A/N: Hey everyone! Thanks muchly for reviewing! It's like...a record. No flames. Hehe. Thanks so much for keeping up and reviewing kindly people!
SHOUT OUTS:
Dona Tell625: Thanks for the review Marsh! Love ya!
Blueraven: Thanks for the compliment, and the kind review!
KARI:
I ran home as fast as I could, my encounter with Leonardo flashing through my head. I had a grin permanantly fixed on my face, something that felt wierd because I was rarely this happy. All thoughts of Master Shredder's punishments and my duty to kill Leonardo were gone for now, and all I could think about at the moment was how I was so lost for breath. Leonardo's kisses blew me away, and when he did kiss me I felt like that was almost a literal statement. I remembered feeling my stomache dissappear and my heart skip a beat, then return to beating at a much faster pace than normal. I smiled, if possible, wider as I thought of this, and leaped over a gap between buildings. I looked up at The Shredder's building, and closed my eyes, exhaling slowly.
"Don't panick, don't crack..." I willed myself in a whisper, and opened my eyes again and leaped down from the rooftop to the ground. I approached Shredder's building, pausing for a moment to stare up to the highest room, Shredder's throne room. I scowled determidly, and walked in the doors.
LEO:
Again, I got lectures as soon as I entered the door of the lair.
"Leo, where were ya, bro?"
"You been gone fer two hours, Fearless Leader!"
"What did I say about Raph having to bring you home?"
"But he didn't, did he Don?" I hissed through clenched teeth, at the end of my rope with my three brothers.
"Wait a sec..." Mikey said, and everyone went silent. I stared at him as he got up, and walked towards me. He got right in front of me, we were nearly beak to beak, and he just stared at my lips.
"Mike, what the hell are you staring at?" I asked him, and he laughed.
"Nice shade of lipstick bro." Mike giggled, and my eyes went wide. "Leo's been gettin' naughty with a lady!" I cursed, and made to wipe my mouth off. It was obviously Kari's lipstick that had come off while we were kissing.
"Who was it bro? Come on you're caught now, fess up." Don prodded, smirking. I scowled at him.
"I have three guesses." Raph said, chuckling. "Some homeless chick, April, which would be sick on many levels, or...Kariiiii." he drawled Kari's name, and I felt my cheeks go red. I knew he had suspected all along that me and Kari had a relationship, and that's why he always drawled her name whenever he spoke of her with me around.
"AH! LEO TURNED RED!" Mike squealed, laughing. "LEO'S BEEN SMOOCHIN' ON KARI!" I glared so hard at him my eyes were in danger of closing completly. "Oh my god...you really were?" Mike exclaimed, looking as though he was suprised.
"I will not give that an answer, Michaelangelo." I hissed, and Mike stared at me.
"Geez Leo, I knew you went for the ninja type but...ShredHead's daughter?" Don said, his eyes wide and his attention fully on me now. I felt my face go red, both with fury and embaressment. I stormed out, and slammed the door to the dojo.
"YOU CAN'T DENY THE TRUTH, LEONARDO!" Mike called after me, in a deep voice. Obviously trying to bother me. I growled and kicked the wall, causing a big crack in it as a result. I took out my katana, and stabbed the practice dummy multiple times, yelling and cursing with every strike. Sometimes I hated my brothers! They couldn't just leave my life well enough alone! I knew that I shouldn't have a relationship with the daughter of my worst enemy... but I loved her and that should be enough for my family. If she wasn't doing anything to us, what was the reason to not trust her?
KARI:
I was summoned to the throne room , and I knew that this meant either something was wrong or Master Shredder had a plan. I enterd the throne room, and got down on one knee in respect, bowing my head.
"Kari," said my master, "I have new plans for the mission of killing the turtles."
I looked up, and swallowed. "What are they, Master Shredder?" I asked.
"I want you to fool them. Play the damsel in distress." he said softly, his voice echoing and sounding quite amused with the evilness of his plan.
"D...damsel in distress, Master?" I asked, wishing I was anyone but myself right now.
"Yes... fool one of them by acting wounded, and they will take you to their home for healing, and at the end of the week's time you talked about, you may alert the soldiers and I that it is time to strike."
I felt the blood drain from my face as it always did when in the presence if Master Shredder, and gulped down the lump in my throat. "Y...yes Master Shredder... but how do I act hurt? When they bring me to their home, surly they will find nothing is wrong with me?"
"Oh, we can make sacrifices, can we not?" Shredder said, and my eyes went wide.
"You mean..."
"Yes, that is what I mean, Kari." Shredder said dangerously, putting his metal claws on his hand. My heart sank. He was going to hurt me for the sake of his own victory.
"Shredder, you would wound me for the sake of your victory!" I exclaimed, getting up and starting to back away.
"Kari, you should be honored that I am allowing you to be part of this victory!" the Shredder told me venemously, and I shook my head slowly.
"No...you have no honor to give me... Leonardo was right, you are cruel, and care nothing for your pupils!" I spat, and the Shredder glared hard at me.
"Leonardo has brainwashed you! He tells you lies!"
"Then why are his lies true!" I hissed, and Shredder growled.
"You will respect me, Kari!"
"Never!" I yelled, and whipped around and ran out of the throne room.
"Ninja, after her!" I heard him yell, and soon as I had five guards after me. I felt a sharp pain as one of them made to slow me down by slicing my back, and I fell to the ground. I watched my own blood drip to the stone floor, turning a burgandy color when it met the dark stone. I felt sick. I had to get out of here before Shredder's ninja killed me. I felt someone grab my leg, and I kicked out feeling my foot connect with someone's face. I scrambled up and ran for my life.
I nearly tripped down the long stairway in my hurry. And I tried to ignore the cuts I was getting from narrowly missing flying knives. I had made it to the second floor, when I ran into Hun. " Out of the way, you oaf!" I hissed, and jumped up, kicking off of his shoulder and running the rest of the way down to the exit. I had just reached the exit door when I felt a white hot pain that seemed to scream at me. I looked down and saw a small knife stuck in my side, blood seeping out and dripping onto the floor. Well, I wasn't dead. So I kept running.
I made it a few blocks, before I started to stumble, and I began to feel light headed. I moaned, trying my hardest to stay conscious. I felt the air getting thin, and my eyes rolled to the back of my head, and collapsed, out like a light.
LEO:
My brothers and I were on patrol, scanning the city for Foot activity. I had seperated us into pairs: Donny and Mike scanning the west side, Raphael and I scanning the east side.
"Leo, there is NO action tonight! Let's go home!" Raph hissed for the umpteenth time. I sighed, really regretting pairing myself with noisy Raph instead of quiet Don or maybe even Mikey!
"Raphael, we have to scan thoroughly. You never know what the Foot are doing." I informed him calmly.
"Probably sleeping, like we should be!" Raph growled, and I rolled my eyes.
"Come on, let's go to ground level." I insisted, and Raph obeyed grudgingly. We both leapt down into an alley, landing silently.
"What now, Fearless Leader?" Raph asked, sneering.
"Would you STOP-what's that?" I asked, looking up as I heard a small sound coming from the entrance to the alley.
"I dunno." Raph grumbled, "Come on, let's go."
I glared at him, and walked towards the sound.
"What?" he asked, as if he had done nothing to sound rude. I heard another sound, which sounded like a small moan. I looked beside me and down.
"Oh God!" I gasped.
"What!" Raph asked, now seeming interested and rushing behind me, and gasping sharply as well.
"It's Kari!" Indeed it was. She was bloody and cut up all over, and she had a small knife in her waist. She looked very pale. I bit my lip, wondering who could have done this to her. I put my hand under back carefully, and lifted her up into my arms. She moaned again, and opened her eyes to a squint.
"L-Leonardo?" she asked, sounding like it was hard for her to speak.
"Shhh...yeah it's me Kari..." I whispered in her ear, and she grunted softly.
"He wanted me to... I couldn't..." she mumbled. I knew my eyes were shining as I was on the brink of tears.
"Kari, don't talk..." I ordered softly, and she gladly obeyed sighing. I kissed her head and whispered, "Hang in there."
"Sooo...I take it there IS something between you two?" said Mike's voice behind me. Raph must have called he and Don when we found Kari.
"Yeah Mike, there's something." I told him, giving him a look that clearly said 'Don't mess with me, little boy.'
"But why...don't you, you know...have doubts as to how trustworthy she really is?" Don asked, gazing uncertainly at Kari's unconcious face.
"No Don. I have absolutly no doubts of her. She isn't like the Shredder, believe me guys. She's kind, she has honor, and-"
"She kisses like no other, right?" Raph asked, sneering. I glared at him.
"Well...we can't leave her here to die. Sensei won't like this...I'll patch her up." Don said, sounding reluctant.
"Thanks Don. She isn't like Saki, I swear." I told him, smiling.
"Yes, we've heard, lover boy." Don said, heading home with Raph and Mikey behind him. I stood, carefully trying not to push the knife in her waist deeper in. I felt the blood from her various wounds trickling onto my arm and plastron. I felt sick. I walked slowly, a couple steps behind my brothers, staring down at Kari's pained face.
Her short black hair was hanging over her face and framing her cheeks. Dried blood stained her cheeks and chin. All of her dangerous air had completly vanished from her. Now, she looked vulnerable and helpless, moaning in her sleep in my arms. It made me sick to look at all the blood she was loosing, and to think of what would happen if she died. I kissed her cheek softly, hoping she would be alright.
When we arrived home, I fully expected what happened. Splinter had greeted us, and then saw Kari in my arms. The look on his face was enough to make me scream and run in the other direction, which I probably would have done if Kari's life hadn't been such an issue. Then, Sensei was off, scolding me about choosing women more carefully and that Shredder would be coming to look for Kari soon. It depressed me even more to know that I had angered Master Splinter. But, there WERE more important matters at hand at the moment.
"Yes Master Splinter. Please forgive me for my actions." was all I said before Don and I dissappeared behind the infermary door. I lay Kari carefully onto the bed, brushing a bit of her hair out of her face.
"Leo, why didn't you tell us!" Don asked me, while observing Kari's injurys.
"Tell you what?" I asked, raising an eyeridge and crossing my arms in front of my chest.
"That you and Kari were together! You lied to us bro."
I winced at that, and my stomache dropped. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt or dishonor my family.
"Don, I didn't think you guyws would be very happy with me. She's Shredder's daughter, you know?"
"Yeah, we know Leo! We were trying to protect you! She could be up to anything." Don explained, and I scowled. Will they ever get over it! "God, what happened?" Don asked, observing the knife in her waist, "It's in there really deep."
"Will she be alright!" I asked, panicking.
"I don't really know...I'll all I can though." Don said, "Maybe you should go clean yourself up? Her blood is all over you." I looked down. Kari's blood was indeed dried on my arms and plastron. "Alright...scream and yell if anything happens alright?" I told him, and he nodded. I sighed, and bent down and kissed Kari on her forehead, then left to go get in the shower.
DON:
I watched Leo go, my eyeridges raised in concern. He really did love Kari, a lot. He looked like he would go through a mental breakdown if I couldn't help her. I mean, Leo rarely trusts humans. I looked down at Kari, suddenly feeling a pang of sympathy for her. I hope the knife in her side hadn't pierced an artery, then she may die. And we couldn't afford for Leo to go into a mental breakdown. Mental breakdowns usual resulted in losing sanity. I shook my head. I couldn't let that happen. Not to my brother. I'd try my best to save Kari, if not for her then for Leo. Not to sound selfish or rude, but I personally cared more about Leo's sanity than Kari's life.
I gripped the end of the knife, and slowly took it out, eying the blood oozing out of her wound with wary eyes. Kari whimpered and moaned as I removed it, but she was quiet again once it was out. Well, it had only pierced her muscle...some stitches and disinfectant and she would be fine. But, who had done this to her? And without Shredder knowing?
LEO:
I walked out of the bathroom, having taken a long shower and then stared blankly at the wall worrying about Kari for at least five minutes. I had finally come to my senses and left the bathroom. I went into the living room an dsat down on the couch next to Raph; Mikey was on the floor.
"Have you heard anything about Kari?" I asked Raph, and his blank expression scrunched up into a scowl.
"Personally Leo, I don't care!" he spat, and I glared at him.
"Shut up Raph!"
"No Leo! I don't give a friggin crap about that FootSkank!"
I leapt to my feet, unable to tolerate such talk about Kari. "Don't you dare call her that!" I hissed, and Raph stood up as well, getting in my face and sneering.
"Whatcha gunna do about it, huh Leo?" I yelled angrilly, and tackled him to the ground. He growled an pinned my to the ground on my shell, getting on top of me. "So, you really do love the little brat?"
"SHUT UP!" I yelled, slamming my fist into his jaw. Raph growled and kneed me in the guy.
"Make me Leo! Or maybe you have your little Slut sic her foot ninja on me!"
I growled. "SHUT. THE . HELL. UP!" I hollered, and punched him to hard it sent him backwards into the couch, which flipped over with him. Raphael stared up at me, obviously suprised as I was that I had gotten so angry.
"Leo."
I looked up to see Don standing outside the infermary door.
"Kari is awake, she wants to see you."
I quickly walked toward the infermary, feeling Raph's hard glare on the back of my head. Don smiled at me. "She's going to be fine." He said quietly, and I nodded, opening the door.
Kari was lying down, her eyes lying down. She was clean of blood, and had a medical wrap around her waist. I felt like I was going to cry, and caressed her cheek. She opened her eyes slowly, and gazed up at me. She didn't say anything, she looked too tired.
"Kari..." I whispered, my voice cracking. She smiled and kissed my hand, and I knew I couldn't hold back my tears much longer. "What...happened to you?" I asked the first question that came into my mind.
"Sh-Shredder." she said, her voice quiet. I scowled.
"What?" I asked sharply, and she winced a little at my tone. "Kari, what did Saki do to you?" I demanded. Then, I softened my expression, and caressed her cheek again. "Tell me. I need to know." Kari sighed, and nodded. She struggled to tell me that the Shredder had wanted her to play damsel in distress, and to kill me at the end of a week's time. Then, she was to signal the foot and Shredder that it was time to strike. My family. I couldn't believe my ears. But then, she explained how she had refused to do any of this when the Shredder had tryed to hurt her to make her as realistic a damsel in distress as possible. She also told me that there was still going to be an attack at the end of a week's time. I sighed, starting to worry about what could happen to us, to them. In fact, what could happen to Kari if Shredder found her and decided to make her pay for her treachury?
Tears started to fall down Kari's scarred face, and she whispered, "I'm sorry." I bent downand embraced her in a tight hug, whispering in her ear. "It's alright, Kari..." I told her, words that always seemed to comfort her. I kissed her cheek, and allowed her to continue sobbing into my neck.
KARI:
I cried my heart out into Leonardo's neck, glad that he finally knew what I supposed to have done to him. I was glad to hear his kind, comforting voice speak those reassuring words, "It's alright Kari..." I looked up at him, and his eyes were full of concern. "Are you alright?" he asked me, and I nodded.
"Thank you, Leonardo..." I whispered. He caressed my cheek, and I felt a shiver go down my spine.
"Any time. And..." He smiled, "Call me Leo." I grinned, and his lips found mine.
A/N: Hmmm...couldn't think of a better way to end that...(shrug) ah well. PLEASE READ AND REVIEW! THIS CHAPTER WAS LONG! MEH! ;)
