A/N: Waaen is Thailand; Hoa is Vietnam; Hui is Hong Kong; Meiling is Taiwan
The blank silence within the plane allowed Yao thinking time as he stared out the window of his cabin. He softly ground his teeth, the static noise offering more freedom from his surroundings. It smelled of sweat and people, with the occasional melting scent of sweet foods. Yao was starting to see nothing but deep coloured mountains and perfectly polka-dotted yellow sands. He supposed they were close.
"Yao, do you think I should ask Kiku about how the dorms are?" Yong Soo leaned over to Yao. He obviously insisted to sit next to his older sibling, despite the fact that Waaen was the one assigned to the seat. Yao answers Yong Soo with diligent silence, instead enjoying the view, much different from the tropics of the Eastern part of the world.
He hated being in a plane stuffed with foreign bodies, and what he hated most was the reason why he was on in the first place. He wasn't ready for a boarding school, it didn't matter if it was one as prestigious as the International Hetalia boarding school, or some degenerate public school located in the depths of urban Los Angeles. Coming home with the ghosts of overshadowing and regret is something he had lived with for most of his life, but having to deal with something that could leave the biggest imprint on his impressions with others has already induced inward mental breakdowns. He wasn't even there yet.
Although he was here with all six of his siblings, it wasn't their first time to this school. Kiku, the second eldest, was sent here under special request of their mother towards Yao's step-father. After seeing the wonderful results it had on Kiku, his parents had decided to send all of their children to the institution. Yao was sure they were celebrating the departure of their children with a deep merlot, complimented with French confectionery within a villa near the countryside of the French alps...
"Hello passengers, this is your pilot." Yao looked up to the front of the cabin, seeing a few stewardesses and a large announcement message on a LED marquee. The pilot spoke to them about their upcoming landing. Sure enough, as Yao looked out the window towards the tip of the plane, there was a micro-town, not any bigger than Yao's pointer finger from his perspective.
After their landing, and some rather upsetting turbulence, he and his siblings where guided out by the stewardesses and towards the airport, Kiku leading the way by experience. Yao was amongst the few of his family to keep his luggage, knowing they had to drop by to get the rest.
"Kiku, you've been here before, so shouldn't you know where the bags are instead of running around like a clueless four year old?" Yong Soo sneered, hanging over Kiku with great height, giving him the chance to sneak a glance at the shorter brother's map.
"I do, I'm sorry. But maybe I'd remember if you would stop hanging over me like that." Kiku said, angrily eying how tall Yong Soo was in comparison to his petite self. Suddenly, an even bigger giant came behind them, placing a hand on their shoulders and pushing them together.
"Now older brothers, behave. You wouldn't want our mother to get angry would you?" Waeen said happily, obviously taking a jab at Yao's constant mother hen attitude.
"I'd prefer if all of you would shut up and just find where the bags are." Yao hissed to his younger siblings. His sister comes up from behind Yao, clutching his shoulder with manicured hands.
"Yao, please don't worry about the gege." Meiling says with a slight accent. Yao calms slightly at Meiling's soft voice. However, he knew it was just her bias towards Kiku that was speaking, knowing if he said anything else he'd taste the bitter wrath of a woman. Looking behind him, he spied Hoa, his Vietnamese sister who is examining her surroundings. Hui sticks to himself, carrying a navy blue sports bag, just one out of the many he was allowed to take in proportion to the rest of the family.
They reach the bag stations, Yao carefully checking and examining each bag, handing them to his siblings individually. After he knows that's the last of the bags, he checks his old counterfeit watch, which reads a time he isn't happy with. He immediately takes a sharp glance towards Kiku and Yong Soo.
"If you two weren't bickering out of your asses, we wouldn't have been late for our bus. Hurry up before I slap all of you." Yao bitterly spits venom towards his siblings, something they're all used too. They hurry out of the airport, all of them running towards the exit as Yao stays behind, corralling them like sheep into a barn.
Just as they spot the bus driver reaching to close the doors, Yong Soo yells out as they stumble one by one against the bus, courtesy to a few of Yao's most clumsy siblings. The bus driver scorns at Yao's family, gripping her wheel to keep her comments to herself, most likely.
"Hurry up and get in then." She snaps at them. They all pile in one by one, Yao being the last. He sees the bare seats, with literally only four students spaced out within the bus. He and his siblings take a seat in the back, with him pressed against the window as four of the biggest boys take the large seat. The bus starts with a resounding roar, feeling himself pulled back by the force of the bus moving forward. He rests against the window, ignoring the snickers and light rough-housing between Yong Soo and Waaen. He hears Yong Soo whisper something, but it starts to become to far for him to hear.
The warmth that spread throughout his neck and upper body helped him drift. The soft lullaby, the lulling voice. It's husky, yet eerily haunting tone seemed to drift like air into his ears. A son never wanted to leave the warmth of a mother's lap, the security of soft breasts matured by pregnancy. Just as it had came, it went, floating against a current that went to fast for him to catch.
"Wake up." Yong Soo impatiently said, squeezing Yao's shoulder tightly, bringing a piercing pain that was enough to make him alert. He hated being woken up by Yong Soo, as it always entailed some form of pain.
"We're here bro, it's just outside. I had no idea about how awesome it looked." Yong Soo said with obvious kiddy excitement. Yao sighed through his nose as he gathered up his luggage, taking Hui's sports bag that he had forgotten. Just as he looked up from walking down the metal steps of the bus, there was the school, standing high and large within the cool desert of the Rocky Mountains. The building was adobe beige, the colour severely overused. The building had a classical, old west design, however still showing slivers of typical desert construction common to the region. The school looked like a prison disguised as a hotel, in Yao's eyes.
"Alright kids, line up and I'll direct you to your group." A teacher impatiently called out, gathering the family along with the four other students together in a line, Yao being last with Hui in front of him. As the line progressed, Yao gripped Hui's shoulder and turned him, bending down to rest his behind on his heels to straighten Hui's mussed collar. Hui was already in 3rd grade, the little eight-year-old growing steadily like the rest of his brothers.
"I know you can handle yourself, but please make sure your sister doesn't get lost, or stray?" Yao muttered to Hui, looking up at him with a slightly playful smile. Hui grunted as he flicked his eyes towards Meiling, who dazed in the middle of her - and eventually Hui's - group. He repressed the need to facepalm when her dazing ended with a clumsy drop of luggage, embarrassingly trying to avert gazes towards her with a blush.
"Thank you." Yao said gratefully, handing Hui his sports bag before turning him around to greet the teacher. She guided him over to his sister, who he trotted to in silence. Yao walked up to meet his maker.
"What grade are you in?" She asked Yao, placing a hand on his shoulder as she looked towards the highschool groups.
"E-eleventh..." He stammered nervously as she nodded in response. She pointed to one of the smallest groups on the high school side.
"That's where you'll be. Follow the teachers instructions and you'll be fine." Yao nods and speed walks towards the group, finding himself near the end once again. A teacher - separate from the ones about the lead them - steps up in front of all the groups, starting to speak with a booming voice.
"Okay students, these teachers are going to lead you into your dorms. As you probably know there are several dorm buildings, each seperated into areas designated for different grade levels. One are for the high schoolers, one for the middle schoolers, and one for elementary schoolers. The middle school students are located on the other side of the school paired with the elementary school building, and high school students are not allowed to enter the middle school and elementary school buildings without a permit, and vice versa. The high school dorms are separated in two sections, one for the lower grades," She points to the groups left of Yao, "And one for the higher grades," She points towards him.
"Any questions?" An expected silence. She steps down, and his group's teacher starts gathering students. He starts walking with the rest of his students, holding his bags close to his frame as he starts finding himself caught in the very middle of the group, uncomfortably finding refuge into his shell. Someone bumps into him, and he looks up slightly. He sees it's a very tall, blond haired young man, with striking blue eyes, looking down at the dull Yao.
"Oh, sorry." He apologizes, his voice jubilant. Yao clears his throat softly as he sputters out the words.
"'S'alright..." He murmured, making extra space between him and the blond man.
"Hey, are you new here?," A moment of silence before he continues, "I've gone here for my entire high school life, so I can tell a new face from an old one." He explains, smiling at Yao with a sense of close friendliness. Yao stays silent. He was awfully chatty, a little too chatty for just a kid being led to a dorm. He grumbles to himself like this until it starts setting the other off.
"Uhm... Well, I'll just see you around I guess." He branches away from Yao, going to a group of more blonds, who were actually making quite the ruckus considering they were only two people. Then again, Yao wasn't very used to hanging around people his age. He only had his siblings as friends.
They reach the dorm, unsurprisingly less dramatic than the front of the school. it was all painted one shade, windows lining along the concrete building indicating each room. He wasn't satisfied with how close together they were, and especially not with the Victorian era choice of curtain. He is distracted by his observations by a teacher, lining them up to get their key, maps and room number. It feels as though he's waiting forever, his feet starting to feel a bit sore after a while. He comes to the end of the line after a long wait, taking a deep breath.
"This is your dorm room, room 310. Here's your key, and your map," She pushes the objects into Yao's hands,"And you're all set. If you ever loose your key then just come over to the dorm office and we'll supply you with a new one. Make sure not to loose it, 'kay hun?" She adds the last sentence bitterly, giving Yao a great first impression about her.
"Yes ma'am," He politely takes the items despite that, going off towards the dorm entrance as he looks over his map. He isn't surprised when he sees that he has to climb quite the amount of stairs to his dorm room, after checking the status of the elevator - out of order. He sighs sourly, readying his legs for the climb.
After a bit of searching, he found his room, fiddling with the lock and opening it. Just as the curtains, the room was disappointing. It was decorated royally with deep red furnishings, making the room darker than he liked it to be. The beige clashed horribly with the rest, but at least it was better than more red. He walked in, seeing a desk beside his bed and a note on it. He opened it, a cheesy welcome note only deserving of the trash. He threw his luggage on the bed, starting to unpack before getting startled by the sound of a lock being roughly unlocked.
"Oh, hello comrade. Did I scare?" The perpetrator had a thick accent. Yao hoped to god this wasn't his new room mate.
"No, that's... alright." He mutters, looking up at the man, taking the chance to examine him. He was just as beige as the desert, his clothes greyish yellows and somber, while his hair matched perfectly. He had violet eyes, which was the only source of colour that stood out from his palette, but even that had a hint of almost disgusting sadness.
"Where are you from? My name is Ivan." Ivan smiled as he spoke, clasping his hands together and holding them to his stomach. Yao cleared his throat as he turned back to his luggage, eying the obvious Russian with distrust. Yao looked to the open suitcase as Ivan walked to what he assumed was his bed, throwing his own luggage on it too and sitting. The bed sunk to meet the proportions of the giant man. It was possibly this hugeness that made Yao distrust him as much as he did.
"You have good English, I am not very good at it yet. I not find it very nice language, so I am not happy to learn." Ivan explained.
"That's unfortunate." Yao hides his annoyance with the others constant chattering. What made him even more miffed was the fact that he had to spend the majority of the school year with this boy.
"Maybe you can study me English sometime?" The beige man turned to Yao.
"Uh... Yeah." The gaze between them didn't signify any budding relationship.
Yao unexpectedly woke up, panicking as he gripped the bed sheets and looked around his room. His dorm room, not the bright open room he had at home, what was left of it. He rubbed his eyes, frowning against the heel of his hand as he looked up at the clock. Late, as usual. He got up hurriedly, putting his dorm key in his pocket and swiping the map to see where the assembly hall was. He leaves the dorm room, locking it on his way out and running throughout the building.
After exiting and sprinting from the dorm all the way to the main building, he reached the assembly hall. He didn't have time to breath yet, as an unknown teacher grabs him by the arm.
"You're late." She whispers, making him jump. He swallowed and nodded, looking to her shyly.
"Y-yes, sorry." He recoils from the teacher, who points to an empty chair.
"Go take a seat over there." He nods in response and bends himself down as he runs through rows of seats and students. He took the seat, positioned next to a peculiar looking boy who's hair as white as his skin, and eyes fiery red. Yao tries not to stare, gladly taking the middle aged woman onto the stage as distraction. Her hair was curled, lifted up into a sophisticated bun, her features European and her white dress flowing against her figure.
"Hello students, as you know, I'm your Principal, Ms. Olympias." Yao noted the extravagant name. She cleared her throat.
"I've been a part of this school ever since it's stood on scaffolding... Every year I greet new faces, knowing that this school is bring a world together for knowledge..." Yao rolls his eyes at how cheesy she sounded, and he figured she probably loved hearing the sound of her own voice. The man next to him frowned, whispering before saying rather loudly,
"This is the same speech as last year." Yao blushes as a few students look his way, becoming a recluse in his chair to make himself as small as possible. He tries to ignore him, and listen to the woman as the speech goes on.
"... I'd like for our students to behave, and to always remember to go to class on time. We don't tolerate a single slip in punctuality here at Hetalia, so I'm hoping you'll all stay on your toes. Without further ado, messages and welcomes from your teachers this year." She steps from the podium, allowing another teacher on stage, one that was particularly stumpy in the hips. The orientation goes on, each teacher uglier than the last.
"Yao, mama is pregnant. Yao will be good for his little brother right?" The words drive sharp knives into Yao's stomach.
"Why should I have too." He thinks, his grown body hurting as his child heart screeched.
"Yao, please don't be sad about daddy leaving. Mama got you a new daddy. Isn't he a lot nicer?" These were cold.
"Please just shut up." He cries out, clutching his heart painfully.
"Yao, mama has to go with daddy now. Take care of Kiku, okay?"
"Hey dude, the orientations are over." Yao feels a warm hand on his shoulder, patting it softly. He blinks, coming out of his daydream. He gets up, clearing his throat as he straightens his shirt.
"Sorry..." He says quietly to the albino man, who shrugs as he turns to his friends. Yao gets ready to leave, exiting the assembly hall as students clog the exit, his small frame managing to get passed all of them. Even in the midst of all that, he is stopped by Ivan. He grabs Yao by the arm, bringing him closer.
"What classes you have?" Ivan smiles towards Yao. Seeing his smile so close made it more menacing than from afar, allowing him to get a good look at the others crooked yellow teeth. Yao thinks hurriedly, with Ivan so close to the other.
"Uhm, w-well, I think I have Pre-calculus, and AP English... I forget a few classes, maybe Chemistry?" Yao swallowed, worrying over the circulation in his arm. Ivan still hasn't let go.
"I think I take chemistry too, we see each other in class sometime?" Ivan looms over the smaller boy, taking his large hand over his shoulder, completely engulfing it. Either the beige man had large hands, or Yao was really that small in comparison.
"Y-yeah, sure..." Yao slips out of his grip sneakily and gently, trying to run away from Ivan's creepy stature.
"See you in room okay?" Ivan says with a strangely mocking tone, as if he was trying to scare Yao on purpose. What made this even worse was that characteristic smile of his. Yao didn't respond, simply leaving and walking aimlessly around the main building. He knew for a fact he didn't want to go back to his dorm room, but he had no where else to go. That is, until he remembered what Kiku had told him. Whenever he had felt lonely, he'd seek refuge at the roof. The view there was spectacular from Kiku's words, so Yao decided why not.
After spending ages looking at his map for a way to the roof, Yao climbed more stairs until he got to heavy concrete doors, managing to pry one open with the entirety of his frame. Immediately feeling the desert winds blow into his hair, he was glad it was tied up in a ponytail. Walking towards the edge of the roof, sitting on the concrete ground and sighing softly. Despite the school being located in Pahrump, it was actually quite a long ways away from the town, seeing it far on the leftward horizon.
So there he was, watching as students down below chased one another and deciding how funny it would be to spit on a few ugly middle school girls who were more likely than not talking about some stupid fandom on the internet, or boys. For a moment his whole world goes blank as he stares out against the horizon, then he remembers he has to spend a whole year here at this school, competing with siblings for the top spot with his parents approval, having to deal with horribly ugly and bitter teachers and a curriculum on a scale much higher than what he had usually been expected to do. What better to wrap up the deal than a creepy room mate that probably plotted how deep your grave was going to be?
Yao contemplated how much it would hurt to fall of the edge right now.
A/N: Edited for inconsistencies.