Chapter 4: the Proverbial Bridge

At last she heard his step in the tunnel beyond her prison. She had been waiting, waiting for hours in the dark, knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep even if she tried. She knew full well that if Leonardo returned, she would have to be very, very careful: one hesitation, or worse, one misstep perceived as too bold, and she would lose her chance.

His footsteps stopped, and there was a hiss and a flutter of light as he lit a candle.

He turned and looked her way, but her gaze was drawn to the wall behind him where his shadow loomed, hulking and fierce with the twin hilts of his trademark blades looking for all the world like the horns of some monster.

Karai narrowed her eyes. She had nothing to fear from shadows. She smiled, and rose to greet him.

"I was beginning to think you were not interested," she said in a silky half-whisper. "But here you are. Your brothers are asleep?"

"They might be," Leo said warily.

"Come closer. There is no need for you to stand so far away."

"I don't want to play games, Karai," Leo said, absolutely serious. "What do you want with me?"

Karai lowered her chin and glanced up at him, matching his serious tone. "I want to understand you better. I want to know you, Leonardo. What are you afraid of?"

Leo frowned. "Don't do it, Karai. Don't try to use this to escape. Don't try to use me. "

"I want you to trust me, Leonardo," she said quickly, hoping she didn't sound too desperate.

"An enemy's trust is an honor," Leo began.

"And an advantage. We both know this," Karai said, her voice soft.

"I was going to say it's an honor that has to be earned."

Karai looked him over from head to toe, her expression dark in the dim orange glow of the candle. And then she smiled and looked down, humbly bowing her head. "So let me earn it, then."

Leo nodded once and approached the cell, trying his best to calm his heartbeat as he undid the lock and let himself through the door.

Standing face to face, Leo and Karai looked at each other eye to eye. They were exactly the same height. With a quiet thrill Leo realized that he liked that he didn't have to physically look up at her, and that he didn't have to look down at her either. She took a step towards him and he resisted the urge to step back.

"So," she asked, raising an eyebrow. "How will this work?"

She was standing so close to him, it made his skin tingle. "That's up to you," Leo heard himself mutter. His mouth tightened. "Of course, I won't hesitate to the draw the line…"

"Do not worry," Karai soothed. "I will act according to my own code of honor."

Leo nodded grimly. "I'll do the same," he said, in a way that made it seem like both a concession and a threat.

Her smile was undecipherable, and completely entrancing. "Well," she said, looking away. "I won't do anything standing up."

The innuendo was enough to make Leo's mouth fall open as she turned and sat down with her back to the wall. "Come sit beside me," she whispered. Leo regained his senses and settled down heavily next to her, placing the candle well out of the way.

"You know, I just want to talk to you," Leo said carefully, frowning. "I thought that's—"

"Yes, let's talk," Karai said intently, folding her hands in front of her and looking at Leo with what could almost be described as a friendly expression. She had almost been too bold with that comment about standing up. She would have to be more careful! "I want to know more about you. I know what it is to be a ninja. Tell me what it is to be a turtle."

Her tone wavered slightly as she said the word 'turtle', and Leo searched her eyes, trying to determine whether or not he should be offended. But he couldn't say for sure if there had been any hatred or disgust in her voice, and if she'd been repressing a laugh, well, that wasn't obvious either. He recognized that she had focused her full attention on him, and he looked away, swallowing.

"It's not that different from being a human," he told her frankly. "Aside from our outward appearance, of course."

"Can you… forgive me, this will probably sound like a foolish question, but… are you able to pull your head into your shell?"

Leo smiled. "When we were younger we could," he answered. "But I can't anymore. Mikey might still be able to- he's the most flexible. When we were kids, we'd sometimes try our best to pull our arms and legs in, too, in response to some half-forgotten instinct I guess."

"I had a dream once that I beheaded you," Karai said suddenly.

Leo blinked at her, and then he almost blushed. "That's a funny thing to tell someone on a first date," he said, hoping he sounded nonchalant.

Karai lowered her eyes. "So this is a… date?" she asked, looking up at him through her lashes.

"No," Leo said quickly, looking away. "No. Not unless you want it to be."

"Hmm," Karai said, seeming pleased. "Well. Let me tell you about the dream I had about you, and you will see why I mentioned it. In the dream, you were kneeling before me, and I was going to execute you. I closed my eyes for the killing strike, and when I opened them again, your head was nowhere to be found! And then I realized that you had only pulled your head into your shell, and had avoided death."

She took a hesitant breath. "And… I was relieved."

Their eyes met, and Leo felt his face flush. Oddly, he could almost imagine being killed by Karai... and there was something undeniably provocative about the idea.

"Do turtles dream?" she asked, chasing away the silence.

"Mutant ones do, yes," Leo answered. "But, not about anything interesting. At least, not in my case. Sometimes I dream about getting lost in the city, but, I'm pretty good at refusing to wake up until I find my way home."

"hmm," Karai said again. "I think that is very interesting. It is evidence of the excellent control you have over your mind, if you can navigate your dreams in that way."

"Maybe," Leo said neutrally, trying not to feel flattered. Suddenly he stiffened, remembering something important. "Karai," he said, turning to face her. "The Shredder is gone. Why don't you--"

"No Leonardo, please." She sounded genuinely upset, so Leo bit back the rest of his question. Karai shook her head. "Please don't ask me about that tonight. Not tonight."

Leo nodded solemnly. Perhaps it was too soon to ask her to abandon her loyalty to her adoptive father. Part of him argued that was ridiculous, that she should never have been loyal to the Shredder in the first place, that she should let go of the past. But another part of him knew it wasn't that easy, and he knew something about loyalty. Especially… he smiled.

"What is it?" Karai asked, concerned.

"Nothing," Leo reassured her. "It's just… I understand a thing or two about loyalty to an adoptive father. That's something else we have in common."

His eyes told her that he was sincere. She grimaced internally- those brown eyes of his, full of confidence, full of restraint… they were also full of kindness.

Wordlessly, she moved closer to him, leaned against his arm, and raised a hand tentatively towards his chest.

"May I?" she asked quietly.

Leo blinked, trying to remember everything his brothers had told him.

"Sure," he consented, and Karai rested her hand against his chest, simultaneously leaning her head against his shoulder.

Leo winced slightly as her fingers did indeed wander to the boundary between his skin and shell, and attempted to curl over the edge. Gently, he reached up and removed her hand, and when she didn't protest, he decided to keep it encased in his own.

"Leonardo," she said after a few quiet moments.

"Yes?"

"I just want to thank you, for giving me this chance," she whispered. "I won't--"

"Leonardo!" the voice was so harsh that the name sounded more like a growl.

Leonardo jumped up. "Sensei," he gasped.

Master Splinter appeared silently at the door to the cell, gazing coldly at Karai, who also got to her feet. A sneer spread across her lips.

"Get away from there, Leonardo," Splinter commanded gruffly.

"Sensei, I didn't--"

"Silence." Staring only at Karai, Splinter unlocked the cell and stood aside. Leo got the hint and stepped through the door, with a desperate glance over his shoulder at Karai. Splinter's black eyes never left Karai's face. "You as well," Splinter said to her. "Come here."

Her expression unreadable, Karai stepped out of the prison, and stood waiting beside Leonardo, returning the rat's cold stare.

"It was to be expected, from one like you," Splinter said to her, softly. "Now, go."

Karai blinked in surprise.

"Go!" Splinter repeated, tapping his cane on the ground for emphasis. With a final, startled look at Leo, who didn't meet her eyes, Karai took off down the tunnel at a run, her feet barely making a sound.

Splinter listened to the sound of her flight for another moment, and then turned to his eldest son. "Leonardo… you disappoint me."

"I didn't do anything wrong, Father," Leo protested. "We were only talking-"

Splinter shook his head. "Her father--"

"She's not her father!" Leo interrupted. "She… she just wanted to get to know me. She likes me. She wasn't going to escape-"

"Obviously, I do not care if she escapes," Splinter said sternly. "But I do care if she poisons one of my children!"

"Poisons? But…"

"Seduction is poison, Leonardo. It corrupts whatever it touches!"

"You've got it wrong, master Splinter- it wasn't like that. Karai isn't like that!"

Leo's angry shout echoed down the tunnel for a minute. Splinter looked up at him patiently, waiting for him to calm down.

Leo bent his head forward, ashamed for yelling.

Splinter shook his head again. "Your emotions blind you, my son. She would have destroyed you, had you gone down that path."

"You don't know that!" Leo exclaimed. "I just want to give her a chance- it's hard for her because, yes, she's the Shredder's daughter- it's hard for me too! We were only talking-"

"Never again, Leonardo."

"—what?"

"You must never meet with her again. I forbid it."

"You forbid…"

"Hm." Splinter gave a sharp nod of his head, and turned to go back to the lair. "Come with me, Leonardo."

"It's not fair," Leo said, not caring if he sounded childish. "I… I think I see something in her, sensei."

"I'm sure you do, but it is not something that you are able to identify. You don't know what you see, and you don't know where your interaction with her was heading."

Leo frowned, clenching his fists. "So that's it?" he asked angrily. "I'm not allowed to know anything? I'm the only one who has to stay in the dark, and never even have a chance?"

"The only one?" Splinter asked, confused.

"The others—Raph and Mikey and even Donny, they've all had—they've all had girlfriends," Even as he said it he knew it sounded pathetic.

Splinter stopped, turned, and reached up to put a hand on Leo's shoulder. Looking into Leo's angry face, the old rat gave a long sigh. "Leonardo," he said gently. "If your brothers jumped off a bridge…" Splinter smiled. "…I would expect you to already be at the bottom of the river," he concluded.

Leo's expression softened slightly. "You must understand," Splinter continued gravely, "I am not trying to prevent your happiness, my son. I am trying to preserve it!"

…to be continued…