All For Nothing

Chapter Three

Exactly one week later...

Ichimatsu stared longingly at his home as Karamatsu helped Jyushimatsu pack his things.

There was a harsh wind that continuously hit Ichimatsu in the chest, causing him to shiver from the bitterness of winter.

Rubbing his hands together, Ichimatsu breathed on them, trying to warm himself up.

Ichimatsu could have gone inside his old home if he wanted to, but it was too painful at the moment. He couldn't believe that his parents were just gone. He knew the day would have come eventually, considering they were getting older, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon.

"I hope Jyushimatsu never figures out they're dead..." Ichimatsu thought with a sigh, watching Jyushimatsu leap out of the house, carrying his soft red colored backpack. He was followed by Karamatsu who was pulling the huge suitcase their parents had always used for vacations.

"Are you ready to go, Ichimatsu?" Karamatsu asked, huffing as he unlocked the trunk to his old, beat up car.

Ichimatsu nodded his head as Jyushimatsu stood beside him, tugging on the end of his jacket to get his attention.

"Nii-san! This is so exciting! Mommy and Daddy are going to be surprised when we're not at home! Are we gonna get in trouble when they get back?" Jyushimatsu asked, his voice just as innocent as it could be.

Ichimatsu looked down sadly at his little brother, then forced himself to smile.

Karamatsu threw the suitcase into the car's trunk, letting out a scream as the suitcase somehow managed to smash his hand in the process.

"A-Are you two ready now?" Karamatsu asked, puffs of "smoke" escaping his mouth as he closed the car trunk with the hand he hadn't smashed. Shaking his other hand in the air, Karamatsu grimaced stupidly as he waited for his two brothers to reply.

"Yeah..." Ichimatsu mumbled, still looking down at Jyushimatsu. "It's not like we can change the circumstances now. It's all over."

"What do you mean?" Karamatsu asked, shaking his head a little as he opened the backseat door for Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu. He didn't even bother to ask if Ichimatsu wanted to sit in the front seat. He knew he would worry about Jyushimatsu being alone in the back.

Ichimatsu picked Jyushimatsu up, groaning as he helped him into the backseat area of his brother's beat up car.

"Nii-saaaaaaan," Jyushimatsu complained, squirming around, trying to escape his brother's arms. "Let me get in myself!"

Ichimatsu ignored Jyushimatsu, setting him down in the children's car seat that Karamatsu had recently put in his car.

"Can you buckle yourself up?" Ichimatsu asked, sitting down besides the car seat.

Jyushimatsu flailed his arms around, looking for the two extra safety straps on his car seat. But, of course, he failed to find them.

Letting out a sigh, Ichimatsu leaned over and quickly got his brother situated.

"You two sure are close," Karamatsu commented with a smirk as he sat down in the driver's seat, starting the car. "It's a shame you never loved me like you love Jyushimatsu, Ichimatsu."

"Wh-What?" Ichimatsu stammered, having no idea why his face had suddenly started to burn. "I don't get what you mean..."

"I'm just saying," Karamatsu laughed a little, beginning to drive. "I'm glad we're going to be spending more time with each other again."

"Tch..." Ichimatsu spat, and Jyushimatsu began to giggle.

Several hours later...

Karamatsu placed three small bowls of rice on his kitchen table, smiling proudly as he watched steam rise from them.

"I actually made it right!" Karamatsu thought, waiting eagerly for Ichimatsu to comment on it. He honestly didn't care if it was going to be negative or not...he just wanted his brother to say something.

"This is..." Ichimatsu mumbled, sitting down in one of the chairs. Unlike his old home where he just sat on the floor for dinner, Karamatsu's house had an actual table and chairs.

"What is this?" Jyushimatsu asked, trying to climb up into the chair beside his brother.

Ichimatsu stood up and quickly helped his brother into the chair, sighing just a little. He almost wished Jyushimatsu wasn't so short. Being short meant he couldn't do half of the normal things most kids his age could.

Jyushimatsu grabbed his chopsticks and stared at the bowl of white rice, his happy expression falling right off of his face.

"This isn't food!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, pointing at his bowl of rice. "This is poor people's food!"

"Jyushimatsu, be polite..." Ichimatsu mumbled, though he was thinking the exact same thing his younger brother was. "Karamatsu is really trying his best. You should be glad he's tak-"

"I know it's no good," Karamatsu sighed, his eyes growing cloudy with disappointment. "Akane always made everything for me. This is my first time cooking."

"Clearly..." Ichimatsu muttered, "But why didn't you just make instant ramen or something? That's not hard, is it?"

"I want ramen!" Jyushimatsu squealed, beginning to laugh and kick in his chair.

"I don't have any," Karamatsu laughed sheepishly, rubbing behind his head. "But I do have some seasoning for the rice. I'll give you some, if you'd like."

"Why didn't you offer it in the first place? It's child abuse to just torture us by making us eat plain rice. I hate rice," Ichimatsu said bluntly.

And after several more minutes of getting things situated for his two younger brothers, Karamatsu finally began to pick up on what his brothers liked and didn't like. It was all very strange for him to imagine Ichimatsu hating plain rice, but then again, lots of people hated it.

Later that night after the three had finally finished their meal, Karamatsu led them up the stairs in his house, showing his brothers their bedroom.

"I know it's pretty small," Karamatsu said, flicking on the light in the room, revealing all neglect the room had had. There was dust in all four corners of the room, the closet door was falling off, and the window's glass was cracked, but not quite broken. "But it's all I have."

Jyushimatsu clutched his small backpack in his hands, beginning to breathe heavily with excitement.

"Thanks..." Ichimatsu mumbled, noticing that Karamatsu had already placed his brother's purple duffle bag in the room. "Where are the futons at though?"

"F-Futons?" Karamatsu laughed a little, even more embarrassed. "Didn't you bring yours from home?"

"I thought you had them," Ichimatsu muttered.

"I-I did! Yes!" Karamatsu said, quickly running down the stairs. "I think I left them in the trunk of the car!"

"Moron..." Ichimatsu hissed under his breath, cautiously walking into his new bedroom which he was to share with Jyushimatsu.

"Nii-san this is fun!" Jyushimatsu giggled, running in ahead of his brother. "Are Mommy and Daddy are going to worry though? What if Uncle Karamatsu forgot to leave a note saying where we are?"

Ichimatsu stared at Jyushimatsu sympathetically.

"I'm glad he's too stupid to know what's really happened..." Ichimatsu thought, walking towards the window in the room. "I think it's best to keep it that way. He'll never know..."