Chapter 4

"What do you want?" Leo asked.

"Right to the point," Shredder said, avoiding the question.

"I'll never tell you where Hamato Yoshi is!" Leo announced indignantly.

"I do not want you to tell me," Shredder said. Leo looked shocked. "I simply want to ask you this question. Who are you? And who do you work for?"

"I'm…am…..myself. Leonardo. And I don't work for anybody." Although still very much on his guard, Leo was unsure. What was Shredder playing at?

"Now who am I?" Shredder asked. "And what is my cause?"

"You're Oruku Saki, the Shredder. And you don't have a cause. You murder people. That's what you do for a living."

"So misguided," Shredder shook his head. "Now, what would you say if I told you that Hamato Yoshi was not Tang Shen's lover?" He didn't let Leo respond. "You would say that I am a liar and a murderer. You would say that he loved her deeply. You would say that he had evidence in old photographs. You would say that I was the one who was jealous. You would SAY all of this because that is what he TOLD you."

"He was telling the truth!" Leo snarled. "You are a liar. He did love Tang Shen. He does have evidence, and you were the one who was jealous. He did tell me all of this and he is NOT lying."

"Are you a mind reader? How do you know?" Shredder said. "Listen to me Leonardo, if only for five minutes."

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, I'm afraid I cannot promise you will ever see your brothers alive again."

"I…I'll listen," Leo said, going pale. He had already lost Michelangelo; he would not lose Donatello and Raphael as well.

"Very well. Do not cut in, and if you wish to disagree do so after I am finished." Leo nodded. "The story starts way back, when I was just a small baby. The Foot and the Hamato clan were enemies, and they fought a never ending war. It was needed when The Hamato clan's leader, Hamato Yoshi's father, killed the Foot clan's leader, who was my father. They burned down the village, and as I was just a baby, they let me live and took me home with them.

They raised me as their own son, and Yoshi was like a brother, so close were we. But then we met Tang Shen. We both fell for her, we both tried to romance her. In the end, though Yoshi tells differently, it was ME who she fell for. Around that same time, I learned of my true heritage. I might not have minded had Yoshi not insulted me about it terribly.

We got into a fight. Not a fist fight, but a word fight. Tang Shen wanted us to stop. She begged and pleaded. It resulted in a fist fight, which Yoshi won. Tang Shen promised to marry Yoshi if he did not kill me. So she was forced to marry him, and they had a child, who they named Miwa.

But one night, I went to Yoshi's house to reclaim both my love and my honor, but unfortunately, one of my blades hit Tang Shen, because Hamato Yoshi used her as a shield! What a dishonorable and cowardly act! Oh how I despaired. You cannot imagine what I went through! I burned Yoshi's home to the ground and took the child, my love's daughter, from the house.

Since then I have been on a never ending quest to destroy Hamato Yoshi. It must be done, for honor's sake. I admit that I have been ruthless, but the pain and fury still burns in my heart. I would never have harmed you if you had just stayed out of the way, out of the war. But alas, now you and your brothers are a few of the key players." Oruku Saki cleared his throat.

"Which is where you come in. You are a mighty warrior. So are your brothers. I would like to let you live. So here is my deal." Leo opened his mouth to protest but Saki continued talking, cutting him off.

"You and your brothers may stay here. I will not harm any of you in any way. I will not force or ask you to reveal Yoshi's hiding place. You can continue to train and gain skills. Maybe you can pull off a few covert operations for me, none of which, I assure you, will be illegal or wrong. You will not ever, in any circumstance, be involved with my vendetta against Hamato Yoshi. What do you say?"

"You killed Mikey!" Leo snarled. "I could never make a deal with you! Ever!"

"Ah yes, about that." Saki smiled. "Your brother is not dead. There is a very complicated plot going on, involving you and your brothers whether you like it or not. You see, the Kraang believe me to be on their side, which evidently means that I hate you. The Kraang have spies everywhere, so we needed to stage a death to make it look like we mean what we say.

Your brother is at a different hideout location. My henchmen are taking care of his wounds and will explain all of this to him. He will be re-united with you as soon as possible. Ah, but it is late now, and I am sure you are tired and confused. I will let you sleep on what I have told you. Tigerclaw, we are finished."

The door swung open and Tigerclaw came in. Taking Leo by the arm, he escorted him out.

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"You're a girl!" Mikey exclaimed.

"It's always a tone of surprise," the girl muttered under her breath. Then louder she said, "So, why do you care? Does that make me any less skilled? Does it make me less capable?"

"No," Mikey replied. "I just didn't know you were a girl." His stomach growled loudly. "Um, do you have food?"

"No, I do not. I live on air," the girl said sarcastically.

"Sorry," Mikey mumbled. Why was this girl so rude? The girl bent down and looked into her oven. She then reached for an oven mitt and opened the oven door. A heavenly smell flowed out. Mikey sniffed and his stomach churned. Pizza! The girl pulled the pizza out of the oven. The golden cheese was bubbling with heat and the crust was perfectly crispy.

"I hope you like pizza," the girl said.

"Like it? I love it!" Mikey said. The girl put a piece on the plate and brought it over. Mikey struggled, and with a little effort, he managed to sit up. "So, what's your name?" he asked.

"Lily," the girl said shortly. She bit into a piece of pizza.

"That's a pretty name," Mikey commented. Lily said nothing. "Um, this is good pizza. Is it from Antonio's?" Even with his over bubbly personality, Mikey was struggling to make friends with this girl.

"No, I made it myself," Lily said. Mikey was shocked. Homemade pizza? Why was this sooooo much better than his homemade pizza? It was better than Antonio's pizza! Eating the pizza made him think of his brothers. Normally he would have rushed out to tell them that they needed to try the world's best pizza. Raph would scoff and Leo and Donnie would look unsure. But then they would take a bite and it would blow their minds!

"So, what about my brothers? Mikey asked.

"What about them?"

"When do you think I'll be well enough to go rescue them?" Lily almost choked on her pizza.

"You're going to try and rescue them?!" She asked loudly in shock.

"Of course I am! You don't have to help me if you don't want to," Mikey said indignantly. Lily sighed and looked indecisive. Tell me about this enemy that has taken your brothers."