Turtle Hunt

Chapter 1: The Hunt Begins

A/N: This little plot bunny came to me after thinking about the episode "A Foot Too Big" and how Leo and Raph were the only ones who knew about the game Turtle Hunt while the other two didn't know at all about it. So I figured it would be cool to write a story based on this and how Leo and Raph have played the game. This first chapter starts off when they're younger and tells how they invented the game. I hope you enjoy this story.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. I only own the plot and nothing more.

Summary: Did you ever wonder how Leo and Raph knew of the game Turtle Hunt when Don and Mikey didn't? This story looks at how the game was invented and how they continued to play it as they got older.

"I'm bored!" Raphael grumbled.

"So play a video game," Leonardo suggested.

"I've played them all," Raph responded.

"You can help me with my experiment," Donatello offered.

"No way," Raph grumbled. "You know I hate all of that science stuff. I'm goin' out."

"Master Splinter says we can't leave the Lair alone," Leo told him.

"Well, I don't care," Raph replied. "I ain't gonna stay cooped up here anymore." And with that, he made his way past the turnstiles.

"Raph, wait!" cried Leo, running after his brother. Then he turned and told Donnie he was in charge of Mikey before taking off after his rebellious brother.

Raph made his way through the sewers, grumbling about how bored he was sitting in the Lair. He didn't get very far before Leo caught up to him.

"Raph, let's go back," Leo begged. "You know we'll get in trouble."

"I'll go back when I'm ready to," Raph replied. "I want to explore a bit." Then he got an excited look in his eyes. "I've got an idea. How about we play a game?"

"Like what?" Leo asked him.

"How about if you give me a five minute head start, and I go hide somewhere. Then you have to come and find me. Sound good?"

"Yeah," Leo answered.

"Great," Raph said. He immediately took off running while Leo waited.

Leo wasn't sure how long five minutes were because he didn't have a watch, but after thinking that some time had passed he followed where Raph had gone. He had never been in this part of the sewers before, and he was worried that maybe they would get lost. After searching for a few minutes, he thought he heard a noise in a pipe and immediately looked there to find Raph curled up.

"I found you!" Leo crowed.

"Ah, man, I was hopin' you'd miss me," groaned Raph.

"Next time, try to be quieter," advised Leo. "Okay, it's my turn to hide now."

So Raph waited until Leo got a head start and then started looking for him. At first, he thought maybe Leo would try the same hiding place he had been in, but Leo wasn't there. After combing the sewers for a good chunk of time, he had to give up.

"I give up, Leo!" he yelled. "Where are you?"

"Up here!" Leo called.

Raph looked up and saw Leo on top of one of the pipes. "How did you get up there?" he asked.

"I climbed," Leo answered.

"Man, you're good at this," Raph said. "You wanna play another round?"

"No, we'd better get back before Master Splinter comes home," Leo replied.

Raph didn't argue as he followed his brother back to the Lair. "So you wanna play that again sometime?"

"Sure," Leo answered. "But I think we should keep the game between ourselves and not tell Don and Mikey about it."

"Sounds good to me," said Raph. "So what should we call it?"

"How about Turtle Hunt?" suggested Leo.

Raph's green eyes lit up. "Hey, I like it! Turtle Hunt it is."

The two brothers arrived at the Lair before Splinter came home. They were smiling, and Don and Mikey were a bit suspicious as to why.

"So what did you guys do out there?" Mikey asked them.

"We didn't do anything," Raph said. "Just regular brotherly bonding, right, Leo?"

"Yep, nothing you guys would be interested in," Leo said. "Just don't tell Sensei we were out, okay?"

"Fine, but you have to help with our chores," Don bargained.

"Deal," said Leo.

Turtle Hunt became a regular game for the two Turtles and once they were allowed to go topside that made the game even better as they hid behind buildings and snaked around water towers. The two would often go on training runs where they'd play the game and even devised a point system over who would find the other first. It was a game that was their secret for a long time until one day when he two decided to teach their brothers a lesson using the game. Needless to say, Mikey and Donnie didn't like it so much, but Leo and Raph loved it and played it whenever they could. It got so that when one of them was feeling down, the other would suggest the game, and the two would go off to play it. It usually made them feel better, and both brothers were happy knowing that they could bond over a game they once played as kids.

A/N: So that's the end of the first chapter, but it's not the end of the story just yet. As I said, I'm not sure how many chapters I'm going to have, but I haven't really plotted it out as a long story. I hope that you enjoyed this. Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.