Manifestations
Chapter Two
Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?
A childhood phrase Karamatsu had learned in English all on his own but with no one to share it with. The second son suffers, as the mythos went, but Karamatsu was strong. He's the obedient brother who went along with Osomatsu's naughty plots that would more likely have him hurt. Others didn't comment and the others didn't seem to care – but as long as his brothers weren't hurt, that was something he was willing to deal with, his manifestations revealed. It was something he always dealt with; as long as they're safe from harm.
Since they were young, Karamatsu had felt the brunt of Osomatsu's failed plans. He's always the target of some cruel comment and he always bled at least once a day. And it was okay. His brothers never had a high tolerance to pain, not like he had. Sometimes, he'd sing his pain away, a manifestation of his loneliness and his need to cry out, only to fall down as a reminder of his station in life. He'll always fall below and look at his brothers from the ground up.
Not once had they ever extended a hand to help. Never had they said anything about his fashion beyond, "It's painful!" or "It's embarrassing!" As long as he had their attentions, Karamatsu would do anything to get it – positive, or especially negative. His attention seeking ways manifested further and further as he donned on outdated fashion styles; anything to help garner his brothers to notice him in anyway… However, he could never imagine he could actually cause them pain…
Karamatsu never had any complaints he'd say out loud other than being ignored. What hurt the most was being ignored by his brothers, even in a life and death situation, even when he was kidnapped by Chibita for their tab. It hurt. It felt that he never belonged within the Matsuno family and he always felt that no one could depend on him.
Osomatsu would always make a joke at his expense, at least once, and then went towards Choromatsu. Choromatsu was third in line and, instead of going to Karamatsu, he'd go straight for number one. Instead of opening his arms to his big brother, Ichimatsu would close his heart to him and he'd harm him, either with words or with his cats. Jyushimatsu, well, he was in own world… No one could ever truly tell what went through the fifth son's mind. And with the youngest, it's hard to say but if Karamatsu would allow these dark thoughts to invade his blue soul, he'd know the answer. He'd know that Osomatsu was the favorite of the youngest as he had always been the most reliable, even if Karamatsu managed to almost receive expulsion just to get Todomatsu in the high school play.
He's always wanted his brothers to depend on him but they would never. They never looked his way. They ignored him. He'd do anything for their attention, their love. The blues he'd sing out in the open, hoping that someone could take those words and keep it close to their hearts. Karamatsu could only depend on Karamatsu. He only had his reflection, which stared back at him with a strong and handsome smile. Another positive manifestation of this unique situation is that, he'll take the brunt of his brothers' cruelty if it meant that they'll never suffer the same fate as him.