Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT
What I Never Told You
Shadows in the day let the ninjas play
Earlier that day…
Raphael stomped through the halls of the abandoned warehouse that had become the temporary headquarters for The Red Strips while they were in Manhattan, New York. He ran a scarred hand through his dark auburn hair, causing it to become spiky like it was before the sweat stuck it to his head.
He snatched a bottle of water from the mini fridge that they had in the make shift kitchen and chugged its contents down. The leader chucked the empty bottle in the carrier bag that they used as a bin. It missed the target but Raph couldn't be bothered to pick it back up and put it in properly, instead he just shrugged his shoulders and moved on.
Every member of The Red Stripes was gathered in the largest side room that had been converted into a gym for the members to train in. When their leader walked, they didn't even glance at him.
Hun, the second in command, glared at teen who had humiliated them. He had been in line to be the big boss but then this boy joined and took the title of leader from him. Hun had just as much skill and intimidation as Raphael but nope, the new kid had more muscle which apparently made him the perfect person to be the one in control.
"We were humiliated." Raphael stated, gaining the attention of his fellow gang members, "The Red Stripes are de most feared gang in de whole of New York and earlier we had our butts kicked by DAT BOY!" His voice kept raising in volume until he was shouting, "DERE ARE MORE OF US AND ONLY ONE OF 'IM!"
After a brief pause, Raph added in a lower voice, "Tonight we will track 'im down and show 'im who's boss!" The members of The Red Stripes cheered loudly and a few of them even bumped chests or fists in glee.
The only one not celebrating was Hun.
"If you wish to keep your heads on your bodies, you will do no such thing." A skinny brunette threatened as she confidently entered the gym.
"My name is Karai and I am here on behalf of Master Shredder." The woman informed them, "Your pitiful attempt to carry out simple orders this morning has made Master Shredder realise just how pathetic you all are. Your services are no longer needed."
"What!" Raphael snapped, "We 'ad a deal! If we went after dat money hog's son, den 'e would supply us with dose new weapons."
Getting in the leader's face, Karai fiercely corrected him, "The deal was for your gang to capture Mr Carpenter's son without harming him and you did neither of those."
Raphael's temper got the best of him and he swung his tight fist at the young woman. The kunoichi saw the attack coming and grabbed his bulky arm. She twisted Raphael's arm behind his back and used it to pin him against the wall.
Karai leaned in close and whispered in Raphael's ear, "Your services are no longer needed."
With that said, Karai began to leave but abruptly stopped when Raph angrily mumbled, "Dis is all da Blue Boys fault."
"Who?" Karai questioned, raising a thin eyebrow.
"Dat Japanese boy." Raph explained, still fuming, "Da one with da blue eyes, neat black hair and dat stupid scar."
"Is that scar under his right eye?" Asked Karai as she crossed her arms over her chest. When Raphael didn't answer, she sprinted towards him and pinned him against the wall again, this time having her blade across his throat.
"Is that scar under his right eye?" She demanded more fiercely, applying some pressure to her weapon.
The gang's leader breathed out a quiet, "Ya." And upon receiving an answer, Karai released the teen. She pulled her mobile phone out of her pocket and pulled up a photo she hadn't looked at in several years.
She showed the photograph to Raphael, "Is this the boy that you fought?"
"'e was older but…" Raph intensely studied the young boy on the kunoichi's phone, "Dat definitely looks like 'im. Is 'e your long-lost soulmate or something?" The teen joked.
"He's my supposed to be dead baby brother." Karai absently answered, blankly looking at the picture of the boy she hadn't seen since he was six.
Masking her features again, Karai pocketed her phone and sheathed her blade. She ignored the gang members whispering about her as she took off at full speed, out the warehouse and to the rooftops of New York City.
Karai reach the New York Foot headquarters in record breaking time. Her agility and stealth came in handy as she used the broken stained-glass window to sneak back in. The kunoichi didn't have to sneak in as the Shredder was the one who had sent her to deliver the message.
Unfortunately for her, the Shredders enhanced senses had already detected her so when she lightly landed on the walkway behind him, he spoke, "Did you deliver the message like I said?"
"Tell me the truth! The boy that defeated The Red Stripes is my brothers, isn't he?" Karai demanded, her fists clenched to try and keep her anger at bay, "You said he and father died in that fire from their injuries. That's why you took me in. It was all a lie wasn't it!"
The Shredders steel like eyes glared at his second in command but other than that, he showed no emotions.
"I am your master." The Shredder coldly reminded Karai, "I thought I taught you better then to talk to your master like that."
"And my Master is supposed to have honour!" Karai retaliated, "Where's the honour in lying?"
"I did no such thing." The shredder stated, keeping his steely eyes on the girl in front of him.
In a fit of rage, Karai unsheathed her sword and swung at her master. The master ninja in the room dodged and placed a hard kick in Karai's abdomen, causing her to stumble back. Before she could get up from where she had landed, two of The Shredder's minions, Chris Bradford and Xever Montes, grabbed her arms and held her steady despite her struggling.
The Shredder ordered, "Take her to the dungeon and make sure she stays there. She will not return until she has learnt to respect her master."
"YOU ARE NOT MY MASTER!" The kunoichi yelled as she was dragged away.
The Shredder waited until his second in command had been taken away before he spoke, "Make sure Hamato Yoshi and Leonardo are dealt with properly."
"Of course Master." Someone concealed in the shadows of the lair respectfully replied.
Elsewhere in the room, just inside the crack in Stain glass window, a pair of emerald eyes watched the event unfold…
Karai paced around the small cell she had been locked in. Xever stood outside sharpening his knife, occasionally glancing at the prisoner or making a snide comment with Bradford when he popped down.
"Xever!" Bradford called when he entered the dungeon, two foot soldiers trailing behind him, "Master wants us in the throne room immediately. I think we get to do the mission those loser stripes failed at."
Xever snickered as he followed Bradford down the corridor, his loud voice still audible to Karai, "Lets show them how real men fight."
"No," Despite knowing that they were too far away to hear her, Karai corrected them, "My brother will show you how honourable men fight."
"Ya really 'ave dat much faith in 'im?"
The kunoichi stared coldly at the shadows where the gruff voice came from, "Yes, I do. I helped father to train him. He had way more potential when he was six than those two full grown adults do now."
"Yet 'is sister is a prisoner to 'er own master."
"Shut up and get me out of here!" Demanded Karai, already trying saw one of the steel bars off.
"And why should I do dat?" The leader of The Red Stripes huffed as he moved to stand on the other side of the bars, "I thought ya said our services were no longer needed."
"That message was from The Shredder!" Karai snapped, the need to escape and find her younger brother causing her temper to flair, "Help me remove this bar."
"Depends, what's in it for me?" Asked Raphael, "I'll help ya escape if ya swear on yar honour to do something for me in the future."
Karai opened here mouth to decline his offer but stopped before anything came out. She realised that she had no option. If she stayed here, The Foot Clan would attack her brother and she didn't want to think about how that might end up. If she took Raphael's offer, she'd just owe him a favour and after all, whatever he wanted her to do, it couldn't be any worse than what she was forced to do for The Foot Clan.
"Fine." Karai reluctantly gave in, "I swear on my honour that I owe you a favour, no matter what it is."
Raphael smirked but kept his side of the promise. However, instead of helping the kunoichi remove the bar, he pulled a key out of the back pocket of his ripped jeans. To Karai's surprise (though she didn't show it) that key unlocked her cell door and was much quicker than her method of removing a bar to force the door open.
"Snagged it out da large guy's pocket when 'e was showing off to some of dose low-level ninjas." Raphael informed her as she exited her prison.
Outside her cell, the first thing Karai spotted was the two Foot soldiers who were supposed to be guarding her cell, slumped and unconscious in a dark corner. She could just make out one of their arms in an awkward position.
Once more Raphael smirked when he spotted Karai admiring his handy work, "Pieces of cake. Neither of dem put up much of a fight and 'ere I was thinking dat The Foot clan should be feared."
"Came on," Karai said as she started sprinting down the corridor which would lead them up to the main building, "I need to find my little brother before they do."
"What's da fuss about?" Raphael questioned quietly, following the brunette around a corner, "'e kick my entire gang's butts and got away with just cuts and bruises. I say 'e 'as nothing to worry about."
"Nothing to worry about!" Karai snapped, "Do you know how many men The Foot clan has? Over one thousand! And that doesn't include the one hundred elite soldiers, Bradford, Xever or The Shredder! Oh, and let's not forget the local street gangs that have deals with The Foot clan!"
"I just followed ya through their headquarters and not one person realised I was there." Pointed out Raphael, "Dey clearly aren' as good as ya thought!"
"Oh, we knew you were there."
Karai and Raphael whipped their heads round to find The Shredders top henchmen, Chris Bradford and Xever Montes, snickering at them.
"We just wanted to make your deaths more interesting." Xever finished Bradford's statement. He took a step forward and threateningly played with his switchblade while his companion unsheathed his katana.
Karai went to do the same with her own sword but cursed under her breath when she found nothing but an empty sheath. It made sense for Bradford or Xever to remove her weapons when they threw her in her cell but Karai really wish that they hadn't.
"What you gonna do now princess?" Xever mocked as he advanced. He swung his knife at the young woman, but she dodged at the last second and delivered a strong punch to Xever's stomach which temporarily stunned him.
Karai went to knee the man in the face but Xever swung his leg out and sent the kunoichi rolling backwards across the ground. She quickly got back to her feet in time to avoid the knife that was thrown at her. Karai risked taking a glance at the other fight that was taking place at the other side of the corridor. It looked like Raphael was able to land a few blows, but Bradford was able to land more and was quickly over powering him.
Karai delivered a strong round house kick that sent Xever flying into Bradford, knocking them both down for a few seconds. In those few seconds, Karai shouted at Raphael, "We need to go now!"
"I'm not leaving 'til I show dis idiot who's boss!" Raphael stubbornly shouted back; his punch being blocked by Bradford muscular arms as he got back on his feet.
"Leaving the party already. It was just getting fun!" Xever sneered, grabbing Karai's arm when she took a swing at him. He painfully twisted it round so that she couldn't escape. He leaned in close to her ear, "You betrayed Master Shredder, so this is what you get as a punishment." He pulled hard on the woman's arm and despite the loud noises from the fight between the muscular two, the snapping sound was very much audible.
When Xever released Karai, she collapsed on the floor in agony. Keeping her broken arm close to her body, she tried to push herself up but the fatigue from the fighting and lack of food and water had take its toll on her and she could barely move.
"Hands off!" Karai heard Raphael yell and someone groaning in pain. She felt more than saw someone lifting her off the ground. She pried her eyes open to see lots of smoke.
"You had a smoke bomb this entire time and didn't think to use it?" Slurred Karai. The pain had dulled a bit, but she still didn't have her usual amount of strength, "I can walk myself."
They were outside by now and a few blocks away from The Foot's Headquarters. Raphael lowered his burden to the ground not so gently and held her steady as she stood up, "I stole dem from dose foot noobs."
"Then why didn't you use them when they first discovered us?"
"I'm tougher den dem." Raphael announced while he slowly followed Karai as she stumbled down the street, "Do ya even know where ya going?"
Karai had to use a wall for support for a second before she continued her gradual journey, "No, but I won't give up till I find him."
"Stubborn girl."
"Moron."
"You're supposed to be dead…" Leo numbly mumbled, relaxing his defensive stance.
Standing in front of him was a stunning young woman with beautiful brown hair. His sapphire blue eyes met her amber ones. The exact same amber eyes that were there to comfort him when he had a nightmare, the same eyes that would watch him while he trained, the same eyes his sister shared with their mother.
"Leonardo…" Breathed Karai, taking a few hesitant steps forward.
"Miwa…"
There was silence for a few minutes, the long-lost siblings staring in shock at each other before the spoke in unison, "They said you were dead."
Karai and Leo gave in and let out a few chuckles at the unintentional habit they picked up not long after Leo had started to talk. They had always found it strange that they would talk in unison. Normally, people associated twins with that sort of thing but with only a year separating the two, several people who weren't close to the small family, could (and quite frequently would) mistake them for twins as they grew up together.
"How… How did you survive? I watched the roof collapse on top of you. There's no way someone could have survived that." Absently asked Leo, offering his injured sister a hand which she stubbornly declined.
"I'm fine." Karai insisted as she hobbled towards the rooftop door, "I'll explain tomorrow Leo, right now we need to get out of sight."
Leo raised an eyebrow in confusion and was about to ask why when someone harshly shaved him from behind. He stumbled a few steps, internally scolding himself for dropping his guard like that. A hand that had clearly be used in hand to hand combat recently grabbed his upper arm and dragged him towards the open doorway.
He protested, "Hey!" but allowed the guy to move him, sensing no danger from the stranger.
Raphael released Leo's biceps to thrust him through the doorway, "Move it Blue Boy!"
"I don't even know you red… gangster… guy."
"Leo dude," Mikey smiled as he skipped down the corridor, having come out of his apartment when he heard people coming, "Leave the nicknames to the professionals because that was lame."
"Well, this guy has the decency to think he can push me around." Leo glared at Raph who was already glaring at him.
The two continued to glare at each other. Leo only broke eye contact when he got the sinking feeling that he had met this guy before. It was Mikey's happy squeak that confirmed his suspicions.
"You're that guy that saved me from being hit by that car."
"And the leader of The Red Strips." Leo pointed out. He had spotted the large bruise on the side of Raphael's face which he caused with his roundhouse kick.
"Well I also saved ya sister!" Raph prodded Leo in the chest, getting in his face.
Leo swiped the finger away, "That doesn't make up for what you did to Donnie. You could have killed him!"
"Well, I didn'!" Raphael defended himself, "I risked my life to save ya pathetic sister and all ya do to thank me is to shout at me!"
Karai, having wondered back to where the group had stopped, piped in with her own side of the argument, "It was your decision to help me! You could have just as easily walked away and left me there to rot! It was your choice!"
"So all ya begging for me to 'elp ya escape was fake!" Raphael turned his anger towards the young woman he had just rescued.
With the long-lost urge to protect an injured family member, Leo stepped between Karai and Raphael, "Leave my sister out of this! You brought this upon yourself, you heartless mon-"
"SHUT UP!"
The group glanced at Michelangelo who had been silent throughout the argument. His baby blue eyes were wide and watery. He held his hands tightly over his ears as he breathed heavily. In a quieter voice, Mikey begged, "Pleases just… just stop arguing."
"Mikey…" Mikey stepped back when Leo tried to place his hand on Mikey's shoulder.
Hating the confused and hurt eyes watching him, Mikey dashed away and disappeared back to his apartment.
"Whatever…" Raph was the first to speak, "I'm out of 'ere."
Leo waited to make sure the gang leader had disappeared up the rooftop stairs before he guided his long-lost sister to their apartment. He needed his sleep after the events of the day.
Back on the rooftops, someone watched as the group had disappeared inside. He used his walkie talkie to report back to his Master.
"I've got him in my sights Master Shredder."
"Good." Came The Shredders reply, "You know what to do."
