Matsuno Ichimatsu - Tumblr Posts

「 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 ⇀ 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒐」

── ❝ 𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁, 𝘀𝗼𝗳𝘁-𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹. ❞

〡𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒔𝒖𝒏𝒐 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑿 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓〡

⤷ 𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚢

◉ ┅ ┅ ┅ ┅ ┅ ┅ ┅ ┅ ┅

𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘶𝘦

[ Chapter 1 ] [Chapter 2] [Chapter 3] [Chapter 4] [Chapter 5]

[ 3. ]

You were left physically and emotionally drained by the time you had relayed your living nightmare to the three brothers. You had answered Laamcung's questions as accurately as you could, barely managing to avoid the urges to breakdown into tears every time the memories resurfaced to your mind.

The man had thanked you kindly for your cooperation, taking your hand gingerly into his larger one and rubbing his thumb over your knuckles with a smile as a grateful gesture before stepping away. His brothers rolled their eyes at his antics, but refrained from saying anything else to him, nor to you.

They parted with the promise of a warm meal arriving soon, and with Zicung coming in every now and then to check up on your injuries. You would be lying if you said you weren't afraid of being alone in a room with the silent and intimidating man, however you held your tongue. The last thing you wanted was to get on the bad side of this unknown trio.

You couldn't bring yourself to trust that they wouldn't inflict further harm onto you. Not when you were so vulnerable, and weak, and terrified.

Meanwhile, the three brothers stood in the other room, glancing towards each other warily as the door closed shut.

"..that son of a bitch.." Ichimatsu snarled under his breath, glaring hotly at the wall.

"It's obvious that it was all just a scheme to kill us off back at that building," Karamatsu mused, "But why drag in the innocent?"

"'Cuz he's a psychopath, that's why." Choromatsu's hands curled into tight fists by his sides, the anger that Ichimatsu held now rubbing off onto him, too. "As if he gives two shits about who gets dragged into this mess."

"...I'll inform Osomatsu," Karamatsu sighed. "Maybe the both of you should cool off before going back into her room. You must understand that she is sensitive, and the last thing we want to do is frighten her further."

The two younger brothers flinched at Karamatsu's stern tone, his furrowed gaze letting them know that he was deadly serious. They briefly nodded towards him and watched as he left the room.

Choromatsu huffed, flexing his fingers from his tense grip. He really needed to let the stress out of his system. As he stood silently, he began to list off the many ways he could do so, ranging from throwing knives to shooting off his pistols, maybe even a sparring match with Jyushimatsu.

"I'm going. You take care of the food."

"I — what?!" Choromatsu spun on his heel, a bewildered frown playing on his pointed lips as his brother shuffled away with his hands in his pockets.

"You heard me. I've got stuff to do first, so you do it."

"Wha—? Why me?!"

"Why not?" Ichimatsu sent a warning glare over his shoulder, leaving no room for discussion as he left, abandoning Choromatsu. The lone man withheld the urge to scream at his brother, opting instead to rub a heavy hand down the length of his face with a muffled groan.

He muttered violently under his breath as he stomped down to the kitchen, a tray of freshly-made, steaming food already waiting for him when he entered. He couldn't help but give the cooks the stink eye, seeing as he wasn't in the best of moods. Maybe he would apologise later, if he remembered.

As he walked back to your temporary room, he forced his anger and annoyance to simmer down. Karamatsu was right; you were already scared enough as it was. If he walked in there with the attitude he had, he would probably push you to tears again.

...He paused outside your room, brows furrowing further as a dangerous thought crossed his mind.

His hands tightened their hold around the tray between his fingers, the grip becoming stronger the more he stood and thought about it, surges of confusion mingling with his annoyance.

You jolted in your seat when the door suddenly burst open without a knock. You eyed the man who had called himself Ceoicung as he walked into the room, kicking the door shut behind him with the heel of his foot.

Despite the food in his hands making your stomach rumble in pain, the tense look on his face made you hesitant to do much of anything, other than follow his movements with your eyes as he sat in the chair beside you. The tray was placed onto your lap, the heat of the food seeping into your thighs.

He sat back in his seat, eyeing you expectantly. You felt small under his gaze, and you fidgeted slightly in your seat, the awkwardly silent air almost suffocating you as you tore your eyes away from him and down to your meal. It was a simple chicken stir-fry, a healthy mix of chicken and salad with plenty of lemon juice so that it wasn't too dry for your already sore throat. It smelt divine, and your mouth began to water just by looking.

You were still very much aware of the pair of eyes burning into your skin, and it made you all the more hesitant to eat anything. As if reading your mind, Ceoicung spoke up quite suddenly.

"The food's not poisoned or anything. Just eat it."

You jumped once again, whipping your head over to the man who's foot was bouncing rapidly against the tiled floor, his cheek resting against his palm with a bored look on his face.

Thinking you were very close to making him snap, you turned back to your food and, swallowing thickly, you picked up the knife and fork set out for you.

Well... you tried to pick them up.

Your left hand was immovable, with it being wrapped up in a cast, and your right hand was still trembling as you clutched the fork as tightly as you could, only for it to slip out of your grasp and fall against the tray with a loud clatter.

The silence in the room seemed to ring louder than the noise you had just made. Your cheeks burned in embarrassment as you sat stock still with your empty hand still hung in the air, your brain short circuiting as you were unsure of what to do.

After a moment of listening to the clock tick away on the wall, Ceoicung sighed heavily. You heard the chair scrape along the floor until you could see his knees push against your mattress, and you hesitantly looked over to him.

He took your tray and moved it closer to him, picking up the knife and fork and gathering a small portion of food to hold up to your mouth. You could only stare at him wide eyed, the behaviour catching you off guard.

The both of you continued to stare at each other like a pair of deer in headlights before he finally broke away, and you swore you could see a tinge of red dusting the tips of his ears.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't realise you wouldn't be able to do anything like that, so I'm just trying to help you out."

"...O-Oh..!" You quickly shook your head, "No, it's not your fault! You didn't do anything wrong there... But, you don't have to do this. I think I'll be able to manage."

He gave you a flat look, raising his brow.

"Yeah. Sure."

He pushed the morsel of food towards you once more, staring you down all the while. You felt a little humiliated, having to be fed by some stranger because you were too weak to do it yourself, but there wasn't anything else you could do. The hunger in your stomach was telling you to just eat now and worry later.

You chose to stare down at Ceoicung's calloused fingers that held the metal utensils as you opened your mouth, taking the chicken and pieces of salad into your mouth. You chewed experimentally, your furrowed brows slowly rising in pleasant surprise at the wonderful flavours that began to overwhelm your taste buds.

You immediately took the next bite that Ceoicung brought up to you, chewing quickly as all thoughts of the food being poisoned were promptly thrown out the window. Ceoicung watched you with slight amusement, the corners of his lips twitching upwards as a spark of life was slowly brought back into those previously dull eyes of yours.

"Oi, slow down," he mumbled warningly, and you did as he said, taking the time to truly savour your food before swallowing.

Eventually, your plate became empty. A second glass of water was carefully pushed against your lips, and you gladly guzzled the drink, sighing softly as your mouth and throat no longer felt parched.

"Thank you." Your quiet voice cut through the empty air as Ceoicung moved the tray away from you and onto the bedside table to be picked up later. He rolled his eyes over to you, leaning back into his chair, arms crossing over his chest.

"It's nothing." His short answers didn't make it any easier for you to converse with him, leaving you to sit in an awkward silence, fiddling with the bedsheet beneath your fingers as you tried to think of something to say. Ceoicung was simply waiting for his younger brother to come in and check up on you so that he could leave this stiflingly atmosphere. He wasn't a babysitter — he had things to do.

Your eyes darted around the room timidly until they landed on the man sat beside you. You couldn't help but take the time to truly take in his appearance, remembering how you couldn't even look any of them in the eyes before.

Ceoicung's pale face was round and soft looking; a stark contrast to the narrowed and harsh look in his eyes. His lips were thin and pointed, the light pink skin looking delicate, although slightly chapped. Multiple earrings hung from his ears, two studs lining the tips and a single square shaped ring on his left ear. His brown hair, dark and short, was styled upwards with clear signs of fingers having run through them in messy trails, which suited him, you thought.

"What is it?"

The sudden sound of his voice made you jump, your face once more directed down at your lap in a quick attempt at covering up the flustered and embarrassed look on your face after being caught staring.

"N-Nothing..! Sorry..."

He raised a brow, unconvinced that you didn't need something from him, but he didn't press on any further. It was probably better if neither of you spoke, anyway. It was unnecessary.

Time seemed to stretch by slower and slower, and Ceoicung's irritation was increasing every time he looked at the door and saw that no one was behind it yet. Whatever his little brother was doing, he needed to hurry up and get it done with before he went berserk.

"Um..."

His head suddenly snapped towards you, the look on his face making you flinch. You started to regret speaking up at all, but now that you'd done it, you supposed there was no going back.

"I was just wondering... Where exactly.. am I?"

"You're in our house," came his short response, his eyes instantly turning back to the door, "specifically, in Zicung's operating room."

"Oh... is he a doctor?"

"Not exactly."

An uncertain feeling began to bubble in your stomach at that. If he wasn't a doctor, then what was he planning to do when he came to check up on you? Your face began to pale, your lips setting into a firm line as you hesitantly glanced at Ceoicung.

"What... What does he do, then?"

Ceoicung stared at you, a look passing his eyes that you couldn't identify, his mouth parting to form some kind of sentence, only to be abruptly pulled from his thoughts as the door suddenly creaked open. The both of you looked over to the doorway, seeing Zicung lazily shuffle into the room with his hands tucked into his pockets.

He passively dragged his gaze over the both of you before making his way over towards a large cabinet at the other end of the room. Behind its glass doors were shelved stacked with brown pill bottles and liquids that seemed to be medicine, but now you weren't so sure.

"It's about time you showed up," Ceoicung growled, standing up from his seat. He ran a hand through his hair briefly, finally settling his arms to cross over his chest, the tight material of his shirt sleeved t-shirt pulling taut against his biceps.

"I told you, I had stuff to do." Zicung replied, busy rifling through the cabinet before he seemed to find the bottle he was looking for and taking it out with a slight shake. He turned to you with the same tired and half-lidded eyes, coming closer until he stood right beside you. You felt yourself begin to sweat under his deadpan stare, unable to lift your eyes up from the bedsheets and only wanting to shrink into yourself until you disappeared.

"...Stop being a creep," Ceoicung sighed, nudging his brother. Zicung only rolled his eyes, snatching your empty glass and leaving the room to go and fill it back up.

"Zicung will be taking care of you, now," the man spoke to you with a nod. He began to leave the room, and you panicked.

"Wait!" The moment the word left your lips you felt mortified, staring wide eyed at the man who slowly turned back to you with a raised brow. "I-I mean... uh..."

"He's not gonna hurt you, if that's what you're worried about," You flinched at his words, confirming your thoughts out loud. "We may be Yakuza, but we aren't like this other scumbags out there. Just relax."

With that, he nonchalantly left the room, the idea of finally being able to get a break for a short while sounding very appealing.

Zicung reentered your room, his steps faltering for barely a second when he saw you. You were staring blankly at thin air, your skin looking paler than usual, as if you had seen a ghost.

"...These pain killers will ease the pain. You have to take them three times a day for your injuries." He proceeded to instruct, mistaking your utter shock for a sudden bout of pain. He cracked open the lid and shook out two pills onto his palm, holding them out to you along with the glass of water. When you didn't respond, he frowned, pushing closer.

"Hey," he snapped. You blinked, shakily taking a deep breath before taking the pills and glass, bringing them to your mouth. You hesitated as you pressed your palm to your mouth, then squeezed your eyes shut and popped them into your mouth, quickly washing them down.

Seemingly satisfied, Zicung glanced towards the clock on the wall, taking note of the time being close to midnight, and began making his way out of the room.

"Sleep for now. I'll wake you up in the morning so that you can take them again."

"...How long do I have to stay here?" Your voice was hushed, trembling. Zicung peered at you from over his shoulder for a moment before answering.

"With your injuries, probably a month or so."

"A month?!" You shook your head, eyes pleading to him. "No, I can't stay for a month! I need to go as soon as possible! My bakery— my business won't last if I don't get back soon!"

"Even if I let you out now, what could you possibly do when you open up your little shop again?" Zicung raised a brow. "You can barely move your arms, and I bet you wouldn't be able to stand up straight for a good few weeks."

"I-I know that, but please, isn't there something you can do? Anything!" You pressed, leaning forward on your bed as your eyes glistened with tears. Zicung turned away from you, hunching his shoulders higher towards his ears.

"No. I can't help you anymore than this, so stop asking."

The door shut violently, leaving you alone again. You slowly sat back against your pillows, the tears finally falling down your cheeks once more as you sat helplessly. You bit your lip, choking back your whimpers as you desperately begged yourself to stop crying.

Your mind began to concoct a series of downward spiralling thoughts. Your business failing, your bakery no longer being owned by you, your small and cosy flat above the shop being taken away, your whole life falling to pieces whilst you were stuck who-knows-where with a bunch of men you didn't know.

Not just any bunch of men, you reminded yourself with a shudder. Yakuza.

You were stuck with Yakuza.

Art progress from 2019 to 2021! I made quite the level-up from back then haha.

Pierrot Matsu

Got inspired by @caprette

Goretober Day 13: Masochist

I really like drawing bruises