Author's note: I've been sitting on this story for a long long time and finally got the courage to write it. I warn you ahead of time. If you don't like the idea of Leo and Karai together or the fact that Karai is a turtle. (Yes! You heard me! She is a turtle loosely based on the 2k3 Karai character.) Don't bother reading this if you can't stand those two ideas. You will not like it. For everyone else I apologize for not being a strong writer but I have a story to share and I hope that you enjoy it. Constructive criticism please. No flaming please!
Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT. Hail to the creative minds of Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman.
Honor, integrity, loyalty, family; these are the things that drive him. Principles that flow through him with each breath and fill him with purpose.
Master Splinter once said, "You are the eldest of your brothers. It is your duty to look out and take care of each of your brothers. You must make sacrifices for their happiness."
Though a heavy burden on his shoulders, none of the less, he was more then willing to bear. He loved his brothers and his father. They are all that he has, all that he needs, all that he wants. So he thought.
"Come on Raph! What's the matter? All that weight lifting making you slow? I'm going to beat you!" exclaimed the youngest brother.
"Oh! Mikey! When I catch up to ya I'm gona to whap ya so hard ya'll be out cold til next week!" grunted the red masked turtle.
"Ha! That's IF you catch up to me! The remote is mine tonight! Hrm, I think there's a Matrix marathon on tonight."
Leonardo sighed internally. They're ninjas. They know how to be quiet and more importantly they should be quiet. Training topside gave them a wide open arena to practice. The dojo at home was simply not large enough for four teenage mutant ninja turtles.
Leonardo was lost in thought while his brothers bickered about who's going to get the remote later that night. After all their battles with the foot clan and the Shredder and even the warm friendships they have made with certain human beings, they still weren't suppose to expose themselves to the human world. Not because Master Splinter ordered it but because the danger was real. Humans simply could not accept intelligent creatures beyond themselves and risking the exposure will surely give them a one way ticket to some fame lusting scientist's waiting laboratory to be dissected. Leonardo harbored no ill feelings though. It's just the way things are. The fact of the matter is that they are the only four of their kind and it was his job to protect them. He just wished his brothers understood that and understood why he took these training sessions so seriously.
Being the leader has somewhat isolated himself from his brothers. Though they loved and cared about each other equally there was this undeniable gap. One could say that it was loneliness but Leonardo shook it off as his duty. He trained and kept an eye on his brothers so they can enjoy their own interests.
Leonardo was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when Donnie proclaimed, "Uh, guys? I don't think we're alone."
On the rooftop they all just leaped on they had a front seat view of the Elite Ninjas fighting, highly trained warriors that are the personal guards of the Shredder, they sworn enemy. Completely oblivious to the four turtles watching them from the neighboring rooftop, the Elite Ninjas were entrenched in a fierce battle with a dark figure in the middle.
The dark figure was dressed in a shinobi shozoku and carried a sword much shorter then Leonardo's katanas. For a moment he wondered if the Elite ninjas were fighting one of their own but he saw no signs of a foot emblem on the dark figure. Their head was completely covered by a sanjaku-tenugui and the shinobi shozoku differed from the usual foot uniform. It seemed much more hardy as if the figure had traveled a long way and needed something comfortable but protective enough to endure combat.
The figure's weapon caught Leonardo's eye. Slightly curved, the blade broader towards the tip and narrower at the base. Leonardo had never seen the weapon before. The figure seemed to have great skill as they swiftly block strikes from one Elite ninja and turned and landed a kick in the gut of another.
But to take on all four Elite Ninja at once was a daunting task. Leonardo shivered as he thought about the first time he encountered the Elite Ninjas. It was cold and raining, he was exhausted from running on the rooftops all over NYC. Every so often taking down a couple foots. Even though his skill has vastly improved since the encounter the lingering sense of vulnerability was still there.
"Oh, crap." Michelangelo exclaimed.
The tide had quickly turned as the dark figure no longer had the upper hand. Lunging forward to disable one ninja left the figure vulnerable to an attack from the side. Not missing this, another elite ninja landed a kick into the dark figure's side sending them flying across the roof into the unforgiving brick wall on the other side. With a loud thud the figure slammed into the wall and collapsed on the ground unconscious.
Sensing the severity of the situation Leonardo ordered the turtles, " Let's go down there and even the odds a bit.!"
"I'm with ya. Four on one ain't cuttin it for me." Grunted Raph itching for a fight.
Unfortunately for him, as soon as the turtles leaped into battle the Elite Ninjas made a hasty retreat.
Raph grunted, "damn, I was looking forward to busting some heads."
Donatello passed Raphael ignoring his comment of displeasure. Something about the dark figure caught his eye and now that he was right on top of the dark figure he knew exactly what it was that set off alarms in his head.
Donatello knelt down and gently removed the sanjaku-tenugui exposing the true identity of the ninja. "It's a turtle!" There was no doubt in his mind that the figure that stood before him was in fact a ninja turtle. From afar one could mistake it for a muscular or large ninja but up close, the shape of the shell was undeniable. Without the mask, the turtle still retained a bandana encircling their face similar to theirs but black. But there was something else about them. Among other things, the turtle's facial features seemed softer and more delicate then Donatello and his brothers.
Donatello's eyes widen, " It's a girl turtle!"
The other three brothers gasped in unison. "How can you tell Don?" Leonardo inquired.
Now, Donatello knew that in normal red eared sliders, from which he and his brother's mutated from, the female gender was larger then the male counterpart and had a dainty smaller tail. Donatello also knew that he and his brothers were as far from normalturtles as they could get; being walking, talking, biped giant turtles with the dexterity to practice ninjitsu. He wasn't about to flip the turtle over to check the turtle's tail either. Something was just wrong about doing that. Based on what he studied and seen with humans he felt, that on initial observation, this is a female turtle.
A very feminine groan came from the unconscious warrior, making the four male turtles jump.
"Ok, that sounds like a girl's voice to me!" exclaimed Michelangelo.
Raphael rolled his eyes. "You can't say it's a female turtle just by the pitch of their voice! Mikey, have you ever heard yourself scream?" Raphael turned to Leonardo. "So Fearless Leader, what are we going to do about this?"
Leonardo paused for a moment. Swarms of thoughts whizzed by his head all at once. "We're going to bring her with us."
Raph's eyes widen. " Leo, are you crazy! We don't even know who she is or what she's capable of! All we know is the Shredder is after her!"
"Hey, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Besides, she's cute! Can we keep her?" Exclaimed a way to cheerful Mikey. A split second later Raph's hand comes down hard on the back of Mikey's head. "Ow!"
Donatello sighed, "Mikey, we talked about this." He continued, "Either way we can't just leave her here. We have no idea how deeply she's involved with the foot. If the Shredder sent his Elite guards after her, she has to be important enough for the Shredder to ensure her disposal. Plus she's unconscious; we can't just leave her here defenseless!"
"Donnie's right. It's settled. We're bringing her back with us" declared Leonardo.
"But Leo," protested Raph.
"Enough Raph. We can discuss this later. Let's get out of here before more foot appears."
Leonardo, thought to himself, he also wanted to bring her back to the lair so that he can interrogate her further once she was conscious. Another, possibly mutant, turtle! How is this even possible? He couldn't help but be curious. She fought well against the Elite. Who could have trained her? Another thought crossed his mind but he quickly hushed it as he picked up the unconscious warrior and proceeded to get off the rooftop and down to the safety of the sewers.
She had arrived in NYC a week ago from Japan. It had been hectic the entire time. While treading the dark alleys and cold rooftops of an unfamiliar city, she was still feeling the affects of the time difference between the two countries. Normally she could adjust to the change quickly. She prided herself her ability to find balance in her surroundings, in always being in control. She had traveled much in her lifetime and learned much. Fully capable and lethal, she felt no shame in having that confidence. She had worked too damn hard to be who she is today.
There was something about this city that put her on edge. She came here looking for her adversary but perhaps it was the constant noise, bright lights, or the fact that NYC just seemed busy all the time that off set her. All she knew was that she didn't like how unsettled she felt here and the sooner she could leave the better.
Then she ran into the Elite Ninja. Perfect way to cap off a perfect week. She had the upper hand for most of the battle only to have her sword knocked out of her hand and go flying into the nearest HARD wall. She hit the wall shell first then with her head as it snapped back into the unyielding brick wall.
Groan. That's why her head felt like it had a million drums in it pounding away gleefully at her pain. She slowly started to awaken, opening heavy set eyelids determined to remain shut and keep her in the unconscious world. She heard a male voice in the distant.
"Hey, I think the turtlette is waking up!" Mikey announced in his usual cheerful way.
Leonardo got up from the dinning table where he was sipping tea reliving the events earlier that night. He made his way into the living room filled with tv monitors up to the ceiling. Why Mikey felt the need to have so many tvs never made sense to Leonardo. There on a very old and beaten up couch laid the mysterious turtle they had rescued earlier that day. Leonardo stopped next to his three brothers who suddenly appeared in the room also.
Under better light, powered by electricity compliments of their genius brother Donatello, the turtle's features were much more distinguishable. The turtle's skin was an illuminating jade green that was accentuated by the black bandana they wore. As the turtle stirred, they slowly opened their eyes to reveal intense deep sapphire blue eyes that pierced your soul with a glance.
"Where am I?" requested the turtle, as she sat up, in an authoritative tone that carried a slight Japanese accent.
"You're safe in our home. We rescued you after you were knocked unconscious," answered Leonardo.
She turned her head towards the turtle talking to her. This one wore a blue bandana and had two katanas strapped to his back. His voice was strong and calm; his presence commanding. He must be the leader.
Leonardo continued, "are you ok?"
"Yes, I am fine. Thank you for your help."
"You're welcome. May I ask what your name is?"
"My name is Karai," steadily replied the turtle.
"Karai, I'm Leonardo. These are my brother's Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael," said Leonardo as he gestured to each of his brothers. They, in turned, slightly bowed to Karai, eyes never leaving her.
"It is a pleasure to meet you all," stated Karai, noting how each wore a different colored bandana and carried different weapons to their own liking.
Her head turned back towards Leonardo as he spoke, "Could you tell us what you were doing on that roof top and why you were fighting with the Elite Ninjas?"
Leonardo observed how she paused to take in consideration what he asked and deciding whether or not to trust them. Through out the entire conversation he noticed how she took in her surroundings, studying each and everyone one of the turtles, making sure to note how capable each one was in case she needed to defend herself. She also kept an eye out for possible escape routes if needed. This was definitely not someone who casually dawn a shinobi shozoku. Her demeanor and movements were careful and calculated. There's a lot more to this turtle then meets the eye. Leonardo also noticed the slight Japanese accent.
Karai sighed internally and proceeded to tell them that she was in NYC looking for Oroku Saki, whom the turtles informed her goes by the name the Shredder. She told them her tragic story of how the footclan had kidnapped her and subjected her to numerous experiments that left her without her memory of the past. She woke up one morning to find out that she was no longer human but a strangely mutated form of a turtle. A scientist noticed her anguish at her drastic change of appearance and helped her escape. She told them how she wanted revenge against Oroku Saki for stripping her of her humanity, of confining her to the shadows, of taking away her honor.
After she had explained her situation to them Michelangelo slid next to her and offered his condolences for her suffering, Donatello offered to do a check up to see if she sustained any permanent injuries, Leonardo offered their protection, but when it came to Raphael's turn, he just stood there arms crossed with a stoic look on his face staring at her. The resulting uncomfortable silence was broken by a well timed throat clearing.
"Ehem, you are welcomed to stay here as long as you want, my child." Spoke the wise old sensei of the four turtles as he appeared the living room.
Karai took note of his appearance and also how the rest of the turtles bowed formally to greet him. She knew enough to safely assume he was someone they respected a lot and probably a father figure or teacher of some kind. "Thank you for your hospitality. I am in your debt," replied Karai as she bowed graciously to Master Splinter.
Michelangelo then dragged Karai up to show her where she will be staying all the while spouting millions of questions at the poor turtle as she continue to struggle with the ragging drums pounding in her head.
Master Splinter placed a hand on Leonardo's shoulder as he walked back to his room glancing briefly at Raphael.
Leonardo knew Master Splinter was there during the entire conversation but given his past record with introductions to new guests, he probably thought best to stay hidden until necessary. However, Master Splinter gave him a questionable look as he past Leonardo. I'll have to speak to Master Splinter later about Karai. But first, he needed to talk to Raphael and figure out why exactly he gave Karai the silent treatment.
Leonardo found Raphael in his room pounding away at his punching bag. They were all grateful that Raphael had that bag. If he was venting on that thing then he wasn't taking it out on any of them. None of them enjoyed being Raphael's turtle punching bag. Raphael stopped abusing the poor bag once he heard Leonardo knock and enter the room.
"Hey." Raphael responded nonchalantly.
"Hey," answered Leonardo. "You wana talk about earlier?"
Raphael just shrugged. "I dun know. I just got this feelin 'bout her, Leo. Somethin's not right but I can't put mah finger on it. She's hidin somethin" Raphael continued in a low and dark voice, "and I'm gona to find out wut it is."