The Disappearance of Osomatsu-san

Chapter 92: Transparent Elegy

"JYUSHI!"

The sound of bells was ringing in Jyushi's ears as the vines slowly untangled themselves from his arms and legs. The scent of sickly sweet iron and blood was what Jyushi could smell as he started slowly falling down to the pile of dust. And Jyushi couldn't tell if it was just him, but time seemed to slow down as Jyushi fell into the black dust. His eyes were dull and lifeless, and bruises were not only on his legs, but also his arms, a few on his neck, some on his body that were covered by the shirt he was wearing, and even on his face.

But despite the amount of bruises I have.. my heart hurts the most..

Jyushi's mind was getting fuzzy. Not only did his chest hurt so much, but Jyushi knew he was slowly forgetting all the good times he had with his brother.. if he had any, that is. Tougou had brought one of his many fears to life, and that was the thought of his big brother hating him and treating him the same way their father did, except with a bit more violence. Tougou had done something to Ichi's head, and because of that.. Ichi had not only rewritten his own memories, but Jyushi's too. They were brothers, they grew up together, so their memories were connected..

But why did Ichi-niisan hurt me then?

Did he hate him? Jyushi always wondered if Ichi hated him. Maybe Ichi regretted all those times he had been nice and patient with Jyushi. Maybe Ichi realized that Jyushi was a waste of space. Maybe Ichi couldn't bottle his frustrations towards Jyushi and had decided to let it out on him instead. But why would Ichi go through the trouble of rewriting his memories? Did Ichi regret letting Jyushi grow up the way he is, a weak-willed crybaby who couldn't hate anyone no matter how hard he tried?

..That makes sense. Did he try to toughen me up then?

Jyushi felt absolutely sorry for Ichi. Ichi didn't have to deal with him, but.. Ichi did. Ichi was the one who raised Jyushi after both of their parents died.. and Ichi had been the one to save Jyushi after their dad had broken his legs. And how did Jyushi repay him? By growing up like a disappointment. By clinging onto him out of fear whenever Jyushi had a nightmare. By being afraid of him, despite the fact that Ichi had been the one to raise him, care for him.. did everything their father couldn't do for him.

To think I'm a Suuji..

When Totoko had dragged him to the piano room earlier, she had removed Jyushi's ring and threw it on the floor, claiming it would be "bait" of some sort. Jyushi's finger felt a bit funny without the small piece of metal clasped around it.. but it was probably for the best. It was the family ring, except Ichi had the numbers "114" engraved on it after Ichi took over the company. It was the number of the Suuji Brothers, something that symbolized their strong bond as brothers that were there for each other through thick and thin.

For some reason.. Jyushi felt as if it was best that he wasn't wearing the ring. Not when their bond was slowly breaking.

I don't deserve to have Ichi-niisan as my brother.

The one who had yelled his name earlier was none other than Todo, who was holding onto Kara's unconscious body. Ichi clicked his tongue and pulled his katana away, as the barrier was shattered.

He closed his eyes and prepared for the end.

He had used the last of his energy to make a barrier for both Kara and Todo, though it had shattered thanks to how weak Jyushi was. He felt pain in his heart. He didn't want to die not knowing if those two would survive or not. At least this time, he was able to protect them from Ichi's strike, just this once. That would be the only reassurance that his life wasn't truly meaningless, and that he did something good for other people.