Unwanted Elements

Chapter Six

"What? What is it, Choromatsu-niisan?" Todomatsu asked, his blue eyes bulging with fear and anxiety. My brother stayed frozen in place, his knuckles turning white. His face was as white as snow, all color draining from his body. "Oi? Choromatsu?" Osomatsu nudged, trying to snap Choromatsu out of this bizarre trance. More silence as our brother just stayed as he did, and nobody clearly understanding what in the world was up.

"Seriously, Choromatsu, what's wrong!" Karamatsu snapped, and my brother jumped. The color slowly leaked back into his face, his green eyes melting into a pool of emotion, too strong for him to handle, as evident by the fact that he'd began to tear up, most likely due to intense worry. I knew exactly how that felt, and it was horrible, really. "I..It's the letter.." he finally managed after a while, his words coming out strained.

"Lemme see it, then." Osomatsu calmly asserted, and Choromatsu took a sharp gulp, handing the paper to Osomatsu. Then, he stumbled over to the couch and sat down, as if he was dizzy and attempting to keep on his feet. Osomatsu's eyebrow morphed into an arch of confusion as he began to read this mystery letter out loud. "Hello. You guys are not safe. We've..." he began, before his eyes widened to the size of a tire and his voice completely fell. "Fuck," he remarked, running his fingers through his hair.

"Eh? Osomatsu-niisan? Choromatsu-niisan? What does it say?" Todomatsu reiterated, and Osomatsu drew in a sharp gulp. Hesitantly, the remainder of this letter was read to us. "We've kidnapped your brother. If you ever want to see him again, you must pay the full price. Turn yourselves in, or we will not go easy on him." he read, his expression dropping fast.

A terrified silence flooded throughout the room, and I could feel my stomach lurch. It was a solid ten minutes before any of us spoke once more. "What?!" Todomatsu cried out, and I felt empty all of a sudden, as if a sledgehammer had just completely shattered my heart. "Is this some sort of sick joke?" Karamatsu spat, disgust trailing his voice and expression. I couldn't contribute. My stomach hurt and I felt tears stinging the corners of my eyes. No way. No way anyone could subdue and hurt my brother!

"I.. don't think so, sadly.." Choromatsu mumbled, anxiety swimming in the pool of green that was his eyes. "But why? What are we gonna do?" I asked, trying to hide my worry and fear. "I dunno, Ichimatsu-niisan," Todomatsu exclaimed rather disappointingly, and I could tell he was scared. "First, we should clean up the glass on the ground," Choromatsu butted in, and Todomatsu pulled out his phone and pressed a key, lifting it to his ear. "Professor? We need the window changed again,"

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"There we go, dasu! Good as normal!" Professor Dekapan exclaimed, looking over the freshly changed window. His assistant, Dayon, stood right by his side, unmoving. Something about his wide grin and unblinking, deadset eyes haunted me, despite me knowing Dayon since I was a kid. "Thank you, professor." Karamatsu said, bowing to the older man. I rolled my eyes. What a suckup. 

"Ah! You're welcome, young one. Dayon, I'm afraid we must be going now. Glad we could be of assistance," Dekapan commented, turning to his assistant. "Dayon?" Dayon chirped, and he trailed Dekapan out the door. We watched for a moment, and I took another look at the window. There was no crack now,  as we'd removed the shattered glass. In its place was a fresh sheet, crackless. 

I still had the thought of the letter in my mind. Who were the people who'd sent it? Was it just a cruel prank or had Jyushimatsu really been kidnapped? How had they subdued someone as wild and strong as him? It was giving me a lot of anxiety, so much so that my stomach felt like a massive lump in my body. Choromatsu cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention to himself. I was silently thankful, hoping whatever he said next would pull me out of these emotions.