Choromatsu's gaze trailed across the length of the room, landing on the eldest brother's face. He was hopping from foot to foot, his brown eyes sparkling with excitement. There was something else mixed in there too, Choromatsu realized. Fear? No, it can't be. He waved the thought away, too sleepy to dwell on it any longer.

He had gone to another Nyaa-chan concert last night and had only just arrived this morning. He didn't have the energy to deal with any of his misfit brothers today, not even Osomatsu who was acting strange and suspicious yet again.

When had it started? Three, four, months ago? Osomatsu's constant excursions had raised a lot of questions & arguments at first. "Where do you go?" "What are you doing?" "Who are you meeting?" None of these had been answered and it was a surprise to see how adamant the eldest was about keeping his mouth shut.

As the days passed by, everyone had started to adjust to Osomatsu's 'schedule'. He would wake up at 9, eat and get ready by 10, and set off a half hour later.

Like right now, Choromatsu could only watch as Osomatsu swayed from side to side, his eyes constantly flickering from the open window to the clock on the wall.

"You going out again, today?"

"Yep.", the red clad Matsu answered blandly, not even taking his focus off the ticking minutes, his hands flapping against his sides. A short pause followed before he cleared his throat and spoke again, this time glancing at his brother out of the corner of his eye.

"The others are eating downstairs."

Choromatsu raised his eyebrows at this. It had been a while since the two of them had had a long, light chat; there was never enough time, considering Osomatsu's rarely at home anymore. This had lead to a painful increase of 'nothing-to-says' and awkward silences between them. Choromatsu would be lying if he said he didn't miss their childish banter and bickering together.

He looked out the window, avoiding eye contact, and replied, "Yeah, I just came through there."

"Ah."

Another pause.

" . . . You should eat too."

The third son scoffed. Since when did he care?

"Like you should that. I mean, look at yourself."

Osomatsu really did lose some weight the past months. Not enough to raise concern, but seeing as he tended to stuff himself whenever possible, this change was something if not a shocker.

The eldest looked down, probably instinctively, and a small smile graced his features. "You worried 'bout me, Chorofappyski?"

Choromatsu just let out a frustrated groan and crashed down onto the unkempt futon that had obviously been a pain to keep away. He was usually the one to do this. Sigh. Where would his brothers be without him.

"Don't call me that.", he murmured into the pillow, drowsiness taking over fast.

A soft chuckle escaped Osomatsu's lips and he bent down to ruffle his little brother's hair. A gesture the others had grown accustomed to. It was done quick and playfully, although they knew there was affection and fondness behind these.

The eldest stepped out of the room and made his way down the stairs, hearing Jyushimatsu's yells from the front lawn. A great way to start the morning.

As he passed by the dining room, Karamatsu suddenly jumped out in front him, his hands on his sunglasses, striking his signature 'cool' pose.

"Good morning, buraza~. Did you have honey sweet dreams last night? Do you want to hang out with me on the roof today? Or maybe go out to pachinko? We'll do whatever you want, dear aniki."

Osomatsu forced a smile, irritation building up. He needed to be at the meeting spot on time. He really didn't want to deal with an annoying delay in his perfect kept schedule.

Nevertheless, he tapped his brother lightly on the shoulder, saying, "As painful as always. Not today, though, maybe I'll entertain you some other time, Karamatsu." And with that, he stepped over the man, making his way out the door briskly, not noticing the wistful look on the latter's face.

Karamatsu sighed as heard the soft thud of the wood, announcing his elder brother's leave. He was hoping to get some alone time with him today, maybe even figure out what was going on. But of course, this had happened.

He couldn't even remember the number of attempts he tried to convince Osomatsu to open up. He had actually begged him once, embarrassingly true story, but hey, he was getting desperate. He would give up every bit of his dignity if it meant securing the safety of his brothers.

"No luck again today?"

The addressed looked into the direction of the voice to where Todomatsu was typing into his smartphone, a bored look on his face. "Why don't you give up, already? You know, he's not gonna break any time soon."

Karamatsu pulled his lips into a smirk, huffing, "Heh. I would like to think of it as my duty to look after my family and to know about their whereabouts. We are brothers, after all, and it would be strange if I didn't know where one of them-."

"Shut up, Kusomatsu."

"Heh."

The fourth son got to his feet and made his way to the door, shooting Karamatsu a murderous look before going out to play with Jyushimatsu. He could care less about what the eldest brother was doing. As long as it didn't concern him, he didn't want to take any part in finding out.

Albeit, he did spare Karamatsu's crumbling mask of confidence a sideways glance just as he stepped out onto the grass.

The day had gone by quickly.

Choromatsu had woken up at noon, deeming his mother's cookies sufficient enough for a full meal. The others had decided to stay home today too, laziness dripping from their systems.

Lately, none of them had the motivation to go out. It was usually Osomatsu who came up with things to do and places to go. Since his lack of presence, the NEETs seldom visit the pachinko parlors and the horse races anymore, although Chibita's was somewhere they always seem to stumble upon at dusk.

"My NEETs, dinner is ready!"

The five brothers all assembled around the table, random banter flying here and there. Matsuyo's food tonight was as delicious as always.

She settled onto her own table with her husband, looking at her sons with a soft smile on her face. They were already in their twenties, but she couldn't help but see them as the little, mischievous kids from the past. Even though she would have loved to see them grow up to be more successful, she couldn't help but feel sad at the thought of them leaving her.

"Is Osomatsu-niisan not eating with us again tonight?" Jyushimatsu shouted at no one in particular, his hands grabbing at whatever food was on the table.

The others just shrugged and stuffed their faces with the heavenly pork that their mother had prepared.

It was just then that the door had opened, unusually soft, as if the guest didn't want his entrance heard. Everyone's ears perked up at the slight sound, staring at the fleeting form of their older brother who was scurrying towards the staircase.

"Osomatsu! Where do you think you're going? Eat your dinner before it gets cold!"

"Maybe later!"

"I'll get him, mommy."

"Please."

Karamatsu climbed the stairs to their bedroom, the door open just a crack. He listened to the noise his brother was making, seeming as if he was running from one end of the room to the other.

He peeked, catching sight of Osomatsu by the closet, hurriedly applying a band aid onto the side of his face. His face.

It was all bruised up, blotches of painful blue and purple on pale skin. His eye was swollen shut. His lip was bruised and bleeding. Even his nose was dripping blood onto the front of his already red hoodie.

Before he could think, Karamatsu stomped towards him, anger visible as he grabbed the hood of Osomatsu's jacket and dragging him all the way to where the others were still eating.

It had happened so fast that Osomatsu couldn't even react, his hands still gripping the box of band aids.

It was only when they reached the doorframe that he started to struggle and scream at Karamatsu to let him go, curses and insults echoing into the air.

Karamatsu flipped him around to make him face their parents, the others staring wide-eyed at the sudden intrusion. It had been a while since they saw the second son this mad.

What was more shocking was the beaten up form of Osomatsu who had ducked his head, trying to uselessly hide his bleeding face.

"I am not intending to let go until you tell us whatever the fuck is going on, Osomatsu. Right here, in front of everyone."