A/N: Hey! Before you read this if you haven't read my main story "A Way to Say Goodbye" then I suggest you read that first. But of course you could read this as a stand alone but it might be a bit confusing. Anyways, you have been warned. Enjoy! :)
Looking up from his feet, Osomatsu realized he was in front of his old house after walking from his apartment. The place he lived in all his life until just a few years ago. He stretched out his hand to open the door but hesitated. How were his brothers? It had been exactly a year since he last saw them and somehow the thought of what they were like now set nerves in his stomach.
He slapped his cheeks lightly and shook his head. It's fine you idiot, you come here every year on this specific day, it's nothing new, he thought to himself. After a few moments, Osomatsu finally relaxed himself and was about to go for the door again until a hand laid on his shoulder.
"What the hell are you doing?"
Osomatsu yelped and whipped around to see Choromatsu with a raised eyebrow. "Are you looking for a fight? Don't scare me like that!" Osomatsu hissed as he touched his chest to calm himself down, "Why are you late? I thought you'd be inside already."
Choromatsu huffed and placed his hands on his hips, "They ended up calling me in for work even though I asked for today off weeks in advanced. Anyways, what's your excuse?"
Eyes trailing to the ground, Osomatsu felt somewhat embarrassed. "It's nothing really. It just feels kind of weird coming back here that's all," he explained.
When he looked back up he saw Choromatsu's expression turn sympathetic and placed a hand back on his shoulder. "It's alright, we all feel the same way," he reassured as he guided Osomatsu back around to face the door again, "But let's go inside so we don't have to keep them waiting any longer."
Nodding, Osomatsu reached for the door once more and finally slid it open. Upon entering he heard his younger brother announce their presence while they toed off their shoes. They made their way across the hallway that was now slightly tattered from age and when reaching the living room Osomatsu smiled.
"Guess who made it on time!" he announced.
"You're late!" was the first thing Todomatsu said with a frown, "You too, Choromatsu-niisan."
"I had to work," Choromatsu reasoned, rubbing exhaustion from his eyes. He looked around the room but only found Todomatsu and Ichimatsu sitting at the table. "Where's Jyushimatsu?" he asked.
The older two made their way and joined them at the table as the younger explained, "Oh yeah, he texted me a while ago and said that he was going to be late because he had to pick up his son from baseball practice first."
Osomatsu looked at him, "His son?" Suddenly he felt a hand smack him behind the head, "Ow!"
"Why is it that every time we come here you always forget? It's been years since he had one! You even saw him!" Choromatsu chided.
Rubbing his head, Osomatsu pouted, "Sorry about that. It's still hard to believe that he's the first one out of all of us to have kids."
The younger rolled his eyes, "Yeah? Well it's still surprising that you're also married and to Totoko of all people yet I still remember."
Osomatsu's pout slowly turned into a shit eating grin, "Oh don't worry little brother, one day you'll get some action and you won't be Fappymatsu any-"
Choromatsu grabbed his face.
The door to the living room slid open and suddenly they heard in a booming voice, "Hello everyone!" All eyes turned and they saw Jyushimatsu at the entrance holding a bouquet of blue roses and grinning cheekily at everyone one, "I made it! Sorry that I'm late but I brought the flowers!"
"Oh Jyushimatsu, long time no see!" Osomatsu greeted and the others did the same.
When Jyushimatsu came and sat at the table it was time to start. Turning towards Ichimatsu, Todomatsu asked, "Did you bring the drinks?"
Ichimatsu nodded and shuffled to get up and walked to the kitchen. Out of everyone, Ichimatsu was the only one who stayed in the Matsuno household. For a while he had a place of his own but when everyone heard the news of their mother getting severely ill which had sent her to the hospital he was the first one to drop everything he was doing and moved back in to watch over his parents as they aged peacefully.
When Ichimatsu came back with a case of beer he set it on the table and everyone immediately grabbed one with greedy hands and opened them. However, like a true adult they finally were they didn't drink it and waited.
Looking at everyone, Osomatsu started, "Are we all ready?" After watching everyone nod their heads he counted down, "3…2…1!"
They all lifted their cans into the air and cheered.
"Happy Birthday to us!"
After those long-awaited words the brothers hungrily drank their beers until it was empty. Osomatsu was the first to finish as he wiped the excess from his mouth with his sleeve. "Ahhh that was good," he said and patted his stomach, ignoring Choromatsu's distasteful stare after he let out a burp.
It was their birthday today. Another year they were older. In fact, Osomatsu just realized that they turned 30 today and it surprised him. Not that they were officially in their 30's now but that they were actual adults with an actual job who had their own place to live and for him and Jyushimatsu they were married and the younger one even had his own family.
They stopped celebrating with cake and other foods years ago because everyone already had some when they were with their own set of friends and family prior to coming here. They only celebrated with beer because it reminded them the time of when they were all together getting wasted as a neet, the only difference now being was that they only had one drink. They were adults now. And Osomatsu still couldn't believe it.
After a few moments of silence Ichimatsu finally spoke for the first time since they all came together, "Should we maybe go? It's already starting to get dark."
Osomatsu looked at Todomatsu, "Is Chibita not joining us this time?"
The younger shook his head, "He told me to tell you guys sorry because he can't make it but he promises to come next year."
Osomatsu snapped his finger and whined, "Damn, and I was looking forward to his oden too." He took an extra can of beer from the table with him and stood up. "Yeah, now's a good time to do it," he agreed as the others got up with him.
They all left the house and walked on the streets in comfortable silence. In the back of the group, Osomatsu shoved his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground. It was another year coming to this place yet it felt like he visited it yesterday. Had it really been that long?
Choromatsu slowed down to walk beside him, "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Huh?" Looking up, Osomatsu saw his brother's worried frown, "I'm alright, why?"
"You look really concentrated and I was wondering if something was bothering you," he explained.
Osomatsu smiled. He really appreciated the concern but he shook his head. "Nah I was just thinking how it's been a whole year again since we last came here," then he thought, "Do you think the stuff by the tree is still there?"
Choromatsu huffed and waived his hand, "They're destroyed for sure," he smiled, "But that's why we replace them every year."
The city was behind and what greeted them was the ocean shore and the cliff. Instead of heading to the beach they walked further down past the cliffs where they finally found it. The forest. A fence now blocked the way but that didn't stop them from entering. They stopped where they had cut a hole into it long ago.
Todomatsu grabbed his arms and shivered, "Damn, even though we come here often I still get the chills. I still can't believe we trespass into restricted area after all these years."
"Don't worry I'll protect you!" Jyushimatsu said as he came up to his younger brother and patted his head.
One by one they slipped through the hole and entered the forest. Passing through, Osomatsu could recognize where every tree and bush was in the vicinity. They really did come here too much. It was the one place that he remembered so vividly. The place where everything happened all that time ago.
"They're starting to come out," he heard Ichimatsu muttered and looking around the area Osomatsu's eyes widened.
The sun had just set leaving the place dark and out came the fireflies, dancing around flickering their green bodies and leaving behind a buzzing noise. Music. It was music to Osomatsu's ears every time he came here and he couldn't help but smile.
"They're here to greet us!" Jyushimatsu laughed as he ran around trying to catch them like a child with the roses in hand.
Todomatsu shook his head, "I'm pretty sure they come out here every night. We're not anything special to them."
Walking deeper past clusters of trees and bushes they finally entered the all too familiar clearing by the edge of the cliff and there they saw it. They crossed the small field and came up to the one tree they cared about more than all the others.
Looking down, Choromatsu was right. The roses left last time by Jyushimatsu and the can of beer was long gone and all that was left leaning against the tree was a picture of Karamatsu smiling inside a tattered picture frame.
Choromatsu squatted down and grabbed the photo to inspect it. "The picture is still in good condition so we don't have to worry about putting in a new picture Todomatsu," he said. It was the youngest who kept multiple copies in case anything happened to the photograph.
"That's a relief, then I guess we can start replacing the other things. Jyushimatsu?' Todomatsu gestured.
When Choromatsu moved away Jyushimatsu came up to the tree and gently placed the bouquet of roses in front of the photo. After making sure it was placed right he stepped back and looked at Osomatsu expectedly. Nodding, the eldest bent down and placed the beer next to it. After all it was Karamatsu's birthday as well.
They all backed away and looked down to admire their little handmade shrine. Osomatsu let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. It was this very spot by this tree that Karamatsu parted ways with them. That final moment when his younger brother spread open his arms as they ran towards him and said those final words before he disappeared…
Osomatsu heard a faint sniffle next to him and when he turned his head he saw Ichimatsu pressing his hands against his eyes. Smiling, he lightly elbowed him. "You know, it's okay to cry a bit," he reassured.
Quickly shaking his head, Ichimatsu muttered which almost sounded like a sob, "I hate how every time I come here I always feel the urge to cry." Even years later Ichimatsu was the only one who always cried. It went unsaid but he was the one who looked up to Karamatsu the most even if he never admitted it.
Jyushimatsu came up to his brother and rubbed his back in soothing circles. "Karamatsu-niisan would think it's okay," he comforted.
That seemed to do the trick as Ichimatsu hesitantly lowered his hands and although frustrated, he let the tears fall down his face. Osomatsu had to turn away because the more he watched the more he felt like joining him.
"I think we should say our prayers now," Choromatsu announced, "It's starting to get cold."
They all agreed but before they were about to start Osomatsu suddenly remembered, "Ah I almost forgot! There's one more thing I wanted to do." Everyone looked at him expectedly and confused as Osomatsu kneeled down in front of Karamatsu one more time.
He pulled out two tealight candles and a lighter from his pockets. Flicking it on, he lit up the candles and placed one on each side of the photo. Standing up, Osomatsu put his hands on his hips and admired his work. The light caused Karamatsu to stand out in the night, showing his wide grin to the whole world and Osomatsu never felt more content. "It looks so much better," he smiled.
"I swear to god," Choromatsu started, "If I wake up the next morning and find out that this place caught on fire I'm turning you in to the police with no remorse."
Osomatsu let out a laugh, "Quit being such a worrywart this place will be fine!" and slapped his brother's back.
"We should say our prayers now," Ichimatsu interrupted, his eyes puffy and cheeks red from tears "I want to help mom and dad get ready for the night." It was a lame excuse because everyone knew their parents could still take care of themselves for the most part. He just didn't want to cry anymore, but the chilly air and tiredness from doing adult things all day before they met had them accept it.
They all stood next to each other in front of the tree and linked their hands together. Closing their eyes, everyone went silent as they shared their final moments with their late brother.
This was the exact moment Osomatsu was waiting for, to finally talk to his brother after a whole year. If you're listening to this it's more of a conversation rather than a prayer but wherever you are just know that we love you and miss you a lot. How are you doing? Are you alright? By the way happy birthday. Heh, you're probably tired of hearing me say this every time but I mean it. You've done so much for us and we couldn't be more grateful. If you had never showed up and helped- no- forgave us, then we wouldn't know where we'd be right now. So, thank you, Karamatsu, thank you for forgiving us, loving us, being our brother, everything. You mean the world to us and I want you to know that.
He felt the hands he held on both sides release but continued, I have to go now but I hope you enjoy the beer and roses. Goodbye- ah, not that either…
Opening his eyes, Osomatsu found that his brothers were looking up. His eyes trailed at Karamatsu's grinning face, then stretched his neck up with the others and gazed at the night sky. Stars littered the midnight background but Osomatsu look fixedly at the one that stood out the most.
I'll see you later, Karamatsu.
They stood there silent for a few moments, taking up the last seconds talking to their brother. Their brother who was somewhere watching over them and waiting patiently. Somewhere in the stars.
"Let's go," Choromatsu finally broke the silence and no one objected.
Turning around, everyone walked across the clearing and before they were surrounded by trees again Osomatsu paused and looked back over his shoulder, gazing his brother's face. Even some distance away he could still make out the bright and beaming face of their brother who never stopped loving them. Even now.
Smiling, Osomatsu turned back around and gave one final wave from behind as he left and disappeared into the forest with the rest.
Until next year…
A/N: So uh... this is my first story after a year. Damn I can't believe it's been so long sorry about that. :(
I wasn't originally going to make this but I decided to write it as practice due to my long absence because I plan to do another multi chapter story. I don't know when I'll post it but look forward to that! Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the story and until next time! :)