"Ichimatsu nii-san!"

"Come on, Ichimatsu-chan, hang in there!"

"My brother!"

"Fight!"

"Come on...! Come on! Ichimatsu you have to keep fighting for us!"

Familiar voices called out to Ichimatsu, though the were muted, and very far away.

Reaching his hand up in the darkness, Ichimatsu tried to grasp a small, shining light he could. But it was no use. He gave up and closed his eyes.

Peace, obliterated. Life, a pointless attempt at a series of unfortunate events. Soul, a single key to a better worse world.

"In the end, we all die..." Ichimatsu thought, his mouth gaping open, no longer breathing or living. "So why do I hear them tell me to hang on...Who are they..? Why do they..."

"ICHIMATSU NII-SAN!" Jyushimatsu yelled from afar.

Ichimatsu snapped open his eyes, finding that the light was beginning to come towards him.

"A familiar voice...Someone...cares about me? How could anyone ever love garbage like me....?" Ichimatsu thought.

"ICHIMATSU NII-SAN, I LOVE YOU, SO PLEASE COME BACK!" Jyushimatsu cried out in confusion. "WE ALL LOVE YOU!"

"Love?" Ichimatsu thought, that same, comforting feeling rushing over him like the waves of an ocean, caressing him gently. "I am loved...."

And before Ichimatsu knew it, he awoke in a hospital bed, the constant beep of a heart monitor the first thing he came to notice.

Lifting his heavy eyes, Ichimatsu noticed all five of his brothers were crowded around him, tears spilling down their cheeks, even Todomatsu's.

"YOU'RE BACK!" Jyushimatsu started to sob, sinking down to his knees in the hospital room.

Osomatsu laughed uneasily, rubbing under his nose. "We thought we had lost you for a second there."

"D-Don't scare me like that!" Choromatsu stammered, his knees knocking together, though he was smiling with relief.

"I never knew you would actually fall into a coma," Todomatsu commented.

"Life is awfully scary, after all," Karamatsu spoke, wiping tears away from his eyes. "But it's not supposed to be this scary."

"W-Wha-" Ichimatsu tried to speak, but found that his voice was a mere croak. His throat was extremely dry.

"Don't speak," Osomatsu grinned, still rubbing under his nose. "You haven't had anything on your throat for awhile."

"You are not dehydrated though!" Karamatsu exclaimed, rubbing the ends of his hair. "The doctors have been taking are of you!"

Suddenly, Jyushimatsu threw his arms around his somewhat stuff brother, still crying.

"Don't do that ever again, Ichimatsu!" Jyushimatsu cried.

Despite failing to remember what he had even done to put him in such a state in the first place, Ichimatsu smiled and and croaked out a weak reply. "I promise, I'll never leave you again, Jyushimatsu."

All of Ichimatsu's brothers piled around him, hugging him. And the first time ever, the once lonely man truly understood what it felt like to be loved.