Raphael heard the whispers as he walked through the halls of the Foot Clan's headquarters, and he knew what they were saying once he had passed by. Animal. Freak. Creature. Monster.

He could feel anger boiling up inside him like a geyser, and it took all of his self-control to keep it from erupting. At least they weren't stupid enough to call him a freak to his face anymore — not after what he had done to the last one. They had had to peel him off the man's bleeding body, bellowing and still swinging his bloodstained fists.

He remembered Karai had looked very smug when that happened, probably hoping that her grandfather would punish the mutant for his outburst. And for the next day, Raphael had been dreading that it would happen, waiting in his small chamber for some kind of punishment. When it never came — and he saw Karai looking sour — he concluded that Master Shredder hadn't cared what he had done. At least, as long as he didn't make a habit of beating the lower-level ninja. That had been a relief — not to have disappointed Master Shredder.

The only thing that kept him from turning to glare at them now was the presence of Toshiro-sensei in front of him. The old man had urged him to not let the jealousy of others taint his mind.

"They envy that Master Shredder has taken a special interest in you," he explained. "So they seek to hurt you in whatever ways they can, especially since you are so different."

Raphael grudgingly admitted that he was probably right. He knew that Master Shredder had developed an interest in his progress, often coming in during training to watch Raphael practice. Raphael had no idea how quickly ninja training usually went, but he knew that he had learned a great deal in the past few months, and was still progressing in leaps and bounds.

And he knew he was set apart because of Toshiro-sensei himself. As far as he understood it, no other ninja-in-training was given special instruction by a ninja master on his own.

He slipped into the locker room reserved for the lower-ranking male ninja, where he usually showered after several hours of exercise. Raphael didn't have to come here — his small room had an attached bathroom with a shower — but he felt a stubborn determination to make them accept him, even if it was just where he bathed.

He could feel the eyes of the men there following him as he made his way to an empty locker. Without a word, he seated himself on a nearby bench and began to undress… if that was what it could be called, since he didn't actually wear clothing. After training with Raphael for a few weeks, Toshiro-sensei had expressed some discomfort with the fact that the turtle's body was always bare of clothing.

"It does not make sense, I am sure," he had admitted. "But to be accepted, you must learn to do these things."

Raphael still didn't wear proper human clothing. However, he now wore items that Master Shredder had had delivered to him — a broad black leather belt with several red silk pouches and hooks for shuriken and smoke bombs, a black mask that tied across the top half of his face, a scarlet scarf about his throat, and black leg wraps that extended from his bare feet to his thighs. This seemed to satisfy Toshiro-sensei — as long as the turtle was wearing something somewhere on his body, he seemed to consider him to not be naked.

Raphael stowed these items in a locker and wandered into the communal shower, where a few of the genin were already washing themselves. He stepped under one of the showerheads, turned it on as hot as he could bear it to be, and stood silently under it, letting the water run down his face.

Toshiro-sensei had told him that morning that, starting the next day, they would be expanding his training. "A ninja cannot rely on fighting prowess alone," he had advised. "You must also learn stealth and secrecy. We will start with smoke bombs."

Raphael sighed, and began soaping his body with vigorous scrubs. As usual, he could feel some of the men in the shower room watching him, but he ignored them.

When he was done bathing and had redressed himself, he went to one of the cafeteria-like dining halls near the genin sleeping quarters — he wasn't very hungry, but Toshiro-sensei always insisted that he eat after training. "You don't want to simply collapse, do you?" he had asked archly. "You'll be no good on missions if you do that."

Privately, Raphael wasn't sure how he would fare on any missions that involved other ninja. He knew that at least some of the Foot ninja resented him, others were revolted by him, and most others seemed to not know what to think of him. He was the only mutant there, an oddity that stuck out wherever he went.

The place was relatively empty at the moment — many of the ninja slept during the day, allowing them to be alert for missions during the night. So without too much trouble, Raphael was able to obtain a ham sandwich and a bottle of orange juice, and sequester himself in a corner.

He was halfway through his sandwich when a voice spoke up behind him.

"Raphael?"

He turned his head. A genin was standing there, looking nervous.

"Yeah?" Raphael said. "What?"

"Master Shredder orders you to the rooftop at precisely three o'clock," the man said.

Raphael took a deep breath, and glanced up at the clock. He had five minutes. "I'll be there," he said.

He ate the rest of his sandwich in just a few bites, washed it down with the remaining orange juice, and was at the elevators by the time he had finished swallowing. One of the Elite was waiting for him there, and the behatted man silently followed him inside, and escorted him out onto the rooftop deck where the Shredder was waiting for him. Wind was blowing across the top of the building, blowing the tails of Raphael's mask from his shoulders.

As always, he felt a flutter of nervousness when he saw the imposing figure of his master, arrayed in his bladed gauntlets and his shining steel helmet. The fact that Toshiro-sensei was standing beside him made no difference — he was always seized by that clinging fear that he had done something wrong, and the Master was displeased by him.

"Ah, Raphael," Saki said, turning.

Raphael quickly bowed.

"We were discussing your progress," the jonin continued, staring at Raphael with piercing eyes. "Toshiro says that he believes you will be fully trained within two months' time. When that happens," he said, his voice lowering, "you will be serving directly under me."

"I'm—I'm honored, Master."

"You should be," Saki said. "You may be the forerunner of a new, more effective breed of ninja, Raphael. I wish to watch your progress in person." He studied the blades on one of his gauntlets. "In the meantime, I have decided to send you on your first mission. And for that… I have decided on a reward for your diligence."

"Reward?" Raphael said, confused.

"Come. I will show you what I mean."