Osomatsu and the brothers sat at the table, thinking through carefully about what they saw and what had happened. Choromatsu rubbed the bruise on his cheek, flinching a little while Karamatsu fixed his strap for his broken arm.
"They got us good…." Ichimatsu said quietly, flinching as he sat an ice pack on his black eye.
"You're not making this any better Ichimatsu," Choromatsu sighed.
"Alright let's think this through now… We just got our asses kicked by demon clones that took Totty… The question is 'WHY did they take Totty?'" Osomatsu announced.
"Why? Hehe…" Choromatsu laughed. "Because we wished it, idiot! At the bath house! We wished we didn't have a little brother like Todomatsu and THEY must've heard it and took advantage of it!"
Osomatsu blinked in amazement at Choromatsu's explanation to the whole situation.
"Whooaaa... That's a pretty legit reason. You're so smart Fappymatsu!" Osomatsu grinned and rubbed his nose. Choromatsu flinched and glared at the embarrassing nickname and threatened him by getting up to punch him. Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu grabbed him and pulled him back down to stop him.
"You really are an idiot, you know that Osomatsu!" Choromatsu glared.
"Hey! You're the one who said it in the first place, so you have no room to talk! Besides, let's think about this rationally! This could be good! This means… We have a center in the group! An odd number!" Osomatsu smiles excitedly. Eyes were widened in shock when the brothers heard Osomatsu say such words.
"Osomatsu… He's our baby brother… " Karamatsu watched in horror.
"You're saying we should just abandon him?" Ichimatsu, also shocked at Osomatsu's words, blinked.
"Look at it this way, guys… Karamatsu! Has Todomatsu ever, ONCE, ask you to go shopping with him?" Oso looked at Karamatsu.
"No, bu-"
"And he always refuses when you ask him to go shopping with you, right? But you find him going shopping other times!" Karamatsu stayed silent.
"And Choromatsu… You always help him and take him to the bathroom cause he's too much of a baby to walk in the dark, BUT, he never ONCE helped you did he?"
Choromatsu also stayed silent, not wanting to think that way, but he couldn't help it.
"Ichimatsu! Todomatsu always calls you the prince of darkness… said everything you did was an act! Is even completely afraid of you! And of course… remember ESP kitty? He thought ESP kitty would make a good 'get rich quick' scheme!"
Ichimatsu held his cat close as he remembered that, also staying silent.
"Jyushimatsu…" Osomatsu looked, Jyushimatsu flinched not wanting to hear any negativity about his only little brother.
"I don't wanna hear it…" Jyushimatsu whispered, smile gone.
"Jyushimatsu…"
"Don't say it…"
"Jyushi-"
No!"
"... He doesn't even play baseball with you…"
Jyushimatsu sobbed a little as he heard the heartbreak of not having any bonding time with Todomatsu.
"And last but not least! He doesn't take us to mixers! Doesn't want us to hang out with him. He goes out with girls, gets a part time job, tells us absolutely nothing! Why should we save something like that!" Osomatsu sits down with the brothers who just kept their heads down.
"Besides… Totty may as well be a demon, so he probably feels right at home! He hasn't come back once, huh?" Silence was in the air as Osomatsu continued.
"... Maybe… you're right…" Choromatsu said quietly. Ichimatsu and Karamatsu nodded in agreement. Jyushimatsu looked skeptical, but just stayed silent, making the others assume he agreed.
"Then it's settled! We are no longer sextuplets! We are Quintuplets!" Everyone nodded and said nothing more.
It was the beginning of a new Matsuno household of five.
Karamatsu smirked as he walked around the outdoor mall in his favorite leather jacket and sunglasses. He took a deep breath enjoying the fresh air. He stopped seeing a special sale and walked in. He found some pink tops and chuckled.
"Ahh I should get this for Todomatsu! My beloved youngest burazzah would love thi-" He stopped and frowned, forgetting Todomatsu was no longer around. He technically isn't supposed to exist in the family now. Karamatsu sighed and put it back, putting his hands in his pocket and left the store. He stopped feeling something in his jacket pocket and pulled it out. A light blue sparkly sequin tie was in his pocket. Karamatsu focused his eyes on it, frowning and fading into the memory.
"Karamatsu nii-san," Todomatsu walked over with a shopping bag.
Karamatsu glanced at Totty who was carrying a shopping bag. He frowned at the fact that he went shopping alone after he had asked if he wanted to go with him earlier.
"Heh, find something nice for yourself burazzah?" He smiled sadly. Totty handed him the tie and smiled.
"Not really, but I found something nice for you," Totty chuckled a bit. Karamatsu just stared at him, tears forming in his eyes.
"You bought this… for me?"
"I may not go out with you, but I do find a lot of things you'd like," He laughed. Karamatsu smiled and hugged Totty close, crying.
"BURAZZAH!"
"AH EW! Nii-san, get your cringy touch away from me!" He yelled, trying to be disgusted but he ended up laughing.
The memory faded and Karamatsu snapped back to reality. People walking by stared at him seeing he had tears slipping down his cheek, holding the tie close.
"Todomatsu…"
'Please come back… burrazah…'
Choromatsu sighed as was cleaning out his Nyaa-chan merch and putting things away. He dropped a box and moaned in irritation, getting on his knees to clean everything up.
"Geez, we have so much junk… What's in this box anyways?" Choromatsu said to himself, propping the box up. He looks down at items from when he got his first job. Choromatsu smiled a little at the pictures and the little gifts his brothers gave him. He stopped and picked up some cosmetics that Todomatsu had given him and frowned at the un-opened bottles. Picking up a picture, his eyes only focused on Todomatsu in the image.
"Girly products?" Choromatsu looked at Todomatsu confused. Totty chuckled a bit.
"You need to keep your skin healthy if you're going to find a girlfriend, nii-san! Girls like healthy skin," He smiled. Choromatsu looked at the products. He didn't understand it but he smiled at the thought and nodded.
"Thank you, Totty," Choromatsu smiled. Totty smiled back and hugged him, tears form in Totty's eyes.
"W-why are you crying?" Choromatsu looked at Totty in shock.
"Hehe… It's just that… We're all not gonna be together now. Guess we graduated from being NEETS, right?" He smiled sadly. Choromatsu kept his eyes on Totty and smiled sadly.
"This isn't goodbye forever," Todomatsu looked at Choromatsu and smiled and nodded.
The memory was gone as Choromatsu snapped out of is seeing the picture was getting wet from his tears. He carefully tried to wipe it with his sleeve but the picture ripped accidentally, ripping Todomatsu's half off. Choromatsu started to sob more, body shaking and covers his face with his hands.
'Heh… So this is what it means when they say karma hits you hard… Totty…. I'm so sorry…'
Choromatsu continued to sob alone and picked up one of the cosmetic bottles totty had given him and put some of his extremely dried hands. His hand instantly felt smooth from the lotion. He laughed to himself as he continued to cry.
'You were always right about this kind of stuff, Totty…'
Choromatsu curled up into a ball and just laid there, crying for a good while. Missing his annoying baby brother, but a baby brother that at least cared about his well being.
Ichimatsu sat at the corner at usual playing with his cat. He heard the cats stomach growl and got up to get some food. Opening the pantry, he stopped, staring at the fancy bowl and cat treats, then looked back at his cat, specifically at the collar.
"Ichimatsu nii-san!" Todomatsu called, holding a bag behind him.
Ichimatsu looked over at Todomatsu, wondering what exactly he wanted.
He had already been in a bad mood due to Osomatsu eating the cat treats.
So what did Todomatsu want?
"I heard Osomatsu nii-san got a hold of your cat treats! Haha, what a weirdo," Totty laughed at the idea of Osomatsu eating the treats, but it was not a laughing matter for Ichimatsu.
He cared too much about his cats.
"Here!" Todomatsu smiled handing Ichimatsu a bag.
Ichimatsu looked up confused.
"I didn't ask for anything…"
"Will you just take the bag?" Totty rolled his eyes.
Ichimatsu sighed and took the bag and looked in it. His eyes widen when he pulled out a purple collar with a bell on it. A food bowl was also in the bag along with cat food and more cat treats.
"He may as well be a part of the family. No ones claimed him yet and he's always with you so I picked up a few things with what little money I had left from work," Totty chuckled.
Ichimatsu stayed silent for a moment. He didn't know what to say or how to react.
He looked up at Totty, then put the collar on his orange little friend and pet him.
"Thank you, Todomatsu…" Totty smiled and sat near Ichimatsu and pet the cat as well. Todomatsu chuckled as the cat fell in love with all the attention he was getting. It was the first time Totty has seen Ichi smiled at something he did.
Ichimatsu frowned at the memory and picked up the food bowl and cat food, trying so hard to fight back the tears.
"Tch…" He quietly snapped, as a tear slipped down his cheek.
The room was quiet other than Ichimatsu's quiet sniffling, fighting back the tears. He even admitted to himself in his mind though, that he missed the baby brother who even had his moments to make Ichimatsu smile.
Jyushimatsu was the only one that couldn't try to forget. He had one baby brother, how could he? It was easy for the others because there was Jyushimatsu himself but… Jyushimatsu could not forget Todomatsu.
Everyone was asleep but Jyushimatsu was wide awake staring at the empty spot beside him. Jyushimatsu felt tears in his eyes and cried quietly.
"Jyushimatsu nii-san," Todomatsu sobbed a little. It was storming out and there was no power. Totty couldn't sleep one bit. Jyushimatsu woke up and smiled at his crying little brother, the smile faded for a minute but then turned into a warm smile again as he pulled Todomatsu close and held him.
"It's okay Totty! The five of us will protect you from the mean storm and evil darkness!" He smiled.
Totty looked at Jyushimatsu and couldn't help but giggle a little and nuzzles close to Jyushimatsu and felt at ease and went back to sleep.
Jyushimatsu placed a hand gently at the empty spot and sobbed a little more. He took Totty's pillow and hugged it close.
"Its… it's okay…" He said between sobs. "Nii-san is here… Nii-san will protect you… From the mean darkness…" Jyushimatsu cried quietly, eventually crying himself to sleep.
Osomatsu whistled as he got ready for bed. He didn't think once about Todomatsu and wanted to keep it that way. He thought it was better that way.
He suddenly tripped over a box and cried in pain. Looking over seeing Choromatsu's Nyaa-chan junk.
"CHOROMATSU, CLEAN UP YOUR JUNK DAMMIT!" Osomatsu yelled annoyed and sighed. He got up but stopped, finding a photo album in the box that looked like it hadn't been opened in a few months. He hesitated, but picked it up and sat down, opening it.
He frowned, seeing pictures of him with the other 5; That's including Todomatsu. Birthday pictures, Christmas, Halloween, vacations, so many memories. Last one was the picture of the night Choromatsu was leaving. It looked like Totty's half was ripped a bit but carefully taped back up.
Osomatsu closed the book and walked away, getting dressed and putting his shoes on.
"Osomatsu nii-san? Where are you going?" Choromatsu asked coming out with the others in their PJ's.
"I'm going out for a walk… Go onto bed without me…" He said quietly and left before the others could say anything else.
The night was cold and dry. Osomatsu sighed trying not to think about the youngest.
"Don't think about him…"
"YAY, I'M GOING TO A MIXER WITH TOTTY!" Osomatsu grinned.
"As long as you behave, I'll take you!" Todomatsu yelled.
"Please don't embarrass us, Atsushi set this up!"
"Don't think about him…"
"Alright… To tell you the truth… You all embarrass me," Totty said outside the cafe.
"He's heartless!"
"Whoa! Todomatsu really doesn't have a heart!" Osomatsu said staring at Todomatsu's organ body.
"He's a little monster that doesn't want us to be a part of his life!"
"Do I have to tell you everything?" Todomatsu chuckled.
"Of course! We're brothers!" Osomatsu replied.
"He… he…" Osomatsu stopped, feeling tears form. "He defends his brothers…"
Todomatsu grabbed Osomatsu and pulled him to the other room After Choromatsu left.
"WE'RE BROTHERS, RIGHT!? ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU ALWAYS SAY!? SUPPORT YOUR BROTHERS THEN, DAMMIT!" Todomatsu shouted, punching Osomatsu.
"Heh… he… He makes sure we're well dressed…"
"Geez, Karamatsu nii-san! Can't you dress yourself a little nicer that this? We're going out to dinner for crying out loud!" Todomatsu said, dressing Karamatsu in a nice suit.
"He protects his brothers even though…. He's the youngest…"
Todomatsu walks over in an alley finding Ichimatsu on the ground beaten. Todomatsu glared at the guys picking on him and grabbed them, trying to beat them up himself. Ichimatsu woke up, finding Todomatsu also badly hurt. Todomatsu crawled over to Ichimatsu and helped him up, both of them walking home.
"Holy shit! What the hell happened to you guys!"
"Uhh... just some idiots, I guess!" Todomatsu chuckled as Choromatsu brought out the first aid kit.
"... He comforts his brothers…."
Todomatsu walks over to Jyushimatsu, who was laying on the ground crying after the train had left taking Homura home.
Todomatsu got on his knees and took Jyushimatsu's hand and smiled sadly.
"You'll see each other again… Promise"
"... Heh… even me… he even cared about me… when I'm the shittiest…"
"Todomatsu I'm gonna be honest… You have no heart."
"Oh don't mind us, we just don't 'belong' in a place like this."
"Oi Totty! Totty! TOTTY!"
"TOTTY!" Osomatsu falls down to his knees, sobbing like a child.
"TODOMATSU, I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY I'M A SHITTY ELDEST BROTHER! PLEASE, TODOMATSU COME BACK!" Osomatsu cried.
"Hey Osomatsu nii-san!" Todomatsu smiled, bringing him Valentine chocolates.
Osomatsu blinked, staring at him.
"Eh? For me?"
"Well, no girl is gonna give any to us, so I made some for all of us!" He laughed.
"Heh! I WIN!" Osomatsu laughed, playing Mahjong with Todomatsu. Todomatsu smirks and made one move, beating Osomatsu. Osomatsu froze and gazed.
"Whoa! Wait! What!?" Todomatsu laughed at Osomatsu's surprise, Osomatsu then joined in and laughed with him.
"Pfftt," Todomatsu and Osomatsu laughed, watching the funniest and stupidest videos on Todomatsu's phone. Not meaning to keep Ichimatsu awake, but they were having way too much fun watching the oddest things on the internet.
Osomatsu sobbed, his head pounding at all the memories.
"It was a stupid wish! We shouldn't have wished such a thing! We're all brothers! We all have our flaws, hell, we're all pieces of shits!... We shouldn't have embarrassed you and got you fired… even though you totally lied and called us out… We shouldn't have pressured you about taking us to the mixers… though you were kinda cute in that school girl cosplay… and we shouldn't have kicked you out and replaced you with some buff american actor!"
"TODOMATSUUUU~" Osomatsu cried hysterically. Hugging himself, he eventually calmed down and clenched his fists, heading back home. He snuck into the bedroom and looked at his brothers, staring at Jyushimatsu who was crying and hugging Todomatsu's pillow. Karamatsu who was wearing his tie to bed. Choromatsu who smelled like strawberries, holding a bottle of lotion. Then Ichimatsu, who held his sleeping cat that was wearing the collar.
Osomatsu changed into his PJ's and soon as well went to sleep.
The next morning, everyone sat at the table quietly eating breakfast. Osomatsu walked in, the brothers froze and looked over. Osomatsu looked like he got zero sleep.
"Osomats-" Karamatsu was interrupted by Osomatsu slamming his fist on the table.
"..."
Everyone stayed silent.
"... We're going to do everything in our power to get our baby brother back… so help me…" Osomatsu said. Everyone looked at each other, then at Osomatsu and nodded, tears forming in their eyes.
Osomatsu stared down at his hand, he was holding a homemade threaded bracelet that had the following colors: Red, blue, green, purple, yellow, and pink. Osomatsu gazed at it for a long time.
"Eh? What's this?" Osomatsu looked at the bracelet as Todomatsu tied it around his wrist. Todomatsu chuckled.
"It's a bracelet, silly! It symbolizes our bond as brothers! All six of us!"
Osomatsu stared at Totty in awe and smiled and hugged him, grinning.
"Thanks, Totty!"
A single tear slipped down Osomatsu's cheek, fists clenched around the bracelet.
'We'll get you back Todomatsu… I promise…!'