Loki was helping his mother in the garden, picking the right vegetables to go in their stew for dinner. He furrowed his brow as he pulled on a parsnip, taking care not to damage it. He smiled in triumph as it uprooted, revealing the healthy growth of cream-yellow.

"It looks tasty..." He mouthed, but his mother scolded him,

"You can't eat it raw Loki, let me cook it, like a good generic Japanese housewife should, and then you can have it." She smiled as if this was normal, and walked into the house with the basket of vegetables that they had picked together. Loki sat there for a moment, removing his gardening gloves. Ever since they had moved to Japan, his mother had acted differently. She had become more submissive, and seamed to have lost an unhealthy number of brain cells too. Or maybe she just no longer enjoyed thinking.

Thor came running out of the house to join Loki,

"What are you doing Nii-san?" He bent over to peer at his brother's face,

"Ahh don't get so close!" Loki's frown returned, and he stood up. "I'm thinking about what happened yesterday." That made Thor wince,

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to make your singing beautiful..." He apologized sincerely,

"But... my accent... I'll never fit in with the other singers in this country." Loki sighed. Thor crossed his arms and nodded, as if deeply immersed in thought. Loki knew this to be impossible, but something did appear to be going on inside the blonde's head.

"I've got it!" Thor grinned, slamming his fist into his other hand, and causing the sky to crackle. "I'll re-create the poison- I mean potion, and then I'll be able to sing too! Then you won't be alone Nii-san!" He smiled, and picked his brother up by the shoulders, swinging him around and around on the spot. Loki became very dizzy due to Thor's enthusiasm at the idea of becoming a duet.

After dinner, Loki went up to his room. He had to pack a suitcase full of things to last him a week. The class were going on a trip to that beach that appears in every anime that nobody knows the name of. Loki liked to think of it as being called 'the beach'. First things first, he shoved a bucket and spade into his case. There would no doubt be conveniently placed rare shells for him to collect, or maybe some crabs that they could cook over a fire. Loki cheered up, as he lovingly folded his summer wear. He glanced around the room a short while later, wondering if he was missing anything else important. He would pack his toiletries in the morning after a shower, but surely he was forgetting something?

"Thordo-chan!" He cried, in disbelief. How could he have fogotten the soft toy he held so dear? He picked up the tiny golden labrador, and cuddled it, causing it to squeak. "I'm sorry Tho-chan... I didn't mean to hurt you." He hugged the plushie tighter, resulting in another squeak. "Yes I know. Now into the suitcase you go." He smiled, placing the fluffy dog carefully in his suitcase by the bucket and spade. He would rest easy that night knowing that he was no longer in danger of leaving the toy behind.

Thor was in his own room, also packing for the trip. He was slower than Loki, choosing to simply throw his clothes into the case, not thinking about creases or the effort that his mother had lovingly put into ironing them. He had just finished packing, when a thought struck him. He was definitely forgetting something... what was it? He suddenly ran from the room, and down the corridor. He burst into Loki's room, and slung him over his shoulder, before running back into his own room.

"Onii-chan! Put me down!" Loki wailed,

"I'm sorry Nii-san... I didn't mean to hurt you." He put Loki down so that he was sitting on the contents of his suitcase.

"This is-"

"Yes I know. Now into the suitcase you go." Thor smiled, and shut his suitcase. The muffled complaints were drowned out as Thor went to gather Loki's suitcase and place it on top, trapping his brother inside, "Now I can't possibly be in danger of leaving you behind by accident!" He grinned in triumph. "Don't worry Nii-san, I put air holes in..." Thor paused. "Oh... wait I forgot that too!" He wailed, panicking and searching for a drill. Meanwhile Loki was turning a familiar plum shade of purple, his eyes turning into crosses.

"Thor-kun?" Their mother called from downstairs. "Its time for bed. I'm coming up to say goodnight!" Thor heard the footsteps, light on the staircase. He clasped his hands to his face: What to do? Where was the drill? "Thor-kun?" Came his mother's concerned voice when there was no reply. "There's an automatic drill lying on the floor down here. Come and clear up at once!" Thor's head snapped up, and he dashed down to fetch the drill. Never mind that he could have simply moved Loki's suitcase, and opened his own again.

The god of thunder returned several moments later, brandishing the tool in his hands,

"Don't worry Nii-san, I'm going to give you air now. Move away from the edge of the suitcase." He smiled, as he finally turned the drill on. He ignored the muffled complaints that grew in volume and pitch as he began drilling through the suitcase.

Tony Stark was shoving his suitcase into one of his more sporty looking cars, determined to make a good impression on the ladies at the beach,

"Banban-kun?" He called to Bruce, who was just loading his own case in with Tony's, "Can you pass me a spanner?" Tony missed the look of confusion on his friend's face,

"What for? We're not in science class... or the workshop... Stark-kun, is everything okay?" He asked, lines of empathy showing on his brow,

"I... I just wanted you to pass me a spanner!" Tony sobbed, "For once I just wanted there to be a spanner..." Tears streamed down his cheeks at an impossible speed. "There's never one available... and there definitely won't be anything for me to tinker with at the beach!" His eyes widened and his tears ceased, as his friend suddenly pulled him into a tight hug,

"I know its hard. Look at me Stark-kun! I won't have my chemistry set..." He patted Tony on the head, "Its just as well you're allowed to drive at such a young age here Stark-kun." He smiled, and they shut the car boot.

The next day, Steve Rogers stepped out of his house, already adorning his American flag swim shorts and bright red flip flops. He shielded his eyes from the sun with his hands, and carried his surf board all the way to school. He didn't need luggage, he was Captain America... in Japan.

Natasha Romanov was waiting impatiently by the school bus when her friends arrived,

"Honestly minna-san, you shouldn't keep a girl waiting." This caused all the men to snicker and giggle. "What's so funny?" she gave them a death glare that could pierce the heart of an ice cold Jotun. Her classmates froze, ceasing their laughter at once. They had all secretly been wondering what about her exactly was 'girl' like. Even in her summer uniform, she still looked deadly and like... well, a black widow. Steve tried to hide the drool that had almost dribbled down the side of his mouth. He was curious to see if she would still look dangerous in a swim suit.

The coach ride was a long trip by road to the coast, with no breaks except for lunch. By the time they reached the beach, they could see that Tony and Bruce were already waiting for them there, with Tony's sports car,

"Hey no fair Stark-kun!" Natasha complained, "Why couldn't you give us a lift- I mean get on the school bus with the rest of us?" She folded her harms and huffed, shifting her weight, and causing the curve of her hips to sway to the side. Steve had to concentrate hard to prevent one of those inexplicable nose bleeds that seemed to happen often in this country.

After decanting their luggage in their rooms, the class went outside for a swim in the ocean. Much to everyone's annoyance, Natasha was wearing a one piece swim suit and a sarong. And by that I mean there was a one piece logo on the front of her extremely revealing bikini, and daringly transparent sarong. She stuck her tongue out to show that she was aware of how teasing the outfit was, before she laughed and ran off to jump into the water.

Bruce tugged lightly on Tony's arm. There was a look of bashfulness about him that Tony only saw on rare occasions,

"Stark-kun... Hulk wants to build a sand castle..." He was still so shy about his other side, always worried about what would happen to those around him. Tony smiled and nodded, as Bruce morphed into prepubescent Hulk, who was a little chubby, and more lean than he would grow to be. Tony smiled at the green teenager, and handed him a bucket and spade. The Hulk smiled happily and went to build his dream house.

Loki, having finally been let out of Thor's suitcase, was still gasping for air, when his brother had dragged him outside to join the others. Both brothers wore swimming trunks and Asguardian necklaces, though Thor's was far bulkier and gold, unlike Loki's masculine, silver one.

"Come on Nii-san! Lets play tag!" He tagged Loki, who immediately tagged him back, and desperately ran away across the sand.