punkish furball – What up, dudes? ^.^
Words to Ponder:
Thank you for reviewing: Aryenne, emeraldmoon14, Sin of the Fallen, SilverontheRose, RozenMaiden7, Spastic Freak, Silversun XD, TheNotSoNiceLibrarian, HalfBlackWolfDemon, Jayne, inuluvskags1, bluephoenixflame98, Speedykitten1643, ZzSheliahZz, redangel1243, LJoL, Unnamed Wanderer, RebornRose1992, ButterflyEffect0.4, ZeAwsumOtaku, and Foxluna! XD
So, after a comment from LJoL, I decided to change the name of the noodle shop from 24/7 as it is in the TMNT 2012 series to Subarashii Tabemono ("Awesome Eats") because the noodle shop, as I have described it, isn't actually opened 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Originally, I never gave the name of the restaurant a second thought, but, if someone writes such a long review on something like that, I decided to give it some additional consideration.
Also, I shamelessly plug my newest story, A Girl in Uniform, an InuYasha and Princess Princess crossover. Check it out if you have the time! X3
Chapter 7
Raphael cautiously headed to the lair's exit once he was sure everyone else was preoccupied. Earlier tonight, the Turtles had an unexpected run-in with the Foot Clan at the beginning of their nightly patrol. The encounter ended abruptly with several sustained injures on both sides and the Turtles ultimately retreated with no more information about the Foot's current activities than what they started with. In Raphael's opinion, the only good thing to come from that fight was their patrol ended early. Once his brothers settled in for the night, he had more than enough time to steal away and see Kagome. He was looking forward to it after only a handful of brief visits over the past few weeks.
"Where are you going?"
Raphael froze mid step when he heard Donatello call out to him. He was sure his brother was holed up in his lab for the night.
"Out," Raphael curtly answered without facing him.
"Out?" Donatello replied, sounding suspicious, "Out where?"
Agitated with his tone, Raphael turned around, his expression and stance combative. "None of your business."
Donatello recoiled, shocked by Raphael's strong, negative reaction, but quickly regained his composure. He rolled his eyes and decided not to press the issue further.
"Whatever, Meathead. Just don't do anything stupid," he finally stated and began walking back to his lab.
Raphael snorted and left the sewers without another word, skillfully hiding the relief he felt. For a second, he was sure Donatello would ask more questions or alert his brothers of his departure. In either scenario, Raphael would definitely lose his temper and reveal something he shouldn't.
'That was close,' he thought, 'I gotta be more careful.'
Once he was on the surface, Raphael began his trek to Murakami's, taking extra care to watch out for both the Foot Clan and his brothers. He didn't want either group to learn where he was headed, the latter much more than the former. His vigilance caused him to be delayed, frustrating him further.
Raphael landed on Kagome's fire escape around 11:20 PM. When he peered through the window, he saw Kagome seated at her desk, all of her attention focused on an opened textbook and notebook. She furiously scribbled on the lined pages making gray smudges on her pinker finger as she wrote with one hand as she flipped through the pages with the other. Absently, Raphael thought her look of concentration with her brow furrowed and her bottom lip clenched between her teeth was cute.
As was their routine, Raphael opened the window and stepped inside Kagome's bedroom, wearing a mildly annoyed expression.
"How many times do I have to tell you to lock this thing?" he asked, alerting Kagome of his entrance the same way he always did. She stopped writing long before he spoke, looking up at him with a smile.
"You already know that I leave it open for you," she responded and swiveled around in her chair to face him, "So how long can you stay this time?"
"I gotta start heading back around midnight," Raphael answered.
"Great! That gives us a little more time than before," Kagome replied, surprised by the response but no less pleased. She quickly decided she wanted to stay in tonight instead of going out for one of their training sessions to make the most of this opportunity. She hoped Raphael didn't mind.
Kagome quickly stood from her desk and walked to her bed, sitting close to her headboard, leaving a large space for Raphael.
"Come sit by me," Kagome offered, patting the spot on her right.
Raphael hesitated but approached the bed and took a seat on the farthest edge of the mattress making it dip with his added weight. Kagome giggled but said nothing about his shy behavior. The turtle was usually bold and confident when he was in his element—or if he was angry enough—and seeing him this way was very adorable.
"So…I'm here," Raph awkwardly stated, keeping his gaze pointed on the floor.
"I can see that," she replied, trying to quiet her laughter. Then Kagome paused and leaned closer to him focusing her attention on Raphael's arm. His eyes widened at her sudden movements and he leaned away from her while trying to maintain his balance on the bed.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Oh, stop being so edgy!" she told him and placed a gentle hand on his arm, "I just want to take a look."
"There's nothing to see!"
"So humor me then!" Kagome urged him. Her tone softened, and she quietly added, "Please?"
Raphael sighed before he relaxed and let his limbs go limp.
"Fine. Do whatever you want."
Kagome grinned and closed the gap between her and the large turtle, searching for any irregularities. Upon closer inspection, she noticed Raphael's arms and the front of his shell were heavily bruised. In addition to that, there were three horizontal slashes on his right upper arm. They reminded Kagome of claw marks.
"You're hurt," she uttered, concerned.
"Yeah," he answered with a shrug, "but it's not that bad."
Kagome shook her head and stood, going straight to her dresser's bottom drawer. After rummaging around, she stood up holding a first aid kit.
"What do you plan on doing with that?" Raph asked, suspicious.
"Let me have a look at your injuries," Kagome suggested, "I'm pretty good at patching people up."
Raphael was fully prepared to refuse, but the worried look on Kagome's face made him falter. With a sigh, he told her, "Go ahead if it'll make you feel better."
Pleased, Kagome retook her seat and opened her first aid kit beside her. With deft, caring hands, she cleaned and disinfected Raph's minor cuts and bruises before applying ointment to reduce the swelling. He minutely twitched when the treatment but slowly began to relax. Luckily, most of his injuries were superficial excluding the three on his forearm; they had to be wrapped. Once they were treated, Kagome reached for the bandages only to find the roll was completely used up. She didn't have a need to use her medical supplies after she permanently settled in this time period, so she didn't' bother to restock her kit. She pursed her lips together, trying to think of a quick substitute.
"You done yet!?"
"Not quite. Just give me a sec."
Quickly devising an idea, Kagome walked to her closet and riffled through her clothes. She stopped when she found her middle school uniform and removed the red necktie from the collar. She wouldn't be needing it anymore. After her first week at Roosevelt High, she ended up taking April's advice and stopped wearing it to school to keep the otakus at bay.
Kagome returned to the bed, sat at Raphael's side, and tied the scarf securely around his arm.
"There!" she announced with a grin as she pulled away, "All done. Make sure you change that regularly and clean your cuts, so they won't get infected."
"Sure," Raphael replied, running a hand over his makeshift bandage. He paused for a few seconds before he said, "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Kagome said, smiling, "but you still seem tense." Her grin widened as she got another idea.
"I can help you with that too."
"Let me guess. More first aid?" Raphael quipped, his tone sarcastic.
"Not exactly. I just want to try something to help you loosen up a little."
The right side of Raphael's masked as he raised a nonexistent eyebrow.
Kagome clapped her hands in front of her, pleading. "Just hear me out! You came all the way here just to see me even though you have much better things to do. I'd hate for you to be uncomfortable while you're here."
Raphael prepared to refuse the request but relented again. "Fine. Just don't do anything weird."
"Great! All I need you to do is lie down on your stomach," Kagome instructed.
"What did I just say?" he exclaimed, his eye twitching.
"It won't be weird!" she insisted, "Just do it. I'm sure a big, strong guy like you can handle a girl like me if I decided to try anything."
"Okay, I'll do it," Raphael said before he awkwardly stretched out on his stomach after Kagome stood up. She quietly giggled at his stiff appearance. She almost felt bad for him.
Kagome returned to her dresser to retrieve two fluffy hand towels. According to the article she read, a small brush with soft bristles was the best choice for her endeavor. A toothbrush would have worked perfectly on a normal turtle, but Raphael was simply too big.
Once she was standing next to the bed, Kagome wrapped the towels around her hands and firmly placed them on Raphael's shell. He jumped at the sudden contact.
"What the hell are you doing?" he shouted in alarm.
"Relax!" Kagome sang, lowering her head until her lips were by his ear, "I promise you're going to like it."
Raphael groaned and tried to calm down as he was told. Satisfied, Kagome stood up and began to rub her hands up and down his shell in little circles. Under her touch, Raphael finally closed his eyes and slowly began to ease up, enjoying her complete, undivided attention.
'This is kinda nice,' he thought, smiling to himself. He wasn't used to feeling such gentle almost intimate touches.
Kagome grinned as Raphael relaxed and continued, moving her hands as far as she could reach. She came to an abrupt stop when the towels slipped off her hands and slid down his shell onto the floor.
"Why are you stopping?" Raphael asked as soon as she did.
"It's only for a second," she answered. Grinning deviously behind his head, she asked, "Don't tell me you actually like this, do you?"
Flustered, Raphael bellowed, "I don't! It's just that I…I…I didn't get any dumplings this time, so this makes up for it."
Kagome giggled. "Whatever you say."
She quickly began again and placed her bare hands on his shell, tracing the patterns with her fingertips. This time she could feel every nick and impression it possessed without the hindrance of the cloth barrier. She relished the sensation of each distinctive groove and the radiant heat Raphael's shell emitted.
'Raph may not have visible ears, but this will do!' she thought, smiling softly to herself.
As Kagome continued, Raphael let his guard back down and melted under her touch once more.
'She's using something different now,' he absently thought, 'Whatever it is, it's much softer than before.'
"Don't fall asleep on me, okay?" Kagome playfully requested, her voice floating to his ears.
Raphael snorted and answered, "As if."
-O0o0O-
punkish furball – I hope you've enjoyed this latest installment. Until next time, TCB! 。^‿^。
(revised 04.11.2014)
