Author's Note: I can't believe I got reviews! Thank you guys so much; that really brightened my day. By the way, can any of you guess which of our favorite turtles this is centered around? I'm trying to make it obvious, but I would really like to know if I need to drop anymore hints.

Stranger

Chapter Two

They say it's fate when you meet someone three times…

He tried to pass it off as a coincidence, a fluke, or perhaps just one of the random anomalies the brainiest of his brothers always seemed to blather on about. In the end, he couldn't bypass the facts; they had run into each other three times.

The first was when he had beat up the thugs in the alley and she had first captivated his attention. That had been a week ago, and it had taken all his patience and willpower not to prowl about for the strange woman. For him, it had been nearly as hard as learning to mediate. No matter what he did, his curiosity hadn't left him alone. The first couple of days had been slow murder on his psyche.

The second time they met was only for the briefest couple of minutes. It had been a complete accident. He had been prowling Central Park as usual, blowing off the city routes in favor of relaxing for his allotted time on the surface. It had been a pretty night; there had been the faintest hint of a breeze to abolish the heat and humidity of summer, and the air smelled fresher than it normally did for that time of the year. Then, from the corner of his eye, he had spotted her. The night blanketed around her, and the headband he had glimpsed the first time he met her had covered the epitome of his curiosity. Then, she had looked straight at him where he was paralyzed in a tree, and he had fled. It was just as he had always done- training had made sure that aspect of his life was second nature. For days afterward he had agonized over that action, much to the confusion of his brothers; they knew nothing of the stranger.

The third time they met was a time he would never forget for as long as he lived. That night he had spotted her out of the corner of his eye again, and with a resolve made clearer by the sharp stab of pain at how he had felt after his hurried departure the second time, he had tailed her. If she knew, she didn't show it, and he had unabashedly followed her for the greater part of an hour as she weaved through the heavy throng of a living mass that was New York. Even from the rooftops, he could sense how uncomfortable she was with them. She went to several places that night: a grocery store, a pharmacy, and bookstore.

An hour had passed, and he knew his bothers would be getting worried, but he pressed on. Curiosity drove him harder and faster as he vaulted from building to building. He used all the stealth and speed his ninja master and father had given to him in his lessons. He tailed her well into the night as she clung to the shadows and hurried down streets that weren't used as much. Finally, she reached a somewhat decent apartment complex. He watched her go in, his eyes desperately trying to see through the walls, his heart of hearts hoping she had a window overlooking the building he was perched on.

For a while he sat there, his curiosity singing sweet songs as it pumped steadily through his veins alongside its partner in crime, adrenaline. They made his body race and his blood feel as if it were on fire. His flesh had prickled with gooseflesh and been pleasantly warm; the green color slightly red and sun-kissed. As to how much time had passed, he really couldn't have said. All he knew at that moment was his wish to be able to see through walls like some of his favorite characters in his comic books.

He had been a hair's width away from giving up for the night when one of the dark windows suddenly flared to life. His breath hitched, and for a moment he dared not to take even the slightest hint of a breath. He slowly inched forward, rocking forward and straining his eyes in hopes of catching a glimpse of the occupant inside.

The light dimmed, and for a moment his hopes were dashed. But then a head poked out, and the voice that had haunted his thoughts for well over a week met his all-too-ready-to-listen ears. It was just as he remembered, soft and delicate, but nearly bursting with the kind of strength his master had been trying to instill into his brothers and him.

"Hello, hello said the spider to the fly." The strange woman said.

"Welcome to my nest." He finished, nearly breathless with anticipation and excitement. His curiosity screamed in frustration when it discovered that the prevalent darkness of the city and the headband the strange woman wore obstructed his view of her face yet again.

"I knew it was you, Stranger." The woman smiled as she leaned on her windowsill, her right arm propping up her head as she relaxed lazily on what he had to guess was a window seat. Not for the first time did he notice the empty sleeve of her left arm, and once again he wanted with every ounce that was him to ask question after question. His curiosity howled at him like a wolf to a full moon.

"I've been tailing you all night." He answered honestly.

"Was it you at the park?" she replied serenely. For a moment his heart stopped, she was trying to see his face just as desperately as he was trying to see hers.

"That was a coincidence." He replied with a grin he knew she probably couldn't see.

"Did you know that we've met three times?" she asked suddenly.

"You're keeping count?" he said, and couldn't help but let a teasing air slip into his voice. He saw the strange woman grin and mutter something along the lines of 'you have too'.

"Yes, well, did you know that people say if you meet three times it's fate?" she asked. For a moment he didn't speak. She had known about that superstition too?

"Yes." He replied with a grin, "So, do you think fate has decided anything important?" He saw her shrug.

"Maybe fate has decided something and we don't know about it just yet." She said softly as she stared right at him. His heart stopped and then did a triple beat. For a moment he couldn't move, couldn't speak, and couldn't even think. His curiosity and still present adrenaline woke him up and commandeered his mouth.

"May I ask you a question?" he asked inquisitively.

"You just did." She smiled, and he couldn't help but chuckle as a teasing air slipped into her voice too as she got more relaxed around him. He decided he liked that too, it was nice when there wasn't so much pain in her voice. 'Spunky' and 'happy' really suited her.

"You know what I mean." He teased right back.

"I have a deal for you, do you care to accept?" she asked out of the blue.

"What's the deal?" he replied, years of getting duped by his brothers coming in handy. For a second, he sent a quiet thanks to them, even though at the time it had been terrible.

"Very good, you thought it through. Anyway, the deal is this; you ask me as many personal questions as you want on the grounds that the favor is returned. We both have to answer honestly. Equivalent exchange and the such."

He thought about it for a minute. On one hand, he could not except and agonize over that choice for a long, long time. On the other hand, he could except and damn all the consequences, which did not exclude punishment from his brothers and/or father. He chewed on his lip for a moment, but in the end, the stronger of the two won.

"You've got yourself a deal." He said, unable to hide the big toothy grin that had been fighting tooth and nail to escape.

"I as hoping you'd say that, Stranger." The woman said with a laugh that he decided he liked as well.

To Be Continued!

Reviews and Constructive Criticism is appreciated, Flames will be mocked and/or used to warm my feet!