In The Morning
Asia family (China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan)
Yao was up with the sun, every morning, without fail. He had to be, really. That was the only way anything could be accomplished.
He stumbled into the shower, mumbling under his breath as he went. The water was cold, and it made him flinch. It woke him up, at least.
"Kiku... has to meet up with Feliciano and Ludwig after school, aru, for their club meeting..."
He organized a schedule of sorts for the day as he washed his hair. With four school-aged siblings, and classes to attend himself, he was always busy.
"Hong... is going to Alfred's house, to work on a project with, uh, the little brother, whatever his name is, aru..."
He finished his shower quickly, drying himself off with an old towel.
"Mei has ballet after school..." He snapped his fingers, having just remembered. "And she's going home with Lili Zwingli to stay the night, aru."
He tied his hair back in a low ponytail, still dripping wet. He didn't have time to dry it, he had to hurry and get dressed.
"Yong-Soo has – what is it today, aru?" He put on his changshan, fastening the clasps. "Is it... football with the Vargas brothers? No, Feliciano is going to the newspaper club meeting, and Lovino won't go unless Feli does, aru. So he's not going with them." Now fully dressed, he left the bedroom and headed for the kitchen.
"What does Yong-Soo have after school today, aru?"
"He is attending a meeting with his drama troupe, I berieve, onii-chan. In the same comprex where Mei-chan has dance."
Yao hadn't really expected an answer, but it had come anyway, in the voice of his little brother. A sleepy Kiku stood at the kitchen counter, rolling rice balls for their lunches. He was nearly twelve, but still small, and he had to stand on his toes to reach the cabinets where the ingredients were kept.
"That's right! I forgot, aru," Yao said, ruffling Kiku's hair fondly. "What would I do without my Kiku?"
Kiku blushed, pleased with his brother's affection. As a general rule, he didn't like to be touched, but he made an exception for Yao. "I am preased to be of assistance, onii-chan." He could usually keep his accent under control, but it was more pronounced when he was tired. The accent was what came of having Chinese as a first language, then Japanese as his second. He had only really begun to learn English just before he had started school. He wasn't fluent, but he was proficient.
Yao set about making breakfast, letting Kiku finish making bento. The smell of food cooking quickly brought Yong-Soo stumbling into the kitchen.
"I'm sta-a-arving, da-ze!" he proclaimed, his curl bobbing up and down as he dropped himself into a chair. "Breakfast was invented in Korea, you know, so when's it gonna be done?"
"Not for a whire yet, otouto," Kiku told him, closing the lunch boxes. "Onii-chan just started cooking."
"Ehhh?" Yong-Soo whined. He was only eight, and he was impatient. "But I'm hungry now, aniki!"
"You'll have to wait, like everyone else, aru," Yao chastised. "Hong should be finished now, so, Kiku, it's your turn for the shower. This means no baths, di di."
Yong-Soo snickered at the playful teasing. Kiku nodded, mildly embarrassed. He went off quickly, not wanting to waste time.
"And you," Yao continued, "are going to find the coats that you misplaced yesterday, Yong-Soo."
The boy laughed nervously. He might have taken some coats from the closet yesterday when Alfred had come over, and they might have been using some of them as capes, and they might have piled them in a heap on the floor and jumped into the pile – several times. Not that he was admitting anything. Yao didn't really need to know about it, right?
He scampered from the kitchen before Yao could begin along that line of questioning. If he gathered everyone's outerwear and got it ready for when they left, he'd have been helpful, and Yao couldn't get mad at him then!
The next person to wander into the kitchen was Hong. He went straight to the cupboard, rummaging around for tea leaves. "You need to, like, go to the store or something, aniki," he said, pulling out the small package that contained the substance he'd been looking for, "''cause this is all we have left."
"I'll go today, aru," Yao promised, "after I drop everyone off."
Hong seemed placated by this. Ignoring Yao's warning to be careful, he began to make the tea himself. It was slow going, as a nine-year-old boy had some difficulties with the making of tea. His hair was still wet and dripping, his bare feet padding across the linoleum of the kitchen floor.
"Go wake up Mei, please," Yao requested. "Breakfast is almost ready, aru, and she needs to get dressed."
"Yeah, sure," Hong answered, "just don't, like, feed Yong-Soo my breakfast."
Hong disappeared briefly, then returned with Mei in tow. She danced through the kitchen, her pink skirt twirling. "Morning, ge ge!"
"Good morning, Mei-Mei," Yao replied, grinning at her. "How's my favourite little sister today , aru?"
She giggled, beaming up at him. "I'm your only little sister, silly!"
"Whatever," Hong said, dropping into his place at the table. "Can we, like, eat now?"
"NOT WITHOUT ME!" Yong-Soo cried, racing into the kitchen and nearly falling over. "I'm here, so we can eat now, da-ze!"
"What about Kiku-nii?" Mei asked, taking her seat. "Should we wait for him?"
Hong rolled his eyes. "We totally don't have the time to wait, Mei-Mei."
"Kiku's a slow-poke! And slowness did not originate in Korea, da-ze!"
"Show some respect, Yong-Soo. Kiku is your aniki, too." Yao swatted the back of his head lightly, sitting down to his own breakfast. The table was spread with a peculiar mix of traditional breakfast foods – soybean porridge, steamed rice, and broth, warmed over from the night before. Yong-Soo always insisted in having dumplings in his broth, as it was the 'Korean way, da-ze!'
It was difficult, catering to the wants, needs, and traditional tastes of a picky young Korean boy, a stolid Hong Kongan boy who preferred routine, a sweet-toothed Taiwanese girl, and their big brother, a Japanese boy with a fondness for fish and too much salt. Only occasionally would he actually get to cook a meal in accordance to one country's tradition. When he did so, it was more often than not the Chinese cuisine that was from his own culture.
But if they lingered over breakfast, they would be late.
Yao nearly choked, practically inhaling his porridge. " Finish eating, then get your coats and bags, aru! Kiku packed your lunches already!"
He stood up abruptly, setting his own dish aside and grabbing food for Kiku. He nearly tripped over his feet as he struggled to get around Yong-Soo, who has managed to take up the most space possible. He left his youngest siblings at the table, running to deliver breakfast to Kiku.
Kiku was struggling with the clasps of his jacket, his wet hair hanging in his eyes and impeding his vision. He had his bag fully packed and ready, so he hadn't been wasting time. But, much to Yao's annoyance and slight worry, Kiku had a tendency to skip breakfast if he thought that there was no time, even if Yao had told him many times that he had to eat something before going to school.
"Oh, good," Yao said, relived, "you're just about ready. Here, aru." He gave Kiku the bowl – if he'd grabbed the right dish, then it was the steamed rice that he'd set aside for Kiku.
"Arigatou, onii-chan," he said. "Itadakimasu." It was undignified, but when they were in a hurry, Kiku would often bring the bowl to his lips and drink the rice, rather than eat it the way it was intended.
Yao fastened his jacket, adjusting the hem slightly. "There. You'll have to take your breakfast with you, aru. We have to go, or –"
"We're gonna be late!" Yong-Soo shrieked.
Kiku flipped his bangs back, brushing them out of his face. He quickly shouldered his school bag, rushing to the door. Yao was quick to follow him, grabbing Mei's bag from where it had been left, abandoned, by the kitchen table.
"We are going to be late," Hong informed them matter-of-factly as they ran out the front door. "This happens, like, every day."
Yao silently thanked whatever god there might have been for cheap rented minivans as he got his siblings to pile in. "Mei-Mei, you forgot your bag, aru. Here, take it, and get in, there, next to Yong-Soo. Hong, you sit on the left, in front of Yong-Soo. No, Mei-Mei, don't pull Yong-Soo's curl, aru. Kiku, don't spill your rice."
There was a general concession, and the click of seat belts being locked into place. At Yong-Soo's vehement request, Yao had turned on the radio, and the boy was now singing along to some k-pop song. Kiku was nodding along, too, as much as he would deny it. Hong really couldn't care less about the radio, and he spent the car ride gazing out dispassionately at the road signs. He acted more like a teenager than Kiku did. Mei was amusing herself with some of the little drawings Kiku had done for her, a handful of chibi animals drawn on cardstock.
This was how things usually turned out, the little siblings amusing themselves as Yao tried to keep them from being horrifically late. Four little siblings, university courses, and a part-time job meant he had to learn to deal with the chaos. So far, he'd been doing pretty well.
Of course, after all the problems with getting his little siblings to school on time, he had to get to his own classes and face that scary boy who's been leering at him for the past few weeks – Ivan Braginski.
Yao shuddered. He was not looking forward to that at all.
A/N : Reader-senpai!
If you've made it this far, then you've just read my first submission! It's not wonderful, I know, and there is probably OOCness, but I tried. I'm still learning how the site works, so I'll probably upload more of similar quality... I might continue with this, I think.
Hopefully I'll be able to contribute to the fanfiction community.
But if you noticed me, Reader-senpai, I'd be glad of any kind of feedback you can give me!
~Kouhai