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The sun beat down on Ichimatsu’s head as it slowly roasted him alive. He was pretty sure he was hot enough to fry an egg on, no thanks to his black hair. Todomatsu had been right to bring a hat. Knees wobbling and feet dragging, Ichimatsu stumbled to a halt.
Jyushimatsu had woken his brothers early in the morning to insist on a group trip to the countryside. Taken entirely by surprise, they had initially refused, especially Todomatsu. Throughout breakfast, Jyushimatsu had sent well-placed stares, slightly menacing smiles, and made many passive-aggressive remarks, forcing them to relent. An upset or angry Jyushimatsu was a force no one had wanted to challenge.
After piling onto the train, they had watched the suburbs slowly morph into rural farmland. Only Jyushimatsu had known where they were heading, a fact that had made Choromatsu increasingly irate as time passed. Their final destination, a small station resembling a bus stop, was surrounded by a sprawling green field sprinkled with tiny wildflowers and fluffy dandelions. To the right was a forest, thick and tall, and to the left was a steep hill. Jyushimatsu had bounded off the train and straight across the field towards the hill. Like baby ducklings, everyone followed.
Although Jyushimatsu had firmly occupied his favorite brother slot for years, today’s events were forcing Ichimatsu to reexamine his choices. As he wheezed, he looked up the steep incline of the hill with nothing short of sheer dread.
Unsurprisingly, the rest of his brothers were ahead of him. Jyushimatsu was scaling the terrain effortlessly, his yellow hoodie becoming smaller by the second. Todomatsu and Karamatsu were in close second thanks to how fit they kept themselves. Osomatsu and Choromatsu were a ways behind, partially due to Osomatsu’s slow pace and Choromatsu’s sudden desire to document each wildflower they ran across.
“Guys, come see this!” Jyushimatsu’s voice rang clear across the area, startling a couple of birds from the trees. He was dancing at the top of the hill, jumping high into the air in apparent glee.
With a grumbling sigh, Ichimatsu willed his legs to shuffle forward again, not wanting to dampen Jyushimatsu’s fun. For the seventh time that day, he wondered what it would be like to have his brother’s endless energy.
By the time he was near the top, Ichimatsu was sweating and praying he wouldn’t have a heart attack. He could hear his brothers murmuring, sounding pleased.
“Niisan!” One of Jyushimatsu’s sleeves grabbed his overheated hand as he tugged him forward excitedly, quickly adding a steadying hand to the small of his back for support. “Look!” They reached the crest, and Ichimatsu took in the scene with wide eyes.
A thick field of sunflowers spread out below them, their stems tall and sprouting large green leaves. Bees and butterflies floated between the vibrant flowers. The sun’s rays gently reflected the petals’ soft velvet sheen. Ichimatsu turned to find that he could see everything from the top of the hill. A cool breeze traveled through the air, and the atmosphere settled into one of serene tranquility.
“Wow.” A soft breath left him.
Jyushimatsu beamed, eyes alight. “Right?”
Ichimatsu and Choromatsu sat down together to watch the field, legs resting on the downhill slope. Jyushimatsu continued, “I found this spot last year when I was bug hunting and wanted to show you guys!” He turned and nearly blinded the two with his smile, literally and figuratively, as the sunlight reflected off his teeth.
There was a yelp from the flowers below, followed by a tumbling sound. Ichimatsu and his brothers watched Karamatsu face plant the ground as he stumbled over his ridiculous golden boots. From beside him, Todomatsu snickered and snapped a photo before helping him up. Soon, the rapid shutter of his camera clicked as they began taking selfies in the sunflowers.
“That’s really nice of you, Jyushimatsu.” Choromatsu smiled gratefully, “This is lovely.”
Ichimatsu hummed in agreement, wishing that he had brought ESP Nyanko with them. Far off from within the woods, the eldest yelled something, and Jyushimatsu shot them one more grin before darting off.
Minutes later, he was running back to the group holding a large green ball over his head. As he drew closer, Ichimatsu saw that the ball was actually a watermelon. Choromatsu was standing immediately with a huff.
“Jyushimatsu! Where did you get that!?” Osomatsu trudged into view, holding another watermelon. “Osomatsu-niisan!”
“Eh?” Osomatsu jerked his head behind him as he called, “They were just sitting over there in a patch.”
Jyushimatsu slid to a stop in front of them and plopped the fruit on the ground before dashing away again, passing Osomatsu. Red was starting to rise on the third born’s face, and Ichimatsu scooted away to avoid his brother’s inevitable flailing.
“Osomatsu-niisan,” Choromatsu waved his hands in exasperation, “You can’t just take things! What if those are a farmer’s crop? We. Are. Stealing!”
Osomatsu shrugged, “Guess they should have put up a sign or something, huh?” He smirked at Choromatsu’s angry display before shaking his head. “Don’t worry, give onii-chan some credit! I looked around. They grew wild.”
Movement caught the corner of Ichimatsu’s eye, and he turned to see Jyushimatsu speeding towards them, holding a huge, thick branch. He saw Choromatsu glance over, his expression flickering between anger and fear.
“Karamatsu-niisan! Totty!” Jyushimatsu yelled as he ran past the sunflowers, “Watermelon time!”
Before anyone could stop him, Jyushimatsu pulled up in front of the watermelon and brought the branch down with a smack. It exploded into a million pieces, splattering everyone present with sweet, sticky juice. The fifth son cackled with glee and scooped up two chunks to give to Karamatsu and Todomatsu, who were still extricating themselves from the flowers.
Shirt covered in watermelon bits, Ichimatsu blinked slowly and peeked at Choromatsu. The sudden spray of fruit had seemed to douse some of his temper, and he stood with a resigned expression as Osomatsu finally reached them. The eldest took one glance at their sorry states and collapsed into laughter, holding his stomach.
Choromatsu picked up a watermelon chunk and threw it straight at Osomatsu’s head, where it connected with a wet squelch. Ichimatsu watched as they dove into a food fight, taking advantage of the fray to throw a couple of pieces at his older brothers. They only stopped after Jyushimatsu and Karamatsu pulled them apart.
Jyushimatsu leaned over the pair with a frighteningly dark smile. “No wasting the food!”
That was the sweetest watermelon Ichimatsu had ever eaten.