• • •

Three weeks had passed since Akila met her older sister Karai. Since then, she'd been leaving the lair more and more to talk to who the turtles had assumed was just a harmless friend of hers. Leo was especially happy for his girlfriend. Having this new friend seemed to pick up Akila's spirits. Everything was finally going good for the first time since Shredder's return.

But what Leo didn't know was that Akila was calmer, not because she'd gained better control over her energy, but because she was able to use this energy when out with Karai. When she was with her sister, Akila didn't need to try to get a hold on herself. She didn't need to hide her increasing power, because she was with someone who celebrated her for it. She was free.

"Going out to see Karai again?" Leo asked as he entered his room to find Akila tying her hair back into a ponytail.

Akila shot him a smile. "How can you tell?" She wondered a bit nervously.

"Because you never go out in the daylight unless you have plans with someone," Leo told her with a teasing smirk.

Akila mentally sighed in relief. She felt guilt bubble up in her gut every time Leo looked at her like that; that cheerful grin and loving eyes, just happy that she had another human friend. But she was working her way up to tell them the truth...she just needed to figure out how to.

"Well," Akila began, hopping over to give Leo a peck on the lips. "I'll see you tonight for patrol," she cooed.

But before Akila could leave the room, Leo caught her by the hand. "Oh, no you don't," he called mischievously, spinning her back to him. He then landed a deep, emotional kiss on her lips. Akila nearly melted against his chest, having to be held up by her love. When Leo pulled away, his eyes were lidded. "Okay," he purred, "now you can go."

Akika raised her eyebrows at Leo and replied playfully, "well, now I'm not too sure I wanna go." She leaned back in to get one more beautifully passionate kiss.

Leo smiled against her lips, holding her waist firmly against his shell. He pulled away with a small chuckle. "Go have fun, Ki," he insisted sweetly, "I'll be right here when you get back." Humming in satisfaction, Akila finally turned and left.

• • •

"What took you so long?" Karai wondered as Akila finally made it to the rooftop that had been deemed their meeting place.

Akila averted her gaze and shrugged. "I was talking with Leo," she responded simply.

Karai rolled her eyes. "I don't understand how you can live with those turtles," she sighed, "I get that they saved your life and all, but you belong with your real family."

Akila shot her sister a dangerous glare. "We've been over this, Karai," she warned. It was all she needed to say. The topic of Akila coming 'home' had come up numerous times in the sisters' conversations. But Akila made it clear each time that that would never happen. "You haven't told our father, have you?"

"What, about our little secret meet-ups? I promised I wouldn't, didn't I?" Karai asked rhetorically, acting as if she were offended. When Akila's hardened expression didn't waver, Karai rolled her eyes even more dramatically. "Oh, come on, Ki," she teased, pulling passive-aggressively at her pony tail, "lighten up."

Akila pulled away from Karai, sighing in frustration as she attempted to fix her hair. "I am light," Akila muttered with a small pout.

"Obviously," Karai replied sarcastically, amused by her sister's struggled with her hair. "You should cut it," she suggested, "long hair is a huge disadvantage in a fight." At the word 'fight', Karai slid into a battle position.

Akila finally stopped worrying about her hair. She smirked challengingly at her sister and readied herself for a spar. Then, the fight began.

The two of them had bonded greatly in the past few weeks. Most if their time together was spent training or completing in some way. They both loved the challenge, and they both loved the adrenaline rush. But they had also grown close emotionally. Karai had already been attached to Akila for years, so it wasn't hard for her to take her in as a sister. But even Akila, who'd only just met this girl, was already sectioning off a corner of her heart for Karai.

"So I guess this 'Romio and Juliet, forbidden meeting' stuff is gonna be going on for a while," Karai talked as she fought.

"Sorry, Karai," Akila admitted a bit sadly, "I just need to break this all to the turtles slowly." She paused to flip in the air, bringing her kamas down right as Karai dodged. "I guess it would've been easier to just tell them in the first place."

Karai laughed mockingly. "You're just now figuring that out?" She teased.

This struck a nerve in Akila. She stopped going so easy, and within seconds had her sister pinned to the ground. Karai was intrigued; Akila was already fighting so well, yet she had been holding back? Her younger sister was more powerful than she could've ever imagined. "Hey, what's the deal?" Karai demanded.

Akila, realizing quickly that Karai had no idea that she'd done something wrong, rolled her eyes. She got up and sat beside her sister. "You're being insensitive," she growled half-heartedly.

"Oh, right," Karai realized as she, too, sat up. "But, you know how I am," she went on, "I'm not gonna lie just to make someone feel better, especially not to you. I guess it's my way of caring, making sure you get the truth."

Akila took a deep breath and tried to understand. After all, Karai was raised by the Shredder and had never made many friends before. But over the past few weeks, it seemed like Karai was at least trying not to be insensitive toward her little sister.

So Akila nodded and stood up. "Alright, then we'll have a rematch," she announced.

Karai smiled and prepared herself for another spar. "Alright. If I win, you have to cut you hair short," she added with a devious grin.

Akila rolled her eyes, but she didn't back out. Then, the spar began. Akila didn't hold back this time, but neither did Karai. Karai ended up throwing a small concetrated smoke bomb down to confuse Akila, and she ended up winning. Akila argued that Karai cheated, but Karai insisted that all she did was assure her own win. So Akila had no choice to accept the loss. Not that she minded; she thought that cutting her hair would be a fun thing to do anyway.