A/N: Yo! I would have posted this earlier, but right when I finally finished it, my other beta disappeared! D: I waited, but...Nothing happened. D: And so, wanting to go on, I decided to post in anyway..._U I hope Dontmezwitme comes back soon! D: She's my first official beta...

Anyway, the usual, I don't own Hetalia. This chapter is 100% clean and sadly 100% FMA-free and will remain thus until later later chapters. I only put this in crossovers because I was told that's where it belongs. O3O

Bloodstained Chrysanthemums/沾染着血的菊花

Chapter Two: Questions/第二章: 问题

…This couldn't be happening.

The flashlight dropped from a dumbfounded Kiku's hand, rolling across the white sand. He was sure this was where he had left the boat; it was by that large boulder that was constantly lapped at by the waves. But…Where was it, then? All he could see was an empty beach and the rolling sea.

"Captain…?" he called feebly, picking up the flashlight. Its light had extinguished when he had dropped it. Kiku pushed up the switch, but it did not turn on, even when he shook it. So his boat was missing and his flashlight wasn't working. Great. He checked his watch consciously; the time was ten thirty. His cellphone was on the boat, and he had no other means of contacting his father nor anyone else for that matter. He was most definitely stuck on the island until he could find his boat.

Perhaps the captain had left without him? He had seemed like a nice young man, but he was awfully panicky and superstitious, and it couldn't have been too far out of his ability to abandon his client on the island. Still…Aside from being terrified of the paranormal, the captain was also terrified of the rich; the Wang family's power could make the seaman succumb to anything, as Kiku had seen himself. The fact pushed out the fiction, and the Japanese decided that the captain would most likely not leave on his own.

Suddenly, the old myth that had led him to the island in the first place slipped back into Kiku's mind. Those who dock on it never return… Hah! That was merely superstitious falsehood…Right…?

Kiku slapped himself mentally. Stay calm, Kiku…You can't let such trifling tales get to you… Slightly comforted but not completely devoid of his anxiety, Kiku wandered the nearby sands to see if he could find any evidence whatsoever on the whereabouts of the boat and, more importantly, the captain. The night remained quiet as ever, as if to daunt him.

Something half-buried in sand caught the pale moonlight, and Kiku ceased his circuit, attention averted to the discovery. The young man crouched down and brushed the sand away. It was a piece of metal.

The boat…!

He turned the shard around in his hands. It was painted the same color as the boat he had just ridden on a few moments earlier, crumpled at the edges, like it was forcefully ripped out of place. This could only mean one thing:

The boat was gone. For good.

Kiku gulped, setting down the shard once more and stepping back. Something took his boat, and perhaps even the captain with it.

Beginning to grow nervous, he turned back for the route he had just taken. Maybe Yao knew something about it, as unlikely as it seemed, and besides, he would need a place to stay for the night. Kiku certainly did not like the notion of turning to his older brother for help, but he hadn't much of a rational choice otherwise. Besides, he had to admit he was slightly curious as to how Yao ended up on the island. He had only disappeared shortly after his recovery from the…incident, and the search teams were sent out immediately. Records of trips out the area were looked over carefully, with no result. If Yao had not ridden a boat there or flown a plane, how did he get there?

The Japanese quickened his pace. This ignorance was making him uneasy, and the uncanny silence was worsening it. Where were all the creatures of the night who were supposed to be calling out to each other or something? A silence like this was uncommon even for someplace deserted such as the island he was on at the moment, and—

"Boo!"

Kiku yelped at the voice behind him, stumbling onto the sand, although he didn't need to look to know who it was. "Yao…"

"Aww, you knew aru?" came the familiar annoying laugh. Kiku turned over on the sand, scowling. The same person he expected stood above him, grinning, though the same wound burdened his face and made everything he said seem awkwardly average. "That's okay, though. Your reaction was still hilarious, aru!"

With a resigned sigh at his older brother's childish behavior, Kiku picked himself up from the ground. Couldn't he take anything seriously…? "This is no time for your immature jokes, Yao…My boat just vanished."

"Huh…?" Yao's amused smirk immediately fell from his face. Instead his expression displayed surprise, which faded quickly into vague understanding. The Chinese muttered something to himself in his own language before calling, "Um, Di-di? We better get going, aru. If that's the case, I have someplace we can stay for the night, but you'll have to come with me, aru."

Without waiting for a reply, Yao turned for the forest. Kiku blinked; he didn't think Yao would allow it so easily, even without him asking! It may have been a triumph of some sort, but it was also an omen. After all, what would make Yao so nervous as to be the first to offer a night at wherever he was staying without playing around first? Had some danger befallen the captain and threatened to affect Kiku as well? Yao may have been annoying, but he was not stupid. If there was danger, there was danger, and Kiku had to follow his advice. "W-Wait…!" He trotted as quickly as he could after the Chinese, who was already entering the woods.

"Walk faster aru!" taunted Yao with a laugh. Kiku could no longer see him in the thick foliage; his voice seemed far away.

"Yao…Since when did you walk quickly…?" Kiku couldn't recall a single instance wherein Yao could walk faster than him. It's always either the Chinese was walking in a leisurely stride to "admire the scenery" even if there was nothing to see, or, if he was running, he'd give up in a span of a few minutes. Kiku just couldn't see how Yao was climbing the steep forest incline this fast at all.

By the time he had Yao in sight, he was completely out of breath. The Chinese, though, much to Kiku's confusion, looked completely unfazed, standing with the moonlight highlighting his silky hair as he looked down at him with a contemplating look. "You're kind of slow tonight, aru."

You're unusually quick tonight… Kiku wanted to retort, but he no longer had the breath to. Instead he leaned on a tree, gasping, "Where…?"

"Oh. You want to see, aru?" Yao stepped aside, revealing the enthralling view.

The two of them had climbed up to a cliff that provided a breathtaking view of the ocean's crashing waves. The moon hung high above them like a glow-in-the-dark stamp on the black sheet of a sky. Countless stars graced the dark expanse, more than can ever be seen in the city. A breeze blew towards them, as if to welcome them to the lavish Oriental pagoda built on the cliff. Lanterns hung off the tiers of the roofs and the gate. The Chinese people usually hung lanterns during a festive event; Kiku briefly wondered what the occasion was. More importantly, though, he wondered where such a structure came from.

"It's…" Kiku was speechless once more, though no longer from exhaustion.

"You like it, aru?" Yao smiled, an attempt at warm hospitality. "Come on, let's go in, aru."

"Wait-!" Kiku called, but Yao was far in the lead once more. How did he manage to build such a lavish abode on a deserted, uncharted island without the help of any construction company outside of the island itself…? In coming with Yao, Kiku had thought he would find answers to his questions. Instead, the mysteries multiplied.

…No matter. He would ask, once they were both inside. He had to know; he needed answers.

…Just what had he gotten himself into…?

The brothers sat across each other awkwardly, the table between them holding nothing but a teapot and two cups of tea, the steam rising in graceful swirls. The windows were open, and the moon watched over their awkward silence, the only source of light aside from the dim glow of the red paper lanterns around them. The room was apparently Yao's reception room, although why he needed one on an island with no residents, Kiku had no idea, as usual. Painted scrolls adorned the walls.

Calmly ignoring Kiku's evident discomfort, Yao took his tea, taking a rather loud sip. It was as if he was enjoying the silence, awaiting Kiku to speak first.

The Japanese, on the other hand, was not interested at all in speaking first, as curious as he was. Anyway, he knew that Yao would eventually grow tired of their game of silence and act first; perhaps he would even reveal something he would not have if Kiku had spoken first. At least that's what he told himself; in reality, he could not decide which of the questions in his unfortunate collection to ask first. He fingered the beautiful patterns on his porcelain cup tensely.

Finally, his tea exhausted (much unlike his younger brother's) and fed up with the silence, Yao whispered, "You want to ask me something." It was a statement, not a question.

"I want to ask you everything," said Kiku, nonchalantly masking his anxiety, "but I will only ask you the most basic: What happened?" He had been waiting for this moment, and he could not afford to narrow down to one topic just yet. Too personal a question could render Yao reluctant to answer, and something this generic could solicit the most answers.

"That's very vague," Yao noted with a frown. "Though I understand your confusion."

"Do you? Then if you truly do, Yao, you can answer it, can you not?"

His brother smiled; Kiku had scored the goal. "Fine, then…You win this time, Di-di. But I'm warning you, I'm not supposed to be talking about this, and I'm not going to reveal a lot, understand?"

Kiku nodded, heart pounding.

"Good. Then, let's begin our little storytelling session tonight."