( To my guest reader, I am extremely happy to see that your so into my story and have tons of questions and ideas for the Nexus world, but all good things come to those who waite. I can't say anymore because I don't do spoilers ( Hence my current hiatus from most social media between seasons of The Walking Dead lmfao) but seriously the Battle Nexus Champion will have to defend his title at some point 😉.)


Chapter 3: Outside ( Staind)/ I'll follow you…( Shinedown )

" USAGI…" three of the four Brothers chimed excitedly as their old friend entered their home with someone else concealed by a hooded robe right behind him as the portal closed.

Smiling happily at the warm welcoming he had received, the Samurai greeted each of the three Turtles that had hurried over to him " It is good to see you all again as well!"

" How long will you be here , Usagi? " Leonardo asked hoping to be able to spar with his close friend once again to show him how he had grown as a swordsman since their last meeting.

" That is not to me this time my Friend, I have come to fulfill a promise to Splinter- Sama! " he explained truthfully just as the elderly Rat had made his way over to them. Bowing deeply before him Usagi gingerly reached back to the figure that he had arrived with and guided them forward before speaking " I apologize for the delay, Splinter-sama, the Healers took longer than we had expected. But I am here to fulfill my promise in returning our new friend to your care!" He explained before removing the hood covering the head of the once injured dark blond teenaged girl that had been brought to the Daimyos Healers two months prior.

" Woah… She's even prettier than I imagined" Michelangelo whispered loudly causing his brothers to groan and mutter his nickname ' Mikey…' while receiving a sharp elbow to the ribs by his second eldest brother as he finally walked over to join everyone " What'd I say? Well, She is…"

Raising an eyebrow at the interaction between the four Kira couldn't help but to smile " You failed to warn me that he was a flirt as well, Masta Spinter!" she commented immediately taking the four Turtles by complete surprise at how casual her comment was.

Chuckling softly in amusement Splinter held out his left hand to the young woman " Come, let me introduce you to the brothers I had spoken so much about with you!" guiding her by her right hand he led Kira over before the Turtles " My sons this is Kira, she will be staying with us while I help guide her in healing her spirit and mind. Kira, these are my sons Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and finally my youngest Michelangelo" he spoke pointing each out as he called their name " Kira was involved in an accident as I was leaving on my trip and so I took her with me to seek help!" he explained a wandering their questions before they were spoken.

" Welcome Kira," Leonardo smiled bowing to respectfully to her followed by both younger brothers while the fourth scowled at the eldest and stormed off away from everyone and disappeared up on the second level. " I apologize for Raphael…" he began to say after rolling his eyes in frustration.

Placing her right hand onto his shoulder she offered him a soothing smile " it's alright, your father has already filled me in on each of your personalities " she replied understandingly to him.

" Come, it is almost time for dinner and I believe it is only polite to allow Kira pick" Splinter spoke up motioning for everyone to join him in the living area.

Both Leonardo and Usagi exchanged a look " Dad, my we…" was all Leonardo could get out before his father nodded knowingly, excusing the two swordsmen so they could Spar.

Kira chuckled as she watched Usagi smiling with an excited look in his eyes as he followed the eldest brother into the dojo before feeling someone pulling on her right hand. Looking back in head of her she was met by Michelangelo's smiling face " Come on, I got tons of takeout menus you can look at…" he chimed excitedly " I'm also the Best cook in the family so I can cook anything you want!"

" That's very helpful Michelangelo…"

"You can call me Mike or Mikey! There's Don or Donnie, Leo and Raph. It's a lot easier " he explained helpfully while interrupting her.

" Alright, Mikey…" she giggled " How about Pizza? I haven't had a good Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza in a longass time!"

A mischievous smirk filled the turtles face at hearing her curse slightly " Dude, that sounds great… we're totally getting pizza now! " he replied now practically pulling her into the kitchen to see if there was anything else she wanted to order.

Raphael paced around his room muttering every curse word in the book after watching ' His Friend' talking and joking around with everyone else in his family except him. He knew his father had said she had lost some of her memories and he expected things to be different with her but he wasn't expecting for her to be acting so much like how he remembered. Everything was the same about her, her voice, her laugh, her quick comebacks, her hair was a bit different but not by much. So why did it hurt so much when she looked right at him smiling without a single speck of recognition of who she was looking at.

" FUCK…." He hollered out as he hauled off and punched the wall as hard as he could before quickly regretting it " Double Fuck… Ahh Shit… Fuck Donnie's gonna have my ass the time… Shit Shit Shit" he spoke aloud to himself as he held his throbbing hand.

Having been standing just outside of his room, volunteering to let Raphael know that April and Casey were on their way with the pizzas, was Kira and Michelangelo who looked at each other after hearing Raphael holler then curse up and down after hearing his hand hit the wall. Not thinking it wise for her to see him this way the youngest Turtle nudged his head for her to head back down when she instead knocked on his door before letting herself in much to his horror. Standing on the landing he watched in fear as she dared to go where no human or Turtle dared to go, into Raphael's room.

" What the Hell…" Raphael began to holler hating to have anyone in his room uninvited, outside of Splinter, but when he turned around only to see it was Kira his jaw dropped. He was frozen in place in a state of complete shock as he watched her take one look at his hand and walk right over to him to look at it better " What,… what are you doing in my room?" he whispered having barely found his voice again.

"Checking your hand out, what does it look like?" she replied honestly as she took it gingerly in her right hand " You certainly did a number on it, Ya might have a few fractures in there!" she pointed out keeping her eyes only on his hand as she felt around it with only her thumb.

" Ya can tell just by looken at it?" he asked dumbfound as he continued to watch her intently.

" I ain't Superman" she snorted " I actually volunteered to came up here and let you know your two friends are on their way with dinner and I think everyone would like it if you would come down to join us" she explained looking up into his amber eyes until the pain in her head came back causing her to let go and hold her head.

A look of pure terror filled his face at her sudden turn " hey, you alright? Ya want me ta go get Donnie, he's the Doc of the family…" he asked reaching out to steady her by the shoulders.

" Na, I'm alright. It just hurts like hell when my mind tries to remember something.." She explained straightening herself up and giving him a reassuring smile as if she was absolutely fine "See, all better. Now let's head downstairs and Don can fix your hand up before dinner" she suggested cheerfully.

Standing there with his arms crossed over his plastron he clearly wasn't buying her act " You gonna keep that cloak on?" He asked skeptically choosing to ask about the more obvious at that moment.

Kira blushed as she remembered why she hadn't taken it off yet " Oh, yeah… well ya see I kinda been stuck wearing the clothes they dressed me in and well… " she tried to explain when Raphael found himself suddenly laughing harder than he ever had in months " Something funny, Turtle?" she demanded poking him in the chest.

" Yeah, You! " he replied wiping the tear from his eye as he tried to stop laughing " Hold on, I might have some street clothes ya can barrow " he said before walking over to the laundry basket he kept his clean street clothes in. Rummaging threw he pulled out some black drawstring sweats, a large white tee-shirt and a red hoodie and tossed them onto his hammock before heading to the door " Ya can change in here while I head down and get this fixed up" he suggested waving bye with his busted hand before leaving her alone to change.

Raphael literally walked into his little brother who had been listening to them outside his door, " Come on Knucklehead, let's give the girl some space " he said throwing him into a headlock in order to keep him from peaking in on Kira as she changed.

" Dude your hand is like really messed up Bro, Donnie's gonna have your ass when he sees it!" Michelangelo commented loudly the moment he seen how bruised and swollen his big brothers right hand bruised was " And what's up with you, you were moody as shit when she shows up and now your grinning like hell! " he inquired in a hushed voice to keep it between them.

Raphael simply shrugged " Let Donnie blow his lid " he snorted looking down to said brother who was already heading over to the infirmary " Between you and me Little Brother, I just seen a spark of my Kira in her that's fighten ta get out!" he whispered softly before letting him go in order to see Donatello and face his wrath for busting his hand up.

Shaking his head Michelangelo stood at the bottom of the stairs twirling his nunchaku as he waited for Kira.

" Did you lose her already Mikey?" Leonardo asked as he and Usagi walked out of the dojo sweaty and breathing hard from their sparing session.

" Na Dude, Raph lent her some of his clean street clothes so she's up there now getting changed" he replied causing his older brother to stop and clean his ears sarcastically before they continued on his way to get cleaned up laughing softly

Before Kira had stepped out and awkwardly made her way down the stairs both, April and Casey had walked out of the elevator with their arms loaded with food causing Michelangelo to rush over to lend a hand. So she tried to hold the string of the sweats taught without anyone noticing as tying it was still one of the things she had yet to master with one hand.

" Do you need some help?" a feminine voice asked startling the slow moving teenaged girl " Hi you must be Kira, I'm April, Splinter thought you might need some help in getting settled in." The red headed woman replied in a gentle voice as she walked over and tied the drawstring for her.

" Thanks, there's just only so much I can manage on my own right now" Kira replied trying to save face as she was to stubborn to ask for help still.

April chuckled softly " Don't worry you'll get the hang of things soon enough!" she reassured her while straightening her outfit up some or her as Kira groaned in embarrassment " You sound just like the boys when I fuss over them! " she chuckled unfazed " I'm like their big sister so I'm allowed…"

" Geese April, why don't ya just spit on yer thumb and wash her face while yer at it! " Raphael groaned shaking his head as he walked over with a freshly casted right hand " You were right on the money SuperGirl! Busted both my fingers!" he commented looking at Kira as he held out his left hand to take her right " Come on, I'll save ya from our Mother Hen.." he chuckled leading her towards the kitchen laughing as April huffed placing her hands onto her hips in mock anger.

" Watch it Raph, I still gotta go home with her ya know!" a male voice called out from in the kitchen that Kira didn't know.

" That's my man Casey, he's a real Bonehead but he's cool!" Raphael explained feeling her slight hesitation with all of these new people " So what kind of… is that Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza I smell…" he started to ask until he caught a whiff of the air as they neared the kitchen.

Kira laughed as she was finally able to free her only hand from his grasp " And garlic knots, all kinds of Chicken wings..." She replied casually readjusting the sleeve of her right arm so is was tucked into the hoodie pocket as to not draw attention to her stump " Its been a while since I could eat decent food, I swear to Cow I must have lost about twenty pounds from practically starving to death the last two months" she joked as they all began to fill a plate with what they wanted.

Watching his buddy closely Casey could see that he was being a little too friendly in helping the new girl out with her plate, who in his mind seamed to be hiding something as she was only using one hand. He watched as they seamed to be working together using one arm each " Hey Raph, what gives with you two one arming it, huh? " he asked boisterously drawing everyones attention to the pair.

" Mike Tyson here thought he could go one on one with a wall… Why, what of it?" Kira was the first to reply before Raphael could even swallow his mouth full of food.

" Hey, I'm just curious is all " Casey exclaimed defensively more unsure of what to make of this girl than before " So you gotta busted up arm too then?" he asked curiously.

Both Splinter and Usagi stopped eating and watched Kira's reaction to his question closely as they tried to decide if they should intervene.

Kira snorted dryly before replying " Ya might say its something like that!" She started off before pulling her right sleeve out of the hoodie pocket but not revealing the stump within it "I got pinned between a car an a building and it was either my hand or my life… Personally I'm thankful for Masta Splinters and Usagi's quick thinkin it saving my life!" she explained honestly to all of them keeping it short and to the point " ...now can we just get to eaten here, I'm starved!" she smirked before ripping her teeth into a chicken wing causing everyone to start laughing.

Even though he chuckled at how she had handled the situation and got everyone laughing in the end to break up the tension in the room, Splinter looked over to his second eldest and could tell in his eyes that he wasn't buying the brave front Kira was putting up for everyone's benefit. Another thing he noticed was that there was almost a protective bite in her response to Casey in regards to Raphael's freshly broken hand and going by his calm demeanor something must have happened between them as she look content in sitting next to him. His old heart could only hope that she had regained some trace of a memory of their friendship.

After dinner the Turtles and their two human friends gathered in front of the tv array, while Usagi was off speaking privately with Splinter, leaving Kira to wonder about and explore the Lair. Making her way over to the Dojo she looked over all of the weapons and equipment within. So far nothing was ringing any bells to her lost memories like in that one instance with Raphael before dinner. She wanted to know what was it about his eyes that almost unveiled a memory but most importantly what kind of memory as she now felt strangely more comfortable in his presence than with anyone's.

Not having much of anything else to do, Kira turned the Dojo's lights off and knelt in the center of the room in an attempt to meditate without the light to distract her. It was hard enough to try and meditate back at the Daimyos palace with the healers and messengers constantly walking in on her as if they were purposely keeping her from making any headway on regaining her memories. Only now she was competing against the movie everyone was watching but she wasn't going to let it stop her. Closing her eyes she pictured herself walking up a long flight of stairs towards a bright light, once she had reached the top she finally cleared her mind.

She was walking down a dark street late at night looking for someone who should have shown up an hour prior. Pulling what seamed to be a handle-less dagger with a long red ribbon tightly in her left hand she kept looking over her shoulders and up at the rooftops she tried calling out a name only she wasn't able to hear what is was. It wasn't like that person to be late this long and it worried her incredibly for a reason that was also unknown to her. Sighing heavily she lowered her head and started to make her way back to wherever she came from when a sudden bright light and a loud screeching of tiers caught her attention a split second to late and a car struck her so hard it drove her into the building. Only having time to let out a single bloodcurdling scream everything went black after fealing her head hit the building with a sickening crack. She was trapped within her own mind, unable to bring herself out of her meditative state!

They had been little over halfway threw the movie when a faint sound caught the highly tuned ears of Splinter and Usagi causing them to twitch. Raising their noses the both gave the air a sniff before shooting each other a panicked glance letting the other know they were of like mind and silently stood up and casually left the others. Once away from the Brothers and their human friends their feet silently picked up speed and rushed into the Dojo where they were met by an unexpected and most frightening sight upon flicking the light switch on, Kira laying on the floor clutching her stump unconscious. Rushing to her side they both could tell from the position of her knees that she had been trying to meditate in the dark.

Carefully and silently, Usagi lifted Kira up into his arms and followed Splinter out of the Dojo and into his Shoji where they could better attend to her state. Once she was placed onto his traditional stile bed, Splinter knelt at her head and placed his hands carefully on to each side of her head before going into a meditative state himself, fearing that her spirit may have become trapped in her untrained and most dangerous decision to undergo the Complicated type of meditation used in recalling lost memories.

Standing back in silent observation Usagi watched the old Sensei meditate at the head of the young girl whos care he had once been entrusted with. Closing his eyes he couldn't help the pain of guilt he now felt in feeling he had let his guard down to much resulting in her present condition until the Shoji door slid open that Leonardo walked in silently. Bowing in respect to his friend, the Eldest Turtle stood close to him in silent support after feeling that something was wrong when he heard them enter moments before. " We found her like this in the Dojo with the lights off!" The Ronin explained in a hushed whisper.

Leonardo nodded knowing the technique his father was trying on her " lets speak elsewhere " he suggested in the same hushed whisper before leading his friend out of his fathers room and into the Dojo where he closed the door behind him. Looking over at where his friend was knelt he could clearly see how guilty he felt " I'm sure Dad will bring her back from this Usagi!" He said reassuring as he walked over and knelt on the floor front of him.

" I certainly hope so, for your brothers sake, Leonardo-San. The memories she has been struggling to remember revolve around Raphael and the bond they shared before this tragedy had happened!" Usagi spoke with a heavy heart that shown in his voice and eyes.

Sighing heavily he bowed his head " She must have been close to remembering something before he came down for dinner. I haven't seen Raph in such a good mood in a long time Usagi- San!"

"In the time before she was permitted to journey threw the portal she spoke to me once of a reoccurring dream she was having. She could see they were in they City above us and of how this person she could only see as a mute shadow made her feel protected, cared for and stronger all at once! I could see in her eyes the desperation in needing to remember who it is and when Sempa told me of the friend Raphael had spoken to him of…I feared that she would push her mind to far." Usagi explained his fear of this happening.

Closing his eyes Leonardo exhaled heavily as he took in what his friend had just informed him about Raphael and Kira when he had an epiphany and his eyes shot open " That's it… I know what to do!" Jumping to his feet he waited for his friend to stand before they walked out of the Dojo and right for his fathers Shoji " Raph get over here Kira's in trouble!" he called out purposely before entering the Shoji with Usagi.

Once those words left his brothers mouth, Raphael's heart nearly jumped into his throat as a look of pure terror washed over his face. Leaping over the back of the couch he hit the floor running and reached his father's Shoji in no time. Breathing hard he froze dead in his tracks the second he stepped foot inside the room and seen Splinter kneeling at her head as she lay motionlessly on his bed. It wasn't until his brother clasped his shoulder he was able to snap out of his fear induced trance.

" Come kneel by her side Raph and I'll explain what's going on but I have a few questions to ask you first." Leonardo spoke softly before guiding him further into the room and to the left side of Kira. The hoodie had been removed and her stump was exposed for all to see.

" What… What happened ta her Leo?" Raphael's voice shook as he forced himself to look down at what remained of her left arm.

" I'll get to that in a moment but I need to know, when she went up to talk you into joining us for dinner, did you noticed anything concerning… a sharp headache… anything?" Leonardo asked kneeling at his side watching as his brother tentatively reached out and brushed the fingers of his left hand along the scars on the stump.

" Yeah, it happened when she looked up at my face after she checked out my hand! She hissed and grabbed her head and I held her shoulders cause she looked like she was about to pass out on me… I asked if she needed Donnie but she smiled an acted like it was nothing…" he explained in full honesty. This was the first time seeing the results of the disfiguring injury he had only heard about and as shocking as it was it was fascinating to him at the same time.

" What did she say?" is brother asked softly while still watching his hands touching her stump.

" Said it was nothin, that it happens whenever her heads tryin ta remember an it can't" Looking up at both Leonardo and his Father he swallowed hard " Do ya think she pushed to hard trying to figure out what ever it was she almost remembered? I seen a flash in her eyes at the time like for a split second she knew who I was…"

They could hear Raphael's voice shake with emotions as he spoke and it pained the three to hear the normally tough and hot headed Turtle look and speak with so much heartache and fear. Clasping his shoulder once again Leonardo chose his next words carefully " Remember back when I believed what the Shredder said and when I turned his offer down in joining him I nearly got beat to death?" he asked softly and waited for his brother to nod before continuing. " When I was unconscious, my Spirit was broken and lost and it was only by hearing all of your voices that I was able to find my way back!"

Hearing what his brother was saying he started to catch on " So her sayin she's lost in her head and ya think listening to me talk about stuffs gonna bring her back?"

Pulling his head back Leonardo was presently surprised as his question " Essentially, yes… but we may need to transverse threw meditation to find out what she is seeing as she was attempting to force her mind to remember and find the answers to many unspoken question!" he explained when their other two brothers walked in and joined them silently at Kira's side.

" Not without all of us Dude! " Michelangelo smiled then looked up to where Usagi stood " You to Brah, only makes since as you spent the last two months with her!" he reasoned asking him to join them in " The more familiar faces she sees the better!" he explained once again shocking everyone with his insight on her situation.

Smiling proudly at his youngest son, who had placed himself between him and his best friend, Splinter nodded " That is a very astute observation Michelangelo. It makes me proud to see my sons pulling together to resolve such a complicated situation" he spoke up praising the four Turtles who nodded in return knowing to save all the celebrating till after the job was done.

Tbc...