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]

I'll probably just tie him up and put him in a closet. Maybe feed him eventually.

[He's only half joking.]

[aeturnus]

Make sure you poke holes in the door for ventilation first.

[ Hopefully Cain is also joking. ]

[ichimyatsu]

[A snorted laugh.]

Like a bug in a jar.

[aeturnus]

Buzz, buzz.

For real, you think you'll be able to handle a kid hanging around for who knows how long?

[ichimyatsu]

Probably not, but if he won't listen to me and fuckin' behave there's not a lot I can do.

[aeturnus]

That's where the phrase "it takes a village" comes in. If you can trust anyone here, I'd ask them for help, or well, offer my own. I've had kids.

[ichimyatsu]

I've been here like three days and I rarely trust myself, if that tells you anything about my tendencies to trust. On the other hand, I don't really need to trust someone to foist off a troublesome ten year old on them.

[aeturnus]

Great! Then you don't mind if I watch him for the day?

[ He's going to seek out anyone else who knows Karamatsu to see if they can't get some kind of rotation going. Much as he'd like to just babysit the whole time, he's not in a living situation that makes it feasible...

Better than an overtired brother, though, no matter what his real intentions might be. ]

[ichimyatsu]

[Something makes him pause, and he purses his lips in a frown.]

If he doesn't mind, then sure. [Because if Karamatsu likes the guy it should be okay, he has no frame of reference to judge.]

[aeturnus]

[ There. Good. Cain nods to that stipulation. ]

Works for me. We'll ask him, see if he still likes me now that he's ten.

[ichimyatsu]

[He nods, still frowning.]

It's not that I really care, or anything, I'm not responsible for him, but... If he comes back hurt or sick or anything there's gonna be trouble. [Cain, meet Ichimatsu. He's a complete fucking tsundere about his siblings.]

[aeturnus]

[ At least it implies he cares! He'll take it. ]

Oh, in that case, my name's Jacob Kane. So you can hunt me down if something happens.

[ichimyatsu]

[gnjdfknbjkn HE SHOULD HAVE ASKED THAT,]

Offering yourself up already?

[aeturnus]

[ You should have, bro... It's okay, he'll take that pity on you. ]

Not quite. Just thought you might want a name to go with the stranger offering to take your kid brother in for a while.

[ichimyatsu]

[Panicked snorting.]

Y-yeah, well! He's usually older than me so I'm not responsible just because he got fucked by the kid-mallet.

[aeturnus]

It isn't actually your inexplicable duty to care for him because of this. [ It sounds like he's... agreeing? ] Although now you make me curious what the age difference is for sextuplets like you guys.

[ichimyatsu]

[He huffs softly, frowning.]

There isn't really one, since we're sextuplets, but Osomatsu was born first so we've always just gone in line of birth order. We're all the same age, but... It's cultural, a little, I guess.

[aeturnus]

Right, so the same as twins. [ The implication is like myself but he doesn't say it out loud. ] There's always a pecking order.

[ichimyatsu]

I don't personally care much, because the two that are younger than me are pretty okay at handling themselves so I don't have to worry about being "the big brother". It's too much pressure.

[A beat.]

You know an awful lot about twins, though.

[aeturnus]

Could be because I am one. Or maybe just because I read a lot. Probably that first one, though.

[ichimyatsu]

[You are a frustrating human being, Cain.]

"Could be", he says.

[aeturnus]

[ He's had time to perfect the craft. ]

Not to get morbid, but I guess it depends on if you're still a twin when requisite twin brother is no longer with us. Could be.

[ichimyatsu]

[He frowns. Congratulations on being a dick, Ichimatsu.]

...ah, sorry.

[aeturnus]

No, you're fine. It was a long time ago. Still, that's how I know.

[ichimyatsu]

Fair enough.

...Kane, was it?