Ichimatsu was doing his usual round of feeding the neighborhood's cats. He had a plastic bag full of canned food and a small bag of dry food with him. Not anything fancy of course. Something fit for his smaller than average budget.
Even being strays and hardly ever getting a proper meal or their stomachs full, the cats were surprisingly picky about what they'd accept. Like domestic cats, they were suckers for wet food and ate the dry kind only when really hungry. Not that Ichimatsu could disagree. If the smell was anything to go by, the dry stuff must've tasted worse than the food prepared by his brothers.
Right now they were all peacefully enjoying their meal. Even Ichimatsu, who had brought a tuna sandwich with him to munch on. He was sharing it with a kitten, who had jumped on his shoulders when he had been serving the cats their food.
He had been late to leave so when he finally came to a halt, panting from running all the way, he was faced with a pack of cats staring at him in expectation. Sometimes Ichimatsu could swear they worked like clockwork, always on time, never missing a single meal he had for them. They almost looked like they were judging him and his poor condition with their gleaming eyes in the dark alleyway.
The reason why he had been late in the first place? His brothers told him they were going to see Dekapan, who had a small party to celebrate some new invention of his. The drinks would be on him so of course the brothers were going to be there. They had begged and begged for Ichimatsu to join them in the fun but he had declined, telling them he had to go feed the cats.
To be honest, Ichimatsu wasn't a huge fan of any social events, so declining the offer had been easy. Even free booze wasn't going to get him to change his mind.
"I'm being social", Ichimatsu mumbled with a slight pout, stroking the fur of a white cat who had come to ask him for more food, "It's just not humans I get along with."
The cat purred. It was unclear whether it was from agreeing with the man or the pleasure of getting her chin scratched.
"And besides, that stupid Karamatsu doesn't drink either. Why would he go to a party like that?" Ichimatsu continued, clearly trying to vent out his emotions, "Is he looking forward to dragging Choromatsu and the others back home? Stupid."
Ichimatsu went on and on about the party and why he didn't go until all of the cats were finished with the food. He was surrounded by furry friends, listening to him rant. Ichimatsu would pet and scratch them once in a while to keep them interested but mostly he just spoke, letting the cats enjoy his body heat.
Ichimatsu didn't do it on purpose, but he spent the whole day in the alleyway, looking after the cats.
"I really need to be going back now", Ichimatsu finally stood up, brushing hair and dirt off of his pants and hoodie, "I want to take a shower and brush my teeth before the bathroom is taken over by drunks and the smell of vomit."
The cats reluctantly let him go, only after he promised he'd come back tomorrow with extra treats. Some even wrinkled their noses, telling him they could only imagine the smell.
"I know right", Ichimatsu smirked, "And the whole bunch will be hungover the next day, too."
Meows could be heard around the crowd, clearly wishing him good luck.
"Thank you. I'll be back tomorrow. Same place, same time, okay?"
More meows.
Ichimatsu opened the door to the house carefully, the key making only a small clicking sound in the lock.
He first looked how many shoes there were in the doorway. Two, meaning only the parents were home and surely in bed sleeping by this time. Safe.
Ichimatsu quickly went upstairs to take the shower he had talked about earlier, brushed his teeth and went to bed.
The rest hadn't even arrived when he was done, so he had to put the futon ready all by himself. Now he knew why they always had at least three to make it. Never again. Those drunks could make it themselves the next time they came home this late. He was going to sleep on the couch downstairs.
Ichimatsu, tired of spending the whole day with his cats and letting his feelings out, was out in minutes after his head hit the pillow. Its feathery soft feeling lulled him into a deep sleep which he didn't wake up from even when his five brothers stumbled into the room and onto the futon.
If he hadn't woken up to his drunk brothers during the night, he definitely felt the weight in the morning. Literally.
Ichimatsu woke up, only to find out that he couldn't move. He was being crushed by five weights known as his brothers.
"You shits", Ichimatsu hissed, "First you go out and drink all night and then when you finally stumble your way back home, you fall asleep on me! Is this how you thank the one who made the bed?!"
He huffed for a good minute before managing to free his right arm from the tangle of limbs.
"You alcohol-soaking pigs! Get off me!" he finally managed to lift his upper body so that he could have a clear view of the situation on him.
"Wha-Whaaaat?!" Ichimatsu was dumbstruck when he finally had a look at who were sleeping on him.
They were his brothers but quite not.
On Ichimatsu's stomach lied five almost identical cats, sleeping like nothing had happened.
They were mostly white in color with blotches of brownish grey on their backs, tail and head. Ironically the brothers' colors were also present as a slight hue within the grey.
Because of the coloration, they were quite easy to tell apart. Not that Ichimatsu wasn't confident he could tell his brothers apart even as cats. Their personalities were bound to shine through the feline exterior.
And of course, Jyushimatsu was the first one to wake up. Even a hangover couldn't stop him. Not that he ever had a huge hangover no matter how much he drank. The body must burn the alcohol as fast as it enters his system or something.
The small cat yawned and stretched his limbs before looking up. His two whiskers on either side of his face twitching like crazy, alongside his pink nose.
The pair's eyes met.
"U-Um… Jyushimatsu, could you explain why…", Ichimatsu tried to mumble, his hands moving to pet the irresistible and unmistakable fur of a feline. He did try to hold back, but in the end, his hand met with the soft material, stroking it lightly as if to test if its owner would protest.
But there were none, to be honest it looked like Jyushimatsu actually enjoyed being pet. A lot.
He quickly rolled onto his back so that Ichimatsu could have full and unlimited access to his belly. He then closed his eyes in anticipation and chirped a couple of times.
Ichimatsu let out a small chuckle, moving to scratch the white and fluffy fur there. It was so soft. Like a cloud.
As a response, Jyushimatsu's small paws kneaded the air and he began to purr. Who knew the hyperactive Matsuno actually liked to lay down for once and enjoy a good belly rub.
The two stayed like that for another half an hour before the other four began to slowly wake up.
Choromatsu and Totty were the next to wake up, yawning and stretching their limbs like the early riser before them. Neither seemed to notice anything odd, seeing that they moved to sit on Ichimatsu's lap like it was something they did every morning.
Now Ichimatsu was even more confused. What had happened in that party? Didn't the five know they were cats? Or were they fully aware that they were cats and had forgotten how to be human? Seriously, what was going on?
Karamatsu came next, beginning with a clean-up rather than a stretching session. Even as a cat, he could be painful it seemed.
Osomatsu, as expected, was the last one. And he only woke up when Todomatsu and Jyushimatsu accidentally bounced on him during their wild game of chase. They had begun soon after the fifth had had enough of belly rubs for that morning.
The oldest seemed quite pissed off having been woken up so violently but quickly forgot it after noticing that he was hungry. Osomatsu leaped onto Ichimatsu's lap and meowed loudly, placing his right paw of Ichimatsu's chest and staring him straight in the eyes.
It screamed 'I want food!' clearer than any other cat before him.
"Alright, alright", Ichimatsu was flustered. Five cats, all climbing on top of him, wanting breakfast. Was this heaven? No, they were his brothers, get a fucking grip.
Ichimatsu walked downstairs, trying his best not to wake their parents up. It wasn't easy. He constantly had to make sure he didn't step on one of his brothers or trip on them and fall down the stairs. He'd wake them up either way and he wasn't up to meeting their grumpy parents on top of the current situation.
After finally making it to the kitchen, he was faced with yet another problem. What would they eat?
His brothers were cats now, so logically they'd eat what cats eat, right? But they were originally human, so would that mean they still ate like humans?
The brothers themselves didn't understand the situation their brother was in, seeing they clung to his pants, meowing for breakfast.
Jyushimatsu tried to help him but only managed to confuse his big brother further as he gnawed on a flower their mother had received from their neighbor the other day.
Ichimatsu quickly saved the poor plant from his little brother's jaws, also fearing if it was poisonous and thus harmful to the small feline.
"No, you can't eat that", he told Jyushimatsu with a stern voice, hoping to get his little brother to understand the message, "I'm trying to figure out what to give you right now and you're not helping."
Jyushimatsu brought his tail down and seemed to sulk for a while before bouncing off again and onto the fridge. There he found some old dusty cans of tuna Ichimatsu had forgot to take to his cats ages ago and just totally forgot their existence afterwards.
Being a cat, Jyushimatsu's next mission was, obviously, to knock those cans off the fridge and onto the floor, scaring the crap out of his older brother in the progress.
"Jyushimatsu!" Ichimatsu screamed as he had gotten over the initial shock of clattering metal right behind his back, "Come down! Look what you've done. It's a me- Tuna? Tuna… That could work. Humans eat tuna too."
Ichimatsu ended up scooping the three cans of tuna onto plates and offering them to his brothers. This all after making sure the food hadn't expired, of course.
"I know it isn't much, but eat up", Ichimatsu said as he presented the measly feast to the five waiting on the floor. He then waited anxiously if the five would accept the offering or was he forced to continue his task of wondering what humans turned into cats ate.
Totty was the only one who seemed openly disappointed. He wrinkled his nose and sniffed the brownish mush in consideration before licking a small bite up and chewing on it. In the end, hunger seemed to win this time as the princess, too, finally began to eat.
Karamatsu actually used his paws. He'd take a piece of fish from the plate with his right paw, face scrunched up in concentration. He'd then bring it to his mouth, licking it off.
Ichimatsu watched in amusement, snickering. Stupid brother, he had tuna stuck onto his nose.
To be honest, Choromatsu seemed to be the only one eating like a normal per-… cat.
Osomatsu had claimed one of the three plates as his own right from the start and was gobbling that down in record speeds.
At least he did that somewhat tidily. Jyushimatsu was a complete opposite. He too, enjoyed his food, but he was spilling it everywhere much to his platemate Karamatsu's annoyance. Jyushimatsu's paws were slowly turning a brown shade as he stood in the food and there was some sticking to his whiskers too.
Ichimatsu sighed loudly. He'd need to give his brothers a bath if it went on like this.
And much to his luck, it did. All five were a mess when they were finally done with their breakfast.
Totty was the least messy, as he had been hiding behind Choromatsu the whole time canned tuna rained from the sky.
Jyushimatsu had no remorse. He just tried to lick the fish off of his brothers' faces only to be met with disapproval.
"I need to give you a bath. You're all a mess", Ichimatsu mumbled. He couldn't stand looking at the disappointment in his little brother's face, "Come on you all."
Ichimatsu effortlessly scooped the five cats up onto his arms and retreated into the bathroom, much to the protest of some of the five. They clearly understood the meaning of the word 'bath' and being cats, they just had to resent that idea.
In the end, when the six finally made it to the bathroom, Ichimatsu had more than a few scratch marks on his arms and even his face. That had been Totty for sure, he knew where to strike.
"Fighting isn't going to change the fact that you're going to have to have a bath. If I were you, I'd just take it", Ichimatsu instructed, "It'll be over sooner if you don't fight."
Ichimatsu had made sure to lock the door after entering and placing his five brothers down onto the floor. He was now testing if the water in the tub was the right temperature while the five waited for the upcoming and inevitable hell.
Ichimatsu decided to add some bubbles, just for the heck of it. They looked nice and relaxed him. Why wouldn't it work with cats too?
Luckily for him, the family still had a tub in the house, despite that the six brothers preferred the bath house. It might not be good for bathing six people in it, but it was fit to bathe five cats in.
Then, without a warning, Ichimatsu scooped the cats up again and straight to the tub.
Even though the water only reached up to the cats' bellies, some of them clearly thought they were going to drown. Totty screamed right away when his paws hit the water, as did the first and third born. Karamatsu and Jyushimatsu simply looked around in confusion.
"Hey! You're not going to drown!" Ichimatsu tried to hold the cats in the tub, "The water doesn't even reach your face. What are you so afraid of?"
Ichimatsu worked fast, putting shampoo on the three struggling ones first. He then poured a bucket of water on them very carefully, minding their face and holding them in place the whole time.
Totty was the first one ready. Ichimatsu lifted the wet cat out of the tub and rolled him into a towel, placing him next to a heater.
"You stay right there as I finish the others", he told Totty, who seemed to melt to the warmth and comfort of the fresh towel. Such a diva.
Osomatsu had taken the chance with his little brother when Ichimatsu had turned his back to them to put Totty away. Osomatsu had climbed on top of Choromatsu and was almost over the tub's edge when Ichimatsu turned back.
"And what might you be doing? Escaping?" Ichimatsu asked the oldest, trying to sound as calm as possible
The use of Ichimatsu's calm voice didn't have the desired effect though, since by the brothers' knowledge, Ichimatsu using a calm voice could only mean that he was super pissed off.
Osomatsu doubled his efforts and Choromatsu quickly left his big brother's side to look like he wasn't any part of this plan.
"Why struggle when you know you're going to lose", Ichimatsu mumbled as he grabbed the oldest, pouring a generous amount of pet friendly shampoo on his fur.
Osomatsu finally seemed to accept his fate. He stayed still while Ichimatsu rubbed the shampoo in and rinsed it off with a bucket of water. To be honest, Osomatsu had simply turned as limp as a noodle. Ichimatsu was free to do whatever.
"Then we roll you up", Ichimatsu took a fresh towel out and wrapped Osomatsu in it, placing him next to the youngest who was falling asleep, "A cat burrito. A purrito."
Ichimatsu almost laughed at his own joke he just made but quickly decided against it. He still had work to do. He could come up with all the bad cat puns he wanted afterwards. Now he had three cats to clean up.
Choromatsu came next. Having already given up, he was an easy one. He didn't move an inch even when Ichimatsu accidentally poured some of the water onto Choromatsu's face. He was soon finished and joined his two brothers in front of the heater. At least someone had got the point that struggling didn't benefit anyone in this situation.
Next one was a hard choice. Jyushimatsu or Karamatsu? Both seemed to enjoy their time in the tub so getting them cleaned up shouldn't be a terrible task.
Karamatsu was clearly trying to clean himself up while staring at his reflection on the faucet's reflecting surface. The only thing he had managed to do though, had been getting his fur full of clumps of foam. He looked absolutely ridiculous but was apparently proud of his achievement.
Jyushimatsu was chasing stray bubbles around the tub, sloshing the water around. Not that Ichimatsu wasn't already wet enough as it was. The front of his hoodie was soaked through and there was foam stuck to his hair.
Alright, Jyushimatsu first. Ichimatsu didn't want to get more wet trying to clean Karamatsu up.
Jyushimatsu fought the shampoo, thinking it was some sort of a game. And much to Ichimatsu's joy, the shampoo made the small feline even more slippery than before. Ichimatsu had his hands full trying to keep the cat in place.
He succeeded after around ten minutes of foam, water and struggling. Jyushimatsu was now wrapped up in a towel alongside the three others. And for once, he stayed put.
"Last one", Ichimatsu mumbled, scooping Karamatsu up.
There were no protests. Karamatsu actually seemed to enjoy it when Ichimatsu massaged the shampoo into his fur and the water cascading on his back when Ichimatsu poured the bucket on him.
Ichimatsu honestly regretted not having rubbed the shampoo in with a little more force than necessary. That blissful face pissed him off. He made sure to wrap Karamatsu in a bit more tightly than the rest.
Next, Ichimatsu took out a blow dryer and dried off his five brothers. He also took off his hoodie, trying to dry it off in the progress. The warmth seemed to make them sleepy as Osomatsu almost passed out on Ichimatsu's lap. Todomatsu was already sleeping by the time Ichimatsu was done with them all.
Ichimatsu carried the five sleeping cats into the living room, placing them on his lap as he sat onto the sofa to make a call.
Dekapan better have some answers.
The phone rang for quite some time before a voice answered, "Yes, Dekapan speaking, dasu."
"It's Ichimatsu. Mind telling me what you guys did at that party last night."
"Ah, yes, dasu. Your brothers drank pretty much everything I had, dasu."
"Was it all alcohol though? Not that I'm suspecting you or anything, but I woke up to five cats sleeping on top of me this morning and they look just like my five brothers", Ichimatsu went straight to business.
"So that's where it went, dasu", Ichimatsu could hear mumbling on the line, "I told you your brothers drank all my booze but I think they must've mistook one of my inventions for a bottle. They were quite drunk by the end of the night, after all."
"And that's why they're like this?"
"Yes, dasu."
"When will they return to normal? Is there an antidote?"
"I can't remember what the name of the drug was, dasu. I can't be sure if it was one where you only need to wait it out or if it needs an antidote. My head hurts but I promise to call you if I find anything out, dasu."
Ichimatsu had been aware of the fact ever since hearing the man's slurred voice on the line. He was hungover, very much so, "Okay, take it easy. Ask Dayon to help you or something."
They hung up.
Ichimatsu let out a loud sigh. Guess Dekapan wasn't much of a help this time. He was stuck with five cats until that man got his act together once again.
Honestly, not that he minded it though. His brothers were quite cute as cats. Not that he was ever going to admit that aloud.
Ichimatsu ended up falling asleep too, and the six took a relaxing afternoon nap together.
The brothers' parents came downstairs at some point and saw the scene. They of course didn't know that the five cats were their precious children. They only thought they were some strays Ichimatsu had befriended and brought to their house. They did admit though, that they cats looked uncannily familiar.
There was a strict rule in the household not to bring cats or other animals inside but everyone knew Ichimatsu broke that rule more than often. The stray hairs and scratch marks on the furniture were more than enough to give the fourth brother away even if he tried to be as sneaky as possible.
"Should we wake him up? Tell him to take his cats outside?" Matsuzo, the father, asked his wife. He had tried to be strict with their children these past few weeks, thinking it would speed up the progress of the six eventually leaving the house.
"No! Just look at them, dear. Don't they look adorable?" Matsuyo hushed her husband and took out a camera, "Besides, look how happy Ichimatsu is. You wouldn't dare to wake him up, would you?"
Matsuzo gave up. Those six did look quite adorable piled on the sofa together, all asleep. Ichimatsu must've been tired after having to spend the night with his drunk brothers. Bet he didn't sleep much.
"Alright then", he agreed, taking his wife's hand. They had a date today and he wasn't going to lose to Ichimatsu and some cute cats, "Let's get going. We have a reservation in a restaurant and they won't wait."
"Ah, of course", Matsuyo smiled and the two went out, leaving their fourth born to sleep, "I left a note saying where we are, if something was to happen."
"They're over 20", Matsuzo sighed, "But I guess it's always better safe than sorry."
Ichimatsu woke up later in the afternoon, waking the cats up too as he stood up to stretch his sore limbs.
He noticed that the apartment was empty, safe for a note on the kitchen table. Apparently the parents had a date night. Good for them.
Ichimatsu also luckily wouldn't need to explain the sudden appearance of five almost identical cats and why he argued with them almost as if they were human. The brothers' parents were quick to believe even the weirdest things. They had raised sextruplets, after all. This would go beyond their range of understanding though. Some things were better left unexplained.
"Well, what should we do next?" Ichimatsu absent-mindedly pet the five felines on his lap.
Suddenly he remembered that there was a baseball match on the TV tonight that Jyushimatsu was sure to want to watch. He quickly turned on the TV, relieved when the match had just began not more than five minutes ago.
And to Ichimatsu's surprise, as soon as the announcer's voice could be heard, Jyushimatsu's ears perked up and his whole body tensed up. His eyes were immediately glued to the screen, watching the opposing team enter the arena after the local team. He jumped off Ichimatsu's lap to move closer and sat down right in front of the TV.
Ichimatsu knew he wasn't going to get his little brother to leave that position in quite some time. He watched in amusement as Jyushimatsu tried to catch a homerun by bringing his paws up and onto the screen. He then meowed it in frustration when he noticed that the small moving object wasn't in his paws when he opened them once again.
Osomatsu had moved off of Ichimatsu's lap and was now back to sleeping on one of the couch pillows. Choromatsu was by the oldest, watching the fifth chase objects moving on the TV screen. He looked like he was trying to laugh, telling his little brother to stop doing such stupid things.
Totty was still sitting on Ichimatsu's lap, trying to get the man's attention by swishing his tail in front of his face. He'd also roll around and smack Ichimatsu's hands away if he tried to pet him.
'Two-faced opportunist', Ichimatsu sneezed when Totty's tail swished by his nose once again, 'Seriously, what do you want?'
"Don't", Ichimatsu huffed and flicked Totty lightly on the forehead. He didn't really want to shout at the youngest.
Totty didn't really seem to care. He did try the puppy eyes but soon gave up and went to sit next to Jyushimatsu.
Ichimatsu had decided earlier to try and hold is temper with his brothers today, and maybe in the following weeks too. He had managed to land Karamatsu in first aid two weeks ago after he punched him straight to the face. The second son's nose almost broke and it bled for at least three hours.
The reason why Ichimatsu did something like that? Well, Karamatsu had accidentally mistook Ichimatsu's expensive and super-high quality pudding for his and ate it. Of course anyone would've been pissed off, but punching your big brother to the face with all the force you have in you might just be a bit too much. Sibling love at its best.
Ichimatsu sighed in frustration. This was going to be a terrible and long week.
Speaking of Karamatsu. He was currently seated on the table, checking himself in the mirror he had left there the other day.
Ichimatsu almost felt like picking him up and cuddling a bit. Maybe he'd then forgive him for giving him that bloody nose. He could of course not remember anything at all about this day when he was back to normal again. Maybe this was Ichimatsu's chance then. He could finally show his brothers some love without any consequences. He could keep his character as a quiet, stone-faced cat-lover.
Ichimatsu thought about it for good ten minutes. He then stood up, went to the table and picked Karamatsu up, who seemed to only be mildly annoyed when picked up like that.
Ichimatsu sat back down onto the couch, waking Osomatsu up from his light nap by doing so. But before Osomatsu could attack his younger brother for waking him up, Choromatsu lied on top of him, clearly telling him to calm down. So that is what Osomatsu did, he quietly lied back down and seemed content to only stare at Ichimatsu like he was going to murder him in his sleep.
Karamatsu seemed like he was enjoying the attention. Ichimatsu was scratching his chin, listening to the purring and small meows coming from the second born.
"What? You like that? You like having your chin scratched, don't you?" Ichimatsu didn't know when, but at some point he had changed his voice to the pet-talk he'd use when talking to his strays. It was softer than his usual monotone and actually showed some emotion.
Karamatsu rolled onto his back, flicking his tail.
'Scratch me here too!' he clearly told his little brother as he meowed.
"Scratch the belly? Should we scratch this fluffy little belly, should we?" Ichimatsu lost himself, Karamatsu was being way too cute. All his brothers were too cute. They were cats. Cats! Ichimatsu had no way to defend himself against something like that.
Karamatsu purred loudly as Ichimatsu attacked his front. Ichimatsu's hands were trained to massage any cat belly there was. He had the scars to prove that. During his life, Ichimatsu had had experience with every type of cat there was. Some liked the petting rough, some liked it soft while some didn't like being pet at all.
"Aren't you a chubby boy? No tuna for you tonight", Ichimatsu teased Karamatsu as he lifted the cat up from under his armpits.
Karamatsu simply leaned forward and pushed his head to Ichimatsu's forehead, chirping loudly. He then licked Ichimatsu's nose, the rough texture of the tongue not spooking the veteran.
The other four seemed to get a bit jealous. Even Jyushimatsu, who was supposed to be glued in front of the screen watching the game. They began slowly approaching the pair on the sofa, some being sneakier than others.
Todomatsu was the first to make the faithful jump, landing on Ichimatsu's left knee, almost slipping down.
Choromatsu and Osomatsu followed soon after. The oldest using the third as a stepping platform, reaching Ichimatsu with ease. Choromatsu jumped onto the sofa after his brother, definitely feeling used.
Jyushimatsu didn't simply jump onto the sofa. He climbed Ichimatsu's pants using his claws until Ichimatsu finally picked him up and put him on his lap. The fourth checked his pants to see if the younger had done any serious damage. There was none.
All four crowded onto Ichimatsu's lap, meowing loudly. The fourth Matsuno was flustered once again. Too much cuteness.
"Alright, alright. I'll pet you all then", he tried to calm the five felines down, who were now trying to catch his hands, biting them if they caught one.
Karamatsu, Osomatsu and Todomatsu all lied down on their backs while Ichimatsu gently massaged their bellies, pet talking the whole time.
Choromatsu was seated on Ichimatsu's left shoulder, looking content to simply observe the situation. Ichimatsu did sneak him a scratch behind the ear or under the chin every once in a while though. Choromatsu's constant purring tickled Ichimatsu's ear to which he replied with a shy smile.
Jyushimatsu was seated on the other shoulder, clearly determined to clean his big brother up. He had begun by licking Ichimatsu's cheek, from which he continued to the hair. He even licked Ichimatsu's ear clean. Jyushimatsu was Jyushimatsu, after all. Weird, in whatever form he was in. Not that Ichimatsu minded. He enjoyed being pampered.
The sextruplets cuddled for good half an hour before Ichimatsu let out a yawn. He then glanced at the clock to see it was pretty late.
"How about we eat something and go to sleep?" Ichimatsu suggested, trying to stand up.
The cats left his lap and moved onto the floor. Apparently they were getting pretty hungry too. The six hadn't eaten any lunch after all. Their breakfast had been a late one, but one meal wasn't ever going to last a full day.
"Let's see if we can find you anything else than canned tuna", Ichimatsu mumbled as he went through the fridge's contents.
The cats climbed onto the crouching man's back and peered into the fridge too, looking through the options.
"How about chicken?" Ichimatsu took out a packet and showed it to his brothers, "It's only a quick fry on the pan."
Osomatsu disagreed and tried to reach the uncooked meat to eat it right away. The rest seemed to agree as the purred and meowed on Ichimatsu's shoulders, rubbing their cheeks to his face.
"Alright, chicken it is", Ichimatsu closed the fridge's door and stood up, the cats still hanging onto his shoulders.
He took out a pan and quickly fried to meat. He then served the food, again on three plates, to his brothers. This time though, he made sure that Osomatsu got a plate with much less meat than the other two, since he was sure to claim a plate to himself again.
And just as Ichimatsu had suspected, Osomatsu soon claimed the plate Ichimatsu placed in front of him, not even bothering to check the size of the portion.
Ichimatsu cheered. He had managed to fool the oldest. A first time. After all, Osomatsu had found Ichimatsu's secret sardine stash before. And no matter how well Ichimatsu tried to hide them, Osomatsu always found them.
The four others ate their food, too, just not as fast as the oldest.
Ichimatsu ate some leftovers. It was hotpot and random side dishes. The cats glanced at his plate at times, clearly hoping that the fourth would share.
"Don't even think about it. You have fresh chicken. Let me have my leftovers", Ichimatsu told the drooling felines.
The six ate the rest of their meals in silence after which Ichimatsu cleaned the dishes and put them away. A random act of kindness for the parents, who were sure to return by midnight.
After enjoying a good late dinner, the six went upstairs.
Ichimatsu had never put the futon away, so there was not much for him to do but to change back into pajamas and prepare for the night.
Ichimatsu went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. Four of the five cats stayed in the bedroom, but Choromatsu followed him into the bathroom. The cat jumped into the sink as Ichimatsu was rinsing his mouth, staring intently at his little brother.
"It's going to get wet in there", Ichimatsu mumbled as he spat the water into the tub instead, "I'm going to have to wash my face, you know."
The cats hadn't shown any signs of remembering who they were or that they understood what Ichimatsu was telling them throughout the day. Of course there had been the times when they had responded to words like 'food' and Ichimatsu's hand gestures. Ichimatsu could only think that it was part of the drug's side-effects.
This time though, Choromatsu seemed to understand what Ichimatsu was saying and jumped off and onto the tiled floor, only to continue the staring.
Ichimatsu quickly washed his face, disturbed by the eyes on his back. He felt cold chills run through his spine. Of course he knew it was only Choromatsu, but it still felt disturbing.
"What is it?" Ichimatsu finally asked as he dried his face to a towel.
Choromatsu tilted his head, meowed once, then simply turned and left the room.
"Okay", Ichimatsu mumbled, following the cat back into the bedroom.
When Ichimatsu opened the door to walk in, he saw that the four were in the middle of what seemed like a good match of wrestling. It was something the brothers did regularly. It was amusing to see the cats do the exact same thing.
Ichimatsu didn't have the will or strength to call the fight off. He just jumped onto the futon and pulled the blanket from under the fighting cats and rolled into it.
The cats, maybe spooked by the moving blanket under their paws, maybe feeling bad that they angered their brother, stopped their fight right away. They quickly moved to lie next to Ichimatsu's face sticking out of the blanket roll.
Good for Ichimatsu that it wasn't the hottest season of the year. Otherwise he would've never been able to sleep with five cats sleeping around him, working as very effective heater.
Ichimatsu soon fell asleep listening to the breathing and purring of his brothers.
The morning came and along with it came the weight.
It was nothing like the pressure Ichimatsu had felt the previous day. It was a crushing weight right on his chest.
Ichimatsu opened his eyes only to see Jyushimatsu's face inches from his.
Guess the drug had been one to wear off with time then. Not that Dekapan had ever called him back to tell him about it either. He must still be hungover.
"Morning", Jyushimatsu smiled, greeting his big brother like he did every morning. He did it to everyone though.
It appeared that he didn't remember what had happened.
"Morning", Ichimatsu yawned, "Care to get off of me? I'd like to go to the toilet."
"Okay", Jyushimatsu said as he rolled off of his big brother's chest and right on top of Choromatsu, who had been sleeping glued to Ichimatsu's side.
"Hey!" Choromatsu screamed, "Get off!"
That woke up the rest, who whined, telling Choromatsu to shut up.
Ichimatsu was half-way to the bathroom when he turned around to look at the scene. The five were wrestling once again.
The fourth Matsuno smiled a bit.
"Good morning. I'll go make us some breakfast", he then simply said before leaving the room.
"Huh?" Choromatsu bolted up.
"What?" Totty stopped too.
"Has Ichimatsu always been this kind?" Karamatsu asked, confused.
Jyushimatsu only laughed.
Osomatsu had fallen back to sleep.