Calling the Tune

Karamatsu and Osomatsu hear the results of the DNA test.


Karamatsu arrived at Dekapan's home around the early afternoon.

While it would have been a fairly quick walk to get to his location, Karamatsu seemed to take detour after detour along his path; all the while walking in the slowest pace possible. He lingered outside the house for a few minutes. A nervous sweat rolled down his face as he tried to mentally prepare himself.

Hesitantly, he stepped up to the front of the door and rang the doorbell. It wasn't long before he heard heavy footsteps shuffling from the other side and Dekapan's voice calling out.

"Yes, I'm coming!"

The door opened as Dekapan greeted Karamatsu, the usual smile he normally wore welcomed him.

"Ah Karamatsu," the old man said. "Please come in!"

Dekapan gestured him inside and started walking into the hallway, not waiting for Karamatsu to take his shoes off.

"How is he doing?" Karanatsu asked.

"He's doing alright," Dekapan's voice echoed from the kitchen. "He's upstairs in the same spot he was in yesterday. He still feels fairly sore so I gave him a couple of painkillers earlier. I've been mostly giving him hearty soups to help get his strength back up."

"That's good," Karamatsu said relieved, thinking about Osomatsu's near fall yesterday. He then pressed his lips together nervously.

"And...um...Did you…?"

Dekapan walked out with a tray of tea in his hands. He looked solemnly at Karamatsu and nodded.

"I have finished analyzing the samples," Dekapan confirmed. "But I think it's best that you talk to him first beforehand."

"That's fair."

The old man gave him a warm, reassuring smile.

"Here. Why don't you take this upstairs to Osomatsu-kun and I'll meet up with you two in a few minutes, alright Boya?"

Karamatsu nodded, taking the tray into his hands. Dekapan walked back to his lab, leaving him standing at the foot of the stairs.

With a deep breath, Karamatsu carefully headed up to the guest room.

He knew he shouldn't, but Karamatsu took a gasp of air upon looking at Osomatsu. The lookalike was sitting up in his futon cross legged; a multitude of comics, magazines, and other reading material surrounded him on the floor. He still had bandages warped around his head and arms; his nose still a shade of purple.

"Oh." Osomatsu looked up from the comic book he was reading once he noticed Karamatsu entering the room. "Umm...Hey?"

Karamatsu hesitantly gave a small bow. "Hello… Osomatsu-san."

"You're Karamatsu right?" The teen looked at the door behind him, tilting his head with inquiry. "The others ain't here with you?"

"N-no," Karamatsu replied somberly; he hated hearing the strain in his voice. "I told them I'll be going by myself. Besides, they have university to attend to."

Osomatsu shrugged and returned back to his book. "Ah, is that so?"

Both of them then settled into an awkward silence, unsure of anything else to say to each other.

Every time Karamatsu opened his mouth to start up a conversation, he quickly closed it. He was fine yesterday because everyone was there, but with just the two of them? He was unsure.

Maybe he could distract himself with something else while he waited for Dekapan. Maybe he could pretend to check his phone for text messages or pick up one of the magazines off the floor. Instead, however, his eyes kept drawing themselves over to the person in front of him. He couldn't help but blink a few times.

It was as if seeing him again was confirmation that this wasn't some kind of dream, and that the teen wouldn't just vanish into thin air. No matter how Karamatsu looked at it, the young man looked exactly like him. Aside from the thinner eyebrows, he and this stranger really did look more like twins than in comparison to his actual younger brothers.

"Well… I can understand why you keep staring at me but could you, y'know, stop. After a minute, it kinda gets creepy."

Karamatsu snapped away from his thoughts and looked at Osomatsu apologetically.

"I'm so sorry Osomatsu-san!" he flustered. "I didn't mean to stare."

Osomatsu then pointed at him. "Is that for me by the way?"

"What?" Karamatsu was confused at first until he realized what he was holding in his hands. "O-oh right!"

He quickly made his way over to the boy; kneeling down and placing the tray next to Osomatsu.

"Thanks," Osomatsu said, taking the cup and giving it a few careful sips. He then went back to reading his comic.

"So," Karamatsu fidgeted. "How have you been feeling?"

"Still hurts but I guess recovering,' he said in a nonchalant manner; turning the page. He chuckled a bit at a joke he was reading. "Dekapan-sensei has been a great help. But if you're talkin' about my memory, I've got nothin.'"

"That's good! For the most part I mean," Karamatsu smiled. "You're definitely in good hands when it comes to Dekapan. It certainly was frightening when you almost fell. Remember to take it easy."

"Hm, "Osomatsu nodded. "That reminds me, are those two okay as well?"

Karamatsu looked at him confused. "Uh who?"

"Hmmm I think one of them was Jyu… Jyushimatsu?" Osomatsu answered. "The tall one."

"Huh? What about him?"

"He was the one that got to me on the stairs. He fell backwards when we both went down. Not sure if he got hurt from that."

"Oh."

After hearing that, Karamatsu wanted to mentally kick himself. He hadn't thought of that. Actually, he had totally forgotten that Jyushimatsu was the one that caught him. They were all in such a high state of emotion at the time, Karamatsu forgot that his little brother, while extremely quick and helpful, could have risked injuring himself as well.

Then again, he shouldn't be making any excuses. Osomatsu was injured and dizzy at the time, yet he was the one to remind him of Jyushimatsu's well being.

"Um, well, he didn't say anything but I'm sure he's alright."

"Huh." Osomatsu turned to the next page. "Still, do thank him for me, will ya?"

Karamatsu nodded. "I'll do that..."

"And what about the other one? The broody one with the piercings."

"You mean Todomatsu?"

"Yup," Osomatsu replied. "He seemed super upset yesterday. Though, you guys WERE fighting earlier."

Karamatsu frowned; his hands gripping the fabric of his pants. "It's complicated."

"Huh," Osomatsu said again.

Karamatsu waited for Osomatsu to say anything else, but the young man kept himself preoccupied with staring at the images on the panels.

"Um Osomatsu-san, I needed to ask… about the test? About yesterday..."

After a few moments of more awkward silence, Osomatsu put the book down and gave a heavy sigh; finally turning to face Karamatsu. "Yeah, so I've considered."

"You have?"

The other shrugged. "Yeah. I mean it wouldn't hurt to try right? The test I mean." He took another sip of the now lukewarm tea. "You were right about one thing. If the results prove I'm your long lost brother Osomatsu or whatever, then at least I have somewhere to start. If not… well I'd just be some random amnesiac. And that just sucks."

Osomatsu slowly raised his arms to stretch, but from the look on his face, that proved to be quite a painful task to do. "Ow, ow, ow…!"

"Are you okay?" Karamatsu reached out, but was waved off with a hand.

"Yeah yeah no biggie," Osomatsu reassured him. However, he still breathed in a loud hiss of pain. "Anyways, you must be more nervous than I am. You said your brother was, like, missing for a long time, right? So you guys must be really freakin' out. I mean I was freakin' out for other reasons, but y'know what I mean."

Osomatsu gently rubbed his nose up and down; flinching a bit at the sensitive skin.

"Still…" he continued, eyeing Karamatsu with close observation. "As the patient here, I should have a choice when it comes to letting a complete stranger know my personal info."

Karamatsu chewed on his lip. "You're right. I am nervous and half of me isn't ready with what's going to happen. But at the same time, I want to know who you are. I really do. I know it's unfair to you and I'm definitely putting you on the spot."

He bowed his head. "I'm sorry for that Osomatsu-san. I apologize again for yesterday. Under these strange circumstances, I don't want to let something as important as this go. But I also know it's your choice."

'...think about what this guy might be going through. He is clueless. Don't just be considerate about Jyushimatsu and me.'

Ichimatsu's text kept popping up in his mind and Karamatsu could feel himself struggling with the next words to say. "We… I-"

However, before he could say anything else, the door opened as Dekapan made his way inside. A clipboard was grasped firmly in his hand.

"So sorry for the delay!" Dekapan said. "Everything alright up here?"

"It's no worries Dekapan," Karamatsu lifted his head and turned to the elder. "So… those are it, correct?"

"Yes," the doctor glanced at the clipboard. "Well, first off, Osomatsu-kun? What do you think? Would you like me to disclose this information to you now? We can wait another time if you want so you can focus on getting better first? Or we can even discuss this without Karamatsu here?"

Karamatsu stiffened up at the last suggestion.

It was definitely understandable. He had to look at it from Osomatsu's perspective. However, it didn't stop the anxiety rising inside him. He wasn't looking, but he couldn't help but feel as if Osomatsu was staring directly at him.

"...Well," he heard Osomatsu answer. "We're both pretty curious now. So sure."

Karamatsu felt his shoulders relax just a bit and turned around to Osomatsu.

"Are you sure you're alright with that Osomatsu-san?"

The latter simply shrugged. "Might as well. You guys already took some of my blood without my permission. But you also have been taking care of me. We can call it square."

Dekapan looked from Osomatsu to Karamatsu and back. Even though he gave the former an appreciative and thoughtful smile, there was this sadness in his eyes. He nodded. "Alright."

There was a thick, tense air that hung around them as they waited patiently for the doctor/scientist to speak again. Karamatsu could feel the sweat dripping down his neck as he held his breath with anticipation.

"Osomatsu-kun…with your's and Todomatsu-kun's sample DNA, the results were conclusive."

Dekapan looked at both of them teary eyed.

"It was indeed a match."

Karamatsu breath hitched.

Strange. He didn't know why.

From the beginning, the eldest son was optimistic. Out of all his brothers, Karamatsu was so strongly sure and full of confidence. He saw the similarities. He felt it when he saw Osomatsu's face. Despite his brothers' concerns, rational thought and criticisms- despite the worries of coincidences and false sense of hope- in his heart, Karamatsu felt like he had already known.

But still…

For him to actually hear those words come out of Dekapan's mouth, it felt like something inside of him was released.

A wave of so many emotions suddenly hit and overwhelmed him all at once. Happiness, joy, sadness, fear, confusion, relief…

'He's here,' his thoughts screamed. 'Osomatsu's here. Alive. Sitting with me in this room. He's actually here!'

It didn't occur to Karamatsu how hard he was crying until he felt a hand rubbing circles on his back, softly whispering words of support.

"Breathe Karamatsu. Deep breaths okay?"

He nodded and slowly tried to relax. He still hiccuped in his breathing and continued to sniffle, but after a few seconds he was able to regain a bit of his composure. Dekapan handed him a few tissues which he gratefully accepted; wiping his tear-stained cheeks and blowing his nose.

"I'll go to the bathroom and grab some water for you," Dekapan said. "I will be right back."

He quickly closed the door behind him, leaving the two alone in the room once more. By this point, the hand had already stopped rubbing his back and Osomatsu was now staring at him with an uncertain gaze.

"Y'good man?"

Karamatsu shifted around to look at the latter.

Now he knew. He was looking at his older brother.

Matsuno Osomatsu.

He quickly nodded. "*Sniff*...y-yeah, thank you."

The injured teen then uncomfortably turned his eyes away; his legs squirming a little under his blanket. "So what are you thinking right now?"

"Haha, I should be asking you the same. But Osomatsu-san...it's just *hic*...It's you. It's really you!"

"I guess so." Osomatsu scratched the back of his head and grinned nervously. "It's weird. I know I had to have come from somewhere but to find out I'm related to you guys so suddenly is all so… 'WOAH!' to me. Does that make us… what's that word again? Something like twins and triplets?"

"We would all be considered sextuplets," Karamatsu answered.

"That's the word!" Osomatsu pointed at him with a toothy grin. "Hehe, but sorry I can't remember anything though. So I don't feel excited like you do. Kind of a bummer, right?"

Karamatsu shook his head and smiled. "No it's fine! Honestly it's, uh, if you don't mind me saying, it feels like a gift from the heavens. How should I say this… it's like the grey clouds in the sky have parted and the angels have come down and answered my prayers."

He gestured his arms up in the air and smiled at Osomatsu embarrassingly. If Ichimatsu was here, he would have been thoroughly glared at. He was pretty sure this was a little more than 'reacting accordingly.'

"Heh, s-sorry."

"You sure say some weird things," Osomatsu commented, resting his chin on his hand. He then grinned at him. "But I guess it's just because you're happy."

Karamatsu could feel tears welling up again. "I'm… I'm just so glad. When he took you, we were all so worried… It truly is a miracle."

"... He?"

'Shit.'

"N-no no! It's nothing!" Karamatsu quickly backtracked.

He wanted to curse that slip of the tongue. Neither he nor his brothers discussed it, but they certainly knew they didn't want to mention any of that. Especially to the unknowing Osomatsu. That was something the young man didn't need to know off the bat, and definitely a territory that shouldn't be crossed just yet. It was always somewhat implied but never fully mentioned for a long time now.

To be honest, Karamatsu didn't know what to do if Osomatsu were to ever ask. None of them were ready to recount or explain the events of that day.

Besides, that wasn't important right now. The important thing right now was that Osomatsu, the first son and eldest brother, was with him. Safe and sound.

"But really though…" He said, trying to wipe away his tears. "I'm so, so glad you're okay. Thank goodness."

Osomatsu didn't say anything else, and slid his hand from his chin up to his mouth. Karamatsu noticed the corner of his mouth looked like it was twitching slightly, however it was hard to tell with his blurry vision.

"I see," Osomatsu muttered, turning away to give Karamatsu space to calm down.

For a second, Karamatsu could have sworn he saw something in the teen's eyes.

Annoyance?

... No, it must have been nothing.

After Dekapan came back in with some water, the three all discussed what to do about this newfound information.

"Well now that your identity is confirmed, we need to figure out the next steps?"

"What do you think?" Karamatsu looked over at Osomatsu. "Do you have anything you wish to do?"

The teen sat there for a moment, thinking. "I don't know really. I'm pretty curious to know more about who I am."

"That's a fair request," Dekapan said, jotting a few notes into his clipboard. "We can start off with the basics and go down from there."

"Yeah," Osomatsu agreed. "I know that I'm the oldest brother of se-... sextuplets, right, but that's all."

He turned to Karamatsu. "I guess you can start with telling the news about me to your folks. I wanna hear about myself according to all of you guys."

Both Karamatsu and Dekapan glanced at each other; concern slowly crept onto their faces.

"You're mother and father are still away aren't they?" Dekapan asked. "Have you spoken to them?"

"After all these years, poor frail Mom is finally getting better. Moving on to enjoy herself for once. We certainly wouldn't want to ruin all that progress now would we?"

Todomatsu's voice mockingly echoed in Karamatsu's mind.

The overall elation Karamatsu had felt 5 minutes ago started to slowly dissipate, and a part of an unfortunate reality made its way back, front and center. He could only question how he could experience such extreme highs and lows within such a short amount of time.

He shook his head, clenching his hands together. "I talked with Ichimatsu about it and we both agreed that we should wait it off from mentioning any of this to them. I don't know when would be the right time though. It's all so sudden."

"What about your brothers?" Osomatsu asked curiously. "There's like five of you guys right?"

"Yes, I did promise Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu I would tell them what I found out today." Karamatsu sighed. "Though, Todomatsu however… ugh. Some of us are on the fence about it."

Osomatsu narrowed his eyes and gave him a confused frown.

"I don't get it," he chimed, noticing Karamatsu discomfort. He placed his hands behind his head. "This is some important news. I don't think you should keep something like this to only some of your family. Besides, since I guess I am your missing brother, shouldn't all of you be celebrating like you were just now?"

Karamatsu flinched. He would assume Osomatsu would be correct if someone else looked at it that way. It sounded innocent and pretty reasonable enough. However, he also knew Osomatsu didn't know much, if anything really, about the Matsuno family. It wasn't his fault, but he wouldn't understand how delicate this situation could be for some of them. Last night's conversation proved that. Namely...

Dekapan frowned. "...and what about Choromatsu?"

Karamatsu glared down at his hands.

"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!"

"I-... I want to let him know," Karamatsu stuttered. "He of all people...but, ugh, I just… it's just…"

"I understand what you're going through Karamatsu, but Osomatsu-kun does have a point. I know you boys want to keep things contained between the three of you," Dekapan reasoned. "However, all of them deserve to know."

"I know," Karamatsu bowed his head shamefully, sighing. "I know."

The now second son (a title that felt so foreign to him) closed his eyes, placing his face in his hands.

He wished things could be more simple. He was so happy and relieved that they found Osomatsu. Yet, he felt so pathetic. Why was he so hesitant? So worried? So scared? Surprisingly, these fears were not for his mother, but for Choromatsu.

His thoughts forcibly flashed back to when they were children.

The endless nights of wailing cries and self-blame. Untouched food and a slumped figure laying on the floor. Entering a dark, cold room and only being met with vacant eyes that was staring at nothing. Scared of the thought he was going to lose another one of his brothers...

"...Fine fine… geez..."

Karamatsu snapped out of his daze and turned his attention back to Osomatsu who seemed to mutter something.

"Oh! S-sorry Osomatsu-san, what was that?"

"Hmm, I still don't get it," Osomatsu stated. "But if it's too much, how about this? I'm still recovering, so Karamatsu, you actually don't have to do anything right now."

"What do you mean by that, Osomatsu-san?"

"Dekapan-sensei, when do you think I'll be good to go?"

"Well…" Dekapan thought for a moment. "It'll depend on how you're personally feeling. You've been quite in good spirits surprisingly with everything going on."

"Hehe, really? Probably the lack of memories giving me less baggage y'know?"

"You are also making good progress, but you've stated you still have been feeling pain. You're also still having some trouble with walking. I'd advise you to still give it a couple of more days and rest".

"See? Simple," Osomatsu addressed back to Karamatsu. "If you're really iffy about this, then we can wait til I get back on my feet. It'll give ya enough time to think it over and talk with your brothers or whatever. Besides, I guess it would be easier dealin' with one thing at a time right?"

"Osomatsu-san…"

"The whole telling your folks was just a suggestion anyways. It's your family so it's your decision on what you believe is good."

The older boy crossed his arms around his chest. "You're not doing anythin' wrong, but you don't have to do or think about everything all at once if you don't feel like it. Seriously, you can just use me as an excuse. So don't worry so much."

Karamatsu didn't know what to say.

He supposed the emotion he felt at that moment was gratitude. However, there was something else that was hard to describe. Osomatsu looked at him with eyes that, while unreadable, was different to how Ichimatsu or Choromatsu would look at him. He couldn't put a name to it but it was how Osomatsu said those words to him not with criticism or judgement, but as if it was the obvious thing to say for both of them.

"Um, this is where you say 'Yes' and nod, Karamatsu."

A part of Karamatsu felt guilty for having Osomatsu, once again, being considerate for him rather than the other way around. Yet, he also felt this growing warmth in his chest. It felt nice.

He nodded shyly. "Thank you Osomatsu-san."

Osomatsu stared at him for a long time.

"...Pfft!... So cute."

Karamatsu wasn't going to lie, but he was pretty taken aback from that remark. He could feel his cheeks go hot. "EH?"

Osomatsu simply giggled at his confusion.

"Well," Dekapan announced, clearing his throat. "Since this is what you have both decided, I suggest we should call this a day. Both of you should take some time to fully process the test results. It's time for me to check up on you anyways, Osomatsu-kun."

"You sure are a busy guy, Dekapan-sensei." Osomatsu remarked, laying back into the futon.

"Right!" Karamatsu quickly got up on his feet. "I almost forgot I had work. I should get going."

He looked around making sure he wasn't forgetting anything. He then bowed to Dekapan and Osomatsu.

"I can't thank you enough for all of your help, Dekapan. "

The old man smiled warmly. "Of course."

"And thank you Osomatsu-san as well," Karamatsu continued, slowly turning to the teen.

"You have no idea how much it means for me to be seeing you again. Please let me know if you need anything. I'll help with whatever I can. If you have any questions you want to ask about who you are, let me know and I'll try my best to answer them when I visit again."

Karamatsu turned around and headed to the door. "Well, I'll be off."

As he closed the door behind him, Osomatsu called out to him.

"Just 'Osomatsu' is fine by the way!"

Karamatsu left Dekapan's house feeling a wide range of emotions.

Nothing was in the clear yet.

He knew once he got the chance, he needed to let Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu know. He was worried about how they were going to feel about this. There was definitely going to be a lot of unpleasant talks. A lot of planning and preparations. This was, after all, still a very unknown and scary situation for all of them.

"Huh? Matsuno-san, you were almost late today. That's surprising."

"Sorry Manager! I'll get right on that order!"

But in the meantime, Karamatsu went to work in a good mood.