AN: This is basically just a vent, so don't kill me. The other fics are nearly finished anyway, I might as well get a head start on my other fandoms.

Trigger warnings for violence, self-loathing, self-harm implications, suicide attempt implications, abuse implications, sexual assault implications and family drama. Enjoy. -AP

Choromatsu was leaving.

This wasn't a cause for surprise or alarm for most of the brothers. He was right when the possibility of their parents divorcing arose; He was probably the best bet out of all of them. They'd all already accepted that he'd probably be the one to move out first.

Though, of course, people worried. Ichimatsu worried himself, but kept it to himself. He hoped his elder would manage on his own, without company, but part of him didn't want to accept he was leaving. However, the darkness of the situation wasn't something any of them really wanted to address, so Ichimatsu kept his concerns to himself and gave his family time to celebrate. At least...most of them time to celebrate.

Karamatsu, though the most painful, was probably the most open with his worries. Jyushi barely worried about anything anyway. Todomatsu would leave tomorrow for the sobbing, probably.

Then there was Osomatsu.

Ichimatsu and Karamatsu were the first to notice, and gave a concerned glance at each other. Osomatsu was the one, believe it or not, who was most likely to lose his temper in this situation. This was not something they needed; Not now, anyway. They could deal with him later, they just had to hope he didn't decide to flip out tonight.

Karamatsu almost fought him the first time he yelled, but Ichi glared, shaking his head. Choromatsu frowned, and whispered, mainly to himself, but the other two caught it; "Not today. Please, not today. Just be calm for today."

It went back to celebration. Everyone was smiling, laughing, having a good time.

All but one.

That one, who was getting more heat up by the second. That one, who none of those who'd kept him under control previously were even paying attention to.

A shout.

A kick.

An apology.

There was no holding Karamatsu back after that, and the second-eldest growled animalistically, getting them out of the room so as not to upset the youngers, but violent about it at the same time.

Ichimatsu stopped Choro from following them because they'd tried before.

He was mad.

"DID IT ALL MEAN NOTHING TO YOU, OSOMATSU?! HUH?! NOTHING?!" The shouting just kept going on, and most of the brothers were sound asleep, other than Ichimatsu, who was sitting on the roof, reminiscing as he listened to the yelling.

"Ichimaatsuuu! Me and Kara need to talk to you, so come here a sec." The fourth sextuplet grumbled, slouching over to the two, who sat on the floor, which he joined. The other three were out and about.

"We've decided," Karamatsu began, acting serious for once. "to make a promise. We're the three most...how do I say this, the oldest. Like, mentally. The others aren't. They're young. They're gentle and they don't know how mean the world can be."

Osomatsu was nodding along with his brothers notion, and then continued. "As the eldest, it's our job to protect the other three. Right? Keep them safe."

Ichimatsu nodded. "Of course, your point?"

"If any of us ever go wild and hurt them, you have to promise to beat the shit out of us. Same goes for if you do. Got it?"

A thump. Karamatsu, panting, and storming away from the room him and Oso had their dealings in.

He climbed onto the roof and slid down next to his younger brother, tiny bruises and scratches, probably nothing compared to what Osomatsu would be dealing with. Kara might not seem it, but the man was dangerous when it came to promises. Especially promises that involved family.

"I knocked him out."
"I heard." Ichimatsu responded robotically, no emotion entering his voice. He wouldn't allow it to; even in front of one of the only one of their six he ever fully trusted. Kara sighed and looked at his bruised, bleeding hands. "I didn't mean for it to go that far."
"I know."
"Did I do the right thing?" Hearing the usually over-confident elder doubt himself made Ichi look over to him, brows furrowed for a second, before turning back to the night sky and regaining his usual poker face. "I'd have done worse."
"That's not what I asked."

The two sighed in almost perfect unison. The two seemed most opposite and far apart of the six, but they were actually pretty similar. They just had different ways of escaping, of hiding, but they both did it. The younger cocked his head up to stare into the crescent moon that cut into the peace of the black night sky. "I think we should've paid more attention. I'd rather I got that bruise than Jyushi."

The elder just nodded. "Choro was upset."
"I know."
"Do you think I've hurt Oso? Properly? Do you think-?!"
"He'll be fine."

It took a while for the silence to overwhelm them. They just sat, staring, until the sun began to rise, and then they went downstairs and hoped the others didn't notice they were missing.

Oso still didn't come down when Choromatsu left.

The others were mad. Kara and Ichi shared an angered glance. He could at least wave out the window or something; But no, he had to be moody. They knew he was awake, and alive. They heard him moving around after they were all up, as if his body clock was a couple hours late.

Todo marched off.

The other two tried to rush to stop him. Messing with Oso now wasn't smart, it wasn't SAFE. Those two made sure the other three didn't know how he could get, but sometimes they wished the others did. So they'd know when to keep their distance and to leave him be.

Too late.

Todomatsu was thrown through the sliding door, slamming against the wall sickeningly, and then sliding down it, clutching his face with both hands.

Osomatsu pounced, lifting the youngest brother up by the neck. "YOU THINK YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO DO THAT, HUH?!"

Todo was kicking his feet, gasping and struggling against the elder's grip. The other two didn't even know Oso would go that far, but Ichi wasn't about to just let it happen. He ripped Oso away from his younger brother, switching, slamming him against the wall by his collar and throwing every amount of aggression he had into the man.

His hand found his way around the other's neck, and Osomatsu got a few punches in, though soon they got weaker, until he went completely limp. Ichimatsu wasn't listening to anything. He wasn't thinking. He was barely breathing.

How dare Osomatsu break a pledge they promised to keep.

Todo was different. Todo was so far past the line that it was in fucking hell.

Karamatsu pulled him away, restraining him quickly. As he came back to reality, the first thing he heard was terrified gasps from his brothers, and Kara yell something he didn't even think he would ever.

"ICHIMATSU MATSUNO, THAT IS FUCKING ENOUGH!"

AN: I might continue this. I might not. I dunno. Whatever. Thanks for reading.
-AP