Author's Note

Hello Universe! And welcome to Chapter 10! Yee! This chapter is from one of my favorite episodes of the series. Now I decided to put this one first instead of "I, Monster," because that way it gives time between the first initial meeting of two characters and their second encounter. So that's why! (And that's how I remembered it airing XD)

Thank you to everyone who favorited and followed this story! It means a lot! Let's get into it!

Here's the music list!

(1) Loneliness - Naruto Shippuden OST 1

(2) Nervous - Naruto OST 1

(3) Kakashi's theme - Naruto OST 1

(4) Bad Situation - Naruto OST 1

(5) Shitsui (Despair) - Naruto Shippuden OST 1

(6) Strangeness - Naruto Shippuden OST 1

(7) Gekiha (Crushing) - Naruto Shippuden OST 2

I do not own Naruto and I do not own TMNT.

Chapter 10

Friends in High Places

Life almost never went Leonardo's way. At times, he was so sure of it too. The only problem was that he didn't know what exactly caused it half the time. Was it the "turtle luck" that he and his brothers supposedly have? Or was it some sort of "curse of the nine-tails" that Kurama had unknowingly inflicted on him when the fox was sealed inside of him? Either way, it had to be something.

If anything ever went the jinchuriki's way, then there would be something bad to screw it up or just love to mess with his time. Somehow, Leo had gotten alone time for the first time in a while, and thoroughly enjoyed it because everything was going his way. Then suddenly there was Shredder on the Wolf Building and it all fell apart. A broken rib and three weeks later, he somehow made it through.

Yet there were rare occurrences that everything would go the way the jinchuriki wanted it to for a very long time, and then a very big event would break up the tension. Him running away five years ago for a day is an example. The only issue was that there weren't any occurrences for a very long time. By that point Leo was so sure an incident like that wouldn't happen again.

However…

"And the award for worst leader goes to-"

This was one of those instances…

He was fuming with anger, an emotion that Leo hardly ever showed. It wasn't uncommon for Raphael to throw jabs at his older brother in regards to his leadership skills, but today just seemed like too much.

"How am I the worst leader?" Leo had to question, and began to regret it, as it only added more fuel to the fire that was Raph's temper.

"If we did this my way, Snakeweed would've been toast by now!" the red masked turtle protested.

Yes, that was the problem. Earlier, they had been chasing the plant mutant, who had kidnapped a pizza delivery boy. Soon, they trapped him into an alleyway, and Leonardo wanted to surprise Snakeweed from above. Yet he and his hot headed brother killed some time by arguing, and thus Snakeweed got away.

"Ugh. That would be some nasty toast," Mikey commented off to the side. Soon afterward, Donnie pulled the orange masked turtle back, as the two older brothers began to fight.

"This way would've worked if you hadn't wasted time second-guessing my orders," Leo retaliated.

"Baka, you really think he's going to listen to you?" Kurama sneered. "Oi, oi. Your chakra's flaring up."

"Don't give bad orders, and I won't second-guess 'em!" Raph shouted.

The anger from his brother was clearly increasing by the second. So much in fact, that it was starting to slightly overwhelm the blue masked turtle. He just wanted to end. The pressure of leadership was already strong enough, but this was at the breaking point. And finally, Leo broke through.

(1) "You know what Raph? If you think you can do better, why don't you lead?"

As he said that, his eyes showed a slight redness in his pupils, and his face began to darken. Donatello was probably the only one who could notice it, but the air pressure seemed to have risen significantly.

'Did he just-?!' both Donnie and Mikey thought.

"Oooo now this is interesting."

"First good idea you've had all day!" Raph commented sarcastically.

The two turtles growled at each other, somewhat in a sense fighting over dominance. It wasn't until Mikey spoke up that the tension seemed to disperse, though only a little.

"We'll compromise. I'll lead," Mikey stated.

But at the sight of his older brothers giving him an angry glare, as well as it appeared that there was a raging fire over their heads, Mikey backed away and went next to Donnie. Leo clenched his fist.

"Fine, Raph, the team's yours. I'm out of here."

With that, Leonardo raced away from his brothers, and Raph swore he could see a few tears drop from his brother's eyes. Only when they were out of sight did Leo increase his speed tenfold, rivaling those of the fastest shinobi in existence. Yet as he ran away from his brothers, little did he know that someone was eyeing his conversation.

In only a few minutes, the blue masked turtle was on the rooftops of some of the higher buildings in the city. He decided to rest for a moment, catching his breath, letting everything in his system, including his chakra, calm down.

And proceeded to slam his fist into the ground, hard.

"Damn it!" he cursed.

A few tears came out of his eyes and fell to the ground. Leo hunched over, now on his hands and knees. He clenched his fists in frustration.

"Why can't I do anything right?!" the fifteen year old cried out. "How come everything I do just ends in failure?! Why...why…"

The tears came falling faster, as more and more hit the ground. His emotions were in a state of disarray and turmoil. He just couldn't deal with it anymore. Leo didn't want to handle the responsibilities of leadership. He didn't want the burden. Today was the last straw.

"Why does it feel like they all hate me?!"

His brothers never listened to him. What broke Leonardo the most was that Donnie and Mikey sat back and practically did nothing while he and Raph were fighting. Well, his youngest brother did interrupt, but that was beside the point. Nothing was done about the situation.

Did they really just let him give up leadership? Did his two youngest brothers really want Raph as the leader instead? Was he that bad of a leader?

"Don't give bad orders, and I won't second guess 'em!" Raph had said.

"And the award for worst leader goes to-" he had commented to Leo.

He had no doubt that Donnie had his thoughts about him. The purple masked turtle probably second guessed as well because of his genius mind. And what about Mikey? Did he have his own thoughts on his leadership skills? Mikey had said earlier that he would lead.

No, it couldn't possibly be true. His younger brothers...they couldn't hate him could they? The thought of it only made Leo's feelings sink into despair even more.

"I...I don't want...to go back…" he whispered. "Not now at least…"

Going back meant more arguments with his brother. Not to mention, if Splinter found out that he had given the leadership over to Raphael, there was no doubt in his mind that his father would scold him for doing such a thing.

"Leadership is not about being appreciated," Splinter would probably say. "It is about responsibility. It doesn't matter that the burden is heavy. It matters that you carry it!"

Yet how could he carry it if all his brothers did was complain, ignore him, and then get injured, thus putting the blame on him?

"Stop your pathetic crying," Kurama suggested. "Get your mind off of it for now. You wanted to walk around the city for a while now, yes?"

This seemed to stir something within the jinchuriki. He lifted his head, wiping away some of the tears. That was when he remembered that Kurama was there, watching him.

'I've wanted to go downtown and explore around there for a while…'

Rarely had he actually ever gone within the busiest parts of the city. This was mostly because if there ever was an incident regarding him henging out of his human form and back into his turtle form, disaster would ensue. Not to mention even if Leo managed to get home unscathed, his family would question as to why and how he was in the center of the city.

But what else could he do to make himself feel better? Leo couldn't go back home now. So why not an evening off to himself?

"Your idiotic family isn't here to criticize you. Take the night off."

'I guess it wouldn't hurt to walk around…It might cheer me up...'

Leo stood up, once again wiping away the remaining tears from his eyes. There was a new expression on his face, one that was more uplifting and happy. A smirk grew on his face, his eyes determined. One night off wouldn't be so bad right? (1!)

(2) Suddenly, he sensed many presences near him. The sound of footsteps coming up to the turtle were heard. Quickly, Leo turned around, katanas pulled out. Just as he thought, there were a few Foot soldiers ready to take him on.

"Foot Clan? You guys might've actually made my night," he scoffed.

They lunged towards him, weapons out and ready. Leo ducked as a sword was swung at him, and proceeded to elbow the guy off the building. The next one came in to strike at the turtle, but he blocked it, managing to push the soldier to the ground. A third one swung down, and Leo dodged the swing of the sword. He then kicked the guy to the ground. And they were now all unconscious.

"Ahh. I feel so much better…"

However, he immediately turned his guard back on, sensing yet another presence nearby. Looking up towards the top of the billboard he saw something, or rather someone.

'Who is she?'

The girl jumped down, doing a front flip in the air before landing in front of the blue masked turtle. She wore metallic armor on her upper half of her body, as well as along her legs and part of her arms. The rest was black clothing. Leo couldn't see the entirety of her face, as she wore a metal mask, but he could see the red makeup around her eyes. Her hair was short and black, with the lower half being yellow and side bangs along the side of her head, like Leo's were in his human form.

There was no doubt in his mind that she was from the Foot Clan. After all, who else would decide to show up after a bunch of ninjas came to attack a giant, mutant turtle? The only question was why he was only seeing her now? Sure, the Foot were full of surprises, but he had encountered Shredder before even getting a hint that she also existed.

Not only that, but why wasn't this girl wearing standard Foot attire? It appeared that she was no ordinary Foot soldier. If that were the case, then why wasn't she dispatched against him and his brothers sooner? Bradford and Xever were. So then why…?

"Not bad," she commented.

'Where did she come from? She looks just around my age! Well, sort of anyway…'

"Uhh, thanks?" the turtle answered.

"You might actually be a challenge," the girl noted, calmly making her way towards him. She slowly reached for her weapon.

"There's blinding powder on that blade," Kurama stated. Leo could smell it was well, thanks to his heightened senses.

Swiftly, the girl pulled out her blade, throwing blinding powder towards him. Thinking fast, Leo closed his eyes, letting the powder hit him. He used his chakra as his "eyes" instead, now getting a very clear image in his mind as to where she was. And she was currently running straight at him. He took one of his katana, lacing it with chakra, and swung, but not too hard. The blue masked turtle heard the kunoichi fall to the ground, and as such, pinned her down.

Opening his eyes, she saw her below him. But the kunoichi had a smirk on her face, not even afraid that he had defeated her.

"I guess you are," she stated matter of factly.

The kunoichi was about to throw a punch at the turtle, but he got off of her, avoiding the blow. Leo stood back, away from her in case she had any other tricks.

"My name's Karai," she answered, taking off her face mask, and putting her blade away. "See you around."

With that, Karai proceeded to jump up and over the billboard and disappeared. Leo took a second to collect himself before promptly saying…

"What the hell was that?" (2!)

"Karai is your new girlfriend."

'WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!'

"Forget April. I like this new girl."

'Ugggggh…'

His mind was in a whirlwind of emotions. From going to anger, to sadness, to excitement, and then to confusion. Leo just wanted to go and relax for the rest of the night. Speaking of which…

'What day is it today anyway?'

Instantly he remembered, knowing full well what the day was. Without hesitation, the turtle ran for downtown, ready to enjoy his night off finally. Unbeknownst to him, Karai began to follow him once again, wondering as to why he was going in that direction.

(3) An hour later…

'Rock.'

"Paper."

'Scissors.'

"SHOOT!'

'Dang it!'

"Hahaha! Looks like someone is buying a copy of Pokemon Shield."

'And I wanted Sword too…'

Ever since Mikey had found a broken Wii U in sewers (which for some reason was down there in the first place and not to mention Donnie was somehow able to miraculously fix it too, much to Mikey's pleasure) he secretly made a Nintendo account just in case if Leo could ever sneak out before Christmas and buy Mikey a game. Sadly he never did, but at least the thing somehow came with a few games.

Most recently however, there was an event that if you entered, there was a possibility that you could win something. Just for the heck of it, Leo entered it, despite knowing that his luck was terrible and that he probably wouldn't win anything to begin with.

Well, he won.

And here Leonardo was, in downtown New York City in the Nintendo of America store, henged into his human form, about to receive his prize; a Switch lite, Zacian and Zamazenta edition. Only problem was that he had no games for it. And so the jinchuriki played a game of rock paper scissors with Kurama to see what version to get. And unfortunately he lost.

Leo picked up the copy of the game and paid for it, along with a Zeraora plushie. He left the store with a new gaming console in his possession. The fifteen year old boy sighed in happiness. If he was right about one thing, it was the fact that tonight had been worth it.

The towering skyscrapers glowed brightly with flashing food and soda ads, as well as other products. The sound of thousands of people walking past him didn't bother the jinchuriki. He kept a smile on his face, taking in his surroundings. While it was noisy, to him it was very relaxing. Irony, downtown New York City considered to be relaxing.

'Hmm, where should I go next? I'm a little hungry I guess. Should I go to Murakami-san's noodle shop? No, if I go there, he'll ask about my family. Maybe pizza? Nah, too greasy. Hamburgers? Yeah, that sounds pretty good. But where to get some?'

He felt a familiar presence nearby him, and he glanced behind him. And there she was, in normal attire, consisting of blue jeans and a black leather jacket. Karai.

'She couldn't be still following or at least looking for me could she?' Leo wondered. 'No, her head's down. And is that...despair I'm feeling?'

Leo glanced ahead, keeping his eyes off of her. Yet he could still feel her behind him. Then, her presence shifted, and she went to her right. Apparently Karai was crossing the street for some reason. However, she lifted her head as she was in the middle of the street, and her eyes locked with Leo's own.

Some sort of realization, or at least something, came over the girl, as Karai was frozen in the street. And she didn't notice the oncoming bus speeding towards her. It took her a second to see the impending doom, and couldn't avoid it in time. She closed her eyes in fear.

"LOOK OUT!"

With astonishing speed, Leo shoved her out of the way, just as the bus went speeding by. Everything just happened so quickly that Karai could barely register what had occurred. Currently, she was on the ground, feeling the pavement beneath her. She groaned in pain, finally opening her eyes, which were in shock.

On top of her was a young boy, probably somewhere in his middle teens. He had spiky blonde hair, with side bangs just like hers. The boy wore blue sweatpants and a white hoodie with green trimmings along the arms. But the most noticeable feature was his eyes, which are cobalt blue.

Now noticing the position he was in, Leo quickly got off of Karai. "Are you alright?" he asked.

She nodded, having no words. And even if she did have any, the boy didn't give her a chance to speak again.

"Why the heck were you in the middle of the street?!" he had to ask, getting up. "You were about to be hit by a bus!"

Karai still was silent, getting up from the ground as well. She brushed herself off, then proceeded to look at the boy. Then she saw something behind him. Was that a bag from the Nintendo store? And that box inside...was that…?

"I didn't think turtles could afford video games," she replied in a snarky way.

Leo's eyes widened at her statement. She knew it was him. How she had known was something that really astonished the jinchuriki. He sighed, trying to calm himself down, but Leo decided to play along, picking up his bag.

"You sure you didn't hit your head or something?" he asked her.

By the look on Karai's face, Leo had successfully caught her off guard. Perhaps he somehow convinced her that he wasn't Leonardo. But of course, why else would she think that this boy was him to begin with? Unless Shredder had already told her about his shape-shifting abilities.

"I'm fine," she whispered, then proceeded to walk away from him.

At first, Leonardo wanted to go after her, but he stopped for a moment. Karai was part of the Foot Clan, his sworn enemy. If he did try to go after her, there was a slight chance that he could prove her suspicions about him correct this time. Then again, why else would Karai stop in the street if she didn't know it was him?

Despite his thoughts to not go after her, there was still a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. A sense of familiarity in Karai. Yet he couldn't place where it was coming from or why he had felt this way to begin with. Leonardo hesitated for a moment, pondering what to do.

"Well, are you going to stop your internal bickering or not?"

And so, he decided to follow her. He masked his presence slightly, careful to not attract her attention to him. Yet after a couple blocks of just not going anywhere, finally getting out of downtown and into the area Leo was oh so familiar with, and deciding to go into a back alleyway, Leo decided to approach her.

"You sure you're alright?" he asked, coming from behind her.

Karai turned around, slightly stunned that he had followed her. She hadn't expected him to follow. Not only that, but she was surprised that out of millions of people, he was able to successfully track her movements. Yet Karai gave him the cold shoulder.

"I'm fine," she protested.

"Why did you stop in the middle of the street?" Leo questioned. "And why were you staring at me?"

That definitely caught her attention. Karai didn't expect him to say how she had looked at him with some sort of stunned look of perception.

"I just…" she trailed off. "I'm...looking for someone."

It was an honest answer, he realized. There was no sense of deception in her voice or in her emotions. Had she really come all this way, or rather tracked him all this way, just to find him? Wouldn't she have thought it was odd for him to head into this area of the city, especially with his normal appearance?

"Do I look like him or something?" Leo said.

"No," Karai answered quickly.

"Then what does he look like? I could help you find him if you want."

But she brushed him off quickly. "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Clearly she was getting a little angrier by the minute. Karai just wanted to be left alone.

"That depends on what he looks like now," Leo told her. "I'm sure he's not that bad."

But the look on her face said otherwise. The jinchuriki sighed. On the other hand, Kurama was quite liking where this conversation was going. He seemed to be rather amused by it.

"You are toying with her," the fox stated, perking up.

'I'm trying to keep my facade,' was all Leonardo replied with. 'I don't exactly want her to find out that I can become human, you know!'

The look of determination on his face somehow finally broke through to Karai, and she spoke. "His name is Leonardo," Karai began. "And he's a turtle."

To her surprise, the boy in front of her didn't laugh or call her crazy. Instead, he spoke of something else. "Ah, so he's like a Kappa then."

"You know what those are?"

He nodded. "I'm partially Japanese, you know."

Something seemed to flicker in her eyes, something that Leonardo almost missed. Was that the look that someone gave when they were up to something devious?

"Oh really?" Karai asked in a snide way.

"On my father's side," he commented. "I don't have a mother, so I probably got my looks from her."

He could just hear Kurama face palm loudly in the back of his mind, as well as the murmurs of curses and the occasional murmur of, "Baka."

Of course, he wasn't exactly related to Splinter to begin with. Even though the mutagen had made the turtles humanoid, there was no direct tie in their DNA to him. Donnie had even said so himself, after years of taking samples for their "yearly physicals" as he called them. So it was more of an adoptive type of relationship than one of blood, as it had been from the beginning.

Yet this seemed to strike an accord with Karai, and suddenly she felt empathy for him. Leo could sense this as well. Did that mean she didn't have a mother either? Of course, his mother was a non-mutant turtle, and to some degree he could say Tang Shen to an extent, but Leo never really had a mother. Or at least known one anyway.

"What's your name anyway?" Karai asked.

"Minato." (3!)

And he received a punch, sending him into the brick wall of a building in the alleyway.

Thankfully, even though he was clearly human at the time, Leo had great durability, as well as the fact that Kurama healed him. He clenched his head, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he stood up. Leo realized that Karai was chuckling in amusement.

"What was that for!?" Leo yelled.

"You couldn't pick a better name than that?" she answered snidely, chuckling to herself.

And it was then that he realized that his efforts were for absolutely nothing. Leo groaned in realization, knowing exactly what she meant.

"How long did it take you?"

"Right before the bus was about to hit me."

"Of course…" he signed, falling to his knees in defeat. "And today was going so well…"

"Do you always talk to yourself?" she asked.

"Well…" Leo trailed off, not really wanting to reveal Kurama's identity. "Yes and no. I just...sometimes people don't ever listen to me."

"I'll listen," Karai began. "When you beg for your life." As the kunoichi said this, she pulled out her blade.

Red chakra formed on Leo's back, and his katanas soon appeared strapped onto his body, just like they were in his normal turtle form. He pulled out the nearest one with his right hand. Truth be told, Leo could fight like he usually could in his human form as well.

"Let's see how well you do against someone who can see," Leo told her.

"Let's see how well you do against someone who's better than you," Karai retaliated.

"Oh really? How well will you do against the one who pinned you earlier with his eyes closed?"

"I didn't think you would be able to get back at me like that," she mentioned. "You might actually be interesting…"

"Really now? To tell you the truth, I'm full of surprises."

"Don't get cocky," Kurama sneered. "Otherwise I'm forcing you into a room with your new girlfriend."

'SHE'S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!'

The two ninjas kneeled down on one knee in front of each other, sword in their right hands. Mirroring each other, both got up and lifted their weapons. Each human glared at the other, smirks forming on their faces. Their fingers gripped their swords tighter. Feet moving in synchronization, getting into position.

(4) And Karai struck forward first.

She lunged for his body, but he was able to block her attack with his katana. Despite being in his current human form, Leo had a lot of strength and was able to push her back. He swung forward, but Karai dodged it easily by jumping into the air. Once the kunoichi landed on the ground, she struck at the blonde-haired boy. Yet Leo was quick in his reflexes, and lifted his sword up.

A block, and another block. Ducking low to avoid a swing, Leo felt the wind of it blow through his spiky hair. Again, he blocked her oncoming attack. Finally, Karai lifted her sword up and swung down, which he was narrowly able to block.

"Juji-Ken," he commented. "Interesting…"

"Take up the offensive approach."

Leo did just that, holding his katana behind him as he ran towards her, blade laced with chakra. His first strike was blocked, yet this didn't stop him at all, as the human swung downward. Karai barely avoided the attack, as well as the next one which nearly took her head off. The jinchuriki didn't let up, and he swung his katana forward. At the last moment, Karai jumped in the air, avoiding his attack all together. She did a back flip in midair and landed away from him.

"Kocho-Giri," she noted. "Predictable."

Their blades clashed multiple times, each blocking the other's advance. Soon, both ninja were in a standstill, and they each did a semicircle around the one in front of them, blades locked. It was then that Karai noticed that her blade was beginning to burn from something within Leonardo's katana.

"That's an interesting technique," Karai commented. "You don't suppose you could teach me how to do it, would you?" Her last remark was in a snide manner.

"Let's just say it's something only I can do," he replied, and proceeded to push her back.

He kept up his attacks, his swings precise and accurate. Yet she just managed to avoid and block them all. Of course, Leo was holding slightly. She was with Shredder, and if she got wind of his true abilities and strength, there was no doubt that Karai would inform the head of the Foot Clan.

"You're good," she stated. "No wonder we haven't wiped you out yet."

Leo scoffed lightly. "It's not like Shredder hasn't been trying," he answered.

"I know," Karai exclaimed, somewhat agreeing with him. "That's all he ever talks about. Revenge, revenge, vendetta, vendetta."

"Really? You don't seem to like it that much," Leo took note of that. He was slightly surprised that she would say something like that.

"No, I'm fine with it. I'm just saying, he needs a hobby." Karai looked over to the side, and saw the bag of things Leo had bought earlier. "Maybe he could learn a few pointers from you. Of course he'd probably have to steal your stuff first since he's not the type of person to go out shopping."

This seemed to tick Leo off slightly, but he still joked about it. "For your information, I work, and I paid for that stuff. So he'll just have to try to take it from me."

"Hee-ya!" Karai yelled, heading straight for Leo.

Thankfully he blocked her attack just in time. Their swords clashed yet again, constantly at odds with each other. She glanced at him for a moment, seemingly finding an opening. Karai struck forward again, and Leo managed to let her sword slide off of his. However, the kunoichi managed to kick the blonde haired teen away.

'Dang, she's pretty good,' he thought. 'I'm going to have to step up my pressure on her if I'm going to win.'

Her sword met his, and she kicked his leg, causing him to tumble. But he flipped around and picked himself up, just as he was kicked in the face. A few drops of blood escaped his mouth, which he promptly wiped away.

"Not bad, but I've seen better," she commended him.

"Heh, with one blade maybe," Leo answered her, and pulled out his other katana. "Not with two. And they can burn your blade as well."

Karai sent a smirk his way, knowing that as the fight went on, it was getting even more interesting. And so, the two raced towards each other, as their blades clashed once more. She then leapt away from him, which led to the boy chasing after her. Blows were blocked. Strikes were stopped. It had seemed like they were evenly matched.

Leonardo took the offensive, swinging his katana towards Karai, but every time, she seemed to have blocked or at least dodged his attacks. The kunoichi jumped up, getting onto the fire escape above them. He jumped as well, also landing on the fire escape. The two were opposite each other, only being separated by a set of metal stairs.

"I have a question for you," Leo began.

"Oh? And what makes you think I'll answer that question?" she asked.

"Even though I pinned you on the rooftop, you were in a position to kill me. So why didn't you?"

It didn't take her long to answer the question, which slightly surprised him. "Because you're the first thing in this city that doesn't bore me."

"Well, it's nice to know that I'm appreciated by someone at least," he commented dryly.

Karai swiftly brought out some shurikens, and threw them his way. Leo blocked them with his katana, but that gave Karai just enough time to swing around the set of stairs and kick him in the face. Thankfully, he lessened the damage of the blow with his left arm.

"Besides, I don't think you're as good as you pretend to be," she stated.

In a second, their blades collided. Yet she was able to hold his katana back, and able to cross her blade over his throat. The chakra dissipated from his blade.

"Don't tell me the goody three-toes thing doesn't wear thin after a while," Karai said.

"Better than the alternative," Leo answered. He winced slightly, feeling a little bit of blood trickle down from his neck. (4)

"Which is what?" she asked, tightening her hold. "To have fun? To cut loose? To live your own life? I highly doubt your family just let you go out on your own tonight, all alone. And you went downtown as well. Do they even know about this?"

Leo's emotions began to rise. His eyes widened as she spoke those words. It was something that he always wanted. The ability to live how he chose. Being able to train as a shinobi with his strength and talents without the worry of being discovered. Actually living every day of his life minus the self doubt and worry he had always imposed on himself. And most of all, not having to deal with his family.

Suddenly, a familiar feeling rushed over his mind, and he let himself go, dragging Karai along with him. It probably wasn't the best choice he could make. After all, why would he ever tell the enemy about why he was like this? Yet for some reason, Leo felt some sort of feeling that he could trust her.

And so, he let Karai into his mindscape.

(5) He felt the well known chill of the cave that was in his mind wash over him, taking slight comfort from it. The sound of water dripping into the pool at the center, the moon's light shining down on him through the top of the cave. All of it made him feel slightly better about the situation.

Karai soon appeared behind him, but he didn't bother to turn around. The kunoichi however, was extremely stunned as to where they were. And more importantly, how exactly they got there. What Karai was seeing was vastly different from where they fought. This was a cave, a giant one in fact, with stone cold walls and a small body of water was at its center. And were those...iron bars over there?

"Where-" she began but was soon cut off.

"His mind, baka."

That voice...whoever it was terrified her to the very depths of her soul. She felt drawn to the iron bars, curious to see what lay beyond it. Leo could sense Karai's curiosity, but chose not to stop her from where she was going.

Yet this voice seemed to have puzzled the kunoichi. Was what it said really true? If that was the case, then she was in Leonardo's mind. But that was impossible. No one could do that! It was unheard of!

Karai walked closer and closer to the cage, feeling a slight pressure increase in the atmosphere around her body. Or at least what she thought was her body. She found herself in front of the bars, with a noticeably larger one in the middle. Looking up, she noticed a piece of paper with japanese characters on it. "Eight Trigrams Seal" it said.

Then, something came up to the bars, and it was big. Karai could only stare as it came forward, the red eyes of the beast glowing fiercely. The thing in front of her was a large, possibly at least one hundred fifty feet tall, orange furred fox, with nine tails. A kitsune.

"Why did you bring her here?" he asked, directing the question towards Leonardo. To say Karai wasn't astonished was an understatement.

"I don't know," the jinchuriki answered. "I just...felt the need to, I guess."

The fox appeared to back off at this statement. Karai's eyes went between the giant kitsune and the boy. Silence seemed to plague the area for a few seconds. And then...

"No, they don't," Leo answered her previous question in a solemn tone. He sat down, his back to her. The jinchuriki stared into the pool of crystal clear water, his human reflection staring back at him.

"Hardly anyone knows about what I can do," he continued. "Only a few know about this. And I don't wish to tell my family about this at all. If I do...I'll probably be disowned and thrown out."

She stood still for a moment, shocked at what he said. Just a moment ago, Leonardo was able to retaliate back at her, able to deflect any sort of sneer or snide comment that was sent his way. Yet now, he seemed to be different. Sad, almost depressed even. Was this the actual Leonardo? Earlier, Karai had mentioned how he really wasn't always the goody two-shoes turtle. But this...this was almost unbelievable.

"So we're in your mind?" the kunoichi asked.

"Yes," Leo told her.

"And that thing is?" she gestured to the giant fox behind the bars.

"Oi! Oi! That "thing" has a name," said fox sneered at her.

"His name is Kurama," he began. "One of the nine Tailed Beasts. He's from another dimension. And...he's sealed inside of me."

This left her slightly confused. "Sealed inside of you?" Karai asked.

The blonde haired teen nodded, and lifted up his hoodie slightly. This revealed his lower stomach area, which looked far from normal. There was a counter-clockwise swirl-like mark in the center, with strange writing circling around it. It began to glow a light blue when Leo touched it, but slowly went away.

"This is the Eight Trigrams Seal," Leo explained, letting go of his white hoodie. "Fifteen years ago, an accident occurred that caused a distortion in space and time. Kurama was supposed to be sealed inside of someone else. But a gateway opened at the last moment in front of that person, and he was sent here, into our dimension. And because of that, he was sealed inside of me instead."

"Before I was mutated, my body was so weak that I was sickly and could barely do anything. But when my brothers and myself were mutated, as well as when Kurama entered my body, I nearly died…"

He heard Karai's breath hitch slightly, but Leo continued. "My heart almost gave out from all the pressure one night. But then…"

Leo couldn't really remember that night, after all he was only nine months old at the time. But there were some vague images in his mind. A giant orange line touching the stomach area of his shell. A red aura flowing into him. Feeling so much better than he was before. It had been the kitsune all along.

"Kurama saved my life. It wasn't until I was ten that I found out about who healed me that time. And I've been indebted to him ever since. A few months ago, I began my training to become a full fledged shinobi outside the city. One, like in Kurama's dimension, can harness the power of chakra. I want to get stronger, and hopefully release Kurama so he is able to go home."

"However, what do you think would happen if my family found out about any of this? Shredder already calls me a demon. How would they react after keeping this a secret for five years? Kitsunes are considered demons and evil, but it's not true for Kurama. What would they do? Disown me? Kick me out? Call me...a demon?"

Karai heard Leo choke at the last part. She had listened to everything he told her, and she was still overcoming the initial shock of it. The night her father came home from trying to dispatch the turtles was horrifying. He was afraid, an emotion she had never seen come from Shredder. There was that look in her father's eyes, as if he had seen something terrifying.

That knowledge stayed with her when she spied on them a few hours earlier. The four were in a group, with Leonardo and Raphael fighting. And Karai had seen how it ended. Even worse, she saw him break down on the rooftops. It was then that what her father had said about him wasn't exactly true. Leonardo wasn't a demon. Rather, he was something that didn't bore her. He was unique.

"I hate to ask you, but why did you bring me here?" Karai questioned. "Why would you bring your enemy into your mind?"

Leo sat up and looked to the kunoichi, fierce blue eyes setting off an imposing gaze. "Because I feel that I can trust you."

"And what is that supposed to mean? I just tried to decapitate you."

"Your emotions," Leo stated simply. "When Kurama was sealed within me, I gained the ability to sense emotions. While I can't read minds, I know what others are feeling. For instance, right now you're confused, shocked, not exactly sure what to do now that I've said all of this."

Her widened eyes showed that what he said was true. He continued. "Previously, you didn't have any malicious intent in you when we fought, both times I may add. While you are in an enemy clan, you didn't attempt to kill me either. And, you have a sense of familiarity around you for some reason. That is why I somewhat trust you. Of course, if you ever encounter my family, they might say otherwise…"

"Baka, there you go again on what others think. At least have some self-confidence."

Both turned to the giant nine-tailed fox behind the bars. There was a sinister smirk on his face, one which Leo was all too familiar with. Karai was a little intimidated by Kurama, but chose to ask about something.

"And you're okay with this?" she commented dryly.

The fox's expression changed slightly, one with a more annoyed approach. He scoffed. "Heh, he would've killed you if he wasn't."

"I'd like to see him try."

"Humans like you never learn. Haven't you noticed that Leonardo has been holding back against you, brat? The chakra-lined sword was only the beginning."

The look the fox showed towards Karai said it all. He was serious. A sudden ominous pressure increased in the area around her, and she started to look in the direction of Leonardo. What she saw was terrifying. The pressure was indeed coming from him. The blonde-haired teen had red eyes at the moment, with whisker-like marks on his face. His teeth appeared to be sharper, like fangs.

To say Karai wasn't afraid was an understatement. Oh, she was horrified.

Leo stopped the pressure from his killing intent, his facial features returning to normal. He walked towards her, a serious look plaguing him at the moment.

"Why did you hold back?" Karai had to ask.

"Because...because I don't want to be seen as a monster," was all he said. "Shredder already considers me a demon. Do I want that reputation to continue further than that?"

He walked through the iron bars, and sat down next to Kurama. "It's something that I don't like thinking about. Being considered a demon. That's why I don't like revealing my true abilities to anyone…"

Leo closed his eyes and sighed. "I'll take you back now." (5!)

And as soon as they had appeared in his mind, both kunoichi and jinchuriki had returned to the real world. Karai blinked her eyes a couple times, and realized she was on the fire escape that she was fighting Leo on earlier. She turned her head, only to see the blonde teen next to her.

"You just keep getting more interesting the more I fight you," she commented. "Fine, I promise that I won't tell anyone about what happened, okay? I give you my honor. After all, I don't want to lose the only one who doesn't bore me in this city."

Karai took out her sword again, and pointed it at a certain building. "You see that high-rise?"

He looked over at the tall building. The Byerly Building. "Yeah."

"Meet me there at midnight," she answered, putting away her sword.

"Why?"

"I want to show you something, fox-boy."

She jumped onto the next level of the fire escape and onto the building next to it. And she was gone. Leaving a very embarrassed Leonardo behind.

'FOX-BOY?!'

An hour later…

(6) Keeping his promise, the jinchuriki, now in his normal turtle form, was now waiting at the top of the Byerly Building. He was a little bit early to say the least, but that gave him some time to think the whole situation over. By this point, Leo had already sent his bag of stuff to Talbot Peak, where his other living needs were.

At the moment, he was currently pacing back and forth on the roof. Earlier, he had pondered about whether or not to go to April's to get some advice from her, but that wouldn't help much. Besides, if his brothers asked about where he was and what he was doing, no doubt they would come after him.

Something was bothering Leonardo, and Kurama knew it. "Your pacing is irritating me," the fox complained. "Come on, let it out. What's on your mind?"

'I'm just thinking…' Leo answered. 'About Karai…'

"Oooohh, your new girlfriend is taking up your thoughts?"

"NO! I just...I don't know. Something's not right. She feels familiar somehow. I had the same feeling with April when we first saw her, but it's different this time. It's like Karai's aura is similar to...Splinter.'

'But that can't be right. She's in the Foot Clan. Karai couldn't be related to Splinter at all. And yet…'

He felt her presence on the rooftop. Turning around, Leo saw the kunoichi facing towards him, now in her normal fighting attire instead of the clothes she wore earlier. However, the jinchuriki could sense something different about her at the moment. Karai's emotions seemed to be different than before.

'She's...conflicted about something. But what?'

"I'm surprised you were here before me," Karai spoke first. "Though I probably shouldn't be."

His facial features remained serious and unchanging as he answered her. "So what exactly did you want to show me?"

In an instant, she threw some binoculars his way. Leo caught them fast, knowing that they were coming at him. He silently questioned as to why she would give him these, but he saw her pointing at a building.

"That," she said.

Leo looked through binoculars in the direction she was referring to. It appeared to be some sort of private apartment, with traditional japanese art on the walls. And there in the center, on a stand, was an ancient sword.

"That's... the sword of Miyamoto Musashi…" he gasped, putting down the binoculars and kneeling on the rooftop.

"The greatest swordsman in the history of Japan," Karai commented. "It's ancient. It's priceless. And it's yours...if you help me."

His eyes widened and he looked at her as if she was kidding. "You don't mean-"

"Yeah, we're gonna steal it," she answered.

"A low growl escaped his throat, and he turned away from her. "You know I can't do that right?" Leo sneered. "I'm a shinobi, not a thief."

"Come on, that sword is just sitting there, collecting dust," Karai explained. "You know you deserve that katana. Certainly more than some lazy rich guy."

She moved closer to him until the kunoichi was kneeling down next to him. "Stop being responsible, Leo. Stop waiting for people to give you the life you want. Go out and take it."

He really didn't like where this was going. And it was becoming unusual that she would push him like this. Especially when Karai knew what he was somewhat capable of. She didn't know the full extent, but there was enough knowledge there to fear the abilities he possessed.

And then it dawned upon him that he had felt her conflicted feelings before. This was a facade, wasn't it? Leo could feel it.

"Karai, you know who I am," he stated. "As a shinobi, I have a code of honor that I must follow. And that includes respecting the dead. It would be disrespectful to not only Miyamoto Musashi, but to myself for using a sword of that caliber."

"Also, you have to take into consideration how I fight. While I usually only fight with my katana, if it were a more serious fight, my weapons would be put away and I would use jutsu instead. Really it depends on the fight, but if my opponent is that powerful, I have to rely on my stronger abilities than the ones that I usually show. I rely on speed in a tight situation. Also, what am I going to do with three swords anyway? Become the next Roronoa Zoro?"

"Shut up with your lackluster comparisons," Kurama interrupted, clearly annoyed.

He looked over at her, and just as he suspected, Karai was slightly shocked. Leo sighed, having a feeling earlier that this was going to be a ruse. And he had an idea as to why.

"Shredder ordered you to kill me, didn't he?"

Yet again, Leo felt the astonishment from her emotions. "And if he did?" she inquired.

"I know you wouldn't set up something like this unless he told you to kill me," Leo began. "After all, I just showed you what I'm capable of. Not to mention that you know what would happen if I stole that blade. What if my family discovered it? What would happen then? You like to play around with your opponent, but to have them actually go through with something isn't your style."

Karai was at a loss for words. She hesitantly reached for her sword. "You figured it out quickly," she noted.

"Yet you don't want to kill me either," he said.

"No, I will," Karai smirked, fully taking out her blade. "I'm just glad that I got to enjoy my evening."

"If you call almost getting hit by a bus and me having to save you, sure," he replied, pulling out his katana as well. "But yeah, I needed the day off. And Karai?"

"What?"

"Thanks for at least trying to give me a chance at my own life."

Just as they did before, both ninja kneeled and got into stances. Then they charged at each other, blades clashing. Leo smirked as well, and decided to tell the kunoichi a little important tidbit of information.

"Oh by the way," he said. "If you actually succeed in killing me, just to let you know, don't be surprised if a giant, nine-tailed fox comes out of my body and unleashes his wrath upon the city, because that will happen if I ever die."

"Wait, what-"

But at that moment, Leonardo sensed a familiar presence behind him running towards them. His eyes widened, questioning how this someone was able to find him.

"Leo!" It was Raphael. "Wha-what are you doing?! Who's she?!"

'How the heck did he find me?!'

"Did you leave your phone on?"

Sure enough, the jinchuriki had forgotten to turn his T-Phone off. Donnie had installed tracking devices designed for an occasion just like this one. That was why he kept it off half the time. However, after the entire ordeal with Raph earlier, he didn't expect anyone in his family to come after him.

'Ugggh, of all the times I forget to turn it off…'

How exactly was he going to explain this? At first glance, his younger brother probably already knew who she was just by the clothes. Heck, how was he going to explain where he was for the past two hours?!

"Umm...Raph, Karai. Karai, Raph. Also, I'm kind of in the middle of something right now, so could you come back later?"

Unfortunately, this didn't seem to go over well with his red masked brother, as the turtle only seemed to get angrier with him. "Well don't mind me getting in your way with your playtime with the Foot. We're out there risking our necks while you've been gone for two hours doing who knows what!"

Leo could sense the anger radiating from his brother, but was that also a hint of worry in there as well? 'Something must have happened, otherwise he wouldn't have come after me like this.'

"Heh. Looks like he actually learned of your stress."

'Wouldn't that be a miracle.'

"I can explain," Leo began.

"This should be entertaining," Karai said off to the side.

It was then that the blue masked turtle noticed some weird yellow powder flying off of the back of his brother's shell. "Raph, what exactly is that on your shell?"

"What the heck?" Raph questioned, now rubbing off the powder with his hand. "Must've come from that fight with Snakeweed. Nothing to worry about."

"Nothing to worry about?!" the jinchuriki exclaimed. "You fought Snakeweed again?! What happened?!"

This was spiraling out of control, and Karai could tell. No wonder Leonardo had said earlier how he had wanted his own life. The whole argument from two hours ago also supported her point. How hard was his family on him exactly? (6!)

However, just as the two turtles were arguing, the sound was hissing and growling was heard, and the giant plant mutant rose up to meet the three. Apparently whatever was on Raph's shell was meant to be some sort of tracking system for Snakeweed. And the plant mutant was mad, very mad.

"I found you, turtles," he growled.

"Oh, thank goodness," Leo sighed, the argument between him and his brother ending.

(7) Nevertheless, there was a threat in front of them, so he stood forward, turning away from Karai. The kunoichi did the same, as both faced the plant mutant. Snakeweed attacked first, as one of his vines swept along the rooftop. Thankfully, the three jumped up before it could trip them.

Raph and Leo ran off to the side, then stopped. "All is forgiven, you're the leader again. Welcome back," the red masked turtle said in a hurry, as the two ducked when Snakeweed whipped his claw across.

"Congratulations on obtaining your position again?"

'He gave it up quickly. That means that something occurred that he finally sees the amount of stress it gives me. But what? I'll have to ask him later.'

They jumped away before Snakeweed could stomp on them. Leo swung down, cutting another vine, and another one after that. Pink fluid flowed out of them, but the turtle avoided it before any could get on him. Yet, another vine came at him, and he jumped out of the way in time.

Leo then set his eyes on Karai, who just stood off to the side and was smirking at him. His eyes glared at her, angry for not doing anything, But before Leo could call her out, one of Snakeweed's vines wrapped around his wrist which had spines. They dug into his wrist, causing him pain. He raised his hand, katana held in it, and tried to cut it. However he was thrown to the side, and Leo's blade went flying off the building.

The turtle got thrown to the ground, sliding across the rooftop on his shell. He picked himself up, and got on his hands and knees. Yet Snakeweed was fast, and the same vine with spines on it wrapped around his shell, trying to pull him in. He grabbed the edge of the doorway that led into the building and clung to it for dear life.

Now looking over to his side, Leo saw Raph hanging upside down by another vine. Below the red masked turtle was one of the plant mutant's claws. And he was holding it open so that it wouldn't close on him.

He closed his eyes, knowing that Karai wasn't going to help one bit. 'Kurama, I'm going to burn through the vine with your chakra. Sorry about this.'

Red chakra began to form around his shell. But before he could progress any further, he heard the slight whistle of something flying through the wind. Thinking fast, Leo ducked his head, as something stuck itself into the wall above him. The turtle opened his eyes, only to see a sword above him.

'Wait a sec, isn't that...Karai's sword?'

Just as he thought, the kunochi's throwing posture was a huge giveaway as to where the sword came from. But why would she do such a thing? A few minutes ago, she just stood there, doing nothing but watch. Now Karai had decided to help him?

"Sayonara, fox-boy," she smirked, and jumped off the roof, disappearing from sight.

'AGAIN WITH THE FOX-BOY?!'

Yet this gave him a little hint as to why she helped him. It was most likely that when Karai saw his chakra flowing out from his body, she decided to throw her sword. Was she actually keeping her promise? Leo hoped so.

Nevertheless, it was a method of escape. So he let go of the door edge, and grabbed the sword. Snakeweed was pulling with just enough force to unwedge the weapon. Leo was launched towards the plant mutant, so he twisted and spun with the blade in his hand, cutting the vine as if it were nothing. He did a flip in the air, and kicked both feet forward, managing to stun the plant mutant and let go of Raph.

"Raph, follow me. I've got an idea," he yelled, running to the edge of the building.

"You're the boss," his brother answered, following him.

'Wow, the world must've ended or something like that. I'm not dead, am I?'

"No, otherwise I would've been out of here."

'Nevermind…'

Both turtles jumped onto the fire escape on the side of the building, climbing down and onto the ground. Across the street was a storage area with the logo of "Chilly Chillkins" on it. And in front of the doorway, was a bunch of light blue liquid nitrogen tanks.

Before anything else could occur, Snakeweed jumped down in front of them, and pushed both turtles back with his claws. The back of their shells hit the wall, and they fell to the ground.

"Now what?" Raph asked.

"We charge him," Leo stated, standing up.

"Really?" his brother asked, somewhat astonished that it was a plan that was that simple.

"Trust me, let's move."

Leo dodged an incoming claw from Snakeweed and charged forward. Another attack came towards him, and he dodged to the right. Snakeweed kept up the pressure, as he threw his vines towards Leo. But the turtle jumped, twisting in midair as he avoided them.

He jumped up, twisting and landing a kick from his left leg on Snakeweed's heart. The plant mutant staggered back, stunned for a moment. Raph began to distract him as Leo ran to grab one of the liquid nitrogen tanks. The red masked turtle avoided a downward attack from Snakeweed's claws, as well as multiple vine slashes. But he managed to get his sai in one vine, which lifted him up into the air. As Raph came down, he used his right leg to kick the plant mutant, causing him to fall near Leonardo.

A tank of liquid nitrogen hit Snakeweed in the face, yet this barely fazed him. Leo charged forward, with another tank in his hands, but was stopped by an oncoming vine and thrown into the other light blue tanks. Before Snakeweed could do anymore, Raph came up behind the plant mutant and latched onto him. Yet his efforts were meaningless, as a vine wrapped around the red masked turtle and pinned him to the ground.

'Come on! I need an opening!' Leo thought.

Once again, Leo ran forward with a tank in his hands. And once again easily stopped by another vine. Snakeweed grabbed a majority of the tanks, but still left one for the turtle to grab onto. He held it behind his back as a vine latched onto his neck and lifted him up. Leo glared at the plant mutant, but finally saw the opening he was looking for. And he shoved the tank into Snakeweed's mouth, kicking it with his right leg just so it would stay in.

This caused him to be dropped onto the ground. "Raph," he yelled, as said brother was released from the vine holding him down. "Now!"

Raph glared and got up. He twisted around, and let go of one of his sais. The weapon flew until it hit the liquid nitrogen tank. In result, it exploded, and caused Snakeweed's body to freeze entirely. Raph took the chance that was given to him, and jumped up, using the now frozen plant mutant as a step stool to reach higher. Gravity took him downwards, his sai was pointed down as well.

"Booyakasha!" the red masked turtle yelled.

Like thin ice, Snakeweed's body shattered into a million pieces when it made contact with Raph's weapon. And that was the end of their fight, as whatever was left of the plant mutant was in frozen bits all over the ground. Leonardo ran up to his brother, and both turtles shared the same look of relief.

"Nice work," Raph commented.

"Thanks," Leo answered. 'I guess...I really didn't do much.'

"And uh…" his brother trailed off, turning away. "Sorry…" he whispered.

Not wanting to get Raph angry from how quiet his apology was, Leo just accepted it. "Apology accepted. Let's go home."

On the way home, Raph had filled in Leo on what had occurred while he was gone for two hours. And unfortunately it wasn't good. His three brothers had ended up going into Snakeweed's lair without him, and Mikey had gotten hurt.

As they got home, the blue masked turtle saw the extent of what happened to his youngest brother. The most Mikey probably had was a concussion, but was for some reason knocked out. Most likely faking it. So in order to get him to "wake up," Leo took a slice of pizza out of the refrigerator and warmed it up. Finally, he placed it in front of Mikey's face.

The orange masked turtle sniffed it, eyes opening and mouth turning into a smirk. "Mmmm, pepperoni…" he said.

"Works every time," Leo stated with a smirk on his face, knowing his brother was alright.

But before Mikey could grab the pizza, Raph caught onto him. "Mikey!" he exclaimed, shaking him back and forth. "Don't scare me like that, buddy! I thought we lost you!" Raph hugged his brother.

Yet this seemed to not even faze the orange mask turtle. "Dudes, I had the weirdest dream. I dreamt the stuff in the sewer was made out of-"

"Eh forget about it Mikey. It was just a dream," Donnie cut him off before he could go further, as well as putting up a finger in front of his mouth, signalling to not say anything.

"Oh." He took the slice of pizza from Leo and began to eat it.

It was then that Raph pulled the jinchuriki to the side, no doubt wanting an explanation. He was surprised that he was leaving Donnie and Mikey out of it, but he supposed this was fine.

"So, what's with the girl who tried to kill you?" Raph asked. "And why the heck did she call you, 'Fox-boy?'"

Leo sighed. 'Of course he heard that.'

"Long story," was all he said. "And she didn't try to kill me. The only reason she threw that blade at me was to help us."

"She threw a knife at your head," Raph persistented, not liking the fact that his brother was slightly liking the enemy for that reason.

"She threw a knife near my head, thus allowing us to escape." Leo held up the blade.

"She's in the Foot Clan."

And thus, Leo's anger was rising to the point where he just wanted to be on his own. So he did, as he walked away from Raph, ignoring the slight anger radiating from his brother since the conversation wasn't finished. With that, Leo closed the door to his room and flopped onto the bed.

'Ohhh what a day...what a day…'

"You'll probably see her again," Kurama noted.

'Won't be surprised. But still, I have so many questions as to why she decided to throw her blade at me, her only blade too.'

"Rest for now, then we'll get back to that topic about your new girlfriend another time."

'Hey! She's not my girlfriend! I don't even like her!'

"Fine, I'll stop. Not like you enjoyed my humor anyway. At least it's better than yours."

'SHUT UP!'

Thus, the turtle closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

Author's Note

That's the end of Chapter 10!

This one was a little hard to write, as about half of it is non-canon. But this episode is one of my favorites. A few things I cut out from it, such as Leo visiting April and him going back to the lair. Why would he when he has Kurama for advice? (probably not the best advice giver but still XD)

Also, in regards to shipping in the story. Karai and Leo won't be shipped. Not that I don't like the ship, it just feels out of place for what I have planned. But they'll have their moments. I really like the fox-boy thing I added.

Lastly, tell me what you guys think! I love reviews! They keep me going and let me know you enjoy the story!

Until next time, See Ya Universe!

Palkia