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He always wondered how different New York was during the day. Nighttime was the only time that he could slip away from his family long enough to look at it.
He always made sure he was far enough away from their home that the noise of the city didn't alert them to what he was up to: sitting at the top of a maintenance ladder with his sais propping up the manhole cover, watching the city through the gap and wondering if he'd ever get a chance to walk along the streets.
He knew he was bending the rules as much as he could without breaking them, but he couldn't help it. He needed to know what they were missing out on. He hated that they always had to hide underground, especially when the world above seemed to be teeming with excitement.
He couldn't tell his brothers about his nightly habits, and Master Splinter had forbidden any contact with the surface world. The only knowledge they had of the world above them had been learnt from television, which was nothing compared to the life that Raph saw at night.
Leo would never go against their father's word unless he felt he had to, and Donnie would be too worried about the apparent danger - though he was sure they were both curious as to what exactly went on above their heads.
Mikey was the only one that he felt would share his desire to go topside, but his youngest brother had the biggest mouth in the family; he couldn't be trusted to keep it a secret from the others.
That's why Raph spent as much time as he could alone, just watching; hidden under the city where he was told it was safe.
He didn't really believe that he was in any danger above ground, but he didn't want to disobey his father's rules just in case something happened. After all, his family couldn't help him if they didn't know where he was.
The streets were quiet tonight. Raph noticed that certain days were busier than others, and that only made him long to know that world even more... In the sewers, every day was exactly the same; he didn't even bother to keep track of what day it was any more.
It'd been a while since he'd happened to spot a crime from his hiding place beneath the street. At first he'd almost sacrificed the safety of his hiding place to confront the criminal, but stopped himself when he'd seen that the police was already hot on the man's trail.
Since then he'd been confident that New York was safe enough without him having to play the hero - which was why he grinned to himself as he heard a high-pitched scream and saw a young punk run past with an obviously stolen purse. He waited to watch the police catch the thief...
But New York City once again managed to take him by surprise. Instead of the police, it was a young man chasing after the thief. Raph couldn't get a good look at the guy but he did get a good look at the hockey stick he was wielding, and even though he couldn't be sure, it looked like he was wearing a hockey mask as well.
Raph couldn't help chuckling to himself as he watched the strange man disappear around a corner in hot pursuit of the criminal. The city would never cease to amaze him.