muppet murder hour

[donotlick]

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[ososoi]

[ Osomatsu freezes up. He really doesn't want to talk about this. But... he's gonna have to at some point. ]

[ Hank's the closest thing he has to a father figure here. Sure, Oso has his own dad, but his own dad's not here, is he? Then who is he going to depend on? ]

[ It feels wrong to say anything about what happened back at home. But he has to let it out, doesn't he? ]

[ He loosens his grip on the album, his hand throbbing. ]

...I... [ "Don't you think... this is all your fault?" ]

[ But he clams up. He... doesn't know what to do. ]

[donotlick]

Shit.

[ Hank's a cop, he's trained in recognizing this shit. He pets Osomatsu's head, pulling him into a hug whether he likes it or not. ]

Hey, it's okay. It's alright, kid. You're fine. You're here, with me. It's your Ojisan Hank, right? Stay with me.

Why don't you tell me what you see?

[ososoi]

...!

[ The pet doesn't really surprise him, but he doesn't expect the hug. It catches him off-guard enough that he briefly freezes up again. But then he gradually relaxes. ]

...

[ Osomatsu doesn't seem to be responding to Hank's question yet. He's just... sitting there being hugged. ]

[ He wants to go home. Even if his brothers hate him. ]

[donotlick]

[ Hank keeps hugging him. It's all he can do, and it's the only thing he imagines will help right now. ]

It's okay, kid. I'm right here. I'm here, alright? Can you hear me?

[ososoi]

...I-I can hear you... [ His voice is crackly. ]

[ He hates feeling like this. He hates it. ]

[ He hates being weak. And he hates being... ]

[ His hands grab onto Hank's shirt. ]

...I'm such a fuckin' mess...

[donotlick]

Hey, you're fine, kid. You're good.

[ Hank hugs him tight, still petting his hair. ]

You're still here, alright? That's a good thing. I promise. I'm glad you're here.

[ososoi]

[ ... ]

...th-thanks... [ Osomatsu's words are muffled. ]

[ He doesn't know what else to say, really. But... yeah... he's still alive. For now. ]

[ He... he needs to see his brothers again. No matter how much they despise him. No matter how much they never want to see him again. ]

[ No matter how selfish that might be. ]

[donotlick]

You're doing good, kid. I'm proud of you.

[ Hank keeps holding him. Jesus, he's gonna be fucked up if something happens to this kid. ]

This place is just temporary, alright? We'll make it out, and we'll all go home. I promise.

[ososoi]

[ ...God, he hopes so. ]

I just...

[ "Why would you do something like this?! How can you be so goddamn selfish?!" ]

...I fucked up...

[ For Osomatsu to finally admit that to someone... coming from him, it's a really big moment. ]

[donotlick]

[ Hank just keeps petting his hair, keeping his voice calm. ]

You let me be the judge of that, huh? Why don't you tell me what happened?

[ososoi]

...

Th-They left... [ "They left me all alone." ]

[donotlick]

Who left? Your brothers?

[ Uh.... ]

You sure they were here, kiddo?

[ososoi]

No, I mean they left home. They left me.

I remembered that yesterday.

[donotlick]

Shit, back home?

[ Hank sucks in a breath. Well, that sounds real fucking shitty. ]

You sure? What happened?

[ososoi]

...Choromatsu got a job and moved out. I... didn't handle it well. [ What else can you say about kicking one of your brothers and yelling at them for making you drop your sushi when you were already on edge? ] Things got violent.

And then the others left home, one by one. So now it's just me and my parents.

[donotlick]

Well, shit.

[ What the fuck?? Is this anime?? ]

That some kind of.... dark season finale or something?

[ Sorry if it's really not the time, but Hank.... had to ask. ]

[ososoi]

[ The kind where it's officially a comedy but then it takes some turns... ]

I don't know! I can't tell! [ His memories are still kinda swimming at this point. ]

A-And... I-I think all of them except for Choromatsu just wanted to get away from me! They probably didn't want to deal with me anymore! Because I fucked up! But I even fucked up with Choromatsu! And I think even he wants to stay away from me now! What kind of--?!

What kind of big brother am I...?

[donotlick]

[ They're supposed to be funny all the time, come on, guys!! ]

Hey, they don't hate you. There's no way.

[ Hank runs a soothing circle on his back, shushing him gently. ]

You're all brothers, right? Brothers can't stay mad at each other.

[ososoi]

I-I--! [ His voice cracks. ] I don't know! I just don't know at this point!

I attacked two of my little brothers! [ Usually they attack each other no problem, but the context means this time that really wasn't okay. AKA This time it was serious and not at all funny. ] A-And I couldn't even say goodbye to Choromatsu or anybody else and--!

[ He's rambling by this point. His grip on Hank grows tighter. ]

I didn't want to be alone! I didn't want them to leave me...!

[donotlick]

[ Hank keeps his touch careful. Yikes, Osomatsu sure remembered something shitty. Hard to know the whole picture with the whole... anime thing... but whatever. Hank's not here for those other Matsunos, he's here for Osomatsu. ]

Course you didn't. You love your brothers, don't you? I know you do. [ He keeps petting the poor kid. ] They'd forgive you. It's alright.

1/2

[ososoi]

[ ...Yeah... Osomatsu loves his brothers. There's no denying that. Too much to let them go. ]

[ And... maybe they would forgive him. I mean, they're brothers, right? He is them and they are him. ]

I...

[ ... ]

[ososoi]

[ He starts shaking. ]

Ggh--!

[ He finally breaks down sobbing. ]

I--!

[ He hates crying like this. But sometimes, it's more than a bit cathratic to let it out sometimes, you know? Like right now. ]

[ Especially right now. ]

[donotlick]

It's okay, kiddo.

[ Hank just holds him through it, patting his back and letting the boy cry. What's a few more tears stains in Hank's jacket? ]

Just let it out. I know they'd still love you no matter what.

[ososoi]

[ They'd still love him. God, he hopes they don't hate him for this. They... can't be mad forever, right? ]

[ ...Osomatsu needs his brothers. He needs his family. ]

I w-wanna go h-home...! I wanna s-see mom and dad again! I wanna see m-my little brothers again! I j-just wanna go home...!!

[donotlick]

Yeah. I get that. I really do.

[ Hank may not show it often, but he too desperately misses home. He hugs Osomatsu, just rubbing his back while he loses it. ]

You'll get to go home, okay? We're gonna figure out how to put a stop to this. We'll make it out of here, I swear it, kid.