Leonardo tightened the scarf around his neck. Summer was turning to fall. Though, being cold-blooded, the turtle was extra sensitive to the newfound cold.
He looked down the alleyway to the street where cars passed and people walked home, some with dogs following. This area of the Bronx was usually busy, but Leo managed to catch it at a quieter time in the evening, just as the sun was about to disappear behind the skyscrapers in the distance. He breathed in the scent of the dying leaves and the wet concrete and the hot chocolate an old woman across the street sipped as she read what Leo hoped was a good book. None of the turtles had ever witnessed the seasons before. They had lived very sheltered lives with Master Splinter, not too long ago. But their freedom allowed them to finally see the beauty the world held, as well as the ugliness.
As the sun set further, the ninja decided it was about time to head back home. It would soon be time for patrol, and he didn't want the others to worry about where he had gone. He turned back to the alley and headed for the nearest manhole.
"Leaving so soon?"
He stopped dead in his tracks.
The faintest sounds of footsteps on the roof above him. A pause. Someone landed on the opposite apartment. His hand rested on the pocket of his blue parka. In a single motion, he pulled out a polished kogatana to block a hit from his familiar adversary.
Karai stood before him, tanto in hand, red lips curled into a devilish smirk. He was a bit shocked to see her in a jacket and jeans, as opposed to the armor and black suit she usually wore, but he didn't have much time to focus on her fashion before she kicked him in the chest, sending him backwards a few feet. Breathing was difficult for just a moment, but he quickly recovered, aiming his weapon at her cheek. She dodged the move with a grin, as expected.
She was behind him in an instant, and jabbed his shell with the blade. He turned to face her once more, but found she had disappeared. A brief sense of confusion before another jab in the back. It felt more like a poke, and there was very little damage done to his shell, which would heal over time anyway. But man, it was annoying.
He followed her in circles a few more times before he finally got a hang of her timing and faced her once more. When his knife met her's, she was laughing. "What do you want, Karai?" he whispered angrily, a hardened scowl on his face.
"Touchy as always." The kunoichi calmed her giggling, and stared him in the eye. "I'm just messing with you." Leonardo attempted to kick her in the shin, but the girl leapt back before he had the chance. "You know I'm fun."
Leonardo hesitated. Just months before, he had been swooning like an idiot over the admittedly attractive girl before him. He shook the thought out of his head. He'd changed. He was smarter than that now. The turtle lunged at her, aiming for her shoulder with an unarmed hand. She blocked the attack with a blade and kneed his plastron. He grunted, but focused again on the opponent. The two hit and kicked and jabbed, moving closer and closer to the wall of the building behind them. Karai was in front of him, trying her hardest to slice at the turtle's neck. But she always managed to miss. He was good.
They were both almost surprised when the soft "bump" of shell-hitting-brick sounded behind Leo. Karai found herself at an advantage. Her hands were up against the wall, and his face was just between them. He was staring at her with wide ocean blue eyes. He was unsure of what to do. Something inside him screamed, "Fight her! Fight her! She is your enemy! Fight, fight, fight!" but he couldn't. For just a few moment, the turtle found himself lost in the autumn eyes so beautifully surrounded by black and red. They sat in the center of a pale, clear face. Her bright lips looked so unbelievably soft. Her black hair waved gently in the breeze, and for a moment, he remembered the real reason why this girl had become such a problem for him.
Karai backed up, eyes wide. Next to them was a door, and the handle was shaking. She threw down a smoke pellet, sending Leo into a short coughing fit. In the haze, he quickly found the manhole cover and disappeared silently beneath it. And as the metal settled back into the ground, and the smoke cleared, an old man in an apron stepped outside, garbage bag in hand. He threw the waste into the container above Leo and went back inside, shutting the door behind him.
The turtle moved the cover back just a bit and looked up. On the top of what he realized now was a store stood a beautiful raven-haired girl in a leather jacket, looking down at him. And when he blinked, she was gone. Ever mysterious, ever infuriatingly wonderful.