[A/N: Originally posted to AO3 on March 28th, 2018]

Chapter Summary: The weirdest of friendships.

TW: None

1

Karai quietly made her way down the alley. She had spotted Leo through her monocular a few buildings away and he was doing something she had never seen him do before.

He was rollerblading.

Karai had seen him and his brothers skateboarding, but she had never seen Leo use roller blade, they looked custom made for his feet causing her to question where he even got them.

It took a minute of watching silently to find out why, he tripped and fell. Then he got back up using the side of the surrounding buildings. She guessed he had chosen this particular parking lot because there was no way to see it from the street, the driveway into the lot turned a corner and the only other access point was the alleyway she was walking down.

He would be able to hear any intruders.

She wasn't just any intruder though.

As Leo executed a one legged spin (which explained why he was alone, he was doing a lot of ridiculous looking moves) she crept up on him.

"Well if it isn't Leonardo," she said wickedly, unsheathing her short sword.

Leo jumped and struggled to keep his balance. "Karai!"

"Looks like I have you right where I want you," she said. He stepped backwards and reached for his swords. "Now this will be an interesting fight."

He smiled, and stopped rolling with both swords out. "Funny how you can only beat me when I'm at a disadvantage, do you ever fight fair?"

"Fair is a bedtime story," Karai said pacing in a circle around him while he tried to spin to keep himself facing her. "A fantasy, the real world is cruel and unexpected-"

"I thought you weren't going to be back in New York for another week," he said, growing more frustrated with her circling him like he was her prey.

She smirked. "I know, that was unexpected." She quickly darted around him and pushed his back, "and this is cruel."

Leo rolled forward and caught his balance. Then he turned and smiled. "You want to play, I'll play."

"Who said anything about playing? Maybe this time it's real," she said cold and dark. "Where's your Master?"

He drew his lips into a hard line. "Why don't you come over here and ask me?" he said beckoning her forward, his wheel scraping the pavement as he corrected his footing.

Not very subtle, Leo.

"Only because you insist," she said before charging. Leo skated away forcing her to chase him. "Coward!" she yelled when her strike missed.

Then suddenly there was a roller blade heading for her face, Leo had kicked his skate off of his foot and flung it at her. She sliced the first one in half, but the second one hit her in the stomach.

When she looked up he was nearly on her, their swords rang together and he stepped forward ruthlessly, forcing her back. "Was that unexpected?" he asked pushing his blade against hers.

She gritted her teeth and pushed back making both their arms shake with the strain. Metal squeaking under their hands like a quiet whimper. "Tell me where your Master is freak!"

Leo smiled. "Sure thing, but first, tell me if this is cruel."

Karai didn't have time to think before she was pushed back hard and a cracking noise wrapped around the lot. Her vision was clouded by smoke. She started coughing hard and fanning the air in front of her. When she opened her eyes he was gone.

She was starting to like him.

2

"No way."

"Chicken."

"I'm not a chicken!" Leo said, holding the glob of wasabi between his chopsticks.

Karai scrunched her face up suspicious of his claims, "it's just a little wasabi, it'll be fun!"

"How does eating a ball of pure wasabi sound fun to you? In what world is that fun?" he sniffed the green paste and made a face. "I barely put this stuff on my sushi for a reason."

She rolled her eyes. It had to be going on around midnight and she grabbed them sushi, some Americanized rolls in plastic take out shells. "Yeah, I hate spicy things."

"Me too."

"So on the count of three." She gathered her glob on her chopsticks and held it in front of her mouth. "One-"

He shook his head, "this is a mistake."

"Two-"

"Why am I letting you talk me into this."

"Three!"

Leo put his glob in his mouth and Karai threw her wasabi behind her shoulder before shoving her bare now chopsticks in her mouth.

His eyes began watering immediately. "Oh my god!" he gasped. He squeezed his eyes shut. "It's s'uck to the roof of muh mouth!"

Karai laughed silently, biting her chopsticks to keep herself quiet.

"Ah ah ah!" He panted fanning himself then he cracked his eyes open and looked over at her. "How are you not dying right now!?"

She laughed despite nearly biting the tip of her chopsticks clean off. His look of shock made it even harder to reel herself back in.

"You didn't do it!?" he asked, he stood up and spit out what he could onto the roof top below them. "Why didn't you do it? I did it!"

Karai took her chopsticks out of her mouth and looked at him pitifully. "Leo, it's whole glob of wasabi," she said smirking.

Saliva was dripping from his mouth in impressive volumes. While holding his face over the edge of the billboard they were perched on he glared at her. "I am very aware that it's a whole glob of wasabi," he sprayed.

She scooted away cackling. "I don't even like hot things, why would I do that?" she asked innocently.

"Because I did it?" Leo asked in disbelief.

"Eh," Karai said with a half shrug, "if your friend jumped off a cliff would you jump too?"

He paused his spitting abruptly, and then looked at her with an obviously forced calm face. All too casual for someone who was tricked into coating the inside of their mouth with wasabi. "Are you saying that we're friends?" he asked carefully.

Her eyes widened. "No, no, I mean- it's just the saying-"

"Right," Leo said quickly, spitting a final time and wiping his mouth off.

"Yeah-"

"I didn't mean to-"

"No, me either just-"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Leo awkwardly stood up, "I should head back," he said with his eyes still watering.

Karai stood up too, brushing the dirt and dried bird crap from the back of her pants. "I should as well."

"Do this again sometime?" he asked, pulling at his wrappings. "Just not the tricking me into torturing myself part," he added.

She smirked. "Maybe, but I did enjoy that last bit."

He gave her a fake smile. "I'll get you back for that," he said too kindly.

"I'm shaking," she cooed.

3

"Where are you taking me?" she asked. Leo had been acting suspicious, avoiding her questions and putting on an air of elusiveness he just couldn't pull off. It was cute to watch him try. By which she meant not cute at all because he wasn't cute and she didn't think that about him.

He gave her an innocent look. "Just… you'll see."

"Why?" she asked. Leo wasn't one to try to get her to go anywhere, but now they were outside of an office building on the manicured lawn. He stopped walking.

"Is this it?" she looked around unimpressed.

Leo looked at his phone then unsheathed his swords.

Karai laughed. "I thought beating you once tonight was enough for you?" she said taking out her short sword.

"We agreed that was a draw," he said easily. They charge at each other and she flipped over him, he ducked away from her heel before it came down on the back of his head.

They both turned around smiling, he was learning all of her nasty tricks and it was annoying.

Then the sprinklers turned on. All of them, and Leo started laughing.

"You asshole!" she barked, trying to hide her own smile. "That's why you dragged me out here?"

"Yes," he said all too pleased with himself.

Karai was soaked to the bone immediately, she dropped her shoulders in defeat. Leo had a shit eating grin plastered on his face. "Is this really your revenge for the wasabi trick?" she asked, putting one hand up to keep the mist of water from hitting her face as the sprinkler turned. "How is this revenge?"

"You are wet, in early November!" Leo gloated waiting for his evil to be appreciated.

She groaned. "Wow, so evil, but you're wet too," she pointed out.

Leo crossed his arms and shrugged. "I'm not wearing as much as you are, water doesn't bother me."

"It doesn't?" she said raising her eyebrow.

"No."

She stomped on the sprinkler head nearest to her then stepped on it so a stream of water would hit him right in the face.

"Hey!" he sputtered backing away.

"I thought you said water doesn't bother you?" she asked.

Leo scowled and sliced the head off a sprinkler near him. Then he stepped on it a caused the stream of water to hit her.

"Are you being serious!?" she yelled holding up both hands to keep the water from her eyes. "You're going to mess up my hair!"

"You're messing up my revenge!" Leo shouted back.

Neither of them were willing to leave their sprinklers, they continued to aim for each other while bobbing and weaving away from the other's fire.

"Stop it!" she yelled. Her hair was so ruined. Leo didn't understand her hair glue was water soluble.

"You stop it!" he said spitting water out of his mouth.

"You started this!"

"I started nothing, you made me eat the wasabi!"

Their argument and water fight lasted until the sprinkler automatically shut off. Two panting and very wet ninjas walked to their separate homes in silence.

Karai had never had more fun. It was so much fun she almost wasn't angry about being soaking wet in the middle of the night in November. She touched her hair.

No, scratch that, she would get her revenge.

4

This was the last thing she had expected of Leo, but somehow it was also something he would do. Karai kept her eyes closed, hugged her pillow tightly to her chest and fought the urge to move any of her muscles. Maybe Leo thought he was being a ninja, sneaking into her fucking bedroom after betraying her at the docks earlier that day.

She was furious at him, and his brothers. Yet here he was, fearlessly sneaking into her room or some shit.

"Karai?" Leo whispered at a barely audible volume. The room is blanketed in darkness, but the blinds were open letting the street light from outside cast some light into the room. Karai cracked her eyes open slightly, she could see his form against the darkness.

Get the fuck out of here.

"Karai?" Leo whispered again but this time he took a step closer to the bed.

"Get the fuck out of here, Leo." Karai said, forgoing any attempt at whispering. What did she care if she woke someone up and they so happen to find him. It would serve him right.

Leo stayed silent for a moment before clearing his throat and continuing "Karai-" the dork was playing with his fingers nervously, "-I'm so sorry about this evening… I…" it sounded like his throat was closing. Karai didn't move, she grabbed the covers and pulled them over her more causing Leo to flinch. Fighting back that ingrained response to draw his weapon.

Relax freak, I couldn't fight you if I wanted to.

Karai hated him. She hated him because he was there asking for her forgiveness after the shit she had just gone through.

Do have any idea how mad my father was?

Fuck, she wanted to scream at him.

"I'm so sorry Ka-"

"Oh, you're sorry you failed to kill my dad with a missile launcher?" Karai snapped.

"I-"

"Well you can fuck off you freak!" Karai sat up in her bed and winced, still sore and raw. "How dare you come in here and try to apologize for this!"

"Shhh, Karai look I wasn't thinking-"

"Don't you fucking shush me!" she glared for a moment. "Oh and you were thinking, you were thinking I gave you an opportunity to kill Shredder without realizing it!" Karai snarled bringing her voice down to a harsh whisper. "I should have stolen that missile launcher myself! I knew I couldn't trust you!"

Leo stayed silent. In that silence she became aware of how hard she was breathing.

"Get. The. Fuck. Out. Of. My. Room." Karai swung her legs off the side of her bed and reached over for the lamp on her nightstand. Light flooded the room in a warm glow.

"Karai, had I known he was your dad-" Leo began softly, blinking his eyes against the light but Karai cut him off.

"Oh you wouldn't have tried to kill him? Right. And I should believe that why?" she stared at him and he looked down, he was still playing with his fingers, threading them under his wrappings. "Whatever Leo, get out of here, go crawl back down whatever shit hole you came from."

And don't ever come back up.

She got up and pulled her nightgown down so she was decent.

"Karai-"

"What part of get the f-"

"-you're bleeding Karai!" Leo said urgently pointing to her bed.

Karai felt her face heat up. "Shit, look Leo go home," she bundled the slack of her night gown in between her legs and walked past Leo into the bathroom. He watched her the whole way with concern painted on his face.

"Are you okay?" Leo asked as she closed the door. She didn't respond to him, she hoped if she ignored him he'd fuck off.

She gingerly removed her now soiled nightgown and gently removed her panties.

Fuck there was a lot of blood this time.

The Shredder, her father, had been very angry with her though. She examined her thighs, the bruises were now only a few hours old, they were purple and tender to the touch. The blood was dry and brown, she put a pad in a fresh pair of underwear and grabbed a long t-shirt to replace her nightgown. Looking in the mirror her neck had a nasty hickey on one side and a bruise from the Shredder's hand on the other. She wanted to punch the mirror. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before leaving the bathroom.

Mistakes have consequences . Mistakes have consequences.

She ran smack into a shell but regained her balance before falling over.

"Were you fucking listening at the door you freak?" she snapped and Leo backed off immediately.

"You didn't respond, I was-"

"Whatever," she pushed past him and started walking towards her bed. "Look Leo, I'm tired, can you get the fuck out now?"

Leo squinted at her instead. "Why are you bleeding?" he asked edging closer despite her request for him to fuck off.

"None of your business" Karai huffed, she sat on the side of her bed and looked out the window.

Leave, for fuck' sake, leave.

She felt her throat tighten a little. What she'd give to crawl under the covers and never come back out.

Leo stood there, squinting. His eyes boring into her skulls with an uncalled for amount of intensity.

Karai rolled her eyes. "Fucking stubborn aren't you? I'm in my period. Okay? Happy now?"

"Then why do you have all those bruises?"

"Geez, what the fuck is this? Twenty questions?" Karai asked almost laughing. "Why the hell do you care? Get out, leave me alone already!" She pulled the covers back and settled back into her bed, she felt the moist mess of her own blood and moaned.

Forgot about that, oh well.

"What happened to your neck?" Leo asked, unrelenting with his invasive inquiries about her body. A man through and through apparently.

"Why do you keep asking me questions?"

"You already hate my guts so why not?"

"Alright" Karai sighed in defeat. "You got me there."

"If you hate me so much why haven't you attacked me?"

Karai shrugged, "I'm tired."

And sore, and I want to take a shower for three hours.

"I'm going to sleep now freak, no more questions," she reached over and flicked off the light.

There, now he'll have to leave.

He didn't leave because if he did something in her life would be going her way and the universe simply could not allow that.

She didn't hear any movement though. "You want to talk about it?" his voice asked softly.

Karai's heart lurched. "Talk about what? How annoying you are?" Karai replied trying to keep her voice steady. Ignoring the tightness.

Leo walked towards Karai's vanity pulling out the stool and sitting on it. "Who was it?" he asked, maintaining his placating tone.

She hated him. "Mother nature did this to me, Leo. Did your rat daddy not teach you anything about girls?"

She couldn't see his face in the dark but he was looking at her, she could feel it. "Well actually my brother Donnie gave us the talk...when he was nine, our dad wasn't too happy about that."

Karai snickered with a dead tone, triple dipped in sarcastic uncaring with a side of fuck off. "Nine? Geez."

"Yeah, and he used it against us too, if we ever started annoying him he'd start rattling off textbook definitions for various parts of child birth until we'd run away from him covering our ears."

Karai could hear the smile on his face. It came through in his voice.

"I think I'd have the same reaction if he did that during a fight" she admitted, adjusting herself under the covers.

"Yeah, he's an odd one," Leo sighed. "But he makes sure we aren't idiots. For example, I know you're lying to cover up what your dad did to you."

She clenched her jaw instead of responding.

"Come on Karai, my brothers and I fight crime every night, do you know how many rapist we scare the shit out of?"

"I'm just in my period," she tried to say confidently but her throat was too tight and it came out strained.

She heard him roll his eyes, or she was projecting and didn't actually have super sensitive hearing or whatever bullshit. "Yeah okay, so what part of menstruation involves bruises all over your inner thighs?"

"He was just mad is all," she blurted out in his defense before realizing she just admitted to Leo's claims. "This isn't any of your fucking business, Leo." Tears streamed down her face, she hoped turtles weren't able to see in the dark.

Please just leave.

"Are you trying to make excuses?" he asked, shocked almost. "You're really going to make excuses for why your father is raping you?"

Karai inhaled shakily. "I know," her words came out in a broken sob. "That's messed up right?"

"Karai…"

"He was, he was mad about what happened at the dock-" Karai stopped mid sentence. She didn't want to do this right now. "Leo, go home, please."

There was silence, as much as there was supposed to be when someone found out their enemy was being raped by their own dad. "Do you really want me to go?" he asked gently.

Much to Karai's frustration Leo had this soft gentle side of him. She hated it. Especially when she desperately needed to hate him. "No," she admitted, almost regretting it the second she said it because what the hell was she thinking.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"No."

"What do you want to talk about?"

Karai stayed silent. She took a few calming breaths before responding. "Anything but this," she whispered.

"Okay," Leo whispered back as he got up from the stool and walked over to her bed, he sat down on the floor next to her bed and propped his shell up against it so his back was to her. Karai was lying on her side facing the back of him. She scootched to the edge of the bed and dropped her left arm down in front of him, over his left shoulder. Wordlessly he grabbed her hand with his right and held it. "I'm going to tell you about the time Raph got his head stuck in a chair," he whispered squeezing her hand.

"Okay"

"We were all six, and we had never had kitchen chairs before, but our dad had recently spotted some at the dump and…"

Leo talked to her for hours that night.

Part of her forgave him just a little for trying to kill her dad.

5

"Whatcha sulking about Blue?" Karai sprung out at Leo causing him to jump.

His face was red, embarrassed from being taken off guard. "I'm not sulking," he put sulking in air quotes, so he definitely was sulking. "And Blue?"

"That's the nickname I am giving you." she said airily.

Leo crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow. "So Blue is what you came up with? Real original, Karai."

"Hey, better than freak, right?"

"Maybe," he said, obviously not convinced.

"So, why the sulking?" she asked.

Leo turned away from her with annoyance.

She rolled her eyes, "come on spill the turtle beans what has the mighty leader out on a roof in broad daylight all alone?" She kept her teasing tone while circling around him.

"Maybe it's none of your business," Leo teased back. "Also turtle beans, what are-"

"Don't change the subject, what did Raph do this time?"

Leo blew air out of his mouth, "Pfff, what makes you think it was Raph?" he laughed nervously. "Why would you think that?"

"I didn't, it was a guess, but your response confirms it." Karai smiled adding, "you're a pretty shitty liar Blue."

"Yeah well you're a... uh," he put his finger to his mouth in thought. "You're uh...pretty..."

Karai snorted before she could stop herself. "Uh...thanks?"

Leo's face turned red and he waved his hand back and forth. "No! I mean, I was trying to insult you!"

"So I'm not pretty then?" Karai asked with a fake hurt in her voice, she was enjoying this far too much.

"No! I mean yes, yes you are pretty. But I wasn't calling you- stop laughing at me!"

Karai continued wheezing, his flustered nature was hysterical it wasn't her fault. "Oh hey your face is so red, you could be Raph!" she informed him while holding her sides.

Leo frowned. "You think you're funny don't you?"

"No," Karai wiped a tear from her eye. "I know I'm funny."

"Whatever, look I have a lot of sulking," he put sulking in air quotes again, "to do, so unless you are here to fight me, then I should get going."

"What? No, no, I need to know now, what did Raph do this time?"

Leo scratched the back of his neck and looked up to the left. "He knocked me out during training," he said quietly. "Well, after, actually."

"You okay?" she asked. "Not that I care," she amended, focusing on her nails suddenly.

Leo rolled his eyes and waved her off. "Yeah," he said. "Just he let his anger get the better of him then he stormed off," Leo sighed. "And I'm worried."

"Wait, hold the phone Blue," Karai held her hands up. "He knocks you out, has a bitch fit, runs away, and you're worried about him?"

"He's my brother... so yeah," Leo said, rubbing a hand over his wrappings.

"You want me to beat him up for you?" Karai asked jokingly. She was one hundred percent serious though.

Leo stroked an imaginary beard and looked down in exaggerated thought. "Tempting offer, but I'll have to decline."

"Aww, you're no fun," Karai complained.

"No, and I mean it, he'd beat me up for real if he knew how often we talk," Leo added more seriously.

Karai rolled her eyes so hard they threatened to stay stuck. "Fine, scouts honor I won't beat up Raph," she said placing a lying hand over her heart.

"Pretty sure saying scouts honor, when you are not a scout, means absolutely nothing," Leo deadpanned.

Karai frowned, looking at him with confused innocent eyes. "That's why I said it."

Leo groaned.

6

"And then when I exposed it to sunlight the fungus shriveled up and died." Leo had been talking about this fungus mutation him and his brothers had been fighting earlier that week.

Karai swallowed her noodles. "That's fucking badass," she said, gesturing with her chopsticks.

"Thank you," Leo responded politely.

Karai didn't know when this became normal, sitting on top of a water tower with take out after they fought each other for appearances. "You think the clan members tailing me got any sweet pictures of our fight?"

"I hope. Although I hope they didn't take a picture during that sneeze," Leo grimaced. "I bet my face looked funny."

"It did." Karai added, loading her chopsticks with more noodles. "I was there, I can confirm it was funny."

"If they did, you'll delete it for me right?" Leo asked playfully.

Karai smiled wickedly at him. "Of course!"

"Thank-"

"After I make a copy for myself," she finished.

"Hey!"

"Oh come on, you should of seen that coming, Blue," Karai retorted. "So how many more mutagen containers are out there?"

Leo shrugged. "A lot, Donnie knows the exact number," Leo stirred his noodles. "Hey Karai, can I talked to you about something serious?"

"Uh oh, I know that tone," she said dropping her own tone into boredom.

"What tone?" Leo scowled.

"The 'I'm about to start some shit about your dad' tone" Karai deadpanned. "Look Leo, I'm not running away in the sewers with you."

Leo's cheeks flushed. "Okay, looking back I could have suggested that more tactfully, but my offer still stands!"

"You run that by your brothers?" Karai squinted her eyes at him questioningly. She already knew the answer but it was fun to watch him squirm.

"Not exactly…"

"Yeah, I don't think they'd like having the Shredder's fucking daughter as their new house guest."

Leo scrunched his face up. "You could grow on them."

"I'm pretty sure Raph hates me."

"Which is funny because you and Raph have a lot in common."

"You're messing with me," Karai said in disbelief. "That ass-face and I are nothing alike."

"You have colorful names for each other, for one." Leo remarked while loading up his chopstick with more noodles.

"That's not something people tend to bond over."

"You both swear a lot."

"Also not something people tend to bond over."

Leo sulked for a minute, eating his noodles. "Oh, you both enjoy pointing out when I am wrong."

"Okay, that's better, but not great."

"See, I knew I'd find something." Leo smiled at her and it was a goofy smile that was cropping up more often nowadays. The kind of contagious smile that made her smile back without realizing it.

"Okay that still leaves two other brothers," Karai reminded him.

"Well Donnie would like you because you wouldn't hit on April," Leo said, sounding oh so sure about himself.

She nodded begrudgingly. "Why do I feel like there is a story behind that?"

"It's long, but we have this...other human friend, and he hits on April a lot-"

"Is it Casey Jones?" Karai interrupted.

"Pfff, no, what, Casey Jones? Who's that?" Leo coughed into his fist.

Karai rolled her eyes. "You couldn't lie to save your life, Blue."

"Oh you and Raph also could bond over that!"

"What? How bad of a liar you are?"

"Yeah!"

Karai smiled at him, and he smiles back. "Okay smart-ass, that leaves Mikey."

"Mikey, he'd just enjoy the idea of having a new person to prank." Leo chewed his noodles slowly before continuing. "Do you like being hugged? You might be able to hug yourself into his good graces."

They both laugh. Karai didn't want the moment to end, she wanted to talk about the future that could never be until day break. She didn't want to go home.

"But hey," Leo continued on the conversation, "I'm serious, if you really wanted to, we'd take you in."

Karai sighed. "I know, and for what it's worth, thank you." She paused, "You know if I ever do meet them, I'm going to know a lot more about them than they do about me."

"Yeah, I guess, but if I told them stuff about you they'd know how often we talk," Leo said while putting his chopsticks into his takeout box. He threw it in a dumpster five stories below. Smiling when it landed right in the middle. "Ha, beat that, didn't even hit the edge."

"Alright, alright," Karai said rising to the challenge. She put her chopsticks in her box and closed the lid. "You go under hand like a pussy, or over hand like a man?"

"What kind of question in that?" Leo laughed. "I went under hand."

Karai smirked and threw hers over hand. "Well time to separate the men from the-" she missed completely her takeout box of half finished noodles smacking an innocent man carrying a load of groceries, "-fuck, let's get out of here." The man began screaming obscenities into the night air.

They both jump off the water tower, Leo was laughing at Karai's reddening face. "What was that about separating the men from the boys?" he called over to her.

She flipped him off, he stuck his tongue out at her.

A/N on August 15th, 2020: Chapters 2-42 are on AO3 under the same title and username.