Ch 5 Wedding Plans

"Ah Yeah! Happy New Year Everyone!" Mikey yelled out. The dojo was in full swing as the Hamato clan, along with friends, family and students gathered round to celebrate the coming of the New Year.

Splinter smiled happily as he watched all his guest enjoying themselves, dancing and talking as the party began and lasted long into the night. He stood next to his small shrine and kept a close eye on the door. He wasn't expecting trouble but after what happened last time, he tended to be more guarded, more so now then before.

To his right, where the little shrine stood, was a small picture of his beloved wife. "Look at them Shen." He muttered to the picture. "Our boys are growing up and looking so happy." He smiled as he watched his sons laugh and mingle with their friends.

"Look at you Casey." Raph smiled as he and Leo walked over to him and April. "Marriage really agrees with you."

"Hey yeah Raph." Casey smiled as they fist pumped each other then pulled April into a hug. "It's totally awesome. Can't picture my life without her." April giggled and playfully elbowed Casey in the ribs, pulling herself out of his grasp.

"How's the police academy coming along?" Raph asked.

"Grueling work but it's worth it." Casey replied.

"What about you Ape?" Raph asked turning to her. "Still looking to be an archaeologist?"

"Most definitely." She said smiling. "I'll be interning at the New York City museum this summer then enrolling at the University this fall." Everyone nodded at her decision as they wished her luck with her future endeavor. "So what plans have you two made regarding your wedding?" April asked.

"So far, we've got Mr. Murikame catering. We've spoken to Rev. Honeycutt about preforming the ceremony and he's all set to go on that." Leo used his fingers to count on as he went through the list. "We got a photographer and Raph's brothers will be our witnesses. One on each side." He informed them. Now he looked up at April rather hesitantly. "We just need a place to have it at and…well…we were wondering if maybe." Leo took a deep breath as Raph placed his hands on his shoulders to give him that extra bit of encouragement to ask his question as April blinked her big blue eyes at them in curiosity. "Do you think your dad will let us have it at the farmhouse?"

"I don't see why not." She told them with a smile. "Why don't you ask him now?" She nodded behind them. Leo and Raph turned to see Mr. Kirby O'Neil speaking and laughing with another older man who looked remotely like an older version of Casey and Angel, but like Angel, he too had all his teeth.

Before Leo could say anything further, April called her dad over. "Go ahead Leo." April encouraged. "Ask him."

"Ask me what?" Mr. O'Neil looked from his daughter to the others questioningly.

"Well, Mr. O'Neil." Leo looked at him again rather hesitantly. "We were wondering if…umm… maybe you'd consent…umm…to…umm..allowing Raph and I to possibly…ah…let us use your…umm…farmhouse to have our...umm…wedding at?" He looked at the red bearded man hopefully.

"Oh well, I don't know Leonardo." Kirby stroked his chin thoughtfully, watching as Leo's face fell slightly. "Do you plan on inviting me?"

Leo looked up at him with excitement in his eyes. "Of course." He told him ecstatically.

"Then of course you can." Kirby said, laughing at Leo's relieved look as they shook hands.

"Thank you Mr. O'Neil." Raph said as he, too, shook his hand.

"Looking forward to it." He told them before walking over to the banquet table.

Leo and Raph hugged each other, then turned to Casey and April.

"It's good to see Don and Angel getting along so well." April said as she looked over at the couple in the corner.

"I'm just happy Angel isn't disappointed." Casey muttered as he watched them talking excitedly about something on Angel's phone.

"What do you mean Case?" Raph asked in bewilderment.

"Angel's had a crush on Donnie since she met him back in high school." Casey explained. "But she was always too shy to approach him.."He gave a sly smile. "That's why I asked April to pair them up at the wedding. I figured it would help get her courage up and she'd finally get the nerve to talk to him." He let out a light chuckle. "Nice to see it worked."

"Yeah." Leo smiled at the two in the corner then turned his gaze elsewhere."Look who else got his nerve up to finally do something."

He nodded over to the other end of the dojo where Mikey and Renet were talking. The four of them watched as Mikey pulled a small box out of his pocket and got down on one knee. Renet started bouncing up and down and nodded excitedly as Mikey happily slipped a ring on her finger. He wrapped his arms around her waist and twirled her around.

Everyone at the party looked up as Mikey yelled out excitedly. "SHE SAID YES!" He screamed out.

Everyone clapped and congratulated the newly engaged couple. Splinter hugged his son and future daughter-in-law. "This is truly a celebration." Splinter called out."A toast to my son and his future bride."

As the dojo celebrated the news, Splinter continued to mingle happily while keeping a watchful eye on the door. His eyes narrowed when he saw a young women walk into the dojo. She stopped and looked around in wonder at the guest before turning to walk out the door.

Splinter made his way over to her. "May I help you?" He asked before she could leave.

The young girl, dressed in dark jeans and a black sweater had a look of Japanese descent Her dark brown eyes were lined with red eye liner and her dark hair had been dyed blond underneath. She turned to look at Splinter and reached her hand out to shake his paw.

"Hi." She greeted bowing when she saw Splinter. "My name is Karai…Tanaka Karai." She smiled warmly at the tall rat. "I just moved here from Japan and was told about your dojo from a friend of mine. I saw your lights were still on and thought, maybe I could speak to someone about possibly joining."

"My name is Hamato Yoshi." He bowed respectfully back to her. "We will not be open this week due to it being the holiday season." Splinter explained. "But we will be opened again next Monday." He reached behind his desk and pulled out a brochure. "You are welcome to stay and join in the festivities, we are celebrating the New Year." He told her as she took the pamphlet. "But here is a brochure that will tell you all about our prices and the times we are open as well as the different classes we offer. There is a free trial period for one week if you wish to just try it out first." He smiled at her as she listened and nodded to him.

"Thank you." She again bowed respectfully to him before looking around the large room. "It is cold outside." She told him with a gentle laugh. "If you don't mind me staying for a short time while I get warm and walk around to check the place out."

Splinter bowed back and gestured for her to come further into the dojo. She did and proceeded over to the banquet table. While she put some cheese and crackers on a plate, her eyes wandered over the guest and smiled as she spied four turtles. She opened her phone and looked at a picture. With a satisfied smile, she closed her phone and walked the dojo for a short time before deciding to leave.

Eventually, she made her way back to Splinter. "Thank you for the hospitality Hamato-san." She said, and bowed to him in respect. "I would love to join your dojo."

"Wonderful." Splinter told her. "We will see you next Monday." They bowed to each other again and Karai walked out.

She walked down the street and when she was far enough away from the dojo, opened her phone and dialed a number. "I'm in." She said into her cell. She turned off the phone and continued walking into the night.

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Thanks again for the wonderful reviews. It's good to know I'm doing a good job. Please keep them coming. Will post next chapter soon.