Nine days later...

Ichimatsu slipped on his coat and shoes and helped Jyushimatsu button up his coat as all six of them had decided to go for a walk in the city.

All of the Christmas lights were up, and this night was the perfect night to just go for a walk in the snow.

It was an awfully huge change from what they had done years in the past, just passing around Christmas gifts to each other. And Ichimatsu was glad that things were changing. As long as he didn't feel like he was reliving the past, he knew everything would end up being okay.

"Are you guys ready?" Osomatsu asked, turning around to face his five brothers.

Jyushimatsu grabbed Ichimatsu's hand and laughed, waving his other hand in the air.

"We're all ready!" he exclaimed, and Osomatsu pulled open the door, letting the cold get inside for just a few seconds as they all ran out into the dark.

"So, are we going shopping?" Todomatsu asked.

"What about dinner?" Choromatsu asked.

"Are we even having dinner?" Karamatsu asked.

Jyushimatsu bent down and picked up a pile of snow, throwing it in the air.

"I made it snow, Ichimatsu nii-san! I made it snow!" he laughed, running ahead of everyone, picking up piles of snow every few seconds to throw in the air.

"He'll never grow up," Osomatsu snorted, and Ichimatsu smiled.

"At least it's not actually snowing," Choromatsu said. "I'm pretty sure I'd be even colder then."

"But snow is pretty!" Todomatsu argued, pulling out his phone, texting one of his friends.

"Hey! Guys!" Jyushimatsu laughed, now rolling around in the snow making snow angels. "Look!"

Ichimatsu stopped by Jyushimatsu and chuckled a bit.

"I made a snow angel, nii-san!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, grabbing his brother's hand again, beginning to run. "We should go back that new coffee shop before it closes!"

"Oh! That sounds like a great idea!" Todomatsu said. "I mean, it's probably not as good as Starbucks, but I'm not afraid to try it!"

"I can finally get my espresso latte," Karamatsu said, putting his hands in his pockets as he continued to walk.

"Hey isn't that..." Choromatsu mumbled, pointing ahead at two girls walking slowly on the sidewalk across the street.

"Homura! Akari!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, running across the street, dragging Ichimatsu with him. "You should come with us! We were just about to go to that new coffee shop!"

Homura smiled and looked down at Akari who was sitting in her wheelchair.

"That sounds nice," Homura said, joining Jyushimatsu and his brothers on their way to the shop.

And at that moment, small snowflakes began to fall from the sky, making that night seem better than it already was.

Ichimatsu let out a contented sigh, his breathe able to be seen in the night.

"Life isn't terrible anymore," Ichimatsu thought, not even able to feel the cold from the warmth he felt in his heart. "I'm so happy to be back with my brothers. They don't judge me. They don't watch my every move. They just care about me just as I care for them. It's like we're an actual family."

A purple bid flew past Ichimatsu, and he nearly screamed.

Akari stifled a laugh as she turned her head around and said to Ichimatsu, "you can never have too much hope, now can you?"

"True," Ichimatsu mumbled the thought, "Even though none of that ever even happened. Even though Akari and are the only ones who experienced what happened inside my mind. Even though nothing good ever happened...I have to say...I'm glad. I'm glad that I experienced life in another world. Because now, I am so...so very happy to still be alive and well with my brothers. And I don't think I could ever ask for anything more."

~ The End ~