Hi guys!
I know, I'm really late, but I've got a pretty good reason for it. I took a pretty nasty fall during a basketball match, giving me a concussion. Last week I was pretty tired and had a lot of headaches. I couldn't stand looking at a screen. So that's why I haven't uploaded last week.
This week I'm late too, because I'm experiencing the side effects I guess. I totally can't focus on anything! And guess what.. It's hard to write when you can't focus. But finally, after almost two weeks, I can finally present you the next chapter. I've gotta warn you - It isn't my greatest. Heh, maybe you can even see where I left off before I got the concussion. But I still hope you will enjoy it.
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Rooftop Run
Letting go of the collar of the last Purple Dragon, Raph gave a snort. "Well, that felt good," he said satisfied, seeing the now unconscious man sliding on the cold asphalt. Ignoring the hollow thud, he turned to his younger brother, who just tucked away his nunchucks. "Nothing better than a nice evenin' of butt-kickin' without trouble. Right?"
Mikey looked up, meeting Raph's gaze and smiled brightly. "Definately, bro." He put his hands on his hips and looked around to the bodies on the ground. "This time they totally deserved it."
Raph cracked his knuckles. "Oh yeah. Ya gang up on innocent women, ya get yer ass handed ta ya."
Mikey looked to the exit of the alley where the woman they saved vanished almost ten minutes ago. "I hope she got home safely," he said genuinely. Raph followed his gaze and nodded. "Course she did. She probably called tha -" At that moment there was the sound of police sirens filling the air. Raph huffed. "Told ya."
Mikey gave an amused chuckle as he looked back to his brother. "Nice timing, bro."
"Ya know it," Raph answered with a smirk, looking around for a safe exit. The sirens were pretty close, so they had to move fast. There was no manhole near and hiding in the shadows wasn't an option when the place was crowded with cops in a minute. Deciding what was best, he jabbed his thumb to the fire escape stairs. "Let's move, knucklehead."
Mikey nodded and waited for Raph to make his move. In a swift pace they raced up to the roof. With a grin Mikey looked up and decided to take things up a notch. Using his speed and agility he swung over the rail and used the outside of the metal construction to pass Raph. "Too slow, turtle-brain!" he taunted as he made the last few feet, disappearing out of sight when he jumped over the edge of the roof.
A little annoyed Raph sped up and just a few seconds later he followed Mikey to the top. There he saw Mikey leaning casually against an air vent with a triumphant smirk on his face, like he was standing there for ages. "What took you so long, slowpoke?"
"Oh, shaddap, lameface," Raph said annoyed as he stood up straight and adjusted his wrist bandages. Mikey raised an eye ridge. "That's it? Not a 'gimme one more remark or I'll actually poke ya with ma sai'?" he asked in a reasonable impression of his brother. Raph gave a soft snort. "Yer a dipstick."
Mikey chuckled and pushed his shoulder off the air vent. "And you're still slow," he said, slowly walking over to the other side of the roof. Looking back over his shoulder, Raph saw the police cars stop at the beginning of the alley. "And yer still stupid." He turned back and walked after Mikey, who was laughing in his direction. "Just trying to stoop down to your level, bro."
Not expecting an actual comeback, Raph almost grinned, but he held back. No way he was giving Mikey the pleasure of someone think of him funny. Suddenly he started to run up to Mikey, who quickly jumped out of the way, knowing his brother and the sometimes aggressive ways of dealing with his teasing. And indeed, in the middle of his run Raph managed to smack his brother upside the head. "Stoop down to this, numbskull," he said and jumped over the edge of the rooftop to the next one. With a wide playful grin Mikey followed his rapid pace. "Stooping down even more? Dude, I'll end up in China if I go lower!" he exclaimed, but then got earnest. "But we'll stop later on for pizza, right?"
"Seriously?" Raph yelled to the back, knowing they were out of earshot of the cops. Mikey nodded as he appeared next to his brother. "Yeah, I'm hungry."
Raph gave an exasperated sigh. "You're always hungry, Mikey."
"I know, right," Mikey agreed grinning, before looking in front of him dreamingly. "I consider it a talent." He landed on the next rooftop and almost lost his balance when he felt a rough push against his shoulder. Semi-offended he looked back at Raph, who gave him a daring expression.
"Oh, so that's how we're gonna play?" Mikey asked with a smirk. "You're so on!" Speeding up he ran up to Raph, who quickly jumped out of the way to a lower roof as he continued to run. Turning his head, he fully expected to see Mikey, but there was no one there. "Heh, I expected more from ya, Mike," he teased, until he felt a presence above him. Just when he looked up to one of the higher roofs, he saw Mikey with a grin on his face jumping right in his direction.
"Oh, shell," Raph mumbled and he readied himself for the blow, since he couldn't get out of the way anymore. In a heap they tumbled over the roof before Mikey detached himself from the small brawl. With a twinkle in his eyes he bend over Raph, who was scrambling to his feet, and gave him a firm punch on his shoulder. "Tag! You're it!" he exclaimed before taking off.
"C'me 'ere so I can kill ya!" Raph yelled, chasing after Mikey. The youngest started to laugh. "Dude, you mispronounced 'tag'."
Rah growled. "I know what I said, numbskull."
Making a pretty impressive flip off the edge off the roof, Mikey landed perfectly on the next one. "Tough talk, huh. I'm almost getting scared here," he teased, knowing how to push his brother's buttons.
"Seriously.. Tha moment yer close enough, yer gonna have it!" Raph warned as he took an easier route to gain speed. He saw Mikey monkey vault over a rail, only to land on the edge of the roof where he kept running.
"Good luck, Raphie-bro. Just make sure you catch up with me first." Mikey looked back and saw Raph running a few feet behind him. Not wanting to spoil their game, or rather his game, he jumped down from the edge and slowed down his pace just a tad on the flat surface of the roof.
"Workin' on that, shell-fer-brains," Raph mumbled to himself as he tried to get close to Mikey, which was surprisingly easy. He reached out with his arm and grabbed Mikey on the rim of his shell. "Tag, doofus," he said, realising too late he was subconsciously playing along. Deciding he didn't mind since it was actually a while ago since they did something for fun, he pulled Mikey forcefully back. Taking the lead he whipped his head back. "Yer it," he smirked and looked forward again. Jumping up to the wall, he quickly climbed up to reach a higher roof.
A little surprised Raph actually played his game, Mikey decided to give him a little head start. Waiting two seconds he also climbed the roof, seeing his brother running out of sight behind the small building of a staircase. "You can run, bro, but you can't hide!" he yelled, pushing out a sprint around the other side of the concrete raise. There he saw Raph jump over the large gap between two roofs with a big grin on his face. "No hidin' fer me, bro!" he heard him yell. Mikey started to laugh. "I hope you're making the right decision here, dude. Cuz you know you can't outrun me," he shot back, quickly analysing the distance between the two roofs. He pushed off and flew through the air, taking in a deep breath of enjoyment. Feeling his body descending, he pushed his left shoulder forward and tucked in his head to make a perfect roll on the flat surface of the roof he was aiming for. Finishing his roll, he got up on his two feet and continued his run. A little surprised he saw his brother a few feet in front of him, not looking in his direction. A smirk appeared on his face. "Dude, you suck at this game! Second time I'm gonna take you down!" Mikey said jokingly as he ran up to his brother, ready to launch himself at him. Raph looked up, his eyes big. "No! Tha roof! It -" Before Raph could finish his sentence, Mikey tackled him viciously. "Tag! You're i -" In the middle of his sentence his eyes saw what was behind Raph and realised too late there was huge construction hole where the roof should have been. "Oh shell!" he yelled, trying to stop himself, but with no avail. Raph noticed and with all his might he tried to brace himself and hold of Mikey, but unfortunately his brother had put all of his weight in it and he couldn't prevent them from falling. With enormous force they were both knocked into the deep gap.
"Why didn't you warned meeee!" Mikey screamed, flailing his arms out to hold on to something that wasn't there. Raph gritted his teeth together, already knowing there was nothing that could stop their fall. He sneaked a peek down, seeing the dangerous rubble of the construction site beneath them. At that moment Raph's instincts took over. Relying upon Mikey's screaming, he reached out, happily he got a hold of his brother's plastron. Pulling him in close, he wrapped his arms protectively around him, right before the inevitable. With a loud crack Raph's shell crashed first onto the site, and he couldn't prevent a grunt from escaping when Mikey's weight fell on top of him. They rolled a little more down into the debris, before coming to a complete halt against a concrete wall. For a few seconds it was quiet, apart from the sliding debris which went into motion when they made their fall. Finally Mikey dared a look up. "Dude…" he breathed, taking in the damage he took, which was surprisingly very little. He then realised why - His brother had protected him from hitting the ground too hard with his own body. Panicking he looked down, seeing Raph with closed, squinted eyes. "Raph?" he asked carefully, as he pushed himself up to alleviate the pressure on his brother. "Raph? Bro?" he tried again, softly shaking his shoulder for a second until he decided to tap his brother's cheek to get a response. "Come on, bro. Wake up! You've gotta -"
In the middle of his sentence Raph's arm shot out and grabbed his wrist. "Stop that, numbskull," Raph grunted, before opening his eyes to give Mikey a foul look.
"Raph!" Mikey exclaimed relieved, but got earnest again. In their experience being awake wasn't equal to being alright. "Are you okay?"
Pushing Mikey further off of him, Raph sat up, cracking his neck in the process. "I'm fine," he stated, fixing his eyes on the youngest. "What 'bout ya?"
"I'm doing great. Thanks to you," Mikey said in a small, but thankful voice. Not completely satisfied with Raph's answers, he pushed on. "You sure you're fine? We took a pretty deep fall," he said, looking up to the opening in the roof where a little bit of moonlight shone in. He looked back at Raph. "I know you've got a hard shell, but bro, come on! You took a major hit!"
"I said I'm fine, Mike. Now shaddap 'bout it," Raph said with an angry scowl. "If there's one thing I can, it is ta fall right and take a hit." He reached out with his hand expectantly. Quickly Mikey got to his feet and took his brother's hand in his own, ready to pull him up. "You sure?" he asked to be certain. Raph only raised an eye ridge, causing a smile on Mikey's face. With a grunt Raph was pulled on his feet. He took in a deep breath, causing a sharp pain going through his back. "Shell, I'm gonna feel that in tha mornin'," he said, rolling his shoulders a bit loose. Mikey chuckled. "I'm glad that's the worst." He looked around, seeing several steel rusty bars sticking out of the concrete. He shook his head, not wanting to know what else could have happened. He looked up to his big brother, glad he was okay. "Raph…" he started to get his attention. "Thanks, bro."
Raph snorted. "Whatevah," he said casually. Before Mikey could react, Raph slipped his arm around his shoulders. "Just glad yer okay."
Feeling how Raph leaned a bit more than usual on him, Mikey shot him a sideways look, seeing the painful expression on his face. Knowing Raph had a tough-guy posture to maintain, Mikey decided against it to say something about it. Instead he gave a smile. "As long as you're around, I'm always gonna be fine."
"Yeah, right," Raph huffed, but took in the compliment. He felt Mikey turn a bit, adjusting his grip on the back of his shell. He knew Mikey knew he felt like crap, but damn, was he glad his brother didn't make a ruckus about his state at the moment. The little bugger just exactly knew what he needed right now. Any other brother would've been blown out of their shells worrying over him. Sometimes he thought Mikey was the only one who completely understood him.
"Shall we go home? I guess we've got some pizza in the fridge I can heat up," Mikey said, looking around for an exit. "Not as good as fresh pizza, but hey, I can make something out of it."
"Sounds good, bro," Raph replied grateful, letting Mikey lead him to the way out he just found, glad his youngest brother was with him.
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Well, that's it. Again, sorry I was late, but unfortunately it was out of my hands. Please tell me what you thought!
