A/N: Hi everyone~! I'm sure you're surprised right? You're surprised~? I managed to get this oneshot done so quickly~ Though some of you may be familiar with it, I hope you'll enjoy this redux of the original omake of the third chapter~ I've changed a few things -like wording and such, and the way that it was written.
I hope everyone will enjoy this side story to Woruba, and take a moment to remember the Earthquake in Japan that happened a few years ago that changed everything and all the lives lost that day...
...
In any case! Though this is dedicated to all the hardships Kiku went through at that time, this is far more light-hearted than the actual event was. Though we all know he managed to get back on his feet, I'd still like to wish him well for it.
Anyways, enjoy this oneshot and the appearance of some characters that...still have yet to appear in the actual story yet.
Disclaimer: As always, I don't own Hetalia or Furuba! They both belong to their respective owners.
And please check out the actual story if you have yet to! You can find it from my profile, so if you haven't already, please do! Of course, you don't really need to read but it'd probably make more sense if you did...
[ Woruba: Side Stories and One-Shots ] Kiku gets Sick (Word Count: 7,726; 8/31/2014)
"Are you sure you'll be alright, Kiku...?" Juliana persisted in asking her fellow classmate.
Kiku sighed, "Yes, Bennett-san. I'm sure I can take care of myself for a few hours." He somehow managed to get the entire sentence out before going into a fit of coughs.
"But-!"
"I'm quite sure," he assured her as soon as the fit was over, voice raspy from the fit. Still, nothing that couldn't be fixed with a good throat-clearing!
The girl frowned, still a bit worried, but nodded nonetheless. Of all the other occupants of the house, Kiku was the most responsible so... Surely he would be fine...?
"Well... Okay then... But call if you need anything, okay?" she made him promise. "I'll leave one of the house phones by your table."
Kiku just nodded, "Thank you."
She hesitated for another half-second, before asking one more time.
"Are you sure you'll be alright...?"
Stifling a long-suffering sight, Kiku replied once more. "For the last time, Bennett-san, yes. You're only going shopping, and I'm quite certain I can take care of myself for a few hours," he told her, trying to be gentle, but knowing that his irritation had probably shown through nonetheless.
He always had been more irritable when he got sick...
Besides, it wasn't that seri- okay, so maybe it kind of was.
After all, he'd been sick for the past several days now -and he'd been stuck in bed for at least two-thirds the time of those days. (He couldn't exactly just stay in his bed all the time, now could he?) He'd apparently fainted and stayed unconscious for the first few days, however, so he supposed it wasn't really quite so bad. Still, there would be a boatload of work to catch up to when he got well enough to go back to school (it wasn't like he could just ask Juliana to bring it back for him, now could he? No one knew they were living together after all. And he'd really rather not trust Arthur to get the work for him, either... Not to mention things he wouldn't be able to take care of at home, like S.G.O. work and the like).
He knew the reason as to why he'd fallen ill, of course. But it wasn't comforting in the least.
Especially when the fact of the matter was because, as a Cursed Nation, he felt anything that happened to the land itself. And Japan had, quite recently, gone through an Earthquake that had been so severe as the affect the rest of the world as well.
Time now moved an hour or so faster than it previously had.
But of course, that wasn't the worst part. The worst part had been the fact that, as with all natural disasters -and especially of one of such scale- people had died. And he knew for a fact his Nation's economy wouldn't be able to pick itself back up and run sufficiently for quite some time.
Chaos always followed these sorts of disasters -take Katrina in Florida, for example. People had revealed their 'darker' sides, pilfering and pillaging from others in that time of crisis...
He honestly didn't know how a 'nitwit' (as England liked to call him -or, more commonly, a 'git') like America had managed to stay so chipper... Though Kiku supposed that, being a super-nation like he was had helped.
But back to the present, if Juliana continued to worry and fret as she did, he doubted she'd be able to get the grocery shopping done.
True, it was the weekend at least, but in equal measures, it was also a rather regrettable fact as well.
"Well... if you're sure..." Still, the girl seemed hesitant to leave the boy home alone.
"Bennett-san... do I really need to repeat myself?" he asked quietly, raising a single brow in askance. "I'll probably be taking a nap once you leave and may not even be awake when you get back," he reasoned. "So yes, please just go so that Arthur- and Francis-san don't complain about the fact that there will be no dinner tonight due to the fact that you were too worried about me to even step out of the house."
He knew he was guilt-tripping her, but he was starting to get quite exasperated with the -sometimes- airheaded woman. True, it was nice that she so genuinely cared about him, but he had no doubts that she would end up being more of a hindrance than a help in this case -especially since (at least most of) what he'd said was true as it was.
He really doubted that a loud house would allow him to recuperate any quicker -which may or may not have been the reason as to why both males had deemed fit to stay out as much as they could lately. Each avoiding the other to let the 'personification' (the nicer way of wording the 'curse') of the Japanese Nation rest and recuperate as quickly as possible.
Juliana gave him a worried look but desisted at last. "Alright," she agreed, nodding to the ill teenager. "I'll come back as soon as I can, okay? So please, get some rest, Kiku!"
Kiku smiled. Well, he supposed her 'naivete' could be rather charming at times as well...
"I will," he promised, shifting back in his bed sheets. "And please, feel free to take your time. It wouldn't do for you to have to make more than one trip because you were rushing, now would it?"
Juliana chuckled in response, "No, of course not," she agreed, grinning sheepishly as she vacated the chair at his bedside.
"Alright, I'll do my best to get it all done at once then," she told to other. "So sleep well, Kiku!" she said, sliding the other door shut behind her as she left.
Kiku chuckled, "Thank you, Bennett-san." 'I'll try,' he thought, snuggling back into his sheets with a sigh.
To be quite honest, he really wasn't that tired, but...
Well, perhaps a short nap would be nice...
As an hour or so passed, the time still found Juliana at the grocery store. She had long since found the main components of the list she'd made, but was now looking at a few 'extras' that she contemplated getting.
On her way to the store, she had had to walk through one of the parks, and had actually found someone sitting rather precarious on a bench and fast asleep! It had been quite adorable the way a few stray cats had found themselves snuggling up to the sleeping brunette, but with the way the man was leaning and in danger of falling off, Juliana had gone over to gently wake him...
"Ngh... μόλις τα πέντε λεπτά ακόμα (mólis ta pénte leptá akóma)..." the tanned male had murmured, asking for another five minutes as he leaned even closer to the end of the seat and alarming the poor girl even if she didn't understand the words spoken.
"Uhm, p-please wake up!" she'd insisted, "You're going to fall off...!"
It had taken a while, but she finally got the strange teen to wake up, revealing clear, almost teal green eyes.
"Huh...? W'time's it...?" he mumbled, covering as yawn as he stretched before looking at the watch on his wrist. "Oh... Must've fallen asleep again... Thanks, uh...what's your name...?" the boy's soft and quiet tone reminded her remarkably of a much more laid back Kiku, but she immediately shook the thought from her mind.
"Oh, my name's Juliana, but you can call me Julia," she smiled, chuckling when the kitten that had somehow managed to climb onto his head fell into his lap with a startled mewl, surprising the other.
"Ah... whoops, gotcha..." the other mumbled, somehow managed to catch the kit before it tumbled off his lap, turning his attention back to the girl afterwards. "Thanks for waking me up, Julia... It's very nice to meet you," he told her politely, his tone sincere despite the lazy air he held. In fact, he was almost apathetic in nature, though she was quite used to that from Rei, and thanks to the elder girl, she'd also gotten quite good at reading such people (for the most part, anyways).
"No problem! But, if you don't mind my asking... How did you end up falling asleep on the bench?" she asked, looking quite curious as he tilted her head quizzically, blinking up at the taller -and probably older- teen.
"Hum... Not sure, really... I just remember wandering for a while and getting lost... I decided to take a break after that but...
"All I remember after that was thinking about how nice the breeze was, and... I guess I just fell asleep..." he mumbled sheepishly.
Juliana giggled in response, "Oh, I see. Well, I hope you find the place you're looking for!" she said as the other god up, scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah... I should probably get going... Thanks again. And maybe we'll see each other sometime soon...?" he said, a warm smile on his face as he spoke, eliciting one of her own.
"Of course!" she replied cheerfully before parting ways with the mysterious stranger, barely taking a few steps before not only recalling the question she'd wanted to ask about the cats that had gathered around the male, but also to offer to help him find his way to his destination.
By the time she'd turned around, though, the other had vanished. (Though, truth be told, said stranger had simply gotten tired again and decided to take a another nap -this time under a nice shading tree, and thus taking himself and his companions out of her sight.)
What an odd man...
As she finished her shopping, Juliana stepped towards the check-out lines only to bump into someone.
"Oof-!" she stepped back, startled at the suddenty of getting a face full of cloth.
"Oh! Sorry, I wasn't watching/looking where I was going," the two apologized at once, surprising both as they got a good look at each other.
Looking up, Juliana found herself facing a rather tall individual. The man was as dark -if not darker- than the boy she'd met at the park, but light enough to still be considered 'tan'...or was it bronze? He also, strangely enough, wore what looked to be a plain white mask that only covered his eyes and part of his cheeks. He kept the hood of his knee-length green coat up as well, which covered much of his khaki pants along with the brown calf-length boots that said pants were tucked into.
Brown hair like the boy she'd met earlier peeked out from under the hood, cut in a much shorter military crew cut, though it seemed to be growing out a little. He was definitely much taller than her as well, at least a foot taller than her -which, to be honest, made her feel somewhat like a dwarf in comparison.
The man, on the other hand, was blinking down at her behind his mask, more relived that it had only been a light 'bump' and that no skin had touched (yes he was rather paranoid, but so what? Though, maybe he should've worn his scarf and his gloves...it was rather warm outside, though). He was rather surprised by the girl's politeness, however, and the fact that they'd spoken practically the same thing at about the exact same time.
He had found, in his twenty-some year lifetime that most teenagers nowadays tended to more on the ruder side, typically giving the other part the blame for the most part -or not really meaning what they said at all. At least compared to the girl in front of him, who seemed quite warm and sincere in contrast.
Well, aside from the one or two -okay, only one- teenage exception that he knew of (and the only one(s) that he even really liked, as well).
"My apologies, miss. Please, go ahead," he said, a faint smile on his face as he motioned for the girl to go in front of him. Years of living in the U.S. had pretty much diminished his accent, though he'd managed to keep most of it, enough for his speech to be considered more on the 'thicker' side of having an accent despite the time he'd lived away from his homeland.
As far as 'immigrants' went, though, he fared much better in everyday life, if one ignored the fact that people tended to five him odd looks or stares for his attire -especially when he had his hat, scarf, and gloves as well.
"Eh? Oh, no! I couldn't possibly!" she blinked, the honest-to-goodness surprise in her expression only confirming his original perception of her. She was an honest girl -something that was rather rare in this day and age, and especially in this country.
The man chuckled, "It's quite alright, miss. I don't have nearly as many items as you do," he pointed out, comparing her full basket to his own, which only had a few things in it.
Juliana blushed, "O-oh, well... If you insist... But please! My name's Juliana. It feels awkward when people call me 'miss'," she admitted.
The other man simply chuckled in response, "Very well then, Juliana. You may call me Sadik," he informed her.
"Okay then, Mr. Sadik!" she nodded, smiling back at the taller man.
"Just Sadik, please," he told her sheepishly, "The 'Mister' makes me feel old."
"R-right then... Sadik!" she smiled back, feeling chagrined at the fact -she could understand his sentiments, after all!
"Oh, and, uhm... if you don't mind my asking... Since you so few items... Why didn't you go to one of the shorter lines...?" she asked, pointing towards some of the shortest lines in the aisle, all of which had signs overhead that said '10 Items or Less ONLY'.
Sadik blinked, "Oh..." he grinned sheepishly, "I didn't think of that," he admitted. "I suppose I'm just used to buying a lot at once," he told her, "I... forgot."
Juliana giggled, "It's alright, I, myself, almost went to that line!" she admitted with a smile of her own. "I used to only have to buy for two people, but now I'm living with my... friends... and I'm in charge of the cooking and cleaning, so..."
Sadik smiled, "Ah, I see. Well, I suppose I should go then, don't want some of these to melt, after all," he explained. "Perhaps we'll meet again," he told her by way of a 'goodbye'.
Juliana simply nodded, "Yeah! That'd be great! I guess I'll see you around then~~!" she smiled, waving as she moved a little closer to the conveyor.
Sadik nodded back, "Farewell, my friend!" And with that, he was gone, heading for the shorter check-out lines...
Back at the Bonnefoy House, Kiku found that he couldn't sleep so well after all. Not just due to the stifling heat of being under such thick blankets despite the warm sunny weather outside, but due to the even more stifling silence.
"...Have I gotten used to the noise...?" he wondered, smiling sheepishly at the thought.
It was quite odd. Not too long ago, he would've given anything for things to be quiet (which had actually been one of the reasons why he'd moved in with Francis, to be honest), but now...
Now he was actually beginning to miss the everyday loudness that the rest of the household had brought into his quiet life.
Perhaps he really was becoming to accustomed to living with the rambunctiousness, what with the warmth that he was greeted with everyday -not that he hadn't been greeted when he'd lived in the Main Estates, of course, but...
Most of the greetings had been a bit -or a lot- colder depending. That was, if he was even greeted at all. Not even mentioning the fact that there were some scary people in the 'Family' as well. True, he'd not always lived in the Estates, but he'd rarely lived with more than one person before then...
Now though, he found that he was truly becoming accustomed to living like this, with Francis, Arthur, and Bennett...
"你好 ~! 有人在吗? (NǐHǎo~! YǒuRénZàiMa?)" an exceedingly familiar voice called into the empty house, making the ill teen shiver.
Oh no, the boy paled. It couldn't be! Not... not him...!
Kiku nearly groaned as the soft pattering of quick, light feet made their way up the stairs, stopping just long enough for his door to be practically slammed open in the arrival's excitement.
"啊呀 (aiya)~ There you are, aru!" The slender, effeminate Chinese man beamed as he entered the room, one hand holding a covered tray, while the other released the door.
Yup, it was him... The young Japanese sighed, leaning against the pillows that Bennett had considerately fluffed up for him earlier in defeat.
It was his brother of all people...
"Hello, brother..." he greeted the man, smiling weakly in the face of what was, perhaps, one of his greatest 'foes' of all time.
An overly protective (not to mention mother-henning) elder sibling.
Back at the supermarket, Juliana finally finished making her purchase (how she managed to carry all those bags of groceries will have to be a question for another day -as well as the fact that she'd carried such a full basket in the store)...
As she smiled to herself, humming as she walked up the path, she caught two familiar voices being raised in what sounded like an argument. And seeing as it was along her route anyhow, she decided to check it out, curious as she was.
Turning the next corner, she blinked.
"Ah..." It was the two she'd met earlier! The brunette and the odd -yet kind- man who'd introduced himself as Sadik.
And of course, being the naive and somewhat-clutz she was, her exclamation drew the attention of both males, despite the fact that their argument had been so much louder than her own voice (how that could be with the longer haired cat-loving brunette, she couldn't really be sure... Maybe it was some special power that apathetic people had? Like how Rei could always make herself heard even when she was quiet! But anyway, back to tale)...
"Oh, you're-" "Aren't you-" the two started, "Juliana/that girl I met earlier?" they said as one, before blinking and exchanging confused looks.
"Huh?" "You've met her?" they started, once again speaking at the same time.
Unable to help herself at the evident humor of the situation, she giggled. "Hello~!" she greeted, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Sadik, and, uhm... oh, I never caught your name, did I?" she blinked, tilting her head at the younger brunette.
"Ah... Heracle," he nodded, "My name... it's Heracles Karpusi... Julia, right...?" he asked, ignoring the other man in favor of a conversation with the girl.
Sadik, who'd smiled when she recalled his name correctly, shot a suspicious glare at the younger brunette from behind his mask. "Of course," he snorted. "You would be rude enough not to have introduced yourself properly the first time," he remarked scathingly as he rolled his eyes.
"Wha-! I was sleepy, okay!" Heracles frowned, showing far more expression than he had before. Turning back to Juliana with a smile, however he spoke again. "it is nice to meet you though -even with that guy hanging around..." he said, shooting a sour look and a glare at the other man.
"Oh, please, don't tell me you forgot all etiquette just 'cuz you were 'tired'," he snapped mocking, glaring just as suspiciously at the other as he had (and still was).
...Oh boy... Juliana couldn't help but think, sweating as she was suddenly reminded very much of a certain duo that currently lived at the Bonnefoy House.
...And just why did she have the feeling that they were going to keep arguing if left to their own devices? She wondered, not quite sure where the thought had come from.
'And just why do I get the feeling this happens every time they meet...?'
By the time she'd managed to calm the two sufficiently enough to at least be 'civil' towards the other, she had also managed to explain how she'd met each of the two males. Both of whom had nodded, grudgingly accepting the stories -not because they didn't believe, Juliana, of course, but more because they could just see such a situation happening with the other. After all, even if they couldn't trust each other, they were positive that Juliana, at least, was the honest type.
Or, well, that was how they felt, in any case.
After that, however, noticing the amount of bags she'd been carrying, the other two immediately offered to help carry them, adamant despite her insistent yet polite refusals until she finally broke down and gave in.
Despite giving into their demands, however, she'd ended up having to play peacemaker again, as she made sure both had an even amount of bags to avoid yet another confrontation. When she told them where she was staying, however, the two actually managed to exchange non-scathing looks of surprise.
Seeing such a look, Juliana, herself, became confused, and upon asking why they were surprised, it was revealed that... gasp! They all had the same destination!
So imagine her surprise, when Juliana found out that the two random people she'd met both knew Kiku! Especially when they admitted -under careful questioning- that they were part of the same 'family' as well.
Needless to say, Juliana was ecstatic. Especially when she realized that they would be having guests over, as well!
As they reached the house though, Juliana paused in the process of opening the door.
Was it just her? Or had there been a scream from the house just now...?! she started, all three exchanging looks as she reached out to touch the door.
Before she had the chance to open it, however, said door slammed open, a beautiful looking man (for it could only be a man no matter how slender and feminine he seemed) ran straight into her, screaming bloody murder.
"Ah-!" she started, falling back from the force of the collision.
"Juliana!" both of her companions started forward and -was it just her? Or did this situation somehow reek of deja-vu...?
POOF!
A large cloud of smoke appeared even as Juliana shut her eyes, feeling something -or things- softly catching her as she fell.
"Eh...?" she blinked, ignoring the dizzy, confused, and only half-conscious man in front of her to look behind her. Coming face to face with...
A... large grey wolf and... a dolphin?!
"...Oops..." a voice that could only be Heracles' startled her out of her shock as it emanated from the Dolphin.
" 'Oops'? What d'ya mean, 'Oops'?!" Sadik snapped, "I think this warrants more than just an 'Oops', you idiot!" the Wolf snarled.
"Well, what else can I say? 'Oh, so sorry, Jules, but you're hallucinating. Please turn away for a while, and forget all about this'?" the Dolphin chirped back, amazingly unaffected by the fact that it was currently on land and out of water. Though, that may have had something to do with the fact that it wasn't actually a fish, and was in fact a mammal...
"Uhm..." said subject of the conversation started, hoping to stop them before they started yet another argument. The girl's decision to suddenly speak up calling their attention back to herself. (She hadn't been counting, but she was still quite sure they'd gone through at least four, on the way home... Though how talk about sweets turned into a philosophical debate that turned into a praising of cats and their 'fluffy soft fur' and naps...well, she really wasn't quite sure.)
"I-It's okay, guys... I already know about the s-secret, so..." She had thought it was actually kind of obvious when she'd asked whether they were from the 'same family' but, apparently she wasn't quite so good at being discreet -or rather, discreet yet obvious- as she'd thought.
They'd actually taken her question seriously, it seemed...
The two animals stared at her in shock for several -rather awkward- moments, before another puff of smoke caused her to squeak, hastily turning around even as she covered her eyes so she didn't catch sight of anything...she wasn't meant to see.
Behind her, two tanned and naked men exchanged a -still- rather surprised look, before snapping out of said shock to hastily pull their garments on.
In Heracles' case, it was a pair of socks, some briefs, a pair of jeans, a plain grey tee, and a light, brown jacket.
Just as they were about to question her, however, a large, looming figure appeared in the doorway, causing both males to freeze.
Just what in all hells was he doing here?! the two shrieked mentally, watching as the imposing violet-eyes male blinked and smiled at them (or rather, at the now unconscious body on the ground).
"Oh, there he is~!' he blinked, smiling pleasantly, "You shouldn't play tag with Ivan, да (da)? Yao~' he told the unconscious body as he leaned to pick the poor man up.
he blinked again, however, when he realized the man was wearing something different as opposed to his previous outfit, but shook it off as he hefted the small man onto his shoulder before noticing the others. "Oh, привет (privet), friends~" he beamed, a chill racing down the others' spines despite the 'reassuring' smile on the man's face.
"I'll be going now, да? Kiku fell asleep already," he informed them, making a 'shh, quiet' gesture as he did so. "But don't worry, I'll be taking Yao home, today~" he sang, still smiling as he walked away.
Juliana continued to stare after the insanely tall beige-haired male wearing the long scarf and jacket in the middle of a heat spell, before shaking her head slightly and picking up her -thankfully, unharmed- groceries off the ground before turning back to the strangely silent two behind her.
"Well, er... Come in, I guess? I'll put the groceries away and make some tea... Oh, unless you'd prefer something else...?" she asked, receiving two absent shakes of the head in response.
Huh, how strange... She wondered why they were so quiet all of a sudden before shaking it off. Perhaps it was because they'd heard Kiku was asleep? They both seemed to think very highly of the younger brunette, after all... Oh well, at least they wouldn't be fighting for a while, now~ she couldn't help but think, as she took all the groceries into the kitchen to put away.
Upstairs, Kiku was still passed out from having fainted in the face of the scariest 'Nation' any of them would probably ever know...
No one noticed the fact that Francis and Arthur were still miraculously missing. Nor the fact that the 'tall beige-haired man' had literally just kidnapped someone.
Honestly, some people...
Earlier that day...
"...Hello, brother..." Kiku greeted the effeminate male almost warily, hiding the relief he felt that no one else was around to see his 'doting brother', (Juliana in particular) even as he swallowed the horror at the fact that his brother was even there at the moment.
Really, it wasn't that he didn't love his brother -or appreciate him. He did. Really, he did! It was just that... that...
Well, his brother tended to go overboard sometimes -er, most of the time. A lot overboard.
Such as the time he'd tripped when his brother had taken him to the park as a child.
"Wah!" A seven year old Kiku cried out as he fell.
"啊呀 (aiya)! Kiku, are you alright?!" Yao exclaimed, rushing over and proceeding to baby him even after he'd told the other it was nothing and that he was fine. And really, he did not need to go to the (damn) hospital when he'd barely even nicked the skin!
...Or that time he graduated from Elementary School... Elementary School!
Yao sniffed, before releasing what was practically a sob, much to the eleven year old's horror, as the man began bawling even more loudly than any of the mothers at the small formality.
Yes, okay, so he had gotten the highest grades, and sure, he was the best-liked student, but seriously?!
Kiku shuddered at the memories. Ugh! And those had been just two of at least a hundred other times worth of 'minor' things being blown out of proportion by the man. One of the reasons he had moved into the Estates in the first place.
Luckily, even since he'd 'left' (at least, ever since the second time -the first time, when he'd moved into the Estates, Yao had been even worse, though he could kind of understand why after finally meeting the Russian 'Nation' of the family. Still, they barely saw each other let alone talked, so he honestly hadn't seen why the taller man was such a worry for Yao. Though, now that he knew about the man's unhealthy obsession with his 'brother'...who wasn't really even his brother by blood... They were two different nationalities, for pete's sake!) the Estates and began living with Francis, the other had left him alone a little more.
Now, they typically tended to ignore each other, but every now and then -in state of general 'emergency'- they would...usually...push aside their differences to be civil with each other.
...Well, at least it was so in Kiku's case. Yao, apparently, was still a major worry-wart.
"...and some (rice) porridge, as well, for you! Just in case you can't handle solid foods, still~" the Chinese man had been talking for quite a while now, despite the fact that Kiku hadn't even been listening -though he did perk up at the mentions of the words 'food' and 'porridge'.
That had been the only really good things he remembered from living with Yao as a child. The food had been delicious (though the elder Asian had been a supreme stickler for manners), even when he'd been sick, the food had been wonderful.
And for Yao to have taken so much care to make him his favorites (as he noticed when the other had whipped off the cover and the delicious aroma had assaulted his nostrils), Kiku supposed he could endure a couple more hours of his elder sibling's company...
Well, so long as he was gone before the others returned, anyway. Francis would be sure to embarrass him by telling the others stories of his childhood years -or as far as the Frenchman knew, anyways. Thank goodness he didn't know about the worst ones.
He had no doubt Arthur would end up 'laughing his arse off' while Juliana, kind as she would, would probably still end up giggling or smiling at the stories.
He sighed, accepting the other's ministrations with a defeated air, though he was careful to keep it from the other Nation as much as he could.
Even when he finished his food and thanks the other for the delicious meal, the elder of the two had just smiled and thanked him for the compliment, wistful smile on his face.
They managed to stay in each other's company for almost another hour without any mishaps after that.
Unfortunately, neither noticed when the front door creaked open, a large figure somehow managing to slip silently in through the door and making its way up the stairs, just as Yao left to go clean the dishes.
Needless to say, Yao was shocked when he returned to find his younger brother passed out, and a very familiar figure looming over the boy. He'd been scared for his life, and, thinking -rather irrationally- that his poor little brother had been killed somehow, he did the only thing he could do.
He screamed.
Which, of course, drew the attention of the large man, who turned, revealing a long, metal pipe in one hand while the other held a bottle what could only be alcohol -Vodka, to be specific.
"Oh, hello, Yao~ You will become one with Russia today, да?" he started. Before he could finish what he was saying, however, the smaller male had already run off.
The large Russian blinked. "Oh, he must want to play tag~" he giggled childishly, slipping the bottle of Vodka he'd been drinking (and which he'd forcefed some to Kiku) back into its pocket, smiling widely all the while.
"It'd be no fun if I caught him too fast, though~ So I'll give him a head start~" he decided, nodding sagely to himself as he somehow returned the faucet-pipe to his jacket.
"I'll count to twenty~!" he grinned, looking around for a good place to stand, before shrugging and deciding to stay where he was as he began to count.
"один~ два... три~ четыре... (odin~ dva... tri~ chetyre...)" he started.
As Juliana set down the tea, she chuckled a bit at the two's antics. Despite their age and differences, they seemed to get along so well... And at least they didn't fight physically (yet) as Arthur and Francis tended to do.
Unfortunately, both heard her laughter and turned to her, curious as to why she'd been laughing.
The girl just smiled. "You must get along very well, don't you~?" she asked.
The two brunettes stared at her before protesting. The protests quickly turning into an argument -this time much, much louder than the previous.
They did not get along with each other (at all)!
Kiku blinked blearily, yawning as he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes. Were Arthur and Francis both back already? The Asian wondered, rubbing an eye sleepily as he heard the muffled arguments originating from downstairs.
Hn, he supposed he'd better get up and tell the two blockheads to knock if off (again). No doubt Arthur would end up saying something stupid again when Bennett tried to stop them, and then Francis would knock Arthur a new one, causing another fight to ensue...
Again.
Kiku sighed, sliding his feet into his slippers, before heading towards the commotion.
BAM!
To say the trio was surprised might have been an understatement, as a bleary eyed teen glared into the room.
"Please be quiet, some of are trying to sleep, you know," the short-haired teen informed the group with an exceedingly remarkable calm for one that was supposedly annoyed.
"Oh, Kiku! You're awake!" Juliana beamed at the toffee-eyed Asian, who was staring at the two surprised -and most definitely not blonde- Nations before looking back to her, a little confused at the scene as she waved him over, patting the empty seat beside her.
"Would you like some tea?" she asked the confused brunette.
"...Yes, please, Bennett-san," he managed to get out as he blinked at the girl, shuffling over to take the offered seat.
Juliana smiled, giggling as she poured another cup of barley tea for the boy. (Yes, they were using an actual tea set she'd managed to dig out of the kitchen and clean up.)
Watching her with mild curiosity (and now more awake), Kiku absently took a sip of the tea -and was instantly surprised.
It was very good. Very few people knew how to make good, traditional tea like this anymore... Even if it was just Barley Tea. He could still tell.
"Do you like it?" the girl asked, smiling.
Kiku nodded, slowly putting the cup down before turning to face the other two. "What are you doing here?" he asked at last, unable to hide the surprise that colored his expression.
"We heard you were sick," Heracles started, even as Sadik told him, "We came to visit you."
At the same time.
The two brunettes glared at each other.
Kiku just stared blankly before sighing. "Please don't fight in the house. For one, this is Francis-san's home, and secondly, I'd rather you not cause a mess that Bennett-san will have to clean up," he warned them.
The two blinked but subsided, nodding.
"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask. Why's Juliana here, anyways?" started Sadik, as Heracles nodded.
"Yes, and what did you mean by she'll have to clean up?" he asked, just as curious as the other though he'd never admit it.
It seemed that for once, they both agreed on something -or rather, decided not to argue over agreeing about the same thing.
Just why was Juliana staying at the Bonnefoy House? After all, it wasn't like she was a Nation (quite obvious considering the 'accident' that'd occurred only a little while ago, something that had been pushed to the far recesses of their minds for the most part). And why was she stuck with doing the cooking and cleaning?
Much to their surprise, it wasn't Kiku that answered, but Juliana herself.
"Oh, that's because I live here now!" she explained, smiling. "In return for doing the housework, of course~" she added after a moment's thought.
"...Huh?" "What?" The two stared, blinking intelligently.
As one should probably know by now, not many people outside the family (in fact, none as far as they were aware), knew about the family's secret, let alone was allowed to live with them. As for the fact that she had been allowed to retain her memory as it was...
Well, just the fact that she 'remembered' was amazing unto itself.
"...Uhm... is... is something wrong...?" Juliana asked as the two exchanged amazed glances before continuing -in their own special ways, of course- to gape at her, oblivious to the questions floating in the air as Kiku sighed.
"I don't know why," he started carefully, catching the others' attention. "But that person gave us permission," he admitted, causing Heracles to nod slowly as Sadik remained confused -or rather, as confused as one could look, wearing a mask like he did.
"By why would He give permission when he hasn't up til now?" he asked, looking just as baffled as he felt.
Kiku simply shrugged as Juliana fell silent, sensing that something important was going on.
"I'm afraid I wouldn't know. Francis-san was the one who talked to Him, not me," he explained.
The others nodded. Well, that made sense...
"Oh!" Juliana started, startling the three males with her sudden exclamation. "You're staying or dinner right?" she asked, eyes sparkling. "In that case, I should probably start preparing the food. I hope you don't mind waiting," she apologized.
Kiku simply nodded. "I believe the bath is still free since the others have yet to return," he pointed out.
For the first time, Heracles' eyes showed a glint of excitement. "The big one, right?" he asked, a smile making its way onto his features at Kiku's nod. "In that case, I think a bath sounds great!" he grinned, moving far more quickly than usual.
"Wha- Hey! Who said you get first dibs? I'm calling it! DIBS!" Sadik called out in a surprisingly childish manner as he hurried after the other.
"No way, mister! I got here, first!" the arguing grew faint as they continued down the hall, apparently quite familiar with the house.
"... 'Big one'...?" Juliana blinked, staring after the two in confusion before turning her attention to Kiku.
Noticing her expression, the teen decided to clarify. "The 'public' bath was remodeled a while ago," he explained. "It used to be a regular bathroom, but since it was...destroyed...in an... accident... Francis-san decided to go all out since it needed to be completely rebuilt anyways, and so he had it remodeled."
"Ooh~! So it wasn't always there, then?" she asked, tilting her head quizzically.
Kiku shook his head. "No, most of the house had already been remodeled before I moved in with him, since he liked the 'open' and 'spacey' effect," he sighed.
Typical Francis.
Juliana simply nodded, seeming to understand. "Oh, I see! Well, I guess I'd better be off then. Would you like me to leave the tea?" she asked.
Kiku nodded. "Yes, please," he said, smiling gratefully.
"Okay!" she beamed, "Oh, and since I'm about to make dinner anyway... Is there anything in particular you'd like me to make?" she asked.
Kiku blinked. Something he liked...?
It'd been quite a while since anyone had asked his opinion on the matter, and he hesitated for a moment.
"Well... I suppose... Nikujaga...?" he blinked, before wondering if perhaps it would be a bit much to request. "Oh, but if it's too much-" he started.
Juliana grinned. "No way! I can totally make you some~" she informed him. "Mom used to ask for it sometimes~ So I do know how to make it," she explained.
Kiku blinked but smiled, "I see. In that case, thank you very much, Bennett-san." It had been so long since he'd had the Japanese version of the 'English' (as in British, not American) Beef Stew.
Juliana just smiled, "You just relax here and wait, okay~? I'll have it ready in no-time!" she told him, walking out of the room to get to the kitchen.
It was a good thing she'd bought some meat today as well, seeing as they'd been having a special on fresh beef today! What a lucky coincidence~!
By the time Francis and Arthur got back -bickering even as they set foot into the house- dinner preparations had been complete, and Heracles and Sadik had manged to finish their baths without too much trouble... though at one point their bickering could be heard from the kitchen, causing both Kiku and Juliana to blush beet red as they heard the males arguing over... ahem! their... 'lengths'...
Needless to say, dinner had been a rather...interesting... affair.
Especially when the two brunettes began to to fight over who'd sleep where as well as who'd brought the 'best gift' (Sadik had brought some sweets that Kiku liked as well as a Turkish specialty for dessert, while Heracles had somehow acquired some fish from seemingly nowhere -both canned and fresh- along with some other little snacks). Needless to say, Kiku had thanked both men equally, setting their gifts to the side to store away and enjoy later.
Though Arthur apparently didn't really like the Nikujaga as it -apparently- 'butchered' his specialty, though he hadn't complained for too long and ended up finishing it anyways.
After dinner, however, they all split up, preparing for bed -during which several arguments occurred over the course of the next... ten(?) minutes or so. But other than that, things had gone fairly smoothly considering no one had been injured and nothing broken.
Once their nightly 'rituals' were over, they all went to bed. Heracles and Sadik both staying in Kiku's room since he'd been the entire reason they'd come to visit, anyway.
Everyone slept surprisingly well that night, and no arguments broke out until later the next morning, when the two guests found that they'd somehow rolled quite close to each other -nearly hugging- sometime during the night, and had began arguing and insulting each other rather early in the morning.
Thankfully it was still the weekend, however.
All in all, they all had a fun time, and everyone promised to meet up again sometime. Though a few perhaps a little less willing than others.
It wasn't until after their guests had left that Juliana remembered something very, very important.
"Ah!" she blinked, calling the attention of the house's three male occupants to her. "I...never asked what Nations they were..." she sighed rather disappointedly.
"Ah, well, that's quite easy to fix, ma chère dame~" the french blonde smiled, a rose appearing in his hand out of nowhere as per usual. "Young Heracles is Grece, of course. Greece," he amended when he realized he'd used French again.
"And Sadik-san is the Personification of Turkey," Kiku added as Arthur continued to grumble at having been awoken at seven in the morning. Much too early for a weekend, apparently.
"Oooh, I see!" she smiled, "That explains the Dolphin and the Wolf then~" she giggled. "I wasn't sure about it, but now I know!"
The others smiled as Arthur grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like 'who the bloody hell cares', though he at least had the common decency not to voice it aloud.
Francis just smiled as Kiku nodded, seeing as several countries had overlapping National Animals, though they didn't seem to pick up the fact that she'd seen their Animals.
Still, in the end, all's well that ends well. Kiku had managed to get back to normal rather quickly after that, meaning that his own Nation would be sure to follow. But until that time, at least things had gone back to normal.
"YOU BLOODY BASTARD! I SWEAR I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR ARSE SO BAD YOU'LL BE STUCK IN THE HOSPITAL FOR MONTHS!"
Yup... Normal. Or as normal as thing could get in the Bonnefoy House at any rate, Kiku thought with a sigh.
A/N: The end! Of the one-shot, in any case~
But, as a present, here's an omake for this little one-shot~
By the way, omake included, this one-shot is 8,043 words total. Meaning the omake's only 317 words, but it's all good, right?
Anyways, this part's more a frivolous thought I had from watching the news at that time. Something about a freak snow in China that made me think about Russia and how it must've been Russia taking over China! haha. But that's preposterous, ne~? So don't mind this author's silly little fantasies~ And onto the Omake!
Enjoy this little extra from me, ne? And though I'd love for some comments and reviews, I suppose an author can't have everything, ne...
Even though I got 16 reviews in the original post of the story... But no one really cares about then, desu ne. Since no one really responded to any of my questions in Woruba, and only a few people followed/favorited it~
It's not like I'm upset about it all, desu ne~ Not at all, su~ Definitely not, desu yo~
Zen-zen de-su yo ne~
But enough of that, enjoy the omake su~ And hopefully anyone who hasn't read the actual Story will read it, ne~?
"Oh!" Juliana blinked once she was back in the kitchen, preparing Lunch this time. She was making it early since she planned on meeting up with her friends later in the day, and probably wouldn't be there until evening.
"I completely forgot about the person from before!" she blinked, knife pausing in its decapitation of vegetables as she thought back to the effeminate man who'd run right into her, and who'd been followed by the much taller beige-blonde man that'd come out soon after.
"...Oh well, I'm sure it wasn't too important," she hummed, continuing to slice vegetables as she had been. Some for a healthy snack, and some to be diced and made into part of the lunch she planned to make.
Elsewhere, a certain Asian sneezed, before freezing in his attempt to escape the apartment of the madman who'd been stalking him for quite a while now (not that he knew how or why -he still hadn't realized that the 'Panda' Mascot he loved so dearly was, in reality, the large Russian in disguise).
Slowly, he turned his head to see the source of the icy aura behind him.
"You were not trying to leave while I was sleeping, were you Yao?" the thick Russian accent showing through as the other laughed in his customary yet creepy and unique 'kolkolkol' laugh.
"Aha...haha... N-no, aru! O-of c-c-course not!" the man stuttered, sweating bullets as he laughed anxiously.
"Oh, then you won't mind staying for a while longer... да?" the smile was back, and in full force, as the man 'glared' (or so Yao believed) down at him.
"O-of course...not...aru...!" he gulped, the 'aru' that he'd been working so hard to keep out of his speech coming back with a vengeance.
This really couldn't end well...
"Kolkolkol~"