Chapter Three

~Please note that all italics are english phrases~

(AN: I'm so sorry for such a long hiatus, and to make up for it…. This chapter is gigantic!)

As the two of us approached the Oden cart, I noticed a group of guys arguing with each other. Osomatsu gripped my hand tighter as he continued to drag me towards his family. He greeted them and I suddenly felt the atmosphere get very stuffy and awkward. Six same faces staring at me… Osomatsu edged me on, trying to get me to introduce myself, as the others continued to stare in shock that a girl was simply in their presence.

"Oh uh… I'm _. It's nice to meet you all?" I said, nervously looking back at them. I took the time to really get a good look at the boys, and observe them as they introduced themself.

I had already met Osomatsu, and noticed that he had a much more relaxed vibe coming from him. He seemed like someone who simply wanted to have fun all the time. Then came Todomatsu, the youngest. I had recognized him from the cafe earlier and greeted him once more. He seemed to be the most fashionable of the lot. He seemed overly social compared to the others, but in a "for my personal gain" kind of way. Next was the third oldest, Choromatsu, he was very nervous talking to me. Maybe he was just shy around girls. He seemed like the most sensible of the bunch though. After him came the fifth born, Jyushimatsu, he seemed like an adorable ball of sunshine. Although, I was really surprised that his voice was so deep.. And that he tackled me into a hug after I agreed to play baseball with him some day. After him came Ichimatsu. He was the fourth born, and seemed even more uncomfortable than Choromatsu. He seemed to really like the cat charm on my phone though, maybe I could talk to him about cats. And finally came Karamatsu. Osomatsu had warned me about him on the way to the oden cart, although he was nothing like Oso had said. He had described the second eldest as a painful and tacky guy, but I thought he was very sweet. Although he wasn't wrong about the monologs…

After the introductions were out of the way, Oso and I sat down on the crowded bench. I ended up being squashed between Kara and Jyushi, and it wasn't exactly easy fitting on a small bench with six fully grown men. Good thing I was relatively small, or this definitely would have been a lot more awkward. Dinner was relatively lax… up until Choro decided to get completely wasted. Nice light conversations turned into yelling, which turned into arguing, and eventually turned into an all out fist fight between him and Oso. It got to the point where Jyushi decided to get up from the bench and start fighting with them.

"Do you guys always do stuff like this?" I said, leaning towards Kara.

"All the time. We all fight almost as much as I get teased by my brothers." He said adjusting the sunglasses on his face and placing a hand on his chin. " But I still love them the same. They're my family. We are simply meant to be this way. Just as a river flows and the sun rises in the east and sets in the west… it is our destiny." As Karamatsu had finished his sentence, Choro and Oso had landed by their feet, still fighting. "I think we should probably get you away from this…" He said standing up from the bench holding his hand to help me up. I reached out to him, and as he began to walk me away he called out to Chibita, who I learned to be the short guy's name, to put it on their tab.

As we walked in silence, I began to notice how sweaty his palm was getting and how rigid he seemed. "Um, are you okay?" I asked, looking towards him. The male gasped suddenly as if I had startled him.

"No, No, not at all I- erm…." He blushed turning his head away slightly. After a moment, he began to notice that he was still holding my hand, and let go suddenly. "I'm sorry… You must think I'm a pervert now, don't you?" He muttered.

I looked back over towards him, touching his arm as reassurance, "You don't need to apologize for holding my hand. It's fine, I knew you meant well and you definitely don't seem like the perverted types… now Osomatsu, he seems like the perverted type." I giggled thinking about the overly forward matsu. Kara only chuckled a bit before a smile appeared on his face once more.

"If you think he's bad, then you will definitely get a kick out of Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu. My brothers and I may have our perversions, but they are actually very good people deep down." He smiled.

I just laughed, replying, "oh yeah? You included yourself in that… What "perversions" do you have then?" I continued to giggle as Kara's face turned an even deeper shade of red. He looked even more embarrassed than before. 'Maybe it's time for me to cut him some slack' I thought to myself as he frantically apologized and tried to plead that that wasn't what he had meant by his statement. "It's okay Kara-san. I was only kidding." I smile as I look back over to face him again. His face, and I'm not even sure how this was physically possible, had turned a deeper shade of red as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"K-kara-san?" He asked.

My eyes widened in surprise. That must be why he was so flustered. "Oh geez, I'm sorry. I just have a habit of giving nicknames to people… I can stop if you want?" I asked, hoping maybe he would be able to relax.

Karamatsu quickly put up his cool guy facade once more, "heh, if my Karamatsu girl would like to call me Kara, then she may… but you don't have to be so formal, we are technically friends, no?" He turned to face me, as a look of curiosity graced his features I began to notice how charming he actually was… despite his awkward and illogical tendencies. It was kind of cute in all honesty.

I jump slightly at hearing this, "Well of course we're friends!" I smile grabbing his hand. "Come on, my apartment is only a little bit farther." I continued walking with him until we reached the front door. "Uh, I really enjoyed being able to talk to you more, and thank you for walking me home… That was very kind of you." I smiled as I took my keys out of my pocket.

He blushed, "I-It's nothing really. Anything for a Karamatsu Girl, but I guess I should take my leave now." He shuffled, placing his hands into his pockets. "...Maybe I'll see you around?" He smiled.

I reached out to grab his arm, "w-wait. Um, I'd like to see you more. Maybe we could get together to hang out sometime?" I blushed realizing the close proximity between the two of us.

Karamatsu's eyes sparkled at my words, "ah, of course! I would love to." He smiled down at me, and grabbed onto my hand awkwardly.

"Um, I don't have any paper on me to give you my phone number, but if you'd like… you could come inside for a moment?" I stated awkwardly. "Um, y-you don't have to though!" God, why did he have to be so adorable when nervous.

He blushed, going to follow me inside. "No, I'd love to…" I lead him into my apartment, and tell him to stay in the living area while I grab a post it to write down my number.

I come back into the room and hand it to him. "Don't lose it okay?" I smiled, blushing in the process.

He smiled and nodded, "I would never… but I can't guarantee my bruzas not taking it though." He started to laugh, and began to make his way to the front door. "Well, I should get going. It's not good to be in a lady's home so late at night." He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck.

I laughed slightly at his comment, "Karamatsu, it's fine really." I opened the door and held it for him. He nodded in appreciation and began to walk home himself, but something felt… off. I had this sudden urge to run up to him and tell him to stay and talk longer, but I couldn't bring myself to ask. I mean, what kind of person does that with someone they just met, but Kara did seem different from the moment he first introduced himself… I had to at least do this one last thing before he had gone too far…

"Kara wait!" I ran after him. Well, too late now… He had already turned around, his eyes widened at the sight of me running towards him. I finally made myself come to a stop directly in front of him. My eyes sparkled looking up at him. "I know I've already said this a lot, but… Thank you again for walking me home…" I blushed, standing on my tip toes for a moment to give him a quick, but gentle kiss on the cheek, "You're very kind."

I turned around and began to quickly walk home before I could regret what just happened, but before I could make it very far, Karamatsu grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a hug. Everything had happened so quickly. One moment he had been there, whispering "you're welcome, my honey..." to me while hugging me, and then the next, he was down the street running away with his face bright red… Such a strange guy, but at least he seems very kind. I turned around and made my way back to my apartment for the night.