Clash Of The Broken Souls

Karai watched as the long-haired girl stepped out onto the tatami. Coral had kicked off her shoes in the door and now she pulled off her thick jacket and threw it behind her. As she walked forward, Karai noticed the change in her friend's physique. Her arms and shoulders had swelled up with muscles and her stomach looked hard as rock under the grey fabric of her tank top. Someone had been working out.

Too bad she wasn't the only one.

Karai stepped to the side, circling her. She had to be careful. There was no telling what anger had done to that simple-minded brain. Well, she had definitely gotten stronger.

"What's the matter, Karai? Afraid? Usually you don't even let me breathe before you're all over me!"

Taunting. Did she honestly think it would work? Karai gave no reply and kept her eyes on the shorter girl's torso. Whatever move a fighter makes, it shows on the chest first.

True enough. Coral, never bothering with tactics, rushed straight forward and jumped to kick Karai in the gut. She failed to hit her target, but they had both been expecting that. As she landed, Coral crouched and threw out her leg to sweep away her opponent's feet, only to miss again as the kunoichi jumped in the air and vaulted backwards.

Without bothering to stand, Coral launched after her, keeping low so she wouldn't have to worry about Karai's lethal hands. Well, that was the plan.

Karai crammed her heart into a little black box deep down in her soul and swooped in, palm heading for the other girl's temple. It was blocked by a wrist, but another hand found its way right into Coral's solar plexus.

It was the fight in the school hallway all over again. Karai kicked Coral and watched as she rolled over the straw floor, coming to a stop face down.

"That barely qualifies as a warm up."

Coral growled and pushed herself up off the floor.

"I ain't done yet!"

"Even when you desire to hurt me, you still can not defeat me."

"We'll see!"

Coral she ran straight forward again, a left hook aimed for the pale girl's face. Karai blocked it with ease, but the uppercut came as a surprise. She stumbled backwards, wiping her mouth. Getting Coral to use both hands at the same time had been impossible outside the kitchen for as long as Karai had known her.

The amazement soon wore off as the aspiring chef reverted back to swinging her arms around her like logs. Her kicks where just as good as ever, but not much better than a year ago. So much for training. What are muscles good for if you can't use them, after all?

Karai dodged under one of the aimlessly flailing arms and elbowed Coral in the chest. Just as Karai thought she had sent her on a second tumble down on the floor, a hand grabbed her by the back of her neck and a knee shot up to hit her in the stomach. They both fell and rolled, Coral getting up first and grabbing for Karai..

Karai twisted out of the way and jumped to her feet, only to be greeted by a row of knuckles against her cheekbone. She grabbed the retreating wrist but had to let go almost immediately to save her arm from a powerful kick. The two Asian girls backed away from each other, panting and trying to find a mildly safe path to a quick success.

"Ya know… Part of me hoped this wouldn't work!"

"Why?"

Coral gave a faint, joyless smile.

"'Cause if this works, then you've been underestimating me as long as we've known each other…"

Before Karai had a chance to reply or even think about what the other girl had said, Coral was back in her face with a right hook, then another uppercut, and finally a straight right. They all missed their targets, but they were close enough to just barely graze Karai's skin. As the girl in grey went reverted to kicking, Karai realized that she needed to figure out a way to put an end to this, fast! It was not going well.

Perhaps I HAVE underestimated her.

The raging fists finally caught up with their prey, landing a blow on Karai's cheek and another on her biceps. As Coral kicked herself away to gain some space, she couldn't help but spill the secret of her newfound coordination.

"Guess ten months of boxing did more for my skills than three years in this dojo! Bad luck for you, eh?"

"I knew that you could not have learned that foul move from a martial-arts teacher…"

"All is fair in love, wars, and gang-fights!"

The long-haired demon was back now, suddenly ramming into the slimmer girl, tipping her over, and pushing her down on the tatami mat.

Karai could hardly believe it! She would never take a victory for granted again, not if Tetsu Sango could pin her to the floor. There she was all the same, face down with a hand deeply fisted in her hair and her arm securely locked under Coral's. A hand gripped her elbow so tightly that Karai felt like it would break.

They both panted, gasping for air. Then, the tight hold in Karai's dark locks lightened slightly and the body straddling hers relaxed a bit. The slight easing, of course, did not include the unyielding grip on her arm. Karai felt the hand on her head slide down to her shoulder, and a little twist of fear glimmered in the back of her mind before she shot it down. She would not fear pain, only defeat.

"What are you waiting for? You came for revenge, did you not?"

Suddenly, the hand on her shoulder disappeared, only to return with a gentle stroke on her cheek. The soft touch surprised her, and Karai could not help but turn her gaze up to meet the eyes of her captor. There was little ill-will glinting in them now. They were almost…

Kind.

"Yeah, I did, and I got it. Whether I hurt you or not, you will never forget that I'm your equal again! I might only have been able to beat you 'cause you didn't have time to figure out my new moves, but I beat you, and it counts!"

Karai's arm was released, and the weight over her waist lifted as Coral stood, one foot on either side of her old friend. Karai turned over to face her previous opponent, her mind trying to figure out what was going on. Defeat meant pain. That was a fact. This was not how it was done.

But the half Chinese girl just smiled at her and placed a hand on her own heaving chest.

"Besides, I'm just the appetizer…"

She held out her hand to the door.

"HE'S the main dish!"

Then Coral walked past the downed girl, moving towards the figure in the doorway. Karai was almost afraid to look, knowing far too well what she would find. She turned her head anyway. Despite the fact that she knew he had come to fight her, a little piece of her heart grew warm at the sight of him.

Leonardo stepped into the room, calm and still like a pond in the moonlight. His swords were drawn and they looked almost pure silver in the light from the windows.

She looked away. Now was not the time. She moved across the floor and picked up her katana, then turned to face him.

"I suppose merely asking you to just leave would be in vain?"

He looked her straight in the eyes, and something in there sent shivers down her spine. Leonardo had grown. He was not the same person he had been.

"Yeah, that wouldn't do you any good. I dragged my friend and family here. leaving with unfinished business is impossible after all the danger I've put them though."

He leaned one of the blades against his shoulder, letting the other arm hang by his side. Karai was not fooled. His guard was on high alert, but she had to hand it to him, he was almost as good as Raphael at looking completely indifferent. Must be a family trait.

"Then let us finish this so I can go to bed."

He didn't reply. He only swung the sword on his shoulder down and took off in a semi-circle towards her.

She waited until he was seven feet away, then drew her own blade just in time to block his and push him back. She stepped after him on feet light as feathers and cut after his neck. He dodged, of course, slicing at her leg with his right and her stomach with his left, forcing her to step back.

Unlike with Coral, Karai could tell that he had improved instantly. There was a new determination in him, a new drive, something that made him a bit bolder. She could feel her resolve crumbling, but she gripped her heart with an iron fist.

If I fail now, I hurt him for nothing. If I let him face my father, all the pain that I have caused has been in vain.

She let out a battle cry and swung her katana down.

It grazed his cheek, leaving a thin red line running down the skin.

Then he smiled a crooked smile and dove in on her again, locking her sword between them, making it into a battle of strength instead of skill. She grunted as he pushed down on her, but she refused to give up. Leo made a grimace, the line of blood speeding up and running down his neck.

"You really want to beat me? You really want to do this thing all over again?"

Hearing his voice after such a long time rattled her. Karai had to keep reminding herself that this was the only way. She had seen how truly ruthless her father could be. She would not let him sink his claws into Leonardo.

"You are the one that came here! I am the one that should ask that question!"

"Then why are you holding back?"

She forced out adrenalin into her arms and pushed away from him before driving right back in, her one blade against his two.

"What makes you think I am holding back, Leonardo?"

"Because you look like you're about to cry!"

It scared her. He could read her? Even after all this time? Even after all the days and weeks and months she had spent perfecting this mask? She had to prove him wrong! She had to make sure he gave up!

She let out a loud cry and brought her sword up in the falcon's strike, but the one person who could get under her skin was once again about to surprise her.

Much like the last time, Leo dropped his right-hand sword, but this time he ducked in under her guard and caught Karai by the waist.

As she brought her arms down a millisecond later, she missed his body, encircling his neck with her arms, and a pair of warm lips pressed up against her own.

Karai froze solid. Why did her guard become so completely lax around him? Why was it so hard for her to read his movements? Why couldn't she focus even though it was HIS life she was saving?

A year of solitude, only touching people she was hurting or people hurting her, came crashing down on her. She was just a teenage girl, and the boy she loved was holding her close, kissing her breath away. She released her grip on the red handle, the katana falling down, piercing the tatami and the wood beneath it. Her fingers laced themselves into his hair. She had missed him. Surviving without him had been hell.

He will kill him.

"No!"

With the last of her strength, she pushed him away. She didn't get far, for he refused to let go of her waist. Karai held him by the shoulders, trying to gather her thoughts in the midst of all the newly awakened hormones in her brain.

"Coral had a hunch that you where only doing all this to protect us. So that your father wouldn't hurt us."

She couldn't lie to him, not again, not now. The words wouldn't come. She had thought that those two weeks might have worked as a vaccine, but she was worse off than ever. Soon enough she would start wearing pink, twirl her hair around her finger and, God forbid, giggle!

He slid his hand up between her shoulder blades, pulling her back in so he could lean his cheek against her dark head.

"Is that a yes?"

"If you knew why I was doing this, then why did you come? Why did you not forget about me and move on?"

Leonardo smiled and kissed her soft, glossy hair.

"Because I love you, silly girl."

She had never been called silly before in her entire life. She almost protested, but part of her melted at the soft tone in his voice. It had been so long since anyone had spoken to her with any kindness.

"How can you still love me? After all the hurt I have caused you…"

He stroked her hair, and Karai found herself relaxing at his touch. Even after she realized it, she could not stop it. She was tired of having to be strong. She was so sick of having to hide her feelings. She was good at it, but it was tiring. Much easier to just let her forehead rest against his shoulder and close her eyes.

"Well, in this last year I've grown a lot. Not only that, I've realized how many people I have that support me. I have a lot of friends and family that can catch me when I fall…"

Leo gently stroked her cheek and caught her chin, making Karai look him in the eye.

"But you, you cut all those ties. You pushed away all the people who cared about you just so that we wouldn't get hurt."

He smiled sadly and touched her nose with his.

"Out of all of us, you are the one who has been hurting the most. You're the one that had to endure all this time alone."

She closed her eyes and turned away. She would not let him see her cry. Not now.

Leonardo placed his hand in the back of her neck and leaned her head against his chest. He dropped his other sword (Karai had forgotten he was holding it still) and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"I promised you that I would help you. I'm sorry I'm so late, but I'm here, and I won't leave you again."

His words were like sunshine. They shone right in through her, sweeping away the darkness she had enclosed her heart in. He still loved her. Maybe there was such a thing as miracles.

"I am sorry, Leonardo…"

But she could not let him die, not just for loving her.

"Hum?"

"…I can not let you die at his hands!"

Before Leo could react, a hand clamped down on the pressure point on his shoulder, and the world went black before his eyes.

She watched him fall, spreading out on the tatami. Blood was coloring his cheek, but the wound had stopped bleeding. It took every last bit of self restraint Karai had to walk past him and pull her katana free from it's position in the floor.

Just as she sheathed it, a rasping signal was heard from the intercom by the door. Her father was summoning her.

Karai glanced down at the unconscious boy, then turned away and slid in behind one of the drapes on the wall, deciding not to bother with the public elevator. This time, it was straight for the secret one.

She could not figure out a good plan, at least not at the moment. She needed to get the others out of the building, unharmed. She could not let them be killed. It was not an option.

Little did Karai know that she was the one in mortal danger.

Her first clue was the chain that suddenly wrapped itself around her torso, trapping her arms to her sides and smacking painfully against her ribs.

Karai had felt Hun's presence, but up here in her father's personal garden she had thought herself safe from his brutish ways.

"Hello, doll! How nice of you to drop in!"

He had a nasty bruise on his face and a slight limp, telling her that he had only barely made it away from the other Hamatos.

"What exactly do you think you are doing?"

"He is obeying orders. Something you seem to have difficulty mastering, my dear."

At the new voice, Karai stopped trying to extricate herself from her bindings and watched as her father slid out of the shadows. At least, it sounded like her father. His presence felt different, and he was not in his usual attire.

"Father? What is going on? Why are you in full armor?"

She could see his eyes narrow as he smiled. The rest of his face was covered by a new, strange-looking mask. Had it not been shining like water in a still lake, she would have thought it ancient.

"You ask so many questions, my dear child. Let me explain it to you."

A wave of his armored hand revealed two blades, thin and lethal, attached to his left wrist as he gave the "go ahead" signal to Hun. The big man behind her laughed a low, growling laugh and lifted Karai off her feet to press her down on a granite slab that had been placed there for decoration. At least, she had though it was for decoration.

Karai was not about to let the Neanderthal treat her as he pleased. She tried to kip herself up, but Hun simply grabbed both of her elbows with one of his massive hands and held them down above her head against the hard rock. With the other hand, he tossed the chain carelessly around her legs. She was about to kick it off, but an armored hand caught her leg and pressed it down.

"Now, don't fret, Karai. It will be over soon."

"What will be over? Father! What are you doing?"

"Hush, child. Let me speak."

He stroked her chin, but not nearly as softly or as gently as Leonardo had just moments before. The hard leather in his glove irritated her skin.

"There is a legend, an ancient myth, about a fierce samurai lord who lived a thousand years ago. He laid lands to ruin, destroyed armies with a single sweep of his sword, and he was known as The Shredder!"

Part of her wanted to laugh, but those sharp blades were pressed up against her throat.

"In the end, he was beaten and killed, but his spirit remains. I am his last descendant! The last of his bloodline! Now, a thousand years after his demise, I will call him back!"

Hun's hands nearly broke Karai's arms in two, but still she gave her master her shocked, undivided attention.

Her father was insane. He had gone completely mental. For some reason, Karai felt like the worst was yet to come.

"Do you know for what reason I took you in, Karai?"

For years she had fooled herself into thinking it had been out of the goodness of his heart. Not likely. She shook her head, cursing the weight that made it impossible for her to free her arms. To make matters worse, Saki was still holding tightly to the chain that was wrapped around her legs.

"Because the ritual for bringing the spirit of The Shredder back requires that you sacrifice the blood of your heir! I will cut your throat, and as the sun rises I will drink your blood and become IMMORTAL!"

Oh please, this was beyond ridiculous. Did he honestly believe that that would work? Looking into his eyes, Karai had to guess that yes, he did. There was no sanity left in those glowing red orbs. The only thing left was the empty, ecstatic look of a madman.

No time to be analyzing mental patients, though! Saki was raising his hand to the sky, the lights of New York highlighting the sharpened metal.

"I thank you, Karai, my daughter! This is the final proof of your loyalty!"

She couldn't close her eyes. She was going to die for the stupidest of reasons.

I couldn't even save them…

Almost as if in slow-motion, the hand started to move down.

[A/N: I think this is my worst cliffhanger yet… What do you think? X3]