Raphael smiled wickedly to himself as he added a little more water to the bucket, and stirred the contents to check his consistency. Okay, that should be plenty. It's time.
He grasped a bucket in each fist and headed back for the door that led to the den. Raphael stuck his head inside furtively, glancing through the hallway to the living area. There was no one in sight, so he carefully crept into the den. He'd no sooner stepped foot into the main room than his older brother appeared on the stairs.
Leonardo frowned. "Hey. Where did you go? And what's that?" He pointed to the buckets Raphael was toting.
He shook his head. "It's none of your concern, Fearless."
His brother's dark eyes narrowed. "You disappear in the middle of the day, and I'm not supposed to care?"
The red-masked turtle rolled his eyes. "Would you quit inventing stuff to worry about? Shell, you're not happy unless you've got someone to lecture, are you?"
"I'm not lecturing you. I only asked where you went!"
"In case you ain't looked in the mirror lately, you're not my daddy."
"Why do you always have to start something, Raph?"
"All I did was walk through the door! You're the one jumping all over my shell!"
Leonardo glanced down the hall, annoyed. "Can you keep your big mouth down? We shouldn't disturb Sensei."
"Couldn't keep your 'perfect' status then, could ya?"
"Just shut it, Raph!"
"I wouldn't have to if you'd leave me alone. Quit acting like you're in charge of everything! We're not kids, and none of us need a babysitter!"
"Fine, you do whatever the shell you want. Go get into trouble on the surface in broad daylight, and I'll just stay out of your life!"
Raph grinned. "That's all I ever wanted. You coulda saved yourself a lot of breath, Leo."
Leonardo's face appeared to be changing colors. For a moment Raphael thought he was going to scream, but instead the older turtle whirled on his heel and stalked down the hall toward the dojo. The wall shook from the force with which the door closed, and the red-masked turtle chuckled. You ain't punishing me, bro. Stay in there as long as you want.
Raphael glanced toward the kitchen, unconcerned. That might be a good place for me to set up, but I better figure out where the other guys are first. He quietly crossed the living area, having already noticed the light coming from the cut-out window of Donny's lab. He peered into the space and saw his younger brother working at one of the computer terminals, his back facing him. Hopefully Genius is actually feeling better. He's got such a love affair with those machines it's hard to keep 'em separated.
He glanced at his watch. There's only about ten minutes until Mikey's show starts. He's gotta be around here somewhere, and I'm going to be ready for him.
Raphael started up the steps, and picked up the sound of running water. No freakin' way. That'd be perfect. With a renewed spring in his step he dashed up the rest of the stairs with his load. He hesitated outside the bathroom door for a beat, and then tried the door handle. Unlocked. He's so trusting.
The red-masked turtle bit his lip to stifle a snicker and ducked inside the steam-filled bathroom. He held his breath as he snuck through the room, walking past one shower to go to the second. Raphael set down both buckets silently and picked up the stool from underneath the sink.
As he positioned himself by the shower curtain, his youngest brother chose that moment to start humming. Raphael almost lost it, swallowing a laugh as he waited for the water to stop. Gotta be quick, or it won't work as well. C'mon, Mikey, you have to be close to finishing.
The second Raphael heard water slowing down, he hefted the first of the buckets over the curtain bar, finally busting out laughing over Mike's startled yelp. He couldn't resist ripping the curtain open so he could see Michelangelo dripping in mud.
"Raph!" he wailed plaintively.
Raphael grinned smugly while he unleashed his other bucket, marveling at the way mud exploded as it struck his brother's plastron and coated the tile behind him.
Mike choked and spit to get the grit out of his mouth. "Raph, my show!"
"Yeah, have fun with that, Pipsqueak." With another laugh he bounded out of the bathroom, leaving the disaster area to his youngest brother for the moment. Cleaning up after themselves was one of the biggest rules involved in pranking, but there was no one around to force him to do it immediately.
"RAPH!"
There was uncharacteristic rage in Michelangelo's voice, and it made Raphael pause at the top of the stairs. It was followed by a small crash, and the red-masked turtle turned around to go back. He opened the bathroom door to the sight of the muddied turtle on his knees by a broken towel bar, trying to clean his face with another cloth that was already dirty.
"Hold up, Mikey; you won't get nowhere with that." Raphael scooped up a clean towel and shoved it into his hands.
Michelangelo rubbed his eyes with a growl. "You're such a jerk! You only did this to ruin my plans!"
Raphael snorted. "Dang, Chucklehead. You can dish it out, but you can't take it, huh?"
His brother threw the towel back at him with a furious scowl. "You didn't do it for fun – you're just mean!"
"Like you've never gone too far?" Raph challenged.
"Get out!" Mike ordered. "Get out of here NOW!"
"Whatever, Mikey – have it your way." Raphael left the bathroom with a shrug. Can't say I didn't try to help his whiney-shell. He starts crap with me all the time, but God forbid someone else have a little fun.
He trotted back downstairs and was surprised to discover his Sensei sitting on the couch in the living area. "Master? What are you doing up?"
Splinter arched an eyebrow at him. "Are you suggesting there is some chance I would be able to sleep through the commotion?"
Raphael cringed. "Sorry, Sensei," he mumbled. "I know we got too loud."
"Did I hear Michelangelo a few moments ago? I was expecting him to come down. He asked me to watch his program with him."
The red-masked turtle cleared his throat awkwardly. "He's, uh...he'll probably be a while, Sensei. Mike will have to get cleaned up again first."
Onyx eyes pierced him knowingly. "Your brother sounded angry."
He flopped onto the other side of the couch. "'Course he is. Everybody's mad at me, as usual. Except for Genius, 'cause he's too busy to know I'm alive." But he'd definitely side with Mikey if I pulled something on him.
Splinter folded his hands in his lap with a quiet sigh. The breath sounded strained in his throat and nowhere near deep enough. "What happened, my son?"
"Nothing. I told you – everybody's mad at me. All I have to do is show up and people get ticked."
The rat gazed at him thoughtfully. "Do you believe your brothers are against you, Raphael?"
"They never cut me a break, Sensei. Leo's strutting around here like some kind of hall monitor, refusing to give me any credit for knowing what I'm doing. He really thinks I'm gonna get into trouble every time I leave the den. I know you chose him to lead us, Father, but he acts like I can't do anything right."
"Mmhm," Splinter murmured without commenting. "And Michelangelo?"
Raphael huffed with frustration. "He's always pulling pranks on me, Master. Mike targets me way more than he does the other guys. But the second I start something, I'm the bad guy. Why's it okay for him to attack me, but I'm not allowed to have any fun with him?"
"That is a fair question, Raphael," Splinter said calmly. "You may already know the answer though. Why do you think your youngest brother 'attacks' you in such a manner?"
"I dunno. Because he's a pain in the shell?"
"You can do better than that."
"I guess the Chucklehead likes attention, and he thinks his pranks are hilarious."
Splinter's low chuckle induced a coughing fit. "I can agree with your view," he managed finally, his voice weaker than before.
"Let me get you some water, Sensei."
"I am all right for the moment," he insisted. "Why do you expect Michelangelo became angry with you? That is not a typical reaction from him, is it?"
Raphael shook his head. "Nah. Mikey usually takes it really well, mostly because he deserves it." He was quiet for a few contemplative seconds. "He said I was being mean today."
Splinter gave him a pointed look and waited for him to continue.
"I did ruin his show for him on purpose," Raph admitted. "Guess he's got a good reason to be mad at me, huh?"
"Your youngest brother is more perceptive than you realize, Raphael. He enjoys giving you a hard time and doesn't mind receiving one in return…so long as it is done with the right heart."
"Okay, I screwed it up. But I wasn't really trying to hurt him."
"Did you tell Michelangelo that?"
"No, Sensei."
"May I suggest that you try apologizing to your brother and clean up whatever mess you left behind so that he doesn't have to concern himself with it?"
Raphael got to his feet. "Hai, Sensei."
The red-masked turtle hurried to stuff a tape into the VCR to record the TV program already in progress, and then went into the kitchen to scrounge up a few supplies and clean water. By the time he came back to the living area, Splinter was already curled up against the edge of the armrest and his eyes were closed.
A ripple of apprehension lit through Raphael while he reached for a blanket that was bunched on the floor, and draped it over his Sensei. He probably shouldn't even be out of bed. Sensei's not looking or sounding any better.
Raphael glanced at the stairs. After helping Mike, he would be faced with the distasteful task of dealing with his older brother. Can't wait.