It was Osomatsu who suggested they use the charm. Of course, at the time, nobody thought anything of it; the paper doll couldn't possibly do anything worse than give someone a papercut. Right? They had all agreed to it (after much teasing and other banter) under the impression that nothing would happen. It was purely symbolic, something that was supposed to bind them together forever, regardless of the distance between them. After all, everyone knew that Osomatsu couldn't stand the thought of being separated from his brothers even though he'd sooner cut off his own hand than admit it aloud. So, they would play along if only to ease their older brother's mind. That was the true purpose of this charm. Right? Well if you know anything about the infamous Matsuno sextuplets, you would know that more often than not, they were wrong.

The six brothers tore the cut-out doll into six pieces as lighting raced across the inky sky outside the window. Silence filled the usually loud room save for the incessant pounding of rain on the roof. And when the floor opened beneath them and a darkness blacker than the night swallowed them whole, their terrified screams lost in the wind as they desperately tried to cling to one another, the same thoughts went through their heads.

This wasn't happening.

This couldn't be real.

This was only a nightmare which they would wake from in a moment and be able to huddle closer to whichever brother was beside them for comfort.

Right?

Choromatsu struggled to open his eyes, now keenly aware that he was lying on an uneven wooden floor with loose nails that dug into his back. It took a minute of concentration for him to recall what events had led up to this point after which he sat bolt upright and was hit with a wave of nausea because of the sudden movement. Knees drawn to his chest, Choromatsu breathed heavily as he attempted to process what exactly had happened before realizing that there was a much more pressing matter at hand.

Where was he?

Eventually, the sick feeling faded away, and Choromatsu began to examine his surroundings from where he sat on the floor which proved to be quite difficult due to the lack of light. He determined that he was in a classroom, elementary school most likely, but one that had been abandoned and had fallen into disrepair decades ago. Small chairs and desks lie scattered around the room, some overturned, others broken into pieces. The floorboards also appeared to vanish in some places, giving way to a seemingly bottomless pit. Choromatsu told himself that it was just too dark to see that far down but still couldn't shake the irrational fear that something would reach out and drag him into the abyss. Quickly shifting his attention elsewhere, he spotted a motionless figure wearing a familiar red hoodie on the other side of the room.

"Oso-AGH!" Choromatsu yelled out in pain as his right leg gave out from under him and he fell back to the ground. He held his throbbing ankle but was too concerned about his unconscious brother to really care. Slowly getting on his feet once again, Choromatsu limped over to Osomatsu where he dropped to his knees. "Osomatsu nii-san?" Choromatsu gently tugged on his brother's sleeve. "Come on, you have to wake up." No response. Choromatsu tried to remain calm, recalling the time Jyushimatsu decided to wake them up one morning by banging pots and pans together. Osomatsu hadn't even stirred then, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to believe that Choromatsu's small nudges wouldn't wake him either. Unfortunately, it was now that the fluorescent bulbs overhead flickered to life and revealed the true cause of the problem which came in the form of a puddle of blood seeping from the back of Osomatsu's head. "He must've hit one of the nails sticking out of the floor," Choromatsu thought numbly.

Panic began to settle in as Choromatsu realized that his brother was in dire need of medical attention but had no way of receiving it. His brain was racing a mile a minute, weighing the limited number of options he had left. Call for help? No, neither of them had a cell phone. If only Todomatsu was here… (did he get stuck here too?). Look for bandages? Wouldn't work either, Osomatsu would probably bleed out before he got back. Find an exit? And then what? A glance out the window showed Choromatsu that they were in the middle of a never-ending forest that he didn't recognize in the slightest. Wait for help then? But did anybody even know they were gone? Choromatsu let out a shaky breath. Only one option left then.

After removing his favorite green hoodie, Choromatsu pulled off his shirt which he proceeded to tear a strip of fabric from. He shivered at the feeling of cool air on his bare skin as he tightly bound Osomatsu's wound. It was far from the best (he'd actually only seen this done in anime before), but it was better than nothing. At least the bleeding would be slowed significantly and maybe give them enough time to get help. That is, if Osomatsu decided to wake up sometime soon. Meanwhile, all Choromatsu could do was wait. Truth be told, he was terrified of going out there by himself and would much rather stay here with his unresponsive brother than brave the unknown. So yeah, Choromatsu would wait. And wait. And wait.

After what Choromatsu deemed "way too long", Osomatsu finally groaned and propped himself up on shaky elbows. Choromatsu, tense with anxiety because of their current dilemma, couldn't resist the urge to throw himself onto his older brother out of relief. He wrapped his arms around Osomatsu who was carelessly knocked backwards, clutching his red hoodie like a lifeline.

"You idiot, I thought you were dead!" Choromatsu said, choking back a sob that threatened to escape.

Osomatsu looked as though he was still trying to regain focus. "Choro, what the…? Where are…we…?" he asked with a yawn as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "And why're you shirtless?"

Pulling back into a sitting position, Choromatsu blinked in confusion before remembering that he'd forgotten to put his hoodie back on. As he slipped his arms inside, grateful for the warmth it provided, Choromatsu asked, "how's your head?".

"My head?" Osomatsu lightly touched the fabric covering his injury and winced. Ah ha, so that was where Choromatsu's shirt had gone. "Now that you mention it," he continued, "I do have one helluva headache."

"Yeah. That's what happens when you lose that much blood. Idiot…" The cracks in the floorboards became very interesting to Choromatsu who lowered his voice to barely above a whisper. "You really scared me though. I thought you wouldn't wake up. That you'd just leave me here. Alone."

"You worry too much, Choromatsu. You gotta learn how to loosen up, seriously." Osomatsu smiled at his little brother.

Choromatsu rolled his eyes. "Excuse me for being concerned about your potential death."

Extending a pinkie finger, Osomatsu reached for Choromatsu's right hand.

"What are you doing?" Choromatsu asked flatly.

"It's a pinkie promise, stupid. I'm attempting to make you feel better by promising not to leave you forever."

Choromatsu looked skeptical.

"Hurry up," Osomatsu said impatiently, "this is a one-time deal. Take it or leave it. Your choice."

With an exasperated sigh, Choromatsu linked pinkies with his brother and gave a firm shake. "Because you have such a reputation for keeping promises," he muttered.

"Hey, I always keep my promises!" Osomatsu countered.

"I distinctly recall just last week when you promised that if I gave you money for pachinko, you would- "

"Yeah, but like, that's not important," Osomatsu said quickly. "Anyways, where did you say we were again?"

Having regained his composure, or as composed as one could be in such a frightening situation, Choromatsu scanned the classroom once more in order to confirm his suspicions. "An elementary school, I think. But I don't recognize it at all." He stood and walked over to further inspect one of the grimy windows, his injured foot causing him to flinch with every step.

"Are you hurt?" Osomatsu asked with genuine concern. As the eldest son, it was, after all, his responsibility to make sure his family was okay (no matter how much he pretended to despise them).

Choromatsu was peering through the filthy glass. "You're the one covered in blood, and you're going to worry about me?"

"I'm always worried about my little Chorofappyski," Osomatsu said mockingly.

"Shut the hell up," Choromatsu growled.

"I'm just teasing," Osomatsu said with a laugh.

Choromatsu turned and took one step towards his brother before hissing at his ankle. "Shit that hurts!"

"Hmm…maybe you can rest here," Osomatsu suggested, "and I'll go explore."

Now Choromatsu was many things, but a moron wasn't one of them. If there was one thing he'd learned from watching horror movies, it was that you don't split up if you don't want to get yourself killed. Ever. "No way. I'm coming with you," he said defiantly. "I'm alright, it doesn't actually hurt all that bad." Choromatsu grimaced at what an awful liar he was and prayed that his brother was too oblivious to notice.

Osomatsu looked like he wanted to argue, but ultimately nodded his head in agreement. "Alright, you can come. But you have to tell me if you need to stop or take a break or whatever. Now, if it really doesn't hurt, that means you can help me up." Choromatsu pulled his brother onto his feet and watched as he swayed precariously. There was no doubt about who was more fit to be walking around, but Choromatsu knew that Osomatsu wouldn't let death itself stop him from ensuring the safety of the others. So, they each put an arm around the other's shoulders and supported one another as they made their way to the sliding doors. Together, they left the classroom and found themselves in an even more eerie corridor that seemed to stretch endlessly on either side. It was so dark that it was nearly impossible to distinguish where the floor dropped off into nothingness. Choromatsu made a mental note to pay special attention to where he was stepping.

"Okay, left, or right?" Osomatsu asked, giving his brother a sideways glance.

Choromatsu studied the deserted hallway as he tried to locate any sign that indicated the best path to take. "I don't know. Right, I guess," he hesitantly decided. And so, still leaning on each other, the pair left the relative safety of the classroom and walked off into the gloom.

They had finally come across a staircase that led to the ground floor when they encountered their first decaying corpse. Judging by the size and uniform, it was a high school girl with maggots falling from her open mouth and empty eye sockets. It looked as though she had been there for quite a while; only a few pieces of rotting flesh and strands of brown hair clung to her skeleton. There was also a copious amount of blood splattered on the surrounding floor and wall which implied that the girl had suffered a violent death.

"Just what the hell went on in this school?" Osomatsu wondered aloud, unable to tear his gaze away from the horrific sight. Choromatsu, on the other hand, immediately looked away and tried not to vomit; he had always had a weak stomach. "No way that's real," Osomatsu assured him. Whether he was comforting himself or his brother, he couldn't say. "It's gotta be a replica…a really, really good replica. Just, don't look at it. Come on."

"I doubt you two will make it much longer."

Osomatsu and Choromatsu froze as a small flame was ignited above the body. Its blue light illuminated the hall and cast long shadows that danced and wavered across the walls. A girl's voice emanated from within the fire. "The one in red will go first. I can already feel him growing weaker. Then, the one in green will drown in his own despair. Will he jump to his death? Will he end it with a blade? A rope?" It was like they could hear the anticipation dripping from her voice. "I can't wait to see how this one plays out!"

Osomatsu stood in shocked silence. First dead people, now they had to deal with ghosts too? Jeez, this day couldn't get much worse, could it? Osomatsu cursed his bad luck until it dawned on him that this spirit might have the answers to his questions. Would she give them to him? Probably not. But it was certainly worth a try. "Hey! What's this school we're in?" he demanded, completely disregarding the ghost's prophecy. "And where are my brothers?" Not the most polite way to speak to someone that you needed help from, but when had Osomatsu ever cared about manners?

The flame grew brighter as the spirit giggled. "Welcome to Heavenly Host Elementary, boys!"

"And my brothers?"

"Well, I have no idea if they're your brothers or not, but I sensed four others arrive here at the same time as you."

"That's them," Osomatsu mumbled. "Okay, last question: how do we get out of here?"

"Get out?" The ghost burst into a fit of high-pitched laughter. "Get out? You idiot, you aren't in your own dimension anymore, there is no getting out!" Her gleeful tone abruptly switched to a much more melancholic and solemn one. "But that doesn't matter anyway, because you'll all be dead soon enough." And with that, the little fire was blown out by a nonexistent breeze.

This was too much for Osomatsu to process. At least now he knew all his brothers were here and he could put all his effort into finding them. But that also meant they were all in danger if what the spirit said was true, and Osomatsu was inclined to believe her. He pictured Todomatsu, who couldn't even walk to the toilet at night without holding someone's hand, inching down a corridor with tears in his eyes. He imagined Jyushimatsu struggling to keep that dumb yet heartwarming smile on his face as he flung open door after door looking for anyone else. He saw Ichimatsu, his hair more disheveled than usual, huddled in a corner, fighting off the thoughts of hopelessness they all knew he dealt with every day. And there was Karamatsu who cared about his family more than anyone in the whole world and was more than likely worried sick about them. Osomatsu was pulled from his thoughts by Choromatsu's sniffling.

"What she said. D-do you think we'll die here?" Choromatsu said hoarsely.

Osomatsu acted as though he hadn't heard. "Come on. Let's keep going."

Not another word was spoken between the two until they entered a classroom to get around a gap in the hallway floor that they didn't want to risk jumping over. The change in brightness was just enough for Choromatsu to clearly see his brother's face. Osomatsu looked like he would drop at any second. The loth wrapped around his head was soaked through with blood, he was sweating profusely, and his vision was shifting in and out of focus. Choromatsu had also noticed that Osomatsu's weight on him had been growing steadily heavier over the past few…minutes? Hours? Time felt warped in this strange place.

This was bad. This was really bad. "Okay," Choromatsu eventually said, "you have to lay down; you look like you're about to pass out!"

"If I stop now, I won't be able to get up again," Osomatsu argued through grit teeth. "We have to keep going."

Choromatsu ducked out from beneath his brother's arm. "No! You're just going to get yourself even more hurt!"

"Oh yeah, because you're doing so much better," Osomatsu said sarcastically. "Look, we have to find everyone else and we know now that splitting up isn't an option. We're wasting time having this pointless argument. Now move." He led the way back out into the corridor with Choromatsu trailing behind.

"You're so stubborn, you know that? It's going to get you killed one day."

"Yeah, probably," Osomatsu answered without turning around to see his brother's reaction. He grinned and swiped a finger under his nose. "Hey, Choro?"

"What?" he responded without emotion.

"I made you a promise earlier, now can you make one for your nii-san?"

"No, you may not borrow my wallet for pachinko when we get home."

"DAMMIT! Wait, no, that wasn't what I was going to say!"

"Then what were you going to say?"

"I was going to say…if, by some very unlikely chance, something was to happen to me, don't…don't do anything stupid, okay?"

Choromatsu stopped in his tracks and stared, dumbfounded, at Osomatsu's back. "Nope. No. No. This isn't you talking!"

"Just answer the question. Please." Noticing that Choromatsu was no longer following him, Osomatsu paused as well but still refused to face his brother.

"Fine. I won't do anything stupid."

"You promise?"

"This is so stupid, Osomatsu! Why do I have to-"

Osomatsu clenched his hands into fists. "Promise me, Choromatsu!"

"Okay, okay, I promise!" he said, giving in. "There, are you happy now?"

"Yes. Thank you." Osomatsu only walked another few feet down the hall before stopping again which caused Choromatsu to bump into him.

"What's wrong?" he asked nervously.

"Is that…?" Osomatsu suddenly took off, sprinting down the corridor with renewed energy. "HA! I think I found the exit!" he shouted back.

"Hold on! Choromatsu called out while running as fast as his injured ankle would let him. He could no longer see Osomatsu who had rounded a corner. "Slow down! You're going to make yourself-"

THUMP

Choromatsu felt his stomach drop. "Osomatsu? Y-you gotta stop cutting me off like that…" Turning where he had last seen his brother, Choromatsu held his breath as he found himself at the main entrance of the school where he cautiously stepped over the threshold. He walked past a row of cubbies, careful not to disturb the small shoes that littered the floor, and came to a stop beside Osomatsu who had fallen to his knees before the large wooden doors. In his trembling hands, he held a blood-stained, purple hoodie.