Chapter 7

"Really? Ten hours a day?" Mikey asked.

After her outburst, she had calmed down and seemed for the most part subdued. He didn't want to sit in the living room alone with his anxiety chewing a hole through his stomach so he was grateful that she had experienced this shift in moods. The little he was getting to know of her told him she was as unpredictable as Spring weather in the city.

Karai nodded, flipping through the comic Michelangelo had brought to her along with a stack of various out-of-date magazines. Nothing of interest to her. Racing, Sports and several cooking periodicals. She liked the art on the cover of the comic stowed beneath the pile and had pulled it over for a closer look. It featured a katana wielding female warrior. That she was in space was ridiculous, that she apparently had something hot going on with a rather tall, dark and oddly attractive alien creature in heavy armor was intriguing. The two characters traded witty lines between lopping the heads off of their enemies. The alien had a blaster that reduced the creatures they were fighting to ashes.

Karai nodded in response to Mikey as she took in a battle scene; eyes glued to the last panel illustrating a triumphant kiss between characters as they finally, covered in blood and gore, admitted their deepest hidden feelings to one another. She rolled her eyes but studied the next panels intensely.

"When did you eat? I mean, Master Splinter would have us train and then do our school work, but we always had enough time to eat and play."

Mikey looked at her, considering what she had told him of her childhood and training. It seemed to him that she had led a more isolated life than even he and his brothers had. It sounded harsh and repetitive, structured and strict. Mostly, it sounded lonely. No wonder she was so rough around the edges when it came to socializing.

She shrugged, flipping to the next page only to find it to be a cliff hanger. The room the two inter-species lovers were making out in burst inward and was infiltrated by the intergalactic police or something. She sighed and tossed the floppy book to the corner of the mattress.

"You don't have the next book to this do you?"

He smiled shyly and shook his head. "Uh, no. I had it, but uh, Raph caught sight of one of the, uhm, next scenes and threw a fit. Master Splinter confiscated it," he said and a soft blush graced his cheeks.

"Well, that sucks," she said with a sulking hunch to her shoulders.

Michelangelo cleared his throat. He had a soft-ball sized rubber ball that he'd been fiddling with. He threw it, caught it and repeated. The ball made a clip clop sound as it struck the floor, bounded up to hit the wall and bounce back to where Mikey was sitting. He caught it with one hand and threw it with the other, alternating each time. Karai was leaning up against the pile of pillows. Mikey had gotten them for her so she could sit on the edge of the cot with some kind of support to rest against as she read the materials he brought. Her legs hung over the side, swinging unconsciously in time with the sound of the ball bouncing and striking, rebounding and clopping. He caught it and she held out her hand. His brow cocked.

He asked as he tossed it to her, "You're not gonna just throw this at my head, are you?"

She caught it and hefted it, considering. "Nah, it's not hard enough to do enough damage to your skull."

Mikey turned the chair around and rested his chin on his forearms and watched as Karai deftly mimicked the throwing game. She kept a bored expression plastered on her face, tossing the ball with limp effort. After a few times, she raised both brows and gave him a sidelong glance. She then tossed the ball in such a way that when it bounced back, it came to the young mutant. Mikey caught it off to the side nonchalantly. He threw it over one shoulder and it boinked against the wall and came back to Karai. She bit the side of her bottom lip and causally threw it behind her back where it hit the ceiling then the wall behind her, bounced onto the floor and flew in a high arc to Mikey. With a playful smirk, he caught it behind his head without looking.

Karai's face split into a wide grin, clearly impressed and Mikey smiled, pleased to have such a warm reaction to his prowess. But the bonding moment ended abruptly as Karai pulled her knees up to her chest and hid the waning smile behind her loose fist. She dropped her eyes and rested her cheek against her arm. Mikey's smile dropped.

"You know, it's not a crime to have a little fun."

Quickly, she spat, "I'm not having fun." She sat up, rattled the chain connected to the cuff. "I'm your prisoner."

Mikey shot a guilt-filled look at the cuffs. He chewed on his inner cheek. Then shook his head. "I'm really sorry about that, but I bet the gauze makes it a little better." He paused, worried eyes considering her. "Doesn't it?"

"Not really."

He looked crestfallen. She sighed, wiggled her bound hand. "Maybe a little," she muttered. She narrowed her eyes. "I have to use the bathroom."

Mikey's face dropped. "What?" The ball bounced against the wall and popped him in the side of the head. He barely registered it.

"The bathroom. You do have one down here, right?" Suddenly, she looked genuinely concerned as her face darted around. "I mean, you don't, like, just go wherever . . ."

Mikey stuttered, "Wh-What?! No. Of course not! Geez!" His cheeks tinged pink.

"Well, how would I know? I've never lived with a bunch of –"

The hurt look came to his eyes before she said it and the word caught on her tongue. Hours ago she would have insulted him with everything she could think of. But after spending the morning and part of the day with the young turtle, she found his company less annoying and even . . . comforting at times.

She rolled her eyes. Oh, this was perfect. She was going soft. What kind of ninja was she? The thought jarred her. It brought too many uncomfortable questions with it. She took in a deep breath. One thing at a time. She could figure out her life later. Right now, she really had to use the bathroom.

"So?" She rattled the chain.

Michelangelo looked around in panic.

"For fuck's sake. You do have a key, don't you?" she demanded. Then, "Oh my god, don't even tell me I have to use a bucket. I swear I will dump it all over you the first chance I get."

Despite his worry, Mikey busted out laughing. "Ew, Karai."

Her scowl turned into a reluctant, awkward laugh. "I mean it."

"I believe you."

He stood up with his hands out and then grew serious. He slowly pulled a key from a pouch in his belt. He took a deep breath and blew it out. "Okay. Look. Since this is an emergency, then, I will uncuff you, but . . ." he held up one thick digit. "No tricks. No trying to escape, okay? Or you'll force me to get you a bucket. I think both of us don't want that."

He wrinkled his snout and Karai had to force herself not to smile. She pinched her eyes closed. She really must be losing her mind, she thought sharply, or maybe it was sleep deprivation.

"Whatever, just, get this off me before things get ugly."

The cuff fell away and Mikey braced himself as Karai sat, rubbing her wrist with a grimace and then gracefully slid from the cot. She gave him an expectant look.

"Oh, right. Uh, walk in front of me," he said and took a piece of her sleeve between his finger and thumb to guide her in the direction of their bathroom.

They crossed out into the living room and turned right. Karai's gaze flitted over the furniture and general layout of their home. She was surprised to find it extremely neat and tidy. There even was a large tree growing out of the center of room. It was beautiful and strangely imposing looking. She swallowed and felt the gentle tug moving her towards the bathroom. The idea of making an escape featured prominently in her mind. Now would be her best chance, but something like stubborn anger made her shove the thought away. She could escape easily, but . . . she didn't want to. She didn't feel like running back to the Shredder right now. Maybe another day. Because right now she only felt confused and furious and . . . lost. They stopped before a door and Mikey cleared his throat. She glanced at him and looking at the ceiling nodded his head in the direction of the room.

"Got it."

She went inside and quickly used the facilities. Then washed her hands, unwrapping the gauze and running the raw flesh under the cool water. It stung a little at first, but then, felt much better. She sighed and gazed at her reflection in the large oval mirror above the sink. She was wearing a simple long sleeved black shirt and matching leggings. Her make-up was smeared. She glanced around and grabbed a wash cloth. She sniffed it, wrinkled her nose and sniffed again. Well, it didn't smell too bad. She ran it under the water and then scrubbed away at the red shadow, rinsed and repeated until her eyes were left with only the black smudged residue of her dark eye liner. It was the best she could do without make-up remover.

She leaned on the sink. Head down. Her eyes raised. She stared into her deep green eyes for a while, thinking. She chewed on a pale bottom lip. What was she going to do? Part of her wanted to knock the kid out and make a break for it. While another part was not ready to see the man who'd given her up so easily. Did he regret the decision, even a little? Her heart pitched. What if he did? What if he wanted her to come home?

She ran a clammy palm through her ragged cropped hair and then shook her head. What was she thinking? He didn't care about her. He never did. Her eyes made their way to a long clef shaped scar near her right temple. The scar that was hidden most of the way by the red shadow she painted on. She had nearly lost her eye when she was eight. She'd been training for the first time with actual bladed weapons. It was her instructor's fault. She was too young, but wanted to impress her father with her new skills. As she stumbled to her knees, right eye blinded by sharp pain and blood, he had stared coldly at her and huffed in disappointment, then turned his back and walked out of the room when she'd started to cry.

"He never cared about me," she whispered and the truth cut fresh openings over scar tissue in her heart.

She sighed heavily. It still left her here with these . . . freaks of nature. The rat had told her something. She was so upset she had hardly paid any attention. But he said something about her mother. He said he was her father, a human at one time. And that meant he could possibly have known her mother. She dropped her face into her hands. The tear in her soul, rending her into two halves, ripped further apart.

She slammed her palms onto the porcelain of the sink. What could she do? Her heart pounded. Fear and worry merged into anger. She balled her fists. She could fight them. She could make their lives as miserable as possible. Punish them for taking her in. Make them pay for all of this chaos.

But then a troubling thought struck her. What was going to happen to her if they suddenly decided they didn't want her as her fath- the Shredder had? The thought sent a chill through her spine. She had lived in the Tokyo area most of her life. The thought of trying to piece together a life on her own in this country, on the streets, did not appeal at all to her. She had seen the wretches and lost souls that the Foot turned away when they came to compounds and dojos hoping to be taken in. The life of a teen on the streets was not something she longed for. She'd be an adult in two years, but had nothing to fall back on. Not anymore. She had nothing. Nowhere to turn. No escape.

"Everything okay, um, in there?"

Karai emerged from the bathroom, scowling. "Why wouldn't it be?" she asked incredulously.

He stared for a moment, taking in her face without the make-up. She looked different without the fierce stripes around her eyes. She didn't look as hard, as mean. He could make out the color of her irises better. For the first time, he realized that Karai really was kind of pretty just as he overheard Leonardo confiding to Raph. He cleared his throat and shrugged.

"I dunno. I was just afraid you were havin, you know, uh, um, girl troubles."

She pressed her mouth into a line and folded her arms over her chest. "Really. And what exactly are girl troubles?"

Mikey's eyes ran up and down her body as she stood staring at him. He rubbed the back of his head and motioned to her in a general sort of way with his other hand. "You know. All that stuff. That . . . troubles . . . girls." He frowned, cheeks pink. "Well you should know better than me! I'm not a girl."

"You sure about that?"

He huffed and marched around to the back of her and pinched her sleeve again with a pouting frown. "You know it's a shame that Raph hates you, I think you two would get along really well if he gave you a chance. Back to the lab, Kar-abby Karai."

She shook her head at the silly nickname, but complied. As he snapped the cuff back in place she glowered down at it.

"Is that really necessary, now? Didn't I just prove I wouldn't try to escape?"

Mikey shook his head, but looked torn. "That'll be up to Master Splinter." He sat down heavily. Silence fell around them. Both sitting quietly, lost in their own thoughts and worries. He twisted around and looked up at the clock. "I wonder if they found him yet," he said quietly.

Karai stared at the back of his head and picked at the gauze on her wrist. "What will happen to me, I mean, if-if he isn't . . . If he was, uhm . . ."

Mikey turned around to face her, his expression one of dread and deep anxiety. He crossed his arms over his body more in a hugging position than defiance or defense; began bouncing his knees with nervous energy. She licked her lips and tried again.

"I just mean, if he's hurt. It wouldn't be my fault . . . um, but if something . . . bad happened to him. Will your father still-" want to keep me. God, she couldn't say it. Wasn't sure why it would even be an issue. She would land on her feet. She wouldn't have a choice. But the fear was too real, too thick, choking her. "Nevermind. Whatever. I don't care. Forget it."

Mikey scooted forward to the edge of the chair and then hopped from it to sit next to her on the cot. She shifted and fidgeted. He reached over and placed his large hand over her cuffed one; gently squeezed her fingers in reassurance. He stared at her shocked expression with wide eyes.

"Is it okay, if I just sit here a minute? I do better if . . . if I can just," he swallowed and stared forward at the floor.

She blinked. His hand was warm and a little clammy. Suddenly, she felt a twinge of guilt. The twinge turned into a brick in the pit of her stomach. She'd done the typical thing. Only thinking of herself this entire time. Her own future and safety when, really, there was nothing to worry about. They had only treated her with care and tried to make her as comfortable as possible. Something she was damn sure was not happening with Leonardo.

A slick finger of unease slid up her spine to the back of her neck. No. The Shredder would not be feeding Leonardo and chatting with him. And the games he played with the mutant would most likely involve pain and bloodshed. An uncomfortable memory surfaced. A half-remembered dream that she had buried.

It was shortly after coming here to this country. It had been the middle of the night. She'd had a nightmare and wanted to get something to drink. Knowing the servants had retired for the night, she'd gone padding down the hallways alone. The sound of an animal whining had caught her ear and she had stopped to peer down the corridor to her father's wing of private chambers. Through the paneled doors that separated her area from his, she had seen them. Three girls in simple, short gowns, were stumbling out of her father's chamber. They were upset. Crying. Rambling in a language that reminded her of Japanese but wasn't. Their dresses were torn and patterned in bright red flowers.

Soldiers appeared from the far end of the hallway. The girls shrank back, falling on one another as they pleaded with the elite ninja and that's when she heard the sound again. One of the girls was making the strangled repeating cry. She was hysterical. The men drew their weapons and herded the girls back into the room, kicking them and shoving them, and that's when Karai thought she saw the flowers on the dresses were dripping onto the floor. She closed her eyes and slid the panel shut. The next morning she convinced herself that what she had seen was the nightmare that had awaken her in the first place.

She turned her eyes to Mikey, sitting there, staring at the floor. He must really be worried and scared. And what she had just said only served to make things that much more worse by dredging up all the terrors that he'd been fighting back all morning.

"I didn't mean . . ." her voice was strangled, surprising herself.

Mikey merely shook his head. "It's okay," he whispered, still with that faraway look. "I just want him home, now."

Slowly, Karai twisted her hand around so that her palm was against his. Her fingers twitched and then curled around his. His face turned partly, not quite turning all the way to face her. He glanced sidelong towards her with only his eyes. She gave him a weak smile.

"Thanks," he murmured.

A/N:Please review! I love hearing from you, and would like your thoughts on this one. I really didn't want to rush things with Karai but keep her conflicted and kind of an emotional mess. The next chapter will have Leo's arrival and the fall out shall begin. xo