Sorry for the wait guys, but here's the next chapter! Hope you like it!

Twoyears ago…

Aaron

"Krista, Krista, where is she? Have you seen her?" I yelled over to where Marco's sister was finishing rolling the wrap around her knuckles. Her sharp eyes looked to me in confusion. All around, fellow Foot were finishing gathering their weapons and gear. We had a mission today, security for a business man transferring funds. Under Senshi's leadership, the Clan had made a drastic move to more legitimate work. Not all was perfect of course, but we lost less in the process when it came to our ninja.

"No… I haven't seen her," she spoke shortly, mind focused on other means. Since her brother's death nearly three months ago, she had managed to pull herself together again. It was good to see her this way, though I knew she wasn't a fan of me. And not only just because I filled in her brother's position.

Senshi had disappeared from my side only an hour ago, but I had no clue where she was now. Normally not a problem, except we were due to leave in about twenty minutes. "Damn it, alright. I'm going to look for her. If we're not here in ten minutes move the forces. We will meet you at the second rendezvous point."

"Yes, sir," she muttered bitterly filling her side arm with a full magazine. I didn't wait around any longer though. Rushing from the main atrium of the manor, I began my search. Men and women filtered in from the main hallways of the house, but not one was who I wanted to see.

I had begun to worry about her this morning. Senshi had been absent and cold all day around me. She hardly spoke unless addressed about the mission tonight, even them she was brief in answering. Something was not right about my mistress, and it was my duty to correct it. I had promised my best friend the last time I had seen him alive.

Every so often I would crack open a door, but it was a waste of time. She wouldn't be behind any but her own. Senshi would never enter the room of another ninja without reason. She valued privacy too much. Anxious to find her, I jogged up the east wing stairs. On the next floor, the door to the master suite was shut tight. I tugged down on the handle, but the door was locked.

"Senshi? Are you in there? Everyone is ready…" The sound of glass breaking made me pause my train of thought. I pulled my wakizashi from its scabbard. With all my strength and weight, I threw my shoulder twice into the door before it swung open. I stepped in and scanned the room, blade at the ready. Everywhere shattered glass was scattered over the hardwood floors. All the mirrors, pictures, and even the vases were reduced to mere shards. A few pieces glinted red in the light. A light trail of blood droplets lead away to a blind spot in my vision. I followed it quickly, shouting her name.

Finally the trail ended with a set of bare feet splattered in blood. Taking refuge in the adjoined bathroom where I hadn't been able to see her at first, she was crumpled on the floor. She sat leaning against a wall, her face pale and eyes half shut. The sleeves to her body suit she wore were torn away. Just one of her metal tessen among many other pieces of scarlet stained glass littered the floor. One hand fell palm up onto the ground next to her. The other rested on her bent knees.

One feature stood out the most among the others. There was blood everywhere: smeared on the walls and pooled on the floor.

"Oh God, Senshi!" I tossed away my knife and bent down beside her. My hand snatched a nearby towel, and I tore it with my teeth. Tightly I wrapped it around the first of her mangled wrists. All the way up her arms though, she had made deep horizontal cuts. She knew how to really do the job. This had intent on making herself suffer first. I just kept wrapping more and more, hoping to stop bleeding until I could really find a way to help her.

"Stop…" her frail voice made my hands pause for just a moment. Ever so slightly, her lips moved, "Let me die… I—I can't be her anymore…" The other arm that wasn't in my hands tried to push me away. Rarely was I ever strong enough to not be cast aside by her, and that terrified me.

"No, I'm going to help you. Don't fight me Senshi. This isn't what Marco would want," I snapped at her, reaching for her other arm.

At the sound of his name, her eyes gained a new fire behind them. The hand bandaged already rose up and clutched my throat with shocking strength. She panted heavily at the effort, but her grip was solid. I choked trying to get more air as she continued to strangle me. "How dare you speak his name! How dare you deny the orders I have given you! You will let me die because I am already dead."

Her glare held a darkness to it that I knew to be only that of someone who had given up on life. Desperation to find whatever form of release. It all suddenly became clearer to me. When Marco died, Senshi did not mourn. No, she threw herself back into her life as leader of the Foot Clan. She did what was expected of a leader, but continued her life with the greatest pain left unaddressed. It became her destruction.

"Listen… to me… Senshi." Her hold was strong but not perfect, "You are… a survivor. Always have been… always, always will."

I choked out the words, but her grip began to loosen slowly, "You can pull through this. You have… your family. You have… me. You can… heal once again. Please, for him."

Her hand fell away to the floor as she shut her eyes. She wouldn't cry, no she wasn't that person anymore. So carefully I pulled her into my arms. If she was really ready to give up, she would have killed me. Gently I rocked her in my grip, her blood spilling over me a little slower than before. Somehow I would find away to save this fierce woman. One day I'll stitch back together the pieces of her soul.

Now

Senshi

He was sound asleep next to me. Raphael's plated chest rose and fell slowly. For the past few minutes, I had just watched him breathe. It was a magnificent sight when he was this at peace. Slowly I lowered my mouth onto his shoulder, right over an old, small scar. My hand laid flat over his heart, and slowly it shifted over his chest. Fingers curled over his cheek, I kissed the other side of his face.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered to him. He stirred slightly, and that was my cue. I pushed myself to the foot of the bed and stealthily climbed over his legs, careful not to touch him or move the bed too much. My feet connected with the floor. Silently I redressed in the opposite order of how I'd taken everything out just an hour ago.

With one final adjustment of my jacket, I stood in the doorway. I hated the idea of him waking in the morning to find me gone. My chest ached at the idea of his face being twisted in anger as he found I was no longer in his home. At least though, now he knew that somewhere out in the world there would always be someone who thought of him. Part of me screamed for just one more day for the two of us, but it would never be just one. I had to make the choice now before it became any harder.

And with him, it would get only harder.

The back of my hand wiped across my tear streaked cheeks as I stormed through the still silent home. Every step felt like a nail being driven into me. Then as I reached my discarded bag brought her long ago, I reached my limit.

I was numb all over as I left the underground lair.

Raphael

My arm moved way to easily. There should have been a weight pinning it down. The idea that I would miss such a thing surprised me, but still I knew something was wrong. My mind played back the images from just before falling asleep. I had done so with Serena by my side. Gradually my eyes cracked open. Blinking a few times, I saw that I was alone in my room. For a split second, dread filled me at the thought of seeing her again just being another of my dreams.

But I could still smell her scent on the pillow. The sheets were still slightly warm from her body. My feet struck the ground and I bolted from my room, grabbing my mask and sai on the way. Outside in the living room, all the lights were still out. None of my brothers were up yet. No one seemed to be around. I turned around and rushed into her room, empty of any sign of her except for a folded tessen on the dresser.

Gradually, I walked over to it. Once in my hands, I let it spill open. My eyes analyzed the beauty of its design. Truly an expert craftsman had been the one to make this for her. It snapped shut again, and I slide it into my belt. Backtracking, her bag was missing from the living room. I stood right where its spot was. Opening the hidden exit that she would have used, I decided I wouldn't be too late. No, I wouldn't let her just slip away because now without a doubt I knew it wasn't what she wanted.

Sprinting back through the sewer tunnels I knew so well, I toke the path we had gone through when Leo brought me back. That was the route she knew after all. The tunnels evolved and changed as I tore through them. Dirty water splashed beneath my feet with every foot fall. Finally, I found the ladder built into the wall that led to the surface. Above, the manhole cover was slightly ajar.

She had definitely gone this way. I climbed one grimy rung at a time. My shoulder groaned as I pushed the cover up and over to open the exit. It was still early in the morning. The sky was just beginning to lighten from a rising sun. I pushed myself up and into the empty alley. To my left was the only fire escape in this alley. I would be able to look better if I searched from above. I climbed the first section of ladder. Not wasting time on the landing, I ran up the stairs following the repetitive pattern for four levels before scaling to the roof.

One hand the edge, I pushed myself up and swung my legs over. Landing and staring over the edge I'd just hopped, I found myself panting and my muscles a little shaky.

"Whoa… maybe I'm not as good to go as I thought," I mumbled beneath my breath. There wasn't time for that though. I knew I could catch up to her if I…

But there she was. All II had to do was turn around.

Serena stood at the far corner of the building up on the ledge. Her duffle bag was slung around her left arm as she stared out at the horizon, opposite of the rising sun. I of course couldn't see her expression, but her posture suggested she was trapped in a crossroads.

"First step's a big one," I warned in a light voice, but she remained speechless, "you were just going to sneak off anyway? That's cold."

She didn't speak so I kept on, slowly walking closer. "I thought we'd settled this. We need each other, Serena! And we can keep each other safe. I can give you a life where you don't have to live always on your guard. Don't you get how much I just want to see you happy? And I see that every time you relax around me and let me for once feel like I can do something other than hurt people. When you look at me, I forget what I am and that is the scariest, best thing that has ever happened to me."

On either side of her, those delicate but deadly hands tightened into fists. Her head dipped down subtly. "I know you're not going to go, 'cause as much as you hate it and fear it, you feel the same thing."

Her bag fell from her hold onto the ledge before rolling onto the roof. I was only a few feet behind her now. I watched Serena spin around and step down to my level. Fury was in her eyes as she cleared the distance between us. "You egotistical, idiotic, impossible mutant! You are reckless and imprudent and don't put any thought into keeping yourself safe!"

Forest green eyes bore into mine with such intensity, they would have scared up the biggest, toughest man in the world. But I just took her gaze with a small smirk on my face. When she finished yelling, I grabbed her by the waist. Pulling her chest up to mine, I kissed her on the mouth all over again. The cool morning air raised goose bumps on my arms, but part of me knew it was more from her than anything. One hand grabbed the tails of my mask while the other caressed my face.

When I pulled back and opened my eyes, she was trying desperately to still be angry. "Yeah, I'm all of those things."

"You know I will never forgive you for this," she whispered, shaking her head.

I watched all the short hairs shift back and forth with the action. Already her darker, golden roots had begun to show through. "And what's that?"

"Making it impossible for me to leave."

"You'll learn to live with it," I murmured back as I pulled her into a tight embrace. This was it, we didn't know how, but she was going to be a part of my life. We could do it.

She stepped back from me in what seemed like slow motion. Her face had finally opened up into a stunning smile. I grinned too as we began to get ready to return underground. To our home.

But then things went very wrong.

In the corner of my eye, I saw a quick flash of silver. I bypassed we, but raced through the air straight across Serena's face. Crying out, she stumbled backwards away from me, holding her cheek. I reached back for her to help, but then something fell between our feet. The sound of like a can being kicked followed by high pitched beeping made me look down. A small red light flashed before my instincts kicked in. Throwing my shoulder into Serena, I knocked her farther away. I had just began to turn my shell to the grenade went it erupted. A blinding white light swallowed the world just as gas released, made me struggle to breath. The force rang in my head as I fell to the ground.