Humility

A/N: It's been a long time since I've written a 2003 TMNT story, but this bunny was in my head and wouldn't go away, so I decided it was time to bring it out. One thing that always bothered me was when Mikey would rub it in about his Battle Nexus win. Sure, he didn't do it that much, but I always hated it and felt it was mean of him to do. So I feel that this story will rectify that and make things better. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: TMNT and all related characters are property of Nickelodeon. The 2003 Turtles are property of Mirage Studios. I only own the plot and nothing more than that.

Summary: Mikey is still excited about his Battle Nexus win, but after hearing the truth about what happened to his older brother, Mikey begins to realize that maybe winning isn't so glorious after all. 2003 series one shot.

Mikey smiled as he faced off against Raph. This would be an easy win for him, and he knew just how to do it, too. Raph gritted his teeth as he squared off with his orange-clad brother and made the first move. Mikey dodged it and tripped Raph up, causing him to fall.

"Too slow, Raphie!" he taunted. "Haven't you learned anything since I beat you?"

"You won on a technicality!" Raph growled.

"If you mean that I technically kicked all of your shells, then, yeah, I did," Mikey boasted, flexing his muscles.

Raph snarled and charged his brother, but Splinter put a stop to the match.

"That is enough!" he said. "Michelangelo, I know you are happy that you won the tournament, but I believe a little more humility is in order."

"Why, Sensei?" Mikey asked. "Why can't I be happy that I'm the best out of all my brothers for once?"

"A true champion is humbled by the honor," Splinter lectured. "Do you think I rubbed it in the faces of everyone when I won the tournament? Do you think my Master Yoshi rubbed it in the faces of his competitors?"

"Sure," Mikey answered. "I mean, you beat them, right? What's not to brag about?"

Splinter leveled a stern look at his youngest son. "No, I did not do such a thing. I was humbled by the honor and handled it with grace. That is what you must do as well."

"But I beat them!" Mikey protested. "I even beat Mr. Perfect Leonardo over there! If that doesn't show I'm the best, then nothing does considering his whole dedication to ninjitsu."

Leo immediately narrowed his eyes at his brother's remark. "I was out of the tournament for a different reason, Mikey," he said.

"Yeah because Usagi beat you, bro," Mikey replied. "You got bested by a samurai, bro. You must suck to get beaten by one of them!"

"I was poisoned by the Daimyo's son!" Leo shouted. "He hit me with a poison dart, and I was in the infirmary the whole time! I almost died, and if it hadn't been for Usagi's medicine, I wouldn't be here right now! But by all means, rub it in my face! Act like you're the best just because I was taken out unfairly! You don't care what happened to me! All you care about is your stupid trophy! Well, guess what, Mikey? You can have the damn trophy!" And with that, Leo stormed from the room.

Mikey looked at his other brothers and Splinter. "Dude, what's his problem?" he asked.

"You were insensitive, Mikey," Donnie said. "Instead of hearing the facts first, you immediately assumed that Leo was bested when he wasn't. I was there, Mikey. Leo almost died, and it was horrible because I had to sit there and not do anything because I didn't know how. We're lucky he's here, and honestly, that's more of a reward than any old trophy any day."

"I second that," Raph added. "And then Splinter was unfairly accused of attempting to kill the Daimyo. I had to get help from Traximus to bust him out."

"The point we are trying to make, Michelangelo, is that you should be more humble about your victory for there are always others who are going to be better than you whether you admit it or not," Splinter lectured.

Mikey thought about what everyone was saying. "When you put it that way, I guess this win isn't so sweet anymore," he said. He bowed to his sensei and headed to his room where Klunk was waiting for him. Mikey flopped down on his bed and thought about what Leo had said. It had sucked to hear about it. How could the Daimyo's son have been so unfair like that? Leo should have had a chance to fight more than he'd gotten.

"This sucks, Klunk," Mikey said to his cat. "I just wish I knew what to do."

"Meow," Klunk said.

"Hey, good idea, Klunk," Mikey said with a smile. "Do you really think that will work?"

"Meow," Klunk said.

"Okay, I'll do it now," said Mikey. He got up off of his bed and left to get his trophy. It still looked every bit as cool as it did when he'd won it, but now Mikey felt it didn't belong to him. He definitely hadn't won it fairly. He went over to Leo's room and knocked on his door.

"Come in!" Leo called.

"Hey, bro, I brought you something," Mikey said and put the trophy on Leo's bed.

"What's this for?" Leo asked him.

"My way of saying sorry for being a jerk out there," Mikey answered. "Leo, even I know you're the best ninja ever, and I think this trophy should be yours. You're the one who dedicates your life to practicing while I just goof off and play video games all of the time. I don't deserve this trophy since I didn't win it the right way. So, you can have it, bro. You're the true Battle Nexus Champion."

Leo smiled at his brother's words. "Mikey, I'm flattered that you think that, but I don't want the trophy," he answered. 'It's yours. You won it by fighting, and while you may have won on a technicality, you still fought hard to earn it before that. You are a good ninja, Mikey. I know we sometimes give you a hard time about being serious, but when the chips are down, you're always there for us, and that means a lot to me. So, for what it's worth, the trophy is yours."

Mikey laughed. "Thanks, bro," he said. "Okay, how about this? The next tournament that comes around, I'll make sure you get the chance to fight fairly no matter what it takes for me to do that."

Leo nodded. "I think that sounds fair," he said.

Mikey's eyes twinkled. "You better be prepared though because I'm not gonna go easy on you if you face me."

"I wouldn't expect you to, Mikey. But thanks for thinking of me and for saying that. I love you, bro." He pulled Mikey to him and rubbed his head.

"I love you, too, Leo," Mikey replied. "You'll always be a champion to me. Now, how about if I challenge you to a game of Mario Kart?"

"Sounds good, but don't go easy on me," Leo joked.

The two Turtles headed downstairs, and Mikey felt better about everything. And in the shadows, Splinter stood and smiled at what his son had done.

"Well done, Michelangelo," he said softly. "That is what a true champion does."

The End

A/N: And that's the end of this story. I hope you guys liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was fun to get back into writing for the 2003 series, and I really wished this had happened in the show because Leo got robbed! Feel free to leave a review and have a shelltastic day.