Karai froze. It couldn't be. Not now, not when she was so close! It was impossible! He couldn't be here. That was a disaster she didn't want to deal with, one she wasn't sure she could handle. It couldn't be. And yet… she knew it was.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly turned around, still holding Leonardo close. At first she didn't see anyone there, but the ninja inside forced her to narrow her eyes at the flickering shadows cast by the city lights. Gradually, she made out the outline of a giant turtle standing in the blackness in the dim light of the evening. Brown elbow and knee pads protected the warrior's joints with matching wrist bands and a similar belt tied around his waist. His normally emerald reptilian skin seemed to be painted black as his form was masked by shadow. Karai's eyes instantly landed on the silver slivers in the turtle's belt, the blades of what she knew to be duel sai reflecting the moonlight. She inwardly cringed as she recognized the dark red mask, made darker by the darkness surrounding him that was tied around the warrior's face. His features were covered in shadow, making it impossible for Karai to make out his expression. Not that she wanted to, of course.

Strangely enough, the turtle stood relaxed, not rigid like she thought he would be. Perhaps the shadows were masking more than just his face because, seeing him in this light the warrior almost looked… sure. Scary sure. Like he was only watching her, waiting for her to make the incorrect move he knew was coming. And when that happened, he… would consume her. It was a stupid thought to begin with, but looking at him, masked and mysterious in the darkness, Karai couldn't help but wonder how she ever could have been anywhere near him without shivers crawling up her spine.

He stepped towards her, his movements as silent and subtle as a ghost, a feat that only a highly-trained ninja could pull off so effortlessly. It was as if he was part-turtle, part-shadow… his dark muscles moving in an almost invisible motion. Karai was thankful that she too had been trained as a ninja, or else she might have missed the movement all together. It was then that she realized not all his face was hidden in darkness and, even with all her training, all her experience, she had to stop herself from turning tail and running right then. Karai steeled herself, reminding herself that she had faced this warrior plenty of times before and there was nothing she should fear from him. But no matter how she rationalized it, she still couldn't bring herself to look into his seemly glowing amber eyes and the burning anger that no doubt resided in them. Karai desperately tried to ignore the way her heart was beating furiously in her chest, but the truth was undeniable.

He terrified her.

"What do you think you're doing, Karai?" His deep Brooklyn accent seemed to vibrate in her ears and it took every ounce of her willpower not to flinch under his steady gaze. Why did he suddenly have this effect on her?

Karai forced her gaze upward, locking it with his. A feeling of panic formed in her stomach and she suddenly had trouble breathing. Since when had his golden gaze sent such fear through her? At what point had he changed from just the 'angry turtle' to her personal demon? What was so different about him that his anger shook her to her very core instead of giving her strength and superiority?

Of course, the answer was obvious. All those other times he had merely been playing with her, their fight had only been a game to him, more like a work out than an actual fight. And, as Karai had increasingly begun to notice, the presence of his brothers, especially Leonardo, set Raphael back into a place where he could not act fully. They expected him to be the hothead, the reckless one, so he filled that role. But now, when his brothers were nothing more than toddlers and his only audience was Karai herself, his walls of anger and undisciplined rage came crashing down at her feet and what Karai saw underneath scared her more than her father ever had.

Looking into his molten eyes at that moment, Karai wished nothing more than for the hotheaded turtle to return, because in those golden orbs she did not see anger. She did not see hatred. No matter how deep her gaze searched she did not even see simple annoyance. The eyes that locked onto hers, the ninja that stood before her was not the same brother that she had experienced for all these years. His eyes held… nothing. His face was completely expressionless and his muscles were not even tense as he held her gaze. He was calm, controlled, almost disinterested. His lack of anger towards her gave Karai no comfort because her senses as a ninja told her what her eyes did not. Raphael was not angry at her for taking his brothers.

He was enraged.

As seconds passed and Karai still had not answered, Raphael spoke again in the same even tone that, coming from any one of his brothers would be a calming tactic but, coming from Raphael, sounded more like a death sentence.

"Look," He said. "I'm sorry we got your father exiled and that you're still mad at us for it. Now put… My bro… Down."

His voice tensed slightly as he emphasized those last four words, and that little show of emotion gave Karai enough courage to speak.

"You think that's what this is about?" She asked quietly, thankful that her voice didn't shake. "This has nothing to do with my father. I'm done with him. I'm going home to Japan where I belong, away from you and this dreadful city."

For a mere second, Raphael's calm face shattered and a wave of rage crossed his eyes as Karai spat those last few words at him, drawing on an unknown reserve of venom she didn't even know she possessed.

That's it Karai, she silently praised herself. Get him angry, make him loose control like you have so many times in the past. Don't let him get to you. You're holding all the cards.

But her victory was short-lived as the emotion quickly vanished from the turtle's face and the blank, controlling stare was back.

"Not with them, you're not." He stated, his voice firm and unmoving, as if there was no force on heaven and earth that could prove him wrong. And in that moment Karai had a horrible suspicion that he was correct.

She took a deep breath, not caring for the moment that he would see how shaken she was, and turned away from his gaze. Leonardo whined in her grasp and she clutched him tighter, wondering if the small turtle knew his brother was here to save him.

Save him…

"You have no idea what it's like to be abandoned." Karai whispered, her voice breaking. "You don't know what it's like to be alone."