Cheating
Running across the rooftops wasn't the way Hamato Splinter had planned on spending his evening. The time when his sons are out of the lair is normally a sacred opportunity to enjoy peace, quiet and relaxation without being needed to referee arguments, lead training sessions or prevent their home from falling into chaos. Tonight however April had called the main phone in the lair and asked if he could come to her apartment quickly. His initial thought had been that his sons were in trouble though April was quick to assure him they were fine, although she refused to elaborate on what was so urgent he had to abandon his relaxing evening.
Jumping onto a rooftop just before the apartment Splinters mind went back to the conversation with April, and while she hadn't sounded worried there was a hint of annoyance hiding behind the exasperation in her voice. He couldn't help but recognise the tone of her voice as the rat feared, he also sounded like than on more than one occasion, normally after prolonged exposure to his sons and their mischief. Making his way towards the already open window Splinter braced himself for whatever madness he might encounter as well as mentally preparing the apology he was sure he would need to make to April for whatever the turtles had done or were currently doing.
Stepping out of the cool night air and into the warmth of the apartment Splinter found himself greeted by an unsettling sight. April was sitting at her kitchen table cradling a cup of coffee with Donatello also enjoying the beverage whilst Michelangelo was sprawled across the couch lazily flipping through a magazine.
"April, boys is everything alright?" he asked suspiciously, as he made his presence known.
The two turtles present snapped their attention to the rat whilst April jumped slightly, clearly not aware he had arrived.
"Master Splinter, thanks for coming so quickly" said April, leaving her seat at the dining table and making her way over to the rat.
"Hi Sensei" chorused Michelangelo and Donatello
"Where are Raphael and Leonardo?" inquired Splinter noting the absence of his two eldest sons.
"That's why we called you here" answered the red head looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Will someone please explain to me what is going on?" pressed the Ninja Master, his patience wearing thin.
Moving away from the kitchen table towards his father Donatello started "Well you see…"
"Ooh can I tell him Donnie? It's a funny story and you're not a humorous turtle!" interrupted the youngest of the brothers bouncing up from the couch towards the rest of the family.
"Ok fine" huffed his purple masked son
"Well it started when we went on patrol Sensei, it was a pretty standard night with not much to do and the usual amount of Raph brooding and Leo lecturing. So while Raph and Leo were bickering about something and Donnie was star gazing I snuck off to fill up some of my super fun water balloons! Just to lighten the mood and put a smile on my brothers faces like the considerate turtle I am" enthused the youngest turtle though Splinter was rapidly losing his remaining patience with this long winded tale.
"When I got back to my bros Karai had shown up with about a dozen foot Ninja and she was having a stare down with Leo. You know when they get all epic, draw their swords, compare their honour codes and all that?"
At that Splinter interrupted his sons rambling story "The Foot? Where are your brothers? Are they safe?"
"Don't worry they're totally fine! "reassured Michelangelo before ploughing straight back into his story "So when I saw the Foot were there and they hadn't seen me, I launched a water balloon and got Karai right in the face! All her Ninjas drew their swords but she just kind of stood there looking shocked and so did Raph, Leo and Donnie. I totally though they were going to attack us but Karai just started ranting at Leo about how being hit with a water balloon is a cheap shot and goes against warrior code blah, blah, blah. Then Leo started arguing back and they got into a full on debate about the whole thing" finished Michaelangelo at last.
After suffering through his sons explanation, Splinter found himself at a loss for words but the question of where the other two were still hadn't been answered.
"Donatello, where are your brothers?" he questioned sharply.
"Leo and Karai were debating for over two hours so we got bored and came here, Leo refused to listen to us and carried on arguing. Raph stayed to make sure they didn't attack Leo if we left him. He's really bored now, he's keeping up updated by text. April asked to speak to Leo so Raph put her on speaker, but Leo said it was a matter of honour and he refuses to yield the argument" answered Donatello seemingly bored by the whole affair.
"This is why I called you" muttered April from his left, clearly exasperated by the stubbornness of the turtles.
"Tell me where they are Donatello, I will sort this out" sighed the rat.
Heading towards the rooftop he had been directed to, the rat was greeted with the sight of Karai and Leonardo arguing loudly in the centre of the rooftop while Raphael lounged against a wall with his arms crossed over his broad chest. Karai's foot ninja's also seemed to have lost enthusiasm for their evening and were sitting crossed leg behind Karai.
Leaping from the rooftop he was currently on Splinter landed just behind Leonardo startling all present on the rooftop and causing a momentary lapse in the argument.
"Enough" called the rat approaching the arguing leaders.
"Leonardo we are leaving now. Raphael come" snapped Splinter
"But Sensei she said we have no honour! Stealth attacks are part of a Ninja's training, a true Ninja would have sensed it coming!" shouted Leonardo, clearly infuriated at Karai's apparent lack of understanding.
"You believe that water balloons are honourable? You and your brothers cheated Leonardo because you know you cannot defeat me. I didn't realise you were so afraid of me that you would resort to such underhand tactics" replied the Foot Clan second in command, equally indignant.
"This ends now! Karai go back to your master. We are leaving!" interjected Splinter grabbing the mask tails of his eldest son while Raphael seized his arm pulling him backwards.
Following on from Splinters lead the foot Ninja started on pulling Karai back towards an opposite rooftop. Though they were moving further away the two continued to bicker.
"Come back when you learn how to be a real Ninja Karai" called the blue masked turtle
"We will duel again Leonardo when you teach your brothers not to cheat!" roared Karai.
Leaning closer to his Father Raphael whispered "Thanks for the save Sensei, I didn't want to leave the knuclehead alone but he didn't half make it tempting. If I heard the words honour and cheating again I think I'd have knocked them both out."
"Your patience was admirable Raphael, I'm not convinced I would have had the same restraint" complimented the rat with a weary sigh as they finally got clear from the Foot.
Rounding on is eldest the rat demanded an explanation. "Leonardo why on Earth have you spent the last three hours arguing with Karai over a water balloon?"
"Master Splinter" Leonardo started solemnly "She accused us of cheating, it offended my honour" finished the leader as if the argument was of great importance.
At a loss for words, Splinter could only mourn the loss of his quiet night and resigned himself to spending the rest of his evening dealing out punishments as necessary and thanking April for her patience with his sons.
A/N - Sorry it's been a while! Please let me know what you thought, hopefully I'll update again soon!