A/N: I'm pretty accustomed to posting a chapter a day so its feels like it's been FOREVER since I last posted. I have a big (non-turtle) presentation tomorrow that I've been working on, so I apologize for the delay. Thanks for being patient!

Leo paused his pacing on the sidewalk outside the movie theater and closed his eyes. He pictured Akito's face and tried to calm his breathing.

The police were still questioning his brothers about the last time they'd seen Akito. They'd been in the middle of a movie when Akito had said he had to go to the bathroom. And considering Akito was fourteen years old, Leo couldn't blame them for allowing him to go by himself.

But now Akito was missing. And his family was left wondering if he'd gone off by himself willingly or if he'd been taken against his will. Leo shuddered to think that turtle luck might extend to their fox children.

Leo glanced over to Raphael again. Raph was sitting on the curb with a crying Machi in his lap. Machi had already begun to feel homesick and now Akito's disappearance had her even more upset. Leo felt guilt over not being more helpful with poor Machi, but he couldn't sit still right now and he could see that she was in good hands. Plus, Leo knew Machi was giving Raphael something to do other than rage at the police, which is what he'd done when the officers had first arrived and he thought they hadn't been moving fast enough. One of Leo's hands on Raph's shoulder had calmed him and he'd apologized to the officers who had quickly forgiven him while assuring the family that they would do all they could to find the missing teen. Leo was grateful for their understanding, especially since they were visitors here.

"You're the boy's father?" an officer asked, coming up to Leo right before he began pacing again.

"Yes," Leo replied quickly.

"Well, the theater manager just let us look over the security tapes. We spotted your son leave screen 8, bypass the restrooms and head directly out of the theater. So, from what we can see so far, he left the theater willingly. I know you're not from here, but can you think of anywhere he might've gone? Or anyone here he would've gone to see?"

"My niece, Violet."

Raphael's head whipped around as he heard Usagi's voice. He tried not to actually growl since Machi was currently doing her best to wrap herself around his neck, but he glared when he found the rabbit standing behind Leo.

Usagi didn't meet Leonardo's eyes as he stepped up next to him to speak to the police officer. "She is also missing. She and Akito were -," he paused here and glanced in Leonardo's direction.

"Very close," Leo finished for him. Leo turned to Raphael and saw Raph stand with Machi in his arms and head their way.

Usagi took a step away from Leonardo as Raphael approached them but continued. "I have been looking for her. I am slightly relieved to think that she might be somewhere with Akito." His eyes glanced at Raphael and he was grateful Raphael's hands were busy carrying Machi.

"We're so sorry, guys," Donnie said as he and Sadie came to stand by their sides.

"This is all our fault," Sadie said.

"No," Leo said. He placed his hand on Raph's arm and squeezed. He wasn't happy about seeing Usagi here either but they already had new information thanks to Usagi showing up. His outlook brightened slightly at the thought that Akito and Violet might have just decided to secretly meet up with each other. He half listened to the officer question Usagi about where he had already searched as he turned back to Donnie and Sadie. "It's not your fault. It looks like Akito probably planned to leave during the movie. We just need to find him."

Raph listened to Leo's calm voice and knew his mate had switched over to leader mode. In a way it was reassuring, because Raphael needed leader Leo to just take control and fix this and bring Akito back. But it was also slightly infuriating because leader turtle was typically unemotional and Raphael was feeling overly emotional, especially since the rabbit just hopped on the scene.

"How about if I head back to the hotel with April and the kids?" Woody said, feeling desperate to do something helpful.

"Someone should be there in case Akito returns to the hotel," Donnie said, mentally kicking himself for not coming up with some sort of T-phone that would work in this dimension as well. They were going to be stuck calling in constantly for updates.

"I'll go with them," Sadie said. "I'll sit by the phone and you can check in often." She shrugged at Donnie since it was the best she could currently offer and she could see his frustration over their lack of technology here.

Mikey rejoined the group as well and wrapped his arms around Leo's and Raph's shoulders. "That officer gave me some ideas for places teens go around here," Mikey said in a voice much quieter than his normal voice. "I don't know how helpful it will be since Akito wouldn't know any of those places. But we could start there." He released their shoulders to say a quick goodbye to Woody as he came over and took Machi from Raphael and then left with Sadie, April and Shadow.

The officers dispersed from the scene and without Machi in his arms, Raph's hands balled into fists as he watched Usagi step awkwardly towards their group.

Donnie turned to Usagi and began to ask him where Violet might go but Raphael quickly interrupted him.

"No," Raph said. "He's not comin with us."

Donnie, and even Mikey, frowned a little as they looked back and forth between Raphael who was glaring daggers at Usagi and the samurai, who was keeping his eyes down towards the ground.

Leo turned his shell to all of them as he heard his brothers begin to argue about Usagi's usefulness in this search. He scrubbed a hand down his face and thought of Akito. He'd never pictured Akito doing anything like this, especially in a strange dimension. His mind went back to the last time Akito had been here. He'd been only 6 years old when Leo had been turtlenapped by Akito's uncle. He pictured his level-headed boy as he had appeared in that cave with the key that freed Leo. And pictured him again, running through a fiery battle as he was determined to save his baby sister. And Leo sort of wished he'd been there the time Akito had jumped a portal into Dimension X to try to help save Leo yet again.

Raph liked to think that Akito was a lot like Leo with his calm mannerisms and dedication to training. But Leo could see a lot of Raph's attributes in their boy as well. Akito didn't seem to spend a whole lot of time thinking about his decisions in critical situations. He just reacted quickly. And most of those decisions had been selfless and in service of someone else. And thankfully, up to this point, Akito had always come out unharmed. Leo's eyes squeezed shut as he hoped that Akito was going to come out of this disappearance unharmed as well.

Leo turned back around and put his hand up to silence the other three turtles who were still arguing about the need for Usagi's presence. They quieted immediately and Leo turned to Usagi.

"What did you tell Violet? Why would she run off?"

Usagi paused for a moment and then lifted his eyes to Leo's face where he was met with Leo's infamous fierce blue gaze. "I told her that their ninjitsu training was completed."

"Why?" Mikey asked, noting that Leo didn't look all that surprised.

Leo turned to Raphael who nodded at him. "Of course he woulda snuck off to see her," Raph muttered.

Leo nodded as well. Violet, and Akito when she told him, would've both been upset. Akito would've wanted to see her and comfort her. "They're probably not off just having fun somewhere," Leo said, thinking that the list of places Mikey had from the police were probably places teens would head to have fun. "They're upset."

Usagi took a step towards Leo and began to say, "Leonardo-," but he stopped and shut his mouth when Leo swiftly moved away from him to stand on the other side of Raphael, placing Raph between himself and Usagi.

Mikey and Donnie exchanged another glance. It was unlike anything they'd ever seen Leo do before and it spoke volumes about how upset Leo was. Between that, Raphael's continued glare at the rabbit and Usagi's statement that Leo would no longer be training the bunnies, they were definitely confused, but they both instinctually moved closer to Leo.

Leo felt Mikey and Donnie step protectively closer to him. It was years of working as a team kicking in that led to his brothers' offer of wordless support. Leo thought of the team he'd been building with his young students.

"We need to go to your sister's house," Leo finally said. "I want to talk to the other bunnies."

"You still think this is the right direction?" Violet asked as she twitched her nose at the smelly surroundings.

Akito didn't answer. His family had to have noticed his absence by now and the guilt he was feeling was becoming stronger. His chest was actually feeling tight. He squeezed Violet's fingers and reassured himself that at least they were together. As soon as they reached their destination, he'd have a chance to sit and think about what to do next.

His ears twitched and he noticed Violet's long white ears turning as well. Their eyes met to exchange a worried glance before they both began to slowly turn to look behind them. Two darts flew into their sides before they even had a chance to turn all the way around.

"Remind me to convince my dad that I should be allowed to carry my weapons when -," Akito murmured before they both slumped to the ground.

Sam smiled across the table at Miwa. "So do you normally eat dinner this early?" he asked her as he eyed the senior citizens who were finishing their presumably 4:30 pm dinner specials.

"Well, I have to go to work after this," Miwa said.

"Where do you work?"

She had opened herself up to that question by mentioning it, but he watched her freeze for a moment when he asked.

"It's a family business," Miwa finally said. She had planned on spending the dinner learning about him. But she knew he was equally curious about her. She didn't want to lie to him, but she wondered if the middle of this restaurant was the place to truly tell him about herself.

"Well, you did mention that you all spend a great deal of time together," Sam said. She looked uncomfortable talking about herself. So he was giving her an out with his comment. She could either switch subjects or keep talking about herself. He offered her the bread basket from the center of the table and smiled when she took a roll. He took one himself and busied himself with buttering it while he waited for her to decide what to do.

Miwa sighed. "I don't really date," she said. "At all. And I wasn't really kidding when I said I didn't want to scare you off, which is a real possibility if I keep talking about myself. Plus, even being a non-dater, I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to share every detail on the first date."

Sam couldn't help but grin at her as she talked. Her cheeks were turning pink and she was beginning to fidget, which he realized he'd never seen her do. He'd noticed in the past that her movements were always smooth and fluid. And silent.

"Well," he said, resting his chin on his hand as he tried to look thoughtful, "there was that time you tried to run me over in the lab. That was a lot of physical contact for a casual first meeting."

Miwa huffed out a laugh

"And then there was our breakfast date this morning," Sam said. "So, by my count, and I have a PhD so you can trust me on this, by my count we're on our third date already."

"It's hard to argue with a PhD," Miwa said, thoughtfully. "Between Donatello and Sadie, I've learned that the hard way."

Their waitress arrived with their dinners and Sam switched topics and told her a little about his past as they ate. He focused on funny graduate school stories and his first job at another small tech firm.

"But I was thrilled to get this job with Hamato Engineering," he said to her between bites. "Your brother has some really cool high tech inventions. They're really amazing. Working in his lab is a little like playing in a toy store for me."

She watched him as he spoke and admired the way his eyes lit up over his work. She'd have to remind herself later to thank Donatello for hiring him.

"Speaking of work, I do have a present for you," he said, pulling a box out of his coat pocket. He handed it to her across the table and smiled as she let her fingers brush across his as she took it.

Miwa opened the box and looked at the collection of small vials inside, each containing a green liquid.

"That's it?" she asked. "Such a small dose?"

"Yup. We can get away with such a small dose because I worked out an algorithm that made it very concentrat-," he stopped when she shot him a look. "That's it," he finished, cutting the science explanation out of his answer with a knowing smile on his face. "It just needs to be swallowed."

"Thank you, Sam," she said, sincerely as she tucked the box into her bag.

"Are you going to tell me why you need it now that it's finished?"

"No," Miwa said, doing her best to urge him with her eyes not to be disappointed. "Not yet, anyway."

"OK," Sam said, taking the last bite of his meal.

Miwa watched him and was pleased to see that it was really that easy with him. He seemed to accept a lot of what she said without pushing her further than she was ready to go with her explanations.

"Let me walk you home," Sam said, rising from the table at the end of their meal.

"It's really not that far," she said, although why she was feeling the need to protest, she wasn't sure. She certainly wasn't ready to say goodbye to him yet.

"Just let me walk you home," Sam said, grinning over at her again as he lifted a hand and waited until she placed her hand in his before he began walking.

They were walking down the sidewalk before his voice interrupted the thoughts she was having about how nice his hand felt wrapped around hers. She was tall and slender, but since she spent most of her time covered in sweat as she trained with her brothers or ran patrols around the city, she didn't often feel all that feminine. But tonight, as she walked side by side with Sam in the dress she'd borrowed from Sadie's closet, she focused on how small her hand felt within Sam's hand.

"What are your brothers going to think about their sister dating?" Sam asked as he adjusted their hands so that his fingers looped through hers. "Wait, they weren't all like wrestling champs in high school were they?"

"Well," Miwa said, squeezing his hand in return. "I'm afraid to have to tell you, they certainly aren't lightweights." She tugged on his hand to stop him when they reached her apartment building.

"Wow, that really wasn't that far," Sam said, looking slightly disappointed as he glanced up at her building. He glanced back down at her. The wind was blowing her hair around and he instinctually lifted a hand to move some wayward strands off her forehead and wrap it around her ear. He smiled as he watched her try to suppress a shiver. His eyes moved to her mouth.

"I don't think it would be unheard of for you to kiss me," Miwa said, watching his eyes as they moved over her lips, "since this is already our third date."

He smiled at her again. "How do you know the rules? I thought you were an inexperienced dater," he teased.

"It's not dating experience," she said, smirking back at his grin. "Being able to read people is a bit of a family trait."

"So you have a super pow-," Sam started to say, but his tease was cut short as Miwa leaned forward and kissed him herself. His brain shut off. It was a goal he aimed for, especially as he tried to go to sleep at night. But his brain always seemed to be running and he almost sighed in relief as he felt himself relax as her lips moved against his. Her honey smell filled his nose and he couldn't stop himself from moving his free hand to the side of her neck to gently pull her even closer to him.

Miwa shivered again as she felt his hand on the side of her neck. She moved her own free hand up to squeeze his shoulder as she felt her stomach squirm. She felt her cheeks warm and pulled back after a few moments just so she could look at his face again. She smiled to herself as she looked at his red cheeks, the color rising all the way up to his red hairline. She leaned forward and kissed him once more quickly before she said goodnight and left him grinning on the sidewalk.

Leo followed Usagi into his sister's house with Raphael and their brothers close behind him. His bunny students perked up when he entered the room and jumped forward to greet him. Usagi noticed with a small amount of guilt how happy they all were to see their sensei since he had told them this morning that they would no longer be training with Leonardo.

Usagi's sister quickly welcomed the turtle brothers in her home as well. So far, she hadn't been able to get Usagi to tell her the real reason he was canceling her kids' ninjitsu training. But she had heard impressive stories about Master Leonardo's brothers and immediately began asking them what she could get them to eat or drink. Leo, Raph, and Donnie politely declined her offer while they watched Michelangelo loop an arm around her shoulders and herd her into the kitchen where Raph was pretty sure Mikey would end up waiting on her. It would keep her busy and Raph was sure she had to be worried about her missing daughter as well.

Leo greeted his students happily and then zeroed in on the one bunny not meeting his eyes. He ducked his head down to force her to look at him.

"Where'd they go?" he asked Violet's guilty-looking sister.