Author's Warning: There may be a chance that you'll get to the end of this chapter and have a sad panda face. Or a frustrated panda face. Either way, THANK you for the reviews last time, guys!

.

.

Chapter Twenty: Misplaced

Karai hadn't asked for details, after Hamato Yoshi had quietly stated she was his daughter and formally apologized for his failures. Instead, she had asked him where the bathroom was, and had followed silently behind as he led the way, observing his strikingly graceful and contained movements.

Now she stood in font of the sink, alone in the large bathroom after having used the utilities. She assessed herself in the mirror, looking at the bags under her eyes, and how pale her face was.

She should be full of questions. She'd had so many growing up that had never been answered - about her mother, about life before. Now that she knew, could feel that this person would answer them for her...

Karai looked down at her hands, face twisting slightly, and turned on the tap to wash up. Stress tears began to silently gather in her eyes. It was too much, after the last twenty-four hours. Rescuing Donatello, spending all day trapped in his lab, realizing that she would be in so much trouble when she finally escaped.

Now, she supposed, she couldn't ever go back. She didn't think she wanted to, anyway.

Karai glanced around, trying to distract herself. This had obviously started out as a public restroom. The plumbing was odd, and she got the impression that what used to be more sinks in a row had been converted to a shower and bath. The space was brightly lit, and surprisingly tidy considering there were four teenage boys and a grown man in charge of it. As Karai reached to turn off the tap again, her eyes jumped to the back of the sink. Six tooth brushes were arranged there, obviously color coded. Red, blue, orange, yellow, burgundy, and...

Purple.

Karai's eyes went wide, breath hitching, and rested both hands on the edges of the sink to steady herself. She leaned forward, head bowed.

Donatello had known. He'd understood their relationship the entire time. When they fought each other, when he'd first been captured, when she'd visited him with the intention of taunting him...

Tear drops fell into the sink, as she remembered how he'd told her they were siblings. How she'd punched him in the face for it. She laughed silently, squeezing her eyes shut.

It was all so wrong...her life was so wrong...!

Karai inhaled in a gulping, involuntary motion, and rested her elbows on the sink too as the shock coursing through her body stole her strength away, leaving her weak. Her entire form trembled, and she bent further over the sink. She refused to make a sound as her agonized face heated up, the only audible evidence of her break down the tears quietly plinking onto the porcelain.

I let that happen...I let her rape him...! Because of honor? Loyalty?

Karai's mouth opened in a silent wail of agony, hands grasping the sink as her body shook. She rode through the feelings of horror and guilt for several long moments, trapped. There was panic there too, growing quickly.

She couldn't...she couldn't do this right now! Karai tried to steady her breathing, face still bowed over the sink. She couldn't...think about that. She wouldn't be able to go out there again, and look at them, look at Donatello...at her...her father...

Karai silently sank to the floor, hands resting on the cold tiles there, and tried to force her mind to go blank. She had to get it under control. Hamato Yoshi was waiting on her. She could even picture him standing by the door, hands patiently clasped together under the sleeves of his robe.

She forced her breathing to slow further, inhaling and holding it in, then letting the air out slowly, imposing a calming rhythm, gradually overriding the powerful emotions that had temporarily conquered her.

It took a few minutes, but Karai's control returned, the upsetting thoughts carefully repressed. She was left feeling drained, yet simultaneously wound up. She let out an exhausted sigh, and closed her eyes. Sleep would be a welcome escape, but she doubted it would come.

Karai gave herself a few more moments, then forced herself to get up, avoiding her face in the mirror this time. She turned on the tap again, and washed her face, quietly sniffing to clear her nose, masking the sound under the running water. Then she stood up straight and took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair. She allowed herself to look in the mirror again. Her face was hardened into a firm, confident mask.

Her eyes had been red before, so thankfully she didn't look too different.

When Karai emerged from the bathroom, Hamato Yoshi was indeed waiting. He had kept a respectful distance, but she wondered how keen his hearing was, with those mutated ears.

Karai nodded to him, eyes dropping respectfully to the ground. "I'm sorry about the wait."

He nodded politely in response, tone warm. "No apology is necessary. Would you like a brief tour of our home?"

"Yes, thank you." Her ankle was hurting, and it felt as though she was wearing led weights on every limb, but doing anything right now was better than just sitting...or trying and failing to sleep.

The tour was surprisingly fascinating, but even after five minutes, Karai was rethinking things as her ankle grew steadily worse. Thankfully, Hamato Yoshi did keep it very brief, ending with the kitchen, which he made clear she was free to use. After leading her back to the pit, he excused himself to make a phone call, leaving her with Donatello.

Karai wandered back to the couch, sitting down with a glass of water in hand.

Donatello had melted into the chair nearby, his entire body drooping, eyes mostly closed. The moment Splinter left the room, though, he perked up some.

Karai raised an eyebrow, as she took a much needed drink of water. She held the glass between both hands, pursing her lips as she remembered his silly antics from a few minutes back.

"What was that, earlier? Your sign language sucks."

Donatello's eyes were glued to the doorway Splinter had just passed through. He cleared his throat, looking over at her, eyes suddenly wide and apologetic. When he spoke, he kept his voice low.

"So...first, I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to butt in. I-I know that was a really important moment." He stared at her, face full of remorse, and Karai was struck by how genuine and powerful the emotion there was.

But it was cut short suddenly, as he glanced to the dojo doorway again, eyes narrowing nervously. "But, um...can you promise me something?" The abrupt shift was a relief, because Karai wasn't sure she could deal with an apologetic Donatello.

He continued on quickly. "So, Splinter doesn't know. In fact, nobody does. About...about us." Donatello eyed her expectantly, waiting for a reply.

Karai shook her head, completely lost. "Doesn't know what, exactly?" She didn't try to keep her voice down.

Donatello flinched, face drawn into a nervous grimace. His voice fell to a tense whisper. "The siblingship test? You are biologically related to him. That's fine. But, he doesn't know I am. Okay? So, please don't tell him?" His eyes widened further, pleading. "I-I only meant for you to know."

When she didn't respond, other than to narrow her eyes further, Donatello sighed, entire body drooping as his face took on a hangdog expression. He whispered even more quietly, words coming rapid-fire. "The others aren't related to him, remember? Just me. Like I told you before? Just don't...don't tell anyone. Please?" He glanced over to the doorway again, clearly terrified Splinter might overhear something.

Karai paused, unsure of what to think. This really mattered to him. She could even get why, but...

They both straightened slightly, listening. There were voices, getting nearer by the second.

"...wouldn't we tell Master Splinter, Raph? He's gonna be so happy!"

"No, doofus, listen to me! We don't know anything yet. There's nothing to tell." Raphael and Michelangelo came into view, both leaping over rather than walking through the turnstiles on their way into the lair.

They were clearly having an argument, or at least Raphael was attempting to get some point across to his shorter sibling. He continued going straight, arms crossing as he walked, eyes trailing after Michelangelo, who had disappeared into the kitchen on his right.

"We have to wait. We don't wanna..." Raphael's face fell, worried eyes glancing to the ground, moving back and forth as he struggled to find words. He shook his head, frowning. "Just hold off, okay? Give Donnie a chance to contact us..."

Then his eyes jumped to the pit. Raphael's entire body jerked back in a convulsive motion, knees locking as he skidded to a halt. A few seconds passed in silence, as his eyes grew wide in shock, mouth going slack. Then his entire form relaxed, face softening, and he took a single step forward.

"Donnie..." Raphael's voice was barely audible.

Then his gaze skipped over, locking onto Karai. He swallowed hard, a panicked look overtaking the gentle moment. Raphael glanced around, assessing the space, eyes narrowed, hands going to his sai as he dropped into a crouch.

"Mikey! We've got company!"

Karai hardly had time to react as Raphael sprinted toward her, hastily putting her water down to spring up into a defensive posture. She met his scowl with her own, expecting an immediate attack from the aggressive fighter, but instead he skidded to a halt in front of Donatello and took up a defensive position of his own, stance low and both sai raised.

Raphael was audibly growling, teeth bared in a vicious grimace, green eyes narrowed into a furious glare.

Michelangelo was there too, having responded immediately to Raphael's call, silently coming through the kitchen with a kusarigama drawn, the sharp point spinning through the air. He had placed himself behind the couch Karai was crouched in front of, eyes watchful and wide as he took in the situation. Karai glanced back, deepening her stance, her ankle twinging painfully as she did. She knew that if it came to blows, she'd be in serious trouble.

.

.

AN: I split it up! Next chapter should be out fairly quickly, as a result. Your comments in the meantime mean a lot to me, and thanks again for reading!