~Chapter four~

"How's it going?!" growled Leo, "Mikey! You LEFT the lair and ended up who knows where!"

"We've been worried sick about you," added Donnie stepping closer.

"Now, c'mon buddy," said Raph, trying to sound calm and cuddly, "Tell us where you are so that we can bring you back home."

Mikey looked at each of his brothers. He could tell that they were worried, but were they worried about him or about him messing up? Was he always going to be the screw up in their eyes?

Mikey looked at Leo and saw that he was worried about him like he would be worried about Serena. However, there was an underline glint in Leo's eyes that Mikey could see, worried of what would happen to those around him as well.

He turned to see Donnie being worried as well, but when Donnie started to list all the things that he would reveal if the three didn't find him, Mikey tuned him out to look at the last brother.

Mikey saw anger and worry in Raph's eyes. However, he also saw that Raph was more angry than worried about him.

Sighing he decided what to say, Mikey looked at them and said: "No."

"No?" echoed the three.

"Mhm "no," ok?," said Mikey, becoming irritated, and when he's irritated he gets bratty, "I said no. I will not tell you where I am."

"Mikey," started Donnie, "We are worried about you! You could have been injured or you could have unknowingly revealed our existence."

"This attitude of yours has got to stop," said Leo as Mikey realized the glint was anger... at him. "Just come back home and all will be forgiven," Leo continued.

"Oh my…you don't even realize why I left! Sensei knows, how could YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND?!" said Mikey in disbelief. Backing up further, Mikey wanted to curl into himself and stay within the comfort of his dear sister.

"We read your letter," said Raph, "And if it's a cry for attention..."

"A cry...a cry for attention?!" exclaimed a now angry Mikey. "It is not a cry for attention!"

"Then what is it then?" said Donnie, confused, "What are we missing?"

"You dudes didn't even think about anything that I wrote, did you? You never cared about what I say or think!" accused Mikey with simmering anger, crossing his arms around his chess and leaning on his left leg.

Leo, Raph, and Donnie looked at each other as they recalled the letter. The letter told them that Mikey left because he felt like he wasn't wanted. But, that was far from the truth! He also wrote something about not being appreciated by the group. Which confused the team, somehow.

The three brushed those things in the letter out of their minds as they tried to find Mikey. Mikey saw the three thinking but not believing. They had a skeptical look on their faces as they turned back to Mikey and started to talk once more.

"You're just imagining things Mikey, you've always had an…imagination as large as…as large as the damn ocean!" said Raph.

"Yeah, it's impossible to be THAT big, but, We appreciate you." Donnie agreed being the nerd he is.

"Oh yeah? You appreciate me?" questioned Mikey, "What about the time when I had shell acne? What about then? I TOLD you my idea about where the center-what-cha-ma-call-it was. And what happened? I was brushed off like a little kid, which I'm NOT!"

Letting Mikey's emotions get the best of him, the spell in his meditation mind place (?) started to destroy the delusion of his turtle form. His fingers grew in numbers as his shell grew down.

"Mikey-"started Leo but was cut off.

"Oh! What about the time with April's imposter mom? What about then? I was also throwing up after that, but did anyone comfort me or say ' Sorry' to me?!" recalled Mikey, "No!" He shrunk in size.

Mikey almost had unshed tears as he recalled every little thing that his brothers did to him when he was with them. All the slaps to the head by Raph and sometimes Donnie and Leo... all the times he was right or had ideas but was brushed off by his brothers. Huh? He felt smaller…oh no! He quickly fixed himself as he tried to calm down. Stepping back he took deep breaths, like his mother taught him when he was younger.

Leo really wanted to call Mikey to attention, but he couldn't, Donnie's heart was beating faster at all the implications. Raph wanted to hit Mikey, but his anger now reflected to himself. It was one thing to read it in a letter, but another to just being talked like THIS by their littlest brother, their sunshine! (Hah, get it?)

But before the three could say anything, an unknown voice called out, "Oi Mitsuki, soreha gakkò ni iku jikan desu!"

"Ugh school," muttered Mikey. "Ōkē, Serenity ga kuru yo!" Marley replied. "I…I uh have to go," continued Mikey as he started to fade away.

"Wait," yelled Leo, "Mikey!"

"Please tell us where you are!" Donnie called out.

"Knucklehead, don't even-" growled Raph.

"I'm sorry," said Mikey as he disappeared, "But no. I won't tell you, Raphie. Good-day, my dudes."

After Mikey left:

"Were we that horrible to Mikey?" questioned Donnie putting his hands on his hips.

"I…don't know Donnie," replied Leo, "But what Mikey said really does put things into perspective."

"Argh" growled Raph, "Mikey should have just come to us and talked it out; instead of this runaway bullshit!"

"Yeah," scoffed Leo, "He pulled a Raph."

"Hey-" said Raph as he glared.

"He isn't wrong, Raph," agreed Donnie, "We know you would have ran out instead of talking to us. I mean, you have done it before."

The brothers laughed as Raph growled, again. He knew that he would run away, but he always came back to the Lair... back home to his brothers. But Mikey just left, without any "good" explanation, all of this left a bad taste in Raph's mouth.

Leo quietly stopped laughing and thought about all the times Mikey did have an idea but he just brushed his ideas away.

Donnie quietly pondered about something else though. He recognized the language that was spoken in Mikey's area. Also, the language was at the tip of his tongue.

"Eureka!" exclaimed Donnie as he finally got what language was speaking to Mikey, pushing his hands into the air.

"Huh? What?" asked Leo and Raph in sync.

"Remember that feminine voice that was talking?" implored Donnie.

"The voice that made him go? Yeah, I do." said Leo while Raph said, "What about it?"

"The language is so familiar to us," said Donnie, "So familiar that WE also speak it sometimes when we were little tots."

"Are you saying we know the language?" questioned Leo walking closer to Donnie.

"And if we know the language, we know where Mikey is, right?" questioned Raph also walking closer to his brothers.

"Exactly," said Donnie, "What language have we've been able to speak ever since we were little tots?"

"Japanese!" exclaimed Leo and Raph, once again, in sync.

"So wait," said Leo, "Mikey is IN Japan?!"

"Holy chalupa! How did the knucklehead get to Japan?!" Exclaimed Raph.

"I guess we've underestimated Mikey...again," sighed Donnie sadly.

Leo and Raph sighed with the same sadness as their younger brother. What could they do? With the way he acted around them…they knew they couldn't JUST up and leave to go to Japan to get Mikey.

However, this led the three brothers to wonder how much they had underestimated Mikey as they grew up, what Mikey could do, who he really is.