Raph stopped in his tracks. He felt tears prick at his eyes. Look at yourself, Raph. Weak. You aren't who you were. Because of your little brother.
He hurried into his bedroom and locked the door. He went to the window, looking outside, unable to hold back his angry tears.
Do you see yourself? This isn't the tough Raphael everyone knows. This one is crying like a child.
He sat down, covering his eyes. The only way you can redeem yourself is to push him away. You've done it before. Go back to your job with Leo, and forget that Michelangelo even exists. Unless you want to be weak your whole life, and be your brother's teddy bear...