I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!
A Second Bite at the Cherry
A movie and late night discussions.
Makihara gave a long exhausted yawn.
The sun had set about an hour ago. The inside of the small apartment was dimly lit aside from the blinding, static light coming from the laptop computer on the coffee table.
"Twenty one~"
Makihara turned his head to the voice. He had almost forgotten that the young man sitting next to him was even there for a while.
"Excuse me?" he asked confused.
Alexandre took a rather large bite of an oddly pink strawberry shortcake. Trying to glance inside the cake box, it seemed that the man had already gone through five out of the ten different cakes slices he had brought. The cakes were all in various shapes, sizes, and colors of flavor; one of them looking strangely Western with shiny neon blue frosting.
'I know stuff like that exists,' the older gentleman thought. 'But seriously, is that even edible?'
The fact that Alexandre was devouring these cakes with ease had both impressed and disgusted Makihara at the same time.
"In the past hour of rewinding the footage, about three times now, you have yawned twenty one times." The Parisian said, cheeks slightly puffed up as he chewed. He then looked over at him and gave a mildly displeased look, but lacked any anger or irritation. "What? Was my choice of film not to your liking? Too boring? I personally think the action scenes were quite engaging in my opinion."
Alexandre set the empty plate on his lap. "Or perhaps that is your character? You're one of those brooding old age detectives who never get enough sleep due to some traumatic event that haunts them every night." He shook his head and giggled to himself. "Then again, that sounds horribly fictional. Plus I must add Detective, you are quite the terrible host."
"Look kid," Makihara shrugged simply. "You're the one who wanted to stay remember? I have to make sure I don't miss anything. But if you find this all not to your liking, you're welcome to leave."
"Oh Hiroki-san," Alexandre pouted, putting a slice of chocolate cake this time on his plate. "You know I kid. But in all seriousness, you've been quiet for a long time. Perhaps, now is the time you make good on your part of the deal hmm? It is only fair after all."
'Oh right,' Makihara thought, biting his lower lip.
The only reason he was even able to view this security footage without permission in the first place was all thanks to Alexandre. However, he wouldn't have been able to if he didn't agree to the boy's demands.
"This eight year cold case you wish to go back to. If you want the evidence, you will have to tell me about it. Come on, I could just taste the impatience and desperation wafting off of you, and I am willing to help. Do we have a deal?"
Speaking to Alexandre Le Corre for the first time a few days before was certainly something he had not expected. The foreign young man was a strange, eccentric individual. Not that he even minded that. However, he was buoyant and theatrical in the way he spoke despite the rather dismal situation they had met in. He definitely wasn't afraid to speak his mind, break the rules, and like a spoiled prince, he seemed to want more. In this case, oddly, he wanted to make an already large scale robbery investigation much more 'interesting.' All for the sake of his curiosity.
The private investigator had hoped ignoring the kid for an hour would have bored the man long enough for him to leave. He should have quickly known the younger was way too nosy for his own good. Granted, he was grateful that the boy was easily willing to sneak around Detective Abe's and his father's back to help him. However, it definitely wouldn't be good to have him involved. It was too risky.
One, he could easily lose his license and all the progress he had made if Alexandre, a civilian, spilled the beans. Then again, getting this case back up and running was going to be difficult already given the only thing he had that he could present was legally obtained. And two, Alexandre himself.
To him, the Frenchman's intentions were questionable at best, and trusting him with any confidential and private info was something he wasn't really keen on doing. Especially in this case.
Makihara clenched his fists on his lap and turned back to the boy who just stared patiently at him. If he were to guess, the young man was already aware of his apprehension.
Makihara just had to be careful with what he said.
"Eight years ago," he started with a sigh of defeat. "A family took in a lodger to help support them and their home. Around the same time, the neighborhood was experiencing a bunch of break-ins and burglaries by a masked individual by knife point. You can probably guess that the burglar and the family's lodger were one in the same. Anyways, according to the reports, this had been going on for a couple of months with no one having suspected a thing. That is until...until the family's oldest child,...the victim, found out."
The older man looked over at Alexandre who had stopped eating and was just listening intently.
"The suspect knew that the victim found out their identity and kept the victim from telling. Most likely via force or violence from the witness accounts of the victim's siblings."
"Siblings…" Alexandre mouthed. For a moment, Makihara could see a sad expression form on the boy's face before returning back to a serious composure with a wave of his hand. "Continue."
"It's unknown for how long," he continued. "But the family had noticed the victim's behavior was off maybe a few days prior to when I came into the picture. Eventually, the suspect revealed themselves to the family when the rest of the siblings found out. The family was taken hostage and they tried to drug the suspect so that they could get away and contact the authorities. Unfortunately, the suspect caught on and fled, taking the victim with him. That's when I was called in as I was in charge of missing children and abductions during my time with the Tokyo Police."
As he spoke, Makihara's memories of that investigation began to resurface. He had dealt with many cases like this, and failed a few as well sadly. It was a difficult job and witnessing the loss and grief many families had to go through was never easy. However, that case was probably one of his harder ones to let go.
"I'll try to make this next part as short as possible," he said, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it. "I was tasked to find clues of the victim's whereabouts and, of course, bring them home. The suspect, we figured, had been going under a different name. We tried finding their real identity to perhaps come up with possible locations they might have taken the victim. We had tried with the DNA found all over the house, but we didn't really have the tech nor the means for more thorough investigations during that time. There were also no records of the collected DNA in our police database even when things were getting updated. We tried questioning neighbors and locals if they had spotted them around Tokyo. I've even sent search parties all around, but nothing turned up."
He took a few puffs. He could tell that just recalling the events was making him remember how frustrated he was during his time on the case.
"What made it become a cold case?" Alexandre asked.
He glared down at the cigarette in his hand and gave a deep sigh. "The victim had a large family who were all close with each other. The victim was actually the eldest of six children. Sextuplets in fact. All 10 years old at the time."
"Wow."
"Yeah...My job didn't really require me to do it, but I had often personally visited them to give them any updates I could find, but also just to check up on them."
"A somewhat dangerous thing to do, you know."
"I realized that mistake."
He hated to admit it, but had been rather cocky back then. He remembered how well his success rate was going and foolishly rode on the police force's praises. He became too confident and naively relied on his skills to solve this case. All in all, he had been foolishly optimistic. He should have known that all his past successful cases weren't just solely skill, but always had been accompanied with a sliver of pure luck.
"They had really trusted me to bring the victim home. It didn't help when the siblings relying on me had the same face as the victim themselves." He tried to chuckle at the last sentence, but it felt strained.
"Around 5 or 6 years ago, the victim's blazer, what they were last seen wearing, was discovered around one of the local rivers nearby. A very...very significant amount of dried blood was on it. From what the examiners found, the blood belonged to the victim."
He had hoped Alexandre could figure out what he meant with that last part.
"There was the same DNA of the suspect found on the blazer as well, but as stated before, we had no personal record we could match it with. No other clues were able to be extracted after that."
Alexandre looked at the man confused. "But that certainly doesn't conclude anything?"
"It was enough to hurt the family big time though. The children had already been falling apart and that piece of evidence was enough to set them off. They were devastated. Some of them handled it worse than others. One of them even suffered a mental breakdown and had to be taken into the hospital to be evaluated. After that, the family asked me not to visit anymore out of concern. I'm pretty sure it's not like they wanted to give up, but as the months, years, went on and no leads...the parents had to try and get the rest of their children functioning and continuing on forward. You know, a stable life."
He snubbed out his cigarette.
"As a result, I had no choice but to shelf the case and move on to other investigations. I would only be able to re-open the case until new evidence came up. So far, in the past few years, nothing has turned up. That is, until 3 months ago."
"What happened?"
Makihara made a small, disgruntled noise in protest. He decided that now was the best time to be tight-lipped. He said what he was able to say.
He went back to observing the footage and yawned. If he managed to return to this case, he sure wasn't planning on letting this guy know anything further than what was already documented in the past.
For a while, none of them said anything. He went back to staring at the laptop screen and Alexandre continued to eat. After about fifteen minutes, the silence was broken.
"So," Alexandre said, glancing at the screen. "Did you find whatever it is you're looking for?"
Makihara continued watching the security footage from the night of the robbery playing in front of them. He took a deep breath.
"Yeah," he answered solemnly. "Eighty-six percent sure at least."
"Only eighty-six?"
"Heh, the video isn't really possessing the greatest camera quality here," he simply retorted, gesturing at the laptop. "But I read about the other reported robberies. The descriptions of the boy do match with what is seen in the feed. Just as Detective Abe had stated."
"Oui , yes, but that's no new information and that's not what you're focusing on, am I correct?"
Makihara pressed the pause button and zoomed further in to show the grainy image of the two burglars. Particularly focusing on the taller and, most likely, older one. Makihara subconsciously rubbed the side of his upper arm tenderly.
"The other one seems to be recovering from some kind of injury on his left leg." He pointed out. "It's hard to notice, but he's actually walking on a limp."
Alexandre leaned forward, squinting his eyes at the screen. "Huh, is that so."
"The only descriptions from the recent reports is the kid. However, not much is known about the other suspect. Only that there are claims that he is middle-aged." Makihara paused, seeming unsure how much he should indulge the Frenchman. "I can't say much, but the man's description highly matches the description of a person of interes-"
"It's the one responsible for the child abduction and possible murder." Alexandre had replied back simply and bluntly, as if answering a pop quiz. Makihara could not help but be somewhat shocked at the nonchalance and confidence in the boy's statement. For a moment, he didn't know how to answer.
"It's obvious is it not?" Alexandre tilted his head in amusement. "Was it not what you were implying? But I know you are unable to answer outright given confidentiality or whatever."
The detective just cleared his throat. 'This kid sure catches on fast,' the older man thought to himself.
"On another note," he muttered. "The current suspects' looks, the way they move, and their mannerisms with each other...it's just how I remember it."
The other just stared quizzically at him. "Remember?"
He refused to say anything else; removing the USB from the laptop. "Well! I filled my end of the bargain so I guess our deal's complete. I hope that you're satisfied because that was all I was willing to give you kid."
After such a long time, Makihara couldn't stop himself from feeling a bit giddy. He felt a sense of relief and newfound determination growing on his face. It might not be much, but there was definitely something there to work with.
He offered the USB drive back to Alexandre.
"Still," he added. "Thanks. I'm glad I got a chance to look over this. It was a big help."
"Hmmm..." Alexandre didn't take the USB. Instead, he kept humming; his attention seemed to go to the cake box, now with only the neon blue cake slice left.
'Geez, this kid likes to eat,' he thought, rolling his eyes.
"So my dear Detective Makihara Hiroki," Alexandre asked. "I take it your cold case has a chance of life once more?"
He smirked. "Yes, I think so," he answered honestly.
"Good," Alexandre responded. "Because now, we've got a lot of work to do if we want to catch this bastard."
His smirk dropped.
'Pardon?'
Makihara's feelings of determination suddenly shifted to shock as Alexandre picked up what was now a visibly fake plastic cake, turning it to the side, and pressing a button labeled STOP on it. At that moment, Makihara wanted to slap himself in the head. How could he have not noticed that before, he scolded himself.
The latter just gave an innocent smile. "How about another deal, Hiroki-san?"
All Makihara could do was put his head in his hands and groaned in annoyance.
"Oh yeah," he simply stated. "Definitely a big mistake with this one."
"I see, that's a shame to hear. Are you sure you could still work tomorrow if you're not feeling well? I could have Shizuo-chan cover for you?"
"No, it's fine," Karamatsu said, trying to speak as apologetically as he could over the phone. "I'll be able to get over it after a good night's rest."
"You know I'm aware of your other jobs Matsuno-san," the gruff yet somewhat kind voice spoke through the receiver. "You're a good worker but you should also worry about your health. I won't be bothered in the slightest if you need a few days off."
"No, no Takeo-san!" Karamatsu shook his head. "I'm so sorry for making you assume that! It's just that it has been pretty cold recently so it's making me feel a bit under the weather. That's all. I promised you Sir, I'll be up and at it for work tomorrow so there's no need to worry."
"*Sigh* Well, if you say so Matsuno-san. You have a good night alright?"
"Thank you, Takeo-san. I apologize again...Good night."
Karamatsu sighed as he hung up the phone, feeling guilty for lying to his boss. It had been a long day and Karamatsu couldn't bring himself to do anything but stay home. Too many things were on his mind.
"That's odd."
Karamatsu jolted a bit and turned to see Choromatsu a few feet away from him with a curious look on his face.
"It's rare to see you ever call in sick, Nii-san," Choromatsu drawled; his eyes moved up and down as he stared at Karamatsu. "You don't look like you got a cold or something."
"Ah, truth is...I guess I'm just tired from dealing with Todomatsu today."
Choromatsu rolled his eyes. "God, I still can't believe you let him go. What were you thinking?"
Karamatsu could only respond with a shrug and an awkward smile. "I guess… nothing?"
"Wha- that's not a valid excuse...Did something happen?"
"Huh? No."
"Really? I'm not blind y'know. Ever since you guys got back, you all have been acting weird. I thought you were just upset or mad because of Todomatsu but something's different. You seem... eager... or anxious about something. Not to mention, you called in sick which you clearly aren't. I get you've been tired but your whole behavior is off today."
"Umm…"
"What? Did Todomatsu say something dumb again? That's why you should have just dragged him back so I could give him what for! I could have handled him. Unlike you y'know. Or is it something else? You can tell me y'know if something's bothering you."
Karamatsu tried his best to deflect the onslaught of questioning. Guilt welled up inside him, but all he could do was give his brother an exhausted look. "Choromatsu, it's just… I'm sorry, I'm really not in the mood. Can we just drop it for today please?"
Choromatsu furrowed his eyebrows with both confusion and concern. "Karamatsu, what are you hidin-"
CRASH
Karamatsu and Choromatsu averted their attention to the end of the hall. It came from the kitchen.
"Everything alright Jyushimatsu?" Karamatsu asked, worried. Jyushimatsu wasn't known to be clumsy.
"Yeah! I'm fine!" Jyushimatsu's voice shouted. "Umm- Choromatsu! Yeah, um, can you come over here? I'm going to need help with these dishes."
'Oh', the eldest finally realized.
However, Choromatsu yelled back, clearly confused at the odd favor. "Huh? Why?"
"Please Choromatsu Nii-san!
Choromatsu looked over to Karamatsu, but was only met with a shrug from the latter. He pushed up his glasses in frustration. "Ugh, fine! Coming."
Before walking away, the second son scowled and shook his head. "Get some rest alright? You look like crap."
00:23
Ichimatsu created a group with You and Jyushimatsu.
As their cellphones buzzed at the new notification, Jyushimatsu and Karamatsu looked at each other. They should have expected this once things began to settle down for the night. Karamatsu pressed a finger to his lips, and then looked and pointed up. The other nodded before they both looked back down as their cellphones.
Ichimatsu: we need to talk
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
Ichimatsu: Is Choromatsu around?
Both of them started typing at the same time.
Did you make it back to your place alright?
Jyushimatsu: No he just went upstairs
Ichimatsu: Yeah. So did Choromatsu suspect or say anything after I left?
He was a bit suspicious but he dropped it. He doesn't know anything. That's the important part
thank you again Jyushimatsu. I was really in a pickle
He emphasized this by also giving a small smile at the younger and mouthing 'thank you'.
"It's no problem Nii-san," Jyushimatsu whispered.
Their phones buzzed again.
Ichimatsu: Wait what happened?
Ichimatsu: Actually nevermind
Ichimatsu: since he's not around we need to talk about what we should do next
Good question.
Karamatsu glanced across the kitchen table to Jyushimatsu, who looked back at him expecting an answer. Karamatsu stared at his phone screen for a while.
Well I want to stop by Dekapan's tomorrow for the test results before my shift. He typed reluctantly.
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
Ichimatsu: K, my test ends in the morning so I can be at the station around 11. I can meet u guys up in the afternoon and we can head over there
Karamatsu bit his lip nervously.
No, I still think it's best that I should handle this on my own.
You two should focus on your other studies since final exams are this week.
Ichimatsu: Youre kidding right?
Ichimatsu: How the hell do you think we can focus on studying after all this?
Ichimatsu: I didn't even want to leave but you kept saying otherwise in front of Choromatsu. What the hell was that about?
Jyushimatsu looked up at Karamatsu, most likely giving the same sentiment as Ichimatsu. Karamatsu signaled a slight wave at the younger brother as if saying 'I know, know' and started typing.
Look,I realize you're also anxious about this.
But like you said. We should take things slowly here.
He pressed a hand to his face, moving it up to brush his hair back. He frowned over at Jyushimatsu.
"Just give me a second," he whispered. He seemed to address this more to himself than to his younger brother. Nonetheless, Jyushimatsu just nodded and waited patiently for Karamatsu to finish. Karamatsu took a moment to think, trying to figure out what would be right to say.
Look, we shouldnt all be involved in this when you two have other responsibilities to take care of. We're not sure how the results will turn out but im saying this as the eldest. I'll just go on my own tomorrow. I know it's hard but you two can't be distracted. You need to concentrate on your studies. I promise I will tell you both as soon as I get the news
I can't help but think I already know what the results will be
But I should consider what you and Todomatsu said earlier
With bated breath, Karamatsu pressed the send button and waited for his brothers' response.
"Mmm…" Jyushimatsu hummed with nervousness as he read the text; his lips pursed and shifting from side to side as if trying to decide whether to say something or not.
Karamatsu wasn't too worried about Jyushimatsu's response, knowing he would most likely understand. He stared at his screen, waiting for Ichimatsu. Luckily, Ichimatsu responded rather quickly.
Ichimatsu: Fine. Whatever.
The tone of the text didn't sound happy, but at least the third brother seemed to accept his reason. Regardless, it made Karamatsu breathe out a sigh of relief.
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
Ichimatsu: In any case, I hate to think of it too
Ichimatsu: but if he is Osomatsu, and that is a BIG IF, we can't keep this to ourselves.
Ichimatsu: We might have to tell the rest of the family about this.
Ichimatsu: Though I cant help but think that that would be very bad. All because of that brat
[Jyushimatsu is typing…]
Karamatsu watched Jyushimatsu begin to type, a concerned look on his face.
Jyushimatsu: Todomatsu sure can be harsh. Especially when it comes to Choromatsu.
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
Ichimatsu: "Harsh" is not the first thing that comes to mind
Ichimatsu: He was legit about to call him and spill everything out on the phone! He knows how Choromatsu gets. We could have had another shutdown on our hands. Maybe even worse!
Ichimatsu: God, Im surprised you didn't give him another punch to the face for that
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
Ichimatsu: What? Not gonna say anything?
What else could Karamatsu have said that wasn't bought up already?
Todomatsu was a handful. An uncontrollable handful and, unfortunately, couldn't be stopped. Todomatsu always did what he wanted despite how it affected others. His callousness was endless and Karamatsu should have known that.
The eldest had been furious with him all week and still was. When Ichimatsu had told him where the youngest was, he was consumed with boiling hot anger. He was ready to beat some sense into the boy, and he felt a sense of pride as the oldest son to finally do it. He had punched Todomatsu(which he always refrained from doing until today), yelled and scolded, and tried to reel him in with a firm grasp... but in the end, even that solved nothing.
Todomatsu, as always, fought back. If fact, all Todomatsu had to do was open that mouth of his and he would have the upper hand on anything. It was terrifying.
His thumbs moved to type.
Im well aware he's capable of doing terrible things but it was obvious he only used Choromatsu to get out of trouble.
If I dragged him back he would have told him everything as payback.
Ichimatsu: K fair, but honestly he would have done it regardless just to see Choromatsu's reaction
Ichimatsu: That monster always tries to get any opportunity to toy with him
Todomatsu's hatred for Choromatsu. Another thing to always be reminded of. That hatred of his both worried and sickened Karamatsu ever since they were young.
He and Ichimatsu knew the younger was known to make promises with his threats and blackmail towards the second son. They wouldn't dare try to do anything that would upset Todomatsu right now, especially in a delicate situation such as this.
I agree but don't call him that
He's not off the hook, but I can tell he's tired from all of this. We all are. At the moment, he's not what I'm worried about.
With everything going on today, Karamatsu realized there was really no point in trying with the fifth brother at the moment. If anything, it would be just a waste of time.
They needed to get back on point.
If we find out the boy is Osomatsu, I think it would be best to still keep this between the 3 of us. Todomatsu was right. I don't think any of us want to tell our parents.
I cant help but worry about Mom's health and I couldnt bare it if something were to happen if she takes the news badly
And that especially goes for Choromatsu as well.
[Jyushimatsu, Ichimatsu is typing…]
Ichimatsu: Fuck I can't help but agree with u
Jyushimatsu: Nii-san, when you say the three of us are we not going to tell Todomatsu about the results either?
Ichimatsu: Why should we? It seemed pretty clear that he doesn't want any part of this
If he had the option, Karamatsu would permanently keep any and all information away from Todomatsu. But...
If he asks about it I'll tell him.
Jyushimatsu: Oh, ok
Ichimatsu: that would be really stupid of you
Todomatsu is already too involved. He'll figure it out eventually whether we tell him or not. We just need to make sure he wont do anything reckless
Sadly, that's all Karamatsu could hope for. He glanced at the time on his phone.
Anyways, we shouldn't worry about it until later. You need some rest Ichimatsu. Focus on school and I'll handle everything from here.
"That goes for you as well," he whispered over to Jyushimatsu.
The latter, already rubbing his eyes tiredly, nodded. "If you say so, Nii-san…goodnight," he said with a hesitant smile before quickly typing on his phone.
Jyushimatsu: Well, I guess this is goodnight Nii-chan
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
Ichimatsu: how annoying
Ichimatsu: You better update us Karamatsu
'Uh oh' was the first thought that popped into Karamatsu's head.
Jyushimatsu didn't seem to notice anything wrong. He just waved goodnight at Karamatsu and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
Now left alone, Karamatsu sat there; a hand resting against his forehead. He looked down at the group chat and sighed to himself.
He decided it was best to wait a few minutes.
01:02
You're still awake right?
Jyushimatsu isn't in the room. Tell me what else is upsetting you.
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
Ichimatsu: Just saying I figured Choromatsu would be suspicious of you. Screw your drama club experience because you're a god awful liar when it comes to him. you two were close after all
Ichimatsu: but that's not point
Ichimatsu: Answer me this Karamatsu
Ichimatsu: Osomatsu or not, are we even ready for this? More importantly, are YOU ready for this?
Karamatsu thought for a while. If he were honest with himself, he would absolutely say 100% 'No. Definitely not. In fact, I want to run the opposite direction from this conversation right now.'
But he wasn't lying with how he felt earlier today. The moment he laid his eyes on the mysterious young man, he was hopeful, excited, extremely relieved that this man… that they had found Osomatsu, someone Karamatsu thought he would never see again in this world.
His phone buzzed.
Ichimatsu: Obviously your e not but of course, of course you'll deal with it on your own
Karamatsu couldn't help but flinch. Ichimatsu was mad at him again.
The relationship between the two was always hard and difficult. Compared to Choromatsu or Jyushimatsu, Karamatsu hated upsetting Ichimatsu. It felt pathetic but Karamatsu always craved approval from the younger. His brother was confident, smart, and had so many opportunities ahead of him. He really wanted things to be good between them.
Please understand Ichimatsu. I'm just trying to look out for you guys. I promise I'll be sure to relay any information to you but I'm responsible for taking care of this family. I can't let you guys be distracted at such important times in your lives.
You've even told me before how you hate getting involved.
Your studies should be more important. I'm not a student. I can worry about this for you.
I'm also trying to take your feelings earlier today into consideration.
Karamatsu typed, remembering how Ichimatsu yelled at him back at the park.
Ichimatsu: Okay bullshit that is not what I meant earlier! This is not something I can just ignore. You think this isnt just as important for me? So long as we're still waiting for an answer, this is all I can think about right now! I'd be absolutely crazy if I didn't.
Ichimatsu: And dont you dare throw that at me! I know what I said.
Ichimatsu: but forget that right now. Let me remind u why I was mad at u today
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
Ichimatsu: You just met this person and pushed the idea on him to be our brother. Not simply think about it or consider it, but BE our brother.
Ichimatsu: U think that's something you can just drop on someone? Forget their memory loss and possible confusion adn panic to whats going on around them, just have him be our brother
Ichimatsu: *and
Karamatsu couldn't help but try to defend himself.
But I did apologize to him for my actions when I noticed he was in pain
Before he could type any more messages, Ichimatsu cut him off.
Ichimatsu: Oh yea but that didnt really stop you. Giving him your little sob story about our tragic family past!
Ichimatsu: You were just as worse as how Todomatsu treated him
Reading that sentence sent a stab to Karamatsu, but even he couldn't deny what Ichimatsu was saying. In hindsight, it was all true.
But could Ichimatsu really blame him for his actions?
The brother that they grew up with for ten years, who was their leader, who disappeared and was thought to be gone forever. Who wouldn't be joyous at that moment?
That at last, their Osomatsu had come back to them. It seemed like a miracle. If the man was Osomatsu, everything would get better. Better for his family, Choromatsu, and...
I know Ichimatsu. I know. I'm sorry. But just seeing him made me idk but this is our brother we're talking about.
[Ichimatsu is typing…]
Ichimatsu: Ok look shithead
Ichimatsu: I'll admit it. I maybefeel just as hopeful about this as you are. I can't fault you for acting irrational, but I know when certain behaviors are inappropriate
Ichimatsu: But do u really think I believe u when you say u can deal with this alone? Fuck no. Thank god that Dekapan will be there to help because u may act like youre on top of everything but it's no secret that youre a mess
The chat was silent for a few minutes until Ichimatsu texted again.
Ichimatsu: You know what? it's too late right now to hear any of your excuses. I need to get up early
Ichimatsu: Just when you get the test results tomorrow, react accordingly to whatever but think about what this guy might be going through. He is clueless. Don't just be considerate about Jyushimatsu and me.
Ichimatsu: I'll talk to you later
Karamatsu pressed the power button on his phone, the screen turning black, and placed it face down on the table.
'Well, that went better than expected,' Karamatsu thought, sighing. He was fully expecting Ichimatsu to go off on him. He guessed that the younger man probably would have if it wasn't so late at night, and most likely very tired and stressed.
Even though his conversation with his brother didn't end badly, he felt incredibly uneasy. It felt like his chest was tightening bit by bit; a low pounding inside his head. As he sat there quietly, he closed his eyes trying to think about everything today.
All Karamatsu could feel was the overwhelming sense of disappointment he felt towards himself.
Maybe Ichimatsu was right when he claimed he wasn't ready to manage all of this. Maybe Chibita was right when he shouldn't be responsible for everyone.
But, oh god, how he desired to be.
"I can't afford to fail," Karamatsu said under his breath. "Not with this…"
Karamatsu needed to make sure Ichimatsu could trust him to make the right decisions. That was his role as the eldest right?
To be the head of the family. For everyone to look to for all the answers. To be assured by his brothers, all of them, that he could be relied on. It was the only thing he ever strives to be good at.
If...If that man turned out to really be Osomatsu...
"You expect something good to happen with all of this don't you? A happily ever after correct?"
Todomatsu's words cut through his thoughts. Karamatsu pressed his hands to his face, trying to keep his breathing as steady as possible.
He just needed to hear the results from Dekapan. He just had too.
After an hour, Karamatsu slowly dragged himself up the stairs and into his bed.
He stayed up the rest of the night staring at the ceiling.
A/N: I'm always so unsure when it comes to writing for text messages or group chat dialogue. I usually go for script format, but I've been told recently how that method tends to annoy or confuse readers. Let me know what you guys think.
Anyways, thanks for reading!
