(Sorry dudes and dudets! i thaught id uploaded this one! guess i forgot! dont worry! chapter four is halfway done! so enjoy! ^^)

A Rat's Tale

"Wow…"

Raphael stared at the person outside the door. Now that was an unexpected guest.

Saturday was family-day. It was the one day when Splinter wanted them at the table for lunch with the rest of the afternoon free. Raph knew that when you're the third year in high school, spending Saturdays with your family was a bit corny, but heck if he should care. He actually liked it when Splinter loaded them into the old truck they had in the garage (that Don pimped from time to time) and drove them to different places. When they where little they would go to the zoo or the Amusment Park or the aquarium, sometimes even to the beach or the woods. Now they went to the movies or convents or the like. But it was still the day when the five of them did something all together. And even though he'd sigh and mutter he did like Saturdays. He loved his family, and seeing Mikey run around like a mad puppy was more amusing then any TV-show he could watch instead. And Donny had gotten his driver's license so they didn't have to fear Splinter driving them off the road anymore.

And when they got home they'd go out in the dojo and train. Splinter would keep them going until they were out of energy and full of endorphins before he let them go inside and clean up. After that they either made dinner or Coral would show up with it. The day usually ended in a doggy-pile in the living room in front of some three-in-the-morning-movie. Yeah, he liked Saturdays.

Coral was working today so they where just discussing what to make by way of food when the doorbell rang. As uninterested in cooking as ever, Raphael volunteered to answer it.

He stared at the onyx-haired girl for a few seconds, smiled, and before she could explain what she wanted he turned and yelled.

"LEO! It's for you!!"

"Who is it?!"

He just grinned and waved at the girl to come inside and went back to the kitchen, passing Leo on the way. Leo on the other hand stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the guest who was just removing her shoes in the foyer, apparently used to the Asian custom.

"Karai? W-what are you…? I mean, why are you…?"

"Coral gave me the address, she said I should…talk to you…" Karai looked down, suddenly self-conscious and embarrassed.

Before Leo could ask her to repeat herself, the rest of his family stormed the hallway, Splinter arriving first with his little icicle-shaped cane ticking against the floor after every step.

"My my…We have a lady visiting us! And quite the beauty at that…"

Leo felt like he could just sink through the floor. Were all fathers like that? Oh well, it made her smile her perfect, gorgeous smile, so he could forgive Splinter for saying something so incredibly old-fashioned.

"My name is Oroku Karai.," She said quietly, ever the soft-spoken one. "Excuse me for intruding on your home."

She completed the polite greeting with a deep traditional Nihon bow. Leo smiled a bit and glanced at his father to see if he was impressed with the introduction; almost a word to word translation of the usual greeting in his homeland. The boy was a bit surprised when he noticed that Splinters smile dropped for a moment and a wrinkle formed between his huge grey eyebrows. However, it was gone the next second when he smiled again and bowed back.

"Hamato Splinter. Welcome to our home. I take it that you are a friend of Leonardo's?"

Leo was about to say that they where just acquaintances when she nodded and replied gently,

"Yes. I came to talk with him, if it is not too much trouble?"

"Certainly not, we can spare him. Still, are you in a hurry? It would be delightful to have a young woman accompany us for dinner as a nice change."

"So," Mikey added mischievously, "You're saying that Coral's not a woman?"

Splinter shot a playful glare over his shoulder at his youngest son.

"Coral might be a girl, but she is no woman yet. Come on in, sweetheart. We're having oden and there is plenty to go around."

Karai met Leo's eyes for a heartbeat, as if asking permission, then looked away before her cheeks turned red.

"If it is not too much of a problem…"

The brothers smiled and assured her they didn't mind while Splinter led her into the large kitchen. Leo noted his brother's face-making at him when Karai wasn't looking, but he just smiled, too pleased at the turn of events to care one bit.

"So you are Oroku Saki's daughter?"

Karai looked up at Splinter's suddenly hard, inquiring face as she sat down among the hustle and bustle of food-making

"Well, to be honest, adopted daughter, but yes; it is so."

"I see, I see…"

The old man sat himself down in the only chair with arms and leaned his cane against the wall beside him, seemingly deep in thought.

"Do…do you know my father, Hamato Splinter-San?"

There was that little wrinkle between his eyebrows again, and Leo started to think that there was something that bothered his father about their surprise visitor.

"I know of him. Actually I have met him once."

"Oh? When?"

Suddenly, his father looked old, so old.

"A long time ago. I'd say…Fifteen years back, give or take."

All activity in the kitchen suddenly came to a halt, all eyes turned to the old man.

"Where did you meet?" Don's hunger for information forced him to ask.

"In Japan, just after your parents died"

Suddenly the awkward silence in the room became a lot thicker. None of them could really bring themselves to ask why. Luckily, they didn't have to.

"It is a bit amusing that you would become friends with my sons when you were so close to becoming siblings when you where children."

They needed a few seconds to process this information.

"WHAT?!"

Splinter smiled a smug smile and put his fingertips together.

"I think this is a story better suited for desert. I suggest you four start cooking."

The brothers grunted in unison and jumped to it, knowing the old man well enough to know that nagging would only prolong the wait.

To hours later, they sat themselves down in the living room, eyes glued at Splinter and cups of tea warming their hands. Leo sat next to Karai and thought of how gentle she had looked when she first entered the room and had taken the time to bow shortly in front of the little shrine with the pictures of his parents on it.

"Ahh. Now, where was I?"

"We could have been siblings…?"

Splinter smiled at Don in a way that told them that he had remembered well, and that he was only building up suspense. Don in his turn sipped his tea quietly; sitting on Karai's other side in the sofa. Mikey sat on the footstool and twisted back and forth in excitement. Raph was occupying the huge armchair next to Splinter's. Even though he had on his "I don't really care" face, Leo knew he was just as exited as Mikey.

"Oh. That is right."

Their father placed his cup on the table, crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap before he started, false storyteller's hesitance in his voice.

"Fifteen years ago, your father; my master Yoshi, and his wife Sheng where lost in a terrible accident. I've told you four about that before. For you Karai-San, I'll add that I'm only an adopted Hamato. I was taken in from the street only thanks to Sheng and Yoshi's kindness. I owed them my life, my very existence. Before I met them, I was no more then a rat, stealing and wandering from place to place."

She nodded and glanced at the brothers who all had turned their eyes to the floor, like they didn't want to think about the suffering their adoptive father had been forced to endure. Splinter continued.

"I lived with them in Yoshi's father's house in Japan for many years. The two of them grew up to be fine people, as kind and as honorable as saints, it seemed. Still, they were human. About a year afterwards Sheng blessed master Yoshi with four sons…"

He paused to ruffle Mikey's hair, and they all smiled back at him. Splinter's voice suddenly grew sad.

"…They died; having driven over the edge of a bridge and drowned one cold night, leaving these four all alone in the world. Now you see, master Yoshi's father was a wealthy man, skilled in many martial arts styles, and he had helped master Yoshi to build a company for the export of all different kinds of Japanese artifacts, hoping to make better connections with Western civilization. He and a good friend of his managed to create one of the biggest companies in Japan."

He looked Karai squarely in the eyes.

"'The Foot' is the name of that company."

Karai jolted almost guiltily at the name of the very company that put food on her table and clothes on her back.

"My father was friends with Hamato-san?!" she cried uncharacteristically.

"That is correct. Of course, after the accident he offered to take in his friend's orphaned sons."

"But…?"

Master Splinter held up a gnarled finger; wait, it said.

"However, not two days before the accident, master Yoshi had asked me to be their guardian. He had trusted me with the most precious things he had, and I was not about to let him down. I owed him everything, and I wanted to repay him in this small way."

There was steel in the old man's eyes. Even though he was the shortest and frailest-looking in the room, Karai felt that there was no arguing with him. His determination was stronger then anything.

"So I took the boys, with their grandfathers blessing, and moved here to New York, as master Yoshi had planed to do before he died. And the rest is history."

The old man stroked Mikey's hair again, softer this time.

"I never regretted that. I know it was a bit selfish, but I could not let go of the only family I had left."

The four boys where silent and Karai guessed it was because she was there. Typical teenage boys, being totally unable to act on their feelings in times like these. Oh well. Splinters little smile told her that he knew his sons loved him, even if they shared no blood, and that they would not have traded him for any father in the world. She wiped the corner of her eye and took a sip of her tea.

"That…Why didn't you tell us this before?"

There was a hint of anger in Raphael's voice, as well as disappointment.

"Because there is a lot to this story that you four are to young to hear"

The old man sipped his tea and smiled a bit at the mutters and grunts from the boys.

"In time, I will tell you. But you are far too young to comprehend the essence of it now, so please, patience."

Then he stood, placing his empty cup on the small wooden tray.

"Well then, I shall go tend to the dishes."

Don caught the hint in his voice and gestured to Mikey. Luckily, he caught on

"And I'm going to…Clear the next level at that new Ninja game…!"

"Not if I beat you to it!"

Don smiled and shoved his little brother up the stairs.

"I'm not even gonna bother with an excuse… I'll be in the garage."

Raph punched his brother softly (for Raph) on the shoulder and left. Leo sighed and rubbed the sore spot. Then he too stood and looked at Karai, who stared, forlorn, into her cup.

"Do you…" Leo started, then stopped, clearing his throat. " Do you want to see the dojo? We cleaned the garden last weekend too, so now it looks really nice."

She smiled softly.

"All right. I would like that."

The garden really did look radiant. Splinter had made the four of them spend an entire weekend fixing it up after the past winter. It had been long overdue and by Sunday evening it was back to its exquisite self; the small pond with the little artificial spring leaking down a couple of dark rocks, the peach and cherry trees that were starting to bloom, and the thick moss that surrounded the pale smooth steppingstones that made paths between the house, the dojo and the little door in the fence that the students of the dojo used.

The dojo in itself was a masterpiece. It took up half the garden but it was so simple and elegant that it did not matter. The wooden planks where oiled and dark, worn down from the many feet that had trod over them, the sliding door paper screens patched with little cutouts of animals and flower petals to cover the holes the four boys had made as kids. Inside were holders for a vast collection of Asian weapons, katana, bo-staffs, nunchaku, zai and the like. Karai let a ornate scabbard slide under her fingers as she admired the collection.

"What a beautiful katana…"

Leo smiled and walked over to her on his bare feet, the wood ever so familiar to him. He could find his way in here in the dark; Splinter had made sure they learned that.

"Actually, that one is a ninjaken, or a ninjato. Unlike a katana it's straight, see? And the hand guard is square and the blade much shorter. They where used by ninjas and they aren't as heavy or even that well made. Usually they where made from broken katanas or the like. They where used mostly for assassinations. Unlike the katana, it's not a slicing weapon, but a stabbing one."

Karai held up a slender finger, grinning ferally.

"However, according to Bushido, any weapon one becomes familiar with holds the Spirit of the Samurai. A.K.A. – katana.

And so smart, too!

Leo unsheathed the blade and twirled it a bit in his hand as he spoke. He gripped the handle and caressed it a bit. He remembered the day that Splinter had allowed him to start training with blades instead of with shinai. That had been one of his proudest moments.

"You seem to be fairly familiar with how to use it…"

He grinned at her and flipped it in his hand again.

"It's my choice of weapon. So far, none of the others in my family save Master Splinter can beat me while I hold two of these!"

"You and your brothers are all trained in weaponry? I assumed it was only martial arts."

"No, we're all trained in ninpo, the way of the ninja. We can use almost any weapon, but we have our preferences. Take Raph, he likes the sai best. It gives him the option of punching people without letting go of his weapon. And Don likes the Bo-staff because it's the most non-lethal, and it keeps a good distance from the opponent. Mikey likes the nunchaku, 'cause it's good for playing the drums he says. And sure, he does do a wicked solo with them!"

Karai could not help but to laugh at the image. It was easy to see the youngest Hamato using an ancient weapon for something like that.

"I am assuming he is the one your father scolds the most?"

"Well, mostly for his lack of focus, but among the four of us, Mike is the stealthiest one. Hard to believe, huh?"

"Indeed. Are you... joking?"

"Sadly no. We can't beat him at hide and seek, even three against one!"

Her jade eyes seemed glued to his face, wide in surprise. He gulped a bit and looked away, searching for something to talk about. Let's stick to Mikey. He could make people laugh whether he was in the room or not.

"And…I think he's the one with the most talent. You know, like he's born with it."

"What makes you say that?"

Leo looked up at the wooden section of the artillery, counting (even though he did not have to, for he knew by heart) the ones marked with a line of orange, the color his youngest brother had chosen when they where staring weapon-practicing so many years ago.

"Well, because he's just as good as the rest of us using weapons that are harder to master I guess. Part from the nunchaku he can handle the tonfa and the three section staff. I've tried it. It's like holing a snake by its tail and trying to make it bite your opponent instead of yourself! I don't get how he makes it look so easy."

She looked up, now starting to notice the different colored markings on the objects. It only took her only a few seconds to figure out what they where for.

"Aha, I see. When you master a weapon, your master marks it. Orange for Michalangelo. Red for Raphael. Purple for Donatello. And for you…"

She gripped the other sword, handle wrapped entirely in blue silk rope. Leo finished her sentence for her.

"Blue…Easy as pie. It was Splinter's idea."

She looked it over a bit, noticing the change in material.

"Silk?"

"Yeah. It was my birthday gift last year. Don got that maple-staff, Raph those manji-zai and Mikey got that three section over there."

He pointed them out to her, a fond look on his face, telling her about the different objects, the history, material and who amongst them was the best as using it. This really was his essence. He knew already what he wanted in life. He had known since he was a child playing on these dark floors. He was the oldest Hamato son. He would carry on the legacy, even in this land so far from its origin.

Perhaps with her by his side? Was it to much to hope for? Was he allowed to dream that little dream? Perhaps not, but it didn't keep him from longing for it.

Leo started to think while they sat on the porch, watching the light fade over the rooftops that surrounded the little garden. She sat so close, and even though they hadn't spoken for quite a while, the silence was comforting. The same way it was when Mikey sat on Leo's bed and read comics, or when Don joined him and meditated, or when Raph, on rare occasions, would stop tinkering with his bike and just sit there in the garage and accompany Leo's guitar with the red and black bass. That comforting silence when words are just in the way. Just as he closed his eyes to the last sunrays, she leaned her cheek against his shoulder. Leo's heart skipped a beat (if not several) and he glanced down at her raven hair and slowly lifted his arm a bit and put his hand around her slender yet muscular shoulders.

Her only reaction was that she pulled a little closer, cuddled up against his side. He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and rested his chin against her hair. It was soft, glossy, and smelt a bit like the food at the Golden Tortoise.

"Been to Corals lately?"

"Hum? Why do you ask?"

"You smell like gunagdong dumplings."

Karai snickered almost evilly.

"Coral finally learned to make them just right. She invited me over for lunch to have a taste."

He smiled and gently stroked her hair, remembering Corals fast determination to carry on her family's tradition. In many ways, Coral was like himself. She wasn't a master chef yet, but by the time Leo inherited the dojo, she might be. Life is so much easier when you have a dream to strive for.

Leo was a little bit disappointed when she sighed and sat up straight, breaking him out of his reverie.

"Leonardo, I need to talk to you…"

Okay, he knew that that phrase was bad when you where dating, but before? He had no idea so he just nodded, turning about so he faced her, placing with his leg up on the porch step.

She bit her lip and fidgeted her hands in her lap, like she was losing her nerve. He held out his hand and placed it over hers, stopping their twisting movements. She looked at him in confusion, then took a deep breath and spoke softly.

"I believe my father is not as good a person as he makes out to be."

Okay, that was random.

"Ehh…What do you mean? He's like, a model citizen right? "

"That is just it, Leonardo. I believe it is just a sham! I have started to notice it lately; Hun and his thugs hang around the house even when I am not there, shady businessmen coming and going in the middle of the night, and I'm not allowed on the 13th or the 24th floor anymore, as well as the basement on pain of certain dire punishment. It is also many other things that I cannot really put my finger on, things that just seem wrong in some way."

He hated seeing her so upset. The little wrinkle between her eyebrows, her fingers that were back to twisting around each other, and the worried look she had when she gazed out over the yard. He wanted her to smile again. He'd do anything to see her beam radiantly or hear her yielding mockingbird's laugh.

He took her hands again, grasping them tightly. He moved a bit closer and spoke softly.

"Don't worry. It'll be all right. We'll figure out what's wrong and, if we have to, we'll stop him. Don't worry. I'll help you."

Suddenly, Karai's beryl eyes filled with glassy tears and she looked down, trying to hide her face in her hair. She squeezed his hands almost painfully and choked upon her tears.

"Thank you Leonardo…Arigatou Gozaimasu. I am sorry…I did not know where else to go…Coral would just panic and I…I do not have any other friends that I can trust with this…I am sorry…"

Just then, Leo realized that this was probably much more then just suspicions about gangster affairs or illegal money transfers, this was bad. Really bad. She was terrified, and had been for a long time, not knowing who to turn to. She was right about her friend. Coral was a lot like Raph in that department. "Rampage a bit and problem solved" was a logic they shared with Casey.

Not knowing what else he could do, seeing her desperately trying to stifle her dry heaving and stop shaking, Leo suppressed the fear that he might be doing something that could ruin his relationship with her forever and reached out and pulled her in, hugging her against his chest. She gasped a bit from the sudden movement but he held her close, like he had with his brothers when they where little and the shadows outside the windows became too scary to forget. He rocked her a little and breathed slowly in her hair.

"It will be okay," he assured soothingly "Don't worry. It'll be alright. You'll see, things will be okay. Just relax."

Eventually she leaned against him, breathing slowing down, growing more even, tiny hands grasping at his shirt. She told him in a low voice about the little things, explained the small details that made her uneasy about her father's strange behavior. Leo listened attentively, trying to figure out how to solve this, how get her away from the danger before it was too late.

"Thank you, Leonardo."

"Don't mention it…I haven't actually done anything yet."

"You did not drive me away. That is enough for now. I'm grateful that you are speaking with me at all."

She took a deep breath and sat up from him a second time, rubbing her eyes to free them from tears. Leo gently took her head in his hands and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs, drying away the salty drops. Even when the glistening trails were gone from her hollow cheeks, he kept his hands cupped around her face, stroking her raw-boned face with his fingers, unable to let her go again. Karai closed her eyes, hiding the glimmering orbs, leaning a bit into his touch. He let his fingers tangle in her silken hair, and slide down her neck. For a heart-stopping moment, he pressed his tear-wetted thumbs against her velvet lips. Karai's eyes popped open, caught his with the precision of a viper, and within them was a dare, a challenge. Do you have the guts to take the final step, Leonardo?

Let it be known that no Hamato (save maybe Mikey on occasion) had ever backed down from a challenge. True, at first Leo just brushed his lips against hers, still not one hundred percent this was what she wanted of him, but she did not move away, so he kissed her more deeply. Her mouth opening to him and her fingers lacing themselves in the hair at the nape of his neck was all the encouragement Leo needed. He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, pulling her as close as he could, until she was almost sitting in his lap, her arms around his neck. It was unimaginable how amazing her lips felt, how good she tasted, even; like warm vanilla spicecake. Leo shuddered involuntarily.

Lonardo had kissed girls before. Nothing to it really. Somehow, though, this was different. Everywhere her skin brushed his felt like electricity had run over his skin, making his mind going almost blank. He had wondered sometimes what it would feel like to kiss her perfect mouth, but this was way beyond anything he had ever imagined. It was just too bad that kisses apparently turn off honed ninja awareness.

"LEO!"

The paper sliding doors flung open to reveal his youngest brother, barefoot and panting. Mikey's jaw dropped to the floor when he realized just how bad the timing was. Karai flung herself backwards and busied herself with straighteningout her ruffled hair, trying not to look at either of them. Leo grunted and glared daggers at his little brother, who was currently muttering something about owing Raph a dollar.

"Mike!" he yelled, more angrily than he meant, "What did you want?!"

"Oh yeah, Leo come quick! Splinter is…"

He bit his tongue and glanced at Karai who had stopped trying to act reserved and looked up when she heard his panicked voice.

"Karai's dad is here to pick her up…"

Somehow it sounded more ominous then it should have. The things Karai had just told him rushed through his mind as he got up. He held out his hand only to notice she had already moved up and towards the sliding door. Mikey let her pass with a worried look.

"Will you be okay?"

She turned to the brothers, strangely calm and resolute

"Do not worry Leonardo…I will be fine. Let us go..."

With that, the three of them hurried inside to find a tense atmosphere, two nervous brothers and two fathers looking like they were having a staring contest on either side of the doorstep. Leo took the time to look Oroku Saki over properly. He was a tall, (for his Asian origin) middle-aged man, thin, well-marked cheekbones, a bit more blue shades to his dark hair then his daughter, and narrow, cold eyes, currently fixed on Splinters dark grey-green ones.

"Father? Why are you…?"

"Get in the car, Karai."

He didn't even look at her, even as she came closer, her eyes marked with fear. Splinter a fixed the much taller man with his gaze, knuckles white from his hard grip on the cane, face just a mask of disgust and anger. It was the first time the boys had ever seen him like this. Splinter was rarely angry. Whenever they actually managed to get on his bad side, he would be more disappointed then angry, and that hurt them a lot more than any yelling or screaming could have. He had never looked at them with a look of such pure hatred as the one he now gave the man in the doorway. It was scary.

Karai had yet to move, startled by the scene and the anger in her father's voice. A nerve under Saki's eye twitched, and he repeated.

"I said 'get in the car, Karai!' Did you not hear me?"

His voice was deadly calm, and Karai just stood there, eyes wide and somewhat glassy.

Saki finally looked at his daughter, and attempted to step inside to grab her and pull her out onto the sidewalk.

"STAY RIGHT THERE OROKU! I WILL NOT HAVE YOU IN MY HOUSE!"

Oroku Saki stepped back a bit, taken aback by the obvious anger in the old man's voice. Even his sons reacted, Don stepping up a step in the stairs, Raph ducking in a bit behind the doorframe into the living room, Mikey hiding behind Leo's back even as the oldest stepped back from shock. They had never heard Splinter raise his voice like that before. Saki growled under his breath, hissing at his terrified child.

"Hurry it up girl. As you hear, we are not welcome here."

Karai finally moved, aiming for her shoes. When she passed Splinter, however, he grabbed her arm and said softly, with his eyes still on the businessman outside the door.

"You are welcome here, Miss Karai, at any time, for any reason, as Leo's friend. Just leave your father at home."

She nodded despondently, pulled on her shoes and moved for the door. For a moment, Leonardo was convinced that Saki was going to belt Karai across the face, but finally he turned away and stepped down the steps towards the street, his daughter in tow. Leo sneaked past Splinter and out on the concrete steps, not really wanting Karai to leave after she had just told him how uncomfortable she was in her father's company. But then she turned on the last step, climbed back up on light feet, and gently kissed him on the lips. Leo heard Saki making a disapproving sound, but it was muffled out when she spoke quietly.

"May I join you for lunch on Monday?"

He smiled, a bit of his anxiety melting away.

"Sure thing."

"I will see you then…"

"Yeah."

Then, she was gone, down the steps and into the car, being driven away. Leo just stood there with his hand on the door, looking after her, completely unaware of Splinter's worried look and his brother's silent amazement. At least, that is, until Raphael broke the silence.

"HA! TOLD YA! Pay up Mike!"

The oldest brother snapped back to reality, shaking his head of the fuzz that seemed to have lodged itself inside as Mikey complained about the loss of money and closed the door. As he turned around he found himself caught in the gaze of his father. Though it was not as hard or angry as the one he had given to their unwanted guest, it was still piercing and Leo couldn't help but to squirm a bit and lean against the door, feeling a little like a trapped mouse. Eventually his father looked down, closing his eyes and sighing.

"Perhaps…It would be best, if I told you four the whole story in spite of your years…"

[A/N: I had to do a bit of research to freshen up my info on Asian weapons and I found out that one sai is a Sai and two are Zai…so it's not misspelled…! ^^` And the part about Leo's swords is just something I've been dying to point out forever, since it's NOT a katana… Karais sassy coment is the glorius work of my beta Chaofriend, who is probably one of my most favorite persons in the universe! Mikey is, honest to whatever god you believe in, the champion of the brothers' hide-n-seek games in the 2003 TV-series, and he uses all the weapons mentioned above throughout the different versions of TMNT. I thought that that was amusing so I put it in! XP The kissing-scene was originally only six sentences (including him drying her tears) but Kim made me write more and Chaofriend fixed it up so it's a bit less stale…That was what took so long! I suck at romance! Let that be known! Next part coming up!]