• • •

"Woah.." Raph breathed with wide eyes. Akila had just told everyone else of what had happened earlier that day. 

"Are you...okay..?" Donnie asked carefully, confused by Akila's calmness.

Akila sighed deeply, "I'm looking at the brighter side of the situation right now."

"And he wasn't even your real father?" Mikey asked. 

"From what I remember now, no, he wasn't," Akila confirmed with a confused frown, "all I know is that my true mother didn't want me, so dad--Edward, basically became my father. I have no idea who my real father is."

The others nodded in understanding, but Akila felt nervous. The truth was, she did have a idea of who her father might be. She just didn't want to believe that she may have descended from the Shredder himself.

• • •

Akila and the turtles had just started their night patrol. When they reached Akila's old block, she stopped. "Akila, you need a break?" Raph called back to her.

"No, I just.." Akila answered, "I wanna get some of my things..."

The four turtles shared silent words until Leo spoke, "alright, I'll come with you."

"Thanks," Akila said with a weak smile, then the two of them broke away from the others. They climbed into Akila's old apartment through her window. It felt sureal to be back  after everything. Akila took a moment to look around, as if taking in the atmosphere of her old bedroom. She then proceeded to grap a large duffle bag out of her closet and pack it up. 

Meanwhile, Leo took a moment to look around her room. He noticed the open sketch book on her desk, but was shock to see a drawing of himself right on top. He immediately blushed. "Hey, did you draw this?" He asked in awe, holding up the image.

Akila smiled and answered proudly, "yeah." She then got up and walked over to the turtle to admire her art with him. "That first time that you rescued me, this was the only glimpse of you that I saw," she explained, "it made me feel so special that someone was protecting me."

Leo smiled down at Akila, feeling his heart grow warm from her words. "You are special."

Akila immediately felt her heart jump. She blushed a little and looked away. With a little nervous laugh, she responded, "heh, thank."

​​​​​​Akila finished packing her bag with clothing, bathroom things, and drawing items, then the two left her apartment. Once on top of the building's roof, Leo held his hand out to Akila's duffle bag. "I can carry that for you, it looks heavy."

Akila smiled in amusement and rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, I can handle it," she replied with a laugh. 

Leo smiled in return and accepted, "alright, alright." He pushed her shoulder playfully and began to walk to the edge of the roof. But when he noticed that Akila hadn't moved yet, he turned to her in confusion, "you coming?"

Akila hesitated for a moment, looking up at the sky. "Eventually," she responded vaguely and gave a small shrug, "I just want to enjoy the stars for a bit; don't get to see them much in the bright city."

Leo smiled across the roof to Akila and walked back to her. "Okay, then let's." And with that, he laid down on his back on the roof, Akila laying next to him. "They are very bright tonight," he remark as he admired the stars.

"Yeah.." Akila agreed with a big yawn. And, after just a few minutes, Leo came to realize that Akila had fallen asleep.

He sat up and peered down into her peaceful face with loving eyes. "I wonder just what I did to deserve you in my life," he whispered with a smile. Leo lifted Akila off of the roof carefully and carried her down into the sewer and all the way back to the lair.

Once he reached the lair, Leo realized that his brothers were already back and asleep. Leo gently laid Akila's small, sleeping body down on the extra mattress she'd been using now in his room. He covered her with a fluffy comforter and sat next to her for a while, combing his fingers through her lengthy, brown hair.

And when Leo finally became tired himself, he planted a gentle kiss on Akila's forehead and whispered, "goodnight." Then he got into his own bed and fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

• • •

Akila woke the next morning just as Leo was getting up. "Good morning," he greeted her with a yawn from across the room. 

Still heavy with sleep, Akila only grunted in response and watched Leo get out of his bed and make his way over to her. He held a hand out and helped her to her feet. "Did you sleep alright?" Leo asked. 

"I did," Akila's reply was delayed due to her tiredness, making Leo chuckle.

"Good," he responded, then offered happily, "breakfast?"

At the offer of food, Akila nodded with a light smile and the two walked out to the kitchen. There, she and the turtle brothers ate. After eating, Akila felt much more awake and was ready for training with Splinter.

• • •

"Very good, Akila," Master Splinter complimented, "your skills continue to improve rapidly; I am impressed."

"Thank you, Sensei," Akila bowed her head respectfully. Training seemed to get easier and easier by the day for Akila now, her memory of technique giving her a great advantage. And she loved it. Mostly, she loved the rush in her veins that she felt when training.​​​​​​ This particular day, Akila stayed after in the training room to work more; she didn't want to stop yet. She jumped and ducked, kicked and punched, swung and spun for another two hours by herself.

Leo noticed Akila's absence after long and began to look for her. And when he got to the training room where she was, he couldn't help but just watch her for a bit. The back of her gray tank top was soaked with sweat, and her spandex stretched to fit around the new leg muscle she'd gained in the past few weeks. Her hair was pulled back into a tight bun to keep it out of the way.

"Oh, hey Leo," Akila greeted when she noticed his presence.