Chapter Text
Michelangelo was a responsible turtle he’d like to think. Maybe not as responsible as Raph or April, but he followed most of the rules.
Occasionally though, he would break a rule their dad had set for them, usually alongside at least one of his brothers. There’s a first time for everything though.
Now he was on a “solo mission” picking up various orders his family had placed around the city, making his way back home with several bags hanging from his wrist and backpack strapped to his back if needed. He was hopping from one rooftop down to an alleyway when he heard a loud clang.
The turtle stopped, freezing in place as his eyes darted around trying to find the source of the sound. He slowly started to untense when another sound rang out in the alleyway. Mikey’s hand twitched, wanting to reach for his nunchaku as he slowly crept towards a pile of garbage that the noise came from.
Mikey watched it for a moment, slipping into a defensive stance as the trash shifted before gasping when the source of the noise revealed itself.
Mikey carefully made his way into the lair, dropping off the picked bags as he made his way back toward his room.
He sighed before flinching when he heard the bag on his back rustling. Quickly he set his bag down, unzipping it with a smile “I know, I know. You want out, but I need just another second.”
Mikey’s smile only grew in a fuzzy, black head popped out with a quiet meow. The black cat jumped out of the bag, shaking once before settling before the turtle. Mikey reached out, carefully scratching at the cat’s ear and watching as a long fluffy tail lazily swished back and forth. “Alright, little guy. I’m not supposed to bring animals here, you know, especially not a cat. Dad’ll freak out if he sees you.”
Mikey glanced guiltily over his shoulder, before looking back at the cat who was staring back at him with wide golden eyes. “Buuuuut… I’m sure that it’ll be okay once I just explain that you’re hurt and just need a little help.” Mikey grinned again when his furry guest bumped his head against the hand that was petting him. “We just gotta lay down a few rules, okay?”
The cat only blinked, head tilted to one side as the tail kept swishing.
“Okay! So first rule, gotta be quiet and stay out of sight until I can really explain this to Dad and my bros. Second rule, we gotta be on our best behavior, okay?” Mikey put on his best stern face, making sure the cat was looking directly at him before he added “You gotta stay out of D’s lab, he’ll freak out if you accidentally knock something over, Raph’s stuffies are only to be touched with gentle paws, Leo’s posters are off limits, and most importantly Dad is not food.”
The last one was said with Mike’s sternest voice, and he let it linger in the air before adding, “Those are the main two for now, but they gotta be followed okay?”
The cat meowed once, head bobbing once in what could be a nod before he started rubbing against Mikey’s knee pads, a quiet purr rumbling in his chest.
Mikey grinned again, petting the full length of the cat’s back before grimacing “I should probably give you a bath, huh? Your fur feels a little… gross, and I didn’t even think about fleas…” Mikey should have planned this a little better, he’s starting to realize “But it’ll also help me get a good look at that leg and I can clean it up!”
Mikey carefully picked up the cat, mindful of the injured hind leg that he’d seen in the alleyway before carefully, peeking out into the hall.
The hallway was clear, and Mikey carefully started making his way to the bathroom “Lucky for you, Pop’s need some new shampoo, so I’ve got something for your fur. Hopefully, he won’t mind too much.”
The cat merely mewed, knocking his head against Mikey’s chin as his tail swiped out, accidentally knocking over a knick knack to the floor with a quiet thunk.
The bath had been a mistake. The cat was not a fan of water, splashing it everywhere in the bathroom, and making a lot of noise.
Enough noise that Mikey’s family had investigated. It wasn’t even an hour before he was busted, and now he had the damp animal wrapped up in a towel in his lap as his father stared at him.
“Orange! I have told you boys time and time again that we can’t have pets in our home! Especially not a cat !” Splinter’s tail was twitching nervously on the floor, and he looked down from his youngest’s face to the face of the cat, who in turn only stared in return.
“I know! B-but I wasn’t going to keep him as a pet! I just found him, and he was hurt and needed help! I couldn’t just leave him there.” Mikey pleaded, looking already chastised, but his hand tightened the slightest bit around his furry friend.
Splinter softened slightly at that, Michelangelo always did have such a big heart, before sighing, pinching at the bridge of his nose “You could have dropped him off at a vet or shelter, Orange. They are more than equipped to help out a hurt stray.”
“To be fair, none of us know the area here enough to know where the nearest shelter or vet is. Or if they’re even taking any animals currently.” Leo piped in from where he was laid out on the couch, one leg swinging lazily over the arm.
The glare Splinter sent him could curdle milk, before the rat turned to look at Donatello, one brow raised in a silent question.
“Nearest animal shelter was several blocks from the entrance Mikey used, and nothing online says if they’re at capacity or not online at the moment. The nearest vet is even further, and he would’ve had a harder time getting there unnoticed.” Don rattled off easily enough, displaying a map with both points of interest for a moment before he closed it. The soft shell turtle pulled out a first aid kit, taking a seat next to his brother and motioning for the cat.
Mikey carefully unwrapped the towel, letting Donnie get a better look at the cat’s leg to finish cleaning it up and bandaging the scratch they’d found after the cat was clean.
“So he probably would’ve had to stop here first before going anywhere else.” Raph added, looking very much like he wanted to go and start cooing over the cat. “And then there wouldn’t have been a reason to not go ahead and fix him up, right?”
“Yes, yes, but now the cat is clean and bandaged, so now we should be able to take it up to a shelter?” Splinter asked, glancing at each of his boys before focusing on Michelangelo again.
Mikey knew that the answer should be yes, and that he should be already moving to go with one of his brothers to drop the cat off, but the words were stuck in his throat. He glanced down at the cat, whose only action was to stare back up at him with a tilted head.
“Well… I mean, we’ve already got him here. Maybe I could take care of him till he’s all better?” Mikey’s question was hesitant, and he was slowly shrinking into his shell.
“Orange…” Splinter’s tone is warning, but he sighs, rubbing his hand down his face “We’ve talked about why we can’t have pets like a cat or a dog.” He held up a hand, cutting off the start of an argument before continuing, “Piebald was a fish, and much easier to feed and provide for. A cat needs many more things to be taken care of, even temporarily.”
“He’s a stray though, he’s been taking care of himself for a while. He just needs a little help right now, and then he’ll be good as new.” Mikey was gently toweling the cat dry again, and the cat merely meowed once. “Besides, minus the bath, he’s been really good! You won’t notice he’s here! And I’ll take good care of him, I promise!”
Mikey’s pleading now, holding the black cat up to his dad. The cat’s tail swished once as gold eyes stared up at the rat.
Splinter stared at them both for a moment, sighing as his resolve crumbled a bit. “A week, Michelangelo. A week to take care of the cat, then it has to go to a shelter.”
“Yes! I promise!” Mikey jumped up, collecting the cat close to his chest “I’ve already told him some of the rules, and he’s such a good kitty, I promise!”
Splinter’s whiskers twitched as he fought off a smile “I believe you, Orange. Now, if you boys excuse me, I have a show to get back to.”
The boys waited a moment till their father’s back disappeared down the hall, before the other three were swarming Mikey to get a better look at their newest roommate.
Raph immediately started cooing over him, one finger gently rubbing between the cat’s ears “What are you gonna call this little guy?”
“Would naming him really be advisable? It could lead to getting overly attached.” Donnie replied, staring back at the cat with a raised brow when gold eyes turned to him.
“We can’t just call him ‘Cat’ or ‘Kitty’ or something like that though.” Leo leaned heavily on his twin’s shoulder, almost mirroring the other’s face as he looked down at the cat, hesitantly holding a hand out for the cat.
“No name, not yet at least.” Mikey’s grin wouldn’t fade, and one hand was gently stroking down the cat’s back. “First, we gotta make sure he’s set up.”
“We’ll need to get cat food, bowls, and at least a temporary litter box. We can donate the leftover food, and the bowls to a shelter too.” Donnie was already looking up basic necessities for cats, and the closest pet stores to get them.
“Ugh! I am not helping with litter duty!” Leo protested, hands flying up as he took a step back.
Mikey just laughed, watching his brothers argue over what they did and didn’t want to help with cat care.
He was sure this would work out. And maybe, secretly, he hoped that this meant that his new little friend would get to stick around.
Mikey was maybe being a little over optimistic about how easy taking care of this cat would be, or how easily it would work out.
It started with Donnie.
The cat had heeded his warning about Donnie’s lab, though, staying well away from it and only interacting with the soft-shelled turtle when he was out in the main areas of the lair. It was an arrangement that was working out quite well for Donnie, Mikey had thought.
But of course, things are never that simple.
Donnie had come out of his lab, looking disgruntled and carrying out a cold mug of coffee as Mikey was getting himself a snack. The cat was sitting as still as a statue on one of the countertops.
Donnie set the mug down near the cat, looking at his brother with a disapproving look “I thought we agreed he wasn’t allowed on the kitchen counters?”
Mikey shrugged helplessly at that “He’s kind of free spirit, plus he stays in that one spot. I think he likes sneaking bites.”
That cat’s tail swished once, a quiet mew joining the action before it stared at the mug.
“I always wipe it down after he moves, though.” Mikey placated at Donnie’s slightly disgusted look. “What brought you out, though? I thought you said you were gonna be back there till dinner?”
“I was. Until I realized that I needed more coffee because mine went cold and I’m out of grounds for the maker in my room.” Donnie answered, moving to the coffeemaker, going through the steps to make another batch.
Mikey hummed in sympathy, stopping short from another reply when he heard a quiet thud before a crash.
Both turtles’ heads whipped towards the cat, who was currently staring at a broken mug on the floor.
Mikey grimaced, slowly looking back towards his older brother. Donnie was gaping at the mess on the floor, before he took a deep breath “Mikey… I’m not helping clean that up, and maybe you should review keeping the cat off the counters.”
Mikey nodded quickly, ducking down to start picking up ceramic pieces and making a note to grab Don a replacement next time he was topside.
Though… he did wonder when Don had started complaining about lukewarm coffee. He was pretty sure D would drink it until it was cold.
The cat mewed above him, and Mikey glanced up and could almost swear it looked like the cat had an apologetic look on his face.
It was Leon that was strike two.
Nothing got broken this time luckily but there were some bruises.
Leo was testing out the new ramps they’d been building up in the new lair, skating all over while Mikey and the cat watched.
Mikey was hooting and hollering, taking video to show the others later. The cat was seated next to Mikey, tail swishing languidly and leaning up into the pets that Mikey offered while wide gold eyes followed the red-ear slider.
They’d been at that for probably 30 minutes now. “Now watch Miguel, as I Leon, complete the amazing, the impossible, the Whoa!” Leo was riding along aiming for the newest ramp that they’d made when suddenly the cat dashed out. A black blur that ran right in front of Leo’s skateboard before stopping.
Leo over corrected, trying to miss the cat before falling over onto the floor with a solid thunk. All the air rushed out of the turtle in a whoosh as the skateboard shot out and smacked into the wall.
Mikey scrambled up, rushing to his brother’s side to help him up “Leo! You okay?!” Mikey pulled Leo up, wincing as he watched his brother rub at his shell.
“Yeah, I’m good. Banged my elbow a little, but I'm good.” Leonardo looked down at the cat, brow scrunching as the furry head tilted. “What was up with that, though?”
“I don’t know.” Mikey answered, staring down at the cat as well. “I didn’t see anything he’d want to play with or anything.”
Leo sighed, moving to pick up his board, looking over his shoulder and suggesting, “Maybe you should keep him out of here when the boards are out? Wouldn’t do any good for one of us to accidentally roll over him.”
“Yeah.. You’re probably right.” Mikey rubbed at his neck, using the other hand to beckon the cat back to him. He merely meowed, slowly walking to sit beside Mikey’s ankles and staring only at the ramp Leo had been going towards.
Leo moved to stand up on the ramp to start up another round of skating when it suddenly collapsed after putting a part of his weight on it.
Both turtles yelped, staring at the newly wrecked ramp. “Well… lucky I wasn’t on that, huh?” Leo said after a beat, and Mikey could only nod.
The cat meowed loudly at that, moving to weave between Mikey’s legs.
That was lucky indeed.
Third strike was Raph.
It was almost the end of the week, and the cat’s leg had been healing up fine.
Mikey had wanted to think that things were working out, and maybe… maybe the cat could stay longer, but little accidents had been piling up and making the majority of his family disgruntled. The cat had managed to knock things over, get under foot, or in the way of his brothers or even his father at random points.
April had brought Mayhem over one night, and the two animals had almost fought one another.
That had been a strange night, honestly given how well behaved both normally were.
It was a good, quiet afternoon now though. Raph was knitting on the couch, while Mikey was sketching out a portrait of the cat who was sitting poised as ever.
Raph looped another stitch before setting down his current project, stretching out his hands and arms before moving to make a small break.
The cat’s ear twitched once, and it turned to look over the yarn craft while Mikey’s pencil continued to scratch on the paper.
Mike had been so focused on redoing a few lines that he missed when the cat had stood and padded over to the couch. Jumping up and once more staring at the progress Raph had made.
Mikey was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard a sudden clang, one of Raph’s knitting needles hitting the floor. He yelped and jumped up to grab the cat when he noticed several lines of stitching had been undone.
He was staring at the mess, trying to figure out what to do, when Raph walked back in.
“Raph I’m sorry! I had my eyes off him for a second, and then h-he…” Mikey felt himself shrinking down, bringing the cat closer to himself as he waited for his brother’s response.
Raph stared for a moment before taking a deep breath and letting it out. “Mike… It’s not okay, but I can fix it.” Raph’s face morphed into something apologetic, and he placed a hand on the box turtle’s shoulder “But given everything else… It might be a good idea to start thinking about taking him up to a shelter.”
Mikey wanted to argue, promising that he could get the cat to behave, but… but he promised that he would take the cat up after he was healed.
Plus, the cat had been causing a little stress for his family. The cat had even taken a swipe at Splinter’s foot once, though it had been lucky timing since otherwise Splinter would’ve stepped on a bit of construction debris and cut himself.
Honestly, if Mikey stopped and really thought about it, a lot of the incidents were like that.
Mikey sighed, petting the cat and nodding “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll work with D to find a good one. We can keep him one more night, right?”
Raph’s smile was soft, and he squeezed Mikey’s shoulder “Yeah bud. All three of us will go up there with you, too.” He moved to pick up his knitting, making a surprised noise as he looked over the damage “Huh, I didn’t realize I missed this stitch. Guess that worked out.”
Mikey watched his brother’s shell disappear down the hall towards his room. Sighing, he looked down at the cat. The cat blinked, readjusting his position before reaching out a paw to pat at Mikey’s face with a mew.
“Yeah, I know. But I’m sorry, little guy. I think I gotta let you go.”
He didn’t want to admit how heavy his heart felt in his chest at that.
Mikey lingered at the edge of the manhole cover he and his brothers had climbed out of, shifting his weight from foot to foot while he cradled the cat close to his chest.
Donnie and Raph were talking at the edge of the alley way, while Leo lingered between them and Mikey, holding a box of all the cat supplies they’d gotten.
“Hey Miguel, you doing okay?” Leo asked, brow drawn up as he looked back at Mikey.
“Yeah… I’m good.” Mikey muttered, finally moving forward to stand next to his brother. Leo slung his arm across Mikey’s shoulders, steering him to meet up with their other brothers.
They moved as a group down towards the shelter Donnie had picked, keeping close and heads down under hoodies to stay unnoticed. The cat suddenly started squirming in Mikey’s hold, pushing before suddenly jumping out of the turtle's arms.
It made a mad dash down the street, bobbing and weaving between people’s legs. Mikey yelped before immediately darting after “H-hey! Wait! Come back!”
His brothers weren’t far behind, all shouting at him as they all followed after the cat.
Eventually, they were led to a little park, out of the way and lacking any nearby humans. The cat sat on the grass, giving a long meow and tail flicking quickly behind it as the turtles came to a halt, almost tripping over each other.
“Now what was that all about?” Raph asked, leaning over Leo to get a better look at the cat, ignoring his brother’s grunt at the added weight.
“Maybe he knows where we were taking him?” Mikey offered weakly, just as confused as the others.
“So he leads us to a park? Why not keep running if he just didn’t want to go to a shelter?” Leo asked, setting down the box.
“He probably didn’t know where he was taking us, or he’s been here before and recognized the smell. His leg might still hurt a bit so he stopped.” Donnie offered, pushing his hood back and looking markedly unimpressed.
Before any of the turtles could offer another response, the cat suddenly started growling, back arching and fur fluffing up to make him look bigger.
“Well, you four certainly decided to get in your morning exercise, didn’t you?” A voice called from behind the turtles. They all whirled around, staring in surprise at the owner.
“Hypno?! What are you doing here?” Leo asked, hands reaching back towards his Katana “Doing a one man show in empty parks now? Kind of a step down, you know.”
“Now that’s just uncalled for!” Hypno shouted, reaching into his coat and pulling out his rings “And it’s not just me either!”
“That’s right, turtles! Tremble in fear, as I, Warren Stone, am here as well!” Warren jumped up, appearing on Hypno’s shoulder. He pointed towards the turtles, grinning maniacally, “Today is the day that we finally beat you!”
“Who’s this guy again?” Raph asked, glancing back at his brothers, who mostly shrugged.
“I think he’s that reporter April is a fan of?” Donnie leaned against his Bo Staff “The one she’s in the fan club for?”
“Ooooooh yeeeeeeah! That guy!” Leo nodded, grinning before looking back at the villain duo “Hey, buddy, think you could do us a solid and give us an autograph to give to her? It’s a little early for Christmas shopping, but she’d flip if we got that!”
“You're a genius Leo! We could even get her a frame for it!” Mikey was practically jumping in place at the thought.
Warren sputtered, before sighing and dragging his hands down his face. “Every time… Every time this happens.”
Hypno looked sympathetic, carefully patting the worm on the back as best he could “Aw, cheer up mate.” Hypno is grinning now, focusing back on the turtles. “We came out for dinner, but now we get a show for free! Not a bad way to spend an evening, is it?”
“You are absolutely right, my friend! Why don’t you have the honors of the first shot?” Warren matched his partner’s grin, pointing out at the bunch of turtles.
All four slipped into fighting stances, ready to move, while Hypno threw his rings.
Suddenly the cat jumped forward, causing the boys to cry out in shock, but before anyone could do anything more, something surprising happened.
The cat was still growling, and the surrounding air seemed to heat up as sparks danced along black fur. He took one swipe in the direction of the flying rings and an arch of fire followed after meeting the weapons mid air.
The rings dropped, hitting one another with a clank , slightly melted, and singed the grass below where they rested.
All parties stopped, staring at the metal before turning to look at the cat.
It hissed loudly when Hypno and Warren stared, fangs looking larger and more sparks dancing across fur in warning.
“You know, I think dinner on its own is just fine. We don’t really need a show tonight, do we?” Hypno asked, slowly backing away while keeping eyes on the cat.
“We could always stream something.” Warren agreed, hugging close to Hypno’s face before glaring at the turtles “Th-this isn’t over! We’ll be back before you know!”
With that, the pair turned and ran, leaving four confused turtles and one very content cat who wasted no time returning to Mikey and rubbing against a leg.
“Oh Me Gosh! Guys! Did you see that?!” Mikey leaned down, scooping the cat up to hold out towards his brothers.
“Kind of hard to miss Mikey.” Donnie muttered, looking at the cat dangling before him. Somehow, it managed to still look like it had dignity despite the pose.
“Wait, wait, wait… If the cat can use fire, does that mean he’s a mutant?” Raph asked, hesitantly reaching out to touch the fluff ball, who merely mewed once.
“Or a yokai? Might be why Mayhem didn’t like him?” Leo offered, tilting down to get a better look at the cat. The cat blinked, then yawned, turning to look at Mikey and meowing again.
Mikey pulled the cat back to himself, letting him move to settle across the top of his shell and the back of his neck and grinning widely at his brothers.
“If he’s a mutant or a yokai, we can’t take him to a normal shelter.” Leo pointed out, reaching down and grabbing the box again.
“We should probably bring him back home then, right? We can’t just drop him off anywhere.” Mike agreed, one hand idly rubbing at the cat’s ears. “I mean, it’s just the responsible thing to do.”
The oldest two brothers rolled their eyes, but they had to agree. “You are the one telling Dad.” was the only response before all four hurried along towards home.
Splinter was not particularly amused when his sons had returned, still carrying the cat, but he had been willing to listen. They had gathered at the dining table, sitting as Mikey launched into his story.
“And then Kitty launched fire at them, Pops! Totally scared off Hypno and the worm guy! He saved our shells!” Mikey was gesturing wildly the whole time he recounted the encounter at the park. He gestured down to the cat, sitting patiently at his side “So we’re pretty sure he’s a mutant! Or a yokai. But he’s a fire cat!”
Splinter’s tail twitched, and he nodded “So he is. That makes things more complicated, doesn’t it?”
Mikey felt worry start to worm its way in, hugging himself and rubbing at his arms “Yeah. We kind of figured we couldn’t take him to a human place, since they probably wouldn’t know what to do with him.”
“A smart choice.” Splinter agreed before sighing, looking sympathetic and sorry “But we still had an agreement, Orange.”
Mikey could feel his brothers wincing around him “I know, but we don’t know if the Hidden City has anything like that! Plus, I can keep taking care of him. We just need to work on reinforcing some rules and you won’t even notice he’s here! He hasn’t even tried to bite you, Dad.”
Mikey was pleading now. He knows that, but he just needed to try his hardest, because despite his promise he did get attached. And he was sure that the cat belonged here with their family.
“That is true, and you’ve done a good job taking care of him.” Splinter conceded, moving towards the cabinets of the kitchen, pulling out a kettle to start making tea. “But a cat is still a lot of work for the long term.”
Splinter stopped, looking up at the top shelf and seeing the tea he wanted. He heaved a frustrated sigh, moving to look back at his children to ask for help, when something darted past him. Jumping back, all five of the Hamatos watched as the cat jumped up the shelves, deftly nudging the tea box into Splinter’s hands.
The family looked at the box before glancing up at the cat. The cat rubbed at his face, ear twitching before he meowed once before jumping back down and trotting to return to his previous spot.
“Okay, that was weird, right?” Leo asked, staring incredulously at their little friend.
“It’s not normal cat behavior.” Donnie agreed, glancing back at the tea box in his father’s hands.
Mikey grinned, petting the top of the cat’s head. “I think he’s been doing that all week! I mean think about it! He’s been doing little things like this; the ramp, the knitting, and a lot of things!”
Splinter’s brow raised, looking skeptical, but glancing at the cat again, he sighed. “I suppose… it would be difficult to find a good place for the cat now. And you have been proving a good caretaker.”
Mikey felt a grin growing on his face, as he glanced at the cat.
“I will allow you to keep the cat, if your brothers agree as well and that you are the main caretaker.” Splinter stated, and Mikey’s head whipped around to look at his brothers.
“Well, I’m not complaining about having an animal around.” Raph grinned, reaching over to pet the soon to be new addition to the family.
“I suppose he has kept out of the lab, and I want to know a little more about how his fire works.” Donnie nodded, a small smile on his face as he patted Mikey’s shoulder.
“Sweet! Think we can teach him how to skateboard? Cause that would be awesome!” Leo leaned across the table, reaching out to pick up one of the cat’s paws.
The cat merely looked at Leo in disdain at the action, pulling his paw back before prancing closer to Mikey. He rubbed under Mikey’s chin, purr rumbling loudly all the while.
“Then I believe we have a new furry member to the lair.” Splinter grinned, moving to go back to making his tea.
“So, we get to name him now right?” Leo’s grin only grew “We could do something cool like Midnight or like Jazz.”
The cat did not seem to like those options too much. Raph reached over and lightly thumped Leon’s shell “Mikey should get to pick, he’s been taking care of the cat.”
Mikey stared at the cat, watching him for a moment and thinking it over. The cat moved to bat at a spare spoon, knocking it off the table with a quiet nose.
Mikey grinned “I’m thinking his name is Klunk.”
The cat blinked, tail swishing once before Klunk meowed like he agreed.
A week later Klunk had a custom collar, with the family symbol dangling as a tag with one of Donnie’s custom trackers in it.