Normally, when one thought of Winter, they usually remembered happy times with warm blankets, fireplaces, hot cocoa, and being surrounded by friends and family. When any of the Matsuno brothers thought of Winter, however, they paled and were reminded of not-so-great memories. Fighting over who would refill the kerosene tank, icy winds making their hair stand on end, Jyushimatsu when he wasn't as warm as he wanted to be... while the Summertime brought its own fair share of sweaty, unpleasant moments, the wretched cold of the Winter snow was enough to bring any of the sextuplets to their knees in sheer agony and terror.
But if there was one positive thing that came out of the dreaded freezing months, it was that it brought the brothers closer together, somewhat. Despite only one or two of them being touchy-feely at the best of times (or at least, the ones who were brave enough to admit it), they always huddled just a little closer together under the futon at night, or stuck closer together during the day. They unabashedly shared warmth and remained close at all times...
...Unless they were in the midst of their annual snowball fight.
Every year since they were young, the sextuplets made it a tradition to have a snowball fight as soon as the first snow hit. They were, naturally, split into two teams, the eldest brothers versus the youngest brothers. One year, they tried splitting into pairs on three different teams, but found themselves getting mixed up and either hitting an opponent, their own teammate, or essentially doing nothing at all (for the record, Jyushimatsu alone had been the winner that year). They had even tried having an "every man for himself" fight, ending abruptly when Todomatsu got a bloody nose. Having a 3 on 3 fight seemed to work best, so they stuck with that setup. They kept track of which team had won the year before, or which team had been the reigning champion for the last couple years or so. This time, the current champions were the younger brothers, and Osomatsu would have none of that this time around. He stepped outside into the white wonderland and took in a deep breath. They were going to take the victory this year if it was the last thing he did.
"Oiii! You guys are so slow! Hurry up!" Osomatsu - garbed in a red casual-yet-stylish winter outfit - turned to their home and called out for the others. Slowly but surely, the rest of the Matsuno brothers shuffled outside one by one. Ichimatsu, dressed in plain purple and grey winter clothes, continued walking by without a word, followed closely by a very colorful and bundled-up Jyushimatsu with a jubilant "hustle hustle, muscle muscle" as usual.
"Ready to lose again, Osomatsu-Niisan?" Todomatsu - unsurprisingly dressed in a fluffy pink and white rabbit-themed winter outfit - prodded as he passed the eldest brother.
"You sly piece of-" Osomatsu slowly turned to face him. "You're lucky Ichimatsu is a dirty fighter, otherwise you'd cry and lose after getting your socks wet!"
Todomatsu gasped and quickly joined his team, whispering conspiratorially in Jyushimatsu's ear, sneaking suspicious glances in his direction every so often. Serves him right... rotten little brother, Osomatsu huffed and turned back towards the house, waiting for his own team to arrive.
"I swear, Osomatsu-Niisan, if you botch this up this year, I'm seriously going to throttle you." Choromatsu stepped outside, pulling his mint green scarf just a little tighter around his neck. He wore a thick dark-green jacket, being only second to Todomatsu when it came to the fear of getting sick.
"Yeah yeah, whatever, you big sissy. Now where the hell is Karamatsu?"
"I am here, my buraza!" Karamatsu appeared in the doorway, wearing-
"Oh, Akatsuka Sensei, no..." Osomatsu couldn't bear to look, partially due to being temporarily blinded by the sun reflecting off the several hundred sequins adorning the painful man's... shorts?
"Karamatsu-Niisan, what the hell are you wearing?!" Choromatsu nearly screeched. He almost regretted asking when the familiar smirk graced his older brother's features.
"Heh... as the first snow has descended upon us and gleams in the morning light, I too, have decided to mimic its gesture of natural beauty!" He ended this statement by striking a dazzling pose, finger gun pointed to the sky.
"...If I throw a snowball hard enough, do you think he would actually die?" Ichimatsu murmured just loud enough for them to hear, Todomatsu responding with a facepalm.
"...Okay, that's all well and good," no, it really wasn't, "but couldn't you have at least put on a jacket? Or gloves, even?" Choromatsu attempted to reason with him as well as one could after seeing a tank top with the wearer's own face on it.
"But I am wearing gloves," Karamatsu responded with confusion. Choromatsu began pulling at his own hair in frustration.
"Yes, fingerless gloves! Karamatsu-Niisan, it's COLD outside! What are you thinking?!"
"Ah yes, my buraza, but though my body normally does not agree with the Winter world, this is the FIRST snow. It is young, and therefore does not hurt as the older, more experienced snowfall does."
"I... what? That doesn't make any sense..!"
"Forget it, Choromatsu. Let's just get started already," Osomatsu placed a hand on his green-clad brother's shoulder, a half-amused expression on his face. Choromatsu appeared ready to argue more, but a single pointed look from the elder brother was enough to tell him otherwise.
After a few quiet minutes of battle-planning, Osomatsu placed himself at the center of the "war grounds" to cover the guidelines.
"Alright! The rules are the same as they are every year. Ten minutes to build a fort, then we battle each other to the ground. The winner is decided if the other team's fort is destroyed, someone is knocked out, or if they cry 'uncle'!" Although they did this every year and most likely didn't need a refresher, Osomatsu chose to keep up this tradition, if anything, to feel in-charge.
And boy, did he feel like a leader today. There was not a doubt in his mind that they would tear the victory away from the younger trio this time around.
"Todomatsu, is the timer set?" he turned to the brother in question, who held up his phone with a grin.
"I'm way ahead of you, Niisan."
"Great! Everyone get ready," he raced to his side of the field with the eagerly waiting Choromatsu and Karamatsu, "get set… go!"
With the timer quickly counting down, the younger team made some exceptional progress, building a curved wall that reached just under their chins in record time. Jyushimatsu somehow managed to punch several holes in the wall without it collapsing, giving them more of an advantage when it came to firing snowballs while behind cover. Todomatsu snapped a quick selfie with their blockade, then began assisting with snowball-making. Ichimatsu's snowball-making process was slow, with him adding cat-like features to each snowball. They had tried telling him in the past that doing so was pointless, but he rounded on them so quickly that the argument was over before it even began.
On the other hand, the older team's progress was much slower-paced. They had started out strong, but, while the opposing team was already creating their ammunition, they were still building up their blockade, the wall only reaching up to their midsections. They were running out of time and things were already looking bad for them. Osomatsu made an executive decision then to leave the fort building to Karamatsu and himself, while Choromatsu was to prepare snowballs for them to use. They were not about to be disadvantaged this way! Victory was rightfully theirs, dammit!
The thoughts of an easy win came and went in his mind just as he finished building up his side of the blockade to an acceptable height. He glanced to the other side to see how Karamatsu was doing, only to find that minimal progress had been made.
"The hell?! Now's not the time to be slacking off! What are you even doing?" Osomatsu rushed to the other side of the blockade and began building upon the short wall. It took Karamatsu a noticeable few seconds before replying.
"...Apologies, my buraza. I fear my attention was drawn away by breathtaking scenery before me. Simply put, watching everyone working in harmony to make sure this event proceeds as planned… it blooms love in your chest, non?"
Osomatsu paused in his wall-building and glanced at his immediate younger brother. Yet another painful pose to go along with the distasteful speech, as expected. But somehow, Karamatsu seemed a little more subdued this time. They stared at each other in silence for a good minute, before Osomatsu slowly turned back to the blockade and began working again, muttering a quick "yeah, whatever," under his breath.
Another minute or so passed before Todomatsu shouted "time's up!", and each team scrambled to get into their respective battle stations.
"WE are taking the victory this time! No ifs, ands, or buts, understood?" Osomatsu commanded, as the older trio armed themselves.
"Do you have to be so dramatic? Obviously, we'll win this time," Choromatsu retorted, an eye roll thrown in for good measure. Karamatsu, on the other hand, responded only with a shaky grin and a thumbs up, earning a puzzled frown from the eldest brother. The red-clad brother had wanted to say something else, but a terse "Waiting on you, idiot," from Ichimatsu pulled his attention back to the task at hand.
"Everyone take aim, and…" menacing grins and anticipation filled the atmosphere, "...FIRE!"
Within seconds, the battlefield was enveloped in a flurry of snowballs, and the elder trio's blockade began taking heavy damage. Ten or fifteen minutes had passed, and the hurried, messy completion of the wall on their side was holding up considerably well, but it wouldn't last long at this rate. Osomatsu had been confident that victory would be secured for them this time, but now, as he watched Jyushimatsu assault their base with rapid-fire snowballs, he began to second-guess their strategies.
"Choromatsu, focus on taking out Jyushimatsu! He's clearly the tank on their team!"
"I can see that, thank you very much!" came the frustrated reply from the third eldest, though he quickly shifted his area of focus on the impossibly tenacious fifth brother.
"I'll take on Ichimatsu - I know how to hit him where it hurts. Meanwhile, Karamatsu you get-" he continued, but stopped himself again when he noticed that not only was the second eldest not listening, but he seemed frozen in place. Shivering like a leaf in a windstorm, his red tipped fingers, ears, and face spelled it all out for him. Osomatsu stared a moment longer, before closing his eyes and sighing, rising to his feet as he did so. He really hoped he could've avoided this, but it couldn't be helped.
"Hey, everybody! Time ou-!" a snowball pelted him directly in the eye, and he reeled back sharply before hastily regaining his balance. "Jyushimatsu, what the hell?!" The brother in question shrugged, ever-present grin still adorning his face.
"You didn't make a T-shape with your hands, Niisan!"
Osomatsu narrowed his eyes before swiping the snowball from Choromatsu's stunned hands and beaming Jyushimatsu with it right between the eyes. As the fifth brother landed on his back in surprised shock, Osomatsu formed a T-shape with his hands exasperatedly.
"Okay, times! For real now!"
Everyone stood and began stretching their stiff arms and legs, all the while watching the eldest in confusion.
"There's no shame in calling it quits, you know!" Todomatsu called from the other side of the battlefield. He was pointedly ignored as Osomatsu turned to Karamatsu and helped him stand up.
"Osomatsu, what are you doing?" Karamatsu's perplexed question was met only with a cheeky smirk from his older brother.
"This will only take a sec. Come on," he responded, and led him back into their home. He pulled him upstairs to their room, and threw a towel at his younger brother.
"Clean all of that snow off of yourself real quick," Osomatsu called out as he began rummaging through their closet. Karamatsu, though bewildered by his actions, did as he was told.
"Aahh, are you serious? You cut up ALL of your winter clothes? Why would you do that?"
"Heh… my perfect fashion needed to match!" Karamatsu responded with a fraction of his normal flair. Well, at least his usual attitude was starting to come back. He paused, however, when realization dawned on him. "...You're making me change my clothes?"
"Yeeeahh… I don't know about any of this... 'first, young snow' or whatever, but the fact is, it's COLD outside. And you need to wear something warmer." Osomatsu had finished digging through their closet and drawers, and approached Karamatsu. He took the towel from his hands and pushed a bundle of red winter clothes into them instead.
"But… these are yours…" the second eldest started, but Osomatsu grinned again, silencing him with a held up hand.
"I had a spare set. And your clothes are pretty much unsalvageable at this point, so you and Totty need to go shopping for something else tomorrow. You can borrow these until then." Karamatsu stared, astonished, before his eyes welled up with large tears.
"B… BURAZA!" he cried out, practically leaping into Osomatsu's arms. Osomatsu laughed and patted his head.
"Alright, alright, crybaby. Go get dressed, and we'll head back out there."
In a few short minutes, the older brothers finally returned to the warzone. Choromatsu gaped at them as they arrived, but said nothing and settled back into his position.
"While it IS strange to see two spots of red in my field of vision, I have to say, that outfit actually looks decent on you, Karamatsu-Niisan," Todomatsu placed a hand on his hip and watched with mild fascination.
"Many thanks, Totty!" Karamatsu winked and fired off a finger gun in his direction, to which he received a tight grimace in response.
The snowball fight recommenced with renewed vigor, this time with a stronger response from the older team. Though the battle was long and hard-fought, however, the younger trio emerged victorious once again, with Choromatsu having been knocked out by a particularly strong-armed snowball attack from Ichimatsu. Osomatsu whined, naturally, but he had expected this from the dirty fighter his third younger brother was.
They tidied up the war grounds, then shuffled back into their warm home, dragging Choromatsu's near-lifeless body inside with them and left him on the couch. Energetic as always, Jyushimatsu sprinted a victory lap around the house before exclaiming animatedly that he was going to make tea for everyone. Todomatsu opted to take a quick shower to wash off "all the dirt and sweat". Ichimatsu moved his presence upstairs - presumably to go to sleep - and while he feigned nonchalance, there was a very slight spring in his step as he went. With all the other brothers preoccupied, that left the two eldest brothers to make their way back upstairs to change into more appropriate indoor winter wear, then back down to warm up under the kotatsu. A variant of awkward silence had passed over them the entire time, until Karamatsu finally worked up the nerve to speak.
"...Sorry."
Osomatsu glanced at him in confusion before smirking and leaning back on his palms.
"If this is about the snowball fight, don't worry about it. We'll just have to triple our efforts next year!" Though he tried to offer reassurance, Karamatsu wouldn't accept it so easily, dropping his "cool guy" act almost entirely.
"But if you didn't need to stop the fight in the first place…! ...If I'd dressed appropriately from the start…" he trailed off, but kept his gaze towards his lap. Osomatsu watched him in contemplation for a moment, then reached over and poked him on the forehead.
"See, that's the thing. You're obviously old enough to dress yourself, so I'm not gonna tell you what to do ALL the time. In fact, I didn't want to tell you to go change your clothes, but I couldn't just sit there and watch one of my little brothers freeze to death." The corner of Karamatsu's lip upturned slightly as he gently swatted his hand away.
"Are you sure you just didn't want to lose the match? My 'painful' outfit could've been a great distraction, you know." Osomatsu guffawed and leaned back on his palms again.
"You're probably right! But as much as I didn't want to lose the fight… I'm gonna be real cheesy here for a second, but seeing you suffer like that was a little more painful than any outfit you could've possibly worn to turn the odds in our favor."
The awkward silence returned before Karamatsu lowered his head and began to tremble slightly. Osomatsu would've asked if he was alright, had he not thrown his head back in jubilant laughter the next second.
"Oh my God, is THAT what it feels like?! Now I really am sorry!" Karamatsu attempted to speak between his peals of laughter. Osomatsu, face flushed in embarrassment, delivered a swift punch to his shoulder, scowling before finally succumbing and joining in his laughter.
They finally quieted down just as the rest of the brothers joined them under the kotatsu. Choromatsu, still in a daze, joined them wordlessly. Todomatsu, warmth radiating from the recent shower, cuddled up between Choromatsu and Karamatsu. Jyushimatsu had somehow managed to not only deliver the tea to the kotatsu without spilling any of it, but he had also dragged Ichimatsu back downstairs with no collateral damage. They huddled up on the other side of Osomatsu, and passed around the cups of tea.
"I'll be more careful next time," Karamatsu spoke quietly to Osomatsu, meeting his gaze with a sincere smile, "thank you, Niisan."
Osomatsu returned the smile, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. He huffed, pretending to be bothered by his younger brother's actions.
"Yeah, yeah. You owe me for this, though!"
I have a headcannon that Osomatsu is actually incredibly stylish with his outfits (I mean, just LOOK at all of the artwork that's been released lately! He looks really friggin' good!), and that his older brother moments shine through when they're really needed. Karamatsu... I love you, man, but for goodness sakes... take some advice from your big bro, haha!
Many thanks to HiroNinja for proofreading for me! :)