Well I heard there was a secret chord
that David played and it pleased the Lord,
But you don't really care for music, do you?
As Leonardo gazed at the memory of Karai in the moonlight, he knew there was nothing he could say or do to change the female ninja he imagined before him. He knew he could say everything and anything, but she'd just smile the way she did and not give him an answer. Just look at him. Play with his mind. Kindness wasn't her thing, and she knew she had the mutant wrapped around her finger.
Well it goes like this:
The fourth, the fifth,
The minor fall and the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...
But even despite knowing all of this, Leonardo couldn't help but try. There must be something that he could do to have her see eye to eye with him. As much as he hated to admit it, he had fallen for the witch. And yet, despite his brain and family telling him it was a dumb idea, he still tried to find her. Try to find the piece of good that he knew was in her. Somewhere...
Your faith was strong but you needed proof,
You saw her bathing on the roof.
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya...
Karai...where could Leonardo begin to describe Karai? She was beautiful, cunning, wicked...but she was also deceiving. It was weird how she could lure him like a fly to a web and no matter how many times she was able to hurt him in the past, he'd still be drawn to her beauty. To an illusion of a possible happiness...
She tied you to her kitchen chair,
She broke your throne and she cut your hair.
And from your lips you drew a Hallelujah.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...
Leonardo couldn't count how many times Karai had hurt him, both physically and emotionally. One minute she cared, the next she didn't. It was a never ending game of turning tables where in a single instant he actually thought he was finally getting to her, she'd turn right back around and give him another emotional gash. And yet, he liked it. It hurt, but it was a good hurt.
Baby I've been here before,
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor (you know)
I used to live alone before I knew ya.
Leonardo thought about the times he'd enter this abandoned building long forgotten near the outskirts of the city where he and Karai would meet. It was a place they could go to forget about the world. Forget about who they were, what they were, and just pretend that no one else existed.
The mutant knew it had been a bad idea from the beginning, but his heart had ruled out his brain for once and that was that. But it wasn't just an abandoned house. Oh, no. It was history. Their history...
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch
and love is not a victory march
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...
Even long after the downfall of the Shredder and the foot clan...Leonardo knew it'd be over between him and Karai, whatever they had. But yet, he'd still find his way to the house, enter the rotten wooden door, up the creaky stairs and to the upstairs where they would meet in the biggest room.
Karai liked that room the most. It was spacious and had many windows, allowing all the natural light the world had to come in. As he stood there, he could see why she loved it. Shades of blue leaked through the glassless windows and painted the floor boards in a dreamy colour. Every inch of the room was lit up in some way. It was beautiful.
There was a time when you let me know
What's really going on below,
But now you never show that to me, do ya?
When the Shredder was killed, Karai never came back to the house again. It was probably for the best, but she could have at least said goodbye. The mutant scoffed to himself. What was he thinking? This was Karai. She wasn't one for 'hellos' and 'goodbyes.' She came and went as she pleased. She wasn't on anyone's schedule but her own.
And yet, despite knowing she wouldn't be there, Leonardo still found himself wandering to the house each night in hopes of seeing a glimpse of her short, dark brown hair and flash of the red eyeshadow she wore.
But each time, he'd come to the room and only be met with the company of the moon. She'd never be there. Even if he waited most of the night, she wouldn't be there. Why would she be? They killed her father and chased away the Clan that she was raised in. He couldn't blame her for leaving. She wasn't exactly on everyone's good side after what they had all been through.
But remember when I moved in you
And the holy dove was moving too
And every breath we drew was Hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...
It was...funny how Karai acted like she cared. Well, like she COULD care. Thinking back, Leonardo supposed she could have been using him, but the look in her eye when he kissed her, the way her face relaxed around him when he allowed her to take off his mask...it was like in that instant, she wasn't Karai. She wasn't this cold hearted ninja. She was just a regular girl who needed a little love in her life.
She didn't even look at Leonardo like he was some freak. When she looked at him, it was like she didn't see a mutant. Leonardo never felt more human before in his life until he started what he had up with Karai. Karai made him who he was. Completed him. And he knew he did the same to her. Or at least he thought he did.
Leonardo closed his eyes and could almost see how beautiful she looked in the room bathed in the blues of the moon. How it outline her figure, drew attention to the curves in her body...She looked beautiful both with and without her armor on.
To be honest, when he first let Karai take off his mask, he was just as shocked as she was. His mask was his identity. It was what defined him as a ninja. It was the thing that clothed him. But he knew he had to let her. To show her that he wasn't afraid of being exposed to her...
Perhaps that was dumb of him, but then again, love was dumb. So when the day came to where Karai allowed him to take off her uniform, Leonardo was even more shocked. This was Karai, the ninja that probably didn't even let herself be vulnerable at home. It was a slow and intoxicating process, but in the end it was worth it. Everything was worth it. The way her lips felt against his, how well her body curved against his own...
Maybe there's a God above,
But all I've ever learned from love
Was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you.
After a year of visiting the house and staying there all night like the fool he was, Leonardo began losing hope. He was shocked he even had hope. Did she miss him as much as he missed her? He often took out his frustration on the old house.
Everyone had been right. Splinter, Donnie, Mikey, Raph...what had he gotten himself into? This whole emotional mess that he could have just walked away from. Not have anything to do with the ninja that haunted him. But he knew he'd regret not taking the chance. Not seeing if he could have been right...
And it's not a cry that you hear at night,
It's not somebody who's seen the light.
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.
Leonardo was a leader. A gentleman. A strong man. But as he stood there in the empty room, something in him broke. The tears came before he could even feel the water leak from his eyes and the young man fell to his knees. He was weak, just like Karai had said.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...
He was wasting his time in that house. It was nothing more than a memory, now. And Karai...Karai was long gone. Wherever she was, she was far away from there with no intention of coming back. He could feel it in his bones. She didn't miss him. She didn't even love him in the way he loved her. She had used his heart and body against him for too long, and now he was chained to nothing but a tumbleweed in the past.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...
Leonardo wanted to rip the house apart. Burn it down. Kill it like Karai had killed his heart. There was nothing left for him there than the reminder of how empty his life had become because of a stupid decision he had made as a kid. The walls laughed at him and the moonlight could only bathe him in the colour of his bandana, the colour that Karai loved to bathe in because it reminded her of him...
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah...
The house creaked and moaned around him. It was his lullaby. It was as though even the house was laughing at his misery, reminding him of the pain he was in...why did he stick around? This was Karai. She never came back to anything. She only loved herself.
But Leonardo knew he had to come back. To preserve the house. It was his and Karai's. Even if he hated her, he couldn't hurt the house. It would be a sin. And he'd never forgive himself if he did destroy it.
The wood beneath the mutant felt cool and smooth. The tears had stopped but his face was still wet and stained. It shouldn't be long until the sun would rise in the sky. It was going to be the dawn of a new day, the promise of a better tomorrow.
The house around him creaked and moaned and Leonardo closed his eyes. The building sung a melody that had been his and Karai's theme. It would always be their theme.
A soft hand brushed against his shoulder and Leonardo felt himself smile. He lifted his own to cover the hand, feeling familiar long, thin fingers in his own. Even after all that time, he still could find the bumps and scars in the flesh that he had memorized once upon a time ago.
He could feel the smile on her lips without having to turn around. She didn't have to say anything for him to get what she was trying to say: 'What's this? You're crying? You're so weak, Leo. But that's what I love about you...' But that didn't matter. She was there and if she left by morning, he'd wait another thousand years if it meant he could see her again.
Hallelujah, hallelujah.