Disclaimer: I don't own TMNT! Also, sorry this one was a little late again :/


After ensuring that nobody was following them, April and Karai led Angel down into the sewers, figuring that it would be better to stick together. April insisted on going last, and slid the manhole cover back over the entrance once she was on the ladder.

"It's really dark," whispered Angel.

"Of course it is," Karai laughed quietly. "We put the cover over the-"

A hand clamped over her mouth as an arm wrapped around her waist. Her heart constricted in her chest, before she realised that the hand over her mouth only had three fingers, and that she was being held against a hard plastron.

"Shut up," Raph hissed into her ear. "The Foot Clan's patrolled down here before; they could come down here again."

She turned to glare at him, but when she shoved his hand away from her mouth, she left his arm in place. Now that her eyes had adjusted, she could see Donnie and Mikey releasing April and Angel respectively, and Leo stood in full ninja-mode, scanning their surroundings. The girl tried to catch his eye, but he was pointedly avoiding her gaze.

"All clear, for now. Stay alert, and move out," ordered Leo coldly.

Knowing she couldn't let her thoughts distract her, Karai switched into her own version of her brothers' white-eyed ninja-mode, and followed Leo silently through the sewers with Raph fixed at her side. The only detectable footsteps were Angel's, and even they stopped once Mikey lifted the girl up. Despite his focus being locked on the mission, Mikey spared just enough concentration to give Angel a warm little smile every now and then.

The journey seemed to take an eternity, especially with the tension twisting her stomach into knots, but finally Karai caught sight of the lair's entrance. The group exhaled a collective sigh of relief as they hurried up and over the turnstiles. Karai was about to set out and find her father when, once again, she was suddenly grabbed by a turtle.

Leo's eyes had softened from the no-nonsense leader to her caring partner, and he was carefully checking her over. "Did they hurt you? Are you injured?"

She shook her head, but Leo didn't seem to believe her, because he continued to search her visible skin for any cuts, scrapes or bruises. "I'm not hurt, Leo," she assured him, but Donnie appeared at her side anyway, also eyeing her up.

"Maybe I should give her a check-up…" the purple-masked turtle mused.

The girl sighed in frustration. "I said I wasn't hurt."

"I don't know, Rai, that was a pretty wild jump," April interjected.

"What jump?" questioned Leo.

"It was nothing," Karai said dismissively.

As he entered from the dojo with Splinter, Casey pointed out, "Uh, jumping out of a speeding van isn't nothing."

There was a beat of silence, then: "YOU JUMPED OUT OF A SPEEDING VAN?!"

Donnie seized her arm and dragged her towards the lab. "Yeah, you're definitely getting a check-up."

Scowling, Karai glanced back over her shoulder at a sheepish Casey. "Thanks a lot, Jones." As Donnie continued to lead her away, she groaned. "Oh, come on, Donnie; I've seen you guys do worse than that!"

"Oh, he's always like this when one of us pulls a crazy stunt," Mikey informed her. "It's the only time we're ever allowed in his freaky science lab."

"… Fine," she relented, allowing the turtle to just drag her.


"See? I told you I wasn't hurt." Karai was sat on the edge of a table in Donnie's lab, her arms folded stubbornly.

Donnie gave her a stern glare as he approached with an ice-pack wrapped in cloth. "A guy kicked you in the face, you fought off a van of Foot-Bots alone with no weapons, and you threw yourself out of a moving vehicle!" He pressed the ice-pack against her bruised temple, holding it in place when she refused to take it. "Forgive me for having my doubts!"

She frowned at her brother. "I am a kunoichi, Donatello. I can take care of myself. I don't need you to fuss over me after every fight."

"Karai, it's not that we don't trust you," he sighed softly, "it's just that we don't want to lose you again. They almost got you today."

"I know," she snapped icily.

He let them fall into silence after that, which she was grateful for. She wasn't about to admit it, but the ice-pack really was helping her headache, and when Donnie's arm fell around her shoulders, she felt no desire to shove it off. She let herself descend into some slow breathing techniques Master Splinter had taught her while her brothers were out patrolling, and she felt herself relaxing into Donnie's shoulder.

"I thought I was never gonna see you guys again," she whispered.

Donnie leaned his head against hers. "You fought Hun off, though, and April and Casey were-"

"Not today. I meant when I was actually there."

He sighed. "Which time?"

"Every one, but I meant the most recent. I felt so helpless." She clenched her fists. "They had me drugged up on some kind of sedative; I was only ever awake when they wanted me to be."

"Were…" Donnie swallowed, hesitant to ask. "Were you awake when…?"

"Not then, no…" Karai shuffled closer. "But he wasn't trying to hide it. He left the box open on the table."

To her surprise, Donnie removed the ice-pack and placed a platonic kiss on the cool skin beneath. "I really am sorry we didn't get you out of there faster. We thought he'd take the torture easy on you, since he thought you were his daughter. If we'd had any idea…"

"Don't apologise. It's my own fault for not telling anyone."

"No it isn't, and you should never think like that." He shifted to face her. "Okay, yeah, you should've told us, but there shouldn't have been anything to tell. The Shredder really is a monster; never accept the blame for his actions." He paused. "We will stop him, Karai. He's never gonna hurt you again."

She simply stared at him for a while, wondering when the awkward genius became so protective. After a few moments, Karai stood up. "I think I'm gonna go find Master Splinter."

"Yeah, good idea. He'll wanna talk to you." Donnie handed her the ice-pack, which she reluctantly held to her head.

The girl was almost out of the door when she turned and said, "Donatello?"

He glanced up. "Yeah?"

A smile played at her lips. "You guys already know I'm bad at thanking people."


The living room hadn't cleared when she left the lab, but everyone had separated into little clumps and settled for just glancing over at her every now and then. Leo, of course, broke this unspoken agreement, and walked right up to her.

"Hey, all better?" he inquired gently, stringing his arms around her.

"Nothing to make better," she told him firmly. When he touched the ice-pack, she added, "I've only got the stupid pack because Donnie's paranoid."

"I heard that!" he yelled from the lab.

Ignoring his brother, Leo lifted the ice-pack slightly to check underneath. He sighed sadly when he saw the bruising. "I'm sick of seeing you get hurt." He looked her in the eye. "Did you get hurt this much at the Foot?"

"Yeah," she said with a shrug. "It's part of the kunoichi thing. Don't you guys get hurt a lot?"

"Not as much as you do," Raph responded from the other side of the room.

"I have warned you all before: Miwa does not have the natural armour of a turtle." Splinter stepped forward, setting a hand atop Karai's head.

"Yeah, but neither do Casey and I, and we don't get hurt as much as she does," pointed out April.

"You are both just as vulnerable as Miwa in a fight," Splinter explained, "but I am a tad gentler when I am training you, April, compared to when I am training my sons. I imagine Miwa was not treated with this gentleness in her training?"

She shook her head. "No, Sensei. Well," Karai grinned, "not until you started training me, that is."

He stroked a hand through her hair, then quietly motioned her through to the dojo. She followed apprehensively, knowing that whatever he had to say wouldn't be good. Her father set about brewing a pot of tea for them, so she knelt beside the low table obediently. He poured for them both, then handed her a cup.

"Arigato," she murmured, sipping at her tea.

They finished their first cup of tea in silence, and she lifted the pot to pour before her father could. He smiled fondly at her. "Domo arigato, my daughter," he replied. She was already sipping her tea again when he sighed. "Miwa… I understand that you will not like this, but… from now until further notice, you will not be leaving our home again."

"What?!" Karai exclaimed. "No!"

"My child, let me explain-"

"No! Father, I can't just stay stuck down here forever!" The kunoichi leapt to her feet, her tea cast aside and forgotten. "I'll go insane if I can't get out! You can't expect me to-"

"I am not losing you again!"

The girl froze as he seized her shoulders. She glanced up into his eyes and immediately regretted it. He was so honestly displaying his emotions to her, and seeing the tears forming in his eyes almost made her want to cry herself.

"Okay," she conceded weakly. "Fine. I'll stay down here from now on."

Splinter sighed, relaxing his grip on her. "… Perhaps we can come to a compromise."

She raised an eyebrow. "A compromise?"

He nodded. "Hai. Where your brothers are concerned, you are grounded – and for the most part, you are – but… if you really feel like you must leave, then I will escort you. Do we have a deal?"

Karai bit her lip, then quickly decided that very limited freedom was better than none. "Hai, Sensei."

"Good." He squeezed her shoulders. "I am sorry for this, my child, but after the attack today… I cannot stand the idea that you could be out there alone."

The feeling that he didn't trust her stung a little, but the rational part of her brain knew that it wasn't meant as an insult. She nodded, hugging him across the table. She felt like she should say something emotional to fit with the moment, but her throat choked up and she couldn't form a sentence. Instead her eyes began to water, but thankfully he didn't point it out.

After a long moment, Splinter pulled away. "I should start clearing up this tea before the flooring stains."

"Do you want me to do it?" she offered. "It was my fault."

He shook his head. "No, thank you. You may go and see your brothers; I think they will wish to speak with you also."

"If you're sure." Karai shrugged awkwardly as she crossed the room. She hesitated at the door, however. "Sorry for my outburst, father, I just-"

"Miwa, you need not explain," he assured her, before turning to her with a smile. "After all, you and Raphael must have inherited that temper from somewhere."

She giggled accidentally, and exited before she could blush. Spotting the look of reluctant authority on Leo's face immediately, she greeted him with, "Save the lecture, Leonardo; Master Splinter said I can't leave the lair unless he's with me from now on."

The turtle frowned. "Okay. Sorry to be so offensive."

Karai's face fell. "Sorry. I'm not exactly in a good mood right now."

Leo extended an arm to her, and she wrapped it around her shoulders. "Alright, sorry for pushing you." Karai barely registered that the room had cleared until he kissed her on the cheek. "Hey, can I ask you something?"

"Where did the others go?" Karai inquired, ignoring his question.

"Everyone's in the kitchen with Mikey; he's making smoothies, I think," he answered. "Can I ask my question now?"

"That was one," she teased. "Go on."

"Would you, uh… Would you mind staying with me tonight?"

Karai agreed in the end, after a good dose of puppy-dog eyes and an offer for unlimited skateboard rides. Of course, she neglected to mention the fact that she was planning to sleep there anyway.


Ugh :/ It was a short chapter and it came out really bitty... But I guess all the little bits had to happen. I don't even know any more. Sorry, I haven't been able to think this week; I'm on work experience at a primary school right now and the kids are literally draining all of my energy :')

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thanks for reading xD