It was a fine afternoon for gambling. Maybe because the sun was not too hot today, or it could be that Osomatsu found Todomatsu's coin purse hidden in one corner of the house.
He was not really feeling lucky today, actually there were some things troubling him but Osomatsu swore that this was the best solution to this dark heavy feeling inside his chest. He just knew that if he wins something today he would feel better.
However, even before the race got good he found himself staring straight into the eyes of some weird woman that Iyami brought with him.
Her skin was wrinkled and her hair was silvery white. She was small, 'Even smaller than Chibita.' He noted as he imagined how tall his friend was the last time he saw him out of his shop.
But even more than her appearance the way she looked at him creeped him out. She was staring at him intensely without a single blink of an eye. It was as if she was looking at his soul.
"What even is this?" Osomatsu asked using laughter as a way to steer away from the awkward situation.
"Shut up-zansu! This woman is a well-known psychic so don't you dare laugh."
"So you think your horse will win with her help?"
"Yes. But for some reason she has been staring at you for a while now-zansu."
Osomatsu laughed again. 'Man, is this really weird.'
"Madame, I know I'm charming and good-looking but I had to decline whatever you want to offer me… but if we're talking about a couple of zeros here then maybe I won't mind ignoring a few personal limitations for you."
" A dark soul lingers around you young man. A soul hell-bent on getting his revenge with anger that burns like fire. He is here. Be warned! "
Osomatsu looked at Iyami and saw the same confused look in the other's eyes. He looked back to the old woman and contemplated on what to say next.
"I'm sorry ma'am. But I'm afraid you got the wrong man." Osomatsu gave out an empty chuckle, forcing the air out of the drumming walls of his chest.
"Oh." The old woman's eyes widened, " But it is you. It had already begun young man. He has seen you from the eyes of one of the same faces and he knows you cannot hurt them. He, however, can definitely hurt all of six. Especially you! And he will hit you where it hurts the most. "
Osomatsu finally gave up. This was turning from bad to worse when she had to mention his brothers. He could take all this crap, but the mere mention of hurting his brothers actually got him a bit angry.
"Ok." Osomatsu said, "I'll go home now Iyami. You win this time. You have officially creeped me out."
"You idiot. That was never my intention in the first place. But good riddance!"
Even as he turned away from her he could still feel the burning stare behind his head. She was still staring at him and it bothered him to no end. He just walked away. Gradually, he picked up speed in his steps. Faster his legs went until the next thing he knew he was running away from the stadium.
For some reason he could not stop his legs from running. He was heading home as if it was the only place he wanted to go to right now. He could feel his lungs begging for air with his mouth hanging to breathe. He clenched his chest and only grabbed the piece of cloth he wore. His chest hurts. It already felt heavy before and the running certainly did not help.
'It had already begun young man. He has seen you from the eyes of one of the same faces'
He swallowed and continued to run.
Faster, because his legs wanted to be home right now.
' he knows you cannot hurt them. He, however, can definitely hurt all of six. '
Faster, because he could not wait to see his brothers.
' And he will hit you where it hurts the most. '
Faster, because he was scared that what she told him might actually be true.
.
.
.
It was a few days back — or was it weeks? Osomatsu could really not tell — when this heavy feeling in his chest started.
He was home that time, sleeping in the middle of the day just because he was bored. Osomatsu had days like that when he just did not want to go outside. Sometimes he could sleep the whole day away, a long nap away from responsibilities that could last from sunrise to sunset.
But that time his nap abruptly interrupted when Osomatsu had trouble breathing. He was choking! He could feel someone on top of him with their hands on his neck, gripping until no air could pass through.
Osomatsu opened his eyes and tried to focus on who it was. Of course, he instantly knew who it was.
"Jyushi-" he could barely speak.
Jyushimatsu's smile was replaced by the tight-jawed grit in his teeth. His eyes looked furiously mad. Osomatsu had never seen his brother like this before.
Osomatsu lifted his hands and tried to yank Jyushimatsu away. He squirmed underneath him in an attempt to break free. But Jyushimatsu was strong, even stronger than he expected him to be.
"Jyu—!" Osomatsu tried to call him as he tried to pry his brother's fingers to loosen around his neck.
It was a battle of strength and even if he was a lazy-ass NEET with no interest in whatever sports, Osomatsu never lagged behind. With all his might, he could pull away a finger or few.
"JYUSHIMATSU!" He shouted with whatever voice he had.
Jyushimatsu then snapped with a slight twitch of his head.
"Ah?" Osomatsu heard his brother said.
Osomatsu then pulled Jyushimatsu's hands away from his neck the moment he felt his grip loosened. Osomatsu rolled to his side and coughed. He rubbed his neck as he barked and breathed heavily, making loud wheezing noises in between powerful coughs.
"Osomatsu-niisan! What happened?" Jyushimatsu asked.
Osomatsu was relieved when he heard Jyushimatsu's worried voice. On the other hand, he too had no idea of what happened. His mind started to search for an explanation but he came up empty.
Osomatsu rolled back to face Jyushimatsu. The younger one's brows were furrowed and his smile small. He choked again upon seeing his face like that.
"Can't you remember?" His voice was raspy and it burned when he spoke. "We were playing. I guess I was just too weak for you Jyushimatsu." He still continued to speak and then went on a coughing fit.
"We were?" The younger obviously had no idea.
Osomatsu sat up and faced Jyushimatsu. He studied his face and was certain that Jyushimatsu had no recollection of what he did. Osomatsu rubbed his neck again. He could still feel the ghost of his deadly tight grip on his skin.
Jyushimatsu might believed him. He might had lied his way out of this. But if he were honest with himself, the whole thing alarmed him.
Whenever he thought about it, he would unconsciously rub his neck, as if the pressure and anger of Jyushimatsu's hands were still there. He reached his house and hurriedly slid open the door to run inside. He almost stumbled towards the door, with only his sense of balance to help him stay up.
"What on earth? Is that you Osomatsu-niisan!" Osomatsu heard Choromatsu's voice from inside.
Osomatsu kicked his shoes away and ran inside. "Choromatsu! Choromatsu!" He was almost shouting.
His heart only felt content when he finally saw his brother, the exact same face, staring back at him. The incredulous expression only Choromatsu could make, made Osomatsu happy that was he was finally home.
Choromatsu was in the kitchen with his mom's apron on him. It seemed that Choromatsu was preparing dinner.
"What's your problem?"
Osomatsu swallowed. He did not even notice how hard he had been breathing. His lips pulled into a grin. Everything's normal. No need to panic. "Looks good on you Chorofappsky."
"Ha-ha." Choromatsu answered, "Can you watch over the pot while I peel this?"
Osomatsu half-heartedly agreed, whining to show Choromatsu how this annoyed him.
Osomatsu dragged himself over the stove and watch over the silent pot on top of fire set on medium. For a minute he was tempted to turn the heat on high so that it would cook quickly; but if you're one of the people who will eat this dish, that might not be a good idea.
Osomatsu lazily pulled out a chair and sat in front of the still unmoving but warm pot.
"So Mom's still out?" Osomatsu asked already bored.
"Yes. She asked me to prepare dinner since she might be tired by the time she arrived. I think she'll drop by dad's office on the way." Choromatsu answered, busy with the knife on the other side of the room.
Osomatsu just nodded. "I see, I see..." he answered without real thought into it.
"So what are we cooking?" Osomatsu asked just to get the conversation going.
This time Choromatsu did not answer.
Osomatsu asked again, "really, what are we having for dinner?"
Still no answer.
Osomatsu finally glanced behind, just to be sure that Choromatsu was still there. He did not really hear him go out of the room, so he should still be there.
'Right—?'
A small flash of reflected light passed by his eyes and Osomatsu instantly fell from his chair. His mind was too slow to process what happened but his body reacted.
Danger. Danger!
Choromatsu was charging towards him, knife in his hand. This still had not sunk into Osomatsu yet, but the older Matsuno was still busy defending himself.
Every nerve of his body was on high alert as he tumbled back and away from the chair. His hand was already protecting him and the next thing he knew he felt something cut through his palm and dug in his hand.
When his eyes focused, he finally saw the wielder of the knife… including the dripping blood from his hand. His eyes went towards Choromatsu and was frightened to see that anger distorting his face.
Choromatsu's eyes said it all. He was not himself.
'Fucking shit.' Osomatsu was internally panicking and fearing for his life.
'It happened again.'