All For Nothing

Chapter Seven

Ichimatsu shuddered in pain, his head continuously pounding as he lay in his futon, suffering, awaiting for Karamatsu and Jyushimatsu's return from the drugstore. Though it hadn't even been that long, each minute seemed like a year. The pain wouldn't go away.

"Why does it hurt so bad?" Ichimatsu thought, tears welling up in his eyes as he pounded his fists on his head, hoping it would ease the pressure. "I want this to stop so badly...but I can't do anything about it! My body is attempting to defy me..."

Rolling over with a loud sigh, Ichimatsu knew he couldn't stay in bed all day. With great reluctance, he forced himself to stand up, his vision slightly blurring as he stumbled to his feet, leaning against his bedroom wall for support.

"I should at least get dressed and sit downstairs so Jyushimatsu doesn't worry..." Ichimatsu thought, stumbling down the hallway towards the bathroom. "I don't want Jyushimatsu to think I'm ill...I'm just fine. It's just a really bad headache after all! Tch..."

Ichimatsu, his hands quivering from the cold and dizziness, flicked on the bathroom light.

Leaning over the sink, he turned the faucet on, vigorously washing his face with ice cold water, hoping it would help his head just a little. Of course, to his complete disappointment, it didn't.

After a nearly an hour, Ichimatsu had finally managed to get himself dressed and ready for the day.

Slumping down on the cushiony sofa in Karamatsu's living room, Ichimatsu looked around, examining each and every thing.

There were several pictures in various places around the tidy room, but most of them remained empty, leaving a sad frame to stare at.

"What even were those..." Ichimatsu thought, trying to remember, knowing he had once seen images in the lifeless frames the last time he had visited his elder brother. "I feel like there might have been images of our family, but it all seems so vague to me at the moment. I guess I still can't accept the fact that our parents have died..."

Ichimatsu, his head still pounding, managed to ignore the pain for a few moments as he noticed an open drawer on one of the tables. There were several papers furiously trying to escape. Yet from the way they looked, it seemed as though they were pictures.

Ichimatsu arose from his place on the sofa, kneeling down on the floor, pulling open up the drawer a bit more. To his utter dismay, a sickening feeling wrapped around his heart as he saw what was in it.

He had been correct, they were all old photos from before Jyushimatsu was born.

"No way..." Ichimatsu thought, feeling as if his heart were about to explode. "Karamatsu saved these....I thought they were gone..."

Ichimatsu stuffed his hand into the drawer, pulling each and every photo out. Not a single one was of family or friends. They were all of him and Karamatsu, most of which they were smiling together.

"Why does he have these..." Ichimatsu thought to himself, tears welling up in his eyes as he came across a very old photo of eight year old Karamatsu hugging his frail brother. "He never showed he cared after that point in our lives...so why...?"

Suddenly, there was a loud creak, signaling that the front door was being opened.

"We're back!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, running up the stairs, forgetting to take off his shoes and coat as he looked for his brother. "How are you feeling?"

Ichimatsu nearly choked, stuffing all of the photos back into the drawer, dizzily sitting back down on the sofa before Karamatsu could see him.

"Hey! Ichimatsu...?" Jyushimatsu asked, running back down the stairs after a few moments, his voice filled with worry. "Where is Ichimatsu?!"