It was a regular afternoon in New York City, and beneath the streets and sidewalks, the sewers were calm and quiet.

In the lair, Splinter was in his room, meditating and resting. In the main room, his four little sons were doing the two things they did best.

Playing.

And getting on each other's nerves.

Leo, Donnie, and Mikey sat in a little circle on the floor of the lair, playing an old Japanese board game of Splinter's with each other.

"Hey! It's my turn to roll the dice, Mikey!"

"Oops. Sorry, Leo."

"I rolled a six! Haha, passed you, Leo!"

The three little turtles laughed happily as they played with each other, moving along the board of the game and rolling the dice.

The three little turtles.

Raphael sat alone in the far corner of the room, dejectedly playing with his precious swath of red silk he'd gotten for his first mutation day. He absolutely loved that beautiful red silk; he never let anyone touch it, or even go near it. He ran his little green fingers over the smooth material, relishing in its absolute softness.

"Hey, Raph!" Little Leo called from a few feet away. "Wanna play with us?"

"No," Raph snapped back at him.

"Aww, come on," Leo said, standing up. "How come you never wanna play with us?"

"Because I don't, that's why."

Leonardo scurried over to his red-clad younger brother and stood over him. He placed a hand comfortingly on his brother's shoulder, but Raphael roughly shook it off.

"C'mon, Raph," Leo pleaded. "Please play with us. Just for one time."

"No. Go away."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaassse?"

"No!"

"C'mon, Leo, it's your turn," Donnie spoke up from the board game. "Leave big fat baby Raph alone."

He snorted, then started laughing at his joke. Mikey joined in, and in seconds the two young turtles were rolling on their shells laughing. Raph tensed with anger when he heard Leonardo give a tiny snicker.

"Raph," he started.

But Raphael didn't hear him. His vision was turning red and fuzzy. All he heard was his own heavy breathing, the laughing and snickers of his brothers, mocking him. Making fun of him. Laughing at him.

And it was too much for him to take.

"I said GO AWAY!" he shouted.

And before he even knew what he was doing, he stood up, whipped around, and struck his brother across the face.

Little Leo stumbled back, holding his face. He stared at Raphael with shock in his blue eyes. Then he began to cry, tears running down his face, his sibs echoing throughout the lair. Mikey stared at them in horror, while Donnie ran off toward Splinter's room, screaming, "Daddy! Daaaaaaadddyyy!"

Stupid little tattletale, Raph thought angrily.

Within seconds, Splinter was out in the room with them. He strode over to Leonardo and bent down next to his little son, murmuring to him gently and stroking his shell reassuringly.

"What happened, Leonardo?" he asked gently.

"Raph hit him!" Donnie said out loud.

"That question was meant for your brother, Donatello," Splinter told the little gap-toothed turtle. "It is rude to jump in like so. Understood?"

"Sorry, Daddy," Donnie said apologetically.

"Now, Leonardo," Splinter turned to his oldest son. "Did Raphael hit you?"

Leonardo nodded weakly with a sniff, wiping a tear from his blue eye.

Splinter looked up at his second-oldest son.

"Raphael!" he snapped.

"Yes, Dad?"

"Come here."

Raphael reluctantly trudged forward, lowering his green eyes to the ground.

"Leonardo tells me you have hit him," Splinter said to his son. "Is this true?"

"It wasn't my fault, Dad! They-"

"Is this true?"

"Yes," Raph answered quietly. More loudly, he added, "but only because-"

"That," Splinter cut him off, "is all I need to know. Until I say you may leave, Raphael, you may go to your room and stay there."

"But Dad-"

"Raphael!" his father snapped. "Go. To. Your. Room."

Raphael let out a cry of anger. He turned, snatched up his red silk, and stormed off toward the bedroom he and his brothers shared. Splinter watched him go, hands folded behind his back, before turning back to his eldest son with a sigh.
----------------------------------------------
Raphael lay the bed he and his brothers shared, tucked inside of his shell. He was boiling with fury inside of him, anger burning from the top of his head to the bottom of his big turtle feet.

Why didn't anyone ever listen to him? He'd only hit Leo because he wouldn't leave him alone, like he asked. And Donnie and Mikey were laughing like stupid little goons. It wasn't funny. It wasn't funny at all. It was annoying. Very annoying.

Suddenly, a creaking noise sounded. Raphael recognized it as the door to the bedroom being opened. Footsteps sounded on the floor, and a familiar warm scent wafted into his nostrils.

The smell of his father.

A moment later, a familiar voice asked, "Raphael?"

"Go away," Raph muttered from inside his shell.

But Splinter did not go away. Instead, he sat down on the bed, picked Raphael up, and placed him into his lap.

"Raphael," he said. "Let us talk."

"Put me down," Raph growled. "I don't wanna talk."

"You may not think you want to," Splinter told him, "but what you think you want is different from what you truly desire. We will talk. Words can-and will-help you, in any situation."

Reluctantly, Raphael pulled himself out of his shell and let Splinter hold him. Laying in his father's lap, Raph felt rather...calm. Relaxed.

"Raphael," Splinter said. "Why did you hit your brother?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Raph immediately jumped to his defense. "Leo-"

"Raphael!" Splinter sharply cut him off, then his voice grew softer. "Never blame another for your actions. Leonardo may have provoked them, yes, but you were the one who decided with your mind that you would react in the way that you did. So it is your fault your brother is hurt, and your fault alone."

Raphael opened his mouth to respond, but Splinter spoke first.

"Now, let us try this again. Why did you hit your brother?"

Everything was quiet for a moment. Then the little turtle finally responded.

"Leo asked me if I wanted to play a board game with him and Donnie and Mikey," he answered quietly. "And I said no, 'cause I didn't want to. And Leo kept on bugging me and bugging me about playing, and it was really annoying, and..."

His voice faded.

And then he began to cry.

The tears started slow, but as he sobbed harder, they fell faster, soaking his red mask and plopping onto the bed sheets.

"I didn't wanna hurt him!" he wailed.

"Do not despair, my son," Splinter gently stroked Raphael's head. "Things like this happen very often. But there are many things we can do to prevent them?"

"Like what?" Raph looked up at his father with a sniff.

"Do not let your anger take you over, Raphael," Splinter advised him. "Let it flow past you, like the breeze on your face. Do not let it get to you. For if you do...things can happen."

Raph sniffed and nodded.

"I bet Leo hates me now," he muttered.

"I am sure he doesn't," Splinter assured him. "You are brothers. You are family. He will forgive you in time."

There was silence.

"Now," said Splinter. "You may leave the room now. I would like you to apologize to your brother, and then you may continue what you were doing before."

Raphael nodded. He slid off of Splinter's lap and walked out of the room, thinking about his father's lesson carefully.
----------------------------------------------
Raphael peered out into the main room. Leo was back to playing the board game with Donnie and Mikey. They were laughing and playing happily with each other once more, like the incident between Leo and Raph had never even happened.

Raph took a deep breath and approached them.

"Uh oh," Mikey whispered. "Leo, look behind you."

Leonardo turned around slowly and looked up to see his red-clad brother standing over him.

"Oh," he said, his voice emotionless. "Hi, Raph."

"Hi, Leo..." Raph replied. "Um, I...I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For hitting you. I...I didn't mean it, honest."

Leo was quiet for a moment.

"It's okay," he answered finally. "And I'm sorry, too. I didn't wanna annoy you. I just...I just wanted you to play with us. You never do."

"Well," said Raph. "Do you think...do you think I can play with you now?"

Leo beamed, his blue eyes brightening. Even Mikey and Donnie looked excited.

"Really?" Leo asked.

"Yep!"

"Sure, Raph! Come pick your game piece, and then..."

Within moments, the four little turtles were gathered around the old board game, rolling the dice and laughing and playing happily with one another.

"Ha! Got you, Leo!"

"Mikey, gimme the dice!"

"I got three spaces! One...two...three..."

"My turn! My turn!"

And all the while, Splinter watched from afar with a smile on his face.