It was a typical day in the sewers. Donny was making blueprints for some doohickey, Mikey was playing video games, and Leo was sparring with Raph. Even Splinter could be found in the dojo, training April on some new techniques. But during a break, April asked the question.
"Hey, I've been wondering, who is the second oldest? Raphael or Donny?"
Five pairs of eyes met her question. Not only was the question sudden, but thought provoking as well. Splinter could be seen looking confounded for the first time, and the turtles were glancing at one another to answer the question. Her curiosity was left unanswered.
An awkward silence fell upon the home, resting it's hands on the only human in the room. She then tried to steer the conversation to something else, starting to ramble on the food and how her training was going. But the atmosphere didn't seem to want to change. This was where Splinter spoke.
"Come to think of it, I do not know." He stroked his goatee, an almost shameful look appeared on his face. "I was there when they all mutated, but I soon passed out from the sudden change. Not to mention the realization I was now a walking rodent."
"So, you're saying that you don't know who's the oldest?" April looked shocked. She had her eyes wide open. The mere thought of something so important slipping the rat's mind seemed unreal, even more so to last over thirteen years!
"I've never said that!" He voice was stern, holding the confidence it always held. But the message was cut short when the ninjutsu master's ears and eyes fell. "But, yes, I do not know who was first."
During April's shock, the turtles were more confused than ever. At the first, sudden question, they were only surprised at what she was talking about. When Splinter started to look concern, the four brothers were only more confounded. Not one of the four could figure out why this one question was of such importance.
"Well, we know that Mikey is the youngest. And with Leo being the leader and all, that must mean that he is oldest." April explained to Splinter. "So all we need to do is figure out who is second and third!"
"Uh, question." Mikey was, unsurprisingly, the first of the reptiles in question to speak. "What makes you think that Leo is the oldest?"
Another silence spread throughout the underground lair. This one wasn't as awkward as before, but it was heavier.
"Well, um, Splinter is a human with a Japanese background, right?" A nod from the mutated family. "And don't they, Japanese people, value the first born more than the others?" A nod from Splinter. "So, he would give the leader position to Leo because he is the oldest?"
The certainty in her voice left when the bipedal rodent didn't show approval. He only continued to stroke his fur, recalling back the not-so-distant past.
"Actually, I gave Leo the position only because he asked for it. They have only started going up to the surface this year." He looked to his sons, as if checking to see if his memory was correct. "And I could have easily given the title to another." He looked back at April. "Favoritism has nothing to do with it."
"I didn't mean it like that!" She put her hands up, trying to take back anything offence that slipped. "It was wrong for me to assume that, I'm sorry! It won't happen again!"
"Hey, calm down April, it's not really a big deal." Raph said.
"Huh?" The father and the guest both looked at the hothead in shock. Out of all the turtles, Raphael was the one to say such a thing. The brother who hated being second fiddle to his better brother Leo, the brother who always looked down on Donny's works, and the brother who demands respect from Mikey. This was the turtle to just brush off the conversation? Like it had no use to be asked?
This turtle rolled his eyes at the two. "I said, it's not that big of a deal. Who cares who was first? Can we just forget about it and move on?"
"Yeah! I want to start training so I can be first to try out the new skate park downtown!" Mikey shouted.
"Mikey, we need to train until Splinter allows us to leave the lair. You know that." Leonardo chided.
"Besides, you can't go topside by yourself!" Donatello sighed. "Tell you what, I'll go with you. But only if we check out the dumpster by that electric store around that area!"
"Oh! But Donny! You take forever-er-er!" Michelangelo whined.
"You can't do that either Don, you need Splinter's permission first!" Leo corrected.
"Besides, why should we leave to check out a dumpster full of tin cans when we could be smashing some skulls?" Raph exclaimed, slamming his fist to his hand for emphasis.
The brothers continued to bicker like this, exchanging comments one after the other. It wasn't until they noticed Splinter raise his hand did they stop their arguments. With the sewers silent once more, the rodent spoke.
"While this has been an interesting talk, we must all be getting back to training." He turned, placing both paws behind his back. "April, if you will."
Behind his back, the girl could be seen mouthing 'save me' to the others. But being feared of getting caught, she quickly turned back around to follow her teacher. "Coming!"
After some more training, night fell, leaving the brothers where they were now. Splinter had ordered then to learn the area topside before venturing farther, wanting them to make sure to learn their new surroundings.
But they all stood there, on a single rooftop. They had already learned about the back alley paths and some back up entrances to reach their home if the initial one was unavailable, leaving them pondering over the previous event.
The question April gave out never left the brother's minds. Who was the oldest? Who was the youngest? What about in-between? These thoughts where never brought up before today. All they could do was think back.
None of the turtles understood why April took interest in such a thing, nor why Splinter seemed upset about not knowing the order of their "birth." Even Donatello, who had read science books about everything, couldn't answer that question.
This was another thing that they thought about, birth. What would be considered as birth? They all had numerous births that took place in their short lives, the most recent one, their mutation. The day of their mutation would certainly count as a birth to the now sentient reptiles, but would it decide on who was 'first?' If it did, then that would mean that Donatello would be the oldest, followed by Leonardo, Mikey, and Raphael. Donny was the first to fall, and the first one to be fully conscious of the four. Raph was the last, especially when some of the ooze leaked into his face.
But what about their day of hatching, that surely was a birth right? Looking back so deep into the past, past their mutation day, was a fairly difficult thing to do. Being simple-minded baby pet turtles at the time had some of their earliest memories fuzzy at best. But all four could agree that the first to hatch was the supposed 'youngest' of the group. Yes, Michelangelo, so full of life that he wanted to join it headfirst. He was the first to see and breathe in the new world outside their small homes, followed by Raphael. Raph was aggressive, even when young, and gave it his all when he was finally allowed to roam about on four legs. Donny was next, curiosity about the outside overcoming his initial fear of the unknown. Leonardo was the last brother that they greeted, having been unsure about leaving something so familiar and warm.
Back then, the four little ones only thought of themselves as one clutch. The thought of one being older never existed in their simple minds. They were relatives, family, brothers, there was no thought of dominance in any one of their minds. In a way, they all thought of themselves as a set of four. Quadruplets, Donny had once said.
However, there were more events that have happened that needed to be considered. The brothers talked about their first day of training, a memory that they all thought to be a "birth" of theirs. The day that Splinter decided to teach them all the art of ninjustu was the day that childhood left them, a stage of maturity. If this counted as a "birth" to them, then Raphael would be the "first born." Out of all of them, he was always exited about anything involving action or conflict. So when Master Splinter gave out the OK, Raph was ecstatic to become an official ninja. Leo and Mikey were tied on the offer, both thinking that being more like their father was the coolest thing in the universe. Don was not as happy, but was sort of pressured to agree. He tended to avoid violence, even stopping them when an argument broke out between his brothers.
If this event counted as a "birth," then how they acted now should count as well. In a way, Leo does act like the oldest. He always looks out for his brothers and tries to figure out solutions that would give them the least resistance. He does often look after them even when off the field, dictating them on how they should spend their free time. And now that they think of it, Michelangelo does act very childish on most accounts. But Leo only acts the way he does because of his duty as leader, and Mikey was always the most optimistic turtle of all. So the question on "who was the second oldest" was really honest curiosity.
They could settle this mess by asking who was laid first, but their mother was still a normal turtle in a pet store. They no longer have the option of asking her, she probably wouldn't recognize them anymore.
And it's not like their talks ever help the matter. They never outright say that one turtle is older/younger than another, they only used their old nicknames. Splinter never questioned it because it was never an issue in the past. Like Raph said, who cares?
At times like this, the mutant teens wonder what exactly goes on with the humans above ground. What do they value? What do they think about? Who do they look up to? Too often does Splinter himself forget that his four sons were once turtles at birth, and none could blame him. He raised them all as infants, and brought them up as his own family. They could only wonder how things are going to be once a cure for mutagen is created, and April wonders why we don't take it. Why we deny the cure and refuse to return to our past lives?
They all wonder if it would have been better if they were born humans.
For the moment thought, the thoughts from tonight will be forgotten. The four brothers would pass this off as "meditation" and move on. All four will think about this idea later in their lives, but now was not the time.
The Quadruplets left the rooftop, venturing out into the city as long as the night will allow.