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Ichimatsu didn’t understand his brother.
Actually, maybe that’s why they got along so well: he didn’t have to feel bad about failing an impossible task. Jyushimatsu was a puzzle that wasn’t meant to be solved; an inexorable existence, a force of nature. He just was.
And in a world where everything moved too fast and people had too many layers for Ichimatsu to keep track of, Jyushimatsu was an anchor.
A hyperactive, flailing, shouting, baseball-obsessed anchor.
...Maybe he gave his brother too much credit. But then again, it was hard to say.
The heat of summer had cooled somewhat today, heralding the coming autumn. Jyushimatsu had dragged Ichimatsu out of the house for a walk, Ichimatsu putting up only a token resistance—he hadn’t gotten out to feed the cats in a few days.
He crouched in the alleyway, holding an opened can of tuna out to a shy-looking grey cat with a scraggly tooth—a new addition to the pack of cats he usually saw. He blinked languidly at the cat as it gazed at him with trepidation, hoping to entice it closer. Patience came easily to him; time was something he had more than enough to give.
Jyushimatsu was some ways away in the mouth of the alley, far enough so that the more skittish cats could come to Ichimatsu without fear. Right now he was laughing as he dangled his long sleeve in front of a kitten, tugging it out of reach as the small creature batted and lunged at the yellow cloth.
It was an okay day, Ichimatsu thought to himself. Okay was good.
It was several minutes later when the grey cat had finally come close enough to sniff at the proffered tuna, and Ichimatsu realized suddenly that he no longer heard his brother’s laughter. He frowned slightly, but was unwilling to move in case it frightened his new friend.
He didn’t have to worry about that for much longer, as seconds later Jyushimatsu came barreling around the corner at high speed and higher volume.
“ICHIMATSU-NIISAN!”
The grey cat yowled in surprise and scampered away, Ichimatsu just barely avoiding doing the same himself.
“Jyushimatsu—“ he started irritably as he turned to face his brother, but stopped suddenly when he saw what Jyushimatsu was holding. Was that another cat? No, wait—
“I found something!” said Jyushimatsu cheerfully, and the ‘something’ let out a shrill bark.
“...That’s a dog.”
“Yeah!”
Ichimatsu stared. Cradled in Jyushimatsu’s arms was a floppy-eared puppy, golden fur pale against the vibrant yellow of his sweater. Its tail wagged lopsidedly as it wriggled, sticking its black button nose into Jyushimatsu’s face to lick him. Jyushimatsu was just as wriggly, giggling as he danced from foot to foot. “Hahaha! That tickles!”
The puppy barked again in reply. Ichimatsu noticed that it was wearing a collar, unease prickling his gut.
“H-hey, Jyushimatsu...”
“Yeah, niisan?”
“Doesn’t that belong to somebody?”
Jyushimatsu held the puppy out in front of him and looked at it. “Do you belong to somebody?” he asked, very seriously.
The puppy squirmed and let out a whine.
“He says nope!” Jyushimatsu reported triumphantly.
“I think it’s a girl,” said Ichimatsu, having caught a glimpse of the pup’s shaved belly.
“She says nope!” Jyushimatsu amended.
Ichimatsu straightened up, knees popping slightly after being held so long in such a position, and approached the head of the alley warily. He looked left, and then right. No distraught-looking dog owners in sight...he breathed a small sigh of relief. Jyushimatsu wasn’t crazy enough to just steal somebody’s dog out from under them.
...He hoped.
“Where did you find that?” he asked cautiously, turning back to his brother. Jyushimatsu had resumed cuddling the puppy, holding it close to his chest.
“Huh? Oh, over there,” he said, gesturing vaguely with a flapping sleeve.
There was a park a few streets over in that direction, Ichimatsu knew. But he didn’t think Jyushimatsu had been gone that long. Probably. Argh, there were too many uncertain things about the situation. He wished Choromatsu, or Osomatsu, or somebody were here to deal with this. Even Karamatsu.
Maybe not Karamatsu.
“Tell me what happened,” he said to his brother.
“Sure!” said Jyushimatsu. “I was playing with the kitty over here...and then I heard something really loud. It was like, BARK BARK BARK! BOEH! BOEHHH! Shchshchshc-KAPOW!” His series of onomatopoeia were accompanied by an impressively broad range of movements and facial expressions, as well as the puppy barking in excitement. “I went over to see what it was,” Jyushimatsu continued, “and it looks like a big old mean cat chased the puppy into a big pile of garbage. So I rescued him!”
“It’s a girl,” Ichimatsu reminded him.
“I rescued her!”
“And you didn’t see anybody around?”
“Nope.”
“You’re sure?” Ichimatsu pressed.
“Nope.”
“Okay,” said Ichimatsu. He looked around again. There were a couple of people walking by on the busier street around the corner, but nobody appeared who seemed to be looking for a runaway dog.
His lookout was interrupted suddenly by a puppy being thrust in his face, an oversized paw thwacking him on the nose and a slobbery pink tongue replacing it almost immediately. He sputtered, staggering back. “She wants to say hi, Ichimatsu-niisan!” said Jyushimatsu sunnily.
Wiping his face, Ichimatsu regarded the puppy from a safe distance. This was why he preferred cats. They were cleaner. And calmer. With a pang, he realized that all of the cats he’d been feeding had fled the alley. “Keep that thing away from me,” he groused, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Jyushimatsu’s enormous grin didn’t dim in the slightest. “Okay!” he said, then to the puppy, “Ichimatsu-niisan is grouchy, but don’t worry about it.”
The puppy licked him on the nose.
Ichimatsu watched, and most certainly did not feel jealous. That was the thing with dogs, he reasoned. They loved everybody just the same; you couldn’t trust them.
Taking a step forward, he avoided the puppy’s questing tongue as he checked its collar. No tag. He sighed, and looked around one last time, but no dog owner was forthcoming.
“What are we gonna do, Ichimatsu-niisan?” said Jyushimatsu. He stood at attention, like no matter what Ichimatsu said it would satisfy him. Like any answer was right. The weight of responsibility fell heavily across Ichimatsu’s shoulders, and he chafed under it. So as usual, he deferred.
“Let’s take it home for now,” he said.
Impossibly, Jyushimatsu’s smile got wider. “Okay!”
A little knot of tension came undone inside of Ichimatsu. Thank god he had other people around to deal with shit like this.
“We’re home!” announced Jyushimatsu as they walked through the door fifteen minutes later, puppy in tow. He had donated both of his shoelaces to the cause of fashioning a short leash for the puppy; Ichimatsu had reluctantly parted with some string from a cat toy as well.
“Welcome ba—“ Choromatsu started to say, head appearing from the doorway of their room at sitting height. He paused when he saw them, frowning, but before he had a chance to say anything further, the puppy bounded forward in excitement upon seeing a new face. Jyushimatsu let go of the makeshift leash, and Choromatsu squawked as the puppy darted down the hall toward him, following even as he ducked back into the room.
Jyushimatsu followed suit, kicking off his de-laced shoes and giggling madly. Ichimatsu was slower, carefully lining up his sandals by the wall as he listened to his brothers’ exclamations from down the hall.
“Is that a dog?!” said Osomatsu’s voice.
“Ack! Hey! No! Down!” That was Choromatsu.
“I’ll save you, brother!” Karamatsu was saying, as Ichimatsu shuffled into the room. Sure enough, Shittymatsu was, instead of doing anything remotely useful, donning his sunglasses so he could strike a heroic pose.
In the meantime, Osomatsu had come over to Choromatsu, diverting the pup’s attention. Choromatsu sighed in relief, then looked back and forth between Ichimatsu in the doorway and Jyushimatsu grinning away as he draped himself over his exercise ball.
“Where did this dog come from?” Choromatsu asked.
“Found it!” said Jyushimatsu.
“You found it?” When Jyushimatsu simply nodded, Choromatsu looked helplessly at Ichimatsu, who shrugged.
“He said it was running away from something,” he said.
“A big cat! It was huge,” said Jyushimatsu, nearly overbalancing as he spread his arms out wide to demonstrate.
“Did you look for its owners?” Choromatsu said.
“Nope!” said Jyushimatsu.
Ichimatsu shuffled his feet self-consciously. “I didn’t see anybody...”
Osomatsu laughed as the dog nipped at his fingertips. “He’s cute! Are we gonna keep him, or what?”
“It’s a girl,” mumbled Ichimatsu, as Choromatsu snapped, “Of course not! Who would take care of it?”
Karamatsu smirked. “Heh...although my heart is that of a lion, I also exhibit the gentleness of a lamb...I will shoulder this bur—“
“Aww, that’s too bad,” Jyushimatsu cut over him, but unlike Karamatsu, the younger brother didn’t look all that put out.
“We’re going to need to find the owners,” said Choromatsu.
Ichimatsu crossed to the couch to sit, well out of the puppy’s licking range. “She doesn’t have a tag,” he said.
“We could put up posters,” said Choromatsu.
Osomatsu lit up. “Oh, shit! You think we could ask for a reward?”
“There’s no greater reward—“ started Karamatsu, but was interrupted by the puppy jumping up to slobber all over his face. Dogs really had no taste at all, Ichimatsu thought.
“Maybe we can get them to play baseball with us,” suggested Jyushimatsu, and Choromatsu’s withering glare at Osomatsu turned incredulous as it landed on him.
Ichimatsu tuned out the rest of their inane conversation, as Choromatsu blustered his way through sounding like he knew what to do, Osomatsu proposed half-assed solutions, and Jyushimatsu and Karamatsu chimed in and were summarily ignored.
It was predictable, but Ichimatsu didn’t mind that. Familiarity was comfortable. He watched the puppy sniffing at the corners of the room, wagging its tail as it approached the brothers in turn.
A puppy...he wasn’t sure how to feel about her. Dogs were cute, but they were just so...loud. And excitable. And needy. He guessed that wasn’t so bad...and they were easy to train. But it was kind of obnoxious how they’d just fawn over anybody. That wasn’t loyalty; they were just stupid.
His eyes gravitated towards Jyushimatsu, who was laughing as the puppy tugged on one of his sleeves. Well, he seemed happy. And it was good to see Jyushimatsu excited over something other than baseball every now and then.
And it wasn’t like it was going to be a problem for long, Ichimatsu reasoned. His brothers were useless, by and large, but it couldn’t be that hard to track down the owner of the little dog. Thus assured, he sat back against the couch cushions to relax.
Todomatsu, when informed of the situation, had been more than happy to post pictures of the puppy on his social media accounts to spread the word. Ichimatsu felt that Totty including himself in all of the photos was a little more than necessary, but decided against speaking up. Choromatsu calling and e-mailing all of the veterinary offices nearby also seemed excessive, but far be it for Ichimatsu to stop him from doing things ‘properly’. Karamatsu made posters, but these included glamour shots of himself with their phone number written on them as the contact information, and also a metric ton of glitter. Ichimatsu threw these in the garbage without a second glance.
Osomatsu had agreed to help distribute the posters Jyushimatsu had made (with some help from Ichimatsu—he’d edited the description of ‘cute!’ to ‘golden retriever puppy, wearing a red collar’, the place where they found her from ‘The alley with all the cats’ to ‘near Sakisaka park’, and the contact information from ‘Jyushimatsu!’ to ‘The Matsuno family’, with their phone number), but Ichimatsu suspected he was just going to drop off the lot at Chibita’s and have a few beer.
So, somehow, things were left up to him. Ichimatsu felt cheated as he stapled a poster to a telephone pole as the afternoon waned, Jyushimatsu doing the same across the street as the puppy frolicked beside him. They’d gotten her a proper leash, on their parents’ insistence—and on their dime, of course.
Looking across the street, Ichimatsu spotted the cat alley and sighed to himself. He didn’t have any cat food today...he couldn’t even see any of the cats hanging around. He mentally apologized to them; next time he’d bring the expensive kind, to make up for missing them today, and for letting a noisy, hyper dog into their alleyway.
“Ichimatsu-niisan!” called Jyushimatsu, bounding up beside him. The puppy jumped up on Ichimatsu’s legs, making him stumble, but Jyushimatsu just laughed. “We finished putting up the posters over there.”
What, did the dog help? He wanted to grumble, but shrugged instead. “Down,” he tried saying to the puppy, but evidently she wasn’t very well trained.
“Sit!” Jyushimatsu said, and to Ichimatsu’s surprise, the dog did.
“Did you teach her that?” he said.
“Huh? Nope,” said Jyushimatsu. “She already knew! She’s really smart. Catch!” He tossed something from his pocket up in the air, and Ichimatsu barely had time to recognize it as one of his cat treats before the puppy snapped it up.
“Hey...” he said, a nameless feeling churning his gut.
“Ichimatsu-niisan?”
“...Never mind.”
“Okay!”
The puppy barked in agreement.
Evening came, and so far nobody had accosted them with accusations of trying to steal their dog. Ichimatsu sat on a bench at Sakisaka park, hands shoved in the pockets of his sweater as he watched his brother play with his newest, and furriest, friend.
Jyushimatsu had always liked dogs. That was fair and fine; he was usually too excitable for cats anyways. He didn’t have the patience. Or so Ichimatsu had thought.
“Sit! Paw...good girl! Okay, down! Downnn...” Jyushimatsu held a treat flat on the ground, coaxing the pup to lie down. Tail flopping back and forth, the puppy stretched her paws forward before planting her butt on the ground. “Good girl!” said Jyushimatsu ecstatically, ruffling her ears while feeding her the treat. Then he gained a serious expression, moving back slowly. “Okay...BANG!” he shouted suddenly, finger and thumb pointed in the shape of a gun.
There was a pause, during which the pup did nothing except cock her head cutely. Then suddenly:
“BOEH!! BOEHHHHH!” Jyushimatsu leapt straight into the air, and flopped to the ground, rolling about before abruptly lying still, one arm draped over his eyes dramatically. The pup barked and jumped to her feet, sniffing around Jyushimatsu in distress.
Ichimatsu watched this for a moment. The moment dragged on. He was considering getting up to check on his brother when Jyushimatsu surged upright, laughing. “That’s play dead!” he said to the puppy. “You do it next time!”
Ichimatsu decided not to tell him that that wasn’t how you trained dogs.
“Ichimatsu-niisan! Did you see her tricks? Isn’t she smart?” said Jyushimatsu.
“Yeah, I saw,” he said.
“You’re so smart!” he said to the puppy, feeding her another treat for no real reason. One of Ichimatsu’s treats.
“It’s just a dog,” muttered Ichimatsu, looking away.
“You can pet her too, Ichimatsu-niisan.”
“No. She probably has fleas.”
Jyushimatsu shrugged as he crouched down to pet the dog’s ears. “That’s okay. Hey, do you have fleas? I love bugs!”
The feeling inside Ichimatsu grew. He didn’t like it.
They returned home when night fell, with no leads save the one attached to the puppy’s collar.
“We’re home!” shouted Jyushimatsu as he bounded through the door, accompanied by a bark.
“Welcome home, Jyushimatsu-niisan,” said Todomatsu, glass of water in hand as he passed from the kitchen into the hall. “Aww! Here, puppy!” he knelt down as the puppy dashed up to him, jumping up to lick his face. Even Totty...? Ichimatsu shucked off his shoes and went to pass him, nearly running into Osomatsu as he stepped out from the living room.
“Oh, hey. You didn’t find the owners?” he said.
“What does it look like?” groused Ichimatsu. He entered the living room, where Choromatsu was sitting at the table. Karamatsu was perched on the windowsill with his guitar. Typical.
Whatever. As everybody else filed into the room, Todomatsu giggling as he cuddled the puppy close, Ichimatsu took his spot on the couch. Everybody assumed their usual positions: Todomatsu sat with his back against the couch, Osomatsu sprawled on the floor, and Jyushimatsu bounced on his ball.
Choromatsu looked at the puppy, concerned. “This is bad,” he said. “I didn’t get any info from the vet hospitals around...“
“No duh,” said Todomatsu, the puppy having left him to go trounce on Osomatsu’s prone form. “All we know is the breed! We don’t have any kind of address or clue about the owner.”
Choromatsu puffed himself up. “It’s just being prudent,” he said. “It’s only natural the owners would check there when—“
“Guys, guys,” interrupted Osomatsu, now sitting up with the pup in his lap. “Come on. Who cares? She’s gonna be here overnight, so let’s worry about it tomorrow. What’s really important...” he grinned, “is that we need a name!”
“A name?” repeated Choromatsu, confused.
“A name! A name!” Jyushimatsu bobbed up and down, wobbling dangerously.
“Ah...I see what you mean, brother. It would be the very height of folly to entertain such a sweet lady without bestowing her a befitting name.”
Ichimatsu just scowled. Everybody was acting like the dog was going to be staying. As soon as they found her owners, that was it. And it was only a matter of time.
“Yeah, that would probably be easier...” said Choromatsu.
“Heh. I’ve got it. We’ll call you...Karamatsu Girl!” said Karamatsu, leaping to his feet to point dramatically.
Everybody ignored him. “How about Sachiko?” said Todomatsu.
“Nah, nah, come on. It’s gotta be something like...Katsumori,” suggested Osomatsu.
“Eh? A good luck charm...that’s not a bad name, but...” Todomatsu demurred.
“With a name like that, it sounds like you’re going to drag her along to the races or something,” said Ichimatsu.
Osomatsu looked to the side, a shit eating grin spreading across his face. Choromatsu leaned across the table to smack him with a magazine.
“You can’t just bring her wherever! It’s not our dog!”
“Hey! You never know, I could run into the owners there...”
“Haru? Sakura? Ann?” Todomatsu continued to muse.
“Dancing Queen,” suggested Karamatsu.
“How about, uh, Nyan-chan?” said Choromatsu.
“At least use that name for a cat!” Todomatsu shot back.
Ichimatsu drew his legs up to his chest as they all bickered and bantered, curling his toes inward. Whatever...he didn’t care what they called it. It didn’t have anything to do with him. Not like his suggestions would be anything worth using.
“Ichimatsu-niisan!” a voice cut through his thoughts. He looked up. Jyushimatsu was holding the puppy, whose tongue lolled out of her mouth as she looked at Ichimatsu with bright black eyes. Dammit-! She was cute. “What do you think?” asked his brother.
“...I don’t care,” he said.
Osomatsu shrugged. “Well, you guys were the ones who found her, so...you got anything, Jyushimatsu?”
Jyushimatsu seemed to think about this for a moment, gaze rolling up towards the ceiling. Everybody waited with bated breath. There was no telling what would come out of Jyushimatsu’s mouth. It was definitely going to be something weird and nonsensical, Ichimatsu thought. A name no sane person could bestow upon any living— “Ichigo!” Jyushimatsu proclaimed, holding the puppy out with both arms as he beamed at her.
“Ichigo!?” said Choromatsu, “That’s—“
“A perfectly reasonable name,” finished Todomatsu, equally shocked.
“A fine name, brother!” said Karamatsu, smirking.
Osomatsu laughed, standing up so he could ruffle the newly-christened Ichigo’s ears. “Hey, it’s got a nice ring to it. Ichigo!”
Ichimatsu couldn’t believe it. Ichigo? Ichigo? Great, now the dog was stealing his name, too? Wait, back up, what was the first thing it had stolen, then? His mind whirred as he sat in shocked silence, and when he met Jyushimatsu’s bright gaze, it suddenly clicked.
He was jealous of a goddamn puppy.
Jyushimatsu’s gaze was broken when Karamatsu went to lift Ichigo from his arms, and by the time he looked back, Ichimatsu had already gone.
He slipped into the room again later, while the others were out, and laid out the futon by himself. The dog wasn’t here; they must have gone to Chibita’s, and taken her.
He pretended to be asleep when everyone else came in, hours later. Not that they made much of an effort to keep it down. Assholes. There was some debate over who the puppy—Ichigo—would sleep by, an argument Jyushimatsu won by virtue of finder’s rights, and also because he was a monstrous opponent in a pillowfight.
Ichimatsu tensed very slightly when he sensed his brother kneeling over him, whispering, “Ichimatsu-niisan, do you want to sleep with Ichigo? She’s really soft, I bet it’ll be like cuddling a cat. Maybe even better!”
He didn’t reply. Better than a cat? Yeah, right. The dumb, mangy mutt...she’d probably piss the bed or something.
“Okay,” Jyushimatsu whispered (compared to his usual volume), “If you change your mind I don’t think she’ll mind moving.”
“Get in bed, Jyushimatsu-niisan, I’m turning off the light,” said Todomatsu from somewhere nearby.
“’Night, Ichimatsu-niisan,” said Jyushimatsu, and then Ichimatsu felt something cold and wet poke his ear. It was difficult to resist a shudder. “Ichigo says goodnight too!” And then Jyushimatsu moved away, taking the dog with him.
The light clicked off, everybody having settled in. But Ichimatsu couldn’t sleep.
He was jealous of a freaking dog. Why? What was up with that? Wasn’t that kind of stupid? Not to mention pathetic. God, he was trash. But it pissed him off how much attention Jyushimatsu was giving it.
Ichimatsu wasn’t stupid. He knew he was always dragging Jyushimatsu down; his hyperactive, cheerful brother deserved better than the likes of him for company. Even Todomatsu said so, that next to himself Jyushimatsu had the least shitty personality. Actually, in Ichimatsu’s opinion he far outshone Todomatsu to begin with. Jyushimatsu was just likable. At times terrifying, and probably insane, but likable.
And yet, for some reason Ichimatsu could not begin to fathom, Jyushimatsu sought his company more than any other of their brothers. Why? Why Ichimatsu? Gloomy, no-friends, stay at home Ichimatsu. It was easier when he didn’t have to question it, when in one day and out the other Jyushimatsu hung out with Ichimatsu and that was that, no disruptions.
And here was a disruption. Again, like Jyushimatsu’s country girl, or that grade schooler who had tagged around him for weeks. Ichimatsu didn’t know if his nerves could take any more—when was Jyushimatsu finally going to move on completely?
And that, he surmised, is why he was jealous of a dog.
Awful. Awful, awful, awful. That was just the kind of guy he was, wasn’t it?
But there was nothing he could do. So he slept.
He woke up the next day like any other day: too early for his liking. If it wasn’t Jyushimatsu making a racket first thing in the morning, it was Todomatsu; if it wasn’t Todomatsu, it was Choromatsu, and so on.
Today, it wasn’t any of his brothers. Before any of them had even woken, he was roused by the sound of a single tiny bark.
He didn’t open his eyes. Maybe if he kept them shut, he could still pretend he was dreaming.
The bark came again, this time with a whimper attached. Ichimatsu held his breath, listening...no movement. Shit, nobody else had woken up. He opened his eyes. It wasn’t even light out yet. He briefly contemplated kicking Shittymatsu next to him, but dismissed the idea. If he woke the others, it would cause a scene, and then none of them would get back to sleep.
With a deep internal sigh, Ichimatsu rolled off the futon, sitting up and looking around. He could only just make out the shape of the puppy by the door, tail wagging plaintively as she looked back at Ichimatsu. He scowled.
“’Least you’re not pissing all over the floor...” he muttered, going over to open the door; she scampered through it, towards the front door. Ichimatsu hesitated before following, throwing on a hoodie over his pyjamas. Great, he was gonna have to go out with her. Managing to find the leash where it had been carelessly tossed into the corner, Ichimatsu clipped it to Ichigo’s collar and shoved his feet in his sandals. The puppy pranced excitedly in front of the door, panting.
“Whatever, just hurry up,” said Ichimatsu, sliding open the door. She bolted outside, pulling him afterwards—she was surprisingly strong. The light of dawn was only just touching the sky over Akatsuka Ward, painting the street in pale hues. Ichimatsu planted his feet on the doorstop, pulling the puppy to a stop. “This is as far as I’m gonna go.”
This didn’t seem to bother Ichigo, who bounced back towards the side of the house to take a piss on the ground. A very long piss. Damn, maybe the owners were dumb enough to lose the dog, but at least she was housetrained.
Ichimatsu sat down, propping his elbows on his knees and resting his face on his hands, idly watching
the sun as it crept over the horizon, seeping rich colour into the world. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the dog as she sniffed a shrub growing next to the house as if it were the most thrilling thing in the world. Her tail wagged as she progressed from the shrub to the siding of the house, giving a little snort as she almost inhaled a blade of grass.
Dogs were so easy to entertain, he thought disdainfully. They’d get excited over any little thing. Reaching the end of her line, Ichigo tugged on the leash as she strained to sniff just beyond her reach. Ichimatsu didn’t budge. After a moment, the dog turned right back around and flounced up to him, sitting down in front of him. Shiny black eyes filled with trust stared up at him over, pink tongue flopping out of her open mouth. She wagged her tail slightly.
...Couldn’t she even tell he hated her? Was she that stupid? What did she want from him, anyway? Couldn’t she tell he was basically trash, unfit for company?
These answers eluded him as he stared back, until his reverie was unexpectedly broken by the door behind him opening.
“Ichimatsu-niisan?” said somebody in surprise. He turned.
Ah. Todomatsu. He was dressed in his trendy pink tracksuit, collar popped in a way that he claimed was in style, but as Osomatsu put it, made him look like a tool. His expression downgraded from shock to one quirked brow as he took in Ichimatsu sitting there with the puppy. “What do you want?” Ichimatsu demanded, caught off guard.
“Uh...you’re in my way?”
“Oh.” Right, yeah. Flushing slightly, Ichimatsu moved over so that he wasn’t blocking the door. Todomatsu exited the house and bent down to scratch Ichigo behind the ears.
“Aww, good girl, good girl. Aren’t you precious?” he cooed, as the puppy’s tail wagged furiously and she rolled over on her back for a belly rub. Todomatsu squealed in delight and snapped a few pictures with his phone. “You’re such a good girl, Ichigo-chan!”
“She’s annoying,” grumbled Ichimatsu.
“Wow, tone it down, Yamimatsu-niisan. I knew you were a cat person, but jeez, what do you have against poor little Ichigo?”
“Dogs are stupid,” said Ichimatsu. “They’re loud, they’re always running around...they have no sense of boundaries. It’s a pain.”
Todomatsu was looking at him strangely, now.
“What?” he snapped.
“You say that, but don’t you always hang out with Jyushimatsu-niisan?”
“That’s—“ he stopped, mouth flapping uselessly as he attempted conjure the words to refute Todomatsu, but his mind had gone blank. “It’s completely different,” he finally said, lamely.
Todomatsu shrugged. “Alright, if you say so...” He petted Ichigo one last time before standing up. “I’m going to head out.”
“I’m not stopping you,” said Ichimatsu automatically, mind still lightyears away. He barely even register Todomatsu rolling his eyes before jogging off, only snapped out of it when Ichigo’s leash tugged sharply on his wrist as the puppy tried to run after him.
God. So not only was he jealous of the dog, he was projecting onto her too? Piling all of his warped resentment and insecurities onto a animal...how much lower could he sink? This was getting ridiculous. If he was getting this crazy, he should really just talk to Jyushimatsu.
That’s what he thought, but...
What if Jyushimatsu was put off by how clingy and jealous he was being? What if he preferred the puppy after all? What if he really was just hanging out with Ichimatsu out of pity?
No. It was better to not say anything. Or at least, he had less to lose that way.
That being decided, he stood up, tugging Ichigo into the house behind him. They were going to find her owners soon, he told himself. Soon, and then he could forget about all this, and things would go back to normal.
He managed to get another hour or so of sleep, by some miracle. A miracle that mostly consisted of forcibly shutting down every thought that entered his head until he was functionally comatose, which was a skill he prided himself on.
Eventually everybody else woke up, and Ichimatsu rose with them, because what else was there to do? Todomatsu returned from jogging, and they had breakfast crowded around the table too small for six people, like usual, and Ichimatsu stayed quiet as the other five bickered, as usual, but unlike usual there was a seventh edition—Ichigo, whom the other five spoiled generously by feeding her scraps from the table.
Ichimatsu ate his rice and steadfastly refused to think.
He didn’t think....he wasn’t thinking...everything was fine...he just had to go along with everything until things went back to normal...
This was what he focused on, up until the minute he found himself sitting on a swing at the playground.
Wait, what?
For a moment he panicked, mentally backtracking to pinpoint how he got here. He finished breakfast, helped Choromatsu put the dishes away (nobody else wanted to do it), went to sit on the couch...Jyushimatsu asked him if he wanted to go with him to see if they could find the puppy’s owner.
“Yeah, you should totally go,” Osomatsu had chimed in. The absolute bastard.
Jyushimatsu apparently had taken his lack of response for an answer, because here he was.
And over by the sandbox was Jyushimatsu, playing with Ichigo.
“Like this, like this!” he said to the dog, and then struck a pose, one arm thrown in the air and one leg bent across his body and up. “Sheeeeh! Now you do it, Ichigo!”
The puppy flopped on her back, paws in the air. Jyushimatsu laughed.
“No, no! That’s ‘play dead’! You gotta do it like this! Sheeeeeeeh!”
Ichigo barked.
Ichimatsu watched this go on for a few more minutes, trying to keep himself from feeling miserable but failing badly. Did Jyushimatsu have this much fun when they were hanging out together? He doubted it. Shit, he was looking over here now.
“Ichimatsu-niisan!” he hollered, bounding over with Ichigo not far behind.
“You don’t have to shout. I’m right here,” snapped Ichimatsu, and immediately felt bad when Jyushimatsu closed his mouth. “...What is it?” Ichimatsu said. No, dammit, he should have apologized.
Jyushimatsu nodded seriously. “Do you wanna see Ichigo’s tricks?”
“Fine. Sure.”
Bending down to the puppy’s level, her tail flopping lazily back and forth as she looked up at him attentively, Jyushimatsu gave a stern command. “Ichigo! Sit!”
She sat.
“Down!”
She lay down.
“Okay! Up! High five!”
The little dog sat up and lifted a paw to smack Jyushimatsu’s sleeved hand.
“Bang!” He mimed shooting a gun, and Ichigo flopped over on her back. ...Her tail was still wagging, though.
“Good girl! Okay...now SHEEEH!”
Astonishingly, the little pup actually followed Jyushimatsu’s lead, standing on her hind legs with one paw cocked in the air. Ichimatsu was impressed despite himself.
Laughing, Jyushimatsu seized Ichigo’s paws as she tottered back and forth, dancing around in a circle with her. “Ahahaha! Good girl, good girl! You’re the smartest dog ever!” He let go and turned to Ichimatsu, eyes sparkling. “Wasn’t she great, Ichimatsu-niisan?”
Ugh, he couldn’t say no. “Pretty good,” he mumbled.
“Hey, I just thought of an even better one. Ichigo, c’mere!” he scooped the little dog off the ground. She let out a little grunt as he hefted her in one hand, adjusting his stance into a very familiar...wait. “OH! THAT’S A BASEBALL!” Jyushimatsu suddenly shouted in English, winding up to throw the unsuspecting puppy.
Ichimatsu leapt to his feet, grabbing his brother’s arm to stop him. “J-Jyushimatsu, no!”
“Eh?” said Jyushimatsu, frozen with one foot in the air.
“Don’t throw the damn dog,” said Ichimatsu.
Jyushimatsu looked at Ichigo, who was astoundingly serene for a creature who had very nearly been hurled through the air at high velocity. Then he broke his pose, supporting her with both arms again. “Haha, yeah, I guess not!”
Ichimatsu returned to his swing, shaking his head. Sometimes he really wondered what the hell was going through Jyushimatsu’s head. And then immediately stopped thinking, because the possibilities were the stuff of cosmic horror. “Honestly...” he muttered.
Jyushimatsu laughed again. “Ichigo, you wanna go see Ichimatsu-niisan, right?” Jyushimatsu said, and before Ichimatsu could protest, Jyushimatsu had shoved her into his arms, where she squirmed around and tried to lick his face.
“Jyushimatsu—no, I—stop that,” Ichimatsu sputtered, shifting the puppy in his arms awkwardly. It was different from holding a cat—she was so bulky.
“See, she likes you!” said Jyushimatsu, going to sit on the swing next to Ichimatsu.
Ichimatsu finally got Ichigo cradled comfortably in his lap, well away from his face. She yawned, eyes squeezing shut as her long pink tongue curled.
“I guess,” Ichimatsu said, not sure how to feel. The dog was cute. It was a pleasant day. He couldn’t think of much to complain about, but still, the hollow pit in his stomach wouldn’t vanish. “Jyushimatsu...” he said, without thinking.
“Yeah?”
Oh, shit. Now he had to say something. Ichimatsu felt his pulse quicken with anxiety, words caught in his throat. Ichigo shifted of his lap, blinking up at him with concern. He chickened out. “I-it’s nothing.”
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jyushimatsu’s head bob up and down. “Okay,” he said, and Ichimatsu felt crushing relief wash over him. But in its wake came a bitter aftertaste. God, he was such a coward. Why couldn’t he just talk to people...? He’d thrown away his chance, just like that.
Jyushimatsu looked thoughtful. “Maybe we should go see Professor Dekapan again,” he said.
For a moment, Ichimatsu was thrown. What did that have to do with anything? Did he think the professor could help them find Ichigo’s owners, or...
Suddenly he remembered the last time Jyushimatsu had dragged him along to Dekapan’s lab, the memory of being held down while the professor prepared to jab an improbably large syringe into his ass coming back to him vividly. “No no no no no,” he said quickly. No, he didn’t need any god damn ‘help’ like that again.
“Are you sure?” said Jyushimatsu.
“Yes,” said Ichimatsu firmly.
“Ah.” Jyushimatsu nodded again. “So what were you gonna say?”
Ichimatsu looked down. “I was just...it’s something stupid...h-how come you hang out with me?” he blurted out. Instantly he felt foolish and vulnerable, unable to look at his brother.
“Eh? Do I need a reason?” said Jyushimatsu.
“Never mind. Forget it,” growled Ichimatsu.
There was a moment of quiet. Ichimatsu felt like he might die of embarrassment, and he would have welcomed it.
“...Ichimatsu-niisan is Ichimatsu-niisan,” Jyushimatsu eventually said.
“Huh?” He looked up.
Jyushimatsu shrugged. “I dunno. I like being with you. Is that bad?”
“N-no, it’s just—why me? I’m garbage,” he said.
“Ichimatsu-niisan...you’re actually really nice! Even though you’re bad at showing it. But all the cats know.”
“You could hang out with Todomatsu,” Ichimatsu argued. “Any of the others.”
Jyushimatsu shook his head. “Totty won’t play sports with me. And Choromatsu-niisan and Karamatsu-niisan worry too much, and Osomatsu-niisan makes fun of me.” He shrugged again, and Ichimatsu was shocked to see a touch of hurt in his brother’s eyes, even though he spoke matter of factly. “I’m really loud and I’m not that smart. But Ichimatsu-niisan always looks after me.”
Ichimatsu was speechless. He had no idea Jyushimatsu had ever felt that way. “Jyushimatsu...”
He laughed. “I’m really glad. You’re the best big brother! You even helped me with Ichigo, even though you don’t like dogs that much.”
“I don’t really dislike dogs...” mumbled Ichimatsu, stroking the puppy in his lap. She seemed sleepy.
“Eh!? You don’t? I thought you were mad that Ichigo scared all the cats away.”
“I just thought...you really liked playing with her...and her name’s kind of like mine...” Wow, saying it out loud, it sounded pretty stupid.
Jyushimatsu cocked his head to the side. “Huh? Huh? I named her that because we found her together, Ichimatsu-niisan. I’m 14, and you’re 1. So when you add them together, it makes 15! Ichi-go!”
It took a moment for Ichimatsu to process this. Ichi, one. Go, five. Wait, was that seriously his logic?! Ichigo. Ichi-go. Ichi plus Jyushi. For the second time in so many minutes, Ichimatsu didn’t know what to say.
Jyushimatsu was laughing. “You thought it was for a weird reason, didn’t you?”
“S-shut up,” said Ichimatsu, flushing. “Shouldn’t it have been Jyugo, then?”
“Huh? But that sounds weird.”
“It’s not any weirder than Ichigo.”
“Ichigo is Ichigo, though.”
“You already said that for me! It doesn’t mean anything!”
“Sure it does!”
“Then what—“ started Ichimatsu, but was interrupted by somebody calling out.
“Hanako? Hanako!” It was a woman’s voice.
Ichigo’s ears perked up, and her head lifted. Both of the brothers looked towards the source of the voice.
A woman was coming towards them, hurried after by a man. They didn’t look much older than the Matsunos, maybe mid twenties. The woman had light brown hair and a round face, while the man wore a checkered shirt and glasses. Actually...they looked kind of familiar, Ichimatsu thought.
“Hanako!” cried the woman, arms reaching towards him, and Ichimatsu felt his stomach lurch with anxiety; oh god, was she coming for him? But then Ichigo stirred, tail beginning to wag furiously as she struggled to escape Ichimatsu’s grip.
Oh. Then these must be...
“Hi hi! Are you Ichigo’s people?” Jyushimatsu leapt to his feet in excitement.
“I-Ichigo?” said the man, glancing at the little dog. “Ah, her name is Hanako...”
Ichigo—no, Hanako, barked. Ichimatsu put her down, and she immediately ran to the woman, who scooped her up off the ground and into her arms. “Oh, Hanako, you’re okay! I’m so sorry!”
“I’m really glad!” said Jyushimatsu. “Did you see our posters?”
“Yes, we contacted your family, and they told us we might find you here. We’re very grateful,” he added. “I hope she didn’t cause you much trouble.”
“Nope! It was fun looking after her! She’s a really smart dog,” said Jyushimatsu.
Ichimatsu was watching the woman. Tears ran down her face as she hugged the wriggling puppy close, heedless of the pup’s frantically licking them up. He’d been waiting for this, for the dog’s owners to come claim her, but now that they were here he didn’t feel the rush of relief he’d expected. Instead he felt a little...sad, almost.
The man was peering between him and Jyushimatsu, frowning. “Um...don’t I...don’t we know you?” he said tentatively.
“Hmm...nope! I don’t think I know you. Do you know them, Ichimatsu-niisan?”
Ichimatsu cursed inwardly. Yeah, the guy was familiar, but why?
The woman spared him from answering when she looked up, as if seeing him for the first time. “Oh! You’re...you’re the man who we helped a few months ago.”
Oh! Oh. Oh, shit. He remembered now. His ill-fated foray into the world of adulthood, which had ended in him nearly starving to death in the street.
How was he supposed to respond here?
“Y-yeah, that was me...” he mumbled, waving half-halfheartedly.
“Wow! You made a friend? That’s great!” said Jyushimatsu.
The guy smiled at Ichimatsu awkwardly. “Well, yeah...it feels like we keep running into each other, haha.”
“Yeah, haha...” echoed Ichimatsu.
“And now you’ve taken care of Hanako,” said the woman, beaming. “Thank you so much!”
“Ichimatsu-niisan was great!” confirmed Jyushimatsu, nodding vigorously.
“I didn’t do that much,” said Ichimatsu.
“No, no, I’ll sleep easier knowing she was in good hands,” the woman insisted. Okay...if she thought a jobless freakshow was ‘good hands’. “How did you find her?”
“She was running away from a big cat,” said Jyushimatsu.
“When we last saw her, she was the one chasing a cat,” said the man, with a little laugh.
“Ooh, I hope you’ve learned your lesson,” said the woman, holding Hanako up. The puppy barked happily. “We’d better get you home and all cleaned up.”
“Eh, is Ichigo going home now?” said Jyushimatsu.
The man laughed sheepishly. “We should really get her a name tag, huh...” he bowed slightly. “We can’t thank you enough for taking care of her.”
“No problem, it was fun!” Jyushimatsu bounced over to pet Hanako goodbye, ruffling her ears. Hanako licked his face. “Bye bye, Ichigo!”
“We’ll see you! We live close by, don’t be a stranger,” said the woman, smiling. “And thank you again.”
“See you,” Ichimatsu mumbled, as Jyushimatsu jumped up and down, waving them off.
When they had gone, Jyushimatsu turned to his brother, grinning so wide he looked like he was going to burst at the seams. “Ichigo’s people found her, I’m really glad.”
“Yeah, but...” Ichimatsu felt unsettled. “Aren’t you going to miss her?”
Jyushimatsu raised a sleeved hand to his mouth, contemplating. “Yeah,” he said. “I had a lot of fun. But I’m going to see her again someday. And now we can do stuff together again! Wanna go feed your cats, Ichimatsu-niisan?”
Ichimatsu marveled, that his little brother could have so much room in his heart. Maybe that’s how some people were, that the amount of things they could care for wasn’t finite, but expanded sideways and flowed into each other. I’ll see her again someday, he’d said, and he was fine with that. Somehow...it made Ichimatsu feel better.
He smiled. “Yeah, sure,” he said. “Let’s go.”