Defend That Nation- Words For Tsumugu
A few months later…
The day was slightly overcastted, but the looming clouds shielding the earth from the sun's rays were deceptive in that they brought neither rain nor cool weather. For despite the curtain veiled in the endless blue sky a fair amount the sun's heat and light penetrated through. The bustling bloom of spring had long faded which left only a strong growth of green on the trees gently rustling in the sparse breeze. The grass also shared this health; the lush blades were not dry or brittle but instead soft and more than inviting. Fortunately this nature had a proper canvas where its brilliant pallet could be enjoyed, a local park hidden by the towering skyscrapers and metropolitan area surrounding the secret garden. Today more than a few hustling urban dwellers slipped under the trees' canopy and were tempted to lie down by the alluring silk skin of the grass. Winding paths were stroked all across the large park; sketching endless adventures to be had on those roads for the men, women and children present.
In fact the day could not have been lovelier; or at least to anyone who wasn't Tsumugu Hinamori, because what started as a pleasant errand with his daughters had turned into a soul crushing experience as little Ami casually prattled on about the one topic that swiftly slew his tender beating heart whenever mentioned… boys. The mere word produced a thunderclap that would immediately shatter his peaceful inner world, and now Ami was carelessly slinging such a destructive word while the three of them walked through the park on what was once such a lovely day. His older daughter, Amu, made no attempt to aid the distraught man since she only found his overreactions to be more trouble than they were worth, not to mention stressful. She let out yet another irritated and exhausted sigh as her father pathetically begged Amu to intervene. Ran and Su, being the only two Guardian Characters present as Miki was in bed with a cold, advised the unsympathetic girl with flailed gesturing motions that pointed from Amu to her father.
After lazily submitting to their will, she only offered the desperate plea with an unsure shrug which sent her father spiraling further into his depressed state. Amu ignored his tearing eyes which completely won Ami over, ending the young girl's long praise of her dear friend, and with that conflict resolved the elder sister lost herself in the endless landscape of the ever changing clouds. That constantly created and recreated it. Her thoughts mulled over each other, and evidence of Amu's drifting mind was present in her distant and glazed eyes. This state was a perfect reflection of the hazy feel the last couple months had on Amu and her friends. After the Guardian's fight against Easter, all of the events with the nations that led to the battle and their departure; nothing had called them into as much action. Of course there was still the occasional X Egg, but Easter had been completely quiet since their last encounter. Amu gladly welcomed the pleasant change of pace while the more suspicious of her friends did not take the eerie vacation quite as well. Since seeing off the nations there had been some light communication between them in the form of brief letters; the ones Yaya received from Ivan only asked if she wanted to become one with Mother Russia.
The stroll through the park was an obscure experience to Amu as the conversation between her father and sister was muffled to her, and even the scenery surrounding the girl became unimportant enough that she might as well have been blindfolded. Though being that engrossed in her thoughts didn't help Amu. Even with the alarming cries of her Guardian Characters she was too dazed to react in time to the flimsy paper that smacked into her face as it finished riding on a suddenly rushed wind. Amu immediately snapped out of her zoned out state when the abrupt darkness blinded her lazing sight. Initially Amu was flipping out internally, but the stubborn outward character she had would not allow her to destroy its cool persona in the eyes of her family. Without so much as even a startled peep she nonchalantly plucked the sheet of paper off of her face and couldn't help but take a peek at its contents. Amu was disappointed to find what was printed on the paper turned out to be in English; with a signature apathetic huff she crumpled the useless sheet and calmly stated in a tinge of irk after tossing it aside, "Stupid."
Her small audience stood idly in awe and more than impressed with the cool and spicy act, but not all applauded her small feat. For as she spun around to continue walking; Amu met with a hysterical man running toward her who yelled in vain, "N-no! That's my- …paper…"
Ignoring everyone around him, the man dejectedly stepped past Amu and her family to bend over in order to retrieve his now mutilated paper. Amu wasn't sure if she was speechless because of whose paper she had happen to be struck with, or that the person in question had obviously failed to notice her. His movements were stiff yet an ominous tremble was present, but it too was restricted to jagged tremors that warned of the suppressed anger which it originated from. Amu and Tsumugu had enough sense to detect this and were lightly pushed back by his protruding intimidation, but Ami's face began to glow with the rise of an excited smile that her father could find no cause for. Then the man slowly turned around; taking time to precisely convey his frustration with each forceful step and said in a stressed tone that clearly showed signs of the more aggressive pitch he truly wanted to use, "Do you have any idea what was on this-?"
"Arthur!" Ami cheered, interrupting him, as she jumped up into England's fast reacting arms; stumbling over himself as he caught the incoming girl. The nation was taken aback for a moment before registering who was actually embracing him, and when he did England was pleasantly surprised as he offered a hearty laugh and warm pleasantries. Amu released a breath of relief and allowed her fearfully tensed limbs to loosen into a casual limpness. Tsumugu on the other hand warped his facial features into a mixed look of overprotective hatred and disgust at the young man's friendly behavior toward his daughter. When Amu noticed her father's disapproving disposition she froze in realization; he would definitely be expecting an explanation about how Ami knew an obviously foreign man so well, but she couldn't tell him how Arthur used to be a Guardian Character or that he was really a nation. Seeing Amu's true panicky nature slip through in her desperate pantomiming, England set Ami back onto the ground despite a short pout from the girl. He battled the moment of glum with a victorious smile before extending an open hand; addressing Tsumugu in a professional manner and introduced himself, "Hello, my name is Arthur Kirkland. I ran into some trouble a couple months back, and your daughters helped me out a great deal."
"Hinamori Tsumugu. Uh… What sort of trouble were you in, Kirkland-san?" Tsumugu quickly introduced and asked with an underlying suspicious tone and a biting hiss when he uttered the man's name. Tsumugu then begrudgingly grabbed a hold of the man's opened hand and released it as soon as he had given an anger filled squeeze. Ami paled slightly at her father's surprisingly intimidating presence, but she gently held her bottom lip with her front teeth as she remembered Arthur always talked about having a stiff upper lip. Without Miki's calm and cool demeanor to nullify Amu's other two Guardian Characters' spastic personalities, Ran and Su were free to begin the slow descent into full panic mode which started with an onslaught of uncontrollable and nervous shivering. Amu, with her father thoroughly distracted by his deathly glaring at Arthur, was able to grab her characters in a swift swipe and mute their startled yelps as she held them in a tight fist. While Tsumugu attempted to put up his most fearsome front; England casually answered the question as if he were oblivious to the other man's obvious desire to at the very least maim him for having any contact with his precious daughters, "Well you see a co-worker of mine had gotten lost in the city; and your daughters kindly offered a helping hand. If it weren't for their efforts, then he'd probably still be wandering around."
"A co-work, huh? And what exactly is it that you do for a living?" Tsumugu asked quickly, giving no pause to follow Arthur's last response. Ami had her head tilted up and bounding from one man to the other as each spoke. The curled ends of her hair bounced with every sharp movement she made in order to keep up with their conversation. Ami soon found increasing difficulty in keeping her upper lip stiff and her bottom lip held in place, as her father's angrily twitching tone implied malicious accusations with each question he shot at Arthur. Ami felt a little torn with his mistrust. She loved her father dearly, but Arthur was her friend. All Ami could do was widen her hopeful eyes and wish for some peace between the two. In contrast Amu stood in the background; amazed at the calm friendliness Arthur skillfully wielded, not to mention his quick and natural responses. Though, now that she thought about it Amu came to the conclusion that these kinds of situations must happen frequently to him. England spared no time in answering Tsumugu's fiercely asked question and happily stated, "I'm an ambassador from England here on business."
"Oh, really? England. Well-"Tsumugu began. He was more than ready to unleash a new wave of investigation questions when Amu, who was tired of his unfounded doubt, interrupted. At least that was her intention; but before she could even begin to open her mouth Ami burst out into a desperate cry, pleading her father to end the questioning. The elder sister was slightly annoyed at the unexpected interruption at first, but as Amu noted her father speedily dropping his aggressive front in order to take a more sensitive one she became grateful. He almost immediately began smothering Ami in an apologetic hug while sobbing out reassurances. With Tsumugu reverted to a more tolerable parenting mode, Amu finally released her Guardian Characters from her unintentionally crushing grip. Ran and Su gave their owner a synchronized, irritated glare that only lasted until Arthur smiled a sympathetic grin at them as he remembered his own experience in that deadly clutch. Amu's face got a light dusting of pink as she took notice of that peculiarly masculine quality of her's and offered a nervous laugh as condolence to the two offended parties. Ran and Su were quick to forgive the girl with strong smiles that gave the support to strengthen hers. Arthur waved the experience off and turned to Ami, who had fully brought back her usual happily energetic father and was trapped in the melodramatic hug. Once the girl caught sight of him she beamed an overjoyed smile at him.
Arthur chuckled a low and brief yet kind laugh at the strangely endearing scene and thought to himself, 'I'm awfully glad Ami intervened. Her father can be quite intimidating when he wants to be. Besides, I hate talking about myself in the third person. It's funny, but he reminds me of-' Then England's mind wanderings were cut short as Amu took this opportune moment, since her father was distracted, to speak freely. She kept her voice hushed and unsurely whispered, "Art- Uh… I mean England, it's not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"
"Sh! Please don't use that name in public. I'm Arthur, and secondly like I said I happen to be here because of a work related matter." England rushed to shush her and cautiously glanced over to Tsumugu, releasing a heavy and relieved sigh to find him completely ignoring them. Amu took on an embarrassed blush that went up to the tips of her ears at the mistake. As the conversation came to a halt Ran and Su exchanged inquiring looks amongst themselves until it was inevitably decided to have Ran speak and satisfy their curiosity. The pink Character glided up in front of England's face which earned her a startled blink from him that soon eased away as she asked innocently, "Arthur! Uh… Is everyone else here too? It would be great to see Italy and everyone else again."
"As a matter of fact, they are. There was a world summit today, so there's even more of us here than last time. "England explained, lowering his voice when he referenced the other nations. Ran let out a cheer waving her pompoms in rhythm with her shouts while Su gave a soft but confident round of clapping, and her emerald eyes shimmered with untold happy thoughts. Amu could not help but think back to when she first found the frightened little Italian, and although he was generally a handful his odd charm had rubbed off on her. She may have not known the other nations, and even Italy to some extent, very well but they had left a kind impression on her. Then a thought struck her. Her Guardian Characters, could he see them? It seemed that way as the nation had wordlessly acknowledged them before and was equally speaking to them as he did to her. Amu starred down England with a surprised look that was meant to be serious but failed at doing so and loudly blurted, "What? You can see them!"
The yell was enough to bring Tsumugu out of his fawning and to attention as he placed Ami on the ground, reverting back to his previous defensive state. Amu paled slightly at the aggressive scowl her father wore. Tsumugu stepped menacingly toward Arthur and made himself a barrier between the Brit and his older daughter. He had a pair of yellow green eyes boring deep hate-filled holes through Arthur, and Tsumugu's face burned a harsh red while long creases stretched across his brow and forehead. Ami fled, scampering off quickly to hide behind her older sister's legs which were covered with goose bumps and lightly trembled. Ran tried to emulate the absent Miki's cool, cucumber attitude but only managed in becoming frozen stiff. Su sank down and hung onto Amu's shoulder as she shivered uncontrollably. At first England held a steady face under the pressure of Tsumugu's glare, and the other man kept his angered expression just as still.
Then the reddened color left his cheeks, and all the anger that was once etched firmly onto his features eased into a serious yet perplexed look. The cause of this was a sort of spark igniting in the nation's green eyes that gleamed in what could only be realization, but when the shine faded back into his dark pupils a melancholy heaviness hung on his face. Amu noticed a shift in both of the men's demeanors and settled into a look of confusion similar to the one her father wore. However Ami only became more concerned with the strange change and the Guardian Characters were moved enough by her worried glances hurriedly zipping around that they floated down to comfort her. She received them surprisingly well, without her normal rowdy gasps and with instead a gentle childish in her inviting palms which the Characters sat on. All of this resulted as England finished his earlier intruded thought and he hesitantly concluded, 'H-He reminds me of… of myself when America was-'
It all came back with the mere utterance of that name which had once filled England with an overwhelming happiness; now left a bitter taste on his tongue by just the thought, actually having to say it revolted him. Most of the time the nation could swallow back those nauseous reactions, but Spring was coming to an end which meant Summer was starting soon. As America would surely be celebrating in the sun, he was just as likely to be remembering that rainy day or in a drunken unconsciousness. Even in that state England would be dreaming of those raindrops falling all around and on him, but when he would finally wake up his face would be wet with a mix of tears and alcohol instead. After perfectly predicting this inevitable outcome England blinked back into the present moment, and there as Tsumugu starred at him beyond confused the nation saw himself in the man's place desperately holding onto a young America with all of his might. Then reality kept creeping in on his hallucination again, but the Brit halfheartedly wished that it would not.
As the other three were unaware of Arthur's past or the flashes of his memories he was experiencing, they simply starred at him unsure of what to do. Even Tsumugu could not help but feel the sympathetic strings of his heart being plucked as he looked into the man's torn expression. He scolded himself for having felt such a feeling, but Tsugumu could not help but sense that some odd and powerful quality of Arthur forced him to do so. Ami's eyes welded with hot tears as her whole face flustered and nose became runny. The girl felt so ashamed as she finally let her bottom lip poke out that she quickly proceeded to bury her face into the fabric of her older sister's capri pants. England let out a tired sigh that seemed to have been held in for such a long time that it was quit short and quiet. The exhausted breath quivered as it unsurely came out. Arthur then looked up at Tsugumu with some sense of what was actually around him and slightly more composure than before. The nation struggled to find his voice within the dry throat he had but once it was acquired he said with a tremble, "Hinamori-san… I-I know we've only just met, and I can tell you don't care for me much at all but you… You must know- I have to tell you…"
Tsumugu only became more confused as Arthur jaggedly whispered his fragmented sentences, but England could not help himself because as the nation spoke his intrusive memories appeared more vividly with each word. He still continued to speak as his perception of the weather leapt between pelting rain and calm warmth. Arthur then stuttered with more firmness which slowly drew out the attention of Tsugumu, "I-I have to tell you… tell you something important. You see, I know what its' like- How it is when…"
'Hey, England!' There was his voice shouting as clear as the day when it sliced through the cold air and deafened the rain, but Arthur still continued despite the painful lump forming in his arid throat.
"…you have someone to care for, a daughter… or a son. It may not seem like it, but I know… because I use to be the guardian of a boy… A boy I cared for very dearly a-and still do… But!" At this point Amu was equally as drawn into England's words as her father was. The two were curious and in their perplexed states they lost any emotions they had before as the nation continued his plea, all of their previous feeling dissolved into just being there and listening to him. Even Ami took it upon herself to peer up from the soft and comforting rolls of her sister's clothing to pay attention, though the words seemed to float above her reach and understanding.
'I'm no longer a child nor your little brother.' As England remembered these words in particular he frantically came up with many arguments to counter these claims, but they all were in vain so he instead focused on what he was saying at this moment to his small audience. Though, even that task seemed to become more and more difficult as his sense of the present blurred.
"But you must know- must learn from me and my mistakes! It will be hard to do, what I'm about to ask, but you must try. If not… If not, then you'll end up like me. All alone, so please…please let them be- be? "England came to an unsteady halt as he did not know what to say, or rather he knew but was unsure if he could.
'From now on consider me independent!'
"Let them be independent! Let them go, don't hold on to them too tight. Because... because they will find a way out, and when they do… t-they…"
"They won't come back?" Tsumugu finished unsurely and frightened at the conclusion he had made, but Arthur sadly nodded. Then a flash of red quickly crept onto his face as the nation realized how out of place everything he just said was, not to mention how classified the information he had just revealed was. England nervously looked back at Tsumugu, expecting more questions and hatred that he was too flustered to deal with. Instead he found a half understanding blatant in the man's eyes that the nation was completely familiar with. The recognition that one cannot keep their children from growing up but at the same time have that impossible wish tucked away deep within their heart. These words and especially this look the two men shared fell heavy on Amu as she was in that awkward age. The slow beginnings of such a change. Ran and Su were even more somber than her, as they unwillingly pondered their fleeting existence.
"I promise to come back Papa." Ami announced in a resolved tone after she unsuccessfully tried her hand at processing the deep material. Her confidence and genuineness were not truly earned but appreciated by her much older company, and all signs of their melancholy were washed away by a wave of optimism. Tsumugu kneeled down and scooped up Ami in his arms, thanking her for the oath that he had no doubts would be carried out. Amu placed a wordless hand on her father's shoulder, swearing as well. Tsumugu could not help but show Arthur a kind smile as he stood up with Ami in his arms, and when the young girl caught sight of the friendly exchange she proudly joined in and said full of hope. "And I'm sure that boy you were talking about will come back too!"
"That's kind of you to say, Ami but-"England started as he struggle to cling onto the little happiness he was able to pull from this experience. Until…
"Hey Arthur!"
England shuddered as the booming voice came crashing in on what was once such an almost lovely day. The next thing the Brit knew was that his neck was in a playful hold as a certain American wrapped an arm around him. With one arm latched onto England, the other held a half eaten hamburger as per usual. If England had not spotted the greasy sandwich through the corner of his eye, its revolting odor or the remnants of it on the other nation's face would have tipped him off as to it being near. The sudden and according to America, heroic entrance was followed by his unmistakable laugh which only made England wallow further in his own pain. An unhappy moan was ignored by America as he finally took notice of who was standing, in shock, before him. He flashed his signature cocky grin and excitedly greeted the startled girl, "Yo! What's up? It's Amu, right? Haven't seen you in a while. Oh! Thanks for last time. Sorry for leaving all of a sudden, but you know how it goes."
"Uh- No problem." Amu unsurely answered as she found a newly rekindled anger present within her father. Tsumugu starred at the much younger man. Man? No, he was a boy. And then came the thunderclap. Ran and Su tiredly sighed. They were back at square one with Tsumugu. Ami after thinking hard about it was finally able to recognize America and gave him a pleasant wave. He returned the gesture by issuing another yet this time more honestly happy laugh and gave her an excited thumbs-up. Ami was eager to copy the action with her own enthusiasm added, and this is when Tsumugu snapped. He quickly grabbed a hold of Amu's hand and jerked her away from the pair as he dragged her along. Then what came after the family's forced exit was a swift and annoyed farewell from Tsumugu.
"Oh. Uh- Goodbye Hinamori-san. You too, Amu and Ami. Enjoy… the rest of your day. S-see you" Arthur yelled awkwardly as the three walked further and further away. After struggling out of the oblivious American's hold, England weakly waved back. He was pleasantly surprised and touched to see Ami shoot up her little arm to give him an enthralled wave back. Amu stuck up her hand too as she uttered a short exasperated laugh at another sudden goodbye. Then her face lost its bemused twitch when a slim figure behind England and America caught her attention. She only saw the phantom for a second, but that was enough to clearly identify him as Ikuto Tsukiyomi. Yoru was not far from his owner's side, and when the cat character saw Amu watching him and Ikuto an impish grin spread across his face.
Once Ikuto contracted this contagious smile, his head was adorned with the cat ears of his Character Change. Then he disappeared, but one detail about the mysterious boy had an impression on Amu that left her curious as to why it did. Clutched in his hands was a brightly colored wrapper. It was not until she and her family were nearly out of the park that it dawned on her. The burger America had been eating was partly packaged in the same wrapping. Amu wished she had made the connection sooner and resolved to ask America about it later. If she saw him again that is, but Amu could not shake the feeling that she would. This was more of a worry than relief to her. Especially with the shivers sent down her spine by a watchful glare from the older man sitting on a park bench that Amu failed to find as she passed him.
A/N: It's a bird! It's a plane! Oh no, flase alarm. It's just a story. Anywho... Change of plans, instead of a few unconnected one-shots let's have a sequel to Egg Nation. Sound good? Good! Wow. This Author's Note sure is jumping around alot, but what can you do? Apparently nothing, oh well. Anyway, sorry for the delay. Waitng is never fun, but on a brighter note Happy Holidays~! And what better gift is there than the begining of a new story? Nothing! That's what. (I'm kidding of course) So since I'm home and have no life to speak of let's hope for an update along with that world peace, huh?
Peace~! -MagnifiedSun