Thank you writer's block for making life a challenge...*sigh* Let me know how this chapter goes for you guys.

Ermm there's some switching of POV's, but it shouldn't be too hard to follow.

Attempting to ignore the restless kink in her stomach, she continued to shift her weight on the bench to find a more comfortable position. But it wasn't working. She pulled her knees up to her chest and folded her arms around herself, squinting at the TV with deliberation etched on her brow.

Michelangelo had insisted this was the best show on the face of the planet, and she felt inclined to allow him to force her in front of it, mostly because Mikey had the biggest, most excited eyes she'd ever seen and she'd rather not have to be subjected to their stare and his pleading any longer than she had to be. But it was also partly because she felt bad about how generous he was, especially seeing as she'd never done anything to deserve it. He seemed genuinely happy to be around her, and she didn't understand why. He was always insisting on making her food—and the most bizarre combinations of it at that—always eager to suggest an activity to keep her entertained, and he'd even casually referred to her as onee-chan a few times. It was confusing, and at some points a little overwhelming, but she allowed it—mostly because she'd never been shown so much genuine, innocent affection.

But even as comfortable as she'd learned to become with Mikey, she couldn't convince herself to relax while sitting next to him now. She glanced in his direction. His eyes were glued to the television, wide, unblinking, and completely complimentary of his satisfied smile.

She looked away with an exhale, envious of his complacency. She tried looking back at the TV, but she couldn't concentrate. Her focus glazed over instead and she could only see Leo's wounded blue eyes and the way they'd stared back at her the night before. Her stomach clenched, and she couldn't for the life of her understand why. She wasn't responsible for Leo or how he felt, and she couldn't help that she couldn't reciprocate his feelings. So why had it bothered her so much that he'd walked out of her room in so much pain? Why had it kept her up all night? Why was she still thinking about it now?

She glanced over her shoulder again, but Leo did not appear. It made her uneasy, nauseated, that she knew he could pop up at any moment. And how would he act around her? Would he be as embarrassed as she was? Would he confront her? Ignore her? Hate her? She could deal with anything so long as it wasn't the latter. He couldn't hate her; she didn't want him to. He never had, and that meant everything to her. Out of all the new "brothers" she had acquired, his acceptance of her felt like the most genuine, even next to Mikey. He had always looked at her with fondness, always backed away when he had the chance to strike her down, always held onto the hope that she'd be on his side one day, and she was thoroughly afraid that last night she might have ruined that.

She rested her chin on her knees and let her ears fill with the din of the anime rolling onscreen with or without her attention.

"Oh, oh! This is the best part," Mikey said, jumping up to perch on his toes, absently resting a hand on her shoulder.

Karai sighed to herself, watching obediently as a cartoonish explosion sent flashes of orange through the common room and the team on screen thrust their fists in the air with triumph. Mikey let out a whoop of victory and plopped back down on the bench.

"You're really into this, aren't you?" she said.

"Heck yeah. Super Robo Mecha Force is like the best show ever, boy! I can't believe you've never seen it."

Karai sent a sarcastic smirk in his direction. "I've been a little busy."

The comment flew right over the little turtle's head. "No problem, sis. We've got all five seasons on tape, and all day to marathon. I'll teach you TV if it's the last thing I do."

Karai tried not to grimace at the prospect. She opened her mouth to say that actually she'd rather spend the day doing anything else, but her response was halted on account of a door slamming to their right. They both snapped their gazes toward the archway leading to the boys' bedrooms and Leonardo emerged from the shadows.

Karai stood but couldn't remember what she meant to say.

He wasn't looking at her. Instead, his blue eyes were narrowed on the floor with a glimmer of frustration so bright that Karai could feel it's intensity even from where she stood. He walked swiftly - or more like stomped - in the general direction of Donatello's lab, and the way with which he went about it was intensely stiff and forced for him. She'd never seen him move with such rigidness before.

She and Mikey watched as he plodded his way around the pit, not once taking any notice of them. But before he could reach the steps leading up to the lab, Karai found herself stepping forward.

"Leo?"

He glanced up, as though for a moment he'd had no idea there were other people living in the same world as him. But when he realized she had called his name, a glint of soreness flickered across his eyes and he held up a hand to ward off her approach.

"Karai, please. Not right now," he said, using a tone she'd only ever heard him use with his brothers when he didn't want to hear their argument.

Slightly taken aback by this, she closed her mouth and didn't move any further forward.

"You alright, bro? You seem a little—"

"I'm fine, Mikey," Leo said, but the way he slammed his fist on the lab door said otherwise. "Donnie!"

"Uhh … I think he's with Apr—"

Leo didn't wait to listen to Mikey's statement nor did he stand around for permission to enter the lab. He yanked the door aside, walked in and slammed it shut.

Karai and Mikey exchanged glances.

It was taking everything he had not to throw up raw anger on every path he crossed. The fire in his gut was so intense by now that it made his limbs stiffen and shake, threatening to toss him off balance as he cut across the lair. He wouldn't hear it from Karai, and he wouldn't hear it from Mikey. And he was no further pacified when he closed himself in the lab and looked up to find Donnie and April giggling over Donnie's computer.

They looked up at him when he slammed the door, neither unhinged by his force. They seemed, for a moment, far too happy with one another to recognize the rage seeping from his skin, which only made him all the more angry. Who on earth said it was fair for Donatello to have such an easy time finding something to smile about?

"Hey," said the purple-banded turtle, flashing that gap between his teeth.

Leo just stood there seething. He knew if he opened his mouth too soon he'd start screaming obscenities that had nothing to do with Donnie and April. So he kept his teeth clenched. And it wasn't until his jaw rippled under the pressure that Donatello lost his smile.

"What's wrong?"

Leo shuddered. "How many Raphs does it take to make an asshole?"

Donnie sank back in his chair. "Oh." His eyes flickered toward April and he gave her a weak smile. "Can you give us a minute?"

"Sure," April said, eyes trained apprehensively on the blue-banded turtle. She placed a gentle hand on Donnie's shoulder, gracing him with an affectionate smile of her own, then shuffled her way around the desk.

"Alright, Leo?" she asked as she walked toward the door.

"Fabulous."

She nodded once and said nothing more, then closed herself out of the room.

Donnie's eyes glanced away from the door and back on his brother. He leaned his elbows on the table and hid his mouth behind his fists. "What happened?"

"I'm sure it's nothing," Mikey said with little confidence. "He's usually pretty grumpy when he sleeps in."

He and Karai peeked back at the lab door as it opened again.

April stepped out. She gave them both a furrowed look and then cringed when Leo's voice burst through the tension of the lair in a muffled rage. The three teenagers in the common room stared awkwardly between each other as they tried not to listen to him shout.

Though it was hard to miss any of it, Karai only allowed herself to catch a few words, mainly her name, Raph's name, and a variety of curse words. She felt Mikey and April's hesitation as it grew evermore clear that Karai was involved with whatever had Leo dissolving so explosively, but neither of them got to inquire about it. Leo's rant—though it carried on without pause—was, for Mikey, Karai, and April, interrupted by a clang of cymbals and a series of thumps and crashes coming from Raph's room. And soon his door nearly flew off its hinges and the red-banded turtle himself stomped out, much the same way that Leo had, his fists curled by his sides.

"Always my fault," he growled to himself, kicking a crate clear across the common room. "Nobody ever blames Leo but me right? I'm the asshole here … The hell are you guys lookin' at!"

Mikey and April jumped and turned their eyes away quickly. Karai hardly blinked, but apparently staring directly at an enraged, hot-headed turtle while he was in the middle of a tantrum was dangerous. His eyes burned on her. He lumbered forward.

"You," he said, pointing an accusatory finger. "This is your fault!"

Karai's breathing hitched, but she stood her ground. It was Mikey who moved in front of her before Raphael could get too close. He spread out his arms protectively.

"Chill out, dude."

Raphael yanked the little turtle up by his plastron and threw him aggressively to the side. "Get outta my way, Mikey!"

"Raph!" April gasped, running over to help Mikey back to his feet.

Raph paid them absolutely no mind. He shoved Karai by the shoulders and she stumbled back until her calves hit the bench and forced her to plop down on it. She still didn't flinch, even when Raphael shoved his face hardly two inches from her own.

"D'you have any fucking idea what you did?" he said, knocking away April's hand when she tried to reach out for him. "You've got a lotta nerve, princess. Who the hell gave you permission come in here and screw us up, huh? Because it sure wasn't me!"

"Raph—"

"Don't you 'Raph' me," he shouted, shoving her back down the moment she tried to stand. She finally blinked once and gripped the edge of the bench.

"Dude, you can't—"

"Shut up!" Raph screeched, forcing Michelangelo silent. He whirled back on Karai within the next second, pressing a palm against the step and pointing another finger in her face so that she had no choice but to sit still and listen. "You gave me your word. You promised me you wouldn't hurt him. See, this is why I don't trust you!"

"Well it's not like I did it on purpose," she shot back.

"I don't care what you meant or didn't mean to do to him, Karai! You fucked him up, end of story. In fact, this isn't even just about last night. You've been screwing with him ever since the two of you met. And you know what, it's affecting all of us. So congratulations, you've just made it personal."

"Raph, I didn't think he'd actually come onto me—"

"Why not? Because it can't be that obvious that he's in love with you, right? Who in their right mind would've seen that coming? I sure didn't."

Karai clenched her jaw and finally dared to shove him back, giving herself room to stand and meet his challenge with one of her own. She no longer concerned herself with letting Raphael be Raphael in order to gain his acceptance. She could've cared less about that now.

Neither of them noticed Mikey and April watching them with wide eyes. April had even taken it upon herself to pull Mikey back to a safe distance, keeping out of the growing, angry black cloud of tension.

"It was never my intention to hurt him," Karai said. "Leo's the first real friend I've ever had, I wouldn't dare—not anymore."

"You don't get it! That doesn't matter. You already did it. There's no taking it back."

"Don't you think I know that! I feel bad okay? Is that what you want me to say? I feel bad. Yes, I screwed him over. I'm aware of that. I'm a horrible person. I'm sorry! Apparently I can't just disown the person I used to be so easily. That doesn't mean I don't want to. That doesn't mean I'm not going to try to make it up to him—"

"No," Raph snapped. "You won't make it up to him. In fact, stay the hell away from him. You've done enough damage, and you don't deserve him anyway."

"Oh, and you do?" She scoffed. "Don't get pissy and blame this all on me just because you can't get him either."

Raphael made a noise, a growl of sorts that was natural neither for humans or turtles. And that was all the warning she got before he became a blur of green aggression. She almost didn't have enough time to leap out of the way when he charged. She was so close to getting tackled, in fact, that as she dove out of the way she felt the wind from his fist just barely scrape by her arm. She stumbled, but scrambled to her feet and leapt up to run a few feet along the bench and jump back down behind April who cringed and yanked Mikey against her chest as though staying as still as possible would keep them safe from the red-banded turtle who barreled past them after Karai.

"Raph, stop it!" Mikey shouted.

But Karai knew the livid turtle would do no such thing. She made to leap out of the pit but didn't realize how close he was behind her. He snatched her by the wrist and yanked her back down. She grunted as her back hit the cement then rolled quickly out of the way before he could make a swipe to yank her back up again. She swung a leg out beneath him and he fell back on his shell.

They both managed to jump back to their feet at the same time. She reached back blindly and whipped a pillow at him as he charged her again, he deflected it without missing a step, and she prepared herself to tag him square in the jaw, but never got the chance to.

A jade staff lashed out from the side and whacked Raph's plastron so hard that it knocked him clear off his feet.

Karai didn't even have to look in Splinter's direction to take in the silent glower of authority in his eyes. She just panted to herself, unable to drop her fists or relax her stance. Her eyes were trained on Raphael who groaned and slowly rolled over on the floor.

A hand rested itself on one of her trembling fists, and she glanced up at her father who bowed his head stiffly, wordlessly assuring her she had no reason to fear. Not that she had been afraid at all … not entirely anyway. She stared back for a moment before finally allowing herself to relax. She dropped her arms by her sides and took a step back.

Splinter turned away and directed his voice down to his son. "Raphael."

Raph grunted with an underlying whine and pushed himself to his knees. He gave no indication that he was aware of the rat standing over him.

"I will meet you in the dojo."

The turtle didn't look in his sensei's direction, but he stood and walked stiffly toward the dojo with a tight jaw, shooting a venomous glare in Karai's direction on his way out of the pit. Splinter watched him go, his amber eyes unyielding, and only once the young turtle had disappeared did his shoulders relax. He drew in a breath as though forcing on another layer of composure. He turned his head to face the opposite direction.

"Leonardo."

Karai blinked and whipped her gaze over to where Leo and Donnie were standing on the steps before the lab. Donnie's eyes were wide, as though he'd just witnessed something horrific, but the grip he hand around Leo's wrist was so firm that Karai could see the veins in his arm, and she imagined that he'd just had to struggle to keep Leo from intervening on the fight.

Leonardo's eyes were for his sensei only.

"You would do best to wait in the kitchen," Splinter said. "Perhaps Michelangelo will help you find something to eat."

Mikey immediately nodded.

"I'm not hungry, Sensei," Leo said, his voice strained.

"It was not a suggestion," Splinter said, then to Mikey, "I think some chocolate would do nicely."

Mikey nodded again and rushed over to take Leo's hand and lead him to the kitchen. Leonardo followed, reluctantly, but he followed. And Karai distinctly heard a soft exhale from the oldest turtle as he passed, still not looking once in her direction.

Once those two had disappeared, Splinter glanced at the rest of them in turn. "I strongly suggest that you do not partake in any more arguments today. I am afraid I would not be as tolerant."

Donatello bowed respectfully. April nodded her head. Karai gave no response. Her father's gaze hovered on her for a moment and in just that time she was given clear, silent instructions to leave Leonardo alone. She dropped her gaze and the great sensei disappeared, leaving no indication of his departure other than a lift in presence.

"Well ..." April sighed. Karai and Donnie glanced toward her, watching as she rocked on her toes with her hands behind her back. "This has been an eventful morning."

Donatello's smile was soft, tender, admiring almost, but when his eyes shifted to Karai there was nothing to his face but quiet apprehension.