Chapter Text
It started with the little things.
You were the most timid of your brothers back in the past. Even if you played along with your brothers' schemes and pointless shenanigans, you often took to the quiet roles or the background jobs. You weren't as flashy but brave as Osomatsu or as loud but logical as Choromatsu. You didn't revel in the spotlight like Karamatsu nor were you ever good with people like Todomatsu. You could never even hope to be the boundless ball of positive energy that was Jyushimatsu. By the end of the day, you were content to offer a few words here and there, do the job assigned to you by whomever and then simply slide off the stage. It was easy with your five equally obnoxious identical siblings after all. But if there was one thing you could say about yourself that you were actually proud of was that-
You were always a little smarter than the rest of them.
You got your first whiff when you were just in grade school. You and Osomatsu were in the same maths class and while it was usually hard to concentrate with Osomatsu sitting beside you trying and failing to discretely fling boogers at you, you were pretty absorbed in the lesson. You felt as if your brain was pulsing, but in a good way you think, because it was like you were actually learning something worthwhile and you could follow and understand the logic behind the numbers and you were invested in every word the teacher spoke. It was almost kind of fun.
Heck, it also almost didn't bother you when one of Osomatsu's nasty little projectiles landed on your face. Almost. You were about ready to slap that dumb grin off his face when the teacher called for a seatwork and the way the color drained out of eldest's face, who was definitely not paying attention, was so laughable that you let your plans of petty revenge go. That, and the bashful, apologetic grin he sends your way. You scowl at him but you smush your desks together anyway and began working on the problems together.
While you speed your way through the first few problems, you can see Osomatsu from the corner of your eye having a little more trouble. A few minutes later, you hear a thump and look over to see your pathetic brother slumped over his desk in mock defeat, crumpling his paper in frustration.
"Gah! This is impossible! I don't get this at all."
You blink a few times before scooching a little closer to him. You look over him as he begins to write on a fresh batch of paper and you patiently watch as he writes down his solution.
"Oh... You kind of made a mistake here.", you point out a line of equation.
"Huh? Where?"
He scans over his paper wildly while you calmly take out your notebook and flip itw pages until you find what you're looking for.
"You're supposed to use this equation."
He peers at your notes, squinting a bit before diligently copying the equation. He then proceeds to erasing his previous solution haphazardly and redoing his computations with newfound ardor. You let a small, gleeful smile slip past your lips when you're sure he wasn't looking, proud to have helped someone (technically) older than you before going back to finishing the other problems. You're nearly done when your desk suddenly rattles, followed immediately by a triumphant yell.
"Ha-ha!! I did it! Look, Ichi, look! I solved it!"
Osomatsu pushes the piece of paper so close to your face you actually can't look at it.
"Uh huh."
"Woo-hoo! I'm a genius!"
Half of the class are giving you both dirty looks. You sigh and roll your eyes but congratulate him anyway. He grins at you while rubbing his finger under his nose and you almost find it endearing, in a way, that is before he suddenly has your head locked in a tight embrace. You struggle against it, pinching his forearm and slapping at his face but he was begrudgingly stronger and more stubborn than you. In fact, he holds you even tighter and presses his pudgy little cheek harder against yours just to be a jerk, all the while mock-swooning.
"Thanks Ichimacchan! You're so smart!"
Clearly embarrassed, you tell him to knock it off because 'people are looking, stupid eldest!'. Yes, clearly, embarrassment was the only reason you were turning a shade of red. You brush off the way the corners of your mouth were tilting upwards as nerve damage from the choke hold and the warmth in your chest, probably a heart burn. He only finally relents when your teacher announces to the class that they have five minutes left. You take vindictive pleasure in the crazed way your brother scrambles for his pen and paper, furiously jotting down whatever he could in five minutes. Serves him right.
...
You let him copy your paper anyway.