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Japan glanced away from our checkers game with a furrowed brow for just long enough for me to move his piece back a row to where I needed it to be to make a double jump. When he didn't look back, I grew curious of what he was looking at and glanced over my shoulder. Nothing was unusual. The books sat on the bookshelf, the fruit sat in the fruit bowl, Korea and Hong Kong where having a playful battle with chop sticks, and China was hunched over a circular wooden table running his hand through his hair. He was his usual stress filled mess as he stared at piles of papers and packets his boss had given him. His ponytail holder by this point had been pulled all the way out of his hair and was now being tied into and pulled out of slip knots with his free hand. In a wave of dejection, China slammed his face down on the table, wild mane gliding down slowly behind him and he began to whisper curses at the inanimate objects before him. Without my noticing his movement, Japan had ended up next to China at the table and he tapped him on the knee.
"Do you need help?"
"No. I will be alright thank you."
"Are you sure? I really want to help. It would be good for my country to learn about money."
China smiled and used his foot to push out the chair across him at the table that Japan climbed into.
"If you insist. Making money is very easy. Keeping it is hard part."
Japan grabbed a stack of paper himself and began to read and sign for China. He would occasionally reach over the table pointing at some characters to ask what they meant or wanted and China would reply gleeful that his little assistant was trying so hard.
I walked closer to the two as they shuffled through the documents. On tip-toe I was able to see at the table that one read in bold letters at the top "BANK STATEMENT". China had outstanding debts for food, clothes, chop sticks, soap, water, and anything else we'd needed. Japan was much older than I was at this point - although he didn't look it - so he tended to help China sort through the papers when it became too much for the poor man alone. Hours droned by as the two read, highlighted, signed and reread the endless stack of documents until finally, China stapled the last packet of papers together and jumped up from the table excitedly.
"You know what?" He enthusiastically commented, grinning at Japan as his tiny hands attempted to grab a far too large pile of papers and shove them into a folder, "I think it's time for today's training sessions." The man bounced out of the room. Korea and Hong Kong placed their chopsticks on the counter and followed China excitedly out of the room. He was teaching all of us something that we each had chosen to specialize in. Korea and Hong Kong were learning combat from him, Japan had taken on both weapon making and sword fighting, and I was learning gymnastics. Back then, before his old age set in, the man would often walk on his hands or flip about the house being stopped only by the mass of hair that would slide into his face and block his vision. I had just mastered the hand stand with both my legs out and was now learning a back bend, a simple skill that China said was the 'root to all flips'. I longed to do a back handspring, as doing one looked quite cool when China was showing me. Unfortunately, we usually got to the gymnasium last. Our training sessions usually started with combat.
Japan and I stood next to our better trained brothers and progressed a line of poses with China. Bent down, leg kicking out, hand chops, and spin attacks were all in his regime. We kids would call out random wwho's and haa's as we shifted our bodies through the motions. Sweat began to collect on my brown when China decided it was time for one on on. Korea and Hong Kong, naturally, would take on friendly sparring matches only with each other. I was quite suited to fight China if he stood on his knees and didn't try very hard. I swung my punches and threw my kicks at my eldest brother who blocked and avoided all but a maneuver where I pretended to go one direction but went another. Thinking back on it he probably let me hit him on purpose, but I knew not my own strength, popped a vein in his neck, and caused an unpleasant red welt to form on the surface. China decided to Japan's pleasant surprise to skip his sparing match and we went outside into the shed. Land of the Sun Rise was in the middle of crafting himself a newer sword, which ended up being the one he kept even until today. Hong Kong had made himself a simple staff with a blade on the end. It was similar to China's but I'd barely call it the same weapon as it was bent in all the wrong directions. Korea was struggling with throwing knives but had made one with proper aerodynamic qualities to be able to thrust itself into the wall. I had created fans with blades on the end as a weapon I could keep up my sleeves. I don't see why a weapon can't be pretty - you know - before it's covered in blood. Naturally, I was especially fond of them because Japan had painted on sakura blossoms as a finishing touch. Perhaps the reason he was so good at weaponry where his delicate hands that could bend and push the bristles of a paintbrush, the lead of a pencil, or the heated, red metal of a blade into the perfect formation.
Finally, when it became my turn to enjoy training, we would head back inside and dress in a shirt with appropriately lengthed sleeves, flats like China's, and tights. Japan preferred to sit out on my training as he refused to comply with the "revealing" outfit, my two little brothers were still trying to get their splits down, but China and I expertly walked on our hands and balanced things on our feet as we did so. My personal records was four plates on the left foot and three on the right before they all fell and broke. China had made it to nine each. He'd always said if he ever needed quick money he would take our "act" out on the road. Continuing with back bend practice was hard that day as I had somehow fallen too quickly into it, not had my hands properly positioned, and bent onto my head instead of my palms. This caused an arch in my back that my flexibility level was not ready for, and once I screamed out in pain China decided we had had enough injuries for one day.
An hour of careful acupuncture later and I was lying on the ground exaggerating my pain. China fretted over me, fetching me cold towels for my head, heat pads for my back, water, food, anything I didn't need. He practically sprinted around the house in order to ensure Japan didn't just wander off, Hong Kong didn't dig into his bank statements, Korea didn't bust his skull open, and that I was not in pain. Of course I strived to make his job as difficult for him as physically possible, but he somehow still managed. For that day at least.
The next morning, I hadn't managed to wake up before sunrise. China liked to watch the sun rise on Fridays as he sipped tea. He also enjoyed the sun set as it reminded him of his flag. Disappointed that I wouldn't be able to see China put his hair up that morning, I stumbled outside to find him anyways, and on his usual perch outdoors was no one. He wasn't in the back yard, nor the kitchen, nor the shed, nor the training area, nor the bathroom. He was in his bedroom. He was still in bed at eleven in the morning, five hours after sunrise. My brothers, who by this time were searching for him with me, stood in the doorframe and stared at the eldest as he lie motionless in bed.
"China?" I made my way to the bedside and looked at him. His face was a bright red with beads of sweat on his brow. Korea climbed onto the bed and began to shake at his shoulder. China snapped awake, looked at me, looked at Korea, looked out his window at the already risen sun, and quickly realized he had overslept. He flipped off the blanket and stood quickly, then grabbed his head in pain and groggily walked over to the door. Without putting his hair up, or his tights on, or his jacket on, China began to fumble about the house trying to get a breakfast made. He over did the rice, undercooked the fish, and forgot to serve Hong Kong in the process.
"China, are you alright?" Japan inquired, looking at the mess of a meal on his plate. China simply nodded, tried to eat a scoop of rice, missed his mouth and instead plowed the chop sticks into his cheek.
"I can feel heat coming off you," Japan added. I leaned in closer to China and felt the same; an unbelievably high amount of heat radiating from his body. China had no response and this time got the chop sticks right in front of his mouth but didn't put the food in. He just lingered like that. My brother and I had one of our silent conversations.
"What are we going to do?" he asked by raising his eyebrows.
"I don't know what's wrong with him. Is he drunk?"
"No, people don't stay drunk through the night I think"
"Then what is it?"
Japan looked up at China and did something a bit outlandish for him - touched his forehead. "I think he's sick."
"Well, we should get him some medicine!" Sunrise Land and I jumped out of our seats and scrapped them across the floor to two cabinets pulling out medicine bins and a first aid kit. China refused our offer and claimed he was just fine. He continued to fumble with his food till he knocked it off the island. Then, he stood up and tripped his way to the middle of the room where he looked around aimlessly.
"China. I thi-" My speech was cut off by the man falling to the ground. His hair offered a bit of cushion to his head, which hit first.
"CHINA!" Hong Kong dove to his side. We all crowded around him and stared. He breathed, thankfully, but was unconscious and had hit his head quite hard never the less. My focus was broken when I heard the squeak of the front door and saw Japan standing in the frame. His look told me not to worry, and that he would be back soon. He simply nodded at us, pulled a sweater on over his kimono despite it being perfectly sunny outside, and locked the door behind him.
China breathed, but it didn't feel like it was often enough. My three remaining brothers and I just stared at him in shock, and disbelief as his reddened face grew hotter and hotter.
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There's more to this story but I don't want this chapter/tale to be a million years long. I haven't published something in a while cause I've been sick so, we'll just call it quits here. I'll start writing the next part right away though! Hope you like it guys :)