The old farmhouse lightly creaked from the light winds that blew against April and Donatello's home in the country on the outskirts of New York City. Magdalene Hamato drew in a deep breath, smelling the sweet smell of summer that wafted around her home. Spring was ending and summer was only a stone throw away.

The twelve year old slipped off her shoes and plopped down on the sofa in the living room. Her parents had left the windows cracked and the shutters drawn to let the sunlight in, making each room seem to glow.

Maggie searched through her backpack for the comic books Uncle Raph had given her for her birthday. Her fingers came in contact with their plastic coverings and she pulled them out, sighing blissfully. If there was one thing she didn't enjoy more than coming home from school after a long day was to end the evening with comics her uncles give her over the years.

She opened up the first one. Ah...Wonder Woman. Classic. Raphael had always made a point to give her comics with admirable women as the leads. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Super Girl, Catwoman, Starfire...

The front door creaked open and shut with a loud 'bang!' Maggie blinked and looked up. The only people that ever came to the house were her uncles, grandfathers, parents...her best friend and cousin. No other homes were in sight so it's not like a neighbor would welcome themselves in.

A small figure walked in and Maggie smiled. So it was her cousin. She placed the comic down and sat up to greet the girl. Miwa Hamato, daughter of her Aunt Karai and Uncle Leo, awkwardly waddled into the room and Maggie had to stop herself from laughing.

"You okay there, Mi?"

The nine year old wore a hat over her head, a coat three sizes too big, long pants and bulky shoes. When she lifted her hand to wave to Maggie, the sleeve slipped down to reveal oversized gloves. Maggie couldn't help but wonder how her cousin wasn't baking in that outfit. It was nearly eighty degrees Fahrenheit outside and she was sweating on her own in just shorts and a tank top.

"...nuthin'." Miwa took off the gloves and placed them on the coffee table along with her hat. A long black braid fell out of the fedora and down her back.

"Nuthin' looks like a whole lotta somethen'. Now what's up, buttercup?" Maggie took one of the gloves and brought it to Miwa's face, tickling her nose. The little girl giggled and pushed the glove away with a frown.

"I told you, it's nothing."

Maggie frowned and dropped the glove. "Okay...Miwa...seriously, what's up? You're never this...moody. Where'd your bubbly self go?"

Miwa stopped and thought about her cousin's words, her blue eyes searching the air for an answer and pursed her lips. Finally, she turned to Maggie with an unsure look on her face.

"I'm just tired of being made fun of, Maggie. I'm tired of being different."

Maggie felt her head snap back. She and her cousin have had issues of bullying in the past...heck, Maggie herself still got comments for having grey-green skin in the right light and only a total of eight fingers and toes, four on each hand and foot. But it hadn't bothered her as much as it did for Miwa. She could understand her cousin's frustration.

Unlike Maggie, Miwa was born with only a total of six fingers and toes all together, three on each foot and hand. She wasn't nearly as green as Maggie was, but she still had more turtle like features thanks to her dad. And kids were probably harsher to Miwa than they had been to Maggie. Maggie had been blessed with more of Raphael's temper to not take that kind of thing, but Miwa had inherited more of Michelangelo's sweet and innocent disposition.

She had been worried that, when she left the elementary school days behind that Miwa would suffer like that now that her older cousin wasn't there to protect her. It made her angry that kids could be so cruel.

"Miwa...I know it's frustrating, but there's nothing you can do about the way you are. The way we are. Sure we're different, but that's what makes us special. Unique compared to those...jerks. I know what I'm saying probably doesn't mean a lot...but I do mean it, Mi. Maybe we don't have ten fingers and toes, maybe we don't have the right skin tone or the right body shape...but we're still the same as everyone else deep down. Same feelings...same thoughts...but you shouldn't hide yourself to fit in."

Maggie took the jacket and gently pulled it off of the younger girl and let it drop to reveal the cute pink outfit she wore that day to school. The jacket had hid the bows and ruffles that had been sewed into the dress by April to make it more unique for her niece.

"My mom told me that if you feel the need to change yourself in order to impress people or to make friends, then those people don't deserve you. Because if they can't love you for who you are, then they can go and kiss your-"

Miwa suddenly hugged Maggie's waist tight. Maggie felt the air knock out of her and wrapped her arms around her cousin with a smile. Miwa buried her face into Maggie's chest in comfort. Her voice was muffled by a mouthful of shirt: "Thank you, Maggie."

Maggie gave her a cousin a good squeeze and kissed her on the top of the head. "Anything for you, Mi. Now, why don't you take the rest of that silly garb off and I can pick up on reading Sailor Moon with you, okay? And call your mom and see if you can sleep over. We can make pillow forts again and watch Space Heroes!"

Miwa's eyes lit up and grinned. She lightly bounced on her feet and ran to where a phone was. She picked it up and turned to face Maggie.

"I love you, Maggie. You're the best."

Maggie grinned and went to find the Sailor Moon comic they had left off on, happy knowing her cousin felt more at peace with herself.

"I love you too, Miwa. I love you, too."

Author's Note: Miwa belongs to aangismyhomie and Maggie belongs to me and NightOwl285