A/N: Wow...just wow! I'm overwhelmed at how much you guys are liking this one. Thanks so much for the reviews so far! They made me smile!

Leo slid aside the manhole cover with a bit of difficulty. Why did it seem heavier than normal? Sunlight blazed into the darkened sewer and he nearly bolted. He'd forgotten it was daylight outside. But he caught himself, fighting the ingrained need to hide from the outside world. I'm human. I don't have to hide in the sewers. But I should still be cautious. I don't want people to see me climbing out either.

Pulling himself up to the lip, he peeked over. The alley beyond was quiet and familiar, though it did look different in the daylight. He quickly pulled himself out and dropped the cover back in place. Naturally, he made for the rooftops. As he started to leap from one building to the next, he noticed that his coordination was off. Sometimes he'd overshot his landings and sometimes he'd barely make them. He felt lighter and yet not quite as strong. It was a confusing combination that kept him stumbling time to time. It took nearly three blocks before he managed to gain some type of control over his new body.

But just as he was starting to get a rhythm down and was moving faster, he heard the sounds of a mugging. Sliding to a stop at the edge of a roof, he looked down and gasped. "Murakami-san!"

Three purple dragons approached the blind chef. "Give it up, old man!" One flicked his switchblade open and closed repeatedly.

"We know you're holding out on us!" A second twirled a bat around.

The third snickered. "Yeah, give us the cash!"

Murakami pressed himself to the wall. "No, it is for my restaurant. Now, you go away."

Leo was mostly down the fire-escape already as the first one got closer to the cook. "Now, you listen here, old man-"

"No! You listen to me!" Leo sprang off the lowest platform, landing on one of the men. They both went down somewhat hard, but he recovered quickly. Pulling his sword, he glared. "Leave him alone!"

The first guy laughed. "What are you a daytime vigilante or something?"

"Or something…" Leo agreed. He felt the second guy approach him from behind and raised an elbow, nailing him in the nose. Leo ground his teeth. That had hurt worse than normal, especially without his normal padding. But the guy he'd struck stumbled away holding his nose. The first man snorted and swung his switchblade at Leo. He swiped with his katana leaving a gash on the back of the man's hand. The thug dropped the knife and took off with his companion, leaving their friend unconscious on the ground.

Leo turned back to the older man. "It's okay, Murakami-san. They're gone now."

"Thank you, young man. I am truly grateful."

Leo frowned. Usually Murakami knew them without saying a word. "It's me, Murakami-san, Leonardo."

The man made a face. "Leonardo? What are you doing out during the daytime?"

"Um, it's a long story."

"It does not matter. Would you mind escorting me back to my restaurant?"

"Of course, Murakami-san." Leo sheathed his sword and they began to walk down the street. A few people gave him odd looks for wearing his blades in the open, but a few teenage girls grinned and whispered as they passed.

Murakami smiled as they approached his place. "Leonardo, has something happened to your appearance?"

"Well, uh, yes."

The man's smile grew. "Ah, that is why you were not afraid to walk on the street with me. And why those young ladies were admiring you."

Leo felt himself blush. Normally this was hidden by his dark green skin, but now it was quite visible. "Um…"

Murakami chuckled. "Come in and I will prepare you some pizza-gyoza as a thank you for saving me."

Leo started to protest, but his stomach rumbled at the very thought of food. When was the last time he'd ate anyways? "Well, I guess I could take a few minutes to eat."

"Excellent! Take a seat." As Murakami began preparing his food, people began trickling into the establishment. After several looks, Leo discreetly removed his swords and set them against the bar near his feet. He tried to relax as more people took up spots at tables and along the bar. Suddenly he felt a familiar presence enter the room and he glanced over his shoulder.

Karai and Shinigami entered. The kunoichi stopped, scanning the room. She had obviously sensed his presence, but couldn't figure out how. After a moment she shrugged, but she didn't fully relax either. Shinigami took her arm and pulled her to the bar where two empty seats still sat to his left. "Over here."

Leo averted his gaze back to Murakami as the old chef set a plate in front of him. "Pizza-gyoza! Enjoy, my friend!"

Leo smiled. "Arigato, Murakami-san." He inclined his head respectfully, though the man couldn't see him.

Karai, who had sat beside him, eyed his food. "I have a friend that likes pizza-gyoza too."

Leo couldn't resist the urge to tease her. "You do?"

"Yeah, you're lucky Murakami-san doesn't make them for just anyone." She tilted her head, trying to get a look at his eyes.

But Leo vigilantly kept his gaze fixed on his food. The chopsticks were actually giving him some difficulty. He wasn't used to using them with five fingers. "Oh?" He poked another dumpling and popped into his mouth. "What's your friend's name?"

Karai hesitated this time. There was something odd about the young man beside her. He was handsome with blonde hair and chiseled features, and a well-tone physique. She felt like she knew him, but she'd never seen him before. "Uh, Leo."

He couldn't suppress the smile as it grew. "Oh, yeah. I know him."

She flinched. "You do?" Then she shook her head. "No way. You couldn't."

Leo chuckled, finally turning to meet her eyes full-on. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I do."

First Karai's eyebrows rose, then her mouth hung open as realization hit her. She lifted a finger to point at him. "L…Leo?" His smile widened and her heart began to race.

Shinigami, who'd been listening, leaned forward to look at him past Karai. "You are Leonardo? I would say that is quite impossible."

But Karai shook her head ever so slightly. She'd sensed him when they'd entered and she knew those eyes all too well. "No, it's definitely him." The shock finally wearing off some, she blinked at him. "How did this happen?"

"We got into a fight with some of Shredder's Footbots last night. One of them hit me with this strange ray." He looked down at the still unfamiliar hands. "It turned me human."

Karai frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way to find Shredder's hideout or anything that could give me a clue to where he is, when I found Murakami-san being attacked by some Purple Dragons. He asked if I'd walk him back here."

Karai looked him up and down, examining the Leo's new rather handsome human form in front of her. "So, is this temporary or do you know?"

Leo shook his head, dropping his gaze back to his food, where he stabbed yet another dumpling. "I don't know."

A slow devious smile crossed her lips. "In that case, there's no point in wasting time."

He blinked at her. "Huh?"

"We'll see you later, Shini." Karai snatched a few pizza-gyoza from Leo's plate and grabbed his arm. "Come on!"

Donnie jumped when the timer went off on his analyzer. He rubbed his face where he'd fallen asleep on his desk again. Beside him the printer sprang to life as page after page of data began to spew forth. He gave his tired eyes another rub, before pulling the first few pages off. He'd stayed up waiting for Leo's blood results to come out, knowing his life may very well depend on them. As he read through the results his heart picked up pace.

"Hey, D! You want some breakfast?" Mikey poked his head through the door.

Donnie nearly dropped his papers, he was so engrossed in them. "Uh, no, uh. Mikey, I really need to talk to Leo. Could you get him for me?"

"No prob, bro." Mikey winked and disappeared out the door.

Donnie barely noticed as he continued to read the results, making sure he understood exactly what he was seeing. This is bad. Really bad. He stood and absently moved towards the living room, still checking and rechecking the data again and again. This time he did drop the papers when Mikey shouted.

"Donnie!" Mikey came running from Leo's room with a slip of paper in hand. "Leo's gone!"

"What!" He quickly picked up his stack of papers and snatched the note from his brother. "What is he thinking!"

Raph's door popped open and he stormed out. "What's with all the yellin'! Some of us like to sleep!"

"Raph! Leo's gone!" Mikey informed him while bouncing in place.

"Gone? Gone where?" Raph took the note from Donnie.

The genius frowned. "It doesn't say, but I'll give you two guesses where."

Raph scowled. "Not even Leo is stupid enough to go after Shredder's Foot by himself." His eyes narrowed. "Oh, wait, yeah he is." He said, sarcasm thick in his voice.

"Guys, we need to go find him!" Mikey dug out his T-phone and dialed Leo's number. "He's not answering! What if something happened to him!"

"Don't worry, we'll find him. Come on." Raph turned towards the exit.

"Raph, wait!" Don called after him.

He turned back with a huff. "What now!"

Donnie pointed at the ceiling where daylight was filtering down from the street above. "We can't. It's still daylight."

Raph let out a frustrated growl. As much as it vexed him, he knew his brother was right. They couldn't go out in the daylight – or at least the three of them couldn't. Leo was obviously taking advantage of his new form to enjoy it though. "I'm gonna pound him when he gets back."

"Which I hope is soon." Raph turned back to Don with a questioning look. "Because according to these results, if he isn't changed back to a turtle soon he won't be able to."

"What's that mean?" Mikey asked.

"Right now the effects of the ray seem temporary, but in seventy-two hours they'll be permanent."

Leo had just managed to snag his katanas before being dragged from the noodle shop by Karai. She eyed them as they started up the street. "What are doing with those?"

"I was on my way to find Baxter. He's the only one that could have made that weapon that did this."

She snatched the swords from him. He felt a hint of anger at this. No one should touch his weapons except him. As a ninja, Karai certainly understood that rule. But she continued undaunted. "Come on, Leo! You don't want to squander this chance to do what we humans get to do, do you?"

He frowned. "What are you talking about?"

She raised an eyebrow. "It seems I'm going to have to teach you a few things." She rested the belt on her shoulder. "But first we need to stop by my place and drop these off."

"But-"

"You're not going to need them. Trust me. The Shredder and his goons don't know what you look like, so they won't be after you." She wrapped her arm through his with a wide grin. "Come on, have a little fun."

Leo felt himself blush a bit when she leaned into him. In his human form he was a bit taller than her, her head only reaching his shoulder. His resolve wavered. What could a few hours hurt anyways? He could hang out with her. It would make her happy. Besides, when will I ever get to do this again? "Okay, but at some point I still have to go look for Baxter and Shredder."

Karai's smile was devious. "Agreed, but later."

He nodded. "Later."

After stopping and hiding his katanas in a secure place, Karai coaxed Leo onto her bike. "Why do you get to drive?" He pulled on his helmet and sat behind her.

"Because I know where we're going." When he climbed on and slipped his arms around her, Karai felt her core warm. It didn't matter if Leo was human or turtle, he always seemed to have that effect on her. The bike purred as she sped through the streets and onto the Staten Island Ferry.

Their first stop was the Statue of Liberty, which Leo had been to once, but hadn't really had time to look around. It felt strange now because he was human and no one gave them a second look as they walked through the museum and listened to the guided tour. Then back to the ferry and on to Staten Island where Karai introduced him to mini-golf.

Leo pouted when she started winning. "That's not fair. I'm not used to this body."

She rolled her eyes and slipped up beside him. "Oh, stop a being a baby."

"I am not being a baby!" Leo protested, but his irritation faded as she wrapped her hands around his on the golf club. "What are you…?"

"You're holding it wrong for one thing. It's not a sword, Leo." She stepped even closer, moving his hands into the right positions. He felt his blood rush. She was so close he could smell her jasmine perfume and feel her breath on his cheek. "That's better." She turned her head towards him and their mouths nearly brushed. Her breath caught in her throat as their eyes met. It was the eyes that always got her. Their deep blue were like sapphires, sharp and beautiful. She took a step back. "Um, try that."

Leo smirked. It was rare to see Karai loose her composure. He said nothing. It was fun to see her squirm now and then. He gave the ball a tap with the club and it rolled across the small course to land in the hole. He turned to Karai with a grin, resting the club on his shoulder. "Hey, that worked pretty good. Maybe you should help every time."

Pink tinted her cheeks, making his grin grow. "Whatever. Maybe I should, 'cause you obviously need it." He snorted and she laughed. The rest of the game was spent mainly teasing one another. When they were done, she took him to a pizzeria nearby. They talked while they ate and then headed back to the ferry.

It was late afternoon when they began walking through the park and stopped to get some ice cream from a vender. Leo looked around them as they strolled. "This is still kind of weird to me. Fun, but weird."

Karai grinned. "This is nothing. If we had time, I'd take you skiing in the mountains or skydiving or cliff diving or a hundred other things."

They stopped to sit beneath a tree. "Really?"

"Yeah, I got to do a lot of stuff being Oroku Saki's daughter. I developed a lot of connections too. And it'd be his money we'd be spending anyways." She looked at him with mischief in her eyes.

"Isn't that a little risky, using his money and associates?"

She glared. "No! He deserves it after what he put me and my father through!" She swung her hand, causing a speckle of ice cream to land on her cheek.

He frowned, understanding in his gaze as gently brushed the speck away. "Yeah, he does." She leaned into his touch, brown meeting blue. They both moved forward as if caught in the pull of a magnet, hovering mere centimeters from one another. Leo held her gaze, watching for any sign of indecision or rejection. When there was none, all he wanted to do was close that breath of a gap between them. Her skin was soft where he cupped her cheek and her scent surrounded him.

Karai felt like her very blood was on fire. Never before had she desired someone's touch so much. His gaze locked with hers was the only thing keeping her grounded. When his breath fluttered across her cheek, her eyes slid shut hiding the anticipation and the longing.

They both jumped as Karai's cell rang. She sat back with wide eyes, fumbling for the device. Leo frowned at the phone, both for interrupting them and for the fact that his own T-phone was still attached to his belt which had been left at Karai's. He wondered if his brothers had been calling him as he watched her take a deep breath.

Even though she tried to calm herself before answering, her voice was still sharp and irritated. "Moshi moshi." She listened for a moment. "That's not a bad idea. We'll meet you at home in an hour." She glanced at Leo and frowned. "Better make that two hours. I think we're going to have to do some shopping first." She hung up and smiled at him.

His frown deepened. He knew that look all too well. "What are you up to?"

Her smile broke into a broad grin. "You'll just have to wait and see. Now, come on. We've got some errands to run."

A/N: Oh, boy! Looks like Karai's got something up her sleeve... :D

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