punkish furball – Hello, all! X3
Words to Ponder:
I honestly didn't expect everyone to like this so much, so I decided to make it longer. I really like TMNT/InuYasha crossovers and hope to see more! XD
Thank you for reviewing: Sin of the Fallen, Lorelei evans, iamPaladin, Junior-Einstein, Tenshi Kagome1312, emeraldmoon14, , TheNotSoNiceLIbrarian, HalfBlackWolfDemon, Krazy Katieness, cherry-888, strawberryMIKO, Speedykitten1643, guest muaha, fallingyuki, krikanalo, leslie2132, BlackFire-Forx, Avainie, kakashixangela, Koizumi Rokai, Otaku Neko Ninja Miko Tenshi, unanimous, JoWashington, inuluvskags1, fascinatedjackrabbit, SilverStar118, RozenMaiden7, Blue-Eyed-Protector, just a reader 09, Insanitys kid, Silversun XD, and Hollydoor! o(≧∇≦)o
Chapter 2
"Separate patrols again?" Michelangelo protested, "That's so boring!"
Leonardo sighed and replied, exasperated, "What do you want us to do, Mikey? We have no leads, and it'll be easier to find signs of the Kraang if we split up to cover more of the city."
"But Leo!"
"Stop whining," he scolded causing the younger turtle to pout.
Undeterred, Michelangelo turned to Raphael and Donatello, vying for support.
"I can't be the only one. Raph, Donnie, back me up here," he pleaded, "You guys don't wanna go out alone, right?"
Raphael smirked and folded his arms over his chest. "I dunno, Mikey. I kinda like the solo thing. Sucks for you."
"I'm gonna side with Raph and Leo on this one," Donatello added, "It's the only move we can make right now."
"Seriously?" Mikey cried, disappointed, "Why?"
"Well, for one, we don't have to put up with any of this," Raphael answered as he rudely gestured to the spot where Michelangelo stood, "It's impossible to get any work done and babysit you all night."
"Aww, come on!" Mikey whined and slung an arm around Raphael's shoulders, poking his brother's cheek, "Instead of doing it solo, let's go in doubles. I can be your partner~!"
Raphael stiffened at Michelangelo's touch, feeling an uncharacteristic blush heat his cheeks. Just the other night, someone else touched that cheek and did so quite intimately.
Noticing his brother's distress, Donatello asked, "Raph, you okay?"
"Yes!" Raphael snapped, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Relax. I was just asking."
"Maybe someone's having second thoughts?" Mikey suggested with a sly grin as he continued to jab Raph's face.
Raphael snarled and grabbed Mikey's wrist, tightly squeezing it before tossing the younger turtle over his shoulder with little effort.
"I'll take that as a no," he groaned from his spot on the ground.
"Quit fooling around. We have work to do," Leonardo interjected, "Mikey, we're covering the same sections we had the night before, so we might not find anything and can bring it in early."
After a few more moments of pouting, Michelangelo relented, dramatically sighing. "Fine."
The four turtles ascended from the sewers and split up once they appeared on the surface. Raphael headed toward his assigned sector, hoping he wouldn't run into interference from a certain human girl. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't forget Kagome's gentle fingers on his shell or her warm lips on his cheek. His mutated form didn't disgust her at all. In fact, he could almost believe she was interested in him.
'What the fuck is wrong with me?' he admonished himself, halting his pursuit, 'I am not freaking out over some girl like Donnie! She is just another human.'
Raphael growled and continued moving at a much faster pace than before. Subarashii Tabemono was in his assigned sector, and he planned on avoiding the noodle shop as much as possible. It was all he could do to get that girl off his mind.
-O0o0O-
Kagome grumbled as she scrubbed the noodle shop's restroom floor on her hands and knees. For a blind man, Murakami was quite observant. By the time she returned from last night's outing, Murakami was upstairs waiting for her in her bedroom. He scolded her for going out so late without his permission and getting into trouble. Too guilty to argue, Kagome apologized profusely and accepted her punishment with as much grace as any teenager could.
When she finished cleaning the floor, Kagome stood to her feet, nearly exhausted and covered in grime. She blushed when a few patrons being served by her uncle at the bar giggled at her appearance.
"Oji-chan, I'm done," she announced.
"Is there anything else I need to do?"
Murakami hummed, considering the chores Kagome completed. It was a heavy load for one evening but nothing his niece couldn't handle. The cabinets were impeccably cleaned, free of all dust bunnies and cobwebs, and all of their contents were arranged accordingly. Every counter and tabletop was polished to a lovely, lemon scented shine. The grill was gleaming with all of the grease traps emptied and cleaned, and every speck of dirt was scoured from the tiles and floorboards.
"No, you're finished for tonight," he answered, grinning, "Next time, let me know before you leave the apartment at night, and come home as soon as you run into trouble."
Kagome nodded. "I will from now on. And, since I'm no longer punished, may I go for another jog tonight?" She hastily added. "Please, Oji-chan! I promise I'll be careful."
"It's fine with me," he answered, "I'm going to bed after closing, so be careful and don't stay out too late."
Kagome grinned and gratefully threw her arms around Murakami's neck. The thought of going out again excited her more than she thought it would, and the change in demeanor was not unnoticed. To Murakami, it was more than welcome. His niece needed something to get excited about.
"Can do! Arigato, Oji-chan!"
Kagome pulled away and ran upstairs to her room. She grabbed a pair of running shorts and a fitted T-shirt, and went into the bathroom to quickly wash off and change. When she emerged, she doubled back to her bedroom to grab a wristwatch and check the time before leaving.
'It's 10:23,' she noted, 'I'll come back around midnight.'
As a precaution, Kagome set an alarm on her watch to warn her when her time was almost out. She wasn't going to risk disobeying her uncle again.
"I'm leaving!" Kagome called into the restaurant as she stepped outside. Murakami nodded and waved from behind the bar before tending to the remaining customers.
Kagome began jogging in the same direction she chose the night before with a particular person in mind.
'Let's see,' she thought, 'If I were a turtle ninja, where would I be?'
Kagome doubted Kame-chan would be easy to find, but she was still hopeful. Perhaps the disgruntled reptile would be a little friendlier if she showed how serious she was about meeting him again. He did follow her home the night before, so that had to mean he was a little curious about her.
After jogging for several blocks, Kagome paused and leaned against an unoccupied stoop with a frown. 'I'll never find him like this. Kame-chan would be too exposed on the sidewalk. He'd have to travel undetected to avoid being seen.'
As she considered her options, Kagome absently looked toward the sky, finding brick and concrete obscuring her view. In an instant, she grinned and ducked into an empty alley, searching until she found a fire escape she could reach. She climbed on and continued until she reached the top, hoisting herself on the roof. Kame-chan wasn't there, but it was a more reasonable place for her to start looking. Traveling up here kept Kame-chan out of sight and gave him a great vantage point to observe the streets and alleys below, looking for whatever it was he searched for when he was out.
"Probably excuses to pick fights with lowlifes," Kagome joked.
Kagome casually walked to the other side of the rooftop and surveyed her surroundings, stopping when she stood at the edge. She warily looked at the gap between this building and the next. Kame-chan wasn't there either.
"I'll have to try looking somewhere else," Kagome thought aloud.
Before she proceeded, Kagome looked at her watch and confirmed she'd been out for about fifteen minutes. Checking roofs for Kame-chan would be a tedious, time consuming task if she continued like this.
"I doubt Kame-chan has to climb up and down each building to get to the next one," Kagome continued with a pout. She looked at the gap again, noting the distance between them wasn't as great as she first assumed.
With another idea in mind, Kagome walked to the middle of the rooftop and stopped, crouching low to the ground. She took a deep breath and determinedly looked at the next building.
"This is either very smart or very dumb."
Without warning, Kagome broke into a sprint and jumped when she reached the ledge. She stumbled as she landed on the next building but successfully cleared the jump. Panting heavily from the adrenaline rush, she grinned, feeling better than she had in ages. She'd be sore in the morning, but it was nothing stretching and more practice wouldn't fix.
"That was kinda fun!"
Kagome continued moving forward, carefully deciding which jumps she could make. The more she persisted, the easier it became to bridge the gaps and stick the landings. For those that were too far or too high for her to jump across safely, she climbed down and up using the fire escapes.
On her next rooftop, Kagome stopped to take a break, panting as she checked the time.
'It's been over an hour and no sign of him,' she thought with a sigh, 'I should turn in and try again tomorrow night.'
Kagome turned around, approached the next roof, and jumped as she did many times before. However, her leap fell short, and her feet missed the next landing. Panicking, she reached out as far as she could and latched her arms on the ledge before she could fall. She gasped when her nails scraped against the brick and the concrete dug into her skin.
"Dammit!" she uttered as she struggled to pull herself up, but her energy was almost sapped. The fall below was about three stories down. It wasn't a fatal drop, but she would end up seriously injured.
'If I get hurt, Oji-chan won't let me go out again,' Kagome thought, grunting when her grip loosened and her body slid against the wall.
'That might be the wrong thing to worry about right now.'
Before she fell, two green, three-fingered hands firmly grabbed her by the wrists and pulled her up. Kagome yelped when she was dropped on the roof and landed on her bottom.
"Are you crazy?" her savior yelled, "What the hell were you thinking?"
Kagome shrugged as she stood to her feet and faced him, sweeping dirt off her backside. She didn't expect Kame-chan to come to her rescue again, and, by the look on his face, neither did he.
"I thought I could make it," she answered. She winced when she brushed more debris from her front. Besides some minor scratches and scrapes, she was fine.
"Did you really have to drop me? I would think you didn't want me to get hurt since you pulled me up and all."
"Did you really have to be an idiot?" he countered, "If you think this is bad, I should have let you hit the pavement."
He paused and relaxed, crossing his arms over his chest with an exasperated look on his face.
"So what are you doing out here? Looking for me or something?"
"Actually, I was," Kagome answered, grinning when he didn't leave. Instead, Kame-chan scoffed and turned away from her.
"Don't tell me you're some wannabe hero."
"More like a wannabe friend," Kagome suggested.
"You serious?" he remarked in a skeptical tone.
"Of course I am!" she insisted. The obvious distrustful hint in his voice upset her.
"I take it you don't have many human friends, huh, Kame-chan?"
"Stop calling me that!" he growled.
"Why should I? You won't tell me your real name, so 'Kame-chan' will have to do for now."
Kame-chan's reply was cut short when the alarm on Kagome's watch rang. She shut it off with a groan and looked around. She couldn't tell which direction the noodle shop was in or how far she traveled. She'd have to drop down to the street to get back home.
"It's already 11:45!" she muttered under her breath, "I'll never make it back in time!"
Sighing at her distress, Kame-chan got her attention and slowly extended his arms to her.
"Hop on," he told her, sounding as awkward as he looked.
"What are you doing?" she asked, blinking at him curiously.
"I'll take you back to the noodle shop, Subarashii Tabemono," he offered through clenched teeth, "That's where you live, isn't it?"
"It is. You'll really take me home?" Kagome exclaimed, surprised but happy.
"Don't read into it," he added, "You'll never make it back if you move like you did before. Bringing you there myself will save me from getting you out of trouble again."
"Hey, I'm new at this!"
"Yeah. And you suck."
Kagome rolled her eyes and stepped closer to Kame-chan. He lifted her up with ease, lifting her in his arms with one supporting her back and the other hooked under her knees before he took off.
Being carried by a turtle was different than what Kagome was used to, but it wasn't entirely uncomfortable. The ride wasn't as bumpy as she expected considering their speed and the constant change in terrain. The ventral side of Kame-chan's shell against Kagome's side was smooth to the touch excluding the grooves between each plate and a lightning bolt-shaped chip on the upper left edge.
Curious, Kagome glanced up at Kame-chan's face. His neck was noticeably stiff as though he was using all of his self-control to not look down at her. She grinned and leaned against him, resting her cheek against his plastron. His step momentarily faltered, but he didn't say anything about it.
'He may act tough, but he's obviously embarrassed,' she deduced, 'I'm guessing he doesn't interact with humans often.'
By 11:58, the noodle shop came into view. The building was completely dark excluding a small, barely visible light at the entrance to the apartment upstairs.
"Hey," Kagome called out to Kame-chan, "Can you take me to the fire escape is outside my bedroom? I don't want to wake my uncle."
"Whatever you say, princess."
"Don't call me that! I told you my name is Kagome!"
Kame-chan smirked. "Well, princess, now you know how it feels."
Kame-chan landed on the fire escape and let Kagome down, nearly dropping her. She caught herself with a huff and opened her bedroom window. She kept it unlocked during the day with the curtains opened like she had in Japan despite her mother's and uncle's warnings. When she stepped inside her room, Kagome turned to thank Kame-chan, but he was already gone. She sighed and leaned against the windowsill. He was still hanging around, but she couldn't see him anymore.
'I should get ready for bed. I wanted to meet him again, and I did. That's enough for tonight.'
Before leaving the window, Kagome grabbed a stray piece of paper from her desk and scribbled a quick note. She taped it to the outside of the windowpane and locked it shut. With a quick nod, Kagome grabbed a change of clothes from her dresser and left her room to take a shower. Hopefully by the time she returned, the note would be gone.
-O0o0O-
'What's that girl doing now?' Raphael thought.
He originally planned on leaving as soon as he dropped Kagome off but decided to stay when she lingered around her window, obviously looking for him. Raph rolled his eyes but did nothing. She said herself she was Murakami's niece, so he wasn't as wary of her as he initially was.
'Still doesn't make her any less of a weirdo.'
Raphael watched her until she placed a piece of paper on her window and left her room. When he was sure she was gone, he jumped to the fire escaped and removed the note.
It read, 'Thanks for the lift home. Please meet me on the fire escape tomorrow night around 10 o' clock. Despite what you may think, I do want to be your friend.'
Raphael crumbled the note in his fist and leapt away, heading to the lair. Before finding Kagome, he didn't spot any suspicious activity during his patrol, not even the Purple Dragons, and decided to head in for the night.
When Raphael reached the sewer entrance, Leonardo was a few paces ahead of him. Leo paused when he noticed Raphael and waited for his brother to join him. When he did, they entered the lair together.
"Hey, Raph," he greeted, "I was just gonna call you. Find anything?"
"Nope. Nothing at all," Raphael answered curtly.
"Then what's that?" Leo asked looking pointedly at his brother's fist clenched around a piece of paper.
The turtle cringed and realized he still had Kagome's note. He abruptly tossed it aside to sink in the surrounding water.
"What's what?" he remarked.
Leo curiously quirked his lips but decided not to press the issue. It was odd, but his brother's often were.
"Anyway, the others and I didn't find anything either. Donnie and Mikey are headed back with some pizza."
"Great," Raphael muttered before walking to the living room and taking a seat on the couch, his stance more awkward and wooden than he intended. This time, Leonardo didn't ignore it and followed, taking a seat beside him.
"You okay, Raph?" he asked.
"Yeah," Raphael answered with a shrug, "These patrols have been pissing me off."
That statement wasn't entirely untrue. For two consecutive nights, he ran into that odd human girl. Kagome was irritating to deal with, but interacting with her didn't make him angry. It certainly wasn't anything Leonardo or his other brothers had to worry about. He doubted they'd let him live it down if they found out a girl got under his skin in such a short amount of time.
"You sure? If something's wrong, you can tell me, ya know."
"Everything's fine, Leo. That was just some trash I picked up on the way in. Nothing important."
"If you say so, but you do know dropping it back in the sewer was a bit counterproductive, right?"
"Shut up!"
Before Leonardo could tease Raphael further, Michelangelo and Donatello walked into the lair carrying several pizza boxes.
"What up, bros?" Mikey called out, "We got hot pizza!"
"Come on, Raph," Leonardo said before he stood to join the other two turtles. Raphael stood and walked after him, a small grin on his face.
"Sure."
-O0o0O-
punkish furball – Until next time, TCB! σ(￣∇￣;)
(revised 02.10.2020)