CURSE YOU WRITER'S BLOCK! I have defeated it none the less so yay! Anyway on with the story
Splinter had decided that all of his pupils would train today. It was one on one matches that Splinter had paired up. Raph had promptly kicked Casey's butt in hand to hand combat before it was Maya and Karai's turn. The human had been curious to see how the mermaid was in combat and everyone else was just curious to see how the match would turn out.
The room was silent as the two girls bowed to one another.
"Hajime!" Splinter shouted.
Suddenly both warriors exploded into battle. Maya used her narwhal tusks to block Karai's katana before she dropped into a sideways split and spun her legs to kick Karai's feet from under her. Karai yelped in surprise as she fell to the floor but was caught even more off guard when her eyes focused on the business ends of Maya's sharp weapons.
"This one is the victor of this match," Maya said confidently.
Karai only smiled up at the girl before she replied, "sorry, not this time."
Maya tilted her head in confusion before her opponent suddenly pulled the tusks towards her. Karai then pressed her foot into the mermaid's stomach before throwing her over her head. Maya landed hard against the wall but quickly recovered and got to her feet. However when she stood up she quickly found a katana being aimed at her chest.
"Any last words?" Karai teased.
Maya smiled before she sweetly said, "heads up."
Karai was prepared for a lot of things in a match. A giant water bubble falling on top of her and trapping her inside was not one of them.
"Yame!" Splinter said ending the match.
Both girls turned to Splinter who stood up with a proud smile.
"Well done both of you. I am very impressed," the sensei said making both girls smile.
Poor Splinter had to try to keep a straight face however when he said, "Maya would you kindly…pop Miwa's bubble."
Everyone else burst out laughing while Maya tilted her head to the side in confusion before she realized Karai was still trapped. The mermaid quickly popped the bubble before catching Karai.
"Many apologies. This one's intention was not to keep you trapped," Maya said horrified that she forgot about her opponent so quickly.
Karai couldn't help laughing before she looked up at Maya and chuckled, "you literally and figuratively popped my bubble twice in one fight."
"And this is amusing somehow?" Maya asked in confusion.
Karai nodded her head before ruffling the smaller girl's hair affectionately.
As they sat down to watch the next match Casey leaned over to Karai and whispered, "Welcome to the loser's corner. At least we didn't get mangled the way Donny did against April."
Karai bit her lip to stifle a laugh as she looked over at her brooding little brother. She felt a little bad for the guy. Casey lost to an experienced fighter, Karai lost to a different style of fighting but poor Donny was an experienced ninja that lost to a young student and his crush no less.
"Last but not least. Leonardo and Michelangelo," Splinter instructed before he patiently waited for them to ready themselves.
Leo and Mikey got up before making their way to the sparing mat. The orange masked turtle looked over to Maya and blew her a kiss before he turned to his brother. The oldest turtle couldn't help looking over at Karai briefly before focusing on Mikey.
The blue masked turtle had long since gotten over his crush on their former enemy. It wasn't long after they brought Karai home that Leo realized he loved her the same way he loved April, she was family. That didn't mean however that he didn't want to impress her, after all Leo couldn't deny he liked showing off.
The oldest and youngest turtle bowed to each other before beginning their match.
"Hajime!" Splinter called once again.
At first the two brothers just circled each other watching each other's movements. At last Leo decided to attack and ran at his youngest. Mikey quickly dodged his opponent before he pulled a red blanket out of nowhere and held it out in front him.
"What the hell are ya doin' with my blanket Mikey?" Raph demanded from his seat beside Maya who was trying not to giggle.
"Toro!" the orange masked turtle cried ignoring his red masked brother.
Leo looked at his brother in annoyance before he said, "Mikey knock it off and fight serious."
The orange masked turtle immediately stood up straight and looked at Maya before giving her a smirk. The mermaid pressed her lips together to try and keep from laughing.
"You want serious bro?" Mikey asked still smirking.
Leo cocked an eye at his youngest brother as he watched Mikey swipe a hand over his face making it go from his signature smile to a deadpan serious expression on his face.
"It just got serial up in this dojo son," Mikey said in his batman voice.
Leo rolled his eyes before he attacked his brother again. Every move the oldest turtle made, Mikey somehow managed to dodge it. Quickly getting frustrated Leo sent blow after blow at him. However Mikey was dodging every single one with break dance moves wearing that stupid serious look on his face.
Mikey quickly noticed his big brother getting tired but kept up his defensive technique, waiting for the right moment to strike. Finally when Mikey noticed Leo hesitate slightly, the orange masked turtle went in for the kill. All it took was one well aimed roundhouse kick and Leo was on his back.
"Yame!" Splinter cried ending the match.
"Leonardo. You underestimated your opponent my son. Michelangelo...please try to be a bit more serious," Splinter scolded his sons lightly.
Donny couldn't help smiling before he said, "Mikey wasn't fighting serious…Ya know, suddenly I don't feel so bad about my match."
If Leo wasn't embarrassed before, he was now when he could hear Karai giggling behind him.
"I've never had this much fun during training," the girl commented with a giant smile on her face making Splinter smile at the sight.
The oldest turtle couldn't help smiling along with them. Leo couldn't think of a time when he had seen either their former enemy or his sensei look that happy.
Mikey feeling pretty proud of himself, skipped over to Maya before dropping down in front of her with a big goofy smile on his face.
"Did ya see me? Did ya see me? Did ya?" Mikey asked bouncing up and down on his legs like an excited toddler.
Maya giggled before she grabbed Mikey's face and placed a soft kiss on his lips and said, "This one is most impressed by your strength beloved."
The orange masked turtle had a twitterpated look on his face before he said, "That was nice. Can I have another one?"
The mermaid happily complied giving the turtle another sweet kiss on the lips. This one lasting a little bit longer then the last.
When they pulled away they rested their foreheads against each other before Mikey said, "I swear I could do this all day, I love you and your kisses more than pizza."
Maya couldn't help blushing at the declaration before she replied, "This one's love for her beloved exceeds far beyond her desire to return to free waters."
The two teens went to go in for another kiss when the sound of someone clearing their throat got their attention. The pair turned around to see Splinter crossing his arms at them, behind him stood six shocked teenagers.
April was fanning herself from the romantic overload, Karai looked on approvingly, the three older turtles looked a little peeved and Casey just look stunned.
"Woh, I didn't think Mikey could love anything more than he loved pizza…I'm pretty sure he doesn't even like you guys as much as he likes pizza," Casey said looking over at Leo, Raph and Don.
Mikey looked around before he gave his family an annoyed look and said, "Can't a guy kiss his mate without getting the third degree?"
"I would prefer if you would declare your love in perhaps a more private setting," Splinter explained to his youngest.
"A little hard when you got the walking virgin alarms over there," Mikey said nodding his head towards his older brothers and Casey.
Leo, Raph, Don and Casey gave the youngest brother an annoyed look before Donny replied, "Look just because you're technically married doesn't mean that we're gonna let you make any merturtle babies anytime soon."
"You're finishing high school young lady!" Casey yelled at Maya while pointing his finger at her.
Maya tilted her head to the side before she asked, "You think that we wish to fulfill our vow?"
The four stared at each other before Leo replied, "Well we figured the kiss was the wedding part and not long after you two would want to do…other stuff."
Maya and Mikey looked at each other strangely before they both broke out into side splitting laughter. The pair looked like they had just heard the funniest joke on the planet and it was making the bros start to feel a little embarrassed.
"Forgive us…but that was funny. As this one has explained to Donatello, my body won't reach full maturity to experience a mating cycle for a few years. Since Mikey shares a link with me his body's maturity goes at the same rate as mine. Besides once we do reach maturity, there is literally no force in the universe that will keep us from mating," Maya explained.
Raph couldn't help looking smug at the tiny girl before he said, "I think the odds are in our favor little girl."
Maya looked at the red masked turtle innocently before she replied, "our minds will go into a primal state of vicious lust that will destroy all in its path with incomparable power and strength until it is satiated from weeks of intercourse."
Everyone in the room stared at the mermaid as if she had just grown a second head. Even Master Splinter looked a little taken back by the information.
"I'm sorry. Did you say weeks?" April asked.
"Yes…we will be extremely fatigued but immensely satisfied," Maya explained casually.
Splinter began rubbing his eyes to hide how uncomfortable this conversation was making him before he said, "and we are ending this conversation now."
"Get yourselves ready for patrol," Splinter commanded the teens before he left for his room.
…
Mikey couldn't help rolling his eyes as he looked over to see that Raph was grouped with him and Maya for patrol that night. Even after Maya had explained that they had no interest in 'completing their vows', the bros were still protective as ever.
'This whole babying the baby bro thing is getting old real fast' Mikey told Maya through their link.
'This one understands your frustration beloved but be patient with them. They are scared for you and want to protect you' Maya replied giving the turtle a sympathetic look.
The orange masked turtle looked annoyed before he glanced over to Raph who was a lot further behind the pair then he normally would. It was clear that the red masked turtle was trying to give the pair some privacy without letting them out of his sight. For Raph this was as close to him being considerate as he got while in big bro mode.
'I'll cut the bros some slack' Mikey said giving the mermaid a smile as they covered ground.
'Of course you will beloved. Your heart wouldn't allow for anything else' Maya replied in a teasing tone.
Mikey gave his mate an amused glare before he whined 'if I didn't know any better I'd say you were calling me a pushover.'
'This one is calling you a push over beloved' Maya teased as she stuck her tongue out at her mate.
The orange masked turtle gave the mermaid his best puppy dog eyes and pouty lip before he replied 'so mean.'
Maya couldn't help chuckling before Raph yelled, "guys we need to catch up with Leo and Karai. They've got trouble."
…
Leo and Karai had agreed to pair up for patrol that night. The pair traveled in silence only daring small glances at one another every so often.
Finally it was Karai who had become irritated with the silence decided to break it.
"You seem distracted Leo. Penny for your thoughts?" Karai said.
Leo sighed before he replied, "I'm pretty sure I've got more thoughts then you have pennies."
"Try me," Karai said in a tone that reminded Leo of Splinter when he was in no mood for nonsense.
Leo continued to be silent but his expression clearly told of the battle going on in his head.
"It must be terrifying to have the responsibility you have. To hold yourself responsible for every cut, bruise and scar on their bodies," Karai said gently.
The oldest turtle looked up at her in before she added, "I can appreciate your position Leo. After all I am just beginning to understand what its like to have little brothers to care about. As much as they drive you nuts, you'd die a thousand deaths before letting anyone take them from you."
Leo gave a ghost of a smile before he replied, "That's definitely the golden rule…it gets harder now though. When we were little, they clung to me. Raph and I used to be really close and talk about everything, Donny would come to me to bounce ideas off of for his inventions, and Mikey…he had a super hero name for all of us…he always said I was his superman."
Karai couldn't help feel a bit jealous that he had missed out on this growing up. Regardless she smiled for Leo who was blessed enough to have it.
"Seems to me that nothing has changed," Karai replied.
Leo snorted bitterly before he replied, "Everything changed. Raph found Spike and started calling me 'Splinter's pet'. Donny goes to April for any tech help and barely talks to me, and Mikey…my baby brother that I looked out for the most. He went and grew up on me, he doesn't need his big brothers to protect him anymore. Hell the kid is married for crying out loud."
At this point Leo has his fists clenched with his eyes shut tight. Suddenly two gentle hands were on either side of his shoulders. Slowly Leo opened his eyes to see Karai giving him a giving him a gentle smile.
"I think you have things a bit confused Leo. Yes, you have all grown and maybe there will be a time you drift apart. However, speaking as your former enemy; nothing has changed. When you go into battle, your bond is stronger then your enemies. Raph is always by your side, Donny is listening intently for your guidance, and Mikey is never afraid of battle knowing you and the others are looking out for him," Karai explained.
Leo stared at Karai in surprise. He had never noticed this in his brothers before. It gave him confidence that he never had before.
"My point is no matter what changes those guys will always need their big brother…I have to confess I envy you for it. You guys love each other, trust and need each other…I have never known that feeling," Karai said.
Leo smiled brightly at the human girl before he rested his hands on top her hers.
"Well brace yourself because from here on out you are going to get a crash course in family time," Leo said with a chuckle.
Karai stared at Leo for another moment before she said, "There is something else on your mind. What is it?"
Leo suddenly blushed before he took a step back from Karai rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Well…its kind of weird to explain…" Leo said.
"Is this about the big crush you have on me?" Karai asked as she crossed her arms.
The turtle's eyes turned into saucers and his face turned red before he replied, "Well the thing is up until now I thought it was a crush. I liked you differently then I liked April so I figured it had to be a crush. I felt like we had a deep connection but at the same time, I never felt the urge to want to touch you or kiss you. Then we found out the truth and it all made sense. I love you the same way I love my brothers."
Karai couldn't help enjoying the warm feeling in her chest that came with being told that she was loved. Splinter and Mikey had said they loved her all the time but it never stopped causing the warm sensation. She hoped it never stopped in all honesty.
"I guess living in the sewers doesn't give you a chance to learn about different love," Karai teased.
Leo shook his head before he replied in an amused tone, "No not really."
The blue masked turtle then turned to Karai and said, "Thanks for the talk. It helped."
"What are big sisters for?" Karai replied with a smile.
Leo was about to say something else when he saw a reflection of light coming off a building behind Karai.
"Watch out!" Leo cried before pulling them both to the ground.
They narrowly missed being hit by a ninja star before the roof they were on became surrounded by foot soldiers. Leo quickly hit the panic button on his phone knowing Donny would get it and bring the others.
The pair were quickly on their feet and standing back to back. This was still more then enough time for the foot bots to start attacking them. Both Karai and Leo did their best to defend themselves and each other but the robots were merciless.
They didn't know how long they fought but it seemed like just as suddenly as they started, the robots stopped and stood straight as boards. Leo and Karai stood defensively but confused until they saw Tiger Claw step out of the darkness.
"Oh shell," Leo mumbled.
The massive beast stepped closer before he demanded, "Where are the rest of you disgusting reptiles?"
*whistle*
Tiger claw looked over to a shadowed area on his left before foot bots suddenly began to be pulled into the darkness. He growled angrily as his soldiers disappeared in the blink of an eye. He looked over to his right side to see the soldiers suddenly disappearing as well.
When at last all the foot bots disappeared, Donny, April and Casey came out of the shadows on the left. When Tiger Claw heard footsteps to his right he looked over to see a smug looking Raph along with team M&M.
"So it is true then…you have betrayed Master Splinter," Tiger Claw declared.
Karai growled before she shouted, "It was he that betrayed me sixteen years ago!"
Suddenly fueled with rage, Karai sped off towards the massive tiger with katana in hand. With everything she had, Karai fought the mutant who only had time to block her attacks. The girl was moving so fast and so hard that Tiger Claw couldn't push her back enough to retaliate.
The others watched on wanting so much to join the battle but knew this was Karai's battle to fight. However when Tiger Claw got in a lucky shot sending the girl flying, they were forced to re-think their strategy.
"You silly girl. You think you can defeat me alone?" the beast roared as he stood over girl.
Karai watched in awe as a sai flew through the air stopping Tiger Claw's blade from coming down on the fallen girl.
"Who said she was alone?" Raph's voice growled menacingly.
It was silently agreed that although it was Karai's fight, she was coming back home in one piece by any means necessary.
Tiger Claw found himself surrounded by the teens. He was certain he could take these children on alone but he would not be able to carry out the rest of his master's plan without the foot bots. Finally he decided he would take out his rage on his opponents.
With a mighty growl he went to attack Karai first. However he didn't get far before he crumpled to the ground screaming in pain. He covered his ears in desperation as a high pitched scream filled the air.
As quickly as it started the sound stopped leaving the tiger's ears ringing painfully. He looked up to see a furious mermaid face aiming her weapons at him.
'You will not harm this one's pod beast' Tiger Claw heard the girl say to him in his head.
Tiger Claw growled at her before the piercing sound filled his head once more as a warning.
With all the strength he had left, Tiger Claw turned his dark glare at Karai.
"You may have won but I will return for you. Master Shredder instructed me to tell you that he does not like his belongings taken from him," he hissed.
Karai looked furious before she replied, "You tell your master that I was never his thing."
With that the group took off into the night leaving Tiger Claw on the ground defeated.
All done for now don't forget to review the lady!