Disclaimer: I do not own the TMNT; only the girls and a few guys.

Curious

Four girls walked through the hallways of New York High School. The eldest wore a pink mini skirt and a black tee shirt that had 'Baby Doll' designed over the breasts. Her black hair went to her shoulder blades in a high ponytail held by a pink scrunchie. Her eyes were a bright lime green. She went by the name Mona. She was tough.

The second eldest wore a green shirt that said 'Protect the Forest' on the abdomen. She wore hip-hugging, boot cut jeans and tennis shoes. Her hair was blonde with natural black highlights and hung freely to her back and her eyes were a piercingly electric blue. She went by the name Raj. She was sensible and had a lot of pride.

The second youngest wore a bright yellow polo shirt and knee length shorts. Her hair was bouncy, curly, and blonde angled at her chin and her eyes were a dark purple. She went by the name Carolie. She was shy.

The youngest wore a black shirt, black jeans, and thick platform heels. Her brown hair hung down past her shins. Her eyes were a cola brown and her right eye had a scar over it. She went by the name Sukari. She was obedient and VERY submissive toward guys.

That was her biggest problem.

Mona had been talking and complaining about her social studies class but Sukari wasn't paying any attention.

"Am I right? Sukari? Yo, Sukari!" yelled Mona

"What?"

"Haven't you been listening?" asked Raj.

"No. I'm sorry. I spaced out again," Sukari sighed. There was a flat, melancholy tone in her voice and her friends all caught it.

"You were thinking about your family again… weren't you?" asked Carolie.

"Yeah."

"Sukari," Mona said, "you have to stop blaming yourself for something that happened eleven years ago. You were only five years old."

"I know," Sukari's eyes kept looking forward, "but it's not just that. It's where I am now. I hate my master and where I live. Just last night he-"

"Yo, Kari!" shouted Josh Mason, "C'mere!"

"Don't do it, Sukari." said Mona when she noticed Sukari's direction change. Sukari's eyes had gone wide and she stopped and faced her caller. Her friends began to panic when she began to walk towards Josh and his group.

"Hey babe," he smirked, "whatcha up to?"

"Going to class," she said in a flat tone.

"Well how 'bout you hang with me and ma friends insteada goin' to a borin' old classroom." He grabbed her textbook.

"Give that back! I need it!" Sukari yelled. She then scolded herself for yelling at him. People started to crowd around her and Josh, waiting for what was going to happen next. Mona, Raj, and Carolie were being held back by Josh's gang.

"Come and get it, sweetheart," he sneered. He held the book high over his head gesturing for her to reach for it.

"Just give her the damn book!" shouted Mona, wanting to defend her friend. Josh ignored her.

"C'mon babe. Ya want it, don't ya?" he said to Sukari.

Sukari took a step forward and jumped for her book. Josh moved quickly. He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her body up against his. He dropped the book and grabbed her outstretched wrist. She yelped in both pain and shock as he twisted around and pinned her against his locker. Her friends were struggling violently against the guys holding them back.

"Let go!" she shouted in fear as the hand on her waist began to slide down.

"Shut up and don't move, babe. It'll be easier," he said. Sukari was terrified now because he began to kiss her neck. Tears began to stream down her cheeks as she was unable to speak or move.

"Get the hell off of her!" Raj kept shouting. Carolie couldn't speak because the guy holding her back had his hand over her mouth.

"Joshua Mason," said a calm yet intimidating male voice, "if you don't wish to be in detention for the rest of the year or possibly Juvy with charges for sexual harassment, take your hands off that girl and hand her the book, please." He said the 'please' part through gritted teeth. Josh looked over to see none other than Hamato Leonardo, student body president.

"Ya betta listen to him," said a rough, Brooklyn accent about one foot away from Sukari. Josh looked to his other side and saw Leonardo's brother, Hamato Raphael, holding what seemed to be a pocket knife by his hip. Sukari thanked her lucky stars because nobody messed with this guy and his brothers.

Josh immediately let go of the terrified girl and she bent down to pick up her book but was stopped by Leonardo's hand on her shoulder.

"I believe I told Josh to pick up your book," he said in a soothing tone. He glared at Josh and Josh bent down and hastily grabbed her book and thrust it at her with a look of disgust in his eyes. "Raph, can you take her to her class please?"

"Yeah, Leo," said Raphael. He put his hand out to help the girl up from her knees.

"Th-thank you," she stammered. She grabbed his hand and got up, textbook in hand. Leonardo flashed an evil eye at Josh's telling them to let go of Sukari's friends. They obeyed instantly.

"You girls can go to class," he said to them. Mona and Carolie walked away but Raj stayed behind for a moment.

"Thank you, Leonardo," she said in her Spaniard accent kindly. Leo nodded his head at her and she walked away after her friends.

"Leonardo," Sukari finally got the will to speak, "forgive me for burdening you with this situation. I should not have listened to him." She bowed her head in shame.

"What did you say your name was?" he asked.

"Oruku Sukari."

"Okay. Look, Sukari; this isn't your fault. You were merely the victim. Raph, take her to her class and tell her teacher why she was late. I'll take care of everything here."

"You got it, bro," Raph said, putting his pocket knife away.

Sukari looked at her savior, taking in all of his details before she had to walk away. He was incredibly handsome. His light brown hair hung over his eyes nice and wavy. He was about five-foot-nine and rather muscular. His voice fit his appearance very well.

She then looked over at her escort, seeing no resemblance between the two. This boy's hair was pitch black and layered to spike. His eyes were nearly hidden behind his hair but from what she could see, they were a light honey color. He had to be at least six feet and he was very muscular. He didn't look like the kind of guy to mess with.

"Thank you, Leonardo," she said after ripping her eyes away from Raphael.

"Anytime, Sukari," he answered with a smile, 'She is so pretty,' he thought to himself as she walked away with his brother.

Sukari couldn't stop looking at Raphael. His features were so intriguing.

"It ain't polite ta stare," Raph said.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "Your eyes are just so… pretty," she added, feeling foolish.

"That was kinda stupid, whatcha did," he said.

"Yeah," Sukari agreed.

"Why'd ya do it?" Raph tried to start a conversation.

"He's a guy."

"So?" Raph stopped walking.

"So, my master told me to obey anything a man tells me to do. I have two scars on my back I got due to disobedience."

"Oh," Raph was bewildered, "How'd ya get the scars?"

"I'd rather not tell you that."

"Why not?"

"It's my personnel business, that's why!" Sukari began to get irritated.

Raph put his hands up in defense. "I'm just curious," he said with a smile. "You're gettin' all defensive all of a sudden."

"Well there is no reason for you to pry in my personnel life, Raphael."

"C'mon, tell me."

Sukari looked at him with wide eyes. 'Was that an order or an offer?' she thought.

She decided to tell him.

"When I was six years old, my master needed some new technology so he called a man named Oruku Saki. Saki had the tech that my master needed. My master was on the phone with Saki when I walked into the room. My master got this weird smile on his face and offered to trade me for the technology. Saki agreed."

"Wait, wait," Raph interrupted, "why do you keep sayin' 'my master'? Doesn't he got a name?"

"Of course he has a name. His name is Jonathan Bishop."

Raph's eyes went wide with shock. This girl was under the care of the only person he hated more than Oruku Saki. His family, Bishop, and himself had a very grim history.

"What?" Sukari asked, "Why are you staring at me?"

"Oh sorry, continue."

"Well, as you probably know, Oruku Saki is the leader of an awful group of ninjas. He wanted me to join, but I refused and tried to run away. He caught me by the shoulder and sliced my back with these two blades he had on a gauntlet," she finished with a sigh.

"Why don't you leave that place?" asked Raph. "You could just go somewhere else."

"Where would I go? I don't have anyone else but my master. Besides, he would just hunt me down and find me again."

"Okay, okay. Sorry I asked." He could sense Sukari getting worked up. "We should get to class."

"We?"

"Yeah, that's why Leo told me ta bring ya. We got the same class this period."

"Oh, yeah; in Music, you play the electric guitar!"

"Yeah, I-"

"You're really good at that one song… um…," she squeezed her eyes shut trying to think of the song title; "I Stand Alone by Godsmack!" She smiled at the memory of him with the guitar and how he was really getting into the song.

Raph chuckled. "Thanks. I taught maself ta play a few years ago."

They walked to class together. Sukari had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Not the painful, nervous feeling, but the good, tingling sensation that you get when you know that something good is going to happen. Sukari didn't know what this feeling was, but she knew that she didn't want it to go away.

Sing to Me

"Sukari!"

"Yes, Mr. Jackson?"

Sukari and Raphael were in Music Class. Shady Taylor had just gotten done with her act.

"I believe it is your turn. Go on up to the stage and sing your song," her teacher said kindly.

Sukari was nervous. She had been preparing all week for her song, but she was still scared. She looked over at Raph. He gave her a smile topped with a thumb up. She suddenly didn't feel nervous anymore. She went up to the stage and positioned herself like she had practiced. The piano music began and Sukari took a breath.

The sound that came out of her mouth stunned everyone in the room. Usually, her regular voice was low and husky. Now, her voice was powerful and smooth.

Raphael was listening intently, not wanting a single note. He recognized the song as Defying Gravity from the play, Wicked. She hit every note perfectly and didn't even mess up once. He smiled and closed his eyes, focusing on her voice. 'Why do I feel like doin' this when I hear her voice?' he thought to himself, 'There's this rhythm to the way she speaks.'

"So now I'll try defying gravity.

Kiss me goodbye, I'm defying gravity.

I'm gonna try defying gravity,

And you won't bring me down…"

Raph was strangely intrigued when she sang 'kiss me goodbye'. 'What da hell am I thinkin'?' He noticed something strange about the look in her eyes. It was as if she truly meant what she was thinking. It was like she was really planning to defy gravity. Her face was scattered with desperation and a longing to be heard. 'Don't worry, Sukari. I can hear ya and I'll be there for ya when ya need me.'

Sukari ended her song with her head bowed. She looked up and for a split second, her eyes met with Raphael's. Raph thought he saw a tear streak going down her cheek as she smiled.

Sukari walked off the stage and sat next to Raphael. He was surprised again. No one usually sat next to him. He was a loner because most of the people at school were afraid of him.

"What did you think?" Sukari asked as she sat down.

"You were great," Raph assured her, "I like dat song."

"I heard it once on the radio and somehow remembered every word."

"Cool."

"You okay? You sound rather distant."

'Rather distant?' he thought. "I'm fine. Your voice was jus' kinda… intriguin'," he said.

"Oh," Sukari didn't know what to say, except, "Thank you."

Despite the following performance, Sukari and Raphael both felt like they were sitting in pure, awkward silence.

Protect Me

The end of the day came quickly. Raph and Sukari said goodbye and shook hands.

"Se ya tomorrow, Sukari," said Raph with a smile.

"Goodbye, Raphael," Sukari returned his smile.

As Raph walked away, Sukari watched him with a feeling that felt something like longing. As he reached the end of the hallway, however, Josh Mason came parading down the hall with his gang, looking for Sukari. Just by looking at his face, you could tell he was pissed. If looks could kill, Sukari would be long dead from the look he was giving her.

"Hey!" he yelled at her, "'Cause of you, I got detention for a month!" He shoved Sukari against a locker and then threw her to the floor. Her papers scattered all over the area of the hallway. A sickening crack was heard when she hit her head on the cement floor. Josh grabbed the collar of her shirt and lifted her to his eye level. He was just about to throw her down again when they both heard a voice that was pure music to Sukari's ears.

"Let. Her. Go." Sukari looked over to see Raphael; eyes burning with hatred and fury.

"Raphael!" Sukari was never so relieved to hear a male voice before. Her bliss was short lived when she heard Josh chuckle evilly.

"Sure," he said to Raph. He threw Sukari down, but Raph caught her before she hit the ground. He placed her behind himself when she was standing upright.

"I saw him coming down the hallway," he said to her, "I knew he was coming for you."

"Yo, man, who da hell are you ta interrupt ma business with dis chick?" Josh intervened. He shot a very dirty look to Sukari and she looked away from him.

"Walk away," Raph was getting even more pissed.

"Tomorrow den, babe," Josh smirked at Sukari. He then walked away with his friends.

"I can't believe that son of a-," Raph started but felt something wrap around his torso. He looked down and saw Sukari with her arms around his rib cage and her face buried in his chest. He noticed she was crying from the short breaths and the sudden moistness on his chest. "Hey… it's okay now. You're safe," he assured her. She continued to cry. "Hey," he whispered as he took her shoulders and pushed them back gently so she'd look at him. She looked into his eyes and more tears fell from hers. "C'mon. I'll walk ya home." He wiped a tear from her eye with his thumb and she nodded.

Without warning, her knees gave in and her eyes shut. Raph cried out in shock when he caught her from falling. She was completely unconscious. Raph stood her up as best as he could and noticed a large bump on her head where she had hit it on the floor.

"Dammit!" he muttered. He picked her back-pack up and slung it over his shoulder. He then lifted her bridal style. He suddenly noticed a crowd around where he was standing and that they were blocking his way to the end of the hallway. He got even more irritated. "Don't you all have lives!" he shouted. They all scattered away.

Raph started towards the door and when he was outside he stopped. He had no idea where she lived at all. He could either wait until she woke up so she could point him in the right direction, or he could take her to his place and have his brother look her over. He chose the second option. His brothers may chew him out for it, but he didn't care. He just wanted Sukari safe.

…

Raph got to his home in about twenty minutes with Sukari still knocked out in his arms. If it wasn't for the fact that he could feel her short breaths, Raph would have thought her to be dead. He quickly shook that thought away. He kicked the front door to his home repeatedly, hoping someone would open it. A large turtle wearing an orange mask and a belt with nun chucks did. Raph met his little brother, Michelangelo's, gaze and knew what was coming next. Mikey took one look at the girl in his older brother's arms.

"Really, Raph?"