Mikey sighed in relief, his first content smile in weeks flitting over his face as he sat cross legged on a rooftop overlooking Chinatown. Something about the garish lights and loud buzz of this area of the city always had calmed him. It could drown out rational thought, make him forget his worries, all his pent up anxieties disappearing in the crowd below. His blue eyes swept the scene, zoning in on a few food stands that smelled delicious (though, they couldn't even compare to Murakami's cuisine), and eventually, his attention was shifted toward the streets outside Chinatown.

New York City had always fascinated him - it still does. He'd always been enthralled by the constant movement, the bright billboards and screens in Times Square, the ever-present drone of sounds that had driven his brothers crazy at one point or another. He stared out over the vast concrete jungle that he called home, standing and strolling along the edge of the roof casually, imagining himself in the streets below, walking past other fellow New Yorkers.

He lost himself in the sights, sounds, and scents of the scenes below, until he'd somehow ended up at a whole other part of town. Apartment buildings lined the road, the occasional tree planted every once in a while. It was what in NYC was considered the suburban neighborhood. Kids played on the steps outside their homes, a few setting up a makeshift basketball game in one alley, making Mikey long for more friends to hang out with. His eyes roamed to a clique of girls, purses hanging on one shoulder, phones clutched in their manicured hands, eyes flicking back and forth as they read another text or Tweet.

Mikey rolled his eyes subtly - this was the very reason he'd sworn off girls in the first place. To him, they were just heartbreakers with lipgloss-lined smiles, ready to pull you in and kick you out in the same second. He groaned internally, once again managing to push his unnaturally cynical thoughts aside, as he glanced further down the street.

He spotted two more girls, though they hardly seemed part of the earlier pack of she-devils he'd spotted earlier. Mikey cocked his head to the side as he observed them, kneeling as he took in their features.

The tall one, a chick with extremely dark and extremely straightened hair, seemed more talkative than the other. Her wide grin showed off her roundish face, blocked only slightly by the set of big glasses perched on her nose. She talked animatedly, as if every word said was as important as the last. She was lanky, reminding Mikey a bit of his older and far-more intellectual brother.

But the latter girl really caught his attention. A brunette, significantly shorter than her companion, with glittering hazel eyes, and a smile that seemed to brighten her entire vicinity. She walked with a slight bounce in her step, as if she was anxious to leap into action, should any opportunity for a fun time appear. Her figure was perfect - not too curvy, but not shapeless like her friend. She carries herself with a sort of spunky confidence that seemed to say, Try and judge me, see if I care.

Mikey found himself grinning unintentionally as he watched the duo pass,  laying on his stomach and resting his chin in his hands as he watched the shorter girl saunter down the street. Her bespectacled friend turned to stride into another building, and figuring the hazel-eyed beauty would follow, Mikey sighed and stood to leave.

He was about to turn to go when a sickeningly familiar sight caught his eye.

He whirled around to see three men dressed in purple. Not the kind of purple that reminded him of the mask his brother Donatello wore. Purple, as in the darker version of the color, a shade that made the hue seem sinister. It was made even more malicious when it accompanied the men's tattoos of serpents in various places on their bodies.

The Purple Dragons.

Mikey's eyes hardened, instantly pulling out his weapons when he saw where the gang members' gazes were directed.

The hazel-eyed girl was still walking down the street, happily oblivious to the menacing stares she was being given by the group of thugs.