I've got this chapter and 5 done and am currently working on chapter 6 which will hopefully be done by tonight. I'm not sure how long this fic will be overall, so please bear with me, and I also apologize for the exposition being kinda long as well. It's kinda the way I write. Anyways, please enjoy this and chapter 5 when it comes up, and thanks a ton if you leave a review for me!
Over the next few weeks, Karai stayed in the lair, hiding from Splinter when he came out of the dojo. She was never able to leave though - Mona was on guard duty, and made sure to keep her eyes trained on the serpent as often as possible. And if Karai ever did try to leave, Mona had her saber on hand to stop her.
As such, Karai didn't get much alone time with Leonardo like she wanted to. Instead, most of her time was spent with Mona Lisa, the two females staring at one another from across the room. Most days, even as she slept, Karai stayed in her human form and only ever changed to finish off large amounts of leftover food. So, for the most part, the new addition to the family acted as if she'd never mutated. To her, it was fine, because the only real differences were her eyes and the few stray scales that showed up when she was in her human form, but to the turtles, Leonardo especially, it seemed incredibly insensitive.
One night Karai and Mona bumped into one another on the way to dinner. Mona began to continue on towards the kitchen but was stopped before she got more than a few steps forward. "What's your issue with me? I get it, you're supposed to watch and make sure I don't run away. But you still never stop staring at me. You belong to Raphael, so you can't possibly see anything in me. So what is it?"
Mona took a bit of an offense to the comment. For one thing, Karai was talking as if she was owned by her boyfriend, which was a huge disgrace on her end, and for another…she actually did see something she wanted in Karai. But what it was and why she wanted it were unknown to her, so she only stared in rage for a moment before responding. "I am with Raphael, and I don't care what you think I see in you. There's…nothing. Nothing I want that Raphael doesn't have." Karai considered making a sex joke, but thought better of it and instead allowed Mona to leave, despite her obvious frustration.
After that initial encounter, they both kept their distance from one another. Karai began spending more time with Leonardo, for a distraction more than anything else, and Mona spent less time watching Karai. Neither felt comfortable enough to be around the other, and avoided interaction entirely. It worried the brothers but they decided that it wasn't their business to interfere with. As such, they all let them be. All except for Raphael. Raph had an intimate relationship with Mona, and he was usually the one to go out with Karai for late night patrols. So they both told him the problem they had with each other, but only assumed that they were the only one.
From what Raphael gathered, it was just adjustment to another female. April had had a ton of interaction with both, but this was Mona and Karai's first time living together and it was bound to be weird for both of them. And aside from being told the issue, Raph stayed out of it as well.
A few weeks after their first spat, the two girls found themselves incredibly close to each other on the crowded couch for movie night. Casey and April had come down, and while Casey held Raph's attention, April talked with Karai, who was only partially paying attention, and the other three terrapins sat, intensely focused on the film. Mona Lisa and Karai both stayed up late, and neither was ready for waking up in the morning. Karai, especially. She seemed spooked, but nobody said anything. 'And thank God for that'.
Karai was a light sleeper, so she didn't care about staying up late. She was confident enough to stay awake for more than six different films. After everyone else seemed like they'd gone to sleep, Karai was ready to settle down. She hopped up the wooden slats to the platform above and laid down on the small bed she'd gotten together. A few rustles came from below, but Karai ignored them, thinking that it was just one of the turtles walking to their room. Feeling curious, she peered over the edge and immediately regretted it.
A blush immediately rose to her face at the sight. The turtles had all gone off, but Mona had stayed on the couch. She now laid, sprawled over the couch, in nothing but bare skin. Despite their argument a few weeks prior, Karai thought that Mona actually looked half decent. For an alien at least - the Kraang were pretty disgusting to Karai, being almost nothing but brain and tentacles. She slept so soundly, too. 'Lucky,' Karai thought, 'she at least gets some half decent sleep at night. She's not a fucking snake.' Karai played around with the words in her mind for a few minutes before realizing she was sneaking down to the living room. What was she doing?
It was crazy, but Karai let herself creep closer to the slumbering alienoid. She approached and sat lightly next to Mona's head, ready to spring up at the slightest twitch. The kunoichi allowed her hands to brush over the thick muscles of the warrior's arms, the calloused skin on her hands, and even dared to gently rub her stomach. At the touch, Mona lightly moaned, tenderly grasping the hand moving over her body. "Raphael…" Karai quickly withdrew her hand. She suddenly felt incredibly filthy. This was Raphael's girlfriend, not hers. They were close, or so the serpent believed, what with all the cuddling and nose nuzzling they did. So, she stepped away, going back to her bed. As she began to climb the spiral up to her bed, Mona peeked an eye open to stare as Karai went up.
Karai removed her armor and her shirt, a habit she'd developed from her risqué life in Japan, and covered herself up. Mona Lisa found herself being disappointed, though whether it was in herself or because Karai had gone to sleep, she had no idea.
Mona honestly didn't want to know why she felt so flustered around Karai. She was supposed to be loyal to Raphael, but she wasn't so confident in herself now. Fidelity in a relationship was very ingrained into her culture. While younglings were allowed to frolick about and mate with whomever they pleased, they were expected to be extremely attached to their partner after they matured. She could not afford to second-guess herself, for her honor's sake and for Raphael's. And yet, there was still a hint of doubt. 'Perhaps I'm simply overthinking my situation,' Mona thought as she began to drift back to sleep. 'I should just let everything flow naturally, and the knots will come undone on their own.'