This is human AU because I think Valentine's Day didn't exist when Belarus and Russia were children- they are respectively 6 and 8 in the story. This will be written both in little Ivan and little Natalia's perspective。 Certain mochis will appear, too. I reposted it because I think it's better to write in one character's POV for one chapter. Rated T just to be safe.
Please enjoy!
Little Natalia dragged her feet in the heavy snow. It was cold, but her insides were even colder, so it didn't really matter. She was rubbing her fingers on a winkled piece of valentine too hard, shreds of rubbed paper fell between her ungloved, half-frozen fingers.
How did things become this way? She wondered. Valentines were supposed to be happy with your special one - at least that was what every advertisement, every book on romance, and every expensive TV in the shop window said. And if everyone said so, she had thought, than it should be true. Apparently things could be fake even if the whole world had told you the opposite. I should have known, thought the young girl as she continued to track down her big brother.
Time with big brother had became more and more of a luxury for Natalia. It was harder and harder to find him these recent months, and even if she did manage to find him, she would be greeted with either a tight smile or a panicked "go home" from Ivan. Natalia couldn't understand why.
If she thought hard enough, she could sense that he became more and more distant ever since she had (repeatedly) declared their future marriage in the late summer (the warmest, most romantic time with lots of flowers!) last year. He didn't seem to want to spend time with her, but why? He loves her, so shouldn't they stay together, for ever and ever like in the books? That's what marriage is all about, isn't it? Or... just maybe... he hates her?
So she tried to make him happy, to show him she was worthy to spend more time with, and spend more heart on. She had thought Valentine's day was a good chance, but it all went terribly wrong.
The past memories linked with the scene from a few minutes before. Natalia clenched on the valentine, hard. Her face was set and her jaws clenched together in a stubborn attempt of not to shed a single tear.
-What had just happened-
Natalia sighed. It was Valentine's Day, the day for flowers, chocolates, and kisses (according to a Japanese boy in her class). But she had no chocolates and not even a single flower to give, so kisses can be spared. Her older sister had two part-time jobs aside from school to have them barely fed and clothed There's no money for all those sentimental stuff.
She knew she wouldn't get any valentine, either. Despite her pretty looks, she was too scary in the other kids' eyes. And it should better stay that way, so she could focus on becoming a better bride for her big brother at peace. Natalia ended her train of thought as she smoothed down the last wrinkle on her worn-out dress and stepped into her equally worn shoes. She didn't think she remembered their original colors. She shrugged and opened the front door, bracing herself as a gush of cold winter wind ran all over her, and went into the bright white outside world.
As she was crossing the road, she saw a pink piece of paper falling out from a teenage boy's bag to her feet. She quickly picked it up.
Her first reaction was to return it to the boy, but one look at his back and she changed her mind: it was only morning, and his bag was stuffed with gifts, cards and flowers, squeezing one another tightly. And when Natalia turn her head around, she saw a cluster of big girls in uniforms, following him from a distance and giggling quite foolishly.
You won't have a chance, thought little Natalia, see the way those gifts are sticking out from his bag, squishing each other? It shows that he doesn't care at all, silly girls! If he cares about them, he would have had them neatly placed together. Big brother puts all his stuff nicely together. Big brother...
Natalia gasped in her head. A valentine in her hands! She quickly slid behind a big tree out of the passerby's' sights. Since no one cared about it, of course she could have this valentine!
She examined in closely in the shade of the tree. It was a bit dented in the corner, but otherwise it was fine. Opening it, she found a small poem written in swirling gold letters that only a true lady could produce. It says:
To my love:
You are my one and only sun,
Shining in fields of love I run.
You are the most magnificent flower,
In the smell of which I shower.
From:
Your secret admirer
The poem wasn't long, but Natalia felt dazzled. Sun and flower... like brother... It was as if the poem was hand made for her big brother! What was more, there was a kiss made by a flaming lipstick beside the poem. She felt that this was a valentine of a mature woman, a valentine that her brother deserved. The card was anonymous, which saves the name-changing. Although she would give it to him face to face, it would felt a lot more grown-up than a cheeky childish signature.
Since this valentine would be given to her big brother, Natalia decided to put some of her own effort into it. She sat down and, taking out her short color pencils, began yo to draw. The yellow pencil was the shortest, followed by the orange and blue pencil. She had drawn so many sunflowers and blue bows for her brother, which all strangely disappeared. Still, she used a general amount of yellow, orange and blue to draw more of them. She also used a light brown one to draw she and her brother, and of course his thin, lengthy scarf.
Natalia sighed contently as she put away the pencils and the valentine. She then rushed to school just in time as the bell rang. She found herself unable to focus on her lessons, and was told to do so several timed by the teachers, despite it being an exciting day for everyone. She grabbed her school bag and rushed outside just in time the school ended, and headed to the woods, despite it was snowing heavily. The woods was the siblings' playground. The mean big kid with plaits was on a trip to his gran's, she had heard it earlier, so the coast was clear.
When she approached her brother's preferred spot, a stump on a clearing, she bent low on her knees. Her breath became steadily silent and the sound of her footstep disappeared. This is the only way to approach her brother these days. He seemed to be running away as soon as he heard the slightest of her noise. Natalia stopped to make sure the wind was blowing her way. These days he seemed to develop a keener sense of smell, too.
There was one last thing to be added to the card before it was given to him. Natalia crouched down in the snow until her body was completely covered in the thick pile of snow except the white bow on her head. Without hesitation, she bit down on her index finger, hard.
Crimson droplets formed on her fingertip, a red rose in the white. Natalia squeezed her finger so there would be more. It hurt a little, but she didn't care. She got picked on all the time and was used to see blood. She quickly smeared the fresh blood on the front of the valentine into a heart shape. She could've added it earlier, but from her experience she knew that blood dries up fast. When it was dry, it would become a rusty brown and wouldn't be as pretty.
In many of the books she had read, blood almost always had something to do with important vows and promises that will last for a very long time, sometimes a life time. The blood-smeared heart was her promise to love big brother forever. And when I give him the valentine, she smiled, he would also make a heart on the card with his own blood, then the promise would be complete, and we would live happily ever after...
Natalia suddenly spied a tuft of platinum gold hair a few trees away. She quickly stuffed the valentine into her school bag and sniffed around just to make sure there wasn't the smell of blood in the air. She slowly stood up, lightly shaking the snow on her dress of as she did so. She tiptoed towards the pale-haired head, making absolutely no sound at all and keeping her body low, she wouldn't be spotted. Her eyes were wide open and had a hint of danger in it, a bit like that of the wolves'. Her arms were outstretched so she would be ready to catch Ivan when she saw him.
She was close enough. Her prey suddenly turned his head and saw her. He screamed. The wolf pounced. His eyes sealed shut.
Natalia tackled her brother down. Although he was older and a big boy, Natalia was also strong and had the advantage of a surprise attack, as well as being the image of a demon in her brother's mind. She pinned his arms on the ground with one hand, and took out the valentine.
Ivan felt his sister's movement stilled, and slowly opened his eyes warily. He was first met by a rusty smell, and when his eyes opened big enough, he saw a crooked heart on a piece of pink paper. The heart seemed to be hastily made since some of the red paint was drooping. The red paint was drying up, the red paint was turning into a brown color, the red paint smelt rusty, almost like...
He froze, his eyes now opened too wide. He stared dully as the card lowered and revealed Natalia's smiling face. He watched blankly as his sister was smiling and saying something, but he couldn't hear it. It seemed to have something to do with "I love you" or "marry me". Lying on the ground, he could feel snow under him, and the small clusters of snow on his sister's dress melting, but they seemed to be much warmer comparing to her. She was a small-framed and light child, but he felt as if she were a ton of steel, and he were completely helpless under it.
This moment seemed to freeze forever, until Ivan let out another blood-curdling scream. He slashed his arms and legs with all he was worth. Natalia, still frozen in the moment, fell off. Her big brother scrambled up and dashed into the woods, shaking heavily and screaming all the way. The valentine fell into the snow.
Natalia stayed on the exact spot where she fell off. She didn't move. She was usually quick to recover but this time she didn't want to. She just want to stay in the moment where she gave her brother the valentine, where everything was possible. She would like to stay forever, but she couldn't help thinking about what has just happened.
He didn't even open the card, thought Natalia, he didn't like it.
-End of flashback-
Natalia's face was emotionless as she remembered her brother's rejection, because apparently, if your head feels to shocked, it forgets to control the rest of your body for a while.
So she stayed that way until she stumbled onto something. It was pale white and round. It looked like a mochi in the Japanese boy's lunchbox, just bigger. It moved so it was alive. It had a face that seemed to scowl so it was probably grumpy. It had a big bow on its head just like Natalia's, so perhaps it was the mysterious creature who took Natalia's other bow with an exchange of herbs a few weeks earlier.
Natalia would've been shocked, if not by the earlier scenario. So she just plucked the creature from the snow. The creature scowled some more. Natalia took a knife for cutting fruits from her bag. The creature took out a jagged piece of knife blade out of nowhere. The two stared.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" demanded Natalia.
"I don't need to tell you my name," grumbled the mochi, "but I'm looking for big brother. You see a mochi like me with a scarf, kid?"
"I have a big brother with a scarf, but I didn't see a mochi with a scarf," said Natalia. "Have you seen a boy with a scarf? "
"No." said the mochi. Its expression seemed to soften a little. "Well," it said while gesturing to retract the blade, "since you're also in search for your big brother, why don't we team up?"
Natalia thought for a while :"Sure."
Natalia started to walk, the mochi hopped along her side. "My big brother likes to go this way." said Natalia.
"Interesting," replied the mochi, "mine too."
"Since we are companions," said Natalia, "What's your name?"
"Won't tell you until you tell me yours." said the mochi.
"Fine," grumbled Natalia, "I'm Natalia."
The mochi narrowed its eyes :" You didn't tell me your full name."
Natalia shrugged :"Didn't say you can't do the same, Mochi Thing."
"Don't call me 'Mochi Thing'," said the mochi, "The name's Belarus mochi."
"It's your fault you didn't tell me your name," retorted Natalia. Then, out of curiosity, she asked "Belarus as the Country?"
The mochi shrugged : "Yeah."
the two fell silent as they continued their search. The blonde girl scanned every tree her brother liked to climb with her icy glare. Belarus mochi kept sneaking into the low bushes, and when it came out, it took the form of a heap of snow. Natalia had some trouble finding it several times.
"Did you find your brother?" asked Natalia as the mochi was scrambling out of yet another bush. The mochi wrestled free from the tangle of branches and scrawled.
"At times like this I go home," she said sensibly after some thoughts, "big brother has to go home eventually, I'll find him there."
"Good point." said the mochi.
"Where do you live?" Natalia asked out of curiosity.
The mochi didn't seem to mind answering her :"Somewhere near a white house with a garden. Some kid grows sunflowers there, terribly. Can't blame him though, it sure is cold here."
Natalia stared at the mochi when hearing this. Her gaze was so serious that the mean-looking mochi shuddered.
"Wh-what?" it asked.
"Belarus mochi..." said the girl slowly, " I think we are neighbors."
She turned and headed for home after that, not caring if the mochi is behind her. Her heart was still heavy as stone from the rejection of her brother, but it felt lighter the tiniest bit. As if something had lifted her heart a bit. Something hard and a little tender at the same time. Something like a mochi taken out from a freezer, and that something was there all along without her noticing, something that also had a big brother and could understand her a little. And if that something didn't, at least she could pretend it did from now on. While this is certainly not enough to cheer her up, it gave her some strength to fight again, to fight for the love she wanted.
"Why the sad face?" a voice rang behind her. It was Belarus mochi, looking worried in the slightest way.
Natalia stared blankly, then her expression broke. " Big brother doesn't like my gift..." she nearly choked. "That's why he ran away."
"Hmm," the mochi frowned, "did you give him something crappy?"
Natalia was quite taken aback. She tore open her bag and whipped out the valentine and slapped it into the mochi's face. "How can this be crap?" she nearly yelled. She expected the mochi to be angry, or/and possibly tear up the valentine, she was too upset to care at this point.
"Easy, I'm not saying you did." said the mochi in a surprisingly gentle tone. It shook the valentine off its face and studied it closely, eyes lit up as she saw the bloody heart, now completely brown: " Good work."
"Thanks." replied Natalia, gathering herself.
"This is a masterpiece," said Belarus mochi finally, "your boy's a lucky one."
Natalia lowered her eyes: "But he ran away screaming like he's going to die or something."
"Then he's probably playing hard to get." said the mochi dismissively.
Natalia frowned: "playing what?"
"Hard to get," Belarus mochi repeated patiently. "It means a person loves a another person, but that other person pretends not to so the person will give him or her more love. My brother's like that, too. Keep trying and we will get our boys someday."
Natalia froze.
She burst into tears.
She was smiling though she didn't know it.
Her heart was suddenly as light as air that she felt dizzy.
She hugged the mochi. It's a strange action for her except when she was around her brother. The mochi felt as soft as her stayed in the same place for a long time.
She had never thought that way. No one told her this. Perhaps this technique is for big kids and grown-ups (the mochi was probably quite grown-up...). She felt a boost of confidence and calmness in a strange way, perhaps she has just became a big kid, too.
Finally, Natalia started to walk home, valentine in hand and mochi in arms. She was blabbering non-stop, another strange action when she was not around her brother. The mochi listened patiently.
"We can become one... No, maybe we should become one with our big brothers then we become one...We can call ourselves Brother Searching Gang... You are my friend now... You can live with me in my room...My room is nice, there's many big brother's pictures...Big sister's nice... She won't mind..." she chatted non-stop, then the words suddenly stopped.
"What?" asked the mochi.
"We are friends, right?" whispered Natalia.
The mochi smiled: "Yes."
Natalia nodded, then stayed silent afterwards. Big boys are weird, she thought, but that doesn't stop me from loving brother dear. If that's what he want, I will give him all my love, I will pour him with love. And he will be happy, and we will be married. We can live with Belarus mochi and her brother, for ever and ever.
Belarus mochi was resting peace fully in the blonde girl's arm when it felt her body lower. It was starting to yell when Natalia covered its mouth and signaled it to look at the direction. The mochi noted that they were hiding behind a tree.
Not far from here, on a plain at the end of the forest, was a boy with platinum blond hair. His thin lengthy scarf was flying in the wind. He had a scarfed mochi in his hand.
The mochi's eyes shone. It hopped off the girl, sprouting legs as it did so. In a flash, it has grown four sturdy legs that resemble that of a lizards. It crawled in the thick snow, almost invisible, taking the few trees in the plain as its cover. Natalia crawled after it hastily.
When they were only a few meters away, both scarfed creature paled. Natalia gave up her cover and walked towards her brother with open arms, grasping the valentine tightly in her hand. Her cheeks were flushed and her smile was bright. The mochi beside her grinned as well.
"Big brother," she confidently stated, "you are playing 'hard to get'!"
"No, no I'm not..." he stammered, shaking. The mochi in his hands was shaking as hard.
Natalia ran towards him. Belarus mochi crawled towards her brother.