Disclaimer: Don't own it, obviously.


"Great practice, guys!"

The rowdy hockey players burst into the locker room, slapping each-other on the back and laughing. Casey hung back from his team's revelry, acknowledging comments about his fantastic skill (quite arrogantly, as he was known around his school as a jerk), but he was excluded from the general chatter. For once though, he was grateful, because his mind was elsewhere.

He plugged his headphones into his T-phone and silently changed in the corner of the room, ignoring everybody else. The room had emptied when he next looked up, but he didn't care particularly how much time had passed. His music cut out suddenly, and his phone began vibrating, signalling an incoming call.

"Hey," he answered casually, having seen his home number pop up on the screen prior. "Angel, that you?"

"Absolutely not," Angel replied. She sounded distanced; he could tell he was on speaker phone.

"Why am I on speaker?"

"So I can hear." Karai sounded farther than Angel.

He smirked. "Ah, okay. So, what's up?"

"Just wondering when you're coming home." He heard Karai murmur something, then Angel added, "Oh, and could you maybe pick up a pizza on the way?"

This time, he outright laughed. "Wow. I've known you for a day, Karai, and you're already using my sister against me?"

"I've known Angel longer than I've known you," she pointed out slyly, "and anyway, you were being quite interesting with me last night..."

"What?!" shrieked Angel, sounding horrified.

"It's not like that!" protested Casey immediately, fully aware that denying it made it sound exactly like that. "I was bandaging her back! Oh, and the bed thing was not my fault!"

"I don't want to know," the younger girl said decisively. "Are you gonna get pizza or not?"

"Sure, sure; I'm leaving now. What do you guys want?"

A quiet conference, mostly consisting of Karai stating that Angel should choose because she didn't mind, then, "Pepperoni?"

"Got it. I'll see you guys in a bit."

Casey slung the strap of his bag over one shoulder and was about to leave, when he spotted a smiling green face at the window. Mikey waved eagerly at him, before Raph appeared and shoved him down. Casey's eyes lit up deviously, and he turned back to his phone. "Oh hey," he said, cutting off whatever Angel was saying, "I have an idea."

"There's a first."

He ignored her, "Karai?"

"Yes?"

"I've just seen the guys, and I was thinking. See, my dad shouldn't be back until Monday, so I could bring 'em over and we could hang out and stuff? They'd love to see you, I know it. And we could call April, get you guys talking, and-"

"No!" The exclamation didn't seem enraged, he was surprised to note, but afraid. "No, Casey, please don't!"

"Okay, okay!" He held up a hand in surrender even though she couldn't see. "I won't! Jeez, it was just an idea!"

He could hear Angel consoling her, before she said shakily, "Okay. Sorry. I-I just... I'm not ready to face them yet. If you want me to go, I'll go, but I can't-"

"Don't go!" cried the siblings in unison, though Casey wondered how he cared so much for her so quickly. "Karai, you can stay with us as long as you want," he assured her. "I only brought it up 'cuz I thought it'd be what you wanted."

"You've gotta stay, Rai-Rai," Angel cooed. "I can't lose you again." The phone rustled with static, and he assumed the girls were hugging.

She murmured non-committedly; Angel forced a definitive "yes, I'll stay" from her before addressing Casey, "Just come straight home, okay? We can phone and order pizza delivery."

Karai began to object, but Casey cut her off, "Sure. I should be there before the delivery guy, so I'll pay."

"I hoped you'd say that."

After bidding them both goodbye, Casey checked to make sure he had all of his belongings, and bit his lip. He couldn't think of an excuse to tell the Turtles, but he couldn't patrol, especially armed with the knowledge of its inevitable fruitlessness. "Okay..." Casey had seen them through the back window, and they would never go around to the front of the building in case they were spotted, so they were most likely waiting at the back door. "So, if I go out the front and don't go back like they'd expect me to... That might work."

So he crept quietly out of the hockey rink, tediously pushing his bike a good few blocks before daring to cycle home.


"Wait... So Casey totally ditched you guys?!" exclaimed April in shock. She'd been aware that he wasn't the most reliable person, but this was bad even for him.

"Uh-huh!" Mikey nodded fervently. "We were waiting for him to get out of practice, and he smirked at us through the window, and then he must've just left!"

She brushed her bangs back. "Did you guys check inside?"

"We checked all over," Donnie informed her. "No sign of him or his gear. But his bike was gone too, so it looks like he left voluntarily. No sign of a struggle, either."

The Turtles had given Casey ten minutes before checking to see where he was. When their search proved useless, Donnie had called April and stayed with Mikey to meet her, while Leo rushed Raph off to patrol anyway because they were "wasting valuable time". Now that he didn't have the invasion to focus on, Leo was becoming frantic about saving her.

Donnie sighed. "His T-Phone's on but he's not answering. I'd ask him in person, but I have no idea where to find him."

"Hmm... Actually, I might know." April pulled her phone from her pocket and flipped through her messages until she found the right one. "A-ha!"

She thrust the phone at Donnie. "He texted me his address a few weeks ago; we had a study session at his place. Don't look at me like that, Donnie. He probably went home to see his sister or something."

"Well, he could've told us..." muttered Mikey grumpily.

"We could go over and talk to him?" suggested April. "Leo won't mind, as long as we keep an eye out for you-know-who."

The brothers sighed solemnly. After so long apart, they were all slowly resigning to the fact that they may never see their sister again.

Patting Mikey on the shoulder comfortingly, Donnie turned to April and said, "Lead the way."


Angel scurried back to the couch, a heavy fleece blanket over her shoulders and a glass of blackcurrant juice in her hand. She kicked Karai's leg gently, with a, "Hey, budge up."

Chuckling to herself, Karai swung her legs up into a surprised Casey's lap and stretched out on the couch, taking up as much room as possible. Angel frowned.

"This is the most surreal thing," Casey declared. He seized Karai's ankles and dragged her closer. In her surprise, Karai sat up, and Angel eagerly flopped into the space. She glared at him as though betrayed, and he laughed.

"What's surreal?" inquired Angel.

"Having my best friends' sister throw herself across me." He winked suggestively at the kunoichi. "Not that there's any problem with that."

Karai drove her foot into his groin and he doubled over in pain, cussing vigorously at her. When she laughed at him, he pulled her in again and punched her stomach in retaliation. Her fist came up to his head but he dodged, flinging a pillow into her face. Their playful fight kept escalating until Angel swatted them with her blanket and screamed for them to stop.

Casey let out a pained laugh, trying to untangle the blanket he and Karai had been sharing. "You're such a freaking bitch, Rai."

"Thanks." She ran a hand through her dishevelled hair, which hung like a shaggy bob below her chin.

The doorbell rang. "Oh, that must be the pizza guy," chimed Angel, leaping up and bounding to the door.

Casey's eyes widened with alarm, and he twisted around to shout, "Angel, wait!" He would've run to her if he hadn't been prohibited by Karai's legs.

But in any case, he was too late. Angel opened the door wide. "Hiya!"

April O'Neil stood in the doorway.

"Fuck," was all Casey managed to say.

April didn't see the fourteen-year-old girl telling Casey to mind his language, or even the apartment she'd only been in once before. All the redhead could focus on was the girl sat across Casey, frozen in place with shock. Karai recovered quickly though, giving April a sheepish grin.

Half-heartedly, she said, "Miss me, princess?"

"I-I… Wha…?" The redhead rounded on Casey. "Why is she here?!"

"E-Easy, Red! She's on our side now, remember?"

"Yeah, but… Casey, why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you, I don't know, take her back to the lair? Or at least tell the guys-"

Casey tried to catch her, but Karai folded in on herself rapidly, huddling at the end of the couch. He attempted to drape the blanket over her shivering form, but she kicked his arm away and shook her head. Sighing in defeat, he turned to April, "That's why. She doesn't wanna go back, April. Not yet, anyway." This time, she let him rub her knees gently.

April blinked in confusion. "She doesn't want… Why not?"

Karai stared down at her bare feet, studying the scars and callouses on them. The soft blanket concealed them from view, and she allowed herself a little smile.

"I don't know, and I don't care. When – or if – she feels ready, she can go back, but until then, she can stay here." He glanced at her, and she nodded; her way of thanking him.

"Uh, okay…" April faced Karai properly for the first time, trying to look friendly. "Hey…"

"Hello." The kunoichi nodded formally.

The awkward silence was palpable between them. Casey bit his lip uncomfortably. Angel, however, seemingly learned how to resolve these kind of moments from her time during the invasion, because she eagerly dragged April over to the armchair by the couch.

"So, do you want a snack or something?" The purple-haired girl smiled at her.

April grinned gratefully at her. "No, thanks, it's okay."

Karai chuckled. "Angel, are you being serious?"

Her hands flew to her hips. "Well, what's your better idea?"

"Hey, April? Can I talk to you for a second?" Casey grabbed the redhead by the arm and led her out into the hallway. He saw Angel slump down next to Karai in his peripheral vision, and smiled as they began to mockingly tease each-other.

"So… Your sister and Karai seem to have hit it off."

Casey smirked. "Actually, they did in the invasion."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"Uh-huh. But that's not what I wanted to talk about." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Look, I know you and Karai kinda… disagreed in the past. I get it, it's just… She's really insecure, April, even if it doesn't seem like it. She woke herself up in tears last night. I think she's scared of the Hamatos accepting her again, and I think we can help her get over that."

April nodded. "Okay. As long as she promises not to attack me again."

"Deal." They both jumped at Karai's voice. "As long as you promise not to throw me down any more stairs."


Leo frowned in displeasure as he surveyed the city. There was no sign of her sleek scales anywhere, no slithering or hissing in the air. The tails of his mask fluttered in the breeze; his katana glinted in the moonlight. He felt helpless, and he hated feeling helpless. He could only imagine how helpless she must feel, and guilt ached in his chest.

A three-fingered hand landed on his tense shoulder. "Leo."

He sighed heavily. "Raph, do you think we'll ever find her?"

The hand tightened. "I don't know, bro. I really don't."

"… This is all my fault." His eyes sparkled with moisture.

"No, it isn't."

"Yes, it is!" Leo spun to face him. "If I could've just saved her from that damn mutagen vat-"

"Oh for the love of- Leonardo, you can't change the past. There was nothing you could've done, okay?" Raph gripped his brother's shoulders firmly. "You've dedicated yourself to trying to help her – hell, hasn't that been your goal since you met the girl? Don't beat yourself up over this."

The worry lines on Leo's forehead began to ease out. "Thanks, Raphael."

"Yeah, yeah…" Green eyes narrowed. "Just don't mention it again, alright?"

He chuckled. "Sure." His eyes clouded over again. "I'm sorry for forcing you guys out every night like this, I just… I feel responsible. I want to bring her back to Master Splinter. After all, he wouldn't have lost her again if I'd just been able to stop her going back to Shredder."

Raph groaned. "Don't make me go into another soppy spiel, Leo."

"Sorry…" The blue-clad turtle sheathed his katana. "Look, let's just get back to the lair. I think we've done enough for tonight."

"Are you sure? You better not be moping 'round the lair 'cause you feel bad for not searching long enough."

He clapped his brother on the shoulder. "I'm sure." Leo slid out his T-Phone and texted Donatello:

Donnie, we're calling it a night. Meet us on the corner of Eastman and Laird.

His phone chimed minutes later: We're waiting outside Casey's house for April. She went to speak to him about why he ditched us.

Fine. Meet us back at the lair, then.

Got it. See you soon, hopefully.

Hopefully?

I don't know how long April will be.

Fair enough. See you.

Pocketing his phone again, Leo turned to his brother. "Okay, Raph; let's get home."


So, I think I need to make Raph do something jerkier sometime; both of his appearances so far have been comforting someone. He needs to make some more sarcastic comments :P

Thank you for reading, and please review! xD