punkish furball – Greetings, all!
Words to Ponder:
So I'm trying something that's a little darker than what I normally write. And, even though it's an InuYasha/TMNT crossover, it didn't exactly fit in with Turtle Bites. For now, it's a stand-alone piece, but I might be inclined to delve into it if there's enough interest. That being said, I hope you all enjoy it.
Also, if you need another InuYasha/TMNT fix, check out my recently updated stories, Turtle Bites and Just a Little Kiss.
Perfect Blue
Karai grunted as she sheathed her katana and turned her back on her defeated foes without a second thought. These Kraang droids were not the least bit entertaining to engage in battle. They were easily dispatched with the unsatisfying ping of metal on metal in a matter of minutes. They were a far cry from the prey she truly sought, April O'Neil. In their first and only encounter, that sniveling brat managed to catch her off guard long enough to escape, a feat O'Neil would not accomplish a second time. Karai swore she would hunt her down and take her out personally.
After that encounter, Karai and the other Foot soldiers found no clues leading the redhead's current whereabouts no matter how long they spent scouring the Manhattan streets for information. She likely went into hiding with the Turtles and their sensei.
Cowards, Karai thought, clenching her bottom lip between her teeth until her incisors cut into the skin.
"Head back to the base," she ordered, her voice carrying as much authority as her father's, "Report directly to the Shredder, and tell him I plan to cover more ground on my own."
The Foot shinobi paused to obediently bow their heads before treating to the Foot Clan's NYC lair. Once they were gone, Karai growled, letting loose her frustrations. Just the thought of her enemies all wallowing in the sewer far from her reach made her seethe with rage. Still, above all the rest, she hated Leonardo the most. He actually made her believe in him only to cross her in the end. Betrayal was something she did not take lightly.
That wasn't even the worst of it. Despite what happened between them, that mutant freak still looked at her like she could change or that she even wanted to. He was so damn persistent and terribly underfoot, looking at her with eyes that searched for something inside her he could never reach if it even existed at all.
Karai cried out as she punched the wall beside her again and again until she pulled away and left a trail of crumbling mortar and brick trickling from the cracks she created. She should have been able to realize what was wrong with Leonardo much sooner than she did. He wasn't the only one who possessed the same disgusting flaw, but he was the one who irked her the most. The shade was completely off, and she loathed it. Leonardo's eyes were such a sickening shade of blue, and he had the gall to look at her with such ugly eyes that dared to mimic hers.
Her ire spent for the moment, Karai reclined against the wall, sliding her back against the surface as she sat down. She shuddered as she envisioned the only eyes with that perfect hue, those precious eyes that sparkled like the ocean waves reflecting the light from the rising sun and echoed the warmth and kindness of the gentle heart of the one they belonged to. Eyes so pure and perfect they could only belong to her. Karai longed to see them each and every moment of her life, caressing her softly with her gaze.
She looked up to the night sky, chuckling darkly. Leonardo was entertaining to toy with, but that was all he'd ever be. He could never hope to compare to her.
-O0o0O-
Karai lazily leaned back against the fence surrounding the roof of the main building of her new school as she took a drag from her cigarette. Only three weeks into her transfer and she was bored to tears of the Tokyo public school system. She wasn't sure why her father enrolled her after 13 years of private tutors and home schooling, but here she was, skipping gym class on the roof after she swiped the key to the roof access staircase from one of the teachers.
Her left eyebrow lifted when she heard the footsteps and voices of several others ascending the staircase who would undoubtedly open the door she didn't bother to lock. She hoped it was a teacher. As bored as she was, being sent home for a few days was exactly what she needed.
When the door was pushed open, Karai was mildly disappointed but not surprised to see who came after her.
"I knew you'd be up here!"
Karai snorted a laugh as she watched her classmate march up to her dressed in her gym shirt and bloomers, her high ponytail swinging behind her head with each angry step she took. She stopped in front of her with her arms folded over her chest, annoyed. Two of the three girls who usually followed her around stood by the door, cowering behind her like the airheads they were.
"Higurashi, welcome to the party," Karai greeted her and held out her crushproof pack of cigarettes toward her, "Want one?"
Higurashi huffed, her sapphire eyes blazing.
"You're ditching P.E. to smoke again? Don't you know how badly that reflects on the rest of our class? Especially with all the trash you leave behind."
Karai took another long drag and exhaled, tapping off the ashes on Higurashi's shoe. "No idea, princess. Why don't you tell me?"
Those two pinheads spoke up from their spot behind them but didn't dare more forward.
"Kagome, don't mess with her! I hear her dad is a really powerful guy!"
"I know you're on the Beautification Committee, but all this isn't worth it!"
Karai rolled her eyes and looked away, fully expecting Higurashi to back down. Her peers knew nothing of the true power the Oroku name carried, but they knew enough to fear her as they should.
"I don't care who her father is! He's not the one walking around campus smelling like human ashtray!"
Though she was initially stunned by Higurashi's reply, Karai was quick on her feet and stood toe to toe with her.
"What do you say, Ms. Beautification Committee?" she asked her through clenched teeth.
"You heard me!" she told her, her tone unchanged, "You smell like a dirty, disgusting ashtray! Your hair, your clothes, even your skin all reek of stale cigarettes. And the Beautification Committee has nothing to do with this. I have to sit right behind you, so I'm stuck smelling your stink all day assuming you even bother to show up to class! Not only that, you skip cleanup duties too and expect everyone else to go around and pick up your cigarette butts for you. It's beyond gross!"
Higurashi ended her rant by plucking the cigarette from Karai's hand, tossing it to the ground, and crushing it beneath her foot.
"You're really pushing it, Higurashi!" Karai hissed, "Get back there with your loser friends before you get hurt."
Higurashi scoffed, unafraid. "What are you gonna do? Beat me up or something? Go right ahead! I'm not afraid of some bratty punk who hides behind her daddy's reputation."
Karai growled as she grabbed Higurashi by the collar of her shirt and pulled. Her father was powerful in more ways than a little pissant like her would ever know, and he taught Karai nearly everything he knew. Higurashi wouldn't last long against her in a fight. However, just as she saw before, there was no fear in those insufferable blue eyes, only fierce determination.
Karai paused when she noticed Higurashi's nostrils twitch. Her eyebrows subsequently furrowed as thought her senses detected something unpleasant.
…I'm stuck smelling your stink all day…
Karai roughly pushed Higurashi on the ground and stomped passed her friends to go down the stairs.
Just who the hell does she think she is? Karai thought as she stopped in the breezeway outside and reached into her pocket to pull out her lighter and pack of smokes. She put a cigarette to her lips and held up her lighter.
You smell like a dirty, disgusting ashtray!
Karai grit her teeth, biting through the filter. That annoying voice just wouldn't leave her alone!
…a bratty punk who hides behind her daddy's reputation.
Karai crushed both the pack and the lighter in her fist before she threw them as far away as she could and spit the unlit cigarette on the ground. That fucking goody-two-shoes got under her skin! No one ever spoke to her like that—civilian or otherwise. The Oroku name was on to be respected and feared, and Karai earned every ounce of that on her own merit, not her father's. Higurashi had no idea who she was dealing with.
So she thinks I stink, huh? I'll show her.
Karai sat on the sidewalk and stewed until her family's driver arrived to pick her up. She approached the car just like she did every other school day. The driver exited the car and bowed as he held the door open for her.
"Good evening, Miss Karai. How was your day?" he asked.
"Just shut up and drive," Karai told him before she plopped down in the backseat.
The older man nodded, expecting a response like that, before he took his spot in the driver's seat and sped off. Outside the window, Karai saw Higurashi sweeping the walkway she just vacated, laughing with her friends. She narrowed her eyes as she caught another whiff of herself, scowling. She would show her.
Several days after their first direct encounter, Karai looked up from the top of her desk to see Higurashi standing over her with her hands clasped behind her back as everyone else in their class left for lunch.
"Need something, princess?" Karai asked, bored.
Higurashi smiled, sheepish. "I wanted to apologize for what I said to you the other day." She paused to remove her hands and held out Karai's discarded pack of cigarettes and her lighter.
"I found these during cleanup. Are they yours?" she asked.
Karai snorted a laugh. "You've been carrying around the crap for a whole week? I thought you of all people would know trash when you see it."
Higurashi sighed and tossed them both in a nearby trashcan.
"I deserve that," she admitted before she spoke again, completely earnest.
"Listen, I'm sorry I was so harsh when I spoke to you and insulted you and your family. What you choose to do or not do is none of my business, but you only transferred a few weeks ago. You don't have any friends in our class or the rest of our school, and you don't seem very happy to be here. I just wanted to speak with you, so you can be more involved with everyone else and make some friends. Granted, I planned on telling you what I thought in a less confrontational way, but it is what it is."
"You're babbling, princess," Karai interjected, "You got a point with all this?"
"I guess the main thing I'm trying to say is that I want you to be a part of our school and our class," Higurashi said, "and I want to be your friend, Karai. I really do."
Karai stared at that grinning idiot in disbelief as she waited for her to answer. Never before had someone affected her so oddly. All of her original intent to make the little witch suffer evaporated at the sight of her stupid smile and those big blue eyes that, once again, revealed exactly what was on her mind. Even before when Higurashi was admonishing her on the rooftop, Karai never saw such innocence and sincerity in another person.
Higurashi wanted so little for her, and Karai felt strangely humbled. It wasn't until much later that Karai would realize her burning desire, that irrepressible drive to quit her smoking habit and attend her classes to prove Higurashi wrong was all for Higurashi's approval. Amongst all of her peers, she noticed Higurashi's indiscriminate but stern kindness with their classmates and wanted more than anything to be worthy of such gift.
Karai smirked and said as she leaned back in her chair, "We'll see, Higurashi. We'll see."
When Higurashi smiled at her, her face was as radiant and brilliant as the sun, and Karai's breath caught in her throat.
"Kagome. Call me, Kagome."
-O0o0O-
Kagome.
Her name whispered across Karai's mind like a soothing breeze. As a kunoichi, she was confined to the darkness, only permitted to follow the commands of her Master, her own father, Oroku Saki. But, ever since she was allowed to bask in the presence of that seemingly ordinary girl who shined like a brilliant sun, Karai craved her warming light more and more with each passing day.
It's dangerous to love the sun as I do, Karai mused, especially for someone like her.
However, Karai did not see and experience the same peril as others before her who longed to approach the sun. She did not fear the scorching heat searing her to the bone as she flew closer to her beloved sun. If pain was the price for her love, Karai would endure it gladly.
But her sun shined her light on everything and everyone, pushing her rays as far as she could reach. Her sun set each day and returned without fail, promising to try even harder to reach the darkest, most unworthy depths. Anything she could do to make someone's outlook on the world around them just a little bit warmer, she would do it. Karai loved Kagome with everything she had, but, unfortunately, her beloved sun was foolish. That's why her love was so dangerous.
Karai coveted her precious sun and despised everything that was unworthy of her warmth and light. If given the chance, she would cast the entire world into total darkness so Kagome could shine on her and her alone even if she ultimately burned her to ashes.
-O0o0O-
punkish furball – And that's a wrap! Remember to tell me what you think. If you like it, I may have more to add.
Until next time, TCB.
(edited 08.13.2015)