Osomatsu had never really realized how much he'd taken his senses for granted before he got sick.
It was about two or so days after his collapse, and he still hadn't seen any trace of Ichimatsu, Choromatsu, Jyushimatsu or Todomatsu. He found it really weird. Surely they'd been home at some point in the last few days, right? According to his mother and Karamatsu, they hadn't. Osomatsu was growing worried every day, but he hid the feeling by suppressing it in the back of his mind, repeating that his little brothers would have to come home eventually in an attempt to reassure himself.
He was laying on his stomach in the futon with his arms crossed on the pillow and his head resting on his arms, as he'd been for the last couple of days. He had no energy to really move himself, and laying in the futon made him feel like he was a small child again. It made him feel safer somehow. He literally had no idea what time it was, but at this point, he'd lost the ability to care. All he knew was that it wasn't nighttime just yet. Karamatsu was laying on his back on the couch. Their mother had assigned the blue-clad sextuplet to watch over the eldest while she visited their father for the first time in over a week.
Osomatsu didn't really have a problem with it, but he and Karamatsu had never really gotten along very well. Maybe it was because he was closer to Todomatsu, or maybe it was something that stemmed from Osomatsu constantly stealing Karamatsu's stuff back in middle school. He wasn't sure. But whatever the cause of the sibling rivalry was, they were still brothers, and they had to look out for each other, even if all of the sextuplets except for Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu would rather Osomatsu die.
Neither brother spoke a word. A swift breeze whistled through the open window, playfully throwing the curtains around. Birds sang their usual, cheery songs outside, without a single care in the world. Sunlight doused the room in a bright haze. It was very peaceful.
Well, it would have been more serene if the sunlight wasn't focusing directly on Osomatsu's curled up form, slowly warming the sick male up more than he wanted. He was sweating. The futon's natural warmth combined with the sun's pale rays made him feel like he was stuck in an oven.
"Oi, Karamatsu," Osomatsu called from the futon, his voice coming out raspy and cracked. Karamatsu moved his head to the left to look at his only older brother. "Yes, brother?" he asked, somehow making the words more painful than they ought to be. "Can ya close the shades? I feel like I'm burning up here!" Osomatsu croaked out.
Karamatsu gave him a long, hard stare. After a long moment of silence, Karamatsu let out a long sigh. "Fine," he muttered, walking to the window and closing the blinds. Osomatsu could almost instantly feel the heat moving away, shade settling on him and cooling his overheated body. "Thanks!" Osomatsu chirped, and Karamatsu only responded with a grunt as he settled back onto the couch.
It was then that both brothers picked up the sound of footsteps. Osomatsu didn't even need to move to be able to sense that it was Choromatsu, finally returning from wherever he'd been hiding the last couple days. Karamatsu coughed. The screen door slid open, and Choromatsu stepped into the room, almost immediately launching into something that was either a rant or a lecture. Maybe both, Osomatsu had stopped listening already.
"Honestly, how lazy are you guys! It's not even three yet! Why are you just lazing around like this? Why is the futon still out? Did you already get fired, you shitty eldest?" Choromatsu shouted in a tone of voice that was half yell and half pterodactyl screech, his emerald eyes locking onto Osomatsu like a hawk about to kill.
Osomatsu rolled his eyes. Honestly, why was Choromatsu such a nag? "Mommy didn't tell you?" Karamatsu inquired, raising an eyebrow. Choromatsu sighed, his shoulders dropping as he exhaled. "No, Mom told me nothing. So, care to explain?" the third brother asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Well, our dear eldest," Karamatsu began, hissing the word 'eldest' like he was a snake. Osomatsu grunted as pain ricocheted throughout his body. "Somehow managed to get sick, so Mother is keeping him home until he recovers," Karamatsu finished, his bold blue eyes burning a hole into Osomatsu's forehead. The eldest Matsuno sextuplet buried his face into a pillow as both Karamatsu's and Choromatsu's gazes burned into him.
"I guess that makes sense. Sorry for the accusations, Osomatsu-niisan," Choromatsu mumbled, allowing his voice to drop to a whisper so only the eldest could hear it. "Whatever," Osomatsu groaned, flopping onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. Choromatsu settled down next to his directly older brother on the couch, and the two stirred up a conversation between them while Osomatsu traced the patterns in the paint with his mind.
Osomatsu had almost completely tuned out his little brothers as if they were nothing but white noise when he heard something that caught him off guard. "Oi, Choromatsu, I forgot to ask," Karamatsu said, stretching his arms above his head, his body stiffer than a pile of wood. "Yeah?" the green-clad third brother asked, running his fingers through his neatly combed jet black hair.
"Have you seen any of our other brothers recently?" Karamatsu inquired, resting his arms on his crossed legs. "I've only seen Todomatsu lately. He's been at the hospital the last few days, and I wouldn't be surprised if he's still there," Choromatsu answered, scratching at the base of his neck. Osomatsu tossed and turned for a moment, pretending to tune out but in reality, he was focusing back in on his brothers.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps filled the air once again. Osomatsu's stomach twisted in on itself. Were all of his brothers going to come home today? Judging by their weight, sound and length, he placed his finger on Ichimatsu. As if the universe had heard his thoughts, Ichimatsu slid open the door, dressed in a black jacket and purple tee, hands shoved into the pockets of his usual track pants.
"Oi, Ichimatsu, where have you been?" Choromatsu asked, his attention seamlessly steering to the fourth brother. "Out," the fourth Matsuno sextuplet uttered, stretching both his arms over his head, yawning to reveal a mouth full of sharpened teeth. "Have you been going to work? I haven't seen y-" Karamatsu started before Ichimatsu let out a sharp hiss on instinct.
"No, because Chibita gave me a break, or do you not care enough to ask him?" he hissed, pulling off his jacket and slipping off his purple sandals. "Have you seen Jyushimatsu anywhere, Ichimacchan?" Osomatsu interjected, propping himself up onto his elbows. "Yeah. He's at the park, I think," the purple-clad brother said, flopping down by Osomatsu's side.
Choromatsu and Karamatsu went back to chattering like chipmunks, Ichimatsu occasionally butting in to share his own thoughts. It lasted for hours before Choromatsu stood up, stretching. Moonlight shone into the window, painting the room in tones of silver. "Okay, I'm gonna go buy some food so Mom doesn't have to strain herself, anyone wanna come with me?" he said, his arms behind his head. Karamatsu shot up from the couch like a rocket.
"I shall accompany you, dear little brother!" he announced, and Osomatsu and Ichimatsu exchanged glances of agony. For a moment, they both felt bad for Choromatsu. "Fine," Choromatsu sighed, and the second and third eldest left the house. The front door slammed shut. Osomatsu flopped back into bed. Shutting his eyes, he let his body relax.
Silence drifted throughout the room before Ichimatsu spoke.
"Oi, Osomatsu-niisan," the fourth sextuplet uttered, his voice dropping to a whisper. Osomatsu perked up, and flopped over to face his little brother. "Yeah?," the eldest asked, feeling his heart swell. "Thanks for the candies the other day. I... appreciate it..." he said, scratching the back of his neck. Osomatsu felt his mouth curl up at the corners. He reached out, his signature toothy grin flashing, running his fingers through Ichimatsu's soft, messy hair.
"Don't worry about it, Ichimacchan~! Nii-chan thought of you, ya know?" Osomatsu said, and he could feel his little brother shudder. Pulling away, Ichimatsu turned away, making sure to hide his smile from his older brother. Osomatsu giggled. "I'm gonna hit the hay. G'night, lil' bro!" he exclaimed, shutting his eyes and letting sleep grab him into its arms.
YOU ARE READING
The Curse of Pink Petals
Fanfiction(Takes place during season 2 episode 24, "Sakura") Osomatsu has never known this amount of stress before. is it because his father is in the hospital? Is it because he finally worked up the courage to tell Totoko how he truly feels about her? Is it...
