"He is ready."

The words echoed through the dojo, and shivered through Raphael's bones like the chiming of a great bell. He remained kneeling on the mat, his head bowed humbly and his heart racing in his chest. This was the moment he had been waiting for.

"I have taught him all I know how to teach," Toshiro-sensei continued, walking past his student. "He has learned to fight as few in the Foot could hope to equal, and has been trained in stealth, in strategy, in the use of all our weapons. He is now a fully-fledged ninja, with dedication second to none."

Master Shredder was silent, and Raphael felt himself sweating as he waited for his master to say something — anything — to indicate what he was thinking. But he didn't dare look up, for fear that he would see something he wouldn't like there. So he kept his eyes fixed firmly on his knees, and tried to keep from shaking.

"You told me that Raphael required two months' training," Master Shredder said at last. "It has only been three weeks. I would not have him be a ninja who is insufficiently learned."

"Raphael has shown remarkable dedication to his training during those three weeks," Toshiro-sensei said, kneeling beside his student on the tatami mat, and placing one hand on Raphael's shell. "He has done little else besides tirelessly work, in his eagerness to be of service to his master. In this way, he was able to complete his training in far less time than I originally estimated."

Shredder was silent again, and Raphael could feel his eyes watching him intently. Then a calloused finger hooked under his chin, tilting his head up to look Shredder in the eyes. He couldn't tell with the mask on, but he thought the jonin looked satisfied.

"Well done, Toshiro," he rumbled. "I am pleased with what you have made of him."

"You honor me, master," Toshiro-sensei said, bowing slightly. "But the credit for the work should go to Raphael. I merely guided him."

"And now this sword may be unsheathed at last," Shredder mused, removing his hand from Raphael's chin. "What now, Toshiro?"

The old man stroked his beard. "I will be returning to the genin training facility in Westchester County tomorrow, master. They have need of me there."

Raphael's heart nearly stopped, and his stomach gave a sudden painful lurch inside him. His mind raced through his teacher's words frantically, as if trying to parse some alternate meaning from them. Toshiro-sensei leaving…. he hadn't foreseen that that was going to happen. He had only seen the end of his training as the beginning of his life as a ninja, as an opportunity to prove his worth to all around him. He hadn't dreamed that it would mean his sensei would be leaving him.

He could only remember a brief, hazy sliver of his life in which Toshiro had not been teaching him, guiding him, molding him. Every day since had been spent with the old man. No other person had been such a fixture in his short life. If Toshiro-sensei was gone…. who would he have left?

He would be alone.

Master Shredder didn't seem to notice his distress. He simply nodded in response to Toshiro's statement, and swept out of the room, with the Elite following him like ghosts.

Toshiro-sensei waited for the doors to close before sighing. "You must have known this was coming, Raphael," he said quietly.

"Yes—no—" Raphael swallowed hard. "I didn't think you were goin'… this soon," he finally said.

"I have other students to teach," Toshiro said, placing a hand on the turtle's shoulder. "I was called away from them to give you my undivided expertise, but now I have taught you everything you will need to know — everything to do with being a ninja, that is. There is no reason for me to be here any longer."

Raphael remained silent, his head hung low. He knew that everything his teacher said was true, but he still felt that painful ache of loneliness growing inside him like a cramp. He had lamented that he was alone before, but now with Toshiro-sensei gone, he would have no one to guide him.

"Westchester County is not so far away," Toshiro-sensei added. "If Master Shredder allows it, perhaps you may visit me from time to time."

"I'd… like that," Raphael said faintly.

"Come now," Toshiro-sensei said, pulling Raphael to his feet. "I have many farewells to make before tomorrow morning. But for now, spend some time with your old teacher."

The next morning was a cold and gray one, with a fine mist settled over the streets. A sleek black car pulled out to the front of the Foot Clan headquarters, with a small suitcase already placed in the back seat.

Karai was already waiting by the car when Toshiro and Raphael descended in the elevator. As she often did when there was nothing to criticize, she ignored Raphael completely, stepping past him to greet their sensei. But she turned to Toshiro with an unexpected smile — a genuine smile, Raphael saw, not the mocking smirks or malicious grins she had aimed at him occasionally. He hadn't even known Karai was capable of that.

As they spoke in Japanese — a language he didn't understand more than a handful of words in — Raphael stared down at his toes, feeling his stomach sink as though he had swallowed a lead weight. It was hard for him to believe that in just a few minutes, Toshiro-sensei would be gone. He felt unmoored, aimless, even though he knew exactly where he would be going and what he would be doing once the old man had left.

His hands clutched anxiously together. His mind flew to the previous night — he had poured his heart out to Mother about the impending departure of his teacher, and the loneliness that was seeping through his being. She had listened to every word, and assured him, "You are not alone, my son. You do not know them yet, but there are those who will embrace you for who you are. You merely have to find them."

He hoped she was right. Right now, he felt more alone than ever.

Toshiro-sensei finally finished speaking with Karai, and turned to face Raphael. "I have never had a student quite like you, Raphael," he said with a small smile. "You are a natural ninja, and I expect nothing but great accomplishments from you." His smile faltered. "Be careful as you follow your path, my student, wherever it leads."

"Yes, sensei," Raphael said, bowing slightly.

He watched in silence as the car pulled away from the building, feeling a wrench in his chest. It vanished around the corner, and the tail-lights faded away.

When Raphael turned around, he found that Karai was already gone — presumably she hadn't wanted to deal with him once Toshiro-sensei was gone. He walked slowly into the building and rode the elevator to a particular floor, feeling apprehension fluttering in his stomach like an angry moth.

He didn't know why he was so nervous. He had been eagerly anticipating this day for weeks, the day when he would finally take his place as a member of the Foot Clan, and have the opportunity to prove that he was worthy of it. He should be happy. But instead he felt…. empty. His chest felt cavernous and strangely numb, and he felt oddly apathetic to what was happening to him now.

That morning he had been awoken by a message from Master Shredder, instructing him to come to his throne room immediately after Toshiro-sensei's departure. As Raphael stepped inside, he straightened his shoulders and tried to scrub any hint of doubt or nervousness from his face. His eyes flickered over the two Elite waiting by the door, but they gave no sign that they had noticed his presence.

"Raphael," Master Shredder said, settling back in his chair. "You are ready at last to serve the Foot." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, Master," Raphael said, clasping his hands behind his back.

Master Shredder swept his arm to his left, on the opposite side of Karai. Raphael's eyes flickered over to the woman standing at his right, and the expression of frozen disinterest locked on her features. Then he moved to his master's side, and turned his shell to the wall.

This was his place now.