Chapter Text
It was past midnight with sextuplets laughing, eating, and drinking in the living room, reminiscing for the past for hours in the middle of summer. This could've been seen as just a normal scene of family bonding with brothers, if the fact it was midnight and they were sextuplets was ignored. All 6 of them were sitting around the table and enjoying themselves, even Ichimatsu who normally doesn't show or express his emotions well. But this was far from a normal night. That being for over 10 years they weren't sextuplets because their eldest brother was kidnapped when they were 10, and now he was sitting right in front of them with a huge grin on his face as if he was never gone.
For over 10 years he was missing, throughout that time the younger brothers started to slowly accept their brother was dead.
A couple hours ago they were called by a very trusted friend to go to his oden cart immediately without giving the reason as to why. The two oldest decided to go without telling the younger three.
They were nervous as their stomachs twisted, despite Chibita being their friend it was rare for him to ever call, especially with such urgency. When they approached the cart, there was a man sitting on the bench with a black hoodie, his hood was up so they couldn't see much. Next to him was an old looking duffle bag that obviously was losing its color. With closer inspection, it was dark red, although now it was dull probably from years of use.
Once they got closer, it seemed to catch the man's attention because he turned around. He had a big bandage (cloth?) on his right cheek that seemed to be taped with cheap see-through tape with a grin with pale like skin that was dirty, as if he hasn't taken a shower in weeks! The hoodie didn't look any better. He had baggy ripped jeans, although the rips on the jeans look more made than bought.
He took off his hood, as if knowing they were looking at him. His hair was black, greasy from the looks of it, and really messy, probably messier than Ichimatsu's with two cowlicks. His hair in a way was a little lengthy but uneven, it was obvious that haircut was done unprofessionally or someone who didn't know what they're doing, but it at least look like what the man might have intended it to look like in a bowl cut.
If you put the clothes and dirties that hid most of his features he shockingly looked a lot like them, like their brothers, the only different being the eyes. He had dark red eyes that seemed to have no light, no spark and were dull. But if they did have light, the mischief and devious innocence, he looked just like...
"...O...Osomatsu...?!"
This lead to the present time, with everyone gathered in the living room talking about the lives of the younger 5 while their eldest listened with delight and the grin that never left his face, not even when they found him.
Throughout the time they spoke about themselves, Osomatsu himself hadn't said a single word about himself. They were all dying to know, to point out the obvious elephant in the room. It felt as if there was a package delivered to your house for a family member and they never told you what it was, but the curiosity was very present.
One of them decided to be the brave one, being filled with worried suspense and too much curiosity, Choromatsu spoke.
"Say uh...Osomatsu-niisan..?"
"Yeah what is it uh..." Osomatsu turned to Choromatsu with a face of concentration, answering with hesitation, "Choromatsu was it?"
Choromatsu felt himself get a little warm by the fact that in such a short amount of time, Osomatsu could already tell who he was. "Oh yes..! I just have a uh, question to ask...if you don't mind.."
His brothers looked at Choromatsu curious yet nervously, as if they knew what he was going to ask but weren't too sure. Osomatsu nodded and seemed to grin even wider, "Shoot!"
Choromatsu felt like he was on the spot, which was something he hated as his anxiety started to bundle up. It was getting harder and nerve wrecking to ask the question, so he decided to look down away from those piercing red eyes. "Where...where have you been all this time..?" He asked in hesitation and decided to look up as he finished his question.
Ever since they found Osomatsu, he's had a grin, a small smile, or a simple blank expression. Even when everyone else cried seeing him, clinging to him, he didn't dare show any sign of wanting to cry himself or show any sort of negative emotion or feature on his face. So when Choromatsu looked up to see his expression, it made his stomach turn as if it was stabbed. Osomatsu grimaced and had stone cold and serious expression as soon as Choromatsu finished his question, and Choromatsu already didn't like the expression, it didn't suit him. He might've just practically met him a couple hours ago, but that type of a face made him feel unsettled, it wasn't something he ever wanted to see in him. In a way, it looked terrifying.
"Choromatsu." His voice was cold and sent shivers up his spine, making him flinch. He wouldn't have thought this voice belonged to his oldest brother if he wasn't sitting right in front of him. Choromatsu still forced himself to look at him, practically sweating bullets until he saw Osomatsu's face soften and his now cold expression was replaced with a small smile. "Let's not talk 'bout that. It's not important alright?" He snickered, rubbed the bottom of his nose with his index finger.
"But it is-!" Choromatsu blurted in protest, immediatly regretting doing so until Osomatsu spoke again.
"Listen Choromatsu..." It almost sounded like a plea making Choromatsu's stomach flip again and unable to protest again. "I know I can't say it isn't important...because I'm pretty sure you're all dying to know, I mean I've been gone for over 10 years!" He bitterly chuckled and lowered his voice. "I myself have wondered, what are my brothers doing? How are they holding up? I always hoped you all had a good life despite me not being there...and from what I hear it wasn't exactly perfect, but it was as good as I could hope for." He lowered his gaze to the floor and scratched the back of his neck, he was still smiling but his expression looked nervous and sheepish but also...grim? "I know it's unfair for your Nii-chan to know about your life and not his, but I just...I don't think I'm quite ready to talk 'bout it yet." He mumbled the last part, but it was clear enough for everyone in the room to hear his uncomfort. It still surprises him how easily Osomatsu was able to call himself "Nii-chan" or simply as their brother. They all called him with honorifics because he asked them to, but it didn't mean it was easy to.
Nobody asked questions or bothered to speak up, it was more of a silent agreement between them all, but the atmosphere felt almost suffocating as everyone looked down. That was until there was a sigh from Osomatsu and everyone faced him. "Man sorry if I killed the mood. I don' really like this atmosphere, so why don't we sleep?" He clapped his hands together and perked up, as if he was brought back to life. "You were going to anyway and you all look pretty tired!"
"But Osomatsu-niisan! Isn't it too late? It's already 5AM!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed.
The truth was they all really were tired. What happened was so much to take in and they've cried more than they have in a while in such a short amount of time. This entire situation felt like a dream, which is why no one wanted to sleep. Because, what if it really was a dream? What if once they wake up, Osomatsu would still be missing and they all just had the same dream. Or what if he really was here, but as soon as they sleep he'd disappear again with no proof that he was ever here. It was a terrifying thought that they wanted to live this moment as much as they could.
As if reading their minds, he reassured them. "So? Sleep is sleep no matter the time. I'm sleepy myself it's be a loooong day! Don't worry, I won't disappear on ya. Here, how about all of you come here to Onii-chan and we can sleep together~" He held out his arms in an inviting manner.
The first to hug him was Todomatsu who seemed to have tears in his eyes but a wide smile as he hugged his older brother tight like a life guard. The next was Jyushimatsu, as he practically ran to him and pushed them to the floor with a happy wide smile. Then followed Ichimatsu, Choromatsu, and lastly Karamatsu. They were all huddled on top of Osomatsu in a happy little pile. Maybe this wasn't the best idea considering its summer and all their body heat would cause them to sweat as they sleep, but they didn't really care. They were all sleepy, but were reluctant to, still having their fear.
Osomatsu wasn't sure if this brothers were observant, though if they were they didn't question how he winced as they clung to him. He tried his best not to show a pained expression, let alone to let himself shake or let out any noise from the pain of having his various bruises and injuries on his body being touched and have pressure on.
As soon as they all settled in a comfortable position and adjusted to the bodies they were on top or on bottom of, Osomatsu tried his best to put his brothers in a big hug but failing. Instead, he put his hands on whoever's hair he could reach and pet them. "How about I hum a lullaby to help my adorable baby brothers sleep?" The closest to Osomatsu, being Todomatsu, nodded for the group.
This lullaby was one he made up for himself when he was kid to help him sleep better. It was about his brothers and the names and number order they each went by, it was the only way he could remember them after so long. As years passed however, he hasn't sung it to himself in a long while. Now, he didn't trust his voice enough to not betray him and crack, so he settled with humming the tune with a genuine smile on his face.
As he continued to hum, their eyes began to drop and betray them. They didn't want to sleep, they didn't want their brother to leave them again, it would be too much. But the tune was peaceful and reassuring and their eyelids were getting heavier. As much as they tried to protest, their worries were melted away by exhaustion as they closed their eyes and fell into slumber on top their eldest brother.