Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT. Also, I've fixed the needlessly creepy bit in this chapter, and now it's all a little more appropriate. Thank God.

In reply to a Guest review: I didn't take offence or anything, and honestly I kind of agree that I'm writing everyone a bit OOC. I've been trying to re-watch some earlier episodes of the show to gain a better perspective, but it's quite hard for me to work out how they might interact with Karai as her little brothers because the show hasn't tackled that properly yet (in my opinion). Also, Karai has ended up quite OOC because I'm trying not to gloss over the effects that abuse can have on someone, and in Karai's case for this story, it's made her quite vulnerable, which she hides under her confidence, and that's pretty crucial to the plot of this (yes, believe it or not, this piece of crap does actually have a plot). I'm trying to convey the idea that, as a family, they can all be really open with each-other emotionally, but if people don't like reading that, then please tell me. I want to make the story the best I can for you all :)


Karai bolted awake with a scream, short of breath with a cold sweat on her brow. Once she realised it had merely been another nightmare, she swore angrily under her breath. She wiped an arm across her forehead and fell back against the pillow, her heart racing and her breathing heavy.

A timid knock sounded on the door, and she sighed in anticipation of Leonardo. This meant she was quite surprised when Donatello's voice sounded out. "Karai? Are you okay?"

She blinked in surprise. She was aware that her purple-clad brother's room was next door, but when she actually went to bed (after spending a good hour trying to convince Leo she would be okay), he had still been in his lab. Based on what she had been told, she hadn't expected Donnie to have returned to his room that night.

"I… Yeah, I am," she called softly. "You can come in, you know."

He hesitated a moment, before creaking open the door and slipping into the room quietly. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I just had a nightmare." The kunoichi sighed in frustration, pulling her knees up to her chest. "I'm fine."

Donnie shut the door quietly, after checking to make sure nobody else was on their way to the room. He crossed the room and perched himself on the edge of her bed. "Do you… want to talk about it?"

"No," she assured him, shaking her head. "I really don't. But, you get points for trying."

"I'm not done yet," he teased gently. He moved closer and wrapped one arm around her shoulders.

Karai chuckled, leaning into his embrace. "You know, you didn't strike me as a cuddler."

He shrugged. "I'm not, really. But when you live with Mikey, you don't get much of a choice. Besides, cuddling isn't the worst thing."

"What would you class as the worst thing?"

"As if I'm stupid enough to tell you."

Her arm looped around his neck and she snuggled closer, snickering to herself with a grin. "You really are the smart turtle."

"Well, you have met my competition." He chuckled to himself.

Karai laughed. "I'm so telling the guys tomorrow."

"No, you are not." The tall turtle captured her in his arms tightly, pinning her to his plastron. "I'll lock you in my lab until you promise not to…"

"Wow." She rolled her eyes. "You are much more ridiculous than I thought you were."

Donnie grinned. "We're all ridiculous here, Karai. After all, we're a family of mutants." The kunoichi tensed up beside him, and though she hurriedly tried to rectify it, Donnie still took note of it. "Was that what your nightmare was about?" he whispered.

She paused, then shook her head. "No," Karai answered honestly. "Not this time."

He frowned. "Do you normally have nightmares about your mutation?"

"… Sometimes," she admitted tentatively. "I have more nightmares about Shredder, though."

"I can imagine."

"I really doubt it..."

"Well... Do you wanna tell me?" he questioned.

She shook her head firmly. He waited for a further response, but none came. The siblings fell into another silence, until Donnie broke it by clearing his throat.

He ruffled her hair playfully, then stood to leave. "Think you can go back to sleep now?"

Karai fidgeted with the duvet for a moment, before nodding uncertainly. "I'll be okay."

"Okay," he sighed reluctantly. "Just making sure..."

The turtle backed out of the room hesitantly, shutting the door behind him. Karai sighed regretfully after he left, almost wishing he had put up more of a fight to stay. "You'll be alright, Karai," she told herself. "Stop being so paranoid."

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to her, Donnie was positioned silently on the other side of the door, listening intently. He stayed just long enough to hear her whimpering sobs, and felt his heart physically clench to hear her in pain. Until he had an idea. With a devious smile budding on his face, Donnie snuck back to his own room, sparing only a few seconds to open her door and whisper, "Go to sleep, Karai."


When Karai was awoken the next morning by a strange sense, she put it down to lingering uncertainty for her nightmares. Which was why, when she spotted Mikey lying on the bed with a smile an inch from her face, she screamed in fear and jumped backwards. She fell backwards off the edge of the bed, into Leo's waiting arms.

After glancing around and noting that Raph and Donnie were also both present, Karai glanced up at Leo for an explanation. "Leo, what's going on?"

Grinning as deviously as the rest of their brothers, Leo squeezed her tightly, pinning her arms to her sides. "Actually, this was Donnie's idea, not mine. Although, it was about time anyway."

"About time for what?" she asked, growing irritated.

His grin widened, and for the first time in a long time, she was almost afraid of him. "Clan initiation."


Despite her quite angry requests, Karai's brothers wouldn't let her get showered or changed before the 'initiation', and only gave her evil smirks when she requested getting some breakfast first, saying that she would get something to eat later.

"Okay, first challenge," declared Mikey dramatically, sweeping his arms in the direction of the algae pool in Donnie's lab.

"Are you going to tell me what's happening first?" questioned Karai. Leo and Raph were both restraining her now, though she was growing less anxious around them so she wasn't flailing as much.

"Well, big sis, if you really wanna be part of the clan, you've gotta prove it," Mikey told her jokingly, leaning so close to her face that when he stuck his tongue out teasingly at her, she almost felt it brush her nose.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how do I prove it?"

He grinned. "By completing our challenges."

"… Mikey?"

"Yeah?"

"What are the challenges?!"

"Oh, yeah, right." He dragged her forward excitedly by the collar of her shirt, gesturing at the algae pool before them. "K'so, you know how we like to go algae-diving in this pool? Well, that's your first challenge."

"But be careful with your nose," warned Donnie.

Karai rolled her eyes. "You're such a parent, Donatello. I don't need another father."

"Wait…" Leo's eyes widened. "We probably should've thought of this sooner, but Rai, do you have a bathing suit?"

The awkward silence that followed was almost palpable.

Mikey tilted his head in confusion. "I thought humans wore stuff under their clothes that they swim in?"

The girl chuckled. "Actually Mikey, we don't swim in our underwear. You're thinking of bikinis."

"… What's the difference?"

Karai paused, and smirked. "Not a lot, honestly."

"Then you can just wear that, right?"

"Absolutely no way."

"Why not?" There was an innocence in Mikey's eyes that would have been out of place on any other teenager. "Seriously, what is the difference? Humans show each-other their swimsuits, so why don't they show their-"

"It doesn't matter," she interrupted. "Now, what do I have to do for your stupid challenge?"

"You've gotta jump in," Mikey paused to demonstrate, splashing his brothers in the process, "catch some algae from the bottom of the pool with a net - the nets are in that corner there - and then come up."

Karai's eyebrow quirked. "Oh. Is that all?"

Mikey's face became serious. "For the first challenge, sis."

She held his gaze evenly, until he broke away because he was too excited to stand still any longer. Then, she strode across the room to get a net. By the time she returned, Raph and Donnie were grinning just as evilly as Mikey. Poor Leo was still blushing from the bathing suit debate, and refused to meet her eyes.

Mikey glanced at Karai. "Want me to count you in?"

The kunoichi grinned. "No need, brother."

She slipped into the water confidently, net in hand, before realising why this was a challenge. The algae in the water was horribly slimey on her skin, and she found herself shuddering involuntarily, though she wasn't sure if it was because of the algae or the freezing water. Briefly, she wondered whether it was any easier to face with leathery scales and a thick shell, because she was struggling to find the willpower to put her head under the water.

"Givin' up already, princess?" Raph taunted from the side-lines, and that was all she needed to dive under.

However, what she hadn't counted on was how badly the water - or the algae - stung when she tried to open her eyes, leaving her with no way to tell where she should swing the net. Trying to think it through, she attempted to judge where the algae was gathering by how much of it she could feel rubbing against her, though it still ended in her blindly swinging the net in a certain direction. Why am I doing this? Karai found herself questioning quite regularly, especially when her brothers' laughter began to echo down. Although, when the net began to feel heavier, she managed to peek through the water, and felt utmost relief at the site of the algae collected in the net.

In an almost fluid motion, she swam to the surface, flung the net at Donnie, snatched the towel Leo offered, and left the lab, calling over her shoulder, "I am taking a fucking shower."

The boys just stared after her, with a mixture of confusion and amusement.


Karai exited the bathroom, dressed in jeans and a vest top with her hair damp around her face, to find Raph stood right in front of her.

A three-fingered hand grabbed her arm. "Come on. Next challenge is in the kitchen."

She twirled a lock of wet hair around her finger. "Sure. Just let me dry my hair and-"

"No can do." He began dragging her in the direction of the kitchen. "That's why they sent me; least likely to cave and let you talk me out of it."

"What am I gonna try to talk you out of?" questioned Karai. "The algae thing wasn't that bad, just kinda gross."

Raph chuckled. "Sister, if you thought that was gross..."

He sat her down at the kitchen table, and Mikey proudly placed a bowl of what she presumed was soup in front of her. She blinked. "Okay?"

The young turtle grinned maniacally. "You gotta eat it."

"Generally how food works," she agreed. "What's the catch?"

He leaned in far too close, and his grin widened. "It's sewer water."

"… What?"

"It's water from the sewers," he repeated, his tone far too cheery for what he was saying. "Not boiled, not filtered, just straight from the sewers."

She eyed the bowl with hesitant disgust. The liquid was dark and murky, but didn't smell as bad as the outside of the lair. Were they pranking her? She wouldn't put it past any of them, Mikey especially. Unless that's what they want you to think, the strategist in her mused.

"Well, c'mon," Raph pushed from the side. "It'll be worse if it goes cold."

Looking at the contents of the bowl made her stomach churn, and stirring the provided spoon through the liquid and discovering chunks didn't help. But one glance up into her brothers' eyes, and Karai knew they were lying; their eyes held too much care for a group that were feeding their sister sewage and risking her health.

So, with easy confidence, the girl drank a spoonful of the soup. Despite its foul taste, she finished the soup quickly, whether it was due to her actual hunger or the urge to get this ridiculous initiation over with so they would all stop staring at her. Dropping the spoon into the empty bowl with a clatter, Karai glanced up at her astounded brothers. "Are we done now?"

Mikey recovered immediately. "With the second challenge, but you've still got one more to go before you've passed the initiation!"

"Come with us." Donnie motioned her through to the lair's living room, Mikey bouncing at his side.

As Karai stood, Raph strolled past her with a smirk on his lips. "Wow, Karai. I didn't think you wanted to be in the clan that much." When he was almost out of the room, he turned back to say, "By the way, that was actually sewage."

Her face blanched, and Raph exited with an evil laugh. She had just clapped a hand over her mouth to hold back her nausea when Leo passed her and whispered, "It totally wasn't, don't worry. Well done."

Chuckling to herself at the antics of her new family, Karai followed her brothers to the next and final challenge.