All of the Matsuno brothers have dreamt about being an only child at least once in their lives. The first one had his a few days after that dreaded incident with a certain terrifying lodger. The second brother began dreaming about his when the brothers were not even halfway through the first year of middle school. The third eldest had his dream in the year before they began high school. The fourth one had his after his first attempt. The fifth brother had his after she left. The youngest Matsuno had his dream after overhearing a snide remark from less than a year ago about how he "shouldn't exist".
Tonight was another night for the Matsuno sextuplets. Prepare the futon, get themselves in their spots, argue, then sleep.
But it lasted until five of six brothers woke up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, shivering from whatever woke them up.
"W-wai... What?" Osomatsu quickly noticed his brothers already up.
"Did we really just... have the same dream?" Choromatsu mumbled apprehensively. He wiped away sweat from his brow with his sleeve.
"Maybe... Or maybe not." Ichimatsu sighed shakily.
"Waaaaah, that was scary..." Jyushimatsu whispered nervously.
"This might... be some weird... twin telepathy... thing..." Todomatsu gasped in between pants. "if we... all woke up... at the same time."
"Ah," Jyushimatsu spoke. "Let's talk about our dreams! They won't bother us again if we talk about them!"
Todomatsu and the other brothers agreed. Maybe talking about their recent burdens might ease some of their worries. Osomatsu began his: "I'm not sure about us having the same dream, but I woke up here at home, but you guys weren't there. So I went downstairs, and Okaa-san and Otou-san were there, talking about how I was the only kid in the family and needed me to "contribute to society" and-"
"Wait," Choromatsu blurted out. "They said you were the only child in the family?"
"Well, yeah-" Osomatsu beamed.
"I had that dream too!" Jyushimatsu went in. "It was scary and lonely without everyone there!"
"I did kind of worry about you guys," Ichimatsu said. "I guess.... It did feel kind of off..."
"I saw you guys in my dream, but you were quintuplets!" Todomatsu shared his. "I thought you were all playing some sick joke on me!"
.
.
.
.
There was a brief and awkward silence. Jyushimatsu spoke, "Ah. Karamatsu-niisan's asleep."
"Oi, Shittymatsu," the fourth eldest called out. "Wake up."
"Hey, Karamatsu-niisan," the third eldest worried. "A-are you-"
Karamatsu was unfortunately deep asleep.
The bright light blinded his eyes as he opened them, finding himself on a bed in a dreadfully white room with a monotone beeping in the background. A hospital, he mused internally, of course. He also heard some overlapping voices, two males, in the room, neither of which are familiar to him. He felt a sharp bolt of pain surge through his body as he tried to get up.
His head hurts.
His neck hurts.
His chest hurts.
Heck, everything hurts.
"Wha- Hey! He's getting up!" A finicky male voice lit up upon seeing Karamatsu attempt to move.
"Oi, Karamatsu-kun," A nasal voice came in. "You feeling alright?"
.
.
.
.
They told him later that his family died in a tragic accident that left him as the sole survivor of the Matsuno family, and two of Todomatsu's supposed friends, Kusosuke and Fuutsumaru, had decided to take him in. Karamatsu had to learn to walk again because of the accident because it had badly damaged his legs, but not to the point of paralyzing them, fortunately. But how did he get himself into the accident? What happened that caused it? Karamatsu felt a massive pang of guilt land on him as he thought that his last words to his family may possibly have been rather harsh, full of hatred even. (But what did he know? Karamatsu only knew of the events that had unfolded because he was told by someone.)
The now-orphaned Matsuno found himself in Fuutsumaru's apartment. The rest of the day had been rather uneventful after being discharged from the hospital. For the time being, Karamatsu was bound to a wheelchair, and Todomatsu's acquaintances were rather kind to him.
Soon, everything flashed by on a whim. He saw the world around him dissolve into nothingness as the orphaned Matsuno fell into the endless pit of black. It was too much. He wanted to scream. And scream he did.
"HEEEEY! YOU STUPID PAINFUL BROTHER, GET UUUUUUUUUP!" Todomatsu grabbed the second eldest and frantically shook him as his older brother screamed.
"OI TODOMATSU, QUIT IT!" The eldest brother ordered. "You're scaring him even further!"
Osomatsu pried the youngest's hands off the second eldest brother and gently rubbed circles on his back.
"Ne, Karamatsu. It's me. Shh... I'm here. It's okay. Everything's okay. Shh..."
Karamatsu stopped screaming and sobbed, shaken up by the horrible dream. It was only after a few minutes that the second eldest had calmed down considerably.
"Shh... You're safe now. Now tell your Nii-san what's wrong."
"I... I-you all died... And I was the only one left. I was all alone, with no one else to cling to. I was afraid... That might actually happen to us."
Osomatsu sighed. "Karamatsu, I know for a fact that's not going to happen to us anytime soon. 'Cause Nii-san's right here beside ya! Same for the rest of us, right?"
"Wha-Of course!"
"Tch."
"Un!"
"If it means I have to endure your painfulness..."
"Thank you," Karamatsu squeaked. "I'll remember that, brothers."