A/N: HI! Sorry for the long wait, and because you are all so AMAZING, I made this one a little longer than I had intended to! Thank you all for sticking with the story thus far!

I OWN NOTHING!

Enjoy!

Chapter 19

"Oh, what a tangled web we weave...when first we practice to deceive."

― Walter Scott, Marmion

Sitting in the center of the darkened dojo that late night, Tiger Claw remained as firm and as still as a crag as he sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, his large paws resting with claws undrawn and fists unclenched upon his lap as he took in slow, cleansing breaths in and out again. The dojo was obscure, and only he inhabited it at this time of the night as the stillness ensued. Nothing stirred, no one spoke. All was silent, and all was calm.

Until his ears twitched atop his head, and the sound of creaking floorboards resonated through his eardrums.

His eyes remaining closed and his body relaxed despite the sense of danger looming over him, he lifted his head and took a subtle sniff of the air. One sniff was all it took to figure out how many were in the room with him now. Two of them; one hiding in the shadows on his right, and one poised on the support beams from above. Neither of them made another move, knowing that they had been discovered despite not even being seen. He drew in another breath, deeper this time, as he waited patiently for the pair of intruders to make themselves known.

He didn't need to wait very long.

The one from his right struck from out of the darkness first, their short sword in hand and raised above their head as they charged at the tiger with soundless velocity. Tiger Claw's amber eyes finally snapped open just as the attacker was mere inches away from piercing his side, and he leapt over their head with ease, landing directly behind them as he growled and drew out his own sabre, assuming a battle stance as he faced his new black masked foe. Spinning on their heel, the ninja faced the tiger undeterred, their sword lifted in a guarded position, but no move was made to attack.

No sooner had Tiger Claw turned to face them did the other intruder swoop down from the beams like a silent bird of prey, a katana blade poised to impale the tiger from above. It was only his reflexes that saved him from being skewered as Tiger Claw reached up and grabbed the arm of the sword wielder and roughly threw them towards their partner. They crashed into each other, but quickly recovered as they bared their weapons and circled the giant feline like hungry beasts on the hunt for their next victim. Tiger Claw was undeterred, and narrowed his eyes as he watched their slow movements carefully. "Distraction and misdirection," he mused aloud. "Impressive. But I have seen far better."

One of them scoffed, and even though it was dark, Tiger Claws' eyes could see clearly as they even rolled their eyes skyward.

A cocky one, eh? Well then, she would be the first to fall.

No more words were spoken as the two ninjas charged once more, and Tiger Claw readied himself for their next barrage. They came at him without warning, and though their strikes were swift and unyielding, he was faster and stronger, as well as larger, which he used to his advantage. Also, he had claws, which he noticed they tactfully avoided as he swiped at them. However, the masked kunoichi was met with the unfortunate fate of being sent crashing into the wall with a solid punch to the chest. Her black mask falling off her face, Karai sank to the ground and curled up on the floor in pain, not getting up again. "C-Cheap shot, t-tabby cat," she wheezed as she held her stomach.

The second one, however, remained standing with his sword out in front of him, ready for Tiger Claw to attack. Tiger Claw growled lowly in warning, the sound rumbling from his chest. In return, behind the blue scarf that hid his features, Leonardo hissed back.

The two charged each other, and Tiger Claw raised his sabre as the katana clashed against it. A flurry of movement and the sound of metal meeting metal reverberated within the walls of the dojo as the two warriors battled. Neither stumbled nor faltered once in their onslaught, and the old tiger found himself impressed. The young cub had indeed improved over the past few days, most likely to 'redeem' himself for what had happened two nights ago. But there was still no way he was going to beat the large cat, not in this lifetime anyways. With another growl, Tiger Claw pinned the young turtles' sword to the floor with his foot, and was about to bring down his fist upon his head for the final blow, but was taken by surprise as from out of the handle of the sword, Leonardo drew out a short dagger.

Too late to react, silver flashed across his vision, and Tiger Claw stumbled backwards as the dagger sliced the side of his face.

Leonardo froze on the spot, his eyes flying wide open at the sight of blood dripping down the tigers' left cheek. Though it was only a little trail of blood, it was enough to make Leo drop his dagger as it slipped through his numb fingers and clattered to the floor. "Ah!" he cried, drawing the scarf down from his face as he reached a hesitant hand out to his father, who was staring at the blood on his paw in surprise. He hadn't actually meant to hit him. In fact, he was counting on getting thrown to the ground just like Karai had done. "S-Sensei, I'm sorry!" Leo stammered in fright. "I –"

From the side-lines, Karai gaped at the turtle as she shakily got to her feet, still a little winded from the blow. Had he actually managed to draw blood from Tiger Claw? Either this was true, or she was still a little dizzy from that hit and she was just seeing things. But the longer she stared, the quicker she realized that it was no illusion, and that the poor turtle was in a lot of trouble. "Hoo boy," she breathed, "Leo's a goner now."

After a moment, Tiger Claw finally turned to look down at his panicked pupil, and his amber eyes narrowed. With blinding speed, he shoved Leo hard against the wall and pinned him there with his left arm across his chest, his right fist raised to strike him. Leo's eyes widened, and he drew as far back as he could as he waited for the blow. However to his surprise, it never came. Instead, he was met with a chuckle from his father as he eased off the turtle, folding his hands behind his back as he regarded his stricken son. "Well done, Leonardo," he said, just as Karai flipped the dojo lights back on again. "You actually managed to mark me. Very impressive. But just when you had the advantage, you hesitated, and that made you vulnerable. You must remember that as an assassin, one moment of hesitation could either allow your target to escape, or for your head to roll."

Clearing his throat as he stood up straight again (that shove nearly knocked the wind right out of him) Leo bowed once. "Hai, Sensei," he said, inwardly relieved that he wasn't going to be turtle soup anytime soon. On his left, he saw Karai move to stand beside him, and she gave him a little nudge with her elbow. He looked up at her, and pouted once he saw the sly grin she was giving him; she knew that he'd been scared out of his shell, and now he knew that she wasn't about to let him live it down.

Patting his son on the shoulder once, Tiger Claw turned to look down at Karai, who had since wiped that smile off her face and looked up at her mutant teacher with respect. "As for you," he said, "I can see that you have succeeded in remaining patient before attacking; an essential skill that every ninja must perfect. Well done. However, your overconfidence will be the death of you in a real battle." He then smirked at her. "Don't think that just because it's dark that I can't see it when you roll your eyes at me, little one."

It was Karai's turn to look embarrassed as pouted sourly at the floor, trying but failing to ignore Leo's little snicker of revenge. Tiger Claw only shook his head at the two of them with a tolerant smile at their antics. "Now, that is all for today," he announced as he turned towards the exit of the dojo, but paused as he looked over his shoulder at the pair once more. "…unless you care for a rematch?" he probed.

Expectantly, they both shook their heads. "Nope, I'm good, thanks though," Leo grinned.

Karai folded her arms and the right side of her mouth curved upwards in a smirk. "Yep. I think we're all set here," she said simply.

Rolling his eyes, but unable to stop the chuckle of amusement, Tiger Claw left the dojo, leaving the two teens alone. And as he walked down the corridors that led towards his sleeping quarters, he brought up a hand to lightly brush over the mark that the short blade had left in his fur. The cut was only deep enough to draw a small amount of blood, but it was proof enough that his cub was improving, and quickly at that. Being the confident young warrior he was, he would probably go off thinking that because of a simple scar he was finally catching up to his father. The thought actually made Tiger Claw chuckle to himself as he slid back into his room, shutting the door and sitting down on his futon. That cub still had a long ways to go before he ever caught up to his skills.

And speaking of going places…

Tiger Claw looked up at the clock on the wall. It was already 11:30pm. The boy had half an hour left before his meeting with his youngest brother, Michelangelo, in Central Park.

The old tiger sighed. If being a father for fifteen years had taught Tiger Claw anything, it was that children in their late teenage years were always unpredictable. In Leonardo's case, he was unpredictable in that there was no telling what kind of trouble he was going to get himself into next, or what he was going to say, or even when he was going to say it and take the old assassin by surprise. All Tiger Claw did know was that whatever the boy did or said, in the end it was for him as the father to decide how to respond or how to handle it in a way that would not have the entire situation come crumbling to the ground. An example would be when Tiger Claw knew Leonardo was lying to him; rather than calling him out immediately (though the tiger was not very fond of liars) he would leave it, and patiently wait it out until the boy came to him and confessed.

Unfortunately, this was one of those times where the boy hadn't come clean yet, and he probably had no wish to. And though he knew that he really should have said something, Tiger Claw had handled the situation by allowing Leonardo to continue to live the lie he'd told him. Though it was actually quite a convincing tale, Tiger Claw had seen and heard everything that had happened on the rooftop that night.

Including the younger turtles' plea for forgiveness.

Leonardo's reaction to everything had been a bit of a surprise to the tiger. After all the hatred he had bottled up inside him, he would have thought that Leo would have paid him no mind, or he would have simply tried to kill him again. Instead, however, he was willing to give the younger one a chance. Seeing this had made the old cat proud of him. It seemed as though he was learning to let go of hatred at last.

However, if there was something that Tiger Claw knew about his son more than anyone, it was that his trust was essential. If one were to lose his trust, it would be near impossible to regain it.

He prayed that the younger turtle knew of this as well, for if he made one mistake, if he did something that set Leo off, the trust would be broken. And then hatred would rear its ugly head and regain control of the boy once more, forever closing him off from his true family, and his path to the happiness that he deserved.

But before any of that could take place, he first needed to actually meet Michelangelo. And the only way to do that was to get past the curiosity of Oroku Karai. Tiger Claw shook his head.

Now that was going to be a challenge.

"So, are you ever going to tell me exactly how you did that back there, three-toes?"

Looking up from his sword polishing, Leo quirked a curious brow at Karai, who stood beside him from where he sat on the bench against the wall of the dojo. "Do what?" he asked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Her arms folded over her armored chest, Karai rolled her eyes heavenward and scoffed. "Don't play dumb with me. You and I both know how terrible you are at playing it cool," she teased, plopping herself down next to him. "I can tell you're still buzzing about it. I gotta know how you managed to tag Tiger Claw of all people. That was wicked!"

In response to her surprising eagerness, Leo only shook his head. "Pshh," he waved off as he sheathed his polished sword, taking out the next one to repeat the process. "It was nothing but a surprising – and terrifying – coincidence, one that won't be happening again anytime soon. I never actually meant to strike him, you know. I just…well, it just happened, I guess…"

Karai frowned at his reply, clearly not buying one bit of it. Though they were both high ranking ninjas of the Foot Clan, neither of them had ever managed to land a blow on Tiger Claw…well, they had, but that mutant was tougher than he looked; every hit they threw at him seemed like a butterfly's touch. This time, however, Leo had managed to actually draw blood from him. That had never happened before, not in all of their years in training together. There had to be something behind Leo's short-lived success, and he was just leaving her out of the loop to be cruel. "Giving a grown-ass mutant tiger a scar doesn't just 'happen', Leonardo," she quipped, using air-quotes to further her point, and then turned away and folded her arms again, pouting in a childlike manner as she harrumphed. "But hey, if you don't want to tell me your secret, then fine. I'm sure I can figure it out on my own soon enough, anyways."

It was Leo's turn to roll his eyes now as finished with his second sword, sheathing it and standing up as he adjusted his scarf around his neck. "Yeah, okay Karai. You keep telling yourself that, sister. Because there's no way you're gonna get close enough to him to…"

He trailed off in their playful banter as he caught a glance at the clock on the wall above. It was minutes passed 11:30pm, and Leo's eyes widened in shock. They started their training session at 9:00pm…how had he lost track of time like that? He was due to meet up with Michelangelo in less than half an hour.

"Oh man!" he gasped suddenly, drawing Karai's attention to him again with raised brows as he made his way over to the dojo exit. "I gotta go, I'll see you later Karai!" he called over his shoulder, hoping he could slip past her without –

He nearly jumped out of his shell when seconds later, Karai had suddenly materialized in front of him, folding her arms over her chest as she eyed him sceptically. He cursed himself inwardly. Of course he wasn't going to get past her now, not with that little outburst. Plus, she had the curiosity of a cat with a death wish; she wasn't going to let him go without some sort of explanation. He shifted awkwardly in place, itching to just get around her. "Um…can you kinda move out of the way, Karai?" he asked dumbly.

She didn't move an inch. "Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?" she probed, shifting her weight onto one side as she placed her hand on her hip. "If you hadn't noticed, training's over, it's almost midnight, and you have nothing else on your schedule until tomorrow." She slowly walked towards him, and the turtle stepped backwards until his shell thudded against the wall of the hallway with a hollow 'thunk'. She then brought up her right hand and placed it firmly against the wall beside his head, blocking his path of escape as her smirk suddenly disappeared. "Come to think of it, you've been on the edgy side for the past few days, Leonardo," she said lowly with a frown, her one telling the blue clad turtle that she wasn't playing around anymore. "Something else is going on. What is it?"

Wide-eyed, Leo swallowed nervously as she glowered down at him with her golden-eyed gaze, and it didn't help that she was inches taller than him, making her look far more intimidating than she really was. He had to admit, he'd played his cards rather poorly this time around. He'd managed to get around Tiger Claw easily, but Karai was a little different. She was very observant, and she and Leo spent enough time together for her to know him like the back of her hand. She must have known that there was something he was hiding from her, and she'd chosen now to interrogate him about it, moments before he could actually get away with it.

This was very, very bad. Like Leonardo, Karai's trust was very hard to gain, but very easy to lose. And once it was lost, it was near impossible to get it back again, either because she would refuse to talk to you, or she would simply kill you.

Losing Karai's trust would be, for the young mutant turtle, a fate worse than death. Without her, he would be alone. Well, he still had Tiger Claw of course, but he would have no one else to turn to, no one else he could trust. He hated to lie to her. In fact, the very thought of lying to her, or even Tiger Claw, truly sickened him. But how could he possibly tell her that he was going to meet with one of the disciples of the man who killed her mother? She would probably hate him, and never speak or even look at him again without thinking of him as a traitor.

There was no other way about it. He'd promised Michelangelo that he would see him tonight, and he never went back on his word. Ever. And besides, even if Mikey didn't know the whole truth…he had to find some way of letting go of all the hatred. So much of his life had been about hatred, and he couldn't live that way anymore…

Squaring his shoulders, Leo looked directly into Karai's eyes as he did the unthinkable. "I'm just going out for a quick run around the city before it gets too late," he said evenly, taking note of the slight flicker of surprise on her face at the calmness of his voice. She seemed to be buying it. "I want to be back before dawn, so I'd better leave now."

He slipped underneath her arm and began to walk down the hallway, smiling at her and giving her a little wave as he turned away from her. "Tell Sensei not to wait up for me, okay? Bye!" he called, and without another word, he vanished around the corner, leaving the kunoichi to stand and stare after his retreating form.

Karai blinked once. That was it? That was the reason he'd been so tense lately? All because he was going out past midnight for a run around the city, and he didn't want Tiger Claw to know about it after the little 'Ninja Tag' incident?

No. Of course not. There was far more to it than that.

Her eyes narrowed, and her arms folded across her chest again as she scowled. "I don't believe you, Leonardo," she muttered dangerously. "Not for one second."

Taking out her black mask and securing it onto her face, the black haired kunoichi moved down the hall after the ninja turtle. There was no way he was going to get away with lying to her. If something was up, then she wanted in on it as well, whether he wanted her to or not.

Karai would find out what her reptilian brother was hiding from her. One way or another.

"Where do you think you're going, Michelangelo?"

Frozen in place from where he stood halfway up the stairs that led to the sewers beyond, Michelangelo's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as he let out a little squeak. It was only half an hour before midnight, the time he had agreed to meet his older brother, Leonardo, at Central Park at long last. His spirits had soared when Master Splinter had allowed him to go to this meeting, and even more so when Donatello had proclaimed that he was free from his crutch, but still advised to take it easy for a little while longer. However, that hadn't deterred Mikey in the slightest. Bad knee or no bad knee, he was going to see Leo, and hopefully help his misguided brother finally see the truth behind whatever lies he had been told over the years.

However, as cruel fate would have it, he had been spotted by none other than his purple clad leader only seconds before he could make his escape. Not only that, but he said his full name, meaning he was not a happy bunny.

Swallowing nervously, Mikey slowly turned around to find that Donnie was standing at the bottom of the stairs, his long arms folded over his chest and his brow raised high with skepticism as he stared at his younger brother. To Mikey's relief, Splinter had kept his word and had not said a word about the meeting to his older brothers or April, and Mikey had been able to keep his cool about it to lower their suspicions. But catching him now, sneaking out of the lair near midnight had probably just alerted his leader that something was definitely up.

Mikey noticed that Donnie was now tapping his foot impatiently, expecting to gain some kind of an explanation from the orange clad turtle within the next few seconds. "…um," he began, pressing his fingers together nervously as he bit his lip. "…I was just…going to see Leatherhead!" he said with a grin, hoping that Donnie would buy that, which after everything that had already happened that day, he was sure he would.

It had been earlier that morning that they had met the large mutant alligator, who Mikey had named Leatherhead, deep within the sewer tunnels fighting off several Kraang droids that were attempting to force him to tell them the location of some sort of alien power cell. After they had dragged the over-sized gator into the lair (much to Mikey's insistence) and chained him up so that he wouldn't cause any more havoc (or grab Donnie's face again) Donnie and Raph had gone off in search for the power cell that they had presumed he was guarding, leaving Mikey alone with the angry creature in an attempt to befriend him. At first, they had deemed Leatherhead to be a dangerous monster, untameable and untrustworthy, and certainly not something you would want inside your home. Well, at least that's Donnie and Raph had thought of him. Mikey on the other hand, being who he was, saw something hidden deep within the gator's troubled soul; he had been through a lot in his lifetime, and had seen many things that others could only fathom of, and because of that, he was unable to control his rage.

But after talking to him, getting to know the true Leatherhead, Mikey knew that what Splinter had said was true. His scars ran deep, but they protected a genuine heart.

He mused that Leatherhead, in some sense or another, was a lot like Leonardo. He was cold, angry, vengeful, and had seen many horrible things in his short life, but beneath all of that was the same brother he had known as a child. He knew he could get through to him the same way he had gotten through Leatherhead; just by talking to him and giving him a chance…not by feeding him Pizza Noodle Soup, of course.

Donnie scoffed at Mikey's answer. "Really? You're going to see Leatherhead, at this hour?" he asked, his voice practically dripping with disbelief. "I know you two are pretty good friends now, Mikey, but be reasonable. He's probably trying to get some sleep by now, and bothering him would only get him cranky…well, crankier, I should say."

Mikey pouted as he mirrored his brothers' pose and folded his arms. "He's not that cranky, Donnie. And it just so happens that Leatherhead actually likes to have midnight talks about stuff. It makes him feel better," Mikey stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Oh really?" Donnie probed. "How do you know that?"

"Because he told me so, that's how."

"Okay, because he totally had other people to talk to at midnight before he met you, Mikey."

Mikey faltered, his eyes darting to the side. "…well…he had that little wind-up toy crocodile to talk to, just like I have Little Leo to talk to in the dojo."

Donnie opened his mouth to protest, but stopped short at the mention of the teddy bear in the dojo. He dropped his arms to his side and sighed. It was true that before they had met April, Mikey could only really talk to the bear at midnight whilst everyone else was sleeping, and open up about his problems and his feelings. He'd stopped for a little while after discovering that the real Leonardo was still alive, but resumed once he had regained the confidence that they were going to find a way to bring him back.

If Donnie's assumptions were correct, then Mikey possibly thought that the wind-up crocodile that Leatherhead had was his way of talking to that human boy that had raised him before he was cruelly dumped down a toilet by his parents. And now that they had each other, maybe they could find a new outlet for their feelings. Of course, he knew that Mikey would never stop talking to the bear over Leatherhead, no matter what, but it would help.

And besides, despite his anger issues, Mikey was safe with Leatherhead. Just so long as he didn't lose his temper (or grab any more faces) he should be fine going out on his own. Plus, that meant that Donnie could probably get some quiet time in his lab for a change.

With a sigh, Donnie nodded his head. "…alright, Mikey. You can go," he said, and then held up a finger in warning, "but you'd better be back before dawn for training, got it?"

Before Donnie knew what was happening, Mikey was suddenly beaming from ear to ear as he leapt down the stairs and rammed into him like a wrecking ball, wrapping his arms around him and lifting him off his feet as he held him in a tight hug. "Thank you thank you thank you, Donnie!" he chimed over and over again as he nuzzled his cheek against his chest. After setting him down on his feet again, he stood up on his toes and dropped a kiss on his cheek before darting back up the stairs again and leaping over the turnstiles, vanishing into the tunnels before Donnie could utter anything else.

Bringing up a hand to touch the spot where Mikey had kissed him, Donnie blinked nonplussed as he stared after his jubilant brother. "…huh. Someone seems pretty happy," he mused out loud.

"Yeah, a little too happy if you ask me."

"GYAH!" Donnie yelped as he spun around, coming face to face with his older brother, Raphael, who looked exactly as Donnie had been before with his arms crosses and a scowl on his face. Rolling his eyes once the jitters had gone away, Donnie let out a huff as he planted his hands on his hips. "You scared me, Raph!" he barked. "How long have you been standing there anyways?"

"Not long. I just got here after hearing the two of you arguing," Raph deadpanned. Looking up at his leader, Raph raised his non-existent brow at him. "You know he's lying, right?"

Donnie blinked once at Raph in surprise. "What? All he said was that he was going to see Leatherhead," he said, shrugging nonchalantly. "I don't see why he would lie about going to see a friend. Sure it's a little late for that sort of thing, but –"

"You do know that Mikey has no idea where Leatherhead's living right now, right?" Raph cut in pointedly, his scowl deepening. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, leader. Remember, we kinda took his old home after you jammed in that power cell that sent us all the way to a sewage plant. It took us almost all day to push the damn thing back into the sewers without being seen, so we never got the chance to go back and find Leatherhead again."

Donnie's eyes widened, his brows creasing in comprehension as he turned to glance back at the turnstiles at the entrance of the lair. Come to think of it, Raph was right. None of them, not even Mikey, knew where Leatherhead had gone off to after they had taken the subway car by mistake. He could be anywhere in the sewers, or he might not be in the sewers at all anymore. Mikey would be wandering around the city sewer tunnels aimlessly. Unless…Mikey really was lying to them. But where else could he be going at this time of night? Certainly not April's apartment. Murakami's was closed at this hour…

A cold chill suddenly ran down his spine. And as he turned back to face Raph, he knew that he was thinking the same thing.

Mikey…he couldn't be…

Raph reached out and grabbed Donnie's arm, his eyes panicked. "Donnie, you can still track Mikey's T-Phone signal, right?" he asked, his grip on his younger brothers' bicep tightening ever so slightly. Nodding vigorously, Donnie reached into his pocket and quickly took out his own T-Phone, running down the short list of contacts until he found Mikey's name.

If what they were thinking was true, then Mikey was probably going out in search for Leonardo. It was the only thing that could possibly drive Mikey to try and sneak out of the lair for without telling anyone, and even lie to their faces in order to get out. For Mikey, he probably thought he was doing them all a favor, by bringing Leo back to the lair and try to tell him the truth. But in actual fact, he could very well be signing his own death wish. Not only would bringing a member of the Foot Clan to their secret hidden lair bring about disastrous consequences, it was also clear that Leonardo was in a fragile state when they last saw him, and the slightest thing could probably set him off. If Mikey was the one who pulled trigger…

Sure enough, an orange dot appeared on a screen of maps, and it was moving quickly…but he was no longer in the sewers. Donnie gasped as he and Raph stared at the screen. "…he's…he's on the surface," he proclaimed, "and he's heading towards…Central Park?"

The two older turtles shared another look. If Mikey was looking for Leonardo, then why would he go there first of all places? And by the looks of it, it seemed that he was in a bit of a hurry…

And then it finally hit them both like a wrecking ball.

It all added up. The reason why Mikey hadn't met them at Murakami's at the agreed time…the reason why his knee had been damaged in such a precise manner…the reason why he was so happy hearing the news about the time it would take for his knee to heal…and the reason why he was now rushing off to Central Park…

Raph's left eye twitched. "…you. Have got. To be kidding," he snarled slowly.

"…that. Little. Idiot," Donnie seethed as he held the phone tighter in his grip. He was going to try and meet with Leo behind their backs? All this time, he'd been lying to them?!

With a perfect unison that had never been accomplished before, Donatello and Raphael screamed out a name in fury that nearly shook the whole lair, and had even startled Splinter out of his meditation in the dojo as it rang through the air.

"MIIIIKEEEEY!"

As the young turtle raced over the rooftops of the fully lit city of New York, oblivious to his older brothers' rage back in the lair beneath the streets, he could hardly contain his excitement as the grin he wore nearly split his face in two. Finally, after waiting for what seemed like an eternity, he was finally going to see Leonardo, the older brother who for years they had thought had died before their very eyes. This was his chance to speak to him – really speak to him – and not get sliced at in the process. This was his chance to tell him – almost – everything that he had missed during his absence from his true family. And maybe, just maybe, this would be his chance to help him come around and see the light again.

If Mikey could do that for a mutant alligator that had spent so long being alone, then he was darned sure that he could do it for Leonardo, too.

In his eagerness to get there and his anxiousness of being late, Mikey reached the empty park in record time, and was already running and bounding effortlessly through the treetops and swinging over lampposts, searching through the bushes and scouring the paths below for the blue scarfed turtle. After several minutes however, with no sign of the older terrapin whatsoever, Mikey began to worry. Perching himself on a tree branch, safely hidden by a thick wall of leaves, he took out his phone and glanced down at the time. It was midnight on the dot, the exact time he was supposed to be here…and yet there was no sign of Leo.

Nervously, Mikey bit down on his lower lip as he put the phone back in his belt pocket. What if Leo meant that if he didn't show up at midnight then the meeting would be off? No, he wouldn't do that, would he? Mikey was just being a little paranoid, just like how Donnie got paranoid over silly things sometimes, with being the leader and all. Even so, Mikey couldn't help but let out a sigh as he leaned against the trunk of the tree. If only Leo had a phone too, then things would have been so much easier –

Something rustled in the bushes beneath him.

Blinking out of his thoughts in surprise, he pushed himself off the trunk and carefully peered through the leaves as he looked down at the rather beautiful flower patch below him. He could barely contain his gasp of excitement and relief upon finding that Leonardo was standing there, his arms folded across his chest as he leaned against the tree trunk and stared out into the park with a blank expression on his features.

He was there. He was really there, just like he promised! Well then, it was about time that Mikey went down there himself already. There was no need to keep him waiting any longer. But even as Mikey prepared to jump down, he stopped and reconsidered. If he surprised him, then would he lash out at him out of instinct? Would he end up cutting Mikey up into bits before he realized it was only him?

There was just no telling with Leonardo anymore…

A snapping twig caught both their attention, and Mikey watched as Leo's hands immediately flew up for the katana blades on his back, his ocean blue eyes staring with dangerous intensity at the bush as it rustled. From his perch above the other turtles' head, Mikey found that his hunch had been right. Leo was always on his guard, no matter where he was. It was useful to have that sense, but it also made Mikey rather sad inside. Could he ever just relax, even in such a peaceful place like Central Park?

From out of the bushes, the supposed 'offender' finally revealed themselves, and Mikey nearly laughed out loud at what he saw, but managed to stifle it. It was a fluffy, black and white cat, which stared up at Leonardo and mewed at him, tilting its head curiously as it stared at the strange new creature.

Instantly, the cold look was wiped clean off Leo's face as he smiled down at the cat, lowering his hands to his sides as he chuckled to himself and shook his head. He slowly stooped down onto his knees and made a series of clicking sounds with his tongue, beckoning the cat towards him with an outstretched hand. "Here kitty kitty," he cooed gently, "c'mere, it's okay." After a moment, the cat obeyed as it padded over towards him, purring as she rubbed her head against his large, green hand as he gently stroked her slick fur. Carefully, Leo scooped up the cat into his arms, smiling down at it warmly as it continued to purr with satisfaction. And as it craned its neck upwards to lick the bridge of Leo's nose, a small but real laugh escaped him. "Aw, aren't you a cute little baby, yes you are!" he snickered as he nuzzled the felines' head with his cheek, almost as if he were a big cat himself.

From the treetop, Mikey could do nothing but stare at the scene below him in a mixture of awe and confusion. After their previous encounters over the past few weeks, Mikey had thought of Leo as being a stoic, skilled and deadly vengeful warrior, taking his role within the ranks of the Foot Clan very seriously. But as he watched Leo play with the cat, cooing at it – he even distinctly heard the Japanese term 'nyan' in there a few times – and actually smiling for the first time since they'd met him…it threw Mikey off a bit, but it also meant that he really was more than just a heartless killer.

He was still just a kid at heart. A kind, caring, cat-loving kid, just like him and his brothers.

In truth, that could mean that he really hadn't changed as much as they thought he had. And on top of that, if that fragment of innocence was still there, even after living the life of an assassin since he was a child, then whoever had raised him must have taught him love and friendship…

Maybe he had a father too, just like they had Master Splinter.

He hadn't noticed it until it was too late, but Leonardo had looked up from his play session and had spotted Mikey's glowing, baby blue eyes watching him from the tree. He frowned deeply and narrowed his eyes. "…how long are you just going to sit up there and stare at me, Michelangelo?" he called flatly.

Eyes widening, Mikey let out a high-pitched "Eeep!" before leaping out of the tree and landing in a crouch in front of Leonardo, who barely blinked at the action as he regarded Mikey with that same indifferent look that he'd been giving them since day one. It would have been intimidating, if not for the cat still purring and cuddling against him and trying to lick his chin, which Mikey nearly laughed at. "Hiya, Leo!" Mikey chimed brightly as he sat cross-legged on the grass in front of Leo, scooting closer as he smiled. "I was afraid you weren't gonna show up, or that I might've missed you or something."

Leo raised a brow, hiding the embarrassment he felt over being spotted playing with a cat like a child as he kept his expression nonchalant. "I tend not to go back on my word, Michelangelo," he stated, letting the cat in his lap lick his hand as he held it. "Even if our little 'meeting' would get us both to lose our heads. In all honesty, I thought after what I did to your knee that you wouldn't be able to show up. But it looks like you've recovered quickly. I'm quite impressed."

At that, Mikey's smile grew wider and his eyes seemed to sparkle. "R-Really? You're impressed?" he repeated, blushing as he reached back and scratched the back of his head. Leo was actually impressed with him? Had he heard that right? "Well, thanks Leo! I mean, it hurt somethin' fierce, but because of Donnie's gross medicine and some exercises with Sensei, I was up and ready in two days, dude! There's no stopping the Great Michelangelo!" he declared, pumping his fist in the air with a cocky smirk.

"Really, now?" Leo probed, raising a brow again, but this time with a faint smirk as he shook his head. Mikey really was still a child at heart after all. If Leo hadn't seen the way he fought beforehand, he would have deemed him to have a few screws loose. In fact, now that Leo thought about it, even Mikey's fighting style reflected his personality almost perfectly; wild, jubilant, but a force to be reckoned with.

This turtle was something else entirely.

Mikey nodded confidently in response. "Uh-huh!" he affirmed, getting excited now as he sat forward on his knees and beamed. "You should see me; I'm the Nunchuck master, and I'm the best cook you'll ever meet, well, except Murakami-san. He's the blind guy you met, and he taught me all these awesome new recipes! Also, I can sing a little bit, but Donnie's a little better than I am, and I can dance, and I'm the best at Video Games, but mostly at the Pin-Ball game and Raph always gets mad that I beat his high-score, and my favorite food is –"

He was abruptly cut off as a green hand slapped over his mouth, and his mumbled words drew to a halt as he looked up at Leo. Leo's eyes were quite wide now, though one brow was raised as he stared at the younger turtle blankly. Even the cat still in his lap was staring at Mikey. Silence hung over them for what seemed like centuries, before Leo ever so slowly drew his hand away from Mikey's mouth. "…you talk an awful lot, don't you?" he said slowly. The older turtle barely had time to register what the younger one was talking about before he moved on to the next subject. It was as if he just couldn't contain himself, and it was throwing Leo for a loop just listening to his untraceable banter.

He reminded Leo of how Karai had been back when they were young. She was pretty excitable, too. But as the years passed, Shredder had slowly molded her into a soldier, with only a little of that old mischief left behind. It seemed that Mikey had been blessed with retaining his innocence and joy, despite being raised by a liar and a killer himself…

Blinking once, Mikey sheepishly grinned as he sat back, realizing what he had just done. "…um, yeah…I do that sometimes," he said, pressing his fingers together. He had gotten too far ahead of himself and had gone on a wild tirade, wanting to tell Leo so much but doing so in a way that made him lose track. Well, that was no way to start this off now was it? He'd have to try another tactic, just like he had done with Leatherhead. Clearing his throat, Mikey took in a deep breath and sat back again. "How about we start off with…you telling me a bit about you instead!" he proposed, and then rested his chin in his hands and his elbows on his knees as he waited for Leo to speak.

In turn, Leo looked off to the side awkwardly, idly petting the cat as he did so. Tell Mikey about himself? But wasn't the whole reason why they were meeting to tell Leo the truth? To finally appease the hatred? Maybe the younger turtle just wanted to get to know him all over again. But could Leo really trust him with such personal information? Karai and Tiger Claw were the only two people he could truly trust, and despite everything that had happened that night, he had made it clear that he and Mikey were still enemies…

"You know when I'm telling the truth, Leo. And besides…why would I have any reason to lie to you?"

Leo gasped quietly at the memory. That's right. Despite being apart for so long, Leonardo did know when Mikey was lying. They had a connection, ever since they were young, one that would never die no matter how far apart they had grown. And besides, this was the first time in a very long time that Leo had ever gotten the chance to be out of the city and feel…safe.

Whether he liked to admit it or not, Leonardo actually felt that he was safe with Michelangelo.

Letting out a breath, Leo nodded to himself as he turned back to Mikey, who remained waiting patiently with that same smile on his face. It wouldn't hurt to have just a normal conversation for once, even if it was with your enemy, right?

"…well…okay then," he shrugged. And then, a small, rare but very true smile made its appearance across his face. "What do you want to know, Mikey?"

A/N: Aaaaaand we end there for now! If I had gone on any longer, you guys would be here forever!

So, they finally meet and nothing has gone wrong! Hooray! Well...yet. We have both sides of the family mad at them, and it looks like Karai is on Leo's tail.

I wonder who else might show up uninvited to the party?