Leonardo waits near the turnstiles at the front of the lair, listening as his brothers ready themselves for patrol. Destiny sits on the bench in the living room, trying to relax as she taps her knee and keeps her lips pursed. Her foot is propped up on a pillow.

Donatello moves to her side and hands her a hardcover novel, murmuring a few words. She smiles and nods in thanks, delving into the book as soon as the purple-masked turtle walks away. Near them, Michelangelo bounces around in excitement while making sure his belt is well-stocked with the needed smoke bombs, shuriken, and other items.

"Alright, so what's our main goal tonight?" Raphael asks as he wanders over to his leader.

"Murakami," Leonardo answers immediately. "We need a second opinion about..."

He looks over at Destiny. To the unobservant eye, she looks completely absorbed in the novel that Donatello gave her. Look further and one will notice that her black wolf ears are perked in their direction, listening in on every word. Leonardo looks back at Raphael, jerking his head in the newcomer's direction.

"Right, because she's on top of our priority list," the red-masked turtle says.

"We saved her. That was our decision. Now, the least we can do is offer our help," Leonardo whispers, his voice low and every word enunciated. "Besides...the Foot attacked her. We need to figure out why and protect her."

"She's just some mutant living on the street. Why would Shredder bother with her?"

The slightly older turtle furrows his eye-ridges. "I...I don't know."

Raphael sighs, jaw clenching. "Perfect. Have I mentioned how much I love loose ends?"

Leonardo decides to ignore his hotheaded brother and look to Donatello and Michelangelo. "Guys! The night isn't gonna last forever! Come on!" The two remaining turtles scramble over to the other half of their team. Leonardo rolls his shoulders and twists his neck as he loosens himself up. "We're gonna scout the area, but Murakami is our priority. We have a few...things to work out," he says, his voice collected and confident.

"Could we get some gyoza while we're there? Please?" Michelangelo begs, dragging out the "please" as he clasps his hands together in front of his plastron.

"Sure," Leonardo answers shortly. "Let's go."

Destiny's wild green eyes flicker from the page to the turtles as they exit the lair. Leonardo looks back at her, their eyes locking for a moment. She looks away and flips a page, her expression neutral. The leader in blue lets out a sigh as he turns and follows his brothers out into the tunnels.

----------

The turtles slow to a stop as they reach the edge of the building nearest to Murakami's. They scope out the area for late night stragglers, and seeing none, drop down to the street and move to the brightly lit eating establishment.

"Murakami-san?" Leonardo calls as he pushes the door open.

A little bell tinkles softly, announcing their arrival. Murakami looks up from the counter and smiles.

"Turtles-san! It is nice to hear you!" he says. "What brings you here? Hunger?"

"Questions that need answers," Leonardo responds.

"And hunger! Food is good!" Michelangelo cuts in.

Raphael moves to the bar and sits down on one of the stools, his elbows resting on the tabletop. "We've got a guest in the lair," he comments.

"A female guest, but we need to know if she's trustworthy," Donatello adds as he sits next to his red-clad brother.

Murakami chuckles. "Is it Destiny-chan that you speak of?"

Leonardo's mouth falls open. "How...how'd you know?"

Again, the blind man lets out a small laugh. "Oh, she told me that she ran into you four. She asked the same question about trust."

"So who is she?" Raphael demands. "We need answers if she's going to be staying in our home. Plus, she's really weird."

"Like, she's cool and all, but Sensei wants a second opinion," Michelangelo pipes up.

Murakami nods. "Yes, I will tell you what I know about her...after I get you some gyoza."

He turns around and starts cooking, hands flying as he puts the ingredients together fluidly and efficiently. The turtles wait, thinking about just what he might say about Destiny; her character, her past.

The man spins back to face them, laying out four steaming platters of pizza gyoza and chopsticks. Michelangelo digs in immediately, the other three eating at a much slower pace.

"So...what's Destiny like? Was she ever allied with someone?" Leonardo asks, waving his chopsticks with his hand movements.

Murakami settles down in front of them, a pleasant smile on his face as he folds his hands together. "Destiny is a very interesting girl. She's stubborn and independent, but once she cares about you she's going to protect you to the best of her ability. She has done so for me and has been rather sweet."

"Sounds like Raph," Michelangelo says through a mouthful of food. "Except he isn't exactly sweet."

Raphael cuffs him over the head, making the younger turtle squeak. Donatello sighs and shakes his head at their antics.

"She'd be...a nice addition to a team?" Leonardo presses further.

Again, Murakami bobs his head up and down in answer. "She's helped me a lot over the years, ever since we first met." His face grows wistful, wrought with nostalgia. "She was only nine years old, merely a child. There had been heavy rainfall for a few days, she had obviously been caught in the downpour. She was sick, cold, weak...and I found her as a wolf pup rummaging through my trash bins." His lips twitch into a smile. "Of course, I didn't know she was a mutant until she returned to human form and asked if I had anything to spare."

"Aw, poor Destiny," Michelangelo says, face turned in a sympathetic frown. "I would've taken her home and named her Darkness Puppy."

"Of course you would've," Raphael mutters.

"Wait, a wolf pup?" Donatello asks, his eyes widening. "You mean she can, correct me if I'm wrong, shape shift? Into an actual wolf?"

Murakami furrows his eyebrows, nodding. "Yes, she can. Did she not tell you?"

All four turtles exhale heavily and look between each other, every expression showing just how much that statement clarifies their confusion.

"A giant wolf...and she's in our lair," Raphael mumbles. "Unbelievable."

"What happened after you found her in the trash bins?" Michelangelo asks before cramming three gyoza in his mouth at once.

"I took her in, gave her some soup, and nursed her back to health. She left my care, but was always willing to come back and help me out with chores and such in exchange for food." Murakami leans back and lets out a long breath, cheeks sagging. "Still...she's very lonely. I've noticed it, but she insists that she's fine." If the turtles could see his eyes, they know he'd be narrowing them a little. "If she does stay with you, can you promise that she'll be happy?"

Leonardo glances at his brothers only to find them looking to him for answers. The blue-masked turtle remains silent, unsure of what to say.

"We can try," he finally murmurs.

Donatello dons a thought countenance as he tries to change the subject. "What about her past? Family? Friends? Anyone?"

Murakami shakes his head. "She's a lone wolf and she always has been, I'm afraid. I know that there must have been someone that helped her when she was younger, but she cannot remember who they were."

"Can't...remember?" Leonardo and Donatello whisper to themselves.

"Dudes, she sounds good to me!" Michelangelo exclaims as he gets to his feet and hops up onto the counter. "She's not evil, she's definitely not working with Shredder, and she's homeless and lonely. I vote she can stay."

"Again, we're not voting. It's her choice whether she stays or not after her foot is healed," Leonardo reiterates as he stands up. He shifts his belt as he looks to the blind man behind the counter. "Thanks for the food, Murakami. We'll keep in touch."

He nods. "Farewell, turtle-san. I wish you luck."

-----------

Back in the lair, Michelangelo immediately offers to tell Master Splinter about what Murakami said. Before anyone can argue, he bounces off to the dojo with his signature grin on his face.

Donatello excuses himself from his remaining two brothers and scoots off to his own room at a brisk pace, head held high and feet almost shuffling against the floor.

"So..." Raphael says, a grunt in his voice as he stretches his arms back. "Any thoughts on why the Foot would want Destiny?" he wonders, hardly glancing Leonardo's way.

"She can shift. That wolf half of her is powerful," Leonardo answers without a moment of hesitation, hand against his chin. "Shredder could use that to his advantage if he got her on his side, right?"

"Sure he could. So—"

"If she's on his side, he's going to use her against us," the blue-masked turtle interrupts, pivoting his body so he's directly in front of Raphael. His face holds the excitement of a child who's just figured out a hard level in their video game. "If we ally with her first, we get the upper hand. Think strategy, Raph," he nearly whispers, tapping his forehead with one finger.

"Donnie is the thinker in this team. I'm just the one who punches those who need it."

Leonardo rolls his eyes as his brother punches his own palm with his fist and smirks deviously. He pats Raphael's shoulder, nodding shortly as he lets out a long breath.

"Allies are important, we have to remember that," he utters.

"Well, glad we covered that, Fearless," Raphael says. "But now? I'm gonna get some shut eye," he says. He does a mock salute and heads off. "G'night."

"Goodnight," Leonardo responds with the tiniest hint of a smile on his face.

He lets a yawn escape his mouth as he looks towards the living room, blinking with drowsiness as he surveys his home briefly. Only then does he notice that there's a form on the couch.

He sneaks over to the pit, where he finds Destiny sleeping on the bench. Her novel is laying spreadeagled on her chest, some of the pages crinkled or folded slightly. She obviously dozed off while reading.

The blue-masked turtle hops down so that he's by her side, noticing her wolf ears twitching in her sleep or her tail lashing. Carefully, he reaches over and pulls the novel from her body. He fixes the pages and places a bookmark inside the folds of two dog-eared pages. He sets the book down and turns back to Destiny. Situating his arms around her shoulders and beneath her legs, he lifts her up, making sure to avoid the bandaged areas of her skin as best he can.

At first, she squirms a little at the unfamiliar feeling, her ears flattening and her lips puckering. Her claws unsheathe, but she doesn't scratch at him. He starts walking towards the guest bedroom. He doesn't want to know how she'll react to being carried, in fact he'd much rather get her to bed swiftly and silently.

He reaches the room and sets her down on the bed, draping the blanket over her while avoiding her bad ankle. She makes a tiny barking noise in her sleep and rolls over, cuddling the blanket against her body. Leonardo smiles and inches to the door, watching her for any signs of waking up.

Seeing her looking so peaceful, it's hard for him to believe that she's capable of becoming a giant wolf.

"Goodnight Destiny," he whispers, shutting the door softly.