A/N- Hey guys! I haven't updated in awhile! I'm sorry! I was rereading this story and it gave me motivation to try and finish. Hopefully someone out there is interested. Here we go.

Disclaimer: I do not own TMNT. I do however own this story and my original characters. I'm just borrowing the characters to make a plot of my own.

Scheming

"Mikey we're going to miss the movie because of your shell," Raphael called from the living room.

Michelangelo rolled his eyes and started looking for his trench coat and his hat. Since his room was a little bit messier than the rest of his brothers, it was taking him a little bit more time to retrieve his clothing.

Since they were mutated ninja turtles they had to disguise themselves when going out to public events. The teenager turtles hardly ever went to the movies, but when they did they always had to be extra careful.

"Michelangelo is always late," Donnie said while fixing his hat. "I don't blame him either. You can't even talk two inches into his room without stepping on pizza crust or other unidentified objects."

"I heard that," Mikey said while entering the living area. "I have you know that I know every object in my room unlike you." Mikey pointed a finger towards Donnie's direction. "Nobody even knows half the stuff in yours."

"At least you and Don have something in common. Can we go now?" Raphael said while walking towards the exit.

"We're missing Leo," Mikey pointed out. "I think he's in his room."

"I'll go get Fearless," Raph mumbled to himself.

The hot headed turtle thought it was strange for his punctual brother not to be ready.

"And not up my ass" Raphael thought to himself.

Raph opened the door to his eldest brother's room and there he was, lying in bed, curled up under his blankets.

"Hey Raph," Leonardo whispered. "I don't think I'll be able to make it to the movies tonight. I'm feeling a little bit under the weather."

Leonardo coughed which resulted in Raphael to jump back a little. He didn't want to catch what his brother had. The red-masked turtle eyed his brother from head to toe. Either his brother was becoming an impressively good liar or he was really ill. Leo coughed once more which persuaded Raph to go with the latter.

"I will uhh go tell the others," Raphael said to his sickly brother. "Do you need us to bring you something? Like soup or something?"

It was really rare when the hot headed brother was caring. Raphael did care about his family. He just chose to show it differently than his brothers. He hated all the mushy stuff, but when it came down to it he would help his brothers whenever they needed it. Nothing says brother love like tough love.

"I'm actually okay, but thank you Raphael," Leonardo cleared his throat. "I think I'm going to try and sleep now."

Raph nodded his head and shut the door out of his brother's room. He paused for a minute and started walking towards the living area. Something didn't feel right. His gut was telling him that something seemed off with his brother. Master Splinter always taught them to go with your gut instinct and Raph's was saying that Leo may be lying.

"So you're telling me that you know every single device in your lab? I call sewer apples dude," Michelangelo huffed. He planted himself on the sofa and started fidgeting with his trench coat.

"I do too," Donnie snapped. "It may be disorganized but I know every useful device in my lab. Nothing in your room is useful."

Mikey jumped up and got in his older brother's face. "My comics are useful. They're going to be collection items one day."

Donatello rolled his eyes. "Which pizza stains on them? Doubt it."

The orange-masked turtle was about to retaliate, but he was interrupted by his other turtle brother.

"Dude, what's wrong with you? You look pissed off which doesn't take much might I add."

"Shut it Mikey, I'm not in the mood."

Donnie and Mikey looked at each other and then turned their gaze back to the pissed off turtle. Raphael seemed fine ten minutes, but now his whole mood turned sour.

"What bit you in the butt?" Donnie asked.

Raph was pacing back and forth, trying to get rid of his gut feeling about Leo. Leo did seem pretty sick, but he knew deep down that their fearless leader was hiding something from them.

"Leo isn't coming. He's feeling under the weather," Raph said annoyed. "If you want to believe that."

"Why wouldn't we? Leo has never lied about being sick before. Why start now?" Mikey asked.

"He does have a point," Donnie gestured to the youngest turtle. "Leo has never lied to us about anything. What good would that do him?"

"I don't know," the red-masked turtle said defeated. He wanted an answer to that question as well, but he knew the only person that was going to answer it was his one and only fearless brother.

"Let's just get out of here," Raphael said.

The brothers followed their hot headed brother out of the sewers. Donnie shut the built in door behind and continued to catch up with the others. What the three brothers didn't know was one turtle was in the living area watching to see them leave.

~*TMNT*~

Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo were jumping rooftop to rooftop, taking in the New York fall breeze. The turtles loved going out and exploring their big city. Who would have known that there was more to life than eating pizza and living in the sewers?

Each brother would get a good rhyme of running and would flip to the next rooftop and onto the next. They would always try to show off their moves, trying to see who had the best moves. It would almost always result in Leonardo having the best moves, then Raphael would jump in saying that the blue-masked turtle was a show off, and then of course the other brothers knew what happened afterwards (blue and red would clash).

Raph was still having that disgusting feeling in his gut. He tried to compare it to something, but he couldn't. He tried to ignore it, but it would come back stronger than ever. Even if Leo was hiding something, what was 'something' to be exact? Why would he be coming in late at night? Why would he lie? What was he hiding?

Could fearless be meeting with somebody?

Raphael hated the thought of Leonardo meeting with Karai again. He knew Karai was bad news and he wanted to protect his brother, his family. He also hated the fact that he didn't know the answers to these questions.

He knew that the fearless leader was hiding something and tonight he was going to put an end to his questioning thoughts.

The red-masked turtle stopped in his tracks and called out to his brothers. He knew he had to get to the bottom of his feelings.

"Guys wait," he called out. "I think we should go back."

Donnie and Mikey stopped in their tracks too and met up where their other turtle brother was.

"Dude, what's the problem? We're going to miss the movie," Mikey complained.

"Forget the movie, we need to follow Leo," Raphael demanded. "I don't buy that garbage that he fed me. He isn't sick. He's lying."

Donnie and Mikey both raised an eye ridge and gave the hot head a puzzling look. Both turtles were shocked at Raph's accusations.

"Why would he be lying? Why do you think that?" Donnie asked calmly.

"Can't you see it? Raph asked annoyed.

Both of his brothers shook their head and Raph rolled his eyes. He knew that his brothers weren't as observant when it came to watching their older brother, but Raphael was no fool.

"He's been coming in late at night…." Raphael was cut off by his annoying little brother.

"He meditates bro. Master Splinter knows that. We all know that. You're not a very good….OUCH!" Mikey took off his hat and started rubbing where his hot headed brother hit him.

"Let me finish," Raph eyed Mikey. "If he meditates why is he tired all the damn time? Why is he not focused? He's always jumpy, he lies through his teeth, and I want to know why."

Donnie rubbed his chin and was analyzing what his brother was saying. He remembers little things about Leo's behavior and it wasn't normal either, but that could mean anything.

"I think you're over exaggerating Raph," Donnie said annoyed. "You've been telling Mikey and I this for weeks and this charade is getting old."

"Hey!" Raph pointed a finger at his tech savvy brother and started walking towards him. "I am not over exaggerating and I'm telling the truth! The truth is that our perfect brother is lying to us!"

Raph and Donnie hardly ever fight, but when they did things could get ugly really fast.

"You need to get over it Raphael," Donatello said crossing his arms. "You're always complaining about Leonardo being on your shell, but it's a whole different story when you're riding his."

"I ought kick your shell for saying something like that," Raph and Donnie were butting heads at this point and that's when the youngest stepped in.

"Dudes, dudes," Mikey said while trying to break the brothers apart. "We can easily settle this once in for all."

Donnie and Raph looked at their younger brother and waited for him to continue.

"Let's go back to the lair and see if Leo is there. If he is that means Raph is just making up stuff because he has nothing better to do with his time."

Raphael was about to hit Michelangelo for the second time that night, but Mikey quickly retreated behind his other brother.

Mikey continued, "If Leo isn't there then that means Raph wasn't making it up and he's defiantly hiding something from us."

"And he is," Raphael stated. "Let's go. So I can prove genius here wrong for once."

Donnie glared at Raph and the three brothers stormed the rooftops and made it into the sewers swiftly. They were all eager to find out who was right, the hot head or the turtle wiz.

Raphael and Donnie raced into the living area leaving Mikey hot in their tracks. Both turtles opened their leader's room door and come to find out no turtle was in sight.

"I told you!" Raph shouted in Donnie's smug face. "He's gone. He's lying. I'm right and you're wrong."

Raph continued to gloat all the way back to the living room and plopped out onto the sofa.

"I'm lying they said. They said I was making it all up and I wasn't." Raph continued to gloat aloud while Donnie and Mikey approached the living quarters.

"It still doesn't make any since," Mikey said confused. "How come Leo would do this?"

"The main question is why is he lying," Donnie stated. "And for what?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out," Raph said through his teeth. He finally snapped back into the situation at hand. "I have this stupid feeling in my gut telling me to find out. Ever since Leo told me he was "sick," my stomach has been acting all funny."

"Sounds like the time I ate jalapenos and pepperoni pizza," Mikey nodded to himself. "Never again."

Donnie rolled his eyes and ignored his dumb brother. "If he's sneaking out and coming in late that means he's seeing somebody. That has to be it."

"You don't think he's seeing Karai again do you?" Mikey asked nobody in particular.

The thought of Leonardo seeing Karai again made Raphael a very unhappy turtle. "I don't know, but we're going to find out one way or another. Can't you track him down on his phone Don?"

"No dice," Donatello shook his head. "I already tried that when you were too busy gloating. I can't track him now. It's too late for that."

"Then what are we going to do?" Mikey asked.

There was silence in the living area. All three turtles were thinking about what and how they were going to confront their leader.

"Nothing" Donnie piped up.

"Come again?" Raph asked annoyed.

"We're going to do nothing," Donnie stated again.

Mikey raised an eye ridge. "Dude, I think we're supposed to do something. That kind of defeats the purpose of all of this."

Donnie shook his head. "No you guys are not understanding me."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Mikey said under his breath.

Donnie rolled his eyes and continued this thinking process. "Leo already knows that Raph is suspicious. Us questioning him will only make it worse and he will continue to sneak around. We need to act completely normal."

"How does that solve anything?" Raph asked.

"Leonardo is going to sneak out again will he not?" Donnie asked his brothers.

Both turtles shook their heads and Donnie continued.

"When he does we will follow him. See what he's up to. It's as simple as the square root of pi."

"I can go for some pie right now," Mikey smiled to himself. "A pizza pie. Oh man, I'm hungry."

"So in the mean time that means we have to act like everything is normal," Raphael said, trying to make his twitchy arm stop from hitting Mikey over the head.

"Exactly which means we better go. If Leo has been planning this, which he has, he expects to be home before we are so we better go find something to do." Donnie explained.

"Can we please go watch the movie?" Mikey begged. "We're already dressed for the occasion so we might as well make the most of it."

Raph and Donnie looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

"Let's go for the shell of it," Raph said. "We got nothing better to do."

The turtles once again headed out into the New York City night life for the second time that night. Raphael was jumping rooftop to rooftop when he noticed something. He noticed that his gut feeling he had earlier was gone. He instantly knew then that he and his brothers were on the right track.

~*TMNT*~

"No no you have to turn your body like this," Leonardo explained to Leolani.

Leonardo was demonstrating a roundhouse kick to her. He actually liked teaching her different moves and techniques that he learned from Master Splinter. He was seeing the other side of things. Usually we would be the student and not the teacher, but tonight it was different.

Leolani failed once more when she kicked her right leg up, but lost her balance and fell onto the hard rooftop. She got back up and brushed the dirt off of her.

"I can't even do a simple kick in the air," Leolani complained. "How the hell am I supposed to defend myself against anybody?"

Leonardo patted her on the back for reassurance. "These things take time Leolani. You've only been training for a few weeks now and that's because you don't even go every day. My brothers and I have been training almost every day for years. Practice makes perfection."

Leolani rolled her eyes and sighed. "Who would have guessed that a mutant ninja turtle was giving me life lessons?"

Leonardo chucked to himself and she did the same. He wanted these moments to last forever with her. She thought the same way. They got along great and they both hoped that this relationship would last forever.

"I kind of feel bad that you had to lie to your brothers," Leolani frowned. "I hate that you keep sneaking out over here."

Leonardo too felt bad about sneaking around and lying. He never did anything like this before. He wondered if this is how Raphael felt whenever he used to do the same thing.

"Don't worry. Everything is fine. They probably don't even notice I'm gone."

"Even Raphael?" Leolani teased.

Leonardo chucked. "Especially Raph. He seemed pretty convinced whenever I told him I was sick."

"Sounds like you're becoming a good liar," Leolani narrowed her eyes at him. "Makes me wonder if you're lying about wanting to come over here time and time again."

"Trust me I'm not," Leonardo noticed that him and Leolani were holding hands at this point. Both teenagers looked down and Leo instantly jerked his hand away embarrassed. Leolani was blushing under the New York City sky and she thanking God that there was hardly any light.

Leonardo cleared his throat and shook his head. "Let me see you do the kick again."

Leolani shook her head and continued to practice under Leonardo's watch. The teenagers were unaware that somewhere in New York City they were being watched as well.

A/N- Sorry for any grammar mistakes. I hoped you guys liked this chapter, if anyone is still reading this story. Happy Reading!