~New York~

It was a beautiful day in New York. Many couples lined the streets, taking advantage of the first great weather day in months. Among them were Leonardo Hamato and his unofficial girlfriend, Karai.

Karai giggled at something her companion had said before almost tripping over a piece of broken concrete on the path. Leo, being Leo caught her, his right arm reaching out in front of her stomach, his left behind her. She quickly looped both her arms around the back of his neck, relying on him for support. "Gotcha," he murmured into her ear. All the kunoichi could do in reply was close the space between them by leaning up to him and capturing him in a kiss.

Leonardo Hamato had never been kissed by a girl. Ever. Being kissed by what he thought of as his potential soulmate was a really great feeling. It only took him a moment before giving her his reply; he tightened his grip around her and eagerly kissed her back. Their embrace was interrupted when Karai pulled away from him, stepping partially out of his grip so only his left arm was still around her, "there are people looking," she whispered.

The eldest Hamato boy just shook his head, his eyes never leaving hers. "I don't care whether or not people look," he breathed as he pulled her in for a briefer kiss. Karai smiled, taking his arm around her off and putting her hand into his. They strolled along the sidewalk like this, happily and without a care. That was, until three police cars flew past them, followed by a motorcycle that was all too familiar to Leonardo.

"Raphael William Hamato…" Leo growled under his breath. "Everything alright?" Karai tried to follow Leo's gaze down to street.

"Remember how you said you wanted to meet my family?"

"Yes?"

"It might be sooner than you thought, c'mon." Karai's date, took off, their clasped hands forcing her to follow. "Where are we going?!" Karai yelled, trying to get Leo's attention. "Leonardo!"

At the sound of slight panic in her voice he stopped. "My brother, Raphael is doing something very very stupid because he is very very stupid. I'm going to go save his sorry soul… care to join?" His probable new girlfriend nodded, "I couldn't think of a better way to spend my time."

Leo smirked, "Well, I don't know if this is how I would preferably spend my time…" they exchanged a teasing look before he leaned down to kiss her cheek. "Okay, okay, c'mon lover boy."

~Streets~

Raphael excelled at few things. He wasn't extremely smart, nor was he a great jokester, nor a great leader. But, man. Where Raphael failed at success, he made up for with passion. He was known for passion. The boy was determined at whatever he was doing. "Dang," Raph thought to himself, the police cars he was trailing had made a sharp right turn and he had almost lost control of the motorcycle.

What he saw after making the turn though, caught him off guard. In the middle of the street was a giant robot cloaked in a red tunic, carrying two plasma whips that were currently to his side. Adding onto his threatening appearance, the supposed samurai robot had shoulder pads with spikes peaking out and a silver helmet.

Raph tore himself off the motorcycle and quickly wheeled it into a nearby alley, it was afterall, the only thing that currently brought him joy.

…Okay, maybe the second thing, but he wouldn't admit the first. A certain girl.

The police shot guns off at the metallic monster; it had no effect. The civilians fled, as did some rookie officers. The Hamato son took out his sais and spun them around his fingers. "Alright, let's dance," he smirked and leapt onto the foot on the beast, trying to tear into it's silver armor. Barely a scratch resulted.

"Are you kiddin' me?!" Raphael groaned and kicked the robot, sending pain up his spine.

Leonardo and Karai weren't too far behind, screaming people ran towards them and they fought through the panic, hand in hand.

"What the shell is that," Leonardo gasped as they cut through the park, getting a glimpse at the terror. Karai shifted weight onto her other foot uncomfortably. Leo took notice of her posture and shot her a concerned glance, "Are you alright?" Karai nodded and brought herself back from gazing at the giant, 'Yeah, no, I'm fine. It's just… really…"

"Yeah, oh crap, Raph!" Leo took off, stopping suddenly when he remembered he had no weapons. "Crap, crap, crap."

"Are you alright, Mr. Leader?" Karai caught up to him and grabbed his upper arm tenderly.

"I need to go, but I'll be back really quickly, alright? Don't go anywhere!" Leo squeezed her hand as he took it off his arm. "You have five minutes before I think you've wimped out!" she called out to him as he dashed for the nearest alley with a man hole cover. Dropping into the sewer system, he dashed for a recognizable space.

Once he knew where he was, he was going into action. Clumsily stumbling into the living room, he kicked open his door and grabbed his katanas.

"You're a minute and thirty over," Karai teased as Leonardo ran up behind her, almost out of breath from running the length from his room back to Karai. "You heard me come up?" he inhaled and exhaled, calming down.

"What? Am I not ninja enough for you?"

"More than enough," he muttered as he entwined their hands, leading her to the upcoming fight.

Raphael was still going at it, dodging attacks from the plasma whips and finding places to strike. It was obvious he wasn't getting anywhere and he cursed himself for starting something he wouldn't give up on. "Sir! Please, back away from th-"

"Yeah! I heard ya' the first time," Raphael cut off the police officer, "I have this-" dodge "completely-"

"If you say 'under control' we must not be on the same page," Leo drew his katanas and took a stance.

Raph growled and spun around to tell his brother off, he totally forgot about the giant robot he was fighting. The boy went flying a few feet away as the machine's whip slapped him. Leonardo didn't waste another minute as he leapt up from the foot of the samurai styled robot to the arm and sinking his blade in. "How'd you… Oh come on!" Raphael yelled as he pushed him self up.

Karai looked around nervously, searching the streets for foot soldiers to follow the nine foot tall tech monster. "What is it," she pressed into her communicator upon it's sudden beeping. "Yes, I know, Foot Bot wasn't ready. You weren't supposed to release it yet. Do you know it's purpose? Shredder wants the girl. Do not fail him like you have failed me." She switched off the device and pulled a small blade out of her combat boot. Karai had programmed the machine with a failsafe off. She wasn't going to put such a big responsibility on the stupid henchmen of the Shredder. They always failed.

Leo and Raph were going at the monster, currently, they were dodging whip attacks as the cut through the left arm. Karai snuck around behind it, happy to have the Hamatos as a distraction. The Foot Bot was huge, and it's arms had fast reflexes to give it better control over it's weapon system,it's legs were a different story. They were clunky and slow, which was perfect for Karai, the shut down button was right above the left leg. She swung herself up as high as she could, stabbing her dagger into it's armor to keep herself up. Punching in a few access codes, she waited a few moments for a good moment.

Raphael and Leonardo were so close to cutting through the Robot's armory and start making major damage, Karai waited 'till hearing her boyfriend let out a "Aha!" of triumph before shutting the bot off. The ninja released her dagger and jumped down as the robot began crashing to the ground.

"What? Did we… beat it?" Leo raised an eyebrow. "I guess," Raphael shrugged and shoot the police a smart alack look.

"Good job, men, but don't ever do anything risky like that again, do you hear?" The police chief approached the two Hamato brothers. Raph tucked his sais away and spun on his heel to the alley hiding his motorcycle away.

"No problem, sir, just wanted to help out, you're welcome." Leo took a proud stance and shook the man's hand, "I'll leave you and your wonderful force to deal with this mess."

"Leo!" Karai called as she ran up to him, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, a few bruises, but whatever. I thought you were right behind me, what happened?"

"Oh, I, uh, I was looking at tactically and it… hit me. I didn't back on my feet until a few minutes ago," she played out her lie, not willingly to let Leonardo know of her true motives.

The leader quickly looked her over for injuries, "Are you okay? Did it hurt? Are you pain?" Where'd it-" he was interrupted by Karai leaning her body into his, he draped his arm around her, his eyes still filled with concern. "I'm fine, I promise. It doesn't matter, but, are you going to introduce me to your brother?" she pointed to the boy walking away.

Leonardo groaned. "Raphael! Get over here for a minute," he paused, "please!"

The ill-tempered Hamato sighed and turned back around, walking around the debris and policemen to get back to his brother. "What."

"Raph, this is my… girlfriend? This is my girlfriend, Karai. Karai, this is Raphael," Karai stretched out her hand and Raph's rose to shake hers. "Pleasure. You have a unique fighting style it's very interesting."

"Please, he just likes to slash at things," Leonardo jokes and an awkward silence filled a longing pause. Karai finally spoke up, "I should probably be going, I don't think anything else could make a date better, so, I'll just text you later."

Leonardo mouthed "one minute" to his brother and led his date a couple steps away from Raph. "My family is having a movie night tonight… if you really wanted to meet them, it could be fun." Karai smiled and pulled him into a hug, "I'll see what I can do, my father might want me around tonight." She pulled back and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek to her dissatisfaction. "Leonardo Hamato, we are dating now, apparently," he rolled his eyes playfully and wrapped his arms around her waist, giving her a real goodbye kiss.

"Bye," she smiled and skipped away, leaving the brothers to themselves.

"She's perfect."

"Shut up."

~Lair, Movie Night~

"Whose turn is it to choose?"

"Mine!" April shot up from her seat, "but we promised Raph we'd let him pick in exchange for coming." She shrugged and took her normal place on the couch next to her boyfriend.

Mikey swung into the living area, arms full with a bowl of popcorn and a few sodas. "Has R-man decided yet? Because I have some great ideas." As Mikey began listing movie titles, he was hit in the head with a flying DVD case. "Predator," Raphael grunted, sitting on the couch as far away from Donnie and April as he could get.

"Woah, man, that's R rated. No can do, bro." Mikey scratched his head and inspected the cover. Raph groaned and rubbed his temple.

April nudged Donnie, "what do you think?" Her boyfriend was playing with his jacket's zipper, "I don't care," he said inexpressively. Concerned, his girlfriend poked his arm, trying to get a smile out of him. He shrugged her off and got up, "I have a few things I need to work on," he left without a goodbye to April. She tucked her knees to her chest and tried to not dwell on the distance he had put between them.

"Godzilla, it's PG-13." Raphael crouched down to find the disc and put it in the DVD player.

April looked to her also distant friend, "how freighting is it?"

"You've never seen Godzilla."

"That's why I'm asking."

"You'll be fine." Raphael waved the matter aside, obviously not caring anymore. He sat back down on his seat on the end of the couch. "Godzilla?" Leo asked skeptically as he joined the group, "what? Did Mikey pick the movie? I thought it was April's turn." Michelangelo threw a piece of popcorn in the air and caught it in his mouth, "Raphael's second choice after Predator." Leo perked up, "We could've watched Predator?! Schwarzenegger?!"

Raphael sighed, "Only you and me appreciate the classics, Leo." Taking the new bean bag chair, the other brother nodded, "what would I do without you, Raph?"

"Shhhh! It's starting!" Mikey jeered.

The movie went by fast; April wasn't quite interested. Raphael didn't pay much attention to April until a sudden movement by her caught his eye. Someone shrieking in the film made her jump and she didn't looked too thrilled at what was on the television. Knowing he would later regret the decision, he leaned a bit over to her, "You holding up?" April turned to him, surprised. She gave him a look like that of a lost puppy. April was the only person in the world he would do this for. He extended his hand, as way to tell her she welcome, should be scared.

April took it without hesitation; she crawled up to her once best friend and hid her face in his shoulder, covering herself with a blanket. He accepted her, knowing it wouldn't last long. They couldn't repeat what had happened at the last movie night they shared together. April alternated between watching and cowering until Raph alerted her to the film being over. "Thanks, Raph. I, uh, I owe you one," she returned back into her position of tucking herself into a ball. Raph shook her after a moment, "April?" he looked around for help. Leo caught his attention and motioned for him to continue prodding, 'Talk. To. Her.' He mouthed to his brother.

Raph put a hand on April's shoulder, unaware of what his next move should be. "April… we, I mean, Let's talk?" The redhead slowly peaked up at him and murmured a shy "okay."

Leonardo took the liberty of jolting the youngest Hamato awake, they both left the room in order to give Raph and April privacy.

"What's botherin' you, I guess, you're upset," Raphael stated. April nodded slowly and released a huge sigh. "Donnie and I are about to break up." Her companion suddenly went blank, his thoughts tumbling down on him. April took his silence as a sign to continue, "Y'know how you can just feel like things are about to happen? This is about to happen soon. We've run out of things to talk about, he hasn't taken me on a date in a little over a month, he spends all his time in his room tinkering, he forgot our anniversary." Inhale. "He's forgotten my birthday and an anniversary."

"And you tucked me aside, Raph. Where have you been the past month? This is the first time we've talked in forever and you act like nothing has happened. Literally last month we were best friends and you took me out for my birthday and then the next day you just left. You can't do that, okay? I miss you. Did I do something? Are you angry at me?"

"No, April-"

"My dad is missing, Raphael. I feel like you don't understand that. I'm about to have to move out of my apartment because I don't have a father around to pay for it. I don't know what to do and Donnie-" tears began to escape down the poor girl's face, she shielded herself with her arms.

"April," he honestly had no idea what to do for her. Did she need physical contact or was she better off just knowing he was there beside her? "Hey," he gripped her wrists and gently pulled them away, exposing her face that was tucked above her knees. "It's gonna be okay," he whispered. She looked up, her eyes telling him of fragile and vulnerable she was in this moment. In a surprisingly calm and fluid movement she leaned her head against her confidant's chest. Raph pulled her more into his lap, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"When's your rent due?"

"Next week, Friday."

"You could live with us, if we don't find your dad by then."

"I've considered it."

"April Amelia O'Neil, I will not stop searching for your father until his found from this point on, do you understand?" He raised his chin up so she could turn to look him in the eyes. "I understand," she wiped away the last tear. In a spur of the moment decision he leaned forward to give her a soft kiss on her forehead. "Good," he breathed.

Confused, April accepted his sign of affection and only stayed in his embrace a few moments longer before announcing how late it was getting. "Let me get my shoes on and I'll meet you at the door," Raphael announced, implying he would be walking her back to her apartment. April smiled at the thought, but shook it off. "It's alright, I'll get Don to accompany me. I need to talk to him about stuff," she reached out and gave Raph's hand a squeeze. "Don't distance yourself from us or me again." A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he watched her go, the quite possibly love of his life. Or at least he prayed.

April made her way down the hall to Donnie's room and gave a quiet knock before entering. She was unsurprised to find him fast asleep on an open book, looking to be around a thousand pages. Finding a plain stick note she scribbled down her message, 'We need to talk ~A'. She stuck it on his door as she left.

Raphael had already disappeared by the time she returned to the living area. A wave of disappointment crashed over her as she realized this meant walking home alone. It was a lonely walk to the manhole cover; she only trusted the flashlight on her phone to aide her. If she thought pushing the manhole cover was a challenge, she had no idea what awaited her above ground.

"Excuse me, m'am, but did you just come up from the sewers?" a young woman quizzically asked.

"Haha," April forced laughter to hide her discomfort as she tried to pass by the woman.

"It's not safe around here at night, y'know," the woman's expression changed dramatically, a cocky smirk now plastered on her face.

"Excuse me, I have to go," discomfort turned to panic as it became obvious the woman now was purposely blocking her path.

"Miss O'Neil? I think it's time for a family reunion." And then it went black.

Dang.