A/N: There's very vague descriptions of self harm in this. It's not too bad, but just in case I thought I'd mention it.

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You knew it was a bad habit, and yet you continued. Afterwards when your arms stung due to their open wounds, you did feel guilty for what you had done to yourself. Still, that didn't mean that the action was discontinued much to your dread. 

You did well at keeping it a secret, wearing long-sleeved shirts and jumpers, which was working fine until it got a bit warmer. Your strange choice of clothing for the weather didn't go unnoticed by your friends, the mischievous sextuplets. 

"Hey, Y/n-chan. Aren't you way too hot in that?" Osomatsu questioned. 

You were at their home, not particularly doing anything. "Huh? Um, no."

He raised his eyebrows. "Hmm..."

Choromatsu snapped his head towards his older brother. "Stop flirting with her, idiot!" 

His glare softened when he looked back at you. "Sorry, Y/n-chan. U-Um, it is a little warm today though..."

"Ehh?! You basically said the same thing as me!" Osomatsu complained. He was ignored.

You put a hand over your covered arm, subconsciously hiding the unseen scars. 

"I'm fine, really." 

Choromatsu blinked, looking uncertain with your answer but didn't prod. 

You couldn't help but sigh with relief now that no undivided attention was on you. However, one listened your excuse with a frown, carefully watching the hand on your arm. 

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You would have been fine with spending the day inside, as you didn't necessarily feel like going out. However, your fridge disagreed as it was it completely the empty. 

With a sigh, you changed into your usual baggy clothes, making your way to the supermarket. It wasn't particularly busy there, meaning that the constant thought of being stared at didn't bother you, at least for now. 

You'd canned the shelves for things that'd be quick to make and wouldn't require standing over the stove for hours. You didn't exactly have the envy for that... 

You walked along the shelf, eyes completely focused. So much so. That you didn't even see the person standing next to you. As one would expect, you ended up bumping into him.

"Ah, s-sorry..." You apologised, rubbing your head where it was bumped. The other person mumbled something in reply.

When you opened your eyes again, you couldn't help but be surprised.

"Ichimatsu?"

He briefly met your eyes before looking to the side again. "Mhm."

"I didn't think I'd ever see you here." You thought aloud. He gestured at the basket on his arm.

"I was running out." He responded curtly. A quick glance at the inside of the basket was enough to piece it all together. He needed more cat food.

You smiled a bit at the thought. Although he didn't show it, he really was a softy. "I see. The cats are lucky to have you take care of them!"

Ichimatsu squinted, as if he didn't understand the compliment but his face went a tad pinker all the same. He was never one for accepting compliments. 

"Why are you here, anyway?" Was his own question. 

"Oh, I didn't have anything at my house, ahaha..." As the words left your mouth an immediate sense of embarrassment was upon you. How stupid was it that you weren't even paying attention to how much food you had? You couldn't exactly tell him the truth, either...

However Ichimatsu didn't send you any quizzical looks or scoff at you, he only pointed silently at the shelf adjacent to you both. Following his finger, you could see he was pointing at a bag of dried sardines.

"These... Are good." 

'Are they for humans though?'  Was your initial thought before you shook your head. It was honestly rare for Ichimatsu to talk to you like this, so you didn't want to ruin it. Although thinking that in itself made you more stressed...

"Really...? W-Well if you're recommending it, sure." You said, eyeing the bag warily. It was a little high up, but not impossible to reach.

In order to grab it you went on your tip toes. After straining a bit, you managed to grab hold of the package of foul smelling food. Unfortunately due to the bagginess of your sleeves they fell down, revealing the thick white bandbages wrapped around your arm. 

For a moment it felt as though all the air in your lungs disappeared, and a sudden dizziness flew up to your head. A million things were running through your head, all at the fault of your anxiety.

You let your feet fall flat back on the floor of the supermarket, your hold on the bag tightening as if it was your life preserver for the current situation. 

'Maybe he didn't see.' Repeating that thought like a chant, you hesitantly turned your head. 

... There was no doubt. His usually half lidded eyes were now fully open, not to mention his lips were parted slightly in shock. Even still, there was a slight knowing in his eyes, as if his assumptions had been confirmed. 

He said nothing, only adding to stress-induced beads of sweat rolling down your temple. Desperate to change the silent subject, you quickly began to speak. It didn't matter what was said, you just wanted the topic to stray away from your arms.

"W-Well, I guess that'll be fine for now. I've already got a ton of stuff, and I'm actually not even that hungry! Ahah, I'm going to go." 

You quickly walked down the isle, keeping your eyes on the floor. The sounds of footsteps quickly followed you.

"Wait, Y/n-"

You didn't answer. Now that he knew, he'd tell his brothers. Then they'd never speak to you again, and you'll be alone. If you didn't go out today, this wouldn't have happened. If only you stayed at home, things could continue as normal. Maybe it'd have been better if you starved in your house-

"I said wait, already." 

A firm hand was planted on your arm, stopping you in your tracks. The strong grip caused you to yelp a bit in pain, causing the hand to retreat.

"S-Sorry." Ichimatsu said guiltily. He sounded out of breath.

You crossed your arms, the shopping basket moving as you did so. "It's fine..."

He took a few minutes to get his breath back before straightening his usual hunched up posture to look you in the eyes.  "... I'll carry it." 

"Huh?" That wasn't what you were expecting at all. 

"Your stuff. I'll carry it for you." He repeated, his gaze falling to your basket. 

You looked down at it, biting your lip. Was he not going to talk about what he saw...? 

"... Sure." You finally replied. He nodded, and the two of you walked to the self checkout in silence. 

After everything in your basket was transported to the shopping bags, Ichimatsu took them in his hands. The silence continued even after you left the store.

Although there were no words exchanged, the quietude between you both said enough. Just from the tense look as evidenced by his furrowed eyebrows you could tell he was thinking of how to bring it up. 

Deciding it was time to stop pretending, you spoke up.

"It's fine if you don't want to talk to me again."

His head whipped towards you, sounding clearly confused. "Eh?"

"Don't act like you don't get it!" You snapped, purely out of your own frustration. Ichimatsu continued to look lost, but also quite anxious.

"What are you talking about...?" Was his query. 

"You wouldn't want to hang out with someone like me. Someone who can't do anything right." You spat. Now that you were saying it out loud, everything you were holding back came out, including your tears. 

At the sight of your shiny eyes Ichimatsu stopped walking, lifting an arm but only letting it uselessly hang in the air. He wasn't sure of how to even begin comforting you.

"I don't blame you." You scrubbed hard at your eyes like a stubborn child, but the tears continued to form. "I wouldn't want to know me either, but I'm stuck being myself."

You tried to laugh, but it came out croaky. Ichimatsu looked down at his feet, gritting his teeth. Then he finally spoke.

"Where did you get that from? I never said any of that." 

You blinked at him, vision blurry. "Huh? Y-You don't need to say it, I already-"

"Then you don't know." He cut you off. "... None of that is true anyway."

Sniffling, you only looked at him quizzically. "... What?"

"Apparently you don't know yourself very well if you seriously think that." Ichimatsu said. "Besides, I'm the trash one here." 

You shook your head. "Don't say that..."

"You wouldn't say that about others, but you'd say it to yourself?" He asked. You broke eye contact with him, gazing down at your clasped hands.

"... That's different..." You responded. "A-Anyway, you do the same thing."

Ichimatsu frowned. "... Fine."

You looked up at him. "Huh? 'Fine'?"

"Even though I'm a shitty no good trashy NEET," if you didn't raise an eyebrow at him, he would've continued. "I'll stop saying it. As long as you stop insulting yourself too." 

You were hesitant, but nodded nonetheless. "... Okay, I will." 

You never said anything about it, but you truly disliked how Ichimatsu would treat himself so badly. You never even thought that someone would feel the same way about your own self-hate. 

"But," Ichimatsu looked straight at you, his expression serious but not scary. " want you to stop doing that, too."

You didn't need to think hard about it to know what he was referring to. The bandages were starting to feel tight as you thought of it. 

"I..." You voice was barely audible.

"It's not like it'll be easy. I'm not stupid." He mumbled. "But I'll help. I-If you want, that is..." 

His sudden shyness made you splutter with laughter, the realest one you've had in what felt like a while. He looked taken aback for a moment before his tense expression softened. It's been a while since he's seen you so happy, and he was finally feeling relief. 

You wiped your eyes, unsure if it was sad tears or ones of joy before you finally smiled at him. "T-Thanks. Sorry for the trouble though."

"You're not. Don't be dumb." 

A chuckle left your lips. "Heheh, sorry."

The walk continued, the atmosphere feeling much lighter. You weren't sure how long this feeling would last, but for once it was as if a weight was lifted from your chest, and the constant hollow feeling had finally disappeared. 

Ichimatsu helped you pack away the contents of the shopping bags once the two of you made it to your house. His usual tired face didn't change much, but the aura around him seemed much different. Before he left, you quickly handed him something.

"Here!" 

He looked down at your hands, then back up at you questionably.

"For helping me. I know you like these, and so do the cats, so I'll be happy if they're used by someone who'll enjoy them." You explained. 

His round face looked a tint pinker as he looked down at his sandals. "... Keep it."

You tipped your head to the side in your confusion. "Huh?"

"For when... We visit the cats. So keep them." He replied, voice quiet.

You didn't remember making any plans like that, when it suddenly hit you. The smile growing on your face was impossible to stop. 

"... Okay. It's a date then." 

He snapped his head upwards to stare back at you with shock, when he quickly averted his eyes. "... Yeah. So... Bye!"

And with that, he quickly rushed off. You've never seen him run so fast, but perhaps that was his cat-like instincts kicking in. 

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A/N: Requested by @FanGirlFreak-16 !

I hope this was alright! 

Also, I plan to make a part 2 to both the Devil!Osomatsu x reader and the Karamatsu x Pianist!Reader oneshots, I'm not sure how long they'll take though. ^^