Dr. Prankenstein has been busy. But even that isn't enough to improve Karai's mood. In fact it's probably made it worse.
So we heard you like drama. Have some build-up! Also featuring brotherly banter!
As always, huge thanks to Queequegg and Theherocomplex for their superb beta jobs!
Leo welcomed the new day with a mighty stretch. Getting up in one agile flip, he rolled his futon and neatly put it away behind his bookcase. It was early, just the way he liked it, which gave him about an hour of peace and quiet before any of his brothers got up. And better yet, it meant the bathroom would be all his. He was surprised to find he wasn't the only early bird in the lair: Hachisu-no-Hana was also up, sitting in the bean-bag chair in the living area, meditatively looking at a tablet. He'd almost forgotten about the Lotus clan. Even in black yoga pants and a long-sleeved top, hair drawn back in her usual modest ponytail, she still looked dignified.
Intent on making the best, most cordial impression possible, Leo approached her. She gazed up at him as he entered the pit.
"Ohayō gozaimasu, Hachisu-no-Hana-san!" he said merrily, making a special effort of getting the accent right, and supplemented his words with a wide smile. "Did you sleep well?"
When Hachisu's eyes met his, she paused. There was nothing telling in her expression. She simply… stared, eyes blank. Leo was starting to think he must have pronounced it horribly wrong. Or maybe he should've kept a more stoic demeanor, instead of coming on so openly. He realized he wasn't wearing his mask yet. Could that be it?
Luckily she reacted after a couple of seconds, and finally replied, "Ohayō gozaimasu, Leonardo-san. Yes, thank you, I slept very well." A fleeting, timid smile formed on her lips. "And you?"
"Very well, thank you. Did you have breakfast?" Leo asked, relieved that Hachisu had stopped looking at him like that.
"Yes." Hachisu motioned at an empty plate and a cup sitting to one side. "I hope it's not a problem that I took some of your food. It is much too early to send my team for groceries."
"Please. Make yourselves at home."
She acknowledged with a little nod, and thankfully no signs of lingering weirdness.
"Uh, let me take those from you so they're not in the way," he offered, already going for the pieces of ceramic.
Hachisu reached out, moving her arms to gently stop Leo. "Oh, no, please. That is not necessary…"
"No, I insist," Leo said, puffing out his chest as he stood with the plate and the teacup in hand.
"Very well, thank you again," she agreed.
"Don't mention it." He decided that was enough for the moment—didn't want to seem overzealous—and started towards the kitchen with the utensils. "I'll leave you be."
"Wait," she said, stopping him in his tracks once more. She reached into the backpack at her side and retrieved a small metallic object, offering it to Leo on her palms. It was a shuriken engraved with the emblem of the Hamato clan, clearly the one that Raph had left back at the warehouse where the Lotus first saw them. "I believe this belongs to you," she said with a little bow and a Mona Lisa smile.
Leo nodded, balancing the ceramic in his arms, and took the shuriken from her small but sturdy hands. He put it away in his belt before starting towards the kitchen, slowly but surely so as not to make a mess. Wouldn't want to make a fool of himself in front of the Lotus clan leader.
That went great, actually! he thought as he put the dirty dishes in the kitchen sink, grinning to himself. He couldn't help feeling proud, even after that awkward look Hachisu had given him at first—perhaps he should work on his pronunciation. But everything else he'd handled like a true Japanese gentleman, if he did say so himself, given he didn't often get to practice that role in his crazy life.
After a quick visit to the toilet and a bit of kata practice in the dojo—wow, it's been an hour already?—it was finally time for breakfast.
He found Karai already in the kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal and looking mildly annoyed. It seemed she was still hung up on her confrontation with Splinter the previous day. He would have to tread lightly.
"Morning, Karai," he said casually, taking a teacup from the cupboard.
"Hey," she said dully without so much as a side glance, and chomped on a big spoonful of cereal.
Leo let the water heat, and got out the shuriken to look at it while he waited, even when it was exactly like all the other shuriken they owned. Still, he would keep this one in his drawer, as a souvenir of their alliance with the Lotus clan. Who knew if they would ever meet again? The thought saddened him, and he quickly tossed it aside.
"Kind of exciting, isn't it?" he said to Karai, unable to keep his inner fanboy contained as he put the shuriken back in his pouch. "We have another ninja clan living in our lair."
Karai made a muffled sound through a mouthful of cereal. Leo took it to mean she agreed.
"And what do you think of Hachisu-no-Hana? I like her style," he commented thoughtfully, more to himself than anything. "She's kind of austere. No makeup or anything, and you can tell. But there's something so natural and carefree about that," Leo said, remembering the clean face, the slightly haggard appearance that somehow worked. "So confident, even though she's so small. She's got this commanding presence, you know?"
Karai made a non-committal sound, before whipping her head around to look at him deadon.
Leo froze at the look of surprise in her wide-shot eyes. "What?" he said suspiciously, as Karai's face slowly stretched into a wolfish sneer.
"Oh, nothing... Little Miss New York Sewers..."
"What- why are you calling me that?"
Karai chuckled through her nose. "I think a mirror is worth a thousand words."
He touched his face, now genuinely worried, but felt nothing. He hurriedly set down his teacup, spilling some of the contents, dashed out of the kitchen and practically kicked open the bathroom door. Donnie was inside brushing his teeth, mask around his neck, and gave a yelp of surprise.
"Leo, what is it with you guys and–!" But as soon as their eyes met he choked on the toothpaste and started coughing into the sink. "Ew, I swallowed some!" he cried, leaning down to rinse his mouth, and Leo took the opportunity to look himself in the mirror over Donnie's hunched shell.
What he saw left him speechless.
There was his face, sporting meticulously drawn black eyeliner that made the blue of his irises practically shine in the muted green of his skin. How did he not notice when he was in here earlier?
"Looks pretty good on you, to be honest," Leo could vaguely hear Donnie's voice say next to him. "You know, for a guy... and… also a turtle. Although in several cultures men often wear black eyeliner to protect their eyes from the sun, so it's really not that uncommon. I'm afraid I can't say the same for turtles."
"Thanks for the fun fact, Donnie," Leo retorted weakly, still unable to take his eyes off of his own reflexion. "I feel better knowing I don't just look like a Jack Sparrow fanboy."
Hachisu-no-Hana saw me like this. That's why she seemed so weirded out.
He leaned over the sink and started washing the paint off when Donnie's voice interrupted him again. "I don't think that'll work."
Leo looked up to see his brother watching him critically, toothbrush still in hand.
"Why?" Leo spat.
"I'm guessing that's Karai's eyeliner. If that's the case, it's extraordinarily waterproof."
"What?" Leo looked in the mirror again. His face dripped with water and soap, but underneath, the makeup was intact.
"Mm-hm, yeah, I've thought about testing it as a seal for microscopic cracks," Donnie commented like he was shopping for materials.
"Are you kidding me!" Leo grabbed a handful of toilet paper and started rubbing, to no avail. The paper started disintegrating into little white balls that stuck to his face and got in his eyes, and he frustratingly swatted them off.
"Why did you even put eyeliner on in the first place?" Donnie asked with a little chuckle.
Leo glared at him. "I didn't! How do I get this off?"
"Actually, Leo, my knowledge on makeup is relatively limited. All I know is that stuff is durable."
"Dammit!"
Storming out of the bathroom, Leo hustled to the kitchen, covering his face in case he ran into anyone else on the way.
"Karai!" he growled when he got there and pointed at his face. "How do I get this off?"
"That comes off on its own, Mochi-chan. Just give it, oh, ten to fifteen hours," she replied casually and took another spoonful of cereal.
Leo could feel his blood start to boil.
"I don't see why you'd want it off though, it looks really good on you," Karai added around a new mouthful. "I totally called it."
"Hachisu-no-Hana saw me like this!"
Karai barked a laugh. "Don't worry, I'm sure she likes a man with a sense of fashion."
"Why?" Leo implored, almost digging his nails into the wooden table. "Why did you have to do this now, with the entire Lotus clan living in our common room?"
"Oh, come on, will you stop with the drama?" Karai said with an eye-roll. "Besides, I didn't put that on you."
"I know you, Karai!" Leo said. Karai's eyebrows quirked. "You're the mastermind! You think I forgot the other day in the dojo? 'Oh, Mochi-chan!'" he said in a mock imitation of Karai's smug voice. "'Mochi-chan, you have earned the kunoichi's eyeliner, you totally have the features for it!'"
"It wasn't me!" Karai drawled. "It was Mikey. He's the only one who could've done it so cleanly besides me. I taught him the ways. He has a knack for it too," she added thoughtfully before getting back to her breakfast.
Leo groaned and let himself fall down onto a stool, hiding his face in his hands. "This is so embarrassing! They will never take me seriously. Hachisu-no-Hana must have thought I was a moron!" He heard Karai scoff, but ignored her. "I've got the chance to associate with this amazing kunoichi leader. I could have learned so much. And now I'm not gonna be able to look her in the eye! All for a stupid prank! I guess it was too much to ask that you guys try to be at least slightly professional."
"Ugh!" Karai slammed the table, standing up abruptly and almost toppling over her stool. Leo straightened up at the sudden thunder as her bowl of cereal whirled precariously, spilling a few wet Cheerios. "Just stop!" she yelled. "You and your ridiculous bushido! Do you even hear yourself?"
Leo didn't know what to say to that so he just stared in bewilderment.
"You're… hypnotized by that woman!" Karai went on. "You must think she's the best thing in Ninjutsu since Hattori Hanzo!"
"What?" Leo spat, reeling, his cheeks growing hot. He desperately looked towards the exit, terrified to think Hachisu might have heard any of that.
"Don't play dumb now, I've been stepping on your puddles of drool ever since she got here."
Leo could see her body trembling with fury, so he spoke as calmly as possible, doing his best to ignore his own inner rage and red-hot blush.
"Karai, I don't know where you got-"
"Oooooooooh, notice me, Senpai, Hachisu-san!" she mocked in a deep, raspy voice, what she must have thought was an imitation of him. "Please, if you want I'll put on a collar and you can make me your sweet pet turtle!"
"That's enough, Karai!" Leo shouted, furiously aiming a finger at her. He'd failed at keeping his voice low, but he couldn't care less. He was so tired of walking on tiptoes around her. "If you have something to say, just spit it out!" he challenged.
"I already spat it out, you idiot! I got more, though." Karai's face was centimeters from his, in a much different way than on that sparring session two days ago. "You're so much of a weeaboo it's hysterical. You're a samurai wannabe with delusions of greatness, and you should grow. The hell. Up."
Leo finally burst. "Look who's talking! At least I don't read shōjo just to pretend I'm normal!"
Karai flipped the bowl of cereal, spilling its contents all over the table. Then she stormed off.
The bowl twirled, but Leo didn't care enough to keep it from falling off the table and shattering on the floor. The screaming must have been heard over in Brooklyn.
Karai slammed her door. The force she used to run her lock chipped a nail.
With a frustrated huff, she dove into her bed face up. Her ponytail dug into the back of her skull. Clucking her tongue, she undid it and wrung the elastic ruthlessly between her fingers. She pulled so hard that one of the threads came loose. Piece of shit material.
Turning, she spotted her collection of Tsum Tsum dolls on her nightstand. Four turtles, each with their own tiny bandana around their necks—red, purple, orange and blue—making a column on top of a bigger rat, like a miniature plush totem. She stared at the pile, bright colors popping against the dark tones of the rest of her room, and felt a pang in her chest. The little turtle with the blue bandana sat at the top. It looked at her, and she glared back. Moron, she thought, aiming the elastic band like a miniature slingshot. She pulled hard, and then released. The elastic flew, knocking the little turtle with the blue bandana off its perch. It bounced soundlessly off the nightstand and out of sight.
You asked for it, you big weeaboo.
The impact had left the turtle below lopsided, and she stretched out her hand to straighten it, tussling the little orange bandana.
Her T-Phone blinked, telling her she had an unread message, and she ignored it for about twenty seconds as she lay staring at the ceiling. In the end, curiosity got the best of her.
It was the Hamato group: Mikey had sent a picture of Leo in bed, mouth slightly agape and eyes closed in deep slumber, the neat kunoichi eyeliner adorning his features. Someone had repositioned him into a sexy French girl pose. She couldn't hold back a smile, and hated herself for it.
Donnie stared at the kitchen entrance, trying to make up his mind to go in.
He'd been waiting to tell Leo and the others about last night's encounter with that ghost. But after Karai had stormed out of the kitchen like that—fuming like a steam locomotive before the concerned eyes of a few Lotus members—Donnie wasn't sure his brother would be in a very receptive mood.
Not to mention the other cause for concern: Karai. Perhaps he could save the ghost stories for later... After all, it had been pretty quiet and ghost-less that morning—in fact he'd been lying awake all night expecting to hear horrible screaming from somewhere in the lair. But all he heard was Mikey's snores in his ear.
There was a dull chirp from inside his belt pocket. He fished out his T-Phone, clicked it open to look at the new picture, and cringed.
Oh, man. Terrible timing, Mikey, he thought as he put the phone away in his belt. He took a deep breath and tied on his mask before entering the kitchen.
Inside, he spotted Leo also looking at his phone. They locked eyes for a moment and Leo put the device away looking disgruntled, before getting busy picking up the pieces of the broken bowl off the floor. Yep, ghost could definitely wait.
Donnie also decided to spare his brother any other comments about a certain photo and approached him cautiously, taking a cloth from a drawer. "Need help with that?"
Leo shrugged, but stood aside, and Donnie grabbed the bin to throw in the soggy cereal. Together they cleaned up the milk and Cheerios spilled all over the table and the floor.
"You're up early," Leo said bluntly after a bit. He sounded pissed.
On a normal day, Donnie would've been the last up, just in time for morning training. Not this morning though, but will power had nothing to do with it.
"Mikey spent the night in my bed. I gave up trying to sleep," he explained briefly and Leo made a non-committing sound of acknowledgement. "What happened?" Donnie then asked carefully.
Leo groaned through a grimace. "Ugh. If only my swords were as sharp as her words, they could cut light." He dejectedly threw a piece of ceramic at the bin. At least he was talking.
"You know we should be careful," Donnie said, concerned. "The future turtles–"
"I didn't do anything! She's the one who got all…" Leo gestured wildly, visibly and audibly frustrated. Donnie could understand—heaven knew he wasn't the poster boy for patience himself—but this situation called for extreme caution. And it wasn't as if Leo's words hadn't been just as hurtful. Donnie shot him a worried frown, and waited for him to calm down.
His irate brother finally glanced past the kitchen curtains and sighed. He let his arms fall and shook his head. "Yeah, I should talk to her," he said softly.
"Maybe wait a little…" Donnie suggested. Karai had probably locked herself in her room, to mull things over, or punch a couple of walls. There was a good amount of evidence suggesting she dealt with anger a lot like Raph—it was best to let her cool off before attempting to engage.
Speaking of hot-heads.
Raph slapped the curtains to the side, wearing his usual morning face under his red mask. But then he froze, catching sight of Leo, and his lips started curling into a shit-stirring grin.
"Well! What's different here?" he asked, an overacted nonchalance in his tone of voice.
"Shut up." Leo dropped the milk-drenched cloth into the sink before sitting down.
"No, wait, let me guess. You did something with your hair." Raph laughed uproariously. When neither Leo nor Donnie reacted, the laughter faded to a deflated chuckle as he stared curiously at both. "Okay, seriously, why are you wearing goth makeup, bro?" he asked at last. Donnie gave him a not now look, but was interrupted by a new arrival.
"It's kunoichi makeup, Raph." Mikey came in the kitchen displaying a knowing smirk. He had his mask on as well, and Donnie couldn't help but notice how he looked well rested. He obviously slept like a baby—a baby warthog with a stuffy nose. "And I think he looks fabulous," Mikey cooed, and clapped his hands together, batting his eyelids.
Raph was the only one who laughed, while Donnie could swear he saw some smoke come out of Leo's ears.
"Where's Karaiwa?" Mikey asked, looking very satisfied, as he took out a pan and a dozen eggs.
"She's busy," Leo responded tartly. Donnie knew his brother, and his silences often bore more meaning than any kind of angry shouting.
"What did she think of your new look?" Mikey asked in a silky voice, relentless and oblivious, and leaned towards Leo with a suggestive brow waggle.
Leo pressed his lips. "Oh, she thought it was a real hoot. She complimented the artist," he grumbled.
"Aw yeah," Mikey hollered, cracking a few eggs on the rim of the pan. The eggs sizzled as Mikey wielded the spatula in a flourish. "And what do you have to say, Captain? Was that some quality ninja-ing or what?"
But Leo didn't even lift his black-lined eyes off his tea. "Yeah, and I wish you'd take real stealth missions as seriously as these stupid pranks, Michelangelo."
Donnie saw it hit Mikey at last; the moment his cocky smile drooped into a frown at the sound of his full name—about time, too. Spatula halting mid stir, Mikey turned around to look questioningly at Leo.
Raph seemed to have noticed something was pissing Leo off more than usual as well because he was giving him one of those looks of concentration that made him look angrier, even when he wasn't. Donnie used that silence to give them both a warning glare, and Mikey's big round eyes and slumped shoulders said, "Oh okay, not a good time."
The eggs had started to burn and Mikey finally reacted, turning back to the stove to stir them. He finished cooking and serving, quietly, head slightly tucked into his shell and casting the occasional glance at Leo. Donnie took the chance to pour himself some well-needed coffee before sitting down in front of his plate. Even in current circumstances, his stomach grumbled in a Pavlovian response to the familiar combination of smells.
"We should go out tonight, keep looking for that missing mutagen," Leo said monotonously, ending the silence. "We could try the Purple Dragon hideouts again, see if there's any leads on where they could've gone."
"We already looked there!" Raph protested, dropping the forkful heading for his mouth. "Even the Lotus didn't see anything. I thought we agreed the Purple Dragons were gone!"
"They won't be gone forever," Leo replied. He hadn't even tried his eggs, and his teacup was no longer steaming. But at least neither was he. "Besides, there might be some clue as to where they are, or what they might be up to. Maybe in their computers."
Donnie swallowed quickly to reply, almost choking on his eggs. "I really gotta work on the portal," he warned, knowing Leo was already counting on him to hack the bad guys' databases. It was hard to say which was more important, but easy to say which one he was looking forward to the least. "Future Donatello said to have it finished by tomorrow. Maybe the Lotus can help with finding the mutagen," he suggested hopefully.
Leo let out a little sigh through his nose, but nodded. "Alright, finish the portal. But you should get some sleep first, Donnie," he told him, and Donnie rolled his eyes out of habit at the same old phrase.
"Didn't sleep well, D? Nightmares?" Mikey asked.
"Your sinusitis was my nightmare, Mikey. And you kept moving and talking in your sleep. And kicking me. It'd be nice if you trimmed your toenails once in awhile," Donnie said.
Mikey pouted petulantly. "Yeah, well, you whistle."
"You slept in Donnie's bed?" Raph cut in with a scoff. "When are you gonna grow up, Mikey? You're seventeen, man."
"I'm not gonna have this conversation again." Mikey crossed his arms defensively, and glared at both Raph and Donnie in what seemed like an attempt at appearing stern, which was something Mikey's face couldn't do from birth.
"I didn't think that ninja movie was that bad," Leo said, and Donnie was relieved to see his brother slowly recovering from his sulk. "I mean, it was bad, but it was more ha-ha bad, not scary bad."
"It wasn't a nightmare," Mikey said with a tired groan, giving Donnie flashbacks of the previous night. "It was a ghost!"
Raph made a noise halfway between a laugh and a sneeze, and got back to ravaging his breakfast. "Get outta here, Mikey."
"I'm serious!"
"Actually, he is serious," Donne chimed in matter-of-factly, earning a surprised look from his other two brothers. Finally, it seemed like a good time now that Leo appeared clear-headed enough to talk. "We followed it all around the lair, all the way to the tunnels; it was an actual ghost. And an angry one too," Donnie added with a shiver.
"Are you sure it wasn't Ghoul'onardo here?" Raph jested, pointing his spoon at Leo. Leo narrowed his eyes, which only enhanced the effect.
Mikey guffawed. "Ghoul'onardo!" he exclaimed, spewing a few bread crumbs from his toast. "Good one."
"Didn't you see it, Raph?" Donnie asked, swatting some crumbs off his arm. He hoped the additional testimonial would aid his case, but Raph only stared at him as he chewed with his trademark uninterested look. "It went in your room. You woke up. You yelled at us?"
"Yeah, and you threw your pillow at us," Mikey contributed.
"Sounds like me," Raph said, shrugging. "And it does explain why my pillow was by the door this morning."
"So this ghost…" Leo interjected, impatiently signalling them to go on with their story. It was a good sign, at least, that Leo was willing to listen. "What did it do? Did you talk to it?"
"It didn't seem like the talkative type of ghost," Donnie said.
"More like the creepy, moaning type," Mikey interrupted. "Bros, she was all gross and covered in blood, and burns, and she walked all weird, like–" he got up to reenact the scene, pupils pulled back into his skull and shuffling like a zombie.
Donnie went on while Mikey did his thing like some kind of powerpoint presentation to his discourse. "We followed her to the tunnels, and here's the weirdest thing: you won't guess who we found there."
"Was it Zuul?" Raph said, in his infinite resolve to not take anything Donnie said seriously, ever.
"It was Hachisu-no-Hana," Donnie retorted, annoyed, but low enough that it stayed inside the kitchen.
Leo's face scrunched in bewilderment. "What?–Mikey, stop that!" Leo exclaimed, and Mikey sheepishly plopped down on a stool, putting an end to his zombie routine. Leo kept going, "You trying to say Hachisu's a ghost? What's in that mug, Donnie?"
"No! The ghost lead us to Hachisu!" Donnie spat impatiently, fearing he was already losing his audience. He mimed holding a tracker. "That's when I lost the trace, when we found her. She was just standing there in the grime, stumbling, and she only looked half there too."
"She looked just fine when I talked to her earlier," Leo said, pointing a thumb back at the common room and sounding skeptical. "What did she say?"
"Just that she didn't feel well and was out for a walk," Donnie replied, and made quotation marks with his fingers. "'Jet lag'."
"Yeah, I don't think it was jet lag, bros," Mikey said very seriously, and Donnie blew a sarcastic laugh.
"No kidding. We walked her back to the lair and then she said she felt a lot better, and we all just went to bed after that."
Leo looked at the table, scratching his chin with his thumb. Donnie could see doubt in the creases between his eyes, and the condescending look on Raph's face. It all just confirmed his hypothesis that waking them up last night would've been a waste of precious time, and was glad he had opted not to.
"Well... it doesn't prove it had anything to do with Hachisu," Leo said finally. "It could be someone who died in the subway or something."
"Hachisu had to have something to do with it. It's too much of a coincidence," Donnie insisted.
"So she's possessed then," Raph said with a smug lift of his brow.
"What? No!" Donnie retorted. "At least I don't think so… but she definitely had something to do with it."
"Maybe Hachisu was telling the truth. Or maybe she's a sleepwalker and just happened to be there at the same time," Leo said.
Donnie's scientific mind was not convinced; it fidgeted in frustration at Leo's feeble counter-arguments. He pulled up his shoulders, then looked at his brother. "Talk to her?"
Immediately Leo reeled, shaking his hands. "No way. I'm not gonna bother Hachisu with this! What am I supposed to say? 'Pardon me, Hachisu-no-Hana-san, but you wouldn't happen to be carrying a ghost in your backpack?'" He huffed. "I've had enough humiliation for one day, thank you."
"So we're just gonna let this go?" Donnie cried in disbelief. He wasn't too thrilled about the sarcasm either. "Shouldn't we at least ask her-"
"Forget it, Donnie, she's our guest of honor. Did that ghost hurt either of you?"
"Well, no… Not exactly… Not yet..."
"But I touched it," Mikey interjected, and his face contorted into a horrified grimace.
Meanwhile Raph just kept eating, laid back and glancing between them as if he were watching a mindless wrestlemania match.
"The future turtles didn't say anything about a ghost, right?" Leo said. "You'd think they would've mentioned it if it was something serious."
Donnie winced, unconvinced. "Maybe… I guess, but-"
"Then unless it turns out to be actually dangerous, we shouldn't meddle." Leo said in his leader voice, which unfortunately meant he had made a decision. "For all we know it's the spirit of her dead sister, or something. You know what the Japanese are like when it comes to privacy."
Staring off to the side in thought, Donnie considered the possibilities. He couldn't really prove that this ghost was an actual threat, or that it would even be a problem again. He hadn't seen or heard any signs of it since their encounter in the tunnels. Leo could be right, it could be just Hachisu's dead family member. She did seem very private about it. It was true that Future Donatello hadn't mentioned a ghost, so in that timeline it must have been something anecdotal, if it even happened at all. All this didn't mean he wouldn't be itching all day about the whole ordeal and being unable to investigate.
He must have had quite a look on his face, because a moment later Leo sighed again. "Alright, look, we'll keep an eye out. If something else goes on, then... I'll think about it."
Fat chance, Donnie grumbled inwardly, pressing his lips.
"I mean it, guys." Leo pointed a warning finger at Mikey and Donnie. "Don't bother any of the Lotus members, much less Hachisu-no-Hana."
"Fine," Donnie agreed begrudgingly, sharing a look with Mikey, who seemed at a loss. Given Leo's current mood, it was probably best not to push it. Maybe he'd be more open to suggestions in a few hours...
"Now," Leo said seriously, before pointing at Mikey, then at his own beautifully-lined eyes. "You did this. You bring me my mask."
At training hour, and after having left Karai some time to cool off as suggested, Leo made up his mind to be the better man and go apologize—even when he doubted she'd be as graceful. Karai was not known for her modesty.
With the excuse of calling her to training, he told his brothers to wait for them both in the dojo.
They wished him luck…
He walked towards the last room at the bottom of the hall, took a deep breath and knocked.
No response. In fact, when he put his ear to the door, he heard nothing inside. He knocked again.
"Karai? You there? Uh, we have training," he called, cautiously.
Nothing. She could have her headphones on. Wouldn't be the first time…
He stood looking at the door, hands on his hips, not knowing whether to be angry or worried. When he went to knock once more, ready to apologize through the door if he had to, he was interrupted by Karai's voice.
"Hey, Leo! We're waiting on you!"
Confused, Leo turned his head, because her voice wasn't coming from inside the door, but from all the way across the lair.
There she stood on top of the dojo steps, hip cocked and wearing her new battle outfit. Even her face had her usual arrogant expression on it. He could see his brothers behind her, shrugging.
"Oh–okay," he stammered, and this time his inner conflict was whether he should be relieved or even angrier.
So he went with confused, especially because she never even mentioned their earlier fight. Instead, she was strangely casual during training, seeming pretty determined to act like nothing had happened. Something which, Leo was sure, was far from the truth.
Funny how Splinter had pretty much given his blessing last night—in his very Splinter-ish way—which had been a source of relief only a few hours ago. But now he realized everything was still just as uncertain. If only Leo could figure out what Karai actually wanted, that would be great.
Something's brewing. What's it smell like to you guys?
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