I don't own this
There's not enough AprilxKarai stories, so let's rectify that. I'm Gavin Nuisance and I approve this fanfic.
A Kunoichi Love Story
Twas a late evening inside the Turtle Lair. Our favorite redheaded kunoichi in her reverse Kill Bill jumpsuit decided a night of patrolling was too tall an order for this particular evening and decided to beat Raph's high score on Mortal Combat…for no other reason than it would ignite his already too short fuse.
She was alone, perfect. That's what our other favorite kunoichi was thinking when she strolled through the turnstiles of what once was an old subway station. April turned her head and gave a polite smile to Karai, gym bag in hand.
You must be getting sloppy. I could've heard you coming a mile away." April quipped.
"Must be from hanging around you amateurs for too long." Karai gave a witty snap back. "Whatcha doing?"
"The guys went out patrolling, Raph was being annoying so I decided to stay behind and destroy his high score."
"Sounds like Raph." Karai agreed, flopping herself onto the massive couch.
"What about you?" April asked.
"What about me?" Karai answered, a bit defensive.
"You're not usually one for social visits, and you don't sound like there's something dire afoot."
"No, I just had nothing better to do." She shrugged.
April raised an eyebrow. She had come a long way from the innocent damsel to a hardened ninja who had assisted in saving the world a time or two. She and Karai had a tempestuous past between them. April usually believing Karai's intentions were more unethical, but admittedly in the aftermath of Shredder's twice demise, the two had grown closer.
Nevertheless, the redhead knew Karai was mostly business, so this seemed too odd. Especially considering she just happened into the lair knowing full well everyone would be patrolling. Plus she seemed oddly vulnerable, which was out of character for Karai.
"You always have something better to do, and if you didn't you certainly wouldn't come here."
"What's with the questions?" Karai asked. "We're friends. I can't just stop by."
"If I wasn't here the lair would be empty. You know we patrol all the time, I just happened to not go out. One day in a year I decide to take a day off and you just happen to be coming by for nothing? I wonder?" In that last sentence April put on a smirk, enough to let Karai know her accusations were more playful than she earlier intended but still enough not to drop the subject.
"Fine, did you want to train?" Karai asked. "I'll still kick your butt."
"No, I did a lot of training today." April mused. Karai picked up the second controller.
"Okay, I'll beat your high score." She added in haste.
"What's in the bag?" April finally asked.
"Good question." Karai smiled. "I brought something really cool."
"Ooh, new tanto?" April asked, her curiosity piqued.
"Cooler." She quipped.
"New tanto that's on fire?" April asked.
"You've been watching too much Game of Thrones. And no."
"Well then, I'm at a loss." April said in defeat. "What is it?"
"I'll show you. Sit."
The two sat next to one another, the gym bag a divider between them. That's when Karai dug in and pulled it out. It looked too familiar to the redhead causing her to raise an uninterested eyebrow. It was Shinigami's hypnotism stone and chain.
"Shini's hypno stone?"
"Pretty cool, right?" Karai asked.
"Pretty lame. I've seen her use it."
"Wanna see if it works?" Karaia sked with a smirk.
"I already know it works." April spat.
"Do you?" Karai asked.
She began to swing it in front of April's unaware face. It took a moment, but the redhead began to slowly follow her eyes to the stone. Back and forth. Karai smiled, this clearly her plan all along.
"Just relax, April. Just watch the pretty stone. Watch it go back and forth.
"Back and forth." April slurred.
By now April's eyes were completely transfixed, and her mouth was becoming more and more slackjawed, completely under the stone's influence. Her body was becoming more and more numb, slowly falling in the couch, succumbing only to gravity.
"Fell good? A little numb?" Karai asked.
"Uh-huh." April murmured.
"Good. Now April, are you listening?"
"Uh-huh."
"Excellent. Now, when I snap my fingers. You're going to do everything I command."
"Everything you command." April repeated.
"Good. That's exactly what I want to hear."
Karai moved her right hand up to snap her fingers, ready to have April under her power…or so she thought. In a split second, April grabbed Karai's arm, and the raven haired kunoichi was in shock to discover her foray into hypnotism had failed.
"What the hell are you doing?" April asked sternly.
"But-b-but-but—"
"Oh, are you surprised it didn't work? I don't know if it's being a half mutant hybrid or just not a moron but it doesn't work on me." April sneered, letting go of Karai's arm. She angrily stood up. "So that's why you're here? You were looking for me to become your little puppet?"
"April, it's not like that at all." Karai answered very guiltily.
"Oh really? You just wanted me under your power for funsies?"
"You don't understand I—"
"You what?" April snapped.
This was strange. Not just the hypnotism, but that Karai who was usually so quick with an insult, so strong willed now found herself on the receiving end of April O'Neil's wrath and not having much of a defense in which to mount. April turned her attention to Karai's still full gym bag,
"I wonder what else you brought!"
"No!"
With her ninja-like reflexes, she snatched the gym bag, and quickly emptied the contents on the floor of the living room, and boy was it incriminating. April stood in shock at the various and sundry items.
It was like Karai robbed a sex shop. Everything from dildos, a strap-on, some lube, and various female friendly toys. The redheaded looked up at the guilty kunoichi who tried her best to look away and hide her shame.
"W-wh-what is all this?" April demanded an answer. Karai merely sat silent as if she was just read her Miranda Rights.
After a second of silence, which for the pair seemed like an eternity, April was able to piece together all the little tidbits of information she needed to figure out Karai's fiendish plan, which of course was the last thing she ever wanted to think about…or was it?
"I don't freakin' believe this! That's why you wanted to hypnotize me so could have sex with me, huh? Is that it?"
"Well—"
"Well what?" April snapped.
As earlier mentioned, and from what we know about Karai, normally she was always quick to the draw, always having an insult in the chamber ready to go. Normally so strong willed, so mature and so cold in her demeanor was suddenly reduced to a nervous sniveling teenager. Afterall, she was a teenager, and now she finally felt like one, especially concerning teenagers who are grappling with their sexuality.
"What? Nothing to say? That's a first. I can't believe you. You literally came here to—"
"Okay, I get it!" Karai finally said
"Oh, do you? Clearly you don't, if you did you wouldn't have done it!"
"April, listen to me—"
"Oh what? What defense could you possibly come to for wanting to eliminate my free will to have lesbian sex with you! Just as importantly how could you live with yourself afterwards if it did work!?"
There was a pause. Karai was also never one to admit when she was wrong, let alone say 'thank you'. But even she knew April was right. Truth be told, clearly this went far deeper than this current situation, and both ladies were able to calm down for a moment now that the initial shock was wearing off for the two of them.
"I just…I don't know."
"You don't know? Wow. Perfect. Good work, y-you finally did it, Karai. All the time I couldn't stand you, how you had Leo wrapped around your finger, and despite 'fighting with us' now, you still went and pissed away the respect I had for you. I hope you're proud of yourself." April finished.
"I'm not. April I'm sorry."
"I don't want to hear it. I'm done."
"What do you mean 'you're done'?" Karai asked.
"I mean I'm done. We're not friends. We're…ninja colleagues. I don't want to speak to you again I don't want to see you again. We're through. Don't worry I won't tell the guys I know how important your reputation is to you. Just get your—butt plugs and get out of here!"
Karai wanted to respond, but alas, she couldn't. There really was no excuse—at least not a good one anyway. It was done by a frustrated teenager in the heat of the moment, perfectly prepared to justify a horrible thing.
April was right, and Karai knew it. The redhead merely crossed her arms and looked away, giving a humiliated Karai the time she needed to grab her things, throw them in the gym bag and scurry away like a puppy who just urinated all over your wall to wall carpets.
Just before the turnstiles, Karai turned her head to April maybe hoping there was a fleeting sense of forgiveness but April reciprocated no such feeling and Karai leaped over the turnstile and faded away.
April, who never had this feeling before felt no other option than to go home, as trying to beat Raph's high score no longer gave her pleasure. She simply headed home, needing to wrap her mind around what just occurred.
. . .
It had been days later. April and Karai had barely seen one another, and in the rare moments they did, offered no pleasantries, April obviously and understandably not over the debacle and Karai obviously looking away and hiding her shame.
It was a quiet week to say the least. With Shredder gone and virtually all their enemies extinguished or out of the city, our eight teenage heroes found themselves with vast amounts of free time they otherwise ignored.
Raphael got the booby prize of patrolling with Michelangelo much to the former's chagrin while Donatello was busy working on his latest Frankenstein of an invention with April. Also on patrol was Leonardo and Karai who were in the skyscraper forest known as The Financial District. (I'm from Los Angeles so if any geography is out of place, let me know.)
Donnie's latest creation was a supped up 1971 Ford Thunderbird (you've seen movies) which the nerd-genius first defaced by painting a firebird on the hood, the iconic symbol seen on the Pontiac Firebird. April didn't want to disappoint him by telling him the truth.
The two were retrofitting some old mutagen and sewer-esque weapons to add to the already ruined classic.
April didn't want to tell the guys about her and Karai. She sort of did in hopes they would desert her, but; it was A. embarrassing, B. humiliating, and C. Somewhere April was having a bit of survivors' guilt. Like somewhere she assumed it was her fault. (It wasn't.)
More importantly, the 18 year old kunoichi knew very little about sexuality, sexual relationships, she was after all not your typical NYC gal. Not that Donnie would be much of an expert, but at least she could maybe be surreptitious enough to get some advice without revealing the situation. She was a kunoichi, she knew deception.
"Hey D, can I ask you something?" April asked, sitting informally on Donnie's well used swivel chair.
Donnie, face under the hood, almost knocked his noggin on the hood door, surprised April wanted his advice. His face covered in engine sludge eagerly awaiting the question while multi-tasking with the engine.
"Of course April, you can ask me anything."
"You're a boy, right?" She asked playfully.
"Last time I checked."
"Have you ever, you know, had feelings for someone?" she asked.
What a loaded question. Obviously Donnie had feelings for someone, and that someone was April! It was pretty hard at this point to deny this, after five seasons and over a hundred episodes this fan couple had been shipped nine ways to Sunday.
The only person who was in denial of this seemingly was April. It was kind of a rock and a hard place kind of thing, or more realistically a friend-zone kind of thing. On one hand, it was so obvious Donnie had a thing for her one would have to be legally braindead not to notice. On the other hand, ever since it seemed like April and Casey Jones were becoming closer Donnie, finding his own maturity backed off a bit…emphasis on a bit.
But despite that word salad, April knew Donnie cared deeply about her and knew she would get a straight answer to her gay question. Maybe it was the situation but April never really thought about sex or sexuality until then, her life, up until that point, was about school, teenage awkwardness and saving the world from aliens and renegade ninja clans.
"Have feelings as in: like—LIKE someone?" Donnie asked with a wink.
"Bingo."
The gap-toothed turtle blushed. "Well I mean, it-uh, it crosses my mind from time to time. I am seventeen after all what seventeen year old mutant turtle doesn't think about that stuff." He explained as awkwardly as you're picturing it.
April scooched herself on the swivel chair closer to Donatello. "Is it a girl—I mean, has it always been girls?" she asked.
"Say what now?" Donnie asked confused.
"Like…"
April was starting to do that thing shy people do when they look away and use their one hand to rub the other arm, now add in a little bit of blush and you've got April in this moment. She continued. "Have you ever liked a boy?"
"Uh, no. Can't say that I have." Donnie explained matter-of-factly, then going back into the hood both to hopefully dissuade more taboo questions and because the conversation did not go as he intended. "Not that there's anything wrong with that."
"But, do you know anyone who would think that way?"
"I mean, I know my brothers, I know you, and Casey, none of us ever thought about that. Come to think of it we've never really talked about that—well, that is when we're not ripping into Leo about Karai."
"Yeah, Karai. Heh-heh." April laughed sheepishly.
"I imagine it has something to do with childhood trauma, or perhaps how you're raised…or could be something completely lame like a boy born with too much estrogen or a girl with testosterone." Donnie man-splained.
At least that piqued April's curiosity. "Childhood trauma, like, losing a family member?"
"Right, exactly." Donnie agreed.
"What do you think…what do girls do…with other girls."
That surprised the boy genius so much he clonked his head on the hood cover, knocking the support rod out of the way and comically sandwiching Donnie between the hood and the engine block.
"Donnie!" April quickly picked the hood back up. "Are you okay?"
"I'll live." He said with a bit of a slur.
"Okay, good. I was asking what do girls who like girls do…as in sex?"
"I—I mean…I don't know. But I think I know where we can find out."
Smash cut to the Internet! Donnie and April were staring blankly at Donnie's homemade laptop with a fresh and blank Google search open. Donnie was a turtle of many talents in the field of intelligence but like most nerd tropes was virtually unskilled in the art of love and not to mention love making.
April was just as clueless, but for different reasons, most of them being she never thought about it up until recently. And more to the point wanted to not only know what lesbians did as she had a general idea but wanted to test if she felt such feels.
"Okay, here we go." Donnie said blankly
"Yup, here we go."
"Right now."
"Gonna search it."
"Any second now, we are going to do this."
And they continued to stare at the Google logo.
But now for the other half of this, Karai. As mentioned, she and Leo were on patrol and stopped for a rest atop one of the many dilapidated apartments on the Lower East Side. Kara was laying down resting on a ledge while Leo stood near her ever the workaholic looking to see if there was evil afoot.
"You've been pretty quiet tonight." Karai mused.
"If I've been quiet you've been silent." Leo added.
"Am I a bad person, Leo?" Karai asked, returning to this new and scary state of vulnerability.
"What? No. Of course you're not."
The well trained kunoichi was not one for saying thank you, but most certainly was not known for admitting she was wrong. And boy was she ever wrong. She moved herself to a sitting position and Leo sat next to her on the ledge.
"Why would you think that?" he asked
"Let's face it, I'm not the best person."
"Who is?"
"You ever have those moments when you're not sure?" she asked.
"Not sure about what?"
"You know, who you are."
"I'm an anthropomorphic turtle with ninjutsu skills who saves the world from aliens and other mutants…trust me, I've been insecure before."
"You ever think about love?"
Ah, another loaded question. Of course Leo thought about love because when he did, it was about Karai, even after he discovered she was Splinter's daughter. Because if Game of Thrones have taught us one thing repeatedly it's that there's worst things than incest. (There really isn't please say no to and report incest).
"I mean, who hasn't?" he asked.
"Look, I know you like me, it's obvious you like me, even Donatello is better at hiding his feelings than you…I just don't feel the same way."
"I get it, it's okay, I've moved on." Leo half lied.
"Well thanks for owning up to it. I dunno, I guess I like someone, but they don't like me back. I know it all sounds childish and short sighted, I don't know who to tell it to."
Was Leo a tad devastated? Who wouldn't be? But at the same time deep in his little mutant turtle heart he knew it was for the best and also knew it would only be a matter of time until one of them had the cajones to admit it.
But now the blue-masked turtle had something else on his mind, like who in the hell could this mystery person possibly be? Karai's never shown interest in anyone before, it was always about the mission and always about revenge, but; I suppose when there's no more enemies to fight, one must find another obsession.
"You like someone, huh?" Leo asked trying to sound like Dr. smooth. "Is it anyone I know?"
It obviously was but there was nary a chance Karai would tell Leo the truth, at least not now. She had to lie. "Um, no, it's no one you know."
"Mystery man, huh? Have you been stalking him?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensive.
"Hey-hey, I'm messing with you. Seriously, who is it? What's he like?"
"Um…uh—he is into ninjutsu." She explained, not a lie.
"Okay, not bored yet. Keep going?" Leo asked, completely interested.
"Well, he…is fun to be around."
"Ugh we sound like teenage girls, gimme specifics, name, hair color, anything?"
Now with more questions Karai was getting desperate. This weird vulnerable state she found herself in was much more insecure than she realized. Normally she could lie like a rug and now she was basically describing April in the most vague way possible.
There was only one way out it seemed. She had to blurt out a name, and hope to God it wasn't April O'Neil. "Jones! It's Casey Jones okay!?" she blurted out, and instantly regretted it.
"Casey?" Leo asked raising an eyebrow. "Casey? Our Casey?"
Karai sheepishly nodded. "Yup, Casey."
"Casey Jones. You don't mean you have a thing for the train operator who died in a train wreck with the name name…you mean our Casey Jones? The same Casey Jones who is a human representation of Raph and Mikey's worst qualities rolled into a hundred and fifty pounds of psycho?" Leo asked for clarity.
"Yup. I like Casey Jones." Karai said more like herself.
"Wow…I-I never knew that's how you felt."
"I do. He's cute."
"Well I mean you did make out with him when you were under Shredder's brain worm and tried to poison him. I guess it all adds up." He shrugged.
"Yup, totally." Karai agreed, her ruse clearly working.
"Wow, um…wow."
Now Leo was a bit disappointed, he was thinking Karai was talking about some swashbuckling ninja warrior with a heart of gold (what he meant was him in human form) but now knowing it's Casey of all people made the leader turtle a bit despondent.
And obviously Karai was lying, but at least Casey would never notice and it seemed like Leo was buying it hook, line, and sinker. "So, are you gonna ask him out?"
"No! I mean, like I said, I don't know if he likes me. I don't want to embarrass myself." Karai insisted.
That's part of growing up, taking some rejection. Besides, I'll try to coach you up."
"What do you know about asking somebody out?" she asked.
I'm sure I could conjure up some advice." Leo insisted.
As much as Karai didn't want to admit it, maybe she could use Leo's help. Maybe she could use this fortuitous Casey situation and make it about April without Leo ever knowing about it. It was a longshot but it had to work, it simply had to. Karai had feelings for April, feelings she knew nothing about and felt guilty about. It was going to be a long road ahead, but she knew it would be worth it.
"Alright, let's do it."
And we'll stop there. Let me know what you think and suggestions are appreciated. Remember, there's no shame in saying no. If you are under any apprehension whatsoever, choose no, and always respect the decision of no. There's no excuse for sexual assault under any circumstance. I'm Gavin Nuisance and I approve this message.