Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Todomatsu all crowded around their small table in the living room that evening. The lights were dimly lit as they all feasted on the dinner their mother had just prepared for them.

The only sounds one could hear, were the sounds of six, twenty year old men, chewing and breathing loudly as they ate their meal.

Usually, everyone would be talking and laughing gaily, that is, with the exception of Ichimatsu who would most likely be clinging to ESP kitty.

"It's my first time at home in months...and already, so much has happened today..." Ichimatsu thought, taking a sip of water as he paused for a moment from his meal. "Why though...why are they being so quiet? Are they scared of me? If they're freaking scared of me, there's no need to hide it...I'm scared of myself as well. I mean, after all, if I hadn't tried hard enough and if it weren't for Jyushimatsu, I would be happy right now. I mean, not...'happy'...but I wouldn't be so alone...I would be in a graveyard, surrounded by other people like me..."

"We won a lot today, didn't we?!" Osomatsu exclaimed suddenly, "I just knew today I would win! It makes me feel like I'm the luckiest guy on earth!"

"How much did you win anyways, Osomatsu?" Todomatsu asked, a sly smirk coming across his face.

"We were all there together, Totty," Choromatsu said plainly, "We saw how much he left with. There's no need to rub it in Ichimatsu's and Jyushimatsu's face."

"Hmmph!" Karamatsu laughed, "What were you two up to anyways?"

"Tch..." Ichimatsu mumbled, not replying.

"We just went to the beach!" Jyushimatsu said happily.

Ichimatsu, who was just swallowing another bit of food, choked it up in amazement.

"How can he sound so happy when he was sobbing just an hour ago?!" he thought, trying to swallow his food again.

"What were you doing at the beach?" Choromatsu asked, concern filling his eyes.

Ichimatsu hissed under his breath and looked down at his plate of food.

"This is so much to eat...I can't finish this...I've never eaten more than this already..." Ichimatsu thought, pushing his plate away from him.

"We were just talking about things! Like what we've been doing and stuff!" Jyushimatsu said energetically.

Osomatsu looked at Ichimatsu directly in the eye, silently questioning him if what Jyushimatsu said was true.

"Y-yeah..." Ichimatsu mumbled, getting up from the table and moving to his usual corner in the room. "We just talked..."

Jyushimatsu grabbed a sushi roll and stuffed the entire thing into his mouth, chewing wide open.

"I'm going to go take a walk..." Ichimatsu mumbled, standing up, shuffling his feet lazily out of the room.

"Wait!" Osomatsu said, banging his hands on the table to catch his attention. "Where are you going to go?"

"Why the heck would you care, Oso?!" Ichimatsu thought, but quickly mumbled a reply, "Just a quick walk down the street..."

"Can I come with you?" Osomatsu asked, but his tone of voice was practically a command.

"Tch...like I care..." Ichimatsu muttered as he slipped his shoes on and opened up the front door. Osomatsu was already right behind him.

The two walked outside, and Osomatsu shut the door behind them.

Without another word, Ichimatsu began to walk down the street towards the park. Osomatsu walked right beside him, staring at Ichimatsu with his hands in his pockets.

"He's going to question me, isn't he...?" Ichimatsu thought as he began to feel his anxiety building up. "I should tell him the truth...but if Jyushimatsu gets angry with me...then there goes the only person I care about in this world..."

Osomatsu didn't say anything.

"All of this silence..." Ichimatsu thought bitterly, "We used to never walk a single minute in complete silence. Why is everything so different now? Are they not used to me? Are they scared? Or are they afraid that one wrong word will hurt me? Tch...like words can hurt a person when they're already broken..."

"Hey, Ichimatsu?" Osomatsu said, breaking the silence as they both sat down on a bench in the park. "Why did you two go to the beach?"

"I knew he was going to ask that..." Ichimatsu thought, sighing out loud.

"We were just talking..." Ichimatsu mumbled. "What's wrong with talking...?"

Osomatsu shook his head. "There's nothing wrong with talking, it's just, what did you talk about?" he asked, picking up a blade of grass, tying it into knots over, and over again.

"Does it matter..." Ichimatsu spat. A sickening feeling rose up in his chest as his heart began to beat faster. He wanted to puke, but he knew he couldn't do it in front of Osomatsu.

"Yes! It does matter!" Osomatsu nearly yelled, but then lowered his voice, "We've been worried about you and Jyushimatsu. Something doesn't seem right. Ever since you were at the hospital, he was outright depressed!"

"Yet you didn't care to ask him what's wrong?" Ichimatsu laughed in spite of them. "What caring people you are..."

Osomatsu sighed. "It's not like we don't care. It's just that whenever we do try to question him, he acts all innocent. You're not the only one who's noticed how depressed his voice sounds, you know."

Ichimatsu stared at his feet, slightly shivering as the park lamps flickered on. It was already getting very dark outside. Only moments ago, the sun was still shining.

"One minute the sun is shining, the next, darkness overcomes the world..." Ichimatsu thought, "I wonder what it's like to not feel that way, every second in life. One minute your happy, the next you want to commit suicide..."

"Ichimatsu, what did he say?" Osomatsu demanded, kicking his feet back and fourth like a little kid.

"He just told me everything that had happened while I was gone...that's all. Why are you being so nosy...?" Ichimatsu murmured.

"But what did he say?" Osomatsu asked impatiently.

"I can't tell you..." Ichimatsu spat. "If you're so worried, why don't you ask him yourself?! If he won't tell you anything, then he doesn't want to!"

Ichimatsu stood up from the bench and stormed away in the opposite direction of home. He needed some time to be alone again. Some time to breathe.

He didn't look behind himself to see if Osomatsu was following him. He doubt he would be. After all, he was the least caring out of them all.

"Stupid..." Ichimatsu spat, looking at the dirt path that led down a dark alleyway. "If Jyushimatsu wanted to tell someone, he would. He told me everything. So what? Does that mean I have to go on around, telling everyone else? No! He told me because he knows I'd never tell anyone else..."

Ichimatsu sat down, leaning up against the brick wall in the alleyway. A single lamp was struggling to stay on as it's dimly lit light flickered quietly on and off.

There were garbage bins on either side of Ichimatsu, making him feel safe from everyone else.

"I'm where I belong, aren't I?" Ichimatsu mumbled, slightly laughing as a small cat curled up next to him on the ground. "You're just like me, aren't you? Lost, afraid, not knowing what to even do with your life...?"

The cat purred and rubbed its head on Ichimatsu's pants. One by one, a few more cats came out of the shadows, welcoming their friend.

"Hey..." Ichimatsu mumbled, reaching out his hand. "I'm sorry I've been away so long..."

A calico cat rubbed its head on Ichimatsu's hand.

Sighing, Ichimatsu closed his eyes tiredly. "It's been such a long day..." he thought as two cats climbed into his lap, bringing Ichimatsu a familiar comfort and warmth. The feeling of knowing you're loved. It was such a nice feeling, that he completely passed out over exhaustion.