There are times when you never realize that you are dreaming; then there are others when you are most certain. April's subconcious mind was caught somewhere between the two as she lay curled up in the covers of her bed. The images that swelled up before her were not unpleasant, but they were vaguely unfamiliar. She found herself garbed in the layers of a soft, satin kimono as she sat before a small alter. The smell of incense and candles filled her senses. In the back of her mind she knew she was praying for someone - someone she had not seen in a long while. Her heart warmed at the mere thought of him and she knew that there was a deep love within her being for him. Her vigilant prayers were interrupted at the sound of hoofbeats on the road. She rose hastily but moved graceful and calm to the door and down the hallway of a fine, Japanese home.

When she reached the entrance, she felt her heart swell with the appearance of a dark haired man dismounting from his horse. He turned, long tresses messily trailing over the samurai armor he wore. He had removed his helmet for her, for he knew that she loved to look upon his face, dark with the few days without a shave. She did not run to him, but waited for him to approach her and pull her warmly into his arms. Her head rested upon the armor at his chest.

"I've missed you," he spoke softly, lifting her head to look at her. She was unsure if she responded. Even if not, she was certain he knew she reciprocated the very same. His eyes said so.

"I have prayed for your safe return," she said, bringing him into the home which belonged to them both. "Every day."

"Then I am well protected," he mused. "With a protection even the kami could never grant me." April felt herself smiling.

"Shall I cleanse your blade and bless it once more?" she offered, holding out her hands. He smiled and reached around to pull the sword he carried from his belt.

"I would be honored." The weight of the blade in its scabbard was heavy on her hands, and she could feel the girth of it clearly. She found herself turning from him and taking the blade to her alter room where she carefully sat and unsheathed it. She had cleaned and polished his blade many times. As much as it was a favor to him, it was also an appreciation for the sword itself. It was this sword that reminded her how her love had saved her life long before.

The sword that came from the tail of the terrible serpent... the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi...

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"So, you didn't see who hit you...at all?"

"Let me think about it...AGAIN... NO," Raphael replied, thoroughly irritated.

"Hey, I'm just trying to figure out what happened to you, okay? It's just a little bit odd that you just lost track of this guy for one second and then get cold clocked the next. Maybe he wasn't working alone," Leo replied, equally miffed.

"I know what I saw, Leo. There ain't no way I would have missed it if there HAD been two of 'em, or more."

"What I want to know is why burn down the museum? What was the point?" Donatello interjected before Leo had a chance to argue that maybe Raph was more fallable than he seemed to think.

"Maybe the owner owed them money?" Michaelangelo offered.

"Maybe, but not likely... That kind of arson doesn't seem warrented by something that small," Don said, with the shake of his head. "Unless we're dealing with a psychopath anyway."

"What about Casey?"

"I don't know. Haven't seen him since I woke up... He's probably fine," Raph added, inwardly hoping that this was true.

"This sounds very serious," Splinter hummed, folding his hands. "We must find out more information about this new threat... Otherwise.. I do not want any of you to confront these ninja in the meantime... particularly not alone. I am concerned for what they may have done to you, Raphael."

"I told you, I feel fine now," the turtle insisted, lifting his hands. "Probably just knocked my head is all."

"Maybe so. But just to be certain, I want you to come with me. We will meditate together and make certain that you are still balanced...both physically and spiritually." Raphael refrained from sighing too deeply, but ground his teeth anyway, grudgingly. He got up and followed his master towards the meditation chamber, leaving his brothers behind to continue discussing the recent events. He hated feeling singled out; as if he were child that had to stay in the classroom to talk with the teacher during recess while the other kids got to go play. He sat in his usual spot while Splinter took his seat before Raphael.

"Is this necessary?" Splinter merely eyed him with his 'this is my serious face'. "Fine."

"I wish you would learn to be a little more willing when people are trying to help you, Raphael. You have made great improvement since your younger days, but still you resist so hard," Splinter said with a shake of his head as he rested his paws on his crossed legs. "Now, tell me. Do you remember where you were hit first... before you fell?"

"I'm pretty sure the only place I got his was on the shell. 'Cause that's what sent me flying down the alley. So, really... there's no harm there," he concluded aloud.

"You would be surprised," Splinter warned. "I want you to close your eyes and breathe with me. I am going to try to look inside you... Please attempt to focus." Raphael, despite his misgivings, did as he was told. The sooner he cooperated, the sooner this would be over. He let his mind clear and think of nothing...just let it wander. His body relaxed and he felt as though he was floating. In the absence of thought, he felt as though his subconcious was being unfolded, opened and brushed through like a book. All images swam through his mind as a blur...until he hit one. He suddenly recalled the flower...and the veins. A chill visibly crawled through his body and he heard Splinter make a small, startled noise. This caused him to open one eye.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked, opening both now. Splinter opened his own eyes, looking as if he had mentally lost balance.

"You...are concerned about something, my son," his master responded, vaguely. Raphael blinked once at the statement, and realized it was true. He had just been thinking of the eerie glass flower. Splinter probably had noticed the change in his body language. Honestly, he felt a little silly about the subject, and withdrew from the idea of sharing his thoughts on it. Splinter was the closest thing to family he had besides his brothers, and yet he still hesitated. "Raphael."

"It's nothin'," he finally said when he realized he had been silent suspiciously long. "Just... I just got this gift for April, you know? Not sure if she really liked it. So, I'm just a little anxious...that's all."

"That is not all," the rat insisted with finality, as if he already knew. "You feel something else about this gift. It is bothering you to such an extent I can feel your spirit waver."

"It's stupid, master. Really. I just got this little glass flower... and ya know, I just didn't notice everythin' about it right away. So when I saw that it had changed... I got a little bit confused. I'm overracting. I do that, you know. You always tell me so."

"Perhaps... You may go, Raphael." Relieved that the subject and session had been dropped, Raphael stood up and headed out of the room. Splinter watched him go and wished, again, that his son was not so stubborn to share. What could have caused him to feel...what was it...? Such...unease...about a simple gift. Raphael may have had the tendency to overreact sometimes, or be overexuberant. This was because he was incredibly senstive. His emotions were hard to control...but spritually, he was very open to a lot of things. Nothing had been said at this point, but Splinter knew that Raphael had great potential to sense things his brothers would not. This ability was untempered, so it caused him to act intensely about every little thing he felt. That became his nature.

As far as he could tell the turtle was unharmed inside and out, but there was something that bothered him. As soon as Raphael thought of that flower, the gift, it was as if everything else inside him blacked out. There was nothing to see...and the flower shone like a beacon in this darkness. Did Raphael, himself, not notice this response in his own psyche? Being so sensitive, how could he have not noticed the way his subconcious wrapped around this one...small...thing?

Splinter attempted to still his worries despite his better judgement. There was something more to this... and he was certain, now, that Raphael and April had become unintentionally involved.