Mikey just managed not to tap his foot as he and his brothers waited on the rooftop for Grace and Hamari to join them, but he couldn't stop himself from grinning. He was looking forward to patrols more than he had for a long time these days; it was so refreshing to have people they could not only work with but talk with. Hamari was pretty cool, but Mikey found it was Grace he most looked forward to seeing. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he felt like he could relate to her most. And sometimes, he couldn't help but wish that he could have some time to talk to just her.

Mikey's brow furrowed a little as it came again: that weird twinge he seemed to get whenever he thought about his new friend. He wasn't sure about that either… it seemed he couldn't even identify it. He wondered if the same thing happened to her when she thought about him. For some reason, he hoped so.

The youngest turtle's thoughts were interrupted when the two girls appeared over the edge of the building. Despite their masks, even from here he could tell they were smiling, and his own grin widened. Hamari must have passed her trial.

As soon as they had formally greeted each other, Mikey spoke up.

"So, you passed, right?"

Hamari nodded eagerly, and Grace looked at her with supreme pride.

"She was a true ninja."

"Congratulations," Donnie said with a smile. Leo smiled too and nodded in acknowledgement, while Raph's mouth quirked into a slight grin.

"Nice goin'," he said.

Mikey wanted to ask for more details, but he knew that would have to wait until later, when they had covered their regular territory. But as they moved over the rooftops, he moved close to Grace.

"Bet your friend was awesome."

Grace returned his grin.

"Very much awesome. You were too, I'm sure… if your form now is anything to go by."

That made Mikey's grin widen; hearing that from someone as advanced as her was more of a pickup than he ever could have guessed. It was certainly more than he had heard from Splinter. Just then, Leo's sharp voice broke into that thought.

"Hold up… looks like Foot approaching."

He quickly slid his katana from their scabbards, and the others whipped out their own weapons. Mikey couldn't help but glance at Grace, unable to suppress the strong fear that she might get hurt. He had every confidence in her abilities, so he wasn't sure why he was feeling this way… he just couldn't help it. But once the enemy reached them, Mikey ordered himself to focus. Getting himself in trouble would only make things worse for her, and all of them.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been fighting when he heard Grace grunt in pain. His heart seemed to skip a beat, then started pounding. With a quick swipe, he brought a nunchuck down on his opponent's head with a hard whack. Once the man dropped, he whirled around. Grace was still fighting with both arms, which brought some relief, but then he saw the torn, reddening fabric on her shoulder. It didn't look serious, but he still felt a surge of alarm, then anger and determination to help. Immediately he raced over and swung his weapon again, knocking the enemy ninja aside. Once he was off balance, Grace made her move. With the hand not holding her ninjato, she struck various pressure points and her opponent dropped.

A quick look around revealed that the others had managed to bring down the rest, and Mikey immediately moved to place a hand on Grace's arm.

"Are you okay?" he asked, unable to keep the anxiety out of his voice. She looked at him with a look of slight surprise, then he thought he saw a faint blush tinge her cheeks. His own face immediately heated, and he pulled his hand back.

"I, uh… s-sorry, I just…"

"No," she said quickly. "No, it's fine… I'm fine."

The sound of approaching footsteps made Mikey look to see the others approaching. Hamari hurried over to Grace, looking anxious.

"Are you…"

Grace gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm fine, really. It's not bad."

Donnie walked over, a concerned look on his own face as he examined the gash.

"She's right," he said with a nod. "It's pretty shallow… probably won't even need stitches."

Mikey felt his tenseness ease, and he let out a soft sigh of relief, but still he watched closely as his genius brother bandaged the injury.

"You should probably see a medic when you get back," he said. "But I don't think there'll be any problems as long as you keep it clean and covered."

Grace nodded, giving Donnie a grateful smile.

"Thank you, Donatello."

Her smile grew a little more solemn as her eyes scanned over the rooftops.

"Well, I suppose this Foot Clan knows about us now. We'll have to warn the rest of our clan."

For some reason he couldn't explain, Mikey felt an urge to reassure her. Stepping up beside her, he gave her a grin when she looked at him.

"Don't worry 'bout those Foot losers," he said. "They don't know who they're messin' with."

He held out a fist, and though Grace looked a little confused for a moment, realization dawned on her face, and she bumped her fist against his. He could tell from the sparkle in her eyes that she was smiling.

"I consider us lucky to have you as comrades in this fight."

That made Mikey's grin even wider, and he felt another strange urge to exclaim 'Yes!' But he managed to keep it to himself with an effort.

"So do I," Hamari said with a nod. Leo spoke then, and Mikey looked to see he was smiling as well.

"I think we count ourselves lucky too."

Donnie nodded and Raph grunted in acknowledgement. Seeing his brothers warming up to their new allies in the way he already had toward them… Grace in particular… made him happier than he could imagine. Before they separated to return home, Mikey gave Grace a gentle nudge with his shoulder.

"Glad you're okay," he said softly. The girl's piercing blue eyes sparkled again, and she reached out to pat his arm.

"See you tomorrow night."

At the touch of her hand, Mikey felt it again… that unusual twinge. But he returned her smile with a nod.

"Look forward to it."

He thought he saw her look grow a little shy, but it was gone so quickly he wasn't sure. Still, the smile stayed on his face the whole way back to the lair. Since he'd met Grace, he looked forward to seeing her more and more after every patrol they spent together. Hamari was great too, but something seemed to draw him to Grace in particular. He had no idea why, but it didn't much matter to him. He was glad to call her a friend.

Author's Note: I'm leaving for a week-long vacation tonight, and I'm not bringing my laptop so I won't be doing any writing next week. But don't worry, I'll start my usual writing schedule again as soon as I get back. Cheers, dear readers!