Seeing Mona tossed around like a wet paper towel sent tendrils of terrors through April. That easily could have been her and she knew she had no chance of living through that. She was surprised Mona did and on top of that managed to take a shot at Slash, allowing everyone an opportunity to escape. Mikey was closest to Mona and propped her over his shoulder and made a mad dash for the building tops. Everyone followed suit, splitting off in different directions to throw Slash off. The plan was to rendezvoused back in the lair.

By the time April made it back, Mikey, with Mona in tow, and Donnie were already there, with Donnie stabilizing Mona in his lab and Mikey explaining what happened to Splinter. April had to block the details from her mind. She could not stand to relive them again. She found a place on the couch on the far side of the lair, out of earshot, so she would not have to be subjected to tonight's events again. She forced herself to take in deep breaths to clear her head, feebly attempting to enter a state of meditation.
"Are you doing alright, April?"

She snapped out of her inner calm and looked up to see Leo standing in front of her. Raph was back too and made his way to the lab.

"I'll be fine," she responded, "but with what happened tonight, it makes me wonder if I'm cut out for this. I'm just a squishy human. I have no natural armor to protect me and I'm defiantly not as skilled as you all."

"Don't say that. You're turning into a strong kunoichi and you pull more than your weight around here. You're part of the team, April. Don't forget that."

"Yeah," she dryly replied. She knew Leo was right but deep down she doubted herself. She gave her all during training sessions and it did not seem like enough. She still felt weak in comparison.

April decided to run some ideas through her head on how to become stronger:

Training even harder - that was a given, but it was also the same thing she did now.

Mutate into something stronger - probably not the best idea. It was super risky, plus she was immune to the mutagen.

Acquire armor - this was a more sound idea. Something similar to what Karai sported would work well. It would keep April protected but give her the needed flexibility to fight as a kunoichi. The big problem came down the acquisition of said armor. There was not a huge market for a full armor set and she doubted Master Splinter would have one. However, he might know where to get one, so it was well worth mentioning it to him.

She got up from the couch and made her way to his room. Lucky for her, he sat in the dojo, deep in a meditation. April hesitated to interrupt him but Splinter's senses were sharp and immediately noticed her presence the moment she walked through the threshold.

"What's on your mind, April?" he asked, eyes still closed and body still.

April walked over and sat down on her legs in front of her sensei. She formally placed her hands on her lap and gave a short but extended bow towards Splinter.

"Sensei, I was wondering if you knew of a way for me to find a suit of armor."

Splinter's ear twitched slightly and he opened his right eye to look at her, "Armor? Why do you want that?"

"Well I was thinking, especially after watching what happened with Mona tonight, that I could use an extra layer of protection. I'm not asking for something like you use in jousting, just something strong yet light and easy to move in. I was hoping you knew of something."

The rat let out a soft hum as he thought. April sat there quietly as the tension in the air gradually increased. Finally, after minutes of sitting like this, Splinter broke the silence.

"Fair enough. I have a set that I intended to give to Miwa that matches the tessen I gave to you."

April's jaw dropped, "Wait, you do?" She was so sure he would not have anything but this was a pleasant surprise.

"It is something that all Hamato Clan kunoichi wear," Splinter explained, "To don this armor means you are a strong and dedicated warrior, willing to risk your life to protect your clan. I truly believe you are worthy of this honor, April. Though you may not be a Hamato by blood, you are in spirit."

He rose from his spot and momentarily walked into his room. He then came out carrying a large bundle wrapped in a stunning burgundy fabric covered with the insignia of the Hamato Clan. He sat back down and placed it between them. Splinter continued on to methodically unwrap the covering to reveal a deep black breastplate with a white crest engraved on the left side over the heart. He lifted it up and moved it to his right, revealing bracers, pauldrons, and greaves in the same deep ebony hue as the breastplate. The armor was simple but beautiful.

"Wow, Sensei, these are gorgeous," was all she could muster to say.

"You deserve it, April. Wear it proudly."

"Hai, Sensei."