punkish furball – Hello, all! X3
Words to Ponder:
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So I'm not entirely sure where this idea come from, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I did while I was writing it.
Installment 10: Puberty
Kagome quietly hummed as she turned the pages of her manga. Since her move the States, she's been on the run far longer than she expected and greatly appreciated some uninterrupted downtime. She should have known better than to expect her life would be anything but abnormal after she returned to the modern era for good.
At least that means I'll never be bored, she decided with a giggle and turned to the next page.
Kagome jumped in her seat when she felt something abruptly nudge her in the back of her neck. Fearing the worst, she whipped her head around and regarded the intruder warily. All of her apprehension faded the second the perpetrator's bright baby blues met her own.
"Michelangelo?" she addressed the freckled turtle standing behind her.
"Oh, hey, Gome," he replied as folded his arms over the back of the sofa and rested his head on top of them, grinning.
"So whatcha doing?" he asked.
"Reading," Kagome answered, slow and unsure. She stiffened when he shifted closer to her and rubbed her shoulder with his nose.
"That's cool. Mind if I join you?" Michelangelo asked.
The hopeful look in his eyes almost made Kagome cringe. She rarely denied him any of his odd or childish whims, but, right now, she really wanted some time to herself. She'd make it up to him later.
"Mikey, all of my manga is in Japanese," she reminded him with an awkward smile, "You can't read it."
Kagome hoped her turtle friend would catch the overt hint and leave her be. Unfortunately, Mikey was never one to catch on to anything even when it was staring him right in the face.
"But I can still look at the pictures!" Mikey declared.
Before Kagome could blink, he disappeared and reappeared on the sofa beside her. Michelangelo stretched out and snaked his head underneath Kagome's arms as she held her book and rubbed his face against her stomach as he hugged her around the waist.
"Or maybe I'll just stay right here," he sang happily, "You're so warm and cuddly! I love you, Go-chan~!"
Kagome sighed. Against such adorable words, she had no defense. Though his persistence was unexpected, such affectionate behavior was nothing new for Mikey. He was always the touchy feely type, hugging her whenever he pleased, excitedly grabbing her hands, and even asking her to tie the knot in his mask. Right now, he wasn't doing anything particularly disruptive, so Kagome decided to ignore him. She was sure he'd fall asleep soon enough.
"You can do whatever you like, just keep quiet for me, okay?" she requested.
"Can do!"
Kagome flinched when Michelangelo nuzzled into her abdomen where her T-shirt exposed a thin strip of her midriff. Maybe his presence wouldn't be so easy to overlook after all.
Just ignore him, she told herself, Besides, one turtle I can handle.
Kagome held in her surprise when Leonardo appeared and dropped down next to her.
"Hey, Kagome," he greeted her cheerfully. He paused and looked down at his younger brother before he spoke again. He sounded considerably more solemn than before.
"Michelangelo."
"Leonardo."
"Hi, Leo," Kagome interjected to get both brothers' attention, "What can I do for you?"
"Nothing really. I just thought I'd join you," he answered and shifted closer to her. Kagome would have moved away if Mikey's weight on her thighs didn't keep her firmly in place.
"I'm not bothering you, am I?" he asked.
Kagome bit the inside of her cheek, not wanting anything rude to slip out. The Turtles were dear friends of hers who allowed her to stay in their secret lair while the Kraang was on her tail. She had no problems with the living arrangements before now, but her roommates were never so insistent on invading her personal space.
"Kagome?" Leo repeated as he put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close, "Are you alright?"
"No—I mean. Yes. I'm fine," she stuttered, her face flushed. Unlike Michelangelo, she wasn't used to having Leonardo so close to her and would admit to having a teeny, tiny crush on the turtle leader.
"That's good," he replied.
Kagome's breath hitched when Leo reached out and gently caressed her cheek.
"Umm," she uttered, "What are you doing?"
Leonardo was startled by the sound of her voice and jerked both of his hands away from her. It seems like he was completely unaware he initiated the contact in the first place.
"I'm sorry!" he cried, "I didn't mean it!"
Mikey laughed against Kagome's stomach, the soft tuffs of air tickling her tummy.
"Butt out, Lame-a-nardo," he said, "Go-chan likes me much more than you."
Leonardo snorted and put his arm back around Kagome's shoulders, pulling her as close as Michelangelo would allow. Kagome squeaked when her cheek connected with is cool, green shoulder. That teeny, tiny crush may have grown just a smidge, but Kagome was too distracted to notice.
"As if!" Leo replied, "She would never pick you over me!"
"Oh yeah! You wanna bet, you punk?"
"Okay, that is it! Let me up right now!" Kagome demanded, somehow regaining her composure as she struggled to free herself from the tangle of turtle limbs. Both brothers begrudgingly pulled their hands away and let her go.
Kagome quickly stood up and stood before them with her arms folded over her chest and her hip cocked to the left.
"Do either of you want to tell me what all that was about?"
Leonardo gulped and averted this gaze to start at the floor, a faint pink blush spreading across his nose. Clearly, he had no intentions of saying a word.
"Well, I don't know what he wants," Michelangelo began to explain, looking pointedly at Leonardo, "but I just wanted to be close to you."
He paused and added, "Like really, really close to you."
Kagome blinked and relaxed her posture. She wasn't expecting a response like that, but that didn't make it any less adorable.
She said, "Okay, Mikey. I like you too, but I'd like some time to myself right now. Is that too much to ask?"
"Of course not," Leo said, finally looking up, "I'm sorry I bothered you like that. I don't know what came over me."
Kagome's eyes softened, and she unfolded her arms. "It's okay. I promise we can all hang out later. For now, I'd like a little me time."
He nodded. "I got it."
"Me too," Mikey said before he plopped back down in the seat he vacated, looking at Kagome expectantly.
"See you later, Leo."
"Idiot! She can't be alone if she's with you!"
"Yes, she can!" Mikey insisted then lowered his voice to dull whisper.
"I can be really quiet."
Kagome rolled her eyes before she grabbed her comic from the couch and left the living room while the two brothers continued to argue. Whatever was going on, she decided she wanted nothing to do with it.
Since it's partly his fault I had to leave, maybe I can hide out in Leo's room, she thought, I guaranteed some measure of privacy in there while he's preoccupied.
"Hey, Kagome!"
Kagome looked up, relieved when she saw Donatello approaching her down the hallway. He was always the more levelheaded than his other siblings, and she enjoyed the lengthy conversations they frequently shared. If anyone had some insight on what Leonardo and Michelangelo were up to, it would be him.
With that in mind, Kagome stopped and replied, "Hi, Donnie."
"So what's up?" he asked after he stopped in front of her. He stood much closer to her than would be considered normal, and Kagome took a reflexive step back.
"Just looking for a place where I can do some light reading," she answered with a shrug, "But have you spoken to Leo or Mikey today? They've been acting really weird."
Donatello thoughtfully hummed. "Leave it those shell-brains. So what exactly did they do that set you off so bad?"
"It wasn't anything in particular. They've just been really clingy all morning," she tried to explain, "To be honest, it's starting to get a little creepy."
Donnie frowned. "I haven't, but I'll talk to them later if you want."
"Thanks for the offer, but all that's not necessary," she replied with a grin.
For a few terse seconds, Kagome waited for Donatello to reply or move. When he did neither, Kagome stepped to the side so she could walk pass him. Strangely, he mimicked her movement almost instantaneously. She blinked owlishly and moved in the other direction only for Donnie to mirror her again and again.
"Donnie?" she called out to him.
"Hmm?"
"I want to walk down the hallway."
"Oh! Sure. Go ahead."
Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath. When she opened her eyes, she said in slow and deliberate voice, "Donnie, in order for me to do that, you have to move out of my way."
"Oh! Sorry!" Donnie said and sheepishly backed against the corridor wall, "I don't know what came over me, but it won't happen again."
Kagome nodded as she walked away, keeping her eyes on Donatello. He was acting just as strangely as Leonardo and Michelangelo. There had to be something going around in the underground air today that targeted her reptilian friends. She considered asking Master Splinter or April, but they were away on a training exercise. Kagome wished she took them up on their offer and tagged along.
While she was occupied with her thoughts, Kagome didn't notice someone appear behind her until her back collided with Raphael's battle worn shell.
"Raph!" she cried, turning her head to look at him, "You scared me! I didn't even hear you."
He snorted a laugh and smirked. "I'm a ninja, remember?"
"Right," she dryly remarked and tried to move away. Before she could get far, Raphael put his hands on her hips and pulled her back to him.
"Raphael, what are you doing?"
"Nothing."
Kagome squeaked when one of Raphael's large hands moved until it was splayed over her stomach. Admittedly, the crush she had on Leonardo was only second to the one she had on Raphael.
"This really doesn't feel like nothing," she quipped, blushing madly with her eyes firmly focused on the floor.
"Let her go," Donatello demanded from his spot on the wall, forcing Kagome to look up. She never heard him sound so harsh before.
"What if I don't want to let her go?" Raphael arrogantly countered.
"Kagome doesn't like it, meathead," he iterated, "Let her go now."
"No, I don't think I will. Why don't you make me?"
"Guys—" Kagome began but Donnie already stepped away from the wall and withdrew his staff from his back.
"Maybe I will."
Raphael smirked. "I'll make you eat those words."
Just before he let Kagome go, he lowered his head and nipped her neck right about her pulse.
"This'll be over real quick."
Once she was freed, Kagome veered into Raphael's room and locked the door behind her, leaving the brothers to duke it out in the hall. She fell back onto bed and tiredly closed her eyes. Tentatively, she reached up and touched her neck. There was no doubt Raph left a mark there.
"What the hell is going on around here?" she wondered out loud.
Kagome froze when she heard the familiar sounds of Spike munching on his lettuce leaf. She rolled over and opened her eyes, spotting the reptile on Raphael's dresser. The reptile looked up and regarded her with the same thinly veiled indifference he always did before returning to his meal.
"At least one turtle I know around here is acting normally."
Kagome turned back around and made her self comfortable. She intended to get some well-deserved peace now that she was alone. Her only regret was that she dropped her manga during the entire fiasco in the hallway.
-O0o0O-
"Kagome! Kagome! Get out of there!" Raphael shouted, irritated that he had to bang on the door of his own bedroom.
"Kagome, open this door!"
"Not a chance!" she retorted, "You've all been acting completely crazy, and I'm not leaving until someone tells me why!"
"We're working on it," Leonardo yelled and looked at Donatello who was furiously tapping away at his laptop.
"Please tell me you found something that could help," he pleaded.
"I did," he answered with a wince, "but I not sure she's gonna like it."
"Whatever. Just go with it."
Donatello nodded and cleared his throat before he closed his computer and approached the door.
"Kagome," he began to say, "You know it's almost spring, right?"
"Yes," she answered although the mid-March slush and snow in New York was a far cry from the cool, temperate weather she was accustomed to at home during this season.
"Well, approximately between the months of March and June, fresh water turtles like us enter their breeding season," he said, stammering toward the end of his statement.
"What?"
Behind the door, Kagome gaped. If she were in the hallway, she would see that she wasn't the only one so surprised by the assessment.
"So what does that mean exactly?" Mikey asked, confused.
Leonardo sighed. Of course, Michelangelo wouldn't get it. "It means that we all want to be really, really close to Kagome right now."
"Oh!" he exclaimed, "What's so wrong with that?"
"Anyway," Donnie interjected, "when a male approaches a female—or, in this case—a girl he likes, he'll exhibit certain behaviors such as nosing her in various parts of her body or even nudging her in the face."
He gulped before he continued. "The male might also approach his…interest head on, and they will bob their heads or sway back and forth in tandem."
This can't be happening! This can't be happening! Kagome repeated in her mind. She looked when she heard Spike move over his perch. She had a sinking suspicion that the pet turtle was laughing at her.
"Mind your own business!" she hissed.
"He might also approach her from behind and mo—"
"I get it!" Kagome cut Donatello off before he could finish. After what she heard, it was easy to decipher the meaning of Raph's hug and little love bite.
"So the only reason you guys have been this to me is because I'm around and you're…" She paused and bit her lip.
"…ready?"
As crazy as it all was, that fact was more than disheartening. If Splinter decided to have a solo session today with her instead of April, the pretty and perky redhead would be in her place.
Hell, if their instincts cropped up while they were on patrol, I'm sure they would have reacted to Karai, she thought, puffing out her bangs, Not just settle for me.
"It's not like that at all!" Michelangelo insisted as he pressed himself as close to the door as he could, "It doesn't matter if it's springtime or breeding season or whatever they call it. I always want to be close to you!"
Kagome giggled and pulled herself from her slump. "Thank you, Mikey."
"Besides, we're not just turtles. We're teenagers too," Donatello said reassuringly, "Everything can't be explained by hormone changes and weather patterns. There's a lot more to it than that."
"Some instincts are just harder to ignore than others," Leonardo helpfully added.
"And it's not like just any girl could take your place, ya know," Raph commented.
Although Kagome couldn't see him, he turned away so no one else could see the bashful look on his face. As embarrassingly sentimental as his statement was, it had to be said. Thinking she was the easiest, most convenient option was exactly the type of ridiculous idea Kagome would get stuck in her pretty little head. It would be better for everyone if they set her straight early.
"Kagome? You hear us in there?"
"Yes," she answered, "I think I understand now."
Being a teenager was bad enough, but these guys got a double doze of hormones and urges and they were for the first time in fifteen years living with a girl indefinitely. She'd have to try her best not to interfere and make things more difficult than they had to be.
"So is it always going to be like this?" she asked.
…between us? she subconsciously added.
"For the next four months, I guarantee it will be different. We'll figure things out as we go," Donatello clarified.
"We?" Kagome repeated, incredulous.
The four turtles shared a look and nodded in an unspoken agreement. While males in the wild did fight over the right to mate their chosen female, it wasn't uncommon for two or more to court her at the same time. And, as Donnie said, they were more than common turtles. Certain details could be tweaked to their advantage.
After another shared look, they silently decided it would be best not to share that little tidbit with Kagome just yet. After all, she was wholly human. With whatever they planned to accomplish, time and persuasion would be absolutely essential for her to agree.
"Yes, we."
"Alright, but I'm still not coming out!"
"Oh come on!"
-O0o0O-
punkish furball – Haha! That would be the beginnings of a tantalizing turtle harem. I hope you have enjoyed this installment and look forward to more updates. Until next time, TCB! =( ^w^)=
(revised 5.15.2015)