After the great celebration, Leo took it upon himself to find her. She had run off as soon as the enemy had been defeated and had not said a word. He and the others had retired to the lair to celebrate the victory. He wanted to know why she had run off, so he took it upon himself to find out. He searched all the roof tops close to the lair, and all those close to the church. He finally saw a figure drenched in shadows on the roof of a building between the two headquarters. She sat crisscrossed looking out over the silhouette of New York City, sulking silently. As Leo approached the figure, she flinched at the sound of his feet brushing the ground. She turned her head to see the turtle watching from an appropriate distance. Her face relaxed and she gestured for him to join her. He sat on her right side and looked out to the soundless city.
"So...," she began as he looked at her weary face. She had sustained a cut on her cheek and her hair was unkempt. Even in this distressed state, she glowed in the moon's light. He remained quiet. "Does this mean I'm one of you now?"
"Only if that's what you want," Leo replied.
"That's the thing."
She looked up and then looked at him.
"I don't know what I want."
"What makes you question your loyalty?"
"The Shredder has never shown any indication of love or satisfaction with me or anything I do."
"This has just started happening?"
"God no. It's been this way for as long as I can remember."
"Then what was it that made you finally crack?"
She laughed, "Being around people that generally care about my well-being."
He fell silent again.
"Then why did you continue to fight for Shredder's cause?"
She laughed again.
"You of all people should know that Leo. The Shredder raised me. I at least owe him my loyalty."
"No you don't."
"Leo..."
"No Karai you don't. You deserve someone who will never treat you like dirt. Someone who appreciates you and will do anything for you."
She looked at him and leaned back to stand up.
"So what are you suggesting," she asked as she walked towards the other side of the roof. Her arms crossed as if she was uncomfortable with the conversation.
"I'm saying," he continued as he stood up to follow her. "There are some things Shredder has not been telling you. About where you come from or what truly happened to your mother."
She stopped and slowly pivoted to stare at him.
"You're saying you know what happened to my mother?"
She inched closer to him than she ever had been before. He could feel her hostile breath on his face as she stood expecting an answer.
"All I'm saying is some of your enemies are not enemies at all. There are people in this world that want the best for you, but fate has made it increasingly harder for them to do this. Join me and my brothers Karai. We can train together and become a great team."
He grabbed her hand like he had during one of their first encounters. Her face was long with sadness but there was a glimmer of hope in her amber eyes.
"Do you really mean what you say," she said hesitantly. There was a hint of unsureness along with spirit in her voice. She had that talent of making everything sound better than it actually was.
He smiled, "Every word."
"Well in that case I just might take you up on that offer."
His eyes widened with the hope of a future where they would not be enemies.
"But there's something that I have to do before I completely agree to your arrangement."
"Anything I can do?"
She turned away from him to look at the city again.
"No I have to do this myself."
"You're not honestly going to go back there, are you?"
"I have to hear the truth from him."
"But he'll just lie to you like all the other times."
They stood on the edge of the city together. Leo was worried of what could happen if Karai were to pry the truth out from the Shredder.
"I have to do this Leo."
"What if he captures you and tortures you? What if he kills you? What if he-"
He was stopped short by a sudden rush of emotion. Karai had grabbed his face with both hands and was kissing him; effectively silencing them both. Leo's reaction was what she had expected. At first his eyes widened, but after a few seconds they closed and he kissed her back. It was nothing like he had thought it would be; it was so much better. Even Karai found herself giving in to more than just a distraction. It was real and warm and well worth the wait. As soon as she pulled back, she giggled. When she had pulled away, the boy had leaned in like he wasn't ready to pull away. His eyes opened to see her laughing and his cheeks turned red.
"What was that for," he asked as he cleared his throat.
"To shut you up," she answered, patting his shoulder. "Was that the first time anybody's ever…," she asked as she retracted her hand.
"…Yeah," he admitted, face still red.
"That's adorable."
Leo's face remained red as he scratched the back of his head.
"Not bad for a beginner."
The flush wasn't going anywhere.
"So will you let me go?"
He exhaled with a sense of defeat.
"Yes."
She smiled and turned to leave but was stopped when she heard the turtle mutter, "Hey." She turned to see a worried Leo standing firm.
"If he so much as lays a hand on you, just know that my brothers and I will be there to help you."
They both smiled and Karai extended her hand. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into an embrace. She did not expect it, but nonetheless hugged him back. When they finally broke free, she walked backward toward the edge of the roof.
"I'll be fine I promise."
He smiled at her. She was both perfect and stubborn. And telling her no would just make her want to do it more.
"I know you will."
She smiled and blew him a kiss before falling backwards off the building. If she had lingered, she would have seen the turtle catch it and put it towards his heart. Little did he know that someone saw him. They had seen everything. And coming back would not be as easy as Karai thought.
Just want everyone to know that I wasn't planning on writing anymore. There were some storyboards leaked a few days ago, which involved Karai confronting the Shredder about her past. Tigerclaw brought her to Shredder and said, "She has betrayed you Shredder. She fought alongside the turtles." Shredder admitted that Splinter was her real father and after this, she is dragged away by Tigerclaw and Shredder and thrown into a cell. Most people believe these are real because supposedly they were released by an actual Nickelodeon employee, yet Ciro has said they are fake. I was inspired to write this by the storyboards and I'm not quite sure where to take it past this point. So time will tell what happens! Sorry about that confusion, glad y'all liked it!