A/N: Another chapter and not much to say to open it, so just read on!


Promises Kept

Night had only just fallen, leaving the New York City skyline a hazy lavender. The rooftops were slick from an earlier rainfall. The residual chill bit at Raphael's exposed skin as he braved the treacherous path with ease. The healing scar marring his plastron tugged with each landing. He knew this route well now; a fact that still confused him. He should be at home, yet his pace never slowed. He was already on his way and refused to change his mind now. If he did, he would never live it down. It would be so much easier if Kimberly wasn't best friends with his brother…

When the tall brick building came into view, Raphael slowed. His gaze lingered on the neon lit sign on the room, noting the burned out 'h' in its name. The apartment complex wasn't anything special, but he'd seen worse kept buildings. He searched out the windows to Kimberly's apartment as he deliberated why he was still doing this. All she did was poke and prod at him like he was one of her patients.

Michelangelo's nagging voice butted into his thoughts, reminding him why he started doing this in the first place. He knew once his brother got something in his head, there was nothing that could stop him. On top of that, he was quickly learning Kimberly Davis could be a very insistent woman. He thought he could ignore her, but she always turned it around on him until he felt guilty for even thinking it. He just didn't understand it.

Without another thought, he leaped off the roof, catching the fire escape railing of the apartments with only a whisper of sound. He scaled it down until he reached the correct floor, quickly darting to the side of her window. He peeked inside the half-lit roof, an unconscious smirk crossing his face. There she was illuminated by the glow of a desk lamp. Her head lolled heavily in her hand, the arm propping it up on the desk leaning dangerously to one side. Her auburn curls were pulled back into a single ponytail, the frizzy strands slipping over her shoulder, barely obscuring the sci-fi themed pajamas she wore.

Raphael tapped his knuckles against the glass, starting off a riot of barking from Kimberly's two dogs. Their owner jerked at the noise, the abrupt movement sending her scrambling to stay upright as the chair tipped backwards. She lurched forward, her arms flailing to find something to hold on to. Upon finding it, she barely gave herself time to recover before she launched towards the window. "Raph!" she said, breathlessly, as she opened the window. "I didn't think you were coming." She hushed her dogs with stern words as she stepped aside.

"Eh, didn't have nu'in' better ta do anyway." He grumbled half-heartedly as he slipped inside the room. His gaze drifted about the room, noting the posters and memorabilia showcasing Kimberly's passions. He stopped at the mannequin set up by the door, partially sewn fabric draped over it in colorful layers. "Still workin' on that thing?"

Kimberly followed his line of sight with look bursting with creative energy. "Well, yeah." Her fingers fluttered as she brought her arms against her chest and bounced on her heels. "It's going to be so awesome when it's done! I haven't found the right accent fabric yet, but when I do – Oh, I can't wait!" Her whole body seemed to deflate as a frown crossed her face. "But with this paper due in a few days, I've been too busy to even stitch a single seam." She looked up as he sat on her bed. "But I know you don't really care about that. Your cut's looking better. That's good."

He brushed his fingers along his damaged plastron. "Don't even hurt no more. So yeah. You can stop houndin' me about it."

She sat down next to him, causing him to stiffen as her skin brushed his. "You should count yourself lucky that I did. I think I did a pretty decent job of putting you back together. You just need to admit my vet training comes in handy."

"Never." A ghost of a smirk crossed his face. "Yer still an amateur. Maybe when yer more than an intern, I'll change my mind."

"Soon I'll be at the top of the veterinary field and then I'll have to charge you for my services." She poked his plastron with a grin.

"Yeah? What if I don't pay ya?" His gruff voice turned sour. "Ain't like I ever asked you to anyway."

She frowned. "You know, I was just trying to help. You could be a little more considerate."

"Ya want considerate, talk to my brothers." The irritable tone in his voice came out harsher than he meant it to and he stole a glance at the redhead beside him.

She sighed. "You're lucky I like you." Smirking, she nudged his shoulder. "I will find that soft, squishy center Mikey tells me about."

He quickly averted his gaze at her touch. "Don't listen ta that chucklehead. He don't know nuthin'."

"Sure," she snorted.

It was then the door to her room parted open, admitting Kimberly's rescued dogs. First came Boulevard, the small Shih Tzu mix bounding into the room, his three paws clamoring for purchase against the wood floor. He plowed into Raphael's legs, clawing and yipping with excitement. A sharp bark preceded Juniper's entrance, the Australian Shepard mix blindly navigating to her owner's feet.

Raphael pulled his legs up on the bed, glaring down at the rowdy dog. "Back off!"

"Bully, behave!" Kimberly snapped. Juniper barked her agreement. This barely had an impact on Boulevard's behavior, who only jumped on the bed to yip in Raphael's ear instead.

"Damn dog!" He growled as he grabbed the little nuisance around the middle with one hand and shoved him in Kimberly's lap.

"Sorry about him," she chagrined. "You know how he is."

"That dog's got too much energy."

"Maybe a bit." She agreed as she gave Boulevard a lazy pet. The yapping dog trembled with excitement, a fact that bothered Juniper. The more docile dog slinked over to Raphael's other side, away from the quivering beast. She plopped her snout on his leg and gave a short snort-like bark, her disapproving, though unseeing, gaze on her adopted brother.

Raphael pulled his arm away at the intrusion on his personal space. "What she doing?"

"She likes you," Kimberly snickered. "Why don't you give her a pet? Slowly, though. She can't see you coming. You don't want to startle her."

Tentatively, he scratched behind Juniper's ears. "Why two dogs anyway?"

"Oh, I want them all," she said, wistfully. "I hope to open an animal shelter one day. A big one open to all species. But my landlady only permits a maximum of two small dogs. Juniper was an exception due to her blindness and how well behaved she is. She still made me pay extra on the initial deposit, though, but a shelter would have put her down. Not many people want a blind dog that doesn't trust easy."

"She seems fine ta me." He looked down as Juniper licked at his knee. "Ya sure she's blind?"

" Completely." She frowned. "But she's a trooper. She knows her way around her home and, as long as I'm with her, does great outside too."

"'Least she ain't crazy."

Kimberly smiled. "You keep petting her like that and she'll be your friend forever."

"Eh, maybe that ain't such a bad thing. Seems you might stick around if Mike has anything ta say about it; so might as well get used ta yer pups." He didn't even notice how relaxed he had become the longer he stayed, but it didn't bother him. At least not now. Not when he was this caught up in the moment.


The sounds of the city below him beckoned for his attention, but Leonardo was deaf to it. It had been a long day and no matter how many of them came and went, he couldn't shake the feeling that this peace was running on borrowed time. He couldn't sit idly by as the Ancient One's warning could, at any time, come to pass. It was his duty to protect his family. He needed to be proactive. No longer could he wait to act when his city was in danger. But what could he do when he had no clue where to start? Their current enemy was somewhere in the city, but his identity was hidden among the sea of faceless New Yorkers. He could be anyone.

A whisper of fabric was all he needed to hear to know he was no longer alone. With a heavy sigh, he stood and turned to greet his visitor. "Karai."

"I've come to collect, Leonardo." The current head of the Foot Clan stood alone in the center of the roof, her personal guard mere silhouettes in the distance. "I'm sure you remember the terms of our arrangement two months ago."

"I'm aware." He frowned. This was the moment he was dreading. Still, he would never go back on his word. Her information gave him the first real lead to Splinter's whereabouts when he went missing back in January. His honor demanded he hear her out.

"I need your help to retrieve something of utmost importance. This sacred object cannot be allowed to remain in soiled hands. The man who brought it here reeks of dishonor. It's disgraceful."

"What kind of object is this?"

"A dangerous one that could mean the end to this world. I would not doubt that this man and his Snake Eyes group will use it. That is all I will reveal to you at this moment."

Leonardo couldn't help but notice the coincidental timing of the mysterious item she spoke of. Could it be the same medallion piece Ancient One described? If so, this mission would be beneficial to him in more than one way.

"Meet me at the corner of 3rd and Larch in two days' time. I will be waiting." With that, she disappeared into the shadows, leaving Leonardo alone on the roof.

He watched the shadows before him a little longer before looking up at the darkening sky. It was threatening to rain again. He sighed and pulled out his shell cell. If he was going to do this for Karai, he might as well find out the most he could about Snake Eyes. He didn't want to bring any of his clan in on this, but if it had to be anyone, he knew he could trust Donatello. He pressed his brother's speed dial and waited.

After a few long rings, his brother answered, sounding irritable. "Hey, Leo. You coming back any time soon? With Raph out, Mikey's been driving me up the wall with what he assumes Raph is doing with Kimberly."

"It's so obvious, even if Raphie doesn't see it yet!" Michelangelo's distant voice sounded in the background. "It's love, Donny! What else could they be doing for hours at a time?"

"That's enough! Find something else to entertain yourself. I'll be in my room until you've grown up!"

"But Donny-!"

A slamming door sounded in his ear before Donatello spoke up, "Sorry about that. So what did you call about?"

Leonardo stared forward at his brothers' antics, his brow furrowing with impatience. "I need your help with something."

"What kind of help? I've been kinda busy with a pet project of mine lately, so…"

"It shouldn't tie you up for long. I just need you to find everything you can on Snake Eyes."

"You mean the other gang that was fighting the Dragons on the docks that night?"

"Wait," he paused. "That was Snake Eyes?"

"Yeah. It was on the police report."

"Well, that's a start." Leonardo shifted as small droplets of rain glanced off his skin. "If you find anything more, tell me right away. I'll be heading home soon so I can keep Mikey distracted in the meantime."

"Will do, bro. And thanks. This whole Kimberly deal has really turned up his already annoyingly high incorrigible tendencies." He griped, eliciting a grimace on the elder brother's face.

"I've noticed."


A/N: Ah, I love writing brotherly banter. And Kimi. She's fun to write so far. I can't wait for you all to meet more of the characters I'll be adding to this series! Just feed that review box for now and I'll get on finishing this one. :D