Oh God, I really (special heavy emphasis on 'really') reaallyy don't need to be posting up another story. Guess it's the masochistic side of me. *Sighs*
Anyway, this story is a bit of an experiment for me in differnt types of writing; like, I don't think it will have a main character, but if it did it would probably be Mei/Taiwan. Also, I'm going to try to put up random song lyrics that would set up the mood for the chapter; it might be one line, maybe a stanza, and some of the lyrics may be in the actual body of the story; I'm not sure, since I only have this chapter and part of the next actually written. I hope this doesn't bother anyone, and if it does I might stop. Or I might not, it depends on my mood, I think.
So anyways, I hope you enjoy! ^_^
"I feel in my heart,
The start of something new..." -Start of Something New, from High School Musical
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia:Axis Powers or Hetalia:World Series; they belong to the genius Japanese artist who came up with the idea, Hidekaz Himaruya. Also, if anything in here has a brand name, I don't own that either.
The scene: an ordinary, if slightly –slightly—run down house. There are three teenagers, the only occupants of the house, sitting in the small living room. Before them is a table, also slightly run down with a few coffee stains, several scratches, and a letter that is open lying on said table.
The characters: Two boys, both handsome in their own way despite being complete opposites and one girl, pretty with a flower in her hair. All three are of Asian descent, though of different nationalities. Also, all three are looking in silence, a rarity for the usually noisy household, at the letter on the table. No one moves from where they are sitting.
The problem: The letter, from the welfare office, which tells the three teenagers that they will have to leave their house immediately, find a proper guardian, and keep up good grades in school or they will be placed in foster families. Plural. Separate.
You see the problem? They did too.
Hong, one of the teenagers and from Hong Kong, sighed, breaking the silence that filled the room. "I guess they found out about Viet…"
"No, really? I hadn't noticed da-ze!" Im Yong Soo, the second of the two boys and from Korea, said sarcastically.
"There's no need to be so sarcastic," Hong said in his quiet tone of voice.
"Yeah, well, sarcasm originated with my people, da-ze," Yong Soo huffed, frustrated with the whole situation.
Mei, the last and only girl of the trio who was also from Taiwan, sighed herself before leaning against the table. "It was only a matter of time, I suppose."
All three sighed again, before sinking into silence once more. That is, until Yong Soo broke the silence with his groaning.
"Argh, why do we have to leave the house, too, da-ze?"
"Well," Mei said slowly, "we do make a lot of noise usually. Maybe one of the neighbors complained?"
"What noise?" Yong Soo shouted, standing up to complain more about the injustice of it all. "Other than Hong setting off his fireworks on special occasions, what noise do we ever make, da-ze?"
"What about you shouting right now?" Hong answered stoically.
"Well, yeah, but it's not like we're like this all the time, da-ze!" Yong Soo declared.
Ignoring Yong Soo, Hong and Mei were discussing their current situation. "Forgetting the 'finding a guardian and keeping good grades' thing for the moment, Yong Soo is right. Where are we going to live now?" Mei asked, starting to worry about their suddenly bleak future. "It was bad enough paying the taxes for this place with our low-wage jobs, but now we have to look into buying a new house! Where are we going to do that?"
"Hey, hey, breathe, Mei, breathe!" Yong Soo said to Mei, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her a bit. "You need to stop worrying so much, it doesn't suit any cousin of mine, da-ze!"
Taking Yong Soo's hands off of herself, Mei looked sternly at her relative. "Yong Soo, ever since we were adopted into Hong's family we're not cousins anymore! We're like siblings now, so stop saying we're not as close as we are!"
Shrugging, Yong Soo sat back down and said calmly (for him), "So what, da-ze? We were cousins before then, and I don't want to forget about that. After all, family togetherness originated with my people da-ze."
Before Mei could counter back, Hong suddenly said "That's it!"
"Huh? What's it?" Mei asked, confused. "Yong Soo taking credit again?"
"No, for our living situation," Hong said calmly like always, though Mei and Yong Soo could see a light shining in his eyes. This was going to be good, they just knew it. "Yao-ge and Kiku; we could stay with them."
"Aniki and Kiku?" Yong Soo said confused at first, before getting excited again. "Yeah, we could see Aniki again! It's been what, years since we've seen your brother, da-ze?"
"Our brother," Mei corrected, though even she was feeling excited at seeing their 'long-lost relatives' again. "And don't forget about our cousin!"
"How could I?" Yong Soo said grumpily. "Kiku and Aniki would fight all the time, before they left together for some other place. 'World Series' I think they said was their new town, da-ze."
Mei wasn't listening, however, and was already on her way to the telephone. "I'll call them and tell them we're coming!"
"Wait da-ze!" Yong Soo shouted, making a flying leap to where Mei was standing, knocking her to the ground. Hong still sat at the table, watching his relatives' antics. After years of knowing and living with them, he was well used to this sort of thing.
"Ow, what was that for?" Mei asked, rubbing her head where it had hit the floor. "If you wanted to be the one to call them, you should've just asked."
"No, no, no that's not it, da-ze!" Yong Soo said excitedly, shaking his head back and forth quickly. "What if we didn't tell them we were coming?"
Mei and Hong exchanged confused looks before Mei asked "You mean just show up and tell them we're staying with them? Isn't that a bit…rude?"
Yong Soo shook his head again, still grinning. "You're thinking too small, da-ze! I'm saying, what if we moved over to where Aniki and Kiku are, move in somewhere around the neighborhood, and enroll in their school—and don't tell them, da-ze! They go to that huge school, so it's not like they'll even know we're there for a bit! Heck, Hong and I aren't even in their grade, and Mei you aren't even in high school yet, da-ze!"
"Yet!" Mei huffed indignantly, knowing that she would be a high schooler after just one more year in middle school.
"And what would be the point of this?" Hong asked, though he was curious as well. After all, Yong Soo's plans were always fun. Mostly stupid, yes, and childish and sometimes dangerous, but they were always fun.
"To see how long it takes for them to know we're there! Like they've said from their (exceedingly rare) letters and phone calls, Aniki and Kiku go to a large school; it could be weeks until they find us, especially if we try to keep a low profile, da-ze. Think of it as us playing hide-and-seek with Aniki and Kiku being 'it', yet they don't know it, da-ze!" As Yong Soo went on, he grew increasingly more excited and caught up in his plan. Even Hong and Mei were starting to get into it.
"I like the idea of not telling them that we're there," Mei said excitedly. "After all, I'm sure Gege and Kiku have their own friends, their own lives now. I don't want to intrude on that…"
"How thoughtful of you, Mei," Hong said. So far, he was the only one who hadn't moved from their seat except to turn slightly to look where Mei and Yong Soo were still huddled on the floor.
"Okay, then da-ze!" Yong Soo said suddenly, coming up with another good idea. "How about we make this even more interesting, da-ze—we make a bet over this!"
Mei sat up further, while Hong turned fully to face the other two. This would surely be interesting; any plan by Yong Soo, no matter how stupid, added with a bet was. The three family members had been making bets with each other for the past couple of years, and they tended to show their competitive side (even Hong) whenever one was made.
"Name your terms," Hong said quietly, eyes sparkling with determination. Only those who knew him well would have been able to see it.
"Whoever is found out by Aniki and Kiku lose, simple as that da-ze," Yong Soo said, quite proud of his string of good ideas, including but not limited to going to Aniki and Kiku in the first place.
"What should the winners get, then?" Mei asked ever the practical one. "Other than bragging rights, of course."
Yong Soo's grin vanished for a bit as he realized this important point. It's not like they really had the money to bet on, and he didn't want to take any money from Mei, of course, or even from Hong. It should go without saying that since he came up with this great idea that he would be one of the winners. Yong Soo looked around the room for inspiration, when his eyes locked on to the broom that was leaning in the far corner of the room. Yong Soo grinned at this, knowing it would make the game—and the bet—even more fun.
"Chore duty, da-ze," Yong Soo said calmly yet boldly, enjoying the looks of determination that suddenly appeared on his relatives' faces. NO ONE liked chore duty, so it was used as a betting item, though rarely. This seemed like an important enough time for bringing it up.
"For how long?" Mei asked just as calmly, if a little rigidly.
Hong answered instead, getting a flash of inspiration. "For however long it takes for Yao-ge and Kiku to find us. The longer it takes, the higher the bet."
Mei and Yong Soo were in awe at how devious their brother was. This just made the both of them all the more determined to not loose.
"Shake on it," Mei said, sealing the terms of the betting process. All three shook hands, signifying that the deal was done.
Almost immediately, Mei turned to lighter, if not more important, topics. "So, how are we going to choose a new house?"
At the new school that the three young teenagers were going to be attending soon, Maru Kaite Chikyuu High School, there was a buzz about a new family moving into the neighborhood. Many were curious, as the neighborhood was an old one with families having been there for generations. In fact, the last person to come to the area to date was Vash Zwingli's little sister, Lilli, and that was three years ago.
Some were interested in meeting and getting to know the new guests to the neighborhood; others were looking forward to messing with the new kids. A few were disinterested, as it didn't have anything to do with them or they didn't want to crowd the new kids.
And one person was awesome enough that the new kids would have to seek him out if they wanted to know him, unless he was feeling generous.
What none of these people knew was how important a role the new kids would play in their lives, or how they would change some people's lives.
Until then, though, all anyone could do was wait for Monday to start…
I hope you liked this story so far! The idea came to me one day, and I couldn't help but write it down. And, well, here it is! ^_^ So please, tell me what you think!