Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The dinging of the store’s electronic was soft above you. A wave of goodbyes and goodnights were thrown at you as you stepped from the small café. You waved tiredly back and let out a sigh to fill your lungs with fresh air.

Food Industry fucking sucked.

Working at the Morning Mocha café wasn’t your first choice, but it offered great benefits and a great starting pay, so you stuck with it. It wasn’t Starbucks level of fancy, so the customers weren’t complete assholes, but some days were definitely more tiring than others.

Today was one of those days.

You had to deal with petty customers all day on top of spilling two large, extremely sugary drinks on yourself. Your clothes stuck to you like glue and walking in them was disgusting. The only “good” part of it was you were allowed to leave early.

It was only 4 p.m. when you stepped out into the sunlit streets of Akatsuka. The sound of the city's nearby hustle and bustle hit you full force, no longer muffled by the brick wall and decorated glass of your work. Already you were beginning to feel yourself sweat in the summer’s rays, making your sticky clothing situation all the worse.
“Better get home and fast…” You grumbled out, checking your phone for notifications and whatnot. Your trip home was only 15 minutes and you've taken the same route every time. The little red line from your phone's GPS was practically burned into your brain at this point. Walking home was usually one of your favorite pastimes. You got to listen to some music and, if you were lucky, you got to pet a cat or two. Work may have ended on a sour note but seeing a cat would definitely be the pick-me-up you needed. You weren’t going to go out of your way to search for a cat though. You let fate take charge and give you the opportunity to present itself. If it wanted to give you a cute kitty to make your day better? Sure! If it wanted to dump two large coffees on you and make you walk home with ants trailing you? Weird flex, but alright! You could work with that.

The world around was muted behind your music. Your focus was on the road ahead of you and on your phone. Only sudden horns and the loudest people could pierce through the earbuds sunken into your head. You passed by the park, keeping your eyes down as you bobbed your head to the beat. You could hear cries from the kids in the park, but nothing much else. That’s probably why you missed the warning yell someone gave you before being hit in the head with a baseball.

You blinked as your head recoiled back, your earbuds falling out and the noise of the city flooded your ears. Faint gasps and whispered “Are you okay?”s filled your ears long before the yelling did.
“MA’AM ARE YOU OKAY?! I’M SORRY, I’M SO SORRY—”
“Calm down idiot! You didn’t even throw the damn ball…”

A gruff low voice with a loud panicked voice. Two very different types of voices. When you looked to the source of the commotion, you couldn’t help but blink once more. Were you seeing double? These two looked exactly the same! One was wearing a yellow baseball outfit while the other wore a purple hoodie and sweatpants. The baseball player had a wide smile that badly contrasted with his fearful eyes right now. The purple man on the other hand seemed to be glaring at you, as if you were the one at fault here. The boys only looked to each other as your lack of response began to worry them.
“Oh my God, she’s dead!! Ichimatsu-niisan, we killed her!!”
“Shut it Jyushimatsu, she’s not dead! Just dazed… You aren’t dead, right?” You shook your head a bit too quickly, helping the growing headache start to form.
“I-If you call getting domed by a baseball fine then uh… yeah I’m fine.”

You rubbed the sore spot as you plucked the baseball from the ground. It wasn’t a hard hit, seemed whoever threw it didn’t put much oomph into it. You’d definitely have a bump, but no bruises or fractures or anything like that. You tossed the ball towards the two and the baseball player, Jyushimatsu, snatched it so quickly, you felt the air rush past you.
“STRIKE ONE!” His voice was loud, and it always caught you off guard. His purple double, Ichimatsu, seemed unfazed; Except for the glare given to him.
“She wasn’t even— Whatever. Sorry for hitting you with that. We were practicing and this idiot jumped out of the way.”
“You aimed directly at me, niisan!!”
“We were practicing bunts, remember?!” Jyushimatsu’s smile turned quickly into an upset pout as his brother threw him under the bus. At least, you suspected they were brothers. Jyushimatsu used “nii-san” and they looked alike. Not to mention the similar sounding names. It would be far too weird for these guys who happened to look alike with similar names be just buddies.
“A-Ah well… No harm, no foul ball eh?” You smiled at your own pun, but the beaming smile from Jyushimatsu was blinding. Even Ichimatsu seemed to cringe at the mere sight of this boy combusting in pure joy. Rough hands met your shoulders as Jyushimatsu gripped onto you for life.

“Do you like baseball?!” Your eyes were wide and while you tried to look to Ichimatsu for any sort of help, he was also taking steps back. Your eyes met his again and GOD was that a mistake. You instinctively shut your eyes and nodded your head, hoping to he’d let you go. It worked for a little bit, but you were soon enveloped into his tight hug.
“Yakyu!! Let’s play some!! C’mon Ichimatsu-niisan!!”
“W-Wait, I can’t play today…!” You pushed away from him and almost fumbled on your ass. You didn’t expect him to let go so quickly,” I have to get cleaned up. You might have to too, actually…” A hand went to your shirt and the sticky sweet slew on your hand made your skin crawl. Jyushimatsu looked down to see his uniform stained slightly with the coffee and whipped cream residue. He sniffed one of his arms and smiled wide once more.
“You smell like Totty!”
“…Who?” You raised an eyebrow at Jyushimatsu, but Ichimatsu quickly cut-in.
“No one important. You should go change then. We can um… play later.” His words made sense, but his eyes read something else. It was a sinister feeling, something along the lines of, ’Run while you still can.’ You nodded and bowed to the two. You had the feeling that Ichimatsu was trying to push you away for your own safety more than anything. You really didn’t want to play baseball in a sticky coffee uniform, so you went along with it. When you rose, Jyushimatsu seemed so sad, but his smile never faltered. He and his brother waved you off and you continued on your way home.

“I’m home~”
You called into the empty house. The only noise you could hear was the Roomba machine hovering around your kitchenette area. You smiled down to it, seeing the lopsided googly eyes shaking away. You plopped your bag on the counter and immediately headed towards your room to get changed. Your apartment wasn’t the biggest, but it was just enough space for you and Lil’ Cyoom. You’d definitely want bigger at some point, but that’d require finishing your degree at the Akatsuka college. The towering stack of books and unfinished projects haunted your room currently, but right now, you had to get clean.

Now clean and refreshed, you held a warm cup of tea in your hands as you relaxed a little. The homework was lingering in the back of our mind still, but after today’s events, you wanted to rest some. You thought back to the park, thinking of the two men you met there. Was it weird you wanted to see them again? You seemed to get along well enough, despite Ichimatsu  hitting you with a baseball. At least, you think it was Ichimatsu. He did admit it, didn’t he? A hand trailed to the bump to your head. Small and only painful if you touched it. You probably didn’t have a concussion. You walked home fine and was able to shower fine so… It was probably fine. A sigh escaped your chest and you stared at the ceiling above.

 Today was just fine.

Chapter Text

Work was much more tame today. The lunch rush was no more than a dozen people who got in and got out. These kinds of rushes were always much more preferable than the crowded chaos that the store usually was. You sat behind the counter, watching over the lobby to the mingling friends and the studying students. The latest popular pop song softly rang throughout the café and you couldn’t help tap your foot to the beat as you cleaned. Your co-workers were either on breaks or off in the back, possibly preparing for the worst. This serene setting can only last for so long. You ears perked towards the store’s front door chime and you put on your best customer service face.
“Welcome to Morning Mocha, where we make mornings Mocha-mazing! How can I—” Your words caught in your throat as you noticed who was standing in front of you. Big brown eyes, silky black hair, and a smile that went on for smiles.

“Sweet-Smelling Baseball lady!” The man’s voice was far too loud for such an enclosed space. You gripped the counter as you felt the mixture of shocked or angry stares. The smile you currently forced for customers began to become more strained.
“Ah um… H-Hello sir, can I get you something?” You weren’t trying to act like you didn’t know, you just… forgot his name. You knew it had matsu in it, but that was it. In your defense, you only heard his name through his brother, and vice versa. The three of you never actually properly introduced.

The twitch of his smile made you hurt a bit, but he laughed only a second later.
“It’s me, Jyushimatsu! Remember? I hit you with a baseball!” Well, at least he didn’t lie… You nodded slowly, eyes darting to the people around the lobby. A few had left, most likely to return to work or home, but it certainly didn’t feel that way to your anxiety. The awkward silence between the two of you only made it worse. You nodded slowly to Jyushimatsu. At least you got his name again.
“Y-Yeah, I remember. I can’t really chat right now, I’m at work—” You froze mid-sentence. Jyushimatsu noticed your face go sheet white and tilted his head worringly. He moved his mouth to speak, but you beat him to the punch,”… How did you know I worked here??” The wideness of his eyes did NOT help his predicament. His sleeved hand was brought to his face as he began to think. Actually, you just noticed he wasn’t wearing his baseball uniform today. He was wearing a yellow hoodie and a pair of sport shorts. You figured he didn’t wear his uniform everywhere, but it was weird to see him in normal clothes. Your thoughts were snapped back as you heard him gasp.
“Ah! I smelled you here!”
“… Excuse me.”

Any niceness, forced or natural, drained from your face at that explanation. He… He what?? He smelled you here?! You were tempted to smell yourself to see if there was any particular smell but refrained as you stared down Jyushimatsu. He tilted his head again in confusion.
“The shop smelled like you, so I came inside! I didn’t know you worked here!” Smelled like you…
“Wait, you mean when you said I smelled like Totty… You meant—”
“Yeah! You smelled like Totty! He works at the Starbucks!” While you were thankful for the explanation, it didn’t mean it was any less weird. He was able to remember the smell of the sugar that you were coated in yesterday?? So much so, that he knew which specific shop to find you at and come see you?

“So were you checking every coffee shop looking for me?”
Pink filled his cheeks pretty quickly, but soon it was part of the blur of his rapid nodding. You watched him shake himself silly, and couldn’t help but laugh. What a strange man.

“Okay well… I’m Y/N and I work here at Morning Mocha. It’s nice to actually meet you this time, Jyushimatsu.” You smiled a genuine smile at him. His grin grew wider.
“Yay!! So we’re friends now, right? Right??” He leaned forward on the counter, growing closer to your face. You chuckled nervously but nodded. You didn’t see why not after all. Part of you had hoped you could get to see him again, but you never thought he’d find you off scent. Which reminded you…
“Oh, but there’s one condition: Don’t ‘Smell for me’ anymore, okay? That’s a bit… creepy. Here—” You paused as you pulled out a strip of receipt paper and began to write on it,” This is my number. Just call or text me there, okay?”

His eyes went wide at the little piece of paper. You expected him to snatch from your hands, but he took it cautiously into his sleeved hand and stared at it longingly. That little slip of paper seemed to ignite an all-new level of happy inside the already ecstatic man. He then shoved it rapidly in his hoodie’s pocket and bowed, nearly ramming his head into your counter.
“Thank you!!” You mumbled a ‘no problem’ but grew uncomfortable once more as he smiled at you in silence. Your eyes darted around the café, which was now mostly empty. Your co-workers have yet to return from the back, probably not wanting to intervene with whatever the hell this situation was right now. Jyushimatsu jumped as you coughed lightly.
“Can I get you anything…?”
“Ah, really?? I can have something?”
“…Yes? That is literally my job—”
“Oh right, haha!! What do you have?” You stared blankly at him before turning to the mass array of menu items that were on the wall behind you. More laughter came from him as you turned around. A sleeved hand went to his face again and his eyes went wide. It kinda reminded you of a cat's, in a weird way. Pupils all wide, eyes all narrow. His usual smiley self was back as he pointed to the board.

“Can I have a parfait? Totty got me one of those before!”
“Sure thing! What size?” You went into full customer mode for a bit, but you doubted Jyushimatsu could tell.
“Large, please!” You tapped on the monitor in front of you and Jyushimatsu’s eyes darted to the screen as the order rang up.
“Okay, your total should be on screen, it’s going to be—”
“Ah. I don’t have money.”

The stressful breath you drew into your nose was strikingly clear. Your eyes were wide as you stared at the screen, not wanting to look this man in the face. You have dealt with difficult customers before. People who didn’t enough change and demanded a manger. People who misread a deal and demanded a manager. People who have tried (and always failed) to get free shit and demanded a manager. Someone who came into a store with no money, expecting to buy something, only to be shocked to see he needed money? Completely new one for your book.
“W-Well… Then I can’t let you get it. I’m sorry.” Seeing his smiling face crumple to pieces. His smile was still there somehow, but it wasn’t as wide, and his eyes had lost that certain sparkle. If you could give it to him, you would, but you’ve been in trouble for letting someone be even one yen short before. A whole parfait would probably get you fired.
“Ah, wait a minute! Put it on my tab!” The way his smile was invigorated by his “amazing” idea made you giggle. Unfortunately, this made it seem like you approved of that idea,” I’ll be sure to pay it off! Just don’t tell Chibita!”
“Who? W-Wait nevermind, I can’t do that!! Okay look, I’ll just buy it for you, okay??”

This solution was the last you wanted, but more people started to stumble into the café. A few were already waiting behind Jyushimatsu but were thankfully too busy on their phones to be too annoyed yet. You needed him gone, or at least out of the way. His eyes were wide with glee at this response though.
“Really?! You’re the nicest ever Y/N!-chan” You only nodded, putting in his order for and a name for him to pick it up. The ticket printed and you handed it to Jyushimatsu. Similar to before, he shoved it deep into hoodie’s pocket.
“Thank you!!” He bellowed and you restrained yourself from shushing him.
“N-No problem… You can wait over there; it should be out soon.” You pointed to a section with many empty seats. He nodded vigorously and bounced his way to his destination.

Handling the rest of the customers was easy and at some point during, Jyushimatsu had received his parfait. You shot glances towards him, making sure he wasn’t being too loud or destructive. Thankfully he seemed enraptured by the sweet treat to be making too much noise. Though anytime he caught you looking, he’d wave his sleeved arms and yell,” Hi Y/N!!-chan” You always waved back but were solely focused on your work right now. There was only a few hours left of your shift and you were hoping to bring Jyushimatsu with you. Your co-workers definitely wouldn’t be able to handle him well. Lost in your thoughts, you missed the telltale ring of the entrance and the newest customer walking to your counter. They gave a rude “ahem”  and you jolted back into work mode.
“Ah, sorry! How can I help you sir…” Your peppy work voice came to a slow stop as you stared at the man in front of you.

He looked exactly like Jyushimatsu.

Chapter Text

The man standing in front of you was dressed entirely different to what Jyushimatsu was wearing. White dress-shirt with a pink tie, pink shorts, and a tan fedora with a pink trim. He got your attention, but his attention was entirely on his phone. That didn’t keep you from apologizing profusely though.
“A-Ah, sorry! How can I help you today sir?”
“Hmm? Oh, sorry, I wasn’t paying attention! That’s a pretty important part of ordering from a café, huh?”

Okay, pretty petty move on his part. He had a cute look on his face as he spoke. His voice was definitely different from Jyushimatsu’s brother, the purple one. You definitely had to get better at remembering names.
“Ah, let’s see… I forgot plain coffee places use normal names… I guess I’ll have a vanilla iced latte, please and thank you~!”

Your mind was swimming with questions as you typed in his order. Who was this man and why did he look like Jyushimatsu? It couldn’t be Purple, unless he cleaned up pretty damn nicely. This man’s focus color was pink, though. While Jyushi’s brother wore purple, you doubt he would wear it the color every day. You couldn’t imagine anyone wearing the same color every day. Jyushimatsu wore a yellow baseball uniform and is now wearing a yellow hoodie, so maybe his family was a special case? If he had two twin brothers, making yourself different via colors would be a smart choice. You looked back to where Jyushimatsu had been sitting and froze once you saw him gone. Only the empty parfait cup was left, seemingly licked clean. With a shake of your head, you got back to the task at hand.

As you finished the order and double checked to make sure you got it right, you smiled back to the man.
“Can I get a name, sir?” His attention returned back to you and smiled back cheerfully.
“Oh, how silly of me! Please put it under—”
“TOTTY !!!”

You screamed along with the man as the missing Jyushimatsu had just appeared behind ‘Totty’, wrapping his arms around the man. All attention was on you three now, but you were currently trying to recover from the scare Jyushimatsu gave you.
“Jyushimatsu-niisan?! What are you doing here?!” Totty’s tone had flipped on a dime, an angry look covering his reddened face.
“I got a parfait! Y/N-chan gave it to me!!” You perked up at the use of your name. Jyushimatsu had removed one arm to point at you, allowing Totty to escape. His breathing seemed quite ragged as he shot glares into his brother. It seemed Totty got scared just as badly as you did. As you glanced between the too, the dots finally fell together. There were subtle hints throughout your short conversation, not to mention the striking resemblance. He was the Totty that worked at Starbucks! No wonder he had such a snobby attitude. You jumped as Totty’s glare suddenly moved to you.

“He ordered from here?! With what money?? I know Osomatsu-niisan took your stash!!” Another name was thrown out and your head was back to spinning. That couldn’t have been purple brother right? It didn’t sound familiar… except the -matsu part. Jyushimatsu’s smile grew wide. He was still pointing at you.
“Like I said, Y/N-chan gave it to me!!”
“Ehh?! How did she give it to you?!”
“She bought it for me!”

Heeeeere we go. The disdain on your face was very clear as Totty marched right up to the counter. As if his angry outburst had never happened before, Totty smiled innocently at you. He fluttered his lashes and giggled cutely while leaning on the counter.
“Hey, Y/N-chaan~! If my stupid brother is allowed to be given free drinks, then that means the cutest, sweetest brother gets one too, riiiight~?” …He wasn’t being serious, was he? After the commotion that just happened? You glanced to Jyushimatsu, who didn’t seem to be home in that head of his. He was just staring up at the menu again, as if deciding what he wanted next. Obviously this had been a mistake. What was that saying about feeding wild animals? Don’t feed them unless you can feed twenty more? You sighed and shook your head, seeing Totty’s face plummet.
“I’m sorry sir, but I can’t do that.”
“Why not?! Why does only he get the special treatment?!” He waved a hand at the still zoned out Jyushimatsu.
“Because he promised to pay it back and I know him. A little.”

That got Totty’s mouth to open wide. His eyes were the size of saucers as he flicked his head between the two of you. He was completely dumbfounded by this possibility. He gripped onto Jyushimatsu’s shoulders, forcing the boy to look him in the eyes. Totty spoke softly in that sweet voice like earlier.
“One quick question for you niisan,” His grip on Jyushimatsu seemed to grow tighter, but the other boy was unfazed,” H o w ?”

His stupid, low-life, good for nothing brothers NEVER just “know” someone, let alone a girl. There was always a catch. Always something underneath that he has to dig to get out. Luckily for Totty, Jyushimatsu was like sand; Easy to dig at and caves in frequently.
“Ah? Oh, I hit her with a baseball!” You’ve never seen what ‘blowing a fuse’ would look like on a person until now. Totty’s eyes seemed to glaze over, and his soul had left his body. Could he believe him? That he managed to befriend a girl like that?! Jyushimatsu seemed to be a bit worried by his brother’s reaction. He was shaking him lightly and saying his name over and over. You extended a hand over instinctively to try and help.
“U-Um… technically it was his brother? The purple one, if that helps…” You don’t know why you thought that would help. His eyes only became more sunken and his body becoming a husk of what it was before. Despite this, he spoke in a low, broken tone.

“No, that does not help, but thank you… I-I’ll just take my drink to-go please…” You nodded, finally finishing his order and escaping into the kitchen yourself. Co-workers who were listening in scampered back to their regular positions. What had he asked for? A vanilla ice latte, right? You grabbed what you needed, but when it came down to the cup size you froze. He didn’t tell you what size and the machine auto-input it as small. You glanced out into the lobby, seeing Jyushimatsu waving a hand into the vacant Totty’s eyes. A groan escaped your chest and you knew you were going to regret this the second you grabbed the large cup. The man looked like he was just told he had dick cancer, you couldn’t leave him hanging like that!! You added a few extra pumps of vanilla and when writing his name, you added a ‘sorry’ to it with a little heart. Perhaps that was too far, but you were kinda not thinking straight at the moment. You rushed back to the counter, wearing your best smile.

“T-Totty? Here’s your drink!” You swallowed nervously as you placed the cup in his hand. All life seemed to jump back into his body as he felt it was heavier than what he expected. He blinked a few times, looking at his surroundings and to the latte in his hand. He then read the name on the cup, his cheeks dusting with pink. He quickly paid the given price with no questions asked. You hoped this wouldn’t cause problems in the future, but it seems like chaos has taken a liking to you as of late.

“Thanks, Y/N-chan!! See, isn’t she the best, Totty??” Jyushimatsu, oblivious as ever, smiled at his brother. Totty took a sip of his drink, immediately tasting the extra vanilla. Match that with the apologetic look you gave him; he at least knew you were trying your best. A tired sigh fell from him, but he smiled. Whether it was forced or not was lost to you.
“Mm, she is! I gotta get back to my job now, but I’ll definitely be back to see my new favorite barista, okay~? Bye-Bye!”
His peppy voice was back and he gave you a wink as he turned towards the door. The way he said “job” worried you and you definitely didn’t miss Jyushimatsu flinching slightly. You joined him in waving goodbye to Totty and as soon as the pink man left, you let out a tired groan. When you looked at the clock, you were both happy and pissed to see it was 15 minutes after your shift was supposed to end. You untied your apron and as you headed back into the kitchen, you felt a pair of eyes on you. You turned to see Jyushimatsu trying to follow but you put up a hand.
“Stay there. I’ll be back out soon.” He sat up straight and gave a salute, which was the last you saw before dipping behind the doors. A few co-workers tried to talk to you, which you happily responded, but given your “I could kill a man (or two)” look, they kept conversation short. In no time, you were back out in the front and ready to see Jyushimatsu. He was standing in the exact same spot as before. At least he listened to you a little.

You glided past the counter and out the door with your phone in hand, following your normal routine. Jyushimatsu stepped up beside you.
“Ichimatsu.” The confused look you gave him made him chuckle, but he continued,” You said ‘The Purple One’ earlier. That’s Ichimatsu-niisan!”
The name hit you like a brick, connecting the dots once more. THAT’S what his name was! You were shocked that Jyushimatsu remembered that detail out of the confusing mess that happened.
“That’s what it was! Sorry, I’m kinda bad with names. Doesn’t help that you three look the same.”
“Aha, yeah! We confuse a lot of people! Even our parents couldn’t tell the six of us apart when we were younger.”

You stopped in your tracks. Jyushimatsu kept trekking forward, but quickly stopped once you did. He tilted his head at you like a confused puppy, but his eyes widened at the secret he let out.

“There are six of you?!”

Chapter Text

“There are six of you?!”

Your surprised voice completely froze the energetic boy to his core. It wasn’t like Jyushimatsu was scared to tell you about his family, but it was often that people got… overwhelmed by the news. And as much as he loved his brothers, they could be a little… stupid at times. Especially around girls. He was hoping to introduce you one by one, so to make things easier on everyone, but the cat’s out of the bag now.

“Ahaha… Yep! We’re the Matsuno Sextuplets!” Jyushimatsu kept that smile on his face, wider than ever. He didn’t want you to see him so nervous over such a small fact like this.
“Six huh… Well, that’ll clear up any future confusion I guess… Oh, do you all wear specific colors then?” Jyushimatsu immediately perked up at this. It was a trait you picked up early on and theorized with Totty, but you wanted to be sure. Until you got used to them all more, recognizing them by color would be helpful.
“Mhm! I like yellow! Ichimatsu-niisan likes purple and Totty likes pink!” As he stated this, he pulled on his hoodie and smiled.
“Alright, easy enough… What about the other three?”
“Osomatsu-niisan wears red, Karamatsu-niisan wears blue, and Choromatsu-niisan wears green!”

Almost the colors of the rainbow, huh? Just needed an orange to fill the gap. You think you could remember that. As you took mental notes, another question popped in your head.
“So you all have -matsu in your name, except Totty? What’s up with that?” Jyushimatsu chuckled at your question.
“Totty is a nickname! His real name is Todomatsu!” Now you can see why he laughed. Though it would be pretty unfair if everyone got “stuck” with the -matsu part except for him. Jyushimatsu seemed quite happy that you were taking this news well. He tilted his head at you, awaiting any more questions you might have. While you had several, none were directly related to him being a sextuplet. More just about his life in general, really. Most were definitely too personal, seeing how he reacted to just mentioning his brothers.
“Well, I’m glad you told me! Saves me the embarrassment of running into one of them and mistaking them for you.”

The wide smile that appeared on his face was missed as you began to stretch. Your aching joints popped rhythmically and you checked your phone for the time. It was nearly 4pm already? Usually, you were home by now and relaxing before going to work on your homework. You glanced to Jyushimatsu, who jumped slightly as your eyes met.
“So what’s your plan now dude? You gonna keep following me like a weirdo or did you need something?”
“Hmm… Let’s go to the park! We can play baseball!!” Your wide eyes must’ve let him know quickly that was a no-go. You didn’t mind going to the park, but playing baseball after doing nothing but standing all day?? You’d die; Plain and simple.
“Maybe we can save baseball for one of my days off, okay Slugger?”
“Slugger?”

You nodded, beginning to walk towards the park. Jyushimatsu was quick to catch up to you, still staring at you with curious eyes.
“It’s slang for what they call hard hitters in baseball. Seems like a fitting nickname, yeah?” His eyes grew wide and his smile twitched quite noticeably. Your pace slowed and you got a string of apologies ready when the wind was knocked from your lungs as he hugged you. He was a lot stronger than he looked as he held you in an iron grip. If you weren’t struggling to breathe, you might have enjoyed it a little bit. Luckily you managed to reach around and give him a double-tap; the tell-tale sign of giving up. He practically dropped you and chuckled nervously as you gasped for air.
“You got a… pretty strong grip…” You wheezed.
“It’s from all the baseball!! Hustle, Hustle!! Muscle, Muscle!!”
As he chanted, he flexed his noodly arms above his head. Just how on earth did he hide such strength under his hoodie…?

“You’d have to show me your swings sometime then.” You responded casually, but the reaction from Jyushimatsu was quite the opposite.
“What about right now?! Let’s go!!”
Without any other warning, you were pulled towards the park. You were lucky the park was only a short jog away, or for Jyushimatsu's case, a lap around the diamond at top speed. Jyushimatsu found a spacious area that was perfect for his practice swings. Didn't want to hit anyone like last time! You stumbled after him as he slowed to a stop, backing away and watching as you tried to regain your balance. As soon as you stopped seeing double, Jyushimatsu pulled a baseball bat from seemingly no where.
“Wha— Did you just have that on you??”
“Mhm! Ready??” Before you could answer, Jyushimatsu began swinging. He counted along with each swing, a huge grin on his face. You weren’t sure if he was happy to be swinging or if he was happy to have someone watch him. Now that you were here though, you weren’t sure what else to do. He was well into double digits already and showed no sign of stopping. You decided to make yourself comfortable at the very least and plopped onto the soft grass. Jyushimatsu’s steady gaze flicked to you as moved about and his cheeks coated in pink as he saw you smile back. This only increased his swinging and counting speed, tipping him into triple digits.

You weren’t sure exactly why you were so intrigued by this man swinging so enthusiastically in front of you. He definitely had the energy for it, reaching past 400 swings and still counting, but part of you wanted to see where he stopped. A part of you feared that he wouldn’t stop. Maybe this was his plan all along? Trap you in an infinite loop of spending time with him as he swung the bat passionately. Time was easily lost on you, but you had a feeling only 15 or 20 minutes had passed since he started. You wondered just how long he was going for and how high he was going to reach. Could he really do this forever? His counting only increased and it wasn’t long that you joined him in counting too. Not out loud of course, you didn’t want to throw him off, but in your head. 678, 679, 680, 681... You didn’t know anyone who could swing that much in one session. Maybe this was normal for baseball players? Did they swing themselves into oblivion just for fun?! You had lost your count, but luckily for you, Jyushimatsu would enthusiastically yell every time he reached a new checkpoint.
“700!! 701! 702! 703! –“ A glance at your phone caused him to falter just the slightest and you figured he wanted your full attention. You gave him a reassuring smile and a thumbs up, sending him back into overdrive. His face was red now, but you weren’t sure if it was because he was flustered or overheating at this point.

“998! 999! –“
“1000!! Alright, now stop!!”
Your voice was louder than needed, but you were hoping to stop him before he carried on. He was panting, but it wasn’t as ragged as you expected. He did 1000 swings in what, 30 minutes?! Was this guy even human?! His hearty chuckle made you smile, but it was obvious he was starting wear out a tiny bit stamina he had. It didn’t help that the clouds cleared out so the sun was beaming down onto the both of you. He was wearing a hoodie as well!! You hopped up from your grassy seat, wiping the grass from your butt as he approached you.
“Did you like it?? I can do more if you want!!”
“More?! Jyushimatsu, you’re gonna have a heatstroke! Let’s take a break and get something to drink, okay?”
“Okay!! I know a great place, follow me!!” Jyushimatsu took your smile as a yes and grabbed your hand once again. His sleeves were a little damp, probably from the sweat that seeped through while he was swinging. In fact, you never once saw his hands today. Yesterday, he was wearing a baseball uniform, but you didn’t really focus on it then. Today, his hands have been completely sleeved. As Jyushi lead you around the corners and bends of the park, you tried to understand him more. Just who was this moron who happened to stumble into your life??

“We’re here!” You nearly ran into him as he stopped so suddenly. You looked around the area, immediately noticing two vending machines right in front of you.
“Is this the place?” You asked and Jyushimatsu nodded happily.
“It’s got good drinks for cheap! Osomatsu-niisan really likes the soda from it!” Jyushimatsu, with his hand still in yours, gently pulled you over to get a closer look. It was your average vending machine, with the many name-brand and off-brand drinks. You reached for your wallet, grabbing your bank card. You swiftly bought a bottle of water and a fruit tea, hearing the satisfying thunk! of the drinks below. Jyushimatsu looked very confused, but you tossing the water bottle at him only made it worse. He watched patiently as you cracked open the tea for yourself and took a big swig.
“That’s for you, Slugger. Drink up.” You finished your drink and wiped your mouth with your hand, finally releasing from Jyushimatsu’s grip. He stared for a bit longer, but nodded before chugging the drink down. Before you could stop him, he began to choke on the drink, and harsh coughing erupted from the boy. Oh goddammit. You smacked Jyushimatsu’s back to help clear his lungs.
“Slowly! You’re gonna get yourself killed, geez!”
“Aha... S-Sorry...” After a few more coughs, he smiled warily at you. A huff left your chest and you took another swig from your drink.
“You’re fine, dude. Just try to slow down sometimes, okay?”

He nodded and this time took his drink slowly. The two of you relaxed as the hot summer sun beamed overhead. Your gaze explored the surrounding area, taking in all the sights and noise of the park around you. It wasn’t often you got to come outside. You were kind of a shut-in, purely focused on your schoolwork. The routine you had was kinda bland; wake up, go to work/class, go home and repeat. It was a nice change and you were thankful that Jyushimatsu drug you out here. When turning back to him, he was staring back at you. Upon being caught though, he flinched and pretended to look towards the sky. You rolled your eyes at his awkwardness. Jyushimatsu was definitely hard to read, but it was easy to tell he was very outgoing. Whether someone could handle his personality is where things got bumpy. He’s very kind and sweet, but sometimes he acts too childish.
“Y/N-chan? Y/N-chaaaan?” You heard his voice calling to you and as you snapped from though, you also saw his hand in front of you.
“O-Oh! Sorry, I was lost in thought. What’s up?”
“Your pocket is singing!” Your hand instantly went to your pocket to find your phone. The alarm was going off and the timer read “START HOMEWORK NOW STUPID”. A groan left you as you looked to Jyushimatsu sadly.
“Alright Slugger, I gotta go. It was really nice uhh... Watching you swing a bat for half an hour, but I got shit to do.”
“Eh?! You mean it??” His eyes beamed at you and you were a bit confused by what part he meant by that.
“You mean about watching you swing? Well yeah, I didn’t know someone could reach a thousand swings in under an hour, so color me impressed!” You had no idea if you used that phrase correctly, but it didn’t seem to matter to Jyushimatsu. His eyes were wider than you’ve seen and he had a smile to match. This time, you were ready for the hug, but weren’t ready for the fact that he picked you up and swung you around like a sack of potatoes. His laughter echoed through your ears and vibrated down your chest. The feeling of his warmth wrapped around and his laughter in your head made you feel fuzzy. Thank god he couldn’t see the messy blush on your face right now. You gripped into him for dear life; though part of you already knew he wasn't going to let you fling into orbit. He finally put you down and for the second time today you had to stop yourself from spinning.
“Hehe, O-Okay Jyushi, how about some warning next time you do that...” He shook his head eagerly, eyes still shining brightly as before.
“Okay!! Goodbye, Y/N-chan! See you tomorrow!!” It was like he cemented the idea of you two meeting tomorrow with those words. He probably wasn’t wrong, you had another work shift and now that he knows you work there, he’ll most likely stop by. You waved him goodbye and finally set out to head home.

“I’m Hoooome.”
You called out into the empty apartment once more. Even Lil ‘Cyum was in his docking station and “resting” for the afternoon. While normally you were adjusted to the quiet of your small apartment, the silence was deafening compared to who you were just hanging out with. As you made yourself a snack and prepared to do your homework, you were reminded by how the past day and half have went. You got clocked in the head by a baseball and met the most joyful person in the world. Loud, ethusiastic, and kinda dumb. A pained chuckle fell from you as you remembered the whole “Tab” thing from earlier. Hopefully his brothers don’t try anything like that...

Your thoughts skipped to the park and how you actually sat there and watched Jyushimatsu swing a bat 1000 times in under an hour. Did it really take him only 30 minutes to swing that many times?? The minutes don’t lie, but next time you were definitely going to bring a stopwatch.

Next time...?

You smiled as the realization was fully clear. You made a new friend, one that you really like to hang out with, as weird as they may be. If anyone else had asked,’ Hey, wanna watch me swing a bat all day?’ but with Jyushimatsu you felt you could. The fluttering feeling in your chest made you giggle, causing you to shake your head.

You couldn’t wait for next time.

Chapter Text

Jyushimatsu hummed quietly to himself as he made his way back to the Matsuno residence. As he stepped inside, slamming open the sliding door, he yelled out,” I’m home!!!”

He was met with three lazy grunts from two older brothers and his only baby brother, all three huddled close to the kotatsu but not underneath it. Osomatsu was currently laying on his back, staring vacantly into the ceiling. Jyushimatsu knew that face anywhere; he lost it all at either pachinko or the races again. He wanted to mad, since that was technically his money he spent earlier, but it in a weird way it got him a girl’s number. So he wouldn’t be mad! Choromatsu was reading one of his mangas, and by the looks of it, got to a very intense part. He was nose deep and his eyes were wide, threatening to spill tears at any moment. Jyushimatsu knew better than to bother Choromatsu during these moments, so he would ignore him for now too! The last brother was Totty!! The baby brother seemed the least fazed by what was happening around him, which was normal for Totty. He tilted his head at the youngest, a bit confused by what he was doing here. Didn't he say he had work? Oh well, it wasn't his business! Jyushimatsu decided he was going to be extra careful around Totty, since he was the only who knew about his new friend.

Jyushimatsu was going to eventually tell his brothers… just not right now! He wouldn’t even know how to go about telling them! Last time they found out, it was because they followed him while him and Homura were on a date. Instead, he was going to hang out with his brothers!! He walked up to the kotatsu, only now noticing the trash piled up on the top. Empty bear cans, snotty tissues, an empty tissue box, and tangerine rinds all over the place. This was so gross!! He was going to be a good brother and clean up for them!! He grabbed the nearest trash bin and shoveled all the trash into it, being extra careful with the nasty tissues. His brothers seemed unfazed, continuing their normal routine of NEETness. A sleeved hand came to Jyushimatsu’s chin as he looked over the scene. Did they not notice his good deed? How rude of them!! It’s not like he cared if they saw, that’s how good deeds worked after all, but he kinda wanted the praise! Fine then! They were lucky he was in such a good mood! He walked to the kitchen, filling his arms with the items he needed. He came waddling back, standing above Osomatsu and finally getting his attention.
“Eh?—"
“Here you go niisan!” A mountain of beer cans landed on top of Osomatsu. He was silenced instantly, and the other two brothers were next. Jyushimatsu’s smile shot to Choromatsu, causing him to flinch. Choromatsu was trying to ignore him for the most part but knew his time had come. He squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for his untimely death. He expected to be pelted with pointy cardboard boxes, but instead felt the soft blanket of many pieces of tissues fall over him like snow. He blinked a few times, before looking to Jyushimatsu.
“I took out all the tissues for you!”
“E-Eh?? Thanks…?” that gained a beaming smile from Jyushimatsu. It was weird to Choromatsu that he was the only one who got “extra” help, until he felt the cold beer spilling into his socks near the kotatsu. He looked over to the crushed corpse of Osomatsu and saw every single can of beer had already been opened.

 Oh dear God.

Choromatsu swiveled back towards Jyushimatsu, who began to move on to the final brother. While Todomatsu was keeping his straight face on, on the inside he was terrified. He saw what Jyushimatsu did for his brothers and he was scared of what he’s done for him. It was easy to guess he got him more tangerines, but just what on ear did he do to them?!
“Toootty~” Jyushimatsu called out to his baby brother in a sinister sounding tone. A jolt of terror shot through him as he looked to him. In his arms was a stack of unpeeled, sticky tangerines.
“NIISAN WAI—” Todomatsu was silenced. Jyushimatsu dropped the tangerines onto him and while most rolled away, it didn’t help that some left the sticky tangerine juice behind, staining his clothes. He only sat there; his eyes shocked in horror at the atrocity that was just given to him. He forced a smile, that sweet and caring persona he always used to make him look like a much better person then he actually was. Jyushimatsu smiled back with glee, not realizing his mistake.
“Thank you so much, Jyushimatsu-niisan. Were all these good deeds because you got a new girlfriend today?”

“GIRLFRIEND?!”

And just like, Jyushimatsu’s beaming face contorted into itself. What the heck!! He was trying to be helpful and yet Totty threw him under the bus?!
“Totty?!?” His voice was angry as he stomped his foot into the now beer-soaked floor. Osomatsu had revived from his crushed can death and was glaring at Jyushimatsu and he had Choromatsu as back up.
“You got another girlfriend?! How?! When?! How?!?” Choromatsu was the one behind these questions, completely baffled that out of all 6 of them, Jyushimatsu was chosen again. He was doing laps on them now, dammit!! Osomatsu, on the other hand, held a finger under his nose with a wide smile.
“Damn lil bro! As an older brother, it makes me proud to see you getting so much tail! Try to save some for us, okay?!”

His last sentence came out the teensy bit threatening, but right now Jyushimatsu was an emotional mess. He was getting scolded by Choromatsu-niisan but praised by Osomatsu-niisan?! Todomatsu was just reveling in this sort of chaos. It would’ve been better if he could watch this without feeling like a melted popsicle, though. Seriously, the tangerines were never that sticky when they snacked on them!!
“Who is she?? How did you two meet?!” Choromatsu was back to demanding answers. He didn’t quite believe this just yet. Totty was known to be a liar, but the way Jyushimatsu was acting earlier and how he's acting now started to add up.
“U-Umm… We didn’t!”
“Eh?! C’mon Jyushimatsu, tell us your secret! Maybe I’ll be the lucky one next time, heheh!” Osomatsu elbowed Choromatsu playfully, getting a “quit it.” From the third eldest.
“Aaahaha…” Jyushimatsu was becoming a flustered mess. Totty huffed, knowing he was going to have to spill more beans to get this revenge fully going. Why was being the baby brother so hard?
“Oh, it’s super cute actually! He hit her with a baseball.”
“TOTTY?!?!”  Jyushimatsu covered his face with his sleeves, completely missing Totty’s smug face. He also missed Choromatsu’s face of abject horror and disbelief, and Osomatsu’s face of pure, uncontained joy. While the eldest erupted into laughter, rolling around in the mess on floor. Choromatsu was whispering nonsense among himself, something along the lines of “How?? How did that work out?!”

Jyushimatsu was in hell. He was in hell, and he wanted out. He escaped it once, he can do it again! Still with his face covered, he began to search for one of the sliding doors. Unfortunately, he felt a hard grip on his shoulders.
“Don’t think your getting out this so easy Little Brother.” Osomatsu and Choromatsu were quick to stop him, one hand from each of them on his shoulders. Osomatsu spoke next.
“You still have to answer all of Fappymatsu’s questions!”
“WE’RE ON THE SAME SIDE HERE—” Choromatsu was immediately elbowed by Osomatsu. While teasing his little brother was fun, he wanted to know more about them! Of course he was jealous, but he was an older brother first... Most of the time. Plus, he might be able to see just what this crazy ball of energy did to get so many girls falling for him. Jyushimatsu looked between the two nervously but smiled when he got a thumbs up from Osomatsu.
“Aha… W-Well, she’s not exactly my girlfriend…”

“Which means she’s still up for grabs?!”
“She’s still available, th-then?!”

The two older brothers glared at each other as they spoke in sync. They were both still virgin NEETs after all. Jyushimatsu had his shot already anyway!! This didn’t stop Jyushimatsu from giving them both death glares, though. Choromatsu was too fazed to respond, but Osomatsu was practically given his answer. He waved a hand at Jyushimatsu as he shook his head.
“We’re just kidding! Did you really hit her with a baseball??”
Jyushimatsu flinched but slowly nodded. Osomatsu erupted in laughter again and Choromatsu pinched the bridge of his nose.
“And how did that lead to you being friends??”
“Oh! She made a baseball joke and then I found her job!”
Choromatsu was even more confused than before. Who was this girl?? Who gets hit with a baseball and then makes a joke about it?! This story was starting to sound more and more ridiculous! He glanced to Todomatsu, who was still on his phone with that shit-eating grin. This was a prank. A joke! The two youngest were pulling their legs. Choromatsu crossed his arms and shook his head, smiling as he figured it all out. He placed a hand on Osomatsu’s shoulder.
“We’re being played, Osomatsu-niisan. There’s no way you believe this story, right?? This is a prank!” Osomatsu stared at Choromatsu for a solid minute, before whipping back towards Jyushimatsu and Totty. Totty hadn’t changed his attitude at all, but Jyushimatsu seemed to be fuming.
“She’s real!! I’m not lying!!”
“Do you have any proof then?” Choromatsu was acting way too smug now. Of course, Totty’s lack of a reaction was worrying, but he was excellent at keeping a poker face. That stupid youngest was probably trembling in his stupid, sticky clothes!! His attention was immediately turned back to Jyushimatsu, who was elbow deep in his hoodie pocket. Finally, he pulls out a little strip of paper. All three brothers froze at this.

“Is that…?”
“Mhm! Her—” The second the words left his mouth, the paper was snatched from his hands. Jyushimatsu let out a loud “EHH?!” before seeing his three brothers fighting over the slip of paper.
“Lemme see Fappymatsu!! Is that real?!”
“I’m the one with the cellphone, give it here you loser virgins!!”
“YOU’RE A VIRGIN TOO! O-OW OSOMATSU LET GO OF ME—"

Choromatsu managed to slip on the puddle of beer from earlier, taking Totty and Osomatsu down with him. Jyushimatsu only stared tiredly as his brothers wrestled for the slip. He stomped his foot, gaining their attention for just a moment.
“Give it BAAACK!!” Rolling up his sleeves, he jumped into the pile with them. It was an all-out brawl for this tiny piece of paper. To any normal person, it was just piece of paper with numbers on it. For the brothers, it was their combination code to graduation! The fighting didn’t last too long as Totty and Choromatsu were the first to give-in. Osomatsu was holding well against Jyushimatsu, but he knew he was outmatched. Jyushimatsu glared at him with a murderous look in his eyes.
“Osomatsu-niisan…” He panted out, getting ready to strike again. Osomatsu gripped the paper in his hand with a steady smile, before a great idea came to mind.
“Hey Totty, get your phone ready!”
“On it!” Thankfully for Osomatsu, Totty always knew what he was up to. He got ready to run, holding out the paper in front of him.
“Okay!! Her number is eight, eight, zero—”
“NIISAN!!”
“point seven three!!”

Everyone but Osomatsu froze as he finished. The eldest was cackling to himself and ran towards Totty, pressing into him.
“Well?? What are ya waiting for, call her!!”
“Osomatsu-niisan, you’re an idiot.”
“EEH?! What the hell Totty, I thought we were on the same side?!"

Totty plucked the paper from his hands and flattened out the wrinkles. He stared blankly at the piece of paper and let out the biggest groan, gaining a head tilt from Jyushimatsu.
“It’s a receipt for a parfait.”

Chapter Text

“It’s a receipt.”

The household was dead quiet after this reveal. The two eldest looked at Totty dumbfounded, before turning their heads to Jyushimatsu. Choromatsu gave him a glaring sneer as he spoke.
“You seriously fought us over a receipt!? How stupid can you get?!”
“Hey, c’mon on now Choro-chan, I’m sure he was keeping up the bit, like you said! This was all a stupid prank!” Osomatsu tried to interject, but only got a scowl from Choromatsu.
“You’re not the one who got kicked in the face—”

“It wasn’t a prank! She’s real!!”  Their eyes shot towards Jyushimatsu. Osomatsu gave him a look of pity as he scratched his head awkwardly. Choromatsu was infuriated, holding his glare at his younger brother.
“Enough, Jyushimatsu! The joke isn’t funny anymore!”
“Stop whining Fappymatsu, geez. She is real, he just doesn’t have her number.” Todomatsu spoke up finally, giving the third eldest a glance from behind his phone. He could’ve laughed by how red and mad he was, but he had an image to keep.

“Wait. Is that how you knew so much?! Like the baseball thing!?” Choromatsu stared at Totty slack jawed. He was disappointed in himself for not picking up on it sooner. He was supposed to be the smart one, dammit! Todomatsu only shrugged in return.
“So our lil bro actually did meet a girl! Congrats, Jyushimatsu—”
“I DID GET HER NUMBER!!” Osomatsu was about to give Jyushimatsu a friendly smack to the back before the sudden outburst. Again, all eyes were on Jyushimatsu as he huffed out his frustration. With great agility, Jyushimatsu snatched Totty’s phone (Followed by a “hey!” from Totty) and grabbed a second piece of paper from his parka’s pockets. He could’ve burned a hole in Totty’s phone by how fast he typed the number in. A wave of gasped awes filled the room as the phone began to ring.

“Holy shit, it’s ringing—”
“He actually got one?!”
“Sshh!! Shut up, idiots!!”

The ringing of the phone only made time stand still. With each resounding ring, the boy’s hearts skipped another beat in anticipation. Finally, after what felt like hours, there was a click.

“Hello?” The familiar voice from the coffee shop filled Jyushimatsu’s ears and heart. His brothers stared at the phone with a whole new light to it now. Jyushimatsu chuckled before speaking.
“Hi, Y/N-chan? It’s Jyushimatsu!! I called your number!”
“Ah, Jyushimatsu! Haha, yeah I can see that. What’s up, did you need something?”
“To prove a point!”
“What—”

Before you could reply, there were many voices that filled the phone at once. It was hard to hear just how many people were on the other side, but you definitely recognized Totty from the group. Didn’t he have work like, two hours ago? Maybe he got a late lunch…
“Hey, stop biting! Hello, are you still there?” A new voice entered the phone now.
“Ummm… yeah? Who is this?”
“I’m Osomatsu, the oldest! It seems you’ve taken a liking to my lil bro Jyushimatsu!”

A blush filled your cheeks and you gripped the phone tighter. Thank god you never answered with facetime.
“W-Well, yeah! We hung out a little bit today. He actually told me about you.”
“REALLY!? What did he say?!” You pulled the phone away from your ear as he bellowed through the receiver. Oh boy.
“Well um… He said you liked the color red and uhh… Soda!”
You bit your lip as you cringed at your reply. Jyushimatsu didn’t really tell you too much about them except their coordinated colors. That was literally it. It was silent on the other end and you wanted so badly to hang up.
“… That’s it?”
“Y-Yeah well… It’s better to get to know you in-person, r-right?”

Nice save! Unfortunately, you’re dealing with the man who has the biggest ego once stroked.
“OHH? You’ve been planning to meet meee~??” His voice was sing-songy and you could practically feel the fluttering of his lashes from over the phone. Oh dear god.
“Um, of course? I planned to meet the rest of you eventually. I’ve already met Jyushimatsu, Totty, and Ichimatsu—”
“Eh?! You met Ichimacc-chan too?!” Again, pulling the phone away from your ear as he yelled. You shrugged to no one as you answered.
“Yeah, I met him and Jyushimatsu in the park. We didn’t get to talk too much though.” You didn’t want to mention the whole ‘getting hit with a baseball’ bit. No doubt he didn’t already know, but you didn’t need to keep bringing it up. Not yet at least. Osomatsu sounded like he was about to say something, but there suddenly more yelling and fumbling. You waited patiently, awkwardly glancing around your room. You jumped as another new voice entered the receiver.
“H-H-Hello…?” It was pretty high-pitched and sounded so scared. In all honestly, it sounded like he was the baby brother.
“Um… Hi? Which one are you?”
“Ch-Choromatsu Matsuno! I-It’s very n-nice to meet you!!”

The green one, right? He sounded like a nervous wreck and his voice was normal now, probably. His heavy breathing was just barely coming through the phone and you were worried you might scare him if you spoke again. You took a deep breath and spoke softly.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Choromatsu. How are you today?” What you thought was a simple question caused a ruckus from the other side. There was more yelling than before and you swore you heard the name “Fappymatsu” get thrown out from someone. Worry started to settle in your stomach before you heard things clear up for a brief moment. A stern voice that sounded like Totty came over the speaker.
“Give it here. Now!”
“N-Nooo!”
“Get your gross hands off my phone, Fappymatsu!!
“DON’T CALL ME THAT, SHE CAN STILL HERE YOU!!”

More fumbling and yelling was heard through the receiver. It sounded mostly like Choromatsu and Todomatsu, but you definitely heard Jyushimatsu yelling randomly in the background as well. You sighed heavily, but perked up once a familiar voice flooded your ears.
“Hello, Y/N-chan right? It’s so nice to hear your voice again! How are you doing?”
“Hey Totty!” You heard faint gasps in the distance,” It’s nice to hear from you too! I’m surprised you’re home, I thought you had work?” There was a bit of noise behind him and you were back to worrying. Just what was going on between the four of them??
“I did, but I got off early. By the way, thank you sooo much for the drink, it tasted SO good! I’m definitely coming back~”
“I’m glad! I won’t be working tomorrow though. Got class to go to and then schoolwork—”
“Totty, let me talk to her!!”
“Jyushimatsu— HEY!!”

Once more, the arguing erupted over the phone. Somehow, you were already used to this, and began to continue on your schoolwork as the brother's bickering continued. Part of you was getting a bit more anxious of meeting all of them in person now. If this is how only four of them acted over the phone, how will all six act in person?! Your anxious thoughts were cut short when a very familiar and happy voice filled the speaker.
“Y/N-chan?? Are you still there??”
“I’m still here! How’s it going, Slugger? Sounds like you’re still full of energy despite earlier.” You heard a few whispers from behind, but they were instantly drowned out by Jyushimatsu’s voice.
“Yeah, haha! Doing the same movement over and over is really tiring!!”
“WHAT—” The scream was heard only briefly before it sounded like it was muffled. Jyushimatsu let out a wary huff but didn’t say much towards the noise itself. You suspected he wanted you to ignore that, so you rolled with it for now.
“Well, make sure you take time to relax then. Swinging a bat that many times can’t be good for you. Not without rest, at least.”
“I will, don’t worry! What are you doing tomorrow?”
“Going to class and then doing some schoolwork, why?” You really hope you didn’t have to repeat that two more times—
“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow! Okay bye!!”
“Wait, Jyushimatsu—!!”

The gently beep of the phone call ending was all you heard. You stared at the phone and the number now in your recent call list. It took only a few seconds to tap it and create a new contact for the number. Almost immediately, you got a new message from the new text from the number.

[Slugger: Hi, it’s Totty!!(✿◡‿◡) Sorry Jyushimatsu-niisan hung up so suddenly, he can be real stupid sometimes]
[Slugger: Hey, if you’re not busy, wanna get a coffee tomorrow?]’

Oh yeah, Totty did mention while arguing that it was his phone huh. Did that mean Jyushimatsu didn’t have one? You shrugged off, quickly changing the name of the contact.

[Me: Yeah sure! I think Jyushimatsu wants to hang out, but he didn’t really say much other than that… We could hang out together!]
[Totty: Aww really? `(*>﹏<*)′ Well, I might have something planned tomorrow too… How about the next day?]
[Me: Sure?? Just tell me when and where and we can meet up!]
[Totty: Morning Mocha at noon. I’ll see you then~! (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)]

The kaomojis were kinda cute, but you hoped the last one was just a friendly gesture. As much as you found the boys cute, it was way too quickly to start having those kinds of feelings for them. And yet… You groaned. This is stupid!! You should be working!! So do that!! You got back to work on your project, hopefully the boring history subjects would distract you...

Meanwhile, Choromatsu was shooting death glares at Jyushimatsu. Jyushimatsu seemed unfazed, especially with his other two brothers shrugging him off.
“Why’d you hang up?! I didn’t even get to talk to her that long!” Choromatsu was fuming. He had a chance with a girl and he ruined it!!
“More like at all. You froze up the second she said your name!” Totty rolled his eyes in disgust at his older brother. As IF he was going to let Choromatsu blame this on anyone else.
“Yeah, you really blew your shot with her, didn’t ya?! Kyahaa! You shoud’ve seen your face, it was priceless— OW!” Osomatsu was silenced from a smack to the head with a paper fan. Choromatsu stood in the room, face red from embarrassment and anger.
“Sh-Shut up!! Like you did any better!!”
“Actually, Osomatsu-niisan did do better. We both did. You kinda suck, Choromatsu-niisan!” Totty put on his cutesy voice at his last statement and immediately got whacked next with the fan,” OW!! Where did you even get that?!”

The boys began to bicker once more, divulging the room into chaos. Jyushimatsu climbed the stairs to their bedroom upstairs, watching the fight leave his eyes with each step. Once he entered the room, he fell over on the couch, staring wide at the ceiling with a pink blush covering his cheeks. He thought about you and how he was going to spend another day with you. Light giggles fell from him and he couldn’t help but cover his face excitedly as he laughed to himself. He felt so silly and happy!! He couldn’t help but laugh!! Every time he thought back to your smile and laugh, it sent him into another flustered fit.

He really wanted to see you again.

Chapter Text

[Me: Totty, do you know where Jyushimatsu’s at?]
[Me: He planned to meet with me today, but he didn’t say where.]
[Me: Totty? Are you there?]
[Me: You know I can see the little “read” checkmark, right?]

You sighed as you clicked your phone off for now. Class has been over for an hour, yet you had no idea where to even begin to look for the boy who made plans with you today. Your first thought was the park, which was only a few blocks away from your campus. Part of you was worried that maybe he wouldn’t choose the same place a third time in a row.(If you count the first meeting, that is) Though you’ve only met him in one other place, and you really didn’t want to go to the cafe. They had a way of roping you into work, even on your days off. Your gaze kept going back to your phone, only reminding you of the silent treatment the youngest was giving you. Why was he being like this so suddenly?! Did you make him mad somehow?? You've only talked twice!! You pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration. Maybe you were overthinking this, maybe he was at work? Glancing at his phone as the notifications popped up but not being able to answer. That’s happened to you more times than you could count.

A heavy sigh fell from you as you walked your way down to the park. The path was somewhat familiar, you walked it after particularly stressful tests. The air was fresh thanks to the trees that hung over the road, which had many cute shops trickling it’s edges. The antique shop was one of your personal favorites, and you stopped by weekly to check on any new drop-offs. The canal nearby varied between looking stunningly beautiful to a great eyesore depending on the weather. On stormy days, it collected bramble and trash, but sunny days like this left it clean and sparkling. You loved to stand above one of the bridges and watch the water stream past, seeing what surprises caught your eye. Fish, weird leaves, and rare pieces of trash sometimes. You approached the bridge, but this time something wild caught your eyes before you could peer into the water.

A very familiar face adorning a leather jacket and dark sunglasses.

It was definitely a Matsuno, but none of the five you’ve met previously. Unless Jyushimatsu got his colors wrong, because from where you stood, this man was wearing nothing but black. Was this all a coincidence? Some random man who looked like the sextuplets, yet wasn’t?? This had to be a prank of some sort. Maybe this was Jyushimatsu and he was trying to surprise you?? You had an urge to march right up to him and tease him for trying to prank you, but on the off chance that this was some random dude, you’d look like an insane person. You kept your steady pace, your eyes locked to him as his figure got closer. He was leaning back on the bridge’s railing, glancing down the road frequently. Was he waiting for someone? He seemed kinda shifty… The way he kept adjusting his glasses and looking around made him stick out like a sore thumb. Finally, he spun towards you, and you saw what shirt he was wearing underneath his leather jacket.

A blue tank-top with his own face on it.

“Karamatsu !!!” You sighed after you cried out to him, feeling relief wash over you. While remembering names wasn't your strongest suit, Karamatsu was the only one you haven't met. Tie that along with his blue tank-top and it seems kinda obvious. The poor man jumped at the yell of his name, but as he saw you approaching him, immediately stood in a confident pose. He huffed out a chuckle, a smirk spreading across his face as his fingers pushed his sunglasses up his nose.
“Heh… It seems the time has finally come! Many weeks I have stood on this bridge waiting for you, my darling~! You were being quite coy, but I would’ve waited for an eternity and more for you.” He brought his sunglasses down to wink at you, stunning, bright blue eyes staring you down. Oh my god, was he wearing colored contacts?? Your mouth hung open in awe and surprise, which Karamatsu easily mistook as fawning,” Have I left you speechless, my love? My apologies, my charm tends to have that effect on people. But fear not, my lovely Karamatsu Girl, for your long wait is over! Fate has deemed us worthy of being together! I am yours, and you are—”

“Dude, holy shit.” He faltered immediately. He was getting ready to bow and grab your hands, but was now looking up at you from under his glasses. To say you were shocked wasn’t even the beginning. You were told literally nothing about this man, yet here was declaring his love to you. Was this normal for him? Did he do this every day?? What’s a Karamatsu Girl??? He looked at you with bated breath, waiting for something to happen. He had a worried look in his eye, as if you were going to do something.
“As uh, flattered as I am, I don’t actually know-know you all that well. Just your name. I’ve met your brothers.”
“… My Burazzas Hmmmm?” He seemed to smile at this, placing a hand under his chin and nodding. He held this pose for quite a while and you were afraid you might’ve broken him before he spoke again,” Aha! So my burazzas are the ones who sent you to me? It all makes sense now… I am grateful that they are trying to help me, but I’m afraid I must leave this up to fate—”
“Listen Karamatsu, I have no idea what you’re talking about. I wasn’t sent by anyone. I’m actually on my way to the park to hopefully meet up with Jyushimatsu—”
“Hmm?? My little Jyushimatsu??”

His eyes stared into yours as he asked this. You were already weirded out, but him having those striking blue contacts didn’t help at all either. You nodded slowly, getting caught on your own words.
“So my little Jyushimatsu has found another Jyushimatsu Girl… Good for him!! I’m so happy for him!!” He struck another weird pose and suddenly pointed at you. You jumped up, instinctively looking around to make sure he was definitely pointing at you. He was (unfortunately).
“I shall take you to Jyushimatsu then! It would be awful for me to try to steal you away from him! I am envious of his success of reaching through a woman’s heart, but I will be a responsible big brother and help him through this!”
“A-Ah… Thank you?” You were completely confused. Karamatsu sure was… different than all his brothers. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially with their six same faces “dilemma” but you never expected this. He turned on his heel and popped the collar on his jacket. He looked like an asshole, to be honest. The outfit wasn’t bad, but the shirt really threw it for a loop. C’mon, who has their own face on their shirt unironically?!

You followed Karamatsu in silence, mostly because you had no idea what to say. You were quick to notice some people glaring his way and you were a bit confused why. So his outfit was kinda tacky, who cares? It obviously made him happy and that’s what mattered. You sorta wish you had the balls to wear the stuff you liked without worrying about people gawking. It felt incredibly awkward to just be following him to the park, so you did you best to strike up some conversation.
“Sooo, Karamatsu… That’s an interesting shirt you have.”

Brilliant.

Luckily for you, Karamatsu was eager to talk about his sense of fashion. He let out a content hum.
“Interested, hmm? It’s quite often that people tend to admire at my cool attire. I can see you are no different, my love.”
“I mean, the leather jacket and glasses definitely give off the cool look, but the shirt…” You thought for a moment, thinking of how you could phrase this as nicely as possible,” Personally, I think it clashes? I’m not much of a fashion person myself, but I think the face throws it all off.” Karamatsu was silent for longer than you expected. The longer the silence, the longer you felt bad for trying to give advice. Right as you were about to say something, Karamatsu stopped in front of you.

“So what you’re saying is… my face clashes with my outfit?” His voice was still deep, but there was something different to it. Like he was holding back something. Was he going to snap at you? Yell at you?? You took a cautious step back.
“I-I didn’t mean it like that!! J-Just… How can your ah… Karamatsu Girl focus on your face if there’s a second, smaller face on your chest?” Karamatsu turned around far too quickly to your liking, and you jumped backwards. You prepared yourself for yelling, but instead you were met with another pose. He smiled, lowering his glasses to look you in the eyes once more.
“I can see where you’re coming from, my beloved, but I have thought long and hard about this. Have you heard of… Two faces are better than one?”

You scanned his face for any hint of a joke, yet he was still holding that smug smirk on his face. Was it wordplay on the original proverb or did he actually think that was the saying?? Either way, he seemed dead set on that being his answer.
“I have, yeah but um… Does that still apply here?”
“Heh! Of course it does! For if my Karamatsu Fan were to love my looks, they’d want to see more of me, no?”
He looked so damn proud of himself, you couldn’t bring yourself to dampen his mood. In the end all it mattered that he was happy, right? It wouldn’t be right of you to try and spoil that for him over your own personal opinion.
“I guess that logic checks out, yeah. So how many of these Karamatsu Fans do you have?”

You took it upon yourself to continue walking, taking the spot to his right. He beamed at your response to your earlier question, but he went back to a pondering look at your new one.
“Hmm… Not many, I’m afraid. Weren’t it not for Jyushimatsu capturing your heart already, you would’ve been the first! Though, I’m sure there are many more out there. I just have to let fate handle the rest.” He crossed his arms and nodded firmly. For now, you were ignoring him on all this "Jyushimatsu capturing your heart" nonsense. You've barely known him a day! Was it normal for his brothers to just jump to these conclusions?? Shaking away these thoughts, you got back to the topic at hand. You weren’t sure exactly what being a “Karamtsu Fan” entailed, but there was no better way to learn than to ask.
“And what is a Karamatsu Fan?”
“My admirers, of course! Those who adore me from afar, yet are not brave enough to speak the truth in their hearts!”
You raised an eyebrow at him. Admirers? Does he mean people that love him? While you certainly didn’t like him in that way, he did mention you were a Jyushimatsu Girl. Your heart flipped and you were more shocked by that than anything. Were his words really getting to you?! This is so stupid! Even if you did start liking Jyushimatsu this quickly, it's not he'd like you back just as quickly! You really neeeded a distraction from all this and lucky for you, the park was soon in eyesight. While Karamatsu certainly has his… quirks, you really didn’t want to talk to him about that sorta stuff right now.

Karamatsu’s rant seemed to stop as he watched you jog a bit farther ahead, looking wildly in the park. It was pretty full today, but not enough that you couldn’t pick out the smiling man in a yellow hoodie. A smile cracked across your face once he noticed you. Your heart skipped a beat once more as he started to book it towards you. Great, now Karamtsu has your head all in a mess!! You don’t like Jyushimatsu like that, you just met the man!! Sheesh!

“Y/N-chan!! There you are!!” His voice ran through your ears as he skidded to a stop in front of you. He was panting just slightly but stopped once he peered over your shoulder, “Karamatsu-niisan?!”
His eyes widened at the sight of his older brother. Karamatsu waved to him with a smirk, posing dramatically once more. You laughed mostly at Jyushimatsu’s reaction, but you saw both boys flinch to your response.
“Sorry, sorry! It was funny to see Jyushi’s reaction. I’m not laughing at you, Karamatsu.”
“You’re not??” They both spoke at once, causing them to lock eyes with each other once more. You were getting some weird vibes from the two, but figured it was some sort of sibling thing.
“Of course not? I think it’s charming and I’m glad he’s enjoying himself.”

Jyushimatsu let out a huff as his gaze settled back on you. Karamatsu seemed a bit more shocked by your words, staring at you with his mouth slightly ajar. It was a reaction you weren’t expecting from him. Was he not complimented all that much? Sure, he got a lot of weird looks on the way here, but no one deliberately belittled him. Before you could ponder more on the subject, you felt a sleeved arm link with yours. You looked up to see Jyushimatsu smiling like normal, but there was something… off about it. He glanced down at you, catching you staring and giving you a wide smile.
“Ready to hang out today, Y/N-chan?” You smiled back and nodded, but quickly bowed towards the still frozen Karamatsu.
“Thank you for walking me here, Karamatsu. See ya around sometime, okay?” He nodded, quickly regaining his confidence and striking yet another cool pose with a smile.
“Heh… It is not a problem, my dear! And have fun on your date with my little Jyushimatsu!”

Your face erupted in red right before you were tugged deeper into the park. You looked up to see the back of Jyushimatsu’s head. Thank God he didn’t see your face. Why would Karamatsu do that?! You know older siblings are supposed to tease their younger siblings, but he seemed way too sweet to pull something like that! Obviously Jyushimatsu wanted to get as far as away as possible, before Karamatsu could embarrass him more. Blurs of people moved past the both of you, but eventually they slowly began to disappear, and you and Jyushimatsu were left alone. Jyushimatsu finally slowed down, and it was only now that you felt your lungs burning for air. You instinctively went to bend over to place your hands on your knees but felt Jyushimatsu’s grip tighten as you fell away from him. He wasn’t looking down out at you, only staring into the thick forest surrounding you both. Did he take you off the path?
“Hah… Sorry, Y/N-chan. I couldn’t wait to get to hang out with you, haha!” Jyushimatsu’s grip loosed as he knelt beside your wheezing figure.
“It’s… it’s okay, Slugger… Just warn me next time, okay?” You smiled back to him, getting him to beam that smile at you once more. You definitely didn’t want to bring up earlier, seeing how eager he was to escape it. You raised back up, surveying your surroundings. Nothing but thick forest all around you. Even the city’s normal noisy ambience could barely be heard through all of this. Turning back to him, you tilted your head.

“So uh… what now?”

Chapter Text

Jyushimatsu was wandering around the small clearing he brought you to. You watched curiously, not sure what to expect from the hyperactive boy in front of you. He was able to pull a metal bat from thin air, it wouldn’t surprise you if he was hiding more behind the thicket. The sound of rustling filled your ears as he dove into the bushes. Several minutes passed before he reappeared, his hands cupped together and twigs clinging to his clothes. He jogged towards you, heaving out small pants.
“Uhh… Whaddya find, Slugger?”
“A beetle! Look!!” He opened his hands and sure enough, a large stag beetle was still in his sleeved palms. The sight made you jump slightly, mostly because he had it pretty close to your face.

“Oh! Hello there…” You noticed it’s little mandibles were very tiny compared from pictures you’ve seen,” Little lady!”
Jyushimatsu perked up immediately. His eyes locked onto your face, but you couldn’t tell as you very gently pet the beetle’s back.
“You know bugs?!” That got your attention. You glanced up and saw his eyes directly in front of you. A peep came from you and you took a few steps back.
“A little? I’m not an expert, but I know a decent amount. Like male beetles have bigger mandibles to fight for females.” You definitely learned that from a video game, but Jyushimatsu didn’t have to know that. The look in his eyes was blinding and honestly? Somewhat creepy. If you hadn’t considered him a friend, you would be expecting something ominous from those eyes. He nodded frantically, likely agreeing with your statement, then ran towards you while pushing the beetle closer towards you. You didn’t dislike bugs, but you weren’t fond of having them shoved into your face.
“Jyushimatsu! Stop doing that!!” You leapt back, giving him a stern look. His smile immediately fell and brought the beetle back to his chest. A dry chuckle fell from him as his eyes fell to the floor. He mumbled out a soft “sorry” but refused to look back at you.
“You can’t just shove stuff in my face, okay? I’m sorry I snapped, just please don’t do it again.” Of course you felt bad, you knew he only meant well, but he needed to know these boundaries. You couldn’t imagine anyone who would like bugs shoved in their face, though. His worried work was still there, but his smile had quickly returned.

“Got it, sorry! Hey, what’s your favorite bug?” He tilted his head and looked at the beetle in his hands. It was starting to move a little, but it didn’t seem too used to Jyushimatsu’s thick fabric. You stepped closer and plucked the beetle from his hands. The beetle seemed to squirm slightly by you holding it, but other than that seemed fine. Who knows what’s going through his little beetle head right now. The question lingered in your head as you brought the bug to a nearby tree. It seemed very confused to be placed back in its home and not eaten by the “predators” who just picked him up.
“Umm… Moths are pretty cool! I like how fuzzy they are.” You replied as you watched beetle start to move ever so slightly. Jyushimatsu let out a troubled hum behind you.
“Moths don’t come out in the daytime though… Ah! Butterflies!” He exclaimed as if he had an answer, but as you turned around, you saw him staring at a few butterflies near a bush. He gently tugged you over and you crouched near the beautiful flower bush. Many different species of butterflies fluttered about, but one immediately caught you eye.
“A swallowtail!!” You chirped, pointing to the black butterfly with blue hindwings, two long “tails” were hanging from them. Jyushimatsu gasped, staring intently where your finger led.
“An Eastern Tiger Swallowtail!! Very pretty!!”
“So they have Tiger Swallows over here too? I saw them a lot back in America, too. But they’re bright yellow with black stripes.” Jyushimatsu immediately turned to you.
“So you ARE a foreigner!” His finger was pointing at you now and he had an accusatory yet playful look on this face. You laughed and nodded.
“Yeah, I’m surprised you pointed it out now. Do I sound like I’m from Japan?”
He shook his head,” Not at all!!”

You laughed this time, causing him to chuckle with you. You gave a gentle nudge to his shoulder.
“You could’ve just asked, y’know. I get it too much to be weirded out anymore.”
“I was going to but aha…. I kept forgetting!” He rubbed the back of his head as he chuckled nervously. He kept forgetting to ask?? You could imagine that with all that energy, his thoughts were going a mile a minute. You’ve definitely had those moments where you finished up a research paper at 4 am on nothing but coffee and energy drinks. Focusing is a hard job!
“I traveled a lot when I was younger. When I eventually got old enough, I decided I wanted to live here, in Japan. Out of all the places I seen, there was just something about here I couldn’t leave behind.” You held out a finger and were quite shocked to see a butterfly actually land on it! It stretched it’s wings and walked a little bit, before flying away once more. Jyushimatsu chuckled beside you, and you turned to see him smiling at you. There was something about that smile that made you feel warm.

“I’m really glad you chose Japan!! I’ll have to show you all the neat stuff Akatsuka has to offer!!” He puffed out his chest and confidently placed his hands on his hips. A hearty laugh fell from you, and you saw his face light up like a star.
“I’m looking forward to it Slugger. Hey, wanna take a picture together? It can be like the start of our journey across Akatsuka!” You scooted closer to him, missing how he flinched at your movement. You pulled out your camera and angled it ahead of you, seeing you and Jyushimatsu on it’s screen. His face seemed redder than usually, but you quickly captured the picture and moved to give him space.
“Look! I think it turned out great! Look how red you are, hehe!”
“Aha… I-It’s getting really hot out here!” He replied with a shaky voice. Worry filled your soul immediately and you looked towards him. Sure enough, he was sweating bullets and flushed red.
“Oh shit— Jyushi, I think you’re overheating. C’mon, let’s go get some water.” You quickly grabbed his arm and headed towards the way you came in. Re-emerging into the park, you immediately headed towards the vending machines he brought you to yesterday.  Just like before, there were a couple of people here stopping by for a drink.

Including someone in a red tracksuit.

For a second you didn't recognize him as a Matsuno; He had half his tracksuit down and tied around his waist. It wasn't until he turned around and you saw his face that you realized. You were so excited to meet the fabled older brother (at least, you think you remember Osomatsu being the oldest.) That you immediately flagged him down.

"Osomatsu!! Hey!!" He seemed surprised that someone called for him, and even more surprised that it was coming from you. Surprise quickly melted into a wide smile as he came strolling up to you and Jyushimatsu. 
"Well, look what we got here! I didn't actually think you'd show up here again!" You looked at him quizzically, but his eyes soon landed on Jyushimatsu," If you need help finding good date locations, you can always ask your big bro! I know a pretty cheap love hote--"
"NII-SAN!!" Jyushimatsu broke his rare moment of silence to lunge after Osomatsu. Lucky for you, they were too busy fighting to notice the deep red of your face. We're all his brothers going to tease him about this?! Why were siblings so annoying?! Could a girl and boy just not be friends?! After giving yourself enough time to cool down and recover, you let out a cough, getting their attention.

"What a um… great first impression, Osomatsu. Care to explain what you meant earlier? Like how you knew we were here yesterday?" You were hoping to change the earlier subject as soon as possible. Also, you were very curious about how he did actually know. Osomatsu smiled, bringing a finger to wipe under his nose.
"It was a guess, hehee! Besides, it's an older brother's job to know where all his siblings are at!"

That sounded like a bunch of horseshit, but you didn't feel like arguing with him about it. Jyushimatsu kept his eyes on his older brother but was back by your side in no time.
"So! What have you two done all day?" He sad teasingly, wiggling his eyebrows. 
"I was at school most of the day, but then joined up with Jyushimatsu here at the park," You replied confidently, before remembering something," Oh! And I met Karamatsu! He's uh… intere--"
"Painful." Osomatsu interrupted you with a nod. You frowned at this response and were shocked to see Jyushimatsu nodding with him. They both thought that?!

"I-I wouldn't say that! It's definitely unique, but I wouldn't say painful!!"
They both stared at you with wide eyes. Osomatsu began to snicker, before giving Jyushimatsu a slap on the back.
"Well damn! You better watch out lil bro, or Karamatsu might steal your girl!" 
"No way!! Never!! You're Out!!" Jyushimatsu shook his head frantically. Once again, your face flushed with red at being called “Jyushimatsu’s girl.” You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose.

"Guys, just because I'm not bullying your brother doesn't mean I like him in that way.” Osomatsu peered over at you again, an eyebrow raised.
“Reeeally? Because I don’t think I’ve EVER heard someone not call him painful. Let alone a girl.” Was he normally this annoying?? The short moment you talked to him on the phone, he seemed decent at the very least. Maybe that’s why Jyushimatsu got so quiet when you first saw him. When you turned to Jyushimatsu for some help, he also seemed to be eyeing you suspiciously. You threw up your hands in frustration, swiftly bringing them back down to cross them.

“Seriously?! So I decide not to make fun of a guy for having fun with… whatever it is Karamatsu does and suddenly I have a crush on him?? I barely met the dude, I barely met any of you!! I don’t like any of you in that way!!” You didn’t realize how loud you got until you were done. The silence of the area was deafening and immediately felt all eyes on you. Great, now you look like the bad guy. Your cheeks heated up once more in embarrassment and you let out a frustrated groan. All you wanted was the earth to swallow you or to turn invisible or something to happen to get this moment to stop.
“H-Hey, we didn’t mean to—” Osomatsu had begun, but you weren’t having any of it. You suddenly weren’t feeling good, and you wanted to go home.
“Don’t. I-I’m going home. Thanks for the day out, Jyushimatsu.” You forced a smile towards him and began to head out. There was a few seconds of silence, before the boys began bickering with one another. It didn’t still your steps any, you continued on your normal route home.

That is until you heard Jyushimatsu call your name.

You hesitated to turn around, but it didn’t matter since he had already caught up to you. You felt his presence behind, following slowly behind with cautious steps.
“Y-Y/N-chan, I’m sorry.” His words got you to stop. He nearly bumped into you, but quickly took a few steps back.
“Thank you for the apology, Jyushimatsu. I… I think I’m still going to head home.” A faint gasp fell from him, but then a sigh.
“That’s fine! But um… Can we still hang out?” His voice was soft and shaky as he asked. You finally turned towards him, giving him a small, yet genuine smile.
“Of course we can, I just need time to cool off. Oh but um… I think Totty wanted to do something with me tomorrow. Are you free the next day?” His smile returned and his eyes looked thankful to hear your words. He nodded frantically, almost too much to speak.
“Mhm Mhm!! I’m always free!!” You weren’t entirely sure by that, but you weren’t really in the mood to over think things either. You watched as Jyushimatsu happily bounced along. Things began to grow awkward as neither of you spoke, so you started to turn.
“W-Well um… Goodbye, then.”
“A-Ah wait! Can I walk you home??” His question didn’t seem to have any other motive behind it. At least, it didn’t sound like it. You sighed and nodded, getting a 'woo' from the energetic boy. It wasn’t that far and he was bound to find out where you lived eventually. With Jyushimatsu at your side again, you began to walk home in (almost) complete silence.

You thanked Jyushimatsu for walking you home but decided he could come in another time. Your house was an absolute mess. The little vacuum robot could only do so much, it kinda got stuck on your dirty clothe piles. You stepped into the house and lazily kicked your shoes off near the door. Your body hit the soft couch with a loud “WHUMPF” and you felt every muscle that was screaming in your body suddenly shut up. You were definitely going to have to work out again if you wanted to keep up with Jyushimatsu.
As you made yourself comfortable and checked your phone, you noticed you had two new texts from Totty.

[Totty: Gomen Y/N-chan!! I got extremely busy!! `(*>﹏<*)′ ]
[Totty: I don’t know where Jyushimatsu-niisan is… but hey, wanna go to the shopping district tomorrow? I saw some clothes that I just KNOW you’d love! (✿◠‿◠) ]
[Me: Thanks Totty, I found him. And sure! 👍]

You wondered if the “extremely busy” was just him shopping all day. Another sigh fell from you as you felt a wave of sleep wash over you. A nap did sound pretty good right now… As your minded started to fade off into sleep, another piece of important detail popped into your mind:

What did Karamatsu mean when he said another Jyushimatsu girl?

Chapter Text

All day your mind was repeating Karamatsu's words from yesterday. How there was another Jyushimatsu girl. Was there another girl spending time with him? The way Karamatsu had phrased it though made it sound like it was a dating sorta thing. It seemed most of the sextuplets have only dating on the mind... You sighed as your eyes darted to the clock. Fifteen more minutes until you're off and get to hang out with Totty. Fifteen more minutes to dwell over this conundrum.

The only "lead" you had was that it was a girl that Jyushimatsu also hung out with. Maybe they were dating and you're just a rebound after a messy break-up. That didn't feel right, but you wouldn't write it off just yet. Your eyes widened as another idea crossed your mind. What if this whole time he was cheating on her?! That Karamatsu was some clueless, innocent bystander who was accepting of his brother's polyamorous relationship. You shook the nausea beginning to form in your stomach. No. There was no way. There was no ill-will hidden behind those giant, goofy eyes. Not purposely, at least. And besides, you both had to be doing stuff for it to be considered cheating. Kissing, Cuddling, Se--

…

Goddammit.

A customer walking in quickly distracted you from whatever the hell THAT thought was going to be. Your cheeks were still flushed with red, but that could easily be blamed on the summer heat. Thankfully, the person who walked in wouldn't be bothered by current state. Mostly because h is face was in his phone.
"Good Mocha Morning, Totty!" His face seemed to screw up as his attention was ripped from his phone.
"Do they really make you say that?!" An ugly cackle came from you, causing you to cover your mouth to silence the noise.
"No, but your reaction was pretty hilarious!! The other thing I do have to say to new customers though.”
“What other thing?” He asked, his face molding back into the earlier look. He really didn’t remember? He was distracted on his phone last time, that’s probably why. God, he was going to hate this and yet here you were smiling and holding back chuckles.
“Welcome to Morning Mocha, where we make your mornings Moch-amazing!” You nearly couldn’t pull it off, stifling your giggles as Totty’s mouth fell further open.
“….You do NOT get paid enough to say that. Oh my GOD.” His hand wiped down the front of his face, wiping off the secondhand embarrassment he had for you. You let yourself laugh, getting him to smile while shaking his head,” Anyway, are you off soon~? I heard there was a sale at the clothing store I wanted to show you, so we have to get there quick before all the best stuff is gone! It’s perfect for our day out.” A breath of relief fell from you as he said ‘day out.’ Maybe Osomatsu told him about your breakdown yesterday… You shivered, taking off your apron. Totty was still searching his phone for more details on the sale mentioned before. You were a little impressed how he mostly did it one handed too.

“Yeah, give me a few minutes to change. Want anything while you’re here? It’s on me.”
You turned to head towards the back, missing the slight pink that rose to Totty’s cheeks. Or did he naturally just have rosy cheeks? You honestly couldn't tell. He smiled and returned in his usual peppy voice.
“Aw, how sweet of you! I’ll take the order you got me last time, kay~?”
A nod from your head and you got to work, quickly making that drink while clocking out on your phone. Ah, technology. It was a blessing and a curse sometimes. Totty’s drink thankfully didn’t take too long and neither did changing, reappearing from the bathroom in a normal T-shirt and jeans. You always preferred comfy over cute, especially if you were going to be walking in a heavy shopping district. When you reappeared, Totty was taking pictures with his drink. Part of you was curious about where he was posting those pictures at and what he was adding, but you were also flattered to have your simple drink be used as a photo prop.

“Okay Tot, are you done with the photoshoot?” He perked up, jumping slightly, and a huge smile appeared on his face. You wanted to believe it was because of the nickname of the nickname he already. There’s no way he liked your outfit, seeing how simple it was compared to his.
“Aww, you look so good!” That got your eyes to widen and a scoff to come from your chest. Guess you were wrong. Totty looked just as shocked as you did, though. Probably wasn’t looking for that reaction.
“Totty, you don’t have to lie to me. I look decent at best.” His eyebrows furrowed and a small pout formed on his lips. You hated to admit it, but he looked pretty cute like that.
“I wasn’t lying! You really do look good!” His attention went straight back to his phone and a pang of guilt struck your heart. Did you upset him? Maybe he didn’t like being called a liar? Your hands gripped the edge of your T-shirt tightly, anxiety now washing over you. Already two minutes in and you’ve ruined your time together. Better apologize before he gets too mad…

“Ah, I’m sorry Totty… Thank you for the compliment, you look very cute too.” His face immediately perked up, a small smile filling his face. You were thankful at first, until he smirked and winked at you.
“Aw, thank you! So you think I’m cute huh~? I’m glad!”
“Of course?? You and your outfits have been really cute so far!” You weren’t going to get flustered that easily. After yesterday, you were going to try and keep your cool. Didn't need a repeat of that situation. Plus, you feel like you kinda got most of these brothers figured out by now. His outfit was the same as last time, white dress shirt and pink tie, but it wasn’t a bad look! It definitely gave you ‘cute and functional’ vibes. Totty seemed to freeze for a split second, before his charming smile returned to his face.
“Oh you~! C’mon, let’s not waste any more time.” He got up, his half-finished drink in his hand. You nodded, stepping up beside him and beginning to leave the store. The second you walked onto the street though, your arm was linked with Totty’s and he pulled you close to his face.

“Smile!!” That was all you heard before a flash caught your attention and made you winch. You heard a ‘Tch’ from Totty as he looked at his phone. He mumbled something under his breath, but immediately perked up again.
“Whoops, I left my flash on! Let’s try again, okay?”
“S-Sure, but next time give me some warning! Pictures tend to turn out better that way.” You teased, happily getting closer to him. He let out a soft ‘mhm’ before pointing the camera towards you both again.
“Three, two, one! There! Let’s see… Aww, look at us!! We're both super cute~!" He showed you the phone, and you were happy he was right. The smile you gave was at least genuine. Totty looked extra cute too, winking and making a peace sign with his free hand.
"This will look so good on my feed!" He chimed and you quickly saw him opening up a social media app.
"Oh, you're posting it? Gimme your handle so I can like it."

You brought out your phone to open the same app. You didn't use it too frequently, only posting scenery pictures or using it for vent posts. Speaking of which, better delete all your old ones before he cyberstalks you--
"You wanna add me? Of course! Lemme see your handle…"
After a few minutes you struggling to remember how to use the damn app, you finally followed Totty and shared the picture he posted. There were the other selfies he took earlier too. Wow, this dude got a lot of likes. One of the captions read 'Being cute really does pay off~! Free drink for me! (≧∇≦)ﾉ'. You rolled your eyes, liking the post. Though you had to admit, one of the photos made you look like a cryptid. Sweet.
"Do your brothers have accounts too?" Totty scoffed and rolled his eyes. He began to walk and talk, causing you to scamper after him.
"Of course not, they barely know what the internet is. Well, Choromatsu-Niisan has his idol fan account on here but…" The sound of him breathing through his teeth made you giggle.
"That bad huh? Now I have to see." You tapped on your phone furiously, skimming through all usernames that flooded your screen. How hard could it be? Totty's username was close to his name, maybe Choromatsu was the same.
"Trust me, you don't want to see it. It's nothing but his idol shit on there. He really likes this one cat girl idol."
"Nyaa-chan? Yeah, I've heard of her!" The enthusiasm in your voice caused him to grimace. You eyed him back curiously, pausing your search temporarily.

"What's that look for?"
"How MUCH do you know about her?" His question completely threw you for a loop. Was he some kind of super crazy fan??? That made no sense, he didn't even know her name. Plus he did just say his brother had the fan account. Maybe he didn't want you to be too obsessed with her. You raised your hands in defense, clutching tightly onto your phone.

"Look dude, I know that she exists and like four of her songs maybe. That's it." The exhale from him was almost enough to knock you back. It made you twice as worried now to look up Choromatsu's account. He's big enough of a fan to make his brother that worried? You glanced at your phone once more and with a shiver, placed it back in your pocket.
"You know what, I better keep my focus on the brother I'm with right now.”
A blissful sigh fell from him," That's the best thing you've said all day."
"Really? Calling you cute wasn't the highlight?" You chuckled back, somewhat shocked by his reaction.
"I know I'm cute. But it's not often people just drop the topic when it comes to my brothers." That was a really good point. You could imagine all the questions that would follow when it came to meeting the sextuplets. Stupid, mundane questions he's probably had to answer half a million times already. You also had questions, but so far you've never had time to ask them. This would’ve been your opportunity, but Totty obviously wouldn't like it.

"Yeah, I can imagine... I'll do my best to keep the focus mostly on you today, okay?"
Totty's head swiveled faster than a human's head ought to. His eyes were the widest you've ever seen and the sparkle in them was blinding. For a second you thought they beat Jyushimatsu's eye-widening record.
"Really?! You mean it?!" Seeing him asking you so enthusiastically got just as riled up, you couldn't help but laugh. It must not be often he gets this kind of attention without his brothers around. This obviously meant a lot to him, so you were going to do your best to keep your promise. He quickly regained his composure, returning to his "normal" self. You gave him a curt nod, his smile going back to beaming.
"Sure thing Tot! Well, and I'll be paying attention to the shopping but--"
"Don't ruin this. C'mon, we're here!" He cut you off and with an arm linked with yours, he pulled you into the shopping district.

Chapter Text

The clothing store Totty brought you to was a lot fancier than you first thought. It had many high-priced, name brand clothes. Many signs filled your vision, companies boasting how much their product is compared to their competitors. You really couldn’t tell a difference honestly. You always believed that they only said those things to jack up the prices further. It really sucked too, because a lot of stuff here was really cute. Todomatsu seemed to agree with you, an arm already draped with articles of clothing, mostly pink.
“Y/N-chan, you should try this one on too!! And this as well!!” You couldn’t help but smile at how happy this made him though. You didn’t know how much money he had or if he was planning to pay for you or what, but for now you were content with just trying on what he offered.
“Do you come here a lot Totty? You seem to know a lot about these brands.” He let out hum, holding yet another shirt in front of him. It was a bit confusing whether his affinity for pink was from being a sextuplet or if he just liked the color.

“Of course I know all about brands~! Gotta keep up with the hottest trends to make my own, ya know?” He held the shirt up to you, and you smiled awkwardly. It made sense, he had a decent following and a few posts seemed to be quite popular on the website.
“I come here every once in a while.” Totty continued, placing the shirt back on the rack with visible disgust,” The prices are steep, but the sales make it manageable. I’m surprised this place isn’t chaos yet. Maybe we did miss all the good stuff…” He sounded so defeated; it made your heart break. The store only had a few other people, and it still seemed pretty stocked in terms of clothing… You wanted to help, but fashion wasn’t really your strong suit. You were wearing a blank, black T-Shirt, for fuck’s sake.

“Hey, cheer up Tot. There’s still lots here to look at!” A hand gently patted his back, surprisingly him slightly. You gave him a smile, plucking a navy-blue swing coat from the rack. It was very soft, almost as if the material was made of pure velvet.
“Look at this! This looks and feels nice, right?” You pushed the coat into his hands and he let out a little “oooh” at the touch. You brought the coat to lay loosely on his shoulders but frowned at the results. He seemed to agree with you, but his eyes widened at the look on your face.
“It needs something else… or maybe it’s not your color?” He disguised his sigh of relief with a scoff.
“I can make any color work. But I think you’re right about it needing something else.” He smiled, handing it back to you, seeing how his arms were getting quite full.
“Well, I’m sure this place has that missing something. If not, we can look elsewhere.”

You missed the look Totty gave you as you turned towards another rack. You managed to pick out a few pieces you liked and could actually afford! Totty still wanted to see how the other stuff looked on you, even after you told him you weren't planning to spend too much here. You were lucky if you did manage to buy the cute tank top that was 4000 yen. After a few more minutes, Totty was ushering you towards the dressing room to try on the abundance of clothing.
"You HAVE to show me all of them! I'll take pictures and see which one looks best."
"More like you're stocking up cute photos of me." You said it to tease him, but the pink that erupted on his face made you snort.
"I-I am not! I can't believe you'd even THINK I'd do something like that!!" He crossed his arms and pouted, his eyes looking like they're about to cry. It was a reaction you weren’t expecting at all. Immediately your smile fell, and you quickly apologized.

"Hey, I’m sorry Totty. I shouldn’t have made a joke like that." You gave him a soft smile and he seemed to brighten up slightly.
"Thank you..." Everything seemed fine but the second you turned back around, Totty called back to you," Y/N-chan! Um... Sorry for snapping. I'm used to my brothers teasing me in that sorta way, but not..."
"A stranger? Yeah, I get it. I shouldn't hav--"
"A friend. I was going to say friend." He seemed dejected, like you had smashed his hopes and dreams. Shit. Shiiit shit shit. The hurt in his eyes quickly faded as he looked at his phone. His smile was back, but there was something... Strained about his voice.
"Tot--"
"Oh, we're wasting time!! C'mon, get changed! And remember what I said!!" He was acting as if nothing happened. Like you didn't just strangerzone him or whatever the fuck people called it. You wanted to talk, but he managed to push you into the changing room and slam the door.
"Totty, can we ta--"
"Talking means you're not changing~!" Was all he chimed back. He obviously was pissed, so maybe he just needed time to cool down. A heavy sigh fell from you as you hung up the couple of "finalists" that made it with you to the changing room. Unsurprisingly, all the one Totty chose were pink. You had chosen two pieces; One being a nice chocolate brown frock overcoat with lighter brown faux fur tufts on the sleeves. The other was a simple pastel yellow tent dress with a thick, lace-like pattern around the neck.
"Alright, first one..." You mumble to yourself, looking at the dress shirt he picked out. It was a pastel pink, a bit brighter than the pink that Totty wore. It's long sleeves were right around your arms but frilled up and near your wrists. The chest piece itself was similar, except not as tighter and flowed much more loosely around your stomach. The neckline was a bit low cut, but not enough to make you uncomfortable. The sleeves draped perfectly over your shoulders, frilling at the ends like the rest of the shirt. You stepped out of the booth, holding your arms and twirling a little bit to show off the wave of the shirt. Totty seemed to be nose deep in his phone again, but immediately perked up at your movements.
"Um... I know you're still mad at me, but will you still take pictures?

He stared at you for about a minute, making you feel even more insecure about the fit. Was he going to laugh? Just ignore you? Give you a look of disgust and insult you?! Panic was readable in your eyes but was completely changed when you heard the sound of a camera shutter. Totty was back on his phone, a small cat-like smile on his face.
"Aww, this one looks soooo adorable!! I definitely give it a 10~!"
You were absolutely baffled by this reaction. He was reacting so... Normally. Not to mention he was alright with that mess of a picture.
"Can I see?" You said, walking closer to him, but he pulled his phone away.
"Sorry, I already deleted it! Don't wanna be a creep who keeps random photos of girls, right?" He said it so cheerfully, yet that sentence was nothing but venom. The way you froze stiff was probably pure joy to him. A stinging, burning sensation sparked in your chest. Was it guilt? Shame? Whatever it was, it fucking hurt.

"Are... Are you being serious right now?" His smile faltered a bit, but his eyes still were shining that clueless shine.
"What do you mean, Y/N-Chan?"
"You're really being this way towards me after I tried to talk to you about this?” His eyes widened as your voice began to raise. A few people began to look but you were too focused on the man in front of you. His eyes quickly furrowed back, giving you a glare.
"Why am I the one getting yelled at?? You’re the one who was rude to me!! Like seriously, after I brought you to such a cute place..." You couldn’t believe this. How he tried to flip this situation like YOU were at fault. Your jaw tightened as a flurry of emotions swirled within you. He was like this when you first met, wasn't he? Petty and two-faced. At the time you thought you were to blame; You weren’t paying attention to your job, after all. But now you saw that this was a normal act for him.

"No no no, you don't get to go that route. I made an inappropriate joke and I apologized. Then when I messed up and tried to TALK TO YOU, you shut me down and started acting like… like a child!" It was a little hard to be mad when the end of your sleeves had pieces of fabric waving after your hand movements. Totty even glanced away to watch them sway, but quickly realized that was a mistake when he looked back. You groaned in frustration, going back into the changing room. Changing was quick, albeit a bit tedious. When Totty saw you return with your T-Shirt on, he seemed confused.
"W-Wait, where are you going??" You turned on your heel, glaring at him with eyes full of disbelief.
"Do you really think I'm going to stay here and let you talk to me like this?? I'm not spending another second with you unless you talk to me like the adult you are."

The silence in the store was deafening. It reminded you all too much of what happened yesterday at the park. The adrenaline from your anger began to quickly die down and you were immediately swallowed by embarrassment of your outburst. Your cheeks were bright red and your ears were practically steaming. Totty was actually handling this much better than you. His glare was sharp, his face was like stone and he didn't seem like he was going to back down or apologize for his actions.
"There's nothing worth talking about if you won't properly apologize." He was dead serious. The look, the tone, the AUDACITY. Your mouth fell open and he had the guts to smirk as if he had you beat. Like you were going to slam on your knees and BEG him for forgiveness.

Your glare only sharpened, before faltering away into a look of pain as you sighed. Dipping into the changing room, you grabbed the two pieces of clothing you had picked out. Totty watched as you walked towards the counter, greeting the cashier with as much as a smile you can manage. The conversation was soft compared to the one from mere seconds earlier. The cashier knew you wanted to leave quickly and wasn’t going to waste time asking for account information.
“What are you doing?” Todomatsu’s voice was genuinely curious as he watched you grab the bag of clothing from the cashier. You honestly didn’t know if he deserved an answer, but you gave him one anyway.
“Today has been a huge let down and a big waste of time. I figured I could at least get something good from this mess.” Your voice was tired, feeling so emotionally drained after all that happened. Almost as drained as the color from Totty’s face. You nodded to the cashier and proceeded to leave the shop, Todomatsu right on your heels.
“Y/N-chan wait--!”
“Thank you for inviting me out today, Todomatsu. Have a good day.”

You left him standing in front of the clothing store, disappearing into the crowd of people. Your heart was pounding in your ears and begging to erupt from your throat. Normally you’re not such a confrontational person, and that was a bit too much for you. The crash of adrenaline mixed with pushing past all these people was causing your breath to grow heavier and heavier. Was this street usually full of people? Did it always twist and bend around you like this? You bumped into someone, a gruff and deep voice snapping at you in return.
“S-Sorry! Are you okay…?” Your voice trailed off as you stared at the person in front of you.

A masked man with messy hair and all too familiar face.

His angry eyes immediately flickered back to tired as he met with your eyes. You smiled weakly, letting out a feeble chuckle.
“Hey uh… Ichimatsu, right?”

Chapter Text

“Um… yeah…” The bite the man had before immediately disappeared. He had realized you weren’t some asshole that usually shoves past him on the street. The two of you had dipped into a nearby alleyway, avoiding the swarm of people on the busy street. The both of you were silent, the only noise was your labored breath. Ichimatsu only stared at you nervously.
“So uh… do I know you…?” His voice was so soft you barely heard it. Possibly due to the white face mask he was wearing. You were confused for a second, an immediate panic setting in that you might’ve gotten the wrong person somehow, when you remembered the only time you two met was no more than 15 minutes.
“A-Ah, right! I’m Y/N-chan… You hit me with a baseball, remember?” You chuckled at the memory. It was definitely a great ice breaker. Unfortunately, Ichimatsu didn’t find it too funny. He froze, his eyes widening.
“R-Right… The girl Jyushimatsu keeps talkin’ about…"

“What was that?”

“N-Nothin’. What did you want from me?” His voice had that gruff tone to it again and his tired eyes bore into your soul. Unlike the previous brother, he was a lot harder to talk to.
“Oh um! N-Nothing I guess, I just happened to run into you… literally, heh…” God that was so weird. He probably thinks you’re weird now. It was really hard to read him with those 'done-with-the-world' eyes. His mask surely didn’t help either. He grunted, staring into the moving crowd of people that filtered down the street. It looked like a stream and trying to merge in would get you caught in some horrible accident. It was going to be a bit before you could safely jump back in. You sighed heavily and heard Ichimatsu begin to shuffle beside you. He was nearly towards the end of the alley, his hands shoved deep into his pockets.

“Don’t let someone like me ruin your day.” He didn’t even turn to face you, only dipped into another stretch of the alley. That wasn’t fair! He couldn’t just say something like that and then leave without giving you time to retort!
“Hey wait!” You called, jogging after him. When you turned the corner, he was right there, scaring you for a second time,” Oh Jesus— Wait please? Can I walk with you for a moment?” A flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes, but he shrugged, turning back around.
“If you really want to hang out with trash, sure.” You frowned at this response. You weren’t a stranger when it came to self-deprecating jokes, it was a coping mechanism for you as well. Though you knew that saying it to people who aren’t used to that kind of thing always comes off as uncomfortable and weird, so they were only made around friends. Did he really see himself as garbage? Or maybe he was trying to push you away for some reason…
“My day can’t get any worse. Besides, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure!” You said happily, bouncing next to him with your bags in tow. The remainder of the time was spent in silence. You only spoke up when you asked Ichimatsu to wait for you. The alleys were cramped and damp; Obviously they weren’t supposed to be used as a normal means of travel. The clunky noise of A/C units and pipes echoed throughout the narrow space. It was a little scary and you were thankful Ichimatsu was here.
“So um… Where are you going?” You asked, looking at him briefly. You swore you heard a grunt, but his face never changed. It was really hard to read him with that mask on.
“Anywhere.”

“Anywhere?”

“That’s what I said.” He paused for a moment, his gaze lingering around the alley. There was a small fork in the road going left and right. You stayed incredibly silent, not wanting to disrupt the concentration you assumed he had right now. With short nod, he began to walk right, and you followed him like before.
“Are you looking for something?” Another grunt from him, but it didn’t seem like he was willing to elaborate,” …Can I help?” This got him to slow to a stop. His slumped shoulders seem to rise, and you could hear him drawing in a deep breath. It was only now that you realized the situation you had gotten yourself into. You followed a stranger into a dark alleyway and asked to assist them in finding something. There was no doubt in your mind that Ichimatsu was a nice person, but this would’ve been weird to anyone. Hell, you just pulled a move that would get yourself killed in any horror movie! Swallowing back the nervous lump in your throat, you waited for an answer. Dark eyes appeared over his shoulder, staring you down.

“Why?” The question wasn’t what you were expecting, but it was definitely a good one. Your nervousness fell from you in the form of chuckles as you tried to think of an excuse.
“A-Ah well… I want to!” That wasn’t really an excuse and it looked like Ichimatsu knew that.
“Why…?” His voice was drawn out in a very questioning manner. You couldn't tell if you had actually stumped this man or if he was trying to pull a better reason from you.
“I w-wanted to get to know you more! And since we already bumped into each other, and I followed you—”
“So you followed me, a complete stranger, down a dark alley away from where anyone could help you just to ‘get to know me’?”

He had turned around now, and he was glaring at you. There was something much different about him now. A dark aura was emitting from him, freezing you to your core. To say you weren’t scared would be a bold lie to tell him right now. Your grip on your bags tightened. It may not be heavy, but they could be used as a quick distraction.
“You’re not a stranger. You’re Ichimatsu Matsuno, the… fifth born son of the Matsuno residence, right?” His eyes widened and you carried on,” Jyushimatsu has told me a little about you. He speaks highly of you.” Ichimatsu’s glare softened at your response. The dark aura surrounding him calmed, but you could tell he was still a bit on edge. He clicked his tongue and mumbled something under his breath.
“Of course he’d say that, he’s my brother. You have no reason to trust me. I could kill you right now and no one would know for days.” That sent a violent chill down your spine, but you knew he was right. Other than what Jyushimatsu has told you, you didn’t know him. And unfortunately for you, Jyushimatsu seems like the kind of person to put his brothers on a pedestal, no matter what they do. Despite the way you were trembling, you held your glare on him.
“But you won’t.”

“You don’t know me.”

"I know you're not some killer."

"but how are you so sure of that?!"

“Because you would’ve done something by now.”

His eyebrows raised, causing you to smirk. You knew this was a serious moment, but GOD you felt so cool saying that!! It was just like in the movies!! Now if only you had the guts and strength to follow-up on the ass kicking you might receive.
“And what makes you think I still won’t do something?”
“I-I don’t, but I do know one thing you don’t: Your brother Todomatsu saw us go down this alley together.” Now THAT got his attention. His eyes squinted at you and you couldn’t help but smile,” I don’t think it would take ‘days’ to find me then. Not to mention all the other witnesses on the street.”
The lie you were spinning was a big one, but you hoped it would work. You had no idea if Totty had actually seen you, but you knew that Ichimatsu didn’t know that. The evidence that you were with Todomatsu was right here in your arms, after all. Part of you were banking on the hope that this was some sort of bluff; A ‘trial’ he’s putting you through to see if you’re really worth his time. Fine, whatever. You had no choice but to play his game and see how deep this went. Maybe he was a killer, and he was toying with you. Maybe he was trying to give you a chance to escape. Maybe he was just a normal dude with a sick sense of humor. And if what he’s saying is the truth?

Then at least it wouldn’t be days until they found your body.

He let out a sigh and shook his head. His eyes relaxed back into their tired state and his dark aura dissipated around him. A small smile crept on your face. Did you win?? 
"You're crazy." Was all you heard as he muttered and turned back around. Well, given what he just explained, he wasn't wrong.
"I think 'stupid' would fit better, heh..." Your sorry excuse of a laugh came out broken. For the second time today, you were having an adrenaline crash. All your deadly mistakes were flashing across the front of your mind like pop-ups on a computer. You potentially stood up to a serial killer. Hell, you THREATENED a potential serial killer. Yeah, you partially knew he was bluffing the whole time but still!! Your legs buckled underneath you and you ended up falling to the ground. You were so worn out, you could barely feel the pain of your knees hitting the cement below you. There was a shout from Ichimatsu and suddenly he was by your side. A shaky hand wavered over your knee, like he wanted to help but didn't know how.
“I-I'm fine, I'm fine! J-Just... A little shaken up, is all..."
"You idiot... Can you still walk?" He hissed out his insult, but his voice went straight back to soft. You nodded and as you began to sit up, Ichimatsu beat you to the punch. He stood up, extending a hand towards you. He was facing away from you though, and you could see the red coating his ears. You accepted his hand with a smile, Ichimatsu pulling you up rather easily.

"Sorry for scaring you..." Ichimatsu mumbled. You squeezed his hand lightly, his gaze immediately jumping back to you. You couldn't help but chuckle at how jumpy he was being now! Earlier he was in big tough serial killer mode and now he's a big scaredy cat.
"It's okay, don't worry about it. I'm glad you really aren't a murderer though..."
He let out a nervous chuckle, bringing a hand to bring his facemask over his nose. It was then that you realized you were still holding his hand. You let go, blushing slightly from the embarrassment. He seemed just as nervous, shoving his hands deep into his hoodie's pockets.
"Oh um... It's fourth..."
"I'm sorry?" You perked up at his mumbling, causing the boy to flinch. He kept his eyes locked on just about anything except you.
"I'm the fourth born son. Jyushimatsu is the fifth."
The color drained from your face. You stared at him in absolute horror, hoping he would say "sike" or something, but he only shrugged. A hand slapped to your forehead, rubbing slowly down your face. 
"Ohhhh my GOD, I fucked up."
"It's fine--" He huffed out a chuckle, enjoying your reaction.
"NO I was sitting here acting like I KNEW you and I got your placement wrong!! Oh my God wait." You stared at him, your eyes furrowing as he got incredibly uncomfortable under your glare," Please tell me you're Ichimatsu."
"No, you got that part right.” He chuckled again, and you saw his mask shift ever so slightly. You could only hope there was a smile underneath.

You let out a big sigh of relief, getting another soft chuckle from him. Well, at least he was enjoying your misery. Seriously, how did you mess that up?! If anything, you should’ve known Jyushimatsu was the fifth born! You've know him the longest!! You hung your head in defeat momentarily, before shooting back up again.
“That’s it! I’ll make up for my sins by helping you!” The look on his face as you said this almost made you laugh. He looked a bit worried by what you may come up with to ‘atone for your sins.’
“S-Seriously, you don’t need to do that. You knowing that I was me is fine enough…” He would never admit it, but it was a strange feeling to have someone call him by his name correctly the first time. He was happy to hear you wanted to help him, but he knew he didn’t deserve it.
“Too bad! Besides um… I don’t think I could get back on my own…” Taking the alleyways had never occurred to you before. It just seemed… so scary to do. Why Ichimatsu chose this as his escape path made you a bit worried. With a shake to your head, you pushed those thoughts to the back of your head. You had more important things to focus on right now!
“So what were you looking for?”

Ichimatsu was caught off guard by this. His eyes furrowed and you could tell it was from pure confusion. After a few seconds, they widened suddenly, and he let out a small 'Ah.' His gaze scanned over the entirety of the area you both were standing in. He closed his eyes shut and his breathing to a slow pace. For a second, you were afraid he had fallen asleep somehow but soon they shot open. There was a hint of sadness behind those tired eyes.
“They're probably gone by now..." Was all he said. He brought a hand from his pocket, revealing a very crinkly bag of dried sardines.
"They?"
"Cats."

Your face lit up, surprising the hell out of Ichimatsu. Your eyes began darting around the area despite Ichimatsu’s earlier look through. He was looking for cats?! The thought alone made you want to squeal at how cute that was. And you probably scared them all away with your bickering!! You turned back to Ichimatsu, who jumped in place. You marched right up to him and grabbed the hand that was currently holding the sardines.
“I’m making it official: I won’t leave til we find you a kitty!"

Chapter Text

Your journey into the depths of Akatsuka's Alleys began shortly after the deal you made with Ichimatsu. He tried to refuse, but you didn't have anything better to do and you really wanted to pet cats. Thanks to Ichimatsu's fine hearing, he had already determined this area was clear of cats. So the two of you set off down another alley! It smelled pretty similar to the fish market you rarely visited. You had to keep yourself from gagging, but Ichimatsu chuckled at your reaction.

"You'll get used to it. Stay close." He adjusted his mask more, as if to say, 'Bet you wish you had one of these huh?' It was your turn to huff this time, but it went mostly ignored. Staying close to the boy in purple was the easy part. The alleys weren't much wider than the last and you definitely didn't want to wander off and step in any of the fish guts you were currently smelling. Seriously, it smells SO BAD back here!!
"Do you see anyone?" You ask, trying peek over Ichimatsu's looming form. He shook his head, glancing at you from the corner of his eye. He was kind of intimidating with his dark and silent nature. Given what you've seen so far, he very well may be a murderer. Wait, what if this 'cat hunting' was another trick?! He was luring you to another place so it WOULD take days to find you. Maybe weeks with how strong this smell is!! It was the perfect plan; nothing would stop him--!!

You felt thick fabric fill your face as Ichimatsu halted in front of you. A gasp came from you, but it was immediately hushed by Ichimatsu. A croaky mew was heard afterwards. You bent to his left, seeing past his arm and seeing a lanky black tuxedo cat. He was staring right at Ichimatsu and you with one scarred eye. Ichimatsu quickly motioned you to kneel and you followed quickly. The cat perked up immediately when Ichimatsu flashed the packaging of the sardine. Cat language wasn't a mystery to you; This cat was pretty curious by how the tip of its tail was twitching as it walked towards you. Ichimatsu opened the bag and tossed a few sardines towards the cat. It darted to the pile and immediately began to scarf down the dried fishy treat. You couldn't help but coo in delight, getting a worried glare from your feline friend.
"She's a bit skittish... We might not be able to pet her."
"That's okay! I'm glad she's getting some food." 
Ichimatsu grunted in agreement," This place is confusing to them. Smells like the fish market yet there's no leftovers for them to eat." 

You looked around, seeing the usual layout for a forgotten alley. Trash bags, dirty water, rusty pipes still vibrating with life-- but not a single piece of fish. Trash bags that have been torn open are filled with everyday household junk, but no fish.
"Why is that?" 
"A friend of mine lives around here. Her dad owns a fish market, and their fish freezer is kept back here." You winced slightly. Having to smell this every day...? That had to be rough. Maybe she was used to it, like Ichimatsu said. You were starting to get used to it yourself, but it sounded like a social suicide...

"It's not as bad as you think." Ichimatsu said, as if he read your thoughts," We're in the worst of it, since this is where they drain and wash everything.” He tossed more sardines out to the kitty, getting her to come closer. You smiled at the seemingly happy cat enjoying their meal. It honestly surprised you that there was only one around here. With a smell this potent, you figured a whole colony of cats would be here. The silence was painfully obvious now, the only noise being the cat’s chewing growls.
“Soo… Tell me about this friend of yours!” You chimed, tilting your head towards him. His face didn’t seem to change at all, but the sardine package crinkled under his grip.
“She’s one of our childhood friends. Her name is Totoko Yowai.” He stated calmly despite his earlier reaction. Your eyes furrowed, but you did your best to continue the conversation.
“So you’ve known her for a long time? That’s amazing!! You guys must be very close!” You had assumed when he said ‘our’ that meant him and his brothers. Imagining 6 identical 10-year-old boys gave you a chuckle. So much mischief that could easily be blamed on one of your siblings. He shrugged a bit, holding the sardines in his hand and trying to lure the cat closer.

“You could say that… We’ve all like her for a long time.”
“Wait… All six of you like her? Like… like-like?” You kept your attention on the cat, who was now eating out of Ichimatsu’s hands. He nodded but didn’t speak any further on the matter.
“Oh geez… that must be really awkward huh?”
“Eh… It’s one of the only things we can agree on these days. Totoko-chan is the cutest there is, after all!” The aggression in his voice caught you off guard. It’s not like you disagreed with him (Though you’ve never seen her before, but you were sure she was pretty.)

His face immediately flashed red, and he threw his hoodie over his head to hide.
"I-I mean, you’re cute t-too…”
"Dude, I'm not gonna get mad because you think another girl is prettier than me.” You spoke with laughter, hoping to ease the flustered boy a little. The both of you were so distracted, you nearly missed the tuxedo cat beginning to scarf down half the sardines in his bag. He let out a small yell and shooed the cat away. She ran off, mouth and tummy full of the special treat.  Ichimatsu let out a small 'tch' and shoved the package back in his pocket. 
“She’s gonna get a stomachache now…” He mumbled. It was very sweet to see him show so much care for these strays. He was so gentle and sweet towards the cat, and he seemed genuinely upset about her overeating. You gave him a comforting pat on the back, but that made him jump out of his skin. He stood up quickly, turning the panic into a stretch,” Well, your deal is done now. You’re not stuck with me anymore.”
“Woah hey, no need to say that! C’mon, there’s still daylight out… I think…” You looked towards the sky, but the buildings blocked out any natural light coming in,” We can look around some more!” Ichimatsu huffed and you swore you saw him roll his eyes as he turned around. You stood up as he began to walk back towards the alley’s entrance. The street before you was bright with a warm sunlight. If you had to guess, it was a bit late in the afternoon.

If you really had to guess, it was probably 4:30PM. Luckily you had a phone, so you never have to guess. The street in front of you was pretty empty, giving you the opportunity to stretch without getting in people’s way. You turned back towards Ichimatsu, who was still slightly concealed by the alley’s darkness. You reached a hand out to the messy boy with a smile.
“C’mon dude, there’s no one out here. We don’t have to keep cat searching but we can grab something to eat.” His eyes warily stared at you hand. They would flicker to your face sometimes, but as soon as he realized you were looking at him, he grew flushed and looked away.
“This late in the afternoon? You’ll spoil your dinner…” It was somewhat considerate he was worried of your eating habits. School had turned your schedule into a thread and work was the scissors that cut it off. Weird metaphors aside: You eat when your body finally remembers it has to.
“I’ll be fine, I didn’t have a lunch today,” You had hoped to eat lunch with Totty. “It’s on me. Where do you want to go?”
His eyes shifted back to you cautiously. You shook your hand slightly in front of him, hoping to ease him out of the alleyway. His sandals clapped as he took a few steps out. It was familiar with out he handled the stray earlier. He was finally close to your hand now. He stared at it and extended his own, but only to push your hand away.
“I don’t need you to hold my hand, I’m not five… Let’s go.” He grumbled, turning away from you to walk down the street. You sighed, following after him and getting a comfortable distance behind him.
“So… where are we going?”
“An Oden Stand.” You perked up at this. Man, it felt like FOREVER since you had oden. It did sound REALLY good right now. As if your stomach was talking for you, it began to growl pretty loudly. You chuckled and held a hand over your stomach.
“Sounds great to me! Anywhere specific? I know a pretty good place myself but—”
“The one we’re going to is good and cheap.” Firm and to the point. You nodded, keeping quiet for now. It seemed like ‘good and cheap’ was a running theme for this family. You couldn’t blame them, why waste money of something expensive when you can get it twice as good for half the price. Also the portion sizes were usually MASSIVE for smaller shops. You once had a homemade pizza last you an entire week.

The walk there took a bit, maybe about 30 minutes, which only increased your appetite. You did your best to not whine about your impending starvation, but your stomach was totally stabbing you in the back right now. A loud growl sounded out as you both turned a corner and the oden stand was in sight.
“Finally…” You mumbled, getting a light huff from Ichimatsu.
“Almost as loud as the shitty eldest’s…”
“What was that?”
“Ah… I said, ‘it’s not the busiest’.” You nodded along with him, seeing the oden stand quite bare. It was only five, it would probably get busier around six or seven. The cart was small and had a huge red sign on the side. A very familiar red sign that read “Hybrid Oden”. The fragrant smell that reminded you of Hawaii. the many leis and beautiful hibiscus flowers adorning the edge of the stand. The amazing smell of the bubbling and boiling oden soaking in the over-top stoves. You couldn’t help yourself but to run forward. Ichimatsu protested behind you, but it was too late. You were hungry and out of control. You slammed yourself onto the worn wooden bench and smacked the counter with both your hands. The owner (who definitely wasn’t sleeping!) jolted upright, but a calm smile filled his face as he saw you.
“Chibita, gimme the usual!!”  

Chapter Text

“So how’s business been Cheebs?” You asked before taking a bite from the bowl of oden in front of you. Chibita stood behind the stew pot of his stand, arms crossed and a proud look on his face. He was always like that when someone enjoyed one of his classic oden bowls. Meanwhile, Ichimatsu was giving you the weirdest look. Did you say something weird?

“It’s been doing well!! Though I definitely missed my favorite customer, so make sure you come back sooner dammit!!” Chibita said with a deep belly laugh. You joined in on his laughter, being sure not to do it with your mouth full of food. It would be terrible to waste such amazing cooking!! Also it was extremely unhygienic.
“Did that one weird lady ever come back? Ya know, the one who bought all those drinks and tried to pay with a false lotto ticket.” Chibita clicked his tongue. He threw his ladle into one of the pots, causing it to splash on his apron.
“Yeah, she came back. But this time she had some man hangin’ off ‘er! I told ‘im what kind of cheapskate she was, but he paid off her tab, dammit!!” He seemed weirdly upset for someone who probably made bank that night. You hummed, plucking a boiled egg from your bowl and popping the entire thing in your mouth. Chibita's smile was wide as he watched you enjoy your meal.  He continued his story, since your mouth was too full to respond currently,“ Haven’t seen ‘er since though. That idjit probably bought her a huge ring and they flew off to America or somethin’. Lucky bastards.”

“Well hopefully she doesn’t have any sisters, right?” He held back the joyous snickers from that one and you almost missed the way Ichimatsu flinched at your retort. In fact, he had been pretty silent since you got here. You offered to buy him some oden and Chibita happily gave him a bowl, but he was only staring at it like it was death itself. Chibita didn’t seem all too happy by this.
"Figures the first time your food is paid for, you let it get cold, dumbass. C'mon, don't let the gal's gift go to waste!!"
Ichimatsu flinched at Chibita's scolding. With a loose swinging of your beer bottle, you shook your head.
"Aww, c'mon Chibita, don't be so rough on him!! He’s probably taking in the aroma of your excellent dish.” You smiled to Ichimatsu, hoping you could flatter him an excuse. If it was one thing Chibita was weak for, it was praise. The short man blushed a bright pink, crossing his arms once more and shaking his head.

“Well… I’ll let it slide this time. Just be sure to eat it while it’s still hot idjit! I won’t serve ya another until that one’s finished.”
“Speaking of which… More please!” You held out your empty bowl, very excited for your second helping.
Chibita happily obliged by filling it nearly to the brim with the glorious ingredients. Seriously, you could live off this stuff. Ichimatsu only stared on, his glance flicking back to Chibita every so often. It was weird to him, to see how much of a different person you became when you with someone you knew. You were treating Chibita like you’ve know him for years! Which is saying a lot, since he’s actually childhood friends with him! and that nickname?! Cheebs?! The banter the two of you had reminded him of the nonsense his brothers sometimes talked him into. He shivered at the thought of ever ordering imaginary pizza again. He took his first bite of his oden, a small smile appearing on his face as the taste overwhelmed his taste buds. For some reason, you expected him to look different with his mask off, but sure enough he looked like his five other brothers.

“Finally, he eats! Usually you shits are all over me for my oden. Are you really one of the Matsunos…?” Chibita’s loud voice shook Ichimatsu from his thoughts. He glared daggers at Chibita.
“Shut up or I’ll kill you.” Chibita immediately froze, waving his hands in front of him.
“Y-Yep, that’s Ichimatsu! Pl-Please, eat away!!”
“Don’t worry Chibita, he’ll warm up to you.” You nodded, finishing up your second beer. Or was it your third? You never drank too much in one sitting (unless you aced a rather tough test) and it doesn’t help that Chibita keeps supplying you with endless drinks. The looks the two boys gave you was oddly confusing though.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Are we talking about the same Ichimatsu?! He’s nothing but doom and gloom! ‘I’ll kill you!’ ‘Just die!’ ‘Fuck off idjits!’”

“I don’t say that…” Ichimatsu spat, but you think he was talking about the 'idjits' part. He definitely seemed like the kind of guy who said those other things. He sunk further into his hoodie, pulling the hood up like he had done before.

“Wait, you two are friends…?”

“Unfortunately I’m friends with all six of them… since we were kids.” Chibita replied with a nod. Ichimatsu nodded too, but it was hard to tell with his head so far gone in his hoodie. You stared at the wooden countertop as the gears cranked in your head.

Six brothers…

Childhood friends…

Finally buying a meal… ?!

You slammed your hands on the wood and stood up quickly. Your now empty bowl tottered among the movement, clinking slightly against your bottle. Ichimatsu was absolutely terrified by your sudden outburst. Chibita, on the other hand, was wishing he was recording this.
"YOU'RE THE BROTHERS THAT NEVER PAY FOR YOUR FOOD?!"
"Not so damn loud!! Do you want all of Akatsuka to hear you?!" Ichimatsu hissed, tightening the straps so his face could no longer be seen. Chibita began to laugh the hardest you've ever seen him, slamming a hand down on his stand and shaking the contents in his stew pots.
"Gahaha!! That's what you get, ya dumbass!! Maybe next time take your date to a place you don't have tabs at!!"
"First of all." You snapped with a gasp from drinking your beer," I'm not his date. Second of all: WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?!”

This question was directed at Ichimatsu. He perked up at his name, but God he looked really fucking goofy. His hoodie was drawn so tight he looked like he was force fed an entire lemon.
“What?! Tell you what??”
“Oh I dunno, that you and your brothers have the BIGGEST TAB AT HYBRID ODEN?? Seriously, did you think I was gonna pay it all off?! I was only buying you a bowl or two!!”
"Of course not!! I’m not that shitty eldest!!" He seemed genuinely mad at your words. His hoodie had loosened considerably and the glare he had on you was bloodcurdling.

"A-Alright, sorry! It's just... How else am I supposed to see that dude?? If I hadn't known Chibita and offered to pay, would you have paid for us?" Ichimatsu's glare softened considerably and his eyes darted to the ground. You sat yourself back down, rubbing your arm awkwardly. Even Chibita couldn't muster anymore chuckles from this.
"I had enough for me... but I figured I could spend that on you." Ichimatsu finally replied softly. It was a nice gesture, but not one you would've agreed on.
"But then you would've gone hungry!"
"Tch. That's fine. I don't eat much anyway."

That was an even worse response! You were about to retort, but Chibita responded with the click of his tongue.
"Like I'd let that happen, idjit. You idiots may be bums, but I wouldn' deny you food. Especially in front of your friend here." You nodded, happy that Chibita was on your side. Yeah, Ichimatsu may had a huge tab, but one more meal wouldn't have hurt, right? And you could've definitely offered to pay him back or pay with card. You finished off your second (third?) beer with another swig.
"Well, I'm already paying for your meal this time. Just uh... don't expect to chip away at that tab."

"Well, it’s your lucky day, isn't it idjit?"

"Uh... I guess..." Ichimatsu said, watching for your gaze to see if that was the right answer. You nodded, tapping the stand and getting Chibita slide you another beer. It really had been too long since you've seen this stand. Chibita knew so too, smiling as you threw back the beer and finished your oden.
"So where've you been Y/N-chan? I thought you up and died, dammit."
"You can't get rid of me that easily pipsqueak," you laughed at his shocked expression," School has been a bitch anyhow. That and I uhh.. Met some new friends." You tipped your beer at Ichimatsu, who only grunted but was blushing just slightly. Honestly it was hard to tell with his hood still up.
"Is that how you got that?" Chibita asked, pointing to your long-forgotten bags of clothing. The store's fancy logo was plastered on the sides, covering about 90% of the bag.

"Nah, I got these myself. Totty was being a brat, so I left." That got Ichimatsu to choke on his food. He was a sputtering mess, his hoodie falling back down as he pounded on his chest. The reaction made you laugh, covering your mouth to keep from choking yourself.
"Hey! No dying at my stand, idjit!! It's a health violation!!"
"How much money do you have??" Ichimatsu managed to wheeze out through choked gasps. Chibita clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. How tactful... Though given your mile long stare, it was a good question.

"Uh... I-I actually don't know. I kinda bought these without seeing the price..." You placed your half-finished beer down on the wooden counter. The loud crinkling of the bags weird plastic was deafening to all three of you. Your hand dove inside, frantically looking for the flimsy piece of receipt paper. Your eyes lit up in response to finding the paper, but immediately sank as you focused your attention on it. Your face paled as the overwhelming feeling of worry flooded your entire body. Ichimatsu was quick to scoot closer, trying his best to comfort whatever horror you just saw.
“Four… Forty thousand yen…” Was all you could stammer out. Your stomach felt sick. All the oden you just ate was threatening to come back up as the receipt fell loosely from your hand. Ichimatsu quickly at the receipt, eyes wide with rage and disbelief.
“WHAT?! That dry monster made you buy this?! That piece of shit, I’ll kill him!!” His eyes scanned over the receipt, burning the numbers into his mind. He needed to know how many punches he had to give Todomatsu. One for each yen.
“I-It’s not his fault… kind of…” Your head fell hard against the wooden counter, causing Chibita to let out a wince of pain for you,” He made me mad and I bought what I wanted… It’s my fault for not checking.”

Ichimatsu was silent. Probably stewing in his own rage and horror at the mess you’re in. He’s had to deal with Osomatsu stealing from his stash, so he knows exactly how you feel. The only silver lining to this was you got clothes you liked, not something that Todomatsu liked.
“I’ll see if I can take it back tomorrow, but um… I’m really sorry to say this Cheebs, but… can I put this on a tab?” You gesture to your meal and Ichi’s, feeling the cart go silent. It was the first time you’ve opened a tab for him and it felt terrible, seeing how often you’d mocked the brothers before having met them. Ichimatsu was going to speak up, but Chibita beat him to the punch.
“Of course, Y/N-chan. You’ve been a loyal customer of mine for months now, I know you’ll pay it off unlike some dumbass deadbeats…” He glanced at Ichimatsu, though the fourth son seemed too lost in his own murderous thoughts to throw back a glare,” Besides; It’s technically their fault yer in this mess anyway. Just try not to be too bummed about this, okay? This next drink is on me!” Instead of the normal beer he’d been giving you, he brought out a white bottle with a special logo on it. You could easily read the word ‘Sake’ on the side, but other than that, you’ve never seen Chibita serve this drink. He poured you a small cup and placed it gently in front of you. The smell immediately flooded your nose and boy was it strong. At first, you were going to reject the kind offer, seeing how fancy the bottle was. It seemed far too expensive to waste on someone like yourself! But as the murky liquid swirled in the cup and release more of it’s blessed aroma, you couldn’t help but oblige to the offer. Bringing the cup to your nose, you gave one final whiff before downing the cup entirely.
“Haaah….” A heavy breath fell as the sake warmed your body and your nerves. It was suddenly hard to keep focus on the receipt and the amount of money you spent when everything around you felt so warm.

“Thanks Cheebs… You’rrre the best.” Chibita chuckled, crossing his arms at how you were already starting to slur your words. It even got Ichimatsu’s attention, who shoved the receipt in his hoodie pocket for now.
“Oi Chibita… Gimme some of that too. It smells good.” Ichimatsu reached for the bottle, only to get smacked by a hot ladle.
“What did I just say?! This is for loyal customers, dumbass! Not for greedy NEETS! Besides… I think she’s gonna need help gettin’ home.” He points to your smiling body. Your head was peacefully resting on the wooden counter, using your arms as makeshift pillows. Soft snores fell from your body.
“A lightweight huh…” Ichimatsu sighed.
“Not really. This stuff is really strong. Might have to dilute it a little.” Chibita has seen you down half a dozen beers and only start to feel buzz. He knew he was testing the waters with this new drink, but he also knew how stressed you got with money. It was something he heavily related to too. He really wanted to save it for one of your worse days, but now seemed like a good time too. Chibita ripped off a piece from his ticket book and wrote something down on it, handing it to Ichimatsu. He seemed pretty confused and Chibita rolled his eyes.
“That’s her address, idjit. Get ‘er home safely and I’ll cut your portion of the tab in half.”
“You know her address?!”
“Is that really what you’re focused on?! Dammit, pay attention!! Of course I know her address, we’re friends! We’re more than just work buddies ya know.” He rolled his eyes and shook his head. Stupid virgin NEETs…

Ichimatsu huffed again, more from nervousness then anything else. He grabbed your bags of expensive clothes and stood up. He walked around to your left side, nudging you ever so softly until you grunted awake.
“Hey. C’mon, you’re going home.”
“Hrmm? Ohhh okay. Byeee Cheeeeebs…” You slurred, waving to a stool instead. Chibita would’ve felt offended if you weren’t completely smashed right now. He waved back still and gave Ichimatsu a nod. Ichimatsu reached into his pocket, then placed his fist near your empty oden bowl. A crumpled 2000 Yen note fell off the pile of different kinds of Yen coins. Chibita blinked at the pile in disbelief.
"Use this to pay off her tab. It's not a lot but--"
“Thank you, Ichimatsu.” Chibita stopped him, giving the boy a soft smile. Ichimatsu clicked his tongue but said nothing. He brought your arm over his shoulder, flushing incredibly as you leaned all the way into him. With a hazy hum from you and a tight grip by Ichimatsu, he began to walk towards your address.

Chapter Text

The walk home to your house was no longer than 15 minutes, but the way you were clinging onto Ichimatsu as he practically carried home made things all the more difficult. Little movements and sudden noises that happened throughout the walk home would catch your eye, causing you to jerk your head around to focus on what you saw. You'd quickly lose track of what little focus you had as your head began to swim from your sudden movement. This was probably the 4th time Ichimatsu had to stop and catch you.
"Are you okay?" He asked for the 50th time. Not that you actually knew but he was asking it a lot.

"Im finneee! Thought I saaaw... Shomethin'. I think it was a cat! Lesgo find it!!" You weakly pulled back by his arm. His nervousness about touching you had died down considerably, but he was still worried about tugging you too hard. Ichimatsu chuckled but kept you firmly by his side.

"We've done enough cat hunting today. C'mon, we're almost there." A small ‘awww’ escaped your lips, but you were quickly distracted by the flashing lights of a nearby crosswalk. The route you were taking was oddly familiar to the boy in purple. It was the same exact route his brothers took when they walked home from Chibita's stand. Usually, he was never sober enough to fully remember, but a few key landmarks managed to get stuck with him. It seemed you had a bit of an inner compass as whenever he stopped to get his barrings, you’d point him in the right direction. Kinda. You got kinda excited over some landmark you recognized and would chant “Home this way!”.

When he turned the corner, all his suspicions were confirmed when he saw the little two-story house sticking out like a sore thumb. You groaned in confusion when he had stopped but quickly gasped at the sight before you.
"It's tha houce!! The cute one with the- the oden look to it! Do you see it Itchie??" You pointed towards the house, causing Ichimatsu to wince. Other than be confused by your drunken words (Oden?? Did you mean olden??), he was flattered you found it cute. He would’ve corrected you, but he found the issue from within his house to be more important right now. If his brothers saw him with a drunk girl on his arm, he'd never hear the end of it. He’d be beaten as purple as his hoodie!! He knew you wouldn't be too keen on the teasing either. He heard about your argument with Osomatsu from Jyushimatsu, and the way you reacted when Chibita mentioned you were his date only cemented that knowledge to him.

You weren't interested in dating any of them.

This truth didn't hurt him nearly as bad as he thought it would. Of course Ichimatsu thought you were beautiful and sweet, but he also knew better to believe in love at first sight. He wasn't like Shittymatsu who threw his heart at any girl who happened to glance at him. And no one could ever truly love someone as disgusting as him anyway. What really pained him was how Jyushimatsu acted after your fight. He was worried sick over how mad he made you. Though it was mostly Osomatsu’s fault for bringing up the topic, the awkwardness of the situation didn’t make him feel any better. Ichimatsu had to practically talk him out of every rash decision he wanted to make that afternoon in order to make it up to you. The way he reacted was all too similar when someone else was in his life. He wasn't entirely sure what Jyushimatsu's feelings were toward you, but he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he "stole" you from his favorite brother.

"Iiitchhiee, can we sstop by and say hi? I've always wants to me-meet themm... But that's weird right?"

"U-Um..." Your whiny voice snapped him from his thoughts. He froze even more at your suggestion. No way, now how," Yeah, that would be weird. B-But tomorrow you can say hi!" He quickly added once he saw your face fall and your lip begin to tremble. Were you going to cry because he called you weird?! It was a little cute, but your sobs might get heard by his brothers... Luckily, his "idea" seemed to work on you.
"Yes okay!! Tuhmorrow... We gotta be quiet, so the... The um..."

"The house--"

"THE HOUSE! So the house doesn' she us coming." Your voice was so soft and slurred, Ichimatsu was a bit worried you hit your head somehow. His look of worry and confusion was all the reply you needed. You balled your fist, slamming it down on your stretched hand after missing it a few times. You nodded towards him, the look on your face saying, 'I have the perfect idea.'

"Itsh a surprise...! The housh can't not know we're here."

"Al-Alright, Y/N-Chan. We'll be quiet." He chuckled nervously, tightening his grip on your arm. At least you agreed on being quiet. From what he could see, the upstairs bedroom light was on and so were the downstairs lights. His mom was probably cooking dinner and his brothers we're most definitely just lazing around the house as they waited. He began to lead closer to his house, flinching every time you shushed him for no reason.

"S-Sorry..." He whispered. Wait, why was he apologizing?! He sighed, his anger washing away as he started to smell the dinner his mom must be making right now. It smelled like the normal hotpot she serves them, with the assorted meats and vegetables. A big and easy meal for 6 lazy mouths to feed. He definitely hoped bringing you home and coming back would work up an appetite because it smelled wonderful.

"Mmm..." You hummed, sniffing the air like a curious dog," Smells good! But Im full, sho no thank."

"We weren't--" he sighed. It was almost as bad as dealing with a drunk Jyushimatsu. Just without the superhuman strength.

The both of you were finally halfway past the house now. The streetlight made him so nervous but so far no one has decided to check the windows yet. Every so often he’d hear one of his brothers loudly cackle, making him get extra protective of you. You were being very quiet, giggling as you quite literally tippy toed behind Ichimatsu. Keeping you close to him while also making sure you didn’t drop on your ass should be a skill allowed on his resume. The darkness of the night finally swept over you both again, just in time for Ichimatsu to bite back a yelp as you stepped on his foot.
"Ah, shorry sorry!! I'm being sneeeakeeeh..."

"I-It's okay... We're past the house now so--"

"The housh...?" You looked to Ichimatsu confused. He returned a similar look, pointing back towards the place you've been avoiding. Though the second he did, he immediately regretted it as your eyes widened and you took in a breath of excited air.

"THE HOUSE!!! HI CUTE OLDY HOUSE!! I LOVE YOU!!!"

Ichimatsu was far too late (and worried) to cover your mouth from your yell. Luckily, you shut up pretty quick once he drug you further to the side. The house was directly to your left now. He had you flattened against one of the fence’s, arm jutted out to keep you from squirming back into the spotlight. The sound of the window opening made him jump out of his skin.

"Shut up please!!!" A familiar voice to both of you yelled back. There was some other yelling before the voice spoke again, just as loud," Hah?? Im not supposed to say please?? You should always be polite, Nii-san!"

"JUICE--"

This time Ichimatsu covered your mouth and practically carried you the rest of the way down the street. A loud hiss was heard from him, but you're not sure why. He was running too fast to find any cats! He was spewing apology after apology as he carried you too. Was it because you were starting to feel sick from all the running? ‘Cause that’s what was happening. When Ichimatsu finally turned the street, the one you both needed to be on, he placed you down and immediately fell into a dogeza. You stared at the many Ichimatsus who were talking to you right now.
“I-I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t m-mean—”

“Aww, itsh okay Ishi! I forgive you." You slur, placing a hand on his bowed head and ruffling his already messy hair. While your stomach was hurting and you were dizzier than before, you had fun! You wished Ichimatsu would carry you again once you were ready this time. Ichimatsu looked up, completely shocked to see your smiling face beaming down at him.

"I didn know thas where Juice lives!! Can we go back and say hello?"

"NO!! A-Ah I mean, we can't. You can visit Jyushimatsu tomorrow. " Ichimatsu replied, standing up. He’d have to properly apologize to you later. Though from the look of your pout, he might have to apologize twice.

“Aw, everything is tomorrow! This sucks.” You crossed your arms and furrowed your eyes towards the ground. The quiet chirping of bell crickets filled the air and for a split second, Ichimatsu thought you fell asleep, but you quickly spoke back up,” Wait a secun… HE’S Juicymatsu… and YOU’RE Itchymatchu… Isn’t that weird??” You locked eyes with him, face as serious as ever.

“Wh-What do you mean?” He probably shouldn’t have asked, because he knew the answer was going to be your confused, drunk brain putting together two completely different dots.

“You have shi-similar names! What a weird cuhwin— coin— what a weird similar thing! It’s like two per— persons named ‘David’ but the other one being… bein’ Cavid.”

He wasn’t expecting it. He should’ve expected something ridiculous, but that really knocked the wind out of him. He’s been mistaken for his brothers several times, but this takes the cake. Did you forget they were related?! His chuckles started soft before gaining more speed and becoming bellowing, hearty laughter. You didn’t understand why Ichimatsu was laughing so hard, but you couldn’t help but begin to join him. The silent street was filled with your tear-stained laughter, even causing some nearby dogs to bark. He wasn’t really sure what was in the sake Chibita gave you, but he definitely was going to have to ask him for some.

His laughter finally began to die down after a few minutes. He wiped the few tears that collected on his eyes, before holding out his arm to you. Your laughter was as joyous as ever, but the second you saw his arm, you clung onto it like it was the handrail on the train.
“My ‘partment… is in dat buildin’. Right there.” You pointed towards a building, your aim getting much less shaky. Ichimatsu nodded, leading you over as you leaned into him.

“What floor?” He asked, looking at the resident listing for your name.

“Ah… third!”

“Are you sure?”

“I know where I LIVE Itchi…” You pouted, only causing him to  chuckle again. He had a very good reason to doubt that. He listened to your wise words before and it was a little chaotic. He began to lead you towards the elevator, but you defiantly pulled away and shook your head with a whine.

“I’ll get pukey. No one wants that.”
He nodded and headed for the stairs instead. It was only three stories; How hard could it be to drag a drunken mess of a girl up three flights of stairs?

Ichimatsu was gasping as he reached the tenth floor. You were just as exhausted, practically crawling up the last few steps behind him.
“That… really killed my buzz…”

“You called THAT… a buzz?!” Ichimatsu panted out, looking behind to you on the ground. You smirked, using the stairs handrail to help you up. Your legs were still jelly from your drunken stupor and it took all your conscious might to no topple back down the stairs behind you.

“Help me pwease Ichiiii.”
“What do you think I’ve been doing all night??” Ichimatsu huffed, rolling his eyes as he brought an arm around to support your waist. A comforting hum came from you, and you quickly lead him to your door. Thankfully, it was the first one on the right of the floor. When you got to the door, you struggled with opening your door for a few minutes, getting snorts from the matsu behind you.

“Shut trap, thank you.” Was all you said when you finally opened it the door. You were surprised when Ichimatsu let you go and you stumbled into your apartment by yourself.

“W-Well uh… you’re home safe now.”

“Thanks to my BESTEST fwiend Ichimatsuuuu!!” You yelled, going right back out the door to hug him with all your might. He grunted, not expecting your full weight to suddenly be thrown onto him. Though his mind was immediately distracted by the tight hug you were giving him. Your body was obviously warm and feeling you hold him like this made him feel just as warm. He sighed into your shoulder. ‘You can’t enjoy this. She doesn’t like you like that.’ His thoughts was what awoken him from his state of bliss. He was quick to shove you away, immediately becoming flushed from embarrassment. Luckily, you were too drunk to tell.

“I’m uh… I’m glad, Y/N-chan. I better get going…"

"Aww… I guessss… hey, can we talk tomorrow?? I have a lot- a lot planned, like with the house and Juicey, buh after that we can talk and stuff!!" Your smile was wide and Ichimatsu smiled back with a less than eager look. It’s not that he didn’t want to talk with you. He was afraid you might not remember any promises you make tonight.

"S-Sure, Y/N-Chan. Just remember to call me."

"Okie dokes! Okay Ichimatsu, Imm gobna go puke and then sleep! Goodnight!!"

Before anything could be said, you closed the door on him. Ichimatsu stared at your door, listening to the faint sounds of you stumbling to… well, somewhere. He would’ve assumed the bathroom, but given how difficult those stairs were for you, he was afraid you wouldn’t make it. Was he really making the right decision?? Part of him felt like he should’ve made sure you were safe in bed. What if you tripped and hit your head on the coffee table?! What if you tried to take a bath and passed out?! What if you drink spoiled milk and the taste is so bad you use soap to clean it out?!?! The other part of him was belittling him for trying to be a creep. Deep down, he’s making these excuses to stay, isn’t he? Of course he is, he and his brothers are nothing but pervs after all. Something as simple as helping a drunk girl would make him higher than all his worthless brothers. He was disgusting trash, not worthy to know you or talk to you.

There was a thump on the other side of the door and without thinking, Ichimatsu threw open the door.

“Y/N-CHAN?!” His voice was deep and raspy, obviously strained from his previous panic. His stressed state falls as he sees that you’re passed out on the couch in your living room. He lets out a stressed sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. He really wished he had that Sake right now. He stared at your not-so-elegant position on the couch, then to the blanket thrown over the arm. He grabs the blanket and after making sure you weren’t twisted like a pretzel, he covered you with the blanket. He walked back to the door, giving you one last worried look as you nuzzled further into the blanket.

“Sleep well, Y/N-chan.” He whispers, before closing the door and starting his way back home.

Chapter Text

Hi everyone, sorry if I spooked you with the false chapter update. I wanted to let you know that some things have changed in my personal life.

I got into a car accident this morning. I'm perfectly fine, no bruises, no cuts, no concussions; which is a miracle and a half because I totaled my car flipping it into a river. I'm obviously a bit shaken up by this and I'm still dealing with some side-effects of the crash (headaches, whiplash etc.) and I won't be able to update for a bit.

I'm taking the next few days off from work to make sure I'm 100%, but I'm gonna be honest, this has completely fucked me up emotionally and mentally. This is my first big accident and for longer than I'd like to admit, I had some uncomfortable thoughts. I'm going to look into seeing someone about it, but for now, I'm taking a small break.

Thank you in advance for understanding and I hope I can get back to updates soon.

-Cowrie ~☆

Chapter Text

Ichimatsu slid the door to his house open, a heavy sigh falling from him as he felt the cool air hit his face. Running around and making sure you didn't get yourself hurt on your way home took a lot more out of him then he expected. He easily slipped off his sandals and opened the door to their common living area. He was surprised to see only two of his brothers down here. Osomatsu immediately looked okay, a wide smile appearing on his face.
"Ichimacchan!! There you are!!"

Despite the excitement in his voice, he made no signs of getting up from the table. In fact, it still had empty dishes strewn about it from their dinner. He looked silently to Todomatsu, who was staring intensely at his phone. He was always a hard person to read, even for Ichimatsu, but he seemed to be slightly upset. He didn't dare ask, seeing how Todomatsu could get with his rants. Besides, you had told him what happened earlier anyway. He's probably still sulking because he didn't get to talk with the cute girl today. He would've loved to rub his recent activity in his little dry monster face, but Ichimatsu didn't want the others to know either. The last thing he wanted was for them to hound him for details. He was far too exhausted for that. He was gonna have to bury his need to tease the youngest brother for now. He opened his mouth to ask a question but heard a loud crash upstairs.
"OW, WHAT THE HELL JYUSHIMATSU?!"

"Karamatsu-niisan told me to try this time!"

"THAT DOESN'T MEAN BREAK MY FUCKING ARM!!"

Well that answered his question. He had known Jyushimatsu was upstairs, but he didn't know if Choromatsu and Karamatsu was with him. From the sounds of it, they were rough housing and Fappymatsu was losing.

"Oi! Keep it down, Mom and Dad are going to bed soon!!" Osomatsu yelled upwards, getting a cacophony of 'Okay!' from the trio. At first, Osomatsu didn't believe they listened to them, but soon the faint, stern voice of their mother could be heard upstairs. A sly smirk appeared on Osomatsu's face, before the door to the stairs slid open and caused him to jump.

"You two better keep it down as well-- Oh, welcome home Ichimatsu. There's leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry." Matsuyo's stern voice softened as she saw Ichimatsu. He wasn't here most of the night, so he wasn't the cause of all this ruckus yet. He nodded and immediately Matsuyo went back to her stern voice, “You NEETs keep it down too. Your father and I are going to bed."

"Got it mom!"

"Alright..."

Another nod from Ichimatsu as the other two brothers said their goodnights. Ichimatsu finally took a seat across from Osomatsu, a heavy sigh falling from him once more.

"Aww, what has you so tired Ichimatchu?"

"Nothin'. It's late." He grunted as he moved some dishes to place his head on the table. Osomatsu waved his hand and shook his head.

"You've been out all day, it's not nothing!! Where were you?" Osomatsu was about to slam his hand on the table, but a quick shush from his two brothers caused him to stop. He gently laid his hand on the wood, giving it a meek smack instead. Ichimatsu only rolled his eyes.
"I was out looking for cats. Why do you care anyway?" 

"Aww, can't I care about my precious little brother??"

"Bullshit." Totty and Ichimatsu said in unison. Osomatsu had a look on his face like he had just been shot through the heart. He gripped his chest, bringing a hand over his forehead as he pretended to fall backwards.

"Ouch, so heartless!! I'm just curious, that's all!!"

"Haven't you heard that curiosity kills the cat??" Ichimatsu snaps back. He was hoping this would shut him up, but of course this only makes the situation worse. Osomatsu's face lights up and again, he goes to smack the table only be stopped by his brother's glares.
"Yeah, but satisfaction brings it back!! Hah!!"

Ichimatsu only stared at his eldest brother is pure confusion. How the hell did this dumbass know the other half the saying?! He barely knows how to put his clothes on right!! Ichimatsu looked to Todomatsu, seeing how he's the one in the house that had the most access to the internet. Osomatsu had to have looked it up, there's no way this idiot read a book that wasn't porn or some manga. Todomatsu, who was just as shocked by Osomatsu's sudden knowledge on idiom-provebs, only shrugged. The eldest wiped his finger under his nose in an act of victory. With another sigh and roll of his eyes, Ichimatsu knew Osomatsu wouldn't give up until he got his way. He was going to be VERY annoying about it too.
"FINE, if it gets you to shut up... I went to Chibita's..."

The silence wasn't one he was expecting. Osomatsu's smile fell as he stared blankly at Ichimatsu. Was he serious?! All he did was chat it up with Chibita?! And he wasted his stupid curiosity line too!! He felt deceived and it very much showed.
"That's it?! You spent the whole night with just Chibita?!"

"Quiet, dumbass!! And so what if I did?! Did you forget that we're all supposed to be friends with him?!"

"Of course not!! But why didn't you invite us?!" Osomatsu had his arms crossed and was trying his best to keep his voice down. It was unusual for them to go to Chibita’s by themselves, but Ichimatsu didn’t even tell anyone!! Yeah he’s the loner type, but he could’ve at least told them!! He could’ve brought him some oden!! Ichimatsu looked completely baffled by Osomatsu’s questioning.

“Is this going to be another ‘Tell us everything’ like with Totty?? ‘Cuz trust me, you do NOT want to know my kinks—” Ichimatsu spoke with a sharp-tooth grin as Todomatsu quickly jumped in.

“PLEASE do not speak of that OR drag me into this!! Seriously Osomatsu-niisan, just drop it!”

“Oi, why are you on his side?!”

“Because I don’t want to hear what type of pussy he likes!!”

“He’s bluffing!! He wouldn’t tell us what kind of cats—”

“BOYS!!”

Matsuyo’s booming voice filled the dining area and immediately the boys sank into their seats. Three sets of terrified eyes stared back into the tired, squinting eyes of the one they’ve disturbed. Without her glasses on, she looked twice as threatening, despite not being able to see them too clearly. With one swift move of her arm, she pointed upstairs to their bedroom. With shaky nods, they gathered the empty plates and stashed them in the sink for now. Like dogs with their tails between their legs, they trotted upstairs in an orderly line. When Ichimatsu reached the topped, Matsuyo’s stern voice called out to him.
“Ichimatsu, tell your brothers that if I hear even a peep from them, then they can sleep outside in the street. Okay dear?”

“Y-Yes ma’am.” Ichimatsu nodded and she smiled sweetly at him.
“Thank you, sweetie. Have a good night.” He nodded and quickly followed the other two into the room. Looks like the futon was already set out and the three who were up here before were already in PJs. Jyushimatsu was currently “swimming” through the sheets again while Choromatsu tried and failed to straighten them out.
“Jyushi— AH! Jyushimatsu, will you knock it off already?! Seriously, so much energy…”

“Heh… Don’t let Choromatsu extinguish your flame, my dear burazza. Let your flame become eternal! Blind all those who dare try to put you down!!” Ichimatsu scowled at Karamatsu’s shitty spiel. Despite being in his PJs, he was still wearing those stupid, shitty shades.
“Don’t encourage him! It’s bad enough those three already pissed off mom…”

Choromatsu pointed his glare at Todomatsu and Osomatsu, who were just finishing up putting on their pajamas. So that’s what happened; the three up here heard the scolding and quickly got ready for bed to be safe. Seeing how late it was and everyone (except himself) was getting ready for bed, he didn’t have to worry about relaying Matsuyo’s threat. That was until Osomatsu decided to add in his 2 cents after popping his head through his shirt.
“We wouldn’t have gotten yelled at if SOMEONE was just HONEST.”

“God, let it go Osomatsu-niisan! He already told you where he went.” Todomatsu rolled his eyes as he pulled his leg through his pants sleeves.

“What’s got his junk in a twist?” Choromatsu asked, though he immediately regretted after hearing Osomatsu’s answer.

“He went to Chibita’s!! Without us!!”

The room was an oddly familiar quiet. Osomatsu had his arms extended towards Ichimatsu in disbelief. All eyes were set on Ichimatsu, who was now starting to believe he did do something wrong. Thankfully, Choromatsu immediately squinted at Osomatsu.
“…Is that it? Don’t you go to Chibita’s by yourself like once a week?”

“Yeah but—”

“Ugh, just shut up!! This whole thing is stupid and it already got us in trouble!!” Todomatsu cut off Osomatsu. He, along with Karamatsu and Choromatsu, had began to climb into the futon, making themselves comfortable, “I’m tired and I don’t want to hear you bitching all night.”

“Is that why you were out so late, Ichimatsu-niisan?” Jyushimatsu asked, always a few steps behind the conversation. Ichimatsu nodded, finally going towards the closet to get changed. Now that all eyes were on Osomatsu again, he felt comfortable changing.

“I just think he should ask us to tag along is all.” Osomatsu pouted, climbing into his spot between Choromatsu and Totty.

“You just wanted free beer like always…” Scoffed Choromatsu.

“And?? Who doesn’t like free beer??” Well, they couldn’t argue with that. Free beer always had a better taste to it. Especially paired with Chibita’s oden. While the rest of the brothers got into their spots, Ichimatsu pulled his pajama shirt over his head only to be greeted by Jyushimatsu’s face. He let out a short yell from shock.
“Jyushimatsu, don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Haha, sorry. Did you find any cats today?” Ah right.

Jyushimatsu was the only one he told where he was going. Technically, he tells anyone who happens to be in the room. Jyushimatsu is just the only one who actually listens. He smiled as he threw his hoodie to the floor near the others.
“Yeah, saw a couple. One of them ate half my sardines.”

Jyushimatsu laughed at the thought of a chubby kitty running away with a mouth full of sardines.
“And you went to Chibita’s after? And had a few beers!”

“Wha— How did you know??”

“I can smell it on your breath!”

Ah shit. He’ll probably need to brush his teeth then. With a discontent click of his tongue, he walked out of the bedroom and headed for the bathroom. None of his brothers said much on this, thankfully. Though the slap of bare feet on the wood behind him told him that Jyusimatsu was following along too. He stopped once in front of the door and turned to look over his shoulder.
“… Why are you following me?”

 “I have to pee.”

Ichimatsu shouldn’t have been shocked by Jyushi’s… lack of tact, but it didn’t keep him from making a face. He stepped out of the way, wishing he had pockets to put his hands in.
“Well uh… You go first then. I just need to brush my teeth.”

Jyushimtasu’s eyes seemed to go cat-like for a second, before nodding. Ichimatsu immediately picked up on his weird attitude. Was he… lying about having to pee? Why on earth would he lie about that!? God he had such weird brothers… Jyushimatsu disappeared behind the door and very quietly closed it behind him. Ichimatsu wasn’t planning to listen in on his brother pissing, but almost immediately the sound of… someone ‘whooshing’ on the other side. Was he…… making peeing noises?! What the fuck was his plan here?!

The noises only continued to increase, getting harsher and harsher as the seconds toiled on. Was he trying to make this believable or was he just having fun now?! Suddenly there was a yelp and what sounded like a sucking noise, followed by Jyushimatsu’s yelling and his signature “Boeh!!” yells. He was starting to get worried, not for Jyushimatsu’s safety, but for how loud he was starting to get. Just what the hell was happening in there!? With a shaking hand, Ichimatsu knocked on the bathroom door. All the noise suddenly stopped and in two seconds the door swung open to see Jyushimatsu’s beaming face. He was staring at Ichimatsu with a somewhat confused look.
“I’m done! You need to learn some patience, Ichimatsu-niisan!”

“You— I-I—” Ichimatsu tried to find the words to defend himself, but immediately gave up. It was pointless to try and argue with Jyushimatsu. He’s too wild of a card.

He pushed past Jyushimatsu, getting out his purple toothbrush and began to attack the plaque in his mouth. Usually he doesn’t bother brushing his teeth at bedtime. He’s not going to eat anything while asleep, so no need to worry about cavities right? But morning beer breath is a bitch to cover, even with an ungodly number of mints. As he closed the mirror cabinet, he saw Jyushimatsu standing behind him with that eerie smile. This was twice now Jyushimatsu made him jump out of his skin.
“Jyushimatsu! What the hell did I say?!”

“Sorry, sorry!! Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Will you stop bothering me if I do?!” Jyushimatsu nodded at Ichimatsu’s harsh words. It’s nothing he hasn’t gotten before from the grumpymatsu and he was being annoying. But he had his reasons. Jyushimatsu leapt back to the bathroom door, closing it and locking it so they wouldn’t be disturbed. This got a raised eyebrow from Ichimatsu as he brushed his teeth. Jyushimatsu immediately leapt back to Ichimatsu’s side, but instead of his usual wide smile, he had a look of pure seriousness. In a hushed tone, he whispered to Ichimatsu:

“Did you have fun with Y/N-chan today?”

Ichimatsu nearly choked on his toothbrush, throwing himself into a coughing fit. Jyushimatsu’s serious tone immediately faded as he began to poorly give him the Heimlich maneuver. After making sure his brother wasn’t dying, Jyushimatsu gave Ichimatsu some distance. Ichimatsu, on the other hand, was using the kitchen sink to stabilize himself.
“Y-You knew?! How?!”

“You smell like her! Sooo, did you have fun?”

“You’re… You’re not mad…?” Jyushimatsu was the last person he wanted to learn about his time with you. It was a known fact that all the brothers can get… pretty possessive if one of them starts talking to a girl. He was well aware of how Jyushimatsu might feel towards you and having an “accidental date” wasn’t going to go over well with him. Despite these thoughts, Jyushimatsu seemed… fine with it. If anything, he seemed happy! He even began to shake his head at Ichimatsu’s question!
“Nope! Y/N-Chan doesn’t like us like that, she only wants to be friends. And if she hung out with you and Totty today, so that means she means it!”

He wasn’t sure if that was an insult or not. Knowing Jyushimatsu, he didn’t know either. Ichimatsu sighed, picking his toothbrush off the floor and beginning to clean it off.
“Well um… I’ll tell you all about it. B-But don’t tell the others! They’ll get weird about it…”

“Aye Aye!!”

Chapter Text

Working through a hangover was NEVER fun. The clinking of cups had made you wince every second, focusing on a bright screen was near impossible, and the looks customers gave you... well that didn’t change because of your hangover. You've worked here for too long for a customer's opinion to bother you. You have an exoskeleton instead of thick skin! It'll take more than a few glares and stares to take you down. It was the migraine and small waves of nausea that were kicking your ass. Lucky for you that you had plenty of sick time to dig into. You still did your hardest to work as much as possible, but in the end, the hangover won. Clocking out at noon seemed like a dream come true, but not when your stomach and brain were doing flips.

You avoided the sunlight as much as possible and walked at slower than average pace back home. All you wanted to do was sleep this thing off, or to distract yourself from the pain at least. Your eyes darted around the area, seeing the many shop advertisements bellowing in the street. Migraine medicine should've been your first idea but being late to work had you... focused on other things. Your eyes dragged over every shop, and they finally landed on a small convenience store. The faint buzzing of the bright florescent lights filled your ears. The door's chime signaling that you were there seemed louder than usual, but other than that it seemed like a normal convenience store. There was even an area with a wall table and sets of chairs near the window for people to sit at and eat their meals. Posters and advertisements were placed around the window, along with a "No Loitering" sign. It somewhat reminded you of a bar, which immediately made your head spin as you thought about alcohol. 
"Alright... migraine reducer...”

You glanced around the shelves where the medicine would be at. Colorful bottles of vitamin supplements littered the shelves. A, B, C, Iron, Copper-- wait copper?! Maybe this hangover was hitting you worse than you thought... grabbing a bottle labeled "EXTRA STRENGTH!!" You made your way to the drinks for something to wash it down. As much as you wanted the caffeine from a soda or coffee, you knew it wouldn't help. Water would be fine enough and it was good for your body. A win-win. You stared at the entire fridge of different water brands, ranging from expensive "untouched spring water" (if it was untouched, then how did they bottle it??) to a very unappetizing bottle literally called "tAp". As your pounding head thought over your choices, two very loud voices approached the aisle. One sounded way too familiar, yet with the added noise and in your current state, you couldn’t pinpoint who it belonged to.
"A-And you sure this will work?"

"Of course I'm sure! Has your Oniichan ever led you astray?"

A long pause, before you heard a "what??" From the familiar voice. The other person sighed. As the two turned into the aisle, you thought harder on the voice. Who was he?? Why did you recognize his voice?? The other guy you were clueless too but this 'Oniichan' character you swore you knew!! The two men began slowly gazing into the glass fridges, walking your way.
"Look, it's not loitering if we buy somethin'. Just get some soda and we'll sip at it for a few hours."

"I don't think it works like that..."

"And what are they gonna do? Kick out paying customers??”

The other man was silent at that logic. This Oniichan guy wasn’t wrong. A 100 yen soda still made them paying customers. Though you weren't sure if he could get away with it for more than an hour. Wait, focus!! Oniichan usually meant brother, right? So they were brothers?? Okay, who do you know that has a brother…
"I-I guess that makes sense... fine, just hurry up and pick out your drink."

"Nice! Okay let's see... Ah, that looks refreshing!"

He opened the glass door with a soft ‘thwump’ coming from the inside edge barriers. What little view you had of the two was covered by the now foggy glass door. The clinking of glass bottles was loud, but the gasp from the other person was louder than anything else. Looks like Oniichan just picked out a ramune bottle and started to drink it.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING??” Hissed the second man. Ohhh boy, here we go.

“Whaaat, we’re paying for them anyway!”

“You should still wait, idiot!! Do you even have enough cash?? That brand is very expensive!!”

You looked over to see the familiar sounding man tilt his head in confusion. The fridge door was now closed, but they were both wearing grey hoodies. They also happened to be parallel with each other, so you could only see the back of one’s head. Weird that they’re both nearly the exact same height... You would definitely know who they were if you saw their face!

“Oh yeah… I forgot my wallet at home, can you pay this for me? Thanks lil bro!” The familiar one continued with a chuckle.

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ‘CAN I PAY FOR YOU’, ARE YOU INSANE?! YOU REALLY HAVE GONE BRAIN DEAD HUH OSO—”

Osomatsu!! That's what his name was!!! He was Jyushimatsu's oldest brother!! Of course you remember him; You met him briefly in the park. Part of you wanted to say hi, but seeing how last time went, you don’t know if your head could handle it. Damn, that meant no meeting the last brother either... You let out a tired sigh, grabbing a bottle of water. As you closed the door, you saw Osomatsu and his brother staring at you. Wait. Wait shit, did you just--
"See?" Osomatsu said, a wide grin appearing on his face," I told ya I can make girls scream my name--"

He was cut off as his brother quickly smacked him in the back of the head. Osomatsu covered his head, accidentally pouring some soda on the floor. You wanted to laugh, but that would only encourage the perverted bastard. Instead, you stared at them too, your hand becoming very cold from the water. It was a much different contrast to the heat flooding your cheeks in embarrassment. Well there goes that plan. You waved awkwardly to the unmet brother. His glare snapped away from Osomatsu and he immediately bowed as low as he could go.
"I-I apologize on b-behalf of my brother!! He can say the stupidest things sometimes haha!! I-I’m nothing like him, s-so there's nothing to fear!!"

Oh. OH YOU RECOGNIZE HIM NOW!! He was the whiny brother from the phone call!! He sounded VERY different when he's not groveling. Now what was his name…
"Geez Fappymatsu, you're acting like she doesn't know me!"

"D-DON'T CALL ME-- wait," The panicked anger quickly flashed into confusion. His mouth seemed to do a little upside down ‘v’ shape," How does she know you?? How do you know him??" His stare turned to you, and you couldn't help but chuckle.

"We uh... met in the park a couple days ago. We talked on the phone, remember?"

His face only screwed up more before suddenly popping with surprise. "Oh right! You're Jyushimatsu's gAAHH HEY!!"

Osomatsu elbowed his brother very swiftly. You were shocked by this, yet thankful for Osomatsu for causing a scene. You really didn't want to deal with that awkwardness right now. Dealing with Osomatsu suddenly slinging his arm around his brother's shoulder so he could spin him around so they could whisper was much easier. A bit awkward still, but more manageable. After a few seconds of hushed whispering, Osomatsu turned his brother around wearing a big smile.
"Y/N-chan, this is my lil bro Choromatsu! Say hi Choromatsu!"

"Stop treating me like I'm six!!" Choromatsu yelled, throwing his oldest brother's arm off of him. He immediately straightened himself up and looked to you," I-It's nice to finally meet you, Y-Y/N-chan." 

It was somewhat funny how quickly he switched between his nervousness. With his brother he seemed fine, but once it came to you, he clammed up. Was he always this nervous around new people? You could definitely relate to that, you used to be very shy as well. Sometimes you still are when you become overwhelmed. You smiled sweetly to the nervous boy. Hopefully you can keep from snapping at him.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Choromatsu.”

He smiled, but it immediately faltered as he looked deeper into your eyes. You were about to be seriously creeped out when he spoke.
“Oh my God, are you okay?? You look t-terrible— NOT THAT YOU’RE U-UGLY, B-BUT YOUR EYES ARE BLOODSHOT AND YOU—”

“DUDE, stop yelling please, I just have a hangover.”

His hands slam over his mouth to stop any hint of sound that might wanna force it’s way out. He nodded quickly and opened his mouth to say something when Osomatsu suddenly butted in.
“You have a hangover?! Daaamn, I didn’t know you liked to party!! You just get hotter by the minute!!”

“OSOMATSU!!” Choromatsu snapped. His hand was halfway down to hit his eldest brother when you had just about enough of this. You wanted to play it nice, but your migraine put you on edge. All this yelling certainly didn’t help either.

“GUYS!!” Your shout got their attention, along with everyone else’s in the store. Raising your voice made your throat hurt and your head throb. Now all these stares were just upping your anxiety. The boys both whispered sorry to you and bowed lightly. You rolled your eyes and turned on your heel for the counter. Osomatsu and Choromatsu quickly scrambled behind you. This is exactly why you thought twice about talking to them. They were loud and you couldn’t handle loud right now. But now you were stuck with them; at least you were betting they were going to hang out with you. Choromatsu might try to leave, but Osomatsu seemed keen on annoying you.
“Ya know, I have the best hangover cures if you need them.” Osomatsu said, taking a sip of his soda.

“Yeah, cuz all you do is get drunk…” Grumbled Choromatsu.

“Hey!! I’m not drinkin’ now am I?!”

“Voices, please.” You hissed as you handed the cashier your card. She pointed to a chip reader and as you noticed your ring-up, an idea sprung to your head. The brothers were still bickering (thankfully they were whispering). Part of you knew you were going to regret this later on, but you knew it would help sooner than later. You nodded as you thanked the lady, then stumbled past the fighting brothers.
“C’mon idiots-- and please keep it down? I’m not going to ask you again.”

Your stern voice was thick with discontent. With the way the boys reacted, there was no doubt they heard it too.

“O-Of course, Y-Y/N-chan! That’s easy enough!!” Choromatsu stuttered, quickly following behind you.

“Sorry ‘bout all that, Y/N-chan. Oh hey, Choro-chan, did you pay for this?” Osomatsu shook his now nearly empty ramune bottle.

Choromatsu’s eyes widened at the object in Osomatsu’s hand. He reached for it, only for Osomatsu to yank it away.
“Get your own! This one’s mine.”

“I need to pay for it, idiot! Hand it here!!” 

Ugggh, you couldn’t have one damn second, could you?
“Both of you shut up. I handled it.”

Both of their eyes widened, one with a frown and one with a smile. Osomatsu trotted towards one of the stools next to where you were sitting. He hopped onto it, placing his empty ramune gently on the counter. There were no other words, but his big dopey smile was still plastered on his face as he stared at you. Choromatsu was still stuck to his spot completely dumbfounded.

A girl bought him a drink.

A girl.

Bought Osomatsu.

A drink.

He was never going to live this down. NONE of them were going to. Osomatsu was going to sing about this to the ends of the earth. They will all literally be on their deathbeds and Osomatsu will say,” Remember that time a girl bought me an expensive drink? Bet you’re all jealous huh?” and then he’ll die. Those will be his last words. He would’ve stood there all day and let his mouth get dry if he hadn’t heard you calling him.
“Do you want to sit down or…?”

You patted the seat next to you. A cheap, wooden stool has never looked more inviting to him. He tried to play it cool and casually walk to the stool, but halfway through it turned into a sprint and an awkward leap to his ass in that chair. This caused the legs to teeter and slam against the floor. He froze, looking towards you to see your grip clenched against the newly opened bottle of painkillers.
“S-Sorry…”

“It’s… fine. Did you want something to drink too? I have some more yen—” Before you could reach for your pocket, Choromatsu quickly shook his head and hands.

“N-No, it’s okay! Unlike someone, I can afford my own drinks.”

The bite back at Osomatsu was worth losing the shared privilege of a girl buying them a drink. At least he thinks so. Osomatsu’s eye roll at least made him feel better, and if it made him look better in your eyes, then that’s all that mattered. You shrugged it off, finally being able to take the medicine. With a quick swallow and a hefty chug from the water, you felt… absolutely no different. Well that was to be expected. You didn’t know if there were any painkillers that were that fast acting unless they were IVed into you. You groaned, softly placing your head on the table. Osomatsu seemed to mimic your action, his eyes meeting yours with that stupid smile.
“Ya know if you keep that up, you’ll end up looking like Jyushimatsu.”

“We’re sextuplets. He already looks like Jyushimatsu.” Choromatsu chimed in. He didn’t want to put his head down on the dirty table, but he also felt left out.

“Nuh-uh! Jyushimatsu looks like me! In fact, all of you technically look like me.” Osomatsu snapped and you grunted once more,” Okay seriously, lemme teach you one of my patented hangover cures! It works on me and my brothers all the time!”

"What does it involve?" You asked far too eagerly. You'd do almost anything to make the pain go away. Of course Osomatsu picked up on this; raising his head and bringing a finger to his nose.

"Well, that depends on which one you choose! Certain cures work differently on different people, hehe."

That honestly sounded like an excuse to try every possible "cure" he had on you. A feeling of uneasiness filled your stomach until the ringing of the door caused a bolt of pain to strike through your head.
"Uggh, fine! Just make the pain go away..."

Osomatsu jumped from his seat with excitement," Nice!! Okay I'll be right back!!" And with that, he disappeared behind the many displays of random products. You placed your head back down, covering your eyes from the afternoon sun peeking through the posters.

“You shouldn’t listen to his nonsense. Really you should be at home resting.” Choromatsu mumbled. You’re not sure if he was wanting you to hear it, but as you glanced at him he seemed… genuinely upset.

“Well, that was my plan until I bumped into you two.”
You grumbled back. Was it a low blow? Maybe. But it was the truth. Choromatsu looked towards you with utter shock.

“I-I’m sorry… Once the dumbass gets back, we can leave--”

“No, it’s fine. Sorry for snapping… I’m actually happy to bump into you guys, I just wish it was under better terms.”
You felt Choromatsu shift uncomfortably next to you. Fuck, this must be so awkward for him!! He barely knows you, yet here you are hungover and crabby to all hell and back. You turned your head further to apologize once more, but froze just as hard as his hand was. His arm was outstretched over you, his hand trembling over your back. His eyes were locked with yours and the blush that had been on his face this entire time faded into a ghastly white.
“What are you—”

“S-S-Sorry, s-so, so sorry!! I-I was— You were— See wh-what I wanted— I-It’s not what it—!”

“Woah woah woah, Choromatsu calm down! Take deep breaths, in and out, okay?”

Was he hyperventilating?? You weren’t really sure what to do during a situation like this! You had to stabilize their breath right?
“Breathe with me. In….” A long, calm draw of air,” and out…” Your voice fell hush as you breathed out as much as possible. He nodded along, small hiccups coming from him now, but he did his best to match. In…. Out…. In…. Out…. Tears seemed to prick at the corners of his eyes, but eventually his breathing returned to normal. Okay good, his breathing was more stable than before.
“Are you okay now? Do you feel better?” A few short, shakey nods from the green brother,” Okay that’s good. What scared you so badly?”

“I-I um…. Didn’t want t-to creep you out, I just— I um…. Well—” After a few seconds of him searching for words, he suddenly blurted out,” Iwantedtorubyourbackokay?!”

Like a balloon deflating, a long exhale fell from Choromatsu as he squeezed his eyes shut in embarrassment. His fists were clenched pure white, and his breathing was starting to become shallow once more. That… That made a bit of sense, actually.
“Hey… It’s okay Choromatsu, I promise! I… will admit, it’s a weird sentiment to someone you’ve just met, b-but a good sentiment nonetheless! I’m not mad or creeped out by you.”

His eyes were wide as you spoke. He nodded at your words, chuckling dryly as he wiped at his eyes. Your words seemed to ease his earlier anxieties immensely. There were still the general anxieties that seemed to plague the boy, but for now he was calm. That kind of distraction did take your mind off the pain for a little bit. In fact, it seemed the pain had eased itself. Maybe the adrenaline from your fear numbed the pain? Or perhaps the medicine was finally kicking in--

“HERE WE ARE!!” Osomatsu slammed down a few items he had gathered, causing both you and Choromatsu to jump out of your skins. You immediately turned to face Osomatsu, only to get hit with another wave of nausea. So much for that…

“Do you seriously have to be so loud?! Did you forget she has a hangover?!” Choromatsu hissed as loud as he could. Osomatsu only looked at him and shrugged.

“Ehhh, a little, yeah. But can you blame me, once I cure her, she’ll probably give me a reward!” He winked at his younger brother. Choromatsu only looked over in disgust and rolled his eyes, but deep down he was jealous. There was no way he was right about that but… what if you did give him a reward??

“You’re curing me of a hangover, not from being deaf; I can still hear you idiot.” You snapped back and unknowingly eased Choromatsu’s jealousy for now. 

Osomatsu chuckled at your response and immediately got to showing off his selection of “cures”. A jar of pickles, a small carton of eggs, lemon juice, A jar of what looked like… pickled plums?
“O-Osomatsu, what is all this?”

“The cures, duh! Now let’s see… We can try the umeboshi first! That’s one of the cures and one of my favorites personally--”

“You just like eating ume.” Choromatsu scoffed.

“--but the other ones are not as good. Like one is eating a whole raw egg. bleck!” Osomatsu stuck his tongue out, ignoring Choromatsu’s quip. That… really didn’t seem too appetizing. None of this seemed appetizing right now and your nausea certainly didn't help. Your face must’ve said it all because when Osomatsu turned to you, his smile fell.

“Man, Choromatsu was right; You really do look terrible! Maybe we need a stronger cure…”

“I DID NOT--” Choromatsu began, before breathing heavily in through his nose. Relax. No loud noises,” What she needs is to go home and rest. Not any of this BS.”

"C'mon, at least try the umeboshi! They're really good!" Osomatsu said as he pushed the jar closer to you. Watching them swish around in the juice didn't help your stomach. Okay, maybe you're feeling sick because you had a light breakfast? Maybe eating one will ease you into eating more. Eating more will fill your stomach, which will make you less cranky and less sensitive to things around you. Maybe Osomatsu was right about this cure and it'll help, even if it's a little bit.

With a sigh, you stand up from your seat. Both boys looked at you with worried faces, before seeing you were only grabbing your wallet; Not getting up to leave. You were going to hand it to Osomatsu, but seeing how he was eyeing it like it was candy, you quickly shoved it towards Choromatsu.

"Go pay for these, please. Osomatsu, put everything else up."

"Y-Yes m-ma'am!"

"Finnnee..." 

You didn't plan to spend more than 500 yen today, yet here you are. The boys were quick in doing the tasks they were told, being back in no more than five minutes. Choromatsu placed the jar of umeboshi down as gently as possible. Your shaky hand reached the lid and it twisted off with much less force than you thought it would need. The sharp smell of vinegar and salt filled your nose, causing it to scrunch up. Okay... just one bite... You fished around for the ume, feeling the texture in your hands. Despite being wet from the juice, they were soft? And very squishy, which you expected. As you brought the fruit from the jar, Osomatsu was quick to dive his hand inside and grab one as well.

“Ready? Three… Two… Eat!” Without a moment of hesitation, you shoved the treat into your mouth. Your eyes shot wide as the overwhelming mix of salty and sour. Quickly covering your mouth, a small cough escaped from you. Then two more. You desperately looked to Osomatsu for help, but he was happily chewing his ume while reaching for a second. Okay, so you chew it?? Sinking your teeth into the squishy fruit, the sourness only increased, but there was a tiny hint of sweet behind it all. It was honestly not too bad!! Just… a little shocking to suddenly pop into your mouth. After finally swallowing the salty treat, you glared at Osomatsu, giving him a light smack on the shoulder.
“You could’ve told me it was so sour and salty!! I’ve never had those before!!”

“Ow ow!! How was I supposed to know?!” He glared back, but not without swiping another ume from the jar. Choromatsu wasn’t kidding about him liking these things. You grabbed the lid and swatted Osomatsu’s hand away.
“Get! I paid for these, so they’re mine!”

“What?! But it was my idea! C’mon, you’re feeling better enough to yell at me, so my idea obviously worked! Let me eat!”

Wait actually, your head was feeling a lot better. There was still the subtle throbbing, but Osomatsu was right. You were able to yell at him and move more now. You set the jar back down, staring intensely at it. Osomatsu’s grabby little hand came into view, reaching for the jar again.
“Sooo…. I can have it?”

“ No , you can’t have it! Did you not hear her?? She said--”

“Actually… Yeah, he can. I’m… not going to eat all these, but it did help my migraine.” You cut Choromatsu off as you slid the jar into his hands," Consider that you're reward."

He let out a loud “YAHOO!!” before getting shushed by you and Choromatsu.
“We’re still indoors idiot! Be quiet!!” 

Choromatsu shook his head, only to jump when he felt someone tap his shoulder. Everyone turned to see a new person standing over them (Didn’t help that you were all sitting down) with a not too happy look on his face. He was wearing a similar uniform that the cashier was wearing, except for an all too noticeable name badge that read “MANAGER” above his name. Ohhh boy.
“I’m going to have to ask you all to leave. You’re disturbing the other customers.”

“What?! But we’re paying customers too!! Why do they--”

“WE’RE so, so sorry about that sir. We’ll leave right away. Come on guys.” You smiled at Osomatsu in particular, seeing how he was just about to fight with the head honcho here. It was obvious in your eyes that if he tried anything, there’d be hell to pay. Was he willing to risk the chance of you actually following through with that threat? Not particularly, no. They quickly nodded and began to collect whatever they had on the table. With another apology and awkward bow, you followed the brothers into the street. The street wasn’t too busy, so you weren’t pushed into a thick crowd. The sun was still shining bright, but you were able to handle it much better now. It still made you wince and blink a few times.
“Way to go asshole…” Choromatsu muttered under his breath, which caused you to turn on your heel.

“Nuh-uh, you’re not putting all the blame on him. You were just as loud.”

“I-I was only loud to get him to shut up!!”

“That’s still being loud.” You tsked,” It doesn’t matter now anyway. Like you said, I should probably be at home resting. Sooo I’m gonna do just that.” 

There were two very different groans of disappointment as you double checked your belongings. Osomatsu did his best to cross his arms while holding the umeboshi, but it sorta looked like he was cradling it. Choromatsu looked like a puppy you just kicked.
“Hey, don’t give me that look! You’re the one who suggested it!”

“Wha-- Y-Yeah, but you feel better now right? Shitty-- I-I mean Ososmatsu’s stupid cure worked?” He stuttered back and elbowed Osomatsu.

“Ow-- Yeah, he’s got a point! Besides, we’ve got nothin’ better to do! We’re NE--”

“N-NEEDING TO GATHER GROCERIES!!” Choromatsu’s sharp yell immediately made you and Osomatsu flinch. His eyes were wide, but they immediately shot to Osomatsu with a glare. Ooookay.

“That… doesn’t sound like ‘nothing better to do’.” Was all you managed to reply back. You had many questions but you were afraid you’d hear that shriek again if you asked right now.

“W-Well, grocery shopping is a m-mundane task, so it feels like nothing, r-right Osomatsu-niisan? ” Choromatsu hissed his older brother's name through gritted teeth. Obviously he was hiding something, but you didn't particularly want to see what would happen if you called him out on it. Osomatsu looked all the more confused.

“Uhhh… Sure? I mean, I usually pawn the shopping on you guys. I hate spending money unless I can win it back, hehe!” 

“Okay well, I’ll leave you two to go shopping and then we can talk later. Totty and Jyushi have my number, so use that to call me.” You said all this as you were turning to walk towards your home. You weren’t stopped this time, but you did hear more yelling from behind you.

“Bye Y-Y/N-chan!! S-See you later!!” A squeaky Choromatsu yelled back.

“Thanks for the umeboshi!!” Hollered Osomatsu, who sounded like he was already eating the delicious treat. You turned back briefly to wave, then pulled out your phone. Not that you needed it to find your way home. You just wanted to see how much time you spent with those morons. Hmm… nearly an hour huh? And you had a new text? Let’s see… 

[Totty: Y/N-chan, can we talk? I’m free tomorrow, if you want to meet up somewhere]

Huh. You weren’t expecting him to text you back, let alone with that. You were almost positive he was wanting to fix whatever happened with you both yesterday. You couldn’t help but cringe at the situation as it replayed in your mind. There were mistakes from both sides, but the way he was handling it wasn’t something you were going to let slide. With a sigh, you sent back a text.

[Me: Sure thing. I have class tomorrow, but it’s over at 12pm. We can meet at the park.]

Well here’s hoping for the best. Todomatsu seemed really fun to be around. It was sorta fun to go back and forth on your playful bickering; you just had to be careful of his feelings. That seemed very obvious, but it was that ‘New Friend Limbo’ you liked to call it. Where you didn’t know what sort of jokes they found funny, so you were afraid to make any. 

With your thoughts in a tangled mess, you barely recognized when you turned on your street. Home was just a few steps away, and that meant a long nap was waiting for you. You got closer and walked under the awning of the entrance. The air conditioned lobby was just what you needed. You dragged your feet towards the elevator, before hearing a gasp from the stairs next door. Within seconds, a yellow blur rushed towards you and enveloped you into a warm hug. Thank goodness your nausea was gone because this would’ve made you lose your snack from earlier.
“Jy-Jyushimatsu?! What are you doing here??”

He stopped hugging you finally, his brown eyes meeting yours. He seemed so genuinely happy to see you, like a dog when you just get home.
“I was waiting for you!! We’re gonna hang out today, remember?”

Shit. You had completely forgot.

Chapter Text

You had forgotten just how high up your apartment was. Normally you would've taken the elevator, but with your current headache and tummy troubles, you knew it would get messy. You had to take a breather on the 4th floor, being extra careful not to heave. Jyushimatsu only stopped to stare. It was... rather uncomfortable and you did your best to avoid eye contact. You wondered if this was just how he was, or if he was somewhat socially awkward. He seems to handle conversations fairly well, but silences... not so much. When you finally got air back in your lungs, you looked to Jyushimatsu with a weakened smile.
"Alright I'm good... lets go."

Jyushimatsu let out what sounded like a huff of annoyance. Was he really annoyed that you couldn't make it up a few flights of stairs in one go?? He did seem like the fitness nut, but still...
You took a few steps upward fairly easily, but a wave of nausea hit you harder than expected and you immediately stumbled backwards into Jyushimatsu.
"Shit-- Sorry. I guess I'm not as fit as I thought, haha..." you dryly chuckle as he stared at you.
"Are you okay? You have no stamina! You should really work on that."

Ohhh boy. You could only nod as you prepared yourself again. You got a few more flights up before needing another break, feeling your head swimming and your stomach doing flips. Again, Jyushimatsu only stared at you with those wide eyes and that big, open smile. You managed out another weak grin. Maybe taking the elevator would've been better. If only you had known it would take this long and be just as awkward. You leaned against a wall for support and once again Jyushimatsu was staring at you. This time, his eyes scanned your entire body, before he nodded.
"I got an idea!"
"What? Jyushimatsu what does thaAAAHHHH" You yelped loudly has he very quickly scooped you into his arms bridal style. You felt your cheeks heat up, but wasn't sure if it was from being manhandled so quickly or because Jyushimatsu was currently holding you. You clung to his hoodie for dear life, wide eyes staring into his.

"Ahah, see!! You're not heavy at all. I'll carry you up!"
"Jy-Jyushi wait! You gotta ask me before you can just pick me up!! Or at leas5 warn me!!" You tried to look angry, but the fear of being dropped won that contest. Jyushimatsu seemed crestfallen at your words.

"Ahaha... right! I'll put you dow--"
"It's fine! You um... Y-You can carry me up, i-if you want..." You couldn't DARE admit that you wanted to be carried. You were tired and sick and walking up six more flights of stairs sounded awful," But if you start feeling tired, then put me down!!"

That got a chuckle from him. Feeling it roll through his chest was something you weren't expecting. You did your best to avoid his gaze, but that was pretty much impossible right now.
"Don't worry, I never get tired. Hustle Hustle!! Muscle Muscle!!"

Travelling up the stairs was a lot easier after Jyushimatsu offered to carry you. Heat still filled your cheeks, and you were pretty sure it was a mix of embarrassment and flusteredness. Once arriving to the 10th floor though, you managed to convince him to put you down so you could open your door.
"Dont mind the mess."

You say as Jyushimatsu zoomed passed your figure into your apartment. He seemed really eager to get inside for some reason? Though that eagerness died down the second he saw the state of your abode: Clothes strewn everywhere, dirty dishes piling the sink and the counter next to it, and a shitload of textbooks and papers on your desk by your laptop. Looks like he didn't take your first warning all too seriously.
"Welcome to my home; it's trash right now. I wasn't really expecting company."

Not that you really cared either way. You never had company, so you were allowed to wallow in your mess. It got cleaned every once in a while, but that only lasted a few days. It was sorta your routine. You placed your belongings on the floor near the couch. Plucking the blanket off your couch, you folded it in half and laid it on the sofa's back like a decor piece. You flopped onto the couch with a heavy thud and an even heavier sigh. Jyushimatsu, who was watching you as you worked, followed your steps and flopped next to you. The weight caused you to jump up an inch, getting a yelp from you and a laugh from Jyushimatsu.
"Haha... sorry!! Your couch isn't as tough as ours!"

"You're fine! Just caught me off guard is all." You were slightly curious about the use of 'ours' but you didn't want to ask.

Your migraine from earlier had long since faded and the only thing left was tiny throbs that spiked every so often. Something that a nap could fix or make worse. Not like you could take one if you wanted anyway. Jyushimatsu was literally an inch next to you and you could feel his eyes on you as your head hung over the back of the couch. You didn't expect him to come inside, let alone join you in sitting on the couch. One of your eyes opened to look at him and he jumped in place. His gaze immediately shot towards anywhere else but you. You couldnt help but chuckle, causing him to shift his eyes back onto you.
"So what's your plan Slugger?"

"Haah?" His head tilted towards you, his eyes cat-like.

"Well you came into my home and now you're sitting on my couch. Did you need anything or...?"

"Nope!" He shook his head as quickly as he answered you.

"Soo... is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Hmmm..." He brought a sleeve to his chin, effectively covering half his face as he thought. Only his little nose was poking out, which twitched slightly at your sigh. It was very cute, like a little bunny sniffing for food! When Jyushimatsu began to lean closer is when you got worried. If the heat in your cheeks were anything to go by, you were very confused right now.

"How was work?" That was... fairly normal of a question for Jyushimatsu.

"It was tiresome." You said as you placed you stared up at the ceiling," People were annoying, managers were annoying, I kept messing up orders thanks to my migraine--"

"Does it still hurt?" Jyushimatsu interrupted. He still wore his smile, but he had worry in his eyes.

"No, it's almost gone. I think resting should help though..." You streeeetched your arms above your head, feeling the softening numb for a blissful second before the throbbing thundered into your head again. Was that hint big enough for Jyushimatsu? Your mind swirled with uneasiness, only making your headache worse. Having him stay while you napped seemed far too sudden for a budding friendship. This is his first time over anyway! He wouldn't know what to do, or what he should or shouldn't touch. You didn't exactly want him to leave just yet, either. Maybe it was just you being touch-starved, but the idea napping with him didn't sound so terrible...

"Oh! There is one thing I wanted to ask you! " His words snapped you from your thoughts as you swiveled your head towards him. He was closer now, and you could see his nose twitching slightly. You let out a "Hmm?" at his sentence and this only got him to lean closer. You leaned away to try for some space, but Jyushimatsu only leaned in further. Your back hit the arm of the couch and your effort to make yourself smaller was dutifully a lost cause as he only towered over you, those large, brown eyes peering into your soul. His mouth was still wide as ever and you could feel his breath on you. Was he... Was he going for a kiss?! Like that?! Has he never kissed anyone before?! As your head spiraled with confused thoughts, Jyushimatsu only leaned in closer, your lips now only an inch apart. Was this really happening?! Your heart fluttered in...in... you're not sure what but you refuse to call it glee!! Your mind was slowly devolving into a chatioc mess. You already told him before you weren't interested in that way!! Why is he still trying?! Why aren't you moving?!

While a war was going on in your brain, Jyushimatsu's eyes flickered across your face and his mouth slowly closed into a smile. Your eyes shut tight, your mind a blur as emotions rushed through your head. His breath was hot on your face and you began to tremble. You mentally prepared yourself for whatever happened next.

Which was the sound of Jyushimatsu breathing verrrry deeply. Your eyes slowly opened. The blurry image of Jyushimatsu's nose was all you could see. Like lightning, he jolted back to his spot on the couch. You stared at him as he tried to snap fingers and pointed at you.
"Your breath DOES smell like umeboshi !! You met Osomatsu-niisan didn't you?!"

You could only stare as he pointed at you, the only sound was him breathing from his mouth. He was just....? The heat you felt on your face doubled from embarrassment. All of that, just to... smell your damn breath?! He couldn't have just asked?! You raised from your spot, your eyes furrowing as the anger quickly washed over the embarrassment.
"I think it's time for you to leave."

"Eh?!"

You stood up rather swiftly, surprising yourself when you didn't teeter. Your glare was sharp on Jyushimatsu and when his shock-filled eyes hit you back, you almost felt bad.

Almost.

"Like I said, I'm tired and I want to take a nap. That can't happen while you're here."

"Oh, I can be quiet!! I can just sit here and--"

"No, Jyushimatsu." Your voice was stern and sharp. It made him jump a little when you cut him off. He nervously began playing with the edges of his sleeves.
"... We can hang out another time. I don't feel good right now."

His eyes were still staring wide and his large smile was there, but somehow you could tell something was off. He stood up from your couch and let out nervous chuckle.
"Aha... Okay, we can hang out tomorrow?"

The way he said it so surely, it made it hard to tell him.
"I have some plans tomorrow, but maybe afterwards, or the next day."

His smile twitched and his eyes lowered slightly. But with a shake of his head as he nodded, he looked back to normal. Of course it hurt to see him hurt like this. You were only angry, you didn't suddenly hate him. It somehow felt similar to scolding a puppy. You hate to do it, but he has to learn. As he walked by you, his steps faltered, almost as if he wanted to turn towards you but opted not to. You notice his sleeves moving erratically and you could only guess he was clenching his fists in nervousness. Funny how he mimicked your actions without knowing. As he finally reached your door, he looked back with that wide smile and waved.
"Feel better, okay Y/N-chan? Bye!!"

You gave a small wave back and a nod. As soon as the door clicked softly shut, a heavy sigh escaped your chest. The flurry of emotions you were keeping at bay finally came forth and it overwhelmed you. Tears of frustration pricked at your eyes as you tried to collect what little thought you had left. What the fuck!! You've told him before that you weren't interested in him like that and he still made a move?! And using some bullshit excuse as well! You cupped your hand in front of your mouth to test your breath. There definitely was the sharp and distinct smell of the Umeboshi on your mouth, but didn't have to be an inch from someone to smell it. Your head was still throbbing and as you made it to your room, you've never been happier to see your cluttered bed. Quickly changing into something more comfortable, you slithered under the jostled comforter. You wanted to forget about what happened earlier as fast as possible. Luckily, for the first time in a while, you fell asleep the second your head hit that pillow.