Leorai A-Z Challenege

Tales

"Popi!"
Leo looked down to see his little daughter, Kotori, trying to hop into his lap. Smiling, he lifted her up and plopped her down on his lap with her giggling. "Hi, sweetie." he greeted her nuzzled his snout against her head. She nuzzled back at him affectionately.
She looked up at him with her big, bright yellow eyes and a bright, adorable smile showing her little fangs. Leo chuckled. At 2, Kotori was a sweet and energetic child filled with curiosity and was absolutely adorable. The little joy, having a mutant turtle and a half-human, half-snake mutant for parents, she was a certainly special thing made beautifully by nature; she had a long, green tail with red and blue stripes on it, a pair of fangs and a serpentine tongue, a turtle shell, and three-fingered hands with serpentine eyes.
Kotori snuggled against her father's plastron like he was a big, cuddly teddy bear. Leo tenderly wrapped his hands around his precious daughter and smiled down at her. "Popi, tell me a story." she said. "Oh yeah? Well wait right here and I'll go get one of your books." he answered, but she stopped him and gripped on his plastron.
"No, Popi! A really real story!"
"What do you mean, sweetie?"
She thought for a moment before saying, "How did you and Momma meet?"
Leo was surprised by this suggestion. "You really wanna know?" he asked her. She nodded excitedly. Leo smiled and sighed, replying with, "Alright. Well, I first met your Momma years ago, when we were both still young and still stupid. And...let's just say we didn't exactly meet in the way most young and stupid people do....."

****
There was no word that could possibly describe the anger Leo was feeling at that very moment. At the same time it was so weird how he suddenly went from being the level-headed, calm leader to a copy of Raphael; he was violently pacing around on the rooftop and kicking and hitting things. God, he was pissed!
'Damn him......I know he's my brother, but JESUS!' he raved in his head. He hopped onto other parts of the rooftops before stopping at the ledge to stare out onto the city. He sighed, finally feeling his rage begin to simmer down slowly. Suddenly, he heard something behind him. It sounded like.......
******

"Foot Clan!" Kotori jumped in.
"You got it." Leo pointed out.

*******
"You guys just made my night!" Leo said, his swords drawn out and ready to fight. The ninjas charged and in no time a fight erupted. Fending himself off, slashing, and fighting himself through, Leo was able to take down the Foot Clan ninjas easily. They laid, defeated, on the ground. Leo smiled. "Aahhh...." he said happily, "I feel so much better."
Leo's eyes looked up at a billboard, where a figure was crouching and looking over him like a bird of prey looking over a vulnerable mouse.
Leo held up his swords. The figure flipped from the billboard in the same manner as a diver and landed gracefully on their feet. The stranger stood up and faced him and said, "Not bad."
But Leo was having a hard time staying ready to fight since, well.....the stranger was girl.
******

Kotori gasped. "Momma!?"
Leo nodded. "Yup. The stranger girl was your Momma. She was in the Foot Clan when we met, remember?"
Kotori nodded. Leo continued: "So, anyway, I went from being a big bad ninja to a silly, shy boy and all I said was, 'Thanks?' to her."
"Why?"
"Because, Kotori, your Momma's--"

*******
.....beautiful. Leo felt his knees go weak, his heart skipped a beat, and his palms felt sweaty. It was so stupid how he was acting. Because, good God this girl was beautiful. She was not like the cute and pretty American girls he and his brothers would usually ogle at occasionally, instead she was identical to the exotically beautiful Asiatic women from the stories Splinter told them when they were younger.
A metal mask covered her mouth, but he could tell she was smiling from the look in her eyes. Her perfect, almond-shaped, golden eyes.....no, no! Don't lost focus, Leo!
She started sauntering up to him as she spoke. "You might actually be a challenge."
She stopped and the two faced each other, ready to duel. The girl's mischievous look was quickly replaced with the determined glare of a fighter. She reached behind herself to reach for her tanto blade. Leo prepared himself. Part of him was ready and focused as he usually was in combat, but another part of him was amazed by this girl. It wasn't everyday you met a girl who could handle a sword. Suddenly, she yanked her sword out with a gust of white dust spreading into the air. The chalky dust reached Leo's eyes, stinging them and making him couch from how they tickled and stung his mouth.
Everything was blurry. The blurriness soon faded, but when it did, he was too late to realize that the girl was charging right at him at full speed.
********

"Haha!" Kotori giggled, "You got beat up by a girl!"
"Hey," Leo chuckled defensively, "This is Momma we're talking about. You've seen her fight."
"But still!" she snickered.
Leo rolled his eyes and went on with his story.

*******
"My name's Karai." the ninja girl said, smiling. Leo gulped and his eyes were wide. 'What the Hell....?' he thought. She had her foot on his chest and a sword at his throat while he was on his back and she was introducing herself like a pal?? It was official: this girl was seriously something else.
The girl, named Karai, sheathed her sword and said in a seductive voice, "See you around..." and then ran off.
Leo watched her run away from him. He got up onto his feet and stared ahead in the same direction she ran in. "What was THAT?" he questioned out loud. As much as he was confused and surprised by what had just taken place, he found himself totally fascinated by this girl. Beautiful, strange, a skilled fighter, clever......oh yeah, Leo was a big sucker for her already.
*******

"And so, that's how Momma and I first met." Leo said to Kotori, who was now curled up against his him in his lap, dozing off to sleep. "After the first time we met, everything was weird for us and confusing and hard because I was with Grandpa Splinter and Momma was with the Foot Clan and Shredder. But eventually, we realized the truth and Momma decided to leave Shredder and join us, her real family.  Sadly, she was turned into a snake, but your uncles and Auntie April and I saved her and we had her back with us for good. Your Momma and I loved each other very much and when we realized it, we were finally together and after that, we had you."
After he finished, he looked down at Kotori to see she was now sound asleep. A smile formed at his lips and he picked up his baby girl and carried her to her room, then tucked her into her bed.
He watched her sleep for a while, then he felt a hand on his shoulder.
Leo turned around to see his wife and love, Hamato Karai, standing right there smiling at him and their own little joy with the same love she felt for him through all the years they knew each other, beginning at the moment they first met.