"Duh," Niikura said without thinking. He looked briefly taken aback as his automatic reaction sank in and then shook his head. "Er--what I mean is, not like I could've done anything about it, maybe given ya a funny look." The teen managed to crack a grin, although it was mostly on just one side of his face. "Can't really be picky with who I'm workin' with, y'know. We're all stuck here all the same so...it'd be stupid to just ditch ya 'cause you're actually a giant mutant...ninja turtle thing."

He shrugged. "Anyway, I guess we're square now: I know what ya really are, and ya know all that..." Niikura motioned vaguely. "That...stuff ya saw the other night." And then, on impulse: "People wouldn't really take well to me either if they knew about...things, so...I guess...I kinda know what it's like. And stuff."

His words hung in the air for a few seconds before the side grin widened into a full-on goofy one. "Damn, what is wrong with me today, gettin' all mopey over somethin' like this."