For @ddsgdds3!

Trigger warnings: physical abuse, mental and emotional abuse, past childhood abuse, injuries, bl00d, manipulation, and homophobia

This takes place post-series!

I own none of the pics except for the one of Karai and Tate, which I made with Gacha Club!

I don't own the other pics credit goes to the artists, but I did edit the bruises and injuries on Karai

Tissues, anyone?

~*~

Karai stepped into the lair and found herself surrounded by her father and four younger brothers.

"Sis? Why are you back so late?" Leo asked in concern, immediately scanning her for injuries.

"Oh, I was at Shini's place, but on my way back, this guy was being attacked by some punks, so I helped him." Karai shrugged.

"Nice work! The guy alright?" Mikey asked with a grin as he high-fived his sister.

"Yeah, his name's Tate, and he just moved here. He's... actually pretty cute." Karai admitted, a faint blush coloring her pale cheeks. "He's 18. Same as me."

"Oooo, Karai has a crush~!" Raph playfully teased. Karai playfully glared at him in return.

"Is this true, Miwa?" Splinter smiled a bit. Karai nodded slowly.

"Hai, father...is that alright?" Karai asked as she knew her family was protective of her.

"I do not see why not as long as he treats you well." Splinter resssured her.

"Yeah, but if he ever hurts you, he'll have to answer to us!" Donnie growled as Leo, Raph, and Mikey nodded firmly.

"Relax, he's really nice." Karai replied as she headed to her room. "Night, guys. Love you."

~*~

Over the course of a few weeks, Tate and Karai became a couple. They hit it off almost  immediately and wanted to date.

"Hey, I got you this." The blonde boy said softly as he handed Karai a big box.

Tate was always giving her nice gifts and talking sweetly to her. He was a rich kid from a wealthy family. He was also a human.

"Aw, sweet!" Karai opened it right away. It was a grey glittery dress. "Thanks, babe! I love this."

Tate smiled as his hazel eyes lit up. Moonlight danced on his freckles, causing them to shine. "Glad you do, you needed new clothes."

Karai blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?" She looked down at her grey and black outfit.

"Those clothes are ugly and weird! I want my girl looking pretty." Tate responded, tsking at the hoodie and ripped jeans she wore.

Karai scowled but brushed it off. "Want to go to Murakami's? The food is really good."

"Ew! Asian food is disgusting! I don't want you getting fat off that junk! You're already pudgy." Tate poked her belly.

Karai frowned and looked away. She started eating more after moving in with her family. When she lived with Shredder, he restricted her food her whole because 'ninjas had to be thin.'

Donnie even mentioned that she was underweight during the checkup he gave her when she moved in.

"I'll eat what I want." Karai said firmly. As soon as those words left her mouth, a hand smacked her across her face.

Tate had slapped her. Hard.

Karai hissed at the sting. "Don't talk back to me!" Tate yelled, his voice no longer sweet and soft.

"Okay, okay...I'm sorry." Karai said quickly, wincing as he touched the red mark on her cheek gently.

"I didn't wanna hurt your beautiful face, but you were being rude." He scoffed. "I did it because I love you and want you to learn respect.

Karai looked down. "Well...I won't do it again. I'm really sorry, baby."

Tate smiled and kissed her. "Good. Now, put on your dress and we can get some fruit salads. It's on me."

Karai did as she was told and they went out. Tate wouldn't let her eat more than a bowl of fruit salad.

When Karai got home from her date, she iced her bruised cheek in the kitchen. The evening kept replaying in her head.

"I can't believe he did that. And why was he being so...harsh?" Karai muttered softly.

Tate had always been so loving and sweet. He'd never acted this way before. Then, she remembered something...

"But daddy, I hate green beans!" 4-year-old Karai whined as she pushed her plate away.

"They are good for you. You need to grow stronger if you want to be a better fighter." Shredder told her sternly. "You must stay thin."

"I don't want to eat them. They're gross..." Karai whimpered. Suddenly, a punch knocked her off of her chair.

"Enough! You must obey me! I am your father!" Shredder yelled, slamming his fist on the table. The plates jumped slightly.

Karai sniffled and held her bleeding nose. "You...you hit me..." She whimpered.

Shredder sighed. "I only did it because you were disobeying me, child. I do not like to hurt you, but I do it because I love you."

Karai stared up at him. "I...I'm sorry, daddy..." The little girl stood up and sat back in hee chair. "I love you, too..."

"My Karai..." Shredder nursed her bleeding nose, now gentle. That night, he left her a new dollhouse to make up for it.

Then, she was 8, and Shredder was handing her a new dress. "Wear this tonight at the meeting."

Karai took it and winced. "Do I have to, father?" She didn't like dresses that much.

"Yes, you need to look beautiful. Less like...that. No arguments now." Shredder warned her, raising a hand.

Karai flinched. "I'm sorry. I'll wear it..." A hit didn't come, luckily. But she couldn't stop shaking.

"Shredder hurt me because he...loved me. He was trying to make me better. Tate is just trying to do the same." Karai told herself, putting the ice away.

"It's fine. It's normal."

She made up an excuse for the bruise when her family questioned her the next morning.

~*~

A few days later, Karai limped home. "Sis! You okay? What the shell happened?!" Raph asked.

"I'm fine, I stepped in a pothole." She let Raph help her to the couch and allowed Donnie to wrap her ankle.

"You twisted it pretty bad." Donnie informed her. "You should rest it for a few days. No excessive walking!"

Karai sighed. "But I need to see Tate tonight!" She knew he'd hurt her worse if she was late. Again.

"Sorry, you'll need to reschedule. Plus, he doesn't know about mutants, right?" Leo asked.

"Right..." Karai added. Tate hated mutants. He'd told her that earlier. She was lucky he didn't catch her turning to her snake form.

"Just rest up, ane! I'll bring you soup!" Mikey grinned, running to the kitchen.

Raph and Leo sat beside Karai, making her flinch. "Karai?" Leo murmured. "You...okay?"

"Yeah, why?" Karai internally face-palmed for flinching. She didn't want her family to know about Tate hurting her.

"Ya flinched. Bad." Raph scowled, eyes narrowing. "What's the matter?"

"It's just because my ankle hurts, and you guys sat down too fast. I didn't want you to bump it by accident."

"Are you sure you are well, my daughter?" Splinter murmured as he approached her.

"Of course!" Karai said smoothly. "Never better." They all looked at her hesitantly, but let it go.

~*~

For a few days, Karai obeyed her family's orders and rested her injury. She hadn't talked to Tate since then and was scared.

"He'll be mad, wondering why I've been ditching him..." Karai whispered to her teddy bear. The one Tate gave her after he broke her finger last week.

Karai didn't want her family to know and wanted to deal with it on her own. Due to growing up abused, abuse was normal for her.

She remembered being 5 years old and Shredder yelling at her for not understanding a command he had given her.

That same day, he gave her money and pretty jewelry to help her forget about it.

She remembered being 6 and Shredder pushing her down, hard, during one of his anger outbursts. She still has a scar.

That night, he rewarded her with extra ice cream and other goodies, telling her how lucky she was to have him.

She remembered being 7 and Shredder calling her stupid and useless after she accidentally broke a plate. He kicked her afterwards, leaving bruises.

That afternoon, he begged for forgiveness and coddled her, telling her that he hurt her to help her. That it hurt him more than it hurt her.

Karai sighed at these memories. "It's not the same." She mumbled to herself. "Tate isn't abusive. He loves me. Like Shredder did."

That night, she snuck out to see Tate. She found him waiting in an ally. Anger radiated from him. Karai shuddered and walked over.

"Hi-" Before she could get another word out, he punched her so hard that she smacked her body against the concrete wall and fell to the ground.

"Where have you been?!" Tate screamed, eyes blazing with pure rage. "Are you seeing some other guy? Huh?!"

Karai flinched. "I'm so sorry, I got really sick and haven't been able to leave home...I'm not seeing anyone else...please don't hurt me!"

Karai mentally kicked herself for being so weak. She should be strong, like she always is. Now she was cowering from a boy who was shorter than her. Who had zero ninja experience.

She wanted to stand up and defend herself with all the training she had, but some part of her was too scared to even breathe, and she didn't know why.

Karai begged for mercy from now one. Except from when she was a child and had to beg Shredder to stop hurting her. Usually, it didn't even work.

Tate stared at her still, seething. "You better not do that again! You're my girl! You need to listen to me!"

"I will!" Karai yelped as he yanked her upright. "I swear!" Bruises and cuts decorated her face. She felt her wrist pop.

"Good. I'm sorry, babe, but you gotta do everything I say. It's easier that way, hmm?" Tate smiled, putting in his nice face.

"Yes..." Karai bit back a whimper as he stroked her face. He kissed her and smoothed her hair.

~*~

Karai wore makeup for a few days to hide her injuries. Despite being hurt by Tate physically and emotionally, she had had worse living with Shredder and didn't tell her family.

They questioned her quiet demeanor and reclusivness and asked about Tate. Karai resssured them that everything was fine.

She had experience lying about random cuts and bruises. She remembered making up all kinds of stories as a child and teen when people asked about them.

"I tripped while training." She lied to a schoolmate at age 9, when Shredder had left visible abrasions to her hands.

"I broke my leg by falling off my rollerskates." She fibbed meekly to a teacher at age 6, hobbling around on crutches.

"I'm fine, really. He doesn't hurt me!" She pleaded to a nice old lady who heard Shredder yelling at 10-year-old Karai. She hid her sprained wrist behind her back.

Karai was very good at lying.

~*~

"What are you wearing?" Tate asked when Karai showed up for their date wearing a bisexual flag pin on her new dress.

"What do you mean?" Karai asked, faking a smile. "I'm wearing the beautiful new dress you got me."

"Not that, this." Tate flicked the metallic pin. "What's this thing?" He eyed it coldly, letting go of her hand.

"Oh, that. It's a bisexual pride flag pin." Karai gulped. She didn't consider the possibility that Tate was homophobic.

"Ew, that means you like guys and girls, right? That's so disgusting! You're disgusting! If I ever find out you kissed a girl, I'll make you straight!"

Karai looked away. "I haven't kissed anyone but you." She wasn't going to tell him about the experimental kisses she'd once shared with Shinigami and April over the years.

"Good! The LGBTQ+ community is sick. Hope all of them get what's coming to them." Tate smirked. "Even you, even though you're hot."

Karai hid a frown as he took her a restaurant. Nothing more was uttered about the matter. Somehow, the comments stung worse than any punch.

~*~

"Hey, you okay?" Raph asked Karai as he walked into the kitchen, causing her to flinch hard.

"Yeah, why?" Karai asked calmly, hiding the fact that she almost dropped her glass of water. Raph could tell she wasn't okay though.

"Are you sure? You flinched like someone threw a roach at you." Mikey chimed in as he walked by.

"I'm okay, you just startled me." Karai said quickly as Leo walked in to grab a snack.

"You're pale." Leo commented deadpan. "What's wrong? Are you sick?" He immediately felt her forehead.

Karai moved back. "Guys, seriously, I'm fine. Stop worrying." Karai snapped.

"We just want to make sure you're alright, sis. You've been really quiet, distant, and jumpy." Donnie added calmly.

Splinter overhead and walked by. "If something is wrong, Miwa, you must tell us. Please."

Karai sighed. "Nothing is wrong!" She left the kitchen, went to her room, closed the door, and took off her clothes, leaving only her undergarments.

Bruises littered her side, chest, neck, and back. Tate had beaten her that morning because she'd interrupted him when he was speaking.

Karai hissed as she delicately touched the bruises. They were all under her clothes where no one would see.

Her eyes had dark circles under them and she appeared pale. Her hair was thinning from the stress of her situation.

Karai looked at herself in the mirror and sighed. "Maybe he really is abusive."

~*~

That night, Karai went out to meet with Tate. They met in an ally. "Hey, you're early for once. About time." He said softly.

Karai faked a small smile. She'd been faking her smiles often lately. "Yeah, thought I'd be early. What do you have in mind for tonight?"

"This!" Tate kissed her violently without warning. Karai, obviously not expecting this, yelped and pulled away.

"Stop! I don't like that." She growled, some of her old personality creeping back.

"I'm your boyfriend, I can do whatever I want to you." Tate scowled, gripping her arm so tightly that bruises formed.

"Maybe I don't want you to be ny boyfriend anymore!" Karai yelled at him for the very first time.

Tate eyed her, eyes darkening. Then, everything went black, and Karai was plunged deep into unconsciousness.

~*~

"Karai!"

"Sis?!"

"What happened to her?"

"She's not moving!"

"Karai, wake up!"

"Miwa...my child..."

"Please ane, come back to us..."

"Wake up. Please."

"Ane..."

"Her injuries are moderate, but they aren't pretty."

~*~

Karai was unaware of the conversations that occured around her as she laid on a mddical bed in Donnie's lab.

A weak groan escaped her as pain rushed through every inch of her body. As she groggily peeled open her eyes, she realized that she was covered in bandages.

And her family was standing there.

"Guys? What..." She then remembered. Her eyes narrowed. "I...what happened?"

"You tell us. We went to check on you and found you unconcious in an ally covered in wounds." Raph scowled.

"Tate was there, but he ran away when he saw us. Apparently he was kneeling beside you, muttering." Donnie informed.

"Miwa...what happened?" Splinter murmured, stroking her hair. Karai flinched at the touch. Immediately, everyone frowned.

"Tate was abusing you, wasn't he?" Mikey mumbled. "He hurt you!" Tears welled in his eyes.

"Yeah...he did. He hurt me. A lot." Karai admitted, ashamed that she didn't tell them before.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Leo asked gently despite the panic in his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I...I thought it was normal. I grew up abused by Shredder until I came here, ever since I was little. Physically, mentally, emotionally..."

She paused, taking a breath. "I grew up with it. It hurt. I was scared. But I thought it was normal. I'm so sorry."

The turtles and Splinter froze. "Karai...we get it now. But we need you to understand that any type of abuse is not normal. Ever." Raph said sternly.

"It's not okay, no mattee what. Shredder and Tate abused you and it was not normal. And we are so sorry it happened to you." Mikey whispered.

"And we're even more sorry that we all noticed something was up with you and didn't question you about Tate..." Donnie added shamefully.

"It wasn't your fault, I hid it on purpose. I thought it was normal at the time. I learned that punishment meant love. I was wrong...Tate abused me..."

Karai finally broke down, letting herself cry. The months of abuse finally shattered her composure.

Through tears, she explained her entire childhood of abuse and what she experienced with Tate.

Through it all, her family listened. They didn't touch her since they knew she'd flinch, but they stayed close, whispering comfort.

"Karai, you're safe now." Leo resssured her. "Neither one of them will hurt you again. Physically or emotionally."

"We'll teach him a lesson!" Raph snspped, meaning Tate since Shredder was dead.

"Iater, Raph. Focus on Karai right now." Donnie gently said. "Ane, when you're ready, I'll explain your injuries."

"Take your time, big sis. It's okay." Mikey grinned sadly. "We're here."

"We love you, Miwa." Splinter resssured her, eyes gentle and kind. "You have endured much, but you are not broken."

Karai eventually calmed down. Donnie informed her that she had two broken ribs, bruises everywhere, a broken nose, abrasions and contusions, a broken arm, a black eye, cuts on her face and arm, and a concussion.

"You're going to be fine, but you need to focus on recovering. And not just physically." Donnie advised. "We're here for you, ane."

"Thank you, otoutos. And otou-san." Karai smiled gratefully. Her eyes looked calm for the first time in months.

~*~

Kara's recovery was slow. Her physical wounds took months to heal fully, and her emotional wounds likely never would.

She'd started seeing a therapist to help her cope with her past abuse, including her entire childhood, as well as her time with Tate.

She did weekly therapy sessions with April's father Kirby, who was a psychologist but also spent time helping people who experienced trauma.

Slowly, after months of therapy and care, she allowed her family and friends to touch her again. She didn't flinch as much.

She learned that she she was abused and that it was not normal.

She learned that she didn't deserve to be abused.

She learned that it was not her fault.

She learned that she was manipulated.

She learned that love didn't involve pain.

She learned that being LGBTQ was okay.

She learned that she had the best family and friends in the universe.

Most of all, she learned that she could safety.

~*~

A year later, Karai stood in the lair with her girlfriend Shinigami as they watched a horror film. Her brothers, Splinter, Casey, and April.

They surrounded her in a cocoon of warmth, gentleness, patience, and calmness. Weeks earlier, the turtles found Tate in an ally and interrogated him about the abuse.

Tate denied everything at first, but admitted it after a while. The brothers didn't hurt him too badly. Just yelled at him and made him leave New York.

Today, Karai was doing her best. She still had nightmares and flashbacks, but not as bad. She got used to gentle touch again.

"You're amazing. I love you so much." Shinigami whispered, stroking Karai's hair. "My love..."

Karai cuddled up to her girlfriend. "I love you too, darling. You're so beautiful." Karai shamelessly wore her bisexual pin along with an ambiamorus one.

Shinigami wore matching ones. One with the transfeminine flag and one with the lesbian flag.

"We all love you!" Mikey hugged Karai gently. "You're safe, big sis." Everyone else joined in.

Karai smiled gratefully. "I know. I love you all too. I feel safe here. And...I know abuse is not normal. I'll keep that in mind for the rest of my life."

Karai knew she'd be safe as long as she has her family, friends, and girlfriend. She knew they'd never hurt her in any way.

She knew she was loved unconditionally.

~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Hey cheeseicles! I really hope you enjoy the newest oneshot! Remember that abuse is not okay or normal and if you are being abused in any way please tell someone!

Abuse survivors...comment a heart emoji below. We stand together!

🧡

I am a survivor of past  abuse.

~Kittymasterofall14
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