The Disappearance of Osomatsu-san

Chapter 72: The Second Villain

When they heard Lonely scream in fear of whatever specie Jiguzou was, Osomatsu knew he had to run faster before something else could happen to Lonely. And much to the surprise of Todo and Ichi, he was on the lead and managed to outrun them both. It was probably out of intense worry, but Todo had to admire how Osomatsu's abilities would instantly power up upon hearing his brothers in distress or in some sort of pain. Osomatsu wasn't even taking time to slow down, and every time Ichi would yell out which direction they should head towards, Osomatsu would only make a quick nod and turn to the direction Ichi instructed. Was it just a surge of energy coursing through his veins? Or was it his natural "big-brother instinct"? Whatever it was, it managed to make Osomatsu even more energetic than he was earlier. Plus, he looked rather serious as well.

So it's pretty much worry. Damn, he's a better older brother than I thought. Who knew hearing any of us in pain could make him run faster?

While Todo continued to observe Osomatsu, Ichi just followed behind them. It may seem as if he was listening to any of Hatabou's rants, but in reality, his mind was elsewhere. He didn't know how he managed to forget the directions in his own mansion to the point he had let Hatabou and his other employees set up cameras and instruct him where to turn. But then again, there were only very few times where he had wandered the mansion. He frequently stayed at his and Jyushi's bedroom back when he was a child, and they'd sometimes wander around the mansion together. One of the main reasons Ichi never liked to wander the manor all on his own was because he didn't want to run into his father and receive yet another lecture on why he should be studying instead of playing around.

Running around the mansion was also forbidden, unless their mother was there to join them, seeing as how their father never got angry with their mother's shenanigans. She always wanted to act like such a child and do things her own way, which made Ichi admire her; despite what people said about her, she always managed to make her children happy just by being energetic. Usually, the wife of someone from the Suuji Family tended to be as serious as the males, but their mother was someone that seemed so different from what a "perfect" wife for the Suuji Family would be.

Still, that didn't mean she wasn't great. She was a fun person.

But despite her hyperactive nature, Ichi had always noticed that she and Jyushi weren't destructive in the slightest; his mother would always be careful when handling such fragile things. Flower pots, wine glasses, expensive jewelry, and her own sons for example. Even Jyushi was similar in terms of behavior. He would handle kittens with such gentleness, stroke the leaves or petals of a plant as careful as he could, and even when Ichi first handed him Kiiro-kun, he had gently held the toy with both of his hands, before squealing and hugging it as tight as he could. Not tight enough to have Kiiro-kun pop out the cotton, but probably tight enough to pop one of Kiiro-kun's eyes out and make Ichi sew it back again.

They had the potential to be dangerous. With such endless energy, they could have just grabbed the family katana and slayed whoever they wanted. But it was because of their natural kindness that they didn't. Ichi, however, as lax as he was, was destructive himself. It was hard to think that someone like him, someone as careful and as quiet as him, was the most destructive one in their family. Not as much as his father, who had happened to ruined the lives of many people simply existing, murdered his own wife, and was the main reason Jyushi couldn't walk in the first place, but Ichi..

I had threatened so many people, Matsuno and Katsuna included. As well as Kodoku.. and poisoning my father is the absolute worst crime I have committed. Why did I even think my own mother was capable of doing something dangerous? Or even Jyushi.. there is no way Jyushi could be dangerous in the slightest. He can't even kill a fly. I can't believe I'm thinking of such things right now. Suspecting my own little brother of being a monster such as my father and I is utterly foolish, he clearly takes after our mother-