Chapter Text
Sunset.
One look upwards at soft blue melding into softer orange immediately caught Karamatsu’s attention that late-summer’s day. The man inappropriately dressed in leather tilted his shades down as he lean against the bridge’s wooden railing, sighing with a smile before again adjusting his preferred choice of eyewear. He turned to the attractive passerby folk coming and going his way, unhindered by their looks of discomfort or disgust clearly shot towards him. He was used to it at that point in his life, but nonetheless gave what he deemed to be a charming smile back at them.
“Until tomorrow, my Karamatsu Girls,” he promised, putting a wink in for extra effect and prompting any women present to shake their heads and walk faster. He turned to a few men passing by, doing the same thing. “And I could never forget my Karamatsu Boys either—”
“—Drop dead, you creep,” was what he heard from one guy before his friends followed him away from Karamatsu.
As aware as he was of how hurtful the words were, Karamatsu only laughed it off before going his very way. While he strolled, hands in his jean pockets and head slightly elevated for appearance’s sake only, he let a small pebble be kicked along the street by his foot while waiting for the distance between himself and his humble abode shrink in length. However, Karamatsu’s focus wasn’t as put towards walking home as it should have been. The moment he’d actually looked up from his dazed, illusioned mind, he was met face-first with a wooden post.
“Ouch!” Karamatsu exclaimed, rubbing his injured forehead while bending to retrieve his fallen sunglasses. He inspected them for any cracks and shook the pair free of dirt once he found none. “It seems that I ought to save my charms for a much later— ...date? What’s this?”
Blowing against the podium in the breeze that tried to snatch it from its tack was a flyer, the bottom made up of small slits with a specific number and address to contact. Karamatsu pressed the paper against the pole to prevent it from being lost to the world forever, scanning its printed contents to see that it was a flyer made by Professor Dekapan.
“‘Week long experiment for the good of society’?” Karamatsu read to himself. “‘Volunteers will be paid close to ¥100,000 for participating in the important research. For more information, contact the number listed below. Walk-ins also acceptable’.”
Dekapan’s promised payment alone was enough to further persuade Karamatsu into seeing the task as a good idea. Well, that and the promise that it was for the greater good. If there was one thing Karamatsu Matsuno wished for almost everybody around him, it was a prosperous life and good will. The thought of aiding in bringing that to all sounded even better to the second-born sextuplet; wanting nothing more than for anyone to recognize and smile upon his golden heart that so beat within his chest.
“Heh! Challenge accepted!” Karamatsu chuckled, carefully tearing off a number slip and hiding it away in his leather jacket pocket for later on.
Karamatsu continued to walk along the sidewalk, kicking along the same stone from earlier against the tip of his shoe. Not noticing right away that he’d kicked it just ever so slightly harder than his established pace, he watched the pebble ricochet into an alleyway, where the pained yowl of a stray calico was heard shortly after it’d stopped bouncing. Gulping with a growing sense of danger, Karamatsu braced himself and wandered over to the alleyway, looking for the cat he’d accidentally injured in hopes of helping it. Maybe this time, he’d meet a cat that was finally willing to comply with him and make itself an exception to a certain brother of his’ other feline friends.
Oh, how quickly he was proven wrong once he’d made eye contact with the stray.
The next thing Karamatsu knew, he was scrambling to get the angry cat off of his face, which was in the process of being scratched up by a pair of retractable, yet agonizingly sharp claws. Screaming, his futile attempt to free himself of unbearable pain followed him all the way home, which had been reached in a considerably shorter amount of time (more than likely because the pain had tricked his brain into telling him to run).
In front of the main entrance to the Matsuno household, Karamatsu managed to grab ahold of the cat and ripped it from his now-scratched up face. Dropping it, he pulled the sliding door open, which also prompted the cat into hissing at him and running inside as if it were actually their pet. In spite of his scratches, Karamatsu kept up a brave face as he carried on, removing his shoes and leaving them at the door before sliding open the entrance to the living room, the only other people present being his five identical brothers.
“Dearest burazas, I have returned!” Karamatsu announced proudly, looking to see that none of his siblings had, as per usual, even looked up to see him.
“Ehh, sure, Karamatsu,” he heard Choromatsu utter vaguely, the green man still reading an idol magazine hidden behind the job ad section of a random newspaper.
“Hup, one! Hup, two! Hup, three!” Jyushimatsu repeated over and over, doing sit ups over the back of the moved sofa. “Hup, one! Hup, two! Hup, three some more!”
Sighing, Karamatsu shrugged off being ignored again and sat down on the floor, taking out his trusty hand mirror from its secret spot behind the bookshelf (sandwiched right between his personal magazines, of course) and inspecting his face. Rather than take the usual time to personally admire his good looks, Karamatsu instead frowned at the reflection of scratches and small runny bits of blood, poking a finger at the minor injuries before getting up.
“Would anyone happen to know where the first-aid kit is?” Karamatsu asked.
“Kitchen, why?” Osomatsu responded, only peeking at his immediate younger brother but saying nothing else.
“I got scratched by a stray on the way home, and my face hurts.”
“Good,” came the dry response from Ichimatsu, sneering at Karamatsu. “That’s what you get for bothering it, Shittymatsu.”
“T’was only an accident, buraza. Never would I ever wish intentional harm on any living creature born upon this Earth! For me to do that to anybody would do nothing more than paint this guilty guy with the utmost shame and agony!”
“Gwaugh, sneak attack! Too painful!” Osomatsu groaned, failing to hold back a few snickers while clutching his side. “Warn me next time you’re gonna do that, ‘k, little bro?”
“I don’t think any warning will do, Osomatsu-niisan,” Todomatsu joked, continuing to text away on his white smartphone. “There’s no escape from the pain.”
“Besides, weren’t you supposed to leave already?” Ichimatsu asked, rolling his half-lidded eyes. “Already you’ve been talking to me longer than you ever should.”
“Ah, right. I apologize, Ichimatsu. If you’ll excuse me, my face requires medical assistance!”
With that, Karamatsu was able to leave the room and go into the kitchen per Osomatsu’s instructions. Once he got his hands on the family first-aid kit before opening it and getting to work on patching himself up, he glanced back in the direction of the living room and sighed melancholically. As much as he loved his brothers to death, Karamatsu felt somewhat guilty at wishing they’d show him more of the time of day rather than brush him off any time his mouth so much as uttered a harmless word.
‘They care deep down. ...Don’t they?’ Karamatsu wondered in his head, disposing of the used cotton ball soaked with disinfectant. ‘Ah-ha, don’t be ridiculous, Karamatsu! They’re your flesh and blood! There’s no way they could actually hate you!’
In spite of his reassuring thoughts, Karamatsu’s stomach twisted with doubt, a frown clear on his face as he cut a few strips of healing gauze from the roll in the metal medical box. He carefully placed each one over each respective cat scratch, rubbing them firmly in place before putting the first-aid kit back where he’d found it. Karamatsu slid the kitchen door open and walked back in the direction of the living room, a sudden angry hiss coming from around his ankle. Looking down, he saw the angry calico again, the stray this time brushing him off when he’d opened the living room door, immediately running to Ichimatsu and receiving affection and pets just as quickly. Before the blue brother knew it, the cat’s anger had been a thing of the past while Ichimatsu uttered soft words to it while keeping his purring friend close in his lap.
“There’s a good girl, there’s a good girl…” he could hear Ichimatsu tell the cat, a very light smile crossing his usually dour lips.
Though well knowing the cat would have done differently the minute he’d go near it, Karamatsu nonetheless smiled at his younger brother’s gentle nature with stray animals. Knowing his face was safe for the time being, he sat down on the sofa next to Todomatsu and inspected the scratches to see how he was healing up after treatment. Much to his pleasure, no more blood was dripping from his face. Content, Karamatsu kept at looking at himself in the mirror to pass a little bit of time, thinking back to the slip of paper presently resting in his leather jacket about what would take place very soon without his brothers’ knowledge. Karamatsu’s lack of desire to tell them aside due to the condition of being paid after a week was up, he knew that telling his brothers everything besides that had no point whatsoever.
He knew that no matter what he said to them, they would only see it as one word.
“Painful…” Karamatsu sighed to himself wistfully as everyone minded their own business.
Morning had come for the Matsuno sextuplets in no time, Karamatsu awaking to the sounds of the alarm clock’s fervid ringing beside Ichimatsu. He let out a tired yawn and was about to reach over his brother to shut off the alarm, only to be met with a literal mouthful of gears and bells that had quieted seemingly on its own. Choking and gagging, Karamatsu ripped the clock from his oral cavity and looked at Ichimatsu, who was grumbling and turning back over in his sleep crankily.
“Almost eight in the morning, why would you set it that early, Shittymatsu…?” he heard Ichimatsu yawn irritatedly.
“For… important business. You see—” Karamatsu had begun, wondering if he would be able to get the majority of the message across.
“—I don’t care. Either go back to sleep or get the fuck out of my sight,” Ichimatsu bit, glaring at his older blue brother.
“Very well then. I shall see you and the others a little later on, buraza. Wish me luck anyways!” Karamatsu got up and headed to where he knew his clothes would be, peeking to see Ichimatsu had pulled the covers back over his messier hair.
“Keh. Painful idiot.”
Chuckling softly, Karamatsu settled for his traditional azure parka decorated with the family pine right in the center of it, and some plain blue jeans. Exchanging his powder blue pajamas for his selected attire, Karamatsu silently bid his sleeping brothers adieu before heading downstairs and putting on his proper footwear. He stepped through the front door, making his way down the street with no trouble with directions to the appointed place whatsoever. Looking at the watch on his wrist, he was confident that he’d make it on time.
Karamatsu’s walk came to a steady end after only a few minutes, leaning against the wall with his sunglasses tipped upwards to appear cool while he gave only three knocks at the door to Dekapan’s lab. Waiting only a few moments longer, the jolly round man in striped pants answered the door for Karamatsu, completely indifferent to the younger man’s dramatic pose.
“Hello there, Karamatsu-kun,” Dekapan greeted. “What seems to bring you here, dasu?”
“Professor, if you would,” Karamatsu answered, showing Dekapan the small slip of paper he’d torn off the day before. “I’d care to partake in your research experiment. You know, for the greater good of mankind itself?”
“Hmm? Oh! Of course, now I remember, dasu! You’re actually the only person to take up that offer.” Dekapan stepped aside and allowed Karamatsu to pass through the open entrance into the lab. “Right this way, dasu.”
Karamatsu wasn’t sure why it was that nobody else had taken up Dekapan’s offer, but whatever the reason may have been, it made his heart swell with joy to feel like the first of anybody to willingly aid in the progression of their humble species. He passed by Dayon in the maid outfit again, not much of a surprise there, and was quickly told to take a seat in a chair while the two men gathered a few charts and devices.
“We’ll start with a simple blood pressure evaluation, dasu,” Dekapan told Karamatsu while Dayon was already getting a jump on strapping the black hook-and-loop fastener cuff around the portion of the NEET’s arm covered by his rolled up hoodie sleeve. “Then, we’ll do a height and weight check before a small blood test.”
“This all sounds as if you’re doing a check-up, Professor,” Karamatsu pointed out, letting out a yelp when the strap started getting too tight around his arm. “I think that might be enough!”
“Hmm…” Dayon pondered, looking at the valve on the machine. “117/76, yon! Nice and stable!”
“Hoe hoe! So far so good, dasu,” Dekapan chuckled, writing down the results. “Please remove your shoes and step underneath the stadiometer, dasu.”
Nodding, Karamatsu did as told. Dayon pulled the important piece of the large measuring stick down until it leveled evenly across the patient’s head. Giving a boisterous announcement of Karamatsu’s height to Dekapan, Dayon quickly moved the younger man over to the scale, which was stepped upon with little trouble. Numbers jumbled around on the scale for a few seconds until they’d stopped at a clearer amount, which made Karamatsu frown slightly at his present weight.
“Now, Karamatsu-kun, if you’d take a seat so we can get through the last two steps before our official procedure, dasu,” Dekapan instructed further. “Just a simple blood drawing is all we need to start.”
“Heh, t’is no issue of mine, dear Professor,” Karamatsu reassured confidently, offering his ring finger before going off in his own spiel. “You may take as much as would please you. My physical form may only be able to carry so much at a time, but beneath it beats the heart of a lion— nay, a mighty tiger! Whatever it takes to supply you with my necessary nectar shall—” Pinch. “Ouch! That hurt a little…”
“It wouldn't have hurt as much if you'd held still a bit better, dasu,” Dekapan sighed flatly before regaining his jolly demeanor. “Just give me a moment to check this over and we can get your paperwork ready.”
Dekapan took the blood sample to evaluate carefully as Dayon wrapped a small bit of bandage around Karamatsu's finger to prevent further blood loss. All he could hear Dekapan utter were the words “A positive”, “iron levels need a little work, dasu” and other incoherent things that held little value to him. Once done, Dekapan gathered a thick stack of papers and placed them right in front of Karamatsu, the blue man staring down the pile nervously. He was handed a pen by Dayon for any required signatures, and nonetheless got to work once he was able to read through the first few sheets.
“This form is the most important of them all, dasu,” Dekapan told Karamatsu, pointing to the sheet in question. “Be sure to look over it carefully, alright?”
“You have my word, Professor!” Karamatsu promised, beginning to read it over until his face scrunched in confusion. “O-Organs? Did I read this right?”
“Yes you did, dasu,” Dekapan responded, his friendly smile not wavering once.
“If I may ask, I’m going to leave this building with any and all organs I walked in with, right?”
“Hmm? Oh, of course, dasu! We aren’t looking to extract anything at all! Quite the opposite, really, dasu!”
“Phew…” Karamatsu kept reading the form, relieved to know that no dismemberment would occur whatsoever. ‘I need to pick a preference? What exactly is Dekapan planning for this experiment?’
His paper listed every type of body system, from common ones such as digestive and respiratory, to more extreme ones like endocrine and even reproductive. Thinking not much else of it, Karamatsu settled on checking off the “Any” box at the bottom, but also adding the lack of desire to have an extra heart or set of lungs where writing lines were visible. He kept reading through and signing papers until the final sheet was filled out and slid with the rest of the stack towards Dekapan.
“Hoe, hoe, hoe! Excellent, dasu! Now we can get started.”
“How exactly will this go, Professor? Would I be required to strip into a gown? Would you like a portion of my arm again—”
Dekapan and Dayon didn’t bother to let Karamatsu finish asking his question when the latter ran from behind him and scooped him into a long chair. He pushed it forward from the front until it extended into a makeshift counter, startling Karamatsu greatly. Meanwhile, Dekapan was looking through different vials of freshly concocted serums until he found one worth testing.
“There we go, dasu,” Dekapan said, flicking the vial once until he was able to attach it to a clean syringe. He turned to Karamatsu, whose abdomen was being sterilized with iodine tincture to prevent severe infection. “Now, Karamatsu-kun, this won’t hurt anymore than a simple vaccination, dasu. However, once I’m done, I’m going to have to ask you to be mindful until the week is up, alright?”
“M-Mindful of what?” Karamatsu questioned, unsure about everything now.
“Well, nothing somebody like you would have to worry too much about. All I’m asking is that you keep your health in check for each time you come in this week. Otherwise, you’ll ruin the testing, dasu. Do you understand?”
“I…” Karamatsu hesitated before pinching his cheek once to put on his mask of confidence again. “I perfectly understand, dearest Professor. In fact—”
“—Good, now hold still please.”
“Eh?”
Without having any other time to react, Dekapan inserted the needle of the syringe right into the center of his pelvis, Karamatsu nearly flinching until he felt a sudden pressure when Dekapan pressed the pump forward with his thumb. The contents filled his area within seconds, even after the needle was removed and the iodine was being cleaned off. Karamatsu blinked to process it, feeling a strange tingling and slight twisting in the area he’d just received an injection in. The sensation seemed to spread towards his back, but he thought nothing of it since it clearly didn’t hinder him from standing up and walking.
“Will that be all, Professor Dekapan?” Karamatsu asked.
“For today, yes, dasu,” was the answer he received. “You come in tomorrow and the days after for some short check-ups on how you’re doing, and you’ll be all set by the end of the week. Alright?”
Karamatsu nodded, proudly donning his slender sunglasses. “I promise! Would it be satisfactory if I were to arrive exactly 24 hours from when I entered today?”
“Same time tomorrow is fine, dasu. Have a good day, Karamatsu-kun.”
“I shan’t fail you, Professor!”
Karamatsu left Dekapan’s lab, now casually walking down the street in favor of returning home. While walking, the tight tingling sensation returned to his pelvis a little stronger, prompting him to put a hand to the area and wait for it to subside again. It’d taken slightly longer than the first time, but it’d eventually passed and allowed Karamatsu to keep walking along.
He’d made it back home to see that he was the only person home since he not only found no sign of his brothers, but both of his parents were nowhere to be seen or heard. Karamatsu’s stomach grumbled; it seemed that he was so busy getting ready for the first day of his deal with Dekapan that he’d forgotten all about breakfast, also lamenting that he’d more than likely missed eating it when his mother had cooked it fresh for her family. Looking all around the empty house once his shoes were off, he was more than pleased to see a plate of omurice sitting on the table with a note reading “This is Karamatsu’s; do not touch” next to it.
“Heh. I’ll surely have to thank Mommy for her efforts to spare my plate in lieu of my absence,” Karamatsu chuckled, removing the note and sitting down at the kotatsu with the proper utensils before clasping his hands together. “Itadakimasu!”
He was aware that nobody was in the house for him to possibly forget his manners for, but it never hurt to say the small grace before eating regardless. Seeing how quickly he’d scarfed the omurice down when he finally realized his plate was empty moments later, Karamatsu made a mental note not to skip breakfast for too long ever again. He felt remorse in having not savored his mother’s delicious cooking to its fullest, but nonetheless put the dirty plate right in the sink where it belonged with the others used earlier that morning.
Letting out a yawn, Karamatsu didn’t feel like he had enough energy to enjoy the day just yet. After all, he did just technically have what was the equivalent of a major medical checkup. Moving himself over to the sofa, he laid upon the green cushions and pulled the blanket over him. However, when he’d moved himself over to get comfortable, back came the sensations in his pelvic area. This time around, they’d felt considerably tighter and more achy, causing Karamatsu to wince with discomfort when they failed to let up.
‘What’s going on with me today?! Did Professor Dekapan do something wrong?’ Karamatsu thought, hugging his aching area. ‘Non, that can’t be it. He wouldn’t conduct a research study he knew nothing about. P-Perhaps— augh! Perhaps I could ask him about it next time…!’
It’d felt as though the bones in his pelvis were either trying to pull themselves apart, or somehow grow in size. Everything from his waist down was suffering, mangling and seemingly moving around in his limited bodyspace. Karamatsu took a few shallow breaths in and out, rubbing the lower part of his stomach to soothe the pain despite it not complying too easily. Then, almost as soon as it’d started, the pain gradually settled until it began to fade away, Karamatsu able to regain some steadier breaths at long last.
“Glad that’s over…” he panted, even wearier from the sudden series of cramps he’d just experienced. He slumped onto a pillow cushion resting at one end of the sofa, letting out a tired yawn as sleep started to creep upon him.
Karamatsu decided on dealing with what he was to do with his brothers upon awaking with more energy in his system. He expected nothing to change much, but nonetheless accepted it in favor of letting his undying storge remind him of what he deemed right. In spite of that, Karamatsu’s heart sank at the sullen reminder that indeed, nothing would change between him and his brothers. They would go about their merry days as NEETs together, yes. But by the end of the day, the second-born always remained nothing more than “the painful one” that was to be seen, but never heard.
He submitted to long-awaited slumber; small streaks of tears ignored just as he would more often than not be.