Okay, for the record, Leo knew he shouldn't be eavesdropping on the recently reunited pair. He just couldn't help it. He had to know what they were talking about. And no, this had nothing to do with his extremely mixed up feelings he still had for Karai. He just . . . had to.

So he waited a couple of seconds after they had been dismissed from training, then stealthily crawled back to the door, pressing the side of his head to the crack by the door, and listened. He listened to the tale of the Foot and Hamato clans unfold. His eyes widened in shock as he learned that this rivalry and vendetta was nothing new. In the back of his mind, he wondered why he was hearing this for the first time, and was only hearing this because he was eavesdropping. It was their lives that had been at risk all this time, yet Master Splinter never told them, and was now telling his daughter without any sign of reservation.

Maybe because she's his real daughter, who was raised by Shredder, and deserves to know how all this happened. He thought. But - Leo, and his brothers, were Master Splinter's sons. They had a right to know all this too. So, Leo frowned, why had Splinter never told them the exact details of that night, or the vendetta?

Leo continued to listen, and overheard Karai asking Splinter if he had ever wanted revenge. Splinter gave a typically wise and cryptic response, saying that revenge only led to more pain, and while Karai tried to argue that he could take Shredder out, Master Splinter insisted that here, they were safe, and finally together again.

Leo heard the chinks of a tea set, and in spite of the seriousness of what he had overheard, grinned. Master Splinter was pouring tea, and using it to signal the matter was closed. She had only been there a few hours, yet Karai had already gone through this time-honored tradition of Master Splinter closing the subject with his child unsatisfied using tea. He listened to them drink, and sensing he wasn't going to overhear anything more (and not wanting to push his luck), got up and snuck away.

As he sat in the main room, he considered what he'd overheard. Karai, he thought, had a point. Yes, they were safe down here. But they were also trapped. As long as Shredder was alive, he would never stop hunting them. They would spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders, keeping constant vigilance for Foot. Never a moment of peace, never a sense of security. As long as Shredder was around, the Lair was the only safe place. Before, before they had gone to the surface, that may have been acceptable. But not now. After everything they had seen and experienced on the surface, Leo couldn't imagine life without it. He loved reveling in the fresh air, running with the wind all around him, playing around with his brothers in wide open space. He lived for the surface, for the light of the moon and the stars. He treasured every moment topside, and always felt a sense of loss when he was forced back underground. He couldn't live without the surface, and with Shredder around, the surface would be very dangerous. Soon, something would happen. One of them would get hurt, or the threat of the Foot would grow even stronger and make trips to surface too risky. With Shredder around, the surface would once again become a fantasy. And then, someday after that, Shredder would find the Lair. Oh, it might be months or years or even decades, but he would find them if it was the last thing he did. Shredder would never stop hunting them. To be able to live their lives in peace, they would have to take him out.

Soon, it was time to hit the sack. It had been a long day/night. His brothers went to their rooms straight away, but Leo hesitated. He wanted to talk to Karai about the Shredder, and now was as good a time as any. He crept to the spare room Karai was using until they could set up a real one for her, and slid open the door. Her back was to him, and he saw she was still wearing her armor. For a second he wondered why, but then he remembered that she literally only had the clothes on her back now. In his head, he vowed to remedy this.

"Karai? Are you awake?" He hissed. She didn't stir. Not an inch. That's when he knew something was up. He quickly shrugged for show, then slide the door shut again. Instead of going back to his room, however, he instead made for the Lair entrance. He climbed up onto a support beam and stood there. There was no way a trained kunoichi like Karai could possibly have slept through him opening the door, whispering to her, and shutting the door, not after only being in bed for less than 10 minutes. She was faking it, and therefore up to something.

He didn't have to wait long.

Karai opened her eyes and listened as Leo's footsteps faded away. She silently counted to 300 in her head, then sat up and crept to the door. She poked her head out and scanned the room. No sign of Leo, any of his brothers, or her father. She leapt to the other side of the room and hide behind a pillar. She looked around it, then darted out of cover. She leapt over the turnstiles, then was stopped dead in her tracks as a voice called out to her.

"Going after Shredder alone is a bad idea." Down from the ceiling jumped Leo. Of course, Karai thought. It was always Leo. He seemed to be able to read her mind, he knew her that well.

"Don't try to stop me, Leo." She warned. She didn't want to hurt him, but she would complete her mission.

"I want to go with you." He said instead.

"What?" Karai's eyes widen. This wasn't what she was expecting. She had been expecting some long-winded lecture on why it was too dangerous and how he wasn't going to let her leave.

"You're right. Shredder will never stop hunting us. The only way for us to be safe, is to take him down." He said with a fierce gleam in his eyes. Karai nearly smiled at his determined expression, but kept her face in check.

"So much of my life has been about revenge. I can't ask you to risk your life too."

Leo's face grew even more determined. "Let me help." He said firmly. Once again, Karai almost smiled. He was so loyal, so willing to put his life on the line for the ones he cared about. She was almost tempted to let him come. Three blades were better than one, after all. But this was personal. This wasn't just about her and her new family's safety. This was about 15 years of lies. A lifetime of lies. Shredder deserved to pay for what he did to her family, and Karai wanted to be the one to make him, at risk of her own life. Leo could not come.

So without a word, Karai hung her head and approached Leo. She placed a hand over his heart, leaned in, then over him. Leo instinctively leaned back, and Karai smiled inches away from Leo's face. Leo's eyes went small, and looked everywhere but her before finally locking eyes, a now slightly panicked look on his features. Karai bit her cheek to keep from laughing. Leo thought she was going to kiss him! Of course, that's what she had been trying to do, distract him long enough to make her escape, but seeing the look on his face made it hilarious. She felt bad about doing this, but it was for the greater good. She moved the hand that wasn't on Leo's heart towards the pouch on her belt that contained her knockout powder. In three . . . two . . .

But before Karai had reached the pouch, she felt something on her waist. Her eyes flicked down, and saw a large green hand cupping the area above her hips. She went back to Leo's face and saw it was panicky as ever, but there was a flicker of hesitant purpose. His head started to move up towards hers, painfully slowly closing the gap between them.

He's going along with it! She thought. He thinks that I'm really about to kiss him! I have to act, now! She told herself. She repeated it over and over, but for the life of her she couldn't get her body to cooperate and punch him. In fact, her head moved towards Leo's. The gap closed even further and their foreheads touched. This should have been the cue to knock Leo out, but Karai couldn't bring herself to do it. Strangely, she felt the need to escape diminish, and the want to follow through with this grow into a need.

Slowly still, Leo raised his free hand and gently placed it on her cheek. Instinct said to shake it off, but Karai remained frozen, her heart pounding at a furious pace. Her wicked smile had slipped away, and a slightly unsure look had replaced it. Leo pulled himself up out of his awkward position, and pulled his mouth towards Karai's, halting a millimeter away from her face, a weird, unreadable look on his face. So close, Karai thought. Yet so far.

Ever so gently, Karai closed the tiny yet monumental distance in between them, and lightly brushed her lips against Leo's.

What am I doing? That was the thought that kept running through Leo's head as he got closer and closer to Karai. I shouldn't be doing this, she's Master Splinter's daughter, I can't, I - I - I -

Yet Leo ignored his head and let instinct and his heart take over, and get closer and closer. A second away from actually doing this, Leo stopped. He didn't know what to do. He started into Karai's eyes, as if the answer would be written there. He saw something there, and watched Karai move that tiny distance, and felt something soft and delicate, like flower petals, press against his mouth. Karai's lips. Tingles and sparks buzzed up with furious energy behind his mouth and in his chest, and zappped through the rest of his body, feeling like electricity. He felt his heart melt beneath Karai's small hand, and despite himself he shuddered with blissful happiness. He shut his eyes and gently pressed back. The sparks continued to flow through his veins as Karai let him and returned the favor, matching his lips in force. They hung together like that forever, one moment melting into the next in a wonderful eternity. Leo shifted his hand on Karai's cheek slightly, and stroked her hair. He had never felt human hair before, and it was silky and soft. Karai didn't mind a bit, and moaned against his mouth in happiness. It was a simple kiss, but it was Leo's first, and was absolutely magical.

Slowly, they pulled apart, not daring to open their eyes for seconds afterwards. Leo opened his first to watch Karai's open to meet his. For a minute, neither of them spoke, living in the moment and spell that had been casted upon them. Then Leo remembered what they had been doing out there in the first place. Shredder. What had seemed like a good idea a few minutes earlier now seemed like the worst idea in the history of the world. He couldn't let her go. He couldn't let anything happen to Karai.

"Please, don't go. It's not the time. Please." He whispered.

Karai looked into his eyes, then slowly nodded. "Okay. Not tonight."

Leo smiled kindly. "Thank you." He let his hand fall away from her cheek, and slowly removed his hand from her waist. Karai drew her hand back from his chest.

He willed his appearance to remain calm, though inside he was freaking out. "Goodnight Karai. Sweet dreams." He walked back inside the Lair and listened to Karai's footsteps follow him, then head into her temporary room while Leo continued to his own. He silently slipped in his room and crawled into bed. He stuffed his cheek into his cool pillow and grinned as he replayed the feelings and events of the past few minutes over and over in his head. He fell asleep with the silliest of grins on his face.