Chapter Text
With bellies warm and full of liquor, five brothers came stumbling home, voices laughing and joking with one another. Piling in one after another into the home, all the lights were off, so one of them began patting along the wall looking for the light. The brothers still on the floor covering their eyes hissing and whining as light filled the room. Ichimatsu kept his hand on the wall next to the switch, his eyes squeezed shut as he groaned, although he was the first to open his eyes to allow them to adjust to the light, there was a smell lingering in the air that he had to figure out.
Todomatsu made a disgusted noise that caused them all to turn at the glass shattering shrillness of his voice. With a shaky finger pointed outward he pointed. Blood. A trail of it leading to the kitchen, which they followed like lemmings, in stupid herd like mentality, and their own childish curiosity. A blue hood was thrown to the table top, the shoulder on the right hand side was torn and missing, the fabric in that area and a good portion of the sleeve was stained a almost black color.
It was all fresh, the cloth was still wet to the touch but it took them a few moments of looking back and forth in drunken stupor and stupidity. In his state Choromatsu had only meant to touch the fabric with the very tips of his fingers to see if this dark stain was the same as the droplets of blood that marked up the floor around them, instead his whole hand pressed to the hood. Not excepting it to still feel warm or wet he gasped and stumbling backwards into his brothers, showing them his hand when they were somehow able to catch him.
Ichimatsu covered his nose, pinching it shut as he turned away. “It smells like shit.” He muttered. With his gaze turned he noticed the second trail that lead towards the stairs. What ever was going on he wanted no part in it, turning away from his brothers he left out the door before any of them could notice. The four continued their makeshift investigation. They soon noticed what Ichimatsu had and followed the rest of the trail upstairs and to the door of their shared bedroom.
In the lead Osomatsu threw the door open, standing with his legs apart and bent slightly at the knees to help keep his balance as the room spun around him. There face down on the floor, with his back and parts of the floor covered in the bight crimson of blood, was Karamatsu. Choromatsu stumbled his way in the room, Todomatsu was already calling a ambulance, Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu were still in the door way in dumb confusion.
Choromatsu raised Karamatsu's head and dropped it back down, their brother's face made a soft thump as it hit back against the floor. “I think he's dead!” Choromatsu snapped, his hands waving in a panic at the thought of having just touched a dead body. Nervously he reached back down pressing his fingers to the side of his brother's neck. Todomatsu used the wall for support as he talked in slurred messy words. “He has a pulse!” Choromatsu announced and let out a breath of relief.
He looked to his shoulder, it was hard to tell what was causing all the bleeding, he thought the wound looked like a bite, but the bite was too big to belong to a dog and there were no animals in Japan capable of leaving such a bite. He touched the side of his brother's face, seeking out his warmth but finding it to be quite dim, like a candle flame close to being burnt out. This wasn't the first time he had seen Karamatsu hurt, but this was the first time he genuinely felt the pace of his heart beat quicken in concern.
When the ambulance came they took Karamatsu right away not giving any of them the chance to come along. Choromatsu sat around awake as his brothers made up their beds in the blood free space of the living room. When he was sober enough he took a bowl of hot soapy water and a scrub brush and got to work cleaning the blood that glared up at him from the floor. Before he hadn't noticed the smell, but now that he was on his hands and knees in front of it all, it made his stomach turn.
This was the first time he could remember seeing so much blood from just one person, he bit his lip and dug his nails into the wood of the brush in his hand. He pressed the bristles against the stain silently screaming to himself as he tired his best to get as much as he could off. Of all places for the stain to be it had to be on his side, how could he sleep here in the future knowing that this was what would be beneath his pillow. Girting his teeth he pressed his weight against the brush as he dragged it roughly over the stain.
The off white bristles became a pinkish shade of red, he dipped it back into the water. When finished in the bedroom he went to clean the trail of blood droplets on the stairs and that made the downstairs look like a cheap Halloween jump scare. The water in the bowl became more red, the bubbles a uncomfortable shade of pink, the scent like wet rusty metal. His fingers and his hands hurt like they were cramping up. Tilting the bowl over he pored the dirty water down the drain, washing out the bowl he set it down in the sink. Staring at the stain that was setting into the bridles he stuck the brush under running water.
There was blood drying underneath his nails, the smell making him feel like he could taste its scent on his tongue. It was a relief when he was finally done, his knees felt tender and there was a stinking pain. Choromatsu fell asleep almost instantly when he joined his brothers in the makeshift bed they had set up in the living room. Ichimatsu made his return shortly after and took the little pace that was left over.
When they woke in the morning, heads throbbing, faces pale, eyes feeling dry from their nasty hangover, they found that Karamatsu had returned that morning while they were all still fast asleep. The doctors had his shoulder wrapped in white bandages, giving their mother some extra to change it later, a task she asked one of them to do in her place.
They each looked over her shoulder at their sleeping brother. Karamatsu did not appear to be sleeping soundly, his breathing was ragged and labored, sweat had dampened his bangs to the skin of his forehead, his cheeks were flushed red. This was the most pitiful any of them had ever seen him, regardless once their mother was gone they instantly began pushing the responsibility onto one another.
Todomatsu was the first to get out of since he was still the only one with a job and he had to go into work, which he quickly fled to do. The next to get out of it was Ichimatsu. “He smells horrible, if I have to take care of him I'll suffocate him.” The dark and almost dead look in his eyes would have been believable to anyone who wasn't them. Choromatsu crossed his arms and sighed, shooing away his brother.
Choromatsu looked between his remaining brothers, it was Osomatsu and Jyushimatsu, neither were very capable of looking after someone injured. Choromatsu shut his eyes, he had a concert tomorrow that he could not miss, he went out of his way to buy something special for it, as long as he didn't have to watch Karamatsu tomorrow he didn't see a problem in looking after him today. But he had to be careful, if he gave in to easily watching him too quickly then no one would watch Karamatsu tomorrow.
Opening his eyes he found that Jyushimatsu had disappeared while he was lost in thought, Osomatsu was also just now noticing the space next to him was now void of their brother. Choromatsu rubbed his forehead, faking annoyance when he was actually thankful, he only had one brother to fool now. “Hey Choromatsu if you do it today I'll take over tomorrow. I have a horse race today and I know you have your concert, so lets make a deal.” Osomatsu flashed him a grin and held out his hand.
Choromatsu stared at it, this was his opening, time to play hard to get. “Well there's a open interview in town today that I was going to go to, so you look after him.” He retorted and crossed his arms over his chest. Osomatsu let out a sigh and whined.
“Come on Flappymatsu I have money on this race! Please! Its your turn anyways!” Osomatsu complained.
“Don't call me that! And when did we start taking turns, cause if have then your turn is way over due!” Choromatsu snapped, just a little bit more protesting and he would agree to his brother's deal. Osomatsu looked in at their brother, he pressed his lips together, thinking.
He then turned back to Choromatsu, leaning so his back was against the wall. “Listen Choromatsu we both know that I'm just going to leave the moment your out that door and go to my race, but if you make a deal with me and watch him for today then I promise that I'll actually watch over him tomorrow so you can go to your concert. So whata say?” He smirked and held his hand back out to him.
Choromatsu sighed and rolled his eyes as he took Osomatsu's hand and shook it. He had him just where he wanted. After they were done shaking hands, Osomatsu left with a big smile, it was funny to see him thinking that he won. With everyone else gone it was just Karamatsu's sleeping form and himself left to inhabit their home.
Going downstairs he got a bowl of icy cold water, setting a cloth inside, and headed back upstairs. Kneeling beside Karamatsu he pushed his dampened bangs from his face and took the cloth and placed it onto his forehead. Just sitting beside him he could feel the heat coming off of him in waves, he was surprised that the hospital even allowed him to come home when he had this high of a fever. Choromatsu didn't put to much thought into it, the doctors had to know what they were doing. “What the hell happened to you?” Choromatsu asked aloud.
“I tried to pet a really big dog...it didn't want to be pet...it bit me.” Karamatsu groaned, somewhere stuck between being asleep and awake. Choromatsu jumped a bit in his surprise, he hadn't expected a reply, nor one as simple as just that.
But he had seen that bite, there was no possible way it was from a dog, even if it was a really big one. He took the cloth from Karamatsu's forehead and dipped it back into the water. “Shush, you have a fever, there's no way a dog did that.” Choromatsu said reapplying the cold damp cloth to his brother's forehead. Karamatsu groaned and squeezed his eyelids together tightly, clutching the blanket in his hands. Choromatsu couldn't help but to let out a sigh. “You're so helpless Kara.”
Karamatsu turned his head to him and pulled the blanket up to his chin, shivering. “I swear it was a really big light brown dog. It stood up...it was weird.” He muttered and Choromatsu rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through Karamatsu's hair. It was damp with sweat, Karamatsu's skin was burning hot like holding his hand over a flickering red fire.
“Sure it was, why don't you go back to sleep.”
“Can't...it hurts...it hurts, Choromatsu.” He reached up and rubbed at his shoulder, whimpering and whining just like a child. Choromatsu pulled the blanket down so he could take a look at the bandages. The blood had dried on the white bandages was a brick red color, they looked a little moist from sweat, Karamatsu was covered in it.
He was going to have to clean him up so he didn't start stinking to high heaven. “I'll go get you some medicine. Try to get that bandage off while I'm gone so I can get you clean up.” He said pulling his hand out of his brother's hair, wiping the sweat off onto his pant leg as he stood. Karamatsu whimpered but he sat up, the cloth falling into his lap. His eyes were shut and Choromatsu gave him one last look before slipping out the door.
There were some pain killers in their mother's nightstand, he took them and got a drink from the fridge, some orange juice. Going up the stairs he opened the door back up to find his older brother struggling with the bandages. Setting down the drink and the pills Choromatsu got back down beside his brother and began removing the wrap.
He paused once it was reveled, it was strange, Choromatsu touched around the bite. Karamatsu's skin felt soft like silk underneath the tips of his fingers. “I thought it was deeper than this. There was so much blood...does it hurt at all?” He asked looking at the bite, it almost looked like it had healed up. There was no bruising around it like he had expected there to be from such a bad bite. It didn't even look bad anymore. Karamatsu whined and shifted away from his hand. Choromatsu pulled his hand back curling his fingers up into his palm.
Karamatsu went to lay back down but Choromatsu took him by the unhurt shoulder keeping him propped upward. “I need to get you cleaned up before I can replace your bandages. Come on stay sitting up.” He took the cloth and began wiping it over the wound, being careful not to hurt his brother. He wiped it over his chest, cleaning the sweat from his skin and wondering when Karamatsu got in better shape then him.
His chest and stomach were more defined then he remembered them being. The heat was freakish, he felt as if Karamatsu's temperature became any hotter than this, the water would come off his body in steam. “Choromatsu...its cold.”
Pulling his hand back Choromatsu dipped in back into the bowl. “I know, don't worry I'm almost done. Let me get your back then I can get you wrapped up alright.” Choromatsu shook his head in order to get his thoughts back on track. He finished cleaning Karamatsu off and wrapped his shoulder back up in the bandages. He made him take the pills and drink the juice before tucking him back into bed.
Karamatsu fell back asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. His moans and groans of the fever raging within his blood, kept Choromatsu sitting at his side. Choromatsu leaned against the wall, accidentally falling asleep there, he probably would have stayed like that all day if his mother didn't wake him for dinner.
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Short first chapter but the next will be longer