"Hey, Ichimatsu," Choromatsu poked at his younger brother on the shoulder.

Ichimatsu was laying in bed with his bloodshot eyes opened wide, and no matter how much his older brother poked him, he did not make a peep.

"Big brother Ichimatsu," Todomatsu also poked but on his older brother's neck.

"Ichimatsu, hey, you okay?" Karamatsu asked, poking at his younger brother's cheek.

"Big brother? Big brother? Big brother?" Jyushimatsu repeated, poking into his older brother's nose.

All of his brothers poked him, but Ichimatsu felt nothing. For him, the world felt fuzzy and quiet like he was inside of a bubble. Ichimatsu believed that he had to be this way, because it would stop him from getting angry all the time. If he was not angry, then Yukibo would be happier with him.

"It's no use, guys. We broke him again," Osomatsu laughed, and his younger brothers stopped poking Ichimatsu, "Yankee-bo is several floors above us in a nice suite, and Ichimatsu is stuck here in this shit room with us."

Jyushimatsu did not understand how this room was considered "shit". It was nice and clean, and it had two beds, so that all of his brothers could sleep in a bed instead of a couch. He felt awful for what he and his brothers had done to their old room. Yukibo had to pay for the mess he and his brothers made, and she also had to pay for the two, new rooms: one for her and one for him and his brothers. She was so angry that she even told Ichimatsu to sleep in the room with his brothers. Jyushimatsu felt even more awful seeing how sad it made his big brother.

"Let's get ready then, we're heading to Kanezawa, right?" Todomatsu asked.

"Can't wait to have a dip in the onsen," Choromatsu grinned.

"I'm already done packing," Karamatsu brought up.

"Let's go meet up with Yankee-bo upstairs!" Osomatsu exclaimed.

Jyushimatsu's brothers gathered their stuff in their luggage but also took whatever free things they could find. His brothers left the room, but Jyushimatsu stayed behind with Ichimatsu, who was still feeling nothing.

"Big brother," he said and sat Ichimatsu up, "Let's go. We're going to Kanezawa with Yukibo."

His older brother sighed and pulled himself out of bed. He was putting his luggage together like a zombie would, and so Jyushimatsu helped him clean up. His big smile, the one he would always have, had gone away, because he knew how much his big brother was hurting. He and his brothers were always mean kids, and it was fun before. However, it was not fun anymore.

"I'm sorry, big brother," he said to Ichimatsu, "I'm not going to get in your way anymore."

His big brother made a gruff noise, and Jyushimatsu understood that he already hurt him a lot. Being sorry would not help him now, but he promised to stop being mean to his big brother from now on. Ichimatsu was always his buddy, and the two would always be paired on their adventures. They were closer together than they were with any of their other brothers. He felt awful for forgetting about that and hurting Ichimatsu, because he was jealous. His big brother deserved a really nice girl like Yukibo, because, deep down, Ichimatsu was really nice, too.

The big group took the early four-hour train ride to Kanezawa, and Yukibo was still really mad at all of the brothers. Jyushimatsu and his brothers felt very guilty for what they had done, so guilty that they could not even look her in the eye. Ichimatsu was able to sit next to her, and he seemed really happy about it. Really happy. Like how happy he would get when he saw an AV he liked. His face got red and his breathing became loud when he was thinking about her being mean to him. He really liked thinking about her calling him names and looking at him with disgust. That was his favorite fetish.

"So, uh," Osomatsu said to Yukibo, "What's in store for Kanezawa?"

Yukibo glared at the eldest brother, and it made him look away in fear.

"Higashi Chaya Old Town," she answered, "It shouldn't be easy to destroy."

The brothers felt guilty again, and they all glared at their eldest brother. It was all his idea to destroy the room to begin with, all to make Ichimatsu very, very angry! It also made Yukibo angry, too, and she had to pay for the room.

"Yukibo, we're all still really sorry about the room," Choromatsu apologized as he was staring at his hands. Big brother Choromatsu was always the peace maker of the sextuplets.

"We'll… All of us will pay you back soon. It was wrong on all of us. Please, forgive us," Karamatsu promised. Big brother Karamatsu, though stupid, always wanted to do the right thing.

She sighed, "Did you find yourself a place to stay for the night in Kanezawa?" Jyushimatsu and his older brothers stared at their youngest brother. Todomatsu had been on his phone for a while, and he was searching for a hotel room. He could not find one. "Had you been doing research instead of destroying our room, this would not be an issue," she scolded, "You have no choice but to inconvenience us once again."

"Sorry," Todomatsu apologized. Totty would lie often, but this was one of the times he was honest about being sorry.

Jyushimatsu went back to staring at his knees, because he felt bad for what he did to the room, but also because, he was scared of Yukibo when she was angry. It was different from when Totoko was angry; she would throw body blows at them, but then be happy afterwards. When Yukibo was angry, she held onto it and controlled the entire room with it. All of the sextuplets were scared to even make a move around her, but it was hard for Jyushimatsu to stare at his knees for the next few hours. The fifth sextuplet loved to play, jump, run, and spin, and so, sitting still was really hard for him. When he finally looked away from his knees, he saw a little girl a few seats ahead of him on the other side of the train. Her seat was facing him, and she glanced up at him once she noticed him staring at her. She seemed rather young from just her face alone, but old enough to take a train going this distance all by herself. Probably a middle schooler. Before Jyushimatsu could glance at something else in the train, she made a strange and funny face at him. She blew up her cheeks and shut her eyes tightly. Jyushimatsu almost started laughing loudly, but he knew it would be rude to be loud in a train, especially with Yukibo being very angry with all of them. He puckered his face in, and he looked like someone gave him a really strong kancho. The young girl put her hands to her face to hold down her laughter. She tried so hard to hold her laughter that her face turned red. Jyushimatsu felt really good about it, because he won. Seeing her trying hard to hold her laughter in was all the reward he needed.

After the train ride, the whole group checked into a ryokan. Jyushimatsu was feeling a bit homesick, and being inside of a traditional Japanese style room made him feel at home. It was bigger than their living room at home, which was good because seven people were sharing the room. As cozy as the beds were, nothing was cozier than sleeping in a futon. Yukibo opened the closet where all of their futons were stored and squeezed each one of them. She looked like she was in trouble.

"What's the matter?" Osomatsu asked.

"I don't think I'll be able to sleep comfortably. I need a lot more support than this," she answered.

"Ah, right. I keep forgetting you're American," the eldest nodded, "Your first time sleeping on the floor, right?"

"Actually second," she corrected, "I learned the first time that it's very uncomfortable for me."

The eldest laughed, and put his hand on her head to ruffle her hair, "You moron, why didn't you get a hotel room with a bed then?"

"Because," she explained, as she was fixing her hair and getting rather close to the eldest, "I wanted to share a traditional Japanese experience with my boyfriend." Ichimatsu brightened up a bit when he heard her say that. He was still being sad in his corner, but he looked a little bit happier. Even if she was still mad at him, he was still her boyfriend. "Ichimatsu," she called.

When he heard her call his name for the first time today, Ichimatsu jumped out of the corner, and he slid towards her, while bowing at her feet. He had that same look he did back in the train ride, red face and breathing heavy. Maybe, Ichimatsu was thinking about Yukibo stepping on him; he really liked that in his AVs.

"Yes, I'll do anything you want," Ichimatsu said as he drooled. Jyushimatsu thought about how weird it was that his big brother used to be so sad about Yukibo being mad at him, but now he was getting excited from it. Yukibo did not look like she felt the same way towards him.

"Creepy," the eldest said, as he would wince like whenever Karamatsu would say or do something.

Yukibo tucked her hair over her ear, "Nevermind. I'm going to ask the owner for a thicker futon."

She walked past him, and he still sat there bowing at nothing. Jyushimatsu's big brother looked and felt like a fool. Ichimatsu loved her a lot, and he wanted her to love him again, but nothing he was doing was helping him win her back. He should have just stayed numb.

"If you keep this up, she'll hate you for sure. You know, she's not into that kind of play," Osomatsu teased, as he loomed over his younger brother on the ground with a big grin on his face.

"Shut up! What the hell do you know about her?" Ichimatsu spat, and then covered his mouth. He let Osomatsu make him angry again, and Osomatsu always knew how to make him angry. "I won't do you the honor of responding to you anymore," he stated without feelings to his eldest brother.

Osomatsu chuckled, "Yeah, good luck with that. I know exactly what buttons to push to make you explode." The other brothers snickered with their eldest, except for Jyushimatsu. He felt sad again as he watched his fourth brother wilt. His brothers have always been really mean, but this was one of their meanest moments.

The large group were on their tour in the Higashi Chaya Old Town. The sextuplets felt like they were thrown back in time from seeing all the old buildings, but the tourist walking around and taking photos of the area sort of ruined that. What surprised them more was the amount of history Yukibo knew about this town, even though she was an American. The sextuplets liked listening to her explain a brief history of special landmarks in this town. She was having a lot of fun explaining, and also, she really liked taking pictures of all of them at the landmarks. Even though she was so angry this morning, she was back to being cheery and happy, because the sextuplers were a lot more well-behaved during the tour. Since Yukibo was happier, so was Ichimatsu.

"All this talking made me work up an appetite," Yukibo brought up, and the sextuplets agreed, "Ichimatsu, what should we eat for lunch?"

"Uh," he said while thinking, but he was fearful about letting his guard down. The look on his brothers' faces looked like they were ready to strike. "I-I…" he continued to stammer, and he just stared at her, because he was begging her to choose for him.

"So indecisive, Big brother Ichimatsu," Todomatsu shook his head.

"You could have just pointed at the restaurant right beside you," Karamatsu teased.

"Your girlfriend asked you for something, and you can't even answer her? Sheesh, how are you still with her?" Choromatsu mocked.

It was getting harder and harder to feel nothing from all the mean things his brothers were telling him, and Ichimatsu was getting angry again. He had to take all the teasing and bullying like a sponge would with water, and at least the good thing about it was that they left Yukibo alone. Still, Ichimatsu wanted to fight back, but his younger brother, Jyushimatsu, did it for him.

"Knock it off!" Jyushimatsu snapped, "Aren't we taking this a bit too far? It was funny the first few times, but Big brother Ichimatsu doesn't deserve any of this. It's starting to become just plain cruel! We should be happy that he's with Yukibo. I think they're really good together."

It warmed Ichimatsu's heart to hear his younger brother admit that. When he looked back at Yukibo, he saw that even she was surprised by his words. She smiled at Ichimatsu, while tucking her hair over her ear.

But, there was a gleam in Osomatsu's eyes, and he looked very, very angry. It was a different kind of anger than Ichimatsu's. "We all agreed to this," the eldest explained, menacingly, "If one of us got a girl, then we'd all share the experience together. That was the agreement." His younger brothers grimaced, because they realized what a stupid agreement that was. But what terrified them was how angry their eldest brother was after Jyushimatsu's outburst. He looked like he wanted blood. "The only reason why we didn't bother while you were with Homura was because we knew it wouldn't last long anyways," the eldest mocked, and it caused the fifth brother to freeze in place, "You really think an experienced girl like her would've stuck around for you?"

"Osomatsu!" Karamatsu scolded, and he shoved him with enough force to make his eldest brother stumble.

"Jyushimatsu, he didn't mean it," the third brother said to him and held his shoulder.

Todomatsu chimed, "Forget about him. Let's all just go eat!"

Jyushimatsu already knew those things about Homura, and even with the time he spent trying to accept it, it still hurt. He did not need a reminder, especially from his petty eldest brother. Osomatsu was the worst. Jyushimatsu turned around from his brothers and ran as fast as he could away from the group, because he did not want any of his brothers to see him cry, especially not his eldest brother. His brothers tried to stop him from running away, but they felt it was best if Jyushimatsu had some time to himself and away from Osomatsu. Everyone glared at the eldest sextuplet who, now, looked a lot more relieved and relaxed. Osomatsu really was the worst.

The fifth sextuplet got far away from the rest of the group, but he also got himself lost somewhere outside of the old town. At the very least, he was far, far away from his mean eldest brother. He found a bench to sit and calm himself down, and it gave him a comfortable spot to think, which was something he rarely got to do. He always liked doing things on a whim, because it made it more fun and exciting, but there were times where things were serious, and he needed to slow down and think. He thought about his horrible behavior the last two days and how guilty he felt towards Ichimatsu. He thought about how foolish he was to let his eldest brother trick him into creating a rift between his older brother and his girlfriend, when he knew how much Ichimatsu loved her. He thought about how he felt like an asshole bullying his older brother when his older brother was so nice to him about Homura. His older brother was trying his hardest, just as Jyushimatsu did with Homura. Like Homura, Yukibo could not stay in Japan forever, even though she had a year here, more than enough time for Ichimatsu to convince her to stay, much more time than Jyushimatsu had with Homura. He thought about how much he still missed Homura, even though he only knew her for such a short while. He thought about how he missed the way she laughed, and it started to make him cry again. He thought about how even though it had been years, he had not moved on. He thought about what he would do if he never found anyone else who saw him as the goofball romantic he was.

"Hey, it's you!" a young girl's voice spoke. Jyushimatsu raised his head and noticed the young girl he met on the train just a few yards from him. Now, he felt even more embarrassed, because someone saw him crying like a child, even though he was a grown-up. She noticed rather quickly as she approached him, and so she asked him, "What's wrong, mister?"

He thought about whether or not he should tell her about Homura. She was just some girl in a city far, far away from his hometown. Plus, she was just some young kid, and so there was no harm in telling her. After this, they probably would never see each other again.

"There was a girl I liked," he said to her, "It didn't work out." The young girl sat with the older man as she listened to his entire story about Homura. Jyushimatsu felt much better telling the story. It felt like a bit of weight was lifted off of him. Telling the story to the young girl helped him think of new thoughts. He thought about how for the longest time he did not know why Homura left until he stumbled on that video, and how he still knew almost nothing about her. All that mattered to him was just that she loved it when he made her laugh. Perhaps, he had been too childish about it all along.

When he glanced back at the young girl after telling his story, she made another strange, funny face at him. It surprised him, and he burst into laughter, covering his face to prevent the snot from coming out of his nose.

She giggled, "Made you laugh! Now, we're even!" She patted his back, as he calmed down a bit. That laugh was just what he needed. "Feeling a little better, mister?" she asked him.

Her hand on his back felt nice, and he nodded, while smiling his big happy smile. "You didn't have to listen to me," he mentioned, "It's pretty embarrassing to see an adult like me cry like that, isn't it?"

She was quiet about it, and he figured a young girl like her would agree with him. Even though he was a man approaching his thirties, he was still a bit of a child at heart. "I'm an adult, too, and I still cry sometimes," she spoke up. No way. She looked like she was still in middle school, maybe a first year at a high school at the oldest. She puffed her flushed cheeks and glared at him so cutely, "You're giving me the same look everyone else gives! I. Am. Nineteen!"

"I-I believe you. I believe you," he responded. Even then, she was still rather young in comparison to him. He was already twenty-eight years old this year, and he would be twenty-nine in five months. He was ten years older than her, and even though they were both grown-up adults, it was still rather creepy. But, she was nice enough to make him laugh, and she seemed to like him for making her laugh on the train. "Thanks for cheering me up. What's your name?" he asked.

"Nanae," she grinned. She was cute when she smiled.

"I'm Jyushimatsu," he introduced.

"So, how long are you touring Kanezawa?" she asked. It surprised him that she found out he was a tourist in this area, but because she was a local, it would be rather easy to spot people who were not from around here.

"Just for a night," he answered, "Me, my brothers, and my brother's girlfriend are going to Kyoto tomorrow morning."

She gasped, "Then we don't have much time!"

"Huh?" he responded.

She puffed her cheeks again, and it was so adorable. "Usually it's the guy that has to ask the girl out on a date!" she scolded.

"Huh?" he responded, again.

"Stupid old man," she huffed, "I like you! Let's go on a date!"

"Huh?" he responded for the third time. A date with a girl ten years younger? He did not know whether to feel lucky or creeped out. Even though she said she was nineteen, she looked so young. People could get bad ideas of him being with a young girl like her. It reminded him of another moment where he mistaken a girl's age.

A few years ago, in the middle of summer, he and his brothers sat together by a café and were staring at a very cute girl in a shopping district. Her face was pretty, and her summer outfit showed off her bustling curves. The sextuplets could not keep their eyes off of her nor keep themselves from talking about what they wanted to do to her.

"I want to kiss her," said Choromatsu.

"I want to rest my head on her boobs and die," said Ichimatsu.

"I want to feel her ass!" said Jyushimatsu.

"I want to eat those thighs for all three meals," said Osomatsu.

"I want to trace my tongue on her belly button," said Todomatsu.

"I want to take her out to a nice dinner and tell her she's special," said Karamatsu.

The girl met up with an older woman, who turned out to be her mother. However, the mother was not that much older than the sextuplets.

"What do you want to eat for your thirteenth birthday tomorrow, Junko?" the mother asked. The sextuplets were stunned, and they sunk deep in their seats out of shame. How could a twelve-year-old look like that?

The older man snapped from his thoughts. Nanae looked like she genuinely liked him, and something amazing could sprout from this. It could be something that, this time around, he was more willing to fight for, but the distance was a rather huge problem. She was from Kanezawa, which was hours away from Tokyo.

"You sure you want to date me?" he asked her, "I live in Tokyo."

"I go to school in Tokyo and visit my family here during breaks," she smiled. That idea made him even more hopeful. He could see her at her university just like how his older brother, Ichimatsu, would with Yukibo. In the end, it could probably all work out. "You made me laugh, Jyushimatsu. Believe it or not, it's really hard to make me laugh," she told him.

He puckered his face again, just as he did on the train. Her face went red as she was trying to keep herself from laughing, but she gave in and laughed loudly. She had tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.

"That's not even my best stuff," he teased, and then his stomach growled. He forgot he had not eaten yet.

She spouted cheerfully, "Let's go eat!" He was supposed to save his money for the rest of the trip, but at this point, he did not want to use the money to ruin his older brother's relationship with his girlfriend anymore. He decided to stick it to his eldest brother and treat Nanae to a delicious lunch.

During lunch, Jyushimatsu and Nanae kept trying to make each other laugh by doing weird faces and putting things in their nose. The other customers in the restaurant gave them awkward stares, but the two were having a lot of fun together. She thought his black eye was cool, because he lied about how he got it, claiming he fought a tiger. He taught her his favorite slogan, "Hustle Hustle, Muscle Muscle", and the two continuously chanted it throughout their lunch. The older man even did the water trick that made Homura crack up and pass out. Seeing Nanae laugh herself to tears made him feel really good about himself, and it also gave him hope that there were people like Homura who could make him feel good. Nanae's laugh meant a lot to him, and he wanted to keep her laughing for as long as he could.

Aside from being a goofball, he wanted to show her his other favorite thing: baseball. Since she was a local in Kanezawa, she showed him where a nearby batting cage was. It was somewhere far away from the old town, and it was better that way because he would not have to face his brothers. It was better if his brothers did not see him with a nineteen-year-old. Maybe once he felt stronger with Nanae, he can introduce her. He believed she and Yukibo would be good friends.

Nanae insisted that she be batter first, and he did not mind at all. It would be adorable for him to watch her swing a bat. He could tell already from the way she was holding the bat so awkwardly that it would be a hilarious sight.

"Puree booru!" he yelled. He almost wanted to be Yakkyuman again as he started the pitching machine.

In all twenty pitches, she missed every single swing. He wanted to bust out laughing at every miss, but he contained himself in respect to her. That was one of the rare times his big smile was closed, just to hold in his laughing. Still, she saw that he was trying to hide his laughter, and she got madder and madder at every swing. She was just so cute when she was angry.

"It's so hard!" she huffed, "Is that machine broken?"

"Do you need my help?" he asked.

She scowled so cutely, "Fine!"

He went behind her and guided her hands on how to hold the bat. He kept his hands on the bat with her and spread his legs to show her where her legs should be placed. Her warm back was tightly pressed against his front as the two of them waited for the next pitch. She smelled nice, and she felt delicate between his toned arms. Jyushimatsu never got this close to Homura, and he barely knew Nanae for a few hours. This was nice, he thought, girls felt nice. The machine pitched a ball, and with Jyushimatsu's help, Nanae swung and hit the ball into the net towards the back.

"I did it!" she beamed.

"Amazing, Nanae!" Jyushimatsu grinned.

The couple batted for a few more pitches with their bodies connected so closely. Jyushimatsu was starting to feel strange, a good strange, like he would when he watched AVs. Nanae's body was small and petite, but she was still a girl, and boys liked to touch girls. Her body was moving with him as they batted together, and it was starting to feel like more than just batting. Jyushimatsu felt warmer after every bat, and he was starting to get sweaty. It was not the same sweat he would get when he played by himself. It was more like how sweaty he would get when he played with himself.

"MASTA JOOZ!" bellowed out a brawny brawler, "YOOZ TRAINS HERES, TOOZ?" The magic disappeared as Jyushimatsu slowly turned to see one of his "disciples" in the cage next to him. The giant jock had on a baseball uniform and carried with him a bag of baseball equipment. Jyushimatsu was sure he sent them all to climb Mt. Fuji and swim across the Pacific Ocean. "Is battin' withs a littles girl parts of the trainin', tooz?" asked the decked disciple, "I don'ts knows if I coulds dooz thats. My wife ain'ts gonna beez happys about its."

"Who's that?" Nanae asked, "You know him?"

The "Masta" had to think fast to get rid of his embarrassment. "You're supposed to be in the ocean!" Jyushimatsu scolded.

"Weez dones, Masta Jooz!" the pumped pectoral pupil replied, "Whats we gots to dooz nows?"

"Uh," Jyushimatsu stammered, but he was out of ideas.

"Get a large earth pot," the girl explained, "Travel to an unmarked spring on foot and fill the pot with pure crystalline water, and then travel all across Japan to water every yellow flower, one hundred times!" That was ridiculous even to Jyushimatsu.

"WOAHS! YOOZ WISE LIKES MASTA JOOZ!" the muscle mutant of mass mayhem exclaimed, "I'll lets the others knows!"

The ripped roider quickly left the cage, leaving his stuff behind. Jyushimatsu was surprised that it worked, but he was glad it did. He was tired of seeing members constantly showing up and always during moments when he or his brothers were thinking perverted thoughts. The mood was ruined, but at the very least they would be out of the way for now. He had Nanae to thank for that.

"Do you want to get back to the old town?" she asked him.

He gulped, because he was worried that his brothers would be there to see the two of them together. Jyushimatsu feared his eldest brother the most, and he was not ready for another wave of mean insults out of his nasty mouth.

Before he could respond, Nanae added, "It's getting late, and my house is near there."

He did not even realize how quickly the day went by. It only felt like a couple hours at most, but it was already getting a bit dark. Even though he was only in Kanezawa for the day, he looked forward to seeing her in Tokyo when she had school. He promised to see her every single day she was in Tokyo.

On their walk back to the old town, he asked her, "So, do you go to Keio University?" He knew Yukibo went there and wondered if Nanae went there too.

She paused and then said, "Yeah!"

"Hey! My brother's girlfriend goes there too!" he beamed, "Are you studying medicine like her, too?"

She paused again before she could answer, "Yep! I want to be a doctor!" What an ambitious girl, Jyushimatsu thought. This nineteen-year-old beside him had a much brighter future than he could ever hope for himself. He felt a bit bad about it, because he was just a NEET. It made him wonder if this was how Ichimatsu felt when he learned about Yukibo and how amazing she was going to be, even though he was just a NEET as well. Once he dropped Nanae off at her house, he could go ask Ichimatsu how he dealt with that. He wanted to be worth it to Nanae.

Nanae led him right to her home, and it was big and expensive looking. Jyushimatsu was surprised that he was able to dodge the rest of the group entirely. The old town was just a couple blocks from this huge house. He figured they probably were back at the inn enjoying the hot spring there. That was fine for him, because he was enjoying Nanae here.

"I live there," she pointed at the huge house.

He always thought it was strange that she lived in Kanezawa but went to school in Tokyo, but now it all made sense. She was a rich girl, like Yukibo. He wondered if Ichimatsu felt this intimidated knowing he was dating someone who was rich. That was going to be another question he would ask his big brother.

"You should probably turn around and leave now," she suggested, but they were yards from her front door.

Oh. That was pretty abrupt. He was anything but rich, successful, or handsome. For someone like her, he was not a date worth bragging about, especially to her family. "I get it," he nodded. He wondered if his big brother felt this way. That was something to add to his growing list of questions.

She looked a bit guilty after she said that. "It's-it's…" she stammered, while glancing back at her front door. When she looked back at Jyushimatsu, something caught her eye some distance behind him, a taiyaki stand. "Hey, I still have some time. Let's get some taiyaki," she said to change the subject.

It was a decent distraction. The thought of tasting some piping hot and sweet taiyaki on a cold winter day made the two child-at-hearts drool. Jyushimatsu bought himself and his date the tasty treat, and the two brought them to a nearby bench to enjoy. As they dug into the treat, the hot red bean inside warmed them up quickly, but it was all gone before they knew it.

"How was it?" he asked her as he licked the paper it came in.

"I want another," she sighed.

He said to her, "I'll get you another one." He would probably have to borrow money from his brothers for the remainder of the trip, but he wanted this night to be special for Nanae and himself. It had been a long, long time since he felt this good with someone.

"Let's split it!" she grinned. It was like she read his mind. He wondered if this was what Ichimatsu meant whenever he talked about how much Yukibo understood him. And, that was another question he could ask him.

The two bought one more taiyaki and broke the fish-shaped bun in half to share. As she ate her half, Jyushimatsu just stared at his half. He should be having fun and doing things on a whim, but he wanted to slow down and think it through this time. It was still bothering him about how different he and Nanae were. She was rich, and he was poor. She was in school, and he was a NEET. She was really pretty, and he could not say much about himself. He guessed it would work between Yukibo and Ichimatsu, because Yukibo knew him before, but would it work the same with him and Nanae? Would they have to be shifty about this? If so, for how long?

"Do you think I'm embarrassing?" he asked her.

She stared at him. "I don't care about that!" she told him, scowling cutely, "I'm happy around you, and that's all that matters! We just have to keep this a secret for a while."

He was confused, and he asked her, "H-how long?"

"Um," she paused, "Three, four years?"

Why, he wondered. Was this just a baggage that came with dating Nanae? Some girls had obstacles that were just like hurdles for guys like him to leap over just so they could be together. Yukibo was an American and would have to go back to her country soon. That was Ichimatsu's biggest hurdle. Jyushimatsu knocked over on one with Homura, when he could not follow her to her hometown, but he was determined to leap over every single one with Nanae, no matter what the hurdle was.

"I understand," he nodded, although he did not.

He scarfed down the half of the taiyaki like the first one, and it left bits of red bean on the sides of his gaping mouth.

"Hold still," she told him, as she leaned in and kissed it off of him.

It was quick, so quick that it was over in a blink. Jyushimatsu's entire face turned beet red. His heart felt like it was running a marathon even though he was just sitting on a bench. It felt so nice and so good, just like how he imagined a kiss would feel.

"How was it?" she asked, looking away bashfully.

"I want another," he replied. He was breathing heavily.

"Well, you only get one!" she said as she toughened up again, but then said with a small smile, "For today."

That was just too cute! It was getting hard trying to keep eye contact with her at this point. His heart was going out of control. He might get a heart attack, soon.

"I like you, Nanae," he told her, smiling his usual gaping smile, "I'm pretty happy right now."

Her smile was small as she replied, "I like you, too, Jyushimatsu."

As he stared into her, he saw that she had a lovely glow, something more precious and beautiful than anything in his AVs or dirty magazines. This was someone who could give back love, something he almost had and felt with Homura, but now it was here, right in front of him. She was cute during the train ride, but now, she was beautiful. He was falling in love with the way her brown hair was tied with a bow, her dark, dark eyes, and even the gap between her front teeth. He wondered if Ichimatsu saw Yukibo glow the way he was seeing Nanae glow. That was another question he could ask him.

"Can I get another, please?" he asked.

"Pervy old man," she teased, and then she closed her eyes and puckered her lips out.

His first kiss was staring right at him, and his heart was about to explode. He leaned in cautiously with his lips quivering as the distance drew near. He could feel the heat coming off of her and also the smell of her sweet scent. It has not even been a day, and he was about to get his first kiss.

"Nanae?" a woman's voice called out. An older couple had appeared a few feet away looking a bit distraught, but then relieved once they caught sight of the young girl.

"M-mom," the girl stammered and leaped off of the bench. It was too late to shoo away the older man she was dating.

Her mother scolded her, "Nanae, you were supposed to come straight home after visiting your grandparents!" The older woman pointed in the direction directly away from the large mansion that Nanae said was her "home".

"Who is this?" her father asked.

She gulped and lied, "He's my friend from school."

"You look much older than anyone who would go to school with our Nanae," the father investigated. Jyushimatsu was too afraid to tell him the truth. "Are you sure you go to the same middle school?" he pried.

Middle school? The thought was there. It was there since he first saw her. She looked young. How could he had let himself get caught up in this? It was his nature; he almost always went on with life on a whim, and rarely took the time to sit and think. Maybe, it was because of his memories with Homura and how much he missed her that he wanted to start something with Nanae without knowing much about her. He left all the gaps on things that did not make sense just sit there, and he filled it with his own loneliness. Oh god, what was going to happen if her parents found out that their middle school daughter was with an older man?

"I lied," Nanae spoke up, and lied again, "He's a third year in high school." What was she doing? She lied about her age, about going to a university, and even about her house! Why was she still lying right to her parents' face?

"What is wrong with you, Nanae?" her mother scolded, "What more lies did you tell this poor boy?"

"Listen here, you. My daughter is only fourteen years old. You aren't the first older boy she tried to date," the father scolded.

So, she had done this before? Oh god, she was fourteen. A twenty-eight-year-old man almost kissed a fourteen-year-old girl. Why did he not think it through? Why did he not pry about it? She looked young. Why was he not more careful? He could go to jail. He would go to jail. He should go to jail. What a disgusting, desperate man to let himself fall for a little girl.

"I'm sure you like our Nanae, but we strictly forbid it," the mother said sternly, "She's much too young to date, let alone date older boys." It was much too late for that.

"Excuse our daughter, but please do not try to contact her anymore," the father demanded politely. The older man was already there with them. This was all just one, awful mistake.

Jyushimatsu walked back to the ryokan where the rest of the group was staying with his hands wiped clean of the incident. He got away scot-free, but the trauma of it still lingered. He, an adult man, almost kissed a child, on the lips. He felt her body grind up against his. How was he going to live with himself? God, he really was an idiot, a horrible idiot.

When he made it to the room where the group was staying, he caught them playing a round of godori; Osomatsu, Choromatsu, Todomatsu, and Yukibo were playing as Karamatsu and Ichimatsu spectated. They were all dressed in comfortable yukata, but from the look of tension in the room, this was one serious game he stumbled upon. That tension was gone the moment he arrived, however. The rest of his group had the look of relief knowing he came home safe, except from his eldest brother. He was more focused on his hand. Piece of shit.

"Ah! Jyushimatsu!" Karamatsu beamed, as he got up to greet his younger brother with a hug, "Mai burazaa izu bakku!"

"Where have you been? I was getting worried," the third brother got up, keeping a tight clutch on the cards in his hand.

"Big brother Jyushimatsu, you don't look so good," the youngest spouted as he did the same.

Ichimatsu got up and held his younger brother by the shoulder. "Are you alright, Jyushimatsu?" he asked him.

Could he tell them? No, he could not. He and his brothers shared the exact same face. Had Yukibo not been in the same room as the rest of them and had his piece of shit eldest brother not been driving a wedge in between Ichimatsu and Yukibo's relationship, he could reveal it. If he exposed that he went on a date with a girl half his age, he and his brothers would get dirty looks for the rest of their lives. This was something he would have to take to his grave.

"I don't want to talk about it," the fifth sextuplet replied.

"Jyushimatsu," Yukibo called out to him, and pulled out a futon from the closet, "Rest up for now, okay?"

She was so nice. His older brother was so lucky to have her, and honest and kind woman. He thanked her as he crawled into his ready-made futon and hid himself in the covers.

His brothers sighed but then glared at their eldest brother. The eldest glared back, "What?"

"Yukibo, tell me which card you need," Todomatsu asked as the group regathered at the card game.

"July," she replied, "I've almost got gwang, then I'll be able to 'go'."

"What? You're all betraying me now?" the eldest yelled out.

"I've got July for you," Choromatsu affirmed.

The eldest sneered, "What makes you think I don't have one?"

"I'll take that risk," the third brother leered and placed a July card on the board and then flipped a no-hit card.

The eldest grumbled at being called out on his bluff and dropped a September with also no hits. Yukibo dropped her July gwang, but the card she flipped was another July, which created a buk, making her unable to collect her Julys.

"HA! HAHA!" the eldest laughed, loudly, "That's what you get for using Korean terms in Japan, you mutt."

Ichimatsu seethed at his comment; just because she was American did not make her a mutt. "How the hell is she a mutt?" Karamatsu snapped, "Just because she's an American with a Japanese face?"

"She has a Japanese face, Caucasian boobs, and an African ass!" the eldest grinned and faced Yukibo, "You're like Frankenstein's monster, you sexy freak."

"There's perks to being a mutt," she argued, "I got good parts from different races, but you're stuck with what Japanese men are known for: a small dick."

Osomatsu's younger brothers laughed loudly, even Jyushimatsu in his futon, before it started to die down as they realized that they were sextuplets. Ichimatsu really admired how Yukibo could deflect anything Osomatsu tossed at her. He hoped his girlfriend found a way to pull through. Osomatsu was very close to reaching his first "go", and if he won, it was going to be a very difficult night.

After Todomatsu and Choromatsu's turn, Osomatsu held up his hand, and with a big smirk on his face, he dropped the fourth and last July onto the board.

"NO! SHIT! YOU DID HAVE IT!" Choromatsu yelled.

"You guys are really bad at this game," the eldest sneered as he collected a pi card from each player as well as the four Julys and a pair of May from the flip. With the amount of points he collected, he could "go", but he stopped instead. He had just enough points. "A bet's a bet, right? I got 10 points, that means I get to put my futon next to Yankee-bo's!" he laughed maniacally.

Ichimatsu grimaced and felt even worse seeing his girlfriend beat herself up for a bad read. His eldest brother could, at one point, have the worst luck of his life, and then have a day where the Gods just blessed him with luck so good that if he bought a single lottery ticket, he would win twice.

"Damn," she sighed, "Ah, oh well. Screw the boundaries thing. I'm so use to you brothers at this point, I feel like you're all my brothers." Ichimatsu did not know if that was a good thing or not.

"Yukibo," he called out to her, but could not finish his thought. He hoped she could read him like she always had.

"Yeah," she nodded, "You can put your futon next to mine, too." Her disappointment in him seemed to have subsided. This was a good method he was putting up, being completely numb to everything. His eldest brother pissing him off felt nothing more like a fly buzzing in his face. He felt like he made progress making amends with his girlfriend for the outburst he had yesterday.

"I've always wanted a little sister," the eldest jeered, "Since we're not blood related, I can touch you, right?" And just as quickly as he calmed down, Ichimatsu was angry again.

"Would you knock it off? Seriously, control yourself!" Choromatsu scolded.

"I'm off," the only girl in the room said as she got up to her feet and gathered her bath supplies for the bathhouse and onsen. She was absolutely done with Osomatsu's shenanigans. It was about time the brothers did the same.

"Jyushimatsu, let's go," Ichimatsu shook. The fifth sextuplet laid there in thought. Perhaps a hot, scalding dip in the onsen could wash away the filthy feeling he had.

After a quick wash off, the sextuplets laid back and relaxed in the hot springs built outside of the inn. The boys could hear the chatter of women on the other side of the tall, wooden divider between the men and women's spring. Yukibo was behind that wall, naked, wet, and hot.

"If we stand on each other's shoulders, we can definitely peer over the wall," the eldest planned, "Since I'm the eldest, I'll be top first."

"We're not doing that," Todomatsu dismissed.

"We're burazaas. Let's just enjoy the nude brotherly bonding of brotherhood," the second sextuplet spouted and was promptly ignored.

"Did you assholes turn gay all of a sudden?" the eldest spat, "There's naked women on the other side of this wall. YANKEE-BO IS NAKED ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS WALL." His younger brothers grimaced; it was a tantalizing thought. "I'd think you of all people, Ichimacchan, would want you see your woman naked," the eldest pried. The fourth sextuplet sunk into the hot spring, hoping that maybe the hot water would boil and drown him at the same time. It helped with the anger. "Fine, you cowards," the eldest spat, getting out of the spring and walking towards the wall, "I could climb this wall."

"LIARMATSU!" Yukibo's voice shouted from the other side, "You are not climbing this god damn wall, so take your tiny dick, sit your ass back in the onsen, and relax like a normal patron!"

The eldest turned heel and sat back in the spring with his arms crossed and pouting. His younger brothers burst out laughing. Karamatsu, Todomatsu, and Choromatsu were laughing loudly, and even Ichimatsu let out a small chuckle. Jyushimatsu was laughing lightly at first, but it grew louder and louder. The bad feelings suddenly became bearable to where, perhaps, he could overcome it and forgive himself one day, not today or anytime soon, but one day. He made a terrible mistake with that little girl. He could either loathe himself for it for the rest of his life, or he could put it behind him. Nothing happened between the two of them, but it did not excuse him for what he wanted to do. He could not believe how easily he was tricked by a little girl. He never questioned it. No, he did, but he did not argue it, because he really liked her. As he did with Homura, he failed to learn about the person he was dating, and he was severely punished for it. Had he taken the time to find out that Homura was in an AV, or that Nanae was only fourteen, he would not have to live with the guilt of it. Maybe one day he would tell his brothers about the incident, but for now, he wanted to join in on the fun they were having. It was not like him to be sad and mopey, especially after seeing his eldest brother get his just desserts.

"SHATTO DAUN!" Karamatsu laughed.

"Fucking moron, that's what you get!" Todomatsu jeered.

"Eighteen years later, and you're still a middle schooler!" Choromatsu mocked.

It felt nice for Jyushimatsu's big brother, Ichimatsu, to witness another moment of his girlfriend's bold assertiveness. He just wished she could realize how much he struggles with his anger. It was not that he was not trying at all, but it was just difficult, especially with his eldest brother being so mean. The best way to deal with his family was to be numb, because Yukibo could handle herself against his eldest brother. He should always trust her.

"Big brother Ichimatsu," Jyushimatsu called out to him.

"Ah, Jyushimatsu," he responded.

"Make sure you 'know' Yukibo," he told his older brother, "I mean 'know' her." Even Jyushimatsu admitted it was a strange piece of advice. Of course, Ichimatsu "knew" Yukibo. They had been dating for three months. But, he wanted his big brother to not be caught off guard by any surprises she may have in store for him. It could be anything, really.

There was nothing Ichimatsu did not know about her. She was interested in everything he was interested in, and she loved everything he loved. Simple as that. That was why they were so good together, just as his younger brother said earlier. He knew she was still rather upset with him, but she lightened a bit more later in the day. As of now, the rough patch in between them would be remedied once the rest of his brothers finally left them alone. Jyushimatsu must had meant well about that statement. He probably meant to just be closer to her, which he was already working on with blood, sweat, and tears.