Karamatsu kept his hands clasped together as he made his way through the sea of buildings and people. His mind started filling up with the scenarios that took place earlier that day, allowing a familiar sense of rejection and self-loathing to creep its way into the young man, causing his stomach to turn and his eyes to sting once more. He fought back tears as he felt his clammy hands shudder in the cool night breeze.

Karamatsu soon found himself rubbing his hands together in an attempt to emulate the warmth of Chibita's tiny hand on his. He noted the fact that not only Chibita has finally started talking to him, but also over the fact that his friend went out of his way to help him get back on his feet and walk down the path to self-improvement.

It dawned upon him that tonight wasn't the first time Chibita helped him out: the small man did try to get his brothers to value him after the kidnapping incident, and helped him figure out what he wants to do in his life, but they all ended awkwardly. I can't hold it against him, he did mean well for me after all!

Karamatsu smirked at the memories and watched the people that passed by, slipping his hands into his pants pockets as his right hand traced the edges of his flip phone, content in knowing that Chibita gave him his phone number so that they can arrange meetups in advance. He recalled how Chibita's hands were surprisingly warm and comforting as his words and soon found himself unable to stop replaying the moment in his head over and over, which allowed the pang in his stomach to subside. It's as if the event tonight at the oden cart filled him with a sense of security and newfound confidence.

The young man lifted his head to gaze at the stars, which glowed brightly against the vast night sky. He felt his face glow as well, as if the stars were blessing him with their stardust. He maintained his walking speed, making slow but careful strides as he basked in the moment.

Minutes later, Karamatsu nearly trips on a wayward rock, causing him to glance instinctively to his right.

Home.

Karamatsu took a deep breath as he fished for a skull-patterned black handkerchief from his left pants pocket and dabbed his eyes dry for good measure. He pushed his sunglasses back in place along with any intrusive thoughts, straightened his back, and sauntered through the front door.

"I'm home, my brothers!" Karamatsu announced as he entered the house, slipped out of his shoes and into the living room, where he found Osomatsu and Choromatsu by the table, reading comics and idol magazines respectively, Jyushimatsu rolling around the floor laughing, while Ichimatsu huddled in a corner with ESP Kitty as Todomatsu tried to take multiple selfies with him. They all stopped to glance at the second sextuplet and greeted him.

"Hey, Sinful Man!"

"Shittymatsu…"

"Guilt guy is back." Todomatsu nodded and promptly went back to typing on his phone.

Osomatsu dropped his comic book carelessly on the table, nearly disrupting Choromatsu, and scanned his brother from head to toe. His hair was as neat and tidy as he had combed it a hundred times this morning, not a single speck of dust or dirt clinging to his favorite leather jacket, and his pants were as painful and sparkly as ever before, with no sequin missing or out of place.

"I'm surprised Chibita hasn't tortured you this time," he mused as he rubbed his nose with his finger. "Heh, I guess he realized that he can no longer hurt a man as dashing as I am." Karamatsu put on a smug grin as he closed his eyes and struck a dramatic pose. As expected, his brothers snorted and gagged at his remark before proceeding to shoot scathing remarks down his way.

"Are you drunk?"

"Which deep pit of hell did that come from?!"

"Oh my god, Shittymatsu."

Karamatsu made a smug face and crossed his arms as he wedged himself between Osomatsu and Choromatsu, who both inched a bit in opposite directions so that their brother had room to sit.

"So…any luck on Karamatsu Girls today?" Choromatsu inquired, looking up from his magazine. "Not today," Karamatsu lowered his voice and his head as he placed a hand on his chest for emphasis. "That's too bad," Choromatsu replied, burying his face back into his idol magazine.

"Here's your problem," Todomatsu started, looking up from his phone. "You look like you fell into an 80's thrift shop bin."

The whole room roared with laughter, especially Ichimatsu and his bespectacled orange cat. Todomatsu covered his giggle with a hand and mentally patted himself on the back for the quip.

The stinging sensation resurfaced in Karamatsu's eyes and blurred his vision. If it weren't for his shades, his brothers would witness his humiliated state and mock him even more. How dare his youngest brother insult his "Perfect Fashion", the very one he put together after countless hours of studying his magazines and trips to multiple stores? How dare did his dear brothers pick on him for trying his best? How dare-

Karamatsu clenched his fists and tried to swallow the lump that formed in his throat. In the deepest pit of his heart, he longed to retaliate against Todomatsu and spew out equally degrading and humiliating remarks about his lifestyle; but that's just going against his personal code of being cool, the Karamatsu Code! As an older brother and a good role model, he's not supposed to act out against his brothers unless absolutely necessary.

Speaking of his personal code…

Despite the fact that he devoted as many hours as he did on his fashion magazines, Karamatsu's efforts into studying, taking note of passages, and religiously applying the various pieces of advice on how to be cool not only fell flat, but shattered his hopes. His brothers were right. 90 to 95 percent of his methods often ended in failure, be it in the form of being ignored or humiliated. So there's no denying that there might be certain flaws in his personal code.

As the saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures. Karamatsu's already gotten Chibita to back him up, and in his heart and mind he's sworn to be eternally grateful to the tiny bald man. He soon found his fingers on the hard plastic casing of his phone, hoping for Chibita to distract him with a text.

I need all the help I could get right now. So why not turn to my brothers for help as well, if they know what's good for me? That's what family is for, after all. And imagine how impressed Chibita would be if I made the first step to improve myself and save him a lot of trouble!

The text didn't come to console him.

A full 5 minutes passed before the laughter died down, starting with Choromatsu, then Osomatsu, and the rest followed suit.

"Brothers, I have a realization," Karamatsu confessed, swiping off his sunglasses for emphasis.

"I'm glad you took my advice to think more often! Didn't expect that from you!" Osomatsu exclaimed.

"It has occurred to me that I do require your help on a certain matter." Karamatsu paused dramatically as his brothers looked on, impatiently waiting for his announcement.

"Help me…teach me how to pick up girls!" Karamatsu finally exclaimed. Everyone's jaws dropped one by one, save for Jyushimatsu's since his mouth was always open.

A livid Ichimatsu shot up from the corner, shaking ESP Kitty off his lap and nearly knocking Todomatsu to the floor. "Oh. My God." Ichimatsu bolted outside the room and retreated to their bedroom upstairs, screaming "THE END IS NEAR!"

"Whooooooaaaa!" The remaining brothers exclaimed in unison.

"Wait…you're kidding, right?" Osomatsu asked skeptically.

Karamatsu simply hook his head.

"Looks like he is serious, guys." Osomatsu faced his brothers, who were still processing the events that have just transpired. Ichimatsu's muffled cries penetrated from the ceiling and into the brothers' ears.

The initial buzz from the brothers died down as Choromatsu spoke up, "Why the sudden realization?"

"Yeah, why?" Todomatsu put on a skeptical face as he stashed away his phone in his pocket.

"I believe I have found the reason people say that I'm so painful," Karamatsu bowed his head.

A bloodcurdling screech escaped from Ichimatsu and rocked the living room below, followed by what sounded to be fists pounding on their bedroom floor complemented by incomprehensive muttering. Chills ran down the remaining 4 brothers' spines as they stared at Karamatsu in shock.

"G-go on…tell us…" Choromatsu stammered.

Karamatsu took a deep breath. "Every time I keep at it and stay true to myself, people are put off. Which means it's time for me to undergo a drastic change!"

The four brothers could only stare at him speechlessly.

"So dear brothers…thank you for your undying efforts on leading me towards the light!" the now teary-eyed Karamatsu got to his feet and closed in on his three brothers for a group hug. The three could only force smiles as they shot each other frantic glances, begging each other to free them from the second brother's awkward embrace.

Finally, Osomatsu broke the silence and congratulated his younger brother with a pat on the back. "I'm proud that you've actually figured it out by yourself!"

Karamatsu released his brothers from his embrace and fished for the note inside one of his jacket's pockets. "Truth be told, it is our dear Chibita who helped me figure out what I want to do with my life on that fated day at the oden stand!" At the slight of Karamatsu's hand, a piece of paper unfolded and dangled right before the brother's eyes. The following words were written in blue ink:

wants to better self

wants to give people dreams

world peace

"Gross," Osomatsu, Choromatsu, and Todomatsu chimed in unison as Jyushimatsu nodded in agreement.

Choromatsu raised a finger to interject. "Wait a minute, are you sure that Chibita's actually encouraging you to change your ima-" Before he could get his message across, Choromatsu soon had Todomatsu's hands whisk him away into a huddle with the eldest brother.

"Shush!" Todomatsu hushed his older brother. "This could finally be our chance to make him less annoying! Don't you want that?"

"Uh, what?"

Osomatsu shot a puzzled look towards his brothers as he ran his index finger below his nose. "What the heck, are you serious?" he whispered. "Dead serious! Besides, he's pleading us to help him change!" Todomatsu reassured them. He then raised his head to check on Karamatsu, who just put on a more relaxed version of one of his many "cool guy" poses.

"So what do you say?" Todomatsu watched his brother in anticipation.

Choromatsu nodded, sealing the deal.

"Count me in."

Later that night, the sextuplets were dozing off in their shared futon.

Save for one.

Karamatsu sat cross-legged on the green sofa, holding a pen-sized flashlight between his lips. The light shone on a small journal, allowing him to jot down his experiences amidst the dark.

Today's entry he aptly titled "A Tale of Loss", written in his signature blue ink. He opened the entry with today's attempts at finding Karamatsu Girls, recalling how each girl would snub him in various ways; followed by his encounter with Chibita at the oden stand: he alluded Chibita's warmly-lit stand to a beacon of light cutting through a dense fog, and how he felt the tiny bald man's saving grace as he comforted him, especially when their hands met. On his way home, he mused about how he glowed upon realizing that he can always try again and rely on Chibita's advice, only to be shot down by his brothers making fun of his appearance. Crestfallen as he was, he had no choice but to cast aside all that he's known in order to "better himself". It is the very first item on the list Chibita handed him a few months back, after all.

Karamatsu put away his pen in his journal's special holder before he shut it close, concluding yet another chapter of his so-called "Heartbreak Soap Opera".

He took some time to admire the black leather cover of his journal, and eyed the creases leading up to the skull logo on the middle, the same one often found on his leather jackets and belt buckles. Karamatsu often felt proud and confident with his "cool guy" image and bought several accessories to reaffirm this, but…to throw it all away? He would not dare think of such a thing! But if it's for the name of love…

Karamatsu sighed, turned off his flashlight, stuffed it beneath one of the couch cushions (along with his journal), and decided to call it a day. As he was about to stand up, he spied Ichimatsu hogging his space on the futon with his arms and legs sprawled out starfish-style. There's no way he can reclaim his space without being smothered to death by his younger brother's pillow and insults, so he had no choice but to retreat to the couch.

As he dropped his head on his pillow, the thoughts did not. Despite forcing his eyes shut, images of his brothers' faces swarmed in on him like vultures circling a carcass; their comments resonated within his head. You're so painful! You look like you fell into an 80's thrift shop bin. Why were you born?! What the hell are you weari-

For the nth time that day, tears started welling up in Karamatsu's eyes as a new thought poked at his mind. Maybe if the ground decided to swallow me up alive, I wouldn't be such a pain to others, he thought as he turned and faced away from the sight of his brothers dozing on the floor, hoping to drift into a peaceful slumber soon.

Karamatsu's eyes jolted open as he felt his phone vibrate softly under his pillow. He reached for his phone and flipped it open, allowing the screen to cast a soft glow on his face. His heart raced and his eyes widened upon seeing the name of the sender: Chibita.

hey idiot, i hope youre doing all right.
please take care of yourself!
and dont do any funny stuff ok?

A/N: I'm actually happy I managed to make this chapter longer than the last one. I wanted to test Karamatsu's character here, so I guess you can consider this a character study of sorts? I'm sorry if it's OOC; again, please let me know how I'm doing with my fanfic so far, comments and constructive criticism is encouraged and welcomed! Thank you for reading!

***
Fact: Karamatsu's journal name, "Karamatsu's Heartbreak Soap Opera", is based off the song "Teenage Soap Opera" by Helen Love. Listen to it here: watch?v=lkIZkfh8otw

Other random fact: I personally want to avoid using the word "crestfallen" since I've seen it be used in about a hundred different fanfics, but Karamatsu being Karamatsu, I want him to sound dramatic haha