You're the First, you're my Last
You know, I haven't done anything in the 'first person' yet. So I decided to do (yet) another JapanxTaiwan. But I wanted to do Japan in the first person, see what's going on in his mind. How he truly feels about Meimei, I know I've been jumping from Meimei to Lin, but Meimei sounds better I think. You think so. . .?
a/n: btw I will separate my paragraphs with either 'XXX' or '_'
Note: Main characters die
xxx
I found my military jacket and slipped it on, fiddling with the buttons that were still undone. I looked in the mirror, seeing the picture of all my siblings cuddling against Wang Yao, my former sensei and carer. Most of them had gained their independence, like Vietnam, Thailiand and South Korea. But two of them hadn't and one had caught his eye since the day Yao found her, it was the worst day Meimei could have ever remembered.
I and Yao exited the Theatre, everybody staring at us the two nations. Yao dressed in his red shirt and white trousers looked casual. Whether as I, was wearing a black robe with a rope tied around my waist, for me this was higher class stuff as I was only a child. Yao extended his hand out to me and reluctantly I took it, not wanting to draw attention. But it looked normal, as he was my brother. Well obviously not technically but he wanted us to be brothers, he liked it better that way,
"Did you enjoy the show Kiku, aru?" Yao smiled as he walked along with me, I looked up at him and immediately shot my head back down. I was still shy of him,
"Yes, Yao" I responded, nothing else I could say. And it was a good show, I admit.
We walked along the town in the night for ages, until I said I needed the toilet. Yao found me a public toilet and waited outside, leaning against the wall in an alley next to the toilet. Looking down a sudden hushed cry emerged from the end of the alley and Yao's head shot up, worryingly searching through the alley until he came to the end.
At the end there was an electric fence, and Yao watched in horror. Paralysed by the horrific sight before him, a girl with brown long hair, pink qipoa and white skirt was trying to get her leg out from the electric fence. But with every pull trying to get her leg free the spikes dug into her leg and the electricity pulsed through her, her dress was blood stained and a huge spike was drawn through her leg. Her cheeks moist because of the tears she let go, she looked over her shoulder and stopped whimpering. The young shy girl instead tried to hide from him, as if she knew he was going to do something bad to her. I had got out the toilet by the time Yao had known what happened to her, I also watched in horror. Yao slowly and carefully strode forward and knelt down being careful not to stress the small girl, she whimpered as he knelt.
"Do you want help, aru?" Yao asked the girl, she nodded and Yao laid his hand on her cheek to wipe a tear away. Still she whimpered, the pain in her leg still hurting her. Yao looked at her bloodshed leg and she finally spoke, in a hushed little voice of a six year old.
"Please" she paused; Yao looked at her with apologetic eyes, "Could you . . . gently…?" The little girl asked, Yao nodded his head only once and took his shirt ripping off a small band and tying it just above the injury, tight enough to stop the blood like a tourniquet. Yao suddenly turned to me, gestured me forward and whispered to me,
"Comfort her, Kiku" I looked at him and nodded, proceeding to sit behind the girl I put my hands on her shoulders. And she clung onto my robe, digging her head into my chest obviously not wanting to look. Yao tied another knot and proceeded in releasing her, cradling her leg in his hands he slowly edged her leg back up the spike. Each second of that, she clung on tighter to me and I hugged her,
"It's ok, it's almost over" I whispered to her, she nodded and started to cry again. The pain of it all got her physically and me mentally, I felt nothing but empathy for her. Then her leg was free, Yao looked at the little girl and she looked at him.
"Would you like to come home with me, aru?" Yao wiped another tear from her eye, but before she could respond her eyes closed and she fell into a gentle sleep. Yao sighed and picked up the small girl, the blood staining his shirt.
We exited the alley and continued home, rushing more than usual to get her tended to. As we entered the house I finally spoke,
"Who is she Yao?" I asked, he looked down and then at the little girl. He smiled and tucked a stray hair behind her ear,
"She is Taiwan, I know she's a Nation, aru" Yao replied,
"How do you know?" I asked,
"Any mortal would've died, especially a child her age. She was a cast off. Who happened to stumble across the electric fence" Yao replied again, I nodded.
"Taiwan" I said, I smiled, "Welcome, Taiwan" I said.
I saw her smile in her sleep.
That day has haunted her and me since; imagine what scar it had left on her mentally. I can't imagine that kind of pain, in the photo she was nine years old and I am 13.
She grew up like every other normal girl, except she had a small phobia of electricity and sharp objects; she looked like a normal girl. But now that I was 23 years old, she had grown into a woman. I hadn't seen her for years now, maybe even five years, so I wanted to see her again. I had to visit Yao again, he would like company.
Xxx
Finally I had the flood of memories, as I walked along the street I was raised on. I remember the playing in the back garden, I remember Yao once taking us to make Chinese Lanterns at town. It was all so magical, but gone now. I approached the door finally and hesitated, what if he didn't want to see me? Despite this, I knocked and awaited a reply.
I heard the small echoing of footsteps behind the door and the handle turned, then I saw the familiar face of Hong Kong. I looked at him, he looked at me and he bowed. I returned the favour,
"Hello Hong Kong, I just came to visit. If that's okay?" I questioned, I didn't know for sure that Yao wanted to see me.
"Yes, Kiku. Come in" Hong Kong said little, but he stepped aside to let me in and as I stepped into the familiar home I heard the slow step on the staircase and I saw Yao. I gulped. As Yao stepped to the bottom, I recognised the black hair tied and slung over his shoulder, he looked up and saw me. Untying his hands, staring at me as if confused.
"Kiku?" he asked, I nodded nonchalantly. He stepped further toward me and I noticed then that I was the same height as him, maybe just shorter. "How you've grown, aru" he said, the vocal tick making him sound even more like he was. Then all of a sudden I was being hugged and like Hong Kong would've done I ceased up, I was similar to Hong Kong in a lot of ways. But Yao just laughed at my tensing and took on good look at me, "I've missed you so much, Kiku. I see you have already seen the grown up Hong Kong, aru"
Kiku looked over to Hong Kong who was rolling his eyes, "Last time he saw you you were this tall, aru" Yao said putting his hand slightly above his waistline, I rolled my eyes too, looking back on the past. "Tea, Kiku?" Yao asked, I nodded.
Xxx
The three of us sat at the table, talking about what I had been doing over the past five years. Yao did nothing but raise Hong Kong, South Korea, North Korea and Taiwan, then it occurred to me,
"Yao?" I asked, "Where is Meimei?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing.
"She's with North Korea upstairs, she's probably singing and he's probably playing music to it, aru. Why don't you go and see her, aru?" Yao suggested, I nodded and proceeded upstairs. Already hearing the soft sound of a violin, I hovered beside the door. Listening, then I heard Meimei's voice,
"Someday I want to run away,
To the World of Midnight,
Will the Darkness fill the air,
Where it's icy cold"
Her voice was pure and it was tinted with a beautiful vocal chord as she continued to sing,
"I'll find peace of mind,
In the dark and cold world of midnight"
She finished as North Korea held the last note on, I sighed, beautiful.
"Meimei, that was great. You have a really good voice" North Korea commented, I agreed.
"It's nothing compared to your violin playing, you play it beautifully" Meimei's voice made me waver and with the back of my knuckles I knocked on the door, a few seconds later it opened to reveal Meimei. Her faced surprised to see me, then a smile graced her face and she threw her arms around me in an embrace.
"Kiku!" she cried happily, "I've missed you so much, where have you been over the years!" she seemed very happy to see me,
"I've missed you too, Meimei" I replied,
"Stay here for a couple of days!" she smiled, I just stood there looking into her eyes and examining the contours of her perfect face. Her smiling making her just look more vulnerable and I just wanted to protect her, from the many dangers that were out of East Asia. For Meimei had never ventured outside China or Taiwan before.
"If you want me too" I replied, she hopped in excitement and went inside her room again. A few seconds coming out again holding North Korea's hand, he looked confusingly,
"What are you doing Meimei?" He asked as Meimei hauled him to outside her door, then he looked at me. He was the newest of the siblings and had never seen me before, I bowed my head to him and he did the same, "Who are you? May I ask?" he was very polite to say he was Yong-Soo's twin brother, plus the fact that Meimei got along with him and not Yong-Soo was proof enough they were very different.
"My name is Kiku Honda" I greeted, "Good to meet you" I said, north gave a short smile at me before he walked in the direction of what seemed to be his bedroom. In the corridor of upstairs there were four rooms on each side, one was the bathroom.
"He's just shy" Meimei said as North closed the door to his room, I nodded. Meimei looked at the clock hung behind me and her eyes widened slightly, "Where has the time gone it's already 6pm? Goodnight Kiku" Meimei said as she turned to go into her room,
"Wait, Meimei" she turned, "Isn't it a little early?"
"No, every morning we get up at 6am for our lessons. Of course you don't have to, because you finished four years ago. I'm only a week from finishing myself, anyway. Goodnight Kiku-sama"
Meimei closed the door, 'sama'? She called me 'sama' she respects me, I smiled and looked among the doors, at the very end still on the door there were the smart letters of 'Kiku' written on it. I sighed, Yao had kept everything the way it was.
Xxx
I woke earlier than I usually did, 5am to be exact. As I sat up in my bed, I yawned softly and sat on the edge of my old bed. Slipping on a black robe as I stood; I looked in my mirror and saw a small crack in the corner. I knew exactly why that was there, when England had tried to come and take Hong Kong. Yao was tucking me into bed when England had burst in yelling and shouting, he shot the edge of my mirror. Narrowly missing Yao's shoulder, the combat continued.
"Where's Hong Kong, now!" England yelled as he grabbed Yao's collar, Yao replied with a swing to his face and hitting England in the jaw. He fell to the floor as Yao held his sword to his neck; I sat motionless in my bed and watched in horror. Then I heard the door swing open, the ray of light shining on the two men in combat. Yao's eyes widened as a small girl in a white nightgown stood at the door,
"Yao-sama, I had a bad dream" the small voice said, limping forward slightly. Only just then noticing a not familiar face was seen, Yao sighed and turned to me.
"Kiku, could you handle this please, aru?" the sweat haired man asked panting from the fight, Meimei stood calmly and eyed England in a cute but mysterious way. Like she knew who he was, but didn't know why he was here, slowly I snuck past England and grabbed Meimei's hand. She was seven now, I was eleven and she still had no idea what was to be going on in the world. As I closed the door I heard the thumping on England's face and sighed,
"Kiku who was that?" Meimei asked innocently,
"Nobody, you need to know about Meimei" I got to her door, letting go of her hand, "Yao will be with you in a moment. Goodnight"
"Goodnight, Kiku" she replied as she stood outside her door, I however entered my room again. Ignoring the fact that Yao had just pushed England out the window, this happened all the time. Yao laid a hand on the door handle,
"Night, Kiku. Sweet Dreams, aru" Yao smiled, despite the shard of glass in his arm making his bleed. I nodded and he closed the door.
The next day, Hong Kong was missing.
All that memory, left behind. I had no sympathy for England, he got what he deserved. I examined my hair, dishevelled and messy; I ran my palm down my hair to keep it down and nodded to myself.
Xxx
When I opened the door I saw Yong-Soo bullying Meimei, making fun of her and pushing her against the wall. I sighed and rolled my eyes, good to be back. From the side of the door I grabbed my katana, sauntering to Yong-Soo,
"Yong?" I said, he looked at me. I raised my katana to his stomach, "Do you want to die?" Yong Soo slowly backed away, running down the stairs.
"Thank You Kiku" Meimei said as she placed a kiss on my cheek, surprised I turned a bit pink. Meimei held her hand out to me when at the top of the stairs, I stood dazed and confused. What was she doing? She giggled at my blank expression and finally explained what she was trying to do,
"Uhuh….Let's go outside Kiku, I don't have classes at all according to Yao. Do you want to go outside?" she emphasised; I smiled with her and slipped my hand into hers. Warm and soft, I liked her touch and as we stepped down the staircase her hand was always grasped into mine.
Finally Meimei and I saw the green luxury of the back garden; it was bigger than I remembered. Trees at the back and in the corner a small pond that was kept out of sight by no more than four trees, Meimei skipped across the huge garden to the pond and knelt at the edge. Her brown eyes directed to me and my face lit up,
"Kiku, look…" Meimei said pointing into the pond, I walked across the lush grass and knelt with her. Her finger gently touching the top of the water, a small fish nibbled the tip of her finger and she giggled as it tickled, then the fish swum away.
I decided to make conversation since the only sound was the gentle wind, I positioned myself I was sat against a tree, facing Meimei on the edge of the Pond,
"So Meimei?" I said, she turned to me and smiled cutely,
"What is it, Kiku?" she answered, her velvety voice gliding as soft as the breeze,
"How has your life been recently?" I asked, I wanted to know how she had been because I had not seen her,
"It's been interesting, but some things have happened that have been….not very nice" Meimei's smile faded as she remembered in her head, trying to comfort her I put my hand on her shoulder and her nearly tear filled eyes looked at me,
"What happened Meimei? Has something happened?" I asked, obviously something had happened if she had that sort of reaction to it.
"England, came back. Venturing inside China for some reason, challenging Yao to another fight to decide Hong Kong's fate" Meimei paused, fighting back the tears as one streamed down her face, "From what Yao had taught me, he taught us to win the challenge. When England and Yao were fighting, he remembered me"
I finally understood, wiping a tear from her eye she continued,
"Threatening China through me, I fought back and his grip is hard" Meimei laid a hand on her sleeve and pulled it down to the bottom of her shoulder to reveal a scar, "Permanently scarred" Meimei said, I myself started to well up and tears filled my eyes.
I pulled her close into an embrace, "Meimei, there's no reason to be afraid anymore" I said, she breathed hard as tears still made her cheeks moist. I held her closely and after a little while she tightened her arms around me, she held me as tight as she let her tears soak into my robes.
"But…I'm still scared, Kiku. It's always…frightening" she buried her head further into my chest as we embraced; I closed my eyes and stroked the back of her head. Her hair was soft and smooth, the warm wind soothed Meimei a little more.
She parted from me and sat up, wiping her eyes with her sleeve. I lifted my hand and wiped a new tear forming in her eye; she looked at me and smiled. I found her warm hand over mine and I leaned in to whisper in her ear,
"Meimei, if you're scared…you know I'm always here for you" I whispered, she smiled and looked at me. So now our faces were inches away from each other, I saw a little pink blush in her cheeks and I smiled. So now one hand was on her cheek and my other was stroking the back of her neck, I leaned in a little but not quite meeting her lips. Meimei closed her eyes, accepting the invitation and I saw the chance.
I joined my lips with hers, her warm, soft lips resting against my own. I can only imagine what was going through her mind, but there was only one thought through my mind, 'How did I get to this?'
I couldn't think of how I ended up kissing Meimei and she was returning my kiss, I couldn't have wished for anything more. I parted my lips and when I opened my eyes I saw Meimei blushing wildly, I felt warmness in my cheeks and tried to hide it.
"Um…Kiku…I-I I wasn't expecting that" she stuttered nervously, I turned to her again and stroked her cheek.
"I wasn't planning it either….I apologize if you didn't want me to" I averted her gaze, if I was getting rejection then I wasn't going to watch it happen.
"Kiku, no…" she paused, she hugged me again and I stroked the top of her head, "…I've been waiting"
"Waiting for what?" I asked her, she laughed at me and leaned in further to hug me more,
"You're so blank" she laughed, "From when I first saw you, I was so shy and you were so comforting. When you left, I was so lonely by myself. I didn't know what to do" I smiled and leaned back against the tree, she lay in my arms and I realised what torture I had put her through.
She was a shy, little girl who favoured me of all brothers. Then when I left I had left her by herself, she was so lost because she hadn't got along with Yao or Yong-Soo. Hong Kong was away with England and she hadn't known what was going on, she was lonely. No wonder she was so happy when I came back, I all of a sudden felt sorry for her. But I felt something else for her…..I felt the warm feeling in my cheeks again, and then I heard a small breath.
Meimei breathed slowly as I then realised she had fallen asleep, her head rested on my chest. I smiled and closed my eyes, falling asleep. Then, a wind picked up and a pink blossom landed on Meimei's head.
A/N: So that's the first chapter, I know I haven't been uploading lately. But I'm working on another fanfic called 'White Fire'. In a couple of chapters there will be death in one of the Asians. It's gonna be sad T.T
Chapter 2 coming~