Complication

Past

"So you're coming from our future?"

Leonardo bit his lip. Of course his brothers - or at least these younger versions of his brothers - had eavesdropped on his conversation with Splinter. It was a good thing that he hadn't talked about anything important - at least nothing that they would pick up on.

Instead, he had basked in his father's presence, trying to impress on his memory Splinter's slightest gestures, enjoying every instant he could spend in the rat's company.

"Yes," he answered. There was no need to deny the obvious.

"How's the future?" Mikey asked.

"It's… Uh…" Leonardo hesitated. Without even talking about the fact they were orphans, how could he explain with words the long way they had gone?

Raph's interference gave him a brief respite.

"Don't worry, Mikey, I'm sure you're still the same turtle. As young at heart as you're now."

"Thank you, Raph." Mikey nodded solemnly, ignoring Raph's teasing tone.

"At the very least, we must have been in epic fights." Raph was looking pointedly at Leonardo's scars, who couldn't help feeling embarrassed.

"You could say that," the older turtle mumbled.

"And, uh…"

Leonardo turned towards Donnie, who was talking for the first time and kept his eyes focused on the ground.

"Are April and I… You know… Do we…"

Leonardo watched him for a moment, trying hard not to facepalm. That was all Donnie had to say? But it was true that he was desperately in love with the teenage girl.

"Donnie, it's better if I tell you as little as possible, do you understand?" he answered delicately.

He most certainly wasn't going to tell him that April was resisting his charms, nor that Casey Jones had become a very serious rival in this matter.

By the way, had they already met Casey?

Leonardo watched the living room carefully, looking for a detail that could help him answer this question. Hey, Raph, did you already let a human follow you to the lair? A teenager as hotheaded as you are, he thought. For very obvious reasons, he couldn't ask this question aloud.

He didn't have to look very far. On the couch, a small green turtle was chewing on a leaf. It was a precious clue. Spike is still here. They don't know Casey yet.

Raph nudged Donnie. "Don't spoil yourself the surprise," he teased. He grinned at Leonardo. "But now that we're talking about enamored turtles, maybe you could tell us if you've stopped falling for the enemy?"

Leonardo watched him, speechless.

Raph shook his head. "Karai, remember her? Last month, you were thinking of nothing but her."

Leonardo felt his cheeks burn. He tried to focus on the information Raph was unknowingly giving him. He found himself a few weeks after his first encounter with Karai, which meant that they hadn't fought Kraang Prime yet.

In other words, he was a lifetime ago.

"And to think that you believed she was on our side," Raph added, almost for himself. "Seriously, you're so naive."

Donnie and Mikey nodded vigorously to show their approval, and Leonardo felt offended.

I was right. She's our sister.

Too bad he couldn't tell them that.

Present

Raphael snapped out of his dreams when Leo entered his room with decided steps. The young turtle had finally wanted to train in the dojo, and Raph had taken the opportunity to take a nap while Donnie was doing Donnie-only-knew-what in his lab with Mikey's more or less efficient help.

"Where are my katana?"

Raphael immediately forgot his irritation and raced to find a suitable answer. The katana Leo was talking about didn't exist anymore. They had been broken and Leonardo hadn't repaired them. Now Leonardo only used the katana which had belonged to their father, the ones he had carried during the ultimate battle against the Super Shredder; the ones he had used to end the Shredder.

Raphael couldn't imagine giving these katana to this version of Leo, way too young and immature. In a way, it would have been betraying his brother.

Besides, Leo was bound to ask some very embarrassing questions.

Raph had a stroke of genius worthy of Donatello.

"You… You were carrying them. I mean, our Leo was carrying them."

"Oh." Leo sounded disappointed. "That's too bad."

Raphael gauged him pensively. "Do you want to train together? You and I, hand-to-hand-combat. The loser does the dishes."

Leo smiled. "Deal."

Raphael jumped from his hammock, his spirits considerably lifted. He had no doubt he would win, which was good because it was supposed to be his turn to do said dishes.

And, indeed, he defeated Leo every single time. It had been a very long time since it last happened, and brought back good memories.

"Maybe next time," Raphael teased, extending his arm to help Leo stand up. "You're not that bad, but you've still a long way to go."

Leo took his offered hand, looking clearly annoyed.

Raphael grinned. "Your dishes are waiting for you. You know the way." Maybe he would stay in the kitchen's doorway and watch Leo in order to better enjoy his victory.

Unluckily for him, his perfect plan was disrupted by a human-shaped whirlwind in black and grey.

"Leo, I've been trying to join you for hours," the whirlwind exclaimed, pointing an accusative finger towards the blue-masked turtle. "Do you even look at your phone?"

"Karai!" Leo jumped backwards, looking for a weapon.

Raphael rubbed his temples. Why, why did Karai have to request their help today? She might very well be the last person Raphael wanted in Leo's vicinity right now.

Said Leo noticed that his brother hadn't moved an inch and didn't seem to consider the kunoichi as a threat, or at least not as an immediate threat.

"Uh, Raph?" he began hesitantly. "Karai is in our lair! You're not afraid that she'll try to kill us? Or tell Shredder where we are?"

Karai widened her eyes.

"Tell Shredder?" she croaked. "Are you crazy? How could I tell Shredder, you ki-"

Raphael jumped on her to press his hand against her mouth. "Karai, meet Leo-from-the-past," he hurried to say. "A-very-distant-past-and-you-better-keep-your-mouth-shut."

Karai took his arm and twisted it mercilessly to keep him away from her. She watched Leo with more attention. "Now that you're telling me, it's true he looks younger." She tilted her head, fists on her hips. "What happened this time?"

"You mean who." Raphael pulled a face. "One word: Renet."

Karai nodded as if this explained everything.

In front of them, Leo still couldn't believe his eyes. "Raph? What's happening?"

"Leo…" Raphael sighed. "Karai is our ally now."

"Then… I was right!"

Leo's triumphant tone was exasperating.

"Only in part," Raph mumbled.

Karai was grinning from ear to ear. "I'm still going to need your help, Leo," she whispered. "Do you think you could come with me?"

Leo opened his mouth and closed it, his cheeks a very interesting shade of red.

Raphael didn't let him speak.

"Are you crazy?" he yelled at Karai. "He's not going to leave the lair!"

He immediately realized that it had been the wrong thing to say. Leo was looking at him with an expression both stubborn and furious.

"I don't see why not," he retorted. "If Karai needs my assistance, the very least I can do is to grant her request."

Oh come on, Raphael thought. Not Leo the white knight. That's all we needed.

"You don't even have your weapons!" he exclaimed.

"It doesn't matter," Karai said. She was obviously enjoying herself immensely. "We'll go to my armory first, and I'll lend you twin katana. Let's go!"

Raphael glared daggers at her, to no avail. He took a deep breath. If Leo wasn't going to be reasonable, he, Raphael, would have to do damage control.

"I'm coming with you. Let me just tell Donnie and Mikey."

He would also take his T-Phone and a few extra weapons, just in case.

"You don't have to, Raph." Karai put a hand on Leo's shoulders, who smiled at her blissfully. "Leo and I, we can manage."

"You can manage to find trouble, no doubt." Raphael waved a threatening finger her way. "This'll only take a second. Don't you dare leave without me."

Karai gave him a smile that was supposed to look innocent, and Raphael hurried to get ready.

He really meant that it would only take a second. Karai and Leo weren't going to give him the slip in such a short time, were they?