All For Nothing

Chapter Five

Ichimatsu shuddered in his sleep as he tossed and turned in angst, completely lost in his mind as Jyushimatsu slept peacefully beside him.

The wind began to howl as if it were angry, tree branches hitting loudly on the boys' bedroom window. Rain poured down in thick sheets, blinding any unfortunate person who happened to be outside in the middle of the night.

Nobody had seen such a storm coming, yet here it was, just as strong as could be. One might have expected it to be more snow, considering the temperature had been perfect for it. But no, it was just a terrible thunderstorm.

A single strike of lightening cracked down the sky, lighting it up so brightly that it could have been mistaken to be daytime for a split second. Then came the thunder, immediately rumbling furiously, awakening Jyushimatsu from his sleep.

At that moment, their already cracked glass window shattered, gusts of wind throwing the glass across the room.

Jyushimats ducked under his futon, tears welling up in his eyes. He was always scared of storms like this, and now their bedroom window was missing!

"I need to go tell Uncle Karamatsu..." Jyushimatsu thought, his heart thudding so hard he could have sworn he could hear it. "B-but Ichimatsu told me just the other night that he wouldn't want me to get hurt! What do I do...?"

The floor suddenly creaked loudly, causing Jyushimatsu's heart to skip a beat.

Burying himself even further under his futon's blanket, Jyushimatsu held his breath, trying to listen to all the sounds in his bedroom. He knew he wasn't alone with Ichimatsu anymore.

"Someone's here..." Jyushimatsu thought fearfully, a tear running down his cheek as his heart refused to slow down.

A cold hand suddenly reached down into Jyushimatsu futon, covering his mouth.

"Hush now, little one," the person whispered, giggling just a little. But it was obvious that their giggle wasn't of joy. "Go back to sleep, you'll feel much better when you wake up...I promise..."

Just as if the person's words were magic, Jyushimatsu's heartbeat slowed and his eyes felt as if they weighed a million pounds. Jyushimatsu fell into a deep, deep sleep.

The person stared down at Jyushimatsu sleeping peacefully, a wicked smile creeping across their face.

"I'll grant your brother's wish, Jyushimatsu," the person said, holding their pale white index finger up to their lips. "But Ichimatsu will pay..."

The person pulled back Ichimatsu's purple blanket, their wicked smile only growing.

"Seeing such a filthy child with an innocent child makes my heart swell with pride," the person whispered, bending down, stroking Ichimatsu's cheek. "It truly is a miracle..."

The person wrapped their hands around Ichimatsu's neck, muttering random words under their breath. And once they had finished, they crept out the destroyed window, disappearing into the storm.

Several hours later...

Ichimatsu sat straight up in bed, shrieking in pain, as the early morning sunlight lit the room.

Never in his life had Ichimatsu felt such sudden pain. He felt as if someone were continuously trying to smash a stake all the way through his head, failing each time, but leaving deep, flesh wounds.

Ichimatsu panted, a bit of drool dripping from his mouth as he found his hands moving for his throat.

"I CAN'T CONTROL MYSELF!" Ichimatsu screamed angrily, falling over, his hands gripping his neck.

Jyushimatsu jerked out of his futon and stared wide eyed at Ichimatsu, then at the broken window and the bits of glass on the floor. His lips quivering, Jyushimatsu jumped out of his futon, carefully stepped over the broken glass, then ran down the hallway.

"Uncle Karamatsu!" Jyushimatsu called worriedly, nearly slipping down the stairs because of his socks.

Ichimatsu breathed heavily, his head hurting worse and worse as the seconds dragged on by more painfully than Karamatsu himself.

"What's happened...?" Ichimatsu thought, feeling his hands loosen their grip on his neck as he became dizzy, his eyes growing heavy. "Why does it hurt..."

Jyushimatsu tugged on his older brother's pajama's sleeve, awakening him anxiously, still tugging on it as he opened up his eyes.

"What's wrong...?" Karamatsu asked groggily. "Are you worried about going to school? I already told you it was- Hey! Jyushimatsu, calm down!"

Karamatsu fell out of his bed onto the floor, almost landing on his younger brother.

Jyushimatsu continued to stand there, speechless. He kept moving his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but the words wouldn't come.

"Jyushimatsu..." Karamatsu sighed, sitting up, leaning against his bed from the floor. Grabbing his little brother in his arms, Karamatsu hugged Jyushimatsu tightly, trying to calm him down. "What ever is the matter? What's gotten into you?"

"I..." Jyushimatsu panted, his voice a tiny squeak. "It's Ich-"

"Ichimatsu..?" Karamatsu asked, confused. "What happened?"

Jyushimatsu looked pitifully up at his brother, tears running down his cheeks as he sat in his brother's comforting arms.

"H-H-H-H-He's..." Jyushimatsu stuttered, his words slurring together, his entire face growing as white as a ghost.

"Jyushimatsu!" Karamatsu exclaimed as his little brother somehow fell asleep in his arms.

Picking up Jyushimatsu, Karamatsu placed him in his bed, then took off up the stairs to see what all the ruckus was about.

Peeking in the doorway of his brothers' bedroom, the only thing he saw was the broken glass and Ichimatsu sleeping peacefully.

"He must have had a bad dream..." Karamatsu thought, and just as soon as he was about to get a broom to clean up the glass, Ichimatsu sat straight up in his futon, screaming in pain.

"Ichimatsu!" Karamatsu yelled, running to his brother's side. Grabbing Ichimatsu's shoulders, he stared into his brother's eyes, hoping he could sense his feelings of pain. "What's wrong?!"

"It hurts!" Ichimatsu screamed, gagging loudly as he accidentally began to choke himself with his hands again.

"Stop that!" Karamatsu yelled, prying his brother's hands off of his throat. "You're going to hurt yourself even more! Where does it hurt, my brother?"

"My head!" Ichimatsu cried desperately, managing to control his hands, grabbing at his throbbing head. "Why does it hurt?!"

"It's just a headache, Ichimatsu," Karamatsu said, sighing. "I'm guessing you've never had one?"

"Oh I've had plenty of headaches because of someone special I know," Ichimatsu spat.

"I didn't ask to be insulted. I only care about your wellbeing, Ichimatsu," Karamatsu said with a sigh, standing up. "But since it's so bad, I'll get myself and Jyushimatsu ready so we can go into town and get you some pain killers..."

Ichimatsu didn't reply, for he had fallen back fast asleep, trying to escape the terrible pain he felt.