Despite it being a rather cold morning, Ichimatsu felt heat all over his body and in between his legs. He stirred a bit as he woke up, realizing the warm weight he was feeling on his body. Yukibo was sleeping on him, originally using his chest as a pillow, but gradually moved lower during the night to his much softer belly. The weight of her against his body confirmed to him that she was real, and the connection the two had through the fronts of their body united them almost as intimately as sex, itself. She looked so peaceful and precious asleep, and she was all his, every strand of silky black hair and every touch of her porcelain skin. Ichimatsu never wanted to leave this spot; in a way, he wished time would freeze in this exact moment, where she was at her purest. However, something sinister and disgusting was throbbing underneath her, and he knew and rued what it was: a good man's shame, perking under her breasts and savoring being smothered by them. There was no other choice; he needed to pull himself away from the love of his life to spare her from his greatest humiliation.
Her perfect form was wedged between his legs, and so any plans to pull away from her on the side were deemed impossible, less he wanted to wake her up. His only salvation was to pull himself up, and like a temple raider he could replace himself with a pillow, so he could continue watching her sleep like the angel she was. Slowly, he inched away from her, using the armrests of the couch as leverage to help him slide out from under her. His unwanted erection was free from her glorious breasts, and since freed from the weight of her body, the blood that had been bottlenecked from the pressure suddenly surged into the shaft, expanding and erecting it to a size he had never seen before. Oh god, why now? Unleashed from her breasts, now it was just inches from her face. He could feel her hot breath as she breathed near it. It was so close to her, closer than any other times he wanted to take her. A random morning hard-on was slowly turning into one for intent. He had half a mind to undress and have it kiss her lips, just once, just the tip.
"YANKEE-BO, LOOK OUT! A PENIS!" the eldest screamed out, giggling to himself at the end.
She snapped awake quickly from the yell, rubbing her eyes to see the commotion. Slowly, she pulled herself up, still in between his legs with a full view of his shame. Ichimatsu felt his heart sink as he watched his girlfriend realize the throbbing and shameless erection he had. There was a certain way he wanted to expose himself to her, and it did not involve his brothers in the other room laughing themselves to tears or having his girlfriend realize that she would never want to sleep beside him again.
"I'll get it!" the eldest said as he rushed up to his younger brother and raised his hand as if about to strike the pillar.
"NO! NO! NO!" Ichimatsu screamed, shielding his erection, but his eldest brother just laughed at him and the rest of his brothers joined in in the ridicule. The humiliation was unbearable, but it felt like nothing compared to the humiliation of having his girlfriend know she had been sleeping on his erection. She must be so disgusted with him.
"What are you all laughing about?" Yukibo grumbled with a yawn, silencing the snickering in the room, "You all get morning wood, too." It never ceased to surprise Ichimatsu how understanding and calm she was, even with an erect penis in front of her. "Morning wood is healthy and normal for men. It means that there's good blood flow in the body," she explained, "If you don't get it, then there might be something wrong." She looked at her boyfriend with a smile, tucking her hair over her right ear so lovingly to him, "You're looking pretty well today, aren't you, Ichimatsu?"
He could not help but to smile back at that beautiful face. She was in such a better mood today compared to last night, all because he took initiative and started being more assertive and dominant. That was the key all along! He could finally be more lax around her and be himself, but, of course, she would love him regardless. His erection no longer felt so shameful or humiliating around her, and he felt silly thinking it did. She was a medical student after all, and thus, she had seen her fair share of penises. His was not even exposed, just erect and happy to see her.
"Psh, I don't think it's morning wood. You slept on his dick, and he got hard from it," Osomatsu argued.
"Hmm, maybe," she shrugged, "But, it's still natural. Women get their periods, and men get erections. Both involve blood flowing." She moved her hand near his member, never touching it as she explained how blood traveled into the penis and all its multifactorial triggers.
Ichimatsu stopped listening the moment he saw her hand maneuver the air around his member. If he closed his eyes just right, it would look like she was stroking him, and even without the actually physical stimulation from it all, he was getting off. At any point, if she touched him, he would blow, but she stopped, her lecture complete.
"So yeah, Ichimatsu, you have a healthy penis," she explained. Just hearing her say "penis" made great fap fodder. "Now, if it stayed like that for more than four hours, then we have a problem," she chuckled.
"Yankee-bo," Osomatsu whined, grabbing the waistband of his pajama pants, "Could you check my penis? See if it's healthy, too?"
She looked at him with a smile, "Sorry, I'm not a licensed physician, yet."
The melodious "Ooh" from all of his younger brothers resonated in the room as the eldest huffed in defeat. It was always funny and satisfying to see their piece of shit eldest brother be put into his place.
"Say, Ichimatsu, you can go ahead into the bathroom and take care of that," Yukibo suggested.
Ichimatsu immediately stopped laughing, but before he could say anything, his eldest brother saw his opportunity, "You can use Totoko! Take her on a date! We brought her along on this vacation, too!" The fourth brother's heart dropped, and the other four brothers looked just as shocked, followed by deep shame.
"Wait, what?" the girlfriend asked, trying not to imagine they stuffed their childhood friend in their suitcase all along.
The eldest quickly zipped back to his luggage and shamelessly tossed the expensive, mechanical onahooru right in front of her. "Totoko" was an extra tight, "destroya"-textured, self-heating, self-lubricating, and vibrating onahooru, to which – as disgusting as it was – the sextuplet shared amongst each other. The brothers had saved money for months to be able to purchase a quality fleshlight, after Ichimatsu had ruined so many of their previous ones with how rough he was. This car payment of a sex toy could literally take a pounding from Ichimatsu and still be useable for the rest of them. The pinkness of the device reminded them of the sweatshirt Totoko would wear, and so they promptly named it accordingly and referred to using the device as "taking Totoko on a date".
The younger brothers were at a loss; the bright pink, collective humiliation of all six men exposed in front of the only girl in the room. Ichimatsu quickly grabbed it and hid it inside his shirt, praying she did not see a glimpse of it. "Was that a fleshlight? Do you guys seriously use one?" she nearly laughed.
"I mean, I'd use you, but you're a major prude," the eldest sneered, but Ichimatsu was too embarrassed to snap at him for his comment.
She rolled her eyes and looked back at her boyfriend, tucking her hair over her ear, "Can I see it? I've actually never seen one up close."
"N-no! It's disgusting, and I'd never use something like this," Ichimatsu blatantly lied.
The third brother scoffed, "You're the reason why we had to buy it in the first place!"
"SHUT UP!" the fourth brother yelled, tucking it away in his luggage.
"Well, you should still go ahead and use it. You still have a hardy," Jyushimatsu retorted.
He was right; all this time, his pants still looked like a pitched tent, but he was not going to humiliate himself any further. "It'll-it'll go away eventually," he stammered. The fact that people were making a spectacle out of it kept it hard. His odd subconscious fetishes always surfaced at the worst times.
Karamatsu placed a hand on his younger, and somehow still erect, brother, "We are merely men, Ichimatsu. And men think with two heads." His brothers lurched in pain from their ribs simultaneously cracking almost immediately after the delivery. It always upset the second sextuplet that his brothers did this. "Come on! Really?" he complained, "How was that painful?"
"I agree with you, Karamatsu," his younger brother's girlfriend spoke up, lightly chuckling, "I think it's quite the metaphor for you sextuplets."
It felt nice for someone to appreciate his more sensitive, poetic side, "Thanks, Yu-"
"Don't enable him," Todomatsu spat, wincing at his ribs. Karamatsu wilted a bit, but she put her hand on his arm to comfort him. That felt nice, he thought; she was so kind.
The group was quick to ready up and travel to Hiroshima. When they checked into the hotel in Hiroshima, immediately, the sextuplets saw that there was only one bed. The five looked to each other wondering who was going to sleep where, but Ichimatsu's gears were going into overdrive: this entire trip was planned weeks in advance, Yukibo had planned to only have one bed in this room, if his brothers were not here then they would have shared this bed together, alone, just the two of them, they would have had sex, he could be having sex with her right now.
"I call the bed!" Osomatsu spouted.
"LIKE HELL, YOU WILL!" Ichimatsu snapped, "We've let all of you stay with us for too long now! Either get a different room or go home!" He would not be pushed around like the previous days; he was going to be alone in this room with Yukibo on way or another!
"But we're already here!" Jyushimatsu cried out.
"Can't turn back now after we've gone this far, Big brother Ichimatsu," Todomatsu replied coyly.
"Ease up, alright? Let's reach a compromise. Two can take the couch, you'll have the bed with Yukibo, and rest of us will get extra blankets and pillows and sleep on the floor," Choromatsu tried to reason.
"I. Want. The. Room," the fourth brother enounced threateningly.
"Ichimatsu, it's alrig-" Yukibo tried to speak.
But he cut her off, "IT'S NOT! I'm sick and tired of it!" She was taken aback at his outburst.
"What are you so sick and tired of now? You two won't be doing anything anyways," the eldest grinned, rubbing the bottom of his nose.
"There's only two days left. This trip was meant to bring Yukibo and me closer, but all this time, you've just been trying to drive a wedge between us. Yet, you couldn't," Ichimatsu pointed out.
"Ichimatsu," she called out, but he ignored her and continued to rant.
Ichimatsu blabbed, while flustering, "You can't drive a wedge between us, because she loves me more than you can even imagine. I want to have sex with Yukibo, and I'm going to do it on this trip in this room!" Holy crap, he actually said it.
"I-Ichima…" she trailed off, and the shock in her expression looking more in horror.
"Do you want to have sex with this piece of shit, Yankee-bo?" Osomatsu asked her.
She was about to speak again, but her boyfriend spoke for her, "Don't ask her such a thing. Of course, she does. She had been saving herself for me!" Cocky bastard.
Karamatsu chimed in, unable to stand idly by, "Hey, Ichimatsu, you can't just-"
"Shut up, Shittymatsu! This doesn't concern you or any of you!" the fourth brother yelled, putting his brothers on edge.
The girlfriend took a deep breath before she tried to speak again, "Ichima-"
"Yukibo, I won't let them get between us again," he spoke over her, "You've been too lax and forgiving of them for crashing our trip and spending your money. Let me handle this from now on. You no longer should feel indebted to these parasites just because they were also there all those years ago."
In silence, she turned and walked away from the situation, leaving him to deal with his brothers. His second older brother saw right through it and wholeheartedly understood the frustration that came with being ignored and being talked over. It was bad enough with his brothers, but for her, from her own boyfriend? How awful. Karamatsu also pulled away from the arguing group and followed Yukibo. She was always good to him and his brothers, and to see her tossed aside like that made his blood boil. Perhaps he was truly a sinful man to let himself get so up-in-arms about a woman he could never have.
"Yukibo?" Karamatsu called out, as he caught up to her outside of their room.
She patted her face and tucked her hair over her right ear, like she was preparing to perform, before turning and smiling at him, "Hmm? Is something wrong?" Trying to put a brave face despite being treated so poorly, Karmatsu knew exactly how that felt.
"My burazaas are assholes," he shrugged, chuckling a bit at the end, weakly. She chuckled a bit out of courtesy, and Karamatsu realized he had to be more frank with her, "You didn't deserve that. You're the last person to deserve to be treated like that. If anything, he should have just thrown all that at me. I'm a giruto gai, so it's fine if they always ignore me."
She looked to him in shock, "Always?"
"Always," he nodded, "I've grown to accept it at this point. I'm destined for a roonrinesu raifu."
"I don't believe that," she told him, leaving him unable to respond due to the sheer bluntness of it, "Hey, Karamatsu, why don't we take this day to ourselves, just us outcasts?"
His eyes widened, and his voice cracked, "J-just the two of us?"
"I don't appreciate being talked over, and you shouldn't either. When they realize the two of us are gone and having a good time, maybe they'll think twice about ignoring us like that," she smiled, "But, only if you're okay with it, Karamatsu." FUCK YEAH!
"I can't resist an opportunity to really stick it to my brothers," he chuckled, though something in the back of his head was begging him to turn it down, "What did you have in mind?"
She had the sweetest most devious smile curled on her lips, and it pierced him in the heart like the many other arrows she shot into him. "Let's see where today takes us," she winked. Just like him, someone who was willing to let life take the reins. God, he wished she picked him.
The two sneaked off, leaving the rest of the brothers to duke it out inside the room. Karamatsu and Yukibo made it outside of the hotel, seeing Hiroshima as their oyster.
"So, Karamatsu," she grinned, tucking her hair over her ear, "What do you normally do whenever your brothers are being assholes?"
He smirked. "I would play on my guitar for passersby. My feelings are crushed, but if I could make one person smile from my music, then my heart would feel full again," he explained, rather melodramatically, until he realized, "Ah, damitto, I didn't bring my guitar on the trip."
"I don't think I've ever sat down and listen to you play your guitar. I'd love to hear you play. Let's go get you a guitar," she responded enthusiastically, "How does that sound?"
There was a heavy urge within him, a musical urge. He missed playing his guitar, and knowing she wanted to listen to him play made him miss his guitar even more so. Playing his guitar in public always cheered him up, and even though most people walked by him, there was always one occasional onlooker. That was usually enough for him to feel like he existed, but now, this person he cared about wanted to listen to him. He had to get his hands on a guitar, even if he had to borrow it from a street performer somewhere, and he knew exactly what he wanted to play for her. It was a love song inspired by her, but by no means was it meant for her. Well, okay, some of the lyrics pertain to her directly, but he was never going to perform it for her less he wanted to hurt his sad little brother. Now, Karamatsu had the opportunity, not that he expected her to fall in love with him, but if she did… no, who was he kidding? A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this song, mostly sweat and tears, and he really wanted her to hear it, even though he knew she was with his brother. He just did not have the heart to scrap the song, and so, at the very least, she should hear it. To make it less awkward, he could man up to his feelings for her at the end and just shrug it off as an inevitable crush. He could handle it, and they could still be friends.
The two found their way to a mall, a place where the souls of every different type of store would unite. Money circulating, customers leaving with the items they desire, bonds forming through shared experiences, the mall was wonderous place where people could connect. Whether they find a store selling a guitar would be great and all, but all he wanted out of this day was to connect further with Yukibo, even if nothing came from it. The fact that she would humor him and enable him made her just that much more important to him.
"Hmm, maybe there's a store here somewhere?" she wondered.
He chuckled as he played with his hair, "We should go where destiny takes us."
"Karamatsu, you believe in destiny?" she asked him.
"It is the Karamatsu way," he smirked, as he put his shades back on, despite being indoors and then took them off again dramatically, "Life is a road already paved, and we merely discover what is ahead of us. The mystery is the reveal, and the events that unfold is destiny."
"So, you're saying that our futures are already determined?" she asked him, tucking her hair over her ear.
He took a moment to think, which surprised him to start with. He never could have a conversation about his ramblings with his brothers or anyone else. His philosophies were always dismissed or just taken as is, never discussed nor expanded upon. Through that, he just accepted his thoughts as such and did not think twice about why he thought about them. Did he really believe that people's futures were predetermined?
"I don't think there's a way to tell if our futures are already determined, but I'd like to think so," he answered frankly, "That why I have noo puransu when it comes to my future." Even in his opinion, that was probably the most sense he had ever made.
Yukibo had a distant look in her eyes where it looked like she was recalling something. Perhaps this brief conversation had her thinking as well, and when she looked back at him, she looked like she wanted to say something but was holding back. Instead, she just smiled and giggled, "In that case, you should be able to find a store that sells guitars, since it's destiny, right?"
Destiny had a funny way of lining things up for him, but only if it felt like it. He could take his chances. "Leave it to me," he smirked, and blindly moved forward towards a direction despite there being a directory just a few feet from them.
The two passed by several boutiques and accessory shops for women ranging from pretty and cute items to sexy and alluring goods. It reminded him that once he found his Karamatsu girl, he wanted to cater to her every need and shower her with all of his love, practically spoil her for eternity. For him, a true man treated his woman well, and his woman was his queen. The clothes and jewelry were so beautiful and glamorous; perhaps, Yukibo would love to take a moment and go through these boutiques while in search for his new guitar.
"Hey, Yukibo, I could see the way your eyes light up whenever we walk by these stores. Why don't we make a small detour and have a look around here? I don't mind at all," he told her.
"Are you sure?" she asked, "What about destiny?"
He smirked again, putting his hand on his chin, "Even if we get off track, it is destiny for us to find a store that sells guitars. It is all merely part of the journey." There was that smile again, and it was followed by an "Oh boy" in perfect English. It was adorable to hear her switch to English in response to him. Despite all of this being futile, her smile and enjoyment was all the reward he needed.
As the two were browsing a sunglasses store, he occasionally made glances at her, trying not to be noticed. She knew a fair bit about him already, and it made him curious about her. Ichimatsu never mentioned the things she liked to do. Anytime he did talk about her, it was about what she did for him, or how much he liked her, or what he wanted to do to her.
"So, what do you do during your free time?" he asked her, casually.
She looked at him, surprised, but excited. He could see it in the way her eyes sparkled, "I like to read, watch movies, and cook, too!" He could see her doing all of those. "Also, this is kind of embarrassing for me to say, but I love to sing and dance too. I really want to go karaoke with you sextuplets sometime soon," she smiled widely. And there went another arrow into his heart. He could not handle another sneak attack like that, less he wanted to lose himself to his feelings.
"When we're back in Tokyo," he brought up, and then sang rest, "We'll all go sing at karaoke."
"I look forward to it," she sang back. At this point, his heart was covered in arrows. Humoring him was bad enough, but now he knew she had a pretty singing voice, too, a horrible weakness of his. This woman in front of him was his soorumeeto, and there was nothing he could do about it. It was a starting to become a bad idea for him to take her up on this day out.
He needed something to distract him, get his mind out of a pit. His gaze fell upon a pair of sunglasses clearly for women, but he was desperate. "Say, Yukibo, what do you think of this?" he asked.
"It's cute, but not really my style," she responded.
"I meant for me," he lied, sweating quite a bit.
Her face twisted as she tried to hold in a laugh, "Don't act so silly."
"What? I can totally pull it off!" the second sextuplet argued, "I have paafuekuto fuasshiyon!" His pose was so ridiculous: his legs were stretched, like he was trying to do the splits, and both hands behind his head.
She burst into laughter, "KARA!" But then clasped at her mouth, "I'm sorry! Did I make it awkward, short handing your name like that?" The way she said his name was with a pure American accent, including the hard "R" sound.
He loved it. He expressed, "Call me that from now on!" and though she seemed reluctant, she eventually agreed to it. Perhaps, that was a bit intimate for her, but she no longer seemed to mind it. Perhaps he was starting to grow on her. "Today is a bonding experience between Kara and Ivie. I can only wonder what secrets are to be discovered," he said dramatically.
"You know my real name?" she asked in surprise.
"I heard it from your friends," he explained, "Ai rimenbaa."
"I'm impressed. You're the second brother to call me by my real name. So far, only you and Os-Liarmatsu have called me 'Ivie'," she mentioned, laughing to herself, "Even I have to admit it, 'Yukibo' is a very weird name. Liarmatsu always makes fun of it."
He replied, "I guess my burazaasu are just use to your Japanese name."
"Ichimatsu never asked for my real name," she brought up nonchalantly, which stunned the older brother. She then winced, looking like it was something she did not want to blurt out. The two had been dating for this long, and Ichimatsu never asked for her real name?
"Never?" he asked her.
"Never," she sighed and shook her head.
Absolutely ludicrous, how could he not know her real name? Despite how shocked and disappointed he was in Ichimatsu, Karamatsu wanted to give his little brother the benefit of the doubt. He pointed at Yukibo with a finger gun, "I'm sure Ichimatsu will come around. He likes to do things at his own pace. To make up for it, from here on, I'll refer to you as 'Ivie'. I think it suits you best. Does it mean anything?"
"Ivory," she explained, smiling widely, "Ivie is short for Ivory."
"Byuutifuru neemu," he smirked, holding himself back as much as he could. She looked so at peace, and in that, so beautiful. "Ivory, a rare treasure, sought out, hunted. It really suits you, considering… well, I think it's pretty obvious," he mentioned, a bit embarrassed.
"Oh boy," she responded in English at first, but resumed in Japanese, "I saw it leagues away with you sextuplets." Damn, she already knew. Was he that obvious? So much for the image of misutarii man.
The two left the store each buying their own pair of matching sunglasses to commemorate the beginning of a new friendship. Both of their sunglasses were dazzling, sparkling, and white, which he learned was her favorite color. Funny, he would have thought it was purple for some reason, but he then realize that she did not own many purple items. The more he learned about her the closer he felt to her. Even though she had him at arm's length, but he still felt close to her, and he felt that she was starting to get close to him, too. For some reason, she was more open and vibrant than she ever was whenever they were with the entire group. Destiny had a funny way of bringing two people close together without actually letting them be together.
Also, destiny was surely on their side since they finally found a store that sold guitars and, along with that, some drums, keyboards, and even wind instruments. When they went inside, there were some aspiring musicians browsing the items in stock, some knowing exactly what they were looking for, and others trying to figure out where they would shine.
Ivie fixated her gaze on the keyboards. With one hand she played a small melody, giving the impression that she was skilled in playing a keyboard, or a piano at least.
She looked over at him and giggled, "I can guess what you're about to ask me. Do I play?"
Karamatsu chuckled, putting his hand over his face like a pretty boy would, "Ha, am I that easy to read?"
"Since you'll play me a song later, I'll play you one first," she told him, "Granted, I'm not as good as you think I am." He would love to listen to her play even if she never touched an instrument in her life. She started playing a very familiar song on the keyboard, some American pop song from years ago. After the piano rift intro she sang with her perfect English, but she only sang the beginning lyrics to the song, "God, I'm so embarrassed."
"Doonto sutappu! I was really enjoying it," he insisted, "You were doing great."
"Oh, you should hear my best friend sing and play," she said fluidly, before wincing again. Seemed like that was another thing she did not mean to let slip out of her, but she only sighed and added, "She is really talented." She pulled away from the keyboard, clearly in no mood to keep playing. As much as he wanted to press on it, he read the mood. This was something really personal to her, and he was not close to her enough to know about it.
"From the song you played, I'm guessing you're more of a pop fan?" he speculated trying to pull away from something so personal, "I'm more rock 'n roll myself."
She laughed, "No way! I love metal!"
"Huh?" the second brother stared at her flabbergasted.
"I was a goth kid back in high school. I loved listening to metal," she revealed, whipping her hair fluidly. GOTH? SHE WAS GOTH? An old photo saved on her SNS was proof of it, and it hurt even worse knowing she was an adorable, little goth high schooler. God, Ichimatsu was the luckiest man on earth!
The two resumed looking for a guitar. Karamatsu had his eyes set on the acoustic guitars on the wall, but the electric guitars did catch his eye. They were brightly colored and dazzling, just like him. However, he was an older man, nearly thirty years old, and a man his age should work with something more soothing like an acoustic. Besides, he would not want to disturb his brothers rocking out with that sexy, blue bass that was calling for him.
"That one!" she pointed at a guitar that stood out above the rest: a sleek, graphite-black, pin-striped, acoustic and electric hybrid guitar with a shimmering blue pick guard. In silence, it screamed for him, like whoever designed it made it just for him. The price tag on it laughed at him, but his wallet was laughing harder at the price tag. He had money, and he was going to buy it with the money he had on hand. "It's my gift to you, Kara," she said, pulling out her wallet. He loved the way her American accent pronounced his name.
"Ah, Ivie, no need," he said, pushing her wallet back into her purse, "I can afford it."
There was a look of shock to her, but she shrugged it off, "No, seriously. I'm having a great time with you. Let me get this for you."
"I've taken more than enough from you," he told her seriously, which made her stand down, "Out of respect for the both of us, let me treat you today. I have more than enough money to cover us both."
There was that warm smile again, the smile that deeply appreciates acts of kindness, "How are you still single, Kara?" He lost his composure, nearly wanting to laugh and cry at the same time. It was just part of destiny to have him be so close yet so far from her.
Karamatsu was allowed to play test the display guitar, and it felt just right in his hands, every curve of the base, every strand of string. It laid in his arms like swooned woman, and if it had eyes, it would beckon him to touch it. The moment he strummed the guitar, it moaned out a melody that sent shivers down his spine. There was no way Karamatsu could stop just there; he had to hear more from the guitar. He wanted the guitar to sing wildly as he played with it. Every strum and every riff, the guitar screamed into melodic ecstasy. It was beautiful, fiery, and wet. Karamatsu wiped sweat from his forehead; he did not realize he could sweat from just testing out the guitar. All his love and passion were put into the guitar, knowing that he could not express it to the woman in front of him.
"I felt that," she told him, smiling bashfully.
Quickly, he changed the subject, "I'll buy it! It's true love!" Damn it, he thought, he was starting to lose control over his feelings. Maybe it was about time to just get rejected, so that he could put it all behind him and have a normal day with her.
But he was a coward, wanting to keep the high of the possibility that he could be with her so long as he did not bring it up. He hid his cowardice behind the credit card he used to buy the guitar. At the very least, he could be proud of his outstanding credit score. After the purchase, the two agreed to brunch and then returning to the rest of the group, hoping that the arguing finally ended.
After exiting the mall, the two took a stroll down a street, letting their conversation guide them mostly. Although different buildings and stores passed by them, the two were rather focused on each other, even though Karamatsu tried finding a good spot to play his guitar for her.
"It suits you so well," she commented, and then asked him, "I thought you were a NEET like your brothers. What do you do?"
He explained, "Once a week, I teach a small classroom of kids how to play a guitar. It's been almost a year now. Their parents really like how I teach and pay me 2,000 yen a week per child. My students are mai Karamatsu kiizu."
"Oh boy," she huffed, "I can't believe your brothers told me that you were the worst one. Clearly, there's jealousy afoot."
"My burazaas," he sighed, "They mean well."
She stopped walking, and thus making Karamatsu stand with her. "You're their brother, not a punching bag or a lightning rod," she argued, "I bet they'd showed you some respect if you lost your virginity before the rest of them."
He flustered uncontrollably, "W-w-w-well, t-that might make them hate me even more!"
"Maybe at first, but eventually they'll come to respect you," she smiled, and noticed that the two stopped in front love hotel, "Let's go to a love hotel. I can take care of that for you."
He froze in place, his mind completely empty and his eyes as big as saucers. Once he noticed the love hotel as well, his heart was almost beating out of his chest. Even the hotel clerk, another god damn muscle man, who was just stepping up to fix the sign to display a more affordable price for a night, waved at them to come on in. She wasn't serious, was she? Was she?
She only laughed in response, "Kara! I'm kidding!"
"HAHAHA! GUREETO JYOOKU!" he laughed relieved and disappointed at the same time. His laugh died down a bit, and he meekly added, "Please don't joke like that, Ivie. I'm a sinful man with sinful thoughts."
"Sorry," she teased, still laughing at the end, "I'll go easier on you from now on."
He chuckled, trying to compose himself with a signature model pose, "How about we play a different game? Rettsu supiiku Ingulisshu oonri!"
"Are you inferring that you have the resolve to communicate with me solely through Western diction?" she asked quickly in perfect English, making him go white. He had no idea what the hell she just said. She laughed in response, but still spoke in English, "I'm sorry, Kara. I can't stop teasing you."
She eased up on teasing him, and the two, while still speaking in English, decided on where to eat. There was a food court in the mall and restaurants outside, but because Karamatsu did not know the English word for "bento", Ivie suggested "barbeque" after seeing the yakiniku restaurant outside.
"The word is 'lunchbox' by the way," she smiled, and he groaned for not realizing it earlier. Yakiniku sounded really good anyways.
They were seated and served quickly by a rather pretty and sociable waitress. So sociable that it almost seemed like she was flirting with him. As much as he would take that chance, he was just so focused on Ivie. Even though she was out of reach, the two were having a blast together. There was still that chance, even just a sliver of it. Plates of raw meat came as the previous plates were being grilled in front of them. It smelled delicious; it was not often that he got to eat something this expensive. He adored watching her indulge in herself, being so happy and giggle around him. It was how he imagined his Karamatsu girl would be. Today almost felt like a date; hell, he would call it a date since destiny had a funny way of lining things up for him.
"You two are so cute together," the waitress squeaked as she took the empty plates and replaced them with ones with meat.
"Oh, we're just friends," Ivie corrected, immediately.
Karamatsu wilted a bit, "Y-yeah."
"But, seriously, he's such a sweet guy. I just don't get how he's still single," she spouted, vouching for him. He had no idea what was going on, but the waitress seemed intrigued. "He's into high fashion. He's got a good job that pays a lot. Oh, and he's so generous, look!" she listed, and then showed off the flashy sunglasses, "He got me these. He's such a good friend. He's been practicing his English to visit America, one day. How do you not have a girlfriend, Kara?"
Now, he got it. She was being his wingman and trying to set him up with the waitress. As nice as that was, the woman he wanted was right in front of him. The waitress seemed extremely interested at this point, and Ivie decided to seal the deal.
"Give him your number," she winked at her. The waitress flustered and giggled as she hurried away to take the plates back. Ivie grinned smugly, "She'll be back. No need to thank me, Kara." He had no interest in the waitress.
The two talked up a storm as they ate. Karamatsu learned that she was from Los Angeles, California, that she loved watching campy horror films, and that she collected hairpins even though she never wore any of them. There were so many little things about her that seemed random yet cute. And it made her all the more interesting the more things she revealed about herself. She seemed so open about herself to him, something he never saw her act with Ichimatsu. Perhaps it was because, he was the ones that was actually meant to be with her. Not Ichimatsu.
"I wonder, Ivie, do you believe in destiny?" he asked, as nervous as he was curious.
She was a bit put off by the sudden comment, but replied sweetly, "Of course. If I didn't, I wouldn't have come back to see you sextuplets again. I'd never be able to properly thank all of you. You all helped me keep my future, so it only makes sense that you all be a part of my future." He was at a loss. She had talked about this before, but it was even more humbling to hear this time around. "Although, I don't want you all to think that I'm just repaying a debt," she added, "I genuinely want to get to know all of you better. I truly believe it was meant to be for me to come back and make you all a permanent part of my life. Ichimatsu, especially."
Ouch. He chuckled, putting his fingers to his chin, "Even on the other side of the Earth, you were connected to my burazaa by a red string, and he had no idea until he saw you for himself. You could call it 'toruu rabu', wouldn't you agree?"
Her enthusiasm weakened, but she was still cheery, "I couldn't agree more. Who would've thought I'd meet my true love at such a young age? You probably never thought of me as such a sappy person."
He loved that she was sappy. "He was the first to find you. It was just meant to be that your fasuto rabu would be someone who stayed with you when you needed him," Karamatsu replied, feeling a bit strange, however. He was feeling jealous even though he should be happy for her and his brother.
"You sound just like her," Ivie said to herself in English.
"Huh?" he spouted.
"My best friend, the one I mentioned earlier," she explained, looking very solemn, "My best friend supported my ideas to come back to Japan since we were very little. I mean, if it weren't for her, I probably wouldn't even be here. I mean the chances of finding you sextuplets were so slim, but it happened, because she was there with me to cheer me on. I'm happy for that. Being around you just reminded me of her. Sorry if that was awkward."
"Not at all," he chuckled, but he grew more curious, "Tell me more about your friend."
"You'd love her. She's so optimistic, romantic, and sweet. She loves to sing and dance, and that was where I got my love for it as well," she explained, but grew sad, "But, she's not like that anymore."
"What happened?" he asked her.
She hesitated; actually, it almost looked like she shut down, "Can we talk about something else?"
"Oh, oh god," Karamatsu winced, "Forget I said anything, I'm sorry." He messed up, touching on something too personal. He should have trusted his gut earlier and left it alone. Now he had hurt her, and he felt awful.
Their waitress stopped by checking in on the two, "Could I get you two anything else?"
"Ah, no, the check please," Karamatsu sighed, knowing he blew it terribly today. At this point, he would not be able to even keep her as a friend seeing how badly he hurt her.
The two finished their meal, and Yukibo excused herself to use the restroom. The waitress dropped off the bill, and Karamatsu took a glance at it: she left her name and number on the check. "Shiina Mayu", it said on the receipt; at least he knew the name of the waitress, and as pretty as she was, he did not have it in him to be proud of himself. He failed with Yukibo, and he knew he would. He overstepped his bounds in more ways than one, but perhaps it was because destiny had a funny way of telling him that he should go after this girl instead. It did not feel right though, not one bit. Karamatsu dropped his card onto the bill. It was the least he could do. He was just a nice guy. She deserved it. There was nothing more to it. Just returning a favor. That was all. It had nothing to do with how he loved her style, her dark hair and eyes, her perfect English, or any other lyrics to the love song he based around her, or, most of all, how she was such a caring person, filled with appreciation for life, striving to make a better tomorrow, all within a voluptuous American body. Nothing at all. Just her boyfriend's brother treating her to a nice lunch.
"You put that card back in your wallet, Kara!" she scolded as she returned.
He flinched, "Ivie, you said you'd let me treat you. Let me take care of this bill. It's nothing, really! Ai amu no sutoresu."
"I changed my mind," she spouted. She tried grabbing the bill, but he yanked it away from her, holding it away. "Kara!" she yelled, "Give that to me!" It was adorable. She was so mad, but she was smiling and laughing in poor attempts to stay angry and firm with him.
He passed it to the waitress, and Yukibo sat back in her seat in defeat. She gave him a playful glare, and he was so flustered by it that he could not stare at her for more than a few seconds. Eventually, the two just laughed, all that horrible awkward tension disappeared like it was never there before.
"Sorry about earlier, I didn't mean to spoil the mood," she told him.
"No, it's my fault. I overstepped my bounds. Mai baddo," he explained.
"Well, you paid the check, so I'm still mad at you, Kara," she huffed speaking in perfect English, but he understood every word. He could listen to her English for the rest of his life.
After paying, the two exited the restaurant, still feeling reluctant to return back to the hotel room. This was it. It was now or never. Karamatsu was just going to let all his feelings out for her, regardless if he was destined for rejection. Maybe, just maybe, if he was lucky enough, she could see that they were meant to be, more so than she was meant to be with his younger brother. The chemistry would never lie. Ivie was his soul mate!
"Ivie! I want to tell you something," he told her.
"What's that?" she asked, looking into his very soul. Her looking back at him made him freeze, the words he had been meaning to say getting caught in his throat. He was stuck, and only stammered like it was high school all over again.
"W-well, uh… you know… I.. um…" he mumbled, sweating profusely.
She chucked and then said, "I really want to thank you for today. You really didn't have to, but you humored me and showed me a great time. I really appreciate how patient you are with your little brother. You and I both know he has his own pace, and he's trying his hardest. Thank you for being a good big brother to him."
Damn. Damn, she saw through him. Damn, he lost sight of what mattered to him the most: his family. All this time he kept teeter-tottering between confessing and holding it in that he had forgotten that this was about his fourth brother, who had been so alone and so desperate to find someone to love him back. As much as Karamatsu wanted to be with her, his younger brother needed her the most. The older brother was thick-skinned and naturally oblivious when it came to those around him, but his little brother was fragile despite such a hardened exterior. How horrible he would be to try to take that away from him, even though he needed her, too. He and Ichimatsu were indeed loner types, but neither one of them wanted to be alone anymore. As the older brother, he wanted to make sure his little brother was happy with the woman he loved and who loved him back. It hurt so much, but god, she made him feel like a person, and it was just so hard to let that go. That fact that he felt so much from her from just this one day, he could not even imagine the amount of love and emotion that poured from Ichimatsu and how good he must have felt to have her.
"So, you were saying?" she asked.
He could not do it anymore. With a smile, he said, "I wanted to play you a song, finally," and he played a song on his guitar as innocent and as platonic as the songs he would teach his students. At least, she enjoyed it. His heart was aching.
After the song, she asked, "Was that really want you wanted to say? You can just say it." He hesitated. It was practically already said. There was no point on embarrassing himself or making it more awkward than it should be.
"Sorii," he told her, his face reddening trying to hold back how much it hurt, "Ichimatsu needs you. Please be good to him."
There was a soft apologetic look to her, "I'm sorry, too." Yeah, there it was. "Kara, you're a very good person," she brought up, "Anyone who cares about you will see that and want to be with you."
"You are also a very good person, Ivie. Probably the kindest I've ever met." he responded. She had a sad look on her face, and he wondered why. "Humor me on this," he brought up, "Had it been me to meet you first all those years ago, would you have picked me?"
She was quiet for a few seconds before she responded, "Yes."
Destiny had a funny way of making his soulmate reject him. Perhaps in another timeline.
The two came back to the hotel, and they still could hear the brothers arguing on the other side of the door. It had been probably three or four hours since they were gone, and the other five assholes were still yelling at each other? However, the arguing stopped once they came through the door.
"WHERE WERE YOU TWO?" Ichimatsu roared, stunning both Karamatsu and Yukibo.
"Don't be so angry, burazaa," Karamatsu tried to calm him while keeping his usual "cool guy" demeanor, "We only had a bonding experience together, a refreshing day out for kind hear-"
"What gave you the idea to go out with my girlfriend?" the fourth brother interrogated, "Did you think by going behind my back would let you steal her from me?"
"N-no! Uh, w-well, you see-," the second brother stammered trying to explain, but Ichimatsu kept interrupting him.
"I can't trust any of you! You all want her and will try to take her the moment I turn my back!" he shouted.
"It was my idea!" Yukibo yelled out, and she could see her boyfriend's blood boil at this point.
He yelled back, "Don't lie for him. It's obvious he tried to go behind my back and-"
"God, just shut up!" she shouted in perfect English, her words feeling it smacked him across the face. Now, she was livid, possibly even more so than after seeing the damage done to the room in Yokohama. The other four brothers backed off to let Ichimatsu get an earful. The second brother watched in awe as she defended him. "You tried to quiet me all morning, saying that you'll handle this or that. Kara and I have been gone for hours, and you were still fighting, fighting over something so stupid!" she scolded him, making him sink deeper and deeper in shame, "I get it already. You're mad because your brothers crashed our trip, and we can't be intimate. I know you wanted to have sex! I was ready myself, but you were so insufferable these past few days! You were so busy being mad about it that you didn't even think of a solution or asked me if I thought of something! The solution was so clear: we could've just gone to a love hotel. There was no way your brothers could follow us in there. But, I'm so upset with you, from the way you treated me today that, instead, I went to a love hotel with Kara, today."
"HUH, WHAT?" all six brothers screamed.
"I-I-IT'S N-NOT WHAT YOU THINK!" Karamatsu yelped, but he knew his brothers had already made the assumption.
"DAMN IT!" Osomatsu cried out, holding his head in frustration, "I knew I should've followed them! I wanted a turn!"
"Perverts," she smirked, "I said, we went to one. We didn't go inside it."
"OH, THANK GOD," Choromatsu said, feeling like he could breathe again.
Todomatsu relaxed, "I'd feel like shit if big brother Karamatsu graduated first."
The fourth brother looked back at Yukibo, who was glaring at him. She was upset with him, and she had every right to be. He did neglect her, and she deserved an apology. "Yukibo, I'm sorry," he told her, "I can't excuse myself for my actions, but I'll do anything to make it up to you."
"I don't want to deal with you sextuplets right now," she sighed, "I'm going to go meet with my pen pal today, with or without you."
"I'll go with you," Ichimatsu muttered, "I won't neglect you anymore. From now on, it's all about you." She seemed unfazed by his devotion. Perhaps, she was still too upset to forgive him now.
Instead, she changed the subject and focused on the second brother. "Kara, you should call that waitress," she smiled, "Going on a date with that cutie will be a lot more fun than meeting my pen pal and his family. Who knows, maybe you'll actually get to go inside that love hotel this time?" Perhaps, she was right. The love she had that he wanted was for his little brother, and now was a better time than ever to accept it and move on. Perhaps, Shiina Mayu could be that person.
But, he was hesitant, "Ah, there are plenty other Karamatsu gaaruzu all over Japan. I've had quite an adventure already with you. I think I'll just meet your pen pal with you, today."
Ivie had a blank look as she reached into pocket for his wallet, pull out the receipt from it, and walked over to the hotel landline in the room. She dialed the number and passed it to Karamatsu, standing by him as he gawked at her audacity. The phone was ringing, and it must have rung for a long, agonizing five seconds until he heard a female answer, "Hello?"
He cleared his throat. "Is this Shiina Mayu?" he responded, in his usual cool tone.
"Yes, this is her," she replied in a calm, inviting tone.
"It's Karamatsu. We met at the restaurant earlier today," he reminded.
"Ah! Of course, I remember. You've caught me just after I finished my shift," she giggled.
He stared at Ivie who gave him her support with two thumbs up, while his brothers made faces trying to get him to choke. He continued with her, "I thought about you all day. My brain and my heart are in agreement about you. Why don't we grab a coffee later today?"
"Hmm, are you asking me on a date?" she brought up.
"Y-yes, a date. I'm crazy about you," he confirmed, and he watched Ivie gesture him to pull back a bit and his brothers wince in pain, "So, what do you say? We could have some coffee and then later see where the rest of the day takes us."
"Sounds exciting," the waitress responded from the other end, "I'll be ready in an hour. Let's meet in front of the restaurant where I work."
"See you soon, mai hanii," he replied, hung up, and collapsed onto the table that the phone was sitting on.
"You did it!" Ivie cheered.
"Big brother Karamatsu is going to graduate!" Jyushimatsu also cheered.
"I can't believe he did it," Choromatsu shuddered.
"Is today opposite day or something?" Todomatsu asked.
"Man, I nearly died at 'mai hanii'. Give a warning when you're going to do painful things, Kara," the eldest jeered, saying Ivie's pet name in a mocking manner.
Karamatsu smirked, "She says it a lot better than you do." Surprised, the eldest was impressed by the throw back. Ichimatsu only scoffed.
"Alright, then, Kara. Good luck." she smiled, patting his shoulders. It felt nice.
The group left to meet the fabled pen pal, Kono Kenji, and the second sextuplet had a change of clothes and then soaked the clothes in cologne. He paced in the room, trying to figure out the best way to reach Mayu's heart. Should he serenade her? Should he buy her a gift? Should he confess undying love for her? It was his very first date, and what better way to see than to try it all. He stepped out of the hotel wearing his signature leather jacket. The only difference was that this leather jacket had sparkling, silver, sequin tassels along his sleeves. It matched well with his silver, sequin loafers. Although, Ivie taught him how to dress more subtle, she emphasized that he should just act like himself, and he had been dying to try on this outfit forged by fashion Hell since he bought it. There was a floral shop on the way, and instinctively, Karamatsu bought two dozen of their reddest roses for Mayu. With the new guitar in one hand and a large bouquet of flowers in the other, Karamatsu set off to meet with his date, if his legs would move.
His mind was telling him to get going so he could meet his date, but heart spoke louder and kept them still. He still wanted Ivie, and, seeing how awful his younger brother was to her, it made him want to swoop down and save her more than ever. He argued with himself that Ichimatsu needed time, that Ivie knew what she was doing, and that, in the end, it will get better for them, and thus he should not bother trying to pursue something so futile. Therefore, he should move and go meet with the waitress who had shown so much interest in him. His heart reminded him how good and how human he felt being with her for just a few hours in a day. His heart wanted him to imagine how wonderful it would be if he could have that every single day for the rest of his life, the fun, the joy, the understanding, the intimacy. He could treat Ivie like the queen she was, much better than Ichimatsu ever could. His little brother was an absolute fool to even dare neglect someone as kind as her. She even admitted it, that had it been him, she would have come back for him. Had she picked him- but she did not- but had she- BUT SHE DID NOT. And, that was this reality. She had chosen Ichimatsu over all of them, a small act of kindness to repay.
His mind and his heart finally agreed to move on but in the direction away from his date. His heart was broken, and he had no love to give to a woman he had no feelings for. Karamatsu took his guitar to the street side and began to play the song he wrote for Ivie for anyone willing to listen. The melody of the guitar was his most gentle out of all the songs he wrote. Gentle, because that was how he saw Ivie whether she was gentle with animals or with him and his brothers. His lyrics were not of romance or lust, but admiration of her kindness, ambition, and specific quirks about her than he noticed: tucking her hair over her ear, dropping her Japanese when she was shocked, throwing back her bold American retorts. He loved all the little things about her, the little things his little brother could not see, that went unappreciated because of his one-track mind. Many bystanders gathered to listen to the lovely song, some leaving a good amount of money in his open velvet case of his brand-new guitar. The money was meaningless to him, as meaningless as he tried making his feeling for Ivie into. When he finished the song, he played it again, and again, and again. He must have played it dozens and dozens of time, before it finally left his system, though not entirely. The song and even the guitar felt meaningless now, and though his feelings should also feel meaningless, his current relationship with her was not. He would protect that for her, because he still loved her, even though he could not love her.
After that moment, he loitered at a bench for another couple of hours, trying to build up the nerve to face Ivie without holding those feelings. No amount of mental preparation could prepare him for it, and, plus, he had nowhere else to go except back to the hotel. When Karamatsu arrived just outside the room, he could hear everyone clamoring inside about something. He was surprised to hear that they were back so soon, thinking that they would at least have dinner with Kenji and his family. When he went inside, the second brother saw his brothers sitting around the dining table in their pajamas, boxes of take-home food scattered on the table, playing poker with whatever money was left. Osomatsu already told him about this ploy; it was meant to drain Ichimatsu's funds and force him to beg Yukibo for money.
None of his brothers acknowledged his return, but Yukibo noticed, "You're back so soon? How did it go?"
"I don't want to talk about it," he shook his head.
"Come play poker with us, then," she changed the subject. He always loved how she always tried to include him, but his brothers made it clear with their glares they did not want him to join. The man had two dates with two women on the same day. He could fuck right off.
The game was played with money, but players could raise the stakes when they bet on clothes as a substitute for all-in. If a player could not remove an article of clothing to bet with or were out of money or clothes to bet with, then they were out. Each brother was on his own, except for Ichimatsu who had Yukibo as his reserves, in both money and clothes. However, Osomatsu made a house rule, that because Yukibo had so much money, she could only bet up to 20,000 yen and her clothes. In defiance, she accepted that rule against Ichimatsu's wishes. Everyone was down to their pants, except for Ichimatsu who was already in his underwear.
"I call your thousand yen and raise you another," Osomatsu smirked, knowing Ichimatsu was out of money and down to his underwear. He would have to be completely naked or start using Yukibo's clothes.
"Call," Yukibo spoke out, putting down the money to match Osomatsu's bet.
"Well, now! Looks like Ichimacchan is using his reserves!" the eldest grinned.
Before the fourth brother could ask her why she went in, she assured him, "It's alright, we'll win this," Luckily, Ichimatsu won with his two pairs, winning him some money to keep playing. Although she was not playing, she would help Ichimatsu predict whether to call or fold. At this point, if he did not win back some of the money he lost, not only were his brothers staying on the trip longer, he was going to have to ask Yukibo to pay for him throughout the rest of the trip. That would be humiliating; she would never sleep with him if he kept spending her money.
Choromatsu won the next hand, and he giddily asked Yukibo for her pajama pants to which she complied. Her pajama shirt barely went past her hips; it almost looked like she was wearing nothing underneath. After the next game's reveal, Osomatsu yelled out in victory, demanding her shirt. She flustered and hesitated, exclaiming shyly that she did not have a bra on. The eldest sneered as he continued to urge her to take her shirt off as the rest of them were also shirtless. Surprisingly, Ichimatsu did not defend her. He wanted to see it, too. With a sigh, she started undressing. Each brother gulped, as she opened each button of her shirt, slowly revealing another shirt underneath. The unanimous disappointing sigh of all six brothers could be heard outside the hotel. Still, the satin tank top was so thin they could almost see the tip of her nipples peeking through. It was still erotic, especially since she did not have pants. The brothers were going all in the next round. With whatever money they had left, the brothers raised the stakes to the point where Ichimatsu could not match it with the money on hand again.
"It's okay, we can wager this," his girlfriend assured him. Suddenly, she slightly lifted her shirt from below, revealing a blue flower-patterned panty for all the see.
"Fold." "Fold." "Fold." "Fold."
Ichimatsu laughed maniacally, as his girlfriend set her shirt back down, "So much for that! Look at all this money! Too bad, none of you have a woman of your own." He put an arm around her waist, pressing his face into her body. She looked irked at the sudden embrace, but she patted him on his head, letting her supple breast practically cover his face. "Yukibo, my Yukibo," he grinned, nuzzling on her.
Karamatsu watched his younger brother with his girlfriend, cautiously. No doubt that Ichimatsu loved her, and she loved him back. It was destiny after all, and destiny had a funny way of lining things up for people. Maybe, it was just lazy and destructive to think that life was governed by destiny. Something as critical as love was not something that should be left to some unseen force but be worked on and be fought for. His little brother loved her and meant well, but that just was not enough. At the very core, Yukibo was only bonded to Ichimatsu by a debt regardless if she said otherwise. It was not destiny, but an obligation, something Ichimatsu could not tell the difference between.
As they were clearing the table and Ichimatsu and Osomatsu were fighting over the bed again, Karamatsu went up to Yukibo. "Ivie, I learned something today," he mentioned.
"Hmm?" she asked, tilting her head.
"I learned that sometimes destiny just wasn't meant to be. I don't want you to go through the same with my brother, you know, trying to force something that will inevitably make you unhappy," he told her.
She stared. Her mouth opened, about to say something, but instead, she said, "Thanks for looking out for me. I love your brother from the bottom of my heart." Her smile broke Karamatsu's already broken heart.