A/N: Hi guys! Writers block sucks, I'm working on 2 stories at once, but I love you guys so much so I thought, while you're waiting for other updates, I'd do another No Love Is Greater short with Leo and Karai again! XD

Hope you like it!

I OWN NOTHING!

Enjoy!

Worry

"I blame you for this."

"What? What did I do?!"

"You were the one who decided to jump and scream 'Surprise Suckers!' on them during an ambush!"

"Well, I wouldn't have had to do anything if you hadn't slipped off the support beam!"

"You poked me!"

"It's not my fault you're ticklish!"

Growling angrily, the twelve-year-old Leonardo narrowed his blue eyes darkly at the black haired, thirteen-year-old kunoichi as they ducked down low behind the rusted van that served as their only means of shelter, bullets flying at them from every direction. What was supposed to have been yet another assassination job within the hideout of an old drug dealer had taken a turn for the worst as the two young ninjas yelped, wrapping their arms around each other in an attempt to shield themselves as the dealer and his five armed goons continued to shoot at them relentlessly.

Earlier that evening, Leonardo and his father, Tiger Claw, had been ordered by the Shredder to carry out another mission, this time to eliminate a foreign drug dealer that was no longer of any use to him, and had now become nothing more than a liability to the Foot Clan. However, instead of teaming him up with the tiger, Shredder had decided to pair Leonardo with his best friend Karai, since they had already carried out several successful missions together in the past, and Shredder deemed that it was time to test their skills once more.

Because Shredder saw this old man to be not that big of a threat, he would not be worth Tiger Claw's time or energy, so he'd sent the two young ninjas in training out on their own to seek the target out. At first, the preteens had felt quite confident after they'd snuck into the old car warehouse that served as the dealers' hideout without detection, for the man and his six goons were far too busy playing cards to notice that they'd been compromised. The two of them had been sure that this mission would be the easiest one yet as they prepared themselves to take the poor guys by surprise…

…that is, until Karai had accidentally discovered Leo's ticklish spot beneath his arm, starling a laugh out of the young turtle and causing him to slip and fall down from where they'd stood poised on the metal support beams above, and land right in the center of the gambling table. And if that hadn't been enough, the goons were hiding machine guns underneath the table the whole time, which they didn't hesitate to draw out and aim at the stunned mutant. So, without thinking, Karai dove down and screamed at the top of her lungs as she unsheathed her blade to save her friend. She'd managed to dispatch of one of the goons, but not before the remaining five attempted to fill them with bullet holes in the next instant.

Now, they'd been forced to hide behind one of the large old vans near the back of the warehouse, with nowhere to go and no means of calling for backup, since Shredder had taken Karai's phone away from her for the next week after she'd stayed out past her curfew.

"Leo," Karai said over the sound of the guns blasting away at the slowly crumbling vehicle, her amber eyes wide with fear. "Just in case we die, there's something I gotta say to you."

"What is it?" Leo asked, tightening his grip around her shoulders protectively, though he knew it would do them no good. But despite the fear in knowing that this could very well be their final moment together, Leo forced himself to listen closely to what the girl had to say to him.

Karai bit down on her lip hesitantly before she finally decided to go for it. "Um…I-I never said anything about it to you before, but, um...well…" she faltered as she squeezed her eyes shut. "…I'm the one who ate your last gyoza last night, not Tiger Claw!"

Leo said nothing for a moment as he just stared at her flatly, all traces of fear vanishing from his expression in an instant. "…are you serious?!" he barked in disbelief. "I mean, this could be our last few seconds together before we die, and you're wasting them by telling me that you ate my food?!"

Pouting, Karai pushed herself off of Leo and folded her arms over her armoured chest. "Well, sorry! I thought you'd wanna know!" she shouted back.

"Not right now, I don't!" Leo sighed, slapping a hand over his forehead. "Seriously, couldn't you have at least said something a little more meaningful or something?!"

"What, like how I've always thought of you as the little brother I never had for the past five years we've known each other but I just didn't have the guts to say it to your face until now?" she said without pausing once to take a breath as she glowered at Leo, who had fallen silent and was now staring at her with wide, unbelieving eyes upon what he'd just heard.

He blinked once. "…you finally admitted it?" he said as a wide, sincere grin grew across his face. "Aw, I knew it! You do love me!"

Blushing madly, Karai made a face. "N-No!" she stuttered in embarrassment, neither of them noticing that the gunfire had suddenly ceased during the awkward 'confession'. "I-I mean, yes, I mean, w-well, I –"

The sound of old metal grinding against the concrete floor rang loudly through their ears and startled them both as the looked up to find that the van was being moved out of the way. Fear gripped them once again as the two young ninjas screamed, clinging to each other as their shelter was hauled away, revealing the towering, foreboding form of…

…Tiger Claw?

Leo and Karai gasped at the sight of the old tiger mutant standing over them, his stripped arms crossed firmly over his chest and a deep frown on his features as he narrowed his eyes down at them both. Blinking in bewilderment, they then looked past Tiger Claw to find that the gunmen, and their original target, were all lying dead on the floor in pools of blood, their guns shattered with their parts strewn across the floor. Leo shuddered at the sight of them, and was forced to look away.

Tiger Claw must have heard the commotion going on from outside the building, and had charged in at the last moment to intervene before any further harm could come to the young assassins. He'd singlehandedly dispatched five men armed with machine guns, and had taken out their target for them in the process. But how could he have known where the hideout was? Only Leo and Karai knew of the whereabouts –

Unless he'd followed them to keep an eye on them…meaning that he'd seen and heard everything…

Uh oh…

Slowly, the children looked back up to Tiger Claw, who hadn't said a word nor moved from where he stood as he glared at them. Sheepishly, they smiled at him and waved.

"…hi dad," Leo squeaked.

"…w-what's up, Uncle Tiger Claw?" Karai chuckled nervously.

Their only warning about what was to happen to them next was the subtle yet irritated flick of his tail, before he grabbed them both and lifted them off the ground with ease as they yelped. Tucking Karai under his left arm, he threw Leo over his right shoulder and held him there as he walked out of the warehouse, ignoring their protests and excuses as they squirmed helplessly in his unyielding grip. The old cat said nothing, but his angered silence was more than enough to tell his charges that they were in serious trouble, and that there was no use in trying to escape as they finally gave up their struggles.

"We're so dead," Karai deadpanned, letting herself hang limply underneath Tiger Claw's arm like a sack of potatoes.

Sighing, Leo nodded in agreement. "Pretty much…"

The entire journey back to Leonardo's house was silent as Tiger Claw trekked through the forest, following the familiar paths until they finally reached the old home hidden within the thick walls of bushes that encased the area. Once he'd slid the front door open with his foot and stepped inside the house, he finally set Karai back on her feet and slid Leonardo off of his shoulder. The children had become sullen now as they lowered their heads, staring down at the floor in shame. They were well aware of their failure to complete the mission, and they were very well aware of the reasons why. But even so, Tiger Claw felt that they could not go without being scolded accordingly as he placed his hands on his hips.

"You were both very foolish tonight," he said. "I expected you, as young, highly trained warriors of the Foot Clan to behave better than this. Because of your thoughtless actions, you two were nearly killed! Had I not stepped in, you would not be standing here right now!"

Flinching, Leo's head nearly retreated into his shell as his father's tone grew harsher, and he squeezed his eyes shut to keep his tears at bay. Karai was never really one to cry over being scolded; she'd gotten far worse from her own father. But the realization of what they'd done finally hit her full force, and she bowed her head lower to hide her own tears. "W-We're really sorry, Uncle Tiger Claw," she whimpered as Leo followed suit and bowed with her. "We didn't mean to get in trouble…we promise we'll be more careful…"

"…but we still deserve to be punished," Leo piped up timidly, both children inwardly cringing at the thought of what kind of punishments awaited them. Would they be grounded and forced to clean the house from top to bottom? Or would Tiger Claw tell the Shredder what had happened and have them separated for good? Both of them knew that they wouldn't be able to stand the thought of losing each other, not after everything they'd been through together…

Looking down at the two of them bowed before him and on the verge of tears, Tiger Claw sighed as he brought up a hand to massage his aching temples. When Shredder had sent them off to find their target alone, the old feline simply couldn't bare knowing that the two young cubs would be going off into the darker parts of the city without him, with no way of knowing what dangers could be awaiting them. So it was without hesitation, as soon as he was out of Shredder's sight, that Tiger Claw followed the duo to the car warehouse. He told himself that he wouldn't intervene, and that he would simply watch them from a rooftop close by; they had to learn and grow by themselves at some point or another, which was something they couldn't do if he was constantly hovering over their shoulders. So he watched and waited. And at the beginning, he was impressed by their skills, taking pride in knowing that they were getting better at stealth…

That is, until Leonardo fell onto the gambling table. Then everything had spiralled out of control.

Despite his irritation at their foolery, in reality, Tiger Claw had been terrified. Even now as he looked at them as they waited for what he had to say next, the fear of almost losing his son and the daughter of his master, whom he had steadily grown to care about as his own of sorts, was still running through his veins. They'd come so close to dying…

It was in that moment as Tiger Claw sighed again with a shake of his head, that he finally came to a decision as he bent down and pulled the two of them close, hugging them tightly even as they went ridged with surprise. "I am not going to punish you this time," he said softly, absently laying a paw on the back of Leonardo's head as he stroked him. "I was only afraid that I was going to lose you both tonight, and I am glad that you are still alive and safe at home again…"

Their eyes wide, Karai and Leonardo shared a glance, before returning Tiger Claw's hug with equal force. "We're really sorry, Sensei," Leo said against Tiger Claw's chest. "We won't do it ever again, we promise."

"Yeah, Karai nodded as the three of them finally drew away. "But…are you gonna tell my father about this?"

At that, Tiger Claw smiled down at the anxious girl. "You will be surprised to find that there are many things that Shredder is not aware of," he chuckled as he reached out to pat her head fondly. "However, if you ever worry me like that again, I will bite both your heads. Understand?"

Squeaking in surprise, the two ninjas stood to attention and saluted the tiger mutant. "Yes sir! Understood, sir!" they chanted in unison, much to Tiger Claw's amusement as he shook his head again.

"At ease, soldiers," he chortled, before giving them both a little shove towards the spare bedrooms. It was too late to send Karai back home now, and they were all rather exhausted after the events of the night, so it was without complaint that they all retired to bed for the remainder of the night. Though as he lay down and closed his eyes before drifting off, Tiger Claw couldn't help but smile to himself.

And he'd thought they'd been a handful when they were no older than nine years old.

A/N: TC, you have NO idea! XD

I'm planning on doing some Mikey and the Wizard of Oz shorts as well in the future, so look out for those! Until then, see you soon!