video; un: ny4n

[ichimyatsu]

[You'd be surprised by how hard it is to set up a phone for a video post while sitting on a rebellious pre-teen who is a ten year old version of one of your five brothers-- but he won't tell you which. That, by the by, happens to be precisely what Ichimatsu Matsuno is doing at this particular moment, the feed kicking on to him frowning irritably at the screen with his hands clearly on either side of the device while he tries to make it stand upright.]

[When he sits back the scene gets a little stranger, because he is, in fact, sitting on a tiny version of what looks like himself if he ever brushed his hair and slept. He actually hisses at the boy beneath him and sits on him to prevent some of his wild flailing, and then glares back at the video feed.]

Can somebody tell me which Matsuno this little shit is? He's one of my brothers but inexplicably tiny and he won't tell me who he is.

Comments

[ichimyatsu]

[A constant state of, honestly. He's just not used to dealing with any of them being younger to this extent.]

Cats are a completely valid username resource, honestly.

[maskerading]

Well—I can't argue with that. I do like cats.

[ And so does this guy, evidently. ]

[ichimyatsu]

Same. No clue on Brat King 2000 here though, yeah?

[maskerading]

No, sorry. I don't know anyone by the name Matsuno. [ But this does make him wonder— ] You can't tell who your own brother is?

[ichimyatsu]

We're sextuplets. As kids we were nearly impossible to tell apart.

[maskerading]

[ Oh. Oh, wow. ]

So even siblings get each other mixed up, huh? I wouldn't have thought.

[ichimyatsu]

We used to pretend to do it on purpose, like... As kids we were all kinda hivemind, so we knew who we were but it didn't really matter anyway. If one of us was in trouble, mom would pick a name to scold and we'd go down the line of "I'm not him! I'm this one!", so you see the problem.

[maskerading]

I do. But if he's persistent, there's always bribery... Or blackmail.

[ichimyatsu]

[A wheezing string of laughter, and he nods.]

I like the way you think. I'm Ichimatsu, by the way.

[maskerading]

When push comes to shove, as they say. [ In other words, he isn't above being a punk, sometimes. His mouth twitches into a subtle smile. ] The name's Yuuto.

[ichimyatsu]

[That's good, honestly, because Ichimatsu is kind of always a fucking punk. And also a piece of shit. Literally constantly. A crooked grin of his own, and he nods.]

I'd be more respectful in meeting but I'm sitting on a ten year old who is real adamant about escaping, so. Nice to meet you, Yuuto.

[maskerading]

Don't worry about it—you've got your hands full. But if you get tired of sitting on him, you could consider tying him up.

[ Yuuto's helping. ]

[ichimyatsu]

I'd thought about it, but didn't have anything on hand to tie him up with.

[This is shaping up to be a beautiful friendship already.]

[maskerading]

Nothing at all? [ Hmm... ] You just might be trapped there forever, then.

[ichimyatsu]

Eventually I'm just gonna let him up and let him run off and become someone else's problem.

[maskerading]

... Heh. Not that determined to win in the end, then?

[ichimyatsu]

I consider it a win if I don't have to deal with him, no matter what leads to that.

[maskerading]

That's some harsh brotherly love there.

[ichimyatsu]

When there are six of you the love gets spread pretty damn thin.

[maskerading]

—Does it? ... Well, I'm an only child, so I don't always know how that sibling thing goes.

[ichimyatsu]

It's beyond even "that sibling thing", we're sextuplets. There are like four instances of a group of this many kids even surviving, and I'm pretty sure it's because they eat each other.

[maskerading]

... That makes sense. With that many kids just like you around, you have to assert your dominance somehow. [ And yet... ] But I do think it's telling when you and your brothers have decided to spare each other, too.

[ichimyatsu]

[He makes a face, but shrugs.]

Telling of what, that we're lazy as shit?

[maskerading]

[ Well OKAY. ]

You can't even muster the energy to become the one true Matsuno?

[ichimyatsu]

Are you kidding? We're way more powerful as a unit.