Okay, I have epic writers block right now. I haven't been able to write anything for over a month, for no particularly good reason. It's driving me crazy. This is, hopefully, going to remedy that. *crosses fingers*
Please forgive suckiness.
-x-
Splinter walked slowly past the four turtles, his walking stick tapping on the stone floor. He watched his sons closely as they balanced, eyes closed, on one leg. He had them holding their other leg out parallel to the floor and their arms out to their sides. An hour into the exercise, Splinter was both impressed and surprised that none of his sons had complained. Truly, he thought wryly, the silence was a welcome respite from the usual cacophony his four sons usually caused.
Suddenly he sensed someone wobbling. Turning sharply, he caught the slight windmilling of Donatello's arms before he re-established his balance.
Apparently he was not the only one to notice. Michelangelo cracked one eye open and giggled.
"What's the matter, Donny, you're not getting tired, are you?" he teased.
"Michelangelo." Splinter's rebuff was quiet but there was no mistaking the warning tone.
"Yes, Sensei?" Mikey asked innocently.
"Focus your mind, my son. Do not let yourself become distracted. You must concentrate on your own body, not those of your brothers."
"But Sensei," he whined, "I am focusing on my body. It's bored and hungry." As if on cue, his stomach rumbled. "See?"
Splinter sighed in resignation. He should have known the quiet was too good to last.
"Silence, Michelangelo."
He paused and waited. There was no response. Good.
"I am going to meditate. When I return I expect all of you to have remained in your stances. Do you understand, my sons?"
He was answered with a half-hearted chorus of "Yes, Sensei."
Splinter gave each of his sons a hard stare – the longest saved for Michelangelo – before nodding to himself and walking off.
As he slid the door to his room shut, he almost smiled to himself. He would be very surprised if his instructions were followed, but he knew that, more often than not, he was not around to supervise his sons. They had to learn self-discipline some way. Though, thinking of Michelangelo, asking for self-control was like expecting a tree to grow overnight. It was simply not possible.
Indeed, as soon as he heard the click of Splinter's door, Mikey opened his eyes and looked around at his brothers.
"Whew, he's finally gone. I thought he was never going to leave!" Mikey started to lower his leg.
"Don't even think about it, Mikey."
Mikey squeaked in surprise and almost fell over. He glared at Leo, who hadn't moved and inch or changed expression. "How did you even see that? Your eyes are closed!"
In an even voice, Leo replied, "A good ninja does not need his sight to perceive what is happening around him."
Mikey stuck out his tongue but grudgingly lifted his leg back up. "You're no fun at all, Leo," he muttered.
"Mikey," Raph spoke up through gritted teeth, "shut up."
Don opened his eyes just in time to see the sudden gleam in Mikey's. That can't be good, he thought warily. A bored Mikey is never a good Mikey. A bored Mikey and an irritable Raph is even worse.
"Why? Am I affecting your concentration, Raph? Am I somehow making it difficult for you to focus? Impeding your ability to think straight? Hindering your – "
"Michelangelo," Leo warned.
"Oh, come on, Leo, you're not actually going to make us stand here in silence, are you? You're such a Splinter's pet," Mikey complained, twirling around on his one foot.
"That's enough, Mikey." Leo's voice was stern. "Be quiet and focus. You're a ninja, remember?"
"I'm more than just a ninja, oh Leo-nardo, I'm the-"
"Mikey, don't even-"
"-Battle Nexus CHAMP-IOOOON!"
Raph growled. "Hey Donny, give him a slap across the head, would ya?"
Don obliged.
"OW! Donny! I thought you loved me!"
The purple-clad turtle shrugged. "I'd rather not get Raph on my bad side. Plus I never get to do that."
Raph smirked. "Damn right."
Mikey pouted. "You're all jerks."
"And you're a huge pain in the-"
"Raph!"
Leo glared down the line at his miscreant brothers. "All of you, stop clowning around! Master Splinter told us to continue the exercise and that's what we're going to do. Understood?"
"Hey!" Don protested, "What did I do?"
Raph rolled his eyes. "Don't think you can go around tellin' me what to do, Fearless," he snapped.
Mikey mimicked Raph's angry tone. "Yeah, I don't take orders from no one. Grr."
"Oh, that's it!"
Before anyone could react, Raph had shoved Don out of the way and jumped on Mikey, who shrieked and leapt away.
"Guys!-" Leo called in a desperate attempt to salvage the exercise.
In the light of a few flickering candles, Master Splinter smiled behind his whiskers. They had managed to last a full ten minutes before a fight broke out. There was some progress after all. He ignored the yells and crashes as the fight continued on the other side of the screen door.