punkish furball – What up, dudes? ^.^

Words to Ponder:

Thank you for reviewing: RozenMaiden7, Purplediamon, emeraldmoon14, Lorelei evans, Gelasia Kidd, Sin of the Fallen, Spastic Freak, Silversun XD, RebornRose1992, Mikadzuki no Kitsune, HalfBlackWolfDemon, sverhei, Jayne, inuluvskags, Speedykitten1643, ZzSheilahzZ, AnimeAngel240, Foxluna, TicTac, ShiTsukisan, and Aryenne! XD

And, just so you know, I already planned how Kagome is going to meet the other Turtles, and it'll be a doozy! ^.^

Also working on updates for my Black Butler/InuYasha crossover, Serendipity, and my Ouran High School Host Club/InuYasha crossover, Starcrossed Siblings. Keep an eye for those updates and others!

Chapter 6

Raphael groaned when Leonardo pulled the Shellraiser into the lair, concluding tonight's scheduled patrol, the third consecutive one this week. So far, their leads only produced a handful of easily disposable Kraang droids with no observable interference from the Foot Clan. Nothing that led to any substantial information.

As soon as he stepped outside the surveillance van, a quick glance at the time confirmed it was well after midnight, far too late to pay Kagome a visit even if it was only for a few minutes. He hated to admit it, but he missed hearing her soft voice even if she talked too much and seeing that smile she always wore for no reason especially whenever she looked at him. He wondered what she was up to and if she remembered to lock her window.

Raphael grunted when there was a sudden, playful blow to the back of his shell.

"Geez, Raph, what's wrong with you?" Michelangelo asked, "You look like someone kicked your cat."

Ahead of the, Donatello snorted. "If anything, he's the one who kicked it."

"Seriously though, Mikey's got a point," Leonardo interjected as he slung his arm over Raphael's shoulders, teasing, "You've been leaving the lair and spacing out a lot lately. Just where have you been up to?"

"None of your business," Raphael retorted, easily pulling away from Leo and began hastily stomping away.

"Maybe he's got a girlfriend?" Michelangelo suggested causing Raphael to stiffen midstride. It took all of his willpower to refrain from shouting that Kagome was absolutely not his girlfriend.

However, before he could say anything, Leonardo, Donatello, and Michelangelo all burst into hysterics.

"What's so funny?" he asked, turning to them and narrowing his gaze.

"Come on, Raph? You and a girl liking each other? And hanging out? " Leo said in between chuckles, "You gotta to admit that's pretty funny!"

"Any girl with a pulse and half a brain would scream and run as far as she could as soon as she saw you," Donnie said matter-of-factly, a huge grin on his face.

Raphael growled. Kagome happened to like him more than enough, but he wasn't about to let them know that.

"As if you three are any better," he countered, pointing a finger at Leonardo, "You got conned by a kunoichi from the Foot." He shifted to Donatello. "And the only girl you know doesn't even know you exist."

Instantaneously, all laughter from the two turtles ceased, and both looked at Raphael's smug grin with varied looks of anger and melancholy.

"Ha-ha! Good one, Raph," Mikey cried, thoroughly entertained, "Now do me!"

Raphael smirked and folded his arms over his shell. "I can't; every girl in the entire world doesn't know you exist."

"Funny!" Mikey commented, laughing until he realized he was just insulted.

"…hey! Not cool, Raph!"

"We were just joking. No need to get so bent out of shape," Leonardo stated, grimacing. He was already aware he made a mistake getting involved with Karai and didn't need to be reminded about that. He put it behind him and concentrated on being more diligent in the future.

"So was I," Raphael quipped, satisfied that he kept his meetings with Kagome a secret and one upped his brothers yet again.

Donnie looked at Raphael wearing a pout, saddened.

"So did you really mean it? Do you really think April doesn't know I exist?"

"Of course he didn't! Right, Raph?" Leonardo said and pointedly looked at Raphael, silently ordering him to make this right.

Raph groaned and dutifully answered, "I was just messing with you. April knows you exist."

"Raphael's right," Leo added with a smile. He hesitantly added, "Just keep trying, okay? It could happen one day."

"Definitely! Besides, if she didn't know you existed, she'd constantly sit on you, bro," Mikey helpfully added in his own strange way.

"Thanks, guys," Donatello said with a grateful grin, "You too, Mikey."

Seeing as Donnie was no longer in a spontaneous bout of depression, Raphael stepped away from the group and plopped down on the couch. The prior situation aside, he now had a very serious problem. If his brothers could notice something—or, more accurately, someone—other than their nightly searches for the Kraang or Foot Clan were preoccupying his thoughts, it was only a matter of time before Master Splinter did. He wouldn't be so easy to deter.

-O0oO0-

Kagome grimaced as yet another one of her attempts literally went up in smoke. Fortunately for her, Subarashii Tabemono closed for the night hours ago, and Murakami was the only one present for her consecutive failures. She continued to frown as she disposed of the burnt scraps of food in the trash can, her resolve to continue cooking quickly joining the rest of the garbage.

For the past several weeks, Raphael sporadically stopped by to see her but only stayed for about ten or fifteen minutes at a time, sometimes less than that. When Kagome asked why he cut their time short, he told her he was preoccupied with the stuff he briefly mentioned before. Whatever he did, Kagome could tell from his condition it was time consuming and physically intensive. Despite her insistent probing for more information, Raphael didn't give her any more details. She was worried about him, but, because he appeared well enough and still found the time to see her, she decided not to press the issue.

On rare occasions when he could stay for at least half an hour, the two of them resumed the training sessions they began during their impromptu free running competition. Raphael still wasn't a particularly good instructor, but he already helped Kagome improve her upper and lower body strength and stamina for dashes and jumps across buildings. He also showed her a few basic fighting techniques—while shamelessly showing off his full fighting prowess in the process—adding to what little knowledge she already had. He even gave her a few shuriken embossed with a distinct symbol to practice with. She did so in earnest even if he would make constant jabs at her form and technique.

Tonight, instead of training to occupy her free time, Kagome decided to learn how to make the pizza gyoza Raphael—and, admittedly, herself—liked so much with her uncle's instruction. So far, she wasn't making much progress.

"Maybe I should just give up," she said with a tired sigh.

"Nonsense!" Murakami insisted, encouraging, "The heat was just too high. Try again."

Kagome wryly chuckled. "I think I'll pass. I wasted enough of your inventory for one night."

"I'll just put in on your tab."

"At this rate, I'll have to work here for a hundred years to pay you back," she muttered, blowing up her bangs in frustration.

"Don't exaggerate, Kagome-chan. By my count, you're only up to seventy-three," her uncle corrected with grin.

"Gee, thanks for keeping track," Kagome stated, her tone exceedingly dry.

"Any time," he replied, grinning, "If you want to stop for the night, go up to your room and relax. I'll clean up."

"Are you sure? I can stay and help you before I leave," she offered.

"Go on up," Murakami insisted, "Perhaps Turtle-chan will come see you tonight."

Kagome comically stiffened, her mouth agape. She assumed her meetings with Raphael were strictly between the two of them. Her uncle chuckled even though he could not see her. He was taking the fact she was meeting up with a boy—turtle or otherwise—in her bedroom at nigh rather well.

"You know about him?" she timidly asked.

Murakami stopped laughing and tapped his right ear. "The two of you could learn to keep your voices down."

"Sorry," Kagome guiltily amended, "I didn't mean to hide anything from you. I just didn't know how you'd react."

Murakami nodded. "I understand, but Turtle-chan and his brothers are friends. I trust them with my life."

"The two of you know each other?" Kagome questioned, intrigued.

"He and his brothers have helped me a great deal," Murakami explained, "They have been scarce lately, but I imagine they are quite busy."

"I see," Kagome mumbled, thinking.

'Not only does Raphael already know Oji-chan, he also has brothers,' she mused, slightly miffed that he didn't tell her. Then again, Raph still wasn't them most forthcoming being although they were on better terms, so she shouldn't be surprised.

'I guess it makes sense when you think about it. Raphael can't be the only giant turtle running around New York, but I doubt he'll introduce me to them any time soon.'

"Well, I'm going up to my room for the night," Kagome announced, her head cleared, "See you in the morning."

Murakami nodded and bid her goodnight as she walked upstairs. When she reached her bedroom, she grinned as she plopped down on her bed, already forgetting her culinary mishaps.

'I guess I have my work cut out for me!' she thought, 'Convincing Raphael to talk to me was hard enough. Persuading him to introduce me to his family will be even tougher!'

Kagome rolled over to her side and absently looked out her window.

"For now," she softly admitted, closing her eye, "being with him is enough."

-O0o0O-

punkish furball – I hope you've enjoyed this latest installment. There will be more Kagome and Raph action next time. Until then, TCB! ^ω^

(revised 04.11.2014)