Mikey couldn't keep from tapping his foot as he stood on the roof of the designated meeting place… it was hard to keep from pacing.

"Jeez, Mikey… relax, will ya? Ya look about ready ta jump outta your skin."

Raph's voice was gruff, but Mikey could hear amusement in it. He gave his brother a sheepish, lopsided smile.

"Sorry, bro."

He heard a hint of the same amusement in Leo's serious tone.

"Don't forget, Mikey, we have to be careful till we know more."

The youngest turtle nodded, trying to put a handle on his excitement.

"Totally remember, Leo. I'll be serious."

He heard Raph snort.

"Sure, like there's much chance a' that."

Mikey cast Raph a playful glare but couldn't help feeling a small flare of annoyance. Did they have any faith in him at all?

"Chill, dude, I got this."

He saw Donnie gave him a small grin and nod. That gave him some reassurance, and he looked back at the buildings around them, scanning for any movement. Just then, three short, sharp whistles came from somewhere below. At that, the three older turtles immediately moved back to the very edge of the building. Leo nodded to Mikey, who immediately whistled the same pattern. Only a few moments passed before three figures climbed over the edge on the other side of the roof. All of them were masked, but Mikey recognized the one in the middle right away. He saw Grace glance at the two others who had accompanied her with a nod. The other ninja remained at the edge of the roof, far enough away not to be an immediate threat but close enough to intervene if necessary.

Mikey stayed at the center of the roof as Grace approached; when she was about a foot away, she stopped and bowed at the waist. Mikey did the same, then let himself give her a small grin. The lower half of her face was obscured, but he saw a twinkle of amusement in her blue eyes that suggested she was smiling too. But her voice was distant and formal when she spoke, gesturing to the other two ninja.

"My clanmates will remain back."

Mikey nodded.

"Mine'll stay back too."

Grace nodded and he saw her eyes move behind him, eyes full of interest as they scanned his brothers.

"First we must know," she said, looking back at Mikey. "What is your mission in this city?"

"Help people, when we can," Mikey replied. "And there's this other clan after us, the Foot."

Grace's eyes immediately narrowed, and her voice was grave when she spoke.

"We've heard of them. And that their leader is a cruel man."

You don't know the half of it, Mikey thought.

"You heard right," he said out loud. "He usually encourages all the crime… sometimes his guys even get involved."

Even with half of it covered, he could clearly see the disgust on Grace's face.

"Disgraceful," she muttered. "A man like that knows nothing of honor."

Mikey nodded, then glanced behind her at the other two ninja.

"So, where did you guys come from?"

"Our clan was based in Japan until recently," Grace replied. "Our sensei, my mother, moved us here for personal reasons."

Mikey cocked his head a little to one side, but Grace apparently guessed his next question.

"I may be her daughter, but even I am not always made privy to Sensei's decisions."

Mikey caught a note of bitterness in her voice, and immediately felt sympathy for her. He was seized by a sudden, strange desire to give her a hug, but he knew that was a bad idea with her clanmates watching. So, he settled for reaching out and gently patting her arm. It seemed even that took her by surprise, her eyes wide and almost unbelieving as she looked at him. For some reason his face heated a little, and he quickly pulled his hand back as he cleared his throat.

"Sorry."

Much to his relief, she didn't look at all offended, though there was a slight stammer in her voice when she spoke.

"I-it's fine." She then lowered her voice, so only he would hear. "Thank you."

Mikey's eyes widened a little at the gratitude in her voice, wondering how often she received that sort of physical comfort. When she next spoke, though, her voice was back to the more formal tone and loud enough for all watching to hear.

"What about you? Where is your clan from?"

"Well," Mikey said carefully. "Our sensei's from Japan too, but me and my bros are New York natives."

Grace looked behind him again, her eyes interested.

"The others are your brothers?" she asked. Mikey nodded.

"Yep. How we got this way is… kind of a long story."

The girl's eyes moved back to him.

"And it's only you four? And your sensei?"

Mikey hesitated a moment, then nodded again. He was surprised to see a sympathy not unlike what he felt for her.

"It must be hard," she said softly.

"It can be," Mikey replied. "But we've always done fine."

After giving another nod, Grace glanced behind him again.

"And your brothers? May I ask what their names are?"

Mikey glanced back at his brothers as well. They exchanged glances, then Leo nodded. A small smile coming to his face, the youngest turtle looked back at Grace and gestured.

"They're Leonardo, Raphael, and Donatello."

Each of the other turtles stepped forward as Mikey said their names. Grace cocked her head, brow creased in a slight frown. Recognizing her confusion, Mikey grinned and shrugged.

"Our sensei named us from a book on Renaissance art."

A soft huff of laughter escaped Grace before she cleared her throat.

"I see."

Turning, she gestured toward the other two ninja.

"My clanmates are Chimon and Ahmya."

First the man, then the woman stepped forward, bowing slightly at the waist. Mikey bowed as well, knowing his brothers were doing the same. Grace continued to look at the man, and after a moment of hesitation he nodded. Apparently, he was the highest ranked of the three. Grace looked back at Mikey, and he could see a small smile on her face.

"We are the Gawa clan."

Mikey returned her smile.

"Hamato," he replied.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the man stiffen a little. That brought a stirring of unease, but he saw no sign of disquiet from either of the other ninja. Grace continued looking at him with a pleased look.

"If it's all right with you, I would like to pass on this information to my mother," she said. "I believe our clans may do well as allies."

Mikey grinned at that.

"Yeah, I think so too." He glanced at Leo again, and after another moment of hesitation he gave another nod and spoke up.

"And we would like to do the same," he said.

Grace nodded in return, then directed her gaze back to Mikey and held out her hand. With a grin, he reached out and shook it.

"Glad to meet ya," he said. Despite the mask, he could tell Grace was smiling back.

"And you."