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The morning was just like always, loud and chaotic. Dishes clattered and rattled, three of the four teens were talking over each other about all sorts of things, and only one had his eyes glued to his phone. One of the older brothers was in the kitchen, making breakfast, while the eldest had already left. And the youngest? Nowhere to be seen. “Urami left a list. You’re supposed to take care of it later,” came the voice of the eldest brother from the kitchen, causing a collective groan around the table. “Why us?” “Of all days, really?” “Tch, he can do it himself!” “Fine.” muttered the one who actually agreed. “Typical! Aizetsu handles it, and we just stand here like idiots! Forget it! Give me the damn list.” “Be glad he’s taking care of everything, Sekido. Then none of us have to.” “Shut up, Urogi!” While the brothers bickered about who should take responsibility, Hantengu, one of the eldest, came out of the kitchen. “You’ll split the work. Each of you does a part.” “And who says so?” “I-I do! And Urami.” His attempt at authority fizzled when Sekido gave him a dark glare, and Urogi and Karaku burst out laughing. “Don’t be so mean, guys. If we all do a bit, we’ll finish faster and can do something else.” “Oh please, stop whining, Aizetsu! I’m not cleaning or going shopping. I’ve got plans!” Karaku said, pointing his cereal spoon at him. “Yeah, me too. You’re here all day anyway, Hantengu, why don’t you do it?” Three of the teens now turned to their eldest brother, one waving the dreaded list. They all knew he was sick and only left the house when it was absolutely necessary. “That’s not fair, dumping everything on him! We-” In the middle of defending their eldest brother, Aizetsu stopped, and everyone looked at him, confused. “Come on, keep talking!” “Sh!” “Did he just shush me?” Urogi and Karaku laughed at their brother’s reaction but they got a sharp “Sh!” back too. “You okay?” Hantengu asked, concerned, following the gaze of his younger brother, who had now set his phone on the table and stood up. For a moment, no one spoke, cursed, or laughed, then they heard it. Footsteps above, on the stairs leading to their rooms. “Oh, he’s finally awake? What’s all the fuss? It’s just the little one.” Sekido muttered, returning to his jam toast. Urogi and Karaku also went back to breakfast, leaving only Aizetsu standing. “He’s usually the first one up… and today he’s last?” “Unusual, yeah.” “So what? We’ve all overslept before. Happens.” When the youngest finally made it downstairs, it was clear he hadn’t just overslept. He was pale as a sheet, trembling, barely able to stand. Wobbling toward Aizetsu, he wrapped his arms around his waist and buried his face in his dark blue hoodie. “I don’t feel so good.” he murmured, sinking to his knees with his brother. “You’re burning up!” “Can I stay home today?” “Of course you’re staying here. I…oh crap…” “Oh crap?”, the other three asked, now standing and rushing to their little brother, forgetting breakfast entirely. They were all worried about the youngest of their chaotic bunch. “I have an appointment I have to go to today.” “Really? Of all days?” “Y-yeah. I’ve been waiting for weeks.”, Hantengu stammered, looking at his siblings. “And none of us can stay home. Karaku and I have a big test, Sekido has training, and Aizetsu-” “Actually I can stay. My schedule changed yesterday. A lot got canceled. I don’t even need to go to sports. I’m not participating anyway.” All eyes fell on the eldest, who usually had the final word. He sighed, nodded, and said he’d call the second eldest to confirm it was okay. “Sorry…” murmured the youngest, his weak voice muffled against the dark blue hoodie. Aizetsu gently stroked his dark hair. “It’s okay. You’re way more important than anything else.” “Exactly! We’re family. We stick together!” chorused Urogi and Karaku. Sekido rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed sigh. “Come on, little one, you belong in bed. Can you stand?”
Zohakuten shook his head, still clinging to Aizetsu. “I can’t get up like this. Or carry him.” “I know. I got this. Let go of Aizetsu for a sec Haku, and I’ll get you back upstairs and into bed.” Wordlessly, the youngest let go of his brother, only to be scooped up and carried back upstairs. “All sorted. You stay here. The rest of you go to school. Urami and I will handle the list and everything else. Next time, you take care of it yourselves, no arguments.”, he said. “As if that’s ever going to happen.”, muttered Aizetsu, following the others upstairs. Meanwhile, Urogi and Karaku cleared the table and grabbed their bags. “Wait!”, Hantengu called, handing them a handwritten note. It was for their teacher, explaining that one of them stayed home due to an emergency. With that, and the promise to deliver it, the brothers set off. The eldest also left, after letting the other three know.
When they got upstairs, they were going to take him to his room but what they found was… strange. His bed had been completely stripped, everything piled up beside it, and a pant leg sticking out from underneath. The two older brothers exchanged a quick glance, then looked at the youngest, who was hiding his face in his brother’s clothes, his ears turning a deep red. “Was that you?” A slight nod. “Alright, bring him to our room. He can sleep in my bed.” This time it was Sekido who nodded, quietly carrying the youngest into their shared room and setting him down on Aizetsu’s bed. Only then did the two older brothers notice that their little brother was wearing different clothes than the night before. “Thanks… now go, or you’ll be late.” “Let me know if you need anything.” “Yeah, seriously, go.” Quiet finally settled over the house, just the two of them left. It felt strange at least for the sensitive one of the chaotic bunch. Their youngest brother was often home alone, or just with one of the older siblings, which almost felt like being truly alone. “Are you going too?”, he asked Aizetsu and he shook his head. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you. I just need to grab my phone downstairs so I can let the others know if either of us needs something.” “Okay.” After helping him snuggle under the heavy blanket, Aizetsu left him alone for only a moment before returning. Lying down beside him on the covers, his little brother curled up close, resting his head on Aizetsu’s chest and letting him run his fingers through his dark hair. It was unusual to see him so calm he had a temperament much like Sekido’s. “You’ll tell me if you need or want anything, right?” “Mh-mh.”
For a while, everything was quiet. Aizetsu almost drifted off himself, but the buzzing of his phone kept him awake. Messages from the other brothers had popped up, checking if everything was okay. “He’s asleep, head on my chest. Looks really cute.”, he typed into their group chat, then set the phone aside and just watched his little brother sleep. His breathing was calm but heavy, he snored softly, and pressed closer and closer against his big brother. Suddenly he twitched, shivering, and jolted awake. “Hey, it’s okay. Shh, shh. I’m right here, Haku. You just had a bad dream.”, Aizetsu soothed, rubbing his back. He straightened up slightly and noticed how pale Haku had gone. “You okay?” He shook his head. “Need anything?” A slight, nervous nod, one hand pressed to his lips. “I think… I need to-” Quickly, Aizetsu jumped out of bed, grabbed the trash can from under Sekido’s desk, and held it just in time. “Sorry…” he murmured, once he stopped vomiting. It was clearly embarrassing; he kept his gaze on the floor, the dark blanket, anywhere but his brother. “It’s okay. Feeling a bit better?” “A little… I still feel like I'm about to throw up.” “Alright, keep that, I’ll make some tea and-” “Hey, Zetsu, can I ask you something?” he interrupted, looking up. His eyes looked heavy, almost sad. “Sure, go ahead.” “Do you… think they’ll ever come back?” The question had to come eventually but the timing was really bad. “To be honest? Probably not. But I promise you this: one of us will always be here with you.” “Like right now?” “Exactly. Like right now. Or like Karaku, helping you with homework or whatever. We’re your brothers, your family. You’re stuck with us.” He hugged his little brother gently, ruffling his hair lightly. The boy laughed softly, then coughed, and finally nodded. “Tea now?” “Yes, please.”
He kept checking every now and then to make sure his little brother was actually asleep while he tidied up a bit. After all, there was that mysterious pile of laundry in Zohakuten’s room. Shoving everything into a laundry basket, he noticed the sour, bitter smell. He must’ve felt awful during the night without anyone realizing it. Without a word, headphones on and listening to a True Crime podcast, he carried it all down to the basement and stuffed it into the washing machine. Just as he hit an especially intense part of the episode, someone called him, making him jump. He banged his knees against the machine door and slammed it shut loudly. “Don’t scare me like that!” he whined, picking up the call. On the other end, he heard Karaku and Urogi laughing, and Sekido sighing loudly, as usual. “How’s it going at home?” “How’s Haku?” “Still just you two alone?” “Everything’s fine here, I’m doing the laundry. Haku’s feeling a little better at least, and yeah, I’m still alone… but that probably won’t last long. How about you guys?” “School, you know.” “We’ve been asked about you a few times. People aren’t used to seeing just the three of us.” “We’re done with the important stuff. Should one of us come home?” “So you’re not so alone?” “No need, and I don’t want you guys getting in trouble.” “Come on, we-” “Alright, fine. But call one of us if you need anything.” “Promised.” He hung up, started the wash and his podcast, and headed back upstairs. In the hallway, he ran into his older brothers, who were carrying in groceries. “Welcome home.” “Where’ve you been?” “Basement… doing laundry.” They asked the same questions the others had over the phone: was everything okay, how was the little one, and so on. Aizetsu answered just the same, adding why he was doing the laundry, what symptoms he’d noticed, and that the fever was slowly going down. They agreed one of them would cook, Hantengu took that-one would clean and flip the mattress, Urami handled that and one of them would stay with the youngest. Back in the room, he found Zohakuten sitting on the edge of the bed, just setting down the trash bin. “You’re awake. Feeling okay?” “Yeah… Are the others back yet?” “Urami and Hantengu just got home while I was downstairs.” His little brother looked at him questioningly. “I threw the laundry in the machine.”, he explained, sitting down next to him on the bed’s edge. A soft “oh” escaped, and his cheeks darkened as he realized. “It’s fine. You could’ve woken one of us.” “I didn’t want to… I was embarrassed.”, he muttered, staring back down at the floor. “No need. If it happens again, just wake one of us.” “Can I wake you?” “If that’s easier for you, sure.” “You, Zetsu.” “Hm?” “Will you stay with me? I don’t want to be alone, and I’m cold.” “Of course, I’ll stay.”, he said, and at the request, even snuggled under the heavy, dark blanket with him. He probably had caught whatever his brother had anyway, so it didn’t really matter now. Arms wrapped around him, holding him close, they both fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. They didn’t notice the older two checking in on them or the other three coming home. Not even Sekido fussing about the trash bin woke them.
Aizetsu was right about catching whatever Zohakuten had. A few days later, he felt just as awful, and so did his three same-aged brothers, they’d also been taking care of their youngest. They even got convinced to cuddle, even the one who usually had the worst mood ever.