"Hey! Hey! Jyushimatsu! I'm over here!" Homura-chan called, waving her hands in the air as she ran across the beach. "Come catch me!"

"Homura-chan!" Jyushimatsu laughed, running after her.

Ichimatsu stood on the cliff, watching the two play on the beach.

"Such happy people they are..." Ichimatsu thought as he watched Jyushimatsu dive down into the ocean, then come back up with a pretty seashell in the palm of his hand.

"Here, Homura-chan," Jyushimatsu said, his mouth wide open as he handed her the shell. "Isn't it pretty?!"

Homura-chan just laughed, hugging Jyushimatsu around the neck. "It's beautiful!"

"Tch..." Ichimatsu mumbled, turning his attention to the sky. Six birds flew around happily, tweeting cheerful songs at each other.

"Everything is so peaceful here..." Ichimatsu mused. "But at the same time, it seems like the perfect place to die. Just your lifeless body, drifting away, farther and farther out to sea. Yes, I would like to do that...it would be so much more beautiful than the rope."

"Hey, Ichimatsu nii-san!" Jyushimatsu called, waving his hands in the air as he stared up at the cliff at his brother. "Come down and play with us! We can find more shells together!"

Ichimatsu shook his head no, and Jyushimatsu looked disappointed.

"Tch...they're adults yet they're acting like children..." he murmured. "So carefree..."

Ichimatsu continued to watch the six birds in the sky. Something about these birds gave him a sense of calm. The way they would glide around in the open sky, not a care in the world. Then at the same time, in just a few moments, they would be going around, searching for food, not knowing if it would be their last meal, or twentieth last meal. It didn't matter to them. That was the beauty about the six birds.

Ichimatsu began to walk down the cliff out of boredom. He wasn't in the mood to waste his life away, watching six birds whose time was limited by days.

As he left behind Jyushimatsu and Homura-chan, a sickening feeling filled his stomach.

Rushing down the street, Ichimatsu ran into the alleyway he spent much of his "spare" time at. When he stopped running, he threw up in a nearby trash bin. He continued to vomit and vomit. It just wouldn't stop.

Feeling quite lightheaded after five whole minutes of puking, Ichimatsu forced himself to stop, slumping down onto the ground.

He breathed heavily and stared up at the sky. A few clouds had begun to build up, blocking the sun.

"Looks like it'll rain soon..." Ichimatsu mumbled, reaching his hand into his pocket and fumbling his fingers aground, trying to find something.

"Where the heck is it...?" Ichimatsu spat harshly. He muttered curses under his breath until he finally found it. His razor blade.

"It's been a long time, Ichimatsu..." a voice seemed to hiss inside of his head. "You'll screw everything up again...life will be a mess...you'll have to go to the hospital, Ichimatsu..."

"Like I give a crap!" Ichimatsu lashed out, scaring all the nearby cats away.

Ichimatsu rolled up his hoodie sleeves and stared at all the healed scars on his arms.

"You can't do this, Ichimatsu. You're too weak to hurt yourself again and you know it. Go on, try it. You'll squeal in pain like a helpless kitten..." the voices in his head whispered loudly.

"I'M NOT WEAK!" Ichimatsu yelled, running the blade across his arm swiftly, over and over again in different places. Blood immediately began to rise to the surface of the newly made cuts.

"Ichimatsu...what are you doing to yourself? Do you really think people care? Do you really think Jyushimatsu cares? Why do you keep living a lie? You lie to yourself constantly, telling yourself that Jyushimatsu is all you have and need...but no. No, Ichimatsu. Jyushimatsu has Homura-chan. He doesn't need a loner like you."

Ichimatsu grimaced in pain, moving to his other arm, cutting and cutting. The familiar sting slightly comforted him as he continued to cut himself.

"Who needs trash loners like you, Ichhimatsu?" the voices screamed in his mind. "Just die already! Everyone will be happier. Nobody cares if you're alive. You're wasted space in this world. W a s t e d. S p a c e...."

Ichimatsu glared at his razor blade, taking a break from cutting. His heart had been beating so hard that he had begun to pant. It was way too hot outside.

"Ichimatsu? Ichimatsu!" Jyushimatsu called. "Where are you?! Nii-san?"

Ichimatsu quickly jumped in between two trash bins, hiding from Jyushimatsu. Then, Ichimatsu realized, that he wasn't hearing just two feet on the ground. He heard ten.

"Hey, Ichimatsu! We're going to Chibita's!" Choromatsu called, walking down the alleyway.

"Does it smell like puke down here, or is it just me?" Todomatsu asked.

"It smells worse than normal," Osomatsu commented.

"The sky is about to start showing its feelings," Karamatsu commented, not bothering to act cool. "Chibita will probably close up if it's raining."

"Hey, Ichimatsu!" Jyushimatsu said.

Ichimatsu flinched.

He could hear them getting closer and closer.

Ichimatsu squinted his eyes shut, putting his head between his knees as he listened to their footsteps.

They grew louder and louder, and finally, they stopped directly in front of Ichimatsu.

"Why are you hiding, Ichimatsu?" Osomatsu asked, pulling Ichimatsu up by his wrists.

"What's with your arms?" Jyushimatsu asked innocently.

Ichimatsu let out an angry gasp, quickly pulling his hoodie sleeves down, turning the other way. He couldn't believe he had forgotten to pull his sleeves down!

"Hey...what was that, Ichimatsu?" Choromatsu asked, gently grabbing him by the shoulder.

"N-nothing..." Ichimatsu mumbled.

"They were cuts," Karamatsu said seriously.

"Do you cut yourself, Ichi?" Todomatsu asked, letting out a tiny gasp.

"N-NO!" Ichimatsu yelled, trying to run into a darker part of the alleyway, but Osomatsu and Choromatsu blocked him.

"What's wrong, Ichimatsu?" Choromatsu asked.

"NOTHING IS!" Ichimatsu spat, "LEAVE ME ALONE, WILL YOU?"

"But your arms..." Choromatsu said, grabbing Ichimatsu's wrist. "Why are you hurting yourself?"

"I-I..." Ichimatsu mumbled. His heart was beating so fast that he felt it might just explode.

"You can tell us anything, you know," Todomatsu said.

"We ARE your brothers after all," Karamatsu put in.

"You know we care about you!" Jyushimatsu said, his mouth wide open.

"Just...why do you put yourself through so much pain?" Choromatsu asked.

"Why would you even THINK about hurting yourself?" Osomatsu also asked.

Ichimatsu began to panic. He didn't like feeling so trapped by his own brothers. And without another thought, he whipped out his pocket knife.

Osomatsu and Choromatsu backed away, but only then did they realize what a mistake they had made.

Ichimatsu stabbed the pocket knife through his throat. Blood spurted everywhere, but Ichimatsu wasn't dead. He just lay on the ground, gasping for air as his brothers took off running.

Ichimatsu awoke.