Now that I'm back writing more again, I plan to finish this story and also to get more updates to Brotherly Baggage.

-------------

Brick by brick, he built a wall, blocking the flow of his thoughts from his young student. Gradually sealing the gap between their minds. He had to be careful—oh so careful—to elude the younger's sharp perception. It was like closing a window. If sealed too abruptly, the disturbance in the flow of air was sure to be noticed.

Once the final brick had been laid, the old master's mind danced, spinning colorful ribbons of thought. A few weeks had elapsed, and in them Raphael's power and cunning had grown to rival his own. Fortunately, he still had much to teach the youngling and could fall back of some of the more ancient tricks.

For the most part, the turtle's anger had faded. Of course, there was still the occasional outburst of temper, but there was no longer a buildup of inner rage. All the child had needed was a patient hand to instruct him. One could talk at the impertinent teenager until they were blue in the face, but once properly motivated, there was very little that Raphael could accomplish on his own.

As far as Raphael's training was concerned, Adachi could sense the turtle's inner strength was much greater than Raphael himself realized. This rather unsettling discovery had become apparent when Raphael had come to him, unexpectedly, midday Monday...

--------------------

"My eyes are green."

He looked up at the young turtle and narrowed his eyes, trying to get a reading of the emotion underlying the words. He tried to reach out to Raphael's mind and bumped a wall. Though he couldn't peer into his student's mind, he received, in response, a brief flash of doubt. The barrier was soft. Raphael wasn't consciously trying to block him. He could break through it if he wanted to, but decided that he wouldn't.

"I had noticed," he'd responded.

"They changed during training two days ago."

Adachi made a sound of acknowledgement. Raphael sighed and averted his eyes. A meaningful silence passed before he spoke again.

"Didn't change back."

"This bothers you?"

"Yes—I mean no—I mean—of course it doesn't—ugh," Raphael's shoulders fell and he looked up into his Sensei's eyes.

"What is really bothering you, Raphael?"

With a sigh, the turtle confessed, "You haven't been saying much in our training lately. Haven't done any vigilante-ing lately either. Guess I'm not as 'all-powerful' as you thought I'd be, huh? You're disappointed."

Adachi studied his student in stunned silence. There was a dull undercurrent of hurt in Raphael's voice and the unfamiliar emotion of guilt gnawed at his gut.

"I am not. I apologize if it may have seemed so."

"You're doing it again." Raphael accused.

The statement startled him. "I'm not certain what you're referring to."

"You were the one lecturing me about opening up and you keep doing this."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know damn well what I'm talking about!"

"Raphael—"

"You're a hypocrite," Raphael growled and turned to stomp out.

"Yes," he had sighed.

The admission brought the turtle to an abrupt halt.

"You're right."

Raphael turned and fixed that intense green gaze upon him.

"Sit down," Adachi instructed. The command obeyed, he went on. "A long time ago, I had a student. I made the mistake of overindulging him."

Annoyance flared across the spiritual tie and Adachi flinched.

"That's no reason to keep it all in and act like a soulless, emotionless, insensitive prick. So what? Ya had a student, he went wrong, lost his mind, and turned evil, blah-blah-blah. Ever since I met you, my life's become a bad Kung Fu Movie. Flashback to the Master's younger days."

He closed his eyes. "There is still much that you do not know."

Raphael leant forward to listen.

"Takeshi was my finest student. I was too proud to see that I had turned him into a horrible creature with no mercy and no remorse. One night, he killed an unarmed man trying to rob our citadel," Adachi paused. "I reproached him, but he argued the man would have died anyway."

Raphael's eyes narrowed, his irises burning with moral outrage.

"That was I knew that I had lost him. He'd fallen into darkness, developed a love of power. Access to immortality made him see himself as a god. He had betrayed my teachings and rejected my ideals...I had to stop him. We fought."

Swallowing heavily, Adachi's eyelids trembled as memories of that fateful day flashed before his mind's eye.

"I beat him to the point of death...but I couldn't—" He shook his head, "I couldn't strike the final blow."

"And he got away," Raphael murmured.

"He retreated into the mountain, vowing to one day return."

"But I thought you said he'd found a stone of his own."

"A stone as wicked as his own heart, yes. I never saw him again. Until that day, two-and-a-half years ago...I was meditating in the citadel. It stood on the other side of this mountain. Clouds filled the sky and lightning began to flash. The heavy gates blew open and there he stood."

"Note to self: enemy likes dramatic entrances."

Adachi dealt the teenager a stern glance and went on, "His power was great. He injured me. I might have been defeated, had I not lured him to the mountain caves. I collapsed the tunnel and used the stone to seal him inside."

"So he's escaped again?"

He shook his head. "No, he is still trapped inside."

"Then how do you even know he's still alive?"

"I can sense it. The demon lies in wait."

Raphael's eye-ridges furrowed. "Waiting for what?"

"For release."

"Well, if the stone sealed him in, only its power can get him out, right?"

Adachi nodded.

"Then we don't have anything to worry about. He won't escape. It's not like we're just going to go and let him out."

"He is clever. He will find a way."

-------------------

Adachi shook off the reminiscence and cleared his mind, channeling the stone's power through his body. Images flashed before his mind's eye. Raphael meditating... but there was something bothering the teenager. The turtle was struggling to stay focused. Something red clawing at Raphael's thoughts.

No. It couldn't be...

A dazzling red and black beetle buzzed across the plane of his mind. A leering face looked down and laughed. Adachi's tiny figure knelt surrounded by darkness as the laughter echoed all around him.

"No! No! You cannot return."

"We have a score to settle, old friend."

He scoffed. "So you expect me to release you?"

A brilliant, evil smile stretched across the shadowy sky.

"You won't have to."

Adachi reeled back with a startled cry. Just before the trance broke, the world went red.

He woke with a gasp. No, it couldn't happen. Not yet. Raphael was not ready. The teenager had the power, but he was not aware how great it was or how to wield his powers to their full potential. Raphael had released his anger, conquered his fears, but had not yet let go of all his inhibitions. There was still something holding the turtle back.

If Takeshi escaped now...No he could not let that happen. Loathe as Adachi was—they'd have to run.

--------------------

Adachi rapped twice on the thin sliding panel of Raphael's room. He got no answer, so he opened it silently. A wan smile graced his lips at the sight that greeted him. Raphael was deep in meditation, but that was not what had made the old master smile. Atop Raphael's head perched a cicada, singing its heart out.

"It's singing, you know." Adachi said, with a smile.

Youthful green eyes snapped open and stared cross-eyed at the offending insect in annoyance.

"I know, but nothing I can say is gonna stop it."

Adachi smiled and stared at the turtle a bit longer than necessary, his mind wandering off.

Raphael brushed the cicada off and it flew away, buzzing out the door. They both watched it go. Raph stretched and frowned at the far away look on Adachi's face.

"So, you need something, or what?"

That snapped Adachi out of it.

"Raphael, after close observation, I believe that we have accomplished what your father instructed me to do. You have learned to control your temper. As for the—other—part of your training, we have hit a bit of a stopping block."

Hurt and confusion fluttered across Raphael's face, but Adachi went on.

"I believe a change of setting would be optimal."

He briefly enjoyed the look of complete bewilderment on Raph's face.

"Therefore I suggest you pack your things and ready the truck. I've already made the call. We're due at the airport in four hours."

-----------------

Leo's exhausted eyes opened slowly. His vacant stare scraped across the common room. Donnie lay passed out on the couch and Michelangelo was sprawled in front of the television snoring up a storm. He glanced over at the clock. Two-thirty. Another night spent in the living area trying to distract themselves from their brother's absence. How many nights had they done this while he was away?

He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and they dulled sadly. And how many of those times had Raphael carried them back to their beds, or tucked a warm blanket across their shoulders? Probably too many times to count. Leo sighed and looked over at his little brothers. His aching heart flooded with love and regret.

I should have come back sooner, but I was deluded. Entranced by visions of freedom and drowning in my own personal fears, I had forgotten our most sacred rule: Turtles First.

His mouth twisting upward into a smile, he whispered, "They deserve nothing less."

Swish.

Leo's pupils contracted and a eerie feeling crawled up his shell. Another change in the airflow, then nothing—like a door being opened and shut. His katana were on the rack in the dojo, no way to get them now. Unobtrusively reaching down to his belt, Leo whirled and flung a handful of shuriken at the intruder.

The harrowing sound of metal on metal followed, and each shuriken was deflected by a set of gleaming twin blades.

"Whoa there! If I'd expected this warm a welcome, I'd have stayed in Japan a little longer!"

The blue-masked turtle's arms fell. "Raph?"

His red-masked brother revealed himself.

Acting on impulse, Leo sprung forward, crushing his younger sibling in a bear hug.

Choking unabashedly, Raph wheezed, "Leo...need...breathe."

Leo's eyes widened and he laughed nervously. He stepped back. "Sorry."

"No worries," Raph smiled.

It was as though Raphael being back had snapped a misplaced part of Leo back into place. Leo hadn't felt so clear-headed and focused since prior to Raph's departure. His mind began running furiously.

"It's only been four months. What—?" he didn't finish the question because as he spoke, an unfamiliar voice called in succinct, fluid, Japanese.

"ラファエルさん。これはあなたの物と思いました。"

"はい、先生." Raph bowed in thanks and took the offered crate. There was an odd ticking noise coming from it that made Leo raise an eye-ridge.

So this was Raphael's new Sensei? Raph was staring at the ninja master with an inquisitive gaze. It seemed to Leo as though the two of them were sharing further words on a level that he could not understand.

"やめろ," Adachi's golden eyes drifted down to the two sleeping turtles in the living area, "朝にそれらを伝えます."

Raphael nodded, then awkwardly wavered. "Should I show you to the spare room?"

Adachi raised a hand. "No. I think I will have a discussion with your father." He bowed, respectfully.

The two turtles turned to see their elderly, rodent father leaning with both hands upon his stick. Splinter's tawny ears fell on regarding his red-masked son.

"Raphael," he murmured.

Sensing Raph's immediate desire to move, Leonardo relieved his brother of the wooden crate. The ticking intensified and Leo frowned. What the heck was in this thing? It didn't really weigh very much...

Master Splinter wrapped Raphael in a warm embrace. "My son. You have returned earlier than expected," the old rat's eyes shot a suspicious stare over Raph's shoulder at Adachi. His grip on his son tightened.

The ancient ninja master remained impassive.

Momentarily halting his examination of the box to smile at the happy moment, Leonardo witnessed the passive-aggressive exchange between their Father and Raphael's Sensei. His protective instincts flared. He set Raph's crate off to one side.

Splinter backed out of the hug and continued as though nothing had occurred. "It is very early, my child, but your little brothers have been quite concerned about you. Tell them you have returned, then get some rest. In light of your return, there will be no training in the morning."

Raphael grinned, but it was sponged from his face by someone clearing their throat.

"My old friend, though I am aware of the strain laid upon your other students by Raphael's absence, I'm afraid that his training period is not yet over. He is still my student. His training will proceed as I see fit. Though I agree, Raphael requires rest after our journey, his training will resume at noon tomorrow."

"Hai Sensei," Raph acknowledged.

Leo frowned. Dislike boiled in his gut. He looked to his Sensei for a retort of some kind, but was shocked when his father only nodded with narrowed eyes.

"As you say, Raphael's training is your responsibility. You may do as you see fit. Our dojo and supplies are at your disposal."

Adachi bowed.

"It has been a long time, Adachi. I had hoped you would join me in my chambers for a cup of tea."

"That would be most agreeable, old friend." Adachi followed Master Splinter, glancing back over his shoulder at Raphael with an imperceptible nod.

Raph was surprised when Leo grabbed him by the arm and spun him around.

"Are you alright?" the older brother asked, with a trickle of concern running across his face.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Raphael's eye-ridge crinkled in confusion.

Leo glared in the direction that his Father and their strange new guest had gone.

Raph's face briefly fell. "What, Master Adachi?" He scoffed.

"Sensei doesn't trust him and I'm not sure I do, either."

Raph frowned. "I know, it sometimes seems that way, but Master Splinter wouldn't have entrusted my training to Master Adachi if he didn't trust him. Just let it go, Leo. Master Adachi is really strict, but he's not so bad. C'mon lets go wake up the sleepy heads."

Leo glanced back towards Splinter's room and frowned before joining Raphael. Raph was standing in front of his younger brothers, his head canted thoughtfully to one side. A smirk lighting his face, Raph raised a hand to whack them over the head, but Leo caught it and forced it to still. With a roll of his eyes Raph crossed his arms over his plastron.

Leo grinned and bent down, shaking his sleeping brothers awake gently.

"M—guh—huh?" Don murmured, rubbing his eyes.

"Ugh," Mikey's eyes cracked open, then closed, "Nuh, Leo. Five more minutes."

Leo chuckled. "Raph's back. Thought you'd want to say hello. And get hugs now, while you can."

"Mmm," Mikey responded. "Will do, Leo. Just five more minutes."

They smiled at each other and waited.

Don shot up first. His hands latched onto Raph's shoulders, trembling with emotion.

"Raph..." tightening his grip on Raph's shoulders, Don repeated, louder, "Raph!"

Raph's arms rose and returned the brainiac's hug with care, the embrace lingering a little longer than his tough-guy-image might otherwise have allowed.

"Hey there, Don."

"So glad you're back. Was so worried..."

"I know little brother. I know." Raph patted him on the back.

Don pulled away, shooting his brother a curious glance. "You're back early. What hap—" he was cut off by Michelangelo.

Mikey's head lolled towards them and his baby-blue eyes opened just enough to find a target for his whiny exclamation, "Keep it down, Raph. Just five more minutes!"

In the ensuing silence, all three turtles stared with ultimate amusement at their little brother, waiting for the words to take effect.

About thirty seconds later, Mikey jumped up so fast he got shell-lash.

"RAPH?!" The youngest tackled his red-masked brother.

Laughter erupted from the three older turtles.

Raphael beamed. "Awww. I missed you, too, little brother." He rubbed Mikey's head, affectionately.

Mikey smiled brightly. Bouncing up and down like a ball of pure excitement, the youngest demanded that his brother tell him everything about the trip.

Shaking his head, Raph chuckled. "I know you're excited Mikey, but we should all get some rest. We'll explain everything tomorrow morning. Besides, I'm gonna need sleep if I don't want Adachi to wipe the floor with me in training tomorrow."

Don and Mikey's faces clouded with complete confusion. They looked to Leo for answers.

"Raph's current Sensei, Master Adachi, will be staying with us."

The note of hostility in their leader's voice was clear to the orange and purple-masked turtles. Worry creased their foreheads.

If Raph heard it, he paid the note no heed. He surprised his brothers by gathering them all in a suspiciously hug-like headlock.

"Shell, I missed you guys." The clock caught his eye and he released them. "Man, it's getting late. Better get to bed. I'll see you guys in the morning." He bent down to retrieve his crate off the floor and smiled. "We've got four months worth of catching up to do." Starting down the hallway, he leaned back to look at them. "What's up? You guys going to bed, or what?"

His brothers smiled and looked at each other. They joined their hotheaded brother. Raph went straight for his door and went inside. He could immediately tell that a few things had been moved. The room had most definitely been used during his absence, but he didn't care. In a way, it gratified him that they had missed him that much and, after all, he had occasionally done the same during Leo's absence.

He set down the crate and turned to find his brothers waiting uncertainly in the doorway. With a sigh, he lowered his eyes.

His brothers frowned sadly and did the same.

Raph looked up with a smile and shrugged his shoulders. "Rest is overrated anyway. Who's up for a Morning Movie Marathon?"

All three of his brothers' faces lit up.

"Then what are you dome-heads waiting for? Go get everything set up. I'll unpack and be with you guys in a sec."

They all nodded and went off. Raph closed the door behind them and pried open the crate with his sais. He grinned. "Hey little guy. What's good? I know. It was a long trip, but we're done now. Don't you worry."

--------------------

How was it? Review Please!