I do not own TMNT, this version belongs to Nickeoldien.

However any OC belongs to me.

Leave a comment below. I hope that you'll enjoy.


Chapter 8 After Karai's Vendetta

Karai's Pov

It hurt, I got careless and I let that girl distract me and used that moment of hesitation to her advantage. My body was screaming. My head was pounding and I felt the weight of my failure, father would be so disappointed, I was his heir, the next one in line to become leader. How could I look at him after failing to deliver one teenage girl?

But what was so special about her? Why was everyone going out of their way to protect or get her? Why was she 'the one' like those creatures said?

I felt heavy, unsteady on my feet; I must have hit my head when I was tumbling down the stairs. I suddenly feel a hand on my shoulder, l look back and see a girl my age, she looks worried and I see her mouth move and a muffled question comes from her lips. 'Are you ok?'

"I'm fine." I said. A bit surprised that she would walk up to a stranger and try to help.

"Are you sure, you are wobbling?" she said, she was beginning to disappear, black shadows where getting bigger and covering my eyes.

"Yeah, I just need a break."

"I'll take you to the closest hospital."

" I am fine, I do not need any pity I can handle myself." Once again I stumbled the vision before me was only vague silhouettes. My side collided with a building and before I knew it I felt a hand grasp hold of my forearm and I felt someone guide it behind that person's neck while another hand found my waist as a way to keep me stable and upright. Had this been any other situation I would have kicked and hit and used my skills to get away from them.

"I am not leaving you to faint in the middle of the street. At least let me get you some medical attention." It was weird hearing that girl say that, I was a complete stranger. For all she knew I could have been a Purple dragon (but they are more of a nuisance than a threat) or flat out dangerous.

"No hospital, please." I mumbled.

"Alright, I know someone that can help you." The sound of her voice was faint almost like she was whispering.

"Thank you." My head was getting heavy and before I knew it, darkness embraced me.

I awoke in a new place. The last thing I remembered was a girl trying to help me get to the hospital or some medical aid. My sight had been blurry and my hearing had been hindered by the pounding pain of my head. It appeared that I was in an apartment, in a single bed the colorful swirls of the comforters was quite pretty, the room was compact and had colorful posters with detailed symbols and strange text. I heard the door open and I reached for my jack pocket to grab one of my throwing stars, I then noticed that my jacket and boots where missing.

Opening the door she stood there, black braided hair, copper brown skin, wide dark eyes with dark lashes and a wide nose. She was probably a little shorter than me, she had a white V- shaped shirt, a short brown three-quarter jacket and a brown pleaded stiff skirt that matched the jacket, long black tights and tiny black socks. She looked at me in slight surprise. Perhaps she though that I was still asleep. She had two mugs in her hands; I however didn't see what they were containing.

"Are you alright?" She asked, her black eyes looking at me.

"I have been better." I said trying to sound as natural as possible. What was I supposed to do? If I act to quickly or misjudge the situation I could be in serious trouble.

"You frightened me so, you wouldn't respond. And since you begged me not to take you to the hospital I brought you here."

"Where exactly is 'here'?"

"This is my home. We are still in New York. So it wouldn't be too difficult to get you back to where I found you." She handed me the mug and I looked at the content, it looked like light chocolate milk, but looks can be deceiving. That is one of the first things you learn as a ninja. For all I knew this could be laced with arsenic. It was hard to tell do I could not see if there was something at the bottom of the mug.

"It's fennel tea with milk. It's something we make from time to time." She said drinking the content of her mug. With caution I took a sip, better not overstay my welcome or give them any reason to be weary of me.

"What's your name?"

"Nitya, what is your name?"

"Harmony." I said keeping the same fake name I had given to the O'neil girl.

"What a pretty name. Are you a native of New York?"

"No I am from Japan originally. " I said already spinning a believable story. The trick was giving them enough truth so that it had a base but never tell them everything.

"Really, are you an exchange student?" She asked curious, wide eyes looking at me.

"It is more of a vacation, my father travels a lot so I decided to come along. See the Big Apple. It is quite different from where I live. " I said thinking back on the Foot training ground that was hidden deep within the mountain terrain and forests.

"Really, where are you from?" She asked, she gave me her full attention and now it was time to put my acting to the test. 'Treat it like a challenge Karai, fool her and you win.'

"I live in the outskirts of a town called Ueda, it is in central Japan." I stated. It was true I did live central japan and Ueda wasn't that far away.

"So what is it like where you live?" I said her dark eyes shining with curiosity. She sat down on the bed next to me leaving a gap between us so not too get into my personal space.

"It is ok, you have to travel to a city in order to get some excitement, unfortunately dad dislikes me going out after curfew. He throws a hissy fit about it." I said smirking father would never let me live that comment down if he were to hear it. A bit rebellion is good for the soul, and who can really control a kunoichi?

"So have you seen all of New York or did you recently come here?" She was really curious, I better not let her pry too much or else she might find loopholes.

"I have been here a few weeks, helping my dad with a bit of a problem he has come across." My mind wandered back to the turtles and their elusive master. I have yet to see him for myself but a man as rotten as him is bound to be a monster.

"Oh, so you are going to inherit his business once he retires." She interpreted it so good I almost wanted to laugh at her naivety.

"Something like that, if I didn't he would come back and haunt me until I do." I imagined father as the pissed of onryō I knew he would become if he did not reach his goal. He would let no one rest if his work wasn't finished. The girl giggled probably assumed that I was just exaggerating.

"He sound like my dādī, she has a will of steel and wrists to match." Nitya said with a wide grin. I looked at her questioning.

"So your father is the same?" I asked wondering if I heard wrong the first time.

"Oh no, you misunderstand. Dādī is not father it is what one calls their parental grandmother. Forgive me she dislikes me calling her that in English, it just slipped out."

"So you live with your grandparents?" I asked slightly surprised, but then again not every family looks alike.

"They live close by so I see them daily." She stated, she looked so content when she said that I almost got jealous.

"That must be nice." I let it slip out of my mouth before I could have even though it through. My family consisted of me and father, the rest of our bloodline is gone. Hence fathers grim determination to punish the last of the Hamatos' for what they did.

"She is strict but fair. She knows how to keep us in line, she is old but not very frail."

"Some granny you have." I stated jokingly. The idea most have of a grandparent was that of an elderly person that was physically frail.

"She has her moments, that woman could intimidate a snake if she wants too and she knows when to turn Kali too." The girl whispered with a smile.

"Turn Kali?" I said rising an eyebrow.

"Oh right, sorry it is just a silly little saying that my grandfather started, it is more or less translated to 'anger a Kapoor woman and you will see the face of Kali'."

"So I take it Kali means something bad."

"It is Hindu lore, it's a bit complex to explain to someone but I'll try. Kali is another form of the Devi Goddess Durga. The story goes that when Durga tried to defeat the asura demon Raktavija. But every time a drop of blood hit the ground another copy of him appeared. So Durga turned into Kali a fierce Goddess that drank the spilled blood defeated the demon by decapitating him and his clones, but in her bloodlust wouldn't stop her killing spree until her husband Shiva laid himself before her and she stepped on him. She is a goddess of creation, preservation, change, power, time and destruction."

"I get the destruction part." I stated blandly. Sounded like someone you would want on your side in a war. Unless she went nuts and turned on you. But then again ninjas are a bit like that, never know where you have them.

"In order for creation to exist so does destruction." She stated, quite poetic and realistic way to look at it.

"Are you always full of lectures?" I said, she looked a bit surprised at my statement, it was fun to tease her, can't remember teasing a girl for a long time. My little game with Leo had to end when he put my father in danger in spite of the deal.

"I never thought of it like that to be honest." She said looking away from me, I must have embarrassed her, how cute. She sat there for a few seconds before turning back to me.

"What about you, do you like New York so far?" She asked turning her head to face me again.

"Well there sure aren't dull moment around here. I am just waiting for King Kong to climb the Empire State Building." I said in an lame attempt to joke and thought back on all the mutants and aliens that I have seen during my stay here. I mean some of the people father has under him are a walking fish and an overgrown Akita.

"Sure which version of it, the original or the remake?" She said giggling. She was quite good at comebacks, perhaps I can get some entertainment out of this.

" Well what about you?" I asked.

"What about me?" She looked questioning back at me.

"You born in New York?"

"No, I was born in aboard, but I was very small when we left and moved here. So I do not have a lot of memories from that place." She said I looked around. So many odd things that were foreign to me. Draperies in colorful shades and swirling decorations and strange scripture.

"You could have fooled me." I stated in a deadpanned voice.

"I think they are pretty. That and my grandparents do want us to have contact to our heritage so that is why there are so many strange things here." She said looking around the room.

"You mean like Jumbo over there." I said pointing at a half man, half elephant creature, it had several arms and each one held an object or was posed differently.

"Ganesha, he is the God of learning."

"How many Gods do you have?" I turned back at her and looked at her questioning.

"I do not worship all the gods, and of the top of my head I can't name all of them." She said very calm and sweet.

"You can do that?" I asked, I was not really that religious, my father was much more into the Japanese myths. Especially those that are about destruction or represent bad omens.

"I don't see why not, every person has their own faith, some differs from others." She stated shrugging her shoulders.

"How old are you really?" I asked in a mixture of amusement and curiosity. Before she had a chance to answer the sound of a door opening and closing along with footsteps. My ears on high alert ready for whatever and whoever it was that entered.

"Hello! We are home!" Came a high pitched voice from the hallway, before I knew it a little girl more or less burst through the open door and with great speed nocked the girl off her feet and landed on her bum.

"Nitya have I ever told you that you are the best sister in the universe?" She blured out in one sentence. Only a fool would not see something was up.

"Alright Tara what did you do?" Nitya raised her eyebrow looking at the little girl, Tara that appeared to be a preschooler.

"Oh nothing illegal." Well, I doubt she would have done something illegal, unless she stole candy from the store or something of that nature.

"Did you prank the teacher again?" She stated more than asked.

"She deserved it the last time, she kept hiding snacks from us." The little girl stated, I almost laughed at the mental image of her pranking a teacher.

"So what is it?" She said still using a sweet tone in her voice.

"She ate something that was yours." A new voice stated to my surprise a replica of the other girl looked back at us. Once her eyes laid on me she backed behind the doorframe hiding.

"Asha, why did you tell her that?" The other one said sin a hushed tone, but it was a lot louder than she intended.

"Mama do not like us to lie." The little girl mumbled still partly hidden behind the wall.

"Keeping a secret isn't a lie."

"It would become one once she looked in the fridge."

"I see. Tara did you eat that pastry that I had been saving." The smiling face of Nitya hid that she was a bit irritated by what her sister did.

"I looked so tasty. And it was just sitting there." She said looking everywhere except her sisters face. Nitya just sighed. I watched in amusement as they interacted. I had always wondered what it was like to have a sibling. I was an only child and father never and probably would never remarry. He loved mother way too much for that and is much too focused on his revenge to be in a relationship. I looked at the other girl she was still hiding behind the door trying as discreetly as possible to peak at me. Both of them where quite cute, with baby like faces and small stature.

"What is happening in here?" Cam a soft voice from an older woman. Behind the little girl Asha stood a woman, she had the same skin as the little girls and had an almost regal air around her. Her dark eyes met mine and a soft smile graced her features. The little girl Asha had grabbed hold of her pants' leg and stood next to the woman that was most likely their mother.

"Hello. How are you?" She said in a friendly tone.

"I'm fine." I said a bit surprised that she wasn't yelling at her oldest daughter for bringing a stranger into their home.

"My name is Shakti Kapoor. Pleasure to meet you." She said offering her hand. I took it and lightly shook it.

"I'm Mizukawa Harmony." I let slip. My mind was still a bit confused none of them reacted like I had expected them too.

"That is a pretty name. Where are you from?" No sign of distrust was in her voice.

"I come from Japan, my father has business here in the City so I tagged along. You know learn the family business keeping the traditions alive and all." I said shrugging my shoulder. I almost regretted it

"Is Harmony a nickname of yours?" The older woman asked sincerely.

"More like a translation of what my name means." I said thinking on my feet.

"You mean your name sounds different in your language?" The small girl Tara said looking at me with her big brown eyes.

"Yeah." I said. Not really sure where this was going.

"Then you can call me Star. That is what my name means, some stupid boys still think my name is Tamara." She said sticking out her tongue.

"Tara." Nitya said a bit embarrassed of her sister's forwardness.

"What, just saying. So what is your real name?" She said her gaze not leaving mine. I decided to play along even if they would start laughing at me.

"Wakako." I said with a straight face. The little girl began to giggle.

"What a funny name." She said and continued to giggling. It reminded me of tiny bells, innocent and childish I can't remember if there was a time when I sounded like that.

"I understand why you would use a nickname. Some people have a difficulty pronouncing my name when they first hear it." Nitya said with a small smile.

"We do not have the most English sounding names, took quite a while for some of my husband collages to stop thinking he was a woman." The mother said in an offhanded comment. The little girl still clinging to her mother's pants and partly hiding from me. I really wanted to hear this. Had my father not been so scary he would probably have gotten a similar question. A name that is often translated to 'blossom' is quite feminine.

"And why is that?" I asked.

"It is short and it is sweet to say, ands with an A." She said with a big smile on her face. Damn I thought she was going to tell it. I wonder if his name is like the equivalent of Ashley or Shirley, better not bother with stupid questions like that.

"Speaking of your men: the boys are out with friends tonight, there is plenty of food if you would like some." She offered eyes looking directly into mine. How many where there in this family?

"Perhaps a little bit." I said hesitantly, this was one odd situation.

"Oh, you won't regret it mama is a great cook." Before I knew it I was seated. Before I knew it I had been roped into a family dinner with the other girls.

Nitya's mother Shakti seemed so soft and caring. Even the small accent the woman had just made her seem so inviting and warm. It reminded me of satin. Those soft Chestnut eyes with dark lashes that framed her almond shaped eyes; she had a lot of bangles decorating her arms, golden earrings and a nose ring at the left side of her face. That night had been so different from my ordinary dinners. They were noisy and laughter was heard. Those two twins were adorable to watch, they looked the same except for their difference in hair and clothes but their demeanor was like day and night. It was a blur for me. I laughed and I talked, it felt strange. I was not use to it. Father was very strict with discipline, I wouldn't say he was distant but he didn't show his emotions that well or often.

In the life of the shinobi you keep a distance from your loved ones in order to keep the safe, unless they can protect themselves. Girls like Nitya would probably give the clothes of her back if she saw someone in need. People like her wouldn't last long in 'our world'; a small act of kindness could be repaid with a dagger in the back. That is why we have to be guarded, never doubt what you know, or that moment you hesitate could be your last one alive.

The night rolled by and soon it was late. The family had offered to walk me home or call a cab. I politely declined and once I was out of sight of the home and it occupants I began to think. It was nice, the hospitality, the friendliness of another teenage girl. I was the youngest of the high ranking ninjas. So companions of my own age was a rarity. Perhaps I could do this again, even if I really shouldn't.

I do not wish to face my father and tell him the mission failed. But I will have to take the bull by the horns sooner or later.