Present day...

Kneeling down at Ichimatsu's grave, Karamatsu folded his hands together, praying, as did the rest of his brothers.

A single tear ran down his cheek, remembering the life he had shared with his little, deaf brother.

"I wish I told you that I loved you more," Karamatsu prayed. "I wish I had been there for you more, so you would have never experienced 'loneliness' again. I wasn't the caretaker you deserved...but thank you...thank you for keeping me company when things were hard. Even though we couldn't communicate in a normal way...just thank you so much for...treating me more like a friend, and not just like the disgusting, failure of a brother that I am..."

Karamatsu ended his prayer a few moments after his brothers did.

Without realizing it, the elderly man had been sobbing, and quite loudly at that.

"Hey," Osomatsu rasped, roughly patting his younger brother on the shoulder. "It's alright. You know, if you're lonely, you can always come live with us."

"HE'S RIGHT!" Choromatsu yelled as he adjusted his hearing aid for the fiftieth time that day.

"If you ever need someone, we're here for you!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed in his old, cracked voice.

Karamatsu wiped his eyes on his shirt's sleeve, nodding his head as he sniffed loudly. But truth be told, he didn't want to keep going on without Ichimatsu. It was far too difficult.

"Do you want to stay a little while longer?" Todomatsu asked while yawning loudly. "Because I need to go home and take a nap. My body is aching."

"We'll just leave you here," Osomatsu chuckled a little, giving Karamatsu an awkward hug as everyone else turned around, beginning to leave the graveyard.

By the time everyone had left, Karamatsu remained by Ichimatsu's gravestone, literally hugging it as if it were Ichimatsu himself.

"I'm ready...I'm ready..." Karamatsu cried silently. "Please take me with you now!"

As if the man were dreaming, Ichimatsu came before him, extending his hand out to Karamatsu.

Then, a familiar voice called out to Karamatsu. It was a particular voice he hadn't heard in several decades.

"It's alright," Ichimatsu comforted his brother as Karamatsu grabbed his hand, accepting his fate. "You've done enough as it is. Let's rest now, shall we?"

That day, Karamatsu passed on for "unknown reasons". It was a shock to find his corpse in the graveyard, but his brothers knew it was for the best.

Despite his best efforts, Karamatsu had remained heartbroken and depressed for the entire year that Ichimatsu had been gone. This rest was certainly what he deserved.

Time will pass on, years will fly by, spring will come and go again. There will always be yet another, heartbreaking spring awaiting the fragile soul.