Fantasma

Chapter 2: Sleep and Forget

"Okay!" Leonardo yelled, "Come out! I give up!"

It didn't take long. Michelangelo popped out from behind the next building, Donatello from the inside of a dumpster, and Raphael crawled up from under the window ledge. The three turtles looked at each other in unison, all clearly confused.

Leonardo began to walk away when Raphael grabbed him by the shoulder. The grip was gentle, but firm. "Hey!" He barked, "What's going on? Did your brain do a flip on you last night?"

Leo turned around, swatting off his brother's hand. "What? I thought you were tired of all this, Raph."

"Yeah, but- Well, like you said, a little hide-and-seek, ninja style, of course, ain't gonna kill anyone. I'm just tired of you going overboard." Raph questioned, trying his best to control his already boiling temper.

Leonardo looked at the latter the way a feline looked at a flea on its back, like he was a heinous pest that deserved nothing less than a swift death. Raphael clenched his fists at his side, ready to unleash the raging fire that rose inside him, but his brother just disregarded him, like a flea.

"Nothing." Shaking his head, Leo started towards the end of the building, "Let's just go home."

Mikey shook his head and grinned. "Instead- who's up for another game?" Starting ahead, giving no one a chance to argue with him, he did a flip from one building to the next. "Ninja-tag, and Raphael is it-!!!"

"With the way Fearless is acting, I'll have him in seconds." Raphael snorted.

The blue cladded turtle sighed, but countered, "Let's make this more interesting. If you can't tag me in less than hour, you have to take over my chores for the week."

"An hour? You give yourself too much credit." Donnie stated, happy that his eldest brother seemed to be relaxing a bit. "But it definitely makes things more interesting. Guys?"

"Ditto." Mikey chimed in with a grin.

"And if I catch you before then, you have to..." The red cladded turtle suddenly grinned evilly, "Do all three of our chores for the week and... And, well, you'll figure that out later."

Not faltering under the bet, Leo nodded. "Fair enough. Let's start."

The game begun. It took a matter of minutes, but the two youngest turtles had been inevitably been tagged. Now it was between the two older turtles, the threats of each other's bets hanging over the other's head.

Leonardo stepped in close, almost to Raphael's face. Surprised, Raphael stepped back, throwing a jab that Leonardo slid to the side of. The red cladded turtle's knee came up, somehow missing Leonardo's stomach, and the palm aimed at his head missed by an inch.

"Teacher's pet hoping for the bell?" Raphael said, play lunging just to make him jump. "I ain't stopping 'till I tag you, Fearless."

Something in the blue cladded turtle twisted. 'How dare my brother talk to me like that?' He thought bitterly.

"Then you'll be trying for a long time."
For the next minute, Raph charged, but it was Leo leading him around the buildings. Every jab always struck the empty air where the eldest turtle had just been a mere second before. Every dodge, sidestep and turn was tiny, almost imperceptible. To the untrained eye, Leo was flowing water around his brother.

Silence. Leonardo grew aware of how his siblings stared, wide-eyed at their two brothers- Of how Donatello held his breath, waiting for one to stumble, to fail.Michelangelo was like a spectator in an arena, watching the fight with an untameable excitement. Leonard realised that he was moving too fast, too fluid. Eventually, he'd slip up, and they'd find out his secret.