Back at the lair, Splinter, Leonardo, April, and Destiny sit in the kitchen while Leonardo prepares tea. Destiny and Splinter already have their cups and Leonardo pours some for himself from the still-whistling kettle.

"I mean, getting my butt-kicked on the first night I become a kunoichi?" April asks. She flops her head onto her palm, staring at the table. "It's like...the whole universe is saying it's not meant to be!"

"That is not the universe speaking," Splinter says. "That is the self-doubt of April O'Neil speaking."

"I've been there, April," Leonardo says, sitting down at her side. "Doubting everything? It's poison." He rests his hand on her shoulder. "Believe in yourself."

"I just...feel like a failure," April says. "Maybe you should've made Des a kunoichi instead."

Destiny's ears press flat to her hair. "Hey," she says, sharp and directed. April darts a look at her from across the table as the wolf-raven's wild eyes bore into hers. "Look...I'd love to be a kunoichi, but..." She grits her teeth. "But, I'm not ready. You're more skilled than me."

April can sense the annoyance rolling off of Destiny in waves, that near-jealousy—only the latter is directed at April—and she lets out a tiny, self-deprecating scoff. "It sure doesn't feel like it."

Splinter stands up. "April, there is no such thing as failure until you give up," he says. "Destiny is correct. While you two have different strengths, you have had more time and more practice. You have an awareness of the world that she cannot match yet, and that gives you the upper hand."

Destiny stares into her tea before she takes a sip, her ears still pressed flat to her head. April exhales, biting her tongue lightly. She's only got that skill because the Kraang made her psychic through generations of selective breeding and mutating. It isn't something natural, something anyone could have.

She stays quiet. Splinter will just shut her down if she voices any of this.

Splinter gets a cheesesicle from Ice Cream Kitty before closing the freezer door. He sighs. "Leonardo, Destiny, you are sure that the woman you saw tonight was the one in Miwa's photo?" he asks.

"Positive," Leonardo says. "I can't imagine who else it could be."

"Hm," Splinter murmurs. "Taking a weapon as a prize..." His whiskers twitch. "That is an initiation into a ninja clan. We cannot know for sure what is going on until we investigate further, but be warned." He turns to them. "You must find out, for the sake of our safety...and my daughter's."

It would have been a serious moment, if Splinter didn't decide that right then was the best time to start nibbling on his cheesesicle.

"April," Destiny says, pushing her tea away from her. "Let's go spar."

"What? Now?" April asks.

"Yeah. Come on."

April frowns, but drags herself up and follows Destiny out of the kitchen. As they walk, Destiny glances back at her.

"I saw you use your powers to maneuver your tessen," she says. "I don't think you've done that in training before."

"It's something I just picked up," April says with a half-hearted shrug. "I never tried it in sparring. Thought it was a little dangerous."

"Well," Destiny says with a fanged grin. "You're in luck. I love a little bit of danger to get the heart pounding, so you're gonna practice with me."

It's not a cure-all, but April feels a little better at the idea.

----------

"I'm not coming up with anyone called Shinigami on the international crime databases," Donatello says, looking up from his computer.

"Nor am I," Sarina agrees, although she's not using a physical computer.

Raphael, leaning against the wall nearby, huffs. "Have you got anything then?"

"Only the fact that shinigami are powerful gods in Japanese myth that bring death and destruction," Sarina says.

"So we've got something in common," Raphael says with a smirk.

"Dudes, Leo and Des totally knew that girl! Maybe she's not actually a bad guy," Michelangelo says. He rolls closer to his siblings, sitting backwards on a swivel chair, and he puffs his cheeks a little. "I bet it's no big deal."

The lab doors open and all four teens look up as Leonardo enters, lips pursed and gaze far away. Michelangelo sits up, grinning.

"Yo, Leo!" he shouts. "What's the deal with Shinigami?"

"I can't say for sure," he says as he approaches, "but I know that we need to find her. If she's here, there's a chance Karai is around as well. We need to head out, split up, and search the city for them."

"Needle, meet haystack," Raphael grumbles. He glances between Donatello and Sarina. "Don't you two have like...drones or scanners that can find things?"

"We reprogrammed to find mutagen, Raph," Donatello says. "Not people."

"Perhaps we can add that to the growing list of things we must accomplish," Sarina says with a tiny sigh. "I'm sure we could program them for both."

"For now, let's do it the old-fashioned way," Leonardo says.

----------

The second April gets above ground, she starts searching with both her eyes and mind. If she can get a sense of something, even just a strange vibe, then she'll have a good chance at finding Shinigami before the turtles do.

She doubts she'll beat Destiny, though. She's literally the tracker of the team. If Sarina hadn't stayed behind to recharge, she'd probably find Shinigami quickly as well.

Honestly, April isn't even sure if this is a hunch, her psychic abilities, or common sense, but she finds herself heading towards Shredder's old lair. As far as she knows, the old church has been abandoned ever since Shredder's downfall, but their limited intel tells April that Karai may be behind this.

Where would the former Foot princess go if she suddenly returned home? April thinks she'd go, well...home.

"No sign of any activity," Leonardo's voice comes through her t-phone from the team conference call. "Got anything, Donnie?"

"Still searching. Nothing so far," Donatello reports. "Got anything, Raph?"

"I got nada," he replies. "Streets are clean. What've you got, Mikey?"

The sound of chewing reaches April's ears. "I got pizza!" Michelangelo says, voice muffled from the food in his cheeks. "Wolfie, hit me!"

"I've caught her scent," Destiny says. "It's all over the place, but I'm following it best I can. I'll get back to you. April, you got anything?"

April stays silent as the church comes into view. It's just as dark and creepy as she remembers and even now, she gets shivers up her spine just looking at it. She slinks behind the nearest corner and peers out at the street.

She refrains from smirking to herself when she sees Shinigami walking up the front steps and entering the building.

"April?"

She startles, blinks, and lifts her t-phone to her ear, switching to Leonardo only. "Leo, I just spotted Shinigami. I got this weird vibe that something was happening at Shredder's old lair," she says.

Silence, then a short breath. "Let's cross our fingers and hope it's Karai. If not, it could be Tiger Claw. If the Foot are back, we've got to be careful," he says. "Don't do anything until we get there."

She frowns as she pulls the phone away. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she mutters as she hangs up.

She turns back to the building, legs poised to spring, when she senses something approaching from above. She tenses, ready for a fight, when Destiny drops down behind her, eyes locked on the church.

Her scarred face twists with a grimace. "Damn, I hate this place," she mumbles, folding her wings tight against her back.

April exhales. "You scared me."

She flashes an apologetic smile. "Ah, sorry." She steps closer, both girls focused on the building. "So, she's in there?"

"Yeah. I need to get in and scope out what's going on."

Destiny smirks a little. "Need a lift?"

"Please."

A quick flight later, the girls are on the roof and April's crawling through the shattered glass window leading into Shredder's throne room. If it weren't for that gap, spying would be a whole lot harder. Destiny waits outside and April doesn't question the choice. She can sense the wolf-raven's rising anxiety well enough.

Inside, Shinigami strides confidently towards the lone throne, where April squints at the silhouette seated upon it: too small to be Shredder, but the helmet is the same. When the figure rises to her feet, allowing the moonlight to flood her features, April can't help but relax a little.

It's Karai. No sign of Tiger Claw or any of the old Foot members.

The relaxation doesn't last. Shinigami kneels before Karai, presenting April's tanto to her, and April reminds herself why this sucks.

"So, Splinter finally made April a kunoichi, eh?" Karai muses, eyeing the blade as she settles back into the throne. "Kind of a shock."

April bristles to herself, biting her lip, and she glances over her shoulder. Destiny has her back to the window, but her ears are aimed at the building. She's hearing all of this too.

Shinigami chuckles, getting to her feet and moving gracefully to settle on the throne's arm. If she were any closer to Karai, she'd be in her lap. "Yes, she seems so frail and clumsy when you look at her, like a...silly red bird," she agrees, fluttering her hand in a flyaway gesture.

April drops into the room without another thought, fists clenched and heart pounding. "Well, this kunoichi tracked your ass down, Karai!" she snaps. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

"None of your business," Karai retorts, eyes narrowing.

There's a rustle from the rooftop and Destiny swoops down, landing ahead of April with both arms extended as if ready to keep April and Karai apart.

"Hey!" she snaps. "Don't go being hostile. We aren't enemies, for once, so let's act like it."

"Destiny, it's been a while," Karai says. She stands, Shinigami staying seated behind her, and she smiles a little. "You got my gift, I see."

Destiny blinks, glancing down at her leather jacket for a second. "Oh! Yeah, I did. Thanks a lot, it was...kind of a shock, but I use it all the time."

"I'm glad you like it. Diaval picked out the Canada patch—"

The doors at the end of the room open as the turtles walk in, cutting Karai off and making both Destiny and April turn to face them.

"Karai, it is you!" Leonardo says. "I had no idea you were back in the city."

"Leo," Karai replies, eyes widening a little. "I was going to text you, but I had other things on my mind."

"What, like sending your crazy friend to steal weapons from April and attack us?" Raphael snaps.

"That was a test of her skills," Karai says. Shinigami saunters to her side, slinging an arm over Karai's shoulders. "When I last saw all of you, I said I'd be living with an old friend in Japan. This is her."

"Also, I'm her girlfriend," Shinigami says with a wink, tilting her head until it's resting on Karai's shoulder. "Just in case you get any ideas."

Karai sighs a little. "Shini..."

"What? I like showing off what's mine," the taller girl retorts with a giggle.

"Um, that's our sister, so gross?" Michelangelo says.

"My point is, Shini was never gonna hurt you," Karai says.

"At least, not permanently," Shinigami adds, picking a loose hair off Karai's armour and flicking it away.

April grinds her teeth a little. They're telling the truth and that just makes her angrier. This was a test, a game, and she lost. This isn't even an enemy she can truly defeat and that leaves a bitter taste in her mouth.

"Wait a minute," Donatello says. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but after the Shredder went down, I remember you saying something about rebuilding the Foot. Is that why you're back?"

"And wearing that headgear," Raphael says. "Daddy issues, much?"

Karai ignores him, pulling the helmet from her head and setting it down on the throne's armrest. "I figured it was about time," she says. "Shredder poisoned the Foot Clan for almost two decades, and I'm going to bring its honour back. I'll crumble his empire and take whatever shreds of him were left behind, and when I'm done, no one will remember the name Oroku Saki."

"Life isn't about revenge, sis," Michelangelo says. "Come back to the lair with us. Master Splinter would love to see you."

"No," Karai says. Her lips purse. "Not yet, at least. I have to carve out my own destiny."

Everyone shares a glance. Leonardo sighs and nods, gesturing as he turns and starts walking away.

"We'll catch up later, then," he says.

"Definitely," Destiny adds. Karai nods.

The only person who doesn't move is April. She glares up at Karai and Shinigami, resolute.

"First, I want my tanto back," she says. She extends her hand. "Now."

Karai smirks. "If you want it back, take it from her. I mean, shouldn't be hard for a kunoichi, right?"

"Fine by me. I wanted a rematch anyway," April says.

The turtles and Destiny back off as Shinigami takes the dragon tanto from Karai and slides down the slanted throne platform to join April. April prepares herself as Shinigami comes closer, still wearing that stupid smirk, and she waves the tanto in the air.

April has never wanted to knock a look off someone's face so bad before.

Shinigami moves around April like a sauntering lioness, April following her every move. She lunges in for a second and April flinches, making her laugh. They come to a stop, another second passing, and April lunges for the tanto.

She dodges, ducks away from April's next kick, then plants her own kick to April's arm. April winces, gripping her arm for a second before running right back in.

"Why, you little—"

She quickly realizes that this isn't going to go anywhere fast. Shinigami is more focused on evasion than attacking, leaving April to kick and leap about in a desperate attempt to land a hit. She goes for quantity. Shinigami goes for quality.

Shinigami keeps running away, like this is a playground game of tag and not a serious battle and it pisses April off more and more with every second that passes. April can feel her anger rising, her heart pounding against her ribs, her body tingling.

When the witch throws her hat into April's face, blinding her for just long enough for Shinigami to knock her down, that does it. She's breathing hard, too hard, and she's mad. Shinigami is still laughing at her.

She whirls around and throws her hand out, sending a psychic wave of energy flying at Shinigami. It shatters the glass behind her just as she dodges out of the way and the shock on her face is so gratifying that April wants to do it again.

Shinigami runs from the blasts, cracking glass trailing her movements as she races around the perimeter of the room. As she lands on the last remaining panel of glass, April changes her tactics. Shinigami front-flips, lands in front of April, and jumps back as she rams her elbow into April's stomach.

April feels the air rush out of her as she chokes, then a second blow to her back sends her into the floor. She grits her teeth, but her hand clenches around her prize.

"That's enough," Karai shouts. "Shini, give..."

The silence is enough. April rises to her feet, her nose already starting to bleed, and she holds up her tanto in one shaking hand. Getting hit that hard wasn't in the plan, but she couldn't focus her abilities without leaving herself vulnerable.

"It's okay," April says, and she lets herself be smug as she meets Shinigami's wide-eyed gaze. For extra measure, she waggles the tanto teasingly. "I got it."

"Holy shit," Destiny whispers. "Nice!"

Shinigami blinks once, twice, then cracks a grin. "The little red bird has claws."

"Alright, the fight's over," Leonardo says. "Guys, we're leaving. Karai, keep in touch."

"April, here," Donatello urges, pressing a tissue into her free hand. April blinks. She hadn't even noticed him. "You okay?"

She won, sort of, but the victory feels sour. Shinigami clearly outmatched her in every way and, had it been serious, if the tanto wasn't the end goal, April would have lost. What's the saying? She won this battle, but she'd lose the war.

"Thanks," she mumbles. She slips the tanto into her belt, comforted by its weight, and presses the tissue to her nose.

He gives her a gentle smile, one hand resting on her shoulder. "Come on," he says. "It's about time we all got some rest."

She couldn't agree more.