punkish furball – Hello, all! (≧∇≦)
Words to Ponder:
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So funny story. This is actually the second version of the fourth chapter. I decided the first version I wrote would be better further along in the story, so now it's chapter five. So I essentially wrote two chapters instead of one without intending to. Wish that would happen with other stories. :P
Also, pardon the shameless plug, but I recently updated my Yu-Gi-Oh!/InuYasha crossover, Fragmented Fate. Check it out if you have the time! XD
Chapter 4
April approached her locker and sluggishly turned the dial of her combination lock. She was more tired than usual after spending the night in the sewers with the Turtles and Master Splinter. Even her sensei scolded her for being out so late on a school night. Considering she was awake until 2:00 AM finishing her homework after she returned to her aunt's, she was beginning to think she should put a little more focus on her studies even if it wouldn't bring her any closer to finding her father.
"April O'Neil!"
April turned around sharply as soon as her principal, a stout, unassuming man by the name of Mr. Reginald Thompson, addressed her, abruptly slamming her locker shut.
"Yes, sir?" she answered.
"As you are currently in good academic standing, I'd like for you to escort a transfer student in your homeroom class around the school," he told her, leaving no room for argument.
Before April could answer, Kagome peeked from behind the large man's back and winked. She grinned in return.
"Yes, sir. I'll do it," she replied with a nod.
"Very well. This is Kagome Higra—Higay—" Thompson struggled to say the Asian surname.
"It's Hee-ger-osh-e, sensei," Kagome politely stated her name for him.
"Right," Thompson uttered before he cleared his throat and continued, "You are both excused from your first period classes, and, if you have any questions, come to the front office."
When Principal Thompson left the two girls, the first bell rang and the other students occupying the hallways reported to their classrooms, whether they rushed or delayed.
"Nice to see you again, April," Kagome greeted her once they were alone.
"Same here," April replied, "Sorry I've been so scarce. I had a pretty busy weekend."
"It's alright," Kagome assured her. Under her breath, she uttered, "You are not the only one I haven't been seeing lately."
"Pardon?" April questioned, curious.
Realizing her slipup, Kagome sheepishly chuckled. "Oh nothing. I was just referring to another absent acquaintance I met since I moved. We've seen each other a few times, but I think he's avoiding me now."
April shrugged and said reassuringly, "I'm sure he'll come around sooner or later. Until then, let's get going before second period."
"Okay, she replied with a nod, "I already picked up my books from the library so we can get right to it!"
The two girls began their tour by walking down the hallway to Kagome's assigned locker. Kagome immediately opened it and placed her books inside, grateful to remove them from her faded yellow backpack.
"Before we go further, I have to ask," April began as soon as Kagome finished, "Are you wearing one of your old school uniforms?"
"Yeah," Kagome answered, "I wasn't sure what to wear this morning and ended up finding this when I finished unpacking. It's from middle school, but it's still in good condition."
Kagome self-consciously looked down at her short sleeved, white top and Kelly green skirt she wore. This uniform went through much more than any other had, but it was always reliable and familiar for that reason. That sense of dependability was something she needed.
"Do I really look that strange?" she asked.
"It's nothing like that! I'm not trying to insult you or anything," April hastily insisted, "You just might want to steer clear of the anime and manga fan club around campus if you keep wearing that. They're known to be very aggressive." She wouldn't have even known the club existed if they weren't so persistent in their efforts to recruit new members.
Kagome mentally shuddered; she didn't consider that. The last thing she wanted was to become the basis for a band of otakus' schoolgirl themed fantasies.
"Thanks for the tip. I'll consider getting more…conventional clothes for school after today."
After the awkward exchange, April showed Kagome around campus as the two girls went over her class schedule, pointing out the locations all of her classes, the cafeteria, the gym, and other essential school sites. Once they finished the tour, there was still plenty of time left in their first hour, so they ended up in the library, taking a seat at one of the tables in the back so they could talk freely.
"So what do you think so far?" April asked.
"The layout is very confusing, but I suppose I'll have to get used to it," Kagome answered with a sigh, "And I'm not so sure about classes either." She really hoped she didn't sound like she was whining.
"I'm sure you'll do fine," she responded, hopeful, "We're on the same lunch shift, so I'll meet you outside your fourth period class, and we can walk together. As for your classes, it looks like we have second period algebra, third period English, and sixth period biology together. I'll help you out with anything you need. All you have to do is ask."
Kagome nodded and smiled gratefully. "Sounds good. Thanks again, April."
When she received no reply, Kagome frowned.
"April?" she repeated.
April, who sat across from her with her head resting in her hand wearing a dazed expression, suddenly jumped in her seat and regained her attention.
"Sorry about that," she sheepishly amended, "Anyway, I'm glad to help. I didn't mean to space out on you."
Kagome giggled, wondering what caused her new friend's lapse in concentration. What she sensed from April before was bubbling with activity just beneath her skin, her energy abuzz with small ripples and tremors.
Kagome shook her head from those observations. She couldn't space out either.
"No problem."
-O0o0O-
April entered the Turtles' lair later than usual. After school ended, she walked with Kagome to the noodle shop and helped her complete the necessary paperwork for school and start her homework assignments. Kagome transferred nearly a month into the fall semester, so there was quite a bit of work for her to catch up on. April giggled as she recalled how Kagome repeatedly apologized for occupying her time and promised her an order of dumplings every day for lunch in return for her help. After much thought, she turned down the tempting offer, saying that she was glad to assist her.
"Hey, guys," she announced as she entered the main living area. All of the Turtles were sprawled out on the couches upon her arrival, excluding Donatello who quickly stood to greet her.
"Hey, April," he said wearing a big smile, "Great to see you."
"Same here, Donnie," she replied as she walked past him and took a seat between Michelangelo and Leonardo. She remained unaware of the blissfully, happy expression on Donatello's face and pulled her laptop from her backpack.
"I have something to show you guys," she said excitedly, "Someone posted some interesting pics to my blog taken near some research labs downtown. It's a long shot, but I think they could give us some clues of the Kraang's whereabouts and what they're up to."
"Alright," Leonardo exclaimed, looking on as April scrolled through the images. Luckily, most of the photos possessed time and location stamps making it easy to determine the site of each incident.
"We'll check 'em out tonight."
"Tonight?" Raphael repeated, finally looking toward the group. He was seated on the other side of the couch, appearing uninterested until now.
Leo shrugged. "We might as well strike while the iron's hot. Besides, it's not like you have anywhere else to be."
Raphael rolled his eyes and turned away. "Whatever, Lame-a-nardo."
He knew his expression, a barely noticeable frown, would give him away if his behavior didn't already. For the past few days, he entered into a new routine. Raphael's thoughts would often drift to the strange girl patiently waiting for him to appear beyond her bedroom. Then, unbidden, those thoughts shifted to her clad in only a thigh length towel as she timidly looked up to him with a reddened face and hooded eyes, a demure by exceedingly comely expression. He blamed it on hormones.
Then, with his face a comical mixture of red and green, Raphael pushed those thoughts aside and threw himself into his comic books or training exercises, anything to get Kagome off his mind. When he finally calmed himself down, it was too late for him to leave the lair unnoticed if he considered going to see her. He honestly didn't know what was more embarrassing: being kissed by Kagome, seeing her so unclothed, or the possibility of his brothers finding out about her. He blamed it on hormones.
At the very least, he would have a legitimate reason for being absent for tonight due to the impeding patrol.
'Still,' he thought, 'I can't keep putting off seeing her.'
As embarrassing as it would be to see Kagome again, Raphael refused to continue cowering from an ordinary girl. Even if no one else knew about her, his avoiding her was still a major blow to his pride. In addition to that, there was no guarantee Kagome continue to would wait for him to show up, and there was nothing stopping her from going out to look for him as she did before.
Raphael snorted. For all he knew, she already did just that and was cooped up in a hospital ward because of it.
"Thanks for the info, April," Leonardo said, breaking Raphael from his contemplations, "We'll keep you posted if we find anything."
"That's it? What am I supposed to do?" April pointedly asked, slowly closing her laptop with an audible click and putting it away.
"Well, I'm sure Master Splinter has a training regimen all worked out for you," he hurriedly answered.
Before April could reply, her cellphone rang. She rolled her eyes only for them to subsequently widen when she looked at the screen.
"Oh! I have to take this," she said and answered, amiably speaking to the person on the other end of the line as soon as she did. Donnie eagerly watched, trying to appear discreet.
"Jealous?" Michelangelo quipped from his side of the couch.
"Not even!" he protested despite the blush on his face.
When April hung up and put her phone away, Donnie was quick to ask her.
"So who were you talking to? Your aunt or something?"
"No," she answered, "A new friend of mine I met a few days ago. I've actually been meaning to tell you guys about her."
With confirmation April was speaking to a girl, Donnie visibly relaxed.
Ignoring his change in demeanor, April continued, "Her name's Kagome, and she's a transfer student from Japan. She also happens to be Murakami-san's niece."
Soon after she finished speaking, Raphael abruptly jerked out of his seat and landed on the floor.
"You okay, Raph?" Leo asked.
"Yeah, fine," he answered, his tone stiff as he stood up. His outburst, though unexpected, was disregarded.
"I didn't know Murakami-san had a niece," Donnie casually commented, "What kind of girl is she?" The blind restaurant owner was always cordial to them, so he expected his relative to possess the same friendly nature.
April shrugged and answered, seemingly hesitant, "She's a little different"—Raphael snorted; that was an understatement—"but I like her. She's really nice."
"Sounds awesome!" Michelangelo shouted, jumping out of his seat and raising his fist into the air, "Time for a new human friend!"
"How do you figure?" Leonardo questioned.
"Duh! She's related to Murakami, so that means she's blind too!" he retorted as though it were the most obvious conclusion in the world.
"You idiot!" Donatello scolded, "Blindness does not work that way."
"Whether she is or she isn't," Leonardo interjected before the confrontation could progress, "we probably shouldn't be so quick to introduce ourselves to her."
For the first time, Raph agreed with his decision wholeheartedly.
"Aww! Why not?" Mikey asked, purposefully whining.
"You remember what happened to Murakami, don't you? He ended up being held hostage by the Foot. We can't put her in danger too," Leo reasoned.
Michelangelo loudly groaned and plopped down on the couch, making an obvious indentation.
"Fine!" he acquiesced, still pouting.
After hearing Leonardo's explanation, Raphael felt a sudden pang shoot through the depths of this stomach. The Purple Dragons clearly saw him come to Kagome's defense and were known to associate with the Foot Clan. If the Foot decided to press the street gang for information, his relationship with her—mind you, he wasn't entirely sure exactly what it was just yet—could be revealed, and she would become a target.
'Then again,' he thought, 'I knocked them out pretty good during the fight, so they didn't' see what happened after that. And they're too dim to think it was more than a chance encounter. Kagome's still a secret for now.'
Though his musings eased his worries, Raphael knew he had to see Kagome as soon as possible before she did something stupid.
"Well, that's all I wanted to say," April stated and stood, slinging her backpack over her shoulder, "I better go see Master Splinter."
It was obvious as she headed to the training area that she was miffed about being left behind even with Donnie wishing her good luck behind her. When she reached her destination, Master Splinter was sitting with his legs crossed and eyes closed in a state of meditation.
"April," he addressed her without opening his eyes, "you are early."
"Hai, sensei," she replied and set her bag by the doorway before approaching her teacher, "There's actually something I wanted to ask you before we started training tonight."
Kagome's phone call and the subsequent conversation about her brought the matter to the forefront of April's mind. She genuinely liked the girl; her friendly and honest nature was charming, but there was something about her that seemed…off.
The large rat opened his eyes and stood, motioning for April to continue.
"Well, you said that I have high spiritual awareness, right? Does that mean I can see certain things about certain people?" she questioned, nervously ringing her hands together. She wasn't sure how to bring up this subject and, so far, she didn't think her objective was completely clear.
"Things that you normally couldn't see, I mean," she added
Splinter nodded. "It appears so. What exactly did you see?"
"A girl who transferred to my class. Her name is Kagome, and she's a new friend of mine."
Splinter thoughtfully hummed. The name "Kagome" brought to mind the old children's song with the same title from his homeland. And that brought to mind more unpleasant thoughts. Throughout his quiet reflections, April continued to speak.
"It's not that I suspect there's anything bad about her. She's totally friendly! It's just that…" April trailed off and pursed her lips, carefully considering the right words to say.
"Sometimes, if I look at her the right way, Kagome looks…kind of…"
"Yes?" Splinter pressed.
"…pink?"
-O0o0O-
punkish furball – Ha-ha! When you think Kagome, think pink! X3 Until next time, TCB! ^.^
(revised 03.12.2014)