Warning: Depictions of blood and mentions of physical bullying mentioned, if this triggers you, please do not read.
Upon a late night and a not returned Karamatsu came not so worried brothers aside from Choromatsu, Jyushimatsu, and I, although I remained uncaring-like to hide the truth. Choromatsu paced back and forth in the living room, weighing the possible options of where our brother was, while Jyushimatsu sat in the corner next to Ichimatsu, attempting to distract himself with Ichimatsu's quiet mumblings that were only in the earshot of Jyushimatsu along with petting a small kitten that was in Ichimatsu's lap.
"Well," I spoke, "I suppose I'll go out and look for him." Heads turned to me, two in shock, one in thankfulness, and one with uncaring eyes.
"Are you sure, Osomatsu-niisan?" Todomatsu asked me, glancing up from his phone. "It sure is an awful lot quiet without Karamatsu here..."
Ah, Totty, being heartless as always.
Well, not always, but being rude towards Karamatsu like always. Like we always did.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm the oldest brother, gotta keep my ducklings in a row." I stated, finger going underneath my nose, much to Choromatsu's annoyance.
"You're older than Karamatsu-niisan by thirty seconds, me by a minute, Ichimatsu by a minute and forty-five seconds, Jyushimatsu for two minutes and five seconds and Todomatsu by two minutes and fifty seven seconds. You're not big and superior, Osomatsu-niisan."
Ouch. I'll place that in the files to have an attack later. "Right, right, right, but I'm still older than you. If you want to go out and look for him, too, you're more than welcome, but I'm leaving right now." I said as i moved to put on my red hoodie with my shirt on underneath it. I opened the door to the outside.
"Wait, niisan!" Jyushimatsu called, running after me. "I wanna look for him, too!" He called, sleeved hand reach out towards me. I laughed slightly at his energy, and nearly smiled at him fondly. Now, I didn't have favorite brothers, I always told myself this, but Jyushimatsu's energy and happiness compared to no other. If I was ever down, all it took was to be around the ball of energy for me to feel happy. But Jyushimatsu wasn't always available for me.
"We'll cover more ground if we part ways." I told him, pointing my thumb down the left side of the street. Ichimatsu's eyes seemed to widen at my statement, his petting of the kitten seeming to cease momentarily.
"You expect Jyushimatsu to go and look for Shittymatsu alone this late at night?" He asked, voice sounding uncaring, but eyes telling a whole other story. Although they were still droopy like normal, his pupils looked worried. I bet Jyushimatsu could see this, too, since he was always so good at reading others' emotions.
"Ichimatsu-niisan, I'll be fine, I promise! I'm strong and tough! No one will mess with me!" He cheered with rosy cheeks. Even Jyushimatsu knew that this was a lie deep down. Not about the strong and tough parts, Jyushimatsu was probably the strongest out of all of us next to me. But everyone knew from experiences in high school, Jyushimatsu was always susceptible to bullying, even in their adult years, adults from their high school years would gang up on him and beat him up, along with teenagers who didn't like Jyushimatsu's diversity.
Ichimatsu shook his head and stood up, cradling the small pumpkin tinted kitten in his arms. "I'm going with you, Jyushimatsu. There might be more cats out there, or even this kitten's parents." Ichimatsu lied. No matter how much he thought he was fooling all of us, we all knew Ichimatsu was closest to Jyushimatsu, his immediate younger brother. If anyone tried to mess with Jyushimatsu, Ichimatsu would surely put them in place. We all knew Jyushimatsu saved Ichimatsu countless times. Physically and mentally, that is.
Of course, Jyushimatsu had no objections with Ichimatsu attending the search. Besides, if something serious was happening to Karamatsu, heaven forbid someone was bullying him, Jyushimatsu may need backup in more accounts than one. Despite Jyushimatsu's unbelievable strength, he was still only on person.
"Good, so that makes three people going out to find him," I stated, to which Ichimatsu let a slight 'tch' underneath his breath. I looked over to Choromatsu and Todomatsu. "Are you two staying here? I know Todomatsu doesn't care, so he should just stay anyway in case Karamatsu does come home," This caused Todomatsu's eyes to dart up from his cellular screen, voice ready to protest, but I cut him off before he's able to speak, "and Choromatsu, you should probably stay home in case he does come home and is in a tizzy. You should know how to calm him down from your previous panic attacks." I stated, looking over the most nervous Matsuno of the household.
I could tell he was slightly irritated by the mentioning of his anxiety disorder, but he wouldn't dismiss my statement. It was true, that if someone were upset or anxious to the point that they couldn't breath, Choromatsu usually had them covered due to his own personal knowledge on the subject. Not that I wasn't good at it because I may have been a bit better than Choromatsu, having to coach him through all of his attacks. He usually hated help from anyone that wasn't me to begin with, so that gave me plenty of years to perfect my techniques.
I watched as Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu parted ways from me, walking down the right side of the street, leaving me with the left side. I made my way down the quiet and dim lit street. The temperature wasn't as warm as I would have liked it to be, and thus I shoved my hands in the pockets of my hoodie.
I wonder if Karamatsu is cold.
The crisp November air was kind of refreshing at first, but the longer one stayed outside or did an activity out in the frigid air, the harder it was to breathe. Your lungs felt as if they were freezing from the inside out, and if you were outside for too long, this would obviously later result in getting sick. And that's the last thing we needed to happen. For one of us to get sick.
If one of us gets sick, we all get sick.
Unless Karamatsu got pneumonia, which wasn't contagious, but we definitely didn't want him to catch that. Under the right circumstances, it could be deadly. Perhaps that was just me being nervous and scared as an older brother, but I'd much rather not take the chance.
So when seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned into nearly two hours, my fear and anxiety was understandable.
I looked around, a street clock reading the time 1:51 A.M.. I began to grow desperate, quickly running to Totoko-chan's house. Maybe she knew? Surely, she'd be angry that she had been awoken at such an early hour, but hopefully she'd understand my distress. Upon skidding up to her house, lungs burning from the cold air as well as the run to her house, I planted my hands against my knees, taking in deep breaths despite the pain. I took nothing more than a second to attempt to regain myself before knocking on her door.
Of course, she didn't answer immediately, I knew she wouldn't. I knocked again. Louder, rougher, and more frequent, in a sloppy manner without pattern. It took three minutes of knocking before her door was swung open, showing an obviously livid Totoko. She was ready to scream at me, but I cut her off before she had the chance. "Karamatsu's been gone all day, and we can't find him. Please, tell me have you seen him?" I asked desperately, nearly falling to my knees and pleading.
Her once livid stance began to melt into that of shock. "What do you mean, Osomatsu-kun?" She asked as if my previous statement wasn't at all obvious. As beautiful as she was, I had to admit, she could be pretty dense.
"My little brother has been missing all day! Have you encountered him whatsoever today?!" I asked, losing my patience and temper. If she hadn't seen him at all today, then this was a complete waste of time, and her asking stupid questions similar to the one she previously asked were not helping. Karamatsu could be hurt or sick or heaven forbid dead. If he was hurt, the longer I was standing here, he could..."Damn it, have you seen him?!" I yelled, tears beginning to burn at my eyes.
She shook her head, dare I say somewhat sadly. "No, Osomatsu-kun, I haven't seen Karamatsu-kun today." I felt ready to die in that instance. I couldn't lose a little brother, I couldn't. If he died...I don't know what anyone of us would do.
What I would do.
"Thanks, Totoko." I mumbled underneath my breath, running back down the street, looking for Karamatsu everywhere.
Anywhere.
"Karamatsu!" I began screaming. "Matsuno Karamatsu, where the hell are you?!"
I knew I had to have awoken some residents of the Akatsuka area. But I didn't care, and if they knew the reason, perhaps they wouldn't mind either.
Perhaps he was at the park that Jyushimatsu liked to go to. Yeah...
...maybe.
I ran towards the park area, looking at the swings and the down the slides. I couldn't find him. I had already looked at his favorite bridge that he always stayed at to look for his Karamatsu girls only to be unsuccessful each time. Where oh where could he be. I was about to run down the street, and I was also half tempted to catch a train to a nearby town to see if he ran to another town, but I tripped on something and fell on my hands into the mulch. I hissed in pain before sitting up to stare at my stinging hands. It was only then that I realized that piece of mulch was sticking out of my hand. I moved my fingers to pull the wood out, only to find it hurt greatly when doing it slowly. I took a deep breath before tearing it out quickly. I bit my tongue back to refrain from yelling a bit at the pain, my hands also stinging from the rough action with the ever growing cold.
I looked back to see what I tripped on, half angry at the thought that someone had left an object on the ground and hadn't bothered to pick it up. But once I looked back, my mouth stayed open, ready to say what I was previously going to say, only to have the words taken away from my lungs and breath.
It was a body.
Whose body? I wasn't sure yet. But given my previous situation, I was a bit scared to find out. Of course, the lack of light didn't help much in identifying the person, but something in my gut just knew who it was, even though I didn't want to admit it.
Yes, the clothing looked dark, but that could simply be because of the time and lack of streetlights. And sure, the top clothing was a hoodie but lots of people wore hoodies, not just our family. My hands were shaking as I went to flip the man onto his back, for the first time that night praying that I hadn't found Karamatsu.
When I moved him over on his back, my eyes turned into pinpricks, I'm certain. There was so much blood. Too much blood. And of course, my prayers unanswered, on the hoodie was our signature Matsu bush.
There was no one else that this man could be. I felt like crying. I felt like vomiting. My hands hovered over his broken form, strands of his hair stuck to his forehead from previous sweat spells, and an absolutely pained grimace plastered onto his face. "God, oh god, oh god," I mumbled, eyes watering and even a few tears beginning to fall. "Who...how...Karamatsu...my little brother." I couldn't help myself. I was so terrified. I was alone with him. No phone. No way of contact. If I was lucky, perhaps I could haul him to Chibita's on my own and call an ambulance there then call the others. Oh, but what about Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu? I think Todomatsu lent them his phone, reluctantly of course. My fingers went to Karamatsu's wrist, searching for a pulse frantically. Oh, the wave of relief that fell over me once I found one, despite how weak it was.
"N-Niisan?" A weak voice came from underneath me. I looked down into the tearful eyes of my younger brother, my own tears streaming down my cheeks. His eyes were filled with so much pain and sadness. It scared me. Not that I wasn't scared before, but seeing him in so much pain was horrifying.
"Niisan's here, Karamatsu. I'm here now. I'm gonna get you somewhere safe, I promise. But it may hurt a bit." I admitted, moving to cradle his head in my lap. His lip was split, and his eyes was bruised. Blood leaked from his hoodie a bit along with a very noticeable stain on his hoodie. I had a feeling that I didn't want to lift his hoodie up to look at the damage.
It would probably freak me out too much, and I couldn't risk that happening. Not now when I needed to get Karamatsu somewhere safe immediately.
"I'm...just g-glad you...l-looked f-for me." Karamatsu stated, his eyes beginning to fall. My eyes widened in horror as my hand tapped against Karamatsu's un-bruised cheek.
"Do not fall asleep!" I yelled. I could feel hope slipping away from me, and although I knew it was going to hurt like hell, there was no other option that we were being given. And if anything, the pain should keep him awake. I brought myself to my feet and quickly hoisted Karamatsu to his own, dismissing his loud protests of pain, no matter how much it hurt me. I threw him on my back before beginning to walk as quickly as I could.
"Osomatsu, stop!" He cried, his tears getting my hoodie wet. "It hurts! It isn't worth it! Please stop, niisan!" He screamed his fists attempting to punch my back so that it would hurt enough to make me drop him, but with his given strength it only felt like a tap. "Please, niisan, you all would be better off without me anyway!" He cried in agony. But this cry and statement made me stop cold.
He thought that? Did Karamatsu really believe that? My eyes couldn't hold back anymore tears. Even if I tried, it would have been futile. Tears streamed from my face, and I did the best I could to not sob. "Gosh damn it, Karamatsu!" I cried, continuing my trek to Chibita's home. "If that was true, why would I have been out here for two hours searching for your ass?! If that was true, why was onii-chan so terrified, especially when he noticed who was lying in the middle of the park?" I said, sniffing in between. Chibita's was so close. Why did it feel so far? "I love you! Yeah, you can be painful, and annoying, but you all are! That's what makes all of you my little brothers! And I would go crazy if you stopped being painful and annoying! You're my little brother, and it's my job to protect you! Karamatsu, please!" I cried. "Just a bit further!"
He didn't speak much after that. I didn't know if he was even awake anymore. I did my best to keep myself calm, but so far, I was failing miserably. Karamatsu's weight on my back wasn't a problem at all, I had carried heavier things for farther distances, but the fact that I couldn't see his face and I couldn't see if he was awake or even alive anymore sent my head spinning.
Chibita's isn't far, I had to keep telling myself.
Once his home was reached, a wave of relief fell over me. Forgetting any sense of manners, I threw his door open, surprised that it wasn't locked, and gently set Karamatsu on top of Chibita's couch. If any blood got on the couch, I would gratefully offer to clean it later or even get him a new one if needed once this was all over, especially since I was pretty much breaking and entering.
My blood began to run cold when I noticed Karamatsu's closed eyes and open mouth. His fist flopped next to him, partially open and partially closed, the other hand resting over his abdomen. I was quick to take his wrist into my hand once more, placing two fingers over it, searching frantically for a pulse as well as a clock on Chibita's walls. I hoped that if he had a pulse that it was regular. But even not, I just hoped that he had a pulse.
"Who the hell is in my house, damn it!" I heard Chibita yell from his room. I mentally cursed, but didn't respond as I continued to search for my fallen brother's pulse.
Oh, thank God, I thought thankfully, relieved tears falling down my cheeks. There's a pulse.
"I asked who the hell is in my house, you idjit!" He yelled again.
I clamored to find a landline in his home. Maybe he didn't have one, but it wouldn't hurt to look. "It's me, Chibita!" I called to him, flicking one of his lights on in order to see better. "Osomatsu!" I clarified. I glanced into his kitchen before darting in there, seeing a phone hanging on the wall.
"The hell, you-" He cut himself off. I knew in that moment that he came down his stairs and caught sight of my grotesquely injured brother. "What the hell happened?!" He yelled in alarm, probably running over to look Karamatsu over.
I ignored him as I dialed the numbers 119, fingers tapping nervously against his wall. "What is your emergency?" A female's voice came over the phone.
"I need an ambulance," I stated, tears still falling from my eyes and running down my cheeks. In this moment, I started to realize how much my skin burned from going to the exposure of the frigid air to the heated home. "My brother's hurt really bad, and I don't know what happened, but there's so much blood and he has so many bruises, please, send an ambulance."
"Sir, what is the address that you are currently at?" She asked.
I yelled at Chibita, asking his address before repeating what he told me to the girl on the other end of the line. "Please hurry!" I cried, too scared to take anymore chances than what I already had. If only I had gone out to look earlier. "I...I don't know how much l-longer he's going to l-last." I didn't mean to stutter, I promise I didn't, but my tongue was doing all of the work while my brain was still attempting to process what all had happened tonight.
"Sir, help is coming as fast as possible. An ambulance should be there in at least ten minutes."
"No, n-no! That might not be fast enough, please!"
"Sir, there is nothing more I can do."
I hung up immediately, eyes stinging with unshed tears. I could practically feel Chibita's burning stare on the back of my head, staying in silence of not knowing what to say. But that was ok because I wasn't sure what to say either. I don't think he had ever witnessed me cry before.
Hell, I don't know if anyone had ever witnessed me cry before.
I ignored his presence for the time being and picked up the landline once more, dialing Todomatsu's cell phone. I knew that Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu still had the small cellular device, but I needed to let them know that they could stop searching and start heading to the hospital, or even head home if they were that sleepy, but knowing Jyushimatsu, at least, he would be running towards the hospital as if his life depended on it. I listened to the slow ring, awaiting for an answer.
"Hello?" Thank God.
"Ichimatsu, is that you?" I asked to clarify, although I knew it was him. His voice was so droopy and tired. Jyushimatsu's voice was always energetic.
"No shit, it's me, Osomatsu-niisan," He snapped angrily. Perhaps because he was sleepy, or perhaps he was scared that they hadn't found Karamatsu yet. "What is it? How are you calling me?"
"Ichimatsu, I need you to listen carefully. I'm at Chibita's house right now. I have Karamatsu with me, but he's very injured. Like really bad, Ichimatsu. E-Even I'm a bit scared," I admitted. "I need you to call Todomatsu and Choromatsu and tell them to head to the hospital. You and Jyushimatsu head there, too, but don't let him know how bad Karamatsu is. He might get scared if he knows." I explained, hands clenching the phone and knuckles going white. I awaited for an answer and was a bit alarmed once I noticed Ichimatsu's silence.
"Y-You're kidding right?" His voice stayed monotonous, but his stutter betrayed him. He was nervous. This was rare for Ichimatsu, especially when the issue concerned the blue clad brother.
"I would love to be kidding you right now, Ichimatsu." I said, my voice hitching slightly, a lump building its way up in my throat which made speaking become more difficult.
My fingers trailed down the wall that had the landline on it. This was so difficult. No, difficult wasn't the right word. Scary would be much more appropriate. "We're walking now to the hospital. I'll let the others know." Ichimatsu stated. I could faintly hear Jyushimatsu's babbling. Whether that was a frantic one or a normal one, I wasn't sure, but that wasn't my priority at the moment. Right now, I needed to get back out to the couch.
"Thank you, Ichimatsu. I..." I debated saying my next choice of words, "I love you. Tell Jyushimatsu I love him as well, too. And tell Totty and Choromatsu that as well for me please," I chuckled slightly, before my throat tightened up once again. "I-If you c-can't do it yourself, J-Jyushimatsu will do it for y-you."
I could hear him make a slight 'tch' sound with his voice. "Yeah, I'll let them know." He said before I heard the clicking of the receiver. I knew he wasn't going to say that he loved me back, but it was worth a shot. I knew that, deep down, he cared for all of us, even if he didn't say it. But it would be nice to hear it every once and a while.
Or at least once.
"Osomatsu?" I heard Chibita's small voice come from the living room where Karamatsu lied. I took a deep breath, not really wishing to turn around and let him see my surely red eyes. But I knew that it was obvious that I had been crying. "What happened?"
I took in a shaky breath, finally starting to understand the only true thing that could have happened to my dear little brother. "I...I don't know. But...from the looks of his i-injuries...I believe someone...b-beat him up. He...He's all bruised up...and I think he was stabbed or something." I finally turned around to face him, seeing his eyes wide with fear and sadness. I knew that he and Karamatsu were pretty close, so seeing him like this must have hurt Chibita as well. I could see a fire of anger ablaze in his eyes once I told him what I believed happened to my younger brother.
"I swear, if I ever find who did this, I'll-"
"O...Oso...m-matsu?" A weak voice was heard from the inside of the living room causing Chibita and I to both cast our eyes back to the room. I was quick to run in to the living room, and kneel down by the couch. Karamatsu was so pale. His hoodie seemed to be stuck to his skin from the blood, and if I tried to move it, it would more than likely be stuck to his wound. His forehead began to sweat profusely which alarmed me. Using an old trick our mom used to use when we were younger, I placed my lips against his forehead to test his temperature.
He had a fever.
Oh God, he had a fever.
His wound must be getting an infection.
"Karamatsu, you need to let me take your hoodie off. I think your wound is getting infected," I told him softly. "If it is, I'd like to maybe clean it up a bit before the ambulance arrives," He lets out a soft whine of protest, but I know that he isn't going to fight me. He's too weak, for one, and with how high his fever was losing his hoodie may help cool him down a bit. I looked to Chibita who was standing next to the couch with nervous eyes. "Can you help Karamatsu sit up so I can get his hoodie up and off?" I asked.
Chibita smiled sadly before giving a single nod and walking over to my suffering brother. "On the count of three, Karamatsu," He said for Karamatsu's sake so he could possibly brace himself for the upcoming pain. Karamatsu gave a subtle nod that apparently only Chibita noticed, for I never witnessed him give any affirmation of this being alright. "One," Chibita said, sliding his hands underneath Karamatsu's back, "Two," Chibita braced himself so he could lift Karamatsu's weight, "Three!" With that dreaded number, Chibita lifted Karamatsu up, the latter biting his lip and scrunching his eyes shut tight in pain. The sight broke my heart.
I took my fingers and gently laced them underneath Karamatsu's hoodie, gently separating his dried patch of blood from the hoodie to possibly make taking the article of clothing off easier. Karamatsu bit his lip harder, muffled cries being heard both by Chibita and I. "You can cry and make any noises you need to, Karamatsu." I told him as I cautiously lifted his hoodie from his abdomen once I had been successful in unlacing his hoodie from his own skin.
"D-Don't wanna...c-cry anym-more." He explained weakly. Ah, yes, Karamatsu had never been one to cry in front of people. Though, this was fairly common trait among us Matsunos, Ichimatsu and Karamatsu were probably the worst about not letting others see them cry. To them it was a sign of weakness. Depending on the severity, Jyushimatsu typically didn't mind crying in front of others, although him crying was seldom seen. Todomatsu never seemed to have an issue with crying in front of others. As the spoiled, youngest brother, Mom often saw him as her baby, and he could easily get his way with a small tantrum. Choromatsu usually didn't have issues with others seeing him cry, unless it was one of his panic attacks. If Choromatsu was experiencing one of his infamous panic attacks, he usually preferred to be with one selected brother, which typically was me. On occasion he would want Karamatsu or sometimes even Mom, but I was usually number one pick, Karamatsu falling behind me right at second pick.
And I? Well, I tried to make it so that I never cried in front of anyone.
That obviously wasn't the case that night.
"Karamatsu, we're not going to judge you for crying," I told him soothingly as I helped Chibita lie him back softly in a position that may give him some assortment of comfort. "If anything, we think you're so incredibly strong for making it this far. Don't feel bad if you need to cry or make noise. I'm here and Chibita's here, and I'll hold your hand if you need it. Sound good, otouto?" I never gave him that honorific. I never gave any of my brothers that honorific, and I wasn't sure why. It wasn't really common, but I guess that explains why hearing it every once and a while brought some assortment of comfort.
And with the very rarely honorific being used, tears came fresh in my blue clad brother. "Ok-k, n-niisan." I knew that the tears were going to come fast now, since I had give him "permission" to cry.
I gave him a sympathetic smile before turning my attention towards Chibita. "I know we kinda barged in without permission and I shouldn't be asking for anymore than I already have, but do you have any hydrogen peroxide?" I asked, knowing that my beginning part would fall on deaf ears for Chibita. He had more heart than to just leave Karamatsu like this. He nodded and left for a room that I could only guess to be his bathroom.
Cleaning his wound was difficult to witness, especially since I was the one causing him pain in the moment. The wound was long, but I wasn't sure about the depth. It kind of scared me to think that the wound may be deep and cause even more problems than what it already was.
He hissed and cried, and he even asked me to stop at several intervals, but I didn't. Even if it hurt, it was only to help him.
The ambulance arrived after what seemed to be an hour, but I knew that it hadn't been an hour. I couldn't thank Chibita enough, and I promised to come and clean up his house and the couch. I gave him all the money out of my pockets, maybe enough to pay off our tab, maybe not. But I don't think he was all that concerned with the money at the moment.
"Just...make sure Karamatsu's ok." He told me as the paramedics loaded Karamatsu into the ambulance on the stretcher, me following behind into the truck. I nodded softly, thanking him once again before taking a seat next to Karamatsu's stretcher and taking his hand into my own. The paramedics had placed a breathing mask over his mouth and nose, which I supposed Karamatsu had been breathing out of rhythm. The paramedics told me that they were glad I had stripped him of his shirt, for that may have been a much more difficult part had I not done anything about it.
"N-Niisan?" I heard Karamatsu say weakly, talking for him difficult as oxygen was forcefully pressed into his lungs.
"I'm right here, Kara." I say, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. He and Jyushimatsu had always been the more touchy brothers. They both enjoyed cuddles, Jyushimatsu more so then Karamatsu, and both were always down for hugs. For reassurance, Karamatsu needed some assortment of physical contact.
"I..." He began weakly, "I'm...s-s-scared."
I had never heard him say that before. Not since we had been kids. When the lights would go out during a storm and the nightlight in our shared room, he and Totty were the quickest to be scared. Totty would really dive to the nearest brother he could find while Karamatsu was quick to search the other five identical faces for me. Since I was his only older brother, or so I assumed, he must have felt safer with me.
I wonder if he felt safe with me at all in that moment.
I stroked his cheek with my free hand gently and making sure to not disrupt any of the equipment that was attached to him. Honestly, I was scared, too. He was really pale and weak.
I thought he was going to die.
"I know," I told him with a soft chuckle. "But onii-chan is right here. And he isn't going to leave your side."
To make short of a much longer story, I did stay by his side, only leaving once my hand was pried from his own. He had told me to let go, as the doctors had to work on him, but I was too stubborn and insisted that I stayed no matter what.
Obviously, that didn't happen.
His stab wound hadn't been as fatal as I had once thought, but it was definitely in need of stitches. When the others arrived, Jyushimatsu looked worried beyond belief along with Choromatsu. Todomatsu looked nervous and Ichimatsu had looked unfazed.
But his attitude when Karamatsu was finally stable-which took the better half of six hours-said much different.