Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

All six of them were lazing aroung in the living room. It was a beautiful afternoon with the sun shining through the windows. As usual, the sextuplets had nothing to do, Karamatsu was looking down the town through their windows, Osomatsu was rereading his manga the nth time, Choromatsu was busy with his job-seeking career, Ichimatsu was playing with a stray he brought home that morning, Jyushimatsu was, well, he just literally sat there looking at the celling. Rolled to his back, Todomatsu sighed while sliding through his facebook. Eventhough it was a bit boring, he couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy these peaceful time, you know, lazing around, needn’t have to work nor have a girlfriend to worry about. It was a perfect afternoon. Before someone decided to ruin it with his lame oh-so-painful jokes.

“Knock knock”

Oh there he went.

“WHO’S THERE?”

It was Jyushimatsu who answered, still fixed his gaze on the celling. Karamatsu smirked and made a dramatic pose with his sunglasses.

“Daisy”

“DAISY WHO?”

Karamatsu pulled out his guitar and started singing.

“Daisy me comin’, dey runnin’”

“OH, OH, I KNOW THIS SONG!!!”

Jyushimatsu started yelling and waved his arms around, which hit Ichimatsu and made him fall face-first onto the ground. Actually, onto Todomatsu.

“AHHH. NIIISANN, YOU’RE HEAVY!!”

“Could you stop with the shitty jokes, Shittymatsu?”

It was Ichimatsu who glared, shot daggers at the man still playing his guitar dramatically.

“Ah, lil brother, I believe you were enjoying this perfect afternoon. I shall …”

“One more word and I will send you flying through the windows.”

His voice was low and Todomatsu swore Ichimatsu really meant it. It effectively shut Karamatsu up though, so that was good he guessed. Osomatsu suddenly spoke up:

“Hey, I’m hungry, Choromatsu! Get me some snacks!”

“Can’t you see I’m busy niisan. Why don’t you just get them yourself?”

“Well, I’m reading my manga here. And you looked like you are doing nothing productive at all!”

“What? What are you saying you shitty eldest brother?”

“ODEN! LET’S GO TO CHIBITA’S!!” 

That was random. Well, expected of Jyushimatsu, Ichimatsu followed him suit:

“It’s 5pm, we should get some snack. And oden sounds good!”

“Fine with me!”

Osomatsu rubbed his nose with an index finger, wearing that typical playful grin of his. Choromatsu put down his magazine.

“Well, I’m hungry too…”

“THEN IT’S DECIDED!!”

Jumped to his feet, the yellow one headed for the door, followed by purple, green and red hoodie.

“Eh, Totty’s not going?”

"Nah, I’m fine.”

“I’m not going either.”

Told the second eldest. Everyone turned to him, still sitting at the windows with his sunglasses. Having everyone’s attention was too much for Karamatsu to handle, he awkwardly pushed his glassed up and said, forgetting his cheesy lines:

“I’m good.”

“Well, suit yourself.”

As the others left, only Todomatsu and Karamatsu were in the room. The sun about to set, shone a lovely orange hue into the living room. Todomatsu laid on his back, his gaze fixed on his older brother. So there was only two of them hah. Not that he minded though, it was just a coincidence that they were left alone too often these days, right?

Todomatsu didn’t want to leave the house, for no reason, he didn’t feel up to it. But why also his older brother? Lately he hadn’t been out to get his Karamatsu Girls too, and sometimes Todomatsu would catch his brother staring at him, in a very loving way that weird him out. Not digusting though, just plainly weird.

“Totty?”

“Hm”

Karamatsu hadn’t used his painful lines much lately, and that got on everybody nerves. Something was wrong when Karamatsu stopped being painful, it was like seeing Jyushimatsu without his smile, and to his own disbelief, Todomatsu kinda missed that of Karamatsu.

Well, Todomatsu loved sweet stuff. And when Karamatsu wasn’t painful, he could use some pick-up lines and that sweet deep voice of his to be ACTUALLY romantic. Which was very attractive to the youngest, he always loved being pampered and spoiled by his brothers, which Karamatsu willing to give everytime.

There was a reason why they were closest to each other when they were kids, you know.

“Wanna hear a joke?”

“Yeah, sure, whatever.”

But yeah, maybe he was just overthinking a bit.

“Knock knock”

“Karamatsu-niisan, not that again.”

“Hush, just answer me lil bro.”

Threw him a confusing glance, Todomatsu sat up and faced his brother, who had been staring at him ever since the others left. It was hard to figure what he was thinking behind those sunglasses. Who ever wear sunglasses inside anyway? Eventhough he would never admit that it looked good on his older brother, with his thick eyebrows and that half-smirking mouth. He was being illuminated by the sunset, and that made him…beautiful.

The words stuck in Todomatsu’s head. Wait, what? Did he just think that shitty person he has as a brother beautiful? Maybe staying inside too much did take a toll on him.

“Only this one niisan.”

“Hm, knock knock.”

“Who’s there?”

“Ai.”

“Ai who?”

Karamatsu suddenly stood up, he walked slowly until Todomatsu and him were only inches apart. To his youngest brother’s surprise, he pulled out a pink rose bouquet out of nowhere and placed in in front of Todomatsu.

“Aishiteru.” (I love you)

It took a lifetime for Todomatsu to realise what his brother said. He was technically frozen right at the spot, looking at the pink roses in his brother’s hands.

“My dear Totty, I have been thinking over the last few days. What are you to me? And to my dismay, I can’t never settle with the word “brother”. Because to me you have been special, everytime I go to sleep I dream of you, everytime I meet someone, my mind travels back to your side. I know over the last few years you and I have been growing apart. Ah, time sure is cruel. But I realize I still have a chance to make it up for you…”

“Wait, wait, this is a joke right?”

Todomatsu placed his hand on Karamatsu’s mouth, not taking in anything at all. If this was a joke, then it would be a really good one, because he was taken aback by his words. Deep down inside him, something stirred at Karamatsu’s words. Something weak, but also powerful, overwhelming and bitter.

“Niisan, I don’t like this kind of joke. I’m your brother, and if you want to practice this, I’m not a good choice okay!”

“This is not a joke.”

Shit. He was serious. His dark brown eyes stared at Todomatsu’s, almost drowning him in process, his voice was low and primal, as if this was an order. Todomatsu felt his heart squeezed at the words, alarms ringing all over his head. No way. No fucking way.

“Niisan…”

He was cut off by something soft pressed against his lips, hot, full of passion, full of desires. His head just went “BANG”, his heartbeat fastened. Karamatsu was kissing him. Worse, he was feeling good about this.

Todomatsu opened his mouth to protest, only to have his brother’s tongue slided inside of him, licking every corner of his little mouth. It was hard to breathe, his face must have turned bright red by now, hopefully not that recognizable as the room was being filled with orange sunlight.

He could feel it. His brother’s passion. Feelings. Sincerity. Love. Everything.

In one moment, it was too hard to resist. He warped his arms around Karamatsu’s neck and started sucking at his lips. Hm. Felt good. He couldn’t think straight right now. He needed more. More of this sweetness. More of this love.

You have always wanted this right?

A voice said at the back of his mind. Yes, he had always wanted to be loved by someone. Who could give him all the attention he wanted, who needed him, who he could share everything with. No, he had always wanted to be loved by his own brother. This was wrong, damnit, but what could he do, while he was drowning in the happiness of being treasured and cared for.

When he came to his sense, Todomatsu had been pushed on the floor, with Karamatsu on top of him. His chocolate eyes were half-lidded, full of kindness and lust.

“Todomatsu?”

“Karamatsu-niisan…”

“I can stop if you don’t want it you know. Just say it and I will stop.”

“I…”

But before he got to say a thing, he was suddenly hit with a pain in his chest. His pupils widened with pain. Todomatsu sat up, pushing Karamatsu out and started vomiting. Blood. Blood on his hand. It smeared on his clothes and stained the floor. Karamatsu was dumbfounded for a moment.

What was wrong with him? It hurt. It hurt.

He heard his older brother rushed to his side, calling his name but he was just too tired, he couldn’t say a thing. Karamatsu’s face was the last thing he saw before being caught by darkness.

“TODOMATSU!!!”

Chapter Text

The first thing he saw was white. Pure white accompanied with the beeping sound of some kind of machine. He felt lethargic and lifeless, just laying there with little care about the world he was living in. There was something on his mouth and nose, making it hard to breathe. He tried to move his fingers, only to be met with disappointment.

Urg, where am I? 

“Totty?”

There was a familiar voice. Huh? Karamatsu-niisan? A flash of blue appeared out of nowhere, waving at him. He struggled to look at it better but it quickly disappeared. Someone called for the doctor, and there were footsteps all around him. A flashlight was shone into his eyes, not too strong but enough to make him wink. Slowly he could make sense out of the talking noises.

“…awake. Try calling his name.”

“Todomatsu.”

“Todomatsu! Can you hear me?”

Todomatsu opened his mouth, small words escaped his lips.

“Y…yes…”

“Thanks God. It’s me, your brother. Don’t worry, you’re safe now. It’ll be alright.”

He was definitely not feeling alright. Who did you think he was? A child? But he was too tired to say anything. He wanted to sleep. Todomatsu closed his eyes and drifted off to dreamland again. This time someone held his hand. Their hand was rough, but it was very warm. Somehow, he enjoyed that touch.

--------------------------

“Niisan, it’s late now. Mom gonna be angry!”

“Shh, one second. Look!”

The kid pointed at the guy playing guitar on the sidewalk, eyes sparkled with stars. His brother tried not to show his disinterest, but it was written all over his face.

“When I grow up, I want to be cool like that guy.”

“Yeah yeah, now hurry up. I’m starving.”

That was him. And Karamatsu. Why did he remember that? Oh right, must because Karamatsu went out of his way to confess to him earlier. Todomatsu didn’t know how to deal with this. A confession. From your very own brother. On top of that, the painful one of them. He was surprised that he didn’t feel disgusted by the idea, nor any resentment. He had to admit that among twenty years living together, he sometimes had inappropriate thoughts about his brothers. But they were, afterall, just thoughts right? If he didn’t act it out, it wouldn’t be a problem. He never thought Karamatsu would be into the whole incestous thing, since he always spoke about his Karamatsu Girls and stuff. If one of them (or two) was commiting incest, it would probably be Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu, or maybe even Osomatsu and Choromatsu. He and Karamatsu were like, the last in line when came to things like this. Yet his brother had told him he fell in love with one had the same face with him.

It was a bad joke. Ironically, it was something Karamatsu would likely do.

--------------------- 

He opened his eyes again, this time greeted with a familiar face. Jyushimatsu was crying all over him, his mouth still stuck in the smiling position, which Todomatsu found weird and endearing. When he finally noticed Todomatsu’s consciousness, he let out a loud yell:

“TOOTTYYY!”

“Geez, Jyushimatsu-niisan, you’re too loud.”

Everyone rushed into the room, they surrounded Todomatsu while he struggled to sit up.

“How do you feel?”

“Do you hurt anywhere?”

“Niisan, calm down. I’m fine.”

The noises died down, much to Todomatsu’s relief, but they still scanned him from head to toe, making sure he was alright. He realized two of them weren’t beside him.

“Where’re Osomatsu-niisan and Karamatsu-niisan?”

“Properly talking with the doctor, since mom went out earlier to get your stuff.”

“You scared the shit out of us. Luckily Karamatsu-niisan was there and took you to the hospital in time.”

Choromatsu said, placing a hand on Todomatsu’s forehead to check whether he had a fever. Jyushimatsu was still crying, standing quietly next to Ichimatsu, who was holding him in comfort. Todomatsu tried to form a smile, reassure him.

“It’s okay. I’m awake now aren’t I?”

Jyushimatsu gave him a bright smile despite the tears trickling down his cheeks and soaked his long sleeves. Todomatsu’s chest started aching, as he clenched his shirt Ichimatsu had noticed it.

“Your chest hurts?”

“A bit.”

“We should call the doctor!”

Choromatsu seemed panic, he stood up and dashed for the door as Osomatsu stepped in. They bumped into each other, Osomatsu cursed at the impact:

“Shit Cherrymatsu! Why in a hurry?”

“Totty’s chest hurts. We…we need a doctor...”

“Ok, ok, calm down. Here one so don’t need to be such a mother hen.”

A man in white cloak went right behind him and raised his eyebrows.

“What’s going on here?”

“Doctor, my brother’s chest hurts.”

“Ok, take a deep breath, do it hurt more?”

“Yes.”

“Ok, I need to examine him a little. Can you all wait outside?”

Jyushimatsu squeezed his purple brother’s shirt nervously. Ichimatsu grabbed and rubbed circles in his hand, trying to calm Jyushimatsu down. He whispered, the words almost went unheard:

“It’s okay. He will be alright.”

Despite the confidence in his sentence, his voice wavered. Osomatsu had been quiet, hands in his pockets, he no longer had the playful grin on his face as he stared at the door. Choromatsu pulled him into a corner, lowered his voice:

“What happened? What did the doctor tell you?”

“They’re not so sure Choromatsu. They need to check up one last time, we will have to wait.”

Choromatsu sighed at his words. Choromatsu was not a patient one, nor was Osomatsu, but his brother seemed to be hoping. He kept stealing glances at the door, half wanting for the doctor to come out, half wanting, desperately, for him to stay in there.

“Where’s Karamatsu-niisan?”

“Went out to get some air.”

“What exactly did the doctor tell you, Osomatsu-niisan?”

The look on his face gave it away. Choromatsu felt his heart sank when he saw the pain in Osomatsu’s eyes. The eldest lowered his gaze and spoke in a serious tone:

“We shouldn’t assume things so fast Choromatsu. Let’s wait for the doctor.”

Oh god, what did they get into this time?

“Karamatsu-niisan, where have you been?”

Jyushimatsu’s voice wasn’t as loud as usual, Choromatsu turned around to meet with tired lifeless eyes of his second eldest brother. On his hands there were flowers, all kinds of them, like he had spent time picking those somewhere. He noticed that the door was closed and asked the others:

“So, how is it? Is Todomatsu alright?”

“The doctor wanted to examine him a bit so we’re waiting out here.”

“I see.”

The quietness sank as they waited for the doctor to come out, which was only a few mintues later. The expression on his face was unreadable, as he gestured for the five brothers to come in and told them to call their parents for he would be back in a couple minutes.

“Totty, knock knock.”

This time, no one cared about Karamatsu and his little game.They just walked right past him and gathered around the youngest brother. Even though his face was a bit pale, he still seemed quite healthy, to their relief.

“Karamatsu-niisan, you should stop with the jokes already. It’s lame.”

“Ah, I brought you flowers, little brother.”

“Erm, I’m not a girl niisan.”

“I thought it will be perfect in this vase on the deck. So everyday you wake up in here…”

“So, what did the doctor say?”

Osomatsu interfered before any cheesy line was made. Karamatsu didn’t seem to mind as he grabbed the vase and headed for the bathroom.

“Nothing, he told me to wait with you guys.”

“Your chest still hurts?”

Ichimatsu finally spoke up, which was rare of him. Todomatsu was taken aback by the care in his voice, but laughed it off.

“Nah, it’s fine. Maybe it’s just a stroke or something.”

“There you go, my sweetest little brother.”

Karamatsu put the vase full of flowers on the deck next to the bed. It was hard to admit but it felt really nice to have some colors in this plain white room. So, for the first time of his life, Todomatsu thanked him, to his older brother’s surprise, but he brushed it off as something he would always do for his “endearing little bro”.

The other just rolled their eyes as the dramatic pose he displayed. However, in Todomatsu’s chest grew a warm feeling. This was just like at home, before anything of this happened, nothing had changed.

Everything was still fine.

Or so he hoped.

Chapter Text

It came crashing down on Todomatsu on his first night at the hospital for observation.

His chest hurt, throbbing like someone was trying to squeeze all his blood out of his heart. The whole room turned upside down and spinned, his vision was blurry and his head ached. It was Karamatsu who vonlunteered to stay at the hospital with him that night. As his brother pressed the button to call for nurses, he noticed it. At first he thought it was a hallucination, maybe the pain took the better of him and started to play with his mind.  

But it wasn’t.

He saw a bud, a plant, sprouting out of his skin, right on his finger. Todomatsu let out a loud scream as he tried to pull it out. Karamatsu saw it too, and he was stricken with shock. The bud didn’t come out, as if its root was deep inside his body, feeding on him. To his horror, the small plant kept on growing, until it was about a finger-length that it transformed. Right in front of his eyes, a lovely pink color appeared. If it hadn’t been coming out of his finger, Todomatsu would have taken a minute to appreciate the beauty of the whole process, but he was busy screaming and crying in pain.

The doctor rushed in and pushed him down the bed, prevented him from bitting his finger off. He felt a sharp pain on his arm as some fluid was injected into him. He blacked out.

-------------------- 

He had no idea why he had been sent to this hospital in the first place. They gave him a paper the next morning he woke up, only to inform him that he was turning into a plant.

A PLANT.

The green thing that fed on water and soil, took sunshine and CO2 to turn it into O2. Yes, that kind of plant. And Todomatsu was becoming one.

At first, he didn’t believe it. He laughed at the doctor and told him to stop joking, because this wasn’t a comedy show. To his dismay, the doctor didn’t laugh back, no, he didn’t even lift his mouth to any position which could inform Todomatsu that it was all a prank. He just simply stared at his patient, waiting for the truth to sink down. Todomatsu looked at the paper again, only to notice the very obvious thing on his finger.

A tiny flower with a pinkish hue.

His world came crushing down under the sight of the abnormal creature. It was real, he was becoming a plant, he was dying. The truth hit him hard, he could no longer hold the paper on his hands as it slipped out to the floor. Someone rushed to his side, embraced him, caressed his hair and whispered comforting words into his ear. He unconsciously held them back, he couldn’t bear it any longer as he cried. He cried and cried like a baby until he lost all his strength.

----------------------- 

The Matsuno family was stroken with shock when they heard from the doctor about Todomatsu’s condition. Osomatsu didn’t receive it very well, he started to yell at the doctor that they had to stop joking and attempted to hit him. Choromatsu and Ichimatsu held him back in time before any harm was made. Jyushimatsu just stood there, unable to speak, his always-smiling mouth was closed into a firm line. Karamatsu was right beside him, and he was dumpfounded for several minutes. The first thing Karamatsu did after came to his sense was to come and check Todomatsu, in his heart he was hoping, hoping that the doctor had misdiagnosed. That his brother, most beloved one, wasn’t dying.

But when he saw Todomatsu’s condition, there was no words he could think of. His little brother sat on the bed, gripping a paper in his hands, eyes wide open. He no longer had his cute pout with him, it was replaced with a closed mouth, his hair was messy after last night struggle. There on his ring finger, a small flower bloomed. As Todomatsu started to shiver, Karamatsu rushed to his side and embraced him.

“It’s okay, I’m here.”

He had never noticed how small, fragile, the youngest was until he held him in his arms. Tears soaked his blue hoodie when Todomatsu started crying, clinged onto him for any comfort. Karamatsu felt his eyes teary too, but held it back. He was the older. He had to be strong for his little brother. He told himself that several times before being wrapped by familiar arms. Jyushimatsu was holding him and Todomatsu, as if to comfort them both, eventhough he himself was crying waterfalls. Not so long after that the other joined him, they were all weeping loudly until the nurses came and forced everyone out except Todomatsu.

“Totty, don’t cry, you still have us.”

“We will be back tomorrow, so don’t worry ok!”

They shouted before disappeared behind the door. Todomatsu nodded quickly, still tired from the crying. That was right, he still had his family to back him up.

He was not alone.

Chapter Text

Todomatsu had to keep staying in the hospital for a couple of weeks.

Don't give up.

They said when pushing him to the operating room. The doctors had almost tried anything, but there was no result. The pink flower blossomed on his finger was terrifyingly made of flesh. They couldn't find the root, examination of its cells shown it could be a new type of cancer, however the flower's cell had a lot in common with a plant cell. All he understood was that the flower might be a malignant tumor.

If it was cancer, surgery to remove the tumor would stop it from spreading fast. But they had no idea why a tumor could resemble a flower and grew out of human skin. Especially why its cell seemed to be a plant cell in close examination.

So at first they thought he was turning into a plant, which was not very far from what thing really was going.

"It was beautiful."

Karamatsu told him the night before the surgery. Todomatsu was too nervous to sleep, plus everytime he accidentally touched the flower, the pain it brought was almost unbearable. He couldn't stop the tears from trickling down his cheeks when he caught sight of that obvious thing. His head was a mess. Cancer? Tumor? Even more ridiculous, a flower-shaped tumor. He would be turned into a living mass of flowers, while alive and breathing, then eventually the flowers would suck his life out of him. He would die in pain. The thought terrified him, as he spent hours holding himself and the thin blanket.

His older brother caught the sight of him curling into a ball and shivering. That night it was Karamatsu who stayed with him, in fact, he did almost everyday since they received the diagnosis, except a few nights Choromatsu forced him to switch. He tried as gentle as he could to embrace Todomatsu. His arms was strong and slightly muscular, in contrasted to Todomatsu's slender arms.

"Shh"

He hushed, let his little brother's head resting on his firm chest. A hand stroking Totty's hair, he breathed in the faint smell of shampoo from the other.

"Calm now. You will be alright, dear brother. I'm here."

"Karamatsu-niisan..."

Todomatsu whispered, let his tears soak the blue shirt.

Was I going to die?

I wanted the pain to stop.

He had a thousand things he wanted to say, but a weird question escaped his lips before any others.

"Do you still love me?"

The little brother felt his older one stiffened under his touch. After all everything that had come to him, this seemed to be the most acceptable one. He closed his burning, tear-stained eyes. Waiting. Hoping.

"Of course. You are my brother."

Brother. Not lover.

His chest tightened in response. Todomatsu pushed Karamatsu away almost immediately.

"I see. I love you too, brother. Goodnight."

Why did you make that face Karamatsu-niisan?

Todomatsu stared at the neon light above his head. A couple of surgeons, with blue coat and masks, came and disappeared out of his sight. He couldn't focus on breathing like how the nurses told him to. His mind kept traveling back to the image of soft chocolate eyes looking down the bed sheet and hunched shoulders.

Disappointment? Sadness? Todomatsu wasn't sure, he couldn't see his brother's eyes very clearly under the faint moonlight pouring from the windows.

As the anesthesia kicked in, his conscious faded away. But that image of his brother kissing his forehead goodnight the night before kept lingering at the back of his head.

Karamatsu-niisan....

Chapter Text

He remembered the fading light of the operation room. The faint smell of disinfectant and plastic gloves. Then he blacked out, more like drifting into a realm of peace and dream.

People being put under anesthesia don't dream, do they?

.

"Tot....Totty...Todomatsu!"

Todomatsu opened his eyes again. Why did this feel so familiar? He slowly blinked, and saw his elder brother in the blue hoodie was looking at him with worried eyes. There was something heavy on his left arm. Oh yeh, he was in a surgery to remove the tumor. Did that go well?

He shifted his head a bit, still feel a bit dizzy. Karamatsu observed his movement to make sure he was not in any pain. He could have just asked, Todomatsu thought, but it was Karamatsu way of caring, well, at least to Todomatsu.

"Karamatsu-Nisan....the tumor?"

His throat was dry, made it hard to speak. Karamatsu noticed the hoarseness in his voice, he grabbed a glass and poured some water from a bottle, then gently helped Todomatsu to sit up.

"Have some water first, you have been sleeping for a while."

As the cool liquid touched his tongue, Todomatsu felt like he was blessed. He had never thought the plain water he consumed everyday could be so delicious. When he swallowed the last drops, he couldn't stop himself from wanting more, eventho he had had enough. Of course Karamatsu noticed his pleading eyes, he chuckled:

"When you are discharged from the hospital, let's go for a drink. I know a cafe where they sell the best iced tea. You can drink all you want, I'll pay."

Todomatsu threw him disbelief eyes:

"You told me the other day you were broke."

"Ah yeh, I was, but mom gave me some more this month. Don't worry, there's nothing I can't do for my dear brother."

"Really? Yet that time you and Choromatsu-Niisan went ahead and almost broke my foot just because of a heater."

Karamatsu' smile stiffened, that time they were fighting for who to go refill the kerosene, it had been months ago, he couldn't believe Todomatsu still remembered that horrible incident.

"Ha ha"

Todomatsu left out a giggle at the sight of his brother's crooked smile.

They laughed together for a while. Just like the good old days.

Todomatsu finally noticed the cast on his left arm. Heavy, but didn't hurt anymore. He tried lifting it in vain, but somehow his muscles just gave out. Maybe he had been asleep longer than he thought. Karamatsu put a hand on his cast, smiled gently:

"No need to force yourself, the surgery went well. Maybe you can remove the cast in a few more months."

"I didn't break my arm Karamatsu-niisan. Just a small cut, maybe in a few days they will remove it."

Todomatsu's eyes grew brightly at his words. Deep inside his chest, the weary feeling was still there, but he chose to ignore it. Nothing has gone wrong. He would be back to his shitty lazy self in no time. Karamatsu stroke his hair, his smile brightened as he nodded.

"And you still own me a free drink."

"Roger that."

A nurse stepped in when they were sharing a smile. She hid her giggles behind the notebook.

"I'm sorry. Who is Mr. Matsuno family? The doctor want to see you."

"Ah, that's me. I'll be right back ok!"

"Just go, I'm not a child, and it's not like I can go anywhere with this big cast."

"Yeh I know. Still...."

He ruffled Todomatsu's hair. His hand was a little rough and firm.

"I'll be right back. Ok?"

"Yeh yeh, just go already!"

Todomatsu pushed his hand away, eventhough he enjoying being patted on the head, but not in front of others. The nurse smile was really getting on his nerves. Karamatsu turned around and followed the nurse outside.

He was alone. Left alone. Todomatsu huffed at his own thought. If anyone knew that he was lonely with his brothers, especially his brothers, they would mock him to his grave. Besides, it wasn't that Todomatsu was not used to being alone. Now that he mentioned, where were the others?

As the youngest was lost in thought, the door swung open suddenly, causing him to jump a bit.

"Karamatsu-niisan, you should have...."

"Sorry..."

An apologize could be heard from behind the wooden frame. Wait, this was not his elder brother's voice, despite being strangely similar, how could Karamatsu have such clear voice like a child? His voice had changed to a deeper tone during puberty, just like every one else, except Todomatsu who still had his cute childlike ones.

Todomatsu fixed his eyes on the back of the door. A boy who was probably seven or eight tumbled into his room, wearing a white sailor outfit with blue lining. The boy nervously scanned the room, his blue eyes sparkled when he saw Todomatsu laying on the white bed.

"Are you lost?"

Todomatsu gestured his hand inviting the boy in. But the little fellow had rooted to his spot near the entrance.

Strange kid. Todomatsu thought as he observed the little boy. Short hair with a deep blue color. Elementary kid these days could dye their hair already? No way that was his natural hair color. Those oceanic eyes under bushy eyebrows were filled with water....wait, what? Why was he crying?

"TOTTY!!!"

The boy suddenly yelled and ran to his side, hugging his unharmed arm and started to cry even louder. Todomatsu was shocked, how could this boy know the nickname that his brothers had used to mock him? More important, what was happening?

"Hey lil fella, calm down, uh, don't cry...Who are you? How do you know my name?"

"Imuh...muhmis....yuhuhuh....."

"Don't cry, I can't hear what you are saying."

"Totty?"

This time a familiar voice, Todomatsu spotted his brother as the door, his eyes widened at the sight of the crying kid clinging on Todomatsu's right arm. Karamatsu came just in time. Todomatsu thanked god for that.

"Karamatsu-Niisan, I think this kid is lost or something, and he mistook me for someone else too."

Todomatsu frowned as the loud cry of the blue haired child had started to make him feel dizzy. Karamatsu ran to his side and separated the wailing sailor-suited kid from his younger brother. Todomatsu could hear a faint whisper from his brother.

"Why are you here? Come on, let go of him."

"Karamatsu-niisan, you know this kid?"

"Huh? Ah yeh, I saw this guy a few times when I came to visit you."

"Karamatsu?"

The kid stopped crying the moment he realized Karamatsu was holding him. Whoa, he knew his elder brother was good with children, but this was really helpful, as his head would explode if the kid went on for any seconds. He looked at the blue hoodie adult with teary oceanic eyes.

"You shouldn't be here, you know."

Karamatsu patted him lightly on the head, the kid seemed to know that he had made Todomatsu uncomfortable, he stared at his feet, trying to keep his hiccups down. That scene just broke Todomatsu's heart a bit. So he reached his non-injured hand out to pat the little one gently on the head.

"There there. What is your name, lil fella?"

"Hum...uhm...."

The kid jolted at the touch, and kept shuffling on his feet. Karamatsu answered instead:

"Zaimoku. His name is Zaikomu."

Chapter Text

"Zaimoku, nice to meet you."

Todomatsu smiled softly at the child but he didn't respond. He doesn't like me, hah?. Even though he knew he didn't have the child-friendly aura but he sure his face was not that scary to look at. Karamatsu had the same face, duh.

Todomatsu tucked some strands behind his ears while looking up to Karamatsu embarrassingly. His always oblivious brother luckily was sharp in that situation and took the child out of the room, gently led him by the arm. Zaimoku followed him quietly, as he walked to the entrance, he stole a glance at Todomatsu. Four eyes met for one moment before he quickly disappeared behind the door with Karamatsu.

Todomatsu was struck at that moment. That face the kid had made looked...strangely familiar. Like he had seen it before, multiple times, but he couldn't recall who it was.

The face of one who couldn't contain his tears, but tried so hard to hold it in. However his pleading eyes betrayed him. A scene that wrenched his heart, the pain was unbearable.

"TOTTY?"

Someone shook him vigorously by the shoulders, succeeded in waking him from his thoughts. Todomatsu recognized the trademark smile of his brother. Jyushimatsu.

"Totty? What are you thinking about? We have been trying to call you more than ten times!"

Ichimatsu sounded more worried than irritated, which was extremely off from his usual grumpy self. Todomatsu just shrugged it off.

"Nah, nothing, I was just thinking how long I would have to carry this big cast around. Maybe I could bring this to the coffee shop and get some care from the ladies."

"Heh, as if they would care about you two-faced demon."

Ichimatsu scoffed at the idea, but was relieved nonetheless. Jyushimatsu was quiet for a moment, then he shot up, jumping real high onto the air:

"I have an idea!"

He yelled and ran out of the room, only to come back within seconds with color markers in his hands. Ichimatsu was surprised at how fast it took Jyushimatsu to find the markers. Jyushimatsu placed them down the table next to Todomatsu's bed. There were six colors: red, blue, green, purple, yellow and pink. It was apparent that Jyushimatsu had picked the colors for the six brothers.

"I got it from the kid's room at the end of the hall."

Jyushimatsu handed Ichimatsu the purple one, while himself uncapped the yellow and started to scribble on Todomatsu's cast. Ichimatsu drew something on the cast too, and Todomatsu let them. Like everytime someone broke an arm or a leg back then when they were children, the others wrote well-wishes onto their big cast, a few doodles and lot of colorful stickers. But it would be too childish to use stickers for a twenty-year-old. Jyushimatsu finished his drawing of a pitcher hitting a ball, then scribbled something Todomatsu could barely figure out. He gave his litttle brother the pink marker, smiling brightly:

"Here, Totty too."

Todomatsu took the marker and uncapped it, he made he first stroke, wanting to draw a cute rabbit bouncing up and down. But the color came off wasn't the bright pinkish hue he expected.

"Eh? What's wrong with this marker?"

Both Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu stopped at their doodling and looked at what Todomatsu had drawn on his own cast. The color of that circle was brownish. Ichimatsu noticed the black head of the marker.

"It got something on its head. Maybe some kids accidentally got another marker color on it."

"Huh, oh I see."

Todomatsu noticed the blackness tinted on the marker. Guess I can't use this after all. He picked up another, this time the blue one to draw a big bad wolf. But to his own luck, the marker was dried up.

"Jesus, I'm so damn unlucky."

"This is not your week hah, want us to go ask for a charm from the shrine?"

Todomatsu looked up and saw Ichimatsu's face: wrinkled and worried. Words he was about to retort back sunk down, his older brother was really considered. Todomatsu didn't know how to deal with this, with both his older brothers looked at him, fear and care in their eyes. Jyushimatsu didn't even have his smile on.

"Hey, stop treating me like I can drop dead any moment. Look, I'm all healthy and happy. The tumor is removed, and even if it is a malignant one, I will still stuck with you guys for another ten years. Not to say I'm the youngest and healthiest of us six, I can outlive all of you old people who laze around all day."

He smacked both of them on the head, jeez, treating him like a baby. Ichimatsu talked back while backing away, out of Todomatsu's reach.

"I forgot that the devil never dies."

He snickered, while tucking Jyushimatsu by the sleeves. His usually bright and smiling brother, however, didn't say a word. He simply stared at Todomatsu in an unreadable expression, then extended his hand to stroke the youngest hair.

"No matter what happens, we will always be by your side Totty."

Jyushimatsu mumbled softly, he gave Todomatsu a sad smile. Ichimatsu held his brother's hand tightly, afraid that Jyushimatsu would burst into tears any moment.

"You should rest Totty, we need to go back or Choromatsu will be worried sick. He wanted to visit you too, but mom and dad were out and he lost the rock paper scissors game."

Meaning he was probably forced to watch the house. Todomatsu understood what had happened right the moment Ichimatsu mentioned that game of fate. Choromatsu always lost at Rock Paper Scissors, because his brother was too nervous and showed everything on his face.

"Where's Osomatsu-niisan though? I haven't seen him since the surgery."

"Dunno, maybe out for panchiko."

"Really? His brother is hospitalized and he still has mood for panchiko?"

"Karamatsu told us about your condition, and he had been worried sick about you. A little game of panchiko will be a good reward for him."

Ichimatsu did all the talking, Todomatsu glanced back to the hand which was still on his head, Jyushimatsu had stopped stroking his hair, but he still placed his hand there. And it was trembling.

"Jyushimatsu-niisan, you ok?"

"Jyushimatsu?"

"Huh..ah yeh, I'm fine."

The fifth brother laughed it off, even though it was obvious in his tone that something wasnt right. Todomatsu threw Ichimatsu a questioning glance, but Ichimatsu just shrugged his shoulders. They could never know what Jyushimatsu had in his head.

"Alright, we have to go back now, Karamatsu-niisan will stay with you. Come Ichimatsu-niisan."

Jyushimatsu grabbed all the markers and left for the door, with Ichimatsu who followed closely behind.