My Little Big Brother
Lily Icerem
Chapter 1: The Boundaries of Immortality
(Posted: 03/06/13)
(Edited: 06/06/13)
Edit Note: A big thanks to my friend Nick who beta-ed this for me! It's great since he's so careful when he edits things! I feel a little guilty because I know he had a lot of school work as well… ^_^'
A/N: I'm starting another story! I have no regrets, nor do I feel even a speck of guilt. Ah, it's great to have given up on being a 'good author' (people who focus on one or a small amount of stories at a time), I've kicked that writing moral out the door and now I feel free to write and post whatever I want. Okay, so this evolved out of Office Relations when I wanted to write a certain section but couldn't because I wasn't up to it yet. It's hard to imagine how such an angsty story came out of a humour fic, but yes, it did. I just really wanted to write Chibi China, so this appeared. Hope you like it!
I just have to say that this isn't IggyChu, and neither China nor Hong Kong will have any sort of romance is this story. Sorry to disappoint if you were looking for that. Just by the way, I Hong Kong won't say 'like' constantly in any of my stories, because I just can't write him like that…. I couldn't write hipsters, it would drive me nuts!
Summary: AU. To England's surprise China dies in the heat of the Opium Wars. Hong Kong knows that Yao is not dead, but has been reborn and he searches for his brother to find to a small child. Yao grows up in Arthur's house, calling Hong his big brother. How will the rest of history play out?
Genre: Angst/Hurt and Comfort
Warnings! MAJOR historic inaccuracies… well, this is AU, so please ignore them since they don't really count. Also this story has a large amount of angst, so please watch out. This warning applies to the whole fic, but I will keep warning people just in case.
Pairings (future and quite minor): USUK, GerIta, Spamano, The Frying Pangle and others… Okay, I'm not going to lie; most of the characters don't come in until later in the story, so you might have to wait a little while.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, but since I'm doing an adoption project, I would like to say that I came up with the plot line myself ;)
Enjoy!
Eternal. An endless empire. Forever. It will never perish as so many around it have. Timeless. Age might have its way with it, but time never will. Unchanging. Its people might change, its government might change, but the grace which people recognise will never change. Everlasting. Others may fall, but it will be forever remembered for its perpetual existence. Immortal. China is Immortal. An ancient nation of four thousand years. A nation that has withstood the harsh trials of time and age, witnessing the rise and fall of other nations; great and small. China, a nation that had been shrouded with mystery and beauty for many years, is indeed immortal.
Nation-tans, they are all immortal to a certain extent. People can strangle them, stab them, slaughter them and yet they will still live. They heal quickly, age slowly, but can cease to exist the moment their people stop acknowledging them as their country. Some disappear in a blink of an eye and others fade until their people forget that they even existed.
And yet… this will never happen to China. China is immortal. This is what the most of the nations thought before the incident, and they were right. China is immortal, but Yao Wang is not.
Some people find it ironic that a nation like China, so great and old, would have a representative the can actually die while their country goes on. They had all thought that they could do anything to China and he would still be fine, but Hong Kong knew otherwise. He had already known there were boundaries, restrictions to his brother's so called immortality.
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Xiang Wang* sighed as he looked at the door for what seemed like the thousandth time that night. His older brother had not come back and it was already night time. Yao had never come back that late at night without telling Hong first. It worried Hong Kong to no end. What if something bad had happened to Yao? What if his older brother was hurt and couldn't come back? What if Yao was dead? No. Hong shook his head to push the thought away. China was immortal. That would never happen to him. He looked at the now cold dinner before him. Xiang had thought that it be nice if he cooked dinner for Yao, but he waited and Yao hadn't come home in time. Walking to the door, he lent on the wall beside it and slid down, hugging his knees to his chest.
Hong's family had left him and Yao one by one; leaving the two brothers alone. If they had been there, maybe Hong wouldn't feel so worried because he'd have everyone else to worry with, but without them, the emptiness of the house was getting to him. Besides his own breathing, it was silent. And although Hong Kong had never believed in monsters, he couldn't help but think twice every time he heard a creak, a scrape, a bang or a thump. He had lit all the lamps, but at every strange, unidentified sound, his heart would beat just that little bit faster. He'd always hated the fact that he was scared of the dark. Yao had said that it was nothing to be ashamed of, but it didn't stop Xiang from feeling silly. He knew that there was nothing to be afraid of, but every time he stared out into the dark, he couldn't stop that shiver the goes up his spine. He wished that Yao would come back sooner. Xiang always felt safer when his brother was around. He never understood why his brothers and sisters all wanted independence so much. It's not like they could gain all that much. Yao never really controlled any of them, his siblings had just lived with Yao and he took care of them, not their countries. Hong, on the other hand, was a different story. Hong Kong was a part of China, so really, he never had a day where Yao wasn't his family, and he never wanted that to change.
Xiang jumped as he heard the sound of something dropping on the deck at the back. Tiptoeing to the kitchen, Xiang carefully slid a ladle out of its place. It was times like this that he appreciated Yao's hard martial arts training. His heart almost stopped when he heard something pawing at the door. Sure, he could defend himself, but it didn't mean he wasn't scared. Taking a deep breath, Hong slid the door open with a bang and raised his ladle, ready to hit the intruder's head. He stopped abruptly to see nothing. Looking around the back garden, he saw a peaceful scene; looking nothing like it would if there was in intruder. He cocked his head to the side curiously. What had made the noise?
He yelped loudly when he felt something touch his leg. Promptly he swung the ladle down at the culprit, but had to stop himself quickly because the so called 'culprit' was Yao's little panda.
"Xiao Bao**" exclaimed Xiang. "You scared me!"
The little ball of fluff only stared at him adorably with large eyes.
Picking the little thing up, Xiang thought hard as to why such a normally well behaved panda, would suddenly scratch at the back door. Then it hit him. Yao opened the door for Xiao Bao every night to let him in. The poor little thing must have been waiting for hours outside the door. "I'm sorry, Xiao Bao," he said to the panda apologetically. "I forgot about you. I've been too worried about Gege***." He patted Xiao Bao on the head while it rubbed against Hong Kong's cheek comfortingly.
"I'm home!"
Xiang's eyes widened as he heard his brother coming home. Running excitedly to the door, he said loudly, "Gege, you're finally home. I was so worried. I didn't know what happened. Gege, please don't do that-" he stopped when he saw the state of his brother. Yao had a cut on his arm that looked like it had been bandaged hastily and he leg was also bleeding, causing him to limp painfully.
"I'm sorry, Xiang. I didn't mean to worry you, aru. I promise I'll try my hardest not to do it again. Have you had dinner yet-" he was cut off by Xiang hugging him carefully.
"You're hurt!" exclaimed Hong. "I knew something bad must have happened. Gege, did someone hurt you? Are you okay?"
Yao smiled tiredly and pulled Xiang closer, "I'm fine, Hong, just a couple of scratches, aru."
Being squeezed in between the two brothers, Xiao Bao whined loudly.
"I think you might want to let go of Xiao Bao, aru. I think we're crushing him."
Xiang looked up at Yao and then down at the panda in him arms. "Oh, sorry, Xiao Bao," he said, and gently set the panda down on the ground.
Yao held a hand out to Hong, "Come on, aru. Help me with the bandages?" His little brother nodded and took his hand while Yao led him to main room.
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"Like this?" asked Hong, he wrapped the bandage timidly around Yao's wounded arm.
"Yes, aru, you're doing great."
Hong Kong couldn't help but smile shyly at this. Yao had taught him how to dress wounds, but never has he ever needed to work on more than just a mere scratch. China's arm cut was not too deep, but it was a nasty looking thing; it looked as if the person who inflicted it only meant to taunt, but had darker intentions. Xiang directed his attention back to his task and fastened the bandage, making sure that it was secure, but wasn't too tight.
"Done," he said, looking up at his older brother, who was smiling tiredly at him.
"Good, can you hand me the other roll, aru? I need to bandage my leg."
Xiang quietly handed it to Yao and watched as his brother finished cleaning the large cut on his leg. He hadn't realised it before, but after it had been cleaned, he saw that the wound on Yao's leg was much worse than the one on his arm. He couldn't imagine limping home with that sort of injury; it must have been extremely painful. He sat patiently, watching Yao wrap it up gently. Hong felt silent rage build up inside of him. He hated the person who inflicted such pain on his big brother. It didn't matter who it was, Xiang couldn't care less. No matter what reason it had been for, no matter who had done it, they deserved nothing more than to burn for all eternity in the fires on the eighteenth floor of hell.
Hong was brought out of his thoughts by a pained hiss that came from his beloved older brother. "Gege, are you alright?" he asked worriedly.
"Yes, don't worry too much, aru," Yao replied soothingly. He ruffled Hong's hair affectionately and continued to bandage the cut. "It just hurts a little, that's all. I've had worse." He smiled once again and finished wrapping the injury. Yao started to pack the bandages away in case of future use.
"You'll be fine, won't you, Gege? China is immortal."
Hong's comment made Yao stop what he was doing. China's hands hovered above the box of dressings and stayed there as he thought. Xiang stared anxiously at his brother, waiting for a reply.
Yao's fists clenched as he breathed out deeply. "I'm not… like you, Hong," he whispered almost hauntingly. He wasn't facing Hong, Yao hadn't turned around.
"What do you mean, Gege?"
China sighed as he turned to face his little brother's nervous expression. "I-I," Yao stuttered, he didn't know what to say, or how to say it. He slumped and placed the box on the low table in front of them. "Come here, Xiang," he said softly, patting place beside him on the long chair, urging Hong to sit there.
Hong complied and sat on Yao's side with the uninjured arm. "What's wrong, Gege?"
"Xiang, I'm not immortal."
"What?" exclaimed Hong. "How can that be? You've been alive for so long! China is immortal! That's what everyone says!"
Yao nodded patiently to his brother's distressed rants. "Yes, aru, China is immortal, that's true… but I, Wang Yao, am not."
"I don't understand."
"And I don't expect you to at first either. You want to know why?" he asked Hong. His brother simply nodded. Yao breathed out and started to explain, "It is true that I have lived for many years; thousands even, but that does not make me immortal, aru. Unlike you and the other nations, who can live as long as their people recognise them as their country, I can die and my country goes on. It would be hard for me to die, but it is possible.
"I started life differently to you and the other nations, aru. Unlike you, who was born as a nation, I was born as a human and chosen to be a country. I don't know why I was chosen and nor do I remember my life before that day. What I do remember is that my life changed the moment I was selected. For someone with such a good memory, aru, I can't remember what it was like to be human, but I remember that I was taken away from those I knew and thrown into a place where strangers were who I had to count on.
"I grew very slowly, aru. I watched many people come and go as time went by. It was a very long time before I saw other nations. By that time, I had stopped aging."
"So you've looked like you do for a very long time?" asked Hong.
Yao nodded, "Yes, aru. I'm not sure whether it's a good thing or not." He looked down to see that Hong was struggling to hold his tears in. "Xiang, what wrong, aru," he asked worriedly. Yao pulled his little brother into a hug and rubbed his back soothingly. Hong simply sniffled and hid himself in Yao's side. "Tell Gege what's wrong," Yao tried understand why Hong was crying, but didn't get a reaction. "Come on, Xiang, tell me."
Suddenly, Yao's side felt wet. Alarmed, he pulled Hong from his side and held his brother small shoulders, getting a good look at his now red and teary face. "Hong, what's wrong? Why are you crying, aru?"
More tears sprung from Hong's large eyes and the boy's lips wobbled dangerously as he tried to keep the tears in. "I don't want Gege to die!" yelled Xiang. "I can't live without you! I can't. I just- please don't leave me, Gege! I can't be without you!" He threw his arms around Yao's waist and sobbed hysterically into his older brother's side.
Yao was startled by Xiang's reaction. He had never been the most responsive child, and although Yao knew that unresponsive did not mean that Hong was emotionless, Yao never imagined that something like that would trigger such a big reaction from the little boy. He started to think that maybe telling Xiang that wasn't such a good idea after all.
China wrapped his arms around the small boy, pulling him closer. They way Hong's body shook with each sob broke Yao's heart. He ran his long fingers through Xiang's hair and hummed calming melodies; songs that had always worked with every sibling he took in. It took a while for Hong to calm down, but it made Yao inwardly sigh in relief. He never thought that it would cause his little brother so much pain.
"There's nothing to be so upset about, aru," comforted Yao, rubbing Hong's back. The little nation's shuddered slightly, his hands gripping Yao's shirt as if it was a lifeline.
"You don't understand," mumbled Xiang.
"What don't I understand, aru? Can you explain?"
Xiang shook his head, face hiding in Yao's shirt.
"Please, aru?" pleaded Yao. "I'll try as hard as I can to understand, I promise." He kissed the top of Hong's head lightly. The little boy, who was now in his lap, sniffled and looked at him with large, teary eyes; Yao couldn't but smile.
"I never thought that there would be a day where you would leave me," Hong said with a serious voice. He blushed and turned away. Was it weakness to want to forever be with his big brother? "I always thought that because you were immortal, that I could always stay by your side."
His brother was so cute. Was that it? He just never wanted Yao to leave him alone? "Oh, Hong, that's so sweet, but one day you'll grow up. Then maybe you won't need my anymore, aru."
Xiang shook his head, "I'll always need you."
Yao smiled at him, "Your siblings said that once, but they left me. Maybe you'll want that same."
"I'm nothing like those people!" Xiang shouted. He looked Yao directly in the eyes, "I'm nothing like them. I will never leave you. I don't want that so called independence. They're all stupid and greedy! You raised and cared for them, and what do they pay you with? Nothing! Nothing but heartache and emptiness. They're all arrogant and disloyal, and I'm never going to end up like any of them! I refuse to lower myself to those standards." Hong's tiny fists that had latched onto Yao's shirt shook in anger. He hid his face once again, not wanting to see his older brother's expression.
Yao was shocked at his normally calm sibling's words. He never would have imagined that Xiang held so much resentment to his to other brothers and sisters. "Xiang-"
"I'm sorry!" he apologised into Yao's shirt. "I just- I just never imagined that you would not be here."
China sighed quietly and let Hong cry his feelings out. He knew that it wouldn't be much use to try and stop the tears; he thought that he'd just leave them run dry. Yao had felt betrayed and disappointed when his other siblings had left him, but seeing Xiang, he didn't know whether it was such a bad thing that they didn't really rely on him too much. He wondered how Hong would do by himself.
Yao didn't know how long they sat there for, but Hong's tears eventually slowed down once more. "Are you feeling better now, Hong?"
The little nation shook his head; face still buried in Yao's shirt. "I just feel so helpless, Gege. I want to help, but I just don't know how. I don't think I can."
"Do you really want to help?" asked Yao. Hong nodded his head, eyes growing wide with hope. "There's a way you can help me Xiang, but it will take commitment."
"I want to help you, Gege. I would do anything, no matter how dangerous."
Yao couldn't help but smile fondly down at his little brother; he was just so cute. "No, aru, nothing dangerous. If I die one day, and this is a very big possibly, things just aren't supposed to last forever, not all hope will be lost for me. You see, when nations that are born like me die, and not because their people have stopped recognising them as their country, but only because they were weak at the time, the do not disappear, but are reborn, aru."
"Reborn?" questioned the young nation sitting in Yao's lap.
"Yes, they appear somewhere else as children, aru. Their physical and mental age change, but their identity remains unchanged."
"You mean if you ever… die," Hong hesitated on the word, "I could find you?"
"Yes, aru," answered Yao. "It won't be an easy task, Xiang. I've seen it go horribly wrong before."
"What do you mean? I just need to find you, don't I?"
Yao sighed heavily, "It's not as simple as that. It's not because it'll be hard to find me, but the longer newly reborn nations are left alone by themselves, the higher the chance that their head will become twisted, aru. I witnessed it long ago. A nation that was born like me died after a fierce battle with a stronger country. They were reborn and people looked for them, but by the time they found him, it was too late; his mind had been tarnished. They didn't know how much it would affect the country itself, so they let him continue being a nation-tan. His tainted thoughts eventually corrupted those in his government. His people revolted against him, and eventually, they all agreed not to acknowledge him as their nation. He disappeared one day, and no one ever saw him ever again."
"That will never happen to you," said Hong, voice determined. "I will never let that happen to you, Gege."
China chuckled and cupped both Xiang's cheeks playfully in his hands, "Then it's decided, aru. I can rely on my dear little brother to save me when it happens."
Hong Kong nodded fiercely and promised that he would do all he can to find Yao if it were to come to that. He'd find his beloved big brother, no matter what.
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* - I know that Xiang is technically wrong if you're talking about language, but I've explained it in my other fic, so I'll just leave it.
** - okay, I have no clue what the name of the little panda is, but I think it sounds cute… if I'm not wrong, I'm pretty sure it means little bread bun is Cantonese, but it's hard to tell when I'm using Mandarin
*** - Gege, a way of saying older brother in Mandarin and Cantonese, but sounds slightly different (should be written with accents, but meh).
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A/N: That's chapter one of my new story, I hope you liked it. Next chapter is about Hong shouting at Iggy for killing his brother and Hong finding cute little Yao! ADORABLE! Anyway, if there are any mistakes, tell me and I'll fix them. Neither my beta nor I are really in the mindset for proof-reading things.
Please review! I'd really like to know what people think about this story. I've got quite a lot planned for it. I'm actually more interested in write fluff and angst more than romance, so this might one of my main focuses for now… I might try writing for Soul Eater though. I've got an idea… and KID! OMG! I love that boy.
Anyway, please tell me what you think and I'll hopefully be updating soon!
This is me, being me (sick and sleepy)
~Lily Icerem~