5071 Miles Apart

"That's how far from China were are?" I asked.

England nodded. "From where we stand to the Great Wall."

I gave him a slight smile, something I don't do often, then settled back into my bed. "Xièxiè nín, bàba. Wǔqiān nián,71 yīnglǐ...Wǒ yào dào zhōngguó qù... [Thank you, papa. Five thousand, seventy one miles... I want to go to China...]"

He stared at me for a few seconds, probably deciphering what I had said because it was in Chinese. Then he smiled, closing the door and turning off the light. "Goodnight, Hong Kong."

°•~~~~~~•°

Hong Kong gripped England's hand tightly, staring at all the people walking around. In his free arm, he clutched his panda toy tightly. "Bába, where are we?"

"We're in China." He continued to scan the crowd. "Do you think you can help me, Hong? I need to find a man wearing a military uniform with long ash hair,golden eyes, bandages and probably a panda cub by his feet."

"There he is." Hong Kong pointed to a planter, where a man described as such sat calmly. His jacket was open, revealing him to have bandages wrapped around his chest. His right eye was also bandaged. A blond girl sat beside him, holding a panda cub.

The Brit smiled, and waved his hand. "Yao!"

The man at the planter looked up suddenly. A hint of a smile appeared on his face, but it soon disappeared. The blond girl took off, placing the panda back in the man's lap.

"China, nice to see you out of the hospital." England said as they walked up.

The man frowned a bit, rotating his arm a bit. "I'm still 'under care' though. Japan tried to..." He simply pointed at his eye. "It's an estimated five months minimum before I can see with it again."

"Well, I brought Hong Kong." England patted the boy's back. "Hong, you remember your mum, right?"

It hit the boy like a dozen bricks wrapped in sand paper. "M-māmā...? W-what happened..."

"That's not important anymore. What is important is that you're here after a looooong century and a half..." China gave the boy a tight hug.

England smiled. "I have to go back through and get on the plane to London. It was nice seeing you, China."

"Nice to see you too." China stood up, giving the Brit a quick kiss before he left. As soon as he was out of sight, the Chinese turned and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Sunset!" Hong stared at him, but then the blond girl came running back.

"Sunset, his is your brother I was telling you about." China introduced. "This is Kaoru Wang, Hong Kong. Hong, this is your sister, Ríluó Joy Kirkland, Beijing."

Hong studied the blonde in front of him. Large golden eyes, with green specks dancing within like a kaleidoscope, studied him back eagerly. Her long golden hair shone bright in the sunlight, and was pulled back into a single, crooked ponytail that went to her ankles. Her cheongsam was a bright red with a blue dragon and golden edges.

"If she's my sister, how come I'm just now meeting her?" Hong Kong asked. "And why does she have a different name?"

"Yes, well..." China sighed. "I'll explain when we get home. I need some time to think of a way to explain it. Speaking of which, I hope you've been doing well in your studies, Sunset. All English at dinner tonight. I don't want to hear a word of Chinese from you."

Beijing nodded eagerly, scooping the panda up and holding it to her chest. She gave Hong a beaming smile.