Setup

((More for the beach event! @musicmatsus))

“How many coats of sunscreen is this?” Ichimatsu asks Jyuushiko as she slathers on another layer.

She and Jyuushimatsu say “Four!” in unison before pointing at each other and letting out a pleased yell. “Gotta watch out for your skin,” she says.

Choromatsu walks up with six microphones in his hands, each color coded with a band of tape. “No more hollering, Jyuushimatsu, we have a mic check to do.”

“Because that’s vital,” Osomatsu says, holding out his hand for the microphone. He’s lucky that Choromatsu respects the equipment… and that Todoko is making sure his hair’s all in place. She has no mercy when interrupted.

“It is! Everyone’s at a different volume, and the tech guys need to make sure everything’s right.”

“You mean your nerd friends,” Todomatsu chimes in, making sure his sunhat is tilted just so before snapping a selfie.

“I mean the tech guys!”

Karamatsu places his guitar case down by the piano, Hiroshi promising to keep a good eye on it– her, on her– before he holds out a hand for his mic. (They were sweet enough to put a shiny sticker on it. Cute.) “Your professionalism is truly impressive, dear brother.”

“Shh. No talking. Just checking. Please, Osomatsu, start us off?”

Osomatsu gets to his feet, the others coming over to circle up. “Remember, I’m conducting. Let’s make this not suck.”

Despite hearing some music in the distance that definitely wasn’t from any of their people, they proceed anyway, six-part harmonies ringing out better than they could have expected.

Osomatsu trailed off on his own, pointing at each brother to bring them in: Karamatsu, Jyuushimatsu, Choromatsu, Todomatsu, Ichimatsu, then all of them together again. Six months of intense professional vocal training has them fitting together like puzzle pieces, even if they dance like dorks while they’re doing it. Without their choreographer, Karako, they’d be hopeless.

The tech duo lets them know that everything was in balance.

They have about two seconds to celebrate how easily that went before they hear shrieking and feedback. Then they’re diving behind speakers and drum sets and screaming right back. Apparently their instincts say “be louder than danger.”