"Japan,"
"Ah, it is good to see you."
"How are you doing today?"
"I am fine thank you. It must have been tiring for you to come this far. I shall bring some tea. Please have a seat."
"Thank you."
It was a quiet summer day. The breeze which swam through the house soothed them both as they sipped their tea.
"It's hot here. The humidity gets to me."
"Yes, but it is something you get used to. It is not so bad at night, and the house welcomes the breeze. It is quite soothing to sit down, gazing at the stars."
A head cocked to the side.
"You should stop that,"
"Stop what?"
"Sounding Japanese. You should get used to the ways of the west,"
A soft laugh emanated.
"But I am Japanese. For I am Japan,"
"That's not what I mean."
"I understand what you wish to convey, but it is not something easy to do."
A pair of eyes looked down. A soft sigh.
"I know it isn't easy, but it's something you have to do. You'll be crushed if you don't."
"You seem confident."
"I'm telling you this to help you."
"You have my thanks."
"Japan,"
A chuckle.
"I am aware of your sincerity but there is no need. My people will do fine. Complete westernization is not the only road that is open for us. Besides, what you consider new and what we consider new are different."
"I don't get what you mean."
"It means that you are young. I am old, and I have experience. Although this is new to me, it is not unsurprising. Things change. Such is the way of the world."
A soft glare.
"You sound as if you're giving up."
"Accepting and giving up are two very different things. I am accepting my fate."
"That just sounds like giving up to me. You're not doing anything to overcome what you see as a threat."
A small smile.
"I thought you wished for me to follow your ways."
Bam! A fist to the floor.
"I want you to do something. You always just smile there as if nothing interests you!"
"Everything interests me. I enjoy new things, as well as my people. When you have first arrived with Commander Perry, people did not fear you. People held curiosity as they neared your ships. I am excited and enjoying what this change will bring."
"Yet you deny westernization."
"You seem to think that to introduce something new, you need to destroy. But in our case, that is not true. We accept, and we merge. That is how we have lived before, and that is how we will live from now on."
"It wouldn't work."
"Why do you think so?"
"Because that takes time, and that's the one thing you don't have."
"We will manage."
"You seem confident."
"…I am. I have complete confidence in my people."
A sigh.
"I have to go now. I'm hoping to see you soon. Hopefully with different ideas from now."
"We shall see."
A single tea stalk was standing tall and proud in his cup of tea.
A random one shot. This takes place between America's visit to Japan at the end of the Edo era, and the beginning of the Meiji era. Definetely not historically accurate. I just got random ideas during my history class.
*It's considered good luck when a tea stalk is floating straight up in a cup of tea.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.
