Leonardo looked her over. Her cheeks were flush, and he was sure it was from more than just anger but he couldn't be distracted by that right now. She was quickly regaining her composure as she stepped away from the water tower. She couldn't believe she had allowed him to invade her personal space that way, but it wasn't as if she could truly retaliate. She had a mission to complete and it involved gaining this mutant's trust. If she had to allow him to feel as if he were in control then so be it.

"Since we've established that you will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth maybe you can start by telling me what you hope to accomplish by speaking to me. Are we having pro bono therapy sessions or what?" Leo said with a small snort of laughter.

Karai scowled a bit and took a seat on one of the old water mains running across the roof. She pretended to be emotional and slightly bewildered.

"I told you I have lost everything. The foot have disbanded now that Shredder is dead. Everyone has tried to do their own power grab in the wake of that fact," she said watching Leo's reaction from the corner of her eyes.

"And you didn't try to do that power grab. Why not?" He asked, the skepticism apparent in his tone.

"No. I mean, I thought about it but I also thought that perhaps this was my chance. Maybe, I could be free of this kind of life," Karai said. Again she was surprised by the amount of truth she had really interjected in all of this. She really had thought about putting it all behind her.

Leonardo considered that. He too had thoughts sometimes of simply leaving all the responsibilities and hardships of being the leader. He loved his brothers and he knew they loved him too, but sometimes he could feel their loathing when he made decisions that went against their will. As they had gotten older and situations became more serious, he found himself having to make hard decisions many times on the fly and without Splinter's immediate input.

"Tired of being a criminal?" Leo said, and it was the last straw. Karai gave him a dangerous look and got up to leave.

"Where're you going?" He asked her slightly confused.

"I did not come here to be mocked at every turn, mutant." The last word was spat like a curse. Leo wanted to be angry, but felt a bit guilty. Maybe he had said one quip too many. Raph always said he had an asshole streak, and Leo was thinking maybe he was right about that.

He watched to see if she really was leaving, and when she made as if to jump off the water tower to the landing below he came up behind her.

"Wait Karai, please," he said placing his arm in front of her as though it could stop her from leaving. She turned waiting to hear what he would say. The wounded look she gave him made him feel like even more of a douche.

"Listen, I'm…..sorry. Okay I shouldn't have made light of what you were saying. If you can be genuine, then I will deal with you in honor." Leo said sincerely. Karai's face softened after a moment or two and she backed away from the ledge. Leonardo started to reach out and touch her shoulders like he did when was apologizing to his brothers, but then stopped himself. She'd spat out the word mutant like a four letter word. There was no way she wanted him to touch her, he didn't care what scent she was putting out earlier.

Karai resumed her seat but said nothing for a while. Feeling he needed to just chill out as Mikey always said, Leo tentatively took a seat next to her making sure to have sufficient distance between them. He waited patiently for her to speak again.

"To answer your question despite its rudeness, yes. I am tired of being a criminal," Karai began. "I remember nothing before Shredder raised me. I only know that he adopted me because he made sure to stress the fact that we did not share the same bloodline."

Leo was looking intently at Karai but didn't dare interrupt. He was surprised by the way she was offering up information without him asking directly for it. Whether she was making things up or not he didn't know, but she seemed to be sharing honestly.

"Oroku Saki. That name used to inspire respect, now it just inspires irrational fear. The foot clan went from highly respected to nothing more than a crime syndicate, all under the guiding hand of my father." She said and went silent, lost in memories of her past.

"When did it change? What changed him?" Leonardo asked, not sure if he wanted to know, and then being quite sure that he did. If anything it would help him to understand his one-time enemy and perhaps it may help him predict any future issues with the foot. Master Splinter stressed knowledge of one's enemies.

"I don't know. He was never what anyone would consider a 'good' man in the traditional sense. He wasn't a good father either, he simply managed not to be evil. He was always stern and hard. He never hugged or kissed me, well not really." Karai said, still looking straight ahead into the night.

"What do you mean he never kissed you but not really? He either did or he didn't" Leo said without one shred of douche baggery in his tone. Karai's lips became a thin line. Leo could almost see the wall coming up and the drawbridge closing.

"You agreed to answer my questions," he said trying to make her answer by reason of her agreement to his terms, and still she did not answer. She did turn to give him a withering gaze though.

I don't want to talk about that.

Leo wanted to push the issue but thought better of it. Trust was a two way street, or so Splinter had always told him. He could be a hard ass and walk away like he vowed to do if she broke a rule, or he could show some patience and simply accept what she was giving freely. In just these couple of meetings with Karai, Leonardo was discovering some truths about himself. He was a terrible control freak, the need to control this situation on all levels was threatening to end whatever this was. He wasn't prepared to end it. He wanted it to keep going, wherever it might lead. He hoped it wouldn't bite him in the shell later on, although he was sure that in some way it absolutely would.

"Okay, we can leave that for now." Leo said simply, not knowing where to take the conversation from here. A few moments passed before he spoke again.

"So, where are you staying?" He asked attempting to change the subject.

"Brooklyn." Yet another truth. You'd think she knew the meaning of misdirection. She did of course, but there was something about this mutant. Something about this Leonardo that brought out another side of her. She wanted to tell him her whole life from beginning to end. For what reason she didn't know.

He had a commanding presence like her father, but his was born of good and of a need to do and say what was right. Leonardo wanted to be respected by those around him, not dreaded and feared.

This mission had been a huge mistake for both Shredder and for herself. She didn't know how the mistake would present itself, but she knew that however it played out she would end up at one of the most important crossroads of her life. Karai shook her head. Now wasn't the time to become lost in a world of dreams and hypothetical scenarios. As she looked into the night sky she felt that it was time to go. She had said enough. She had given this turtle more than he had asked, and in return he had given her nothing.

"Are you hiding from Sacks or the rest of the foot clan?" Leo asked bringing her into the present moment.

"Yes," she said, relieved that she could muster up a lie. She was starting to think she'd lost her touch. Leonardo seemed to accept that without issue.

"It's time for me to go," Karai said, thankful that he didn't protest when she got up to make her way off the water tower.

"Yeah I agree. It's time for me to get out of here too," he offered standing up himself and sort of walking her to the ledge like he was walking her to the door or something. He felt like a doofus doing it, but it seemed wrong to not 'see her off' so to speak.

"Does your family miss you when you're out like this?" She asked turning to face him before leaving. He gave her a blank look. He didn't intend on answering a single question about his family, not even this innocuous one.

"The only reason I ask is because I want to see you again, Leonardo," Karai said and smiled sweetly at him. For a split second she saw his dazzling blue eyes twinkle a little more at the revelation that a woman was consistently requesting his audience.

"We can meet again," he said trying to keep his tone casual. Inside his head was swimming and his heart started pounding for no reason. She wanted to see him again. What color kimono would she be wearing? He thought blue would obviously look good on her.

"That would be wonderful Leonardo. I look forward to our conversations," she said as she lowered herself down to the platform below. She didn't want to give him time to answer, and in reality she didn't want him to see her blushing either. She prided herself on her poker face, and she wasn't going to ruin her reputation now.

"Okay," Leo lamely called after her. 'That would be wonderful Leonardo…' why did she have to say his name like that? So softly with her accent? He closed his eyes and got himself together. He waited on the water tower until he thought she was really gone. You could never be too sure. He thought he was liking having this secret, but that didn't mean he trusted her.

Leo leaped down from the tower, landing silently in the alley below. He circled around the block to the manhole and dropped inside. He took a slightly alternate route to the lair just in case. When he was almost home he went into a full sprint trying to burn off the extra energy. He hoped his brothers would be asleep, but Mikey had gotten a new game recently so there was a chance he'd be up playing it.


When he entered the lair sure enough Mikey was up, but thankfully he was the only one.

"Hey bro," Mikey called while not looking up at Leo.

"Hey Mikey. What're you playing?" Leo asked in hopes that his interest would keep Mikey from asking return questions. Mikey kept his head buried while answering his brother.

"Ninja Gaiden Sigma" he said, then muffled a scream as he died on the game. For once Leo was actually interested. He didn't play games as much as Mikey so wasn't up on the so-called new ones. He didn't even know they made ninja games. Leo came over to watch Mikey play, but Mikey turned it off and yawned loudly.

"Gone to bed?" Leo asked, a little disappointed he wouldn't get to see the game played.

"Yeah bro, I been playing this thing forever. Can't get past the boss. That means it's time to hit the sack." Mikey said getting up and stretching, and letting off another loud obnoxious yawn.

"Have fun topside?" Mikey asked casually. He was already heading to his room when he asked, so Leo knew this wasn't some attempt at catching him up. The question caught him off guard though anyway.

"I don't know if I would call it fun. Was just getting a little fresh air was all," Leo called out just as casually.

"M'kay. G'night Leo," Mikey called behind him and closed his room door.

Leo smiled and breathed a sigh of relief. He wouldn't have called it fun per se, but his night was exhilarating. He went into his room, stripped to his undies and laid down. He closed his eyes and tried to recall Karai's signature scent, and was pleased that he could. His tired mind wanted to warn him of this egregious error in judgment he was making, but it was too late. He smiled as drifted to sleep.