Ichimatsu kicked through the snow which was beginning to pile up on the icy sidewalks. Whenever he sighed, he could see large puffs of breath escape from his pursed lips.

Jyushimatsu held his mouth open, staring up at the snowflakes which were falling from the sky as he walked closely beside his brother, attempting to not freeze to death.

It was getting colder and colder as the two walked home.

"So, nii-san," Jyushimatsu said, breathing loudly so he could see his breath. "should we tell everyone else?"

Ichimatsu hadn't thought of that. If his brothers knew, they might try to stop him. But if they didn't know, everything would be fine. It just seemed wrong to keep silent about something that could change the world.

"I don't think we should tell them...yet.." Ichimatsu mumbled, staring at the ground as Jyushimatsu grasped tightly to his hand, trying to keep warm.

"Why not?" Jyushimatsu asked, his voice sounding slightly disappointed.

"Because they might try to stop us. They don't want to go back to the past, do they? There's nothing about school that Osomatsu ever liked. There's nothing about the past that any of them liked..." Ichimatsu spat. "We just shouldn't tell them...for the time being.." He sighed, hoping he hadn't hurt Jyushimatsu's feelings.

"I guess so," Jyushimatsu replied, laughing as they stopped in front of their house, only to be greeted by their four other brothers.

"Oh, hey!" Todomatsu said as he was putting on his pink winter coat. "We were just about to go out looking for you."

"Why?" Ichimatsu spat. "It's hard to get lost in a city like this."

"We were going to see if you wanted to go to that new sandwich shop," Choromatsu said. "It opened today."

"They serve soup there too," Karamatsu said, trying not to be painful.

"Are you going to go with us?" Osomatsu asked, standing up after he had gotten his shoes on.

"Sure!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed. "Ichimatsu nii-san will come too!"

"Like I even had the choice to stay home..." Ichimatsu thought irritatedly. "I guess it'll be good if we can go back to the past...maybe the future won't end up like this mess..."

As the sextuplets made their way down the frozen streets, just as Ichimatsu had suspected, the sandwich shop was where the Cat Cafe used to be.

"Kanola..." Ichimatsu thought, tears welling up in his eyes as he thought of his deceased boss. He quickly shook his head, trying to throw away the fond memories he had of working with her.

Jyushimatsu squeezed Ichimatsu's hand three times in a row. This usually meant, "I love you," or, "It is okay."

Bitterly, Ichimatsu forced a smile on his face as they entered the sandwich shop, allowing the same old glass door to gently swing closed.

There was nothing familiar about this place anymore. There were no comforting smells of bread baking or other baked goodies. There were no cats to softly mew at you sleepily as soon as you entered.

Anger began to build up inside Ichimatsu as he stared at the now brightly colored tile floor.

"This isn't the place I used to know..." he thought in anguish as his brothers were all led to a large, six person booth in the very back of the shop.

A young college aged girl handed the Matsuno's their menus, then pulled out a notebook and a cute pen.

Ichimatsu recognized this girl as one of the customers who used to come to the Cat Cafe.

"What may I get for you today?" she asked sweetly.

Osomatsu stared up at the ceiling, thinking.

"Do you have beer?" he asked, grinning as he rubbed his index finger his nose.

"No, sir, I'm sorry," the girl said, smiling with her eyes closed. "This is a family friendly environment."

"Oh?" Karamatsu asked, "then we'll all have water! Water is the greatest drink for the soul. It fills you with indescribable emotions!"

Choromatsu looked as if he were ready to suffocate Karamatsu. But, since they were where many people could see, he contained himself.

Todomatsu stifled a girly giggle and Jyushimatsu began to laugh loudly.

Ichimatsu just sighed, failing to toss aside his emotions and fond feelings for the Cat Cafe.

"So something really is bothering you? Certainly it isn't me! I'm not worth worrying about, Ichimatsu. I'm just a simple cafe owner who's trying to make a living off of her dreams. And if you are worried about me, stop worrying. Everything is fine! Lung cancer has been cured many times! Nothing will stop me from fighting it! After all, this isn't my first time with cancer, you know. I had it years ago before Makono was born. Actually, I was just a teenager. Many, many years ago. I nearly died then, but I still made it. I may not look it right now, but I'm still very strong!" Ichimatsu heard Kanola's sickly voice echo in his mind.

"Living off of her dreams...still very strong...stop worrying..." Ichimatsu thought. "Why didn't she want anyone to worry about her? That only made it worse in the end. The Cat Cafe would still be here if she hadn't died. It wouldn't look so terrible either."

"Nii-san!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed, shaking his brother by his shoulders. "We've been talking to you!"

"Oh..?" Ichimatsu asked, quickly snapping out of the trance he seemed to be lost in over his thoughts of Kanola. "I'm sorry..."

"What's wrong, my brother?" Karamatsu asked. "You haven't looked at your menu!"

"I'm just thinking," Ichimatsu spat.

"Are you thinking of that old place that used to be here?" Choromatsu asked.

Ichimatsu was too ashamed to even say yes. For his brothers to even know that he missed a silly cafe was beyond embarrassing.

"What was it even called?" Osomatsu asked jokingly.

"I think it was called the Cat Cafe," Todomatsu replied. "It was so cute here! But I think it's even cuter now! Just look at all of the bright colors!"

"Excuse me, are you ready to order?" the girl asked, approaching the table.

"We'll all have the tomato soup," Choromatsu said quickly as he picked up the menus and handed them to the girl.

"Alright! I'll be out with it in just a moment!" the girl said sweetly, walking back off.

"She's nothing like Kanola..." Ichimatsu thought bitterly. "And if I can go to the past again...I'm going to do everything I can to keep everyone alive..."