Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry I haven't posted in a while. Thanks for all your follows and favorites. I'm sorry that this chapter is so terribad. Also, I don't own TMNT. But it would be totally sweet if I did.

As Mei shut April's door behind her, she smiled to herself. April seemed to be herself again, at least for this evening. Their meditation had gone well, and April was almost bubbly. As she walked down the hallway, Mei looked around at the multiple doors leading to vacant rooms. It had been more than a week now since Splinter had invited her to come live with them. The thought still made her feel slightly uncomfortable, even though she had embraced them thoroughly as her family. Her solitude was still important to her—and somewhere inside of her, her desire to avoid close relationships still murmured in her subconscious. As long as she was living away from them, she could still feel separated enough.

She was surprised to see the television off and no turtles to be seen. Perhaps they had already gone to bed. She was just about to go into the lab to see if Donnie was in there when she heard voices coming from inside.

"So…you guys kiss and hug and stuff?" Michelangelo was asking.

"Yeah. All the time," replied a smug Donatello.

"Whoa. What's it like?" Michelangelo said.

"Like nothing you'll ever get to experience, shell brain," Raphael said.

"Hey!" Michelangelo protested.

There was a pause. "Seriously, what's it like?" Raphael asked.

"It's hard to describe," Donnie said. "But it's pretty awesome. It's like…well…it makes you feel tingly all over, kind of."

Mei peeked around the corner. Michelango, Leonardo, and Raphael sat in a semi-circle around Donatello as though he had somehow achieved a strange majestic status. It was all she could do not to laugh aloud.

"Wow," Michelangelo said, his eyes wide like saucers.

"So, do you guys kiss with tongue?" Raphael asked.

Donatello blushed slightly in response.

"Raph!" protested Leonardo. "That's an extremely personal question." There was a pause. "Do you?"

"Ha! Look at his face," Michelangelo exclaimed. "They so totally do."

"O-only a couple of times," Donatello replied.

"What's it like?" Leonardo asked eagerly. Mei found it extremely amusing that Leonardo's attempt at being mature had completely disintegrated. "I mean, compared to regular kissing?"

Donatello's blush deepened. "It's really hot."

"Have you guys—done anything else?" Raphael asked, as though he was unsure whether he really wanted the answer.

"Raph!" Leo said again. He bit his lip for a moment. "Have you?"

"No," Donnie said, his voice leaping up in pitch. "Nothing like that at all."

"Are you guys gonna?" Michelangelo asked.

"No, Mikey," Donnie said firmly. "No way. That wouldn't be the honorable thing to do. Not unless…well, I mean…if we get married…if it ever goes that far…"

"Good for you, Donnie," Leonardo said. "Master Splinter would be proud."

"Well, he caught us kissing the other day, and he basically said he'd kill me if I…well, you know."

"Wow," Raph said, he voice strangely dreamy. Mei had never heard him talk like that before. "I can't even imagine what that would be like."

"What, being killed by Splinter?" snorted Michelangelo.

"No—the other thing," Raphael snapped. He sighed. "Of course, there's like an absolute zero chance of that ever happening for the rest of us."

The room was filled with a somber silence. Donatello's face was extremely guilty-looking. After a moment, he stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, guys."

Leonardo smiled. "Are you kidding, Donnie? This is awesome for you. I know we give you a ton of crap, but I'm really happy for you."

"Me too," Michelangelo said.

"Yeah, and maybe if there's a girl with bad enough taste to fall for Donnie, we might have a chance too," Raphael added.

Donatello glared for a moment, and then he laughed. "Okay, I suppose you have a point. I mean, I always hoped, but I never thought…you know, it would actually happen."

"So what would you want your girlfriend to look like, Raph?" Michelangelo asked.

Grinning, Mei walked away from the lab, deciding not to interrupt their conversation. After bidding Splinter farewell, she began the journey home to her apartment. Memories from the past returned to her as she went. She and her sister frequently talked about boys after school; she could hardly count the number of times that Shen had asked her about what dating was like. The first time they had really talked about boys was after Kenshin had asked her out.

"I can't believe he rushed in and defended your honor like that!" Shen had squealed delightedly, as they walked home from school. "Wow. And against one of the best bushis that goes to our school! And then he asked you out?"

Mei had giggled loudly in response. "I know. I never thought that Kenshin, of all people, would be the one to do that. I always thought he was…well, a little weird. I don't think I've ever even heard him talk except to answer a question during class."

Shen sighed. "It must be nice to have all the boys head over heels for you," she said. "Nobody notices me."

"There's that Oroku kid who is in your year," Mei said, trying to make Shen feel better. "What's his name?"

"Saki. But I don't like him at all. He is just…I get a bad feeling from him."

"What about the one that's always running around with him? Hamato?"

"Hamato Yoshi," Shen sighed dreamily. Then she scowled. "But he likes you, Mei."

Mei laughed. "He's two years younger than me. Why on earth would I be with him?"

"That's the point, Mei. Everyone likes you. Boys stare at you. Nobody stares at me, except Oroku Saki."

Mei hadn't known what to say in response to that, so she had attempted to redirect the conversation. "You like Yoshi, don't you?"

Hamato Yoshi. Mei remembered all of his clumsy, stupid attempts to get her attention, particularly after she and Kenshin had begun dating each other. She had been relieved when he finally gave up. Years after they had all finished school, she remembered how ecstatic Shen was when Yoshi finally gave her the attention she had longed for all those years. And Mei had been happy too, not once grudging her brother-in-law his silly childhood infatuation.

She remembered how happy that Shen and Yoshi had been when Miwa was born. Several times, she and her sister would take turns watching their children. Mei smiled fondly when she thought of her two boys running around wildly while she babysat Miwa. It was almost as though they had been one family instead of two.

Family. Their family had been so close. When Oroku Saki destroyed that, she had vowed never to be close to anyone again. But now she had a chance at being part of a family again.

She knew that she belonged with her family. Why should she let the fears of the past hold her back?

She had made her decision.

Karai stood in the doorway to Bradford's dojo, watching her father practice various katas. It made her glad to see him up and about again. After the turtles had caught him off guard and injured him quite severely, he had been spending more time in physical therapy than in the dojo.

Now that he was recovered, however, she felt that the time was right. Something had been troubling her for several weeks, and she had finally worked up the nerve to ask him about it.

Memories of the night that she had captured April had not stopped buzzing around in her mind. That Satou woman—April's friend who panicked when they attacked—seemed eerily familiar to Karai. Even though she had only caught a glimpse of Satou's face, Karai couldn't help but think she had seen that face somewhere before—either a long, long time ago, or perhaps she had simply met someone with a similar countenance.

Karai had been having dreams about that woman ever since, though none of them made sense. It was a strange jumble of faces and sounds strung together. Sometimes, the strange woman sang songs that, though Karai never remembered hearing, were hauntingly familiar. Rarely, the dreams were filled with the sound of little boys giggling.

She had tried forming various theories about the dreams; perhaps Satou reminded her of somebody who had nannied for her once. It would make sense, since Karai could not remember a time that she was not watched by hired help. Perhaps Satou even had been a nanny for her; Satou seemed to recognize them as the Foot. Satou might have had a falling out with Shredder—it certainly wouldn't be the first time such a thing would happen.

Perhaps all of it was just in her imagination. But she was bound and determined to ask.

Shredder had just completed a very complex form when he stopped and looked over at the doorway. Though she had been stealthy and silent, he had sensed that she was there. He was simply silent for a moment, then he gestured for her to come inside the dojo.

He walked over to the small table, removed his helmet, and set it down. Then, he picked up the water bottle that he had set there and took a long drink of it.

Karai simply waited quietly while he did this. It was rare that her father removed his helmet, especially in front of her. The burn scars that marred his face only made her angrier at the man who had inflicted them, the man that was the reason that she had always had nannies instead of a mother.

Her father sighed contentedly after he had finished his drink. "What can I do for you, Karai?"

"I wanted to ask you a question, Father."

"Then ask."

"Did you ever know or work with a woman named Satou?"

Shredder paused, looking up as he thought about the question. "I have met several Satous, but none of them stand out in my memory. Why do you ask?"

"That woman—the one that Jones said was friends with April O'Neil—her name was Satou. I saw her for a briefly when we attacked to capture O'Neil. Something about her seemed very familiar."

After taking another sip of water, Shredder refitted his helmet. "I cannot think of anyone in particular. What did this Satou look like?"

"Not much taller than me," Karai replied. "Freckled, long hair, probably about your age."

Shredder shook his head. "I do not remember," he said.

"She seemed to recognize us as the Foot. It was very strange, the way she suddenly turned on O'Neil like that. She kept saying things like, 'I trusted you.'"

"It does not matter. Any enemy of April O'Neil is not a threat to us."

"I just know that I've seen her somewhere before, Father."

"Save your focus for Hamato Yoshi, Karai. Nothing else matters."

"But Father, she fought with sai. Isn't the clan where you and Splinter trained one of the few that accepts the sai as a ninja's weapon?"

"There are other martial arts that employ the sai. You are looking for concerns where there are none. Stay focused, understand me?"

"Yes, Father."

As her father left the room, Karai tried to bite back the surge of anger that pulsed through her. He never seemed to care when things upset her. Anytime there was a concern, he dismissed it by redirecting her to Hamato Yoshi.

She hated Hamato Yoshi. There was no question of that.

She hated him because when he had killed Tang Shen, he had also stolen her father.