Author's Note

Hello Universe! Palkia's back with Chapter 12! Yee!

Thank you to all those who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story! It means a lot to me!

Here's the music list!

(1) Utsusemi (Man of the World) - Naruto Shippuden OST 1

(2) Daylight of Konoha - Naruto OST 2

(3) Saika (Mountain Haze) - Naruto Shippuden OST 2

(4) Evil - Naruto OST 2

(5) Nankou Furaku (Impregnable) - Naruto Shippuden OST 2

(6) Kodoku (Loneliness) - Naruto Shippuden OST 1

Now let's get to it!

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

Chapter 12

Our Agendas Align

He wasn't surprised to see the shocked expressions of his family when he woke up one morning, five minutes after he left Shishigami. His scar, which Donnie deemed to be unfixable and would remain like it did on his shell for the rest of his life, was completely gone.

How and why that happened was something Leo left for them to desire and wonder about. After all, something that the deer god did in mere seconds could never be explained by science. Heck, the nature and specificity of chakra was impossible to explain how exactly it healed him and forever fixed the damage Splinter caused him.

Speaking of said master, Splinter was very surprised to see the lack of said injury on his shell, but since then, he never brought it up. This left the blue masked turtle very curious of course, as his brothers practically bombarded him with questions as to why something as major as that failed to make an appearance in that one spot. Either way, it was definitely something to talk about.

At least it no longer hindered him as much, and not to mention how it wouldn't remind his master of the unintentional damage he caused on his eldest son. Leo could tell that it was taking Splinter a long time to get over that incident. And it seemed like there were moments that his Sensei would want to ask him something, but he would just end up dismissing him.

Other than that, life continued on. Things seemed to have gotten back to normal, with the issue of the scar fading into the back of their minds. For a few days, there seemed to be a lack of activity since the incident with the Rat King. Leo could relax for a little bit while he trained. However, a few days later, as they were patrolling, they spotted the Kraang.

"When fight is concluded, the ones called, 'The Turtles,' are defeated by Kraang," one of the silver androids said, blasting away at them.

Immediately the blue masked turtle ran forward and sliced through the robotic arm holding the blaster. Then, he proceeded to chop the other one off, sending the robot to the ground. The turtle smirked in satisfaction as he ran after the next one.

"They're fighting robots?"

Only Leo heard the owner of the question, thanks to his great sensing ability. And he knew exactly who it was. But for the moment, the jinchuriki continued to fight on, not bothered by the sudden appearance one bit.

"Woah...this town's more interesting than I thought."

'As if I wasn't interesting enough,' Leo wondered. 'I can feel a few others with her...they must be out on patrol just like we are. Probably searching for us no doubt. Still, this is rather inconvenient.'

His gaze found its way towards Karai, who just happened to be watching from the edge of a building. Leo threw a glare at her, eyes slightly turning red. He gave a short nod, indicating that he wanted to talk with her for a moment. Thankfully Karai caught this, and turned to the Foot Soldiers with her.

"Fall back. I'll handle the situation myself," she told them.

As soon as Karai ordered those words, the Foot Soldiers left, their presences disappearing from Leo's sensing range soon afterwards. Karai too, also went further in on the building's rooftop, in order to not be discovered. The turtle smirked at this, and returned to the fight at hand. He jumped in the air and brought down another Kraang, cutting it in half.

Glancing over, Raph was also finishing his fight with another robot, sai penetrating his opponent's circuits and falling to the ground. Mikey had the Kraang he was facing tied up in his nunchucks' chain. Using the blade embedded in his weapon, the orange masked turtle took it down by throwing the blade at the robot's head, shutting it down. Donnie quickly took down the two Kraang surrounding him, with a quick jab of his bo staff to the first one, and unveiling the blade in his staff and stabbing the second one.

Once they were done, the three brothers went over to Leo. "You guys head back," Leo told them. "I want to check up on something."

Donnie and Mikey glanced at each other and shrugged, having no idea what he was referring to. Raph on the other hand, had a slight idea as to what Leo was speaking about, but chose not to say anything. However, he would most definitely confront his older brother about it later. And so they left, his brothers going off in a different direction and himself going in the direction where Karai was at the moment. Climbing up a fire escape, he saw her standing by the edge.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring popcorn to watch the entertainment," Leo stated, surprising her as she turned to face him.

"Well, it isn't exactly like we're given refreshments every hour," Karai joked back. "Though I have to admit, the performance was top notch. So fox-boy, what've you been up to?"

She heard him grumble about not liking being called that, causing a slight chuckle to escape her mouth. "I mean really, fighting robots? What were those things?"

"Nothing, it's best we don't discuss them now," he answered quickly.

For Leo's sake and his brothers' sake, it was best for the Foot to not know about the Kraang. For them to get involved would further complicate things. Not to mention what would happen if Shredder got access to Kraang tech, or even worse, mutagen? While he knew Karai would keep some things a secret, this topic would not be one of them.

"And I don't have much time, and I'm sure you don't either, considering you sent your lackeys away."

He withdrew a blade from where he kept his katanas. It had been hidden in there. And the blade just so happened to be the very one Karai threw at him to help him escape from Snakeweed. Karai looked at him in realization, and she then saw him toss it to her. She grabbed it by the handle.

"This is yours. I figured it would be best to return it to you, considering my family would ask me as to why I have a blade with the Foot's symbol on it in my room, other than Raph."

He turned and began to leave. "Oh and Karai? Thanks."

With that Leo, jumped off the roof and began to return home, leaving a slightly surprised Karai behind, who was trying to figure out as to why he even bothered returning the blade in the first place. The jinchuriki could hear Kurama chuckle in the back of his mind.

"Somehow, you manage to surprise everyone."

'I suppose so.'

Ten minutes later…

(1) "You knew the Foot Clan was watching us!" Raph accused him.

Unfortunately his return home wasn't quite as smooth as he thought it would be. Donnie and Mikey were busy doing their own thing, not even noticing their brother come back. But it seemed as if Raph was waiting for him. A glare from the red masked turtle welcomed him home as he went over the turnstiles.

That was when Leo knew what it was about. He just knew that his brother saw or at least had an idea from his earlier statement that Karai was there. And judging from the look he was being given, Raph was definitely not happy.

And a few seconds after they entered the dojo to talk, a literal sparring session began. Only, it was becoming even more violent by the minute. Their weapons unsheathed, anger in one's eyes and semi-tamed calmness was in the other's eyes. And that calmness was beginning to fade away as the spar and accusations continued on.

"There weren't any soldiers up there," Leo lied. "Only Karai."

"Karai is the Foot!" Raph talked back, not taking any excuse his brother gave him.

In the back of the blue masked turtle's mind, Kurama scoffed in disagreement. He knew full well that there was more to the kunoichi than meets the eye. Especially when it came to the first time they met. The girl could keep secrets, that was guaranteed. What else she was hiding at the moment was unknown.

Yet the fox understood better than anyone about emotions. It was one of his signature abilities after all. Sensing negative emotions could be used very well in a fight, as well as interrogation in some sort of way. Figuring out the intentions behind something, the ability to tell if someone was lying. That was huge in a shinobi's line of work, for it could mean the difference between being able to trust someone and getting killed.

Of course, this situation was vastly different. Kurama has seen Karai, both from Leonardo's eyes and up close. If his jinchuriki trusted her, then there was no way to convince him otherwise. And because of the circumstances, he highly doubted the human girl would attempt to betray him. After all, the fox's abilities, as well as Leonardo's own, were known to Karai.

Kurama continued to watch the fight between the two brothers. After Raph said that, he lifted his sais up, pushing away Leo's sword, which was previously locked with the red masked turtle's signature weapon. Leo grabbed the non-blade end of his katana, as his brother pushed his sais against it.

"You knew she was watching, and all you did was show off!"

This greatly angered Leo, and in response, he kicked Raph over him, ducking underneath as his opponent went over him. Soon afterward, he got up from the ground.

"I didn't show off!" Leo exclaimed. "All I did was finish off the Kraang closest to where I was, and let you handle yours. She wasn't going to attack us anyway. It was only her."

"Of course not!" Raph retaliated, circling around him. "She's studying our moves for next time. You don't flirt with the enemy, Leo. You take them down!"

"He does not understand the attribute of psychological warfare, it seems…"

'Apparently, but still, he's wrong!'

"Hmm."

This type of combat was extremely useful for the fox. After all, kitsunes were known to trick and outwit their opponent, sometimes using words and techniques against them. Kurama was different. He prided himself in his power, however mocking and discouraging his enemy was also used to his advantage. Unfortunately this did not work as well on his previous jinchurikis.

"No! You're wrong about her! She has a good side!"

And she clearly did, as the whole fact that his secret has remained a secret for this long proves it. Karai hasn't mentioned anything at all that he knew about. And if she did, Leo would've known by now. Either way, Karai was trustworthy enough.

In a matter of seconds, his sword was in contact with Raph's sais, putting the two turtles in a deadlock position.

"Oh yeah?" The red masked turtle asked sarcastically. "Well, if that's what you're doing, why don't you go tell the others?"

"Because they wouldn't understand!" Leo suddenly blurred out.

'And you don't understand my situation either!' he thought, though these words remain unsaid.

He knew for a fact that none of them would truly understand. This went for the situation with Karai, as well as his status as a jinchuriki. They wouldn't be able to fathom just how exactly there was a giant fox inside of him, and maybe accuse him of being possessed. If at all possible, Leo would've liked the situation with Karai to remain hidden. But since Raph knew, things went downhill from there.

After Leo had spoken, Raph turned to the left, while his sais were still locked with his brother's blade. This caused Leo to go flying towards the wall. And as soon as he reached it, Raph pinned him to the wall with his left arm.

"You really think Mikey and Donnie wouldn't understand?" Raph asked, only to avert his eyes for a moment as if he was thinking something over. "You really think Donnie wouldn't understand?"

"Look, I know what I'm doing!"

His anger was beginning to grow each second. It was as if Raph didn't trust him to do anything. He could handle a situation like this! Heck, he's been handling a rather unusual situation for the past five years! And so in response, he punched Raph away, sending him to the ground. The situation was beginning to turn into a brawl rather than a spar.

Raph got up, and ran towards Leo. Said turtle punched with his right arm, but was then tackled to the ground. Once he was down, Raph punched him quickly multiple times, before Leo swatted him away and was able to get his brother off of him. In retaliation, Leo jumped on top of his brother, wrapping his arms around the red masked turtle's neck. Raph grabbed Leo's arms and attempted to break his hold on him.

"You have to trust me!" Leo told him.

"Why should I?!" Raph exclaimed back.

For a moment, the words seemed to have tugged at the jinchuriki's heart. It really seemed like his brother didn't trust him. Did he not trust him to do anything? In some ways, it broke him a little that his oldest younger brother wouldn't trust him. But before Leo could say anything else, the voice of Splinter interrupted them.

"What is going on in here?!" The rat master yelled.

Looking up, there was Splinter, standing right in front of them. Leo let go of Raph, getting up from the ground. This was not good. Did Splinter overhear their conversation? If so, he was in pretty big trouble. In case he hadn't, Leo just brushed it off.

"Nothing important," Leo stated. "Right Raph?"

His brother looked away, arms crossed in denial. But, he sighed in defeat. "Right…"

A second of silence passed, and Leo decided it was best to leave. "I'm going to head out. Need some fresh air…" was all he said.

His brother and his father did nothing to stop him from exiting the dojo. Raph waited until his brother was completely far away enough to sigh again. Splinter had caught onto this behavior easily.

"Is something the matter, my son?"

"It's just...I don't know Sensei," he began. "Leo just seems...different, I guess."

And the red masked turtle left soon after, only to find that his older brother was gone, most likely in the sewers heading up to the surface. While Splinter wouldn't say it, he couldn't help but agree that Leonardo was slightly changing.

And not for the better. (1!)

Twenty minutes later, downtown New York…

(2) 'Let's see...Volume 94...95...ah hah! Volume 96!'

The blonde haired teen picked up the small book of manga in victory. At the moment, he was currently wearing a white hoodie with green trimmings, and blue pants. He still wore his forehead protector, with the metal plating on it showing the kanji for, 'lion.' The tail ends of it were short, unlike the blue mask he wore in his turtle form.

In the middle of New York City, Leonardo currently stood in the middle of a comic store, ready to buy the manga volume he just so recently found. It had just recently come out, and he had been looking forward to it for a while. However, that wasn't the real reason as to why he was out here.

Reality speaking, Leo wanted to get away from home. An oncoming feeling of dread filled his heart when he heard Raph's words of not trusting him. It made the jinchuriki realize how much he was hiding in the first place. Not to mention that he said he knew what he was doing.

'Does anyone really trust me?' He wondered. 'I've been hiding so much. And now I'm hiding more. Has it come to the point where my own family can't trust me with anything? Because I don't trust them?'

"Baka. You know very well why we keep this secret. It's for our protection and sanity. Not to mention your safety. You know this."

'I know that, but… I'm just not sure what to think. Raph didn't really mean what he said, I know for sure. Both of us were angry. He wanted me to tell the others, but I want to keep this to myself. I don't want anyone to get involved…'

Leo had dealt with many problems in his life before on his own. This wouldn't be so bad. If only he could get Raph to stop pestering him about not trusting Karai. He could trust her, that was a fact. Otherwise Leo wouldn't have shown Kurama to her, or even kept her alive should she had decided to tell anyone, more specifically Shredder.

He could handle a situation like this. If only Raph could understand that she wasn't that bad of a person. While yes, Karai is in the enemy clan, she wasn't always on the line for revenge. Their little midnight spar proved that. Still, it would be nearly impossible to convince Raph to think otherwise.

Seconds later, his thoughts were interrupted by humming. Leo knew the tune of it, having heard it in another anime he had watched. But the sound of the person humming the song was very familiar.

'No, it couldn't be her. Why would she be here of all places anyway?'

Ignoring it completely after that, Leo continued looking through the aisle he was currently in. But there was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind to investigate the next aisle over, where the owner of the humming currently was. It was then that an idea came to his head.

'Hey Kurama.'

"Hmm?" The fox stirred. "You want to make a bet don't you?"

'Yes. Do you think it's Karai on the other side or not?'

Kurama was silent for a moment, listening to the sound. "Not her."

'Oooo really? I'm surprised you're taking that side. Alright, I'm going to say it's her. Loser has to do something for the other person, within boundaries of course. We have a deal?'

"Yes."

'Okay then!' Leo began to walk towards the end of the aisle until he realized something. 'Wait...you're only on that side because you want to see what would happen if it was the wrong person, don't you?'

"Precisely."

'Dang you.'

Turning the corner, he was surprised at who he saw. It was indeed Karai, just as he thought. At the moment, she wore casual clothing consisting of the usual torn jeans and leather jacket and sneakers. Karai didn't appear to have any weapons on her at the moment. And she was humming the tune that he knew very well. A smirk grew in his face, as he could hear the groan of a very annoyed fox.

'I can't believe it! I actually won a beat for once! HAH! Eat it, Kurama!'

"Hrrrrmmmm."

He looked over at Karai, and it appeared that the girl was very deep in thought. It was then that Leo realized what she was looking at, and that was when he decided to chime in.

"I didn't think I'd see you here," he greeted for the second time that night.

Once she heard his voice, she stopped humming the tone. Looking over at him, Karai was slightly surprised to see the blonde teen in next to her. The surprise quickly wore off, and she stood up straight. This was very unexpected in her opinion.

"I didn't think you would be here either, fox-boy," Karai returned the greeting. She looked over him for a second. "Did something happen?"

"Just call me, 'Minato,' when we're in public if you don't mind," he groaned. "And yeah, you could say that."

"How is he doing anyway?" she asked, interested, referring to the kitsune.

"Oh, him?" Leo knew exactly who she was referring to. "He's upset because I finally won a bet."

"You actually make bets with him?" Karai slightly chuckled.

"Mmm yeah, but he ends up winning every time. Then I have to do something for him, usually it's buying ice cream."

He heard her chuckle a little louder. Then, he spoke. "Really though, I didn't expect you here."

"I shouldn't be here to begin with. Let's just say I'm shrugging off my duties for the night, and that I want to relax. Today wasn't the greatest day." Karai answered.

"You too, huh? I may have gotten into an argument with my brother...let's just say it wasn't pleasant."

"So you skipped out and decided to go shopping? What happened to goody three-toes?" She commented.

"Hey, I can be goody three toes when I have to be. Outside of that…"

Both began to unconsciously head towards the checkout. Once they arrived, Karai went on ahead and paid for hers. Leo saw what she was buying and was interested. After she was done, he went up and bought the volume of manga he picked up. Once the two teens left the store, he decided to speak up.

"Irony," Leo stated.

"What?" Karai asked.

"I just think it's ironic that you're buying a volume of My Hero Academia considering...well, you know, your profession. That time you were humming earlier, that was, 'Hero Too,' wasn't it?"

Karai gave him a look, but it softened. "It's the only source of entertainment that I can hide from my father. He never lets me have anything fun. Sometimes I get to watch TV, but that's rare. In Japan, it was easier to get away with things, but now, not so much. Besides, shouldn't I be the one asking you about your choices?" She began to chuckle at the last part.

"One piece is good!" He talked back. "Yeah sure, it's about pirates, but...I guess I like it for the freedom aspect."

They turned a corner, getting away from the mainstream crown on the busy street. "I plan on leaving one day," he admitted, leaning against a brick wall. "Going far away from this city. I owe my life to Kurama, and in return, I want to bring him back to his home. Sometimes, I get tired of all the responsibility, you know?"

"Mmm," she responded. "I can understand that. Commanding a bunch of soldiers isn't easy either."

"Funnily enough, at first I didn't want to be a ninja. I wanted to be a musician."

"You're joking," Karai responded.

"Nope! When I was five, I found an old drum. Started playing on it until it was taken away from me. I was told that I wouldn't have time for it and that it was unimportant for a ninja. I do have a guitar and a few other instruments that I use occasionally. They're just hidden away, like a few other things…"

Leo sighed at the last part. There were many belongings that he had gotten over the years thanks to the fact that he worked for Mr. Murakami and got paid. Most of these were now at Talbot Peak, in one of the caves in the inner part of the mountain, serving as a secondary bedroom for when he trained with Shishigami and needed rest.

Though he couldn't help but be reminded of the fact that he was hiding a lot of things from his family. They didn't know that he could play an instrument well. They didn't know of his likes and dislikes, other than Space Heroes (but he had to admit that was somewhat fading). They didn't know of his abilities and powers. In truth, practically nothing was known to them. And this made Leo slightly guilty.

But it was for the better. If all of this came out, if every little thing that was known about him came to light, what would they say? Would they ridicule him? Criticize him? Ask him why he didn't trust them enough to tell them anyway? After all, they were family too. Weren't they?

"I want to ask you something," Karai began.

The jinchuriki had a feeling for what it was about, but nodded anyway. "Yes?" (2!)

(3) "I saw a bunch of robots during your fight. What's their deal?" she asked.

He inwardly groaned. This was obviously coming. Karai was a kunoichi after all. One with their enemy. And if she saw her, "enemy," fighting something, no doubt she would've been interested.

"They're dangerous, and that's all I will say. It's best if you stay away from them," he told her.

The last thing he wanted was Shredder getting info on the Kraang. He already had two mutated henchmen who were stronger than before. If the possibility of the Foot Clan obtaining mutagen were to arise, then who knows what could happen.

"I already like them," Karai answered. But she soon became serious. "Something else is going on here. What is it?"

"I'm not going to tell you any more than that," Leo stated. "While I have a little trust in you, my brother says otherwise."

"He makes a good point. Eventually, I am going to destroy you."

"Heh, I'd like to see you try."

There was silence between the two for a while. Neither could actually fight at the moment, since they didn't bring their weapons. While yes, they could also fight without weapons, it just wasn't the place to do it in. And neither felt like fighting each other at the moment. Both were having pretty bad days.

Unbeknownst to Leo, Karai just came from an argument with the Shredder. She had taken an interest in these weird robot aliens, and decided to tell him about it. Unfortunately, he didn't care in the slightest about what was going on, and that his vendetta was what truly mattered.

It made Karai scowl at the thought of it. Was that all Shredder really cared about? A fifteen year old vendetta? Sure, she knew it was bad, and that her own mother was killed by Hamato Yoshi. She should want revenge. And yet…

"Karai...do you like being in the Foot?" Leo asked.

That question came out of nowhere and surprised her greatly. Why would he of all people be asking this type of question. She grew up in the Foot! She was a Foot Clan member by blood! A heir even! And he asked if she liked it there?

"And why do you ask that?" Karai questioned.

The blonde haired teen pushed himself off the wall and turned to her. "You said it yourself that your father, whoever he is, most likely a clan member who probably forces you into it, never lets you have fun because of it. And you told me that all Shredder talks about is revenge. Also that he needs a hobby and that he should get advice from me on that."

She chuckled quietly as Leo continued. "Really, I'm serious. If you don't get to do what you like, then why not leave? When the time is right, I'm going to leave my family behind. It isn't because I don't like them. I love them. But, it isn't where I belong. I'm completely different from them.

"Of course, my knowledge on your situation is nonexistent. Yet from your emotions, it may be true. Tell me, do you like it there truthfully?"

Soon afterward, Karai began to laugh a little at his response. Leo stood there, silent, thoughts running through his head. Perhaps he had been wrong, and she did like where she was at the moment.

"You're adorable," she told him. "Very smart too. But adorable."

He was slightly taken aback by her response, but chose to continue on. "Thanks?"

"She gave you a compliment and you're clueless."

'I thought you were going to stop calling her my girlfriend!?'

"I did."

'Then what was that about then?!'

Karai put her hand in her pocket and took out her cell phone, looking at the time. She put it back and began to walk away. Leo noticed the sudden change in her demeanor instantly.

"You're leaving?" He asked.

"I've got to do some of my job," she answered in a more lighthearted tone. "I can't just slack off and expect the Shredder to reward me."

"Then let me tell you one thing," Leo began, his voice stern. "You can fight me whenever you want to. But I need your word that you won't attack my brothers. Just because I said that I'm going to leave them one day doesn't mean that I hate them."

"You know I can't do that," Karai answered. "They're a part of the enemy clan just as much as you are. And plus, I don't think a certain someone would like it if I were to only just go after you anyway."

"I understand that you are in that position. However…"

Instantly, his eyes turned red. Whisker marks formed on his face. And lastly, his teeth began to look like fangs. The angry red chakra began to flow out of his body. So much so that Karai could feel it, like a slight wind blowing by that could turn into a gust in just a moment.

"If you come after them, I'll come after you. Hear me?"

She smirked at him, understanding. The kunoichi wasn't exactly sure how much power Leonardo had, but she knew it was a lot. And he would protect them with that power. That was what made him interesting in her opinion. He could be funny, joking, and nice in one moment, and calm, serious, and almost threatening in another. He was an enigma, that was for sure.

"Loud and clear," was all Karai said.

And she jumped up towards a nearby fire escape. Climbing up it quickly, Karai disappeared from his sight. His chakra levels died down, features returning to normal. Leo stood silently in the alleyway for a moment, then looked to see a nearby manhole cover. He went over to it and grabbed it, pulling it aside so he could climb down. Once he was done, Leo put it back on and went down the ladder. A puff of smoke appeared around him, and he was back in his normal turtle form.

'I wonder who her father is…' (3!)

The next day, morning…

"So...are you going to tell the guys about her?"

'Dear god, is he ever going to leave me alone about this?!'

"Unfortunately it does not appear that way."

"No need," Leo told him. "We...had a little chat, and uh, she's gonna leave us alone."

"Oh right," Raph started off sarcastically. "Because the villains always back off when you ask them to. Maybe I'll text the Kraang and ask them to stop mutating stuff."

The blue masked turtle gave his brother a glare. He was extremely tired of this. The situation was already taken care of, why couldn't he understand that? Karai was going to back off, and even if she tried to attack them, she knew what to expect from Leo.

'I swear he does to only annoy me.'

He pulled back the curtain that covered the door to the kitchen and went inside, not bothering to say another word. Leo didn't want to hear anymore, and just wanted breakfast. Going inside, he saw Donnie and Mikey were already in the kitchen, with Mikey looking through the fridge for something.

"Okay guys!" Mikey began. "Whadda want? Pizza-omelette, or omelette-pizza?"

"What's the difference?" Raph asked.

Mikey smiled, pulling out a bowl of eggs. "Okay, you caught my bluff," he said happily.

"I don't think the difference needed to be known, because it would've been bad either way," Kurama snickered.

'Mikey's not that bad of a cook! He just...doesn't have that much experience, that's all!'

Suddenly, all of their phones went off at the same time. The fours brothers pulled out their phones to check what it was.

'Well this is weird,' Leo thought.

"Hey, did you guys get a mass text from April?" Donnie asked.

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

"Mmm-hmm."

"Well does yours also say that she's being attacked by an old lady?" The purple masked turtle asked again.

"Sure does."

"Yep."

"Mmm-hmm."

"Is that considered an emergency?" Donnie said aloud.

"I guess," Leo answered nonchalantly. It was a few seconds later that he already realized. "Let's go!"

It didn't take them long to gather their weapon and head out. Finding the exact high school April was currently located at wasn't much of an issue either, considering Donnie had given April a T-Phone after her old one broke after an incident with Baxter Stockman. Thankfully the school was closed for a week long vacation, so getting in there without being spotted was no issue at all.

They went in casually through the front door. For the most part, the brothers were serious. Except for Mikey, who took the liberty of looking around in awe at the building.

"Suh-weet!" He gasped, almost as if he were enchanted by a spell. "So this is what school is like!"

'Honestly, it doesn't look all that enticing,' Leo thought. 'Though it feels like…'

A loud alarm noise was heard, and Leo soon found out what it was. Metal detectors, so students wouldn't bring weapons into school. This wasn't a good sign, since it would alert anyone who was in the building. While it may be closed, someone could still be inside other than April and whoever that old lady was that was apparently attacking her. And they were supposed to be ninjas, for deer god's sake!

He could feel the annoyance emanating from Raph nearby. And he wasn't surprised at what happened next. The red masked turtle's started jabbing his sai into one of the sensors, leaving a whole in it. When one jab didn't seem to turn it off, he began to do it multiple times. Finally, it went silent.

Fortunately for them, it was rather easy to find the old woman who apparently attacked April. She stood on the top of the stairs leading into the main hallway, back facing them. By now, it wouldn't have been uncommon for a person like her to have been turned around and facing them in horror. Yet she stood there, quietly, too quietly in Leo's opinion.

'I don't feel anything sort of life or energy from her,' he thought. 'She's a human, and yet...unless…'

"Robot. That thing doesn't reek of nature energy."

'Nature energy?'

"In short, it's the energy that exists all around in this world. Living entities like yourself have more of it than say plants. This world has a slightly different type of nature energy than my own. It greatly varies, and it took years to get used to feeling this energy rather than the energy at home. It felt like breathing in poison when I sensed it."

'Do you think it's possible that I can do the same thing?'

"Ask Shishigami. But you're far away from learning it for now."

"Okay, I feel stupid," Raph stated, referring to the fact that this situation looked normal for e most part.

"I'm sure April had a good reason to consider this an emergency," Leo said.

However, just as he mentioned April, the woman began to twitch slightly. In response, her head rotated one hundred eighty degrees, eyes glowing red. They had been right. It was a robot.

"A-A-April O'Neil?" it glitched out.

"Aww sewer bunnies," Raph cursed.

(4) The robot woman raised her arms, which opened up and looked like rocket launchers. It made a screeching noise, and soon afterward two missiles came flying out and went straight for the brothers. Thankfully they began to move, narrowly avoiding the missiles. When they hit the ground, both weapons blew up, throwing the turtles to the ground. Leo and Mikey landed on the staircase.

"Leo!" Mikey began. "I think this does count as-"

"An emergency! I know!" Said turtle answered angrily.

He heard the robot screech again, noticing that it was right above them. Both turtles jumped out the way, just before it crushed the wooden railing by landing on it with excessive force. Raph came up from behind and jumped towards the robot, sai pointed forward. But to his surprise, it stopped his sai with just a hand, yet the sai still penetrated through the hand, causing sparks to come out.

Raph saw the robot woman smirk, and before he knew it, he was being spun around, holding onto his sai that was still in the robot's hand. Its arm spun in circles in a very unnatural way, and it threw the red masked turtle onto the top of a trophy case nearby. The robot took out some documents and began throwing them at Raph at such a speed that they were getting stuck in the wall. He dodged them, soon using the projectiles as springboards and jumping onto the ordinary chandelier that hung above the robot.

Cutting the rope that kept it in place, he had hoped it would crush it. But the robot jumped out the way, as Raph came down with the chandelier. Off to the side, it landed in a weird position, and turned around, crawling like a spider before it got up and faced Leo. His brothers soon joined him, standing behind him.

"Alright guys. Let's put Old Mother Hubbard back in her cupboard."

And soon, he was met with three groans and a massive headache. It took Leo everything he had in him to not fall off.

"Dude, it literally hurts to listen to you sometimes," Raph complained.

"For once I agree with him. That was just...horrible can't even describe it. Atrocious."

'HEY!'

Missiles were once again launched at the four, but Raph threw throwing stars at them before they could get any closer. The weapons exploded, giving Leo and Donnie enough time to run forward. Once again, the robot woman readied the launchers. However, Leo and Donnie jumped up and leapt off the walls, giving them enough momentum to reach it. They sliced off the robot's arms and face quickly, revealing Kraang technology underneath the face mask that was once there.

"Mikey! The water fountain!" Leo yelled, implying for him to shoot water at the robot.

As usual however, the orange masked turtle didn't understand, and thought his brother meant something else. "I know! School has everything!" He answered in excitement.

"No! Spray her!" Leo yelled, anger coming out.

"Oh!"

And Mikey immediately aimed the water coming out of it at the robot. Once it landed, the robot began to convulse, short circuiting violently. Leo could practically see the energy flowing in all different directions along its body as it shut down and fell on the floor, dead. (4)

"April! Where are you!?" Donnie yelled.

Soon afterward, a door opened on the other side of the hallway. April appeared from inside, with an angry look on her face. She walked up to the robot and kicked it in the face.

"And stay down!" She yelled. "Thank you guys." April put her hand on Donnie's shoulder.

Said purple masked turtle blushed, and at first tried to make a gesture that looked like a hug. But it failed to catch April's attention, and so he settled for giving her a pat on the head.

"You are so welcome," he replied, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"So what the heck is that thing?" April asked, her as well as the two other turtles looking down at the robot.

"Looks like a...Kraangdroid," Leo began. "Minus the Kraang."

"She said she was from the Worldwide Genome Project."

"Whoaaa," Mikey said, putting up the face mask that the robot woman had earlier up to his face. "How did the Kraang find out that you sent your spit to the Worldwide Thingamajig Project?"

'I'm not even going to ask how he knows about that.'

Soon afterward, Leo heard a slight yell from Raph, probably from the sight of the mask. And then the sound of a punch was heard after that, as well as Mikey yelping in pain.

"The Kraang must've hacked into their system," Donnie theorized. "Who knows what kind of info they could be stealing."

"April, you head back to the lair where it's safe," Leo told her. "We'll go check out the Worldwide Genome Project."

"But first," he heard Mikey say, staring at a poster. "We gotta take down the Eastside High Panthers. According to that poster, they got it coming."

"Want me to burn that poster before we leave?"

'Yes please!'

Hours later, Nighttime

It didn't take that long to find out where exactly the Worldwide Genome Project Headquarters was located. Just searching it up on the internet was good enough, as the organization was very well known. However, they couldn't exactly get there yet, as it was still daylight out. So the brothers waited until night to head out.

Eventually they made their way across the rooftops towards a large, flat cylinder like building closer towards downtown. For the most part, it seemed like things were going their way. That is, until something felt off.

"Karai is following you," Kurama pointed out.

'I know, and believe me I'm angry at the fact that she is.'

"Are you going to stop her?"

'If I try to, the guys will notice, so it's best not to make a scene. And I told her what would happen if she tried to attack my brothers, so I think Karai's just following us for curiosity.'

"Her emotions do not reek of ill intention. Like you said, she is probably curious."

'Unfortunately I'm going to have to let her follow. Hopefully this ends alright.'

"You just cursed yourself again."

Soon, the four brothers arrived at the rooftop of the giant building. In front of them was a door with an electronic lock. From a rooftop away, Leo could still feel Karai, so he turned his head around. And there she was, crouching down quietly, watching them. He gave her a glare, as if telling her not to follow them in lest there would be great consequences otherwise. Then, Leo heard Raph speak.

"So, how do we get in?" He asked.

"Leave it to me," Donnie answered, pulling out a device that connects to his T-Phone. "I've got an app for that."

Immediately afterward, all three turtles groaned, with Leo sounding out an audible, "Oh boy," in annoyance. Ignoring them, Donnie connected the device to the door, tapping away at his T-Phone.

Raph just had about enough. "I've got an app for that too," he said sarcastically, kicking down the door.

They went inside, and Leo could see that Karai was closer to them now. As his brothers went in, he sent one last glare at her, eyes red and intimidating before heading in himself. The place itself was dark, however the blue masked turtle noticed some very familiar tech along the walls. This was not good in his opinion.

"You know, for a human lab, this place looks awfully Kraang-y," Mikey said nervously.

"I never thought I would hear those words," the fox stated, slightly stunned.

'I told you, he has his moments.'

"From the looks of things," Leo began. "I wouldn't be surprised that the Kraang are the Worldwide Genome Project."

Opening the door to the next room revealed a large tank of mutagen, with two Kraangdroids in front of it. Three of the turtles hid, while Mikey went in. He got up close to the robots when they weren't looking.

"Booyakasha," he whispered to them.

Before they could fire, Donnie came out and jumped up, hitting both with his Bo staff. The disabled robots were then thrown into an empty containment area in the wall. The two Kraang that came out of the damaged robots snarled behind the glass.

"Now you two play nice in there," Raph commented.

"What are those?" Leo asked.

He in fact was referring to the color coded containment areas that looked like the one they just shoved the two Kraang into. However, they appeared to be full, with a single color each one. There was a specific plant or animal design on the front of each of them.

"Well," Donnie began. "It looks like they're collecting DNA from every plant and animal species on Earth."

Leo saw Raph disappear for a moment, and he had a feeling why. 'Please don't tell me she actually followed us in here…'

"She did."

'Damn it!'

"I wonder what they're doing with all this DNA?" Donnie wondered aloud.

"Whatever it is, it most likely isn't good. Let's shut this place down," Leo answered.

"Hey, where's Raph?" Mikey asked, now noticing his brother's disappearance.

"Gotcha!" They heard from above.

Looking up, the three of them saw Raph on top of the tank of mutagen with someone else. Mikey and Donnie had absolutely no idea who this other person was, but Leo full well did. The red mask turtle jumped down to the second layer of the tank, pinning the kunoichi to the glass.

"I'm not surprised you followed us in here, Karai," Leo noted, not mentioning at all that he knew that she did.

"Ka-who?" Donnie asked.

"Bet you think you're pretty slick," Raph commented in an annoyed way, almost mocking even.

But before he could say anything else, she twisted his wrist, allowing him to let go of her. Karai was able to get up fast, and kicked Raph to the ground, pinning him with her foot.

"I have my moments," she said coolly.

Raph managed to get out quickly, flipping around and grabbing his sais. He then jumped at her, making attempts to jab at her. But Karai was a little too agile for him. She blocked an incoming attack from his sais with her own metal armor on her arm, giving her enough time to grab the small blade that was in its sheath on her waist.

Karai slashed the weapon at the turtle, forcing him to put up his guard for a moment. It gave her enough time to kick him in the plastron, forcing him back and turning the tables. Raph was now on the defensive, using his sais to block any blows from her blade as Karai attacked him. They were in a deadlock.

'This is the absolute worst time for him to pick a fight with her,' Leo thought. 'He could've just left her alone. I could sense that she wasn't going to attack us. But of course he's gotta prove that he's right and I'm wrong!'

"You'll be spotted soon if this continues."

"Could you two maybe take this somewhere else?! Stop it now!" Leo yelled, running forward.

""Okay, what the heck is going on here?!" Donnie asked Mikey. "How do they know her?!"

"Yeah! And how do we know her?!" Mikey asked, only to pause for a moment and think about what he said. "Wait...do we know her?"

"So this is the stuff that turns people into monsters huh..." Karai mentioned aloud, once again blocking Raph's sais. "How's it work?"

"Why don't you lean in a little closer and I'll show ya?" Raph stated sarcastically.

Before he knew it, Karai used her sword to bring down his sais, enabling her to headbutt him, sending Raph off of the tank. She jumped down, and the red masked turtle jumped up, ready to collide with each other. But before they could, Leo stepped in the middle, blocking both of their weapons with his katanas.

"Enough!" He yelled. "If you keep fighting, you're going to set off one of the alarms!"

"Why the heck are you defending her Leo!?" Raph exclaimed, clenching his sais tighter. "What is wrong with you?! She's bad news!"

"Yeah, I am," Karai said smoothly.

And just as he predicted, all of their shouting and yelling resulted in the sound of robotic footsteps and other electronic noises coming into the room. No doubt they had alerted the Kraang. Leo could see the blue gel covered droids marching in, blasters at the ready. Soon, they were surrounded, Kraang facing them on all sides and ready to fire.

"The ones who are not authorized by the authority of Kraang to exist in this place, will now be destroyed by Kraang in this place," one of the robots told them.

A bigger threat upon them than the kunoichi with them at the moment, the four brothers pulled out their weapons swiftly. All of them were ready for the battle in front of them.

"This day just keeps getting better," he heard Karai comment.

"Well, if you want to be a hero, now's your chance to be one," Leo whispered in her direction, so she could only hear him. "Those blasters actually hurt, so stay away from those."

He swore that if her metal face mask was off, Karai would no doubt be smirking at him for that. The Kraang began to fire their blasters at them. Karai ran forward, throwing her blade in one of the robot's faces, and proceeded to tackle it to the ground. Leo got close to one of the droids near her, and soon was blocking one of the Kraang's blasters from attacking with its saw with his katanas.

Noticing that no one was looking as they were busy with the Kraang, the kunoichi threw something small at Leo. He was barely able to catch it in his right hand since he was still holding onto his blade. It was a flash drive.

'Why would she-?' He thought.

"Look at it later. You're about to get shot in the head."

'Ahh!'

Leo ducked out of the way of an oncoming shot, even though he was already preoccupied. He managed to slip the flash drive into his belt, so that way no one would see that he had it.

"I like your brother, Leo," Karai yelled to him. She ran towards some Kraang who were firing at her and quickly sliced them in half. "He's almost as entertaining as you."

"Oh when this is over, I'll show you how entertaining I can be," Raph answered angrily, with a severed Kraangdroid's hand on one of his sais.

More were starting to pour in, surrounding the brothers once again. This time however, they brought in what appeared to be a very large cannon-like blaster with them. It was aimed at the turtles.

"Kraang is now arriving to provide the help that has been requested by Kraang," one of the droids stated.

"Leo, I think we're trapped!" Mikey yelled from behind him. Donnie and Raph were also close to him as well.

"No, you're trapped," Karai informed them, who had somehow gotten over to the set of computer panels that were under the tank of mutagen. "What happens if I do this?" She held her finger above one of the buttons.

"No!" Raph shouted.

"Don't do that!" Leo snarled, his eyes unconsciously turning red for a split second.

"Highly undesirable outcome," one of the Kraangdroids answered.

"Well, now I gotta," she admitted.

Karai pushed the button. A few of the tanks behind the turtles began to bubble up and drain, going into the mutagen. The first being yellow with a jellyfish on it. The second was purple with an isopod on it. The third was light blue with an octopus. The fourth was indigo with a cobra. Lastly, the fifth was green with a cat on it. And for some reason, Leo chose not to ask why, but at the sight of the cat picture, Mikey screamed.

The five kinds of liquified DNA entered the tank from the top, mixing in with the mutagen. It began to glow all sorts of colors, leaving everyone to stare at it and waiting to see what would happen next. Finally it stopped glowing, and the glass opened up, smoke coming out of it as well as a tentacle-like thing.

'This is definitely not good,' Leo thought.

He could hear the sound of Kraangdroids hitting the floor, most likely because whatever came out of the tank was attacking them. Since his vision was more improved, Leo could see through the smoke that Karai had jumped out of the way of a tentacle, and came back to their group.

Finally the smoke cleared, revealing an extremely weird and somewhat sci-fi like creature. It had the body of an octopus, giant eyeballs covered in purple slime projecting out of its head. Speaking of its head, it appeared that a large shell was coming down the middle of it. Lastly, it had floppy, cat-like ears on the side of its head. It definitely was not natural in any way, shape or form.

"Mrroww," it made a cat-like noise.

"Aww," Mikey said. "He's so cute."

"That thing is CUTE?!" Kurama roared. "Kill it now! It's going to attack you!"

(5) The creature then stretched up, revealing its mouth, which was large and like a cobra. The eyes moved away from its head, only attacked by a thin piece of skin and nerve. It roared rather loudly and menacingly. One of its tentacles lashed out at the group, causing them to jump away. Kraangdroids began firing at it, but this didn't affect the creature that much. However it did make it feel agitated, so it rammed itself into the Kraang, destroying some of the robot bodies.

"Woah! That is wicked!" Karai exclaimed in fascination.

"How the heck am I going to name this?" Mikey wondered, having absolutely no clue regarding the situation.

Leo watched her reach down and pick up half of a blue gel-coated Kraangdroid without the Kraang in it. She winked at the jinchuriki, signaling him to play along at what she was about to do. Mikey was just not paying attention to notice it.

"Good question," she said to the orange masked turtle. "Well, see ya." Karai jumped up onto the top of the tank, then used the glass as a jumping point to get to the exit.

"You're not going to help us beat this thing?!" Leo questioned angrily, yet he tried his best to not let his chakra flare up. "It's your fault!"

"I'll let the heroes handle it!" She shouted.

It was then that he finally realized what was going on. Leo understood why she chose those words. It most likely had something to do with the flash drive he was secretly given earlier. More things he would have to figure out at another time. But from what he could sense, her words betrayed what she truly felt.

'This is staged!' He thought. A smirk grew on his face.

"I trusted you!" He yelled.

"I know! That's messed up, right fox-boy?!" She shouted back, disappearing from view with the disabled Kraangdroid on her back.

Leo sighed as he watched her go. He turned his attention back to the fight at hand, noticing how the Kraang were beginning to fire their weapons at the creature. Unfortunately this didn't seem to work that much, and it used its tentacles to lash out at them. Leo narrowly dodged, and began to run away from it as it shot laser beams out of its eyes.

"So guys, are we all fans of Karai?" Raph asked Donnie and Mikey sarcastically.

"I don't know who she is," Donnie began, as Raph and Mikey ran away. "But now I hate her!" He proceeded to run away from the creature as well.

The Kraang continued to fire at the creature as it followed them. When they got close enough, the turtles jumped at them, taking down some of them to get by. The creature took out the rest as it attempted to go after the four. It reached out and grabbed Raph with one of its tentacles and wrapped it around him, attempting to squeeze him to death. Fortunately the red masked turtle got out, stunning the creature.

"Nice try, Octo-punk!" He yelled, but then got knocked away by a tentacle.

"No! No!" Mikey yelled out in excitement. "Call him Octo-eyeball-jelly-bug!" However, he realized it wasn't that creative. "Ehh, let's just call him Justin. Ahh!" He got smacked by a tentacle as well.

It slammed Mikey into the glass, then proceeded to knock Raph to the ground. Finally, the creature electrocuted Donnie, causing the purple masked turtle to fall over unconscious. Leo looked around and saw them all injured and nearly critically hurt. The creature stood in front of him, and he looked at it.

'This is my fault. If I had given her more of a reason to back off in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. Heck, while I know what she said isn't exactly the truth, in my brothers' eyes it is.'

"It's not entirely your fault. Karai chose foolishly to make these events happen. She chose to follow you, because of her curiosity."

'Still, I should've done something instead of just nothing. Now my brothers are hurt because of it!'

"Blame yourself later baka! You have more important things to do! Or must I do it for you?!"

'...you're right. I can handle whatever else comes later. I don't need to be filled with guilt now. Not when there's something at stake! I will fight for them!'

"Heh. Took you long enough to understand."

'Ikuzo, Kurama!'

"AAAAAHHHH!" The jinchuriki yelled, blades now covered in a fiery red chakra, eyes red, and whisker marks forming.

He ran at the beast with astonishing speed, avoiding the laser beams coming from its eyes with key precision and timing. Once Leo was close enough, he jumped at it, slashing his katanas. The ominous red chakra began to burn the creature, leaving it to cry out in anguish.

'This isn't working that well. This thing has pretty good defenses, considering it has a shell on its head. The laser beams are a bit of a problem, but they work like electricity in a way. Maybe…'

Running by the control panel to the mutagen, an idea struck his head like lightning. 'Yes! That could work!'

"The control panel. Shock that abomination into nonexistence."

After that, Leo rammed himself into the shell-like center of its head, slightly confusing it. Though the creature reached out to him with one of its tentacles, however since it was slightly dazed, it ended up throwing Leo into the air. The jinchuriki yelled as he came down, and avoided another tentacle coming at him by sliding across it with his katanas. He left burns on it as he went down. Closing in on the head, Leo rammed into it, causing the creature to fall down for just a moment.

It shook its head, getting rid of the daze it was in. When it finally focused on Leo, the turtle was right in front of the control panel. He was smirking, fangs flashing, as if taunting the beast.

"Hey Justin!" He shouted, pointing one of his katana at it. "This ends now!"

The creature tilted back slightly, then released its plasma energy beams at the turtle, almost as if it were lightning. It struck the blade that Leo had pointed out. He struggled immensely to not let it run down his body and potentially kill him. Kurama helped somewhat, allowing some of his chakra to flow out and surround Leonardo's body like a shield.

Seconds felt like eternity as he lifted his other sword and brought the end of its hilt to the other one, sending electricity through the second blade. The creature didn't let up its onslaught one bit, determined to shock and kill the jinchuriki. Leo yelled, and plunged the blade that was facing down into the control panel. And that was all it took for a shock to run up his body and into his head. And then...he felt and heard it.

Something penetrating his stomach. The sound of his bones breaking. The agonizing pain. His eyes widened at the very blurry sight, yet when he tried to see it clearly, it disappeared.

This reaction only lasted a millisecond, and for a moment, Leo thought that the creature behind him had somehow stabbed him with a tentacle. But before he could question anymore, there was an explosion as a result from the electricity entering the control panel. The blue masked turtle was thrown back, but Leo soon recovered quickly.

Looking up, he saw that he accomplished what he wanted. The creature was engulfed in a green-colored fire, screeching in agony and pain. Trying to get rid of it, it rammed itself into a wall, causing a massive hole, as well as a new escape route for the turtles. Behind his back, Leo felt his brothers come close to him.

"Hah! Take that, Justin!" Mikey yelled.

A few moments later, they could hear the sound of the building beginning to collapse in on itself. No doubt this was as a result of the creature ramming itself into many other walls and foundations inside, still trying to get rid of the flames. Leo swore he was beginning to smell smoke.

"Come on! Let's get out of here!" He yelled to his brothers. (5!)

The brothers escaped the building, just before flames became noticeable from the outside. Sirens were soon afterward, indicating that fire trucks were coming to put out the fire. They managed to get to a tall building with a high fire escape, and for the moment, the brothers hid up there as they watched the scene from below.

All the while, Leo was shaking slightly. His brain felt incredibly fuzzy, the shock from earlier dazing him slightly. Even with Kurama's protection, he still felt the after effects of it. Leo's hands were slightly burned, however they were now being healed by the fox.

"Leonardo?" Kurama asked.

Said turtle didn't respond, thinking about something else. Instinctively he reached down to grab his stomach area, where he thought he was stabbed. But there was nothing there. Nothing at all. Perhaps it had been some sort of vision? Or maybe something else…?

"Leonardo?" the fox called again.

This time, he did answer. 'I'm fine Kurama,' Leo reassured him. 'I just...I'll tell you later.'

"Soooo…" Mikey's voice broke the silence between the four.

"We're thinking somebody should start talking," Donnie stated.

He could feel the glares from all three of his brothers. This wasn't the way he'd imagine it would go. So in response, Leo sighed.

Twenty minutes later, in the lair…

(6) "I should've told you about Karai sooner. I suppose my reason for not saying was because I saw some good in her, and was willing to see how far that would go. At one point, I thought the situation was done with, but tonight showed that wasn't the case…"

He was extremely overwhelmed by the amount of negative emotions around him. His head was beginning to hurt, almost even more so than when Leo first felt Shredder for the first time. The jinchuriki was trying his hardest to not show any sign of pain, for if he did, only more questions would come about. And that, at this moment, was the last thing Leo wanted.

His family was mad. Oh, they were so mad. While on the outside, one may describe it as such, but from what Leonardo was feeling, it was not even close to that description. Anger. Hatred. Somewhat disbelief. And the worst of it all, betrayal.

Betrayal at the fact that he didn't trust them. In their eyes, he didn't trust his own family to tell them about this. That Leo had been interacting with a kunoichi from their enemy clan, and could've gotten injured or died. And worse, he could've died and they wouldn't know it.

Their emotions hurt, this Leonardo knew for a fact. It also most likely hurt them as well. Trust wasn't always an easy thing to fix. And this only came after knowing Karai for only about a week! He couldn't imagine if and when…

'Would it be like this?' Leo couldn't help but think. 'Or would it be worse should that ever happen? The rejection, the shame...would it be more painful than it is now?'

In truth, he didn't know. The jinchuriki only told half of the story. He cut out the parts of going downtown and saving her from being hit by a bus. Meeting her in the comic book store. And most importantly, how he showed her his most guarded secret. A majority of his story was left out. Should he say anymore, and who knows what could happen to him.

"Go ahead, laugh…" he said quietly, face turned away from them.

"Dude, I can't believe you trusted her," Mikey stated in an annoyed tone.

Those words were the type he never expected to hear from Mikey. And they hurt, immensely. Leo of course, had his reasoning for trusting her. Well, that wasn't really the case. He had no exact explanation for it. He just...knew that he could trust her. There was a sense of familiarity around Karai, one that he couldn't figure out where it came from and why.

"Are you sure this isn't a different dimension?" Kurama asked. "Because...I have no words. Has his stupidity completely been thrown out the window?"

He resisted the urge to chuckle, but a small smile escaped him. 'Oh how I wish it was…'

"I can't believe you didn't trust us enough to tell us," Donnie said accusingly.

It took everything Leo had to not scowl and retaliate at those words. 'I have my reasons for keeping it a secret. Ones that none of you would understand. When do I get to do things I want to do? When do I get to have fun? In secret, after you all go to bed, or when I purposely say I'm going out.'

'Karai...even though she's a part of a different clan, an enemy clan, it feels like I can trust her. I guess it's because she knows what it's like to want to have fun. Karai said that her father doesn't let her do anything she wants to after all.'

"I know," Leo admitted, covering up his swirling thoughts. "I was wrong. I'm really sorry…" He hung his head in shame.

Hearing the sound of Splinter coming closer, no doubt to lecture him about how bad of a decision to make and to never make one like that again, Leo just couldn't raise his eyes. It wasn't exactly the guilt that got to him. Rather, it was the emotions of his father. He could feel that Splinter was hurt at this, and it only made him feel worse.

"Leonardo," the rat master began. "You are not the first young man, or turtle, to make a fool of himself over a girl."

""What about Donnie-Ow!" Mikey started, but was slapped by Donnie.

The jinchuriki clenched his fist, repressing the urge to grit his teeth. 'I didn't make a fool of myself!'

"The bus incident."

'I saved her life!'

"However," Splinter interrupted their conversation. "When that girl is a kunoichi in the employ of your enemy, that is an error you cannot afford."

'And here we go again...I can handle the situation! I even warned her of what would happen should she mess with us! And you warned her too, Kurama!'

"Splinter is going off on what he knows, not what you know."

'I know that! And-wait, did you just call him, 'Splinter,'? Not, 'rat,' ?'

"Forget it."

"Hai, Sensei," Leo answered.

"Deception is the ninja's most powerful weapon. And it seems Karai is a master."

"I know...we can't trust her. I see that now…"

It was almost contradicting in a way, considering how much had happened to him. He had to say those words, otherwise there would be suspicion. Would the flash drive she gave him make him regret those words? He would have to find out.

"Good," Splinter commended, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You must learn from your mistakes."

"Hai, Sensei…"

The rat master took his hand off of Leo's shoulder, and headed into the dojo, probably to sleep for the night. For him, it was best to rest, and read whatever Karai had placed in the drive for him to read. Leo decided to head for his room.

"Hey Leo," Mikey asked him.

"Yeah Mikey?"

"Why did she call you, fox-boy? Is it like some sort of super secret code name or something? Cause it sounds kinda weird. I mean why would she call you that in the first place? You're a turtle bro. I would've come with something like-"

"It's nothing Mikey, really," he answered. "Nothing important." (6!)

Opening the door to his room and closing it behind him, Leo stood by it for a couple of minutes, until the coast was clear. Once he heard everyone, including April who went home for the night, head in, he transformed into the spiky blonde haired teen, then began the Reverse Summoning Technique. Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram. Leo slammed his hand against the ground, and was teleported instantly to his room in Talbot Peak.

'I really should make a way to not use hand seals for that. It's getting extremely annoying.'

Leo got off his bed, and searched the stone-walled room for his laptop (which he had purchased with the money from working with Mr. Murakami for the past few years). Finding it, he turned it on, placing the flash drive in the port.

'Let's hope this thing isn't fired,' he thought, referring to the fact that he had it on him when electricity was shooting through his body.

Thankfully, it seemed to have worked, with a file inside the drive showing up. Leo clicked on it, revealing a text file that was most certainly written by Karai. He began reading it.

"Hey there Fox-boy,"

"I'm not really good at apologizing, and that goes for writing too. I just want to know what's going on in this city. Shredder doesn't care that much, but I do. Things just keep getting interesting the longer I'm here. Way more interesting than Japan."

"Speaking of which, how about this Fox-boy? Meet me at the Byerly Building again on Thursday at 8. And bring me some proof that you're a good musician like you say you are. I want to introduce you to someone. She's currently in Japan, so it'll be over the phone. You two are similar with your weirdness."

"I don't have much time. Father will be here any minute. And god knows what he'll do when he finds I'm writing to the, "enemy."

"Sayonara, Fox-boy,"

"Karai."

Leo smirked. He was most definitely free on that day. And if something came up, he would make sure it didn't get in the way. Closing the laptop, he pulled over the covers on his bed and began to sleep. Shishigami would let him rest for the night after all that had happened.

Maybe...just maybe...he had another friend.

Author's Note

That's the end of Chapter 12! Yee!

As I said before, I'm not going to ship anyone with Leo at the moment. Other than that, the shipping will remain as canon-wise as it can be for the most part. He's going to have more interactions with some of the characters, namely April and Karai (the former we don't get that much interaction with in the show and when we do, they're really great, and the latter, well you know). I imagine Karai would like some sort of manga and anime, mostly because she did come from Japan to America. I said MHA as somewhat for irony, and for the fact that she, unlike the rest of the Foot, held some honor and did see at some points that what they were doing was bad (See "The Wrath of Tiger Claw").

Also I just have this little headcanon that if Leo wasn't a ninja or didn't have the choice to be one, he would be more of an artist or a musician. I'm not sure as to why. Speaking of our favorite blue masked turtle, how the heck in the show does he survive being shocked by Justin? Like the electricity shoudl've shocked him or something! Alas, the results of that incident will trigger some rather interesting events in the future.

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

Until next time, See Ya Universe!

Palkia