"Are you better, Raphael-san?"

Raphael looked up at Yuzu, who was smiling down at him brightly. "I coulda sworn we been through this once today," he mentioned, trying to sit up on the sofa. "I'm good, kid. Just needed to lie down a little."

"Don't stand!" Yuzu said urgently, placing her small hands on his shoulders and trying to keep him down. "Ichi-nii said that you need to lie down. He told Karin and me to make sure you don't try to walk."

"Yes," Karin added, stepping in behind her sister. "And unlike Yuzu, I'm willing to kick you in the knees to make sure you stay down." Judging by her tomboy attitude, Raphael didn't doubt her.

"I appreciate it, in a weird kinda way" he remarked, gently pulling Yuzu's hands away. "But honestly, there ain't no point in me countin' the cracks in the ceiling while Master Splinter and my bro are back home. Ichigo hasn't come outta his room since he told 'em to go, and I'm startin' to get just a little bit-"

"Antsy, are you?" Raphael turned to see Kon, once again in his stuffed lion's body, emerge from Ichigo's room. "Ah, and here's the fearless warrior, showing concern for his own well-being. How ignoble, if I might say so-"

"Nobody's askin' for your two cents, twerp," Raphael barked out, startling Kon into grabbing hold of Yuzu's leg. Raphael reached down and wrenched the plush toy off of the girl, holding him at eye level. "Confused, is what I was gonna say. I'm feelin' fine, and there ain't no way that ya could easily convince the likes 'a Leo and Sensei to just leave me behind with a bunch 'a strangers. Somethin's up, and somebody best be spillin', or else some cotton's gonna end up litterin' the floor real soon."

"Raphael." Raphael looked up to see Ichigo emerging from his room. He didn't like the fact that the boy was looking down towards Raphael's feet rather than straight in his eye. "As much as he probably deserves it, put Kon down. I just got off the phone with someone, and I think we need to talk." Ichigo then looked down at his two sisters. "Why don't you go take Kon and get some food at the deli across the street?"

Neither of the girls moved for a moment. When Yuzu finally reached out to take Kon away from Raphael and hold him, Karin put her hands on her hips. "Ichi-nii," Karin started, "is this another you're-too-young-to-know-about-the-end-of-the-world kind of thing? Because Yuzu and I are almost twelve-"

"Karin, please," Ichigo said quietly, looking up at her. Karin held his gaze steadily before rolling her eyes and heading towards the chair on which her and Yuzu's coats were draped. Handing Yuzu her jacket, she offered Ichigo a sullen stare.

Before leaving out the door, Yuzu murmured, "Don't push yourself, Raphael-san."

Raphael stared at Ichigo, who was leaning against the doorframe and gently tossing his cell phone in the air. Though Ichigo's gaze appeared vacant, Raphael knew that he was thinking of something important. The last time he talked on his cell phone, Ichigo went off to fight a Menos Grande, a Hollow or evil spirit that was far more powerful than the ones he routinely encountered. In the simplest Western terms, Raphael likened the comparison of a Hollow and a Menos to that of a demon versus the Devil.

"Talk to me, kid," he finally told Ichigo. "I got the distinct impression that that phone of yours is set aside for your death god contacts. So if you've been talkin' to somebody from the other side and ya wanted to get me alone for some reason, ya gotta tell me why. Is this Soul Society of yours pissed off because 'a the girl that died? Do they wanna punish me? Cuz trust me, I can take it."

"Half of the captains in Soul Society could probably care less about a single casualty during a battle with a Menos in New York City," Ichigo answered, still not looking at Raphael. "They'd consider the single death a victory, most likely. It's even possible that passing through the spiritual barricade means that she had some minor spirit power, and she might end up becoming a shinigami. I don't know if anything in this world is planned, Raphael. I only know what I've been told. And it doesn't seem like I ever get any good news."

He sighed deeply, stepping into the common room and sitting down in a chair across from Raphael. After a long period of silence, Raphael again stated, "Talk to me, kid. Can't do nuthin' if I don't know nuthin'."

It took a moment for Raphael to realize that Ichigo was having trouble translating what he wanted to tell him. It probably made perfect sense to him in Japanese, but the language barrier made things a little difficult.

"I was talking to my friend Renji," Ichigo finally said. "He's a shinigami who… well, he's my friend. I guess that explanation will have to do for now. But when he's not in Soul Society, he tends to stay in the shop of Ura-… Kisuke Urahara. When you showed up with your brother to help fight the Menos, I noticed that your rietsu—your spirit power—was spiking at strange intervals, and your spirit sense seemed to keep… changing. I wasn't sure what that meant, but then I remembered that your sensei said he knew Urahara in the past. And like I said, Urahara is one of the most distrustful people I know. 'Coincidence' doesn't seem to be in his vocabulary, except as a joke."

After a moment of silence, Raphael asked, "So ya think this Urahara guy meant for us to bump into each other? That I got somethin' to do with why you're in New York? Then why'd ya send Splinter 'n Leo off? If this has got somethin' to do with us, then we all should-"

"It doesn't," Ichigo broke in. "Not with Leo. Not with your other brothers or your sensei. This is about you, Raphael." The turtle looked at him confusedly, forcing Ichigo to explain, "Leo's rietsu was relatively high, about the same as Splinter's. Yours, however… the way it peaked and dipped… it was too familiar to be a coincidental meeting."

"…whaddaya mean, 'familiar'?" Raphael asked.

Taking a deep breath, Ichigo finally told him, "Too much like mine."

Raphael considered this for a moment, though he wasn't wholly sure exactly what he was considering. "So… you 'n me, we got the same kinda spirit sense… or spirit power, if there's a difference. So, what does that mean? Do I got some shinigami blood in me? I don't think normal, unmutated turtles would make very good death gods, so I don't see how that can happen."

"Being a shinigami isn't something that you inherit," Ichigo informed him. "You die, your soul gets sent to Soul Society. If your soul has a great deal of spirit power, you have a chance at going to an academy to learn the ways of the shinigami. Then you… climb the ranks, I suppose is what best explains it. Since I'm still alive, I can't be a full-fledged shinigami. But my spirit power is enough to make me a powerful ally and a powerful threat to the ways of Soul Society. And if they discover another being with my kind of abilities…."

"They might just choose to look at me as a threat," Raphael finished for him. When Ichigo nodded, Raphael looked down. "Great. And Kon was just sayin' that these Soul Society guys don't go easy on their threats."

"It's worse than that," Ichigo said lowly, as though he were saying something confidential. "I'm a human with a high spirit sense. Unusual, but it's happened before. A turtle? With abilities similar to mine? Moreover… four of them? There's one captain in Soul Society who's known for his… I don't know the word for it… his wrong experiments."

"Unethical?" Raphael offered.

Seeming to consider the word, Ichigo nodded once again. "Yes. Highly unethical. Torture, dissection… what makes it worse is that he works mostly on souls, not on bodies. If he finds out about you and Soul Society gives him leave to stick you under a microscope-"

"Wouldn't be the first time we get a mad scientist on our tails," Raphael remarked. "And it definitely wouldn't be the first time I face one down on my own. Question is, why keep the others out of this?"

It was Ichigo's turn to appear confused. "Would you want your family in the line of danger? If Soul Society is only aware of one or, at most, two of you, it would be a lot easier to hide you away or convince them that this was a one-time glitch that doesn't occur often. But the more of you there are, the more Soul Society will want to know, which means the greater the chance that you'll be sent with Kurotsuchi-taichou."

"With who?"

"Captain Kurotsuchi," Ichigo explained. "The captain I told you about. My friend faced him down once, and almost didn't survive. But then, that could be said about fights against most of the captains. That only proves how serious this is, Raphael."

"Okay, okay," Raphael growled, standing up and wrapping his hands around the handles of his sai. "I get the point. Ya don't want me to fight head-on, kid, but there ain't really a way to hide from guys who can keep track 'a souls, is there? Unless ya got some kinda spiritual invisibility cloak, I should at least be able to defend myself if these jerks prove hostile."

"Funny you should mention that," Ichigo said, a ghost of a smile on his face. "As it turns out, the reason I spoke to Renji was because Urahara wasn't in the shop. Last anyone saw of him, he was carrying a big bag and said something about going off to a big city to see the sights. Originally, Renji thought he just meant he was going to downtown Tokyo, but given the fact that he might have set me up, I wouldn't put it past him to know when he's needed."

"Sounds like a prince," Raphael murmured, crossing his arms over his chest. "A precog with a sick sense 'a humor, knowin' more than he'll let on. Yeah, I ain't gonna like this guy, am I?"

"I don't know if anyone does," Ichigo replied, rising as well. "But very few people can speak against his usefulness. Raphael, please. Stay here until Urahara contacts me. I've already told Splinter to let your brothers know that you all might have to stay down for a while, and that they shouldn't expect to see you for a few days."

"You ain't got that right," Raphael told him angrily. "I got a little banged up dealin' with a demon, that's all. I was tryin' to help. These Soul Society losers don't wanna gimme a fair trial, then too bad for 'em. They wanna mess with me, they're welcome to it. They touch my family, though-"

"If they touch your family, there's nothing you can do about it," Ichigo said exasperatedly. "Shinigami aren't just spiritual beings that slash at things with normal swords. Each of our weapons has a unique power that, for someone whose sight is limited to the physical world, can mean a very painful death. And death is only the beginning. Once your soul is free from your body, you are technically the property of Soul Society."

"I ain't nobody's property!" Raphael growled.

"Believe what you like-" Ichigo started, his voice rising as he approached Raphael.

"I do," Raphael snapped, putting a hand on Ichigo's chest and shoving him away.

"I don't see any reason for you to get so heated," Ichigo responded, angrily approaching the turtle again.

"You're makin' it seem like I can't handle myself," Raphael argued. "Like some Japanese brat has got more soul power than I do, or whatever."

"Maybe that's because I do," Ichigo stated bluntly, getting in Raphael's face.

"If ya had so much soul power," Raphael snarled, "ya woulda noticed when another soul entered the room, wouldn't ya?"

Ichigo blinked down at the turtle, uncomprehending for a moment. Though he did have a large amount of spirit power, it was—like Raphael's—unfocused. He couldn't sense someone's rietsu unless it was extremely powerful or he was actively searching for it. Now, sorting through his internal stimuli, Ichigo preferred to search for the presence of another rather than turn around and look at the door. Raphael seemed like the sort who would be more than willing to get someone to turn so he could get an easy hit. Unfortunately, Raphael wasn't bluffing. With a defeated sigh, Ichigo asked, "How long have you been standing there, Urahara?"

Seeing Ichigo's shoulders sag, Raphael looked behind him. So, this is Urahara. Not exactly what I pictured. The man at the doorway had shaggy blond hair that probably covered his eyes, if his green-and-white striped hat didn't already do so. He leaned against the open door to the suite, which he managed to open absolutely silently. The only reason Raphael had even noticed him was because the hand that wasn't holding a large gray sack over his shoulder was busy waving a white fan in front of his face, despite the winter weather.

"Oh, long enough, Kurosaki-san," Urahara answered. Raphael immediately knew why Ichigo didn't seem to wholly trust him. His voice seemed to have a sickeningly sweet, sing-song quality to it. There was also something else that seemed vaguely odd about it. "Long enough, that is, to see the rather spirited discourse between yourself and your new friend. Please do introduce us, Kurosaki-san. You wouldn't want to be accused of having ill manners."

As Ichigo moodily made the introductions, Raphael realized what else it was about Urahara that seemed odd. As good as Ichigo's English was, he still had a fairly thick accent and also appeared to pause at odd times in the conversation, as though struggling with the appropriate translation. Urahara, however… didn't. In fact, Raphael couldn't even tell if this man was Japanese. His English was flawless, and it didn't appear as though he had any sort of accent whatsoever. Like he's a chameleon, Raphael realized. Like he can be anyone from anywhere, whenever he wants.

"Ah, so luck made it so that the two of you did meet," Urahara said with a smile. "How very fortuitous. I had assumed that you would meet all four of the turtles at the same time, and wouldn't know that there was anything special about our dear Raphael until I pointed it out to you. No offense, Kurosaki-san, but you are a trifle dense."

A look at Ichigo's face proved to Raphael that the boy shared the same thoughts about Urahara's vocabulary. Still, he seemed beyond the point of being surprised by anything Urahara could say or do. "So you know there are four of them," Ichigo said. "Then you know who their sensei is, I guess."

"That piece of knowledge actually came as a surprise," Urahara professed, setting his sack down and stepping into the suite, closing the door behind him. "One of my under-the-radar contacts pointed me in the direction of these four turtles, concerned that they may be kappa. Nice fellow, but not exactly familiar with the way the world truly works. At any rate, I was at first skeptical, until I picked up on some odd spiritual readings coming from the same place as these alleged kappa. Though there were five strong readings, my contact only sighted four such creatures. One of the readings was incredibly high and showed signs of marked fluctuation in much the same way as yours does, Kurosaki-san. I assumed that this rietsu must belong to the fifth "kappa" that my friend had missed. I sent Yoruichi here to check on the state of things just before recommending your little trip. She told me that the erratic rietsu actually came from a creature named Raphael, and that the fifth being was a giant rat. Overhearing a conversation of his, she managed to pick up the name Hamato Yoshi. It wasn't until I watched the esteemed Splinter-san leave here with the other turtle that I realized who it was. Quite coincidental, I assure you." The small smile that tugged on his lips implied that, as Ichigo mentioned earlier, "coincidence" has a strange meaning in this man's vocabulary.

"Whoa, hold up," Raphael said. "Sightings? And this Yoru-somethin' chick… was spyin' on us? Impossible! My bro's got a state-'a-the-art security system set up in our lair. Ain't no way she coulda overheard one 'a Splinter's conversations unless one 'a us wanted her to overhear."

"What makes you think that isn't the case?" Urahara asked, hiding the lower half of his face with his fluttering fan. His innocent voice and the stupidly effeminate gesture grated Raphael even worse than losing a sparring match with Michelangelo. "I trust that Splinter-san would perceive no threat from the ravishing Yoruichi, should he sense her presence about. Indeed, he might have even purposely dropped clues about his past, enabling Yoruichi and I to know his identity."

Raphael wanted to say that no, he was wrong. If Splinter sensed an intruder nearby, he would have said something. And either way, wouldn't Donatello's security system pick up signs of a disturbance? Unless Yoruichi was tiny for a human, there was no way….

And then he remembered. A cat. Splinter mentioned that Urahara had a cat named Yoruichi. Maybe Donnie's surveillance equipment didn't perceive cats to be a threat, and so she had slipped by unnoticed. Still, how did Urahara know what she saw?

"Look, if you actually emerged from your shop, one can assume that you recognize the danger in this situation," Ichigo broke in. "We can question all of this later. Right now, Urahara, you have to let me know: does Soul Society know about Raphael and his brothers? There was an incident with a Menos earlier today, and-"

"Stop acting as though I don't know the basic details," Urahara interrupted, grinning as he waved his fan towards Ichigo as though to silence him. "Yes, I'm aware of the Menos incident. Quite disturbing that a woman had to die in the process. From what I can gather, Soul Society is none too happy about a casualty; though they're relieved it didn't go as badly as it could have. Had school still been in session-… well, no sense dwelling on that, is there?"

Lowering the fan, Urahara appeared to look down. "However, they will be investigating the failure of the spiritual barricade and will eventually unearth the presence of our two unique friends. I sent Yoruichi back down to the lair—as you seem to call it—and she will be informing Splinter-san and his students of everything we know. I've come here in the hopes that you had kept Raphael with you. If Captain Kurotsuchi gets wind of this—or any of the captains, as a matter of fact—then I'm afraid Raphael's current liquid rietsu will need to solidify a great deal. Of course, as Kurosaki-san can vouch for, I can certainly help with your training, and you will be able to hold your own in a discourse against-"

"Can it, blondie."

Urahara looked up, his eyes barely visible beneath his mane of hair as Raphael shut him up. "'Discourse?'" Raphael continued. "What, are ya kiddin' me? From what I've been hearin', these guys ain't gonna wanna have no discourse with me. If this crazy scientist captain 'a yours gets his way, I gotta be able to fight."

"Well, of course," Urahara replied. "By strengthening your rietsu, you will certainly gain more solidity within the spiritual confines of Soul Society, and so be better able to defend yourself."

"Ya just told me that somebody's gonna want to put me on a slab and cut me open, possibly killin' me just to get to my soul," Raphael responded, looking to Ichigo now. "Defense ain't exactly what I got in mind."

"Storming Soul Society is a bad idea," Ichigo told him. "I should know. I did it once. And I went with friends who all had incredibly high spirit power and had abilities that you'd probably consider magic." Turning to Urahara, he continued, "I still say we should keep them hidden away for as long as possible, and see if Kuchiki-taichou or Toushiro can't speak on our behalf."

"Before being your allies," Urahara said, "they are captains of Soul Society. If they are given orders to apprehend the turtles, they will-"

"Ain't anybody listenin"? Raphael barked out. "If somebody's after me 'n my family, talkin' ain't gonna solve anything. I'm not gonna sit here 'n twiddle my thumbs with you guys while my family's on their own."

As Raphael pushed past Ichigo and headed towards the door, Urahara stepped in his way. "They are in extremely capable hands, I assure you. Right now, due to the chaotic readings of your rietsu, we must focus on-"

"I ain't got time for this!" Raphael growled out. His arm snaked out, meaning to push Urahara back. He expected the man to grab his wrist or to be built like a truck. After all, Urahara gave off the impression of being much more than meets the eye. This left Raphael vaguely surprised when Urahara cried out and fell backwards, onto his sack. Not taking the time to wonder over the man's lack of strength, Raphael crashed through the door and sped out.

"Raphael!" Ichigo called, meaning to give chase.

"Let him go," Urahara told him. Ichigo seemed reluctant to oblige, but he also knew that Raphael probably wouldn't have been able to pass Urahara unless he wanted him to. Urahara held out a hand, and Ichigo took it and helped his friend to his feet. Brushing himself off, Urahara looked out the door, sensing Raphael's rietsu get further and further away.

"We will be seeing much of our friend in the coming days," Urahara stated solemnly.