Storybook
Chapter 2- Smile
They are now in an awkward situation. Why is it awkward? Because they are on the bed inside Francis and Alfred's room. On top of each other— Kiku on top of Alfred, and Francis on top of Arthur. Why again? Because the moment that Arthur and Francis saw each other, Arthur tackled him to the ground and started fighting. At first, Alfred and Kiku tried to stop them but they ended up joining the fight when Francis accidentally hit Alfred. So, they fought and fought until they reached the bed, hit it, fell down, and got tangled up there. And so, that explains their situation.
"You bloody frog! You caused all of this!"
"M-Me?! You're the one who tackled my beautiful body!"
"What about MY totally sexy body?! It's scratched and bruised by you two!"
"Ano...Francis-san, Arthur-kun, and Alfred-san...Please...calm down..." Kiku could only sigh and try to get off of Alfred but he was too exhausted.
"Kiku? Keeks? Are you tired? You can rest on me, if you want." Alfred offered.
"I refuse, Alfred-san... It's inappropriate..." His cheeks heated up a little from Alfred's offer.
"You're so cute, Keeks~" Alfred was about to reach up and wrap his arms around him when Kiku slapped them away.
"...We have only met today... Keep your hands to yourself..."
"Francis? Francis?! OI! GET AWAY FROM ME!"
"But, mon Anglettere~ Your body is ready to be taken by me~"
"BLOODY FUCKING HELL— GET OFF!"
And, that started their first day in America...
They untangled themselves after that and Kiku and Arthur went back to their room. It was a lot more...Quiet there. Arthur went to his bed and grabbed some books to read.
Books.
Kiku fell asleep with that word in mind, wondering why that word made his chest ache once more.
A day has passed, and another one has come.
"Hey, Kiku?"
"Hai?"
"Promise you'll never forget about me?"
"I promise."
Kiku sat up with a soft gasp, making Arthur turn his head from what he was reading and wonder what was wrong. It was actually a new day— The second day of their stay in America. Arthur was reading early in the morning when Kiku woke up. He took deep breaths as he tried to recall what just happened in his dream. He had a long dream but only those words remained in his mind.
"What's wrong, Kiku?" Arthur asked, confused of what happened to him.
"I...I had...a weird dream... But, you shouldn't worry about me, Arthur-kun—" Kiku was stopped when Arthur stood up and walked over to his bed.
"Can you please drop the honorifics?"
"W-What...?"
"It's just... We're good friends now, right? It's just odd... Besides, here in America, people don't really know the purpose of honorifics. So, kindly drop it and act like an American?" Arthur asked.
"...I'm sorry... It's just inapproriate for me, Arthur... But, I will try..." Kiku looked down at his blanket before he sighed. "I will try..."
"Thank you, love."
"You're welcome."
So, Kiku lied back down again while Arthur went back to his bed to read his book. Their silent moment ended when the sound of a finger tapping on a mic was heard and then a girl's voice came after that.
"Attention to all students attending W Academy this year! We will all be having a game. The principal has decided to give everyone some time to know each other. This is the game: It is a Treasure Hunt game. Whoever gets the most treasure and gets the Ultimate Treasure will win the game. These treasures are hidden in the whole building. There will be snacks and gadgets. The Ultimate Treasure? Well, we don't want to tell you that. So, four students in each group, and happy hunting! Game starts when everyone is in the lobby. Thank you."
Arthur and Kiku turned their heads to face each other and smiled. "So, who will we team up with?" Kiku asked.
"I don't really know..." The British man sighed.
"Perhaps we can team up with Alfred and Fra—"
"NO! NOT THEM! ANYONE BUT THEM!"
"O-Okay...? How about... The people from 742?" He suggested. Even though they never really got to know the people there, it might be better, right?
Arthur thought about this before he sighed and he agreed. Anyone's fine as long as Francis isn't involved. "Alright then..."
"Team up with us?" The German spoke with a deep yet confused voice.
"That sounds nice! Vee~" The Italian named Feliciano smiled, a happy aura surrounding him. Kiku found this to be quite amusing.
"Er...Yes. Is it okay with you? Or have you teamed up with anyone yet?" Arthur asked.
Ludwig, the German, decided to agree to this. When Feliciano saw that Ludwig agreed, he immediately threw himself at Kiku and hugged him tightly. "Yay~ I get to be teammates with cute little Kiku here~"
"A-Ah... Feliciano-kun... Please get off..."
"FELI!" Ludwig shouted.
"V-Ve?!"
"GET OFF OF KIKU. NOW. IF YOU DON'T, YOU'LL RUN TEN LAPS AROUND THE BUILDING!"
"N-Nooo! Not that! Anything but that!" And so, Feliciano moved away from Kiku with teary eyes.
Arthur could only sigh at the scene earlier before he gestured to the elevator. "Shall we go down?"
"Whoa! It's so crowded here!" Alfred looked around to count how many people are gathered.
"Of course it's crowded, Alfred. This building is for an international school after all." Francis gave a sigh, crossing his arms.
"Will there be tomatoes in the hunt?" An Italian responded to Alfred and Francis' conversation, making the Spanish man behind him laugh. "O-Oi! What the hell are you laughing at, tomato bastard?!"
"Nothing, Lovi~ You're just so adorable~" The Spanish man ruffled the Italian's hair but when the curl on his hair was tugged, he got a really strong headbutt from the Italian.
"G-Get away from me, tomato bastard!"
"AHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Alfred, stop laughing like that!" Francis complained, sighing.
"THAT BLOODY VOICE OF YOURS IS MORE ANNOYING!"
"A-Arthur?!"
"Kiku?!" Alfred's eyes widened and sparkled before he ran up to the Japanese man to hug him.
"A-Alfred-san! Get off! This is very unappropriate...!"
Arthur glared daggers at the French man. He knew he'd see the man again today but he didn't want to see his face early in the morning. The four of them stopped what they were doing when another microphone and a girl's voice was heard.
"Alright then, students! It seems that all of you are here now. All teams must be together so their baskets will be given properly. Now, the rules are simple: Whoever gets the most treasure wins, and whoever gets the Ultimate Treasure is an instant winner. Another rule has been added, however. There are some cameras and people guarding the Ultimate Treasure. If you get caught, you're out. This game is about bonding and teamwork, alright? And, now... Let the games begin!"
"It's still weird that the school has made an event like this..." Kiku looked up. "But, it looks nice."
"Hey, Keeks."
"What is it, Alfred..."
"I've enrolled in W Academy last year and this game is never forgotten. I participated. So, let me tell you something as a warning, okay? Some treasures are somewhere you'll never expect and some treasures have traps guarding them. There are traps that are quite painful so be careful, 'kay? And last thing, good luck. See you later." Alfred smiled, patted his head, and started to search with Francis and the others.
Kiku was surprised with this. Alfred was helping him? But, he hardly even knows the man. How can Alfred be so nice to him?
Wait... Why is his heart racing?
Why is his face heating up?
...No, he doesn't have feelings for him. He will /never/ have feelings with a boisterous person like him.
He—
"Kiku?"
"Ah... Ah— Hai?"
"It's time, you know. We have to start searching," Oh, right... The game...
"Yes, yes... I am sorry for spacing out. Ludwig and Feliciano, right? We will be heading out now. Be observant."
Kiku, Arthur, Ludwig, and Feliciano are now looking for objects hidden in the building. They already have their baskets and they already have seventeen snacks, and two gadgets. They haven't found the Ultimate Treasure yet, and the gadgets are already hard to find so how valuable is the Ultimate Treasure? Feliciano is the one that got most of the snacks, Kiku with the gadgets, and Arthur just helped with the thinking.. Ludwig gives suggestions and all of his suggestions always have a lot of treasures hidden in them. On the other hand, Alfred, Francis, Lovino— the Italian, and Antonio— the Spanish man are busy being clueless. They only found a few treasures due to Alfred's "Hero senses". In the middle of their search, the two teams crossed paths.
"Fratello?!" The two Italians stared at each other.
"Feli~" Antonio smiled brightly, throwing his arms around the younger Italian— Feliciano. The older brother got pissed because of this, though.
"Oi, tomato bastard!"
"FROG!"
"BROWS!"
"Keeks~"
"Get away..." Kiku sighed, pushing the American off of him.
"I- I was just worried about you..." Alfred pouted, looking down. "I like you—"
"...?"
"...yoooooouuuuur... Uh... Anime!" Alfred smiled to hide his embarrassment, cheeks pink.
Alfred... What a weird boy you are...
Kiku's thoughts were interrupted when Arthur and Francis were bickering again. After sighing, he pulled Arthur away from Francis. It was possible to break the two up but you need strong arms and blackmails. Antonio pulled Francis away as well, smiling at Kiku in the process. Kiku thought it was weird, but he knew the man was just being friendly.
"Alright... We will be leaving you now." Kiku bowed and dragged Arthur away, not caring about the British man's protests. He kept shouting 'I need to kill that bloody frog!' but Kiku didn't let go of him. He just gave a cold stare at the British man and that made him shut his lips.
Alfred's team saw how Kiku silenced Arthur so they learned a lesson: Never. Piss. Kiku. Off.
They looked at their baskets and they were satisfied with what they have, but they haven't found the Ultimate Treasure yet. This was making Ludwig think, though... Yes, they don't expect the treasure to be easy to find, but for it to be this hard?
"...Guards... The treasure... It's probably not a gadget, or snack... It's something very different... Something people would never expect to be a treasure..." Ludwig looked down as he thought about it. Everybody quickly turned their heads, surprised.
"You mean..."
"...something students hate..."
"A book!" Feliciano raised his hand. "Because... Students, uh... Don't like books, right? Most students."
"...Feliciano... That is probably the smartest thing you have said yet..."
"Y-Yosh, minna-san...! Let's look for a book!"
And so they started their search for a book that might be an Ultimate Prize. Ludwig started to point out possible places while Arthur thought of some plans. While Kiku was waiting for the two to finish planning, he thought of some things as well.
A book, huh? A textbook maybe? After all, students don't like that.
"Ve~ Kiku?"
"Ah— Hai, Feliciano-kun?"
"Do you ever smile?" The Italian asked. Kiku looked down. Smile?
"Of course I do, Feliciano-kun." He answered.
"But... I haven't seen you smile yet... Do you have many problems?" Feliciano asked.
Kiku shook his head. No, he didn't really have problems at all. "No, I don't... I just don't smile a lot. Why do you ask?"
"You just look so... Sad all this time..."
"Feliciano, Kiku, we're heading out," Arthur called out, motioning for them to come.
"...I am fine, alright? Do not worry about me," Kiku walked towards them, hand tightly holding on to his basket. Feliciano followed, smiling.
They searched all around the building, looking for the Ultimate Treasure that may or may not be a book. They checked the other rooms for the item but it was just not that easy. The lobby has already been checked and so has the outside, but there was no book. That was when Feliciano's mind finally worked...
"We're looking for a book... But, they'll never place it somewhere obvious, right?"
"...We've been checking all of the common places where they might hide a treasure... Are you the real Feliciano?" Kiku asked, tilting his head— Actually, all of them tilted their heads. Kiku and Arthur's few moments with them already made them know that Feliciano is a real airhead.
"...I think I know where... Actually... I know who..." A smirk started to appear on Arthur's face.
"Congratulations! You have won the treasure hunt!" The girl clapped, smiling at them.
Everybody who was in the lobby turned their heads to look at the so-called 'winners'. The Ultimate Treasure was a book and the person holding it the whole time was the girl who announced the game. They had to use a lot of tricks and charms to force the girl to give it up.
When Arthur said who it was, they quickly ran down to the lobby. Arthur guessed who it was because no one would ever check the girl. So, after they got down, they tried to trick the girl with 'oh look!' tricks but it never really went the way the wanted. That was when Kiku came up with an idea to force the girl into giving it by turning on their 'bishounen charms' and I mean, look at them! Aren't they so charming? It resulted to some fangirling and winning.
"Each of you will get one treasure from your basket that you would like to keep. Again, congratulations." The girl smiled once more before she bowed and gestured to their baskets. Almost all of the students clapped for them but some teams didn't.
So, these are their picked out prizes:
Feliciano took a snack,
Ludwig decided not to take one,
Arthur took the newest phone in his basket,
and Kiku took the Nintendo 3DS for... You know... Gaming.
Yes, the school afforded a lot of gadgets for this game.
Alfred walked up to their team and he beamed at Kiku, patting his head. "Wow, Keeks! You did good in this game. A gaming console, huh? Would you like to play with me next time?"
Kiku forgot to respond to him due to his pounding heart. Why? Why was his heart pounding like this? He removed Alfred's hand from his head and he bowed. "I-I'm sorry... I'll be leaving now..." He quickly turned away and ran to the elevator.
Arthur could only stare at the Japanese man for s few minutes before he started to bicker with Francis again.
Alfred wasn't satisfied with Kiku's reaction, though...
He felt his heart shatter...
...but he didn't know why.
Inside their room, Kiku was lied down on the bed with Feliciano watching over him. Feli ran after Kiku when he left and he ended up being invited in Kiku and Arthur's room. They talked for a while before Kiku lied down to rest.
"Can I help you with anything, Kiku?" The Italian asked.
He shook his head. "Not really, Feliciano-kun... No, wait... Can you please get my little bag on the table?" He pointed at the bag beside an anime figurine.
"Of course, captain! Vee~" Feliciano smiled, skipping over to the table to get the bag. He handed it over to Kiku.
"Arigatou gozaimasu..." Kiku pulled out some games and he played using his new 3DS.
His day went well, to be honest. His only problem was the weird feeling in his chest, though... Whenever he thought of Alfred's touch, his heart starts pouding again. When night came, he talked about this with Arthur and the British man laughed heartily, staring at Kiku afterwards.
"That's love, dear."
"That is not love! I... I have already told you it's not love. I will never fall in love with another man...! Would you like it when someone told you that you and Francis look good together—"
"That's not love. You're not in love. Love is not real. I am not good with Francis! That bloody frog should die!" He started to ramble, making the Japanese man laugh this time and it stopped Arthur's rambling. "You smiled."
"Huh?"
"You should smile more often. It's nice to see you smile," Arthur chuckled.
Kiku looked down and he lied back down, covering himself with a blanket. "G... Good night, Arthur..."
"Good night, Kiku..."
I need to stop acting like a maiden...
Morning has finally come around once more and the sunlight went to Kiku's eyes, making him wake up. When he woke up, he turned to Arthur who was reading once more.
"Good morning, Arthur..." Kiku rubbed his eyes, yawning a little.
The British man closed his book with a smile and he bowed his head. "Good morning, Kiku. How was your sleep?"
"It was nice, thank you..."
"Would you like to eat some breakfast? It seems that this building is serving meals to all students. It will be outside so the students can get fresh air," He walked to Kiku's bed and he took his hand, making Kiku stand up.
He found this interesting so he nodded. "That sounds nice... Are they serving now?"
"Yes."
"Alright then. Let's... Go..." Another yawn escaped the Japanese man's lips, making Arthur chuckle.
"Now, now... Go wash up."
"Hai..."
They headed to the front door and when they finally got outside, the light blinded them for a second. When they regained their sight, they saw tables and chairs set up with a lot of students occupying many of those tables. On the tables were plates and food set up for the students. Kiku noticed that there was Asian food so it made him happy. They ended up sitting with their neighbors from both room 740 and 742.
"My morning has been ruined by the face of an ugly frog..." Arthur grumbled.
"You can't say things about my beautiful face like that!"
"Well, I just did!"
"Kiku~" Feliciano sat beside Kiku and he hugged him tightly. Kiku actually shuddered when he felt a glare directed at him and the Italian, but he didn't know where it came from. "How are you?"
"I am fine, thank you, Feliciano-kun..." He turned his head and he saw the American who quickly stopped glaring so Kiku wouldn't notice. "How about you, Alfred? How are you?"
"...Hm? Oh! I'm fine! Thanks for asking, Keeks!" Alfred beamed at him.
"What about you, Ludwig-san?"
"Ah, I am perfectly fine, thank you." Ludwig smiled a little.
Kiku stopped Arthur from fighting with Francis and he stood up. "So, shall we eat, please?"
"Oh— Yes, of course!" Arthur sat him back down and they all started to eat.
The food was absolutely delectable! This was, by far, the best breakfast Kiku has ever had! Arthur and Francis were actually talking normally that time so that made it better. Feliciano started playing with the food and Ludwig scolded him. It was hilarious, in Kiku's opinion. Then there's Alfred who made satisfied faces every time he took a bite of his food. Kiku stared at everyone before he ended up laughing a little, making everybody stop.
"What?"
"It's nothing... You all are just so adorable." Kiku smiled, a faint blush on his cheeks.
"...YOU'RE SO CUTE WHEN YOU SMILE!" Alfred quickly threw his arms around him and snuggled him, ignoring the Japanese man's protests. Everyone started laughing at the scene they created but the people in Kiku's table didn't care about that.
"G-Get off of me, Alfred!"
"Vee~ Kiku was so cute just now~"
"Please...! Get off!"
And that started Kiku's third day in America.
A/N: Yay~ I made it longer and with a lot of pairing hints~ You know, two reviews already made me so happy. So very happy... So, again, Review and Fave if you enjoyed and I'll see you guys next time.
Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia or any of its characters.