Sixfold Adventures (Osomatsu-san One-Shot Collection)

FoxServant!Todomatsu and Teen!Reader

(Inspired by 'Song of the Abyss' by Aviators.)

He couldn't help but look back at his master's ancestral mansion, watching in silent vigil as the flames licked at the old wood, greedily eating away at the bindings keeping the roof in place before it completely collapsed onto the ground floor.

"Brother!" The sharp tone of his title brought his attention back to his partner, the older spirit holding a sleeping child in his arms while the anger burned within his eyes, "We need to flee."

"But--" He turned back towards the wrecked mansion, seeing humanoid forms darting in and out of the building amidst the fire.

"They gave us our orders, Todomatsu," The other spirit snarled, drawing the attention of the younger one once more, "(Y/n) is our priority."

With those words, the kitsune servant ducked into the thick forest with the sleeping child protected by the large sleeves of his robe.

Todomatsu's ear flicked back in annoyance while understanding settled on his face.

He knew that the child was a higher priority than the burning rubble behind them.

She had to survive.

----

Todomatsu grumbled to himself as he stirred the pot containing their meal, adding spices slowly.

The child that he and Ichimatsu had saved from the government raid grew into a young woman, barely in her mid-teens and an absolute handful. Her endless curiosity was only matched by her stubborn streak that she must've inherited from one of her parents.

"Y/n."

The teen froze as her attempt to sneak past the kitsune failed, one of his ears directed towards her.

"Where are you going?" The question was pointless to ask, but Todomatsu always did.

"I heard some people talking about a fireworks display going on tonight, and I wanted to see it," She gave up trying to be subtle and sat next to the kitsune, her fingers reaching out and playing with the long purple ribbon that was tied around his neck, "Could we go after dinner?"

"You know the answer to that," Todomatsu resisted letting out a tired sigh, "We can watch the display from the riverbank nearby."

"But I want to watch it up close!" (Y/n) pouted, thrusting out her bottom lip in a pitiful attempt to change his mind.

"The riverbank is close enough," Lifting the spoon up to his lips, he tasted the stew before adding some more salt, "Food is done. Grab what you need."

Letting out an exaggerated groan, she stood up and retrieved the bowl and spoon from the drying rack near the sink, "You used to be the fun one, Todomatsu."

Todomatsu narrowed his eyes, resisting the urge to pin his ears down, "Someone has to watch out for you because you're certainly not doing yourself any favors."

"I don't want your protection, okay?!" The shout startled him, (y/n) stomping her foot down in agitation and turning to face him as he approached the front door, "I just want to be a normal person that doesn't need to hide from some enemy that's not around!"

The silence after her words was heavy, Todomatsu taking a slow breath before speaking, "Then that proves that I'm doing my job correctly."

"Yeah, your job of keeping me locked away," She growled as she turned back to the food, taking a small bit and retreating into her usual sulking corner of the shack. Todomatsu watched her carefully, his gaze softening as he imagined his older brother's scolding words.