The Disappearance of Osomatsu-san

Chapter 142: Weights of the Past

Well, with all the weird shit that has been going on for days now, Osomatsu honestly shouldn't be surprised that Akumatsu would appear more than once. It was best to just expect the worse rather than hope for the best, as Osomatsu himself knew that if he were to let his guard down for even a second, his ass would be gone.

"Jyushi- no, Akumatsu." Osomatsu sighed, squatting a bit. Jyushi's physical appearance was shorter than his, despite being supposed twins with similar heights and all, but maybe it was because of how hard it was for Jyushi to grow without proper exercise, due to his disability. It felt like talking to a child, but Jyushi was looking at him with such a smug face that Osomatsu didn't really care at the moment. "God.. you're here again? I mean, I don't hate you, it's actually nice to have someone from my dimension be here with me as it's more reassuring.. but I think Jyushi is tired? Couldn't you.. ah, at least give the poor guy a break? Even for a few hours?"

"When death itself is upon us? You expect me to lie down and rest?" He scowled, before crossing his arms. Osomatsu noticed that his voice was different from earlier, but it probably meant that Jyushi was unconscious, so Akumatsu was taking over. "No thanks. Plus, his precious Ichi-niisan is here, just changing his clothes at the bathroom, I heard. I doubt he'd want to see his lil' bro in bed again. Might as well show him that his bro is still up and kicking, eh?" He snickered a bit. "Come now, it's a joke. Jyushi's okay, just sleeping and all that."

"Captain Katana has arrived?" Lonely's eyes lit up, as if he witnessed his beloved anime scene yet again. "Oh! Captain Katana is here! Truly joyous! He must know something about my darling rapier and my lovely cape! I must hurry, for hunger might strike!" With that, Lonely skipped away excitedly, chanting something about his deck of cards and how he would be able to perform magic yet again. "Captain Katana! I am worried for my beloved weapon and my beautiful cloth! Wherever did you put such precious items of mine?! I miss them dearly-"

"Can you shut the fuck up?! You're noisy as hell, you idiot!" Todo barked from another room, accompanied by the sounds of plates and utensils clattering against one another. Suddenly, they heard the sound of pots and pans clanking, as well as a pained yelp from Todo himself. "Ow! What'd I do, Kara?!"

"Inside voice! The neighbors might hear you again! It's not like Choro is the only one here making noise!" Osomatsu heard Kara scold. "And keep your language child-friendly! Jyushi is still sleeping, and you might wake him up! If he wakes up, he might catch one or two bad words!"

Jyushi chuckled again, covering his mouth with his sleeve to stifle his giggles. "They're a weird duo. But they still have the bit of our brothers in them, huh? Karamatsu's goody-two-shoes nature and Todomatsu's sassy and slightly hypocritical demeanor.. if you look hard enough, they're still there. Isn't that right?" He grinned. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Hm, but I possessed little Jyushi here earlier. There's nothing to be shocked about."

"Right." Oso sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "What is it that you want, Akumatsu?"

"Hm?"

"I know you didn't come out for small talk. I already know they're different, I've been here for days." He reached out to run his fingers through Jyushi's hair. "Poor guy. You should really let him rest, Akumatsu. He's been through enough, you know."

Jyushi slapped his hand away with a scoff, his nose scrunching in disgust. Again, it was odd to see Jyushi do such a thing, but the red eyes and sharp teeth were enough to remind Osomatsu that this wasn't Jyushi. It was Akumatsu. "Fine, 'big brother'." He spat. "You're so annoying sometimes when you're not being shitty to anyone, and it annoying someone doesn't even count as being shitty. When the hell did you start being such a good big brother? You better knock it off. If you lose your shittiness, I'd cease to fucking exist."