Author's Note: Welcome to the last chapter of Nobody's Fault. I won't ramble that much this time, so I'll just shut up and let you read it. ^-^

And as always, if you see any grammar-gnomes in the text, or any other linguistic oddity, tell me so that I can fix it. ;)

Have a great read!

Two shadows leaped from the tall building and swiftly made their way down to the street below. The sun was starting to rise over the city, and the two turtles quickly took cover in the only darkness they could find in the nearest alley. Leo spotted a manhole cover, and motioned to Raph to follow him. Leo was just about to open it, when he noticed Raph's face in the morning light.

"You have a little…" Leo started uncomfortably, and made a subtle gesture with his katana to his cheek.

Raph blinked at him uncertainly, but then wiped his hand across his face. He looked down at his fingers, only to discover that they were soaked in blood.

"…Huh," Raph said, with an intrigued look at his hand.

"That's one way of putting it," Leo confirmed, and studied Raph's self-inflicted face injury with an odd look. "You know… That was pretty twisted. Even for you."

"Thanks," Raph grinned. His smile made the blood trail curve around his mouth. "Wish that Mikey and Don could have seen it."

"Mikey and Donnie are gonna ask where you got it from," Leo said with an awkward stare at his brother.

"It's a cut!" Raph argued.

"It's all over your face!" Leo retorted.

"And you got glass all over yours!" Raph pointed out. "You don't think they'll notice that?"

Leo watched Raph quietly. He remembered when the glass shards had hit his eyes, though that wasn't what bothered him the most. Leo's vision had been burry at the time, but he had seen what was going on. There had been something new in Raph's expression during that fight. Something that Leo didn't recognize. Raph was always brutal when he fought, always bordering to ruthlessness. But what Leo had seen wasn't a ruthless Raph. It was a Raph who had been seconds away from actually killing someone.

"We went too far, Raph," Leo told him.

"What are you talking about?" Raph asked, with a frown. "We didn't even use our weapons!"

"We hardly needed to, I think they got the message," Leo said, with a serious look. "And in retrospect, I doubt we had to scare them half to death like we did in the end."

"I know. But it was fun, right?" Raph said, with a grin.

Leo didn't answer, and Raph looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, come on!" Raph said in annoyance. "We got to knock the booze out of those guys, and they deserved every single bruise! Don't tell me that wasn't satisfying?"

"… You think that was satisfying?" Leo asked him, with a strange look.

"Yeah," Raph answered, with an honest shrug. "What? You didn't think so?"

"Maybe a little. At first," Leo admitted, and looked down at the ground. "But right now, I just feel like I've eaten something bad. Like Mikey's algae soup. Or Mikey's worm stew. Or… Actually, any food made by Mikey. He's a really terrible cook."

"Whatever you say," Raph told him indifferently. "Just don't puke on me."

Leo studied Raph for a moment. There was absolutely nothing in his manner that indicated that he felt even remotely bad over what they had done. They had beaten these guys mercilessly, they had broken their bones, and now Leo knew for certain that there was no telling where Raph would have stopped if he had gone alone.

"Seriously, do you ever feel like there's something wrong with you?" Leo asked, honestly curious.

"No," Raph answered truthfully. "Usually, I feel like I'm the only one of us who's normal."

"Go figure…" Leo said, with a crooked smile.

"Leo. It was worth it," Raph told him, with a sincere look. "No one should ever get away with what those guys did. If someone had set them straight from the beginning, they would never have killed those cats. And Mikey would never have had to see that!"

"I hope that he's going to be okay after this," Leo said in a low voice. "Seeing those guys again didn't exactly make things better."

"Well, he won't see them anytime soon," Raph pointed out, with a vicious smirk.

This made Leo glance at Raph with a serious look, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he moved the manhole cover to the side, revealing their way home.

"Raph, listen to me," Leo told him. "We can't tell anyone about this."

"What? Why the heck not?" Raph asked, and glared at Leo.

"For obvious reasons," Leo explained. "First of all; Splinter would be furious. We crossed a line tonight. I can't imagine what he'd say or do, but I'd rather not find out."

"Okay, I get not telling Splinter," Raph admitted in annoyance. "But what about Donnie and Mikey? Why shouldn't we tell them that we punched the giggles out of those idiots?"

"Donnie would not approve of what we did tonight," Leo told him sternly. "I mean… From you, he'd more or less expect it. He kinda looks at you as if you're some sort of ticking bomb that he doesn't know how to disarm. But he expects me to make sure that we stay on the right track. I don't want him to start looking at me like that too. And Mikey-"

"-Couldn't keep a secret to save the last pizza on Earth," Raph finished, and folded his arms uninterestedly. "Alright, I get it."

The two turtles looked at each other in silence for a moment. Raph was the first one to look away, and stared at the ground instead.

"Feels kinda like a messed up joke sometimes that we're brothers," Raph said.

"Tell me about it…" Leo said, with a rueful smile. "But to be honest, I don't mind having you as one, though."

Raph thought about this for a moment before looking directly at Leo.

"I don't really mind you either," Raph admitted, and returned the smile. "Though, I'd rather have a brother who doesn't have glass in his eyes."

"And your cheek are going to need stitches," Leo replied mockingly, and jumped down into the sewer. He looked up and expected Raph to come after him, but his brother didn't follow. Leo waited for him impatiently.

"Are you coming?" Leo asked, and folded his arms. "You do realize that we got training in less than two hours, right?"

"Yeah, you go ahead," Raph told Leo. "I'll be right behind you."

"What do you mean?" Leo asked in surprise. "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna fetch my sai," Raph said deadpan. "I forgot it in the alley."

Leo looked at Raph in confusion, but then his eyes slowly widened in realization. He stared at his brother as if he couldn't believe what he just had heard.

"No," Leo said, with a wary look. "You didn't forget it. You left it there on purpose to have a reason to go back. Why would you do that?"

"I'm just gonna get my sai," Raph repeated without looking at Leo. "Don't wait up for me. I'll be back in an hour."

"Raph, don't be stupid," Leo said warningly.

"Wouldn't the stupid thing be to show up at training with one sai short?" Raph asked, and glanced at Leo knowingly. "Tell me again… Did you, or did you not want Splinter to know about this little adventure of ours?"

Leo didn't say anything, but eventually sighed bitterly.

"Will you at least tell me what you're gonna do?" Leo asked, almost pleadingly.

"I think you'll sleep better if I don't," Raph said with an almost kind smile, and then pushed the cover over the hole.

The freckled turtle snored softly and pulled the blanket closer to his body. His mouth was wide opened and a string of saliva was running down his jaw, threatening to hit the pillow. Mikey smacked his lips, as if he'd just eaten something in a dream, and shifted position again. His arms and legs were all over the bed, not unlike a broken toy.

"… knock it off, it's mine…" Mikey mumbled, and turned over in his sleep. "… get your own jelly beans… stupid tooth fairy…"

A hand suddenly appeared and poked Mikey firmly on the shoulder. The young turtle drowsily swatted the hand away, and returned to sleep. The hand stubbornly poked Mikey on the shoulder again, harder this time. Mikey subconsciously kicked the hand, but managed to hit the owner right in the chest instead. The hand's owner instantly lost his patience, and snatched away Mikey's blanket. The young turtle looked up with a confused look, only to find Raph sitting on his bed.

"Raph….?" Mikey asked with a yawn, and rubbed his eye tiredly. "What do you want? I was dreaming about beans… Or sheep… Or, sheepdogs… fluffy hats…"

Mikey was just about to return to his world of beans and sheep. Raph rolled his eyes, and then hit him over the head to wake him up.

"If you keep dozing off like that, you're gonna get a headache," Raph warned his little brother. "I wanna talk to you."

"Dude, you gotta learn how to talk with your words…" Mikey said sleepily and looked at Raph, but then stared at his brother in surprise. "Um… What happened to your face?"

Raph's left cheek was still displaying an almost three inches wide cut. It wasn't bleeding anymore, but Raph didn't seem to have made any effort to clean the wound, and thus half of his face was still covered in dried blood.

"It's nothing," Raph answered quickly, and folded his arms in annoyance.

"You sure about that, bro…?" Mikey asked, with a skeptic look.

"Hey, my face is fine!" Raph claimed. "Don't even get me started on yours."

"It looks like you got an extra mouth on your cheek," Mikey continued, and watched the wound in a mix of fascination and suspicion. "… And the extra mouth had a raw steak for dinner."

"Stop dreaming and start listening, okay?" Raph simply said. "I told you that I wanted to talk."

Raph's words were followed by an awkward silence, where Raph tried to come up with what to say, and Mikey tried to not nod off.

"Can I go back to sleep while you figure out what to say?" Mikey asked curiously.

"Shut up and let me think…!" Raph replied agitated. "I'm not- I'm not that good at this…"

"Right…" Mikey yawned.

Raph scratched his neck uncomfortably, and Mikey watched him with eyes that constantly were on the brink of closing.

"So…" Raph started, and looked around in Mikey's room. "Donnie fixed the door, huh?"

"Yup," Mikey confirmed, and looked at the entrance. "It got hinges now."

"I like a door with hinges," Raph admitted.

Raph glanced at his little brother, who was currently sitting up in the bed and struggled to stay awake. Raph looked down with an uneasy look. One part of him wished that he could just get up and leave. Let his brother sleep. He looked exhausted… But Raph knew that this couldn't wait. He had to get this over with, no matter how much he hated to 'talk'. He had decided to do this. And Raph hated quitters…

"How are you holding up, buddy?" Raph eventually asked.

"I'm not," Mikey yawned, and fell back towards the pillow. "… I wanna lie down."

Raph sighed, and simply pulled Mikey up by the shell. Mikey gave him with a fuzzy look.

"Oh, sorry… You weren't done?" Mikey asked tiredly.

"Should I get a staple gun or something?" Raph suggested.

"I'm awake," Mikey stated, suddenly much more alert.

"Look," Raph continued seriously. "Donnie and Leo… They are really worried about you."

"Why would they be worried…?" Mikey asked, and scratched his head.

"Dunno. No, wait," Raph said sarcastically. "Maybe 'cause you completely froze up like a green popsicle when we went to drop off April."

"Right, right… That," Mikey said, and pondered over something. "… Are green popsicles apple, or are they more of a cactus flavor? Wait, do you think there are algae ones?"

"Why am I doing this to myself…?" Raph muttered, and buried his face in his hands.

"I have no idea, bro," Mikey said, and gave Raph a comforting pat on the back.

"Okay, you know what? Forget everything I said," Raph told him.

"Way ahead of you," Mikey informed him proudly.

"Just tell me one thing," Raph said, and turned to Mikey with a serious look. "You're gonna be okay, right? No more moping, starving, hiding in your room-"

"Dude, chillax," Mikey explained with a smile, and nodded to the door. "New door, new Michelangelo."

"Technically, that's the same old door as before," Raph pointed out. "And new Mikey sucked, which is why we went through all this trouble to get the old one back."

"Aww, that's so sweet," Mikey said with a grin, but then hesitated and looked at Raph warily. "Wait a sec… Why would you care about old Mikey?"

"What kind of question is that?" Raph asked, in annoyance. "We're brothers! Why wouldn't I care?"

"Cuz you don't," Mikey stated deadpan.

"Okay. So sometimes, I care a little less," Raph admitted, with a shrug. "It doesn't mean that I don't. You know that I got your back."

Mikey didn't answer and tilted his head, like a pigeon trying to figure out whether something was food or trash.

"So," Raph began uncertainly. "you're not still upset over those bad guys, are you?"

"Nah," Mikey answered, and shook his head, but then hesitated. "… Or, I dunno. Wait, what bad guys are we talking about? It's kinda hard keeping up, since… Well, we got a lot of 'em now."

"I'm talking about the fantastic four on April's street," Raph clarified.

Saying this out loud made Raph realize that they had barely been 200 feet away from April's apartment during the fight, and that there was a real risk that she could have heard the commotion from her window. Raph hoped that both April and her aunt was heavy sleepers…

"Oh. Them," Mikey answered bitterly, and looked away without elaborating.

"I know that you don't care about my opinion," Raph continued, and looked away indifferently. "but for what it's worth; I think Donnie's right. You shouldn't think about them anymore. I'm telling you, those beer bottles weren't the only things that were empty... Those guys were complete morons."

"Yeah…" Mikey said, with a gloomy look. "But it doesn't change what they did…"

"Any idiot can kill a cat," Raph said harshly. "Don't give them any credit for that."

Raph glanced at Mikey, whose eyes were fixed upon a crack on the wall behind Raph's back.

"And you don't have to worry about them anymore," Raph told him casually. "They are never going to do something like that again."

"You can't know that," Mikey stated, in a hollow voice.

"I can promise you that," Raph said, with confidence. "Trust me."

This made Mikey look up at his brother. He observed Raph with a raised eyebrow, and then noticed his brother's hands.

"…Did you know that your hands are bleeding?" Mikey asked warily.

Mikey stared at Raph's knuckles, which were both covered in tiny cuts. Raph, on the other hand, didn't as much as look at them. Mikey glanced at his brother.

"What did you-"

"I already told you," Raph interrupted, and looked at Mikey with a hint of a smile. "I got your back, little brother."

The younger turtle studied the older one, like someone who observes a gift box with an electrical cord attached to it. Mikey then noticed something at Raph's feet. It was a white and blue bag.

"What's that?" Mikey asked, with interest.

"Oh, this?" Raph said, and picked it up. "It's a sports bag."

"Where did you get it?" Mikey asked curiously.

"A friend." Raph shrugged.

The freckled turtle leaned closer to the bag and sniffed it. "It smells funny," Mikey stated, but then turned to Raph in excitement. "Can I have it?"

"Sure, why not," Raph said indifferently. "Maybe you can fit some of your things in it… Though, you might wanna look inside it first before stuffing it with junk."

Mikey looked at Raph with gleeful eyes and scooted closer to the bag. He unzipped it and eagerly looked inside. The young turtle's expression changed in an instant. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped, making Raph smile at him. Mikey stared at the grey kitten in the bag, and the kitten stared back at him. It mewed disapprovingly, evidently not enjoying its current accommodation.

"… No way," Mikey said in a low voice, and couldn't stop looking at the little creature.

He playfully gave the kitten a finger, and the kitten immediately started batting it with its paw. All four paws were white as snow.

"Dude, look…! This one got socks!" Mikey told Raph, and pointed.

"This one got a pulse, but sure. Whatever you prefer," Raph said, with another shrug.

Mikey didn't pay any attention to Raph's comment as he was too busy playing with the kitten. "This is so weird… He looks just like him," Mikey said in awe.

"That's because he's Klunk's brother," Raph told him. "I found him in the same alley."

"But I thought they killed all of them," Mikey said and looked up at Raph in surprise. "How come he got away?"

"Because this one's a fighter," Raph stated and showed Mikey his hands, which were still covered in dozens of tiny scratch marks.

"Did he do that to your cheek too?" Mikey asked, with wide eyes.

Raph looked at Mikey with an unreadable expression.

"Yes," Raph answered sincerely.

"Cool…" Mikey said, and stared at the kitten in admiration as he picked it up. "He's really skinny, you know. We should give him some milk."

"Since when do we have milk?" Raph asked him, with a doubtful look.

"What about cream then?"

"We have never had that."

"Wait! I know. Ice cream!"

Raph sighed, and didn't dignify that with an answer. Mikey seemed to come to think about something, and then turned to Raph.

"We better find him a nice home," Mikey told him. "He can't stay down here after all."

Raph stared at his little brother in surprise.

"Is this you being serious, or sarcastic? I honestly can't tell," Raph said, with an uncertain look at Mikey.

"Dude, come on. I know you want to keep him, but we have to think about what's best for him," Mikey explained to silly little Raphael. "He's just a tiny kitten. Have you any idea of how dangerous it is for him here? We fight all the time. And what if he sneaks inside the dojo in the middle of training? Also, cats don't belong in the sewers. He was born on the topside, so he'll probably miss the sun and all that. And face it; it wouldn't be fair to Splinter, now, would it?"

"Huh," Raph said, not without looking a little impressed. "Can't say that I saw that coming. I must have finally knocked some sense into you."

"Raph…" Mikey said, and looked at his older brother. "I have, like, no idea how you did this… Or what you did exactly, for that matter. But thanks."

"Don't mention it," Raph answered with a smile, and gave Mikey a pat on the back. "And I mean it, don't mention it. I don't do nice things, and just thinking about this makes me-"

Raph was interrupted by Mikey, who had put the kitten back in the bag, and suddenly wrapped his arms around his big brother in a heartwarming hug. Raph cringed and tried to pry off the clingy turtle, but quickly gave up with a tired look.

"…I think I'm missing some context here."

Raph froze and looked at the door, where Donnie was standing with the most bewildered expression at the tender moment. Raph freed himself from Mikey and then quickly zipped the bag close, hiding the kitten inside, while Mikey was looking back and forth between his brothers cheerfully. He wasn't sure what was going on, but was too happy to care.

"Why the heck are you up?" Raph asked the taller turtle irritably. "Why aren't you asleep?"

"Because it's morning," Donnie explained, unimpressed. "Leo's making breakfast. If you want some, you better move it. We have about… Eight minutes to finish it before master Splinter starts hitting us with sticks."

Raph looked at his brother, and groaned in annoyance.

"Crud…" Raph muttered. "I forgot about the training."

"Looks like it's not the only thing you forgot. Have you even slept?" Donnie asked Raph, with a skeptic look at the other turtle. "I hope for your sake that you did. Splinter isn't gonna go easier on us just because we're sleepy."

While Donnie was talking, he was also observing the sports bag in Mikey's bed with a strange look.

"Is that what I think it is?" Donnie suddenly asked Raph.

"It's a sports bag, what else would it be?" Raph answered defiantly.

Almost on cue, the bag started to move, and mewing sounds were emerging from its insides.

"… Pregnant?" Donnie guessed, with a raised eyebrow.

Mikey instantly opened the bag to free the kitten, and then picked it up. He made it wave happily to Donnie, who just stared at it. His eyes big as hockey pucks.

"Alright, as much as I'd like to think that I'm starting to get some idea of what is going on here," Donnie said, in a composed manner and turned to Raph. "I'd still like to ask: where the heck did you get that kitten!?"

"I found it," Raph answered honestly.

Donnie didn't take his eyes off his brother, and studied him closely. "It's from the same litter as Klunk, isn't it?" Donnie asked Raph straight-faced. "The size indicates the same age, and I recognize the pattern of the stripes-"

"Look, socks!" Mikey interrupted, and made the kitten wave at Donnie again.

"Yes, yes. That's great, Mikey," Donnie said, but without taking his eyes off Raph. The red masked turtle just smiled at him, before giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Better hurry up, Donnie," Raph told him. "We only have six minutes to get some breakfast."

"Hey, Donnie," Mikey said, and picked up the kitten as he got up from the bed. "Do we have anything he'll like? I think he's really hungry, 'cause he keeps biting my finger."

"I think I saw some pizza crusts in the kitchen drawer," Donnie answered after a moment of thought. "Try to feed him that. Or, anything we have, for that matter. It's a stray. I doubt he'll be picky."

"Sweet! Thanks, bro," Mikey said, and rushed out of his room with the kitten in a firm grip. Raph was just about to follow him, when Donnie suddenly put his hand on the doorframe, blocking the way.

"That's the same sports bag those thugs had," Donnie said, with a narrow look at his brother.

"If you say so," Raph answered, with a bored look.

"I know so. I can smell the alcohol from here," Donnie told him. "Care to tell me how you came to acquire it?"

Raph just looked at Donnie, showing no interest in answering the question.

"You went back there, didn't you?" Donnie asked sternly. "You went back there, and you didn't plan for me to ever find out. This might come as a shock for you, but I'm actually not as stupid as you'd like to think."

"Well, well. Don't you know everything," Raph said, with a narrow look at his brother.

"I don't," Donnie said seriously. "But I know that it's most likely correlated to that cut on your cheek, which you think I haven't noticed, and the fact that I had to pick glass splinters from Leo's eyes the first thing in the morning."

Raph made a low chuckling sound, but Donnie didn't look the least amused.

"What the heck did you do?" Donnie asked.

"What does it look like?" Raph asked, and stopped laughing to give Donnie a subtle glare.

"It looks like you went back to that alley at some point, got into a fight, and that cut is gonna need stitches by the way, forced those punks tell you where they killed those cats, and I can only imagine how you did that, at which point you went there yourself, searched the place for who knows how long, and somehow managed to find one kitten that got away. And you…"

Donnie went silent and stared at Raph as he slowly realized something.

"… You did all this for Mikey?"

Raph didn't make any attempt to answer him. Donnie stared at his brother in confusion, trying to figure something out.

"I…" Donnie started, but then sighed with a tired look. "… I really don't get you."

"Tick, tick…" Raph said, as he moved Donnie's arm out of his way, and then turned to his brother with a grin. "… Boom."

"And that's supposed to help?" Donnie asked, with a doubtful look.

Raph laughed and playfully rubbed Donnie's head, making the taller turtle cringe at the rough treatment before quickly freeing himself.

"Don't worry about it, Don," Raph said, with an amused look. "You don't always have to understand everything."

The two brothers left Mikey's room and headed for the kitchen. Donnie was pondering over something and then turned to Raph.

"So… Are we keeping that cat or what?" Donnie asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, about that…" Raph said. "You might want to speed dial April and ask if her aunt would like a pet."

AN: That's all folks! And guys… You simply rock. Thank you for everything. Sincerely. I've had SO much fun writing this and reading all your comments, that one part of me never wanted to put this chapter up… I didn't want it to end just yet. XD

Please, if you have a few seconds to spare, tell me what you thought about this story. What did you like or dislike?

I hope you've enjoyed the ride, because I sure have. ^-^

(Also, I'm still quite bitten by the TMNT-bug, so you can expect new stories very soon. In case there's anyone who'd like to read more from me, that is. ^-^; And a last shout out to n00btmntfan, for all her support (both grammatical and story wise). Thank you! And good luck. :) )