Alright, guys; I know this is late. January has started off pretty crazy. I'll catch up; I promise.
Part of the reason it took me so long was because while I started writing yesterday, I don't know what happened haha. I wanted to look at more of the inner pain for this theme, but then the fic went crazy and I'm not sure if it really conveys it the way I wanted it too. xD
Oh well. Please enjoy!
The battlefield was chaos.
Leo slashed through another Foot Bot and watched as it fell. Cuts and bruises crisscrossed his arms and ached with pain. He himself was having trouble standing; he tried to stay steady, but it was extremely difficult. He felt about ready to keel over.
But as always, the battle never waited for him to recover. Foot Bots came at him in a giant wave, and as they never got tired, Leonardo was forced to face them all without rest. Panting, he tightened his grip on the hilts of his swords and took a deep breath.
Then he flew forward, slicing through the heads and necks of Foot Bots. Each one collapsed like a ragdoll, purple sparks flying from their exposed circuits. Leonardo kept his eye on the prize: in the middle of it all, on a high ledge, stood the Shredder. He was surrounded by his best men, just standing there with his arms folded and eyes narrowed as he watched the battle unfold.
This entire battle was for Karai. The Shredder was a persistent, stubborn man who wouldn't give up. Even after having lost his hold on Karai, he still constantly sought out the teenage mutant ninja turtles and their allies to fight.
Leo suspected that Karai was just an excuse and that the cruel man had never truly cared enough about her to want to "save" her. In fact, the Shredder had injured Karai enough times already with all of his lies and controlling mannerisms and excuses. Leo had decided Karai wouldn't join them in this battle; she'd suffered enough at the hands of the Shredder, and he couldn't stand to see her be broken down even more. It broke his own heart seeing her in that sad, confused, injured state. When she found out that the Shredder had lied to her about being her father, it had hurt her greatly. And then the Shredder had mutated her and put her under mind control, only further hurting his former "daughter".
Even now, with all of her hatred, Karai was too confused and hurt inside to battle the Shredder and not break down or explode in rage. Leo could imagine how hard it was, fighting against someone who had raised you after finding out they'd lied to you and taken advantage of your trust for your whole life. Even with all of Karai's newfound hatred for the Shredder, he could see how difficult it was for her to truly go against her former father, mentor, captor, and controller.
And that was precisely why Leo had left Karai with Master Splinter. He didn't tell her that Donatello had seen the Shredder out and about during a patrol, and that the turtles were going to investigate. Leo knew she'd be angry at him for lying to her, but he tried to tell himself it was for the better.
She really didn't deserve to be hurt by the Shredder anymore.
And with that heavy thought, Leonardo finally reached the platform and got ready to jump. Before he could, however, he felt something grab ahold of him. He kicked out and tried to pull free, but more and more hands clamoured to grab him. When he glanced around, he realized that they were Foot Bots. The machines had a relentless, stubborn hold on him. He glared up at the Shredder, who gazed back down at him with an empty expression on his face.
"Face me fairly, Shredder!" Leo yelled, still struggling against cold metallic hands.
Above him, one of Shredder's men, Tiger Claw, growled and stepped forward. The Shredder stopped him by holding up one hand. Tiger Claw grunted and stepped back as the Shredder spoke: "You are foolish if you think you can beat me, turtle. I am doing you a favour by not facing you."
"Why don't you do me a different favour by actually coming down here to fight me?" Leo kicked a Foot Soldier away from him.
The Shredder didn't show any sign of reaction as he stayed perfectly still, his voice icy. "You are not worthy of a full battle. I seek Hamato Yoshi."
"Master Splinter doesn't want to fight you anymore," Leo spat. "Leave us alone already."
"He has something of which is mine."
Leo's eye twitched and he glowered back up at the hateful villain. "What? Karai? She's not yours, and she never will be. You've hurt her enough."
The Shredder said in what seemed like a scoff, "And what? Are you telling me that she is yours?"
Leo felt a cold claw prick at his heart.
"How do you truly feel about Karai, young turtle?"
He didn't answer.
"Do you like her?" The Shredder paused and when Leo still didn't answer, he sounded angrily amused as he continued: "It would appear that you do. You truly think that you stand a chance with her, when she is a human and you are nothing but a filthy, sewer-dwelling mutant turtle. What makes you think she'll ever want you? Even if she were to not mind the species difference, the number of times you have failed her would surely turn her away. You don't stand a chance, turtle."
His words hurt more than anything. Leonardo swallowed, his heart clenching. They hurt because Leo had been constantly worrying about the same things. He knew he was a turtle. He knew he'd failed to save her and help her more times than he could count on his three fingers.
I really don't stand a chance. I thought I had accepted that fact. So why does it hurt so much when the Shredder says it?
The Shredder stepped down the ledge onto a step and walked down the next two before stopping in front of Leonardo. "You are not worthy of my daughter."
The Shredder's words felt like a slap to the face—not because Leo cared what the villainous man thought, but more so because he'd been thinking the same thing over and over recently. He couldn't stop imagining Splinter's look or Karai's response if they ever found out how he felt about her... How much he loved her—
And how much it would hurt to see her say the inevitable "no".
Before Leo could shake off those thoughts, he felt something smash into his plastron, causing him to bend forward and gasp for air. His eyes widened in pain, beginning to water. The Shredder had just hit him—hard.
Leonardo managed to pull an arm free and tried to slash at his newfound opponent, but Shredder was much harder to fight and much smarter than the Foot Bots. He dodged the clumsy swing easily and he nodded at the Foot Bots so that Leo felt their hold on him tighten. One of them squeezed his arm so hard he cried out and dropped a blade.
He briefly saw the Shredder's angry glare, and it was so full of hatred and rage that Leo flinched. And then all Leo could feel was blow after blow as the man let out all his anger on the poor teenage mutant ninja turtle. Leonardo was vaguely aware of the Foot Bots slowly letting him go, and without their support, he swayed as he was continuously beaten. Mostly he was just aware of the pain, pain, pain that filled his brain and every aching bone in his body. His muscles sang with injuries and his limbs were going numb.
He was vaguely aware of himself staggering. He was vaguely aware of catching himself before he fell. He was vaguely aware of the Shredder swinging his leg towards him. Then the pain exploded inside his skull as the Shredder's foot connected with his head, and he was very, very aware of the dizzying headache that followed. Leo crumpled and curled up on himself, trying to recuperate but not being able to recover fast enough as blow after blow slammed into his body. His body screamed at him and made him want to scream right back, but he refused to give Shredder the satisfaction.
Black spots danced in his blurring vision and he struggled to stay awake; to stay conscious. It wasn't easy. He was already losing awareness of his surroundings. The man above him was mercilessly attacking him as if he could release all of his anger and hatred and vengeance on Leonardo alone.
As some of the black slowly faded from his vision, Leo could dizzily see a familiar yet blurry figure dashing toward him. It was a slim, curvy dark-clad silhouette that he immediately recognized as Karai. His heart skipped a beat despite his pain. He thought he heard her cry out his name along with the words "no, stop! You're hurting him!" but he wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not because all he could really hear was the pounding roar of blood in his ears.
He wouldn't have been surprised if he'd imagined it. He'd dreamed many times her showing him signs of love and care—all of which were just that—dreams. Am I really that desperate for her love? Leonardo wondered, curling up even more on himself. His pitiful thoughts hurt almost as much as his injuries did.
The Shredder stopped.
Leonardo lay there for awhile, trying to stop seeing two of everything. He wondered if he was bleeding. He blinked hard and let his eyes search the area for—there. Things slowly came back into focus and he could see Karai fighting her former "father".
But even for her, who had been trained and raised by the Shredder, he was still a difficult foe. Karai spun around in a kick but he blocked easily and grabbed her by the arm.
"You think you can defeat me? I taught you everything you know!" the man roared. "You owe everything to me!"
"I owe you nothing!" she spat back, struggling to pull free. Finally she managed to rip her arm from his grasp and she stepped back. "After everything you've done to me—lied to me, captured me, thrown me behind bars, mutated me, put me under mind control, CAUSE THE END OF THE WORLD BECAUSE YOU WERE TOO PETTY TO CARE ABOUT ANYONE—about me, the only reason you teamed up with Splinter to begin with—do you really expect me to feel thankful? And now you're hurting all of my friends"—here she gestured at Leo, and unbeknownst to her, he flinched at the term "friends"—"and you think I'll ever feel gratitude for you again?"
"I raised you," he rumbled.
Her eyes turned dark. "I was never meant to be yours to raise."
"You should have been my child! Tang Shen should have been mine! Yoshi stole her from me. Don't you remember that?" he exploded.
She shook her head. "You're delusional if you still believe that." Her grip tightened on her blade as she took a deep breath. "Tang Shen was never yours. I know that now."
"You've been corrupted by Hamato Yoshi's lies," he mused aloud.
"I've always been corrupted—but by you, not Splinter." Here she glanced at Leo. "Splinter—Hamato Yoshi—my father—my real father—and his family are trying to fix me."
The Shredder let out an angry roar and threw his arm forward, his gauntlets glistening in the moonlight. Karai was caught by the swing and she let out a cry of pain. She jumped back in a flip and landed, skidding away backwards from her opponent. She then leaped forward and slammed her thin blade into one of his gauntlets, causing it to crack. The Shredder swung his arm down hard, causing her to pull the blade back. She tried to stab him, but he blocked her every attack. Then his leg shot out and she flew backwards.
Every time Karai got hit by the Shredder, Leonardo flinched. And when he saw her flying, before slamming into a wall and not getting up, he felt his own heart scream as his eyes widened in terror. It hurt more than all the injuries he had in real life. "Karai," he whispered. Please be okay. Please. Karai, you have to get up. You have to get up. You can't die here. Not today. Not before I can tell you how I feel. You can't die ever or I might just die as well. The pain singing in his aching heart was like nothing he'd ever felt. He'd feel something like it whenever his father and mentor, Master Splinter, or any of his brothers were in danger, but this was different.
"It's a million years too early for you to be fighting me," the Shredder rumbled, walking toward her.
Leonardo was trying to get up, but he collapsed after each attempt. "Karai," he mumbled, concern and fear filling every vein of his body. How can the Shredder claim to care for her, when he's always so ready to hurt her? Does he not feel a pain like the one I feel whenever I see her hurt?
"You're coming back with me," he growled, reaching out to grab her.
Karai slapped his hand away and managed to prop herself up with her elbows. She glared up at him as she pushed her palms onto the floor and got up. "I'm never going back with you," she snarled, her red lips curled back. "Never. Get that through your thick skull. I'm not letting you hurt me—or my friends and family—anymore."
"And what? Do you plan on staying with them forever?" He barked a laugh that rumbled deeply. "Do you really think they'll keep you forever, with your vindictive nature? Look at you; you look just like me right now."
"I am nothing like you!" she screamed.
Leonardo's heart ached for her. He longed to reach out and take her in his arms; comfort her—but he was too weak and she was too far away.
"Oh, but you are." The Shredder gazed back at her straight in the eye, unflinching. "Violent. Temperamental. Defensive. Angry. Disagreeable. Disobedient. Ready to kill. And with a thirst for vengeance." He circled her slowly. "You're the spitting image of me, my daughter."
"I am not your daughter!" She clapped her hands over her ears, squeezing her eyes shut as she gritted her teeth. "And I am nothing like you! Leave me alone! Just shut up and leave me alone!"
Leonardo desperately wanted to help her. His anger at the Shredder was blinding. He wanted to stab his sword through the man and shove him aside. He wanted to comfort Karai and treat her inside injuries.
"They'll never accept you. You're too vengeful for their weak, 'honourable' ways. You don't have any honour, Karai. And you never will. And you really expect them to like you for who you are?" When she didn't respond, the Shredder continued: "Come back with me, Karai—the only place you'll ever be accepted."
"I don't want to be accepted by you," she whispered. "You're horrible. Everything you've done—everything you've done to me—is just horrible."
Leo thought he saw the man's eye twitch. When he answered, his voice held just the slightest hint of impatience. "Karai, listen to me. Everything I've ever done is for your own good."
She didn't answer.
"I care about you, Karai. I want you to grow up strong and safe—safe from people like Hamato Yoshi, who are liars and cheaters and cowards. You don't need them—any of them. You don't need their approval or what they think is honourable. You have me. You have the ways of the ninja. You are a Foot Clan ninja and you are my daughter.
"You are not a pathetic, confused little girl who can't even figure out the truth. Look at you; you're being ridiculous. They'll never accept you and you have to accept that. I speak the truth. You've done too much that goes against their morals."
"Splinter accepts me," she whispered. "And Leonardo."
"Leonardo!" Shredder let out another laugh that sounded like rolling thunder. "He's delusional; he thinks you and he can be something more."
Leo's eyes widened in horror as the cold claw suddenly stabbed through his heart. No.
"Can you not see how much of a fool he is? The way he looks at you; talks to you; dare I say, flirts with you—have you never noticed how much he idiotically cares about you?"
Karai twitched.
No. That's not your place to say. No. No no no. Leo's head was spinning. Everything hurt—including his pounding, terrified heart. It was so loud he was sure that they could hear it. It rattled against his ribcage as if it were trying to escape. No; Karai—don't listen to him, please—please don't listen to him!
"He seems to have tricked himself into thinking you and he could be something, when you are my daughter and he is Hamato Yoshi's son. You two are enemies. And even if we were to say you are Yoshi's daughter, then is he not your brother? And let's not forget that he is a hideous, mutant turtle. He is a fool, setting himself up for pain and injury like that. Why not just finish him here and now, and put an end to his self-harming misery?"
Karai's head shot up and she glared at her former caretaker. "Leave him alone!" she yelled so fiercely that she startled both the Shredder and Leo. "Leo's always been there for me—caring, protective, kind—and always willing to give me a second chance when no one else would. He cared about me no matter how much I hurt him! Even when I foolishly pushed him away, he was still there—and I only hurt him so much because I believed all of your lies!" She stood up on wobbly knees. "So what if he likes me! Maybe—Maybe I like him too!"
The Shredder paused, his eyes now dark. "Don't be ridiculous."
"He's been there for me more than you ever have," she spat. "I care for him." She narrowed her golden eyes. "You really are daft."
The Shredder roared and struck her hard, sending her crashing into the platform.
Leonardo's eyes widened and he bolted upright, almost staggering back onto his side. His eyes flashed and he let out his own roar, one that surprised even him. Then before he was even aware of what he was doing, he was flying; throwing kicks and punches at the Shredder in a blind rage. He didn't know how long he was there, hitting and hitting and hitting—probably not long enough.
Tiger Claw and Bebop and Rocksteady and Rahzar and Fishface soon stepped in. Tiger Claw sent Leo flying with a hard hit to the head, and the teenage mutant ninja turtle fell back to the floor. He managed to see Rahzar helping Shredder up. The rage on the man's face—and his signs of injury, such as a limp and him holding his side—greatly satisfied Leo.
Then they disappeared and Leonardo's rage-fuelled adrenaline faded away.
Leo forced himself to get up just slightly and drag himself across the floor toward Karai, however. Every attempt caused his aching muscles to scream, but he managed to join her in the end. He sighed and pulled up next to her, close.
"Why did you do that, you reckless girl?" he whispered affectionately, touching her shoulder with his forehead as he slumped forward.
"I was saving your sorry shell," she replied, startling him. He was about to pull away when she said, "No, stay." He looked up and saw that her eyes were closed but she was smiling. "You're welcome, by the way."
He smirked weakly. "I'm the one who saved you."
"Don't kid yourself." She blinked open her amber eyes and smiled down at him. "Thanks, though. That was pretty badass."
"Thanks." He smiled back.
She looked so peaceful like that—so much gentler than the sharp, dangerous girl he'd come to know and love.
Love. The words reminded him of what she'd said to the Shredder: "So what if he likes me! Maybe—Maybe I like him too!"
He wondered if it was true. He knew that she cared about him, but he'd always seen it in the friendly, comradely way—the way that meant she'd care about what happened to him but on regular days, the closest thing he'd get to a sign of "love" was amusement at his embarrassing awkwardness.
Karai twitched and Leo glanced down at her. He noticed that her brow was now furrowed and she seemed like she was in pain.
"You know," she whispered, looking down, "I'm really glad he wasn't able to kill you."
He blinked, surprised. "Glad"...? Really?
"Err...you know I'm not good with this emotional stuff. But about what the Shredder said..." She looked up. "About your feelings toward me... Were they true?"
Leo's heart stopped beating. Oh no. Here it comes. He took a deep, shaky breath and dared to reach out and touch her cheek.
"Leo?" Karai flinched, uncharacteristically uncomfortable.
"I..." He trailed off, feeling faint. Already he couldn't find the words.
She stared back at him, golden eyes wide as she waited for his answer.
Leo blushed. The same claw pricked his heart, causing more pain than any of his physical injuries ever would. "Umm...what would you say if I said yes?"
Karai stared at him. "I-I don't know. I don't even know it's true or not."
He hesitated. And then: "It is true."
She couldn't hide her surprise. "Really?" she whispered.
He nodded helplessly. "I like you. Like, like you like you." He swallowed. "I know I don't really stand a chance, but..." He trailed off and squeezed his hand into a fist, which he held close to his plastron. "Ugh, this really hurts."
Her surprise faded as she managed a small smirk. "Well, you did get quite a beating from the Shredder."
He blushed. "No, I mean... Inside. It hurts a lot inside." He clenched his fist close to where his heart would be—where it was beating like crazy. "I'm so scared," he admitted. "Of you turning me away, even though I know we don't really stand a chance. But—"
"Stop, stop, stop." She frowned at him. "Do you really have such little faith in me?"
Leo blinked at her. "Karai...?"
"At the rate you're going, you're just proving the Shredder to be right, and that's just wrong." She leaned in toward him. "I like you too, Leo. Why is that so hard to believe?"
He felt his breath catch. "You mean...?"
"Yes. I like you back." She grabbed the straps across his plastron for the sheaths of his swords, using them to pull him toward her. Then she kissed him.
Sparks exploded inside his head, making him feel dizzy. Or maybe that was just from his injuries. At the very least, the kiss felt good and soon the rest of his pain melted into obscurity.
She pulled back and licked her lips. "You're bleeding," she commented. "I could taste blood on your lips."
He felt the side of his head and realized that he was, in fact, bleeding. Some of it had trickled down his head into his mouth and he hadn't even realized it. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize, idiot. What are you even apologizing for?" She tilted her head upwards and kissed his temple, close to his wound. "You did get a pretty bad beating from the Shredder. Of course you'd have some injuries."
"I didn't even feel it though." He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. "I didn't feel the pain at all. All I feel is happiness."
She smiled too, reaching up to touch his hand. "Yeah," she agreed quietly, "me too."
The two ninjas stayed together like that for awhile, slowly losing consciousness as they slipped into sleep. It wasn't plagued by their injuries however—because they couldn't feel it anymore. Despite being injured, all they could feel was peace.
Hope you enjoyed the story!
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