All For Nothing

Chapter Four

Ichimatsu sighed as he sat down on the floor of his new bedroom, rolling out his futon as well as Jyushimatsu's.

"It's going to be very cold tonight..." Ichimatsu thought, throwing his thick purple blanket over his futon. "I guess it just seems colder than normal since I'm so chilled on the inside. This week hasn't made any sense. One minute everything is fine, and the next your entire world has been changed. It's not like I was close to my parents ever or anything...it just doesn't feel right without them here..."

Ichimatsu stood up and walked towards his parent's huge suitcase, pulling Jyushimatsu's light yellow blanket out of it.

"Jyushimatsu is all I have to cling to now," Ichimatsu thought, spreading his little brother's blanket over his futon with great care. "But he's all I need, I suppose. So long as he stays innocent and sweet, I'll be fine."

"Nii-san!" Jyushimatsu giggled, running into their bedroom, launching himself onto his futon.

Ichimatsu jumped back, shocked, but quickly smiled naturally when he saw how happy his little brother really was.

Jyushimatsu rolled around in his futon for a moment, static getting in his hair as he continued to rub his head on his blanket. Sitting up, he began to laugh, grabbing onto his two feet, immediately toppling over.

"Easy now!" Ichimatsu nearly yelled as Jyushimatsu began to jump on his futon.

Jyushimatsu stopped and stared at his brother, his mouth wide open in a smile.

"Why?" Jyushimatsu asked innocently.

"You could hurt yourself..." Ichimatsu mumbled.

"Nii-saaaaaan," Jyushimatsu dragged out, then began to laugh. "You're no fun!"

But despite how much Jyushimatsu wanted to ignore what Ichimatsu had said, he stopped jumping on his futon anyways.

Jyushimatsu then proceeded to leap at his brother, clinging to his leg, staring up at him with "puppy dog" eyes.

"Uncle Karamatsu told me we had to go to bed," Jyushimatsu said pitifully.

Ichimatsu sighed, and with great effort, pulled Jyushimatsu off of his leg, setting him down on top of his yellow blanket.

"We have to listen to him then," Ichimatsu said, rubbing Jyushimatsu's staticky black hair.

"But I don't want to go to bed," Jyushimatsu said quietly. "What if we have to go home tomorrow!"

"We're..." Ichimatsu mumbled. "We won't be going home ever again, Jyushimatsu."

Jyushimatsu's innocent eyes were suddenly filled with fear. Tears welled up in them, not understanding what Ichimatsu meant.

"What do you mean we won't be going home?" Jyushimatsu whimpered.

Ichimatsu sat down next to Jyushimatsu on his futon, still rubbing his brother's head.

Jyushimatsu crawled up into Ichimatsu's lap and hugged him, trembling just a little.

"I mean..." Ichimatsu sighed. "This is our home now. We're going to be living with our brother Karamatsu until circumstances are better. I don't know how long we'll be here. I just know this is our home"

Jyushimatsu didn't say a word, still hugging his brother.

"Hey, you two!" Karamatsu called, walking up the stairs. "Have you gotten ready for bed yet?"

"I haven't," Ichimatsu called out, "but Jyushimatsu has, I think."

"Well hurry up and get to bed," Karamatsu sighed, leaning on their bedroom doorframe. "We have things to do tomorrow."